The Trustworthy One

by Shelley Shepard Gray

  “Will wants everyone to come over around six. Where do you want me to pick you up?”

  Was he asking her out on a date? It sure felt like it. Nate was looking at her intently, not like there was something wrong with her, but like there was something hidden that he was hoping she’d see. That hadn’t happened a lot to her, but it had happened enough for her to be fairly certain that there was something new going on between them.

  Realizing that he was waiting on a response, she said, “I could meet you there. It might be easiest.”

  He shook his head. “Nope, I’m taking you, Kendra,” he said firmly. “Shall I pick you up here or at your house?”

  This was definitely a date! Catching herself before she told him that he could pick her up anywhere, Kendra glanced at Nanny. She needed to make sure Nanny would be safe at home. “At my haus, please.”

  His expression warmed. “All right, then. I’ll be there at five thirty.”

  Just as he was about to walk out the door, she hurried to his side. “Hold on a moment. You need my address.”

  “I know where you live, Kendra. Don’t worry about that.”

  “All right, then. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

  Pausing before he left, he cast her a long look. “Danke, Kendra.”

  After shutting the door behind him, she leaned against the entryway frame and wondered if they could really go from enemies to more than friends so quickly? They hadn’t technically been enemies, though. It had been one-sided, on her part. Nate, at least as far as she knew, hadn’t considered her his enemy. She’d been the one who had held that grudge tight to her chest. Not him.

  TEN

  “Am I the only person in this room wincing right now?” Harley Lambright asked.

  “I am,” Logan said. “But that was Andy for you. He wasn’t exactly the type of guy to sit around and try to think of a diplomatic way to say what was on his mind.”

  FRIDAY NIGHT

  Walking up to Kendra Troyer’s small, neat-as-a-pin home, Nate was taken aback by his nerves. Though he hadn’t exactly dated a lot of women, he had never had any problems in that area. Most women usually found him agreeable and easy to be with. Some had even commented that they found him handsome.

  Then, there was his livelihood at the hardware store. He made his living chatting with all sorts of people, men and women of all different ages. He realized now that owning his store had given him a false sense of security. He’d mistakenly imagined that very few things could make him uneasy.

  That was before he’d started talking to Kendra again. Something was different about her. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Was it her past? His guilt? Or was it something more elusive?

  Her door opened before he had the chance to knock. “Is everything all right, Nate?”

  “Jah. Of course. Why?”

  She tilted her head to one side. “Oh, no reason. Only that you’ve been standing out here looking at my door for several minutes.”

  He inwardly groaned. Of course she had to see him standing there like a fool. “Sorry, I must have been lost in thought.”

  “Ah.” Humor lit up her eyes—she didn’t believe his story for a moment. “Well, I’m ready. If you’d wait a moment, I’ll go tell Nanny that I’m leaving.”

  “Take your time.” She hadn’t invited him inside. He wondered why before reminding himself that until last week she hadn’t even considered him a friend. Nothing about the two of them was going to change in the near future.

  When she appeared again, she had on a sweater cloak in a pretty shade of blue. “I’m ready now,” she said as she picked up a small purse and a ceramic covered dish.

  He noticed then that her dog was looking at him warily. “You’ve got quite the guard dog, Kendra.”

  She looked down and smiled. “She’s a protective hund, for sure. Blue, say hello to Nate here.” Blue, who looked like a cross between a Siberian husky and a small poodle, looked up at him curiously.

  He bent down and held out a hand. “Hiya, Blue. Good to meet you.” After several sniffs, the dog wagged her tail.

  Kendra laughed. “That’s a good sign. She’s skittish around strangers.”

  “Have you had her long?”

  “Eight or nine months, I think. I got her at the shelter. She’s a sweetheart but doesn’t always take to new people.”

  “I’m glad she likes me.”

  Kendra smiled softly at him. “Me, too.” After petting the dog again, she stepped onto the stoop and shut the door behind her. “I’m definitely ready now.”

