The Revealing (14 page)

Bethany had seen Jimmy Fisher earlier in the day, and when she heard he would be dropping by Galen’s to talk horses, she invited him for dinner. She peeked out the window, hoping to catch sight of Jimmy, and noticed Paisley walking around on the wooden porch. Then she saw Jimmy come through the hole in the privet.

Before Jimmy reached the porch steps, Bethany saw him stop abruptly, startled, as he realized there was a stranger on the porch. “Hello,” he said to Paisley, and Bethany leaned closer to the window, opening it up a crack.

Paisley perked right up and said, in a giggly voice, “Well, hello to you. My, my, my. No one ever told me that I’d be encountering such a handsome man on a dusty old Amish farm.”

Jimmy grinned that devilish grin of his, which made Paisley practically swoon. She giggled and held out her hand to
him. Paisley’s voice dropped to a whisper, but Bethany could tell she was talking up a storm. Jimmy laughed, which made Bethany all the more suspicious of Paisley. If she was so in love with her brother Tobe, then why was she flirting with the first fellow who came along?

Bethany saw Paisley grab the crook of Jimmy’s arms and cling tightly. She jumped away from the window and plastered a sweet smile on her face as they entered the kitchen.

“How nice,” Bethany said, trying to keep her voice in check. “I see you’ve met Paisley.” She smiled as sweetly as she could. She took a handful of spoons and grabbed some napkins and put them on the table. “Paisley, perhaps you could help set the table for dinner.”

Paisley let go of Jimmy as if it took all her strength to pull her hands off him and said she didn’t know the first thing about setting tables, but perhaps Jimmy could help? She flashed her dimples at Jimmy and he quickly jumped to her rescue. In fact, Jimmy ended up setting the table as Paisley giggled and told him how clever he was, and Bethany smoldered as she set out butter and jam for the biscuits.

As if stomachs had an alarm clock, the boys and Mim appeared in the kitchen. Rose helped Mammi Vera in from the living room.

“Supper’s ready,” Bethany said. “Paisley, why don’t you sit between Sammy and Luke.” She pointed to a chair to sit in, but Paisley had already darted over to be next to Jimmy.

“You can sit there, sister Bethany, and mind those two little rapscallions. I’ll keep an eye on this special guy.” Paisley offered Bethany her sweetest smile.

Jimmy wiggled his eyebrows at Bethany, which only made her all the more annoyed.

Rose had a belief that many a skirmish could be avoided by the timely appearance of food, but Bethany figured she hadn’t shared a meal with someone like Paisley before. All during dinner, sparks flew between Bethany and Paisley like a house cat in a thunderstorm. Jimmy, Bethany noticed with annoyance, had a foolish grin on his face the entire meal, like he was having a wonderful time.

Later that evening, after Rose had cleaned up the kitchen from supper, she heard a knock at the kitchen door and opened it to find Galen smiling down at her, handsome in a black coat and trousers, with Paisley hanging on to his arm. “I just met your newest guest.” His voice was happy sounding, but his face was curious and stunned.

As they walked through the door, Galen unhooked Paisley’s hand from his and stood near Rose.

Paisley flashed him a saucy smile. “I just can’t get over Amish men! Every time I turn around, another dashing fellow appears out of nowhere.”

Rose saw the look on Galen’s face go from puzzled and amused to wary and cautious. He ignored Paisley’s overly effusive comment and turned to Rose. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

“Absolutely.” She grabbed a shawl off the wall peg and noticed Paisley’s mouth open as if she was going to invite herself along and quickly closed the door behind her. Paisley would have to fend for herself. Something, Rose suspected, she was probably quite good at.

With the barest turn of the head, Galen said, “I’ve been told you had an eventful day.”

“Indeed it was. I’ll tell you about it on the way. Who told you?”

“Jimmy filled me in before he headed home tonight.”

There was still some fading light left in the sky as they walked behind the house toward the ridge. From somewhere far off came the bellowing of a cow. The chickens had gone to roost in the henhouse, and the chill of evening had begun settling in. Once they had reached the trail that led up the hill, Galen reached out and took Rose’s hand.

“I thought you already had a guest using the flat.”

“She’s not a guest of the inn. She’s a guest . . . of the family.”

“She’s staying in the house?”

“At least for tonight. She says she’s a friend of Tobe’s.”

Galen’s eyebrows lifted sharply.

“I sent a letter to Tobe to find out if he does, indeed, know her.”

Galen tilted his chin. “Why is she here? She looks like she’s about to . . . fresh.” Color rose in his cheeks.

“Good grief, Galen. She’s not a cow. She’s a woman. I’m . . . not exactly sure why she’s here. Why now.”

Understanding filled Galen’s eyes. “So she’s carrying Tobe’s child?”

