A Reluctant Bride (14 page)

Patience peeked out of the bishop's four-paned window and saw Sadie standing at the end of the driveway. She longed to go to her friend and try to talk to her again, but she knew it would be pointless. Sadie Schrock was the most stubborn person she knew, and when she didn't want to discuss something, she wouldn't. But Patience's heart ached for her friend. After Sadie got into Aden's buggy and left for her home, Patience couldn't stem the niggling feeling that Sadie had made a huge mistake.

She let the curtain fall and turned to see Bishop Troyer speaking in hushed tones to Timothy in the corner of the room. As if he felt her gaze on him, her husband glanced at her and inclined his head toward the front door. Patience understood his meaning, and after she said good-bye to
Frau
Troyer, she went outside and waited for him in their buggy.

It wasn't long before Timothy joined her. When he climbed inside the buggy, he didn't look at her. She frowned as he turned onto the road, waiting for him to speak. After several moments her curiosity got the best of her. “What did the bishop want?” she asked.

Rain pelted the buggy. Timothy glanced at her, his brows knit above his pale blue eyes. Recognizing his worried look, she
scooted closer to him. He reached for her hand, giving it a quick squeeze before saying, “I love you.”

Worry kicked into gear. “Timothy, what's wrong?”

“Everything is okay. With us,” he added quickly. He looked at her again. “After today . . . I just wanted you to know how much I love you.”

She nodded as she said, “I love you too.”

He released her hand and held on to the reins. “The bishop asked me about the natural gas rights papers again. He wanted to know if I'd signed them yet. When I told him I was still thinking about it, he seemed a little . . . upset.”

“Upset? Like mad?” She couldn't imagine Bishop Troyer showing anger. He was an even-keeled man, if a little emotionally detached. His strictness, as he often reminded the congregation during his sermons, was for the best interests of the church members—and their souls. Being the spiritual leader of their community was a solemn and hefty responsibility, one she wouldn't want for herself or for her husband.

Yet during the wedding ceremony, she had watched Sadie and Aden carefully. Neither of them had made eye contact with Aden's father. There was no warmth or love coming from anyone, including the father of the groom. Aden's brother hadn't even attended, and his mother seemed on the verge of tears, and not happy ones. It was the strangest wedding she'd ever been to. Seeing the lack of emotion involved made her more unsettled.

“He wasn't mad, exactly,” Timothy said, breaking into her thoughts. “More like irritated. I don't know why he's so bent on me signing those rights over to him.”

“But you wouldn't be signing them over to him, right? I thought the money belongs to everyone.”

“It's supposed to.”

The rain started to ease up, but Patience stayed close to Timothy. “But?”

“I was talking to Freemont Yoder last week. Saw him walking down Burton Road and offered him a ride. He had to sell his dairy cow, and his horse is on the verge of going lame.”

“Oh,
nee
.”

“He's having a hard time financially. Seven mouths to feed and a failed feed corn crop last year set him back. I asked him if he'd talked to the bishop about it, knowing there should be plenty of funds to help Freemont get on his feet.” Timothy looked at Patience, his frown deepening. “He said the bishop told him the church wasn't in the position to give him the money he needs. He arranged for a few women to bring over food for the family, but that was all the help he got.”

Patience frowned. “I don't understand.”

“Me neither. We're not the only ones with natural gas rights on our property. I know the bishop has told me not to discuss it with anyone, but I did a little asking around. Carefully. At least three other families have signed over their rights. I'm not going to say who.”

“You don't have to.” She knew defying the bishop's request for secrecy would get him in trouble.

“If their rights are worth anywhere near what we have, then there should be a lot of money in the community fund. So why would he tell Freemont there wasn't any?”

She sat back in the seat, confused. “I don't know.”

“And now he's eager for me to sign those documents.” He shook his head. “I'm sorry, Patience, but I can't do that. Not yet. I need to pray about it more.”

She took his hand. “We both need to pray.”

“I feel guilty,” he said in a low voice. “I don't want to be
selfish. But I have to be practical. The money we would get from those rights will give us and our family a secure future.”

“
Ya
, it would.”

“I trust in God's provision, I truly do. And if he leads us to sign the rights over to the church, I will happily do it. But I would feel better if I knew for sure the funds would be used for the community. After talking to Freemont, I'm having
mei
doubts.”

Patience heard the pain in his voice, plus the unspoken concern over doubting their bishop. Certainly there was a reasonable explanation for why Bishop Yoder had told Freemont there wasn't money available to help him. Both she and Timothy had been taught to have complete trust in the church bishop, along with complete obedience. Doubting was akin to showing a lack of faith—something she and Timothy took very seriously.

But after the wedding and what her husband had just revealed . . . Patience couldn't shake the thought that Bishop Troyer wasn't as infallible as he seemed.

“Anyway,” Timothy said, interrupting her thoughts. “We'll put the matter to prayer.” A pause. “And we'll add Sadie and Aden to the list.” He looked at her again. “I know it's not
mei
place to say this, since she's
yer
friend, but something isn't right between the two of them.”

