Deceived: Lured from the Truth (Secrets) (11 page)

“Pleasure to meet you.” I smile at Eleanor, remembering the tasteless potato salad from the other night and wondering if that was her handiwork. Naturally, I will not express my opinions on the cuisine.

“We have leftover pasta salad and roast beef,” she tells us as she turns to check something she’s mixing in an industrial mixer. “Help yourselves, but don’t leave a mess, you hear?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Josiah makes a mock salute behind her back as he leads me to the oversized refrigerator. Before long, we both have plates of food. To my disappointment, the pasta salad is really just macaroni with dressing and nearly as bland as the potato salad from the night before. Fortunately, there is salt … and the roast beef is better. Still, I can’t help but wonder about Eleanor’s cooking skills.

“Did you go to culinary school?” I ask her as Josiah and I are cleaning up after our lunch.

“Oh no, of course not.” She waves her hand in a dismissive way. “I learned how to cook from my mama back when I was just a girl. I’ve been cooking ever since.” Now she gives me her résumé by listing all the places she’s worked. Not surprisingly, they’re all institutional establishments, school and hospital cafeterias. “I was head chef at Pleasant Valley Nursing Home for ten years before I came to work here for Reverend Jim.”

I nod, trying to act impressed.

“Rachel has dreams of owning her own restaurant someday,” Josiah tells Eleanor.

“Really?” She frowns at me. “That’s a mighty high aspiration. Do you honestly believe that’s what God has planned for you?”

I glance uneasily at Josiah, wishing he hadn’t told her about this. “I … uh … I’m not sure. I guess I never thought of it like that.”

“Then maybe you should.” She turns back to the mixer, scraping down the sides with a rubber spatula. “It’s no use chasing a foolish dream if the good Lord isn’t the one giving you the dream. Remember, God’s ways are higher than man’s ways.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” I exchange a glance with Josiah. He’s just grinning like he thinks this is a good joke on me.

“Rachel has some experience with cooking,” he continues talking to Eleanor. “And since she’s going to be here a few days, I wonder if you’d like her to give you a hand here in the kitchen.”

Eleanor turns back around and studies me. “You think you can handle working in a kitchen like this? Taking orders from me?”

“Sure.” I nod. “I know how to take orders.”

She looks up at the clock. “Are you ready to go to work now?”

“I want to get her moved into a cabin first,” Josiah says. “And I need to talk to my uncle to be sure he approves.”

She looks surprised. “Well, yes, of course. I wouldn’t want her in here helping me without the reverend’s approval. First things first.”

“How about if you expect her to come to work for you tomorrow?” Josiah suggests. “That’ll give her a chance to settle in.”

“Yes, yes, that’ll be fine. Now you kids run along. I got plenty to do before suppertime.”

We tell her good-bye and head down a path that appears to be going to where he said his uncle lives. But instead of going up to the big log house, he takes us down another path that leads around the house. And to my surprise, there are even more buildings back here. Six houselike structures are arranged in a semicircle with a large shared grassy area in front. “What are all these?” I ask.

“Homes,” he says.

“Who lives in them?”

“They’re the deacons’ houses.” Now he points to another building, off to one side. “And that’s my uncle’s office.”

“This place is bigger than I realized. How many people live here?”

He presses his lips together like he’s thinking. “I’m not sure. I reckon it’s around a hundred … or more.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize.”

He opens the door to the office, and a buzzer sounds as we go into what looks like a reception area with a large desk on one end and a couch and some chairs, like a waiting area, on the other.

“Hello, Josiah.” A pretty young woman emerges through a doorway behind the big desk. Dressed in the usual granny dress, although it looks a bit more stylish on her, she smoothes her long honey blonde hair as she sits in the office chair, smiling up at us.

“Hello, Rose.” Josiah politely introduces us.

“Nice to meet you, Rachel.” She turns back to Josiah. “Now what can I do for you today?”

“Is Reverend Jim around?”

She opens up what looks like a date book, and picking up a pen, she appears to be studying it, almost as if she’s not sure herself. “Yes. He is in today. Do you have an appointment?”

“No, I didn’t have time to make one. Is he pretty busy?”

She picks up a phone receiver now. “Let me find out for you.”

We wait as she announces to him that Josiah and a friend are here to see him, then hangs up. “Please, have a seat and the reverend will be with you in a few minutes.”

