Spring Comes To Barncastle Inn (7 page)

             
“Ah.” Sadie nodded slowly. She glanced up. A young woman in black pants and white shirt topped with a green apron stopped at their table. She took their drink orders and left.

             
Peter waited until no one was close by. “I...this is new for me. About earlier, the kiss...”

             
“I need to be honest with you.”

             
“It wasn't any good? I mean, it's been a long time.”

             
Her cheeks bloomed a pink shade, evident in the low light from the lamp that hung above their table. “It was more than good, Peter. I—I...before you came to the store, I was talking to my friend Jessica back ho—back in Mass., and she's trying to find me a job out there.”

             
The air thinned inside the booth space between them. “Of course, I know you miss your life in Boston. But you just opened a store, and there's you and me...”

             
“You and me,” she repeated. “Part of me can see it, and part of me...it's all so sudden. I wasn't expecting, or looking for this...”

             
He reached for her hands. “Neither was I. ” Her hands felt soft, smooth. Her fingers bore a few calluses, probably from her work refurbishing furniture.

             
“What I'm trying to say is, Jayne and Luke both know if a job opportunity comes for me sometime this spring, I'll take it. They're fine with that. I promised them this spring, long enough to give the store good momentum until they can hire a manager.” Then she sighed as she squeezed his hands. “Like I said, I didn't expect to meet you. The time that we've spent together is...”

             
“Special. Something new.”

             
“Yes. So I don't know what to think now—”

             
“Here's your drinks.”               Waitress Tina had appeared, holding a glass of ice water with lemon for her and a soda for him. “Are you ready to order?”

             
“Sure are.” Peter nodded, but his taste buds had lost the craving for a juicy burger smothered with sautéed onions and mushrooms. He smiled wryly. Onions? No more kisses tonight. But that was probably just as well.

Chapter 7

Peter's onion breath Monday night after supper had kept the idea of kissing him again at bay. Sadie didn't mind—she didn't need the complication. Somewhere they'd skipped over a fine line. A crush was one thing to joke about, but this?

              She locked the door to the shop. The sun had already slanted behind the trees, ready to tuck itself in for the night. Sadie yawned. She'd like to crawl into her castle bedchamber and sleep too, but tonight was special.

             
Good Friday.

             
Ever since supper out with Peter Monday evening, the week had blurred by in a flurry of shop business and helping Jayne and Luke ready the inn for the special services and festivities, along with preparing for their guests' arrival. Although tonight's service could hardly be called a celebration. Perhaps a time of contemplation was a more fitting designation. Last night's living Last Supper had gone over well with those who attended, and most promised they'd return tonight.

             
She slipped the shop keys into her pocket. Already a few vehicles were turning off the road and entering the Barncastle's grounds.

             
Barncastle. She used to have an aversion to her family name, but tonight, she stood a little taller. If only her parents had done something like this. She'd always looked up to Uncle Ted and Aunt Diane, their relationship strong through the ups and downs of life. Dad, though, had worked hard at his job at an electronics company and they always had just enough.

             
A familiar Volvo joined the other vehicles in the parking area. Peter. And Marin. They'd talked, briefly, if the service would be lost on Marin, but he and Sadie both agreed Marin would be up to understanding.

             
Sadie had barely seen him all week, and at the first sight of him, she wanted to rush up for a hug. Yet that wasn't fair to him, given their talk on Monday night. While her feelings were strong, she had to be honest about her living arrangement with her cousins. They also had Marin to consider. She cared for the girl, but Marin had already voiced her opinion on her father's status.

             
Peter waited for her beside his car. “Hey there.”

             
“Hey to you too.” She smiled at him, then Marin. “Hi, sweetie.”

             
“It's been a busy week.” He stepped up to her and they embraced.

             
Her pulse roared in her ears. “Yes, a busy week. But I'm glad you're here.”

             
“So, this is in the barn, then?”
              She nodded. “We should probably find you some seats.”

             
“You're not going to sit with us?”

             
“I'd love to, but I'm helping to extinguish the lamps.”

             
“Lamps?”

             
“You'll see.”

             
The sliding doors of the large barn had been left open to allow plenty of ventilation for the crowd that Sadie hoped would attend tonight. The barn served as an auditorium with a set for plays and different shows, but would do nicely for Easter weekend services

             
Chairs faced the low stage, where a simple podium stood along with a cross. At one end of the stage, Marcella McSweeney sat at a keyboard, her husband Sean nearby, playing classical guitar. The couple, former guests of the inn, had driven up from Northampton, Massachusetts, that afternoon. Jayne's story of how they met and fell in love one Christmas at the inn made Sadie smile. This weekend, Marcella and Sean would provide musical accompaniment for the weekend.

             
Candles lined the entire front of the stage, and gas lamps on poles stood throughout the barn. Luke had paid extra for liability insurance, but they all agreed it was worth the cost for this service.

