The Innkeeper's Bride

by Kathleen Fuller

  She opened one of the doors to the wall cabinet that housed the cleaning supplies, sheets, towels, office supplies, and toiletries. The room was also large enough for the washing machine and dryer, along with a large bin for soiled laundry. Yesterday afternoon, when Delilah had shown her how to operate the machines, the older woman had approached them with a mix of fear and reverence. “Never thought I’d see the day I’d use one of these things,” she’d said, wrinkling her nose. “But it can’t be helped. Once we have a lot of guests, we’ll have a lot of laundry to do.”

  Selah had never operated anything other than a wringer washer, but the machines were simple enough. Still, when she pulled the rags and towels from the dryer and started folding them, she missed the fresh-off-the-line scent she was used to. Using the fancy machines also made her feel a little bit lazy, although that would probably change when she had to do several loads a day.

  She decided to do a quick mop of the mudroom again, which didn’t take long, and then she washed out the mop and bucket. After drying the bucket, she put it away in another cabinet. She had just put the dirty cleaning rag into the laundry bin when Levi walked into the mudroom. “Christian’s on the phone for you,” he said.

  “Oh?” Her brother typically didn’t like to use phones. Maybe he was letting her know he would be late picking her up. Or maybe something was wrong. Her chest contracted. Maybe something happened to Ruby—

  Stop. She was catastrophizing, something she learned about in therapy. The only thing she knew for certain was that Christian was on the phone, nothing else. No need to panic, not without reason.

  He glanced around the mudroom. “Did you clean in here again?”

  She nodded, calming herself. “A little.”

  “It was already clean.”

  “Apparently not that clean, since you noticed.”

  “I noticed because the floor is still wet.”

  Selah eyed the floor. Unlike the rest of the inn, which had high-quality hardwood floors, the mudroom was painted concrete, and the wet spots that hadn’t dried yet were visible.

  “Nee one can say you don’t do yer job well.” He smiled, but she noticed the weariness in his eyes. “You can talk to Christian in mei office.”

  She followed him into the lobby, still reminding herself that a phone call didn’t necessarily mean a problem. Levi turned around and put one finger over his lips. Then he pointed to the couch in front of the woodstove. Their lone guest lounged there, asleep, his arms crossed over his chest and his chin touching the top of it.

  Selah nodded and walked as quietly as she could to the office. Levi picked up the cell phone and handed it to her before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

  “Hi, Christian,” she said, forcing herself not to ask him if anything was wrong.

  “Hello, Selah. Have you noticed the weather lately?”

  “It’s hard not to notice.” On her way to the office, she’d seen the pileup of snow outside. It had risen about a quarter of the way up the glass front door.

  “You need to make arrangements to stay there tonight.”

  “What?”

  “It’s perilous for me to drive in this weather, and from the way the storm is progressing, it’s only going to get worse throughout the evening.”

  “You want me to stay here?”

  “You do work at an inn. Quite fortuitous, actually.”

  Selah frowned. She didn’t see anything fortuitous about this situation, and her brother’s characteristic stilted speech was becoming annoying. “I don’t want to impose on mei bosses.”

  “Selah, you don’t have a choice. I can’t pick you up. The drifts here are already over a foot high.”

  “If I’d walked here this morning like I wanted to, I would be on mei way home now.”

  “Now you’re being irrational.” His tone grew tense. “Are you okay? If you’re struggling, I can figure out a way to get to you.”

  She hung her head. They both knew what he was referring to. And that he would risk the weather to get her if she was in trouble moved her heart. He was coming out of his unemotional shell. “I’m not having issues,” she said, evening her own tone. “I’m fine. It’s just that I haven’t been at this job for very long, and I don’t want to get fired.”

  “I doubt taking shelter in a blizzard is a fire-able offense. I’m sure the Stolls won’t mind if you stay. It’s the only safe and logical choice.”

  He was right. She didn’t want her brother or his horse to get stuck in the storm because she was being nonsensical. “I’ll stay.”

