Jane had never felt like she belonged in the community. She was small and dark-haired while most of the others had light hair. Jane had been an inquisitive, nosy child and was never content to be left behind while there was an adventure to be had. Her father had indulged her until she was in her early teens and then her mother had put a stop to Jane's non-conforming behaviour. It wasn't fitting for an adolescent that should be preparing for her future baptism.
Jacob Miller turned from where he was mucking out one of the stalls and watched with a frown as the girls approached. Recognition lighted his eyes. There was a moment where his eyes flashed in pleasure before his expression became guarded once more. He looked older than she remembered, of course, but he still looked strong and vital to her.
"Hallo, vader," Jane greeted her father huskily in their shared language. Though she hadn't spoken the language in many years, she found it came easily to her tongue. In those two words she showed her father that she would respect her birthplace, though she was no longer a part of it.
His gentle face relaxed slightly. His eyes travelled over Jane taking in every inch of the beloved daughter he had lost.
Finally his eyes met hers. Somewhat stiffly he said, "Hello Jane, you are looking well. Has your mother seen you?"
"I thought it better that she come see you first," Lucy explained. All three knew why this was. Kathryn Miller was a devout Amish woman with no patience for people that didn't agree with her way of life. Jane's defection had been the worst kind of betrayal. Kathryn believed it had hurt her standing in the community when her eldest daughter had left.
"Perhaps a good idea, Lucy," her father replied. He set the pitchfork against the stable wall and took his gloves off. He smacked them against his thigh and then shoved them into a space between the bars. He stepped out of the stall and stamped his boots on the wooden floor. "Well, let's get this done."
Jane laughed a little and fell into step behind her father with Lucy at her side. Though it had been many years since she'd been to the farm, her father was still the simple man she had known. He would stand by her side and quietly shield her as much as he was able during the coming confrontation.
They found Kathryn in the yard hanging laundry on the line. She looked up and noticed the trio approach, though she didn't immediately spot Jane. She was bent over her basket. She wore a dark blue dress under a black apron with a white bonnet pinned to her light brown hair, now streaked with grey.
"It's about time you came back Lucy girl, out walking all morning while there are chores to be done," without looking up she continued to sort through her basket. “Well, don't just stand there like a post. Grab a basket and get to work."
Jacob cleared his throat and stepped toward his wife. "There's someone here for a visit, Kathy,"
Kathryn straightened up at the waist and looked quizzically past her husband while smoothing a hand down the front of her apron. Jane's father stepped aside so she could get a good look at her eldest daughter. It took longer than it had taken her father to recognize her, but Jane knew the exact moment her mother realized who she was. Her hand fell limply to her side and her thin brows creased inward.
"Jane?" she asked sharply.
"Yes, mother, it's me. Am I...am I welcome here?" Jane asked somewhat hesitantly, but then lifted her chin a little. She wouldn't grovel. She wanted to see her family, see her community with new eyes, but she wasn't willing to beg.
Kathryn stood looking her daughter over, her expression growing more ominous as she took in the tight jeans, boots and cardigan. There was no mistaking her clothes as anything but belonging to the outside world.
Finally, with a sigh, Kathryn shrugged her shoulders. "You're here now," she said. "I may not like what you've turned yourself into, but you can make yourself useful and grab a basket. Lucy, show her."
Lucy pulled Jane to the nearest basket of laundry and showed her how to shake out each item and pin them to the line. Before long Jane was hanging laundry like the old days. Jane wasn't exactly welcomed back into the bosom of her family, but it was quietly accepted that she was back, whatever her reasons, for at least a short time. Jane was given her old room to sleep and wash in. She grudgingly borrowed clothes from her sister, accepting the girl's wisdom that the community would be more willing to accept the black sheep among them if she dressed like a white sheep.
