His Guilt
Page 24
“Maybe we can ask Rachel and her friends if they have any idea who the man was.”
“That’s a gut idea.”
When they joined Rachel, the rest of the table was already full. After smiling at everyone again, Susanna took a bite of her chicken and concentrated on learning more about the ladies.
First there was Rachel and her mother, Ava, and Rachel’s daughter, Ruth. Then there was Charity, the woman in line who had dark hair. Sitting near her was her sister, Beth. At the end of the table was Maggie, who didn’t say much but seemed to listen and watch all of them intently.
“Do you like your new home?” Charity asked.
Susanna looked at Charity more closely. It sounded to her like the question had a double meaning, but she couldn’t imagine what that could be. Shaking off the sense of unease, she nodded. “We do. It’s plenty big and has two bathrooms, which is always good when there are three girls in the house,” she joked.
If she had known them better, she would have explained how much bigger their house was, compared to the small duplex they’d lived in back in Berlin. The purchase of this farm in Kentucky was a dream come true for all of them. From the time she’d been a child, Susanna had hardly seen her father. In order to support them, he’d managed a wealthy Englisher’s farm. Because of the distance away, he’d even slept in a small suite of rooms in the back of one of his barns four or five nights a week.
While he was working, their mother took care of her, Amanda, and their little sister, Traci. Susanna knew her mother was lonely, and they all missed their happy, hardworking, affectionate father. But she also had learned not to complain or wish for anything different. They were blessed to have each other.
But then about a year ago, two things happened that changed everything. First, their mother contracted a series of illnesses, eventually being in bed for almost a month with mononucleosis. She was exhausted and tired and their father worried about her terribly.
The second thing that happened had been both a hardship and a blessing. The gentleman their father worked for passed away—and had left a sizable amount of money to their father. Enough money for Daed to buy a farm of his own.
That money, combined with the money he’d saved, had been an answer to a prayer . . . until he realized how very little it would buy in Holmes County, Ohio. The land there was expensive. That’s when Daed hired a real estate agent and started searching for another place.
Which brought them to the Vances’ property.
All that was why she hated to apologize for her father being so tough in his negotiations for that farm. If it had been more expensive, they would still be in their duplex, waiting to find the perfect piece of land for them.
But it sure didn’t seem like anyone they were sitting with was interested in hearing their side of the sale. As the minutes wore on, everyone looked increasingly uncomfortable.
“What, um, Susanna means to say is that we are sure we will be mighty happy here,” Amanda said, for once sounding as tentative as Susanna. “We feel blessed that the house came up for sale when it did.”
But if anything, the mention of being blessed seemed to bother everyone even more. Rachel exchanged glances with her girlfriends.
Sipping her coffee, Susanna was starting to wish they’d simply gone home right after church. She’d much rather be sitting in their family room reading than navigating her way through this awkward conversation.
Deciding to finish as quickly as possible, she took a big bite of macaroni.
Obviously deciding to smooth things over, Amanda smiled at everyone. “Can any of you do my sister and me a favor? You see, when Susanna got in the accident, a local man came to her rescue. We don’t know his name, though Susanna does remember quite a bit about what he looked like.”
“That’s intriguing. Was he Amish?”
Susanna nodded. “He was. He was so kind, too. I kept hoping that he would stop by our house and say hello, but that hasn’t happened.” She shrugged. “But maybe he didn’t know my name, either.”
“That’s probably true. There are a lot of Amish in the county, now. It ain’t like it used to be, when we all knew each other and our horses, too.”
Susanna began to relax. Maybe this was going to be all right. She just had to keep from taking offense at every imagined slight.
The women smiled at each other. “Describe him the best you can. Then I’ll start bringing likely men over,” Charity said with a smirk.
Susanna could just imagine how awkward that would be! “Nee,” she said quickly. “There’s no need for that.”
“Come on. It will be fun. What’s the benefit of sitting with people who know everyone if you don’t put us to good use?”
Amanda grinned. “She has a point, Sue.”
“All right. You’re right.” Smiling awkwardly, she said, “Well, the man was large.”
“Fat?”
