the STRUGGLE (19 page)

A few minutes after Trisha left the kitchen, Bonnie’s dad came in.

“Did you meet my B&B guest out in the hall?” Bonnie asked. During breakfast she’d told him about Mrs. Chandler.

“Nope. I came from the living room, but I did hear footsteps on the stairs, so I guess that must have been her.”

“I hope you don’t mind, but I invited Mrs. Chandler to join us for dinner today. Oh, and she’ll be staying one more night, too.”

Dad smiled. “You’re sure accommodating, Bonnie. Most people running a business that is supposed to be closed for the holiday wouldn’t have welcomed a guest at the last minute the way you did.”

“I couldn’t very well send her out into the cold. Besides, the poor woman looked tired and lonely. And she’s not from around here.”

“How do you know?”

“When she was filling out the paperwork to check into the B&B last night she said she was from California.”

“She’s a long ways from home then.”

“Yes, and she could have easily gotten lost in that blinding snow.”

“Have you heard anything from Allen today?” Dad asked.

Bonnie shook her head. “I tried calling him at home awhile ago, but the phone just rang and rang.”

“Maybe he’s on his way here. Did you try his cell phone?”

“No, I didn’t. Even if he was coming for dinner, I didn’t think he would have left already, so I only called his home phone.”

“Why don’t you give his cell phone a try?” Dad suggested.

“Good idea.” Bonnie picked up the phone and dialed Allen’s cell number. She was surprised when she heard a phone ringing somewhere else in the house. It sounded like it was coming from the dining room.

“What in the world?” Moving quickly into the dining room, she discovered Allen’s cell phone lying in the chair where he’d been sitting last evening.

“It must have fallen out of his pocket,” Bonnie told Dad when he followed her into the dining room. “I guess now all we can do is wait and see if Allen shows up for dinner.”

“I hope he does,” Dad said with a nod. “I owe him an apology for what I blurted out last night, and I know you’re anxious to talk to him, too.”

“Yes, I am, although I’m feeling nervous about it.” Hearing the wind howling outside, Bonnie glanced out the window and saw that it was snowing again. “I hope if Allen is on his way over that he’ll be safe. Whatever roads have been plowed will probably drift shut again since the wind has picked up.”

“Try not to worry; I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Dad said.

“You’re right. Worry won’t change a thing, so I’ll pray and trust God to bring Allen here safely today.”

“Good idea.” Dad moved toward the living room. “If you don’t need me for anything, I think I’ll go relax in front of the fire for a while. Since I don’t have a fireplace in my house, I’d forgotten how nice one can be.”

Bonnie noticed a faraway look in his eyes. He’d obviously had some good memories from living in this place.

“I remember how my mom used to sit in front of the fireplace humming while she knitted,” Dad continued. “I can still almost hear the click of her knitting needles, as though keeping time to her music.”

“Yes, I recall her doing that when I came here to visit sometimes.” Bonnie patted Dad’s arm. “You go ahead and relax. I’ll call you when dinner’s ready.”

“Thanks, honey.”

When Dad left the room, Bonnie said a prayer for Allen; then she picked up his cell phone and returned to the kitchen to check on the meal. By the time she had everything on the dining-room table, it was two o’clock, and still no Allen. She was sure he wasn’t coming.

Bonnie was about to call Mrs. Chandler for dinner when the lights went out. Fortunately, she was done cooking, so at least they wouldn’t have to worry about eating cold food.

While Dad added more wood to the fireplace, Bonnie lit some candles, grabbed a flashlight, and headed upstairs to the room she had rented to Mrs. Chandler.

She knocked on the door, and a few seconds later, Mrs. Chandler, looking half-asleep, answered. “Oh, I’m so sorry. After I made my phone calls, I laid down on the bed to rest and must have fallen asleep.” She yawned and stretched her arms over her head. “I can’t believe with all the sleep I had last night that I could still be so tired. I slept like a baby, though. It’s so peaceful and quiet here, and as soon as I reclined on the bed and pulled that beautiful quilt over me, I was out like a light.”