  He gestured to the dish she was holding. “What do you have there?”

  “Oh, it’s nothing. Just some puppy chow.”

  “Puppy chow?”

  Her smile broadened. “No, it’s not leftovers from Blue. It’s cereal, candy, pretzels, and nuts all covered in white chocolate.”

  “Whew. You had me worried there for a moment.”

  “Have you really not had it before?” she asked as they walked to the street.

  “Nee.”

  “Well, maybe you’d like to have some when we get to Will’s.”

  “I’d love to try it. But why did you make something? Everyone knows you worked all day. There was no need.”

  “I always try to bring a dish as a thank-you.” Before he could point out that such a thing wasn’t necessary, she added, “I enjoy making food, and it’s a pleasure to share what I’ve made.”

  “I’ve heard you’re a fantastic cook. I’m sure we’ll all be happy to have it.” Stopping at the street corner, he added, “So, Will’s house is a little under two miles away. I hope you don’t mind walking. We might be a minute or two late, but no one will mind.”

  “I don’t mind. I usually walk there instead of riding my bike.”

  “Let’s get on our way, then.”

  Kendra was taller than a lot of other women he knew and she walked with sure strides. He appreciated not having to shorten his steps for her.

  She had both hands on her container, so when she slipped on a patch of gravel, he had to reach for her elbow to keep her steady.

  She flinched.

  He pulled back his hand. “I’m sorry. I was afraid you were about to fall.”

  “Nee, I’m the one who must apologize.” She paused, obviously struggling for the right words. “I… well, I’m not too used to being helped. Thank you for looking out for me.”

  Her words were so proper and so sad.

  He knew, too, that they also barely covered how she was feeling or what she’d been through. “Don’t thank me for caring, Kendra.”

  She shrank back before visibly finding her backbone. “Don’t chide me for apologizing, Nate.”

  It was all he could do not to grin. She was such a contradiction of vulnerability and strength, mixed with a healthy dose of salt and vinegar. It made him want to learn everything about her. Nate bit back what he’d been about to say, which was to offer to carry the container of puppy chow. Instead, he simply walked by her side.

  Kendra wasn’t a chatty sort. He’d known that. Though he usually would have been pleased to walk quietly, he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to get to know her better.

  “How do you like having your sister with you?”

  “Nanny?” She smiled softly. “Boy, I don’t know.”

  Surprised by her candor, he said, “Really? I thought you were close.”

  “We are close, but in a lot of ways our relationship is more mother-daughter than sisters. I’m eight years older, you see. She’s sixteen, and I’m twenty-four.”

  “She seemed more mature than sixteen.”

  “She does, but then sometimes, she acts just like she should.”

  “Which is?”

  “Like a little girl. Full of silliness.” She smiled. “I’m afraid I’m weak where she’s concerned.”

  He loved that she was opening up to him. “Weak how?”

  “I find that I canna deny her wishes.” Just as he was about to ask what kin
d of things Naomi wanted, Kendra spoke again. “She wants to be normal. You know, not like me.”

  “Kendra, what are you talking about? You’re normal.”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Nee, I wish I was. But I’m afraid I’m too scarred.”

  Scarred? His heart felt like it stopped. He wondered what she was referring to. Her heart? Her confidence from foolish kids like he’d been, speaking without thought?

  Or was she referring to her family?

  “Oh, Nate! If you could see your face right now!” Before he could form a sentence, she rushed on, as if she was causing him trouble. “Don’t worry. I promise, none of my scars are visible right now.”

  Right now? A ball of pain hit the pit of his stomach. Was she speaking of actual scars on her skin? What the devil had been done to her?

  “Hi, you two!” Katie Lambright called out. “Stop and wait for Harley and me to catch up.”

  Nate turned to watch the two of them amble over. Katie had to have been seven months along in her pregnancy. She was such a little thing, too, which was why her stomach looked enormous.

  Kendra hugged Katie and pressed her hands onto Katie’s beach ball tummy. “Look at you. Are you feeling all right?”

