“Samuel?” Jake asked, a hopeful note in his voice.
“I gotta go, man.” Samuel turned his back to Jake and followed his friends. The four of them got into the car, Uri behind the wheel. The engine roared to life and the worn tires spit out gravel before the treads finally gained purchase and the car tore out of the yard.
A couple horses lifted their heads and snorted in protest. Jake watched the red taillights disappear into the dark night.
Jake wondered if his father had been this rebellious before he convinced Jake’s mother to pack it up and leave everything that she’d ever known for a life on the outside.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he hunched his shoulders and strolled slowly to his truck. The sweet, dry scent of corn reached his nose, making him feel nostalgic for a life he had never known. Maybe it was simply because it was in his roots. His genes. Would studying the Amish and teaching a new group of students an Intro to the Amish course each semester ever satisfy his need to connect with his ancestors?
“Whoa!” An Amish boy hollered to his horse as he tugged on the reins, quickly swerving around a distracted Jake.
Jake jumped out of the way and waved a hand in apology.
The buggy came to a stop in the gravel lot. “Hey, Professor, if you’re not careful, you’ll end up in one of those research papers of yours. How the Professor Got Run Over by an Amish buggy.”
Jake rolled his eyes and laughed. “I’ll pay more attention next time.”
“It’s best that you do.” The young man hopped off his buggy and walked around to tend to his horse.
Jake nodded and strode to his truck. He feared he had ticked off a few of his research subjects tonight. His gut told him that was the least of his concerns.
*
After church service Rebecca had spent the day visiting her brother, Mark, and his family at their farm about a mile from her home. She always had a hard time around her brother, his wife and their five children. That was supposed to be her life, too.
She had never anticipated leading the life she did.
Rebecca had spent longer than she had planned at Mark and Gloria’s house because her daughters were enjoying the company of their cousins. She hated to pull them away too soon. It warmed her heart to see them laughing, carefree…belonging.
After the girls climbed into the buggy, Rebecca wrapped a buggy blanket around Katie, then helped Grace pull hers up around her shoulders. Her youngest smiled and shuddered, her breath turned into a puff of white. “It’s too cold. Can’t we sleep at Aenti Gloria’s house tonight?”
“You have school tomorrow.”
Her sister-in-law, Gloria, danced on the balls of her feet, white breath forming on a sigh. “Oh, let them stay. We can get them to school in the morning with my children. What’s two more?”
Rebecca hesitated. “You’ve been too kind to me. They’ve been here much too often.” It would be easier to leave the girls here in her brother’s warm house. She felt her resolve slipping.
“The cousins enjoy each other. Let them stay,” Gloria said.
“Yah, you’re right.” Rebecca turned to her daughters. “Girls, would you both like to stay?”
Katie and Grace scrambled out of the back of the buggy and jumped one at a time onto the ground while holding Rebecca’s hand. She planted a kiss on each of their foreheads. “Now mind your aenti Gloria.” She lifted her gaze to her sister-in-law. “I’ll pick them up after my shift at the diner tomorrow evening?”
“Perfect.” Gloria turned around and, with a hand to each of their backs, she guided Rebecca’s daughters into the warm, cozy house.
Something about watching her daughters walk away made a cloak of sadness settle around her shoulders. She let out another breath and climbed into the buggy. A stiff wind whipped up, refocusing her attention to the mile-long journey. Alone in the dark.
Rebecca had been foolish to stay late. She flicked her wrists and Buttercup lurched forward. She’d be home in no time, she reassured herself.
Buttercup trotted down the country road. The lampposts cast lonely rings of light every couple hundred feet or so. If Rebecca wasn’t careful she would doze off behind the reins. Buttercup had traveled this road enough; she could easily make it back to the farm without much guidance from her.
Rebecca didn’t care for traveling at night, but it did have one advantage—there weren’t many cars on the road.
As if to prove her wrong, a car crested the hill and whizzed past her traveling in the opposite direction. That was always preferable to cars driving too close on the same side of the road.
