“Will you join us, Nora?” Gloria asked as they got into her van. “You’ve been so helpful, the least we can do is buy your lunch.”
“I appreciate your offer, but I should get back to the shop,” Nora replied as she started the engine. “We’re putting out a lot of new items for the holidays—and I’m hosting a big in-store reception for my customers the day after Thanksgiving—so I need to be stocking my shelves.”
A few minutes later Nora pulled the van into the parking lot at the side of the Grill N Skillet. “Enjoy your lunch!” she said. “It’s been such a pleasure to meet you today.”
“Even though we brought along our problems with Cornelius Riehl?” Jonathan asked as they exited the van.
Nora smiled pensively. “It’ll work out the way it’s supposed to,” she assured them softly. “With God—and Bishop Tom—all things are possible.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Cyrus closed his eyes over the first bite of his country-style ribs. “I’ve died and gone to heaven,” he murmured. “This pork is awesome—”
“Ditto for my steak,” Jonathan said. “I hardly need my knife to cut it.”
“Really gut grilled chicken, too,” Gloria put in with her mouth full. “And what a selection of side dishes they have on their buffet.”
“Wish we had a restaurant like this closer to Promise Lodge,” Laura remarked. “This place puts the Skylark Café in Forest Grove to shame.”
Cyrus forced himself to eat more slowly, because all four of them had taken an unbelievable amount of food. He fought the urge to kiss off a smudge of barbeque sauce on Gloria’s cheek. It was satisfaction enough to be seated beside her in a booth while they enjoyed a fabulous meal that was very reasonably priced. The restaurant was noisy, crowded with Amish, Mennonite, and English alike, and he enjoyed watching folks chat and laugh as though they were good friends.
When he’d taken the edge off his hunger with some of his ribs, scalloped potatoes, turnip greens, and homemade applesauce, Cyrus wiped his hands on his napkin. “What’d you think of what Bishop Tom told us?” he asked. “I’ll never understand how deceitful Cornelius has been—how he had the nerve to fleece his friends.”
“Crooked as a dog’s hind leg,” Jonathan muttered. “And meaner than any dog, by the sound of it. We don’t want to get crossways with him.”
Gloria wiped her mouth, shaking her head. “I was sorry to hear that any human being—much less an Amish deacon and a father—was capable of such thievery. It makes me wonder what he’s been up to in the months since he left Willow Ridge.”
“Do you suppose he’s been pulling the same bishop act in other places?” Laura asked. “If he’s given up his clock shop, he has to be bringing in money somehow.”
“I don’t even want to know.” Jonathan buttered a square of corn bread. “I have no idea how Bishop Monroe’s going to handle this situation, but I want to be there when Cornelius gets what’s coming to him—when all his lies come out, so folks see him for who he really is.”
“Thanks to you, Gloria, light will shine on Cornelius’s scandals,” Cyrus said gently. When roses of humility bloomed in her cheeks, he reached for her hand under the table. “I mean that, sweetie. We couldn’t have gotten Bishop Tom’s help if you hadn’t found those papers—”
“But it was still wrong to sneak around in Cornelius’s closet,” Gloria pointed out. “When folks find out how I found those papers, they’ll probably want me to make a kneeling confession.”
“I doubt that,” Laura said, reaching across the table to squeeze Gloria’s wrist. “What you did is nothing compared to all the ways Cornelius has cheated so many people.”
“I admire you one-hundred percent, Gloria, and I’ll stand by you,” Cyrus murmured. “It was a brave, necessary action you took, in light of how much our friends would’ve lost had they shelled out the money Cornelius was asking for.”
When her eyes widened, shining like hot coffee as she returned his gaze, Cyrus’s insides got tight. Had he told her he loved her, in so many words? And was she saying, without any words at all, that she wanted to be with him for the long haul, too? For a few moments the people around them disappeared and it was just the two of them, gazing into one another’s eyes.
“Denki, Cyrus,” Gloria whispered. “I appreciate your help today, and your support. We’re in this mission together—all of us,” she added as she smiled at Laura and Jonathan. “We love Promise Lodge, and we don’t want a fake bishop tearing down what our families have worked so hard to establish.”
