“Not all by myself. Margot, Juliet, and some of the other ladies from the district helped, and Deputy Little helped me put up the tables.” She blushed.

  “Deputy Little did?” I raised my brow.

  She nodded. “He had the day off and volunteered. I thought it was very kind of him. He doesn’t have much free time.”

  I nodded. Deputy Little worked with Aiden. I knew well the long hours the sheriff’s deputies had to put in.

  I didn’t mention it, but it was very telling that Deputy Little would spend his rare day off helping my young cousin set up for a baby shower. I had suspected for months that the two were sweet on each other, as my grandmother would say. Their affection had become more obvious since Christmas. However, Charlotte was Amish, and Deputy Little was not. In order for them to be together, one of them would have to make a dramatic life change. As of yet, neither had made a move to leave their culture.

  “I will definitely thank everyone who helped,” I said, believing it was best to glaze over Deputy Little’s involvement. “It really looks amazing. I’ve been thinking about expanding the business into planning more events. You might be just the person to take over that branch of Swissmen Sweets. We can talk about it more next week.”

  Charlotte beamed at me. “I enjoyed the research. I went to the library and got a bunch of books about Englisch baby showers. Do you know that the Englisch actually publish books on that topic—and more than one! It proves to me that the Englisch will readjust about anything.”

  I didn’t argue with her there.

  “Wait until you see the games,” Charlotte said. “I got the most wonderful ideas from the books!”

  I looked around at the sea of lemon yellow before me. “I can see that. You really did a fantastic job. You should be proud.”

  She smoothed her apron. “I know it’s not very Amish, but I have to admit that I am proud. I can’t wait for Emily to see it.”

  “She’s going to love it,” I said, not doubting that for a minute.

  She blushed again. “I’m just glad that you’re giving me the chance. When I first started working at Swissmen Sweets, you watched everything I did. Now I can take on a project and you trust me to get it done.”

  “Ugh, I’m sorry if I was that overbearing.”

  “Nee, nee,” she said. “It was what I needed while I was learning.”

  “Well, I like to think that I backed off as you’ve learned more, but I think it might have had more to do with the fact the shop is so busy now, I have to delegate to survive.”

  “Whatever it is, I appreciate it,” she said cheerily.

  I wished I had Charlotte’s cheerful attitude sometimes. She had the ability to see the good in everything. When her parents and home district had turned their backs on her, she’d had every reason to be upset, but even in the face of their disapproval of her reluctance to be baptized into the faith, she remained positive. I could learn a lot from her.

  I was about to tell her all this when Emily and Grandma Leah came up to us. Emily walked slowly to keep in step with Daniel’s great-grandmother over the uneven grass. As Emily reached us, her eyes were wide.

  “Look at all this!” Grandma Leah said. “It’s like a lemon garden.”

  Charlotte beamed at her praise.

  Emily smiled. “This is so lovely. These are the perfect decorations for someone who loves lemons as much as I do.”

  “It was Charlotte, Juliet, and Margot who put this all together. I take no credit,” I said.

  Tears filled Emily’s eyes. “Danki, Charlotte. It is so kind of you to do this for me.”

  I had thought that Charlotte’s smile couldn’t get any bigger, but I was wrong. She positively glowed.

  “This could be great fun,” Grandma Leah said. “I have never been to a baby shower before. I don’t know what to expect.”

  “Don’t worry,” Charlotte said. “I have it all planned. I checked out books from the library.”

  Grandma Leah laughed. “Then you must be prepared.”

  “We wanted today to be all about you, Emily. This is your day,” Charlotte said.

  Emily scrunched up her nose as if she wasn’t comfortable with that idea. I remembered our conversation in Swissmen Sweets’ kitchen at the beginning of the week and was certain she was not.

  “Finally!” Margot shouted from the other side of the square.

  As a group, we looked in her direction. I think we were all wondering what Margot could possibly be worked up about. As she hurried across the square, the short curls on the top of her head bounced up and down. Juliet followed in a lemon-colored, polka-dotted tea dress, holding Jethro under her arm.

