by Dana R. Lynn
“I will pick you up here at two,” Abraham said.
“Sounds good. Thanks for the ride.”
They watched their friend drive away, then they started toward the market. Without thinking about it, Tyler reached out and grabbed Annie’s hand. The moment they touched, he felt her stiffen. Now she would pull away. But she didn’t. After a moment, he felt her relax again. He smiled, swinging their hands between them.
They reached the edge of the market. It was bustling with activity. Many of the shops had brought some of their merchandise outside and set up displays on the sidewalks. Amish and Englisch alike mingled in the warm June morning. It was going to be hot by the time noon rolled around, but right at the moment the weather was warm with a light breeze. Tyler flicked his gaze over to Annie. He grinned. She was looking everywhere she could, her eyes wide as she took in everything. He had known she’d react this way. Annie loved seeing new places and watching people. To her, this was more fun than any fancy restaurant or going to a show. He’d missed that in his life these past few years.
They wandered around to the different shops. Tyler didn’t buy anything. Whatever they bought, they’d have to carry with them. Knowing that someone was after them and might show up at any moment meant that they had to be ready to run and could not be hampered with nonessential items. Abraham would be purchasing whatever was needed back at the farm. Anything else was just a useless material possession. Not worth the trouble.
At lunchtime, they grabbed hot dogs and sodas at one of the food stands that dotted the sidewalk.
Every now and then, he looked around. He could never get over the feeling that disaster was about to strike. Maybe coming to the market had not been a good idea, after all. He had done it to get Annie away from the farm, knowing that it would please her. Now he felt like they were wearing targets on their backs.
He looked at his watch. It was one thirty. They had half an hour to go before they were to meet up with Abraham again. Although they had enjoyed their outing, he felt like he would be glad to get back to the Beiler home.
He was probably being foolish. Still, he remained on alert.
A few minutes later, he was glad that he had not completely let down his guard.
“Ty.” Annie nudged his side with her elbow, her voice a tense whisper. “We’re being watched.”
His pulse hiked. She was staring off to the left a bit, her brow wrinkled. He noted that she was tugging at her braid. Although she looked calm enough to the casual observer, the increased pressure on his hand told him clearly that she was becoming agitated.
Stay calm. Look casual. Pulling her closer, he pretended to kiss her head, angling his face so he could peer over her. A young man with cold dark eyes was staring straight at them, his gaze narrowed. It was a calculated gaze. The stare of a man trying to figure something out.
Or maybe he was trying to imagine what Tyler looked like without his slight beard.
“Turn away,” he whispered out of the corner of his mouth. “Pretend nothing is wrong. Like we are just any other couple here to look at the shops. We are just going to casually walk away. Stay close. We may need to run.”
She nodded and turned with him.
They didn’t talk. His ears were hyperfocused now, listening for any sign that they had been recognized. They skirted their way past two buildings successfully.
“We’ll just wander around the side of that next building,” he decided. “Then we will have to run. Do you—”
Whatever he was going to ask was forgotten.
“Tyler!” a voice yelled behind him.
Instinctively, he whipped his head in the direction of the voice. Screams followed as the man dropped the fliers and pulled out a gun.
“Run!”
Annie didn’t need the urging. They bolted. Tearing past the shops, they both kept as close to walls as they could. They cleared the store and tore up the hill. A shot rang out. Then another. Metal clanged. Something dropped behind them. Right where they had been.
They couldn’t stop to look.
Tyler tugged Annie toward another group of buildings.
“No!” Annie gasped. “Too many people!”
She was right. The man chasing them probably wouldn’t care if he hit someone else.
They darted behind an empty tourist bus that was parked along the side of the road. Tyler peeked out, keeping himself low. The man who had been chasing them was still there, but he seemed to have lost them in the crowd.
That wouldn’t last for long. Sooner or later, he would head their way. Then what? When the man paused to turn and search, Tyler waited until he was turned in the opposite direction. Then he pulled Annie out from behind the bus and into the building that the bus was parked in front of. It was a large auction house. There were rows upon rows of vendors set up inside with their crafts and wares. And there was a door out the other side.
Sirens shrieked and drew closer. Tyler could have wilted where he stood in relief. Still, he wasn’t going to let down his guard. Even if the police were on the scene, he couldn’t assume that the danger following them was over.
They hurried through the building at a swift walk, trying not to be too conspicuous. The noise level in the place was over the top. Tyler kept looking back. No sign of the man.
They made it to the other side of the building without anyone calling out to them.
A few seconds later, the sounds of gunfire could be heard in the background. He heard people screaming. Someone—no doubt an officer—shouted for people to get down.
Tyler’s mouth was dry. He put his hand against Annie’s back, silently encouraging her to walk in front of him. If bullets went flying toward them again, he wanted to keep her from being hit.
There was a path leading away from the building. It was convenient. But far too visible. Tyler pulled Annie off the path. A smaller building, probably for storage, was off to the side. He pulled them behind it. The good thing was that no one could see them there. Of course, that meant that they would not be able to see anyone coming, either. It was a chance he had to take.
