"Oh yes, the bishop is Mr. Miller's older brother," she said before stopping and correcting herself. "Was. He was his brother."
"He's no longer his brother?" I asked hoping she'd clue me in on the family dynamics in a way that could help me understand how to approach Bishop Miller and sell him on the idea of our turbines.
"Yes, the Miller children buried both their mother and father last week," she said sadly as she bowed her head and whispered a short prayer under her breath. "I don't know how Grace is going to manage all of the duties of the farm and the store, but if I know Corner Grove, I know people will step in and help as best they can."
"Grace Miller is in charge of the store and a farm?" I asked feeling like a stupid outsider.
"Mmm hmm," Mrs. Yoder nodded as she replaced her glasses on the bridge of her nose and picked up knitting where she'd left off clearly indicating that she was not going to continue the discussion. "She's quite a young woman. Very independent. And mighty stubborn according to her Mamm, God rest her soul."
"I see," I said as I headed for the stairs. I wanted to sit with Mrs. Yoder and grill her about the people in this community, but I knew that if I did, it would most likely blow through the town gossip mill like wildfire.
"I put fresh towels on your bed, Mr. Wallace," she called when I was half way u
p the stairs. "And there's plenty of hot water in the heater if you decide you want a shower!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Yoder," I called back. More than a shower, I wanted to know what had happened to Grace Miller's parents and more than that, I wondered if Grace Miller might be able to help me sell the turbines to the people in her community.
Chapter Eleven
Grace
"Well, this place has gone to hell in a hand basket since Mamm's been gone, hasn't it?" Faith said as she entered the kitchen before sunrise. She had her smallest child strapped to her chest and a basket of eggs draped over one arm.
"Knock it off, Faith," I said as I pulled out the milk and flour preparing to make pancakes for the younger ones. "You know I'm trying to keep the store running while Verity and Honor do the housework. There's no need to be so petty."
"Cleanliness is next to Godliness," Faith said in the prissy voice that I'd hated since we were children. When I rolled my eyes, she added, "You'd better not make a habit of that, Grace Miller. Your eyes will get stuck in the back of your head."
"That's an old wives tale and you know it," I replied as I slammed an egg against the side of the bowl causing the shell to splinter and slide down into the mix. "Dammit!"
"Grace! Language!" Faith admonished.
"Oh, do shut up, Faith," I said as I tried to pick the shell out of the bowl. "I'm doing the best I can with what I have."
"Why do you always have to be so rude?" Faith asked as the baby started to fuss. She pulled it out of its sling and checked its diaper.
"Who is always so rude?" Hope said as she pulled open the kitchen door carrying a basket of fresh baked bread.
"Who do you think?" Faith said looking pointedly at me before carrying the baby into the living room to change its diaper.
Early on, my younger sisters had formed an impenetrable team that left me outside looking in. We were all two years apart, but Faith and Hope acted like twins. It didn't help that they also looked almost identical. All of us girls had the same wheat-colored hair and blue eyes, but Faith and Hope had also inherited the petite bone structure from Mamm's side of the family. They looked like the perfect Amish girls with their impeccable dresses, which now were black because we were all still in mourning, and their crisply starched kapps pulled down on their heads without a hair out of place.
I, on the other hand, had inherited the larger bone structure of Dat's people, and the blonde hair and blue eyes from Mamm's. Since I was a child, I'd never been able to keep myself as neat and clean as Faith and Hope. I always had hair sticking out from under my kapp and my dresses seemed to constantly be missing a pin or two. Once my sisters were old enough to dress themselves, they began giving me the once over before we left our room in the mornings. It had been kind and helpful when we were children, but the habit had extended into areas where I did not welcome my sisters' input, and by the time we were teenagers, Faith and Hope had fully conformed to the Amish way of life whereas I was constantly pushing the boundaries to see where they would give.
"Grace, what's going on with the store and the farm," Hope said as she pulled a loaf from the basket and began slicing it on the sideboard.
"We don't need toast, Faith. I'm making pancakes," I said gritting my teeth as I poured batter into the hot cast iron skillet and listened to it sizzle in the melted butter.
"I know, but you'll need it later for lunches and you know you never get the slices all the same size," she said without turning around. I bit my tongue to keep from saying something I'd probably regret. All I had to do was figure out how to keep the store and the farm running until Verity and Honor could take over, and then I could go back to my life in Chicago. Until then, I was going to need help getting everything on the right track, and Faith and Hope were the only ones in a position to assist. I could not afford to alienate them over issues that, in a few months, would no longer involve me.
"How's Danny doing?" Faith asked.
"He's been quieter than usual, but I imagine he's just trying to make sense of things the same way we all are," I said, wondering why she'd asked.
"Mmm, okay," she nodded as she finished cutting the bread and grabbed a cloth from the sink to wipe up the crumbs she'd left on the cutting board.
"And the store?" she asked as she brushed the crumbs from her hand into the compost bin under the sink.
"I've got a meeting with the suppliers this afternoon and I'll find out what's going to need to be done to keep everything on track," I said as I slid the spatula underneath the bubbling circle of batter and quickly flipped it over silently cheering when I saw that it was the perfect shade of golden brown. "Then I'll take a look at the books for the farm and figure out how we're going to harvest the crops this year. I'm sure we can get some help from the community, but we'll need to figure out an alternate plan for next year's planting."