A Christmas Bride in Pinecraft

by Shelley Shepard Gray

  “Sorry about that.” Concern lit his brown eyes. “I just wanted to say hello and see what you were making for supper.”

  “It’s all right. I was going to make you something special, but I’m afraid I haven’t gotten too far.” Realizing that nothing would get done if she continued sitting at the table like a child, she stood up. “I’ll get started now.”

  “Not so fast. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. I’m just a little tired, that’s all. I’ll throw together something to eat right away.” Thinking of her go-to dish, she said, “How does chicken and dumplings sound?”

  Eric touched her shoulder, effectively preventing her from scurrying out of his reach. “Hey. You know I’m teasing, right? I don’t expect you to cook for me. We can go to Yoder’s or der Dutchman or into Sarasota for steaks or seafood.”

  “I know.”

  “Wait, you’ve been crying.” Before she could step away from him, he reached for her hands and clasped them securely in his own. “What happened? Is something wrong? Did you discover something else important is missing? I stopped by the police station and spoke with Officer Reynolds, by the way. He said not to be embarrassed if you suddenly discover something else is gone. He thought there was a good chance that might happen in a big place like this.”

  “It’s not that.”

  To her dismay, he stepped a little closer. And swung their linked hands a bit, as if they didn’t have a care in the world. “What is it, then?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Beverly, don’t push me away.”

  She didn’t want to. At least, she didn’t think she did. But just as important, she didn’t want to lean on him. Beverly doubted that he’d even understand all of her concerns. After all, they were such different people. Not only was he English, used to living in a big city, and a man . . . he’d actually robbed people. He would likely dismiss her worries as feminine fears or be unable to understand them in the first place.

  “Beverly,” he said again, his voice turning low and silky. “What is it?”

  “I’m . . . ah. Sadie got hold of some of the people who had reservations. They rebooked.”

  His lips curved up. “Hey, that’s good.”

  “Jah. It, um, is.”

  His smile disappeared. “But not to you?”

  “Eric, this is so silly, but a part of me doesn’t want strangers here.”

  “Ah.”

  She closed her eyes, wishing she were anywhere else. “I know this is an inn. I know that I’ve been taking care of the Orange Blossom for years. But all of the sudden, I’m not thinking about the people coming here as guests. I’m thinking of them as scary strangers.”

  “Uh-oh.”

  She exhaled. “Jah.” Warily, she met his gaze. “I know. You think I’m being ridiculous. I’ll get over it, I’m sure.” Hopefully very soon.

  His voice softened. “Hey, did you happen to notice something?”

  “What?” She scanned the kitchen but saw nothing amiss. What else could have happened?

  “Silly, look at me.”

  Right away, she brought her eyes to his. Noticed how dark his eyes were. Saw that same faint scar on his cheekbone. But where there was usually humor shining in his eyes, now she saw seriousness. He wasn’t laughing. He didn’t think she was being absurd.

  But she still wasn’t sure what he was referring to. “What do you want me to see?” she whispered.

  He squeezed her hands. “Me.”

  “You?”

  “Me. That I’m still here, Beverly. I’m not going anywhere.”

  She gulped. “Of course you are. You’ve got to go back to Pennsylvania and wait for your house to sell.”

  He shook his head. “I’m not going back. Not anytime soon, anyway.”

  She couldn’t believe it. “But I thought your Realtor said that you needed to be there?”

  “She said that, yes. But I called her today and explained that it’s not going to happen.”

  “You’re allowed to do that?”

  He nodded. Still looking serious, he said, “I’m not going to leave you here to deal with everything on your own, Beverly.”

  She was so relieved she felt a lump form in her throat. She hadn’t known how she was going to be brave enough to greet her first guests with a smile.

  But then another thought occurred to her. “Did you do this because you thought I might be scared?”

  “I did it because I own this place,” he said. “It’s my responsibility.” As he looked down at their linked fingers, he added softly, “And because you work for me, so you are my responsibility, too.”

  “I see.” She began to pull her hands away. The last thing she wanted to be to him was another burden.

  But instead of relaxing his grip, he held her hands tighter. “No, you don’t. More than anything, I decided to stay because you need me. You need someone to have your back. To be your friend. To talk to the cops and to check the doors. You might be very careful and immensely competent . . . but you are definitely not alone.”

  You are not alone. She knew her lips were parted. She knew she was staring at him in wonder, like a child looking at twinkling lights on a tall Christmas tree.

  His voice lowered as he leaned closer. “Do you understand what I’m trying to say, Bev?”

  She closed her lips and stared at him. Not trusting herself to speak just yet, she nodded.

  “I hope so. I’m not going to let you be worried and scared late at night. I’m not going to make you serve guests breakfast all by yourself in the mornings.”

  He really did understand. “Danke.”

  “You’re welcome, Bev. After all, I’d hate for you to ever think that I wasn’t there for you.” He ran a finger along her knuckles, then, to her surprise, raised her hand and pressed it to his lips.

