Free Anna's Return by Marta Perry Page B

maybe sensing her discomfort, kept up a gentle flow of chatter that allowed Anna to simply smile and nod from time to time. Behind them, Joseph sat on the floor, playing with the two little girls as naturally as if Gracie had always been a part of their lives.
    Funny, how that thought gave her pause. If she’d come back here with Gracie right after Jannie’s death, how different would the situation have been?
    She didn’t want to think about the answer to that question. She hadn’t wanted to come back then, didn’t really want it now. Her life was out there, in the world, where she could make up her own mind about things.
    You came back because you wanted to, Samuel had said. That will make it easier .
    Her stomach cramped. She hadn’t wanted to. Everyone here seemed to accept that without question, but it wasn’t true. And if Bishop Mose asked her point-blank, how would she answer?
    She looked across the room, her gaze seeking her child. Gracie stood, balanced uncertainly, holding a block in each hand, waving them and laughing at something Joseph said to her.
    Anna’s heart turned over. She would kneel in front of the congregation, beg forgiveness, all to keep Gracie safe. The girl she’d been three years ago wouldn’t have been able to humble herself in that way, but then she hadn’t known what it was to have a child. For Gracie, she would do anything.
    The clop of a horse’s hooves came almost as punctuation to her thought. Bishop Mose must be arriving already.
    He entered smiling, little Sarah running to meet him as if he were another grossdaadi. He scooped her up in his arms and spoke to her in a low voice. Gracie, following her cousin’s lead, looked for a moment as if she’d let go and toddle toward him. Then she plopped down on her bottom and crawled across the floor. She grabbed his pant leg, and he stooped down and picked her up, too.
    “There, little Gracie. What a fine girl you are, and almost about to walk already.”
    Gracie babbled something incomprehensible and patted his snowy beard. Anna’s heart lurched. If only . . .
    She let the thought trail away, not sure what it was she hoped. Just to get through this, maybe.
    “Bishop Mose, you’ll have coffee and peach cobbler, ja?” Myra was already pouring the coffee into a thick white mug.
    “Ach, Myra, you know my weakness.” He sat down at the table, a child in each arm. “Now, what shall I do with these two sweet girls?”
    “Best let me take them, or they’ll be spilling your coffee for you.” Joseph lifted the kinder off Bishop Mose’s lap, plopping them down with their toys. “Komm now,” he said. “A few more minutes to play before bedtime.”
    “Joseph, you’ll have cobbler now, won’t you? And Anna?”
    “I don’t know—” she began, not sure how to respond. She’d expected the bishop to want to talk with her privately, and the living room was tidy as ever, with two chairs pulled together for a quiet talk.
    “Komm, fress.” Bishop Mose waved her to the table, seeming to read her thoughts. “Sit, eat. We can talk together while we have some of Myra’s wonderful-gut cobbler, can’t we?”
    Nodding, she went to take her seat at the table. She probably wouldn’t be able to choke down a bite, but if this was what he wanted . . .
    Apparently it was. He dug into the cobbler with obvious pleasure, all the while sharing the latest news from town and comparing opinions with Joseph on how long the fine fall weather would hold. Myra perched on her chair, one wary eye on the kinder, and Anna knew that at the first sign of fussiness, she’d sweep them away to bed.
    Anna toyed with her cobbler and waited for the moment when she’d have to answer the bishop’s questions.
    When he finally turned to her, his expression was as kindly as ever. “So, Anna, you’ve come back to us. You want to be accepted as part of the community again.”
    She nodded, discovering that her throat was tight. “Ja, I do.” She tried not to think