A Christmas Bride in Pinecraft (8 page)

R
efill, Eric?” the proprietor of the Cozy Café called out as she approached the trio of tables on the café's front porch. “Your cup looks like it could stand to be heated up.”

“Hmm? Oh, sorry.” He looked down at his half-empty mug from the neighborhood coffeehouse. “Thanks. I guess my mind was drifting.”

After she filled the cup, she smiled. “Don't worry about that. Everyone needs to take a break every now and then. Drift away,” she joked.

Eric grinned. But as he sipped from his cup, he realized everything he'd been thinking about wasn't all that comforting. He'd been thinking about his past—and how he'd somehow neatly removed much of his crazy “troubled” years from memory. Well,
not entirely. He still vividly remembered tagging behind his brother, Jack, and feeling his pulse accelerate as he watched the older boys break into a house.

But ever since he'd made the decision to change his life, to become someone he could be proud of, he'd very carefully, very precisely, pushed the memories of those transgressions away. Now, decades later, it felt as if all the trouble he'd gotten into had been done by another person. A kid who wasn't very smart. A boy who had been missing his parents. A teen who hadn't had a lot of self-respect and had attempted to discover his worth by running around with a group of hoodlums.

Not him.

But ever since he'd broken his cardinal rule and shared his story with Beverly, he hadn't been able to help but wonder about his past and his general reluctance to come to terms with it. Was it because the memories were too painful? Or because with those memories came the reminder that Jack had gone to prison while Eric had gone to college?

Now, as he sipped his hot coffee and watched the tourists walk by on the sidewalk in front of him, Eric replayed his conversation with Beverly. He'd been so full of fire and misplaced indignation. He'd actually chastised her for being close-minded when he'd been a champion of doing just that for the last fifteen years. Furthermore, he had seen how his words had affected her. When he'd arrived in Pinecraft, she'd been scared by the robbery. Now she was scared by the robbery
and
embarrassed by her reaction to his past.

He needed to fix this.

“You seem awfully deep in thought for a newly arrived
Northerner, Eric!” Michael Knoxx called out from the sidewalk. “Don't you know you're only supposed to worry about the state of your tan?”

Eric was thankful for the reprieve from his dark thoughts. “I'll try to keep that in mind,” he said as he walked over to greet his friend. “It's good to see you. Happy holidays.”

Michael, all good looks and brash humor, grinned. “Happy holidays to you, too. Last time Penny and I saw Beverly, she didn't say a word about you visiting. Seeing you out and about is a nice surprise. Are you staying until Christmas?”

“Yep. I wasn't planning to come back until my place sold. But when Beverly called to tell me about the robbery, I knew I couldn't let her handle everything herself.”

“Of course not.” Turning somber, Michael shook his head in dismay. “I still can hardly believe such a thing happened here in Pinecraft. Sorry we haven't stopped by already. We were planning on Sunday after church. How is Beverly doing?”

“She's still pretty shaken up. I hope you both will drop by when you can. I know she'll be happy to see you.”

“What have the police said? Do they have any idea who broke in?”

“If they know, they haven't told us. I'm going to keep checking in with them, though. Right now we're focusing on getting the inn back open for business.”

Michael raised his brows. “So soon?”

“I think it's for the best. The inn was booked solid, and nothing like this has ever happened before. It would be a shame to lose all that business.” Folding his arms across his chest, he added, “Besides, if she's focused on baking and running the inn,
Bev won't be dwelling on what happened or second guessing herself. Those things can really run a person ragged.”

“Sounds like you intend to make things a bit easier for her.”

“I'm trying. Well, trying my best.”

“I wouldn't expect anything less. I know you care about her,” Michael replied with a grin.

There was something in both Michael's hearty tone and wide smile that gave Eric pause. “Beverly does work for me, you know. I mean, she's the manager, but I own the inn. I'm merely trying to do what I should.”

