Nutmeg meowed as if to say, “You sure are!”

  CHAPTER TWO

  The next morning, the shop was busy. The more the popularity of Bailey’s Amish Sweets grew, the busier our shop and the village of Harvest became. We were now on the routes of the major tour buses that drove through Holmes County. Before the show, Harvest had been largely ignored by the big tour companies driving through the county. The buses passed by Harvest for the better-known towns of Sugarcreek and Berlin. My television show changed all that. Now Harvest was on the map, and there was no going back. However, not everyone was happy with the increased tourist traffic.

  May was just the beginning of the tourist season in Holmes County, and there were already signs of short tempers and aggravation at the changes. Of course, the shopkeepers loved the extra business. All the local businesses were doing better than they had a year ago. Swissmen Sweets’ sales had doubled. Our biggest challenge was keeping up with the public’s demand for more, more, more. More chocolates, more milk chocolate and white chocolate pig-shaped Jethro bars, more fudge. Community planner Margot Rawlings loved the crowds my show brought to Harvest.

  On the flip side, the village council was receiving increasing complaints about traffic and congestion around the square, especially on Saturday afternoons. Ruth Yoder, wife of the bishop of the largest Amish district in the area and the district my grandmother belonged to, made a point of complaining about the changes to anyone who would listen. She was also quick to place the blame squarely on my shoulders, claiming Harvest had been a much sleepier, quieter Amish village before I arrived. She wasn’t wrong.

  I understood her concern. As great as the foot traffic was for the businesses downtown, I knew Harvest’s sleepy, quiet reputation stood at risk. Some members of the community were loath to lose it.

  When I finally saw a lull in customers at mid-morning, I told my grandmother I was headed into the kitchen to check in with Charlotte and Emily. As of yet, I hadn’t told Emily about Juliet’s idea of a baby shower.

  If I didn’t tell her soon, Juliet or Margot would move ahead. Emily needed to be warned, because this baby shower would happen with her blessing or not. I was sure of that.

  “Gut,” Maami said. “Make sure that Emily is not working too hard.” She shook the spatula she was holding at me. “But don’t tell her I said that. She is very sensitive right now about receiving special treatment.”

  I nodded. Emily’s aversion to special treatment didn’t bode well for her reaction to the baby shower.

  Inside the kitchen, I found Emily and Charlotte sitting on stools next to the giant stainless steel island in the middle of the room. One by one, they moved chocolate-dipped cherries from the wax paper, where the cherries were left to dry, to candy trays for display inside the front glass counter.

  Emily worked one-handed. Her other hand was pressed into her back.

  I winced. “Emily, are you in pain? Maybe we should get you a chair to support your back.”

  She placed another cherry on the tray. “Don’t you start, too, Bailey King! It’s bad enough my husband is treating me like a fragile flower. I won’t take the same at work.” She blew a honey-blond lock of hair that had come loose from the tight bun on the nape of her neck out of her blue eyes. “It is so aggravating. Last evening, Daniel followed me around the house with a pillow and blanket as if I was a child who would fall to the floor at a moment’s notice. I finally had to ask Grandma Leah to intervene.”

  I chuckled. Grandma Leah was Daniel’s ninety-something great-grandmother. She was a spunky, no-nonsense Amish woman who still did a few chores around the Christmas tree farm. She also gave out advice like Amish kettle corn to anyone who would listen and some to those who wouldn’t listen, too. I suspected she had choice words to say to Daniel about how he was treating his wife. Grandma Leah didn’t abide coddling.

  “I’ve told her to take it easy, too, Bailey,” Charlotte said. “And she gave me the same warning.”

  I winked at my red-headed cousin.

  “I’m much stronger than everyone thinks,” Emily said with an uncharacteristic edge to her voice.

  “Charlotte, can you give us a minute?” I asked. “There was just a big bus tour in the shop, and I’m sure Maami could use your help restocking the display counter. Those cherries would look great out front. Can you take the tray in to her?”

