The Restoration

by Brunstetter, Wanda E. ;

  “The dinner shouldn’t last too long—probably not much past eight o’clock. Could you get together with Elam after that?”

  “I suppose, but by the time I help you clean up, it could be nine or after, and I’ll be tired, so…”

  “That’s okay. If you and Elam make plans for later, I’ll take care of the cleanup myself.”

  Priscilla shook her head vigorously. “I won’t even consider that. I’ll see if Elam would be willing to wait till New Year’s Day to get together.”

  Elaine could see by the determined set of her friend’s jaw she’d made up her mind. “Okay. Now since that’s all settled, should we start looking through some of Grandma’s recipes?”

  Priscilla nodded. “After we work on it awhile, we can enjoy the Friendship Salad.”

  “How are things going up here?” Adam joined Ben behind the front counter.

  “Good. We’ve had enough customers to keep me busy but not so many I needed to call on you for help.” Ben smiled. “You were busy in your office, and I didn’t want to ask unless it was necessary.”

  “I did get a lot done, so thanks for taking care of the customers.” Adam glanced at the clock near the front door. “Has Scott showed up yet?”

  Ben shook his head. “No, he hasn’t. I figured since he was on break from school this week he’d come in this morning. But here it is past noon, and he hasn’t come in.”

  Adam’s forehead wrinkled. “That’s strange. I thought when Scott and his friend Jared, were working here last week Scott said he’d be in early today.”

  “Maybe he got sick over the weekend.”

  “If that were the case, his mother would have called to tell me he wouldn’t be coming in.” Adam pulled out his handkerchief, hoping to ward off a sneeze he felt coming. He’d just put the hanky away when the front door opened and Cora walked in. Adam froze. I wonder what she’s doing here.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, Adam.” She stepped up to the counter. “I’m on my lunch break. Could I speak to you alone?”

  Adam was on the verge of telling her no, but feeling Ben’s eyes on him, he mumbled, “Sure. Let’s go to my office.”

  Leading the way to the back of the store, Adam remained quiet until he and Cora were in the room. “I’m kind of busy right now, so I hope this isn’t going to take long.”

  She shook her head.

  Adam gestured to the chair on the other side of his desk. “You can sit there, if you like.”

  “No, that’s all right. I’ll stand.” With her gaze fixed on him, Cora drew in a quick breath. “I understand you hired my son to work for you before Christmas.”

  Adam scratched the side of his head. “Huh?”

  “Jared. You hired Jared to work for you.”

  Adam’s eyes widened. “You’re Jared’s mother?”

  She nodded slowly. “He’s your brother, Adam. Well, half brother, anyway.”

  Adam tried to digest what she’d said. Then as Cora’s words sank in, he sank into his chair. “How long were you planning to keep me in the dark about this?”

  “I—I wanted to tell you a few months ago, but you didn’t want to hear anything I had to say.”

  “Why are you telling me now?” The words stuck in Adam’s throat as he fought for control. No wonder Jared reminded me of someone. It was probably myself.

  “When Jared admitted he’d been working at your store, without my permission, I was afraid you might have said something about me to him.”

  Adam shook his head. “I didn’t know he was your son, so why would I say anything about you?”

  “I don’t know. I just thought… And by the way, that note he gave you was written by one of his friends, not me.” Cora reached into her purse for a tissue to blot the tears dribbling onto her cheeks. “Has Leah ever said anything to you about Jared?”

  Adam stiffened. “Are you saying my wife knows I have a half brother?”

  “Well, she’s aware I have a son by the man I married after I divorced your father. But she’s never met Jared.”

  Adam put his arms on his desk, clenching his fingers. “I can’t believe Leah didn’t tell me.”

  “I asked her not to.”

  “Is that so? What gives you the right to expect my wife to keep secrets from me?” Adam’s face heated to such a degree, he felt as if he’d acquired a sunburn.

  “I’m sorry, Adam. I should have told you about Jared sooner.”

  What you should have done was remained Amish and raised your son and daughter, like any good mother would do. Adam swallowed against the bile rising in his throat. Just when he’d thought he’d gotten past the bitterness he felt toward his mother, she hit him with this.

