The Healing

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  Unsure of what she should do, Bonnie placed the letter on the counter and flipped the radio on to her favorite Christian station. When a song of worship and praise came on, she turned up the volume and sang along: “I will give you all my worship. I will give you all my praise. You alone I long to worship; You alone are worthy of my praise.”

  By the time the song was over, Bonnie had the water boiling for the spaghetti and was about to put it in the kettle, when the lights flickered then went out. She groped around in the top drawer below the counter and was relieved when she found the flashlight. Then she made her way slowly to the living room and discovered that the lights were out there, too. Since it was a calm evening with no wind or rain, she figured someone in the area must have run into a pole and knocked the power out.

  Remembering that Esther had gone up to the attic with the box of Christmas decorations, and seeing no sign of her now, Bonnie called Esther’s name as she swung the flashlight around the room.

  No response. Could Esther still be in the attic, or had she gone out to the guest house?

  Bam! Bam! Bam!

  Bonnie tipped her head and listened. The sound seemed to be coming from upstairs. She returned to the kitchen, turned off the stove since there was no power, and went up to investigate. When she reached the top of the stairs, the pounding grew louder, and she heard Esther’s voice calling for help.

  Bonnie rushed to the attic door and turned the knob. Nothing happened. It appeared to be locked. “Esther, are you in there?”

  “Yes, and the light blew out so now I’m in the dark with—”

  “The lights are out throughout the house. I think someone may have hit a pole.” Bonnie grabbed the doorknob and pulled again, but it still wouldn’t budge. “The door must be locked from the inside. Try to open it, Esther.”

  “I have tried, but there’s no button to unlock it, and if there’s a key somewhere, I can’t find it in the dark.”

  Bonnie grimaced. If there was a key to the attic door, she didn’t know about it, and if the door was locked, short of taking it off the hinges, she had no idea how to get it open. The job would require more strength and expertise than her limited handywoman skills. Besides, with it being so dark, she’d never be able to see well enough to do anything constructive. What she needed right now was a man’s help.

  “Hang on, Esther,” she called through the door. “I’m going to get you some help.”

  Samuel and the kids had just finished supper when someone knocked on the back door. He opened it and was surprised to see Bonnie on the porch holding a flashlight.

  “Esther’s locked in the attic and our power is out,” she said breathlessly. “Can you come help me get her out?”

  Samuel glanced over at his children sitting at the kitchen table. “I’d like to help, but I’m not comfortable leaving my kids here alone.”

  “I’ll stay with them while you’re gone,” Bonnie offered.

  Samuel hesitated a minute and finally nodded. “They’re almost done eating supper, so if you’ll make sure they clear the table and that the dishes get done, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  “Hopefully I won’t be gone too long.” Samuel grabbed his straw hat and hurried out the door.

  Whoosh! The bat swooped past Esther’s head once more. It was so close that she could hear the flutter of its wings. Dear Lord, don’t let it touch me again.

  As Esther’s fear escalated, she crouched closer to the floor.

  Sometime later, Esther heard footsteps clomping up the stairs. She figured Bonnie had probably gone for one of her English neighbors—maybe Harold Reece who lived down the road.

  The doorknob rattled; then everything got quiet. Esther leaned against the door. She hoped whoever was out there hadn’t given up, because she didn’t think she could stand being trapped in here with that bat much longer.

  Esther heard some banging, which gave her a ray of hope. Suddenly the door came off, and she fell into a pair of strong arms. As a beam of light hit the man’s face, Esther looked up. “Samuel?”

  CHAPTER 34

  Samuel, I—I didn’t know that was you.” Esther stammered. “Danki for getting me out of that attic.”

  He gave a nod, thinking how cute she looked as her cheeks turned a pinkish hue. Then he berated himself for having such a thought. Thankfully, she didn’t know what he’d been thinking. “Bonnie came over to get me. She stayed at the house with my kinner so I could come over here.”