  Amish women had already begun to arrive for the shower, even though it didn’t begin for another twenty minutes. The Amish were almost always early.

  When they reached us, Margot wasn’t out of breath. I suspected the petite woman spent most of her day running from place to place, making sure that everything in Harvest was in perfect order for the tourists, meaning that she was in excellent shape. If I were in her shoes, all the running and rushing would have me doubled over.

  As was her habit, Margot patted her graying curls when she came to a stop, as if to make sure they were secure. “How lovely! The guest of honor is here. Emily, I speak for the entire village of Harvest when I say that we are just tickled over this new addition to the community.”

  Juliet hoisted Jethro up higher in her arms. “We are tickled pink over your coming bundle of joy. Aren’t we, Jethro?”

  Emily blushed. “It’s so very kind of you both to say that. Jethro, too. I have to admit, I am quite overwhelmed by the attention. I feel very spoiled by all of this. Bailey tells me it was your idea, Juliet.”

  Juliet beamed. “Margot and I came up with it together. We can’t have a new baby join our Harvest family and not celebrate the child and expectant mother!”

  Margot shook her finger at Emily. “You deserve this. Ask anyone in the village, and they will agree with me.”

  Emily made a face, and I knew we were thinking the same thing. Emily’s brother and sister wouldn’t agree that their younger sister deserved such a celebration. I glanced around and saw no sign of Esther. I hadn’t expected her to come, but still, a part of me—a very, very tiny part—had hoped that she would, just for Emily.

  “I’m going to check on the food table one more time. Charlotte did an excellent job of putting it all together, but I want it to be perfect,” Juliet said and hurried over to the food table.

  Margot tapped me on the shoulder. “Bailey, I’ve been meaning to speak to you about an idea that I had.”

  A knot instantly formed in my stomach, as it always did when Margot said she had an idea. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Margot. I admired her a lot. She was a woman who took charge and got things done. But most of the times she’d said she had an idea for me, it had amounted to a lot of extra work. “Margot, whatever it is, I don’t think Emily’s baby shower is the right time to talk about a new project.”

  “Very true,” she said with a shake of her curls. “But I like to prime the pump, as it were, so that you know something is brewing.”

  That didn’t sound ominous or anything.

  “I’ll stop by the candy shop tomorrow so we can chat about it,” she said.

  “Tomorrow is Sunday. The candy shop is closed.”

  “I’ll send you a detailed e-mail about it tonight. Be sure to read it.” She glanced around the square. “Oh, there’s one of the church deacons. I have a bone to pick with him.” She scurried away.

  I felt bad for the deacon.

  “She scares me,” Charlotte whispered.

  “She scares me a little, too,” I admitted.

  As more guests began to arrive at the shower, both Amish and English ladies raved over Charlotte’s decorations. Emily was shocked at the number of presents that were beginning to pile up on the gift table. “I can’t believe this. It’s just too generous,” she murmured over and over again. “I won’t ever be able to use all these things.”

  “You just might,” I said. “I’m no baby expert, but I know from friends who’ve had babies, infants require a lot of stuff. Even Amish infants.” I smiled at her. “Everyone is happy for you. Accept the gifts with a smile and thanks. Your friends are just showing how much they care about you and your baby.”

  She nodded, but I could tell from the expression on her face that she remained overwhelmed by the outpouring of love.

  Charlotte walked to the top step of the gazebo to address the guests. No one was looking at her. The women chattered and ate the food. They were all having such a wonderful time.

  “Hello,” Charlotte called.

  I made a move to wave my arms to grab the group’s attention, but Millie Fisher, a sixty-something Amish widow, put her fingers in her mouth and whistled the highest and shrillest whistle I had ever heard. The green went silent.

  Millie shrugged. “If it works on the goats, I thought it might work on a crowd, too.” She gave me a lopsided grin. “I’m glad to see that I was proven right.”