When Mack saw her for the first time in her Amish regalia he had snorted in laughter and only the fierce glare her sister gave him had stopped any further comment. Jane despised the shapeless smock dress, though the light blue colour softened her features and made her skin glow. Even more than the dress, Jane despised the bonnet her sister had pinned to her hair. She barely managed to remember to brush her hair on a good day let alone pin it up. This was unique to her.
What to do with Mack had turned into somewhat of a big deal. Her parents hadn't quite understood her relationship to the big man and made sure she understood their disapproval at the arrangement.
"You're husband has allowed you to travel unaccompanied with this... this man?" Kathryn had said in disgust sweeping her hand toward the kitchen window. Mack stood on the porch looking surprisingly comfortable in the farmhouse setting.
"It's not like that mother," Jane had argued. "Mack is a friend. My husband trusts him to care for me in his absence."
"Humph!" her mother snorted. "If your husband was concerned for your safety he would have accompanied you himself. What can be so important that he would allow another man to escort you such a distance?"
"Vlad... he owns many companies. Restaurants and construction mostly. He has many rivals that would be happy to see him fail. Things are very busy for him right now so he can't leave. But he wanted me to come and tell you of my marriage. He sent Mack because he worries about me. My travelling alone with a man who isn't my husband isn't something that's considered wrong in our world. I'm just a job to him."
Jane improvised, bending the truth a little. She struggled to put her thoughts into terms that her mother would understand. Which wasn't easy considering she was trying to avoid mentioning things like 'Russian mob' and 'my husband is probably cutting a bloody path through the city as we speak in order to ensure his empire is secure' – all while speaking in a language she hadn't spoken since she was sixteen.
Kathryn looked at her daughter steadily. "I know this, it doesn't mean I approve of such goings on."
Jane laughed, turning her head away from her mother while she peeled the potatoes she had been commanded to peel. She found herself surprised to enjoy spending time with her mom. Kathryn Miller had always been a severe woman. Jane remembered her as being forever disapproving and impossible to please. Now she saw a devoutly faithful woman that probably only wanted the best for her family. It was becoming more difficult to see this as a character flaw.
“So, your husband, he's a rich man? Able to provide well for your children?"
Now Jane did laugh out loud. Apparently her mother was willing to suspend her disapproval in the face of an extremely successful son-in-law. She could only imagine Kathryn's reaction if she ever actually met Vladimir Sitnikov. The only thing they had in common was a need to keep Jane under their thumbs.
They solved the problem of what to do with Mack by setting him up in a boarding house in the nearest town. He wasn't completely satisfied with the arrangement, but seemed to understand the impossibility of his staying under the Miller's roof. He returned early each morning and helped with chores until it was time for Jane and Lucy to take their daily walk. Jane found her father peaceful and somewhat curious about her life. When they were away from her stringent mother, Jane would sit nearby while he worked and regale him with tales of life on the police force. She kept the conversation strictly G-rated so as not to shock the staid man too much.
Best of all though, Jane enjoyed getting to know her sister. She was pleased to find the young woman to be inquisitive and intelligent despite her tendency towards an Amish woman's poise and forbearance. Jane an
d Lucy took long walks together each afternoon, strolling past the fields and farmhouses. They chatted about both city life and farm life. Jane discovered not much had changed in the community except better health care, which she was pleased to hear about. Jane regaled Lucy with stories of city life while Lucy updated her sister on community gossip, especially touching on people Jane had known.
On Sunday evening, as the girls readied themselves for the community dinner, they discussed Jane's old flame.
"I don't care," Jane said laughingly while Lucy pinned a bonnet to her head. Jane grimaced as her sister shoved the pins firmly into her hair.
Lucy arched an eyebrow at her sister. "I'd want to know what happened to Matthew if it were me."
"The difference is you're engaged to Matthew. William and I only flirted and talked about what we were going to do on Rumspringa."
Lucy bounced on her bed and grinned mischievously. "He asked about you after you left. For quite a while he would check to see if you'd come back from Rumspringa. I think it took him a good three years to get the message and then another two to get over you enough to pick a different wife."
