Grace smiled at her. Right at the moment, Miss Dorma was looking like her old self. Her eyes were shining and her face was flushed with happiness. She even seemed to be enjoying the walk, not having any trouble keeping up with Grace and Snooze’s steady pace. “When did your husband pass on to heaven, Miss Dorma?”
“Oh, it’s been many years ago now, child. He passed when your John Michael was still a boy.”
Even though she knew Dorma didn’t mean anything by the remark, Grace still felt herself blush. “He’s not my John Michael.”
“Oh?” Her gray eyes lit with amusement. “If he’s not yours, then whose is he?”
“What?” she sputtered around a laugh. “My stars, I surely don’t know.”
“I think you might, child,” Dorma said with a small smile.
Grace would have protested again if she hadn’t been so happy to see the difference in Dorma’s manner. She seemed so much more vibrant and observant, like a sheet had been pulled off of her and she could finally be her true self. Grace wondered if it was the change of scenery, the fact that she wasn’t alone, or if that was how her mind worked now.
Of course, the reason didn’t matter. What did was that Dorma seemed happier.
“I bet John Michael was cute when he was a small boy,” Grace murmured, unable to stop herself.
“He was mischievous, that’s what he was. He was always into something. His mamm always claimed that he could never sit still for more than an hour and couldn’t stop talking for more than a minute.”
Grace chuckled. “That sounds about right.” Thinking of his job and what little she knew about it, she said, “Maybe that’s why he became a fireman. I can’t see him only working by himself on a farm day after day.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. Only the Lord knows.”
“Yes, that is true.” They continued to walk, the snow crunching under their feet.
Snooze, looking snug in his sweater, stopped every couple of feet to take a bite of snow or bark at a squirrel in the distance.
Their little walk felt peaceful and right. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen in the future, but Grace was happy to have these few moments. They felt heaven-sent. “Did you understand that John Michael is going to be staying with the two of us and Snooze for a few days, Miss Dorma?”
“I understood.”
“You don’t mind, do you? I think we’ll feel safer with him around.”
“John Michael will help us, for sure and for certain.”
Already, Grace felt more at ease. With a burst of awareness, she realized that Dorma was helping her as much as she might have been helping Dorma. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I like it here, too. I like you.”
Grace felt the last of the tension in her shoulders ease. She had no idea what was going to happen next. All she did know was that the Lord had a plan. He must have one in order to put it all together.
Thinking of her new sense of peace and Dorma’s improvements, she started talking, hoping that Dorma was understanding at least some of what she was attempting to convey. “You know, when I first realized I was going to be here while my family was gone, I was kind of sad. It made me realize that I had taken them for granted, too. I liked being around them, but I liked being by myself, too.” She swallowed and forced herself to continue. “I’m embarrassed to tell you that I was kind of disappointed that they didn’t argue too much when I said I had to stay behind.”
After they stopped again so Snooze could take his time nudging a fallen pinecone with his nose, Grace continued. “But now I realize that the Lord wanted me to have these two weeks. He knew I needed to do some growing up.”
“Have you grown up?”
“I think so,” she said, realizing she truly had. “In ways I never imagined. I’ve thought about others instead of myself, I took risks, I’ve made mistakes, and I’ve learned new things. Because of that, I guess you could say that this has been a remarkable two weeks.”
Dorma didn’t say anything. Just kept walking by her side.
Grace figured that the right thing to do would be to simply be quiet, but she couldn’t seem to stop. It was like she had so many words inside her, she needed to get them out. “You don’t know this, but John Michael used to be my sister Beth’s boyfriend.”
“I knew that.”
Grace felt her cheeks heat. “Now that I think about it, I would have been surprised if you didn’t. They courted for several months.”
“They seemed happy.”
“Everyone thought so. My sister really liked him.” She sighed. “Nee, Miss Dorma, it wasn’t that simple. No, if I’m sharing this, I need to be completely honest. Beth loved him. We all thought that John Michael loved Beth, too. Maybe he did. But then, one evening, he came over and spoke with Beth alone. That’s when he told her that he’d changed his mind.”
“Ah.”
She nodded. “Right in our living room, John Michael broke up with my sister. It was a shock.”
“He didn’t love her after all.”
“I . . . well, I guess he didn’t. She was upset and, I guess, surprised. All of us were. I think we were justified, though. Don’t you?”
Dorma said nothing, merely smiled at Snooze, who was still walking happily. Leading them toward the mailbox.
“You know what’s funny is that John Michael has never tried to excuse himself. He told me that he felt bad about not having the feelings for Beth that he wanted to have. He said the connection that he’d hoped to make just wasn’t there.”
Grace took a deep breath of the cold air, feeling like it was cleansing her from the inside out. “That’s when I also realized that he’d moved on. He hadn’t burdened himself with his worries or his faults. He had accepted them and also accepted the fact that in time both he and Beth would be glad he had broken things off. That’s when he started training to be a firefighter.” She smiled at Dorma.
“He saved me.”
