Jake opened the store Wednesday morning, his head filled with speculations. What had Yvonne thought when she found the book in her suitcase? Would she sell it? Read it? Be angry at him and mail it back? Probably not, since it had an above-average price attached to it. Had he done the right thing, done right by his grandfather? He recalled slipping the book into her suitcase while carrying it to the car. It had been a bold move but had felt right.
Equally as distracting, if not more so, was the fact that Eva would be going out with John Yoder tonight. He wondered if Eva had ever been kissed. Would John try to kiss her on the first date? Surely Eva wouldn’t allow that.
He was loading money into the cash register when she walked in the door. Jake had expected another day like yesterday, her sour expression and avoidance. But she wore a smile and carried a basket. Jake could smell the luscious aroma of baked items.
“Wie bischt,” she said as she held up the basket. “Cinnamon rolls, two slices of apple pie, and three whoopie pies. Help yourself.”
“Uh, ya. Danki.” Jake tried to smile. Whatever bitterness Eva had been harboring, she seemed cured. Was she that excited about her date with John tonight? Had she written Jake off that quickly when John asked her out?
He finished stowing the money in the register, then went to the back room. Eva was wiping down the counters, something she did every morning.
Jake didn’t want things to be weird between them. He needed to tell her that the reason he didn’t want to read with her was because there was no book to read. Up until now, that had been his excuse not to spend intimate time with her. Now, being close to her was all he could think about. The old saying “You never know what you’ve lost until its gone” reverberated in his mind.
“Remember yesterday when I said I needed to talk to you?” He leaned up against the counter, close enough to her that he caught a whiff of lavender that unraveled him for a few seconds.
She folded the dishrag, laid it across the faucet, then reached for a towel to dry her hands. “Ya. But you said it wasn’t important.”
“I guess it kind of is.” He twisted to face her, and she did the same, her eyes locked with his. Her beautiful brown eyes.
Her cheeks dimpled as she smiled. “What? Are you firing me?”
“Never,” he said, probably much too quickly. Although if she became serious with John, she would likely quit. He couldn’t picture running the bookstore without her.
“Then what is it?” Her expression stilled as she tipped her head slightly to one side. “You look a bit tormented.”
Maybe she thought he looked that way because she was going out with John. That was partly true. “I gave the book to Yvonne. Walk with Me.”
Her mouth fell open. “I thought you said she wouldn’t take it.”
“She wouldn’t. I slipped it into the side pocket of her suitcase when she wasn’t looking.” Thinking back, it was probably a crazy thing to do.
Eva put a hand to her forehead. “Have you heard from her?”
“Nee. She can sell it, read it, whatever . . . but that’s why I said I couldn’t read with you. There was nothing to read.” He watched her closely to see if there was any relief on her face that he hadn’t been just pushing her aside—which, in a way, he had been. Thoughts of begging her not to go out with John resurfaced, but he took a deep breath and stowed them.
She walked to the kitchen table and sat on one of the chairs. Jake held his position against the counter. He couldn’t identify anything resembling relief in her expression as she tapped a finger to her lips.
“What if her luggage had been lost?” She raised her eyes to his. It was the last thing he had expected her to say. “Then no one would have the book. And I doubt she will mail the book back since it’s so expensive, for fear of it getting mishandled in the mail. She didn’t want it. Why did you do that?”
“I don’t know. I just had the strongest urge that I should.” He shrugged. “We don’t even know her well, but I felt called to give her the book.”
“Do you regret it?” She leaned her back against the chair, slouching into it.
“Nee, I don’t.” He sat across from her, the baked goodies an enticement he couldn’t resist.
“There’s extra icing on the cinnamon rolls.” Eva nodded, and he supposed she was trying to keep things as normal as possible, too, even though it felt like there was an elephant in the room. Or maybe he was the only one who thought that.
“Danki.” He lifted the lid on the basket and helped himself to a roll. After a couple of bites, he tried to force himself back into the role of her friend and not the jealous man he now was. “Are you excited about your date with John?”
Jake wasn’t even sure she heard him as she folded her arms across her chest and sighed. “Yvonne and I agreed to write to each other. Maybe she will tell me how she feels about the book in a letter.”
She’d completely sidestepped his question about John. “Okay, let me know if you hear from her, and I’ll do the same.” He stood up to go bag up the trash so he could take it to the dump later.
“Ach, and ya, I am excited about mei date.” Eva stood up, smiled, then reached for a roll before she left to head up front.