“Hear, hear,” Jonathan said as he raised his water glass. “My brother and I are beholden to you girls for giving us another chance. We’d do just about anything for you two, you know.”
Laura’s eyebrows rose playfully. “Well, in that case,” she teased, “we should find something in Nora’s store—right, Gloria? We’d be supporting Plain crafters, after all—”
“And we’d be showing our appreciation to Nora, too,” Gloria agreed. “She could’ve washed her hands of us when she realized why we’d come to Willow Ridge. She’s Mennonite, so Cornelius didn’t steal any of her money.”
“But he lied to his daughters and left them to pay his bills,” Cyrus pointed out. “Nora impresses me as a woman who wants the best for those young women because she cares about them—but also because loyalty and trust are important to her.”
He looked around the crowded café again, delighted that his mission with Gloria was turning out as well as their trip to Willow Ridge. Cyrus thought about the special gift he’d stashed behind the seat of the buggy, yet he wanted to do more to show Gloria how he felt about her.
“I want to shop in Nora’s store, too,” he added. “Right after we answer the call of that dessert counter.”
* * *
When Laura entered Nora’s Simple Gifts store half an hour later, she felt she was walking into a magical place where fairy tales and dreams could come true. Soft music was playing. Subtle scents of vanilla and cinnamon filled the air. Several customers were in the store, yet the spacious barn and its loft allowed them plenty of room to stroll between the aisles admiring the wonderful items on the shelves and display tables.
Nora wiggled her fingers at them from the checkout counter. “Welcome back, friends,” she called out. “Let me know if you have questions about anything.”
Cyrus pointed toward the store’s front corner. “I’ve got to check out those fancy saddles,” he told his brother. “It’s nice that Nora carries some guy stuff.”
When Jonathan gazed at Laura, her heart stilled. “You fellows look at whatever you want. I want to see those three-dimensional banners on the loft level.”
“Me, too—and those quilts,” Gloria chimed in as the two of them started toward the stairway. “Look at these colorful pottery dishes! And that gorgeous set of walnut bedroom furniture—and all the embroidered linens. Wouldn’t it be awesome to shop here and buy everything you needed for a new home?”
Laura’s eyes lit up. “Do you suppose this is the shop where Truman bought the furniture for Rosetta when they got engaged?”
“I think you’re right. They’re such a romantic couple,” Gloria added with a dreamlike sigh. After they’d reached the loft level, she lowered her voice. “Do we dare to think in that direction with Cyrus and Jonathan again? We’re having a wonderful-gut day with them, even though we’ve had to conduct some difficult business.”
“What would we have done without them?” Laura whispered with a glance toward the lower level. “Truth be told, Jonathan and I have cleared the air about Cyrus’s bet. I don’t see us getting engaged in any big hurry, but we’ve, um, definitely kissed and made up.”
“Gut for you,” Gloria murmured. “I think Cyrus is headed in that kissing direction again, but he’s keeping me on pins and needles.”
Laura started toward the wall where several of the extraordinary banners were hanging. “Jonathan has suggested that we go some places without you and Cyrus—not that we
don’t like you,” she put in quickly. “But he and his brother operate on different wavelengths—”
“And when Cyrus gets excited, he tends to lasso Jonathan into going along with him,” Gloria put in with a chuckle. “That’s fine by me, Laura. You and I aren’t joined at the hip, after all, and neither are they.”
Laura stopped in front of the banner that had caught her eye earlier in the day. She fingered it lovingly, amazed that the little Amish boy and girl on the swing were indeed wearing a real straw hat and kapp—which the crafter had cut in half and carefully attached to the banner. When she looked more closely, she realized that the children were also wearing pieces of actual clothing that had been cut and lightly stuffed to make the two figures appear even more lifelike.
“This is just amazing!” she declared. “The colors are so cheerful, and the kids look like they ought to start talking to us. I can practically feel the breeze, even though their swing isn’t really moving.”
