blurted. When she realized that Miriam might take offense at her question, she said, “I mean, when I was a kid everybody ate at home.”
Ben chuckled. “The Sweet Seasons is where I met Miriam,” he replied with an endearing smile. “For a lot of unattached fellas, it’s the best place for miles around to get a gut meal—and eatin’ breakfast here is a way for your dat to get out amongst other people. Even with Millie lookin’ after him and your mamm , he’s been pretty much housebound for the last few years.”
“And we can hope that if he sits with Bishop Tom this morning,” Miriam went on in a pensive voice, “he’ll not be as inclined to—well, we can’t predict what Gabe might do. But I’m glad you’re givin’ it a try, Nora. Stay brave and pray.”
Nora’s heart shriveled when she pictured her father’s negative reaction to seeing her, yet Miriam’s words rang with an air of confidence. Stay brave and pray. Hadn’t such a sentiment kept her going through a lot of tough times, even if she hadn’t expressed it so succinctly? Even if she hadn’t prayed as often as she should have?
“No matter how your dat reacts, though,” Miriam continued as she gazed at Nora, “it’s your mamm and Millie and Lizzie who need to know why you’re back in Willow Ridge. Your return’s gonna tear their lives apart in different ways, but it’s always the women who can put the pieces together again and move on. Where there’s a woman, there’s a way.”
Nora’s mouth opened and then closed. How had Miriam managed to portray the most dismal storm and then paint a rainbow arching over the clouds? “Thank you,” she murmured. “No matter what happens, I appreciate your help.”
Luke entered the Sweet Seasons in fine fettle Friday morning, itching to tell Matthias Wagler and the Brenneman brothers that he’d met the mystery person who’d bought Hiram’s house—mostly to let them know he had first dibs on her. Matthias, the local harness maker, was Nora’s neighbor on the other side, and a widower. He was likely to be feeling more pinched by his single state now that his younger brother Adam had married Annie Mae and brought her five younger siblings to live with them. Luke hoped to dissuade Matthias’s interest in the sizzling redhead who was keeping more secrets than she could cram into her red BMW’s trunk—
“So where do ya suppose Nora got off to so early?” Ira was saying as the café’s bell jingled above their heads. “Seems odd that she didn’t have any lamps lit—”
“That’s none of your beeswax,” Luke muttered, grabbing his brother’s arm. “And if she figures out you’ve been peering through her windows—”
“Like you haven’t!” Ira retorted, jerking away from Luke’s grasp. “You’re so far gone you’re gonna trip over your tongue and—”
“Mornin’, fellas. It’s gut to see the two of ya ready for another day of workin’ together at the mill.” Ben rose from a table near the door with a purposeful smile. “I was hopin’ you’d join me for breakfast. My treat.”
Luke’s eyebrows rose. Though he got along fine with his older brother, Ben’s generosity struck him as . . . fishy. “What’s the occasion?”
“Do I need a reason to buy you boys a meal?” Ben asked as he gestured toward the buffet line at the other side of the dining room. Then he smiled at Rebecca, Miriam’s English-raised daughter who often waited tables during the early shift. “Coffee all around, and a big glass of milk for Ira. He’s a growin’ boy, ya know.”
As the three of them made their way between the tables, Luke looked around. All the regulars seemed to be in their usual places. He nodded when Seth and Aaron Brenneman greeted him, and noted the table of English fellows from down the road who often ate here. Bishop Tom and Gabe Glick were headed for their habitual corner table. The retired preacher seemed more stooped this morning, and he didn’t argue
Ben chuckled. “The Sweet Seasons is where I met Miriam,” he replied with an endearing smile. “For a lot of unattached fellas, it’s the best place for miles around to get a gut meal—and eatin’ breakfast here is a way for your dat to get out amongst other people. Even with Millie lookin’ after him and your mamm , he’s been pretty much housebound for the last few years.”
“And we can hope that if he sits with Bishop Tom this morning,” Miriam went on in a pensive voice, “he’ll not be as inclined to—well, we can’t predict what Gabe might do. But I’m glad you’re givin’ it a try, Nora. Stay brave and pray.”
Nora’s heart shriveled when she pictured her father’s negative reaction to seeing her, yet Miriam’s words rang with an air of confidence. Stay brave and pray. Hadn’t such a sentiment kept her going through a lot of tough times, even if she hadn’t expressed it so succinctly? Even if she hadn’t prayed as often as she should have?
“No matter how your dat reacts, though,” Miriam continued as she gazed at Nora, “it’s your mamm and Millie and Lizzie who need to know why you’re back in Willow Ridge. Your return’s gonna tear their lives apart in different ways, but it’s always the women who can put the pieces together again and move on. Where there’s a woman, there’s a way.”
Nora’s mouth opened and then closed. How had Miriam managed to portray the most dismal storm and then paint a rainbow arching over the clouds? “Thank you,” she murmured. “No matter what happens, I appreciate your help.”
Luke entered the Sweet Seasons in fine fettle Friday morning, itching to tell Matthias Wagler and the Brenneman brothers that he’d met the mystery person who’d bought Hiram’s house—mostly to let them know he had first dibs on her. Matthias, the local harness maker, was Nora’s neighbor on the other side, and a widower. He was likely to be feeling more pinched by his single state now that his younger brother Adam had married Annie Mae and brought her five younger siblings to live with them. Luke hoped to dissuade Matthias’s interest in the sizzling redhead who was keeping more secrets than she could cram into her red BMW’s trunk—
“So where do ya suppose Nora got off to so early?” Ira was saying as the café’s bell jingled above their heads. “Seems odd that she didn’t have any lamps lit—”
“That’s none of your beeswax,” Luke muttered, grabbing his brother’s arm. “And if she figures out you’ve been peering through her windows—”
“Like you haven’t!” Ira retorted, jerking away from Luke’s grasp. “You’re so far gone you’re gonna trip over your tongue and—”
“Mornin’, fellas. It’s gut to see the two of ya ready for another day of workin’ together at the mill.” Ben rose from a table near the door with a purposeful smile. “I was hopin’ you’d join me for breakfast. My treat.”
Luke’s eyebrows rose. Though he got along fine with his older brother, Ben’s generosity struck him as . . . fishy. “What’s the occasion?”
“Do I need a reason to buy you boys a meal?” Ben asked as he gestured toward the buffet line at the other side of the dining room. Then he smiled at Rebecca, Miriam’s English-raised daughter who often waited tables during the early shift. “Coffee all around, and a big glass of milk for Ira. He’s a growin’ boy, ya know.”
As the three of them made their way between the tables, Luke looked around. All the regulars seemed to be in their usual places. He nodded when Seth and Aaron Brenneman greeted him, and noted the table of English fellows from down the road who often ate here. Bishop Tom and Gabe Glick were headed for their habitual corner table. The retired preacher seemed more stooped this morning, and he didn’t argue
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