Luckily, she was gone and missed the scowl on his face. Who was he to interfere with Eva’s happiness? He stomped off and slammed the back door on his way out.
* * *
Eva tried to rid herself of the smug feeling that caused her heart to sing. Although she hadn’t agreed to go out with John in an effort to make her boss jealous, it was a bonus. Eva had done everything but throw herself at Jake lately, so now she’d ruled him out as a suitor. Maybe over time she’d get him out of her heart as well. This evening she was going to put forth her best effort with John Yoder.
As she scanned new catalogs from behind the counter, Officer Byler walked in the door.
“Wie bischt,” he said, which would have sounded strange to anyone who didn’t know he grew up Amish. A far cry from his job as a police officer. Eva couldn’t imagine such a radical transition—from being a passive and subdued Amish man to carrying a gun and enforcing the law now.
“Wie bischt, Abraham.” He’d told them a long time ago to call him by his first name privately since they’d grown up doing so.
He held up two photocopied pictures. “Are these the men you saw in the store before it got robbed?”
Eva shivered before she put a hand to her chest. “Ya, that’s them.”
“They were drifters, but they drifted into the wrong Walmart. They got caught stealing on camera at the Walmart in Bedford. I just thought you and Jake might want to know. Jake can press charges if he wants to.” Abraham’s eyes scanned the room.
“I’m not sure what Jake will want to do. Let me go—” Eva stopped when Jake came around the corner. “Abraham knows who the men are who robbed the store. They also stole some things from Walmart. Do you want to press charges for the money they took from you?”
Jake took off his hat and scratched his head. “Nee. They were caught and will be punished for their crime. It wasn’t all that much money, and I’m assuming I might have to go to court . . .” He shrugged. “I would prefer to just let it go.”
Eva wasn’t surprised. Their people tried to stay out of legal issues if at all possible.
Abraham nodded as his eyes roamed the room again. “Where’s your Englisch friend?”
“Yvonne?” Jake asked.
“She was here the last time I was in here, the one who called 911.” Abraham cleared his throat, but he blushed a little.
“Yvonne went back home to Texas.” Eva’s heart hurt just at the mention of her name. She wondered how she was doing.
“Too bad,” Abraham said, grinning slightly but still a little red in the face. “I was going to see if she wanted to step out for lunch.”
Abraham had dark hair and dreamy-looking blue eyes that were almost too pretty for a man. He was tall, and Eva thought he was very handsome. He was older than Jake, thirtysomething. She was surprised some woman hadn’t snagged him yet. Maybe his job kept him too busy to court anyone properly. She didn’t know. He was much too old for Eva even if Jake didn’t own her heart. And he wasn’t Amish.
“Did you see the plane crash on television? We haven’t seen it, but we’ve heard it’s been on the news.” Jake shook his head. “Yvonne’s fiancé was one of the people on the plane who was killed. Very tragic.”
Abraham sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m afraid I did see that on TV—the crash. Had no idea one of the passengers was her fiancé. Poor gal. That’s gotta be rough.”
Eva’s mind traveled back to when Yvonne had received the news out in the parking lot. She was afraid that vision might stay with her forever. “It was incredibly difficult for her to lose the man she loved,” Eva said.
“A terrible shame.” Abraham was quiet but then raised an eyebrow as he finally looked at Eva. “Speaking of love, I ran into John Yoder this morning at the hardware store. He mentioned that he was taking you to supper tonight.” He grinned. “First date, huh?”
Eva didn’t like gossip, and she wished John wouldn’t have told anyone. Even though she felt like her face was turning red, she glanced at Jake at exactly the same time he looked at her. She quickly looked away. “Ya, first date.”
“I know where he’s taking you, and I’ll give you a hint: he had to hire a driver, and it’s a top-notch place.” Abraham beamed. “I’ve been there.”
Eva rolled her eyes. “That’s not a very big hint.” She racked her brain to speculate where John might be taking her.
“I gotta get back to work.” Jake’s voice was flat and laced with irritation.
Abraham just waved and might not have noticed Jake’s swift change in mood, but Eva did. A part of her wanted to scream at him, tell him he deserved to feel hurt or jealous. Another part of her wanted to run to him, tell him she loved him, that she wouldn’t go out with John if Jake could just admit that he loved her too. But as sure as she was of that love sometimes, there was still doubt, and she refused to humiliate herself like that.
After Jake was out of sight, Eva said, “Tell me. Where is he taking me?”
Abraham laughed. “Nope. You’ll have to wait and see.” He winked at her. “I gotta go. Have fun tonight.”
