Andy walked beside his son on the path through the woods. The mid-October leaves were almost at peak color, and the air smelled of fall as they returned from the creek. Tobias held the lead to his horse, patting her while walking beside Andy. He had no doubt he’d done the right thing to give Tobias a horse. It was the very one he’d wanted before they went to Lester’s, the solid black one with an irregular, T-shaped blaze on her face. As Jolene and Hope had read him the novel Black Beauty, Tobias’s heart had broken for the mistreated creature, and Andy knew his son was ready.
“Daed, you gonna answer me?”
Since Tobias had been a toddler, Andy had known the time would come when he’d have to tell Tobias nearly everything concerning his mother. But Andy had hoped to have better words than the ones he could currently find.
His sudden questions about his Mamm were sticky ones. Why had she left? Would she return? Didn’t she love him or Andy? What was wrong with them that she ran off? “Sure, I’ll answer. I just need a minute to think how best to word it.” He rubbed his neck. Sleeping on the couch every night was rough on a body, but his bed seemed entirely too large for one lonely man.
Before going to Winter Valley, he had been content and at peace with his life. What had Jolene done to him?
“Then we need to go to her, right? Sick people need someone to help them.”
“Well, they do, but this is a different kind of sickness. Her brain has an illness, and she doesn’t want my help.”
“Doesn’t want it?”
God, please don’t let learning these things endanger Tobias’s sense of well-being.
“You like walking to the creek, don’t you, Daed?”
The quick change of subject seemed to be how Tobias’s mind was working today. “Ya.” Seeing the currents and hearing the rushing sound made him feel closer to Jolene, and it brought him some peace, as if assuring him she was fine. Was she?
He wasn’t. It’d only been a few weeks, and he was miserable.
“The horse in the book Black Beauty couldn’t have been any prettier than my horse, huh? Miss T is a beaut.”
Andy patted her. “That she is.”
“I told Grossmammi about me and Hope sitting on that log feeding fish.”
It would be safer for everyone involved if Tobias didn’t mention the Keims at all, but how could Andy ask that of his son? “That was a fun day, wasn’t it?”
“Ya.” Tobias pointed. “Daed, look.”
Bishop Omar and Levi were waiting at the end of the path where the woods met open pastures.
“Hallo.” Omar sounded like his usual friendly self. “It’s beautiful out, ya?”
“It is.” Tobias waved. “Me and Daed have been all the way to the creek!”
Levi strode toward Andy and Tobias, leaving Omar at the end of the path. “Hey, little buddy, let’s put Miss T in the pasture and hop in the rig. Sadie’s waiting.”
Andy’s heart kicked up a notch. He and Sadie were getting Tobias off the farm as quickly as possible. “What’s going on?”
Levi put the horse between Andy and Tobias. “Omar got a call from Jolene’s bishop. There’s to be a meeting.”
Andy’s head throbbed. “The subject matter?”
“Inappropriate behavior,” Levi whispered. “Maybe adultery.”
Adultery? The word made his heart race. How was it possible anyone thought that? He willed his pounding heart to slow. “Has anyone talked to Jolene to find out how she’s holding up?”
“No, and the bishop said there’s to be no contact from any Fishers. There’s a gag order until it’s settled.”
“When’s the meeting?”
Levi started to say, but Tobias came around the front of the horse. “Where we going?”
Levi smiled. “To get ice cream and visit Mammi and Daadi. Sound good?”
Tobias nodded, but he looked from Levi to his Daed, confused by what was going on. Andy winked. “You get an extra scoop for me and bring it home in your pocket.”
Tobias laughed, and Levi and Tobias led the horse to the pasture.
Andy came face to face with Omar. The man shook his head. “I’m sorry, Andy. I tried to stop this … for Tobias’s sake more than anything.”
Sunlight streamed in through the windows of the spare bedroom. Jolene’s mouth was dry and her heart pounded as she aerated the soil around the containerized dogwood and put some fresh, fertilized dirt around the tree. Today she would face her bishop and Andy’s.
What an awful spot to be in—for all of them. Guilt hounded her, but as odd as it seemed, so did a strong sense of faith. But both of those things aside, Jolene would return home with it imprinted on her brain that there could be no more contact between her and Andy. Ever.
She had to put him out of her mind and heart, but just as this dogwood tree would continue to grow, so would her respect for Andy Fisher. After dusting the dirt off her gloves, she removed them. This room was where she’d grown her dogwoods for the last ten years. Long ago, in another lifetime, it used to be the nursery. She remembered every sibling’s birth, including Josiah’s, even though she was only three at the time.
“Hey.” Josiah’s familiar voice pulled her from her thoughts.
“Hi.”
