A Reluctant Bride (18 page)

Time seemed to slide to a stop as she listened for the now-familiar sound of his footsteps. Finally, she heard him come up the stairs. But when she heard the door to Abigail's room close, she didn't feel any peace.

CHAPTER 9

T
he next morning Aden managed to avoid Sadie as much as possible. She took a cup of coffee and went to the store, which he presumed was becoming a refuge for her. More than anything, he was glad she had dropped the subject of his bruises.

Since Sadie didn't want him involved in anything that had to do with the store, Aden decided to explore the Schrocks' property. The backyard was about an acre in size and surrounded by woods. He didn't know how far the woods extended or where the Schrocks' property line was, so he didn't stray far. From what he could tell, it was a nice piece of land.

He glanced at the spot he'd marked off for his hives. The new hives, he corrected himself. He'd have to order them soon, and his plans for expanding the business would have to wait. Losing the hives was a deeper setback than he'd initially realized because of the money he'd given Sadie. Still, he wasn't giving up on his plans, and he didn't regret giving Sadie the cash. Eventually he would have a thriving beekeeping business that would rival his previous one.

Aden spent the rest of the afternoon picking out a place for the garden, discovering several spots in the barn that needed repair, and then mowing the lawn with a reel mower that required some oil. He was raking the grass clippings into a neat row when he heard a buggy pull into the driveway. Since the store was still closed, he expected the driver to see the sign on the front door and turn around. Instead the buggy rolled past the store and parked near the house. Aden paused to see Timothy and Patience exit. Patience waved at him before walking to the store while Timothy tied the horse to the hitching rail.

Aden was surprised when Timothy didn't follow his wife. Instead he headed toward Aden. They hadn't had company since the wedding, in contrast to most Amish weddings when the couple either visit family and friends or they visit the couple. There was nothing normal about his and Sadie's marriage, and it wouldn't surprise him if his father had spread the word to leave the young couple alone. Which was fine by Aden. Still, he wouldn't be rude. He picked up the rake and walked in Timothy's direction.

“Patience wanted to check on Sadie,” Timothy said after he and Aden had greeted each other.

Aden nodded. “I'm sure Sadie's been missing her friend.”

“I know Patience misses her.” Timothy smiled a little. “From what I heard, those two used to be inseparable. Before Patience and I got married, that is.”

“They were.”

“Almost like sisters.”

“I guess.” Now Aden had his guard up. He wasn't used to people engaging him in small talk, and he didn't know Timothy very well. From what he'd observed at church, the Amish man from Lancaster had fit in with the Birch Creek community just
fine. But Aden couldn't shake the thought that Timothy wasn't here to chitchat. “Is there something you need?”

“Direct and to the point. Patience says Sadie is the same way.”

“She is.”

“I was thinking, since our wives are
gut
friends and all . . . we should have supper together soon. You and Sadie could come over to our place.”

“I'll talk it over with her.” Aden tilted his head, trying to discern if Timothy had another agenda.

“
Gut, gut
.”

When Timothy glanced away, Aden knew a friendly supper wasn't the only thing on his mind. “Anything else you wanted to talk about?”

Timothy's gaze snapped back to him. “What?” Then he scratched his beard. “Maybe.” The man was struggling with something, that much was clear. After a moment he spoke again. “Do you know anything about the church's community fund?”

Aden measured his next words. “
Nee
. Why?”

“Just wondering. Since
yer vatter
is the bishop . . . I thought you might . . . I don't know . . .” He sighed. “I shouldn't have said anything.”

“But you did.” Aden's wariness turned to apprehension, along with a good dose of defensiveness, which surprised him. Why would he be compelled to defend his father from anything? He set the feelings aside to discern what Timothy really wanted.

Was something wrong? Patience was Sadie's best friend. Did they need money? Sadie had been hit with enough challenges and grief lately. She didn't need to add worry over Patience to the list. “Are you in trouble?” he asked Timothy.

Timothy shook his head. “
Nee.
Everything is fine. But I
was curious . . . if something were to happen and we needed a little help, how that kind of thing worked here. Me being from another district, I'm discovering things here are a little different.”

“If someone needed money,
mei daed
would make sure he got it. All the church members contribute to the fund.”

“How long have they been contributing?”

“As long as I can remember.”

“So there should be plenty of money available?”

“It's a small community.
Nee
one here is rich. But we help out the best we can. God has always provided.”

“
Ya.
He always does.” His troubled expression seemed to ease. “I better get Patience. We only stopped by for a short visit. Looking forward to having you and Sadie over for supper.”

Aden nodded as Timothy walked away. He frowned. Timothy's questions didn't stem from idle curiosity. Maybe he'd lied about not needing money. They wouldn't be the first family who needed help. It was the reason the community fund existed. Being new to the district, maybe Timothy didn't feel comfortable asking Aden's father for help directly.

He went back to raking. Whatever was going on with Timothy and Patience wasn't his business. He had enough worries of his own to think about.

