The Quilter's Daughter (29 page)

“You okay?”

“Just drank it too quickly.”

“Want me to get you a glass of cold water?”

“No, no. I’m fine.” Abby grimaced.
Liar. You’re not fine. Your hands are shaking, and your cheeks feel hot as the stove
. The thought of leaving this safe haven made her stomach feel like it was tied up in knots.

Edna just sat there a few seconds, staring at Abby. For the life of her, Abby couldn’t imagine what her mother’s cousin was thinking.

“If your mamm says she can get along without you, would ya be willing to go?”

Abby opened her mouth to decline, but before she got a word out, Mom stepped into the room.

“What’s all this about me gettin’ along without Abby?”

Abby breathed a sigh of relief. Mom would set Edna straight on things.

“My sister-in-law, who lives in Montana, has invited me to come there for a visit,” Edna said, motioning her mom to join them at the table. “I’ve invited Abby to go along, since I’m nervous about ridin’ the train by myself.”

Mom helped herself to a cup of tea, pulled out the chair beside Abby, and sat down. “I think the idea of you going to Montana is a fine one, daughter.”

“What?” Abby could hardly believe her mother would say such a thing. Didn’t Mom realize how hard it would be to get along without her help?

“Nancy and Mary Ann are capable of helping in your absence, and I think the trip would do you a world of good.” Mom gave Edna a quick wink. “Besides, I’d never sleep nights if I thought my favorite cousin was travelin’ all that way by herself.”

Abby squirmed in her chair, feeling like a helpless bug trapped in a spider’s web.
Tricked might be a better word for it
, she thought ruefully.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Mom and Cousin Edna didn’t cook this whole thing up in order to get me away from here
. She took another sip of tea, this time being careful not to burn her lips. It wasn’t good for a body to get so worked up, and she knew she probably wasn’t thinking clearly. Truth was, she hadn’t had many clear thoughts since Lester died.

“How about it, Abby?” Edna persisted. “Will you go with me to Montana?”

Abby glanced at Mom, then over at her cousin. Both women wore expectant looks, and Abby figured if she didn’t say yes, she would be forced to sit here all day and listen to their arguments. She sighed and set her cup on the table. “Jah, okay. I’ll go.”

Y
ou’re lookin’ mighty glum, Matthew,” Naomi said to her brother when he entered the store with a frown on his face. “Did you have trouble navigating the snowy roads on this cold Friday morning, or did you get up on the wrong side of the bed?”

Matthew brushed the snow off his heavy woolen jacket and hung it on the closest wall peg. “Neither one.”

“Then why the long face?”

He shrugged and removed his black felt hat, hanging it over the top of his jacket.

Naomi skirted around the counter and stepped up beside him. “Come now, brother. I know something is bothering you, and I won’t stop asking ’til you tell me what it is.”

Matthew grunted and leaned against the front of the counter. “It’s Abby. She’s gone.”

“Gone?”

He nodded.

“What do you mean? Where’d she go? Not back to Ohio, I hope.”

“No, she left for Montana. Caught an early morning train with Fannie’s cousin, Edna.”

Naomi’s mouth fell open. “This is the first I’ve heard of it. Why would they go to Montana?”

“Yeah, why would they?” Caleb asked as he strolled across the room with Sarah toddling beside him and Susan snuggled in his arms.

“Guess Edna has a sister-in-law who lives near Rexford, and she’s decided to go visit her,” Matthew replied.

“In the dead of winter?” Caleb’s eyes were wide.

“Jah.”

“But why’d Abby go with her?” Naomi questioned. “Ever since Lester died, she hasn’t wanted to do much of anything except hang around my daed’s place and help Fannie.”

Matthew reached up to scratch the side of his head. “From what I gathered, Edna’s afraid to ride the train alone. She practically begged Abby to go along.”

Naomi smiled as a revelation came to her. “I believe Edna and Fannie might have cooked this up in order to get Abby off someplace where she could rest and allow her broken heart to mend.”

“Makes sense to me,” Caleb put in. He handed the baby to Naomi. “I think she’s wet.”

Naomi squinted at him. “Would it kill you to change a windel once in a while?”

“It might.” He wrinkled his nose. “Especially if it was a dirty one.”

She groaned. “You’re such a
hatzkauer
.”

“I ain’t no coward.”

“Prove it.”

“All right, I will.” Caleb took the baby from her. “Is it all right if I leave Sarah here with you?” he asked with a grin.

“Jah, sure. She can play with her doll while Matthew and I finish our discussion.”

Caleb headed for the back room, while Naomi found Sarah’s faceless doll and got her settled on the braided throw rug behind the counter. Then she called to Matthew, who had headed in the direction of the quilt shop. “Where are you going?”

“I’m workin’ here today.”

Naomi followed him into the next room and waited until he had all the gas lamps lit. “Are you planning to tell me why you’re so upset about Abby going to Montana?”

He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Just don’t think it’s a good idea. What if she likes it there and decides to stay?”

“Ah, so that’s the problem. I’ve been suspicious for some time that you cared for her.”

Matthew moved to the window and lifted the dark shade. “Of course I care. She’s part of our family.”