             
“Here, if you want to sit at this row, I'll be nearby against the wall,” Sadie suggested.

             
Peter took her hand and squeezed it before sitting down. “You look beautiful tonight,” he said in low tones.

             
“Thank you.”

             
Oh, Lord, what to do, what to do?

             
She smiled as he and Marin sat down. She glanced toward Jayne, who headed in her direction.

             
“You're all set?”

             
Sadie nodded. “After each reading, one pair of lamps goes out.”

             
“Right. Candles will be extinguished last.”

             
“I have my snuffer in my pocket.”

             
The song Marcella played lent a quiet atmosphere to the room, and those who entered spoke to each other in soft voices, some in whispers. The Barncastle clan had set out seats for seventy-five, an ambitious number to aim for. By the time seven o'clock arrived, three-fourths of the chairs were occupied, more than for last night's service.

             
Luke stepped up to the podium. “Welcome, everyone, to our Good Friday 'Service in Shadows.' While Easter, along with Christmas, are two of the most joyous days on the Christian calendar, Good Friday is often left out. Our order of service tonight, if you follow our handout, is based on a service that dates back to the fourth century. It focuses on the suffering and sacrifice of Christ, and what that means to us as Christians. If there's anyone who doesn't have a program, my son Andy has some to hand out.”

             
The first reading began, The Shadow Of Betrayal. Here was the veterinarian, Alec Ross, dressed like the apostle Peter. “I don't know this man. I don't know what you're talking about.” His red hair lent to the intensity of the scene.

             
Voices, offstage: “We saw you with him, Galilean.”

             
“No, that wasn't me. You're mistaken.”

             
More voices: “You're him, the one he called Simon Peter, the rock.”

             
“No, I tell you—I—don't—know—that—man!”

             
A rooster crowed. A pair of the lights went out, and the room darkened slightly. Sadie shivered as she stepped back from the lamp she'd just extinguished.

             
The events recorded in the Bible unfolded, after Christ's betrayal, sham trial, the flogging. Sadie closed her eyes and listened to the words.

             
Let me never forget, never take lightly, what happened so long ago...

             
Someone nudged her elbow, and Sadie opened her eyes. Marin. “Miss Jayne wants you to turn out the next set of lamps on this side,” the young girl whispered.

             
“Thanks, Marin.” Sadie nodded, then stepped to the next lamp. The barn darkened further. A cool breeze drifted through the open doors, making the candle and lamp lights flicker. Sadie tried not to shiver again as the light in the barn dimmed.

             
Another reader stepped up, the man who played the Apostle John the previous night during the Last Supper. He read from the book of John, where Christ called out, asking why God had forsaken Him.

             
The pleading words bounced off the walls. Sadie swallowed hard. With the sin of the ages on Jesus' shoulders, the weight had to be unimaginable. Yet, He was innocent.

             
Forgive me, Lord, when I focus far too much on being chastised for my shortcomings. Yes, she'd lost her job—not from a sin, but from a rash mistake. She'd beat herself up too much about that one. Her career and job worries? Not that hard to bear, in the grand scheme of things.

             
Yes, Lord, you're right. If You care for me far more than sparrows, I shouldn't worry quite so much. But, now, about Peter...

             
She wasn't sure what to do, heading into unfamiliar territory. This was something out of a book, or a movie—girl leaves big city in disgrace, goes to small town in the mountains, fresh start, new love. She hadn't thought much about how long she'd stay...

             
And now Peter, and Marin, who clearly wasn't doing backflips over the idea of her father moving on with Sadie, or anyone, for that matter. Sadie also thought of what it meant to love someone else's child like her own? Could she do that? Would Marin let her? It had worked for Jayne, Luke, and Andy.

             
Hush. She stilled her swirling thoughts.

             
Marcella's voice pulled her attention back to the service as she sang, a capella, “O Sacred Head, Now Wounded.” The notes echoed from the rafters, as if the barn had turned into a cathedral.

             
Sadie's cheeks were wet. She brushed the tears away, but more flowed. The entire barn lay mostly in darkness, save several of the candles that still flickered on the stage.

             
One more light left. The room was silent, save for a few sniffles and whispered prayers.

             
With the words “it is finished,” a sound like thunder echoed through the barn.

             
The last candle extinguished, and darkness filled the room.

             
“And with that, mankind's debt was paid in full,” came Luke's voice. “Jesus said before His death, 'The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.' Jesus also told the Jews, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.”

             
Luke paused before continuing. “The Scriptures say Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, who brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes. Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was almost the Sabbath, they laid Jesus there.”

             
Sadie stood against the barn wall, listening to the silence that followed. What it must have been like for his friends, and family to have lost Him that way. Did they know? Did they really believe? Even watching from a distance, they'd seen him die. Sadie wiped her eyes. She hadn't expected the simple service of a few songs and Scripture readings to affect her in this way.