“I haven't forgotten anything about your relationship.” After a brief pause, he said, “It doesn't sound like you have, either.”

It sounded like Michael was referring to more than he and Beverly's business partnership. “Hey—”

Michael cut him off. “Sorry if I'm sounding a bit presumptuous. But you really don't expect me to believe that you only care about Beverly because she's your employee.” When Eric merely stared at him, Michael prodded. “Do you?”

“Well, I'm not sure—”

“After all, anyone can see that there's a lot more between the two of you than just work.”

“Yeah, I guess there is.” He was about to say what good friends he and Beverly were, but something told him that Michael would simply start laughing.

And he might even be justified in doing so.

Eric decided to switch topics instead. “How is your bride? And how are you doing? Have you adapted to sleeping in the same house every night or are you missing life on the road?”

“Right now I'd be happy if I don't pack a suitcase ever again.
And Penny is doing
wunderbaar
.” He lowered his voice. “She's expecting a baby, you know.”

“No, I didn't know!” He clasped Michael's hand again. “Congratulations! That's wonderful news.”

“
Danke
. We think it's wonderful, too. This
boppli
is a true blessing for both of us. For both of our families, too. Her parents are so excited and my family feels the same. They're coming to Pinecraft on the twentieth and will stay for three weeks.”

“That's great. I'm happy everything has worked out.” He pointed to Michael's prosthesis. Michael had lost part of his leg after getting caught in a ravine for almost twenty-four hours. For years, he toured with his family to share his story. “You also look like you're getting around just fine now.”

“Absolutely. This new prosthesis has a kind of vacuum that seals itself on my stump. It's so comfortable, it feels like a part of me.” With a laugh, he added, “Matter of fact, I've been teasing Penny that sometimes I feel like I could play basketball again.”

“I know a lot of men run, bike, and do all kinds of things with their fancy bionic legs. But go slowly for our sakes, okay?”

“Don't worry. Right now, I'm simply walking a lot. I'll move on to more activity when the doctors say I can.”

“Good. Let me know if I can help you in any way.”

“
Nee
, you let me know if I can help
you
. Don't be shy, okay?”

“Thanks. I won't.”

“And be sure to tell Beverly that Penny is more than happy to come out and help her, too. She needs only to ask.”

“Will do,” he said as they shook hands. They parted ways, and Eric continued on to the police station. When he'd called Officer Roberts that morning, the officer had told Eric to stop by
in a couple of hours. For Beverly's sake he wanted to hear what the man had to say.

Maybe it was simply a guy thing or maybe it was because he was suddenly thinking about his checkered past, but suddenly Eric felt very protective over Beverly. Whatever the reason, he knew he needed to hear from the officers themselves about the break-in. He also wanted to learn what clues they'd found and which suspects, if any, they were pursuing. Only then would Eric know he could go back and begin mending things with Beverly. He needed to do something to prove himself to her, to prove to her that he was responsible, no longer that troubled teen he'd told her he once was.

But just as important, he needed to remind himself that he was different. He'd turned his life around and made something of himself. He could talk to the police, too, even if it brought back bad memories. Eric was going to push himself to continue to be a man he could be proud of, to be the man his brother, Jack, had always assured him he could be—just so long as he didn't follow his path.

“I'
VE GOT ANOTHER ONE,”
Sadie called out from her makeshift desk—the kitchen table. “I'm so excited, Beverly. By the end of next week, you'll have three guest rooms filled.”

It took everything Beverly had to smile right back. “That is wonderful. Thank you for calling so many people today.” Though Eric had been going to make the calls, in the end they decided that it would be better if he went out and ran errands and let Sadie make the calls while Beverly bustled around the house.

Sadie's excited expression dimmed slightly. “It weren't no trouble. Actually, once I got used to telling folks about the break-in it wasn't hard at all.”

“You told guests that we were robbed?” She hadn't planned on being quite that frank.

“Well,
jah
. That's what happened.” The last of Sadie's happy smile disappeared. “Was I not supposed to tell them the truth?”