“Oh, nee. He was built large, like a football player. Tall, too.”
“What color were his hair and eyes?”
“He had on a knit cap, but his eyebrows looked kind of brown.”
“Dark or light brown?”
She had to think for a minute. “Light brown. I think.”
“And his eyes?”
“That, I remember,” she said with a smile, pleased at the game. “Blue.” Remembering something else, she said, “Oh, and he had fair skin.”
“So you were rescued by a tall, hefty man with light-brown hair, fair skin, and blue eyes.”
“Jah. He had a deep voice, too. Kind of scratchy, but I could be wrong about that.”
She felt a new kind of tension as the other women exchanged glances. “What? Any ideas?”
Charity nodded. Rachel look pained.
“What did I say?” Susanna asked. “Is something wrong?”
Again, everyone looked awkwardly at each other.
“You all are starting to make me worried,” Amanda joked. “What is wrong?”
“Nothing, except the man you are describing sounds an awful lot like . . .” Charity looked around, then pointed to a trio of men standing by the barn. “Him.”
“Who?” Susanna got to her feet and turned. Staring at the men.
Just then, one of them looked directly at her. His gaze was solemn and blue. His fair-colored cheeks were scruffy. He had on a thick wool coat, but even in the company of other men who were bundled up, he stood out. It was him!
He blinked as he obviously recognized her, too.
She smiled.
Oh, but this was wonderful! At last, she was going to be able to thank him in person.
“Susanna, sit down,” Amanda said.
“I can’t. That’s him,” she said as he started walking their way. “Ladies, thank you! I’ve been so worried I wasn’t ever going to be able to thank him properly.”
Just then she noticed that the other women still weren’t smiling. “What?” she whispered. “What is wrong?”
“You really don’t know who he is, do you?” Rachel asked at last.
“I know he saved my life. What’s his name?”
“That is Neil Vance.”
“Neil Vance?”
As if reading her mind, Rachel nodded. “That very one. Your family bought his family’s farm.”
She felt like every bit of food she’d just consumed was now lodged in her windpipe. “That is quite a coincidence.”
“It’s something, all right. Because your parents didn’t want to pay a fair price for the farm, they are all living in a relative’s tiny older house. Everyone is trying to make ends meet. Barely. And at Christmastime, no less.”
“Instead of a coincidence, I think we should call it ironic. That’s more fitting. Ain’t so?” Charity asked to the table at large. “Neil Vance saved Susanna’s life, just days after her family practically ruined his.”
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BY SHELLEY SHEPARD GRAY
SISTERS OF THE HEART SERIES
>
Hidden • Wanted • Forgiven • Grace
SEASONS OF SUGARCREEK SERIES
Winter’s Awakening • Spring’s Renewal
Autumn’s Promise • Christmas in Sugarcreek
FAMILIES OF HONOR SERIES
The Caregiver • The Protector • The Survivor
A Christmas for Katie (novella)
THE SECRETS OF CRITTENDEN COUNTY SERIES
Missing • The Search • Found • Peace
THE DAYS OF REDEMPTION SERIES
Daybreak • Ray of Light • Eventide • Snowfall
RETURN TO SUGARCREEK SERIES
Hopeful • Thankful • Joyful
AMISH BRIDES OF PINECRAFT SERIES
The Promise of Palm Grove
The Proposal at Siesta Key
Redemption
A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn
A Wish on Gardenia Street (novella)
A Christmas Bride in Pinecraft
THE CHARMED AMISH LIFE SERIES
A Son’s Vow • A Daughter’s Dream
A Sister’s Wish • An Amish Family Christmas
THE AMISH OF HART COUNTY SERIES
Her Secret • His Guilt
CREDITS
Cover design and photograph by Laura Klynstra
COPYRIGHT
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
P.S.™ is a trademark of HarperCollins Publishers.
HIS GUILT. Copyright © 2017 by Shelley Shepard Gray. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
EPub Edition July 2017 ISBN 978-0-06-246912-0
ISBN 978-0-06-246913-7 (paperback)
ISBN 978-0-06-267563-7 (hardcover)
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