A Sister's Secret

by Brunstetter, Wanda E. ;

  “I see.” Grace shifted her weight from one foot to the other, wondering how to ask why Cleon had been talking to Gary without arousing Cleon’s suspicion.

  “Will you be getting off work anytime soon?” he questioned.

  “In another half hour.”

  “That’s good, because I’d like to treat you to a late lunch if you haven’t already eaten.”

  “No, I haven’t.” She tapped her pencil against the order pad in her hand. “Isn’t that why you’re here—to eat lunch?”

  He chuckled and shook his head so hard some of his dark hair fell across his forehead. “I’m done with business for the day now, so I figured I’d come in here, drink a cup of coffee, and wait for you.”

  “Since this is Saturday and Ruth has the day off, I rode my bike into town, rather than driving one of our buggies. Guess if I leave it parked out behind the restaurant I can pick it up after we’re done eating. Unless of course, you’d like to stay here for lunch.”

  “You eat here enough, don’t you think?”

  “Guess that’s true,” she said with a nod.

  “Since I drove my larger market buggy today, I can put your bike in the back and give you a ride home after lunch. How’s that sound?”

  “That’s fine with me.” At least Cleon hadn’t mentioned his conversation with Gary. If Gary had said anything about knowing Grace, she was sure Cleon would have said so by now.

  “Where would you like to eat?” he asked, reaching out to touch her gently on the arm.

  She smiled. “Why don’t you choose?”

  “How about the Farmstead Restaurant? Haven’t eaten there in a while, and they serve some real tasty Dutch apple pie.”

  She nodded at the menu lying before him. “We have that dessert here, too.”

  “Nothing against the food here,” he said in a whisper, “but in my opinion, nobody serves a better Dutch apple pie than the Farmstead.”

  “All right, the Farmstead it is.” Grace glanced out the window and caught sight of a man across the street standing near Java Joe’s Coffee Bar. Thinking it might be Gary, she stopped talking to take another look.

  “What are you staring at?” Cleon asked, turning toward the window.

  “Oh, nothing much.” Relieved to see that the man wasn’t Gary, she focused her attention on Cleon again. “I … uh … saw you talking to an English man with red hair a while ago. I’m curious what he said to you.”

  “Said he’s a freelance photographer and reporter and that he sends his work into some magazines and other publications. From what I gathered, he’s lookin’ to write some stories about the Amish in our area.” Cleon grimaced. “He cornered me the other day, wanting me to answer some questions, but I said no. Then he asked again today, and I told him the same thing. Wouldn’t let him take my picture, either.”

  “He didn’t say anything else?”

  Cleon shook his head. “After I turned down his offer to interview me, he headed on down the street, snapping pictures of some buggies that were passing by.”

  Grace sighed. If Gary found out she was betrothed to Cleon, he might cause trouble. And if Cleon found out she had once dated Gary, she would face some serious questions.

  “Why so concerned about this picture-taking fellow? Has he been bothering you or some of the others who work here?” Cleon asked with squinted eyes.

  “Not really. I—I just know how bold some reporters can be with their fancy cameras, tape recorders, and nosey questions. It will be good when he’s gone.” Grace thought about the day when Gary had taken her picture without her permission. She didn’t see the need to mention it to Cleon, though. She would have to admit that she’d spoken with Gary, and more questions would likely follow. She hoped Gary wouldn’t use that picture in any of his magazine articles, for she didn’t want anyone to think she had willingly posed for it.

  “I’ll take that cup of coffee now if you’re not too busy.”

  Grace jerked her attention back to Cleon. “Oh, sorry. I’ll see to it right away.”

  He touched her hand in such a gentle way that it caused shivers to spiral up her arm. “No hurry. I’ve got a whole half hour to wait until you get off work.”

  She smiled and hurried off, thinking how fortunate she was to be betrothed to someone as kind and good-natured as Cleon. A lot of men weren’t so easygoing. Some, like Gary, could be downright mean.

  “I’m thankful for the beautiful fall weather we’re having, and in my opinion, this is the perfect spot to have our picnic,” Ruth commented to her friend Sadie Esh as the two of them stepped down from their buggies.

