A Sister's Hope

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  Cleon shook his head. “I don’t want to leave him in the lurch right now. He’s been through enough with having to deal with all the attacks.”

  Grace shuddered. “That land developer is back in the area, you know, and he’s after Dad to sell.”

  “That’s about as likely to happen as one of Martha’s hundlin giving birth to a baby bee.” Cleon pushed away from the table and bent to give Grace a hug. “If there are any problems today, come out to the barn and get me, okay?”

  “I will.”

  Cleon started for the door but turned back around. “I mean it, Grace. If you need me, I’ll come.”

  Grace forced a smile. “I’m sure everything will be fine.”

  When Cleon headed out the door, Grace went upstairs. She found Anna sitting on the floor in her room, playing with the doll Carl had given her. “Why aren’t you dressed yet?” she asked. “Have you forgotten that you have school today?”

  Anna dropped the doll and scrambled to her feet just as a shrill scream came from across the hall.

  “I’d better tend to your bruder,” Grace said, hurrying from the room.

  A short time later, Grace had Daniel in his high chair, and Anna was seated at the table eating breakfast.

  “When’s Poppy coming to see me again?” Anna asked.

  Grace shrugged and reached for a piece of toast.

  “I hope he comes soon.”

  Grace made no comment, thinking Anna might change the subject if she didn’t answer her question.

  “I can’t wait ’til school lets out for the summer,” Anna continued. “Then I’ll be able to see Poppy a lot. He’s gonna move here, isn’t he, Mama?”

  “Maybe.” Grace pointed to Anna’s plate. “Finish eating and then clear your dishes. You don’t want to be late for school.”

  Much to Grace’s relief, Anna ate the rest of her breakfast in silence. When she finished, she put her dishes in the sink and grabbed her lunch pail off the counter. With a cheery smile, she said, “See you after school, Mama,” and skipped out the door.

  Grace had just started cleaning scrambled eggs off Daniel’s face when she heard a car pull into the driveway. She finished up with Daniel, scooped him out of his chair, and headed for the door. When she opened it, she found Carl sitting in one of the wicker chairs, with Anna in his lap.

  “What are you doing here, Carl?” Grace asked as stepped onto the porch and took a seat in the chair beside him, placing Daniel in her lap.

  “Poppy wants me to see his new house,” Anna said, her blue eyes twinkling like fireflies, and her lips curving upwards. “Can I go there now?”

  Grace shook her head.

  “How come?”

  “Because you have to go to school, and if you don’t leave now, you’re going to be late. Aunt Martha’s planning to give you a ride, and I’m sure she’s waiting down by the barn with her horse and buggy by now.”

  “Can I go with Poppy after school?”

  “No.”

  Anna opened her mouth as if to say more, but Carl spoke first. “Anna, why don’t you run on now? I’ll come again soon, and then we can talk some more.”

  Anna hesitated a moment but finally gave Carl a hug and headed down the driveway toward the barn.

  Carl turned to face Grace. “We need to talk.”

  “About what?”

  “About the attacks that have been made against your family and about the safety of my granddaughter.”

  “Who told you about the attacks?”

  “It doesn’t matter who told. What matters is that Anna might not be safe living here.”

  Grace’s face heated up. “Are you saying my husband and I aren’t capable of protecting our daughter?”

  Carl squinted. “Your daughter, Grace. Anna’s your daughter and my granddaughter, and I won’t stand by and watch her be victimized by some lunatic who’s determined to hurt your family. Therefore, I’d like Anna to move in with me for a while.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “What?”

  “I’d like Anna to move in with me. Just until the attacker has been caught and I know it’s safe for her to come back here.”

  “Absolutely not! Anna is not moving in with you!”

  “I’ll be back to see Anna sometime soon.” Carl reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. “Here’s my new address and also my cell phone number, so if you change your mind about Anna moving in with me, bring her over or give me a call.”