  “Th–there’s a bat in the attic,” Esther rasped. Her covering was askew, and she quickly pushed it back in place.

  “A baseball bat?”

  She shook her head “No, a bat that flies—and swoops—and …”

  Seeing how shaken Esther was, Samuel suggested she go downstairs while he tried to capture the bat.

  She looked up at him, eyes wide and wrinkles in her forehead. “Are—are you sure?”

  “Jah. Go on down.”

  She hesitated but finally nodded. “Be careful, Samuel. Capturing a bat isn’t the same as catching a fly.”

  “I’ll be fine,” he assured her.

  As Esther started carefully down the stairs, Samuel stepped into the attic and hit the light switch, relieved when it came on. It would be much harder to try and capture the bat with only the light from his flashlight.

  Whoosh! The bat flew right over his head.

  Samuel ducked. Gathering his wits, he grabbed an old sweater he spotted draped across a wooden trunk, and then he began a merry chase after the bat. After several foiled attempts, he finally captured the creature inside the sweater and hurried down the stairs.

  “Got it trapped in this sweater!” he said to Esther, who stood shivering in the living room near the fireplace.

  “Wh–what are you going to do with it?” she asked in a shaky voice.

  “I’ll take the critter outside and let it go.” Samuel stepped onto the porch, opened the sweater, and gave it a shake.

  When he returned to the living room, Esther pointed to the sweater and squealed. “It–it’s still there!”

  Samuel looked down. Sure enough, the bat was clinging upside-down to the sweater. He’d thought the bat had let go, but with it being so dark outside, he must not have seen it.

  He rushed back outside and gave it another good shake. This time he saw the bat flap its wings and fly off into the night.

  “Good riddance,” Samuel mumbled as he headed back to the house. “You’ve caused enough trouble for one night.”

  Just as Samuel stepped into the B&B, the telephone rang. Esther hurried into the kitchen to answer it. “Bonnie’s Bed-and-Breakfast,” she said when she picked up the receiver.

  “Is this Bonnie Taylor?” a woman’s voice asked on the other end of the line.

  “No, this is Esther Beiler. I work for Bonnie, but she’s not here right now. May I take a message?”

  “I’m a nurse at a hospital in Portland, Oregon. I need to speak to Bonnie because her father’s been admitted here after being involved in a car accident.”

  Esther’s eyebrows squeezed together. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is he seriously hurt?”

  “I can only discuss that with Bonnie. Can you please have her call me as soon as she returns home?”

  Esther wrote down the number the nurse gave her and promised to give Bonnie the message. When she hung up, she returned to the living room and told Samuel about the phone call.

  “That’s too bad. I’d better get back to the house right away and let Bonnie know.” Samuel said a hurried good-bye and rushed out the door.

  When Samuel entered his house with a worried expression, Bonnie felt immediate concern. “Were you able to get Esther out of the attic? Is she okay?”

  He gave a nod. “She’s fine, but while I was there, Esther got a phone call from a hospital in Oregon. It seems your dad’s been in a car accident.”

  Bonnie gasped. “How bad is it?”

  “I don’t know. The nurse wouldn�
��t give Esther any details. Just said you should call as soon as you got home.”

  Bonnie grabbed her purse and flashlight and then hurried out to her car.

  When she arrived at the B&B a short time later, Esther gave her the phone message, and Bonnie called the hospital. When she hung up the phone, she turned to Esther and said, “My dad’s injuries aren’t life-threatening, but he broke several bones. I need to go to Oregon right away.”

  Esther nodded. “Of course.”

  Bonnie clasped Esther’s arm. “Would you be willing to run the B&B while I’m gone?”

  Esther’s eyes widened. “Can’t you close it until you get back?”

  Bonnie shook her head. “Several people are scheduled to arrive in the next couple of weeks, and I wouldn’t feel right about cancelling their reservations.”

  “I’d be happy to do it,” Esther said, “but it might be difficult since I’m supposed to go to Samuel’s every day to watch his children.”