  “Jah. I’ve enjoyed visiting the ponds in our area ever since I was a girl.” Sadie’s luminous blue eyes twinkled in the sunlight, making Ruth wish she’d been blessed with blue eyes instead of brown. “Sure hope the fellows show up soon. Since they like to fish so much, I figured they would have been here by now.”

  “Like as not, they’ll be here soon.” Ruth reached into her buggy and withdrew the wicker basket she had packed with a variety of picnic foods. “I don’t know about Toby, but I’m pretty sure the reason Luke’s not here yet is because Dad must have asked him to work later than they’d planned. They’ve been really busy at the woodworking shop these past few weeks.”

  Sadie pulled a quilt from under the backseat of the buggy. “It’s good that your daed’s business is doing so well. That must be why he hired Luke to help him, huh?”

  “I suppose.” Ruth’s sneakers squished through a pile of red and gold leaves as she made her way toward the pond. “How about Toby? Is he working hard at the lumber store?”

  “Toby’s always been a hard worker, but he doesn’t work at his job on Saturdays. I’m thinking he may have had some chores to do at home.”

  Ruth set the picnic basket on the ground, and as soon as they had the quilt spread out, they both took seats. “It won’t be long before winter will be upon us, so we’d better enjoy this sunshine while we can,” she said as she closed her eyes and let the sun’s warming rays seep into her upturned face. Come next summer, she might not appreciate the heat so much, but right now she felt as if she could spend the rest of the day sitting here, soaking up the sun, listening to the birds chirp, and smelling the aroma of drying wheat shafts from the fields not far from their picnic spot.

  “Too bad Grace and Cleon weren’t free to join us.”

  “I did ask, but that was before I realized Grace had to work today.” Ruth smiled. “I’m glad I’m not expected to work any Saturdays with my new job.”

  “Speaking of the new job, are you happy working at the bakeshop?”

  Ruth opened her eyes and glanced over at her friend, who sat with her knees bent and her hands clasped around the skirt of her long blue dress. “I like working there, and it’s nice that the owners of the bakeshop have a small corral behind the shop where I can keep my horse and buggy.” She patted her stomach. “The only drawback is that it’s tempting to sample some of the pastries, cookies, and pies. Thanks to you, I’ll probably gain weight just from looking at those fattening pastries.”

  Sadie plucked a blade of grass and twirled it around her fingers. “You’ve been thin as a reed ever since I’ve known you, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

  “Jah, well, if I can’t control my cravings, I’ll have you to blame for getting me the job.”

  The nicker of a horse followed by the rumble of buggy wheels interrupted their conversation. Ruth turned. Toby King, the bishop’s youngest son, hopped down from his buggy and secured his horse to a tree. “At least one of our fellows is finally here.”

  Sadie jumped up and scurried over to greet Toby, but Ruth stayed seated on the quilt. A few minutes later, the giggling young couple joined her.

  “Where’s your fishing pole, Toby?” Ruth asked. “I thought you’d have it with you.”

  Toby motioned to his buggy. “Left it in there, figuring we’d eat before we fished.” He looked around. “Say, where’s Luke? He pas
sed me on the road a couple miles back, and I figured he would beat me here.”

  “Luke hasn’t shown up yet.” Ruth’s forehead wrinkled. “Are you sure it was him?”

  Toby took a seat on the grass, removed his straw hat, and plunked it over one knee. “I know it was him because he was drivin’ an open buggy. I saw his face plain as day, uh-huh.” He pulled his fingers through the sides of his reddish-blond hair as his eyebrows furrowed. “This makes no sense to me.”

  “Don’t tell me he suddenly disappeared.” Sadie poked Toby’s arm. “Maybe an auslenner from outer space came down and snatched Luke away.”

  Toby snickered and reached out to tweak her freckled nose. “What would you know of aliens and outer space?”

  “I know what I’ve read in the newspaper.”

  He wiggled his fingers in front of Sadie’s face. “Maybe Luke’s learned how to make himself invisible, like one of those magicians I saw at the county fair last fall.”