  As Martha headed for town, a strange feeling came over her, as though something was wrong. Was it the way Gid pulled against the reins when she tried to make him run, or was it the absence of cars on the road that made her feel so odd? Usually at this time of the morning, several cars would be heading toward Berlin. Today, however, her horse and buggy seemed to be the only things moving on this stretch of road.

  “Giddyap there, boy.” Martha flicked the reins. “I thought you liked to trot.”

  The gelding whinnied and flipped his head from side to side.

  “What’s wrong with you, Gid? Are you getting old and lazy?” She snapped the reins again and was shocked when they broke in two. Gid bolted down the road as the buggy, now out of Martha’s control, bounced and swayed behind him.

  “Whoa! Hold up there!” she hollered.

  The horse kept running, and all Martha could do was grip the edge of her seat and hope he would decide to stop before they ran off the road or were hit by some other vehicle.

  She spotted a truck coming down the hill and said a prayer out loud. “Dear God, don’t let Gid drag this buggy to the other side of the road.”

  “I’ve got to stop that horse!” Luke whipped his truck into the other lane and pulled ahead of Martha’s horse. When he slowed his truck, the horse halted. A sense of relief shot through him as he shut off the engine and hopped out of the truck. He sprinted around and grabbed the horse’s broken reins. “Are you okay?” he called to Martha.

  “I’m fine. Shaken up a bit, but not hurt.” She jumped down from the buggy and started toward him. “The horse’s reins broke, and—”

  “They didn’t break, Martha. From what I can tell, they were cut.”

  Martha’s eyes widened, and she gasped. “No wonder Gid was acting so skittish when I smacked the reins and tried to make him trot.”

  “Have you got any rope?”

  “I think there’s some in the buggy.” Martha scurried around to the back of the buggy and returned a few minutes later with a piece of paper in her hands.

  “Where’s the rope?” Luke asked as she approached him.

  “There wasn’t any. I found this lying on the floor where the rope should have been.”

  Holding on to the horse, Luke took a step toward her. “What is it?”

  “It’s a note. I. . .I think it was written by the person who’s been attacking my family.”

  “What’s it say?”

  “SOMEONE NEEDS TO PAY.” Martha’s voice quivered. “Oh, Luke, just when we think this nightmare might finally be over—just when my hopes begin to rise—something else happens to let us know that the attacker isn’t done with us yet, and the hope I felt sinks like a rock thrown into the pond.” She drew in a deep breath. “Someone cut Gid’s reins, and if you hadn’t happened along when you did and gotten the horse stopped. . .” Her voice faltered.

  Luke let go of the broken reins and pulled Martha into his arms. His insides twisted with the thought of what could have happened to Martha. “I’m concerned for your safety,” he said, gently patting her back.

  Martha opened her mouth as if to say something, but Luke spoke again. “Are you going to tell your daed about this?”

  “About the note or the cut reins?”

  “Both.”

  She shrugged. “I suppose he needs to know about the reins, but I’m afraid to mention the note—at least not in front of my mamm.”

  “How come?”

  “It’ll upset her too much. She tries to hide it, but she’s been a ball of nerves
since the last few attacks.”

  “Then do whatever you think’s best. Maybe you can talk to your daed about this when your mamm’s not around.” Luke motioned to Gid. “If you don’t mind leaving your horse and buggy here, I’ll drive you over to Abe’s harness shop and we’ll see about getting some new reins.”

  “Danki. I appreciate your help with this.”

  Luke struggled with the desire to kiss Martha, but a van came by just then, so he pulled away. The last thing he needed was for someone they knew to see them hugging or kissing. That kind of news would probably get back to Roman, and then both he and Martha would be in trouble. He gave her arm a gentle squeeze. “Let’s go, shall we?”

  As Martha sat at the supper table, she thought about the events of the day: discovering her horse’s reins had been cut, the note she’d found in the back of the buggy, the concern Luke had shown her today. She didn’t see how anyone could think he had anything to do with the attacks. Luke was trying to help her find out who was behind them, and the handwriting on the note had obviously not been his. Besides, what opportunity would he have had to cut the reins, and for what reason? She knew she needed to tell Dad about this but wasn’t sure what to do about Mom.