Josiah thanks her and we go over to sit down. I’m thinking the reverend must be pretty busy not to be able to see his own nephew without an appointment, but I don’t say anything. I don’t want to appear disrespectful.

About ten minutes pass before Rose answers the phone and proceeds to announce that the reverend will see us now. “Go on in, Josiah,” she tells him.

He leads me through another door and down a short, dimly lit hallway where he knocks on a dark wooden door.

“Come in, Josiah.”

He opens the door, waiting for me to go in first. Reverend Jim is seated at a massive wooden desk, with a window to his back so he’s framed in light. “Hello again, Rachel. Please sit down. Both of you. Wednesday afternoons are usually reserved for prayer and meditation … in preparation for the evening service.”

“Sorry to pop in on you like this,” Josiah tells him as we settle in the chairs opposite his desk. “But it is imperative that I speak to you, Uncle Jim.”

The reverend leans forward now, peering curiously at both of us with troubled dark eyes. “This sounds serious. Is something wrong?”

“No,” Josiah assures him. “Not wrong exactly. It’s just that Rachel needs a job and a place to live. So I brought her here. I hope that’s all right.”

Without responding, the reverend looks intently at me, almost as if he’s trying to discover my motives or see into my soul. I feel my cheeks flushing and I wonder if this is a mistake.

“I told Rachel that we could accommodate her,” Josiah presses on. “And I think Eleanor would like her to help out in the kitchen. Rachel has some experience with that sort of thing. I mean, if it’s all right with you.”

Now the reverend fixes his gaze on Josiah. “So is that all this is? Rachel is simply looking for work and a place to live? Nothing
more
?”

“Certainly, she’s interested in our way of life here. She’s hungry for what you teach at church.” He glances at me. “Right?”

I nod eagerly. “Yes. Absolutely.”

“And that is
all
?” The reverend’s gaze moves from Josiah to me and back to Josiah again … waiting.

Josiah looks uneasy now. “Yes, of course that’s all. What else would it be?”

Now the reverend actually begins to chuckle. “I’m sorry, but for some reason I thought you brought her in here to announce that you two wanted to get married.” He laughs louder.

“Married?” I can’t help but gasp. “Seriously?”

Josiah just laughs with his uncle, as if that was a pretty good joke. I can’t help but feel slightly offended by this. I’m not even sure why exactly. Is it because of what the reverend assumed or because Josiah thinks it’s so funny?

The reverend looks back at me now. “How old are you, Rachel?”

I’m still stuck on the marriage thing … as well as trying to decide how to answer. If I admit I’m seventeen, he might make me leave. On the other hand, it feels wrong to lie to a man of God.

“She’s eighteen,” Josiah says for me.

“I’m sorry,” the reverend tells me. “I can see that I caught you off guard with my assumption. But as you get to know me better — and I hope that you will — you’ll come to appreciate that I call it as I see it. And for some reason I got the impression that Josiah and you were here for
another
reason.”

He pauses, quietly watching me as if he’s still not convinced we’re not secretly planning to elope. Naturally this makes me nervous. Because, sure, I do like Josiah — perhaps I even love him — but marriage?
Seriously?

“Rachel’s had a rough day,” Josiah says. And now I’m taken aback as he proceeds to tell him about what happened at Nadine’s. It’s not that I don’t want the reverend to know about it, but it’s unsettling hearing it again.

“So you’re truly innocent?” the reverend asks me.

I nod. “I honestly am completely innocent. I was totally blindsided by my coworkers.” I sigh. “Although in hindsight, I should’ve seen it coming.” And now he asks me to explain, so I tell him the whole ugly story.

“Why do you think your coworkers treated you this way?” he asks.

So I tell him about how I’d been concerned about sanitation and how I had higher work standards.

“She made them look bad,” Josiah adds. “They resented it.”

Now the reverend smiles and nods. “Well, as they persecuted our Lord unjustly, so they will persecute us. You should be honored, Rachel.”

“Honored?”

“It’s an honor to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake.”

“Oh.” I nod. “Yes, I do remember reading that in the Bible before.”

“Are you familiar with the Bible?”

I tell him a bit about my church history. He asks me a few theological-sounding questions and I do my best to answer, finally admitting that I’m not as well versed in the Bible as I wish.

