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  “I need to go get Amos,” she said softly as her gaze stayed on the approaching vehicle. She’d already told Annie that Hannah had a doctor’s appointment in Harrisburg and couldn’t be here for the homecoming. Lena finally went inside.

  Annie stood slowly and folded both hands across her churning stomach. It had been almost a week since Daniel had given Annie the money to send to Jacob. It was a blessing that Lena’s surgery had been postponed. Now the entire family would be present.

  Annie was seconds away from being face-to-face with her former fiancé. Even though she’d talked to Jacob on the phone, she’d lost sleep the past few days in anticipation of seeing him in person. The prodigal son is home.

  The screen door closed as Lena and Amos stepped onto the porch. Leaves floated on a gentle breeze and swirled aimlessly to the ground as a car door swung open.

  And there he was. Jacob.

  Charlotte finished proofreading a city council article written by one of the staff reporters earlier in the day, then she looked through the classified ads, hoping to find something for Andrea. Her sister didn’t seem to be making much effort to find work. But they’d settled into a routine over the past couple of weeks, even though it wasn’t a good schedule. Charlotte would come home from work. Andrea would be sitting on the couch playing games on her cell phone. Eventually her sister would whine about her cell phone being dead. Charlotte kept charging portable batteries at work, then bringing them home for Andrea, leaving Charlotte to wonder exactly how long her sister played on her phone daily. Charlotte had added Andrea to her cell phone account under the family plan, but it was a limited amount of minutes. On some days Andrea moaned about that too.

  Bella usually needed a bath and her diaper changed. The sink was usually filled with dishes. Andrea would say she couldn’t find anything to make for supper, even though Charlotte had gone to the grocery store on Monday and bought groceries.

  Whether it was her privileged upbringing that bred her to be lazy or just lack of common courtesy, it was irritating. People weren’t necessarily a product of their environments. She’d been fighting that battle, not to be like her parents, since she was young.

  But Bella was a sweetheart. She didn’t wail the way she did when Andrea and Bella had first shown up. And Charlotte liked having her niece in the bed with her, watching her small chest rise and fall as Charlotte drifted asleep with the aroma of baby soap and shampoo lingering in the air.

  She jotted down two jobs that would be coming out in the paper the following day—a cashier at Walmart on Lincoln Highway and a receptionist position at a nearby hair salon. The first one might be a problem since Andrea didn’t have a car, but the salon was on Charlotte’s way to work, if the hours jibed.

  The distraction over her sister’s employment status didn’t last long. Her thoughts returned to Daniel. She had talked to him each night before bed, but the conversations were only brief updates about his mother. And there hadn’t been any change. He told Charlotte that Jacob was coming home today, so she’d prayed that his reunion with his parents and Annie would go well. And tomorrow was Lena’s surgery. Charlotte had already asked for Thursday off to be with Amos, Lena, Hannah, and presumably Jacob.

  But after she’d allowed herself to think through the worries swirling around in her mind, she put them in an imaginary bubble—the way Hannah had told her—and blew the bubble to heaven for God to take care of.

  But what about Daniel and me?

  Charlotte missed him, and she wanted to comfort him through this ordeal with his mother, no matter the uncertainty of their personal situation. She grabbed her purse and clocked out. She’d surprise Daniel with an invitation to lunch. Hopefully he would welcome the visit.

  Daniel carried the piece of broken furniture to the work area in the back of the store and set it in a growing pile of odds and ends that needed attention: an extra nail, more glue, another coat of enamel. He did the best he could every Wednesday, but Mr. Cowan really needed to hire someone who could devote more time.

  Daniel’s father had insisted that Daniel return to work now that Grace was home—a name his father had agreed to. With Aunt Faye still staying with them, Annie had help with the baby, the chores, and the meals. Except today his sister was at the King household awaiting Jacob’s return.

  He hoped Jacob’s homecoming wouldn’t bring upheaval and problems between Jacob and Annie again. Always in his thoughts, he missed Charlotte. He wasn’t sure which one of them was pulling back from the relationship the most, but the distance between them seemed to be growing. Although right now wasn’t the time to push the issue, and Daniel wished he hadn’t given Charlotte an ultimatum, forcing her to choose a future that only God could control.

