Her Restless Heart Part 28

Apparently, the bishop was one of them.

He showed up again at the shop a few days later and was closeted with her grandmother in the back room for nearly half an hour. When he came out, he was frowning and her grandmother was smiling as she walked behind him.

Mary Katherine bit her lip so she wouldn't smile when the man turned and her grandmother quickly changed her expression.

"Think about what I said."

"Oh, I will," Leah told him pleasantly. "Thank you for stopping by."

Leah waited until he left, went to the store window to a.s.sure herself that he had walked out of sight, then turned back to her granddaughters, who were anxiously waiting to hear what had happened.

"He came in to grumble again about how he didn't think we were looking like we offered traditional Amish crafts and goods."

"My work, in other words. He means my work."

"Well, it doesn't matter whose things he's talking about," Leah said, smiling now. "He came in to grumble, but he can't do more. I'd heard he went to others in authority in the church, and they didn't agree with him. So we have nothing to worry about."

Mary Katherine breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been so upset when he came into the shop the first time and complained. She remembered what Jenny Bontrager said at church two weeks ago, about how she liked the last bishop better than this one, and had to agree.

Now she wondered if Jenny had heard about the bishop's visit and was trying to send her a subtle signal that things did change, even in their community.

Well, it didn't really matter. She felt easier about it all. Going to her loom, she sat and began working again.

"I think this calls for a celebration," Leah announced.

"Celebration?" Anna, Naomi, and Mary Katherine said at the same time.

"What kind of celebration? We close early?"

Leah chuckled. "No, Anna. We can't really do that. We wouldn't want to disappoint anyone who was visiting the area and intending to stop by here, would we?"

Anna pouted, but she shook her head.

"So then what do you have in mind, Grossmudder?" Naomi asked.

She smiled. "I think we should have supper out. In a restaurant. The four of us."

"Really?" Anna's voice rose in a squeak.

"Really. My treat."

Anna glanced at the clock. "It's four o'clock."

"Too early to close," Leah said with a smile as she walked behind the counter and took out the day's receipts to add.

"But we could get the early bird special," Anna said persuasively. "Save you some money."

Leah laughed and shook her head. "It's so kind of you to think of my pocketbook. We'll close at 4:30."

Anna pumped a fist in the air. "Yes!"

Naomi looked at Mary Katherine. "Thank goodness the bishop isn't here to see that. He'd faint."

Without being asked, the cousins straightened displays, swept the floor, and emptied wastepaper baskets. When their grandmother emerged from the back room with her coat over her arm, her purse and the day's deposit in her hand, her eyebrows shot up.

"Well, perhaps I should treat us to supper more often."

"You should," Anna told her with an impish smile. Then a shadow fell over the door. "Oh, no, a customer!" she cried. "Quick, lock the door, and we'll go out the back way!"

"Don't be silly," Naomi told her. "It's a man. He won't stay long. Probably just here to pick up thread for his wife."

The door opened, and in strolled Daniel. "h.e.l.lo, ladies!"

"Daniel! I thought you went back to Florida?"

"Came back for a visit. Are you closing?"

"We're going out for supper," Leah told him. "Would you like to join us?"

He brightened and nodded. "That would be wonderful."

They walked to a nearby restaurant that was frequented by locals and tourists alike. Maybe Mary Katherine was imagining it, but Daniel seemed to maneuver things so that he sat near her.

She wondered about that. The last time she'd seen him- when he'd been here to sell his parents' property-he'd acted as though he was interested in her.

Leah asked him about his mother, and he pa.s.sed along a message from her. Naomi asked if he'd met a friend of hers who was vacationing in Pinecraft. And Anna wanted to know if the ocean was warm enough to swim in.

Daniel had questions of his own. "So, I hear you and Jacob are dating," he said quietly while the others gave their orders to a waitress.

Mary Katherine stared at him, surprised. "Who did you hear this from?"

"I hear things."

"All the way down in Pinecraft?"

He shrugged. "Been back for a few days."

"What are you having tonight, sir?"

Daniel picked up his menu. "You order, Mary Katherine."

When it was his turn, he flashed the waitress a charming grin. "Sorry, I was too busy talking to look at the menu. I'll have the baked chicken special."

"S'okay," the waitress said, smiling as she took his menu.

He turned back to talk to Mary Katherine, but Anna- always inquisitive-had questions for him. Florida sounded so exotic to her, she said. She wanted to know more and asked him endless questions about Pinecraft.

She wasn't the only one. Naomi was asking her own questions, Mary Katherine noticed. Glancing at her grandmother, Mary Katherine wondered if she should switch seats with her sister so that they could talk.

Daniel glanced at her, and she thought he looked a little frustrated. Dessert was ordered-no one pa.s.sed up dessert here-and when the time came for the check to be presented, Mary Katherine looked up from talking to Anna and discovered Daniel gone.

"Ready to go?" he asked when he returned.

"We're waiting for our check," she explained.

"It's taken care of."

"But Grossmudder was treating us," Anna said.

"It's my treat. My parents gave me a nice little present for taking care of selling their property," he said.

"Well, danki, Daniel," Leah said. "That is very nice of you."

"Does this mean we get another dinner to celebrate?" Anna asked as she followed them out of the restaurant.

"You were celebrating?" Daniel held the door open. "Is it somebody's birthday? It's not Mary Katherine's."

"The bishop decided not to give us any problems-" Anna began.

"Anna!"

She covered her mouth. "Sorry."

Daniel glanced at Mary Katherine, but she shook her head. Her grandmother didn't have to remind her that such things weren't to be discussed.

They walked back to the shop, arriving a few minutes before their driver was scheduled to arrive.

Daniel put a hand on her arm and drew her aside. "Could I see you tomorrow?"

"I'm working."

"Lunch," he said, his eyes direct on hers. "Everyone has to eat lunch."

Their ride pulled up to the curb.

His fingers tightened on her arm. "Please?"

"Why do you want to talk to me?"

"Just let me take you to lunch and talk?"

"Mary Katherine, are you coming?" Anna called.

"Be right there!" She looked at Daniel. "Fine. I'll meet you at noon at the place we just ate at."

Anna rested her chin on Mary Katherine's shoulder as she sat before her loom. "So, what does Daniel want?"

"To talk. That's all."

"Talk? About what?"

"I have no idea. I guess I'll find out when I talk to him."

Anna moved to throw herself into a nearby chair. It took only a minute before she was reaching for her ever-present knitting. "I think he's still interested in you."

Mary Katherine worked on a couple of rows, sliding the shuttle in and out.

"Mary Katherine!"

"What?"

Exasperated, Anna stared at her. "Say something!"

"I know you love a romance, but he could be here just to talk about something with me."

"Uh-huh."

Mary Katherine glanced at the clock. "Time to go."

"I want to hear everything when you come back!" Anna called after her.

"Me, too," said Naomi as she opened the door for her.

"You, too?"

"Me, too." Naomi grinned. "Have a nice lunch."

Daniel was waiting for her at the restaurant. He rose to seat her, and she saw that ice water and a menu were already at her place at the table. He wasn't wasting any time.

So she wouldn't, either.

"What is it you want to talk about?"

"Are you or are you not dating Jacob?"

She rolled her eyes. "You know it's no one's business if I am."

"It's mine."

The waitress came with her order pad, and then left them alone.

"How do you figure it's your business?" she asked him.

He reached over and took her hand. "You know I'm interested in you."

"But I told you before you left that I wasn't interested," she said, trying to be gentle.

"While I'm here I thought I'd see what's going on with you." He looked up when he was served a soft drink. "What was Anna talking about last night? About the bishop?"