“Denki, Laura,” Nora said as she topped the stairway behind them. “I started making these banners years ago as a way to pay my bills. They also gave me the idea for opening a store that featured handmade items.”
“And it’s a fabulous store, too!” Gloria put in. “I could spend hours here—but I suspect we’ll have to start home soon. I’m going to look at your quilts before we go, though.”
Nora stepped over to a nearby shelf to arrange a stack of embroidered placemats she’d carried upstairs. “Take your time, girls,” she said with a secretive smile. “I was sent up here to eavesdrop, so I could make suggestions about items you like—but you didn’t hear that from me!”
Laura sucked in her breath. She had no trouble believing that Jonathan had asked Nora to help him shop, because he enjoyed choosing thoughtful gifts for her. “Well, you already know what I’d love to have,” she whispered as her heart raced.
“I haven’t seen a thing I don’t like,” Gloria murmured as she gazed around the loft. She pointed toward a quilt hanging on a rack that extended from the wall. “Wouldn’t that coverlet brighten up an entire room? But maybe the bright red flowers are too showy for a Plain bedroom and—and maybe it’s an awfully expensive piece—”
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!” Nora quipped as she went over to take the quilt from the rack. “If you like something, you like it. Let’s spread it on this display bed so you can see the full design.”
Laura couldn’t miss the way Gloria nipped her lip as she helped Nora unfold the quilt. Shades of red, fuchsia, and deep orange were skillfully arranged to form the three large amaryllis blooms in the quilt’s center, with stems and leaves of deep greens to fill out the design. The border was formed by blocks of those same colors in a log cabin pattern, around a rich cream-colored center.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” Gloria murmured as she walked around the bed to admire the quilt.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind piece made by the gal who co-owns the quilt shop down the road,” Nora said. “She’s Amish, but she loves bold colors—and her unique quilts sell better here than they would in her own shop, where the customers are mostly Plain ladies. It’s her way of being an artist without going against the rules of the church,” she added with a smile.
Gloria sighed wistfully. “Oh, but I could never expect Cyrus to—”
“Never say never,” Nora interrupted playfully, slipping her arm around Gloria’s shoulders. “What does it hurt to express your preferences? Maybe you won’t get this quilt as a gift, but if you don’t ask you won’t receive,” she pointed out. “If nothing else, you’ve had the pleasure of seeing a beautiful quilt that pushes the boundaries of what most Old Order quilters consider acceptable.”
“And it’s not as though you’re buying it for yourself,” Laura said, taking up the thread of Nora’s pep talk. “If you receive it as a gift, Gloria, what can you do but put it on your bed and feel delighted every time you look at it? Especially when you consider who might buy it for you.”
“That’s the spirit!” Nora said happily. “If you see other items you like, come and find me before you leave. Me, I’ll just mosey back downstairs as though I only came here to set out those new placemats.”
Laura couldn’t help smiling as she glanced at the other three-dimensional banners displayed around them. “Nora’s a lot of fun—and if Jonathan actually buys that banner, I’ll enjoy knowing that she made it,” she said. “It’ll be a nice souvenir of our trip to Willow Ridge, ain’t so?”
“I’m not looking at the price tags on either of those pieces we like,” Gloria said as she fingered a few other colorful quilts. “And I’ll tell myself not to be disappointed if Cyrus doesn’t buy that quilt, because I’m sure it costs hundreds of dollars.
“But jah,” she added wistfully. “Even though we learned some scary things about the fake bishop of Promise Lodge, I’ve enjoyed our trip. It’s been nice to see places we’ve not been before—and to spend time with you and Cyrus and Jonathan.”
When the four of them left the store, Laura noticed that neither of the Helmuth brothers had loaded any parcels into the buggy. She didn’t feel bad about it, however. The furtive smiles on Cyrus’s and Jonathan’s faces—the way they chatted happily all the way home—told her all she needed to know.
* * *
After Monroe hung up the phone, he sat in the phone shanty for several minutes thinking about what he’d just learned. The stories about Cornelius Riehl were so farfetched as to be unbelievable—except Tom Hostetler’s voice had resonated with credibility as a sincere, down-to-earth Amish bishop whose district had been swindled too easily out of too much money for him to lie about such things.
