"You'll be useless without sleep," I said wanting him to leave so that I could talk with my siblings in private. "Go home."

Gabe held out the envelope containing the money he'd offered me. I shook my head and pointed toward his buggy repeating, “Go home." He stepped off the porch and walked away from the house. A few minutes later, he turned the buggy onto the main road and headed back toward town without looking back.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Adam

Grace, Verity, and I spent the rest of the night trying to figure out how we could save the store and the farm from ruin, but as dawn broke, we realized we were running out of time and still had no solid plan. The bishop's threat to ruin Miller's Grocery was going to be the most immediate problem.

Grace brought out the books she'd been working on for the store and showed us the debts owed to all the suppliers.

"There's no way we're going to pay this off if Uncle Amos takes all of our business away," Grace said running her hand through her hair. She hadn't bothered to pull it up and put her cap on, and as I looked across the table at her, I marveled at her natural beauty. Wrapped in my sweatshirt, she looked young enough to be just another Chicago college student, and as she struggled to find a way to make sure her family was taken care of before she headed back to meet the needs of her boss, I felt something inside of me shift.

"Adam?" Verity said nudging me with her elbow.

"Huh?"

"Where'd you go, English?" Grace teased.

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking about something," I said shaking my head and looking down at the paperwork spread across the table.

"Well, shift your thinking to what we can do to sell the community on turbines," she said as she pushed a stack of papers toward me. "I have no idea how we're going to attract a crowd to hear you talk about what you can offer our community, but I have a feeling that once we figure that out, you'll have no trouble getting people to sign up."

"Grace, your uncle isn't going to let anyone near me," I said shaking my head. "No matter how you put it, the Amish aren't going to defy him to come hear me speak a

bout newfangled technology."

"That's true, Grace," Verity sighed. "He's right. No one who wants to stay in the community is going to oppose Uncle Amos."

"Stop it, you two!" Grace shouted. "There's a way to make this happen! I know it! We just haven't figured out how yet."

Having let out her frustration, Grace sunk into the chair behind her and covered her face with her hands. I looked at Verity, whose face registered deep concern. I gave her a questioning look and when she tipped her head toward her sister, I knew exactly what I needed to do. I got up and quickly moved around to where Grace was sitting and knelt in front of her.

"Grace," I said softly. "Listen to me. We're going to figure this out and make sure your family is okay. I promise."

"Don't promise me things that you can't guarantee!" she cried from behind her hands. "You don't know this community like I do! Uncle Amos controls everything, and there's no way that the three of us are going to be able to work around his edicts. It's hopeless!"

"Don't say that, Grace," I said taking her hands and pulling them away from her face. She looked up at me with damp eyes and tears running down her cheeks. I reached out and cupped her face as I held her gaze and said, "Grace, I promise that we are going to find a way to make sure your family is taken care of. I can't promise that I'll be good enough to sell my product, but I swear I'll make sure that your family has enough to keep the farm going."

"You promise? Don't lie to me," she said as her face crumpled. I let go of her hand and pulled her to me so that her sobs were muffled against my chest.

"I promise," I whispered as I kissed the top of her head and held her tightly. "No lies."

Chapter Thirty-Three

Grace

When the car pulled up in front of the house, I descended the stairs dressed in a blue sheath and nude heels that were meant for Chicago and I yelled for Danny to go get my suitcase. I ducked into Adam's room and closed the door.

"Whoa, you look totally different when you're dressed as a city girl," he said smiling as I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a deep kiss.

"I'll take that as a compliment," I said leaning back and looking up at him. He smiled and nodded as he brushed the hair away from my face.

"It's a little jarring after being used to seeing you in your Amish dresses, but no matter how you slice it, you're a beautiful woman," he said before kissing me again. I felt my stomach flip at the compliment, and I kissed him a little harder in response.

"I should be back in the city by lunch, but I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have as I try to sort out the financials for Mike," I said looking at my watch. "You've got my number, so call me if you need anything."

"We won't," he said tracing my lower lip with his thumb. "You take care of business in Chicago, and we'll get all the pieces in place to do the sales pitch when you get back next week."

Tags: Claire Adams Romance
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