  “Maybe Samuel can bring the kids to the B&B in the mornings before he leaves for work, and you can watch them here. Since it’s summer now and the weather’s so nice, the kids would probably be happy to play outside most of the day.”

  Esther nodded. “If Samuel’s agreeable to the arrangement, then I’m willing to do it.”

  Bonnie gave Esther a hug. “I appreciate it so much. Now I need to get a plane ticket and find someone to drive me to the airport in Nashville.”

  CHAPTER 35

  Portland, Oregon

  As Bonnie parked her rental car in the hospital parking lot, her heart started to pound. What if Dad didn’t want to see her? When she’d returned to Oregon after Grandma’s funeral and told him she’d decided to quit her job and move to Kentucky in order to open a bed-and-breakfast, he’d said that if she was going to do something that foolish, she may as well not bother to ever come home again.

  Did he mean it? she wondered. Will he ask me to leave?

  Things had been strained between her and Dad since Mom had died, and she’d probably made them worse by moving to Kentucky. But she liked it there and appreciated Esther, Samuel, and Allen, who’d become her friends.

  She was pleased that Esther had been willing to handle things at the B&B while she was gone. Allen had taken her to the airport in Nashville, and Samuel had even agreed to come over every day and feed her chickens when he dropped the kids off for Esther to watch. That was surely proof of their friendship.

  Bonnie turned off the car’s engine and whispered a prayer. “Lord, give me the strength to face my dad, and help him to be receptive to my visit.”

  When Bonnie entered the hospital and spoke to the nurse in charge on her dad’s floor, she was again told that the accident had left him with a broken leg, a broken arm, several broken ribs, and lots of nasty bruises.

  “In order for him to be released, he’ll need to have some help,” the nurse told Bonnie. “His arm and leg will both be in a cast for at least six weeks.”

  Bonnie drew in a deep breath as she leaned against the nurse’s station. She could take Dad back to Kentucky, but in his condition, she knew he wouldn’t be up for that. Besides, as much as he hated it there, she was sure he’d never agree to go.

  The nurse stepped out from behind her desk. “Would you like me to show you to his room now?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Bonnie followed the nurse down the hall, and when she entered her father’s room, she found him asleep.

  “I’ll just sit beside his bed until he wakes up,” she whispered.

  The nurse nodded and slipped quietly from the room.

  Bonnie took a seat in the chair and winced when she saw the purple bruises on her father’s swollen face. There was a cast on his left arm, and on his right leg, too. If not for the pain medicine the nurse said they’d been giving him, he’d no doubt be in a whole lot of pain.

  Sometime later, Dad opened his eyes. He looked over at Bonnie and blinked a couple of times. “Wh–what are you doing here?”

  “I came as soon as I heard you’d been in an accident.”

  “What for? You don’t care about me,” he said, looking straight at her.

  She placed her hand on his shoulder. “That’s not true, Dad. I love you very much.”

  “Humph! If you loved me, you wouldn’t have run off to Kentucky.”

  “I went there for Grandma’s funeral.” And you should have gone, too, she silently added.

  He turned his head toward the opposite wall. “You didn’t have to stay.”

  “I like it there, Dad. Turning Grandma and Grandpa’s house into a bed-and-breakfast has been a challenge, but it’s also quite rewarding.”

  “Humph!”

  “The nurse said you’re going to need some help after you’re released from the hospital.”

  “I can manage.”

  She shook her head. “You’ll be wearing your casts for at least six weeks.”

  “Yeah, thanks to the stupid driver who broadsided my car! That guy clearly wasn’t watching where he was going.”

  “Is there anyone you’d like to ask about coming to stay with you during your convalescence?”

  “Nope, and I’m not goin’ to no convalescent center either.”

  “Then I guess you’re stuck with me, because I’m not going back to Kentucky until you’re able to manage on your own. Are you okay with me staying?”

  “I guess so. What other choice do I have?”