And there but for Your grace, God, Promise Lodge would’ve gone, too. You’ve led us this far, so don’t abandon us before we bring this matter to a conclusion, all right? A lot’s riding on Your presence with everyone involved in holding Cornelius accountable.
As Monroe went into the house, he was greeted by the rich aroma of soup bubbling on the stove—beef vegetable, his favorite. The sight of Christine kneading bread dough at the kitchen counter gratified him immensely, and he was deeply aware of how much he would’ve missed this home, this community, if Cornelius Riehl had banished him. When he walked behind his beautiful wife to take her in his arms, her smile made him fall in love all over again.
“Something tells me you had a gut conversation,” Christine said before turning to initiate the kiss Monroe had been yearning for.
“I did,” Monroe murmured after their lips parted. “Laura and her friends did us proud today, and I have a plan in place.”
“Where’d they go? And what’s this big plan?” she asked lightly.
Monroe rested his forehead against hers. “All in gut time, dear,” he replied. “I trust you totally, but the future of Promise Lodge is riding on what happens next, and I can’t tell you what I know. You won’t be able to keep it from your sisters, and before long the whole hen house will be squawking so loudly that our fox will know we’ve set a trap. End of story.”
“Ah.” Christine sounded mildly disappointed, but she smiled. “The story has a happy ending, though?”
“God’s the author of all our stories,” Monroe said as he gently stroked her cheek. “He creates each of us as characters in a tale that’s sometimes a tragedy and sometimes a triumph, but He always intends the best for the children who love and follow Him. Tie your kapp on tight, Christine,” he added as he tweaked her nose. “Come Sunday, we might be in for quite a ride.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
“Bye now, Laura!” Gloria called out from the backseat of the buggy. “Denki for coming along today!”
“I wouldn’t have missed it for anything,” Laura said as she waved from the lane in front of her home. Beside her, standing close enough that their bodies were touching, Jonathan wore a radiant smile. The two of them made a fetching picture as the breeze riffled their coats.
They’ll be engaged soon, Gloria thought as she wi
thheld a sigh. Laura claims they’re in no hurry, but the expression on Jonathan’s face says it all. He’s head over heels for her.
“How about if I walk you home, Gloria?” Cyrus asked. “After riding for so much of the day, I really need to stretch my legs.”
She nodded as she stepped out of the buggy. “Jah, I’m tired of being cooped up, too. It was a great trip, though.”
“Wait a sec. I’ve got something in the back.”
Gloria fought her feelings of eager anticipation, even though neither of the brothers had been carrying a package when they’d left Willow Ridge. Her pulse sped up when Cyrus lifted a paper sack from behind the backseat by its handles. Had it been riding right behind her all day, while he’d given her no hint about it?
Don’t jump to conclusions. Maybe Cyrus took along some stuff in case things went wrong in Willow Ridge—
“I’ve been waiting for the right time to give this to you, Gloria,” he said in a tight voice. “But we’ve spent every moment with Laura and my brother, and I’m not supposed to go up to your apartment, so maybe you should take it now.”
Gloria’s eyes widened. Was this the same Cyrus who’d bet his brother five hundred dollars that he’d be engaged to her by Thanksgiving? He sounded shy, and maybe afraid of how she might react to whatever was in his sack.
As she accepted the gift, she swallowed hard. “Shall I look at it now, or wait until I get home?”
“Um—” Cyrus gazed ahead of them and pointed toward the wooded area at the bottom of Allen and Phoebe’s hill. “How about if we go over there, where somebody looking out their window won’t see us?”
Like Uncle Lester or Cornelius—or Marlin or my mamm?
Gloria walked faster as they followed the curve of the road, however. When they stepped between the trees near the road, leaves crunched and crackled beneath their feet. A vee of migrating geese honked overhead. When Gloria stopped in the shelter of a few fat old cedar trees, silence fell around them—except for the rapid thumping of her heart.
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