“That’s okay. You must have needed the extra rest, and you know, I think there’s something about being wrapped up in a quilt that makes a person feel safe and comforted.”

“You’re so right. I was asleep almost before my head hit the pillow. If you’ll give me a minute to freshen up, I’ll be right down.”

Bonnie explained that the power was out and gave Mrs. Chandler the flashlight, because there were no windows in the hall. Then she carefully made her way down the stairs, where she opened all the curtains to let what little outside light there was into the house.

A short time later, Bonnie’s guest came down and joined them in the dining room. Bonnie introduced Dad to Mrs. Chandler, and they all took their seats. Even though she’d opened the curtains, the room was quite dark, but the flickering candles helped. Bonnie thought the candlelight made it seem more relaxing and festive—sort of like back in the days of old.

After Bonnie prayed, giving thanks for the meal, she passed the food around.

Dad looked over at her and said, “It doesn’t look like Allen’s coming, does it?”

“No, I’m afraid not. Once the lights come back on, I’ll try calling him again. He needs to know that his cell phone is here, because I’m sure he’s going to need it when he goes to work tomorrow morning.”

“You mean,
if
he goes to work,” Dad said. “With the way the snow’s been coming down, the roads might not be passable by morning.”

The conversation changed as Bonnie asked Mrs. Chandler a few questions about herself, including her first name.

“Oh, it’s Trisha. My husband and I used to live in Portland, Oregon, but we moved to Fresno, California, shortly after we got married.”

“What was your maiden name?” Dad asked with a peculiar expression.

“It was Hammond.”

Bonnie heard Dad’s sharp intake of breath and wondered if he’d choked on something. Just then, the lights came back on, and Bonnie worried more, because Dad’s face looked as white as Grandma’s tablecloth.

“Dad, are you all right?”

He just sat staring at Trisha as if he’d seen a ghost.

Trisha studied him for several seconds, and then she gasped. “Kenny Taylor? Is that you?”

Dad nodded. “What are you doing here in Kentucky? Did you know I’d be here at my folks’ old house?” His eyes narrowed and deep wrinkles formed across his forehead.

Trisha shook her head vigorously. “Of course not. I had no way of knowing you were here, or that this was where you used to live. How would I have known that?”

“You sent me a letter after I moved here, remember? Or did you forget about that?”

Trisha’s brows furrowed as she slowly nodded. “I’d almost forgotten about that, and I sure didn’t remember your address after all these years. When I pulled in here last night, I had no idea this used to be where you lived.”

“So what are you saying—that it was just a twist of fate that brought you here?”

“Maybe; I don’t know. The snow was really bad, and I had to get off the road. I didn’t even know where I was. Thankfully, I saw the blinking lights on a horse-drawn buggy and followed it here.” Trisha paused, and her voice lowered as she looked at him and said, “Maybe it was God, and not the weather, who led me here.”

Dad grunted. “Yeah, right.”

Bonnie, feeling as shocked as Dad obviously was, could almost feel the tension between him and Trisha. She wished there was something she could do. What a stressful Christmas this had turned out to be. It was bad enough that the man she loved was so upset with her that he didn’t want to join them for Christmas dinner. Now, as fate would have it, Dad’s old girlfriend had shown up out of the blue, and Dad’s Christmas had been ruined, too. How much worse could it get?

C
HAPTER
23

I
’m sorry about what happened between me and your dad yesterday. I’m sure it ruined your Christmas,” Trisha said the following morning when she entered the kitchen and found Bonnie sitting at the table reading her Bible.

Bonnie looked up and smiled. “It’s not your fault. Dad should be the one apologizing—and mostly to you, because you had no way of knowing he was here.”

Trisha sank into a chair with a sigh. “I’m glad you realize that, but even after all these years, I believe he’s still angry with me for breaking up with him. I don’t understand it, though. It’s not like we were engaged to be married or anything. We were just teenagers back then and thought we were in love.”

