“I don’t want any cookies. I want Poppy,” Anna said tearfully.
“He said he’d come back soon.”
Anna sniffed and swiped at her tearstained cheeks. “What if he doesn’t? What if he goes away like he did before?”
Feeling the need to offer Grace some support, Rosemary jumped in. “Anna, your grandfather said he was going to look at a house to rent in Berlin. If he wasn’t going to stay awhile, do you think he would do that?”
“I. . .I guess not.”
Rosemary set Daniel on the floor and pulled Anna into her arms. “Your grandpa will be back soon, just like he promised.” She gave the child’s back a little pat. “Now take your brother into the kitchen like your mama said and find some cookies to eat.”
“Okay.” Anna grabbed Daniel’s hand and scooted out of the room.
Grace released an audible sigh and collapsed onto the sofa.
Rosemary took a seat beside her. “You’re not happy about Anna’s grandpa coming to Holmes County, are you?”
Grace’s eyes filled with tears. “I’m afraid he might try to take her again.”
“Would he be renting a house in Berlin if kidnapping was on his mind?”
“I. . .I guess not.”
“I think Carl Davis has plans to stay in Holmes County so he can be closer to Anna.” Rosemary took Grace’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “The best thing you can do is try to relax and leave this in God’s hands.”
“It won’t be easy,” Grace said with a slow nod, “but I’ll try.”
Martha left Spector’s store in Berlin, where she had gone to buy material for a new dress, and headed across the parking lot to the hitching rail. She’d only taken a few steps, when she halted. Her horse and buggy were missing!
“What in all the world?” She gritted her teeth and tried to think. She was sure she’d tied her horse near the end of the hitching rail.
She looked around helplessly, but the horse and buggy were nowhere in sight. Could this be another attack or just a prank some kids had decided to play? Were other buggies missing, or had only hers been targeted?
With heart pounding and palms sweaty, Martha ran around to the front of the building, calling her horse’s name. No sign of Gid or the buggy, either. She looked up and down the main street but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Should I call the sheriff or maybe Aunt Rosemary? Yes, I’ll use the phone at Spector’s; Aunt Rosemary will know what to do.
Martha dashed back to Spector’s and had just reached the parking lot when she spotted Luke and John getting out of John’s SUV. Luke waved at her, and as the two men started across the parking lot, Martha rushed up to them. “My horse and buggy are missing!”
Luke looked at her as if she’d lost her mind. “How could they be missing?”
“I don’t know, but they are.” Martha pointed across the parking lot. “I tied Gid to the hitching rail before I went into Spector’s. When I came out again, Gid and my buggy were gone.”
“Maybe you didn’t tie the horse securely enough,” John said.
“Yes, I did; I’m sure of it.”
“Then he probably got restless and broke loose,” John said.
“Or else someone untied the horse and let him go free,” Luke put in. “That has been known to happen on occasion.”
“What am I going to do?” Martha transferred her package from one hand to the other. “My horse could be most anywhere by now.”
“If he broke free and no one’s driving him, then he’s probably headed for home,” Luke said.
Hope welled in Martha’s chest. “Do you think so?”
“Makes sense to me.”
“I agree with Luke,” John said with a nod. “Let’s get in my rig and look for your horse and buggy.”
There they are, Luke! There’s my horse and buggy!” Martha shouted as they headed out of Berlin in John’s SUV.
“Can you tell if there’s a driver in the buggy?” John asked, craning his neck.
“Doesn’t look like it,” Luke hollered.
Martha’s heart pounded like a blacksmith’s anvil. Gid ran wild, and the buggy swayed precariously. What if her horse veered into oncoming traffic and caused an accident? What if—
“Oh no, the buggy’s going over!” Luke shouted.
Martha gasped as she watched her buggy topple onto its side. Gid continued to trot, dragging the buggy along.
John pulled his rig to the side of the road. They all jumped out and ran down the road after the runaway horse and buggy. About fifty feet beyond where the buggy had fallen over, Luke grabbed the horse’s reins and got him stopped.
“Is Gid hurt?” Martha panted as she caught up to them.
“Doesn’t seem to be,” John said. “But I don’t know about your buggy.”
“Let’s get it up and assess the damage.” Luke handed the reins to Martha, and he and John set the buggy upright.
Martha breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the only real damage was to the mirrors and blinkers on the right side, which had both been smashed.
“The rig should be okay to drive if you think you’re up to driving it,” John said to Martha.
She nodded slowly, although her hands shook so badly she wasn’t sure she could hold the reins.
“I’ll ride with Martha and drive the horse.” Luke turned to John and said, “If you don’t mind following so you can give me a ride back to your shop, that is.”
John nodded. “Sure. No problem.”
Martha smiled. “I appreciate you both helping me get home.”
Roman was heading up to the house to see if Judith had supper started, when he spotted Martha’s horse and buggy pulling into the yard. To his surprise, Luke was in the driver’s seat, and Martha sat beside him. The horse was lathered up, and he noticed that the mirror and right blinker on the buggy had been smashed.
