by Amy Clipston
CHAPTER 10
Carolyn dragged herself to the bakery Monday morning. When a tall, serious policeman arrived the evening before, he explained there had been a rash of vandalism in Barton and that the culprits were expanding to the small communities around the city. “We’ll be on the lookout, but make sure your doors are locked,” the officer said.
“I lock the bakery every time I leave,” she told him.
He gave her a sympathetic look. “I don’t know what to tell you, other than we’re on the trail of these people. Since their aim is to destroy and not steal, we think they’re a group of high school kids. As soon as we catch them, you can bet you’ll get restitution.”
“That doesn’t matter,” Freemont said.
Carolyn agreed. She didn’t want revenge or restitution. And now she wasn’t sure she even wanted the bakery anymore. Getting it ready seemed like too much work to do over, and even though she’d agreed to accept help, she didn’t expect everyone to drop what they were doing—especially with the way she’d been so distant since she came back.
Then there was Atlee. He said he’d be there for her, but how could he when he was leaving today? Her heart sank. She’d lost everything in the span of one day. Not that she ever had Atlee. But she was missing him already.
She opened the front door, and to her surprise her nephews and brother were already at work. Freemont had a key too. “I thought you were out on the farm,” she said.
“The animals are fine,” Seth said.
“We fed them,” Judah added.
“Daed says we can work in the fields this afternoon,” Ira explained.
She looked at Freemont, who gave her one of his rare smiles before he went back to dismantling the ruined display cases. In the kitchen, she set her lunch cooler on a worktable, then picked up a rag and filled a bucket with water and dish soap to start wiping the graffiti off the walls. Fortunately, whatever the vandals used was water soluble and came off with a little scrubbing.
The bell above her front door rang, and to her shock people from the community came pouring in with buckets, rags, brooms, and mops. Several men had tool belts slung around their waists. Without a word other than hello, they set to work.
As she looked at her family and community busy fixing what someone else had destroyed, she realized Emmanuel hadn’t broken her spirit. Neither had the vandals. She hadn’t lost everything, because even if she couldn’t get the bakery up and running, she had this—her family and the people of this community. Even Cevilla had come. She was sitting in the corner directing people at various jobs.
Most important, she realized her faith had been misplaced. She’d wanted God to do her bidding—to make her bakery a success. But that was for her own pride, the pride that had let Emmanuel’s hateful words sink deep into her soul. Instead of giving her what she wanted, God was giving her what she needed. Community. Humility. Cooperation. She’d been too self-absorbed to see it sooner. It was so overwhelming that Carolyn had to get some fresh air.
She walked out the back door of the bakery. Without warning, her thoughts turned to the last day she’d seen Emmanuel. He had summoned her for another talking-to, although she had no idea which picky Ordnung rule she’d violated this time.
“Do you really think I can let you continue in yer rebellious ways?”
Carolyn threaded her fingers together, her mouth and throat feeling like cotton. “I said I was sorry.”
“A weak apology.” Emmanuel sat down in his chair and looked up at her. Even though he was seated and she was standing, she still felt like he was looming over her. “If you were truly sorry, you wouldn’t continue to disobey God’s rules.”
“Yer rules, you mean.”
His right brow lifted, the only visible sign that he had heard her. “They are one and the same.”
They weren’t, but she was already in enough trouble. She didn’t need to dig herself into a deeper hole. She gritted her teeth as she looked down at her black tennis shoes.
Emmanuel folded his hands over his abdomen. “You were told not to work for non-Amish businesses.”
She glanced up. “But how else am I going to learn how to run mei own bakery?”
He scoffed. “You won’t. Birch Creek doesn’t need a bakery. It will invite outsiders to our community.”
“I don’t see the problem with that. Birch Creek has to grow eventually.”
His eyes turned dark. “The future of mei community is none of yer concern.”
Carolyn didn’t miss the use of the word mei. “Yer community?”
Emmanuel rose from his chair. “You will quit yer job in Barton. You will stay at home, learning how to care for a haus and familye, until you marry.”
She lifted her chin. “What if I don’t want to marry?”
“Oh. You will get married. I will make sure of it.”
“And I’m sure I will have mei own business.” Although she was shaking inside, she was angry enough to lash out at him. “And if I marry, it will be to a mann I love.”