  “Never better. Just big, jah?”

  “Never that, Katie,” Harley murmured before greeting Nate. “Gut to see you.”

  “You, too. It’s been too long.”

  “At least three days. Ain’t so?” Harley joked as they walked the last few yards to Will’s house. Harley remodeled houses, so it was a rare week when he wasn’t in Nate’s hardware store for one thing or another.

  When they arrived at Will and E.A.’s new home, they saw Marie’s large SUV parked in the driveway next to a pair of bicycles that Nate knew belonged to Tricia and Logan.

  “Looks like everyone’s here,” Kendra said. “That’s a blessing.”

  “Indeed,” Katie said as she hurried forward. “E.A., look at your lovely green dress. It’s fetching.”

  E.A., who’d accepted the Amish lifestyle when she’d married Will, looked down at her dress in dismay. “What? It’s Plain.”

  Kendra chuckled. “Katie is teasing you, E.A. You not only look pretty, you look mighty Plain, indeed. It suits you.”

  E.A. smiled softly. “Danke.”

  Nate stood at the door and allowed everyone to go ahead of him. Watching their interactions, he realized that though Kendra, like him, had never been a “true” member of the Eight, she was far closer to the group than he was. It was a bit of a surprise, though he now realized that it shouldn’t have been.

  Growing up, he’d been close to Andy, who’d introduced Nate to his friends, and they’d seemed to accept him with open arms. Then, like so many people, they’d grown older and drifted apart.

  After Andy passed away last year, Nate hadn’t had as much occasion to be around the Eight in social situations. Kendra, on the other hand, had become even closer to them all. He wondered now if Kendra had been the reason why he’d been included in the gathering so easily.

  “Gut to see ya, Nate,” Will said as he held out his hand. “Glad you could join us.”

  There was something in his tone that told Nate that his guess hadn’t been wrong. “Me, too,” he said simply.

  Yes, he was glad he’d been able to be there. For many reasons.

  ELEVEN

  “On any other day, and maybe even with any other person, I would’ve said I was fine and asked him to leave me alone. But I guess God put Andy right there for a reason. Because I looked him in the eye and told him that my father had gotten drunk the night before and beat me because there wasn’t any supper on the stove.”

  FRIDAY NIGHT

  “So, you and Nate, hmm?” Marie asked as she grabbed Kendra’s hand and pulled her into the kitchen with the other girls.

  Kendra let herself be led, but she dragged her feet. “It’s not like that,” she protested.

  “If it’s not like that, what is it like?” E.A. asked.

  Oh, sometimes Kendra really wished E.A. wasn’t quite so analytical. “I don’t know. We’re trying to become friends.”

  “You aren’t sure that you are friends?”

  E.A. looked perplexed, and Kendra didn’t really blame her. “We are friends, but things between us are complicated. We’ve got a history, you know.”

  “Harley and I had some problems that we had to get over, but once we talked, we realized that we’d taken a lot of things the wrong way,” Katie confided. “Have you two really talked things through? It seems like there’s something special brewing between you.”

  “We’ve been talking, and it has smoothed out things.” She thought about their recent conversations and how they went much better, but there still seemed to be something missing.

  Kendra added, “But as far as us being something more? I don’t know. We may never be anything more than simply friends.” Noticing Katie’s crestfallen expression, Kendra chuckled softly. “Don’t look so depressed by that, Katie. If Nate and I are only ever friends, I’ll be grateful. Honestly, I think he would be a mighty gut friend to have.”

  “Nate was super close to Andy. I think his death hit him hard,” Marie said. “I’ve worried that he might have kept some of his pain inside. Some men don’t express their feelings very openly.”

  “I had forgotten how close they’d been,” Kendra admitted. “Now I feel bad that he might not have had anyone to talk to. I hope that wasn’t the case.” Thinking back to the last year, she realized that he hadn’t been present any of the times they’d all gotten together to talk about Andy and help one another recover from his loss.

