Promise Lodge (23 page)

“It'll all work out,” Frances said with quiet conviction. “There's a place for everyone and work for every hand in God's earthly kingdom.”

“
Jah,
we never seem to run out of work!” Beulah replied with a laugh. “I predict that life here at Promise Lodge will be anything but boring.”

“I can't wait to settle in next week,” Ruby chimed in happily. “A place named Promise Lodge just has to be a spot where God makes His promises come true, ain't so?”

Rosetta smiled as she sat down to her own piece of apricot cherry pie.
Ruby's got it right, Lord Jesus. Let it be so for all of Your servants who come here to live.

Chapter Twenty

Deborah dressed quickly on Sunday morning, thinking Rosetta might want some extra assistance with breakfast. She was glad Bishop Floyd had agreed that today would be a day of rest rather than a morning for church. Somehow, it seemed their guest had already delivered several sermons on their behavior at Promise Lodge, and—petty as it seemed—she was tired of him pointing up faults he found with every little thing.

Forgive me, Lord, for finding fault, as well,
she thought as she strode from her cabin to the back door of the lodge building.
It's not my place to—

Deborah stopped when she saw Preacher Amos, Noah, and Roman standing outside the mudroom door. Noah placed his finger over his lips, signaling for her silence. Even Queenie, her black ears angled upward, seemed intent on listening to something—and then Deborah heard Floyd's voice drifting through the open window.

“I'm telling you, Lester, these people are like sheep gone astray without any inclination to return to the fold,” the bishop was saying. “I hesitate to expose my daughters—and yours—to these wayward, freethinking women even as I believe it's my Christian duty to set them all back on the path to righteousness.”

Preacher Amos gripped the door handle. He looked ready to burst in on Bishop Floyd's phone conversation, yet intent upon hearing their guest's entire story before he revealed his presence.

“Oh, Frances thinks this place is quaint, and she loves the idea of building a new house,” Floyd continued in a rising voice. “But women usually see the world through impractical rose-colored glasses. It doesn't bother her that the three gals who've established this place are inviting
maidels
and widows to live in apartments, or that they're all running businesses instead of households . . .
jah,
you heard me right,” Floyd continued with a humorless laugh. “They seem to believe they can prosper without menfolk, and that's not the way God intended for them to live! And the preacher that came here with them is letting them get away with that.”

When Deborah looked away, wondering how long Floyd would rant about Promise Lodge, she saw Frances leaving the cabin the Lehmans had slept in. The bishop's wife walked toward the front porch of the lodge, probably planning to help with the preparation of their simple Sunday breakfast. Deborah heard the steady tattoo of her footsteps crossing the hardwood floors of the lobby . . . then entering the dining room, and then the kitchen.

“That's the way I see it, Lester,” Floyd continued. “It would be a lot easier to find our own land and establish a colony that'll be run our way from the beginning. If your wife and mine get into the habit of—”

“Floyd Lehman!” Frances cried out. “Not one thing's been readied for breakfast because you're gossiping on the phone and our hostesses are too polite to interrupt you! How very rude!” she exclaimed. “It would serve you right if they were all listening to you right now. They can't help but hear you—I caught every word before I even stepped inside!”

Deborah covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud. A loud
clack
told them Floyd had hung up the phone, but how would he react to learning he'd had an audience?

“I was not speaking that loudly,” the bishop insisted in a slightly quieter voice. “Once again, you exaggerate about—”

“And once again you refuse to admit how hard of hearing you are,” Frances interrupted him. “You have no idea how your voice carries, and how you speak in your sermon-giving voice even during a face-to-face conversation. See there?” she went on after a brief pause. “Rosetta and Mattie have been waiting patiently at the top of the stairs.”

As Deborah pictured this, she suspected the Kuhn sisters, Christine, and her girls were standing behind Rosetta and Mattie. They were probably wondering—as she was—what would happen next, and what the proper response to Floyd's phone conversation would be.