Roman rushed toward the buggy just as John Peterson’s SUV came up the driveway. “What’s going on?” he called as Luke stepped down from the buggy. “What happened to my daughter’s rig, and why are you driving it instead of her?”
Martha scrambled out of the buggy, holding a package. She spoke before Luke could respond. “Gid broke free when I was at Spector’s, and Luke and John helped me track him down.” She motioned to the sweaty horse. “When we spotted him on the road a short ways out of town, he was running wild, and the buggy was being whipped from side to side.”
“When the buggy flipped over,” Luke added, “the horse dragged it a ways before we got him stopped.”
Roman looked over at John, wondering if he would agree with what Luke had said.
John nodded. “It’s true. It happened just the way Luke said.”
“If I hadn’t run into Luke and John in Spector’s parking lot and if they hadn’t offered to help me look for the horse, I don’t know what would have happened.” Martha looked over at Luke with a strange expression. Was it merely gratitude, or was there something else? Could Martha have a romantic interest in Luke?
Roman massaged his temples, hoping to clear his thinking. No, she was just reacting to the frightening situation; that had to be it. He looked first at John and then at Luke. “I. . .uh. . .appreciate you coming to the aid of my daughter.”
“No problem,” John said. “We were happy to do it.”
“I’m just glad Martha and her horse and buggy are okay,” Luke added, as he shuffled his feet a few times.
Martha took a step closer to Luke. There was that look again. Was it more than gratitude Roman saw on his daughter’s face?
“You’d better get in the house and see about helping your mamm with supper,” he said, nudging Martha’s arm. “I’ll put Gid in the barn and rub him down.” He smiled at John and gave Luke a quick nod. “Again, I appreciate what you did.”
“See you, John. See you, Luke.” Martha gave Luke another smile and scurried into the house.
As Luke and John climbed into John’s rig and drove away, Roman headed to the barn
with the horse. I sure hope Luke has no designs on my daughter. If he does, he’s got a big surprise coming.
Grace yawned and leaned her head against the back of the sofa. She was glad to have both children tucked into bed. Now maybe she and Cleon could have some time alone. They needed to talk. Ever since Carl’s visit earlier today, she’d been a ball of nerves. What if Carl rented a house in Berlin and decided to stay in the area permanently? Would he want to see Anna all the time? What kind of influence would he have on the child? Grace feared that Anna might become dissatisfied with the Amish way of life if she spent too much time with Carl. What if, despite Carl’s promise, he tried to take Anna away?
“Are you feeling okay tonight?” Cleon asked as he took a seat beside Grace. “You look all done in.”
“I am awfully tired,” she admitted. “It’s been a very long day.”
“Was Daniel fussy?”
“Jah. He’s cutting another tooth.” She released a sigh. “And then there’s the problem with Anna.”
“What problem is that?”
“When I tucked her in bed, all she could talk about was her poppy and how she couldn’t wait to see him again.” She drew in a shuddering breath. “Oh, Cleon, what if he tries to influence her against the Amish ways?”
“Did he say anything that might make you think he would do that?”
Grace shook her head. “No, but I don’t trust him. He and his wife took Anna from me once. I won’t give him the opportunity to do it again.”
“From what you’ve told me, taking Anna and not leaving an address or phone number where you could reach them was mostly his wife’s doing.”
“That’s true. Even so—”
Cleon reached for her hand. “Anna is the man’s only grandchild. Do you think it’s fair to deprive her of spending time with him?”
Grace clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached. “Do you want Anna to go away?”
Cleon’s furrowed brow and the squint of his eyes let Grace know she’d said too much. “How can you even say such a thing? Of course I don’t want Anna to go away.”
“Are you sure? I mean, it wasn’t too long ago that you and she didn’t get along so well.”
“Things are fine with me and Anna now; you know that. I love that little girl as if she were my own.”
Tears clouded Grace’s vision. “Maybe I’m being overly sensitive. I’m probably overreacting to Carl’s visit earlier today.”
“Maybe you’re trying too hard to protect Anna.”
Heat flooded Grace’s cheeks, and she sat up straight. “If caring about my daughter and seeing that she’s safe is being overly protective, then so be it.”
Cleon grunted. “This isn’t getting us anywhere, Grace, and I don’t want to argue.”
“Neither do I.”
“Then let’s make a compromise.”
“What kind of compromise?”
“Anna can spend time with Carl, but only when you, me, or someone from your family is with them. He can take her shopping or out to lunch, but someone from the family will accompany them.” Cleon gently stroked her shoulder. “He’s also welcome to come here to visit Anna. Agreed?”
She nodded slowly. “Jah, okay.”
Rosemary groaned as she bent to pull a clump of weeds from a flower bed near her house. This was the second week of March, and spring was on its way. So was a backache if she didn’t take it a bit easier. She smiled, despite the knot that was beginning to form in her lower back. It felt good to be back in her home state, living close to Roman and his family. Ken and Sharon were getting along fine on their own, and in Ken’s last letter, he’d said they were planning to build a new house in a few months.
A cool breeze rustled through the trees, and Rosemary turned her thoughts back to the weather. Now that the snow was gone, she planned to take a day sometime soon and drive up to Geauga County to see where Walt and his family lived.