To her surprise he laughed. “Do you really think you’ll be successful in any endeavor after yer disrespect today? Everyone already knows you’re full of trouble. You’ll be lucky to have a friend, much less anything else.”
“Is that a threat?”
“Nee, Carolyn.” He moved closer to her and said in a low voice, “It’s a promise.”
She’d always blamed Emmanuel for everything, and she’d harbored a grudge against him for so long. But while she knew in her heart he’d been wrong, she hadn’t handled herself well either. She’d been prideful even then, more worried about her own goals and dreams than anything or anybody else. It had taken her a long time to understand what God had been trying to show her. Emmanuel hadn’t been standing in her way. She had.
“Oh, Lord, forgive me.” She looked up at the sky, the clouds hazy through the sheen of her tears. “Forgive mei pride and mei hardened heart. Even though I thought I lost everything . . . you are still merciful to me.” She hung her head, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“He has a way of surprising us, doesn’t he?”
She looked up to see Atlee walking toward her. She wiped her cheeks. “I thought you went back to Fredericktown.”
“I was going to.” He moved closer and looked down at her. “But someone needed me. Yesterday I said I’d be here when you needed me, Carolyn. Remember? That was a promise.”
She lifted her trembling chin. “I never said I needed you.” But her words were weak. She was weak, and from now on she would turn to God for strength.
He gave her a half-grin. “You didn’t have to.”
Without thinking, she fell into his arms and breathed out a sigh when he held her close. When she realized what she’d done, she pulled away. “I’m sorry.” She could barely look at him. “I shouldn’t have done that.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t mind.”
“Still, it wasn’t right. I’m not in mei right mind, obviously.” The words started spilling out, as they did when she was embarrassed. “So much has happened, I’m just overwhelmed and not thinking straight—”
“Carolyn. It’s okay.”
She looked up at him, nearly drowning in the kindness she saw in his eyes. There was also something else, something that gave her heart hope. “What about May?” she whispered.
He grew serious. “I’ll always love her.”
The hope deflated a bit. “I know.” His response wasn’t a surprise. And although she understood, and respected him all the more for his loyalty, she felt like a fool for wishing he also felt something else. Something for her.
“But I have to move on.” He glanced at the ground before facing her. “I’ve known it for a long time. What I didn’t understand was how I was going to do it. I think I’m starting to figure it out, though.”
She shivered, but she forced herself not to jump to any conclusions. “You have?”
He nodded. “I can’t keep living in the past, even if it’s easier in some wa
ys. And I’ll admit I’m a little scared of the future. But you’ve inspired me, Carolyn. You took yer dream and made it a reality.”
“Look how that turned out.”
“But you’re here today. And you did what you had to do—you accepted help.” His expression grew soft. “I have to take that first step to living the rest of mei life too. When you asked me if someone was waiting for me back home, I realized there’s nothing there for me except May’s memory.” He put his hand over his heart. “And I can keep her close to me here.”
“That’s . . . nice.” And it was. Beautiful, actually. “She was a lucky woman.”
“I was a lucky man.” He tilted his head. “Still am, I hope.” He moved closer to her. “I like you, Carolyn. It feels rusty to say that. But it also feels right.”
“I . . . like you.” It didn’t feel rusty to her at all. It felt new and exciting.
“But I’m asking for patience. I’m struggling with guilt over May. I have to admit that. I need to work out some feelings before I can come back for mei next baking lesson.”
She couldn’t believe he was bringing up baking at a time like this. Yet it was the perfect thing for him to say. “I guess you’re holding me to mei word, then?”
He nodded. “And you can hold me to mine. As soon as I can, I’ll be back. By then you’ll have the bakery up and running, and you can teach me all yer baking secrets.”
She laughed, the tension from the last few months finally releasing. She held out her hand to him. “Consider it done.”
He gathered her in his arms and leaned his chin on the top of her white kapp. “Consider it done.”
EPILOGUE
Six months later
Carolyn turned the sign on the clear bakery door from Open to Closed. Another great day. She had sold out of her bread twists and wheat rolls, and she had only grape jelly fry pies left. She made a note to bake more twists, rolls, and fry pies tomorrow morning and let Mandy and Leah, her two employees—a mother and daughter—handle sales.
Several women had offered to help her run the store, but as the bakery was being repaired, Mandy and her daughter answered the ad. They weren’t put off by the low pay. “We need the work,” they said. “We’ll do anything.” Carolyn had been happy to hire them.
