“Let me help you with that,” she said as she took a carton of pies from Deborah’s mother.
She stood aside to let Deborah’s mother go first and fell into step beside the new nanny. “So, how was your first week with Ethan’s children? Aren’t Lily and Amos adorable?”
Deborah rolled her eyes. “That would depend on your definition of adorable. I don’t know how you put up with them.”
“They can be a little high-spirited, and Micah can be a handful, but they are good children.”
“Your good children filled my new shoes full of maple syrup the first day I was there.”
“How did they do that?”
“I took my shoes off because they were pinching my toes a little. You know how new shoes feel sometimes. When I went to put them back on to go home, they were full of syrup.”
Clara struggled mightily not to laugh because it was clear that Deborah did not find it amusing. “Amos did that?”
“Lily did it. On the second day, someone put two big crickets in my purse. They nearly startled me to death when they jumped out. There is still one inside my buggy and its chirping is driving me nuts. I don’t know which child did it. They won’t tell.”
They had reached the house, and Clara held the door for Deborah to go in. “I’m sorry they have been a trial for you, but things will get better. How is Micah?”
“He’s no trouble at all. I hardly see him.”
“And Ethan?” She tried to make the question sound casual, not as if she was dying to hear every detail about him.
They walked into the kitchen and began setting the food out to be served later. Deborah said, “He’s fine, as far as I know. He goes to work. He comes home. I don’t think he’s said more than a dozen words to me. I know one thing for sure, he lets those children run wild. There is no discipline at all. I don’t think they belong with a bachelor. I’ve talked to my uncle about it, and he believes I should bring it to the attention of their bishop. There has to be someone more suitable to raise them.”
Clara’s heart sank. “Ethan loves them. I’m sure with your help and guidance the children will straighten up and behave as they should.”
“I’m not holding my breath. I’m looking for another position.”
Clara spent the majority of the morning service praying for Ethan and the children. She was powerless to do anything else.
When the preaching was over and the meal had been served, Clara took her plate and went to sit with her sisters on the lawn. Leah joined them a few minutes later. “Have you finished your history lessons, Clara?”
“I have.”
“When was the Emancipation Proclamation signed?”
“January 1, 1863.”
“Wait a minute,” Betsy said. “If you’re the teacher, why are you getting quizzed?”
“Because it’s important for the teacher to stay ahead of her scholars,” Leah answered.
Clara nodded. “In order to know more than they do, I have to study harder than they do.”
Betsy shook her head. “I’m going to keep weaving baskets for Elam Sutter. It doesn’t strain my brain.”
“Is Sally upset that she didn’t get the teaching job?” Leah took a bite of bread covered with peanut butter and molasses.
Betsy shook her head. “I don’t know. She took a job as a nanny to an Englisch family. I heard she has moved in with them.”
“She’s living Englisch?” Leah covered her mouth with her hand. They were all shocked.
“That’s what I heard, and she’s not here today.” Betsy bit into a brownie.
After a minute of stunned silence, Lizzie looked at Clara. “I saw you talking to Deborah Stutzman earlier. How is she getting along with Ethan and his children?”
“They filled her shoes full of syrup and put crickets in her purse.”
Betsy spewed bits of brownie from her lips as she whooped with laughter. The women looked at each other and all started giggling. “It is a little funny,” Clara admitted.
When Lizzie stopped laughing, she said, “Maybe we should find out if Ethan is looking for another replacement nanny.”
Leah elbowed Clara. “You can ask him now. Here he comes.”
* * *
After searching among the groups of churchgoers, Ethan finally located Clara sitting with a group of women on the lawn. She leaped to her feet and started toward him as soon as she caught sight of him.
“Ethan, what’s wrong?”
He didn’t question how she knew there was trouble. “Micah is missing. I told him to get ready for church this morning. He said he wasn’t going, but I insisted. After I had Amos and Lily ready and fed, Micah still hadn’t come down from his room. I went to check on him and he was gone. Amos and Lily say they don’t know where he is. I’ve looked everywhere. I thought you might know where he would go.”
She laid a hand on Ethan’s arm. “I’m sure he’s just hiding from you. He has done this before. He’ll reappear when he is ready.”
“That’s what I thought until I realized Golda was missing, too. He’s not hiding. He’s taken the horse and run away.”
Clara’s eyes instantly filled with worry. “He couldn’t possibly ride a horse that large by himself, could he?”
Ethan tried to hide his fear, but it wasn’t easy. What if the boy had fallen off the mare? Without a saddle or harness to hold on to, he could easily slide off her broad back. He could be lying hurt somewhere and Ethan had no idea where to look.
