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Authors: Charlotte Hubbard
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voices.
“I’ve blown it again,” Nora whimpered. “Why did I think this reunion was a good idea? Or that it would go as I’d seen it in my mind, hundreds of times?”
“Seems to me you’ve got two choices,” Miriam insisted gently. “Ya can catch Millie now, while Ben’s with her. Or ya can wait. I can understand why you’d like some time to get your nerves together again. And I can see where leavin’ this to hang—takin’ your chances that other folks might tell her things ya wish they hadn’t—might make it even harder to approach her next time.”
“I’ll go with ya, if ya want,” Bishop Tom offered as he approached them. “This isn’t an easy situation you’ve set yourself up for, Nora, but I believe you’ve done the right thing.”
“I’ll go with you, too, if you’d like,” Luke murmured. “Or I can get Ira out of your way so you and Millie can talk. He means well, but sometimes he doesn’t have a clue.”
When Nora gazed up at him, Luke’s stomach did a flip-flop. Her eyes shone like honey mixed with cinnamon and gratitude. Red flags flapped in his mind, warning him that he was getting way too involved in a sticky situation, yet he held her gaze, awaiting her answer.
Nora grabbed his hand. “Let’s catch them before they cross the road, or—well, before Millie gets hurt any further.”
Luke followed her outside, sucking in fresh air to fortify himself. Nora’s hand felt like a branding iron but he couldn’t let go. They spotted his two brothers walking on either side of Millie, slowly heading up the lane toward the Lantz house. Ira was holding her hand while Ben was talking to her, his head bent near the kapp that covered her auburn bun. When they stepped into the grass near the apple trees, Nora clutched Luke’s hand.
“Wait!” she called out. “Millie, please wait for me.”
Chapter Seven
Millie stopped. The woman’s voice sounded achingly familiar even as she knew that was impossible. Surely the thudding of her heart and the rush of her thoughts were affecting her hearing because—except for a glance at this woman yesterday, when she’d worn shorts and a sparkly ball cap instead of a cape dress and a kapp —Millie had never seen this stranger.
But deep down, Millie vibrated with the truth.
She closed her eyes. Maybe if she pretended this wasn’t happening, she’d awaken to find she’d been caught up in a bad dream. She could forget that yesterday she’d learned her dat had a sister, yet moments ago her grandfather had denied he had a daughter. She could chalk it all up to a huge misunderstanding or a coincidence that someone who looked just like her had bought the house on Bishop’s Ridge Road.
That someone was approaching her now, even as Millie squeezed her eyes tighter.
“Come on, Ira. Let’s make ourselves scarce,” Luke said from a few feet behind her.
How ironic that yesterday Ira had been drooling over this woman— Would ya look at those wheels! —yet now he was standing with her . Millie released his hand when he eased it away.
“This’ll all work out the way it’s supposed to, Millie,” Ben murmured as he went with his brothers. “We’ll all be prayin’ for ya.”
Millie nearly begged Ben to stay, but her throat was too tight to say anything.
So she stood alone, with the breeze teasing her skirt and her kapp strings. The apple trees whispered in the morning sunlight that warmed her face. Millie sensed this moment would be etched in her memory forever, whether or not she wanted it to happen. She’d once considered herself reasonably intelligent and perceptive, yet the knots in her stomach suggested that she’d remained blissfully unaware of the unspoken truth, like a mushroom growing in a dark cave. How is that you’re the last one to know ?
“Millie. I . . . I don’t know what to say, honey. But I love you so much .”
“Who are you? Why are you here?” Millie blurted. She crossed her arms tightly, in case this woman
“I’ve blown it again,” Nora whimpered. “Why did I think this reunion was a good idea? Or that it would go as I’d seen it in my mind, hundreds of times?”
“Seems to me you’ve got two choices,” Miriam insisted gently. “Ya can catch Millie now, while Ben’s with her. Or ya can wait. I can understand why you’d like some time to get your nerves together again. And I can see where leavin’ this to hang—takin’ your chances that other folks might tell her things ya wish they hadn’t—might make it even harder to approach her next time.”
“I’ll go with ya, if ya want,” Bishop Tom offered as he approached them. “This isn’t an easy situation you’ve set yourself up for, Nora, but I believe you’ve done the right thing.”
“I’ll go with you, too, if you’d like,” Luke murmured. “Or I can get Ira out of your way so you and Millie can talk. He means well, but sometimes he doesn’t have a clue.”
When Nora gazed up at him, Luke’s stomach did a flip-flop. Her eyes shone like honey mixed with cinnamon and gratitude. Red flags flapped in his mind, warning him that he was getting way too involved in a sticky situation, yet he held her gaze, awaiting her answer.
Nora grabbed his hand. “Let’s catch them before they cross the road, or—well, before Millie gets hurt any further.”
Luke followed her outside, sucking in fresh air to fortify himself. Nora’s hand felt like a branding iron but he couldn’t let go. They spotted his two brothers walking on either side of Millie, slowly heading up the lane toward the Lantz house. Ira was holding her hand while Ben was talking to her, his head bent near the kapp that covered her auburn bun. When they stepped into the grass near the apple trees, Nora clutched Luke’s hand.
“Wait!” she called out. “Millie, please wait for me.”
Chapter Seven
Millie stopped. The woman’s voice sounded achingly familiar even as she knew that was impossible. Surely the thudding of her heart and the rush of her thoughts were affecting her hearing because—except for a glance at this woman yesterday, when she’d worn shorts and a sparkly ball cap instead of a cape dress and a kapp —Millie had never seen this stranger.
But deep down, Millie vibrated with the truth.
She closed her eyes. Maybe if she pretended this wasn’t happening, she’d awaken to find she’d been caught up in a bad dream. She could forget that yesterday she’d learned her dat had a sister, yet moments ago her grandfather had denied he had a daughter. She could chalk it all up to a huge misunderstanding or a coincidence that someone who looked just like her had bought the house on Bishop’s Ridge Road.
That someone was approaching her now, even as Millie squeezed her eyes tighter.
“Come on, Ira. Let’s make ourselves scarce,” Luke said from a few feet behind her.
How ironic that yesterday Ira had been drooling over this woman— Would ya look at those wheels! —yet now he was standing with her . Millie released his hand when he eased it away.
“This’ll all work out the way it’s supposed to, Millie,” Ben murmured as he went with his brothers. “We’ll all be prayin’ for ya.”
Millie nearly begged Ben to stay, but her throat was too tight to say anything.
So she stood alone, with the breeze teasing her skirt and her kapp strings. The apple trees whispered in the morning sunlight that warmed her face. Millie sensed this moment would be etched in her memory forever, whether or not she wanted it to happen. She’d once considered herself reasonably intelligent and perceptive, yet the knots in her stomach suggested that she’d remained blissfully unaware of the unspoken truth, like a mushroom growing in a dark cave. How is that you’re the last one to know ?
“Millie. I . . . I don’t know what to say, honey. But I love you so much .”
“Who are you? Why are you here?” Millie blurted. She crossed her arms tightly, in case this woman
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