  “He’s part of our group now,” Katie said. “Who knows? Maybe one day the sparks that we all see between you will turn into something more.”

  “Maybe,” Kendra allowed. “It’s not like I could concentrate on a new relationship anyway. I have my hands full. Naomi asked to live with me.”

  “John told me that he’s seen her around town,” Marie said. “How is that going?”

  “I have a feeling it’s going to be a daily question. She’s a teenager, you know. One minute, everything is wonderful-gut, the next minute it’s not.”

  Marie chuckled. “I’m afraid my mother probably said the same thing about me. Naomi is a sweet girl, though.”

  “She is, but she is also willful. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but sometimes I get the feeling that she still has some secrets she hasn’t shared with me.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with secrets,” E.A. said. “She is sixteen.”

  “I hope and pray that her secrets are simply normal teenage things.”

  Katie frowned. “Do you really think they might be something darker?”

  “Maybe. I love her dearly, but she didn’t grow up like the rest of us. We all did our best to shield her from our father’s violence and Mamm’s denial. At one time or another, all of us tried to get Naomi to move into our grandparents’ house. When Chris and Mary left, Jeremiah helped convince them to take her in. I think Naomi was only twelve at the time.”

  “So she’s lived with them for years,” E.A. said.

  Kendra nodded. “Jah. I’m glad we all protected her, but because of that, Naomi doesn’t always see everything through the same lens as I do.” Which was something to be celebrated, she reminded herself. If Naomi became a different sort of person than Kendra, a strong, confident woman who wasn’t filled with dark memories and regrets, then that would be wonderful. She would feel like she’d done something right.

  Logan stuck his head into the kitchen. “Ladies, would you be able to join us now? Will’s about to pop, he’s so excited.”

  “We’re on our way,” Marie said as she grinned at their friends. “Hmm, I wonder what this is all about.”

  Kendra shared a smile with Katie. It was obvious that they all had a pretty good idea of what Will’s big secret was. The girls filed out, each of them going to her man.

  Nate was standing next to Logan and hi
s wife, Tricia, Andy’s little sister. She and Logan had a lot of things to overcome: Logan had been Amish, while Tricia had been English; they had an age difference of almost three years; and Logan had been one of Andy’s best friends, which meant defying the male friendship code of not dating friends’ sisters. But in spite of all that, they’d fallen in love. Tricia had even surprised everyone by wanting to become Amish, and now they were married.

  Their story made Kendra realize that if they could overcome all of those things, then it would be wrong of her to put so much emphasis on some thoughtless words said a decade ago.

  Gathered together in Will and E.A.’s living room, Kendra knew she wasn’t the only person trying not to look at E.A.’s stomach.

  “Everyone, before we begin our meal, E.A. and I have something to tell you.” Will reached for his wife’s hand and gave her an adoring look.

  After the room quieted, Will continued. “Today’s announcement has been a long time coming. We’ve experienced quite a few hurdles, but we feel like the Lord was guiding us all along.” He took a deep breath. “Just this morning, we got the news that all our prayers were answered.”

  After Will meandered along for a couple more minutes, Kendra could practically feel everyone’s confusion. Beside her, she noticed Harley give Katie a perplexed look. Kendra could relate. This seemed like a lot more information than necessary to announce a pregnancy.

  Finally, John B. spoke up. “Not that we aren’t all mighty happy for you, but when are you going to tell us your news?”

  Will slapped a hand on his face. “I guess I have been dragging my feet, haven’t I?”

  “He has,” E.A. said with a sweet look at him. “What he’s trying to tell you all is that our application to be foster parents came through today. Will and I will soon be fostering two kinner. We’ll be getting them sometime this fall.”

  The news was such a surprise that all of them looked as dumbstruck as Kendra reckoned she felt.

  “Say again?” Logan asked.

  “We’re not pregnant,” E.A. explained. “See, though I imagine one day we’ll want a baby of our own, we decided to foster and eventually adopt some children in need instead.”