“No worries,” he tells me. “That is why we’re here. We will all learn together.” He looks at Josiah. “I think Rachel will be comfortable in Miriam’s cabin.”

Josiah looks surprised. “Miriam?”

The reverend puts the tips of his fingers together, almost in a praying posture, and nods. “Yes, Miriam’s influence will be just what Rachel needs.” He smiles at me. “Rachel is a good name. I have a very good feeling about you.”

For some reason this gives me great hope. “Thank you! And thank you for letting me stay here. I promise to work hard.”

He nods. “I believe you will.”

“We’ll let you get back to preparing for the evening service.” Josiah stands and the two of them shake hands.

“Tell Miriam I’m counting on her to make Rachel feel right at home here,” Reverend Jim says. “If she has any questions, she can come speak to me.”

Josiah nods. “I’ll do that.”

Before we leave, I thank the reverend for welcoming me like this. “I already told Josiah, but I felt right at home the first time I came here.”

“That’s a good sign, Rachel.”

Walking back to the delivery truck, where my bags are still stashed, I feel a wonderful sense of excitement — as if I’m embarking on a big adventure. I chatter away as we carry my stuff over to the cabin area, but then I notice several young women walking together, and I’m suddenly reminded of how my wardrobe doesn’t exactly fit in here.

“What about my clothes?” I glance down at my jeans and cringe at how grungy and out of place I look. Even Josiah, still wearing his delivery uniform, looks much nicer and neater than I do. “Will that be a problem?”

“I’m sure Miriam can help you figure that out,” he tells me. But something about the tone of his voice sounds different. Almost as if he’s not sure about this now. Is he questioning whether or not I can fit in here? Second-guessing himself for bringing me?

I hold my head high. I will do all I can to convince him that this is not a mistake. I will make him and his uncle proud of me. I can do this. I will do this!

[CHAPTER 10]

M
iriam works in the dairy,” Josiah explains as we walk. “But her shift should be over by now. Hopefully we’ll find her at home.” He pauses, glancing over his shoulder almost as if to see if anyone is watching us. But the three girls have gone into one of the cabins now. “I need to tell you something,” he says in a hushed tone.

“Is something wrong?”

“Not exactly. You just need to know that Miriam is … well, she can be a bit cranky if you know what I mean.”

“A bit cranky?” I can’t help but smile at this.

“Don’t get me wrong; Miriam is quite devout, but she can be a bit negative and harsh at times. And I don’t want her to drag you down, Rachel. You have such a good spirit.” He reaches his hand out as if he wants to touch my face but then draws it back as if someone could be spying on us. “Don’t let Miriam change that.”

I nod, trying to absorb all this. “Thank you, Josiah. I’ll keep that in mind.” I give him a confident smile. “And don’t worry. I’m pretty tough. I mean, if you consider the abuse I took at Nadine’s. Miriam can’t be any worse than that, can she? I mean, this is a Christian environment.”

He shrugs. “Yeah … you’re probably right.” Hoisting the strap of my biggest bag more securely over his other shoulder, he nods over to where a tall, thin woman is stepping outside of one of the cabins. “Speak of the devil,” he says, almost under his breath.

“What?”

“Just joking.” He chuckles. “Sorry ’bout that. I know my uncle wouldn’t see the humor in that.” He waves toward the woman with his free hand. “Miriam. Someone I want you to meet over here.”

As we walk toward Miriam, I’m suddenly reminded of someone but I can’t quite recall who. Then as Josiah introduces us, I get it — with her dark, beady eyes and long, narrow nose, Miriam reminds me of the Wicked Witch of the West in
The Wizard of Oz
. Even her brown hair that’s streaked with gray has a slightly witchlike look. But then she smiles and, grasping my hand, warmly greets me and — poof — the silly witch image completely vanishes.

“I’ve seen you around and about here,” she says in a sweet voice, which also has an Australian accent. “I’ve been hoping to meet you.”

“Rachel is going to be with us for a while. My uncle suggested she might be able to stay with you. Do you mind?”

“If Reverend Jim thinks it’s a good idea, so do I.” She reaches for one of my bags, taking it from Josiah. “I’ve been feeling a bit lonely since Kellie and Brandy left.”

Josiah seems to bristle at something, glancing at me with a furrowed brow as she reaches for the second bag. “Yes … I suppose you’re ready for a new roommate.”