“You ladies have outdone yourself this evening,” he remarked as he took two more warm biscuits from the basket. He focused on Alice and Adeline, noting that they didn’t meet his gaze. “What all did you do today, girls? I’m pleased to see such an improvement in your attitude, because I was awfully concerned about you when I left for the sale this morning.”
The twins exchanged a quick glance, shrugging simultaneously. “Not a lot,” Alice mumbled.
“Nothing special,” Adeline put in without missing a beat. “Just another day.”
Jude gripped the stew bowl to keep from slapping the table in frustration. Although he understood the value of hearing Leah’s version of the truth before he interrogated the twins, he despised game playing—acting as though Alice and Adeline had remained at home cooking and cleaning or working on other constructive projects, as most Amish girls their age seemed content to do.
“But it was a special day, coz two little goats got born,” Stevie said, conveying the wonder of birth in his observation. “And they’re gonna be my little goats, coz Leah says I get to take care of ’em. And we had the best grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, too. You shoulda been here, Dat!”
Yes, I shoulda, Jude thought, smiling at his son. Experience told him Stevie could only go so long before he blurted out everything he’d heard this afternoon, so he changed his usual evening pattern. “After being cooped up in the sale barn all day, I believe I’d like to take a walk in the fresh air and sunshine before I eat my dessert,” he said, gazing purposefully at his daughters. “If you girls will redd up the kitchen, please, Leah and I will return in a little while. And Stevie, their work will go faster if you help them.”
Disappointment flashed in his son’s wide blue eyes, but he nodded. Alice’s and Adeline’s faces tightened with suspicion as they exchanged glances. They began scraping the dinner plates as though they might take off the dishes’ simple designs along with the food.
“Denki for your help, kids,” Leah said as she rose from her chair. “I’ll grab my coat, Jude, and off we go.”
Jude’s pulse thrummed as he preceded her into the mudroom. He held Leah’s barn jacket as she shrugged into it, thinking he owed her a million more signs of his love and respect, considering what she’d endured since the wee hours of their morning.
“I love you,” he whispered as he let his hands linger on her slender shoulders. “I apologize for whatever you went through today—and I want to hear all the details.”
Fatigue lined Leah’s eyes, yet her smile radiated her love for him. “All in gut time,” she whispered with a slight nod toward the kitchen. “The walls have ears, after all.”
* * *
The mudroom door had no more than closed before Alice narrowed her eyes, pointing at her little brother. “What’d you tell her today, Stevie?” she demanded.
“Jah, how’d she know where to find us?” Adeline put in stiffly. “You’re in deep trouble if you’ve let on about the stuff we say and do when—”
Stevie crossed his arms, looking away. “How could I tell anybody where you were?” he replied. “I couldn’t carry no tales, because I didn’t know nothin’ about where you were or—”
“Don’t play stupid!” Alice blurted out, grabbing his shoulder to shake some sense into him. “If Uncle Jeremiah took you to the sale barn, that means Leah dropped you off at his place—”
“And you just can’t keep your mouth shut when you’re around him!” Adeline finished. She stood beside her sister, both with their fists on their hips, glaring at Stevie. “How much do he and Dat know?”
Stevie seemed oddly calm for a kid who usually cried at the first sign of conflict. His lips twitched as though he was trying not to laugh. “I dunno,” he said with a shrug.
“But you had to’ve heard every word they said!” Alice retorted.
Stevie shrugged again. “Maybe I did, and maybe they were talkin’ in the other room so I couldn’t hear,” he said. “When Dat and I got home, he said he was gonna do the talkin’ and I was supposed to keep quiet. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. Me and Dat, we’re a team.”
“He’s not even your father!” Adeline reminded him hotly. “Why should you do what he tells you instead of listening to us?”
Stevie looked ready to cry, yet he stood taller. “Maybe you’re lyin’ about that—like you’ve told me lies before,” he said in a quavering voice. “He’s my dat, and that’s that. You’re in big trouble, and it’s not my fault. I’m goin’ out to see the goats.”
Stevie bolted before Alice could catch him. As the slam of the door reverberated in the kitchen, she exhaled loudly. “Well, are we going to hang around here and clean up the kitchen, or is it time to just leave?”
“Where will we go?” Adeline challenged. “If Dexter and Phil hadn’t left us hanging at the pool hall—if they’d come back for us like they said they would—we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
Alice laughed bitterly. “I have half a mind to call Phil and give him an earful, but then he and Dex would probably dump us for gut.”
“Jah, so much for them being our ticket out of here. At least today.” Adeline glared at the bowls of congealing stew and green gelatin salad. “Let’s clean up this mess and see what Jude and Leah lay on us when they get back. At least we’ll know