With the car gone, Rebecca let her mind drift to what she’d do when she got home. Without the girls at the house, it would be lonely. Maybe she’d go into Samuel’s room while he was at the Sunday-night singing. She hated to snoop, but she had been shocked to see his stash of electronics. Radio. Laptop. And she knew he had a cell phone. She feared she had already lost him and that his presence at the house was merely out of necessity because he had nowhere else to go.
She wondered how Willard would have reined in his son, then she quickly dismissed the thought. A year had passed since his arrest and she still shuddered at the thought of her husband’s cruelty.
Buttercup neighed and Rebecca’s attention snapped back to the road. Sensing a car coming up behind them before Rebecca did, the horse instinctively pulled over closer to the edge of the road into the buggy lane. The car sped past them, too close. Rebecca squinted after the red taillights, suspecting it was the same car she had seen going in the other direction only moments before. Her nerves buzzed. A young woman out here alone on a backcountry road was vulnerable.
Stories of buggies colliding with cars made the local paper all the time. She gave the reins a gentle flick and Buttercup picked up her pace.
I’m almost home. Dear Lord, keep me safe.
When the bright red brake lights of the car came on, the tips of her fingers tingled as she tightened her grip on the straps. She made a noise with her lips and snapped the reins. The horse picked up her trot.
The car slowed and made a wide U-turn, its wheels crunching on the berm of the road. Rebecca shielded her eyes against the bright headlights as the car raced back in her direction. A knot twisted her insides, much like it had every time Willard returned home and she’d feared his mood, his outbursts, his angry demands.
Let them drive by. Please, let them drive by.
She flicked the reins again, her eyes locked on the approaching car. At the last minute, the driver swerved into her lane, playing a deadly game of chicken.
Buttercup spooked and took off like a shot, veering closer to the ditch. The buggy’s wheel dipped into the deep ditch lining the country road. The sharp motion tossed Rebecca out of her buggy.
A yelp escaped her lips.
It seemed like an eternity as she flew through the air. She landed on her side with an oomph. Her hip and shoulder sank into a few inches of cold, mucky water. Panic made a flush of goose bumps race across her skin. She groaned and struggled to her feet, the wet folds of her dress weighing her down.
Buttercup stopped a ways down the road and neighed his protest. Somehow the buggy had stayed out of the ditch and rested on the side of the road, seemingly no worse for wear.
Thank you, Lord.
Searching her dark surroundings, Rebecca paused and listened. The hum of the vehicle grew distant. Relief, mixed with fear and anger, created a steady pounding behind her eyes. She planted her hands on the cold, hard-packed dirt on the edge of the ditch.
She wiggled her toes in her wet boots.
She struggled to pull herself up but couldn’t gain traction. She feared whoever stumbled across her in the light of day would find her, feet frozen in the icy water.
Gravel crunching under tires made the fine hairs on the back of her neck stand on edge.
Had they come back for her?
Rebecca leaned against the edge of the ditch, her palms pushing into the dirt, hoping her
black coat in the black of night made her invisible.
Still hitched to the wagon, Buttercup neighed, obviously stressed over the near miss.
A car’s engine idled behind her buggy. A door opened. Closed. Rebecca’s entire body trembled from the cold. If whoever had returned didn’t kill her, hypothermia would.
Footsteps sounded on the gravel. Growing closer. Closer.
Adrenaline surged through her veins. She had nowhere to hide.
She pressed her cheek to the ditch’s edge, trying to make herself small. Invisible. The smell of earth and moisture filled her nostrils.
A man loomed above her and Rebecca bit back a scream.
FOUR
“Are you okay, ma’am?” Jake couldn’t keep the alarm from his voice. He crouched on the side of the road and stretched his hand out to the woman in the ditch. “Let me help you.”
The woman tilted her face up and the moonlight glinted in her worried eyes. “Rebecca! What in the world happened?”