“I think the reason Dad was so upset is because when you broke up with him, he believed it was due to the fact that he was moving to Kentucky. So he was upset with his parents and blamed them for the breakup.”

“But I sent him a letter telling him I’d fallen in love with Dave, and that was the only reason I broke up with him shortly before he moved. After reading my letter, Kenny should have realized that our breakup had nothing to do with him moving, and most of all, that it wasn’t his parents’ fault.”

Bonnie shook her head. “Dad never got your letter.”

“How do you know that?”

“Soon after I moved here, I found the letter stuck between some papers in an old pie cupboard in the basement. The letter was unopened,” Bonnie explained. “Then later, when I went to Portland to take care of Dad after he’d been in a car accident, I showed him the letter.”

“What’d he say about that?”

“He was stunned and said he’d never seen the letter before. After he read it, he regretted having blamed his parents for making him move to Kentucky and wished he could tell them how sorry he was. But since they’d both passed away, it was too late for that,” Bonnie added.

“So Ken’s more upset about how our breakup affected his relationship with his folks than he is with me for choosing Dave over him?”

“I think so. Although I know from the few things Dad’s told me that he really did care about you. I believe it was a long time before he got over you breaking up with him.” Bonnie motioned to her Bible. “Dad’s a Christian now, and he needs to remember what God says about forgiveness.”

“I’m a Christian, too,” Trisha said. “I found the Lord soon after Dave and I moved to Fresno and started going to a neighborhood church.”

“Since you and Dad are both Christians, you ought to be able to work this out.” Bonnie rose from her seat and pointed out the window, where huge snowflakes swirled around the yard. “And from the looks of this weather that’s set in, I’d say you’re both going to be stuck here for a few more days, which should give you enough time to make peace with each other.”

Paradise, Pennsylvania

“How’s Johnny doing?” Naomi asked when Sally entered her store shortly after it had opened.

“He’s still in quite a bit of pain.” Sally frowned. “He’s also cranky and impatient.”

“A back injury can cause a person to be out of sorts. I hope it didn’t ruin your Christmas.”

Sally shrugged and picked up a shopping basket. “Our sons and their families came over for a while on Christmas Day, so that helped, but I wish we could have gone to Kentucky like we’d planned.”

“I talked to my daed earlier this morning, and he said they’re having blizzard-like conditions in Christian County right now, so maybe it’s a good thing you had to stay home.”

“Is everyone okay there?” Sally questioned, feeling concern.

“Dad said everyone’s fine, but if the weather doesn’t improve, they may end up having to stay a few days longer than they’d planned. He also mentioned that many people have been without power in the area, which is affecting quite a few of their English neighbors.”

“If there’s no power, how’d Abraham manage to call you this morning?”

“The power was on in Samuel’s phone shanty, but Dad said with the wind blowing like crazy, there was a good chance they might lose power there, too.”

“I’d better do my shopping in a hurry so I can get home and call Samuel’s number. I want to check on Hannah and be sure she and the others are okay.” Sally started down the notions aisle and nearly bumped into Phoebe Stoltzfus. “What are you doing here?” she asked.

“I came in to get some sewing supplies for my mamm,” Phoebe replied with a smile.

“Shouldn’t you be at the bulk food store right now? You can’t expect Anna to handle things by herself, you know.” Sally hoped Phoebe wasn’t the kind of person who shirked her duties.

“I don’t expect that at all.” Phoebe’s face turned red. “Since the store doesn’t open for another half hour, I figured I’d have time to make a quick stop here before going to work.”

“Oh, I see.” Sally didn’t know why, but she didn’t quite trust Phoebe. She remembered how a few years ago the rebellious young woman had been going out with Titus Fisher but broke things off and headed for California with a friend. If Phoebe hadn’t done that, Titus would still be living in Pennsylvania because the only reason he’d moved to Kentucky was to start a new life and try to forget about Phoebe.