  She bit back a smile. He wasn’t as tough as he liked her to believe. Now she just needed to give Esther a call to see how things were going and ask if Esther thought she could handle running the B&B for the next six weeks. She’d do that as soon as she visited with Dad awhile.

  Pembroke, Kentucky

  Esther had just finished polishing the hardwood floor in the downstairs hallway of the B&B when Marla, who was outside playing, hollered something. Esther whirled around, slipped on the floor, and dropped to her knees, bending her toe back. Today had not started out on a good note. First she’d cut her finger on a sharp edge while dusting the china hutch, then she’d gotten a splinter in her hand from the broom when she’d been trying to get some cobwebs off the outside of the house. Now she had a sore knee and a sore toe and needed to go outside and see what Marla was hollering about. This whole arrangement of watching Samuel’s kids at the B&B and trying to handle reservations as well as guest accommodations was a bit more than she could handle. But she had promised Bonnie she would do it, so she’d manage somehow until Bonnie returned, which she hoped wouldn’t be too long from now.

  Esther started for the back door, but the telephone rang, so she dashed into the kitchen to answer it.

  “Bonnie’s Bed-and-Breakfast.”

  “Hi, Esther. It’s me, Bonnie. How are things going there?”

  Esther glanced at the kitchen door, where Leon now stood, holding a chicken. “Everything’s fine. How’s your dad?”

  “He’s pretty banged up and will need some help until his arm and leg have healed—probably six weeks.”

  “That’s too bad. Does he have someone there to take care of him?”

  “No, not really.” There was a pause. “I said I’d stay to help out. Do you think you could manage that long without me?”

  Esther glanced at Leon again, who had taken a seat in a chair at the kitchen table and held the chicken in his lap. “Umm … Yes, I’m sure I can manage. Feel free to stay as long as you need to.”

  “Oh, thank you, Esther. I really appreciate your willingness to take over for me, and I’ll pay you extra for doing this.”

  “Helping others is what friends are supposed to do.” Esther snapped her fingers to get Leon’s attention, and then motioned for him to take the chicken outside. Leon frowned but did what she asked.

  Esther had no more than hung up the phone, when Marla dashed into the kitchen. “Penny’s up a tree, and she can’t get down! I yelled before and tried to tell you she was goin’ up, but you never came outside when I called.”


  “Why is Penny up a tree?” Esther questioned.

  “She wanted to get Bonnie’s fluffy gray cat down.”

  Esther moaned. What more can go wrong?

  CHAPTER 36

  Stay in here and keep an eye on Jared,” Esther instructed Marla. “He’s in the living room playing with the blocks I got for him awhile back.”

  Marla hurried off to the living room, and Esther rushed out the back door. As much as she feared high places, she couldn’t leave Penny stuck in the tree. She thought about sending Marla or Leon up after their sister but didn’t think either of them was strong enough to help Penny down. Besides, they might lose their balance and fall. The last thing she needed was for another one of Samuel’s children to get hurt.

  Of course, I might get hurt, too, she reasoned. And then what would I do?

  Esther tipped her head back and looked up at Penny, crouched on a branch high in the tree, with the gray cat perched on the branch next to her. “I’m going to get a ladder to get you down. Sit very still, okay?”

  Penny gave a nod. “Hurry. I’m vergelschdert.”

  “Try not to be frightened.” Esther said in what she hoped was a voice of reassurance. Truth was she was probably as scared as Penny right now.

  She headed to the barn and spotted Leon prancing around the yard with the chicken he’d brought into the house. “Please put that hinkel away and come steady the ladder for me,” she said to the boy.

  Leon hurried off toward the chicken coop while Esther went to the barn. Once she had the ladder in place and was sure Leon had a grip on the legs, she ascended it slowly. First a bat in the attic that about scared me to death, and now this. How many other fears must I deal with? Help me, Lord, she prayed. Still my racing heart and help me not to be afraid.

  By the time Esther reached the branch where Penny sat, the fluffy gray cat had leaped to the ground.