Read Online The Promise of Palm Grove by Shelley Shepard Gray - Free Book Online Page B

her sisters-in-law.
    The sisters looked exactly the same as she remembered. Both were almost ten years older than Marvin. To Beverly’s best knowledge, neither of them had ever married, though she remembered Jean was being courted by a sheep farmer. Marvin had said that Ida was once courted, as a teenager, but the romance had never quite bloomed.
    Jean had always been a soft-spoken woman. She had a sweet, malleable personality, which matched the extra thirty or so pounds she carried on her delicate frame. Beverly wondered if she and that sheep farmer had ever married and if she was still as submissive to her sister’s wishes as she used to be. In all of her letter writing to her friends and family in Sugarcreek, Beverly had never felt brave enough to reclaim her friendship with the two women.
    And while some people made mention of Marvin’s family every now and then, most didn’t, no doubt out of consideration for Beverly.
    When Beverly had returned from the kitchen with thewater pitcher, she’d watched from outside the doorway as Ida helped herself to a generous slice of lemon cake, and, having set it on a small side table, as she poured herself a steaming mug of tea and got some ready for Jean.
    Beverly had been unsure how to handle things. The cowardly part of her had wanted to act like the perfect hostess, invite them to sit down and begin chatting about nonsensical things. If she’d tried hard, Beverly was sure she could have pretended that they were merely long-lost acquaintances who wanted to do nothing more than catch up on trivial matters.
    Like talk about the weather, perhaps.
    But she’d realized, as she lurked outside the room, that something had happened in the three years since she’d last seen Marvin’s family. She’d become stronger. No longer was she going to be content to retreat inside herself.
    Now, hours later as the three of them were sitting on the front porch and quietly watching the stars, Beverly knew it was time to say something.
    No longer could she hold her pain and insecurities tight to her chest, burying them while she pretended nothing bothered her. Since she’d been in Pinecraft, she’d begun to stand up for herself.
    They needed to see that she had become stronger.
    She also wanted to understand what had brought them all the way to her inn. Were they merely curious about how she was doing, or did they have news for her? She needed to know.
    After the three of them smiled at a father walking by with a very sleepy little girl in his arms, she broke their silence. “Ida, Jean, I’m sorry I’ve been so distant,” she began. “Seeing you both was quite a shock.”
    Ida, always the bolder sister, simply nodded. “ Jah, I imagine it was.”
    Feeling their expectations, she struggled with the best way to begin. “So . . . I mean, so, you see . . .”
    â€œI just have to say that your baking is as gut as it ever was, Beverly,” Ida said. “I always told Marvin that I’d never met a better baker. Why, you could have opened your own shop in Sugarcreek. I’m sure of it.”
    â€œMaybe you could even open one here in Sarasota,” Jean said brightly. “I mean, if you don’t think it’s too late.”
    It was. It was too late for a lot of things, including this reunion. “Thank you for the compliments. I’m, uh, glad you liked the food”—she paused but at last blurted—“Listen, I’m sorry. I simply don’t understand why you two are here.”
    â€œI can see why you’d be thinking that. It has been a long time,” Jean replied.
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWe meant to come down soon after you moved here, Beverly. Years ago.”
    â€œYears ago?” Beverly was dumbfounded.
    â€œOh, jah .” Ida nodded. “But then I slipped on some black ice and tore a ligament or some such in my knee.” Raising her foot, she looked at it. “I