The Amish Christmas Gift

by Laura V. Hilton

  Elsie held the door wide and the officer came inside as George started yelling again. “Not enough to give me a heart attack and hire an assassin, you have to give me hypothermia!”

  “Assassin…” The officer’s hand twitched. He shifted, yanked a flashlight out, and leveled it on Noah. “Everybody put your hands up!”

  Noah raised his arms. Nobody else did.

  “Now, Tony,” the first responder said.

  “Plotting murder, every last one of them,” George shouted.

  The bathroom door opened, and Levi came out. The officer swung to face him, leveling the flashlight on him.

  “Murderers!” George bellowed.

  “Hands up! Get down!” the officer shouted, and Levi raised his hands.

  The officer clicked the flashlight on as Levi hit the floor.

  Elsie caught her breath. She fought to keep from laughing, but someone snorted.

  Then she realized it was her.

  The situation wasn’t funny. It was terrifying, except for the flashlight.

  The adrenaline rush faded. She fought a wave of dizziness.

  And the world went black.

  * * *

  Levi raised his head to look at Elsie just as she collapsed not so gracefully on the floor behind the flashlight-happy officer. He wanted to rush to her side but was afraid to move with the officer still holding the large flashlight. Except, now he looked at it as if he expected the object to bite him.

  “Rookie,” the first responder grumbled as he approached. “They sent you in alone? Really?”

  “I thought I could handle it.” The officer clicked the switch on the light, his face flaming a blotchy red.

  George shouted something about dying.

  “Didn’t they warn you about Amish George? He tends to overreact. Now, put the light away, Tony.” He patted the policeman’s shoulder then lowered himself next to Elsie. “The perp is passed out on the floor but clearly on something.” He glanced at Levi. “Are you hurt?”

  “That was—is—Amish George?” The officer looked somewhat impressed. He slipped the flashlight back into the holder then pointed at George.

  “I’m fine,” Levi said, and started to motion toward Elsie but then noticed his sister’s wheelchair in his side vision. “May I get up now?”

  “Yes. You’d best check on that sweet sister of yours,” the first responder said.

  They knew Abigail? Levi cautiously moved to a sitting position and looked up at his sister. Her face was red and tearstained, but she beamed at the first responder.

  “Thanks, Riley,” she murmured. “I wondered if you’d come. I’m fine, but my friend, and Levi’s girlfriend…” She pointed.

  “Not my girlfriend,” Levi muttered, but his gaze shot to dear Elsie, who struggled to sit.

  She stared at him, hurt and rejection filling her beautiful green eyes that already glittered with unshed tears.

  The policeman chuckled. “She said the same thing about you.”

  Oh. Ouch. Jah, the rejection hurt. But at least they were on the same page.

  The officer grabbed his notebook and pen and turned away. “I’m going to get Amish George’s autograph. He’s practically a celebrity.”

  And that explained so much about George’s foolish acts of bravado. He thrived on attention, positive or negative.

  The first responder, who Abigail called Riley, crossed to Elsie and knelt beside her. “Hi, Miss Elsie. You had quite the scare there.”

  “I did, Riley. Thanks for caring.” She smiled at him.

  Elsie knew him, too? Levi battled the unfamiliar feelings of jealousy. Make that too familiar, ever since they broke up. He gulped. Stood. And limped on his sore, bruised legs into the other room.

  Where George was all smiles as he signed the officer’s notebook.

  Levi took a seat off to the side, out of the way. Since he wasn’t needed for a statement yet, and since it appeared that he’d remain free—Danki, Gott—he needed to plan out his confessions to Bishop Nathan and Elsie.

  It’d be nice if he could talk to both at the same time.

  Both separately was double the trouble.

  * * *

  Elsie swayed dizzily, her world briefly fading to black again before she blinked it into focus. She scooted back enough to lean against the wall and adjusted her dress over her legs; then Riley checked her blood pressure.

  “I sure hate to ask this, Miss Elsie, but there’s no chance you’re in the family way, is there?” His face turned as red as hers probably flamed, judging by the burn.