Preacher Amos cleared his throat and opened the screen door. “There's no pretending that the rest of us didn't hear what you said, either, Floyd,” he remarked as he led the way inside. “I'm sorry you've compared us to sheep gone astray—but you can see that having this phone on the kitchen wall is actually a lot less private than allowing folks to use a phone shanty. I think it'll go a long way toward limiting idle chitchat and the hurtful things we say when we believe no one's listening. No one except God, that is.”

Deborah quickly stepped around the men to enter the kitchen. When she glanced up the back stairway, she saw Mattie and Rosetta coming down the steps.

“I didn't say a thing that wasn't true,” Floyd insisted. “Every one of you knows that Promise Lodge has gone against Old Order ways from the moment you women decided to buy this land. I may be the first man to point that out, but I won't be the last.”

“We anticipated some objections to the way we've established our new colony,” Amos replied calmly. “And I'll say it again: perhaps Promise Lodge isn't the right place for you and your family to settle. We believe our ways of peace and acceptance are just as right as you believe they're wrong.”

“It's up to God to be the judge of right and wrong,” Mattie remarked when she'd reached the bottom of the stairway. “So while I won't criticize you for your opinions of us, neither will I allow you to yank us up and toss us aside as though we're weeds in your garden, Bishop Floyd. My sisters and Amos and I own this land. We can refuse to sell to anyone we choose, you know.”

Deborah's eyes widened as she opened the silverware drawer. She'd never heard a Plain woman speak out this way—and to a man, no less.

“
Jah,
we've received letters and calls from plenty of other folks,” Christine put in. “I'm not a bit worried about my investment in this place being repaid. And if that sounds boastful and proud, that's not my intention.”

“You haven't said a thing that wasn't true, Sisters,” Rosetta chimed in. She stood on the step behind Mattie, her arms crossed tightly. “But it seems that our truth and what God has told us are different from what the Lord has revealed to you, Bishop Floyd. We believe He loves all of His children equally, whether they wear suspenders or skirts, hats or
kapps
.”

“You've got it right, Rosetta,” Beulah said as she came the rest of the way down the narrow stairs.

“And I see no reason to waste any more time on this conversation,” Ruby stated from behind her. “We'll all feel better after we eat breakfast and drink some coffee. ‘This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.'”

* * *

Noah smiled at Deborah and his cousins when the women had finished redding up the kitchen after breakfast. “Anybody in the mood for a walk? I don't want to spend this pretty day being cooped up inside.”

“I like the sound of that, Noah,” Phoebe replied as they hung up their wet towels. “I'm all for getting some fresh air—”

“Oh, that sounds like a lovely idea,” Beulah remarked wistfully.

“But we know you young people would rather have your time together without us old ladies along,” Ruby said.

As Noah gazed at the Kuhn sisters, the memory of his long-gone grandmothers tugged at his heart. When Roman joined them, the matter was decided.

“Why not take Ruby and Beulah out to the orchard so they can think about where to situate their beehives?” he asked. “Meanwhile, we'll get a better idea about how much clearing we need to do so the trees will produce
gut
apples again.”

“I'd like that,” Deborah replied as she linked her arms through Beulah and Ruby's. “I haven't been to see the orchard, either.”

Noah smiled as the seven of them headed through the lobby and out onto the porch. The breeze made the hummingbird feeders sway beside the trumpet vines, which was loaded with orange blooms in the shape of pointed hats. Queenie greeted them with a
woof,
circling them in her eagerness to join them. When they'd walked several yards away from the lodge, Noah cleared his throat.

“I need a break from the bishop,” he admitted in a low voice.

“I didn't know what to think when you fellows were standing outside the mudroom door this morning,” Deborah said with a shake of her head. “Floyd surely had to know we could hear him talking on the phone.”

“Loud and clear,” Beulah agreed. “When I opened my door, there was no way around eavesdropping on every word he said.”

“I was surprised at the way Frances lit into him, too,” Ruby said softly. She glanced back toward the lodge as though to be sure the Lehmans weren't out on the porch—or following them to the orchard. “I have to wonder if Floyd will chastise her for that later. And I've had second thoughts about living here if those folks come to Promise Lodge.”

