A Wedding at the Orange Blossom Inn (8 page)

“Aunt Beverly, did you say all this to Penny when she fell in love a couple of months ago?”

“Of course not.”

“Did you warn Michael to keep a clear head?”

“
Nee
, I did not.” She'd learned her lesson about interfering when Michael was recuperating from surgery at the inn. When she'd tried to tell Penny to keep her distance because she was an employee, Michael had not been shy about telling Beverly what he thought about her becoming involved in their business. Now she did her best to stay out of her guests' lives.

“Hmm. Well, what about Zack Kaufmann and Leona? They just got married. From what I heard, their romance happened rather fast.”

“That was different,” she said quickly.

“Why?”

“Because
they
were different,” she snapped, knowing she wasn't making a lick of sense. But what she really meant was that none of those people were Tricia.

“It sure sounds like you think they're more deserving of love and a good relationship than I am. Or do you just think I'm not deserving of love at all?”

“Of course I don't think that.”

“It sure sounds like it to me. It sounds like you aren't taking me seriously at all,” Tricia countered. Then, to Beverly's dismay, her bottom lip quivered. “I trusted you, Aunt Beverly. I can't believe you just said all that!” she exclaimed before running out of the room.

Sitting alone again, Beverly glared at the phone. Oh, that Eric. He'd been so right. She should have prayed before broaching this subject with her niece. And she should have waited. Yes,
she really should have prayed a whole lot more and waited until the right time.

It seemed she still had much to learn about curbing her tongue and keeping her opinions to herself. Perhaps she should take some time to remember what she'd told Eric, as well. Tricia's future was in the Lord's hands. Not Tricia's.

And definitely not Beverly's.

H
i, Emma,” Penny Knoxx called out from the front of the Quilting Haus as Emma rushed down the sidewalk lining Bahia Vista two weeks later. The Quilting Haus was one of Emma's favorite places to visit whenever she had an hour or two to spare, though today she only had twenty minutes before she needed to pick up William and her girls from Pinecraft Elementary.

“Hello, Penny.” Penny Knoxx, formerly Penny Troyer, looked as pretty as a summer's day. A few of her blond curls had escaped the confines of their pins and framed her rosy cheeks, and her cornflower-blue dress made her eyes look even brighter than usual. “How are you? I haven't seen you out and about much lately.”

Penny blushed prettily. “Michael and I have been pretty busy getting our house in order.”

“How is it coming along?” Emma asked. “Do you need any help with curtains or such?”

“
Danke
, but I am hoping to do everything myself.”

“You sure?”

“
Jah
. Michael hasn't had a real
haus
to live in for several years, you know. I think he is having fun watching me make our
haus
a real home.”

“I can understand that.” Emma remembered her newlywed days well. Every little thing she and Sanford had done had felt like an important task. She was about to comment about decorating when she noticed that Penny didn't simply look happy about her life—she looked like she was guarding an important secret. “You seem to be in an especially good mood today.”

“I am.” After a pause, she leaned in close. “Michael and I are expecting a
boppli
.”

“Oh my goodness.” Grasping one of Penny's hands, Emma gave it a little squeeze. “That is wonderful! Congratulations!”

“Danke.”
A dimple appeared in her cheek as she blushed again, making her look even more adorable. “We are happy.”

“Of course you are. What a blessing. How are you feeling?”

“Some days sick, some days not.” She smiled. “I'm trying my best to concentrate on the baby and not on my queasy stomach.”

“Take care of yourself. I was tired and suffered from morning sickness with all three of my girls.”

“I have been tired, but it's nothing too bad. Michael keeps fussing over me, though. He suddenly seems to think I'm made of glass.”

“Let him fuss over you, Penny. He just wants to help you.”

“I know.” She rolled her eyes. “I just sometimes wish he wasn't quite so attentive. He hardly let me leave the
haus
today by myself.”

“I'm sure he'll settle down soon. Please let me know if I can help in any way. The girls and I would be happy to bring you a meal. You don't have to try to do everything on your own.”