  “Thank you, Millie.” Charlotte cleared her throat. “Hello, everyone! We are so grateful that so many ladies from the community are here to celebrate with Emily. I want to give very special thanks to Juliet and Margot, who made this day possible. I know I speak for everyone at Swissmen Sweets when I say that we love Emily like she was our sister.”

  I watched Emily as Charlotte spoke, and Emily blushed.

  “We have a lovely afternoon planned. Please enjoy the food, and after we eat, there will be a number of fun games to play.” She skipped down from the gazebo steps. I marveled at how much Charlotte had grown up over the last year. Across the square, I spotted Deputy Little wandering around. He was a short, compact man who was twenty-six, just a few years older than Charlotte. He always parted his hair precisely down the side, and even when he wasn’t in uniform, like today, his clothes were neat and pressed.

  He seemed to have one eye on Charlotte at all times.

  Emily walked over to me. “Danki for doing this, Bailey. It was so kind of you.”

  “It wasn’t me, Emily. Juliet, Margot, and so many other ladies were involved. They all care about you.”

  “I will thank them again, too.” She bit her lip.

  “Is something wrong?” My brow wrinkled.

  “Esther isn’t here,” she whispered.

  “I invited her.”

  “I know you did. I thought—maybe it was silly—but I thought that she would come. All the other women from the district are here. I think it makes it more painful to me that she’s the only one who didn’t come. It’s a very pointed snub.”

  I couldn’t argue with her on that. Maybe I was more cynical than Emily—in fact, I knew that I was—but I’d never thought for a moment that Esther would come to the shower. If she was asked about her absence by another woman in the district, I knew she would make up an excuse about needing to be at Esh Family Pretzels on a busy Saturday. That was true. She was the only person who worked in her shop, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t slap a BE RIGHT BACK sign on the door, run across the street, and make a short appearance at her only sister’s baby shower.

  “It’s no matter,” she said in a heavy voice that told me it mattered quite a lot.

  I wanted to tell her not to worry about Esther. It would only lead to frustration, but then an Amish woman who I guessed was in her early fifties came up to Emily. She wore a navy blue dress and a white prayer cap. A pair of reading glasses hung from a beaded chain at her neck. “Congratulations on the baby. This is a lovely party.”

  Emily’s brow wrinkled. “Danki. Have we met before?”

  The woman smiled. “I’m not from your district, so I won’t be staying long. I just wanted to tell you that I am so very happy for you. Your second child will be so well loved. It’s clear that everyone in this village is ready to celebrate the birth.”

  The breath went out of Emily’s chest in a whoosh. There were just a handful of people in the world who knew this was Emily’s second baby.

  “What did you say?” Emily asked.

  “This second baby will be well-loved,” the woman said, putting the emphasis on second.

  “Who are you?” I stepped forward.

  The woman looked at me. She had the darkest green eyes I had ever seen. They reminded me of the evergreens on the Keims’ Christmas tree farm.

  “I’m looking forward to your child meeting her sibling,” she said. “The children should be together. It is right.”

  Emily gasped.

  “It’s time for the gifts!” Charlotte called to us. “Emily, we need you.”

  Emily was stricken, and I steadied her.

  “Emily!” Charlotte called again.

  “I have to go,” Emily gasped and stumbled toward the folding chair that Charlotte had set up for her near the gifts.

  I turned to speak to the woman, but when I did, she was gone. I looked around. Who was she, and how did she know anything about Emily’s past? I had a sinking feeling in my stomach that this wasn’t over. In my experience, things of this nature did not just disappear.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  For the rest of the party, I tried to tell myself the interruption was nothing to worry about. Perhaps the woman was someone from another district who wanted to make trouble. That wasn’t typical behavior for an Amish woman, but I was grasping at anything to make sense of her visit and, more importantly, what she’d said.

