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Shaking those thoughts off, Lena allowed the Christmas music and the lights and all of the beautiful decorations to soothe her soul as she looked at her beloved daughter.
“What’s going on?” she asked easily, knowing that there wasn’t anything serious. The night had been a resounding success.
“Well, it’s kind of complicated, but apparently Sally Mintz kidnapped Franklin, Noah’s business partner, and is holding him hostage on his brother’s farm.”
“What?” Lena said, snapping out of her dreamy reverie immediately.
“Yeah. I know, it’s kind of crazy, but that’s exactly what’s going on. I don’t know what got into Sally, other than she’s been taking care of Wilma for so long, she just needed... Maybe she just needs more help than what we’ve been giving her.”
“I see.” She made a mental note to see what she could do to help Sally. After Christmas, things normally slowed down at the bed-and-breakfast, and she would have more time. She could cook meals, sit with Wilma, even help Sally with her shopping and more with the care, if she needed an entire day off. Whatever she needed, Lena would try to lend a hand.
She also wanted to keep an eye on Joe. Wintertime was his hardest time, because he couldn’t always get out to fish. Fishing seemed to ease his mind and keep him grounded.
Winter also made it harder for his son to come up from Chicago to visit him.
Lena tried to keep that in mind as well.
“So did you foil her plans?” Lena asked, assuming that Sunday was there beside her because they’d gotten everything fixed and figured out.
“Actually no. She foiled her own plans, although not quite in the way that would have been beneficial to everyone involved.”
“Okay?” Lena said, waiting patiently for Sunday to tell her the entire story.
“Well, it started out because Sally thought Norma Jean would be perfect for Peter. So she was going to kidnap Peter and then have Norma Jean go rescue him, expecting them both to get trapped in the shed by the storm. She even left them some blankets and food.”
“What shed?”
“The shed on Peter’s property. We used to play in it as children. I don’t know if you know where it is?”
“It’s the one where you guys stuck Clara in and then left her? And I ended up having to get her because you and your siblings forgot about her because your friends came in asking to go swimming and you totally forgot that you had your sister in the shed and she was stuck in the back room?”
That was pretty vivid in Lena’s memories. Clara had been quite traumatized. Although, Clara had been happy once she had gotten out since she got to spend the rest of the day with her mother, and they’d gone out and taken a horseback ride together. One thing about having that many children, she didn’t always get to spend one-on-one time with them, and when she did, it was usually cherished by both of them. That day was one of the best that she could remember having with Clara. After she got her out of the shed anyway.
“Exactly.” Sunday looked around, and then her lips turned up in a smile as her eyes caught on something.
Lena figured it was Noah before she even turned her head and saw the man who was staring at her daughter, though he was in conversation with someone else.
“You were saying?” Lena prompted her when she realized that her daughter was caught on her husband and had totally forgotten she was in the middle of a story.
“Oh yeah. That’s right. Anyway, Sally ended up taking the wrong man. She wasn’t as familiar with Peter as she thought she was apparently, and she ended up taking Franklin.”
“Franklin doesn’t look anything like Peter. And Franklin usually has on some kind of business attire, while Peter is a lot more casual.”
“Well, apparently Peter spilled a drink on Franklin, and Franklin borrowed his shirt. That’s what Peter said anyway.”
“So she didn’t take Peter?”
“No. Peter’s fine, and he thinks the whole thing is pretty funny.”
“I bet he does, since he’s not the one stuck in an unheated shed in the middle of a snowstorm,” Lena said, wishing she could see outside. She didn’t know whether it had started to snow or not.
“Anyway, Franklin had on Peter’s shirt, and I guess Peter stuck his hat on his head too, and he says they have a very similar jaw outline. It was probably an understandable mistake. Especially considering that Sally has to be overtired and overworked.”
“Being a caregiver is hard.”
“That’s what I’ve heard. Anyway, what ended up happening is Franklin got stuck out in the shed.”
“Well, someone needs to go out and let him out then, is all I can think of,” Lena said, thinking that was pretty straightforward. Even if it was starting to snow.
