I will go in the strength of the Lord God: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only.
Psalm 71:16
Mr. Stauffer’s eyes opened wide. He looked from Ryan to Bree. “Is this true, Bree?”
Bree couldn’t speak and neither could she look at Mr. Stauffer. Before Ryan had come, her life was working perfectly. She was certain that Andrew was falling in love with her just as she was falling in love with him. Now Andrew’s parents would never trust her again. The wickedness of her lie was so great she knew the only thing left for her to do was leave the Stauffer house. She had to get out of their house quickly.
If only Andrew had been home, he would’ve known what to do and he could’ve calmed his parents.
“Bree, is this true?” Mr. Stauffer asked again.
All she could do was nod as tears flowed down her cheeks.
Ryan chimed in, “Get your stuff, Bree. You’re coming with me.”
Staring at him open-mouthed, all she could do was hurry past him and head up the stairs. What other choice did she have? She couldn’t stay there now that they knew the truth of her lies.
When she was halfway up the stairs, she noticed that Mrs. Stauffer and Cora were walking out of the kitchen so she climbed the stairs faster. She got into her room and threw all her belongings into her suitcase and closed it. Where are you, Andrew? You’d know what to do.
The last thing she wanted to do was face all three of them downstairs. Mr. and Mrs. Stauffer and Cora all would know by now that Simon was not the father of her baby. Her lie had been well intended, but now that it was known it seemed an horrendous lie.
Bree picked up her suitcase and headed down the stairs hoping to avoid awkward questions and seeing their hurt faces.
At the bottom of the stairs Mrs. Stauffer looked at her with tears in her eyes. “Is what this man is saying true, Bree?”
All Bree wanted to do was sit down with her and explain what she’d done, and why, but guilt prevented her from doing so. “It is. I’m sorry for the pain I’ve caused everyone. I wish I could explain.” She walked out the door, avoiding meeting the gaze of Cora or her father.
By this time, Ryan was at the bottom of the porch stairs. “Let’s go,” he said, as he grabbed her suitcase out of her hands.
Bree saw his red sports car and hurried over to it. She slumped down in the seat and then, when they drove away, Bree turned back to look at the house. The three of them were staring after her, Mr. and Mrs. Stauffer and Cora. When Dusty sat down next to the three of them and watched her leave, Bree covered her face with both hands and cried; she’d betrayed the trust of the only people who had ever really cared about her.
After five minutes of solid crying, she calmed down enough to speak. “How did you find me?”
“It wasn't easy; your parents had no idea where you went. I had to have a private investigator track you down.”
“How did he find me?”
“Through your phone. Apparently you were turning your phone on and off, and when you turned it on he was able to pinpoint your location. I didn’t think he was right, but here you are.” He gave her a sideways glance. “What were you doing with Amish people?”
Now she was angry with herself for turning her cell phone on to check her messages. Andrew had asked her not to turn it on in the house. If she’d been respectful enough to listen to him, she wouldn’t be in Ryan’s car right now.
“Well? What were you doing there anyway? Why were you staying with those people?”
She pressed her lips firmly together and remained silent. She was angry with Ryan, but more than anything she was mad at herself.
“Answer me. I'll find out anyway even if I have to get the investigator on to it.”
“It's really none of your business and I'm not going to talk to you. Anyway where are you taking me?”
“Back to your parents’ house.”
“That’ll be a waste of time because they've kicked me out.”
“They’ve changed their minds now that they know the baby is mine. They are adamant that I shouldn’t go through with my wedding now with you having my baby.”
“My baby shouldn’t make any difference to you.”
“Legally, you’re wrong. I have just as much say about the baby as you do, and probably more so since I have more money to raise a child than you. Your parents think strongly that I should marry you.”
She shook her head. “That’ll never happen. Go and marry Prudence or Prunella or whatever her name is.”
“It’s just Prue.”
“Well go and marry Just Prue and leave me be.”
He scratched his chin. “Prue and I have talked about it and there’s every possibility she might be open to adopting the child.”
“Never in a million years would I allow that to happen.”
“My child is heir to a fortune. I’m not taking this lightly. I need a child to make my parents happy. They won’t care about the circumstances of the birth like your parents seem to.”
Her baby was just a tool for her parents and even for Ryan, but to the Stauffers her baby was someone to love and to care for, a gift from God, they said. That was something that Ryan and his family, and also her parents, knew nothing about.
As she was figuring out how to get away from her parents, she remembered that she’d left all the cash she’d stolen from them at the Stauffers’ house.
“Are you going to tell me how you knew those people? You seemed pretty friendly with them, answering their door as though you belonged there.”
She looked out the car window. His words were true; she did feel she belonged there more than any other place she’d lived.
“I have other means of finding out.”
Turning back to face him, she said, “They're just friends of mine.”
“I don't believe that and you know I'll find out sooner or later so you might as well tell me.”
“They let me stay there. I had a good friend called Simon who died and they are his family. They were letting me stay until the baby was born.”
“Simon? I think I remember you mentioning a Simon.”
She was surprised that he knew who Simon was. “And why are you suddenly getting married to someone I’ve never even heard of? Is she one of the women you were cheating on me with?”
“I told you. We never had an exclusive relationship.”
“You could have fooled me. Well, you obviously did fool me. I just assumed we did.”
“We never talked about it. You never asked me if we were exclusive.”
Bree put her hand up to put a stop to that topic. “Just don’t say any more about that. I suppose Prunella’s parents are rich? Richer than mine?”
“I told you it’s not Prunella and yes her parents are comfortable. Yes, far more comfortable than yours.”
“Ha! I knew it! You wouldn’t marry for something like love.”
“Don’t be so old-school, Bree. Love is a transitory thing; any intelligent person knows that. People fall in and out of love all the time. It’s not something that’s supposed to last, otherwise it would be a boring world.”
When he smiled at her she wished he wasn’t so handsome. Someone so horrible as he was didn’t deserve to look so good.
“I knew you’d have a grand scheme. I knew it as soon as I read the invitation. The worst thing is that I had anything to do with you in the first place.”
He laughed in a low mocking tone.
Bree closed her eyes and prayed to God to get her out of the mess she was in and to find wonderful parents for her baby. While she was at it, she prayed that Simon’s family would be comforted and wouldn’t be too upset by the way she’d deceived them.
Ryan made her jump when he said, “Here we are.”
The second she opened her eyes she saw her parents’ house.