Jane turned and stared at her sister. "Seriously?"
Lucy nodded. "He even wanted to know where you'd gone. I think if he could have found you he would've either joined you or tried to convince you to come back."
Jane smiled and shook her head. "Will was a sweet boy, he would have hated the city. And hated having me for a wife, could you imagine?" She lifted her skirt and flashed her tattoo at her sister. Lucy had been horrified and fascinated when she first saw the ink that marred Jane’s skin.
Leaning back, Lucy eyed Jane and asked, "Would your husband be jealous if he knew you were going to see your former boyfriend tonight?"
“You," Jane pointed at the girl accusingly, "are a trouble-making brat! Will was never my boyfriend and I'm not going to see him, I'm going to mingle with the community. But..."
"But...?" Lucy repeated, grinning unrepentantly.
"Okay, yes. Vlad would not enjoy the idea of my seeing Will at a social gathering, no matter that our relationship was completely innocent." She turned to her sister. "And you, my dear, had better not tell him when you come visit on Rumspringa."
It had actually been their mother, to the surprise of the family, that had made the suggestion. She felt that Jane and her husband were capable of keeping an eye on Lucy and making sure she experienced her year of freedom in a safe place. Jane had choked on her drink when her mother had said that. Lucy had been so excited that Jane didn't have the heart to say no. Besides she would love the chance to spend quality time with her sister. Maybe they could solve cases together, she had thought, laughing to herself at the image of the pious Amish girl asking some of Jane's more colourful sources for information.
Turning to her sister with a grimace, Jane said, "Since I don't actually live the Amish life, I'm allowed to have some vanity right? Do I look awful in this dress?"
The laughter disappeared from Lucy's face and she gave her sister a characteristically serene smile. "You are more lovely than I could have imagined, Janie. I'm so happy to be your sister."
CHAPTER TWENTYSEVEN
He didn’t know why he followed the girl. Maybe it was her resemblance to Jane – though she was taller and curvier with lighter hair, the resemblance was undeniable. She also shared an aura of innocence and vulnerability with her older sister. Where they differed was in Jane’s toughness and ability to take care of herself. Lucy was softer, an easier target. Mack hadn’t liked the way she had glanced furtively around after the boy, Matthew, had left seconds earlier, and then excused herself from her family to hurry after him.
Jane had been deep in discussion with some women she had formerly associated with. They had been fascinated by her dark, gothic looks and the massive rock her husband had placed on her finger. It’d been amusing to watch the vacillation between disapproval and envy on their faces. Jane’s parents had sat in discomfort as the community stiffly acknowledged one of their fallen sheep. He was beginning to understand the difference between shunning and disconnection from the community.
On the pretext of having a cigarette, he left the hall in the same direction as the young couple. It took little detective work to follow their trail several yards away, embracing in the cool evening shadows behind the local mercantile. He stood around the corner from them, listening to their heavy breathing as they kissed and whispered to each other. Mack’s blood began to boil as he listened.
“I don’t want to wait, Lucy,” Matthew whispered to the girl.
“I would skip my Rumspringa if I could, Matt, but my parents are now more insistent than ever. They want me to leave altogether now. They wish me to experience more of the world so that I won’t ever change my mind and risk shunning. They think Jane can keep me safe in the city.”
“Your sister is vile!” he snapped. “I don’t understand how such a woman could share in your blood. She is wild and coarse, but you, my dear Lucy, are soft and timid. Everything my wife should be.”
Mack was about to round the corner and break one of the boy’s bones until Lucy replied sharply, “Do not speak of my kin in such a way! Jane is a beautiful and strong woman. I am pleased that she is my sister. I only hope she will one day have reason to feel the same of me.”
Matthew immediately backtracked on his position. “My apologies Lucy, I spoke with haste. I despise this waiting. I want you to be my wife now. I know you are faithful and would never leave the community as your sister did.”