“So you don't mind helping while Abigail and Joanna are in Middlefield?” Sadie asked. She'd been surprised and relieved when she saw Patience walk into the store. The unexpected visit gave her a chance to take Patience up on her offer to help. Plus, she missed her friend.

“Of course not. I'd be happy to.” Patience smiled. “When are you planning to reopen?”

“Monday.”

The frown slipped from Patience's face. “So soon?”

“
Ya.
We will have been closed for three weeks.” Sadie dusted the top of the cash register with a soft cloth. She'd restocked the shelves and cleaned the store from top to bottom, with the exception of the office. The work was tiring, but it kept her mind off what had happened with Aden the day before.

“No one would blame you if you were closed for a few more days,” Patience said. “You could
geh
visit Joanna.”

Sadie paused. She'd talked to Abigail on the phone yesterday, and while her sister had assured her that Joanna was improving, there had been underlying strain in her voice. She would love to visit her sisters, but that wasn't financially feasible. She also didn't feel comfortable leaving Aden here alone. She still didn't trust him.

There was also another reason she wanted to put off the visit. Although she'd had the opportunity during her call with Abigail, she hadn't told her about her marriage. Avoiding the subject was easier than trying to explain what had happened.

“Sadie?”

She turned around. “Sorry. The window is really dirty.”

“Looks spotless to me.” Patience took the cloth from Sadie's hand. “Can we sit down and talk?”

“I've got a lot to do,” Sadie said. She should have expected this from Patience. Her friend was not only caring but tenacious.

“It can wait.”

Sadie folded her hands and rested them on the counter, preparing herself for the onslaught of questions.

Patience set the cloth to the side. “Tell me how you're really doing.”

“I'm doing fine.”

“You're not fine. You can't be.”

Sadie stiffened. “What do you mean by that?”

“I know you're handling things. I know you're strong.” Her mouth turned up in an encouraging, yet not quite complete, smile. “But how can you pretend everything is fine when you're married to someone you don't love?”

The bell rang above the store door. Timothy started to come inside, then left after Patience gave him a look.

When the door shut, Sadie said, “You have no idea how I feel about Aden.”

“Then tell me.” She leaned forward. “Tell me you love him.”

Sadie sighed. “There are more important things to base a marriage on than love.” She snatched the cloth and began scrubbing the already shining counter. “There's respect.” Which she was realizing she did have for Aden, especially since he hadn't said a single word about consummating the marriage. In fact, he didn't intrude or push her at all. He was just . . . there. And for some reason that was what she needed from him more than anything else.

“True, but without love—”

“Patience,
mei
life isn't like yours. Not everyone can live a fairy tale.” She stopped wiping the counter and looked at her, frustrated that she was hurting her friend and couldn't tell her the truth. There was no one she could talk to about her conflicted feelings toward Aden, how she fought against breaking down with grief every day, how much she missed her sisters, and how she was afraid that the lonely ache in her soul would never go away.

Somehow she found the strength to keep her voice from collapsing. “Can you help me on Monday or not?”

Patience's eyes widened before she slowly nodded. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you.” When Sadie looked away, Patience went to the door. “Just so you know,
mei
marriage isn't perfect either,” Patience said. “No one's is. See you on Monday.” She walked out of the store.

Sadie pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead, hoping she hadn't ruined their friendship. She couldn't bear to lose anyone else.

The door opened again, and this time Aden walked in. “The phone was ringing in the shanty.”

Sadie didn't answer, and was questioning whether she should go after Patience and apologize when Aden added, “It's Abigail.” He paused. “She sounded surprised that I answered the phone.”

She steeled herself, waiting for Aden to ask why she hadn't told Abigail they were married.

“I told her you would be there in a minute.” Then he left, shutting the door behind him.

Sadie looked at the closed door. Didn't he wonder why she hadn't told Abigail? Even if he did, he wouldn't pry. Unlike she had when she saw his bruises. She rubbed her nose with the tips of her fingers, trying to gain her composure. She also tried to stem the worry that her sister was calling two days in a row.

As she walked to the phone shanty at the end of the driveway, she saw Aden out of the corner of her eye. He was pulling weeds out of the flower bed in the front of the house. She hadn't asked him to do it; the task was something her mother and sisters had normally done. Sadie preferred working in the store to dealing with the garden. Then she noticed how trim and tidy the yard was, the scent of freshly mown grass hanging in the air. She breathed it in. She loved the smell of cut grass, and for the briefest of moments she felt the heaviness in her chest ease a little.

She stepped into the shanty and lifted the receiver of the landline telephone. “Hello?”

“Sadie, is everything all right?” Abigail asked.

“
Ya
.” She gripped the receiver, steeling herself for the inevitable question.

“Who answered the phone?”

“Aden.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “He's . . . helping. Helping . . . with the yard work.” At least it wasn't a complete lie.

“Oh. That's nice of him. The lawn must be in bad shape if you let him come over.”

“What do you mean by that?”