The shouting and the gunfire behind them stopped. He wished he could go back and check it out, to be sure. That was a chance he couldn’t take, though.
They needed to regroup and consider their options.
“We have twenty minutes until Abraham comes for us.”
He heard Annie’s breathing. There was a small gasp. Annie was in pain.
“I think I’ve been shot.”
TWELVE
Shot?
Feeling like he was moving in slow motion, Tyler pivoted to face his wife.
Her face was pale and pinched with pain. His chest tightened as he looked over her. Then his glance fell on the gravel at their feet. It was a mixture of various shades of white and gray. There were some almost black patches.
And every few inches, a splotch of red.
Blood.
His wife, his Annie, had been shot.
Feelings of remorse and self-recrimination threatened to overwhelm him, but he shoved them aside. He didn’t have time for that.
He couldn’t see where she was bleeding from.
“Where, Annie?” His voice came out harsh with fear.
“My leg.”
He could see it then. Her right lower leg. There was a hole. A dark circular stain was slowly growing, creeping out across the faded denim of her blue jeans.
He had to stop the bleeding. But with what? He had nothing on him that would be useful. He had to go and find something. He clenched his teeth and peeked around the corner of the shed. No one was coming toward them. He had to take a chance, although he hated to leave her by herself. She’d be safer here than coming with him, though.
“Wait here.”
She protested, but he was too focused to stop. Running back inside the auction building, he le
t his eyes adjust to the sudden dim light after being out in the blinding sunlight. No sign of the man who had shot at them. Quickly, Tyler purchased two bottles of water and a T-shirt. He didn’t even stop to look at the design.
Picking up his purchases, he hurried back to Annie. She was right where he had left her, sitting behind the shed with her back up against the brown wall. Her legs were stretched out in front of her.
Kneeling at her side, he slowly began to inch up her jeans toward her knee to expose the wound.
“Wait,” she cried, a thin thread of panic running through her voice.
He frowned. “Annie. I don’t want to hurt you, but I have to stop the bleeding.”
He met her gaze. He didn’t like the resigned look that entered her eyes. Her lips tightened, meshing together to form a straight line. After a few eternal seconds, she nodded.
That was all he needed. He resumed his task. Thankfully, she had chosen to wear looser-fitting jeans this morning. If she had opted for skinny jeans, he would have had to have cut them. And he didn’t have anything on him to do that. Finally, he could see the wound. He let out the breath he was holding. It was not as bad as he had feared. More of a graze than a full-on hit. He would not have to worry about a bullet still in the leg. He opened one of the waters and poured it gently over the wound. Taking the T-shirt, he patted the wound. More blood welled. He would need to put pressure on it. Placing his left hand on her leg to hold it steady, he held the shirt against the bleeding side of her calf with his right hand. He felt her flinch once. She trembled. He winced. He had to be hurting her. It couldn’t be helped, although he wished it had been him and not her who had been wounded.
“Are you okay?”
Her face was turned away from him. She nodded, but didn’t say anything.
He checked the wound several times. After about ten minutes, he was satisfied that the bleeding had stopped. He gripped the shirt at a seam and pulled. After a second, he heard the gratifying sound of fabric ripping. He kept pulling. He ripped until he had enough material to make a bandage, one that could be hopefully covered by her pant leg.
“I think that’s good. Do you think you can walk on that?” Tyler pulled the pant leg back down, completely covering the emergency bandage, and slid his gaze up to her face. To his astonishment, tears were streaking down her face. “Annie! Did I hurt you? I’m so sorry. I tried to be as gentle as I could.”
She shuddered. “It’s not that.” The words sounded like she half swallowed them. She gulped.
He was confused. “If I didn’t hurt you, why are you crying?”
It could have been a reaction to the stress, but he didn’t think so. Her eyes, even though tear-filled, were luminous, staring at him almost with awe. That was not a sight he was used to seeing.
“You touched them.” The whisper was soft.
Huh?
“What?”
“My scars. You put your hand right over them as if you didn’t even see them.”
Oh. He so didn’t want to have this conversation sitting here, vulnerable. They needed to get moving.
“I didn’t see them. Annie, they have never bothered me like they do you. Look, I need to tell you something, but we need to get walking first. We can’t be sitting here. We’re too out in the open.”
She nodded once, then held out her hand for him to assist her to stand. She braced herself against him and let her weight gradually fall on her injured leg. “I can walk.”
Keeping to the edge of the woods, they circled the street where the market was set up, deliberately going the extra block so as not to lose the cover the trees gave them. Several times, they stopped to give Annie’s leg a chance to rest. It was a painstakingly slow journey.
“We should call Karl,” Tyler said.
“Oh, yes.” Annie stopped, and searched through her purse for the phone that the marshal had left with her. “Here, you talk to him. I’m going to sit down for a few minutes.”
Quickly, he called Karl and left a voice mail when the marshal didn’t answer.