“I know. I'm concerned too. It's not like Sadie to be secretive. Not with me, anyway.”

“I should get to know Aden better,” Timothy said as they turned onto their road. “We've only said hello in passing since you and I got married.”

“He's difficult to get close to. Aden has always kept to himself. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if he has any friends.”

“He's a loner, then.”

“
Ya
.” She paused as a car sped by them. “But that doesn't mean he couldn't use a friend.”

“Especially now,” Timothy added.

Patience rubbed her thumb over the top of her husband's hand, once again thankful God had brought him into her life. She remembered when they met, almost three years ago when she had gone to a relative's wedding in Lancaster. The moment she'd seen him, it was love at first sight. Six months and dozens of letters later, he came to Birch Creek and asked her to marry him. She didn't hesitate to say yes. He had been glad to move to their small community, finding Lancaster too crowded and competitive. Their life together, while not perfect, was filled with love.

She wanted her best friend to be as happy, as wholly in love as she was. Yet if today was any indication, Sadie was despondent. As Patience held her husband's hand, she said a quick prayer for Sadie and Aden, knowing they would need as much help from God as they could get. And someday, very soon, she would find out the real reason Sadie married Aden Troyer.

As Aden steered his buggy down Pinton Road, a crack of lightning streaked the sky, followed by a loud thunder boom that made his horse slightly jumpy. Spatters of heavy raindrops beat on the top of the buggy, and within a minute it began to pour. It figured. Even the weather was against them today.

He glanced at Sadie, who hadn't said a word since they'd left the Troyers' house. She was angled away from him and seated as close to the opening of the buggy as she could be without falling out. When the wind kicked up, he looked at the skirt of her dress
and saw that it was damp. He started to tell her she could scoot closer to him, but changed his mind. If she wanted a drier seat, she knew she could move.

After about fifteen minutes, the rain eased to a light drizzle. He tugged on the reins and guided his horse to turn right on Macon Creek Road, where her house was located. When he pulled into the driveway and stopped in front of the house, a decent-sized home painted the typical white with a slate gray roof, she started to get out of the vehicle.

“Sadie, wait,” he said.

She paused before turning to him. She looked completely miserable.

And he felt completely helpless. “I have these bee hives,” he said. It wasn't the best time to bring them up, but timing hadn't been in either of their favors lately.

“I know,” she said dully.

Of course she knew, and he felt stupid for stating the obvious. “I . . . I was thinking it would be easier if I moved them here. To
yer
house.” He sounded like a blabbering idiot, but he wanted to make sure his bees were taken care of. He also wanted to sever as many ties with his father as he could. The money from the bees would be Aden's now—his and Sadie's. He'd already given her some of his savings to help cover expenses he knew she had to be buckling under. “They'll be in the backyard—”

“You don't have to ask.” She got out of the buggy and looked over her shoulder. “It's
yer
house now.”

He watched her, expecting her to go straight to the house. Instead she ran to the store, unlocked the door, and disappeared inside.

CHAPTER 7

A
den settled his horse in the empty stall near Sadie's horse. A third stall remained unoccupied. Aden sighed, saddened at the reminder that the Schrocks' other horse hadn't survived the accident. Once he was finished taking care of Rusty, he checked on Sadie's horse. He didn't know the mare's name, driving home again how little he knew about his wife.

The barn needed cleaning, and Sadie needed her space. He spent the next three hours working in the barn, scraping out the stalls, removing old manure and straw and laying down fresh bedding for the horses. He climbed the ladder leading to the small loft where the hay was stored and checked the supply. There wasn't enough to last the winter, and he made a note to purchase more next week.

When he finished cleaning, he looked down at his clothes, realizing he'd forgotten he'd been wearing his Sunday best. The black pants were covered with dust, dirt, and manure, his shoes were coated with muck, and his white shirt was so stained it was basically ruined. He briefly wondered if Sadie could sew,
then knew he wouldn't ask her to make him a new shirt even if she did.

He made one last check on the horses. They were content. If only he felt the same. He pulled his duffel bag out of his buggy, then looked down when he felt something brush against his lower leg. “Where did you come from?”

The dog lifted its head, his long tail thumping against the buggy wheel. He didn't know Sadie had a dog. Aden crouched down and scratched the animal behind his ear. He was an oddly colored dog, with solid light brown ears, a honey-colored tail, and a sprinkling of tan spots all over his white coat. His large dark brown eyes were soft and happy, and his long pink tongue lolled out of the side of his mouth as Aden continued to scratch.

“What's
yer
name?” Yeah, he was talking to a dog. Then again, he talked to his bees, so why not add another animal to his list of conversation companions. He'd always wanted a dog, but his father had refused to let them have pets of any kind. Only horses and farm animals, and now they were just down to horses.

He moved his hand down the side of the dog's flanks, frowning as he felt the ribs protruding. He was hungry, and on closer examination, dirty and possibly flea ridden. This couldn't be Sadie's dog. The Schrocks wouldn't allow a dog to get in this condition. “Want something to eat, boy?”