  Charlotte gave me a curious look, and I knew she wanted to ask me what was going on. Typically, I didn’t have anything to say to my shop assistants that they both weren’t allowed to hear. Despite her expression, Charlotte didn’t question me but took the tray through the swinging door that separated the kitchen from the rest of the shop.

  I perched on the stool Charlotte had vacated and let out a sigh of relief. After such a busy morning, it was nice to be off my feet.

  Emily continued her task of moving the chocolate-covered cherries to the tray. “Bailey, is everything all right?”

  “Everything is great.” I got up and washed my hands in the stainless steel sink at the back of the kitchen, then pulled on a pair of gloves. I sat back down on the stool and started filling another tray with the cherries. The urge to pop one into my mouth was great. They looked delicious. You’d think with all the time I spent around chocolate and sugar, I would have lost my taste for it. But I never have. My love of sweets was as strong as ever.

  She eyed me. “Then why did you ask Charlotte to leave the kitchen?”

  “Because I wanted to ask you a question in private.” I smiled. “And I didn’t want Charlotte’s natural enthusiasm to influence you either way. It’s your decision.”

  Her eyes went wide. I had always thought Emily could be a stand-in for a Disney princess with her big beautiful eyes. Her eyes became even larger when she was surprised or concerned.

  “It’s nothing bad,” I said quickly. “I promise. It’s actually something really fun. Or, at least I hope you’ll think so.”

  “Bailey, you’re making me nervous.”

  I set two more cherries on the tray and wiped my hand on a paper towel. “Okay, I’ll just spit it out. Juliet and Margot had the idea of throwing you a baby shower this Saturday on the square. They wanted it to be a surprise, but I told them I’d have to ask you first. Everyone at Swissmen Sweets would help, and I’m sure the ladies of the district would also want to be involved.”

  She blinked back tears. “You all want to throw a party for me?”

  I smiled. “We do. I know it’s last minute, but we can pull it together. We’ve planned much bigger events with a lot less time.”

  “I—I don’t know if I deserve a party.”

  My mouth fell open. “Why would you say that?”

  She placed a hand on her stomach for a brief second as if she felt a kick. “Don’t Englischers usually throw these sorts of parties for the first babies only?”

  “Some do,” I admitted. “But there are no hard-and-fast rules. There are no rules at all.”

  “But this isn’t my first child.” She whispered this so quietly I almost didn’t hear her.

  “I know . . .” I trailed off. When Emily was younger, she’d fallen in love and had a child out of wedlock. In secret, she put her first child up for adoption. I knew her story because it had been tied to a murder I’d solved not long after I came to Amish Country. But I’d never told another soul what I knew about my young friend.

  “So it’s not right to have a shower for me. I would not feel right about it.”

  I thought for a moment. I wanted to tread lightly on this subject. In many ways, Emily still hadn’t forgiven herself. The fact that her sister, Esther, and her brother, Abel, were still angry at her about it made it worse. They refused to forgive her for what she had done, because it threatened their reputation in the Amish community. Emily knew how her brother and sister felt, and she had never completely forgiven herself either, even after moving away from her cruel siblings. Even after marrying a kind and gentle Amish man who loved her dearly. Even after all this time.

  After a moment, I added, “Everyone in the village loves you and Daniel. They want to celebrate with you.”

  “I—I don’t know. What would the church elders and the bishop think?” She licked her lips. “I’ve worked so hard to earn back my good standing with the district. I don’t want people to think I am . . .” She trailed off as if she couldn’t find the right word.

  “Think you’re what?”

  “That I’m ignoring my mistake. That I forgot what I did.” Tears in her eyes, she lowered her voice. “That I forgot my daughter.”

  “Oh, Emily,” I said. “No one would think that. I didn’t even know that anyone in the district knew about the baby.”

  “Not many do, but my sister knows, and she will think the idea of a party is wrong.”