In his eyes she saw worry, and yesterday he’d voiced that he wanted to go with her today. But the instructions regarding who could attend were very precise. Only those who’d witnessed Andy and Jolene together during regular work-hours, when they were the most likely to have their guard down from onlookers, were allowed. Thankfully, both bishops felt Hope should not come, due to her age. “Why am I not surprised you’re here?” She ran her fingers over the leaves of the dogwood, and her faith in this gift steadied her beating heart.
Four months ago when Sadie had mentioned wanting a tree like Lester’s, Jolene began praying specifically for Andy and Tobias while tending to this tree. She would have to give it to Levi and Sadie, but since the night she’d kept Andy from returning to Apple Ridge, she’d cared for this tree with the same depth of love and care she did each one she gave away. Well, this one might have received a few more fervent pleas to God to take care of Andy for her. She blinked, willing the tears away. “The driver will be here soon, so would you carry this outside for me?”
“Sure.” Josiah picked up the heavy container as if it weighed no more than his son. “I want to say something encouraging. I can’t believe you of all people are facing this kind of meeting with church ministers, from two different districts no less. It’s just so wrong.”
She had yet to be told what the exact charges were. Obviously they were related to her becoming too friendly with a married man, and she had mixed feelings about that—some guilt and some defensiveness. “I hate it for Andy and Tobias. It’s my fault Andy didn’t go home when he wanted to. He could’ve used those few days at home to try to find someone who could replace him for the summer while Levi and Sadie stayed here.”
“I feel really guilty. Maybe if I’d been here for you, but I’ve been so busy with my own life—”
She held up her hand, shushing him, but before she said anything, someone knocked on the front door.
“Hallo? Jolene?” Glen called.
The plan had been that a driver would bring Glen here, and then Ray, Glen, and she would go to Apple Ridge. Her bishop and deacon had left earlier. She wasn’t sure why. “Take the tree out, and make sure Ray’s finished tending the horse.”
As soon as Josiah disappeared, Jolene reached into her pocket and felt the key to the attic. She’d fallen asleep with it in her hand last night, holding it tight. When she woke, her first thought was to give it to Andy. Maybe because the attic was a connection between them, or maybe because it represented a secret room, much like the undisclosed feelings that ran between them. Would anything be a secret after today?
The floor squeaked, and when she turned, she saw Glen in his Sunday best with a Bible in hand. He walked to the much-smaller dogwood, the one she would now give Ray when he married. “I didn’t say anything sooner because I was afraid it’d keep you from sleeping, but I don’t want you caught off guard. I don’t know what Andy’s bishop has said to him, but our bishop says I’m not to tell you the specifics. I do know, however, that it’s going to be a really tough day with a lot of hard questions.”
“I’ve been pondering the possible questions, so I hope I’m ready. I get that someone doesn’t like that Andy and I developed a friendship, but his wife is gone. How much mud can they sling?”
“Lester gave an excuse about being too old to go, not that I believe it, but who’s going to question an elder? Personally, I’m not sure he’s doing you any favors by staying home. It makes it look as if he has something to hide. He doesn’t, does he?”
Lester knew about her painting. Her friend wouldn’t chance being asked the wrong questions.
Jolene clutched the key to the attic. “That’s our ride.”
No matter how bad today got, she would remember her limited time with Andy as a good thing. Maybe that would keep her from losing her temper and making the situation worse.
They rode in a King Cab truck, Jolene and Ray in the back and Preacher Glen and the driver in the front. The scenery was pretty, but Jolene was exhausted by the time they arrived more than three hours later.
The beauty of Andy’s farm was startling with its lush greenery, well-kept barns and home, a huge round pen, and plenty of horses in the pastures. She hadn’t expected it to be such a pretty place.
Preacher Glen paid the driver and told him he would call him later today, possibly before dinnertime. It was an hour before noon now, so apparently Glen wasn’t expecting the meeting to drone on too long. Jolene hadn’t even considered who was paying for the gas or the driver’s time.
Glen moved the containerized tree to a wagon sitting just inside the barn. Then he went to the front door and knocked. A man Jolene didn’t recognize opened it. When they stepped inside, she saw people in chairs around a long kitchen table. Then she spotted Andy. Their eyes met, and despite the chaos she saw steady gentleness radiating from deep within him. He was simply a man who’d been young and had married a woman against his better judgment. She would not fault him for that.
How many misjudgments did each person make in a year? She had blindly kept Ray working in a place that was undoing all she was trying so hard to accomplish with him. She’d trusted her uncle and Josiah to look out for him, and they thought they were. Blind mistakes were as much a part of life as getting things right. They didn’t make a person a fool or less worthy. They showed that people were human and in need of grace. Her parents were intelligent, loving people who made a foolish mistake, but that did not change the beauty or value of who they’d been.