  “Gut. I’ll pick you up tomorrow if the weather is permissible.”

  “I work tomorrow.”

  “Then I’ll pick you up at the end of yer workday. If there is a problem, I will call you again.” He paused. “And if you need to, you can call me anytime. You know that, right?”

  “I do.” She smiled even though he couldn’t see her. “Everything will be fine. I will be fine.”

  “All right. Have a gut evening, Selah. Try to relax, okay?”

  “Speak for yerself,” she said, weakly teasing him. “I’m not the only one wound tighter than a top.”

  “I think I’ve made excellent progress.” He sounded offended.

  “You have, thanks to Ruby.”

  “Ya.” His voice softened by the slightest degree. “All thanks to her.”

  She clicked off the cell phone, which was a small flip phone without a fancy screen like most of the cell phones she’d seen in the hands of the English. She stared at it. Her hesitation to stay at the inn had nothing to do with the Stolls—at least not much. She hadn’t stayed with anyone other than her parents and Christian and Ruby since her diagnosis, and she didn’t want her employers to discover it.

  But her brother was right. She was being irrational. What could possibly happen to reveal her anxiety and depression? That was a secret she would always keep to herself.

  When she walked out of the office, Levi was standing at the front door looking at the whirlwind of snow. She moved to stand beside him, wondering how she ever thought she would be able to walk home in the cold chaos outside.

  “Everything all right?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

  She handed the phone to him with a smirk. “When it comes to mei bruder, that’s a loaded question.”

  “Huh?”

  “Just a joke.” She looked out at the snow again. “I have a small favor to ask,” she said, unable to look at him.

  “Sure. But I want to tell you something first.” He gestured to his office. “We should geh back in there. Don’t want to wake up Jackson.”

  Alarm rose in her, but she tamped it down. Like when Christian called her, just because Levi wanted to talk to her didn’t mean there was a problem. She had to learn to get a grip on jumping to the worst conclusion. Considering her reactions during the past half hour, she should start looking for a new therapist. She had put off finding one, but as soon as she was settled in her job, she’d begin her search.

  He left the door slightly ajar. “Call Christian back and tell him not to pick you up. We have plenty of room for you to stay here. This weather isn’t fit for anyone to be out in it.”

  She should have known Levi would have thought about this already. “That’s what I wanted to ask you. Christian can’t pick me up, and he wanted to know if I could wait out the storm here tonight.”

  “I’m glad he’s being practical.” Levi gave her a knowing look. “Although something tells me you would be on yer way home by now if you had walked here this morning.”

  “Um, possibly. I’m not as sensible as mei bruder.”

  “I wouldn’t have let you leave anyway.”

  She looked up at him, still seeing the fatigue on his face. And behind his glasses, genuine concern shone in his eyes. She shouldn’t be surprised, because this was Levi, but she was. Surprised and touched.

  He took a step back from her, shuffling some papers. “You have yer pick of the three empty rooms, by the
way.” He opened the door and peeked out. “Jackson must have gone upstairs.”

  “I wonder what he’ll do about supper?”

  “Now you’re thinking like a hostess. I like that.” Levi grinned. “We’ll invite him to eat with us. Easy solution.”

  “You always make things seem easy.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t see the need to make them complicated.” He looked at the ledger books on his desk, frowning slightly. “Although sometimes I can’t avoid it.” He looked back at her. “Why don’t you geh to the haus and let mei grossmutter know what’s happening? And tell her I’ll be there soon. Just finishing up some paperwork before I find Jackson.”

  “But it’s not five o’clock yet. I should come back.”

  “No, I’m letting you off early. Oh, and one more thing.”

  “Ya?”

  “If you offer to pay for yer room tonight, I will revoke yer employee of the month privileges.”

  She laughed. “What privileges?”

  “The ones I haven’t figured out yet.” He grinned but then grew serious. “I mean it, Selah.”

  She could tell he did. “I understand.”