  She bit her lip to prevent a torrent of words from gushing out. She was so tempted to tell him that she wanted to be there for him, too. And that he mattered to her a lot. A whole lot. But her natural reticence, combined with an ex-fiancé’s betrayal that she could never seem to completely forget, kept her mute.

  But perhaps that was just as well.

  Eric had just taken her breath away by promising the world. And all while holding her hands.

  It was quite a spectacular moment.

  Chapter 10

  December 11

  This was the third time Effie had ridden the bus home by Josiah Yoder’s side.

  The first time, she’d been a nervous wreck. It had felt as if the whole student body had been staring at them, and more than a couple of kids had whispered as they’d walked by. By the time her bus had pulled up and opened its doors, Effie had been half afraid that Josiah was going to walk away.

  But he hadn’t.

  To make matters worse, two of his best friends rode her bus, too. When they first saw him there, they hadn’t realized that Josiah was on the bus with Effie. Instead they’d kept asking him to sit with them. It was only when Josiah had said in a very cool, very firm voice, “Danke, but I’m going home with Effie,” that the boys had quieted. Then, to Effie’s amazement, they’d said hi to her and started talking with the two of them, like she was part of their group.

  Josiah, for his part, had acted as relaxed and unflappable as ever. He took their conversation in stride and even managed to get her to talk, too. Before she knew it, she was even smiling at some of their jokes.

  The second time he rode with her, it hadn’t been as big of a shock to the student body, but he’d seemed preoccupied. When she’d tried to talk to him about the assembly they’d had during first bell, he’d stared at her blankly. Then, when she’d noticed that he had a bruise on his cheek and asked if it hurt, he’d told her that it wasn’t any big deal.

  But she was kind of thinking it was.

  Now, they were sitting together for the third time and no one seemed surprised. Josiah was more relaxed, too. As if he was completely used to going home with Effie.

  After his budd
ies left, he turned to her. “You seem like you aren’t as nervous about talking to the guys now.”

  “At first I thought they would just ignore me or ask about my legs or something.”

  “They wouldn’t do that.”

  “I guess not.”

  “You’re walking pretty good now. Do your legs hurt?”

  She debated whether to tell him the truth. Deciding she had nothing to lose, she shrugged. “Jah.”

  He frowned. “Badly?”

  “Nee. I’m having to do more exercises to help strengthen the muscles. That makes them sore. And, um, well, my leg that was broken still feels a little shaky, so I guess I have to keep working it.”

  Looking concerned, he said, “I never really thought about how you always have to deal with your disease’s effects. You never talk about being in pain. But walking is pretty tough, isn’t it?”

  “Some days it’s hard.” She shrugged, hating to focus any more of their conversation on her disease. “I’m all right.”

  “Sure?”

  “Positive. My legs are a little weak, that’s all.”

  “Okay. But if you are hurting, let me know.”

  “I will, but like I said, I’ll be fine. I used to think my Perthes disease was the worst thing in the world. Now I know it isn’t.”

  “That’s the way to think.”

  She smiled, liking that there seemed to be new respect for her in his eyes. It made her proud. She didn’t want to be a source of pity for him. She wanted him to think of her as an equal. But as she took a turn studying him, Effie realized that while he might be looking at her differently, there was a shadow of regret in his eyes, too. That was new.

  “Josiah, are you okay?”

  He looked around, saw a couple of kids from their class, and nodded. “Jah. I’ve got some things going on, but I don’t want to talk about them here.”

  “Oh.”

  When they got off the bus five minutes later, Josiah did what he always did and took Effie’s backpack for her. After the bus drove off and the other kids wandered away, she said, “So, what’s going on?”

  He smirked. “You don’t waste much time, do you?”

  “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to,” she replied as they walked side by side.

  “I don’t mind. My brother is in some trouble. He did something bad and I don’t know what to do.” He paused. “I am worried about it but I don’t want him to go to jail.”

  Jail? “Oh my gosh, Josiah! I’m so sorry.”

  “Danke.” He pressed his lips together, almost as if he was afraid to reveal too much.

  “Is there anything I can do?” She didn’t actually know how she could help, but she was more than willing to try.

  He looked a little amused by her offer. “Nee. I’ll be all right.”

  They walked on. Effie looked up at him, noticed that his head was down. He looked tired. “Have ya talked to your father? What did he say?” Even if her parents got mad at her, they would try to help.

  He kept his eyes averted. “I can’t talk to my father about much. Um, when my mamm passed away a couple of years ago, my father changed,” he said slowly. “And well, my daed can’t really handle any more bad news.” Kicking at something with the toe of his tennis shoe, he mumbled, “He can’t really handle much at all . . . when he’s around, that is.”

  More bad news? When he’s around? Effie had to physically keep her mouth from dropping open. And though it wasn’t any of her business, she wanted to try to help him in some way. But in order to do that, she also had to actually know what was happening. “Josiah, what’s wrong with your daed? Is he still grieving?”

  When he didn’t say anything for a full minute, she knew she had gone too far. She shouldn’t have pushed. After all, it wasn’t like they were great friends. Merely starting-to-be-good ones.

  There was a difference.

