The Promise of Palm Grove (19 page)

I
didn't know your family was so popular,” Melanie told Effie as they stood in her home's front lawn. “Everyone is here.” She giggled. “Even Josiah.”

Effie's stomach churned, but she tried her best to act like Melanie's statement wasn't a big deal. It kind of was, though, because this was the first time that so many people her age had come to one of her family's get-togethers. It did seem as if half their school was standing on the lawn and driveway.

It was also the first time that Josiah Grimm had paid her much attention. The idea that he'd come to her house was thrilling.

So were the smiles he'd been sending her way.

Not that she was about to let Melanie know about that, though. “Josiah is here?” she asked, trying to keep her voice particularly calm and unaffected. “I haven't seen him yet.”

But of course she had. She'd noticed the cutest boy in their class the minute he'd arrived.

“You haven't talked to him yet?” Looking a bit like she was
harboring a secret, Melanie circled her hand around Effie's elbow. “Let's go say hi, then. He's over there with Jennifer, and half the kids from our class.”

Effie didn't want to do that. Actually, she would have liked to do just about anything other than walk toward half the class, with another thirty people observing her. But it wasn't like everyone didn't already know she had Perthes disease and had to wear braces.

“All right.”

“Do you need help walking?” Melanie asked.

“I'll be fine.”

“Oh?
Gut
.”

Effie was relieved that Melanie hadn't stayed by her side while she plodded over to the other kids—honestly, nothing was more embarrassing than that—but now she felt just as conspicuous as she made her way over to the kids. Her gait wasn't smooth, it was choppy. And she even had her crutches—her mother's orders, since she was bound to be on her feet for hours tonight.

As she got closer, she saw more and more kids watching her walk. Some looked sorry for her. Others embarrassed. Others, like Melanie, looked a little unsure. Almost as if they weren't sure whether they should offer her a hand or not.

The only good thing about the short journey was that Josiah was simply staring at her face, watching
her
.

When she finally got near them, she called out a greeting. “Hi, everyone.”

“Hey, Effie,” Beth said. “Thanks for having a party.”

She grinned. “You're welcome.” She didn't bother to explain that the party was actually just an excuse for Zack to introduce Leona to everyone. “If you all get thirsty or hungry, you should come inside. There's tons of lemonade, pop, and food.”

Josiah smiled again, just like he had that one day in class. “
Danke,
Effie.”

Feeling a little braver, she smiled right back.

Melanie noticed. And, just as everyone was starting to talk and Beth was asking Effie about the rumor she'd heard about Zack having a girlfriend, Melanie's voice rose. “I hope you won't think I'm being rude or anything, but I've been wanting to ask you something.”

“What?” Effie was completely taken off guard.

Melanie smiled at Jennifer C. before turning back to Effie. “Are your legs ever going to be normal?”

Immediately, a new, ugly tension filled the air. Jennifer C. looked horrified, Beth's eyes turned to saucers, and a couple of other kids looked embarrassed.

Effie had no idea what to say. Helplessly, she looked around for one of her brothers or Violet. They'd always been her rescuers during situations like this. But now, of course, she was completely alone.

“I don't know,” she finally said. Because, well, she didn't. Her legs were stronger now, a lot stronger, but she didn't know if she would ever be completely free of braces and crutches. A lot depended on how her hips handled her growing body.

“Really, Melanie?” Josiah said.

Melanie turned to him. “What?”

“You know what.” He sounded almost mad.

“Oh! Did I embarrass you, Effie?” Melanie asked. “Sorry.”

But it was obvious—at least to Effie—that Melanie wasn't sorry for hurting her feelings. Instead, she was sorry that the most popular boy in their class had heard her be so mean.

Exchanging pained glances with Beth, Effie felt more alone than she ever had in her life. Even Beth wasn't saying anything.
No one wanted to become the new target of the popular girls' attention.

What she needed to do was get away. Feeling her neck turning bright red, she mumbled, “I'm just going to go inside for a minute.”

Josiah hurried to her side. “Great. I'll come with you.”

“That's okay. I mean, you don't have to.”

He lowered his voice. “Don't let Melanie get you down. She's being pretty ugly.”

She stared at him in surprise. “
Nee,
she's really pretty, Josiah.”

He leaned toward her ear. “You know what I mean. She can be ugly inside.”