“I hadn't planned to,” she said honestly. “When I called everyone to cancel the reservations, I simply told them that something had come up and we were no longer going to be able to entertain guests until after the first of the year. No good is going to come from telling people about the robbery.”

“No one seemed upset. Most folks were concerned about ya. Some were even happy to learn the reason for their reservation being cancelled in the first place.”

“I guess that does make sense.” Some of the inn's longtime guests had probably been confused.

Sadie rubbed the line that had just appeared between her brows. “Now, there was one lady from Arkansas who wasn't real happy about my phone call or the robbery. But I wouldn't worry about that none. After all, you can't please everybody.”

“Arkansas?” Beverly tried to remember which of her regular customers came from that state. But her mind was in such a muddle, she could hardly remember what she'd planned to cook for supper, let alone where all her guests hailed from. “Who was it? Do you remember her name?”

“Nee.”
She bent over the neat stack of papers on the table. “But if you'll give me a minute, I can find out.”

“There's no need to trouble yourself.”

“It's no trouble. I'm sorry, Beverly. I hope you won't be upset with me for long.”

It was the
for long
phrase that did it. Here her friend had given up hours of her afternoon and Beverly had hardly thanked her.

Crossing the kitchen, Beverly said, “Sadie, please forgive me. I've been so scattered and worried about getting this big house back in order, I fear I've let it get the best of me. Thank you for calling all of those people. I'm not upset about the Arkansas lady, and you're exactly right. You can't please everyone all of the time. Once more, I'm glad you were honest and told them about the break-in. Now I won't have to worry about them discovering it.”

Immediately, Sadie's posture relaxed. “I didn't think about that, but I bet that would've happened. The robbery has been the talk of the town, you know.”

“Believe me, I know.” She could only imagine what people were saying and wondered if anyone had been talking about anything
but
the break-in.

Despite all that, it had been a busy morning and Sadie had been very helpful. She'd come just as Tricia was on her way out. Beverly was more than ready to relax, have a cup of hot tea, and try to convince herself that everything was going to be all right. “I bet you have lots to do, so if you don't mind, I'm going to send you on home.”

“Already?” Sadie got to her feet, looking a little lost. “Are you sure you don't want to sit and chat for a while?” Dimples formed in her cheeks. “I can tell you all about the guests who are coming. It's all mighty exciting. Why, one lady is ninety years old.”

“She does sound interesting and, um, spry, but I am kind of ready to simply sit in the quiet for a bit. I have a small headache.”

“Oh! Well,
jah
. Some rest and relaxation will do you good, I think.” Sadie turned back to the table and carefully put her reading glasses in her pocketbook, before she lovingly straightened the stacks of papers again. “I'll come over in the morning to see if you need any more help.”

“
Danke
. Sadie, you really are so sweet.”

“Not so much sweet as interested. This was great fun, and I had a nice break from doing my usual chore today. Laundry.”

“You always look on the bright side of things. It's wonderful.”

“I didn't always used to do that, but it's become a habit.” With a wink, she added, “One day I'll tell you all about my dark and stormy past.”

“I'll look forward to hearing about it,” Beverly said with a smile. She couldn't begin to guess what kinds of “dark and stormy” things Sadie had gotten into.

After exchanging yet another round of farewells, Beverly shut the door and leaned against it in relief. Now, if she could let out all the doubts and depression that had been lurking in the corners of her mind, she would be better. As the seemingly ever-present tears pricked her eyes, she gave in to temptation, sat down in the chair that Sadie had vacated, and let herself have a good cry. It wouldn't solve all her problems, but it would surely release some of the tension that she'd been carrying around.

The truth was, she was afraid. She didn't feel safe anymore. She didn't trust the locks on her windows or doors and no longer assumed that all the people who walked by the inn or drove
down the street were friendly. For all she knew, they were secretly making plans to break inside and steal from her again.