Normally she would tidy up the store and head home to her house behind Freemont’s. But not today. She left the back door unlocked and went to the pantry. The police had caught the vandals several months ago, and as the officer had predicted, they paid her restitution, which she promptly gave to Freemont for the community fund. Her business had thrived so well that she didn’t need the money.
“Carolyn?”
She smiled as she took the cinnamon off the shelves. Tonight’s lesson would be cinnamon rolls, at Atlee’s request. He was waiting for her by the worktable, an easy smile on his face. She could tell he’d showered, which she would have expected him to do at the end of his workday as a cabinetmaker in Barton. He’d secured his job shortly after he returned to Birch Creek—to stay. He was also building a home down the road from Freemont. He kept busy, but he always had time for their lessons.
Carolyn set the cinnamon next to the other ingredients. “Ready?”
“In a minute.” He took her hand and led her back into the pantry, where the sensor lights came back on, and closed the door.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“This.” He took her face in his hands and gently kissed her. When he pulled away, he had the biggest smile she’d ever seen.
“What was that for?” She pressed her hand against her heart, feeling it thrum beneath her fingers.
“I’ve been waiting to do that for a long time.” His grin faded. “And you’ve been very patient with me.”
“You’ve made it easy.” And he had. Lately she’d felt a kind of sizzle between them, but they had taken their friendship very slow. They’d been getting to know each other and their histories. He learned about her time in Nappanee, and she learned about May. Two months ago, he surprised her by shaving off his beard.
“I don’t want to wait anymore,” he said.
“For what?”
“Let’s get married. Right after Christmas.”
“But that’s two weeks away!”
He laughed. “Yer bruder is the bishop. I’m sure he’ll find time to marry off his schwester.”
“Humph.” But she couldn’t stop smiling. She leaned against him, sighing as he put his arms around her.
“I love you, Carolyn,” he whispered. “I never thought I’d love anyone again.”
“I love you too.” Months ago, she couldn’t imagine why she’d come back to Birch Creek. The community had been filled with painful memories. But she had let those go. She was ready to build something new—not just her bakery, but with Atlee. With love.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1.Carolyn let her past get in the way of letting others help her. Has there ever been a time in your life when you’ve rejected help? What would you do differently now?
2.Like Carolyn, Atlee had difficulty moving beyond his past. What advice would you give him to help him move past his grief?
3.Carolyn had to learn to surrender her pride, and it took losing the most important things in her life in order to get to that point. Why is pride so difficult to overcome? What are some ways we can surrender our pride to God?
4.Carolyn found love when she least expected. Has God ever surprised you with something you didn’t expect, but discovered you needed?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I’m blessed to have the best team of editors in the business helping me shape and refine my stories. Thank you to Becky Monds and Jean Bloom for their hard work on this novella. And as always, thank you, dear reader friend, for visiting Birch Creek with me.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Amy Clipston is the award-winning and bestselling author of the Kauffman Amish Bakery, Hearts of Lancaster Grand Hotel, Amish Heirloom, and Amish Homestead series. Her novels have hit multiple bestseller lists including CBD, CBA, and ECPA. Amy holds a degree in communications from Virginia Wesleyan University and works full-time for the City of Charlotte, North Carolina. Amy lives in North Carolina with her husband, mother, two sons, and three spoiled rotten cats.
Visit her online at AmyClipston.com
Facebook: AmyClipstonBooks
Twitter: @AmyClipston
Photo by Emilie Hendryx
Beth Wiseman is the award-winning and bestselling author of the Daughters of the Promise, Land of Canaan, and Amish Secrets series, as well as novellas that have been included in many bestselling collections such as An Amish Year and An Amish Garden.
Visit her online at BethWiseman.com
Facebook: AuthorBethWiseman
Twitter: @BethWiseman
Photo by The New Studio
Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.
Visit her online at ShelleyShepardGray.com
Facebook: ShelleyShepardGray
Twitter: @ShelleySGray
Kathleen Fuller is the author of several bestselling novels, including the Hearts of Middlefield novels, the Middlefield Family novels, the Amish of Birch Creek series, and the Amish Letters series as well as a middle-grade Amish series, the Mysteries of Middlefield.
Visit her online at KathleenFuller.com
Twitter: @TheKatJam
Facebook: Kathleen Fuller
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