“It’s okay Matt, we are impatient. But I must obey my parents.”
“I do like that about you, my love. You are an obedient daughter and you’ll one day make an obedient wife.”
More kissing sounds.
Disgusted, Mack tossed his cigarette into the dirt and rounded the side of the building. He was nearly a foot taller than both of the youths so it wasn’t difficult to gain their attention. Lucy broke away from her would-be lover with a gasp and covered her lips with a shaking hand. She stared up at Mack in horror. Matthew looked shocked for a moment and then defiant.
“What do you want,” he demanded.
Mack snorted. If the puppy knew what he wanted at that moment he would probably shit himself and then run as fast and as far as he could and never speak to the young Lucy again. “I’m just watching over Jane’s little sister as she asked me to. It’s a good thing, too. From the looks of you two, you were about to commit the very grave sin of premarital sex.”
Lucy turned bright red and refused to look at him. Matthew was furious. They weren’t used to the hearing this kind of language. The boy opened his mouth to speak angrily. Mack took a step forward, crowding the young man and giving him his deadliest stare – the one he liked to give bond jumpers that were particularly uncooperative. He let the kid know with a look that he would shed blood and enjoy every moment of it.
Matthew turned to Lucy and gave her a quick nod. “I will see you tomorrow, Lucy.”
“Bye, Matt,” she managed to gasp out.
He strode away, his shoulders set in frustration. Mack felt a spark of admiration. He believed if the kid came even close to him in height or weight then he might’ve accepted Mack’s challenge. A man like that wouldn’t wait long for his young bride. It was becoming imperative that she be removed from the community if she were to have her Rumspringa before the kid anticipated his wedding vows.
Lucy tried to slip quickly past Mack, her head bowed in humiliation. Mack felt suddenly angry with her for allowing the kid to touch her so intimately under the noses of her parents. She was clearly the one in control of that budding relationship. He grabbed her arm before she could pass him by and held her tightly in place.
“I don’t think so,” he said cooly, pulling her back into the shadows. He would frighten her just a little and perhaps she would behave herself in the future.
Her head snapped up and her dark velvety eyes clashed with his, he realized two things very quickly. Lucy
was not subdued and humiliated as he had thought, she was blazingly angry. And her anger rendered her uncommonly beautiful. She had been a pretty girl up to that moment, but the passion in her made her beautiful.
Her light brown hair was coming loose from the bun at the back of her neck and beginning to fall in twisting waves down her back, nearly to her waist. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were moist and red from Matthew’s kisses. “Let me go,” she snapped, furiously. “Your intervention is not welcome!”
He felt unreasonably angry that Matthew would be her husband and subsequently the one to capture her latent passion. Unwilling to examine why he suddenly cared about the young woman’s escapades, he was nonetheless not ready to let her go without a lesson. “I’m pretty sure you’re parents would have something to say about your being pawed by some troublemaking boy in a dirty alley. I’m just saving them the potential humiliation.”
She gasped and tried to wrench her arm away from him. He refused to release her. “He’s going to be my husband!” she said furiously, blushing. “My parents are not unaware that Matt and I walk alone together on Sunday afternoons. They encourage this so we can get to know each other.”
“If that’s your idea of ‘walking’ then I’d love to see what you do in bed.”
Lucy gasped in outrage and slapped him with her free hand. She gasped at the impact, never in her life having struck another human being. She shook her hand, trying to ease the sting. Mack stared down at her, amusement warring with anger. The slap had probably hurt her more than him. Jane’s little sister was turning out to be more of a handful than any of them had anticipated.
He shoved her backwards until her back hit the building and crowded her smaller body against the hard wood of the store. Her eyes flared wide with fear. She tried to shift away from him, but he thrust a leg into the folds of her voluminous skirt, forcing her legs apart.
Savage Vendetta (Fire & Vice Book 4) Page 21