Ruth held up her hand. “No need to apologize. I can’t expect everyone to walk on eggshells because of me. I’m just a bit oversensitive right now.”
Martha gave Ruth’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I understand. It’s not easy to lose someone you love, and when their death occurs on a holiday, every time that holiday comes around, it’s a painful reminder of what you lost.”
Ruth leaned over and gave Martha a hug. “When did my little schweschder get to be so schmaert?”
Martha patted Ruth’s back and said, “I think maybe being around my two big sisters so much is what’s made me smart.”
When Ruth pulled back, tears clung to her eyelashes. “I think maybe being around Aunt Rosemary has made us all a little smarter, don’t you?”
“She does have some pretty good advice.” Martha glanced at the door leading to the hallway. “Not that Mom’s not schmaert; she’s taught us plenty of things. It’s just that Mom tends to be kind of emotional about certain things. I think maybe it clouds her judgment sometimes.”
Ruth tipped her head. “Are you thinking of anything in particular?”
“Not really. It’s just that whenever I try to talk to her about anything, she never sees things my way and starts getting all emotional.”
“You mean the way she gets when she thinks you spend too much time with your dogs?”
Martha nodded. “I don’t think either Mom or Dad understands why I keep trying to get my kennel business going, in spite of the setbacks I’ve had.”
“I would think Dad should understand. Look at the setbacks he’s had with his woodworking business, yet he keeps on going.”
“Speaking of going. . .” Martha rose from her chair. “We need to get breakfast going so you can get ready to spend Christmas Day at Abe’s.”
Ruth smiled. “I am looking forward to that. Thanks to Aunt Rosemary’s good counsel, I’m also looking forward to my wedding day in a few weeks.”
As Martha sat on a wooden bench inside Grace and Cleon’s house, watching Ruth and Abe say their vows, she was filled with mixed feelings. The look of contentment she saw on Ruth’s and Abe’s faces made her happy, but she couldn’t keep her jealousy at bay. Will I ever know the kind of love my sisters share with their husbands?
Martha glanced across the room to where the men and boys sat. She spotted Luke sitting beside his cousin Raymond. At least he hadn’t missed Ruth’s wedding because of work. Although if Luke was going to miss any wedding, Ruth’s would be the one, since he and Ruth had dated for a while.
Martha watched Luke’s expression for any sign of jealousy over Ruth marrying Abe but couldn’t detect anything. Luke stared straight ahead with a placid look on his face.
At one time, Ruth had thought Luke might be the one attacking their family. She’d even believed it was Luke’s truck that had rammed their buggy last Christmas Eve. After Ruth had learned that, except for a quick trip to borrow something from a neighbor earlier in the day, Luke had been home that evening, she’d seemed to accept that he couldn’t have been responsible for Martin’s death. Ruth’s close relationship with Aunt Rosemary and falling in love with Abe had helped heal her broken heart and given her a sense of peace and purpose in life.
Martha glanced over her shoulder. Aunt Rosemary sat beside Cleon’s mother, Irene. Martha was glad Aunt Rosemary felt well enough to be here today. She’d come down with a bad cold after her bout with the flu.
Aunt Rosemary gave her a smile and a nod. Martha smiled in return. Having Aunt Rosemary living nearby had not only been good for Ruth but also for everyone in the family. Dad seemed mellower when Aunt Rosemary was in the same room. Mom and Grace related well to her, too. Martha had discovered that she and her aunt had one important thing in common—they both wanted to find out who was behind the attacks that had been done to her family.
Rosemary was about to head for Roman’s place, where the wedding meal would be served, when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned.
A tall Amish man with faded blond hair and piercing blue eyes gave her a slanted grin. “Well, if it isn’t my little sister who ‘yanked over.’ Roman said you’d come home.”
Rosemary had heard that the Amish who lived in Geauga County referred to Englishers as Yankees and that when an Amish person left the faith, it was said that he or she had yanked over. Her mouth went dry. The man who stood before her was none other than her brother who lived in Geauga County. “Walt? Is. . .is it really you?”
He nodded. “Came down for Ruth’s wedding.”
Rosemary wanted so badly to give her brother a hug, but she thought it might not be appreciated. So she smiled and said, “It’s good to see you again, Walt.”
He gave a quick nod. Wasn’t he glad to see her? Did he harbor ill feelings toward her because she’d left the Amish faith?
As if sensing Rosemary’s discomfort, Walt reached out and touched her arm. “Roman says you’ve decided to move here permanently.”
She nodded. “That’s right. My son and his wife helped me move. I wish you could have met them.”
He glanced around. “They’re not here now?”
She shook her head. “They used their vacation time to help me move. They both work at a bank in Boise, Idaho.”
“It’s too bad they couldn’t be here today. It would’ve been nice to meet them,” Walt said with a genuine smile. Maybe he wasn’t angry with her, after all.
“Where’s your family?” she asked. “Are they all here today?”
He shook his head. “Just me and Mary came down. Our two sons live in Wisconsin, and our four daughters have settled in Pennsylvania.”
Rosemary smiled. “I’d like to meet Mary. Where is she?”