His comment was a little shocking, but it was also honest. Melanie was the type of person who could do the sort of things that made her seem rather ugly.

Effie looked up at him and smiled. And when he looked at her, his gaze steady and sure, but now with a bit of warmth settled in it, she felt like maybe she actually already was “normal.” Maybe she needed to finally trust her brother, listen to his words, and remember that everyone had something about themselves that they wished they could change. She would be extremely selfish if she started imagining that her problems were greater than everyone else's.

Still looking at her, Josiah said, “Were you serious about there being a ton of food inside?”

“I was. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah.” At last, he grinned.

“Oh, look out!”

Effie dragged her attention away from Josiah with a start.

She looked behind her and saw someone had brought their dog. And that dog looked like a cross between a Labrador and
a Mastiff. It was huge, really friendly, and bounding right toward her.

It barked happily, then lunged . . .

Right as Effie inadvertently stepped backward on a sprinkler head.

The puppy barked again. Josiah darted from her side and reached for it as it barked happily, obviously thinking Josiah was joining in a game.

Unfortunately, Josiah's rescue came too late.

The dog's jump and her subsequent shift in weight was too much for her hip joints and muscles. In seconds, her left leg gave out.

She fell hard, the metal sprinkler head hitting the fleshy part of her arm with a sharp pinch. And since she'd refused to wear her braces, opting for her crutches, there was nothing to brace her legs—or her bones—for her fall.

“Effie? Effie, are you okay?” Josiah said after calling out for help with the dog.

Effie knew she wasn't. She was on the ground, her leg was in terrible pain, her arm was stinging, and her muscles felt pulled and out of sorts. But the worst of it had been hearing the snap of the bone as her leg hit the ground.

She couldn't help it; she cried out in hurt and frustration and disappointment.

Josiah knelt on the ground next to her. “Don't worry, help's on the way,” he said.

His promise was sweet, but Effie also knew it hardly mattered. She was going to have to go to the hospital again. Tears blurred her vision, so she closed her eyes. She knew what had happened.

She'd broken her leg again.

T
HE CRY WAS
shrill and piercing. And the commotion that followed was even louder as a kid about Effie's age ran up to Zack and Leona in the backyard.

“Zack, Effie fell.”

“Where is she?”

“On the ground in the front yard.”

He bit back a sigh. Effie was really going to need to be more careful. They'd all told her not to wear herself out. When her muscles started tiring, accidents happened. “She'll be all right,” he said. “I bet she's already on her feet.” And no doubt completely embarrassed.

But the girl shook her head. “
Nee,
Zack, you don't understand. She's hurt bad!”

“How bad?”

“I think she broke her leg. Josiah heard a pop. She's crying something awful. And bleeding, too.”

Every muscle in his body tensed. “Go make sure someone has told my parents,” he called out. “And Violet.” He stared at the kid. “Do you know my sister Violet? She's Mennonite now. Her boyfriend has a car.” The moment the kid ran off to do what he asked, Zack turned to Leona. “I've got to go.”

Only compassion shone in her eyes. “I know.”

“I hate to leave you like this—”

Cutting him off, she said, “I'll be fine, Zack. I promise.” With a tender smile, she squeezed his arm for a second before lightly pushing him away. “Go on, now. I'll see you at the hospital. And I'll pray for your sister, too.”

T
HREE HOURS LATER
, Zack was sitting in an uncomfortable chair in the middle of Sarasota Memorial Hospital's crowded waiting room. Effie had, indeed, sustained a broken leg. She'd also needed seven stitches on her arm.

Because of the nature of her disease, everything had taken a lot longer than it might have with another child her age with the same injuries. Her specialists had wanted to view the X rays before any decision had been made about whether or not she needed surgery.

Thank goodness everyone had agreed that surgery wasn't necessary. Now his parents were sitting with her and conferring with the doctors about whether or not to keep Effie overnight.

He was thankful also for Leona. When she'd first arrived at the hospital, she'd taken a seat next to him in the waiting room and whispered, “I wanted to be here with you, Zack, but you needn't feel obligated to sit with me the whole time. I'll be fine.”

He had sat beside her most of the time. It was only after his parents had left the room that he'd decided to sit with Violet and Karl. Still, just seeing her nearby had helped.

And a few minutes ago, she'd taken everyone's coffee orders and was now passing out cups with Violet's boyfriend, Henry.