“You’re right,” Grace said, feeling her way through the conversation. “Everything seemed to have happened for a reason. If he had stayed with Beth, he never would have felt the need to become a fireman. If he hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t have been there to help you.”
“God is good.”
“He is, indeed.” Grace smiled, then continued. “It’s hard to say it, but I think it was best for Beth, too. She’s grown up a lot and become stronger. There’s also been a certain blacksmith over in Indiana she met in Pinecraft. She’s been keeping in touch with him. Maybe she was meant to be with this man.”
Dorma looked at her. “Why have you been so confused, then?”
“Because my family has held on to that anger instead of letting it go, and it’s done nothing but hurt us. We’ve needed to move on, to move forward. We need to learn to be happy.”
Dorma looked at her and smiled. “Being happy is worth everything.”
A lump formed in her throat as she contemplated those words. “You’re right. It is worth everything.” She focused on those words as she opened the mailbox and pulled out another stack of letters and catalogs. “The Lees sure get a lot of mail.”
Snooze barked as if in agreement.
“Let’s head back inside,” Grace said. “Maybe when we get in, I could make us some lunch. Do you like potato soup?”
“I think I do,” Dorma said. “I guess I’ll know when I give it a try.”
Grace had to laugh. That was the perfect answer.
Chapter 30
It was four o’clock in the afternoon and John Michael felt like he hadn’t slept in three days. As he looked around the dayroom at the firehouse, he realized that the other men looked the same way.
“Is it usually this bad in December?” he asked, not really expecting an answer. “I don’t remember it being so crazy last year.”
“I don’t think it was quite. But the weather was better,” Sean said as he made himself a fresh cup of coffee in the kitchen nook.
“It wasn’t as bad because it
rained nonstop,” Anderson said as he rooted around in one of the cabinets. “I’m half starving. Are these granola bars anyone’s? Do y’all know?”
“I think a Girl Scout troop donated them last week,” Hank said. “They’re up for grabs. Take what you want.”
“Perfect.” Anderson grabbed two. “Anyway, all we had last year was rain instead of snow.” Wrinkling his nose, he said, “There weren’t as many car accidents, but everything I owned was coated in mud.”
“My wife kept buying me more white undershirts and socks. She said my stuff was beyond bleach,” Sean said.
“I remember the mud and the rain,” John Michael said. “I just don’t remember being so tired.”
“You know what the answer to that is, John,” said the captain, looking up from his bowl of chili. “We’ve got half a shift to go. If you’re that tired, you need some sleep.”
At another time, he might have felt like a kid being told to go to bed. But this time, John felt like his captain was right. Nothing was going to cure his problems besides a couple hours of shut-eye.
He stood up. “I’ll see you all later. Hopefully much, much later.”
“Get some sleep,” Sean called out.
After grabbing a bottle of water, John went to his room for the night, pulled off his boots, and made sure the rest of his gear was also set out and easy to get on in seconds. Then he lay down, closed his eyes.
But, of course, now that he was trying to sleep, his mind started spinning . . .
The car accident they’d assisted at the beginning of their shift and what a blessing it was that no one had been seriously injured. Of Dorma, her fire, and how she’d lost so much but still seemed to be able to smile. But mostly he thought about Grace King.
He had come to terms with the fact that he loved her. She was the reason he’d waited—
Then he was awakened—
He’d been dreaming!
Dreaming of Grace and of Christmas . . . and a round of fire bells were now going off!
He didn’t dare look at the clock, afraid it had been barely thirty minutes. Instead, he shoved his feet in his boots, grabbed the Swiss Army knife and a dozen other items he often stuffed in his pockets, and ran down the stairs.
Captain Butler was already in his turnout gear. “Hope you got some sleep, Miller,” he said as he picked up his helmet. “We got ourselves another fire on the edge of the county.”
“I’m feeling fine, sir.” That was kind of a lie, but he figured it was close enough.
“Good to hear.” He slapped him on the back before getting on his microphone again.
“Hey, Miller,” Sean called out as John rushed to get into the back of the ladder truck.
“Yeah?” he said, attaching the SCBA and buckling in at the same time.
“Catch.”
It was a Mountain Dew. “Danke.” The men knew how much John enjoyed that particular soda, and that he tried not to have it too much. But that jolt of cold caffeine and sugar was absolutely what he needed.
“Just don’t spill it,” Hank grumbled. “If you spill it all over the insides of this truck, you’re cleaning it all up by yourself.”
“Understood.”
As Hank pulled out and the lights flashed, John held on with one hand and took a deep swallow with his other. He was ready to go again.
Four gulps later, he was done. After setting it behind him so it would be out of the way, John Michael started doing what he did best. He started praying.
Chapter 31
When the doorbell rang and Grace peered through the windows by the front door, she let out a cry as she pulled the door open wide.
“Mamm! You’re back!” She rushed into her arms.
Grace’s mother hugged her tightly. “Indeed we are, child. As soon as we unpacked, I hurried over here.”
After lingering for a moment longer, Grace stepped far enough away to see her mother’s face. She looked as she always did, like an older version of Beth. Her golden hair was lighter than it used to be, thanks to the addition of gray and white strands. There might have been more lines around her eyes than there were five or six years ago, too.