  As he pulled a tub of food from the shop refrigerator, he hoped Annie had packed his lunch and not Aunt Faye. When he lifted the lid, he could see it was a joint effort. Chicken salad on the left and pickled oysters on the right—topped with Aunt Faye’s signature grape jelly that came from a jar with the name Smucker’s on it.

  Shaking his head, he set the dish on the small table where employees ate, but the bell on the front door clanked against the glass, so he put the food back in the refrigerator and opened the door to the showroom. He bumped right into Edna.

  “Wie bischt, Daniel.” Her eyes were red and slightly swollen underneath, like maybe she’d been crying. Daniel was used to seeing her this way lately. As much as he tried to avoid his ex-girlfriend, he saw her at worship service and other community gatherings. Although she’d never stopped by the furniture store on a Wednesday before, thankfully.

  “Wie bischt, Edna. Can I help you with something?”

  She took a step closer, the smell of flowery perfume assaulting Daniel’s nostrils, and her lips had an unnatural shine as she pushed them into a pout. Both forbidden luxuries, but Edna didn’t seem to care about things forbidden. Daniel recalled a time in his barn months ago when Edna had come for a visit. Next thing he knew, she was kissing him.

  Daniel had thought he loved her at one time, had even planned to marry her. But that was before she broke up with him, married John, then started seeing Charlotte’s brother, Ethan, on the side. Daniel had lost respect for Edna, and any feelings he’d harbored for her had soured.

  “I wanted to know how your mudder is doing. I thought about going to the hospital to see her, but I wasn’t sure how well I would be received by your parents.” She bit one of her shiny lips. “Since we broke up, I sense they don’t care for me much.”

  “She is still in a coma. Nothing has changed. But danki for asking.” Daniel couldn’t deny that Edna was not his parents’ favorite person.

  “My prayers are with all of you. And also with the Kings. I heard that Lena’s surgery is tomorrow.” She wrapped the string on her kapp around her finger. “But I keep hearing different things about her diagnosis. Some folks say she is having a routine surgery and will be fine, and others say it’s a bit more serious.”

  Daniel sighed, keeping his eyes lowered. Most of the folks in their community were aware of Edna’s outer beauty, but only a few knew what she was like on the inside. Daniel was one of those people. He’d learned the meaning of the word temptress that day in the barn. He accepted his part in allowing the kiss to happen, but he’d promised himself that it wouldn’t happen again.

  “Lena has looked a little sickly lately, but as far as I know, the diagnosis is still the same—that she will have the surgery and make a full recovery.”

  “Thank the Lord for that.” Edna reached out and touched Daniel’s chest as she inched closer to him.

  Too close. He tensed as she cupped his cheeks with her soft hands, vowing to stop any advance she might make, but he didn’t want to be too rude since it looked like she’d been crying.

  Charlotte reached for the doorknob at the furniture store, but before she opened it, she saw movement inside. She eased her hand away and peered through the glass pane, hoping her eyes were deceiving her. She leaned in for a better
look, and her heart raced. No. Edna had her hands on Daniel’s face as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

  Daniel might have loved Edna a long time ago, but they both knew the truth about her. Charlotte was sure he would never rekindle feelings for the woman, especially because she was married now. But as Edna moved closer and kissed Daniel on the lips, he made no attempt to stop her.

  Charlotte was torn between entering the store and smacking Daniel or scratching Edna’s eyes out. She squeezed her hands into fists. Her heart was pierced by the betrayal she’d come to expect from men. But Daniel wasn’t just any man. He was the man she loved, the man she trusted. Please God, not this.

  She forced herself from the window, taking slow steps backward, then she ran to her car.

  After Andrea put Bella down to sleep, she headed to the front yard with a shovel, to what she thought was the same place the Amish woman had gone. It had rained earlier that morning, so the ground should be soft.

