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Rosa felt a flutter in her belly and placed both hands across her middle.

She hoped what Mom had said was correct and that she would make the right decisions for herself, as well as for her little one, when the time was right.

Rosa was determined to do something good in her life—if not for herself, then for the precious child that would be born in about four months.

When Susan and her father entered the Meat and Cheese Store, she was surprised to discover that Norman wasn’t there yet.

Usually he arrived at least fifteen minutes before them to open the store.

Fortunately, there weren’t any customers waiting outside in the parking lot.

Of course, that wasn’t much of a surprise, considering how cold it was this morning.

To Susan’s way of thinking, nobody in their right mind would want to go shopping for meat or cheese when the weather was so frigid.

She had hoped her dad would have closed the store today so they could stay home and gather around the fireplace, where it was warm and toasty.

When Susan had come downstairs this morning, she’d seen her mother and Rosa in the living room with their heads together. Susan was pretty sure she knew what they were talking about, especially when she’d looked outside and seen that Anthony’s car was gone.

I hope Mom sees Rosa for what she is , Susan thought as she put the O PEN sign in the front window.

I’m getting tired of Mom and Dad’s accusations against me.

The truth is, Rosa’s a bigger liar than I’ll ever be.

It was pretty nervy of her to bring that English fellow into our house, posing as her husband.

I’m almost sure the whole idea was Rosa’s.

Anthony probably went along with it to prove that he was a nice guy.

Susan turned away from the window in time to see Dad head toward the back of the store and disappear into his office. Or maybe Rosa gave Anthony some money to play the part of her doting husband. Sure wish I had some proof of that to tell Mom and Dad about.

Susan slipped behind the checkout counter and took a seat on the wooden stool.

As far as she could tell, there wasn’t much to do today, so she may as well sit here and wait until Norman arrived.

Susan figured that unless Mom or Dad had called late last night or early this morning and left Norman a message, he had no clue what had transpired at their house last night.

So maybe … just maybe … she would get the opportunity to tell him about it.

After several minutes had passed, Susan turned and looked at the clock on the wall behind her. Still no Norman, and he was now almost thirty minutes late. I wonder what could be keeping him. Maybe I should go mention Norman’s absence to Dad.

Susan slid off the stool and had just stepped out from behind the counter when the front door opened and Norman rushed in.

“Whew! It’s sure bitter cold out there,” he said, following a low whistle.

“Yeah, and we’ll be lucky if we have any customers at all today. Maybe you can talk Dad into closing the store for the rest of the day.” Susan gestured to the back of the building. “He’s in his office if you care to suggest that idea to him.”

“Nope.” Norman shook his head. “If Dad thinks the weather will keep customers away, he’ll make the decision to go home without either of us suggesting it to him.”

“You’re probably right.” She moved closer to Norman and spoke quietly, hoping her father wouldn’t hear. “You’ll never guess what transpired at our house last night.”

“No, I can’t, but I’m sure you plan to tell me.”

“Well … Anthony blurted out something I already knew, but of course, when I had tried to tell Mom and Dad, they wouldn’t believe me.”

“What did he say?” Norman took off his stocking cap and placed it on the counter.

“He admitted that he and Rosa aren’t even married. They were just pretending all along.”

Norman’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“Yep. Can you believe that he and Rosa, the perfect daughter, would do such a thing?”

“You and I both know that Rosa’s not perfect, Susan, and neither is anyone else in our family. Only Jesus is perfect.”

Susan anchored one hand against her hip. “I don’t need a sermon.”

“Wasn’t giving you one. Just stating facts as they are.”

“Yeah, okay … whatever.”

“Did Anthony or Rosa explain why they had pretended to be married?”

“Anthony said it was all his idea—that he thought Rosa would be accepted back into the family if Mom and Dad believed he was her husband.” Susan scrunched up her face. “The truth is, Anthony is not even the father of that baby Rosa’s carrying.”

“Wow! That’s quite a story you’re telling. Are you sure you have all your facts straight?”

“Of course I do!” Susan’s face heated. “Why would I lie about something like this? If you don’t believe me, you can go ask Dad.” She gestured to the back part of the store.

“That won’t be necessary!” Dad shouted as he strode down the aisle toward them.

He pointed at Susan. “I’m here now to set the record straight.

” He eyeballed Susan. “With all the stinking lies you’ve told me and your mother, you have no right to criticize your sister, and it’s not your place to be telling Norman or anyone else about our family business.

It was my responsibility to let your brother know the facts since he is part of our family, and if I want anyone else to know, I’ll do the telling. Is that clear, Susan?”

She lowered her gaze to the floor. “Jah, Dad.”

He pointed to the storage closet. “Now go find a broom and dustpan and get busy cleaning the floor.”

Susan hurried off without saying another word. She figured Dad would probably tell Norman everything that had been said last night, and he’d no doubt say a few more negative things about her too.