Best Friend's Ex Box Set

"Fine," I shot back. "I'll be ready to go in the morning."

Grace ran up the stairs and down the hallway, but I didn't move until I heard her slam the door to her bedroom. I headed into the guest room they'd set up for me, stripped down to my boxers, and climbed into bed. I lay listening to the sounds of the night for a long time before I fell asleep, and when I did, I dreamed of Grace's blue eyes and wheat-colored hair.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Grace

I woke before dawn and lay in bed replaying the previous day in my mind over and over. The images of Faith and Hope rejecting me intermingled with the way I felt when Adam and I had kissed, and left me feeling confused and frustrated. I didn't want to ruin Verity's chances for a happy marriage, but I also resented that Uncle Amos was using my own sisters to blackmail me into behaving the way he thought I should.

"He's not going to push me around," I grumbled as I threw back the sheet and swung my feet over the edge of the bed. I sat staring at the floor as I thought about the soft carpeting in my bedroom, the luxuriously tiled bathroom with the Jacuzzi, and the automatic drip coffeemaker waiting for me back in Chicago.

I felt the strong pull of the city as I pushed myself out of bed and walked over to retrieve my cell phone from the closet. There were eight text messages from Mike, and all of them indicated some level of urgency regarding the upcoming presentation. I tapped out a response giving him the quick answers he needed to move forward with the project and letting him know what time I'd call. I then tucked my phone and the portable charger back in my bag in the closet and headed to the bathroom where I took a quick sponge bath before returning to my room.

I sighed as I pulled out yet another set of silky lingerie and pulled them on. The royal-blue silk and lace felt lovely against my skin and I ran my hands over my body wondering what Adam would think if he knew what lay beneath my plain, cotton dress. I tucked the yellow lace bra and panties I’d worn the day before into a lingerie bag in the closet and stuck it back in my suitcase. I’d wash those things by hand later when everyone else was sleeping. I yanked the dress over my head and wrinkled my nose as I began putting the pins in place before smoothing my hair and donning my starched, white kapp.

There were no mirrors hung in the house because they would violate the Ordung by promoting vanity, but Mamm kept a hand-held mirror in her dresser and we were allowed to use it on special occasions. I'd moved the mirror up to my room the day I'd arrived mostly because it made me feel closer to Mamm. Now I held it up and looked at myself shaking my head as I saw my plain face staring back at me wondering what Adam thought when he looked at me.

Downstairs in the kitchen, I found Verity at work making breakfast. I picked up a knife and began cutting the melon that she'd pulled from the refrigerator and left on the cutting board. She was singing a song I'd recognized from evening song gatherings, and I smiled as I remembered the night she and Levi had first exchanged shy smiles.

"I remember that one," I said, cutting into the pale green rind and splitting the honeydew in half, causing the juice and seeds to spill out on to the board. I quickly tilted the board into the sink and rinsed it off.

"Ah yes, it was a lovely evening, wasn't it?" she nodded.

"Verity, I have to ask you something," I said taking a deep breath. She turned toward me with an expectant look on her face so I forged ahead. "Faith and Hope have shunned me for allowing Adam to stay with us, and they said I'm not welcome in their homes until he goes. They've said it's because they're concerned about you and Honor and Danny, but mostly you."

"Me? Why?" she asked.

"They think that this will ruin your prospect of marriage to Levi," I said feeling foolish for saying it out loud. "They think that you'll be labeled damaged goods and that Levi's family won't allow you two to marry."

"Oh, Grace," Verity said shaking her head. A sad smile crossed her lips as she said, "There's nothing that anyone could do that would keep Levi and I from marrying. We're meant to be together. He knows it, and I know it. Our bond isn't so fragile that it could be broken by an act of Christian charity."

"But the community will talk," I said. "Faith and Hope will talk."

"They mean well, Grace," she said smiling at me. "I understand their fear, but I don't share it. Mr. Wallace is welcome to stay here until he recovers and gets his car back. No matter what anyone says."

"How do you do it, Verity?" I asked looking at my younger sister with awe and admiration.

"Do what?"

"How do you stay so calm and kind when people are threatening to try and ruin something that matters so much to you?" I asked.

"It's God's will," she said calmly. "I trust in God and I know that when I follow the path He lays for me, it will all work out the way it's supposed to. It's trust, Grace."

"Are you saying that I'm not trusting?" I said suddenly feeling defensive.

"I'm not saying anything about you," she smiled. "I love you, Grace. You're my sister and part of my heart, but me following my own path is about me and my relationship with God, not about you or what you choose to do."

"I know, but..." I said deflating a bit as I understood the point she was making.

"But nothing," Verity replied softly patting my shoulder. "Just because you chose a different path doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it. It's just right for you. We each have to make that decision, and Mamm and Dat tried the best they could to prepare us for that; don't you understand, Grace?"

"I do, but the pressure from all sides," I sighed as I felt my emotions welling up again. "I don't know what to do, Verity. I'm trying to make everyone happy and make sure everyone has what they need. There's so much going on with the store, the farm, you and Honor and Danny, and then there's my job in the city..."

"Grace, slow down and think about this," she said as she turned back to the bowl of batter she was beating. "Maybe the problem is that you're not listening to the only person who really matters."

"I know, I know," I said cutting the melon into slices. "I should listen to God and hear what He says."

"No, I don't think that's the answer for you," Verity replied. "You need to listen to the voice inside of you. What is it telling you?"