  “Does Jared know about me?” Adam asked.

  “Not yet. I’d planned to tell him, but I didn’t want to until I’d told you.”

  “Tell me what, Mom?”

  Cora whirled around, and Adam leaped out of his chair. Jared stood inside the door of his office beside Scott. Okay, Cora, Adam thought. Let’s see how you’re going to deal with this.

  CHAPTER 17

  Cora’s heart pounded as she stood face-to-face with Jared. “We should go, son. We can talk about this when we get home.”

  “Talk about what, Mom? What were you and Adam talking about when I walked in?”

  “What are you doing here anyway?” Cora quickly changed the subject.

  “Came to see Scott. Wanted to ask him something.” He turned and motioned to his friend, standing inside the doorway.

  “You’re late for work, Scott, but since you’re here now, I think you’d better get busy,” Adam spoke up.

  Scott glanced at Jared questioningly then left the room.

  “Let’s all have seats, and we can talk about this.” Adam pulled two more chairs up to his desk, then closed the door.

  Feeling like a mouse caught in a trap, Cora sat. Glancing toward the office door, she rubbed her brow, wanting nothing more than to bolt. This was not the way she’d planned to tell her son that Adam was his older brother.

  Cora waited until Adam and Jared took seats, then she drew in a quick breath and began. “In all these years, Jared, I’ve never talked to you about my childhood.” She closed her eyes to say a quick prayer. Give me strength and the right words. “The truth is, I grew up in an Amish home.”

  “Say what?” Jared blinked a couple of times, and his eyes widened.

  “I used to be Amish before I met your dad. I was married to an Amish man. His name was Andrew Beachy. We lived in Pennsylvania.” As the words poured out, Cora paused to collect her thoughts. “Andrew and I had two children—Adam and Mary.”

  “So are you sayin’ that Adam and me are brothers?” Jared leaned forward.

  “We’re half brothers,” Adam interjected.

  Jared glared at him. “You knew about this but never said a word? Is that why ya let me work for you, ’cause we’re related?”

  Adam shook his head vigorously. “I only found out Cora’s your mother a few minutes before you got here. I was as surprised by this as you are.”

  Jared looked back at Cora. “Well, keep talkin’, Mom. I wanna hear all the details.”

  Cora gripped her hands as she continued to tell Jared how she’d left the Amish faith to pursue a career in nursing.

  “Did your Amish husband leave, too?” Jared questioned.

  Cora shook her head.

  “So you took your kids and left him?”

  Cora swallowed hard. Her throat felt so tight she could barely speak. “No, I—I left our children with Andrew.”

  Jared’s face reddened as he leaped out of his chair. “You walked out on your husband and just left your kids?” He pointed a trembling finger at her. “And you think Dad was terrible for cheatin’ on you and runnin’ out on your marriage!”

  “I—I didn’t cheat on Andrew.” Cora’s voice trembled. “I was young and had dreams of becoming a nurse. Please understand, Jared. I begged Andrew to go with me, but he refused.” She halte
d for a breath, to compose herself. She wanted to remain silent, to let all this sink in, not only for Jared, but for Adam as well. But the need to tell her side of things made Cora continue. “I wanted to take the children, but he said if I tried, he would move and I’d never find them.”

  “Apparently you did.” Jared motioned to Adam.

  “It was a surprise to me when I found out Adam lived here in Arthur. I’d tried to find him and his sister before, but never could because my first husband took them and left Pennsylvania to begin a new life somewhere else.” Cora sighed. No one there would tell me where they’d moved. Because I’d left my husband and filed for divorce, I was shunned.”

  “So I have a half sister, too?” Jared blinked rapidly.

  “Yes, her name is Mary. She and her husband were killed in an accident. Adam and his wife are raising Mary’s three girls.” Cora would have said more about how Mary died, after what she’d learned from Leah, but thought Adam should do that, perhaps another time, when he and Jared could talk more and get to know each other better.

  “Cousins.” Jared sank to his chair again, shaking his head in disbelief.

