Read Online Harvest of Blessings by Charlotte Hubbard - Free Book Online

the old preacher, pleading with wide eyes that spoke of great pain and remorse, but Gabe pointed vehemently toward the door.
    “Get thee behind me, Satan!” he snapped.
    The dining room went silent. As all eyes turned to witness the drama unfolding in the corner, Luke didn’t care what quarrel the old preacher had with Nora. A protective urge surged within him and he stood up so fast, his chair fell over backwards.
    Ben grabbed his wrist. “Leave it be, Luke,” he murmured. “We need to let God’s will run its course.”
    The bell above the door jangled, but Luke didn’t turn to see who’d come in. His list of reasons for not joining the Old Order had just gotten longer. Gabe began to hobble from the table, slapping Nora’s arm when she tried to assist him. Murmurs rose around the room and Tom stood up.
    “Gabe, there’s a better way,” the bishop insisted as he caught up to the preacher. “Maybe it’s time to reconsider—”
    “I don’t have a daughter,” Gabe huffed as he shuffled toward the door. Then he raised his head. “Millie. Take me home, child. Now .”
    Luke turned in time to see Millie’s hands fly to her mouth. She was staring so intently at Nora that she didn’t realize the door was opening behind her, or that Hiram Knepp couldn’t come inside. As the excommunicated bishop of Willow Ridge took in the scene, his coal-black mustache and goatee made him look downright wicked. A grin lit his chiseled face. He knew exactly what was happening, and he was delighted to be watching it play out.
    Did he orchestrate this scene ? Luke mused. Hiram had surely seen Millie entering the café. Perhaps he’d been lurking near the smithy or peering into the window of the Sweet Seasons kitchen, aware that Nora was inside. Luke wondered how long Nora had been back there with Miriam and Naomi, but he had no such questions about Knepp’s motives. Hiram’s devious ways knew no limits.
    Millie backed away from her grandfather, as though his scowl and words frightened her. Hiram stepped in then, offering the preacher a steadying arm. “Got you covered, Gabe,” he murmured. “We keepers of the faith have to stick together.”
    And what did that mean ?
    When Luke looked from Millie to Nora, his previous speculations about his new neighbor began spinning in his gut. Gabe might have just denied that he had a daughter, but there was no getting around it: Nora and Millie were kin. Luke doubted the old preacher would be making such a fuss if Nora were Millie’s aunt, so did this mean . . . ?
    This was no time to ponder such a startling idea, however. As Ben and Ira made their way toward Millie, Luke strode between the tables to where Miriam had slung her arm around Nora’s shoulders. “Are you all right?” he asked earnestly. “I don’t know what that was all about, but—”
    “You will,” Nora rasped. “You and everybody else have just witnessed my humiliation—”
    “Honey-bug, ya did your best,” Miriam insisted. “Ya made the first move, tryin’ to make peace with your dat about your daughter, and ya knew it might not go so well.”
    So there you have it. Nora is Millie’s mother. Luke fought the urge to grasp Nora’s shoulder. Miriam’s protective tone implied that Nora was no stranger to her. The recollection of her red BMW racing away from the Glick place took on a whole new meaning for him: Nora had grown up in that house and had been banished. Yet she’d come back.
    From across the crowded café, the expression on Millie’s face tore at him. She didn’t know Nora, but on a gut level she was piecing this puzzle together, just as he was. “Nora, how can I help?” Luke murmured. “If you want to speak with Millie—”
    “We could let ya into the quilt shop, where it’s private,” Miriam suggested. “The Schrocks won’t open it until nine.”
    When Nora gazed again at the girl who could be her double, Millie pivoted toward the door. Ira and Ben went outside with her, talking in low