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expectin’.”
    Josiah exhaled impatiently. At least the Hooleys were asking pertinent questions instead of blowing him off. “I had pie and coffee at the diner—which was bigger than your place, Miriam, but the pie wasn’t wonderful,” he replied. “The supper club must be in the planning stages. I didn’t see any new construction, or any buildings where a restaurant would be.”
    Ben stroked his light brown beard. “These snowy November days aren’t the best time for pourin’ concrete foundations, so—”
    â€œSee there?” Lena blurted out. “I can’t believe Hiram Knepp will pay you while his building goes up. The more I hear, the more I question his intentions.”
    Josiah didn’t want to admit he’d had the same reservations as he’d driven back from Higher Ground, even though he’d been impressed by everything he’d observed. “I bet if I call him, he’ll explain everything. Maybe I didn’t see the entire town, so—”
    â€œSo you’re going to be stubborn because you always have to be right .” Lena’s blue eyes widened with impending tears, even as her tone challenged him. “And how do you think you’ll manage a restaurant without Savilla? She made all your side dishes and kept your books!”
    He couldn’t endure another of Lena’s crying spells, so Josiah focused on the chili and corn bread Miriam had brought home from her lunch shift. The meat and beans weren’t quite as spicy as he preferred them, but the moist corn bread filled his mouth with a wonderful sweet-salty combination.
    â€œSavilla’s your sister, jah? ” Ben asked. He took some celery from the relish plate and passed it to Josiah. “I’m not doubtin’ your decision, understand, but if you’re here and Savilla’s in Bloomfield, can she make a go of caterin’ without your grilled meats? What sort of income does she have now?”
    Josiah sighed. How did this man pinpoint potential problems that he himself hadn’t had a glimmer about?
    â€œWhat if you stayed in Willow Ridge and cooked a supper shift at the Sweet Seasons?” Rebecca blurted out. “With Andy—our local nurse—telling Mamma to get more help, and no place around here that serves an evening meal, you could rake in some serious cash.”
    Josiah gazed across the table. Rebecca, too, had a gift for seeing problems and finding solutions, but that didn’t mean he’d go along with her ideas. For all he knew, this family had a hidden agenda for keeping him in Willow Ridge—reasons as underhanded as they claimed Hiram Knepp’s were.
    â€œPlenty of folks say they’d eat supper there,” Rebecca continued in a rush, “but we don’t have the staff to manage another shift. What with Rachel having her baby a couple of months ago and Rhoda getting married—and Mamma’s child due at Christmastime,” she added in a rising voice, “you’d be the answer to a lot of prayers, Josiah.”
    â€œThat idea had occurred to me, too,” Miriam admitted with a girlish grin.
    â€œYou could fetch your equipment and bring Savilla back to cook with you,” Lena chimed in. “You’d be set , Josiah!”
    Josiah’s head began spinning. It did seem more feasible to cook in an established café, yet he yearned for the excitement of building up Hiram’s new restaurant from its beginning. And he didn’t like it that the Hooleys, Rebecca, and Lena believed they’d just decided his future for him.
    â€œLet’s not put the cart before the horse,” Ben warned as he looked at the women. “After all, we don’t even know if Josiah can cook. We’ve not eaten his food—nor read any references from folks who have.”
    Josiah frowned. Why didn’t Ben trust him?
    â€œAnd I’d want you and Miriam to write up a business