“
Danke
. I'll remember that. My parents have been over a lot, as have the Kaufmanns, but I'll remember to ask you for help, too. I'm grateful for friends.”

Until recently, hardly anyone had ever seen Penny. But now that she was none other than Michael Knoxx's wife, she was coming out of her shell a bit. “How is Michael adjusting to life in Florida?” Everyone in the area knew that after years of touring and speaking to crowds, he and Penny had quickly married and settled into their new house.

“He is
gut
. He's writing today.”

“Is he finding it difficult to write about his life instead of talking about it?”

“Some days he says writing is far harder than touring ever was. Most days, however, he says it's the best job in the world.” She shrugged. “I'm just glad he's happy.”

“I'm glad you both are.”

“Enough about me. How are you? How are the girls?”

“We are fine.” Then, remembering the time, she took a step back. “Actually, I had better run off to the school. It's about to end for the day and I need to get them and William.”

“William?”

“Oh! He's the son of a new family in the area. They took over Borntrager's Organic Farm.”

“How many
kinner
do they have?”

“Three boys, but their father is a widower. William is the youngest.”

“Oh, my. He's raising three children all on his own. Just as
you are.” Immediately, Penny covered her mouth with a hand. “Oh, forgive me, Emma. I didn't mean it like it sounded.”

“There is nothing to forgive. It is the truth,” she said with a shrug. Everyone in Pinecraft knew she was a widow. And no matter what, without fail, when they were reminded of her loss, they got that same look on their face—one of embarrassment and dismay. She appreciated their sympathy but she did get tired of always being reminded of her widowed state. “Though, Jay's boys are older than my three.”

“Oh?” Pure relief flooded Penny's expression as she realized that Emma hadn't been hurt by her blunt comment.

“
Jah
. His boys are much older. The eldest, Ben, is almost all grown up, and Mark is in his teens, but
jah
, I know what you mean,” Emma said with a small smile. “It's hard, but Jay and his boys seem to be doing well.”

“Got is
gut
. Well, I had best get my fabric, and you have
kinner
to fetch.”

Impulsively, Emma gave Penny a hug. “Take care of yourself. Don't forget to put your feet up when you can.”

“Don't worry. Michael is constantly reminding me to rest. He's worse than a mother hen.”

Penny's famous husband being described that way made Emma grin the whole way to the Amish school. As she stood outside the door and heard the children's teacher wish them a
gut
afternoon before dismissing them, Emma had to agree that Penny's statement about God being good was true. Though she was tempted from time to time to feel sorry for herself, all she had to do to lift her spirits was look at her precious girls and be reminded that He had not left her alone.

She stepped to one side as the
kinner
raced out the doors.
Some started walking home, while others grabbed their bikes. A few kids had parents there waiting for them as well.

At last, out came Lena, Mandy, and Annie. Shuffling behind them was William.

“Hi, Mamm!” Annie cried as she ran to Emma's side for a quick hug.

Emma gave her one before hugging Mandy, too. Lena and William simply smiled their greetings. After making sure everyone had all their books and papers and lunch boxes, the five of them started walking back to the house.

But when they were about halfway there, Emma began to realize that William wasn't simply being a little shy and quiet. He was upset about something. She kept an eye on him during the rest of their walk. She hoped he hadn't had an argument with Lena, though she knew children got upset with each other for all sorts of reasons. But when he seemed to be okay with Lena, and with Mandy and Annie, too, Emma grew a little more worried. Was he upset that his father wasn't there to pick him up? Was he missing his friends back home? Did he not want to be surrounded by a bunch of little girls for the next couple of hours?

Or was it even something more serious?

By the time they made it back home, she was determined to find out. Luckily, she'd prepared their snacks ahead of time and had orange slices, celery and carrots, and tiny frosted buttermilk cookies set out for them along the counter—too far back from the edge for Frankie to get to, no matter how hard he might try.