  “No, Amy, Linda, and Carrie are my nieces,” Adam corrected. “It makes them your half nieces.”

  Jared groaned. “Wow, this story keeps getting better and better.” He glared at Cora. “Besides the fact that you were a lousy mother for runnin’ out on your kids, you had no right to keep all this from me.”

  “I know, Jared, and I was planning to tell you. I couldn’t seem to work up the nerve. I didn’t think you would understand.” Cora pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to squelch the tears dribbling onto her cheeks.

  Jared reached his hand out to Adam. “It’s nice to meet ya, big brother. Maybe I’ll come by the store sometime and you can tell me what it was like bein’ raised with no mother. Seems a whole lot better than bein’ raised by a mother like mine, though.” Jared jumped up and raced out of the room, flinging the door open so hard it banged against the wall.

  Cora looked at Adam, unable to read his expression. “I need to go after him, but I’d like to talk with you more some other time.”

  Adam shook his head. “I have nothing more to say to you, Cora. You messed up my life. Now you’d better see if you can patch things up with your other son, or you won’t have a relationship with him, either.”

  Tears coursed down Cora’s cheeks as she fled Adam’s office. Not only had she estranged herself from Adam, now Jared was upset with her, as well. She wished she didn’t have to go back to work this afternoon. Lord, help me. I can’t lose Jared, too.

  When Cora left the store, hoping to catch up with Jared, she spotted him getting into a car. It looked like the same vehicle Chad had been driving the night he’d shown up at their house. But that can’t be—Chad went back to Chicago before Christmas.

  When Priscilla left Elaine’s that afternoon, she decided to stop by the Morgans’ to see how David was doing. It had been a few days since he’d told her he wanted to go Amish, so she figured he could have changed his mind by now. Completely changing his lifestyle would not be easy. As Priscilla approached Walt and Letty’s place, Cleo, their little black terrier, raced down the driveway, barking and nipping at Tinker’s hooves. During other visits, the dog had been calm. After greeting her with a few sniffs, the little mutt would return to her doggie bed in the corner of the living room. Maybe this afternoon they’d let her out for some exercise.

  As the terrier made circles around the buggy, her barking became more intense. Priscilla’s horse started kicking and thrashing about, which made the dog act crazier.

  “Calm down, Tinker.” Priscilla opened her door, and shouted at the dog to stop, but Cleo kept barking and carrying on.

  Closing the buggy door, Priscilla gripped the reins and hollered at her horse to stop.

  Somehow Priscilla managed to get the gelding and buggy turned up the driveway, but the dog kept nipping, while Tinker continued to kick. When Priscilla thought it couldn’t get any worse, Tinker kicked the terrier, sending the poor pooch flying into the Morgans’ yard. At the same moment, the shaft connecting the horse to her buggy snapped. Priscilla screamed as the horse broke free and her buggy tipped on its side.

  Inching her way along the seat to the passenger’s side, Priscilla managed to get the door open and climb out. Her feet had barely touched the ground when David’s grandpa came out of the house. “Are you hurt?” he called, making his way down the driveway as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the snow had been cleared, but it was still slippery in places.

  “I think I’m okay.” Priscilla touched her sore elbow. “I may have a few bruises, though.”

  “What happened?” Walt asked. “I heard Cleo barking, and when I looked out the window I saw the buggy flipped over and your horse running up the driveway.

  Priscilla explained what had happened. “I fear Cleo might be dead.” With the dog quiet, Tinker stood, shaking his mane and pawing a hoof on the ground.

  Holding her arm, Priscilla watched as Walt calmly talked to the horse, grabbed the reins, and tied him to a post near the garage. Then he and Priscilla went to check on the dog. They found her in a clump of weeds, unmoving.

  Walt bent down to examine Cleo. His somber expression told Priscilla it wasn’t good news.