  Andrea’s teeth chattered even though she’d borrowed one of Charlotte’s heavy sweaters. The wind had picked up and a dark cloud hovered in the distance, which caused her to shiver with fear. But the approaching storm looked like it was far enough away for her to seize this opportunity. Maybe there was money buried? A body? That’s what people were always digging for in the movies. But an Amish woman? Neither scenario seemed likely, but Andrea was bored.

  She jumped up on both shoulders of the shovel until it sunk into the ground, then she pulled back until she had a heap of earth. She dug two more times and jumped when the shovel clanked with something. Rain started to sprinkle, and she was acutely aware that the storm was getting closer. She hoped Charlotte got home soon. But not too soon.

  Digging around the edges of what appeared to be a metal container about the size of a shoe box, she finally had her hands around the treasure. She brushed away wet dirt mixed with grass and saw a tiny lock, something easy enough to crack open with a pair of pliers.

  As the rain began to come down in hard pellets, Andrea set the box on the ground, then did her best to repack dirt into the hole, stomping on it until she was soaking wet. She picked up the box and quietly went inside, the sound of the rainfall causing her heart rate to pick up. Or was it curiosity about the contents of the box? Both, she decided.

  She checked on Bella—still sleeping—dried herself off, then searched for a tool to cut the small lock. Once she’d found a pair of pliers, she sat on the couch and got to work.

  Charlotte manhandled Big Red into the parking lot at the newspaper, then laid her head on the steering wheel and cried. How could Daniel let Edna kiss him? Again.

  He had told her about Edna’s one other attempt, before he and Charlotte were in a relationship, and he’d sworn it would not happen again. She let out a low moan. And she had believed him.

  If there was a town harlot among them, Edna was it. Or was harlot too strong of a word? Maybe Charlotte was wrong about the woman, and Daniel had welcomed Edna’s advances. Or perhaps he’d been the one to initiate the kiss?

  She finally straightened, blew her nose, and dried her eyes. If counseling had taught her anything, it was to weigh the facts before becoming emotionally entangled in non-truths. Since she was taking tomorrow off for Lena’s surgery, Charlotte had to get back to work.

  Once inside, she was glad to see everyone was at lunch except the receptionist, a young girl just out of high school who spent most of her time on Facebook or Pinterest. But Marcy did have a sweet voice and was polite to anyone who came into the office.

  Charlotte took a small mirror from her purse to see how puffy her eyes were. Not so long ago, she would have covered any dark circles underneath her eyes with makeup, but those days were gone.

  She plugged in her laptop and phone like she did every day about this time, wanting to leave with a full charge on her devices. Leaning back in her chair, she sighed and glanced at the time on her computer. Four more hours. How will I ever make it? She scanned her desk for projects that needed to be proofed, but no one had left anything for her.

  She rubbed her temples as the scene from the furniture store replayed like a stuck vinyl record, skipping back to the kiss over and over again, and anger nestled itself in a dark cave in Charlotte’s mind. Despite squeezing her eyes closed and forcing herself not to see Daniel and Edna kissing, she felt like her heart might explode in her chest.

  No matter the circumstances, the fears, the betrayals, and the self-denials, she loved Daniel to the moon and back again. She wouldn’t stash him in the shadows forever. But for now, Charlotte retreated to the darkness.

  By the time five o’clock came around, Charlotte was exhausted. Too much time in the dismal recesses of her mind, a place her counselor had warned her about. Charlotte hoped that one day that place would be barred up and sealed tight with a big sign that read No Entry.

  She started Big Red and headed for home, eager to see and snuggle with Bella. She might be fearful about having her own children and being a good mother, but loving on Bella had been the best thing about reconnecting with Andrea. And right now she needed a hug from her niece.

  After parking the truck, she darted through the pounding rain to the front door, feeling guilty, wishing it was just going to be Bella and her tonight. Andrea would greet her wanting to know what was for supper, how long it would take to make, and then Charlotte would bite her tongue as she made her way through the messy house. And each day, music had been blaring when Charlotte got home from work—sometimes from Andrea’s cell phone if it wasn’t dead, and other times from a portable radio in the kitchen. Andrea was only a couple of years younger than Charlotte, but it felt like a decade or more. She twisted the doorknob and braced herself.