  “I’ll be there soon, Jackson in tow.”

  Selah nodded and then left the office, still smiling about the nonexistent privileges. But he’d been right—she had planned to pay for the room. The fact that he had anticipated that should have bothered her, but for some reason it didn’t. She knew Levi didn’t file away details to use against people. That wasn’t in him. Unlike Oliver.

  * * *

  Levi sat down at the desk. He should be cleaning up the piles of papers and receipts scattered over it, filing them back in the drawer where his father kept them. He had gone through every scrap of paper today, trying to understand the inn’s financials. From what he could tell, his father hadn’t been irresponsible with money. The debt was a result of unexpected costs. Now that he had a clear picture of what was going on, he figured that even with the pending medical bills, if they had consistent business at the inn, they could pay off their debt in a decent amount of time and without having to ask for anything from the district’s community fund. The fund was always an option, but they hadn’t been able to contribute much to it since they moved here. It didn’t seem completely right to benefit from it except in an emergency. Right now, this wasn’t an emergency, and if he could help it, they wouldn’t have one.

  Yet his optimism about the future was tempered by the weather. They might have had more than one guest if a blizzard hadn’t been coming, which would have been a great start. Then again, if his father had miscalculated in one area, it was in advertising. A small ad in the local paper wasn’t going to bring in enough guests. Levi had gleaned some ideas from the hospitality magazines his father subscribed to, but he would have to figure out how to adapt them for an Amish inn.

  There was no reason to dwell on that now, though. It was almost suppertime, and he still had to invite Jackson to join them. He left the papers on the desk and shut the door. Tomorrow was another day.

  Levi went upstairs and knocked on Jackson’s door. When Jackson opened it, Levi said, “No one’s going anywhere tonight in this storm, so you’re welcome to have supper with us.”

  Jackson tilted his head. “I’ve got a candy bar in my duffel. I should be fine with that.”

  Levi scoffed. “A candy bar isn’t going to get you through the night.” He paused. “We don’t usually do room service, but if you’d like that instead, we can bring supper to you.”

  Rubbing his chin, he said, “That’s too much trouble. I’ll join you, thanks. Are you eating downstairs?”

  “We have a house behind the inn. That’s where we live, so we’ll have the meal there.”

  “I wondered if you guys lived on the property.” He quickly added, “Are you sure you want a stranger in your home?”

  “You’re not a stranger,” Levi said with a grin. “You’re our guest. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”

  “You don’t have to wait. I’ll grab my coat.” Jackson swiped his coat off the bed and closed his door. “Guess I don’t need to lock this.”

  “Unless you want to. I promise no one here will snoop through your things, though, if you’re worried about that. It’s only me and my family and Selah.”

  “She’s not your sister?”

  Levi almost laughed. He and Selah didn’t look anything alike. Her dark-brown hair and blue eyes contrasted with his lighter hair and green eyes. “No, she just works here.”

  They went downstairs, and Levi took his coat from a peg in the mudroom, slipped it on, and led Jackson to the house. The wind blew the snow sideways, and Levi had to squint against the flakes flying into his eyes. Talk about brutal. This matched any winter storm he’d experienced in Wisconsin, and he’d seen many.

  When they got inside the house, they shook the snow off their bodies in the mudroom and removed their boots before going into the kitchen. Selah was setting the table, and Daed was already seated, his leg propped up, his color better. But he still looked tired. Levi made the introductions.

  “Glad you can join us,” Daed said, shaking Jackson’s hand. “We’re always happy to have guests, whether here or at the inn.”

  Levi introduced Jackson to Nina, who was at the counter slicing fresh bread, and then turned to his grandmother. “And this is my grandmother, Delilah.”

  “We’ve already met,” she said, picking up two pot holders and then taking a large pot to the table.

  “Over banana bread,” Jackson said. He grinned. “Which was delicious. Thank you.”

  Delilah beamed. “You’re most welcome.”