“She’s still in the house talking to Judith and Grace. Let’s head in there now, and I’ll introduce you.”
Rosemary smiled. It really was good to be home again.
As Luke headed down the driveway toward the Hostettlers’, he thought about Martha and how pensive she’d looked throughout most of her sister’s wedding. Had she been thinking about Ruth and wondering if things would go better for her being married to Abe than they had when she’d been married to Martin?
Luke was almost to the house, when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Toby was walking beside Sadie. The two of them had only been married a few months, but already Toby had a good beard.
“I’m surprised to see you here,” Toby said with a scowl. “Since you had to work the day Sadie and I got married, I figured you’d be working again today.”
Luke shook his head. “We’re getting caught up at work, so John said I could have the day off.”
“I see.” Toby nudged Sadie’s arm. “Why don’t you go on into the house?”
“Aren’t you coming?”
“I want to talk to Luke for a few minutes, but I’ll be in soon.”
Sadie shrugged and headed for the back porch.
“What’d you want to talk to me about, Toby?” Luke hoped they weren’t going to have another one of their disagreements.
Toby folded his arms and stared hard at Luke. “There was an article in the paper yesterday morning about some windows that were broken at the schoolhouse in Charm.”
“That’s too bad.”
“The article said someone who lives near the school saw a black truck cruising around the area the night before.”
“What’s that got to do with me?”
“Duh! You own a black truck.”
Luke stiffened. “I hope you’re not suggesting that I had anything to do with those broken windows.”
Toby shrugged. “I’m not accusing; just wondering is all.”
“Wondering if I broke the windows?”
“Jah.”
Luke gave a small rock a hefty kick. “I had nothing to do with those windows being broken, and I wasn’t out driving my truck in the middle of the night.”
“Can you prove it?”
Luke leaned closer to Toby. “I don’t need to prove it. Especia
lly not to you.”
Toby scowled at Luke. “You think you can do whatever you want and get away with it, don’t you? It’s just like when we were kinner, and the two of us got caught doing something we weren’t supposed to do. You always got off easy, while I was punished.”
Luke sucked in his breath. So that was the problem. How immature to be carrying a grudge around all these years. Truth be told, Toby probably wished he had owned a truck during his running-around years. But since Toby’s dad was the bishop, he probably hadn’t dared make waves. Luke was tempted to defend himself and try to make Toby see reason. But what was the use? He’d never been able to make Toby see things as they were in the past, so why try now? Luke turned on his heel and stalked off toward the Hostettlers’ barn.
When Martha saw Toby enter the house with a red face, she knew something was up. She glanced around but didn’t see any sign of Luke.
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” she whispered to Ruth, who sat beside her new groom.
“Where are you going? We’ll be eating soon.”
“I need to go outside and check on something.”
Ruth released an exasperated sigh. “You’re not going to check on those puppies again, I hope.”
“Well, I—”
“You checked on them before the wedding, and they were fine.”
“I know, but—”
“It’s all right,” Abe put in. “If Martha checks on her hundlin, then she’ll come back to the house and enjoy the rest of the day.” He looked up at Martha and smiled. “Isn’t that so?”
“Jah.” Martha gave her sister’s shoulder a gentle squeeze then scooted out of the room.
When she entered the barn, she spotted Luke inside one of the stalls, petting a beautiful black gelding. “When I didn’t see you inside, I wondered if you might have come out here,” she said, stepping up to him.
He nodded.
“Are you okay? Are you upset about something?”
“I’m upset all right. Upset and irritated with my so-called friend, Toby.”
“What did Toby do?”
Luke grunted. “He as much as accused me of breaking out some windows in the Charm schoolhouse.”
“What?” Martha’s mouth dropped open. “When did that happen?”
“Toby said he read about it in yesterday’s paper. I guess it happened the night before.”
“What makes him think you had anything to do with it?”
“Someone saw a black truck cruising around the area.”
Martha’s throat constricted. What if Luke had been driving his truck near the schoolhouse that night? What if—
Luke grabbed her arm. “I didn’t have anything to do with those broken windows, Martha. You believe me, don’t you?”
She swallowed around the lump in her throat. She wanted to believe him; she really did. But if a black truck had been seen—
“It wasn’t my truck,” Luke said.
His grip tightened on her arm, and she winced. “You’re hurting me.”
Luke let go of her arm and stepped back. “I’m sorry. I sure didn’t mean to hurt you, Martha.”
Tears pricked the backs of her eyes. “I’m okay.”
“My truck’s still parked in the woods, and I haven’t driven it in over a week. Not since the last time I went to the mall in New Philadelphia with Tim and Rod.”
“Are they some of the English fellows you’ve been hanging around?”
He nodded.
“If I ask you a question, will you be honest with me?”
“Jah, sure.”
“How come you’ve become friends with those English fellows who everyone knows are rowdy?”
Luke shifted his weight from one foot to the other and stared at the straw-covered floor. “I. . .uh. . .can’t really say.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
He lifted his gaze to meet hers. “If I tell you what I’ve been up to, do I have your word that you won’t repeat it to anyone?”