Now that it was only the three of them, he said something to Violet and Karl that had been on his mind from the moment they walked through the hospital's electric doors.

“This feels pretty familiar, doesn't it?”

Looking drained, Karl nodded. “This time we know what we're dealing with, though. We know what to do with broken legs and cut arms.”

Violet pushed a chunk of hair that had gotten loose from her pins around her ear. “I hate thinking about two years ago, when Effie was first diagnosed. I was so mean to her.”

They'd had this discussion many times. Effie's first complaints had sounded like normal growing pains. And because she was so much younger and had been quite coddled by their parents, Zack, Violet, and Karl hadn't given Effie even the smallest amount of sympathy.

“I was worse than that,” Zack said. “I kept questioning Mamm and Daed when they took her to the doctors. I thought she was creating a lot of expense for a few sore limbs.”

Karl rested his elbows on his knees. “Even now, my behavior isn't much better. I'm off working while you've been helping her get to her physical therapy sessions.”

Zack wasn't going to go down this path again. Their guilt hadn't caused the Perthes disease. It was simply a condition that the Lord had seen fit for Effie to bear. “We ought to stop double-guessing ourselves. She was fine. We've all been doing the best we can, too. It was just an accident.”

After a moment, Violet nodded. “You're right. Just an accident.”

“Thank goodness you brought Henry, Vi,” Karl said. “Because of him, we were able to get her here right away.”

Violet looked over at Henry and Leona talking to some of Effie's friends who were at the party. “He's a good man,” she said softly. “I love him.”

“Is he ever going to propose?”

After making sure Henry wasn't looking their way, she smiled. “He already has.”

“So you are engaged?”

“
Nee
. I haven't said yes yet.”

“Why on earth not?” Karl asked.

She shrugged. “I wanted things to be better between me and Mamm and Daed. I know I'm disappointing them, but I still want them to want me in their lives.”

“They love you,” Karl said. Then he looked at Leona, who was still chatting with Effie's friends. “And what about you, Zack?”

Zack felt an immediate blush all the way to the tips of his ears. “There's no way I'm talking about that now.”

Violet's eyes sparkled. “But?”

“But you and Effie were right on the mark,” he said as he glanced Leona's way.

They all sat up when the door opened and their father came out. He looked far more relaxed. “She's going to be just fine, but because of the late hour, they've decided to keep her overnight.”

“Where's Mamm?” Violet asked.

“Sitting with Effie. She's going to spend the night by her side.”

Violet shook her head. “Mamm's exhausted. I'm going to go see if I can stay instead.”

Their father looked at her in surprise. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“She's my little sister, Daed. Of course I'm sure.”

“All right, then,” Daed said, giving her a hug. “
Danke
.” After he released her, he gazed at Zack and Karl. “We are a blessed family,” he murmured, “for sure and for certain. It is surely a blessing to have you
kinner
to lean on in times like these.”

Quickly, Zack shared a smile with Violet. If she had any doubts about their parents' acceptance of her, he had a feeling those doubts had now faded away.

B
everly was in the kitchen making oatmeal cookies when she heard a knock at the front door. She wiped her hands with the dishrag tied around her waist and turned on an additional porch light.

But when she peeked out and saw who had arrived, she was tempted to turn right back around and go back to spooning cookie dough onto baking sheets while waiting for the first batch in the oven to finish. Why in the world had Eric Wagler decided to stop by at this time of the evening?

Bracing herself, she opened the door. “Eric. Hello.”

“Beverly.”

“What brings you out at this hour?”

He looked at his watch. “It's only a little after ten.”

“Eric, it's almost ten thirty!”

He still looked confused. “Is that a problem?”

What he didn't realize was that ten at night was considered late in Pinecraft. Far too late for social visits. “It's a little late, but never mind. I'm up, anyway.”

“I thought you would be. See, earlier tonight, I was in Yoder's when a group of people came in, talking about how you saved the day at some party with your next-door neighbor's van.”

“Oh, that.”

His gaze warmed, looking more than a little amused. “Yeah. That.”

“It was nothing. Three of my guests were at someone's home and a little girl had an accident and broke her leg. She'd already gone to the hospital with her parents, but her siblings and some family friends wanted to be there with them. My neighbor George is on retainer. He didn't mind picking them up and driving them over. He's the one who saved the day.”