Rebecca squinted up at him, her lower lip trembling. “S-s-someone spooked Buttercup and she dumped me out of the buggy.”
Jake twisted and looked down the road. No one in sight. He wrapped his hand around her chilly fingers. “Let’s get you out of there and warmed up before you freeze to death.”
He immediately regretted his choice of words.
Rebecca gathered up the wet folds of her skirt in one hand and tightened her grip on his hand with the other.
He pulled, but instead of tugging Rebecca out of the ditch, he found himself losing his footing on the muddy edge of the ditch. Rebecca’s wet hand slid out of his and she flailed back and landed with a whoosh on her backside in the water. She closed her eyes, briefly stifling the words to match the look of disgust on her face. “This is your plan? Hmm…”
“Whoa…hold on. Step back.” The water swooshed around her boots as she stepped out of the way. “I’m going to have to try something else.”
Before he had a chance to overthink it, Jake jumped into the ditch next to her. The shock of the cold water shot through him. His leather loafers weren’t exactly traipsing-in-icy-water gear. He looked down at her and thought he detected a smile on her lips in the moonlight.
Jake assessed the situation. “I’m going to have to hoist you out of here from behind.”
Her lips slanted, indicating her skepticism. “Behind?”
“Trust me,” Jake said, grimacing as the cold water sloshed around his loafers.
“I dare say you haven’t given me gut reason to trust you yet.”
“Rebecca,” Jake said, feeling more than a little out of his element. “You’re going to have to work with me on this before we both catch hypothermia out here.” He lifted one foot, then the other, unable to escape the frosty pain.
Rebecca nodded, her lower lip trembling.
“On the count of three, I’m going to give you a shove partway out of the ditch. You’ll have to pull yourself up the rest of the way.”
Rebecca nodded, her bonnet askew on her head; a long strand of silky brown hair had escaped her bun. He bent over and threaded his fingers together. Put your foot here and I’ll boost you up and over the side.”
Rebecca gave his hands a you’ve-got-to-be-kidding look, but she lifted a small foot and stepped into his clasped hands. With one quick push-shove-hoist from Jake, Rebecca was able to grab hold and get to her feet on the side of the road.
“How are you going to get out?” Rebecca wrapped her arms around her middle and loomed over him, the moon haloing her bonneted head.
Jake had maintained his physical fitness since retiring from the army by working out at the campus gym. Now was when all that exercise would pay off. He hoped. He found a foothold on the wall of the ditch and was able to pull himself out rather quickly.
Jake followed Rebecca over to Buttercup. She smoothed her hand down the horse’s mane and whispered soothing words to the animal.
Rebecca finally turned to him, a look of fear in her eyes. “The car intentionally swerved in front of me. They spooked Buttercup.” Her lips trembled. “I…” She patted Buttercup’s mane. “We could have been killed.”
“Could you describe the car?”
Rebecca shook her head slowly. “It passed a few times before it came at me.”
“Any chance it was an older car? Three or four guys in it?” He thought of the vehicle Samuel, Eli and the Yoder brothers had hopped into.
“I don’t know. The lights blinded me. But it was a car, not a truck like you have and not a van.”
“Do you think it was random?”
Rebecca shook her head. “No, I think the driver knew exactly who I was. That’s why he drove past a few times first. He wanted to scare me.” She slurred her words, her lips numb.
Would Samuel really allow his friends to harass his mother? Risk seriously injuring her and her horse? Or worse?
Samuel didn’t strike him as that kind of kid. Jake shoved a hand through his hair. The last conversation he’d had with the young men crossed his mind.
“Come on. You can’t stand out here. I need to get you home.” Jake gently took her by the elbow and led her to his truck. “You need to get inside. Warm up.”
Rebecca pulled away. “I can’t leave Buttercup here.”
“No, no, of course not. I’ll call my assistant. Tommy’s comfortable with horses.”