Rose yanked her hand out of his and wrapped the shawl tightly around her. “There’s no proof that her baby is Tobe’s. Only Paisley’s word. We’ve never seen her before in our lives. I tried calling the prison to see if I could get word to him, but it wasn’t possible. My letter to him won’t even arrive until midweek. Until then, it seems best to be hospitable to the girl.”

“Why would she make such a thing up?”

“I have no idea.”

“Do you believe her?”

“I . . . can’t quite read her. I don’t trust her.” She walked up the ridge trail ahead of him. “Galen, are you going to tell Naomi what I’ve told you?”

“Is it a secret?”

“Yes. No. I just . . . would rather wait until I hear something from Tobe.”

“But why should it matter to Naomi whose baby it is?”

She stopped and spun around. “You must be joking.”

Galen looked at her blankly.

“You must realize Tobe and Naomi have some kind of understanding.”

He shook his head, a little too forcefully. “No, they don’t. You’re mistaken.”

“Galen, you think of Naomi as a child. She’s a grown woman. She’s old enough to make her own choices.”

“Tobe might be interested in her, but she has too much sense to—”

“To fall for a Schrock?” That wasn’t fair. She regretted saying it as soon as the words spilled out of her mouth.

He looked hurt. “That’s not what I was going to say.”

“I know you have doubts about Tobe. Naomi knows that too. But you can’t predict who you’ll fall in love with, can you? No wonder she can’t talk to you about their relationship.”

“Relationship? He’s in jail! They don’t have a relationship.”

“Once you see Naomi and Tobe together, I believe your doubts will vanish.”

“No, I don’t think so, Rose.” Galen offered a shaky smile. “Why are we talking about such a thing on a beautiful night like tonight?”

They walked up to the ridge in silence, each alone with
their own thoughts, a wedge between them. As Rose tried to cope with all the day had brought, she was glad she had come to the top of the ridge to stargaze on this dark night. The clouds kept racing across the moon like smoke from a fire. Drinking in the beauty of a night sky always reminded her of the infinite majesty of God and the finite trivialness of her problems. God was bigger than any problem life could throw at her.

She leaned against him and he put his arm around her.

“Can I do anything? I’d do anything to help.”

“I know you would.” And Rose did know.

The next afternoon, Naomi walked over to Eagle Hill to see if Bethany wanted to ride with her to the Sisters’ Bee over at Edith Fisher’s house.

Bethany came out of the door before she reached the porch, an anxious look on her face. “Did Galen tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

Bethany glanced at the house. “Jimmy didn’t say anything?”

The pinched look on Bethany’s face worried Naomi. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, really. Well, something is wrong, actually. Someone is terribly wrong, I suppose you could say. And I’d rather you hear it from me first.” She sat down on the porch steps and patted a spot next to her for Naomi. “A girl showed up out of the blue yesterday.” She pointed to a rusty car that was blocking the driveway.

Micky ran up to Naomi and curled up beside her. “A new guest?” she said, stroking his big head. She loved this silly dog.

“No, not a guest at the inn. She says she’s a friend of Tobe’s.”

Naomi’s hand stopped in mid-pat, but Micky looked up at her and she finished the stroke. “Oh.”

“A close friend. She says she was his . . . girlfriend. Her name is Paisley. Does that name ring a bell to you? Did Tobe ever mention a Paisley?”

Naomi looked away. “No.” She felt a sudden chill.

“I didn’t think so.” Bethany took in a deep breath. “I have to tell you this before someone else does. This Paisley is pregnant. Very pregnant. Soon to deliver. She says . . .”

Naomi could feel the back of her neck get cold and clammy.

“She says . . . that Tobe is the baby’s father.” Bethany’s fists clenched. “But I don’t believe a word she says, Naomi. You shouldn’t, either.”

In instant response, Naomi’s throat tightened with fear and her pulse thrummed fast in her ears. She knew, in a disembodied way, that she would remember this moment forever. She knew the time and the date, and the way she sat on the porch steps with her hand stroking the head of the dog. She knew, with a certainty that she had never felt before about anything, that Paisley was going to bring trouble into her life. Real trouble, threatening everything she had hoped for.

Out the kitchen window, Rose noticed Bethany and Naomi with their heads bent together outside on the porch steps, then she saw Naomi walk back toward her home, shrinking away like an animal that had received a blow. Shoulders slumped, chin down, hands clenched in tight fists. It was a
look of Naomi’s with which Rose was familiar; it usually was a sign that she was suffering from a headache.

But just ten minutes ago, she had slipped through the privet looking entirely different. Happy, lighthearted, practically glowing.

Rose’s heart skipped a beat.
Oh no. Oh no no no.
Bethany must have told her about Paisley.

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