“You act like your helping wasn't any big deal.”

“That's because it wasn't,” she replied, shrugging off his impressed look. “As I said, I didn't do anything besides ask George if he would drive some folks to the hospital.”

“Do things like this happen a lot?”

“Girls getting their legs broken in the middle of a family party?” she asked. “I certainly hope not.”

“You know what I mean,” he pressed. “I'm talking about you offering a helping hand to a bunch of strangers.”

These people weren't strangers. They were her friends and neighbors. If Eric was going to take over the inn, they would be his friends and neighbors, too.

But a sixth sense told her that he wasn't ready to hear that. He still seemed to view what she did as merely a job when it was really so much more.

Therefore, she measured her words carefully. “Well, Pinecraft is a small place. We help each other out when we can. It's our way, you know.”

Eric nodded. But, actually, he looked as if he didn't understand.

And that made her wonder a little bit more about him. What type of man was he? She looked at him curiously. “Are you familiar with the Amish or the Mennonites?”

“Some. As you know, my neighbor, John, was Amish. However, I grew up in a fundamentalist household. I can't tell you the number of times my mother talked to people she met about Jesus Christ.” He met her gaze then, and looked more than a little bit embarrassed. “Sorry, it's late and here I am, telling you my whole life story.”

“Actually, I like hearing that. I feel like we share so much but are virtual strangers.”

“I suppose we are.” He waited a beat, then murmured, “Maybe one day we won't be.”

His words were as unexpected as they were sweet. They gave her comfort, too, which was a blessing since his appearance in Sarasota and her life was a real source of worry. “I hope that is true,” she said. “I hope one day we won't be strangers, virtual or otherwise.”

“I also came over to ask if I could come back tomorrow or the next day. I want to take another look around. When I stopped by the other day, it was only for a few moments.”

He'd stopped by soon after Jean and Ida had left for Orlando. She'd had tears in her eyes, and Eric saw them. After just a few minutes, he'd told her he'd stop by another time.

Eric sniffed the air. “Do you have a candle burning or something?”

“Oh my goodness, it's the cookies. Come on!”

Fearing that she'd just burned a whole sheet, she tore down the hall, only vaguely paying attention to the door slamming and the footsteps following her.

As soon as she got into the kitchen, she grabbed a dish-towel and pulled out the sheet of cookies. Thankfully, she'd gotten to them and found they were only slightly well-done.

“What do you think?” Eric asked.

Setting the tray on the counter, she heaved a sigh of relief. “A little crisp, but definitely salvageable.”

“I'm not too sure about that.”

“Really?” They weren't the prettiest cookies she'd ever made, but she didn't think they deserved to go directly into the trash.

With a new gleam in his eye, Eric said, “I think they need to be tested. You know, just to be sure they are edible.”

Now understanding that he was teasing, she played along. “
Jah,
I suppose that would be the right thing to do. Any chance you would be willing to do the honors?”

He sighed. “I guess I could. I mean, someone has to.”

When he looked ready to reach down and grab one, she slapped away his hand. “Be careful. You're going to burn yourself. I'll give you a couple to take home in a minute or two.”

His lips quirked. “If I'm a good boy?”

“And
only if
.”

“That would give anyone all the incentive they need to be on good behavior.”

“Let's hope you fall into that category.”

He laughed, then walked around the large kitchen. “This is amazing. It's huge. Was it like this when you moved in?”

Looking at the stainless steel appliances, the two dishwashers, the granite countertops, and the butler's pantry, she shook her head. “Not at all. I've put all my time and extra money right back into this place.” Pointing to the industrial-sized oven, which in her mind really was a work of art, she said, “It all started with the oven. I'm afraid the projects grew from there.”

“Do you have a contractor?”

“There's a local man here, Frank Kaufmann, who does good work. He does a lot of remodeling and refurbishing of homes in the area.” She gasped as she put two and two together. “Oh my gosh, Eric. I think it was his youngest daughter who broke her leg.” Without thinking, she added, “I've been so stressed out, thinking about—”

“About me coming to take over your place?” He pursed his lips.

She supposed there was no turning back now. “Yeah. But I had some other things happen, too.” Such as Marvin's sisters' surprise visit.

Turning back to the tray of cookies, she frowned. “I'll have to make them a cake or something tomorrow.”