  “You’re looking very thoughtful there,” Mom said, nudging Martha’s arm. “You’ve hardly touched your chicken potpie.”

  “I’m not so hungry tonight. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

  Dad grunted. “More than likely you’re thinking about Luke Friesen. Probably wishing he’d give you another hug.”

  Martha’s mouth dropped open, and Mom let out a gasp. “Roman, what are you saying?”

  Dad picked up his spoon and gave his coffee a couple of stirs. “Toby King came by to see me today, and he had some story to tell.”

  “What story is that?” Mom asked.

  “Said he’d been riding with Howard Kemper in his van and saw Luke and Martha standing beside her buggy. They were locked in each other’s arms.”

  Martha nearly jumped out of her chair. “Dad, it wasn’t like that. I can explain—”

  “I should hope so!” Dad’s face turned as red as an apple. “I’d like you to tell me and your mamm what you were doing with Luke today, and why you had your arms around each other.”

  “My horse’s reins broke, and Luke offered to drive me over to Abe’s place and get a new set of reins.” She would explain that the reins were cut later, when she could talk to Dad alone.

  “Did you ride in Luke’s truck?”

  Martha’s heart started to pound. “You know about his truck?”

  Dad’s fist came down hard on the table, jostling the silverware and nearly knocking over his glass of water. “I know all about Luke’s truck! Toby filled me in on that bit of information, too.”

  Martha reached for her glass of water and took a drink. Her mouth felt so dry she could barely swallow. If Toby had told Dad about Luke’s truck and said he’d seen the two of them hugging, then that must have been him riding in the vehicle that had passed when she and Luke had been talking beside her buggy. And if Toby had felt the need to blab that to Dad, then he really must have something against Luke.

  “Have you and Luke been courting behind our backs?” Mom’s question drove Martha’s thoughts aside.

  Martha wasn’t sure how to respond. Even though she and Luke weren’t officially courting, they had gone a few places together. He’d also said he wished they could court. She gulped down some more water. “No, we’re. . .uh. . .not courting.”

  “Then why was he hugging you?” Dad asked.

  “We weren’t really hugging. Luke was trying to comfort me.”

  “Comfort you?” Mom’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why did you need comforting, Martha?”

  “Because I was upset about my horse’s reins having been cut,” Martha blurted out.

  “What?” Mom and Dad said in unison.

  “I thought at first they were just broken, but Luke’s the one who discovered they’d actually been cut, and then—” Martha saw Mom’s hands begin to shake, and she caught herself in time before blurting out the part about the note she’d found in the back of her buggy.

  “Ach, Martha,” Mom said shakily. “You could have been hurt.”

  “We’ll talk about the reins being cut later,” Dad said, staring hard at Martha. “Right now I’d like to deal with the issue of Luke having his hands all over you.”

  Martha shook her head vigorously. “He didn’t, Dad. Luke was just—”

  Dad slammed his fist on the table again. “I will not allow it to happen a second time! I forbid you to see Luke again!”

  Martha’s eyes filled with tears as she pushed back her chair and rushed from the room.

  Judith released a shuddering sigh. “Ach, Roman. Why’d you say such a thing to our daughter? Can’t you see how much it hurt her?”

  “I don’t care if it did. She shouldn’t be sneaking around and meeting up with Luke behind our backs.” Roman grunted. “Hugging him right there on the side of the road where everyone could see. What was that girl thinking?”

  “Maybe it’s the way she said. Luke might have just given her a hug to comfort her.”

  “Over some broken reins?”

  “They weren’t broken. You heard what Martha said.” Judith paused and drew in a quick breath. “Those reins were deliberately cut, Roman. It was another attack.”

  He grabbed his glass of water and took a drink. “I doubt Martha was upset enough to need the kind of comforting Luke was offering. I think Luke just used it as an opportunity to put our daughter in a compromising position and make her look bad.”