  She dipped her head to hide the embarrassment. “No, that isn’t possible,” she whispered. She’d never actually fainted before, but then she’d never actually witnessed someone she loved being told to “get down” by the police. She gulped back a wail. Her emotions were all over the place. A mess. She tried to briefly explain what she was feeling.

  “Tony’s a rookie,” Riley said when she was finished, wincing. “He’ll learn, and as soon as he finishes fawning over Amish George, he’ll need to get statements.” Something dinged and he glanced at a square banded on his left wrist. “Ambulance is two minutes out.”

  “I’m fine,” Elsie insisted, though she still felt woozy.

  “Have a glass of juice,” Riley suggested. “That’ll perk you right up.” He stood. “I’ll go check on your brother and Amish George.” He walked off.

  “I’ll get you a glass of juice and start lunch.” Abigail wheeled past.

  A few minutes later, Levi—not Abigail—handed Elsie a juice glass. He lowered himself next to her.

  She tried to smile, because she craved his comfort like that of the hug by the door and his current care of her, but she could still hear him saying she wasn’t his girlfriend when she really wanted to be…And yet she thought it was probably her own words to the officer that set him up to yell at Levi. A mixture of hope and guilt and betrayal and relief. She moved her hand toward his.

  He ignored it. “We need to talk about why I can’t marry.”

  Finally, she’d get the truth and know what was going on in his mind so she could start convincing him otherwise. Unless he had a valid reason.

  The front door opened with another frigid blast of air, and the bishop appeared, following the EMTs carrying a stretcher.

  “Later.” He squeezed her hand. “Pray for me. I also need to talk to the bishop.”

  Chapter 22

  Levi pressed a hand to his still-roiling stomach as he started to approach the bishop. The older man seemed focused on a mission, though, so Levi stopped and stood quietly off to the side near George’s head. Bishop Nathan made a wide swath past the unconscious stranger and the EMTs starting to work on him, past Riley, who knelt beside Noah on the floor and looked at his bloody hands, to George, still lying where he’d landed and loudly telling his tall tale to the spellbound officer who just sat and stared, mouth agape.

  Bishop Nathan stopped a few feet from George and looked around. He glanced at Levi, raised an eyebrow, then approached. Dread built inside Levi with every measured step. “I overheard George’s conversation with the officer. I’m assuming there were no assassins hired to murder George so Elsie and you could make out in the laundry room.” His brows quirked with humor as he said the words make out.

  The man got points for identifying “that redhead” as Elsie and “that boy” as Levi. And Levi was thankful for a bit of humor to break the tension and start the conversation. This was better than his original opening thought of “I killed my family” or “I’m a murderer.”

  “No assassins were hired,” Levi said.

  The bishop nodded, waited a beat, then a slight grin tipped his lips. “I notice there’s no denying the charges of making out in the laundry room.” His brow quirked again.

  Hopefully, Elsie wouldn’t get in trouble for Levi’s laundry room hormones. His face heated. “I’m not a liar.” Not a liar, but he was a murderer…just not in a plot aimed at George.

  “Commendable.” B
ishop Nathan shifted to open their cluster at the base of the ladder steps, allowing Riley to join them.

  “I’m recommending that Noah go to the ER to get the glass picked out of his hands, but he’s refusing. Says either his sister or his girlfriend will do it.”

  Levi looked at Elsie’s brother and Abigail’s boyfriend. Glass in his hands? Right. He’d fallen into the broken glass from the lantern, then jumped right up to help tackle the intruder and tie him up. That had to be painful.

  Riley glanced at George on the floor almost at their feet. “Amish George will be transferred on the next ambulance for his ‘heart issues.’ That ambulance is about ten minutes out.”

  Levi’s gaze skittered to George. He was fairly certain George didn’t have any heart problems, and from his attitude, Riley didn’t think so, either, but there was no denying George would thrive on the attention.

  It’d also ease the tension and stress level if Levi didn’t have to worry about George and his walking stick. His eardrums would also appreciate the break from the screamed conversations. Wouldn’t miss a thing if they took George.