Jolene searched Andy’s eyes, and even now she could feel that there was something indefinable about him.
Ray bumped into her. “Oh, sorry about that.”
She realized he’d done it to break her stare. She swallowed hard and tried not to look Andy’s way again. Tobias wasn’t here but was probably with his grandparents for the day.
Introductions were made, but her head was swimming. There were six ministers—three from Andy’s district and three from hers—plus Levi, Sadie, and Andy. Bishop Omar motioned toward a chair. “You may take a seat.”
After prayers Andy’s bishop began. “Today will be filled with heated emotions, and I ask each of you, in the name of Jesus, to use self-control at all times as we work through this. The ministers have discussed it, and I will ask most of the questions. They have already given me many of their questions, which I’ve compiled into one list. But they may write down more as we go along and pass those to me as well. We’ll begin at the starting point of the issue, which is, When did Andy tell Jolene he was married, and what was her response? We will come to a conclusion on each charge before we move on to the next one. When discussing the elements of the accusation regarding what took place between Andy and Jolene, we, the ministers, will talk to the witnesses privately so that the ones being charged cannot hear the accounts of the others before they answer the questions we have for them. We will aim to give a decision today on all accusations, but we reserve the right to meet again concerning the allegation of lust and breaking the seventh and tenth commandments.”
A roar pulsed in Jolene’s ears as the impact of the charges hit her like being trampled by a rogue horse. “The seventh commandment?” Her head spun. She and Andy had crossed a few ethical lines. Perhaps a marriage, even when a spouse was missing, should be protected in ways she and Andy hadn’t honored, but … “We’re being accused of adultery?” Each of her words was packed with emotion, and she could hear the shrillness in her voice.
Andy closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. Why hadn’t someone warned her about this? Jolene’s stomach churned, and she feared she’d be sick. Where was the bathroom? She darted to the kitchen sink, turned on the water, and drew a handful to her lips. It immediately eased her nausea.
A dishtowel was held out to her, and when she turned, she saw Sadie looking mortified for her.
Jolene gasped for air while dousing her face. She pulled the crumpled towel from her shoulder and dried her face. “I’m sorry. I … I had no idea that …”
“Sadie, would you get Jolene a glass of water?” Omar took a deep breath. “Jolene, please sit.”
Jolene returned to her chair, embarrassed almost as much by her reaction as the accusation. Adultery! Maybe whoever the accuser was didn’t understand the gravity of thinking such a thing. She’d spent her life wearing a cape dress, keeping her head covered, and praying every day. The claim was as harsh as accusing a peacekeeping, nonresistant woman of murdering someone for personal gain.
Sadie put a reassuring hand on Jolene’s shoulder for a moment as she set a glass of water on the table in front of her. Then she returned to her chair, but she didn’t look at Jolene.
Jolene tried to pay attention, but the pain was too much. What did God think of her misconduct? She didn’t claim to be innocent, but there was an ocean between unintentionally falling for a man whose wife had left him six years ago and adultery!
Omar asked Andy a lot of questions and then turned the questions to Levi, Sadie, and Ray.
The questions and answers between Omar and the others continued for more than an hour. “So,” Omar said, sounding ready to bring a conclusion to this issue, “what happened when Jolene realized you were married?”
“She said good-bye and left.”
“Immediately?”
“Not in the first thirty seconds, but as soon as the shock wore off, and I explained the situation, ya.”
“How long?”
“Within seven to ten minutes, I guess.”
“What was your reaction?”
“Confusion. Disbelief. I thought she knew. I was also honored that she cared and surprised that such an amazing woman would be interested in me if I was available.”
“So you wanted her,” Jolene’s bishop said.
“Wait.” Glen waved both hands. “There’s a huge gap between being flattered or honored and what you’re suggesting.”
“Is there?” the bishop asked.
Omar nodded. “I agree with Preacher Glen.”
“My daughter thinks they were playing footsie under the table.”
Glen’s eyes flashed with anger at his bishop. “Your daughter never saw them together. Your daughter talked to a child, jumped to conclusions, and is threatening to damage two families. I told you yesterday that I will not sit in silence while hypocrisy slings its spite, and it is hypocrisy for a gossip to falsely accuse others and use her bishop father as the instrument!”
Guilt for the position Glen found himself in hounded her. If he wasn’t careful, he would find himself facing charges for talking to the bishop in such a manner.
Did honoring a marriage demand that Andy and Jolene should’ve gone their separate ways as soon as they realized there was a spark between them? Or was that the letter of the law speaking?
But the real question was, What had they gained for their rare, intense moments together? The news of today’s meeting had already spread throughout their districts, and no matter what the outcome was, their reputations might be dashed to pieces.
And this meeting had broken their hearts.