  “Why would he do that?”

  “For the same reason he’s been doing all those horrible things to us. He’s trying to get even with me for firing him.”

  “Please don’t start with that again, Roman.” She touched his arm. “I thought you’d decided the land developer was probably behind the attacks.”

  “I said it could be the land developer, but I have no proof.”

  “We never will know for sure who’s responsible until the sheriff catches him.”

  “Jah, right! Like Sheriff Osborn’s going to camp out on our property and wait for someone to pull another prank.”

  “They aren’t pranks, Roman. Whoever’s behind the attacks is out for more than a good time.”

  “You’re right about that.” He scratched the side of his head. “Fact is, I’ve been thinking and praying about this a lot lately.”

  “Will you speak to the sheriff again and see if he has any leads?”

  He shook his head. “I’m thinking I might do a little investigating on my own.”

  Her eyebrows lifted high on her forehead. “What kind of investigating?”

  “I haven’t come up with a plan yet, but when I do, you’ll be the first to know. In the meantime, I’ve got other things that need to be done. I talked with Cleon this morning, and we’ve decided to get started on my new shop, hopefully in the next week or so.”

  “Will you have a work frolic then?”

  He nodded. “Probably so. It’ll be good to be in my own shop again. I’ve had about as much of working in that smelly barn with Martha’s yappy dogs as I can take.”

  “I hope Poppy comes over to see me soon,” Anna said as she swirled her noodles around on her plate with a fork. “I wanna show him Papa’s bees.”

  “You know you’re not to go near my bee boxes,” Cleon said with a shake of his head. “I’ve told you before that you might get stung.”

  Anna’s lower lip protruded. “I never get to have any fun.”

  “There’s nothing fun about seeing my bee boxes.”

  “Then how come you go out there all the time, Papa?”

  “Because I have things that need to be done.”

  “What kind of things?”

  “I have to check on the honeycombs, and when the time is right, I extract the honey.”

  Anna smacked her lips. “I love peanut butter and honey sandwi
ches. Sure wish we could’ve had that for supper tonight.”

  “You had a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch,” Grace reminded the child.

  “I could eat another one now. It might help me not miss Poppy so much.”

  Cleon reached over and patted Anna’s hand. “He’s going to be renting a place near Berlin, and that’s not far away, Anna. I’m sure you’ll be able to see him a lot this summer when you’re out of school. Maybe your mamm will take you to see his new house sometime later this week.”

  Anna’s face lit up. “How about tomorrow after school?”

  “We can talk about that later,” Grace said.

  Cleon turned to face Anna. “In the meantime, you need to finish eating your supper.”

  Anna’s forehead wrinkled. “Daniel don’t have to eat his supper.”

  Grace glanced over at her son, sitting in the high chair next to the table. “That’s because he’s already eaten. I fed him earlier, remember?”

  “Then how comes he’s sittin’ in his chair with a cracker and a cup of milk?”

  “So he can feel like part of the family and be near us,” Cleon answered.

  They ate in silence for the rest of the meal. Grace hoped Anna would be willing to take Daniel into the living room to play after supper, because she needed to talk to Cleon and tell him what had happened when Carl had shown up this morning saying Anna wasn’t safe living with them.

  “It’s later now,” Anna said. “Will you take me to see Poppy tomorrow after school?”

  “I don’t think so.” Grace gritted her teeth. I wish Wade’s dad hadn’t come back to Holmes County. I wish he would stay out of Anna’s life.

  “How come?” Anna persisted.

  “I’ve got too much to do tomorrow.”

  Anna gave Cleon an imploring look. “Will you drive me to Berlin so I can see Poppy?”

  “Your daed will be working tomorrow afternoon,” Grace said.

  Anna bumped the tray on Daniel’s high chair, and Daniel let out an ear-piercing wail. Grace grabbed a couple of napkins to wipe up the milk that had spilled out of his cup.

  “Stop that gegrisch!” Anna said, covering her ears with the palms of her hands.