  “You two can make all the jokes you want, but I’m getting concerned.” Ruth pushed herself to her feet. Normally, she didn’t fret over things, but Luke should have arrived long ago, and she couldn’t help but be a little worried.

  Sadie stared up at her with a curious expression. “Where are you going?”

  “I think we should look for Luke. He could have been in an accident.”

  Toby shook his head. “Don’t ya think I would have seen his rig if it had been smashed up or lying by the side of the road?”

  “His buggy could have ended up in the bushes. Maybe you missed seeing it,” Sadie said. “I think Ruth’s right. We should search for Luke.”

  The thought of Luke having been involved in an accident sent a pang of trepidation through Ruth. As she hurried to her buggy, she heard Sadie’s quick footsteps right behind her.

  “Wait up,” Toby called. “We can take my rig.” He untied his horse, backed him away from the tree, and hitched him to the buggy. He was about to help the girls inside when Luke’s horse and open buggy whipped into the clearing, kicking up a cloud of dust.

  “Whoa! Hold up there, Gid!” Luke called, pulling back on the reins.

  The horse came to an abrupt stop, and Luke hopped down from the buggy. His cheeks were quite red, and his straw hat was slightly askew. Ruth rushed toward him, but before she could get a word out, Toby sprinted over to Luke and hollered, “Where have you been? You had us all worried.”

  “I had to work a little later than I’d planned.” Luke glanced over at Ruth and grimaced. “Sorry if I caused you to worry.”

  “I’m just glad you’re okay,” she said, smiling in return. “I was afraid you might have been in an accident or something.”

  Luke opened his mouth as if to say something, but Toby cut him off. “As I’m sure you must know, you passed me on the way over here, so you should have been ahead of me, not ten minutes behind.” He put his hand on Sadie’s shoulder. “Mei aldi thought you’d been snatched into the outer limits by some evil space invader.”

  Sadie slapped his hand away. “Your girlfriend was only kidding, and you know it.”

  Luke shifted from one foot to the other, looking as if he’d been caught in the middle of something he didn’t want anyone to know about. “I … uh … had one stop I needed to make,” he mumbled.

  “What stop was that? There ain’t no places to stop between here and where you passed me on the road.” Toby’s cheeks flamed, and Ruth was sure it wasn’t caused by the warm fall weather.

  “Just had to check on something in the woods, that’s all.”

  Toby’s dark eyebrows lifted. “Where was your buggy while you were in the woods, huh?”

  “I pulled it off the road behind some bushes.”

  “What were you doing in the woods?” Toby persisted.

  “That’s none of your nosey beeswax.” Luke unhitched his horse and led him over to a tree—the same one Toby’s had been tied to earlier. Then he marched back to his buggy, reached inside, and grabbed his fishing pole. “Are we gonna stand around all day yammering about nothing, or did we come here to fish?”

  Feeling the need to smooth things over, Ruth stepped up to Luke and touched his arm. “We thought maybe we’d eat first, if that’s all right with you.”

  Toby grunted. “Shouldn’t matter what he thinks. He got here late and won’t tell us where he was or what he was doin’. As far as I’m concerned, he’s got no say in what we do now. I vote we eat first and then fish. Everyone in agreement, raise your right hand.”

  Sadie’s hand popped up, and she looked over at Ruth.

  Ruth couldn’t believe how bossy Toby was being, and she glanced at Luke to get his reaction. He shrugged, so she lifted her hand, too.

  “It’s unanimous, uh-huh,” Toby said with a nod. “Now let’s eat ourselves full!”

  Toby and Sadie led the way back to the quilt, and Ruth and Luke followed. Ruth was glad Luke had finally arrived, but she had a niggling feeling that something was amiss. But Luke pushed her doubts aside when he leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Say, what’d ya bring to eat? I’m starving.”

  “I had a good time with your folks when I ate supper at your place the other night, but it’s sure nice having this time alone with you,” Cleon said as he leaned forward in his seat across from Grace in a booth at the Farmstead Restaurant.