After supervising hand washing, Emma passed out paper towels and their snacks. As she'd expected, the girls grabbed oranges, a couple of pieces of celery and carrots, and several cookies before they raced out the back door with Frankie at their side.

William merely asked for something to drink.

After getting him a glass of lemonade, she said, “Wouldja like to sit down with me on the front stoop?”

He looked at her suspiciously. “Why do ya want to sit out there?”

“There's a pesky pair of blue jays with a nest nearby. I like to think if I sit out there from time to time they know they can't cause much mischief.”

As she'd hoped, William smiled at her silly comment and followed her out to the front steps. After they sat, she showed him the blue jays' nest as well as the pair of hummingbirds near a feeder. William watched them but didn't say anything.

Trying a different tactic, Emma said, “I noticed that you seem a little quiet today. Do you feel all right?”

“Jah.”

“Are you tired? Or is there something that's bothering you?”

He shrugged.

“You don't have to talk to me, but if, by chance, you feel like telling me anything, I'd like to listen.”

He turned his head and stared at her for a time. Then at last he said, “Our teacher was talking about families this afternoon. I was the only kid in class who didn't have a mother.”

“My girls have shared that they feel sad when everyone talks about their fathers. It's hard, not having one of your parents.”

William nodded. “I wish I had her still.”

“I know.” Scooting a little closer, she wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “I used to wonder what to say when people asked me where my husband was.”

“How come?”

“Well, once I tell them that Sanford died three years ago, people begin to ask questions.” She lowered her voice. “Sometimes silly questions, if you want to know the truth.”

His eyes widened. “How were they silly?”

“Well, women used to ask me how it was, raising three daughters on my own.” She sighed. “Between you and me, I hated that question.”

“You did?”

“Oh,
jah
. I thought it was stupid because there was only one answer.”

“What was that?”

“Raising my girls all alone was hard, of course,” she said with a small smile. Remembering the burden of having to do everything herself and how lonely she was at the end of each day, she added, “It was all hard. However, when people asked me how I was doing, I never felt that they really wanted to know my feelings. Or if they did, they didn't want to help.”

Suddenly, Emma felt a bit melancholy herself. Here she'd been trying to ease William's mind, but all she was doing was dredging up old memories best left forgotten.

But to her relief, he let out a breath of air, then blurted, “Sometimes kids ask me if I miss my
mamm
. I think that's a stupid question, too.”

“Because of course you do. She was your mother and you loved her.”

He nodded. “She was my
mamm
and I loved her. And then she got real sick and died.” He swallowed. “The girls'
daed
died three years ago?”

“
Jah
. He did.” She gave him another little squeeze before dropping her arm. “Some days it feels like a mighty long time ago. Others, it feels like it was just yesterday. But I promise, it does get easier. It might never be easier to understand why the Lord took him away from me so early, but each day, my heart feels a little lighter.”

“My
daed
said the same thing.”

Emma felt her stomach turn a little somersault at his mention of Jay. She didn't quite understand it, but knowing that Jay had gone through so many of the same things was comforting.

But she would tackle how she felt about that another day.

“Hungry yet?” When he nodded, she grinned. “
Gut
. Let's go get you a snack and you can play with Frankie and the girls. Then we'll get started on homework. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Minutes later, as she watched him running with Frankie, Emma sighed. He was such a sweet little boy but had so many burdens. She hoped she could be a person in his life whom he could continue to share his worries with.

Of course, she was sure Jay and Ben and Mark tried their best, but experience had taught her that sometimes a child needed a mother's patience and understanding to completely let his guard down. Though she could never replace his mother, she hoped she could one day be his friend.

Two hours later, Ben came to pick up William, Tricia by his side. Of course, Emma sent Ben home with a container of cookies. She had just waved good-bye to them at the front door and was about to head back inside when she spied William looking back over his shoulder at her. After the briefest of pauses, he smiled.

It melted her heart.

She wasn't sure why the Lord had put the Hiltys into her life, but she was sure it wasn't a mistake. That little boy needed her. And she knew she needed him, too.