  What I wanted to say was that Esther Esh thought the idea of any party at any time was wrong. I’d never met such a severe Amish woman. As far as she was concerned, there was no joy in life, just work. It was a hard way to live for her and the people around her.

  “Emily, I know you care about your sister’s opinion, but you have to remember that she hasn’t been kind to you. You need to take her reaction with a grain of salt.”

  She moved more cherries and didn’t say anything.

  “How old would your daughter be today?”

  “Six.” Emily didn’t meet my gaze. “I think about her all the time, but since I’ve been expecting this new child, I have thought about her more and more.” She placed a hand on her stomach again. “I’m so happy about this child. I truly am. And Daniel is blissfully happy about being a father.” She smiled. “He’s terrified by the idea, too.” Her face fell again. “But it makes me think about everything that I gave up.”

  “The choices you made in the past should not be your prison. You did what you felt was right for your daughter.”

  She didn’t say anything to this.

  “If you want, I could ask Maami to speak to the bishop for you about the shower. Or Grandma Leah could. She has no trouble talking to anyone, not even the bishop.”

  She looked at me with tears in her eyes. “No matter what they say, I don’t deserve this kindness.”

  “Emily, I’m sure this pregnancy brings back painful memories, but you must learn to forgive yourself. You chose the best option you had at the time.” I held a cherry by its stem, and it twirled back and forth in the air. “I think every choice is like that, especially life-changing ones. When you have to choose, you make the best decision you can with the information you have at the time. Then you move forward.” I set the cherry next to the others on the tray.

  She glanced at the closed door separating the kitchen from the front of the shop. “I’ve been dreaming about her. I woke up crying the other night, and Daniel asked me what was wrong.”

  “What did you tell him?”

  “That I’d had a bad dream and to go back to sleep.”

  “He knows about your daughter, doesn’t he?”

  She nodded. “I knew it was important to tell him before we married. I told him when we were courting, and we’ve never spoken of it again.”

  I wasn’t sure not talking about her first child was the best idea, but the Amish weren’t ones to speak of difficult things. Not even with the people closest to them.

  “If it’s bothering you so much—” I paused, unsure if I should mention the idea that had come to mind. I took a deep breath. “Have you ever thought of looking for her?”

  She stared at me. “How could I? I don’t know where she is.”

  “But do you know the family that adopted her? Could you find out through the adoption agency?”

  “It wouldn’t be possible.” She shook her head. “There was no adoption agency. I don’t know where she went or how to find her.”

  “You didn’t sign anything when the baby was born?” I asked.

  “Sign anything? I don’t know what you mean. The baby was just gone. My sister told me she went to a gut Amish family who wanted a child and lived far away. That’s all I know.”

  I chewed on my lower lip. In the Englisch world, such an adoption would be illegal. But in the Amish world, Emily’s baby would have been born without a birth certificate. A child could be taken without any legal record of her existence or her birth mother. It made me ill to think of it. All the red tape required by a legal adoption was to ensure the child was going to a safe place. Without it, children could be put in horrible situations.

  “Would Esther know who adopted the baby?” I asked.

  She looked me in the eye. “If she does, we both know she’d never tell me.”

  My shoulders drooped because I knew that was true. “I’m not wishing to find the child. My sister promised me she went to a loving home. I have to believe her. I just don’t want to do anything that would make it seem my first child doesn’t matter.” Tears came to her eyes. “Because she does. I pray for her every day.”

  “Anyone who knows you would never think that.” I reached across the island and squeezed her arm.

  “I don’t think the baby shower is a gut idea.”

  I grimaced. “I can see why you would think that way, and you have made a very good point. Unfortunately, Margot has already reserved the square for Saturday. I’m afraid that the baby shower will go on whether you want it to or not. Trying to stop Margot and Juliet from organizing a party is like trying to stop a moving train.”

  She sighed. “And do you want to have this baby shower?”

  I nodded. “I do, and so do a whole host of other people in the village because we all love you, Emily.”