  “And on that note, I need to go.” Riley nudged Levi. “My wife wasn’t happy I went out in this blizzard, but we both care for Abigail and were concerned about what happened when we heard it on the scanner. My wife is Abby’s physical therapist, and I might or might not have picked Abby up a few times after a fall.”

  Levi gave him a sharp look. “She fell? And no one told me?”

  “Not recently, and she wasn’t hurt. She didn’t want you to know, but that’s part of the reason she wanted you to hire a companion for her. Changing the subject, I should’ve known Amish George would be involved today. The dispatcher did mention a George.” Riley winked at Levi. “However, you might want to stay out of the laundry room when Amish George is here.”

  Levi’s face burned. The whole community would be aware of his behavior at this rate. George would no doubt announce it at church and give the gossips plenty of fuel to push for a wedding, but…It changed nothing.

  “I’ll say goodbye to Abby and make my way home,” Riley said, then he walked off.

  Bishop Nathan frowned. “I’ll be taking George’s place as chaperone, so there will be no hanky-panky.” His frown deepened. “I hate that the Englisch call him Amish George as if that’s his name. It makes me feel as though they are lumping all the Amish in the same category. Nothing I can do about it, though. George will be George.”

  Levi shifted, not sure what to say during the awkward silence. George had his walking stick, but the bishop was a more formidable chaperone. And Levi never was any good at small talk. But there was talking in his future. After all, he’d prayed before tackling the intruder and would hold up his end of the bargain. At least he could put “the talk” off for a bit more since the bishop would be staying the rest of the day.

  “Later, after everyone else leaves, I need to have a talk with you. And with Elsie.” There’d be less chances of her overreacting if the bishop witnessed the conversation.

  However, it also would make it more uncomfortable for her if the bishop heard Levi’s rejection of her.

  Love is kind.

  Levi gulped. If he loved Elsie—and he did—he would try to talk to her privately. Probably now would be a good time while they were still waiting to give their statement to the rookie cop.

  The EMTs lifted the intruder onto the stretcher and hoisted it up. Noah picked up the guy’s Stetson and dropped it on his chest. Jah, that needed to go with him.

  The officer wrote down something George said, then looked at him. “It was a real pleasure to meet you, Amish George. I need to get statements now.” He sounded a little shell-shocked. He stood.

  “Don’t know why you need statements. I told you all you need to know.” George squirmed, started to sit up straighter, and groaned as he fell back. “I think I broke something!”

  Good thing another ambulance was en route.

  Levi turned away as another blast of blizzard winds blew in with the exit of the EMTs and intruder and the entrance of another policeman. This one looked familiar. Levi strode over to the woodstove to check the fire. Sort of. Mostly to hide just in case the officer was one who’d responded almost two years ago and recognized Levi as the screaming, panicking youngie who’d just accidentally murdered his whole family and outright admitted to it.

  Wait. Why hadn’t they arrested him back then? He’d admitted to it! Instead, they took him aside and told him to breathe. Someone prayed with him. Both the Amish and the Englisch members of the community had reached out in love, compassion, and understanding, not condemnation. He’d pushed them away. He’d been so foolish.

  Levi added a log to the fire, closed the stove, gathered the tattered remnants of his courage, and straightened. He turned from the stove and scanned the room.

  The newcomer cop talked to Noah at the dining room table. Bishop Nathan lowered himself down beside George, who was still yelling about broken bones and something about a cat. Abigail puttered in the kitchen, probably starting something for their midday meal. It was an hour past noon. The rich aroma of coffee filled the room. The rookie officer stood nearby, drawing a sketch and writing something. Levi walked a few feet, looking for Elsie. She sat alone, drinking the orange juice he’d brought her and leaning against the wall where he left her. She was still very pale.

  Wait. George wanted a cat. Could he be referring to the one he stole from the workshop? Or the pregnant one in the barn? He could keep the carved one if it’d comfort him. Well, he could keep them both, but the living one wouldn’t be allowed to go to the hospital with George. Levi crossed the living room to George and caught his attention. “Where did you leave the cat?”