“Oh, Ruby! Please don't let him change your mind about staying,” Laura protested. “I'm really looking forward to you ladies setting up your cheese factory, and selling your honey in our roadside stand, too.”

Ruby stopped walking at the same moment her sister did, and the two Kuhns exchanged a long look. “Are you sure?” Beulah asked hesitantly.

“
Jah,
we understand what a bother a couple of old biddies can be,” Ruby said. “We get reminded about that fairly often—maybe not in so many words—”

“But facial expressions tell the tale,” Beulah said with a rueful laugh. “We know we're not perking along like spring chickens anymore.”

“Puh!” Laura remarked as she turned to face both of them. “None of us here have any grandmas left, and I for one really miss them!

“
Jah!
You can be our adopted grannies!” Phoebe agreed as she clapped her hands together. “And we can help with your honey and cheese making—if you want us to.”

Ruby and Beulah grabbed one another's hands, looking as though they might cry. “Well, if that's not the sweetest thing to say—”

“And it makes up for Bishop Floyd's sharp tongue, too,” Ruby finished their sentence. She gazed at the overgrown orchard. Many of the trees had branches that dragged on the ground, and the grass and weeds were growing in long clumps around their trunks. “My little bees could be just the remedy for these neglected trees—and
gut
for your vegetable gardens, as well. I think they'll enjoy having fresh territory to pollinate.”

“Look at how pretty the pasture is—and look at those cute little goats of Rosetta's frolicking around,” Beulah said lightly. “I'm so glad we saw your ad—”

“And that we decided to visit Promise Lodge instead of just wishing we could,” Ruby remarked. “Truth be told, it'll be nice to have you older kids around. Our nieces and nephews sometimes tease us . . . slip into our room to change things around—”

“Because they think we're too old to grab them and apply our hands to their backsides when they need it—not that their
mamm
would tolerate us doing that.” Beulah shook her head in frustrated disapproval. “It's not a
gut
idea to spare the rod and spoil the child. In the end,
everybody
pays for that mistake.”

Noah was listening intently, touched by the tale the Kuhns were telling between the lines. The roar of an engine made them all turn to watch a big pickup truck enter the grounds. “Looks like we've got more company,” he said. “Queenie, you stay right here. No barking—and no getting feisty, hear me?”

The black-and-white dog let out a frustrated
woof
and sat down at Noah's side.

“Uh-oh,” Beulah murmured.

“We should've known,” Ruby said with a sigh. “That's our little brother, Delbert, come to fetch us home, no doubt.”

“Well, he's our
younger
brother,” Beulah clarified. “Nothing little about him.”

Noah had to agree. The fellow who unfolded himself out of the cab stood nearly seven feet tall from his boots to the top of his straw hat. Noah waved and started toward the man, wondering what he could say to ease the strain Ruby and Beulah had probably caused by leaving home without any warning.

“Welcome to Promise Lodge,” he called out as Roman caught up to him. “You've picked a great day to see the place.”

“Well, what I
see
is two sisters who nearly gave me a heart attack when they disappeared,” Delbert replied curtly. “What were Claire and I supposed to think when you didn't show up to fix dinner? The kids were crying and worried about somebody breaking in to steal you away.”

Although Noah could understand the concern that creased Delbert's weathered face, he felt bad for Ruby and Beulah. They were walking toward their brother with their heads slightly bowed, clutching one another's hand. The happy confidence they'd displayed just moments ago had been replaced by childlike remorse.

“We did call you,” Beulah pointed out.

“And we came here because we figured if we got out of your house, Claire would have an easier time of getting the kids ready for school and church in the mornings,” Ruby said contritely. “Here, we've each got our own room—”

“And we share a bathroom for just the two of us, instead one for all twelve of us,” Beulah reasoned aloud.

When the two ladies stopped in front of him, Delbert placed his hands on his hips. “I've told you I was going to convert that hall closet into a half-bath—”

“And bless your heart, you've had the toilet and sink for that project for as long as I can recall,” Ruby said gently. “You're a busy man with a busy family. We truly appreciate the way you've looked after us all these years—”