False Pretenses - Kathy Herman [121]
“I can’t do anything about the pain I’ve caused you,” Zoe said. “But I really do want to pay back the money. We both do.”
“I know you do. But I’ve given a great deal of thought to our agreement and have decided not to go through with it.” Adele held up her palm. “Hear me out. It’s for your own good.”
Zoe’s heart sank. What was she talking about? How could she do this?
Adele slid the brown envelope across the table. “I think it’s important that you understand my reasoning. I didn’t decide this without a great deal of thought—and prayer. Open it, hon.”
Zoe opened the envelope and pulled out the contents, then perused the document. “This is the deed to our building. How did you get this?”
“Look at the other document.”
Zoe skipped to the next document, the words “Paid in full” stamped across the front. “What in the world…?”
Pierce put his arm around Zoe and took a closer look at the document she was holding. “These are the mortgage papers on this building.” His jaw dropped, and he looked over at Adele.
“Yes,” she said. “I paid it off—just before I came over here. The building is yours free and clear.”
Zoe stared at the papers. “But I stole from you. I lied to you. I don’t deserve this.”
“I didn’t expect you to deserve it, hon. It’s a gift. Actually it’ll help me to move forward too.”
Pierce nodded as if he knew what Adele meant. “It’s grace, Zoe.”
“Just like that?”
“Especially like that.” He looked over at Adele, his eyes glistening. “This is very generous—on every level.”
“Listen, hon. I’ve amassed a fortune in my lifetime. I’m not taking a cent of it with me into glory. It’s my pleasure to do this for you two.”
“It goes beyond the money.” Zoe looked into Adele’s eyes and saw complete and utter acceptance. “Saying thank you doesn’t seem like enough, but I don’t have words to express what I’m feeling.”
Adele took Pierce’s hand and joined it with Zoe’s. “A day will come when someone you know is in desperate need of grace. Remember how this moment feels and pass it on. Healing comes as much in the giving as in the receiving.”
No one said anything for half a minute.
Finally Adele rose to her feet. “That completes our business. Now I want to taste this surprise dessert. Do I get a hint?”
Zoe smiled, wiping the tears off her face. “Something I used to make for you with fresh lemons. It was your favorite.”
“Lemonade bread pudding?”
“Yes! You remembered.”
“How could I forget? It was so scrumptious.”
“Well, knowing Pierce, he probably added a little something to it and made it even better.”
Adele walked out into the hallway and locked arms with Pierce and Zoe and strolled through the alcove and into the dining room.
“Where would like me to sit?”
“Right here.” Zoe hurried over to the table by the window and held the chair. “This table is reserved for our special friends.”
“I’ll go get our dessert,” Pierce said. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
Zoe got Adele seated and situated at the table and then sat across from her, noting the gold cross that she had worn as long as Zoe had known her.
“Mrs. Woodmore, you’re close to God,” Zoe said. “I can tell.”
“Well of course, hon. He lives in my heart. I invited Him in and asked Him to run things. I’ve been much happier since.”
“That’s because you’re such a good person.”
Adele threw back her head and laughed. “Wrong.”
“I think you are.”
Adele’s face was suddenly bright pink. “There’s so much you don’t know about me. I haven’t always been agreeable, hon. I’ve said and done things I’m ashamed of and would be embarrassed for people to know. I suppose we all have.”
“So did someone give you grace?”
Adele smiled, a faraway look in her eyes, her fingers touching the gold cross. “Yes … someone did. A King. But that’s a story for another day.”
CHAPTER 41
On a Monday afternoon in mid-November, Zoe sat with Pierce, Vanessa, and Ethan on an old quilt on the grounds at Langley Manor, enjoying a picnic lunch and watching the work crew busily going about the