  She chewed on her lip. “All right. I’ll do it for you.” She smiled. “And because Margot won’t give me another option. The shower sounds very nice. I don’t think I’ve ever had a party just for me before. I feel spoiled that you want to do this, and honored and surprised that Juliet and Margot came up with the idea.”

  “You deserve to be spoiled. Everyone does now and again. Does Saturday on the square work for you? I sure hope so, because that’s when it’s happening.”

  She nodded. “But that’s not much time to organize a party.”

  I waved away her concern. “Let Juliet, Margot, and me worry about that.”

  “Danki, Bailey. You’ve done so much for me over the last several years. I could never repay you.”

  I smiled. “Then it’s a good thing repayment is never required between friends.”

  “We are having a shower!” The kitchen door swung in, and Charlotte bounced into the room holding an empty candy tray.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Charlotte set the tray on the island. “I’ve always wanted to plan a party like this. Oh, please let me do it!” She clapped her hands together.

  Emily’s face turned pale. I knew what she was thinking. She wondered how long Charlotte had been listening to our conversation. I wondered the same. Daniel, I, and a few other people knew about Emily’s first child, but Charlotte was not one of those select few.

  “Charlotte, were you listening at the door?” I asked.

  Charlotte’s face turned the same shade as her bright red hair. “Nee! I would never do such a thing. Juliet just stopped by and told Cousin Clara and me about the baby shower for Emily this Saturday. I can’t believe you didn’t tell me, Bailey! You know how much I’ve wanted to plan more parties. I told Juliet that I wanted to help out. She said I was welcome to take the lead with the party theme. I’m so excited!”

  I sighed. I knew I should have told Emily about the shower sooner. Not that I’d had much opportunity to discuss it with her outside of work. The shed phone at her farm was reserved for emergencies, and the Amish frowned upon unexpected social visits. But as far as Juliet was concerned, the shower would happen no matter what Emily said or wanted.

  “I would never eavesdrop on you.” Charlotte’s face became pinched.

  “I’m sorry, Charlotte,” I said. “I just told Emily about the shower, so it was an odd coincidence that you should come in right after I brought it up.” I sighed. “I asked Juliet to wait until I had a chance to speak to Emily first before going forward with the shower preparations.”

  “I don’t think she did that.” Charlotte chewed on her lip. “From what she said, she’s already told the bishop and his wife and Margot Rawlings.”

  Emily shook her head. “I’m sure Daniel knows by now, too.”

  “And everyone else in the district. You know when Juliet becomes excited about something, it’s all she talks about,” Charlotte said.

  I knew that all too well.

  “So can I plan it?” Charlotte asked with hopeful eyes. “I have the perfect theme idea.”

  Emily and I waited.

  “Lemons!” she cried triumphantly. “It’s Emily’s favorite flavor. We can make lemonade, lemon cake, lemon drops, lemon meltaways, and—” She took a breath.

  I jumped in before should could name every possible lemon dessert. “We get the idea.”

  “I do love lemon,” Emily said.

  “Then it’s settled.” Charlotte clapped her hands. “It’ll be so much fun! I’ve never been to a baby shower before. Let alone planned one.”

  “Are you sure you want to take this on?” I asked. “It’s a lot of work with short notice.”

  “I do,” Charlotte said.

  I looked at Emily.

  She smiled. “Ya, you can plan the party, Charlotte.”

  Charlotte jumped up and down. “I’m going to tell Cousin Clara right now.” She ran out of the kitchen. “We can have games at the shower, too!”

  Emily watched the door as it swung back and forth.

  I frowned. She still didn’t look certain about the baby shower idea. “Emily, I know both Charlotte and I are excited about this party, but more than anything, we want to celebrate you and your baby. If you really don’t want a shower, we can skip it.”

  “Nee, we can have the shower. It’s more than just about me.” She paused. “But I have a condition.”

  I raised my brow. Emily certainly wasn’t one to make conditions normally. “What’s that?”