  She nodded and smiled. “I’m enjoying it, too.”

  “If I can finish building our house in the next couple of months, we can be alone every night once we’re married.”

  “True, but even if you’re not able to get it done, I’m sure my family will respect our privacy and give us time alone.”

  He reached for her hand. “I can’t wait to make you my wife, Gracie.”

  Grace pulled her hand back, feeling like she’d been stung by a bee. In all the time she’d known Cleon, he’d never once called her Gracie.

  “What’s the matter?” His dark eyebrows furrowed. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “What made you call me ‘Gracie’?” she squeaked.

  He grinned at her. “It just popped into my head, so I said it, that’s all. Hasn’t anyone ever called you Gracie as a nickname before?”

  Only Gary, she thought ruefully. And because of it, I’ve never liked the name. “I’d rather you not use it.”

  He shrugged. “Okay.”

  Grace’s hands shook as she reached for the glass of water the waitress had placed on the table soon after they were seated. When she lifted the cold glass, she lost her grip, and the glass tipped over, splashing water all over the front of Cleon’s shirt.

  “I–I’m so sorry.” She grabbed her napkin off the table and handed it to Cleon. “Will you forgive me for being such a dappich dummkopp?”

  “You’re not a clumsy dunce,” he said with a shake of his head. “It was just an accident, and there’s nothing to forgive.”

  Grace sat in stunned silence, watching as Cleon blotted the water on his shirt, the whole time smiling at her as though she’d done nothing wrong. This little episode had once again reminded her of what a kind, forgiving spirit he had, and it made her wonder if she’d been foolish to withhold the truth from him about her past. Maybe she could tell him her secret without any consequences or judgmental accusations. It might be that their relationship would be strengthened if Cleon knew the truth. Then again, if he didn’t respond well to Grace’s story, her world would shatter. While Cleon might have a forgiving spirit over a glass of water being splashed on his clothes, it didn’t guarantee he would forgive something as big as her secret.

  When Cleon excused himself to go to the men’s room in order to better dry the front of his shirt, Grace leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes as she gave the matter careful consideration. She wouldn’t risk spoiling the afternoon by revealing her secret to Cleon, but perhaps the next time they were together, she would find the courage to tell him the truth.

  Chapter 6

  I’m going out to the barn to check on Heidi,” Martha
called to her mother early Monday morning. She pushed an errant strand of chocolate-colored hair away from her face, where it had worked its way loose from her bun, and rushed out the back door.

  “Be back in time for lunch.” Judith glanced over at Betty Friesen, who sat at her kitchen table sharing a cup of tea, and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “That girl’s in such a hurry to get outside that I doubt she even heard what I said.”

  “My Luke’s the same way. He’s always got his mind on something other than what I’m saying.” Betty chuckled. “Maybe we should get the two of them together since they seem to have that in common.”

  Judith reached for her cup and took a drink. “I don’t think Martha’s interested in finding herself a boyfriend right now. All she talks about is raising puppies. Besides, from what I understand, Luke and Ruth have been seeing each other.” She paused, wondering if she’d shared information that Betty didn’t yet know.

  Betty nodded. “I did hear that Luke had gone fishing on Saturday with Ruth and a couple of their friends, but I wasn’t sure if that meant they were actually courting.”

  “As far as I can tell, they are.”

  “I don’t know why, but Luke’s been kind of moody lately. With yesterday being an off-Sunday from preaching, I figured he would want to do some visiting with the rest of his family.” Betty frowned. Deep wrinkles etched her forehead. “But all Luke wanted to do was laze around in the hayloft all day. I hope it won’t be long before he decides to get baptized and joins the church. Maybe once he does, he’ll be ready to settle down to marriage.”

  Judith grimaced. She hoped Ruth wouldn’t think about marrying Luke if he had a moody disposition and seemed lazy at home, but she thought it best not to mention that to Betty. Luke had only been courting Ruth a few months, and as far as she knew, things weren’t serious between them.

  “Getting back to Martha,” Betty said, “someday things will change for her, and she’ll want to raise kinner instead of hundlin.”