  “Hey.” Andrea was on the couch with her knees pulled to her chest. Bella was playing with some blocks and toy cars Charlotte had brought home, gifts from Dianda at work.

  “Hey,” Charlotte echoed as she made her way to Bella. “How’s my precious niece?” She scooped Bella up and smothered her in kisses, then blew air kisses on the toddler’s neck until Bella giggled. A child’s laughter. Best medicine on earth.

  She turned to Andrea, waiting for her sister to ask what’s for dinner, but Andrea didn’t say a word. And to Charlotte’s surprise, the house was fairly clean.

  “How was your day?” Charlotte kissed Bella one last time before she set her back on the floor with the toys.

  Andrea shrugged. “It was okay, I guess.”

  Charlotte eyed her sister for a few moments even though Andrea didn’t make eye contact. “Are you hungry?”

  Andrea didn’t even look at her.

  “Um . . . anything new or exciting happen today?”

  Andrea quickly shook her head. “Nope. Not a thing.”

  Charlotte kept her gaze on her sister awhile longer. Liar.

  Nine

  Annie walked with Jacob to the swing beneath the old oak tree in the Kings’ yard. It had been a quiet supper, and while the focus could have been on Jacob and his plans for the future, the quiet tension in the room had centered around Lena and her surgery the following day.

  “Mamm said over and over that she would be okay.” Jacob turned to Annie. “Do you think she will be?”

  Annie had a laundry list full of questions for Jacob, but she’d already promised herself to think only of Lena and her own mother right now. “I believe in God’s will, and I have to believe that Lena has much more to do here on earth. So, ya . . . I choose to believe that everything will be okay.”

  Jacob lowered his head. He and Annie hadn’t shared more than a brief hug before having supper with his parents. When he looked up at her with moist eyes, he asked, “And what about your mamm?”

  “She is still the same, still in a coma.” Annie fought tears, needing and wanting Jacob to comfort her, at a time when he was fighting to harness his own emotions. “But we have a beautiful new baby, Grace.”

  Jacob lifted his head, nodded, then pulled Annie into a hug. “I’ve missed you
. And now everything is so blundered.”

  Annie clung to him with all the desperateness she felt in his embrace. “Everything will be okay.” She wasn’t sure she believed that. Both of their mothers were enduring a health crisis, and Annie hadn’t been getting solid answers about anything. Everything will be okay had become the norm.

  He finally eased away. “You look even more beautiful than I remember.”

  Annie forced a smile even though Jacob looked terrible. He was thinner, with bags under his eyes she didn’t remember him having before. His Englisch haircut looked freshly cut, but without the cropped bangs common to their district. His Amish clothes were worn and wrinkled, like maybe he’d pulled them from his suitcase at the last minute.

  “How is your daed doing?” Jacob rubbed his forehead, looking away from her again.

  “Not gut. He won’t leave Mamm’s side, and he’s never even held baby Grace.” There was no shortage of love for Annie and Daniel’s new baby sister. Daniel worked a lot, but Annie and Aunt Faye smothered Grace with an abundance of affection, also whispering to the baby that her mother would be home soon.

  “I’m not worthy to be here, Annie.” Jacob blinked a few times. “But I wanted to be here for Mamm’s surgery.” He hung his head. “Mei daed couldn’t even look at me.”

  “They are happy you’re home, Jacob, and you know what a quiet man your father is.” Annie suspected Amos was worried about Lena, just the same way Annie’s father was worried about Annie’s mother.

  “Are you happy I’m home, Annie? I just want peace.” Jacob looked at her, but Annie shifted, planning to tread carefully. Jacob had promised to marry her, fled their community, returned, then left again. And now he was back. She wasn’t sure how much more her heart could take.

  “I’m happy you’re home, Jacob, but . . .” When she paused, his eyes watered up. “I still don’t think you know what you want. I thought you’d find peace for your soul in the Englisch world, but I don’t think it matters where you are in this world.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “The peace comes from within.”