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earnestly.
    “—but even if you decide it won’t work,” Andy continued quietly, “you’ve blessed us
     with your food and your presence today, Rhoda. And for that we’re thankful.”
    “Amen to . . . that,” Betty rasped as she reached for another piece of bread.
    Now that they’d all pleaded for her to stay, how could she not take this job? Rhoda
     swallowed hard. Ordinarily she discussed important decisions with Mamma or Rachel,
     but they weren’t here, were they? And she couldn’t possibly replay this shining moment
     for them later.
    But this wasn’t a position she could agree to today and then decide, in a week or
     two, that it wasn’t her cup of tea. If she said yes, she’d be committing herself .
     . .
    Four sets of eyes held her hostage. Wasn’t it a fine thing that this family had so
     immediately accepted her—said they needed her—without having to confer among themselves? For months she’d been feeling like
     a fifth wheel on a buggy, out of balance and superfluous, yet in less than an hour
     with these folks she’d found a way to be useful . At the Sweet Seasons, she took orders and wrote the menu on the whiteboard and cleared
     tables, only to do it again and again. Here she could make a difference—she could
     make life better for every one of these people.
    “Jah,” she said. “I’d like to come work for ya.”
    “YAY!” Brett hollered, while beside her, Taylor clapped her hands. Betty’s face took
     on an endearing smile of gratitude even though half of her features remained slack.
    And Andy . . . Andy let out a sigh and closed his eyes. “Thank you, God,” he whispered.
    The kitchen went still. It felt like a holy moment as they all considered what had
     just happened.
    Lord, Ya brought me here for this very reason, ain’t so? Rhoda prayed as she met each of the Leitners’ eyes. Please help us all remember this special day — this special feeling — when things aren’t goin’ so gut .
    “I promise I’ll be your best helper,” Taylor vowed.
    “And I won’t call you Rhoda the Rodent ever again,” Brett declared solemnly. “Cross
     my heart and hope to die.”
    “Ya can’t die, Brett,” Rhoda replied with a straight face. “Think how the house will
     smell—what a mess you’ll make when the maggots start munchin’ on your guts. I for
     one refuse to clean it up.”
    “Eeeewwww,” Taylor said with a grimace.
    A snicker made Rhoda look up. Lo and behold, Betty was quivering with the effort it
     took for her to giggle.
    “Not a pretty sight, Son,” Andy agreed. “But we all appreciate the sentiment behind
     what you said. And we’re all ecstatic that Rhoda thinks she can put up with us.”
    He gazed at her warmly, his smile framing his eyes and lips with laugh lines. “Can
     you start tomorrow?”

Chapter Four
    Saturday morning Miriam watched Sheila Dougherty’s van pull away, and she let out
     a concerned sigh. Rhoda had come in before dawn, as always, to set up the tables and
     help get the breakfast shift going, but now that the Brenneman boys and her nephews
     were on their second trip to the buffet, while Tom Hostetler; Gabe Glick; her fiancé,
     Ben; and a few other regulars were eating at their usual tables, service was starting
     to slip. Bless her heart, Hannah had only been on the job for a few days, and it was
     clear she did better at cooking than she did at waiting tables.
    Grabbing a carafe from the coffeemaker, Miriam saw that another batch of coffee hadn’t
     been set up—something the twins did like clockwork during the morning rush. As she
     was pouring in the water, the bell above the door jangled. Eight folks from the senior
     center in Morning Star shuffled in out of the cold.
    “Be with ya in two shakes of a tail,” she called over to them. Hannah had an anxious
     look on her face, because none of the remaining empty tables would seat that group.
    Ben, bless him, realized her predicament. He signaled to Seth and Aaron