Naomi studied her handsome brother.

“Why are you starin’ at me like that?” he asked, moving to the wooden counter in the center of the room.

“You’re in love with Abby, aren’t you?”

Matthew’s ears turned red, and the color quickly spread to his face. “Wouldn’t do me no good if I was.”

“Why do you say that?”

“She’s in love with Lester.”

Naomi shook her head. “Lester’s dead.”

“Don’t ya think I know that?” Deep creases formed above Matthew’s brows. “Abby doesn’t see me as anything more than a big brother. So even if her pain should heal, I doubt she could fall in love with me.”

Naomi’s heart went out to Matthew. She knew well the frustration of being in love with someone and thinking things would never work out. Yet God had worked a miracle in her life where Caleb was concerned, and He could do it for Matthew and Abby, too.

Naomi touched her brother’s arm. “My advice is to pray about a relationship with Abby and keep being her friend.”

He grabbed a stack of invoices from under the counter. “No problem there.”

Abby leaned her head against the back of the seat, a sense of relief washing over her. Edna had finally drifted off to sleep, after spending the last several hours talking nonstop and telling one joke after another. All Abby wanted to do was watch the passing scenery and be left alone with her private thoughts. Her mind spun with the details of Lester’s death and fueled her anxiety. Snippets of her last letter from him rolled around in her mind. He’d been anxious for her to return home—anxious for their wedding.

Clickety-clack, clickety-clack
, the train rumbled over the tracks, taking them farther and farther away from all that was familiar to her. What would Montana be like? How long would
Elizabeth expect them to stay? Would there be something for Abby to do there so she wouldn’t have to think about Lester or the quilt shop in Ohio that no longer existed? She swallowed around the perpetual lump in her throat and closed her eyes.
I mustn’t allow myself to think about Lester or what might have been. Maybe a nap would be good for me, too. When I wake up, I hope my headache is gone
.

Abby had just nodded off when someone bumped her shoulder. She opened her eyes and turned her head toward the aisle. A tall, dark-haired man, wearing blue jeans, a fancy red-and-white western shirt, and a black cowboy hat, smiled down at her. “Excuse me, ma’am,” he said in a slow, lazy drawl. “I was tryin’ to get something outta the overhead luggage rack, and I sure didn’t mean to wake ya.”

“I—I wasn’t sleeping,” she stammered.

He nodded toward Edna, who leaned against the window with her mouth slightly open. “Guess I didn’t wake your mama, either.”

“Oh, she’s not my mamm. Edna’s my mother’s cousin.”

He grinned. “Where ya headed?”

“Rexford, Montana.”

“What’s up there?”

“Edna and I are goin’ to visit a relative of hers.”

“Amish, like you?”

Abby nodded.

“Didn’t realize there were any Amish out west.”

“There aren’t that many, but—” Abby stopped in midsentence. She didn’t care for the way the cowboy was looking at her, with his dark eyes narrowed and his lips curled in a crooked smile. It made her feel like a feeble mouse about to be pounced on by a hungry cat. Truth was, she felt as out of place talking to this friendly cowboy as a prune in a basket of apples.

As the train rounded a curve, it rocked from side to side, and Abby gripped her armrest. “Maybe you should take a seat so you don’t topple over,” she told the man.

“Aw, I’m a professional bull rider; I’ve been up against worse than this.” He winked at her.

Abby squirmed in her seat, feeling more uncomfortable by the minute. She was tempted to wake Edna.

“Well, guess I’d best be gettin’ back to my seat. Nice jawin’ with ya, ma’am.” The man tipped his hat and shuffled across the aisle.

Abby’s only response was a brief nod as she breathed a sigh of relief.

Abraham entered the kitchen and found his wife sitting at the table, sobbing. He hurried across the room and touched her shoulder. “Fannie, what’s wrong? Are ya sick? Has somethin’ happened to one of the twins?”

She looked up at him, her cheeks flushed like ripe cherries. “The boys are fine, and I’m not sick.”

Abraham pulled out a chair and sat beside her. “What is it then?”

Fannie sniffed. “I’m missin’ Abby and wondering if we did the right thing by sending her away.”

“We? Who’s
we
, Fannie?”

“Me and Edna.”

He gave his beard a couple of quick pulls. “You and Edna set up this whole Montana trip to get Abby out of town?”

She lifted her shoulders in a quick shrug. “We thought it would be good for her to get away. To tell you the truth, I’d begun to resent the way she took over the bopplin’s care and so many of my chores around the house.”

Abraham let his wife’s words sink in before he said anything. He’d known she was worried about Abby’s depression, but he had no idea she’d felt so frustrated over her daughter’s help.

“Don’t get me wrong,” Fannie said, as though she could read his mind. “I’m not sayin’ I didn’t appreciate all the things Abby did around here. She was a big help, especially when the twins were first born.”

Abraham took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “You don’t have to explain. I know you love Abby. It just never occurred to me that you might be feelin’ resentful about not bein’ in charge
of your house anymore. You should have said something. I could have spoken to Abby about it.”

She shook her head. “That would have only made things worse, Abraham. Abby’s still going through troubled waters and needs to be handled with tender loving care.”