  “I’m afraid she’s dead.” Walt rose to his feet. “I’ll bury her body out back after we get your buggy taken care of.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Priscilla sobbed. “I tried to get her and my horse calmed down, but neither of them would listen.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. I don’t normally let Cleo outside by herself, but I got sidetracked and wasn’t paying attention.” Walt touched Priscilla’s shoulder. “You’d better come inside with me so Letty can tend to your injuries while I call for help. A friend of mine has a flatbed truck we can put the buggy on. I’ll ask him to haul it over to Miller’s Buggy Shop for repairs.”

  Tearfully, Priscilla followed Walt into the house. She was greeted by David, who stood near the door on his crutches.

  “I saw what happened out the window, Priscilla.”

  “Are you okay?” Letty asked, wide eyed as she joined them.

  “I think so, but I’m sorry to say, Cleo is dead, and I feel responsible.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Letty said tearfully. “But I’m sure going to miss that spunky little terrier.”

  “Come take a seat on the couch.” David nodded toward the living room.

  Once they were seated, and Letty had made sure Priscilla had no serious injuries, she left the room to get something for Priscilla to drink and some ice for the bruise on her arm. Letty never said a word, but it broke Priscilla’s heart to see tears in her eyes. She was obviously upset over the loss of her dog but was nice enough not to let on.

  Emotionally drained, Priscilla broke down and sobbed. “I came over to see how you were doing and never expected something like this to happen.”

  “No one ever expects an accident to occur. It’s why they shake us up so badly.” David put his arm around Priscilla. “I’m glad you weren’t seriously hurt.”

  “Me, too.” Within the circle of David’s arm, Priscilla felt safe and cared for. As he gently moved her head toward the crook of his shoulder, his fingers caressed the side of her face. Priscilla’s stomach fluttered. It must be nerves.

  CHAPTER 18

  Somehow Cora made it through the rest of her shift, but when she got home, Jared wasn’t there. Was he so upset that he’d decided not to come home?

  Cora sank into a chair at the kitchen table. Who picked Jared up at Adam’s store? Whoever it was, Jared’s probably with him right now, complaining about what a terrible mother he has.

  Cora tapped her fingers on the table. It worried her to think of Jared riding around with one of his friends, going who knew where? If Jared told Scott or any of his friends what he’d learned today, the news would be all over the county that Cora was an unfit mother who used to be Amish and ran out
on her kids. Worse yet, if this information got back to Evan, he might use it against her to try and get custody of Jared. She couldn’t worry about herself right now. Except for her sons, it didn’t really matter what others thought of her. Cora just needed to know Jared was okay and would be home soon.

  “What am I going to do?” Cora cried. “I’ve messed up so many lives. There’s no way to wipe the slate clean with Adam, and now Jared. How can I make them both understand how sorry I am for all my mistakes?”

  Cora dropped her head to the table and wept. I’m sorry, Lord. I don’t deserve a second chance with Adam or Jared, but if I should get one, I promise I’ll do my best to make up for what I’ve done.

  Cora looked up when she heard the back door open then slam shut. A few seconds later, Jared stomped into the kitchen. She wiped her eyes. Jared stood on the other side of the table, staring at her.

  “Where have you been?” she asked, tearfully.

  “What do you care?”

  “Come on, Jared. Let’s try to be civil. I am still your mother, and you don’t need to be rude. Now, I’ll ask you again: Where have you been?”

  He shrugged. “Nowhere in particular; just riding around, thinkin’ about all the things you’ve kept from me.”

  “Whose car were you in?”

  “I was with a friend.”

  “It wasn’t Chad, was it, Jared?”

  He shook his head then moved over to the refrigerator. “What’s here to eat? Did ya stop by the store to get lunch meat and bread?”

  Cora rubbed the bridge of her nose. She’d been so worried about Jared that she’d forgotten to go to the store. “I didn’t pick up any groceries. We can go out for pizza if you like.”

  “No, that’s okay. I just wanna go to my room and be left alone.”

  “Okay, I’ll run to the store and be back in a little while. Is there anything you’d like me to get?”

  “Nope.”

  Cora was tempted to engage Jared in more conversation but thought better of it. He obviously needed some time to think about the things she’d told him. Truthfully, she needed to be alone this evening with her thoughts, too.