“No, I don’t live far. I’ll get her home.” She strode back to the buggy, the folds of her wet dress slapping her legs.
Jake followed her. He reached into the backseat and grabbed a thick blanket. As he wrapped it around her shoulders and pulled it tight at her neck, his knuckles brushed against the cool, smooth skin of her jaw. She looked up at him with something in her eyes he couldn’t quite define.
Rebecca clutched the blanket and climbed into the buggy. “I’m happy you happened along. Thank you for s-s-saving me.” She nodded to him dismissively.
Jake laughed. “You really think I’m going to let you ride off alone? You’re freezing. I need to see you safely home.”
A look of confusion swept across her features. Jake hopped into the buggy and nudged her aside with his hip. “Give me the reins.”
Silently, Rebecca handed him the leather straps. “What about your truck?”
“I’ll pick it up later.”
“Do you know what you’re doing? Have you ever done this?”
“I’m an army ranger—I’ll figure it out. If I get it wrong, you can tell me.”
Even though he knew that wouldn’t mean much to Rebecca, he thought he detected a smile on her quivering lips.
“S-S-Samuel won’t be too happy to see you and me together again.”
Jake raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. Samuel was exactly who he wanted to see.
*
When the professor flicked the reins, Buttercup lifted her head and neighed, jolting forward and stopping.
“I think she’s still a little spooked from the run-in with the car.” Instinctively, Rebecca reached out, her hand brushing his hand as he held the reins a little too tightly. “Let me.”
The professor hesitated a minute, then scooted over a bit, making it easier for her to take control of the horse. “I guess I’m more an ‘insert key and turn, press gas pedal’ kinda guy.”
She cut a quick glance to this man, a stranger, really, who spent his time studying her community. Her neighbors. Her son.
The brisk autumn breeze ruffled the edge of the blanket draped over her shoulders. One side slid down behind her back. The cold from her wet skirt seeped into her undergarments. She stifled a shudder. Soon she’d be home and she could light the fire. Put this dreadful night behind her.
Buttercup trotted down the road, the steady, familiar clip-clop-clip calming her nerves.
“This is the first time I’ve been in a buggy,” the professor said.
“Really? I thought with all your research, you would have had the opportunity before now.”
He shr
ugged. “No. Maybe someday when we’re not all wet and cold you can show me how to do it.”
“Do what?”
“Show me how to get Buttercup to follow my commands.”
“There’s nothing to it, really,” Rebecca said, heat warming her cheeks. “It’s a matter of trust. Buttercup has been a wonderful horse.” She had taken the animal in when Hannah had moved away from the farm with Sheriff Maxwell.
Rebecca tightened her grip on the reins. “In my world, I don’t have the option of ‘insert key and turn, press gas pedal,’” she said, mimicking him.
He laughed, the sound pleasant after such a rough evening.
“I remember the first time I saw an Amish buggy.” The professor’s voice seemed nostalgic. She waited for him to continue.
“I was traveling through Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with my parents and there they were, one buggy after another traveling on the side of the road. I couldn’t believe it.”
“What couldn’t you believe?”
“That people would actually choose to live without…” He seemed to be searching for the right word so as not to offend her. “…All the modern conveniences.”
“You can’t miss what you never had.” She gently tugged the reins to direct Buttercup toward her barn. The buggy bobbled over the ruts in the mud.
“At the time, I must have been around ten, I was fascinated with a certain TV show and I couldn’t imagine not being able to catch the next episode.”
Rebecca smiled to herself. Just the other day Flo had told her how the professor had reminded her of a character on one of her TV shows. Who was it? She wondered if he’d find it flattering.
The professor hopped off the buggy and jogged around to help her down. She had plenty of practice doing it all on her own, but it was nice to have a helping hand. Willard had been gone a long time now.
On the second floor of her house, she noticed a soft light glowing in Samuel’s bedroom. A mix of relief and fear tangled in her belly.
Love Inspired Suspense September 2015 #1 Page 24