  “I don’t know how much to tell you,” he said at last.

  “You don’t have to tell me anything. But if you want to share, I’d like to listen.” They were walking slowly side by side, Josiah mainly looking at his worn sneakers, Effie looking mainly at him.

  After they had walked almost another half block, he spoke. “My daed is pretty tough to live with. He has a temper. And, well, he doesn’t have a lot of luck finding a job and keeping it. Now, though, he seems to be happier when he’s not at home. He leaves for days at a time.”

  Effie couldn’t think of anything sadder. It was obvious that Josiah’s mother’s passing had been hard. Not just because he missed her, but because he now had no parents on whom he could depend. “Do you have any other relatives who look after you when he’s not around?”

  “Nee.” That one word was sharp and full of pain.

  So much so, she didn’t dare ask him any more about it. “Oh.”

  For the first time since they’d gotten off the bus, he smiled. It wasn’t a full smile, just a slight rise in the corners of his lips, but it was enough to let her see that she’d amused him. “Oh? That’s all you are gonna say?”

  His sudden teasing brought her up short. She didn’t know what to say. “Well, I figure if you want to tell me more you will.”

  “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you more, Ef, it’s just that I probably shouldn’t. There’s a difference.”

  “I’m not sure what that difference is.”

  “If you knew more, it might be too much for you to handle.”

  “Why don’t you let me determine that?” After all, being the only girl in school with braces on her legs hadn’t exactly been easy. Effie thought she was pretty strong.

  But he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “Even if you did know everything that’s been going on, there ain’t anything you could do about it. Talking isn’t going to solve anything.”

  “Sometimes talking does help.”

  “Not my problems. They aren’t going away anytime soon.”

  As much as Effie wanted to help him, she knew she also had to respect his decision. If she pushed too hard, she could lose his friendship and she really didn’t want that to happen. “I understand,” she said simply.

  “I’m glad.”

  But despite the fact that she’d just promised herself she’d be quiet, she blurted, “If you do happen to change your mind, I hope you’ll let me know.”

  “Ef.”

  “I could listen. I’m a mighty gut listener. Or even get you help.”

  “I doubt that.”

  “You might be surprised. My family knows just about everyone in Pinecraft, you know.”

  “Look at you.” His blue eyes flickered over her, looking suspiciously proud of her. “You used to hardly say a word. Now you’re all sassy and bossy.”

  She hoped he would never know how much she liked his compliments. Even though his attention embarrassed her, it also felt wonderful. “Not so much. But I am your friend,” she said in a rush.

  “Yeah. That is what we are. We are friends. I’m glad about that. I need a friend like you.”

  She tried to act like his words didn’t mean the world to her. But they did. They meant a lot, just like he meant a lot to her. If he knew how fond she was of him, though, he might become uncomfortable.

  Actually, she was sure he would be.

  As they continued on, Josiah looking pensive by her side, Effie thought about everything he’d shared about his home life. It wasn’t much—he’d been studiously closemouthed about his family. Why, she hadn’t even known his mother had passed away!

  But now everything he’d been saying—and not saying—was suddenly starting to come together: The way he was never in a hurry to go home. The way he ate her mother’s cooking like he didn’t have a meal waiting for him at home, and maybe wouldn’t have one anytime soon. And his comments about his father. About his brother possibly being in very bad trouble.

  Something was very wrong at Josiah’s house and he was hiding it, too.

  She felt closer to him than ever before but, unfort
unately, she still couldn’t be the person he needed her to be.

  If she betrayed his trust, told his story to her parents and they tried to do something, he would never forgive her. Without a doubt, she would lose his friendship.

  But if she did nothing, he would continue to suffer.

  She didn’t want to hurt him, or have him mad at her, either. But she had to do something. Even if it meant that he’d never walk home with her again or, worse, if he started ignoring her at school.

  But that was how much she cared for him, she realized. She was willing to do anything she could to help him—even if her actions would haunt her.

  December 11

  Mark stepped off the SCAT bus on South Beneva Road and ran smack into Peter Yoder.

  Reaching out, Mark grasped Peter’s arm before steadying himself. “Sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.” Actually, he’d been looking at a text from Laura on his cell phone. They were now texting each other all the time, something Mark was discovering he was addicted to. He was really going to hate giving up his cell phone when his rumspringa was over.

  Peter glanced at Mark’s cell phone with something that looked like jealousy before shrugging. “It’s nothing. See you around.”

  Mark knew he should say good-bye and walk away. But on the other hand, the guy really looked like he could use a friend. Besides, Mark hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the things Laura had said about Peter.

  Or about the money that had been in his pocket.

  Noticing that Peter was heading toward the post office and the parking lot where all the Amish tourists arrived on buses, Mark said, “Do you have relatives coming in?”

  “Nee. I was just going for a walk.”

  “Oh. Okay.” No one their age simply went for walks. Realizing that Peter was also going in the direction of the Quick Stop, he blurted, “Laura’s not working,” before he could stop himself.

  Instead of looking irritated, Peter smiled. “You must really like her. I promise, there’s nothing between us. We’re just friends.”