Page 46 of The Pretender (Mifflin County Mysteries #3)

“You’ll see. There’s a gathering next Sunday night. I’ll come by your place around five to pick you up, so you’d better be ready on time.” Noah whirled around and sashayed out the door before Susan could form a single word.

“Who does that guy think he is, anyway?” Susan muttered when the door shut behind him.

“What guy?” Norman asked as he approached from the back of the store.

“Noah Esh.” Susan pressed both arms tightly against her thighs. “Can you believe he asked me to go to a singing with him next Sunday evening?”

Norman opened his mouth and released a round of laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

He pointed at her. “If you could see your red cheeks and the flustered expression on your face, you’d understand the reason I laughed.”

“Well, there’s nothing humorous about it.”

“Did you agree to go with him?”

She shook her head. “Not hardly, but he didn’t take no for an answer. In fact, Noah said he’d be by our place to pick me up around five next Sunday evening.”

“I guess you’d better be ready, then. Sure don’t want to keep the nice fellow waiting.” Norman put his hand over his mouth, as though to hide the snicker that Susan heard anyway.

What should I do? Susan questioned herself.

If I hide out in the house and refuse to go with Noah when he comes to pick me up, the news will spread like wildfire that Susan Petersheim is unsociable, and then Dad will hear about it and get on my case.

Susan pinched the bridge of her nose while squeezing her eyes shut.

And if I go to the singing with Noah, people might think I’m his girlfriend.

It was a no-win situation, and Susan only had until a week from tomorrow to make up her mind about what she should do.

New York City

Anthony had only been home from work a few hours when a knock sounded on his apartment door.

He was tired and didn’t feel up to company, so he was tempted not to answer.

But his curiosity got the best of him. When he opened the door, Cindy Duncan stood in the hall, wearing faded blue jeans and a T-shirt of the same color.

Cindy held a cardboard box in her hands.

“I hope you haven’t eaten supper yet,” she said with a dimpled smile. “I made too much chicken-and-rice casserole, and thought it would be nice to share it with someone. Oh, and I also have a tossed green salad and some brownies for dessert.”

Anthony was tempted to say no thanks, but his empty, rumbling stomach won out.

He could have grabbed a bite at the fast food place where he worked, but nothing on the menu there appealed.

Never mind that he’d had his hand in cooking everything from hot dogs with sauerkraut to burgers cooked on the grill.

Something different for supper would be nice for a change—especially when he hadn’t been involved in making it.

“No, I haven’t eaten yet,” Anthony answered. “I just got home from work.” He held the door open for her. “Come on in, and thanks for thinking of me.”

The shapely blond strode across the room and entered his small but well-equipped kitchen. She placed the box on the counter and quickly removed the contents.

“Guess I should get busy and set the table.” Anthony hurriedly got out two plates, silverware, glasses, and napkins, which he promptly placed on the table.

Steam escaped from the casserole, indicating that it was still warm, and his stomach growled as he inhaled the tantalizing aroma.

“If it tastes as good as it smells, guess I’m in for a treat. ”

Cindy offered Anthony another friendly smile as she placed the casserole dish on a hot pad Anthony had placed in the middle of the table. After she set out the salad and he poured purified water into their glasses, they took seats opposite each other.

As though he’d been doing it his whole life, Anthony automatically closed his eyes and bowed his head. After a short silent prayer, he lifted his head and looked up, surprised to see her staring at him with raised brows.

“Were you praying?” she asked with her head angled slightly to one side.

“Yep. It’s something I started doing while staying for a while with an Amish family in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, a few months ago.” He reached for his glass of water and took a drink. “They pray silently before every meal.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

“How come?”

“You mean why do they pray, or why do they do it silently?”

“Both. Seems kind of strange to me.”

Anthony blotted his lips with the napkin next to his plate.

“Well, they pray to thank God for the food on the table, and I suppose they pray about some other things too.” He paused to drink some more water.

“I guess the reason it’s done silently is so that others at the table don’t know what each of them is praying about. ”

She rolled her pretty blue eyes. “That does seems odd.”

Anthony made no comment as he dished himself some of the casserole and passed the serving dish to Cindy.

She smiled and leaned closer to him. “So my next question is, why were you staying with an Amish family?”

Anthony wasn’t comfortable telling Cindy the reason he’d stayed with the Petersheims, and he wasn’t about to go into the story of pretending to be Rosa’s husband.

So to satisfy her curiosity and end the topic quickly, he said in a casual voice, “Oh, I just thought it would be interesting to observe an Amish family’s way of life.

I learned a lot about their cooking methods too. ”

“Oh, I see.” Cindy looked away for a few seconds while dishing up some salad, and then she passed the bowl to Anthony.

As he put some on his plate, he noticed that the leafy greens were covered with some kind of salad dressing he didn’t recognize.

Anthony was about to ask what kind it was when Cindy spoke again.

“So what exactly did you learn while observing the Amish people’s way of life? Did they eat by candlelight, and was there an outhouse out back?”

He shook his head. “I guess there are some Amish communities that are very Plain and might live that way, but this group that drives black-topped buggies is a little more progressive than that.”

“I watched a documentary on TV once about some Amish people who live in the backwoods of Kentucky.” Cindy wrinkled her nose like some foul odor had permeated the room. “I could never live without modern conveniences. Could you?”

“Well, I did, and it wasn’t too bad, and maybe if I’d been raised in an Amish home, I would never have missed what the world has to offer in the way of modern technology.”

She snickered while shaking her head. “Not me. I’d never make it without all the modern conveniences.”

“I bet you could if you had to.”

“Nope. Think I’d have to run away from home if I was forced to live like a pioneer woman.”

Cindy had touched on a nerve when she’d mentioned running away from home, and a vision of Rosa came to mind.

Had she left her home in Belleville because she wanted modern conveniences, or did it have more to do with a rebellious streak?

During the time Anthony had lived in her parents’ home, Rosa had seemed content.

She’d even put on her Amish garb when attending church and a few other events.

Anthony had a hunch that she planned to join the Amish church.

As much as he hated to admit it, Anthony missed Rosa and thought about her frequently. He wondered if she ever thought about him, but if she did, why hadn’t she returned any of his calls?

When Cindy clinked her glass with the handle of her fork, Anthony’s thoughts about Rosa ended.

“You looked like you were someplace else for a few minutes,” she said. “Am I a boring supper companion?”

“Certainly not.” Anthony picked up his fork and dived into the food on his plate.

Maybe a little more eating and a little less talking would be the best thing all the way around.

Too much thinking about Rosa might give Anthony the stupid notion that he should jump on his motorcycle sometime when he had two days off in a row and head back to Mifflin County just to see how Rosa was doing.

But most likely that wasn’t going to happen, because really, what would be the point?