His expression looking more solemn, he nodded. “When would be a better time for me to look around, Beverly?”

She met his gaze. Realizing that he suddenly looked fairly uncomfortable. Was it the reminder about how much his visit had rattled her, or something else?

“How about you come over the day after tomorrow? Tomorrow, I've got quite a few new guests arriving. One of the couples is very nice but a little high-maintenance, if you know what I mean.”

If anything, that made him frustrated. “You know what? I don't.”

“Eric—”

“Beverly, please don't apologize. I'm the one who is disrupting your life, not the other way around.”

She'd like to think that she'd learned a few things over the years. “You're not disrupting anything,” she said, realizing for the first time that she'd let go of her anger. “What happened with
your friend John and my aunt and this inn . . . it's just life. The Lord gives us only one life, but He seems to enjoy packing it in.”

“You do have a point there.” His eyes lit with a new warmth and understanding.

“Let me get a bag and I'll give you some cookies.”

“Don't trouble yourself. I'll come back in a day or two.”

“That sounds good, but I'll send you home with some cookies in the meantime.” She found a zip lock bag in a drawer and popped a half dozen inside for him. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.”

“Anytime,” she replied, then found herself blushing at the phrase. It seemed she really would look forward to seeing him at any time.

Slowly, he smiled. “I'll see you soon, Beverly.”

She smiled weakly as he turned and left. And because things were feeling so awkward and she really had no idea where they were going to go next, she stayed in the kitchen instead of walking him out.

She was pretty certain that they both needed that. Space and time.

“Y
OU DIDN
'
T HAVE
to walk me back to the inn, Zack,” Leona said as they walked side by side late that evening. “I know I have a pretty poor sense of direction, but I would have been okay.”

They'd elected to take the SCAT from the hospital to the stop in the heart of Pinecraft. The stop was almost directly between the Orange Blossom Inn and his house. Since a couple of people were still walking or riding bikes on the street, she'd felt pretty safe walking home by herself. But Zack had looked horrified about that idea.

“It's too late for you to be walking by yourself. It must be after eleven.”

“I'm sure I'll be fine. Plus, I bet you're tired. I don't want you to feel obligated.”

“You didn't have to come to the hospital and sit with me in that waiting room, but you did.”

“I'm glad I did,” she said, realizing that she meant every word. Though they hadn't actually spent a lot of time together, she'd seen him glance her way often. She could tell that he was worried about his sister, and feeling a little guilty that he hadn't been by her side when she'd fallen.

Though she hadn't been able to solve any of Zack's problems, she'd known enough to caution him not make things worse than they were. The last thing in the world Effie needed was to have her favorite brother blame himself for a dog leaping on her.

“I'm glad you did, too,” he said.

As they walked along the sidewalk, the streetlights glowed, as did a couple of the lights from different peoples' front porches. And though it wasn't exactly warm—the temperature was lurking in the mid-fifties—it was a far cry from the cold, wet winter they'd been experiencing back in Ohio.

“It feels so good out here. I'm going to miss the warmth of Florida. Even thinking about putting my winter coat back on makes me grumpy.”

“And here I was just going to ask you if you would like to have my jacket over your shoulders. If feels a little brisk out to me.”

“You Floridians,” she teased. “So spoiled when it comes to the weather.”

He chuckled under his breath. “That's a fact.”

They passed another couple, forcing Leona to move in front of Zack for a couple of paces. When it was just the two of them again, Zack moved to her side, steadying her by placing his palm in the small of her back.

From there, when he reached for her hand, Leona took his without hesitation. She liked his touch. Liked having a connection with him even though they walked together without talking.

Zack seemed just as pleased to clasp her fingers in his own.

He smiled at her as he gently squeezed her hand. “You're going to laugh at me for admitting this, but I have to say it's been a mighty long time since I've walked in the moonlight, holding a girl's hand.”

Leona tried to remember the last time she'd held Edmund's hand. Try as she might, she couldn't.

Which, of course, made her both sad and irritated with herself for never realizing that she should've been doing those things with “the love of her life.”

“Actually,” she admitted, “I'm not laughing at all.”

“Why is that?”

“Edmund never held my hand,” she murmured, “but what's worse was I never expected him to. Which, now that I think about it, seems pretty sad.”

Instead of replying, he gently squeezed her hand again.

And he was right. Nothing else needed to be said.