Fraying at the Edge by Cindy Woodsmall Page A

everything to light.”
    “Sort of, I guess, in a roundabout way.” He imagined that a lot of what was being said wasn’t accurate. Other people could think what they wanted, but he wanted Cilla to know the truth…as much as he knew it. “What happened is while Mamm was in labor, she had time on her hands, and she embroidered a small set of baby’s feet in the corner of two blankets, one blue and one pink. Since she didn’t know she was having twins, she thought she would need just one of those blankets. Hours later as Mamm was delivering us, the birthing center caught fire. Rachel and Daed got everyone out safe—Mamm, Ariana, Brandi, Skylar, and me.”
    “Ya, I know about the fire. Everyone had to be really shaken and not thinking clearly for a while after something like that.”
    “I’m sure that was part of it. Brandi and Skylar were taken to a hospital. Mamm and Daed came home with Ariana and me. A few days or weeks later Mamm realized Ariana’s blanket didn’t have the embroidery on it like mine did, so she talked to Rachel about it. And Rachel wasn’t just the midwife; she and Mamm were good friends. When Mamm questioned her about whether there was any chance the girls had been switched at birth, Rachel assured her the answer was no.”
    “Your poor Mamm must feel betrayed.”
    “Probably. Rachel told her the blankets fell off the infants and were mixed up but not the girls. That’s the story Rachel stuck to until my brother Mark saw Skylar performing on stage, and he couldn’t get over how much she looked like Salome. He came home and told us about it. Not long afterward Mamm and Daed approached Rachel, and whatever she said caused them to ask Quill to investigate the issue secretly.”
    The knot in Abram’s stomach began to ease. Talking changed nothing, so why did it help him feel so much better?
    “It seemed to happen so quickly.”
    “Some of that was Mamm’s mistake, and she admits it. Once she suspected the truth and saw Skylar on stage, she felt God was directing her to connect with Skylar, and she let Brandi know that the girls were likely swapped at birth. But when the father, Nicholas, caught wind of what was going on, he rushed in, got blood work done on Skylar, and then started threatening lawsuits if Ariana didn’t leave this life and spend time with them in the Englisch world.” He intertwined his fingers. “So Ariana is doing that to keep Rachel out of jail. Part of me wishes they’d let Rachel pay the price instead of Mamm and Ariana.”
    “But how could Ariana stay here and let her biological father send a sixty-year-old Amish woman to jail?”
    “She couldn’t, which brings me back to why I’m thinking about quitting my construction job. I can’t let the café go under while she’s gone.” Abram wasn’t used to being so sure of something…of anything. He wasn’t a leader, but he had to take matters into his hands this time. “The benefit left the café in pretty good shape to pay its bills for the next few months, but if it is run so poorly that there aren’t any customers after that money runs out, we’ll lose the café before Ariana returns. I can’t allow that.”
    “Do you know anything about cooking or running a café?”
    Abram shook his head. “Nothing.”
    “By all means you should quit your paying job.” Cilla smiled.
    Abram laughed. “I know. It’s crazy talk, isn’t it?”
    “Not completely.” Cilla’s brows furrowed. “You’re pale. Are you feeling poorly?”
    “A little, but only because I haven’t eaten right. That can wait. I need answers.”
    “Are you hungry?”
    “Ya, but I’m fine. I wanted to talk for a few minutes, just us.”
    “Sure, but let me fix you a plate. Stay here, and I’ll be back in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
    He started to protest, but his stomach overruled him. “Denki.”
    “Glad to do it.” Cilla went inside, and it seemed he’d barely gotten comfortable when she returned with a plate of food.