  As was to be expected, Emily was on edge during the remainder of the shower. She looked around frequently and seemed to be searching all of the faces for the woman. That, or she was looking for Esther, who never showed at all. If it would have done any good, I’d have gone to Esh Family Pretzels and dragged Esther across the street to raise Emily’s spirits. However, that would only make matters worse between them.

  Despite these setbacks, the baby shower was a success. Charlotte had done an amazing job. I thought a lot about how I could give her more responsibility in our business. I added that assessment to my list of things to do at the candy shop that night. I had planned to work late after the party, making supply orders and updating our online store. When I was a chocolatier in New York, I would typically do work like that on Sundays, but my grandmother was adamant that there should be no work on Sundays. On some Sundays, I was able to work at home, where I would not offend her, but because I needed to order supplies, it would be much easier to handle the ordering after hours at Swissmen Sweets, where I could see exactly what I needed.

  Aiden was on the night shift again that Saturday for the Sheriff’s Department, and working seemed the best way to pass the time.

  After everything from the shower was cleaned up and put away, Emily went home with Grandma Leah. I didn’t have a chance to speak to her in private about the mystery woman, and I was afraid it would have to wait until Monday. In the Amish world, Sunday was a day for church and family. It wasn’t often that Englischers were welcome in Amish homes on those days.

  Charlotte, Maami, and I went back to Swissmen Sweets. Charlotte took the leftover food containers into the kitchen, but I stopped my grandmother before she could follow her into the kitchen. “Maami, did you see a woman speak to Emily and me just before Charlotte asked Emily to open the gifts?”

  She set the box of napkins and paper plates she was carrying on the counter. “Ya, now that you mention it, I do remember seeing a woman with you.”

  “Do you know who she was?”

  The strange woman wasn’t from the local district, and I hadn’t recognized her, but there was still a chance my grandmother would know her.

  “Nee, I don’t know who she was. I had never seen her before.”

  I wrinkled my brow.

  “What is it, kind?” she asked.

  I shook my head. I couldn’t tell my grandmother. She didn’t know Emily’s secret. “She just said something odd to Emily, and I wanted to know who she was.”

  “What did she say?” my grandmother asked.

  The kitchen door swung open, and Charlotte came through with a great sigh. “I’m so grateful that the shower went well, but part of me is even more grateful that it’s over.”

  And I was grateful that Charlotte had interrupted us, saving me from answering my grandmother’s question.

  Customers started coming into the shop, as we’d reopened for the last hour of the day. There was no time for my grandmother to ask me any more questions. For which I was also grateful.

  Later that night, I sat at one of the café tables in front of the shop and worked on the online store. Puff and Nutmeg slept together on a pillow in the corner of the room. My back began to ache, and I soon lost track of how long I’d been sitting there. My grandmother and Charlotte had gone up to bed in the apartment above the shop hours ago. I was starting to think I should put off the rest of my tasks until tomorrow, when I could do them from the comfort of my bed. Then someone knocked on the front door of the shop. No, that wasn’t accurate. The person didn’t knock; they banged and shook the door. The noise was so startling, I fell out of my chair.

  The wooden paddle-back chair crashed to the floor beside me, terrifying the sleeping animals. Nutmeg and Puff dove under the blond wooden candy shelves. Well, Nutmeg did. Puff couldn’t quite get her back end to fit under it. Her rump and hind legs stuck out from beneath the shelf. Her puff of a tail trembled.

  I scrambled to my feet and picked up the chair. Before I could reach the door, a knock came again. It wasn’t as loud but was just as persistent. I peered through the front window to see if I could determine who was there. From the porch light, I saw the silhouette of a small person, but it was too difficult to distinguish the individual’s identity.

  I glanced back to the cowardly cat and rabbit. “You guys are my backup if this goes south.”

  Nutmeg mewed from his hiding place, and Puff’s tail shook. I didn’t think they would be much help if it was a masked man on the other side of the door. One thing I knew, it wasn’t Aiden. He would have texted first to warn me.