Tyler turned and watched Annie with concern. Something was going on in her complicated mind. It had something to do with her scars. He had always known that she felt they were ugly. And he had tried to convince her that they weren’t as bad as she thought. But maybe there was more to it than that. Something deeper.
He remembered something his old pastor had said after his mother had lost hope and died soon after his father was gone. Not all scars show up on the skin. Some are soul-deep.
Was this one of those cases? He remembered how embarrassed she was to let him see her scars, even though he had seen them before. And he remembered her reaction when he had touched them. Did she think that the scars were what drove him to withdraw? He had kept silent to protect his family, but had his silence also led to his wife’s loss of self-confidence? It was years too late, and maybe his timing was off, but he needed to let her know the truth. If something happened to him, he didn’t want Annie to continue believing a lie.
Even if she despised him for the truth.
* * *
It didn’t take long before Annie’s leg was throbbing intensely. Every step shot pain up her leg. She didn’t complain. She didn’t want to appear weak. But there was no way she could keep herself from limping. What if she had to go to the hospital? Would Karl put a guard outside her door?
Suddenly a thought occurred to her. What if the man who had shot her had escaped the police? Did he know that he hit her? What if he searches the hospitals?
Her breathing quickened. The only place she would feel safe was back at the Beiler farm. She nearly cried when they finally found Abraham. The buggy might have appeared more fragile than a car, but to her, it was beautiful and a sign of God’s grace and protection.
For his part, Abraham looked like he had been pacing back and forth. There was a frantic look about his eyes. It was a bit startling. He looked like such a calm fellow. So strong and quiet. Seeing him so obviously on edge was odd.
He and Julia had been part of the program, though. Which meant that he knew all the dangers that went along with it. Not to mention, she reminded herself, he had been a cop for ten years.
Relief flashed across the older man’s face when he saw them racing, or in her case limping, toward him. He frowned as he watched her approach.
“What happened?” Abraham asked the moment they appeared. “Two police cars passed me on the way. When I arrived, people walked by me talking about someone shooting at the police in the market.”
Tyler scanned the area, his mouth grim. “Let me tell you when we get back to your house. I don’t think it’s safe here. The sooner we can leave, the better.”
Abraham didn’t ask any more questions. He hopped up on the seat. The moment that Tyler and Annie were settled in the buggy, he flicked the reins and clicked his tongue, and the horse started forward.
Annie and Tyler quickly put their headwear back on. They sat side by side, the tension vibrating off both of them. Tyler reached over and grabbed hold of her hand. She not only let him hold it, but she also squeezed his and kept a tight grip on it, as if she was concerned that he would be ripped away from her.
Annie couldn’t stop shaking. “What if the police didn’t get him? He could still be out there, watching.”
Tyler nodded. Letting go of her hand for a moment, he reached down and pulled a lightweight blanket over them. “Get down.”
They both sank below the thin blanket. Soon, Annie felt sweat beginning to trickle down her neck. It was a toss-up whether it was more from the heat or the fear.
The moment they reached the house, Tyler helped her inside. “We need to check your leg. I am worried that it might get infected.”
She was too tired to argue. She changed back into her Amish dress, knowing that it would be easier for him to see to her leg without her jeans getting in the way. This ti
me, when he looked at her leg, she didn’t feel the embarrassment that she did earlier. She was still touchy about the scars, but he’d already seen them and hadn’t acted like they repulsed him.
She had to rethink a lot of things she’d thought over the years. The idea made her squirm. As much as he had done or not done in their marriage, had she made the mistake of being overly judgmental toward him?
The idea bothered her. A lot. She had always considered herself a forgiving and merciful person. But now she wondered if she had withheld those qualities from the one person in her life she had vowed to show them to.
Julia came to assist before Annie could get too far into her own examination of conscience. She brought clean bandages and some antibacterial ointment. “We can have the doctor out tomorrow if it starts to look infected. Right now, it looks sore, but it really is not that much more than a skin wound.”
Annie sank back against the chair, relieved. Tyler did not look convinced. “Ty, let’s leave it until the morning.”
Reluctantly, he nodded.
He was still looking pensive. Something else was on his mind.
“What’s up?”
“I need to talk with you,” he muttered. Julia and Abraham melted away. Julia said, “William has the girls. I will tell him to keep them out until you’re done.”
When they were alone, they looked at each other. Annie waited for him to break the silence.
Finally, he sighed. “I have a confession to make. I’m not sure if you will hate me or not when I’m done. At least, more than you do already.”
She cringed. “I don’t hate you, Ty. I never did. I was hurt and confused.”
He looked off in the distance. It was as if he didn’t even hear her. He seemed to be lost in his own memories.
“I don’t think I ever really told you what happened with my father.” He looked down, rubbing the toe of his shoe against some imaginary piece of dirt. “I know that you were aware that he had died when I was fifteen, but there was more to it than that. You see, my dad was a good man. He tended to believe the best about everyone. Even when they didn’t deserve it.”