Rosemary straightened when she heard a car pull into the driveway and was surprised when a middle-aged man with thinning hair got out and came up the sidewalk. She realized it was Carl Davis.
“Remember me?” he asked, stepping up to her.
“I remember, Carl. We met at Grace’s.”
He smiled and nodded. “I was driving down the road and spotted you standing in your yard, so I decided to stop and say hello, since we’re almost neighbors.”
Rosemary tipped her head. “Oh?”
“I’m renting a house about a mile from here.”
“You’re planning to stay in Holmes County then?”
He nodded. “Anna’s my only granddaughter. I want to be close to her.”
Rosemary’s jaw clenched. She knew how Grace felt about Carl showing up out of the blue. She also knew Grace was afraid he might try to take Anna away from her again. But if Carl planned to stay in the area, then it wasn’t likely he had kidnapping on his mind.
He shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t know how much Grace has told you about my wife and me taking Anna away from her, but—”
“You owe me no explanations,” Rosemary said with a raised hand.
“I know I don’t, but I was hoping once you heard my story you might be willing to talk to Grace for me—smooth the way, if you will.”
Irritation welled in Rosemary’s soul. “Look, Mr. Davis, I barely know you, and I really don’t think—”
“Won’t you please hear me out?”
She motioned to the porch. “Shall we have a seat?”
Carl stepped onto the porch and lowered himself into one of the wicker chairs near the front door. Rosemary took the seat beside him.
“I never meant to hurt Grace by taking Anna,” he said. “My wife convinced me that it was the best thing for the child.” He clasped his hands around his knees and grimaced. “She said we’d be doing Grace a favor by removing the burden of raising a child without a father.”
“Did you think to offer your son’s widow a home, too?”
Carl dropped his gaze to the porch as he slowly shook his head.
“Why not?”
“Bonnie convinced me that Grace was an unfit mother and our son had told her that if something happened to him, he wanted us to raise Anna.” He lifted his gaze to meet hers. “My wife was a very controlling woman. In order to keep the peace, I went along with most everything she wanted.”
Rosemary swallowed hard. She could relate to Carl’s last statement. She’d done many things during the time she’d been married to Bob in order to keep the peace. She knew well what it was like to be married to a control freak.
“Shortly after my wife died, I decided that Anna would be better off with her mother. I was having some health problems and didn’t think I could care for the child on my own.” Carl sucked in his bottom lip and released it again. “After my meeting with Grace the other day, I realized she felt threatened by my showing up and wanting to see Anna.”
“That’s understandable, don’t you think?”
He nodded. “She has no reason to feel threatened. I’m not here to take Anna away. I just want to be close to my granddaughter. My health has improved, and I want to be able to do all the things for Anna that a grandparent should do.”
“I understand.”
“Do you really?”
“I believe so.”
“Will you speak to Grace on my behalf? Will you assure her that I’m not here to make trouble for her or take Anna away?”
“I’ll act as a go-between if necessary, but I think you should talk to Grace yourself and tell her what you’ve told me.”
“Yes, yes, I’ll do that.”
“Grace and her family have been through enough with the attacks against them. Grace doesn’t need anything else to stress about.”
Carl’s eyebrows pulled together. “Attacks? What kind of attacks are you talking about?”
“I figured Grace had probably written and told you.”
Carl shook his head. “She only responded to a couple of my letters after I
brought Anna to her, and she never mentioned any attacks having been made on her family.” He leaned slightly forward, as deep creases formed in his forehead. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Rosemary cleared her throat a couple of times as she tried to formulate a proper response. How much should she share with this man she barely knew? If she told him the details of the attacks and he became concerned for Anna’s safety, he might change his mind and try to take Anna away after all.
“For the last two years, my brother and his family have been the victims of some acts of vandalism,” she began. “They don’t know who did the attacks or why.”
“What kinds of things have been done?”
“Break-ins, tools stolen, clothes cut in two, a fire started at Grace and Cleon’s place, and—”
“Their house was set on fire?”
Rosemary nodded and drew in a deep breath. “Grace’s sister Ruth and her first husband, Martin, also had their buggy rammed off the road, and Martin was killed in the accident. Of course we aren’t sure the accident was related to the other attacks.”
Carl’s face blanched as he rose to his feet. “Grace should have told me about this! Anna’s life could be in danger. It’s my duty as her grandfather to see that she’s protected from potential danger.” Without another word, he rushed off the porch, climbed into his car, and sped down the driveway.
Rosemary gripped the armrests on her chair. “Oh, Lord, what have I done?”
“Cleon, what are you doing?” Grace asked when she entered the kitchen and spotted him sitting at the table with a pen and piece of paper. “I figured you had left for work by now.”
“I’ll be heading out soon. I wanted to make a list of some supplies I need for my beekeeping business first. I’ve thought about building a small shop near the front of our property, where I can sell honey and beeswax candles, but as long as your daed needs my help in his woodworking shop, I probably won’t follow through with the idea.”
Grace pulled out a chair and took a seat beside him. “If you really want to quit working for Dad and go out on your own, I’m sure he could find someone else to take your place in his shop.”
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