Martha nodded. She hoped Luke wasn’t about to tell her that he’d decided to jump the fence and go English.
Luke cleared his throat. “When I first started hanging around Tim and Rod and some of their friends, it was to have a good time. But then when I got wind that they’d pulled some pranks in the area, I decided to stick around them and try and find out if they might be the ones responsible for the attacks on your family.”
“Really?”
He nodded. “At first, it was only because I wanted to clear my name with your daed. But then, when things got really bad, I realized you—all of you—could be in danger. So I’ve been trying to figure out who’s been doing the attacks, and I figured if I gained Tim’s and Rod’s trust, sooner or later, one of them would spill the beans.”
“Have they?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Maybe they aren’t the ones responsible.”
“That could be, but they have pulled some pranks around the area.”
“Like what?”
“They admitted that they’d toilet-papered a few places, turned over some schoolhouse outhouses, and tipped some cows.” Luke grunted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t the ones who broke the windows at the school in Charm—which is why I need to keep hanging around them so I can find out.”
“Does either of them own a black truck?”
He shrugged. “Not that I know of, but just because a truck was seen cruising the area the night before the windows were broken doesn’t mean the driver of the truck’s the one who broke ’em.”
Martha nodded. “Good point.” Hearing Luke’s reasons for hanging around the English fellows gave her hope that Luke really was innocent.
“In case you haven’t figured it out, one of the reasons I haven’t joined the church yet is so I’d be free to investigate the attacks.”
Martha nodded slowly. She knew if her father found out she was trying to investigate the attacks, she’d be in for a lecture.
“So when I said I’d be willing to help you find out who’s been trying to hurt your family, I really meant it,” Luke added.
“I appreciate that, because I need all the help I can get. You know that wrench you found in my daed’s field?”
He nodded.
Martha motioned to the hayloft. “Well, I hid it up there, and when I was looking for the right spot to put it, I discovered some initials engraved on the handle.”
Luke’s eyebrows lifted. “What were the initials?”
“H. C.” Martha pursed her lips. “I don’t know anyone with those initials, do you?”
“I sure don’t.” His forehead creased. “Let’s get together to talk about this some more, okay?”
Martha opened her mouth to reply when Grace stepped into the barn. “I figured I’d find you out here. Were you checking on your dogs?”
“Uh. . .jah, I was planning to.”
“Well, Ruth’s looking for you, so I hope you’ll check on the dogs and get back to the house soon.” Grace glanced over at Luke.
He shuffled his feet nervously, gave Martha a nod, and said, “Guess I’d better get back inside, too. If I don’t show up soon, my mamm will probably come looking for me.”
Ruth smiled at Aunt Rosemary and said, “I’m glad you could be here for our wedding.”
Aunt Rosemary looked over at Abe and smiled. “You take good care of my niece, you hear?”
He nodded. “Of course I will.”
“I’ll leave you two to enjoy your meal, but before I go, I was wondering if I could ask a favor.”
“What’s that?” Abe asked.
“Would it be all right if I take a few pictures of your children so I can send them to Ken and Sharon? Since they couldn’t be here for the wedding, I’m sure they’d enjoy seeing how cute the little ones looked today.”
Abe glanced at Ruth, as though seeking her approval.
“They’re your children,” she said.
He touched her arm. “Now that you’re my wife,
the kinner belong to both of us.”
“If you have no objections to Aunt Rosemary taking the kinner’s pictures, then I’m in agreement with it,” she said, smiling at Abe.
“All right then.” Abe rose from his chair. “I’d better gather up our brood, because they’re scattered all around the room.”
As Abe and Aunt Rosemary left, Martha took a seat next to Ruth. She smiled and placed a small package on the table.
“Is this a wedding present?”
Martha nodded. “I know it’s not customary for the bride and groom to receive gifts if they’ve both been married before, but I wanted to give you something anyway.”
Ruth tore the wrapping off the package and withdrew a lovely sampler. Her and Abe’s names had been embroidered on it, as well as the names of his five surviving children—her children now.
She thought about the sampler Martha had given her when she’d married Martin. After his death, she’d packed the sampler away because it had hurt too much to look at it and be reminded of her loss. But now that Abe and his children were in Ruth’s life, she felt as if she was being offered a second chance, and for that she was grateful.
“The sampler is beautiful,” she said, tears clogging her throat. “Danki, Martha.”
“You’re welcome.”
Just then, Abe’s daughter Esta stepped up to the table and handed Ruth a small box wrapped in white tissue paper. “This is for you. Papa helped me pick it out, and I paid for it with some money I earned cleanin’ the floor in Papa’s harness shop.”
Ruth smiled and took the gift from the child. “It was sweet of you to think of me.”
Esta’s eyes twinkled as she wiggled around. “Aren’t you gonna open it?”
“Jah, of course.” Ruth tore the paper off the box and lifted the lid. Inside lay a delicate hanky with white lace around the edges. She gave Esta a hug. “Danki, it’s beautiful.”
“I’m glad you like it—” The child hesitated then leaned close to Ruth’s ear. “Is it all right if I call you Mama now?”
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