Free Simple Deceit (The Harmony Series 2) by Nancy Mehl Page B

to ourselves. I’m a pretty good cook. While we eat, we can visit and get to know each other a little better.”
    I smiled warmly at her. “I would love that, Mary.”
    “You can call me in a couple of days and let me know what night would work for you.” The coffeeless Harold loudly cleared his throat. “Knock it off, Harold,” Mary hollered. “Or I’ll pour that coffee in a place you won’t appreciate.”
    Her comment brought another guffaw from Harold. She winked at me and took off toward the kitchen. She’d just disappeared through the swinging door when Sam reappeared at the table.
    “He says he’ll be fine, but I gave him my number and told him to call me anytime I can help.” He scooted back into the booth and picked up his fork again.
    “I hope he’s right. There’s something about Rand that bothers me. His daughter doesn’t look well cared for. And she always seems a little…I don’t know, frightened. I hope he’s not abusing her.”
    Sam stopped cutting his steak and frowned at me. “Believe me, Gracie, if something like that was going on, someone here would have noticed it. Jessica and Thelma attend Abel’s church.
    And Jessica goes to school in Sunrise. If there were bruises or anything…”
    “If they’re where they can be seen.” I noticed Sam’s startled look. “I had a friend in school once whose dad beat her. No one knew about it until one day in gym class. When she undressed for the showers… Well, it was obvious something was horribly wrong. The gym teacher immediately notified the principal, and he called in the authorities.”
    “That must have been awful for that girl.”
    I nodded. “It was. But things turned out for the best. After it was discovered that her mother knew about the beatings and did nothing to help, Caroline was put into foster care. She got placed with a wonderful family who loved her and eventually adopted her. She went to college and married a super Christian man. They just had a baby.”
    “You stay in touch with her?”
    “Yes. We call each other several times a year. She lives in Michigan.”
    “That’s great, but I really don’t think Jessica’s being abused.”
    “You know some abuse isn’t physical, right?” I said.
    Sam chewed another bite of steak but didn’t say anything. He seemed focused on his food.
    “I mean, someone like Rand could easily be verbally abusing his wife and daughter. That would explain Jessica’s demeanor. The only time I’ve seen her smile is when she’s around Hannah Mueller and their friend Leah.”
    He nodded at me but appeared to be thinking more about his steak than about what I was saying.
    “Sam, did you hear me? Maybe Rand is…”
    The front door of the restaurant blew open. I’d been watching the skies darken and could tell the wind was picking up by the amount of dust swirling around in the street. Abel Muellerstruggled to close the door with one hand while holding on to his hat with the other. Harold jumped up to help him. Together they pushed the door shut.
    I started to call out a greeting when I noticed Abel’s expression. In the seven months I’d known him, I’d never seen him look so upset. He glanced quickly around the room until his gaze settled on me. The way he looked at me sent a shiver down my spine. By now, Sam had also noticed Abel. He looked back and forth between us a couple of times. Finally, he waved Abel over to our booth. After hesitating a moment, the Mennonite pastor walked slowly toward us.
    “Hey, Abel,” Sam said when the big man came up next to us, “what’s going on? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
    “Is everyone all right?” I couldn’t control the way my voice trembled. “I just saw Ida…”
    “No. No, Gracie. I’m sorry. As far as I know, everyone’s fine.” He took off his wide-brimmed black hat and held it in front of him. His eyebrows knit together in a frown. “I—I know this is going to sound odd, but I need to talk to you.” He glanced