  George’s skin flushed. “Mudroom. On the washer.”

  Levi nodded. “I’ll get it.” He retrieved the carved animal—a small price to pay for George being peaceful, if that was even possible—and handed it to the elderly man.

  George clutched it and cried. It was heartbreaking, really.

  Levi patted George’s shoulder and for a brief moment considered hugging the old man. But that would likely earn him a swat. He’d talk to Elsie while they waited.

  He turned away from George, but now the rookie policeman sat too close to Elsie at the entrance to the hallway, grinning at her. Were police allowed to smile? It seemed unprofessional. But then blinding unsuspecting men leaving the bathroom with a high-powered flashlight was unprofessional, too.

  His gaze lowered to the beautiful woman sitting on the floor mere feet away.

  She might not be his girlfriend anymore, but he stood there, watching them.

  Watching her.

  Wishing things were different and that he was free to declare his intentions.

  * * *

  It seemed that hours went by before things quieted down and everyone left except the bishop and George, but really it was only a quarter hour longer. The bishop was seated next to George on the floor at the foot of the loft’s ladder. At least George had quieted down about assassins.

  Delicious scents filled the air as Elsie grabbed a pair of pot holders and pulled the quick tuna casserole from the oven that Abigail had tossed together while Elsie was recovering from her faint. Elsie’d felt helpless as the wheelchair-bound Abigail had moved from meals to nursing when she went for tweezers and removed the glass fragments from Noah’s hands.

  All Elsie had done was take the dish out of the oven.

  Elsie carried the rectangular clear-glass dish to the table where Abigail finished up now, Noah’s hand tenderly cradled in hers, his green eyes locked on her so trustingly even though what she did had to hurt. It almost was enough to make Elsie cry. Levi never looked at her that way. Though she never had to remove glass from Levi’s hands. And if she ever tried to extract glass shards from Noah’s hands, he wouldn’t gaze at her with love and trust. He’d be howling in pain and complaining that she was killing him.

  Speaking of which, where was Levi? He’
d vanished. But the puppy was gone, too.

  “You go wash your hands with soap and water. Pat it dry gently,” Abigail directed Noah. “I’ll get the antibiotic ointment and bandage it for you.”

  Noah carefully lifted Abigail’s hand and brushed a kiss across the palm. Elsie teared up. So sweet. Abigail blushed but gave Noah a wobbly smile before she rolled backward out of his way. Her face flamed brighter when she caught Elsie watching her.

  Elsie quickly looked away. “I’ll get the plates and set the table.”

  “There are flashing lights outside again.” Abigail pointed. “Do you think they’re here for George?”

  “Probably,” Elsie said, changing directions and going to open the door.

  It seemed the wind had picked up even more than earlier. Big flakes of snow blew sideways, leaving huge drifts in spots and almost bare ground in others.

  The EMTs approached. “We had a call about a heart patient.”

  Elsie pointed in the general vicinity of George and stepped out of the way. It wouldn’t do any good to tell them what she thought about his heart, because George did need some kind of medical attention, even if it wasn’t heart related.

  Once the EMTs had entered, Elsie stepped out into the blowing snow and looked around. A dark figure crouched beside the barn, holding something that wiggled. That had to be Levi and the puppy. Should she ring the dinner bell or…? No, because he wouldn’t be wasting his time out here in the bitter cold unless he needed to be and they wouldn’t eat until after George left for the hospital. Maybe she should put the casserole back into the oven to stay warm.

  She stomped the snow from her borrowed slippers as best as she could, but considering they had a mess in the house, thanks to the drunk, what was one more thing? At least she knew what she’d do that afternoon. Especially since with the bishop chaperoning, sneaking off for a nap wouldn’t happen.

  Work, for the night is coming…

  She wasn’t sure if that was scripture or not, but either way, it was often quoted among the Amish.

  Abigail and Noah were back at the table, but now Abigail dabbed ointment on the wounds. It must hurt. He didn’t say anything, but he pressed his lips together, and a muscle jumped in his jaw.