As always, what stood out to her was her mamm’s bright smile framed by the high cheekbones Grace had inherited. There had been so many times in her life when she’d looked to her mother’s reassuring smile for comfort.
It had always been given freely.
“I’m so glad you came back early. I’ve really missed all of you.”
“I promise, you aren’t as glad as we are to be home.”
Obviously, there was a story there. “What about Mommi and Dawdi?” she asked, belatedly looking out to the driveway for more people. “Did they come back here with you?”
“Nee,” Mamm said as she closed the door behind her. Walking to the center of the entryway, she sighed. “As soon as they started feeling better, they began to fuss about the way Daed and I were doing things.”
“They complained?” she asked as she led the way into the kitchen.
“Indeed, they did.” Looking a bit amused, she added, “They complained about my cooking, the way the girls did laundry, about the boys being too noisy. Even about the way your father curried the horses.”
“Oh, dear.” She took her mother’s cloak and bonnet and hung them on a brass coatrack near the back door. Then she started brewing them a fresh pot of coffee.
“They were a lesson in patience, for sure.” Shaking her head in exasperation, she said, “I tell ya, there were a couple of times I thought your father was going to lose his temper.”
“Daed?” Her father was known for being especially easy-going. “Uh-oh.”
“They not only complained, they were not very gracious about accepting help, I’m afraid. We all started feeling like we were walking on pins and needles.”
Grace had always thought her grandparents were rather particular about how they did things, but she was really sorry to hear they’d acted like that. “So even though you all went there to help them, you felt you had to leave?”
“It seemed like the best idea,” she said with a smile. “Your little siblings were bored, your father was in a mood, and even my patience was getting stretched to the limit. It didn’t seem very Christmasy.”
“Were Mommi and Dawdi well enough to stay alone?” After she placed two mugs on the counter for their coffee, she walked toward the stove. She’d decided to make beef vegetable soup for Dorma that morning.
“I think so. Though I invited them, they wanted to stay home. It was for the best anyhow,” Josephine said as she poured a cup of coffee. “They might have gotten sick again if they traveled such a long distance.”
Picking up a spoon, Grace stirred the beef broth and then carefully added the vegetables she’d chopped just that morning. She was aware that her mother was watching her intently, no doubt making sure Grace was preparing the stew the way she’d been taught. “Well, I really am glad you came here to see me.”
“Daed wanted to come with me, and so did Leona, but I thought it would be best if we talked, just the two of us.”
Some of the joy she’d been feeling about the visit faded. “Ah.”
“Go get yourself a cup of kaffi, dear. I’ll help you with this.” Before Grace could protest, Mamm walked to the sink, washed her hands, then started cutting up the meat on the butcher block. “I had a driver drop me off. She’s going to pick me up in an hour.”
Grace poured her coffee, then added cream and sugar. “You’re only going to stay for an hour?”
“I need to help your sisters with the laundry and get the house organized. Now that we’re going to be home for Christmas, there’s much to do.”
“Let me know if I can help.”
Putting down the knife, Mamm turned to face her. “Come home with me now, Grace.”
Feeling off guard, she shook her head. “Mamm, I canna do that.”
“I think you should.”
“I have responsibilities here.”
/> “Dear, you can bring along whatever animal you are watching this week with you.”
That’s when Grace realized that she hadn’t told her parents about Dorma or the fire or the fact that she was now looking after her. How could so much have happened in such a short amount of time?
“Mamm, there’s something you need to hear. We need to talk.”
“Which is why you need to come home. I need to fill you in on your grandparents and your little sister, too.” She rolled her eyes. “Sylvia fancies herself in love with the boy living next door to your grandparents’ house. She cried when we left, acting like her heart was breaking.”
“Sylvia always feels like her heart is breaking. That isn’t anything new.”
“This might be different. And Beth, why, she is getting serious about Aaron.”
“Aaron, who?”
“Aaron Yoder. They started talking around Thanksgiving.”
Aaron was a blacksmith. He was handsome but quiet. She would have never thought he and Beth would suit. “I didn’t know they were seriously courting.”
“It’s only been a month, but it’s happening. The reason you weren’t aware of it was because you’ve been so busy with all the animals you watch.” She paused. “Among other things.”
“Mamm. I’m sorry, but I can’t leave the Lees’ house right now. You see, there’s someone I’ve gotten close to, and—”
Her mamm sighed. “You canna still be thinking about John Michael, are you? Because your father and I talked and we agreed that you shouldn’t see him anymore.”
Grace felt more than a little annoyed. Why was her mother trying to make her feel guilty about spending time with John Michael if Beth was seeing Aaron? “That’s not how relationships work.”
“It is in our family.” She stared hard. “Do you hear what I’m saying?”
Oh, indeed she did! “Jah.”
Grace realized her mother was acting like nothing had changed.
With a start, she realized that for Mamm, nothing had. She, on the other hand, had changed a lot. She’d grown up, become more independent, and maybe even more compassionate, too. She saw things differently now.
His Promise Page 16