Hidden Away at Promise Lodge by Charlotte Hubbard

Author:Charlotte Hubbard [Hubbard, Charlotte]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2023-04-17T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

That evening after he closed the store, Dale arrived at the lodge in time to see Rosetta and Truman descending in the cherry picker with a few large plastic bins. Rosetta, wearing leather work gloves and an old kerchief over her hair, appeared tired but purposeful as her husband steered the metal basket down onto its platform. Before folks noticed him, Dale left his large shopping sack at the end of the building, out of sight.

Beulah and Ruby stepped closer to the platform with a pull cart, as though anticipating some of the items the Wickeys had salvaged.

“We’ll take these up to the bishop’s place and get them washed right away!” Beulah was saying as Dale approached. “They’ll make a wonderful-gut surprise for—”

“Oh, hello, Dale!” Ruby said loudly. “Once we got past the initial shock of seeing the wreckage in the apartments, we turned our cherry picker trips into a treasure hunt.”

Rosetta’s smile hinted at a secret they might be keeping, but Dale played along. The ladies weren’t the only ones hiding things away, after all. It was such a relief to see them acting happier than Sylvia had hinted at, considering Irene’s depressing discoveries earlier in the day.

“If anyone can turn disaster into a frolic, it’s you gals,” he said with a chuckle. “Were you able to bring some things down from your apartments, I hope?”

“Jah, our clothing’s pretty nasty from being whipped around in the rain,” Beulah replied, “but a few loads of laundry will remedy that.”

“Our end of the building got off easy,” Ruby pointed out. “And most of the furniture—which was already there when we moved in—can be fixed up and used again. Just a matter of time and carpentry work.”

Dale nodded, watching Rosetta and Truman carry two large plastic bins over to the Kuhns’ wagon. “And what’s your take on the situation, Rosetta?” he asked kindly. “You’ve put so much time and attention into your lodge, it must be hard to see what the storm did to it.”

Rosetta deposited her bin and came over to him. “It’s heart-wrenching,” she said with a sigh. “We’re going to raze all the cabins, and I’ll decide later whether to replace them. We’ve got a crew coming from our church in Cloverdale in a few days, and I want them to concentrate on Christine’s barn and restoring the apartments first. If you’ll excuse me, I want to retrieve the food from the freezers and fridges and get a better look at the kitchen,” she added with a purposeful smile.

“Looks like everybody here’s got a job, so I won’t stand in your way,” Dale said. “I’m on my way to visit Irene—unless she’s napping, or—”

“I suspect she could use some company, whether she’ll admit it or not,” Truman put in. “She took it hard this morning, seeing her apartment in ruins. Ah—take this with you.”

Truman went over to a small pile of belongings beneath a tree. When he picked out a brown leather handbag, Dale recognized it immediately. “Irene’s

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