When the bell jingled on the door and Abraham was gone, Eva tapped her pencil against the counter, pondering where John could possibly be taking her. She tried to think of the nicest place she’d ever been and recalled a trip to Bloomington with her mother once for a doctor’s appointment. On the way back, they’d stopped at Texas Roadhouse. Her mother even bought the driver lunch. It seemed fancy back then. She’d never been back, but she’d always wondered why there was a place called Texas Roadhouse in Indiana.
Thoughts of Texas took her back to Yvonne. Maybe she’d write to her tonight after her date. She hoped Yvonne was doing okay. As okay as a person in her position could be.
* * *
Yvonne sat in Trevor’s parents’ lavish living room as they told her the details of Trevor’s funeral to be held on Friday. They’d gone that morning and made all the arrangements. Yvonne wasn’t invited or given a chance for any input. She wondered if her name would even be mentioned in the obituary. She was Trevor’s fiancée. Surely his parents wouldn’t omit mention of her.
Fred and Grace Adams were visibly distraught, both with dark circles beneath bloodshot eyes. Grace had bedhead on one side, and her face was drawn and almost free of makeup. They rattled off the details of the funeral as if addressing employees in a boardroom, with formality and decisiveness. Even though Yvonne was the only one present.
“Do you have any questions?” Fred asked from his blue floral wingback chair that was definitely more for looks than comfort. Grace sat in the one next to him with an ornate cocktail table between them. Yvonne sat on the matching couch across from them, the first time she’d ever sat there without Trevor next to her.
“I don’t think so,” she said barely above a whisper.
“We’ve canceled the hall, the caterers, and the band. Is there anything else you can think of that should be handled?” Fred lifted a bushy gray eyebrow.
Yvonne shook her head as she eyed her engagement ring and wondered what she was going to do about her wedding dress in layaway and the bills on her counter. What was she going to do about the book that Jake had slipped into her luggage? And, most important, would the dagger in her heart ever work itself free and allow her to live a normal life? It didn’t feel like it.
“Then I believe everything is settled.” Fred stood up, a signal for Yvonne to leave, she assumed.
It had been only two days, and yet Trevor’s death had been handled efficiently and promptly by his parents. Yvonne could still barely breathe and wondered how she would function from this day forward.
She hugged them both goodbye. Fred patted her back the way he always did, without much of an embrace, but Grace held her tighter than she ever had.
When she got home, she slithered into bed and stared at the book beside her, much the same way as she’d done the night before. Scared to touch it. Scared not to. She had avoided two more calls from George. Her client would offer his sympathies as best he could, but he would also want to know if Yvonne had been successful, if she had gotten the book.
I certainly did.
She snuggled under the covers and wished she could stay there forever. Sleepless nights were surely in her future, but Jake’s intentions were only going to make that worse. She had to know why he’d done this, outside of a dream about his grandfather or speculating she might need money. The latter was definitely true, but a niggling feeling told her there might be more to it.
Jake and Eva didn’t always keep their cell phones on. Yvonne had been told they were supposed to be for emergencies and business only. This felt like an emergency since Yvonne didn’t think her stomach would ever settle until she talked to Jake. She tossed the covers back and reached for her phone on the nightstand.
When he didn’t answer, she left a voice mail. “It’s Yvonne.” She paused and took a deep breath, struggling to keep her voice from shaking. “I don’t know why you did this when I told you the book would sit on a shelf in my closet collecting dust. I know you had your reasons, crazy as they sounded, but the book belongs with you, Jake. Please call me back.”
Sunlight streamed across her pastel blue-and-pink comforter as she stared at the book, recalling the man’s in-depth story about how he’d come to find his faith, including the fact that he saw Jesus in person. Yvonne didn’t believe that for one moment, but the telling of the story had caused her to weep—for the man, for herself, and for anyone else who might believe his story. He called it redemption. Yvonne called it rubbish. But why had she cried the entire time she was reading it?
She picked up the book, walked to her closet, and opened the door. She was on her tippy-toes and lifting it onto the top shelf when her phone rang. That was quick. Doing a quick about-face, she rushed back to her phone, but it wasn’t Jake.
Yvonne stared at the name on the caller ID. George.
Another phone call she couldn’t keep avoiding if she wanted some resemblance of peace. There would never be true peace in the literal sense of the word, but loose ends only made things worse.
With the book still in her hands, she brought it to her chest and held it there. Then she answered the call. “Hi, George.” Tears followed.