  Levi liked this guy. He was friendly, but not in a fake way, and he had made his grandmother smile, which always earned bonus points. Levi still didn’t know why Jackson was staying at the inn by himself on the worst weekend of winter so far, but then again, it was none of his business.

  “You’ve already met Selah too.” Levi gestured to her, glad to see that she looked a little more relaxed than she had when he’d insisted she stay. Good thing Christian had also told her to stay, or she really might have bolted into this crazy weather.

  “Why don’t you sit here, Mr. Talbot?” Delilah pointed to the seat next to Selah.

  That was a surprise. Levi was sure his grandmother was going to seat him next to Selah since he still didn’t trust her not to meddle. Then again, maybe she really intended to keep her word.

  “Call me Jackson,” he said. “Mr. Talbot is my father.”

  Levi didn’t miss Jackson’s slight scowl, which vanished as fast as it appeared.

  Then he watched Selah as Jackson sat down next to her. Her shoulders stiffened the slightest bit, almost imperceptibly. But Levi had noticed. Why did she have that reaction to Jackson, the same reaction she had to him when they first met? Aloof. Tense.

  His gut suddenly twisted. One piece of the puzzle finally fit into place. Who hurt you, Selah Ropp?

  Chapter 10

  Selah tried to relax as Jackson sat down next to her. Her reaction to him made no sense. She couldn’t spend the rest of her life being tense around every English man she encountered. Or around any man, for that matter. Still, she gripped the hem of her sweater as he gave her a slight smile. Get it together, Selah.

  When she faced forward, she was looking directly at Levi. She’d been so preoccupied with her reaction to Jackson that she hadn’t realized he’d sat down across from her. His head was tilted, and he was gazing straight at her. Her uneasiness increased as if he had somehow caught a glimpse of what she was trying so hard to hide. She clutched at her sweater again.

  “What’s in the pot?” Loren asked.

  “Cabbage stew.” Delilah sat down at the opposite end of the table.

  “Do you like cabbage stew?” Nina asked Jackson. “People either like it or can’t stand it.”

  “I don’t think I’ve ever had it before,” he said. “I do like stews, though.”

  “We enjoy it very much.” Deli
lah adjusted the napkin on the basket that held the bread slices Nina had cut earlier.

  “Especially with lots of vegetables and beef chunks,” Loren added.

  Selah glanced at Loren. She was glad to see that, although he still had dark circles under his eyes, he had an appetite now. When he had fallen asleep while they were folding the brochures, Nina hadn’t wanted to wake him for lunch. “He hasn’t been eating much lately,” she’d said. That seemed to have changed tonight, thankfully. Turning her focus on Loren and away from Jackson and Levi helped her settle down a tiny bit.

  “Shall we pray?” Loren said.

  “Pray?” Jackson glanced around at everyone.

  “We pray before each meal,” Delilah said.

  “You can join us if you want to,” Levi told him. “But our prayers are individual and silent.”

  He seemed bewildered by the idea. “What do I pray about?”

  “Just thank the Lord for our food.” Nina smiled.

  He paused and then nodded. “I’ll give it a shot.”

  Selah closed her eyes, pleased that Jackson had joined them in prayer. She quickly thanked God for the meal and added a request for help to keep her wits about her the rest of the night.

  When everyone had looked up, Delilah ladled the piping hot stew into heavy, white soup bowls and served them. Then she said, “I think this is a good time for us to get to know each other.”

  Both Levi and Nina groaned. “No, it’s not,” Nina said. “We already know each other.”

  “But our guests don’t know us very well, and we don’t know them very well.” Delilah handed Nina the breadbasket. “Tell us something about yourself, Nina.”

  Nina’s eyes rolled so far into her head that Selah worried she might hurt herself. “I’m Nina,” she said in a bored, put-upon tone. “I like bread.” She started to hand the basket to Levi, but he pushed it back to her.

  “That doesn’t count,” he said, smirking. “Who doesn’t like bread?”

  “Ashley,” Jackson muttered.