“He’s been riding since before he could walk. All he would need was a way to get up on her. Most likely, he used the fence. If he had something to tie to her halter to use as a rein, he could ride her anywhere. I followed Golda’s tracks until they reached the blacktop. After that, I couldn’t tell which way Micah took her. I drove several miles in both directions without seeing any sign of them. Then I came here. Think, Clara, has he ever mentioned somewhere he wanted to go? Someone he wanted to visit?”
“Nee, but it won’t be hard to spot a horse that large. Where are Amos and Lily?”
“In my wagon.”
She turned to the woman she had been talking with. “Leah, we need to get up a search party for Ethan’s nephew. He’s gone missing.”
Leah stepped toward them. “I heard. I’ll get Caleb. He’ll know what to do.” She turned and hurried toward a group of men standing by the barn.
Ethan itched to be doing something, anything, but he had already done all he could think to do. “Micah is angry at God for taking his parents away. That’s why he wouldn’t go to church. I should have told him that I understand how he feels. Instead, I told him to stop acting like a baby.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Ethan. We will find him.”
She sounded so certain. He wanted to believe her, but he couldn’t summon the faith she had.
Leah returned with Caleb Mast and two teenage twin boys. Caleb held a cell phone. “I’m going to call 911. The sheriff’s office can scour the roads much more quickly than we can by buggy.”
He gestured toward the twins standing behind him. “This is Moses and Atlee Beachy. They have a couple of the fastest trotters in the county. They’ll start from where you lost the boy’s tracks and go in opposite directions along the highway. I want you to give all the details you have to the dispatcher. Are you ready?”
“Ja. I appreciate your help more than you can know.”
Caleb gave a wry smile. “I’ve been in your shoes a time or two. Joy, my daughter, has Down syndrome. She used to run away all the time. Thankfully, it hasn’t happened for a while.”
Caleb placed the call and then gave Ethan the phone. He’d never used a cell phone before, but he managed not to drop it. When he finished talking to the sheriff’s dispatcher, he handed the phone to Caleb. He had no idea how to turn it off.
“I
t’s mine.” One of the twins took it from him and slipped it in his pocket. The two boys took off.
Caleb said, “They both have phones. Like most Amish teenagers, they keep them out of sight because it upsets the adults. They’ll call the sheriff and the phone shack closest to your house if they spot Micah. You should go home in case he is already there.”
Ethan drew his hand over his face to ease his tense jaw muscles. “I guess you’re right.”
“Micah could be safe at home, unaware of the fuss he’s set in motion and wondering where you are,” Clara said softly.
Leah said, “We’ll get some of the men here to start searching the roads and fields around your place. We’ll find him.”
Ethan prayed that was true. “Something tells me he’s not at home, but I don’t know where else to look.”
Caleb laid a hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Take your other children home. I’m sure they’re frightened.”
Ethan gave in. He wasn’t doing any good here. “All right.”
“I’m coming with you. I can watch the little ones while you search. Let me tell my family and then I’ll join you,” Clara said.
He knew she would help no matter how things stood between them, and he was right.
He walked to his wagon. His horses were covered with flecks of foam and breathing fast. He’d pushed them hard this morning. They were used to pulling heavy loads for short distances, not racing across the countryside.
Adrian Lapp stopped him from climbing aboard the wagon. “Ethan, wait. I just heard what’s going on. Take my horse and buggy. He’s fresh and eager to get out on the highway. I can drive your team home slowly. My family and I aren’t in any hurry.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. It’s the least I can do for my neighbor.”
Clara came rushing to Ethan’s side. “I’m ready.”
“Clara!” Lily, who’d been huddled against Amos, brightened. “Micah is hiding again.”
“I heard that. Are you sure that you don’t know where he is?”
The children shook their heads.
“We’re going to take Adrian’s buggy.” Ethan reached for Lily, and she came willingly. Clara lifted Amos down and they followed Adrian to the long line of buggies parked beside the road. His boy Kyle was already backing a black horse between the shafts. Ethan put Lily down and went to help finish the task.
After they were on their way at last, Ethan glanced at Clara. The children were exploring the backseat and bouncing on the cushions. “I haven’t thanked you for coming along, Clara.”
“You are welcome, but no thanks are needed.”
Ethan couldn’t think of anything else to say. He flicked the reins to keep the horse at a steady trot. At least the road was deserted on a Sunday morning and he didn’t have to worry about traffic. He scanned the countryside and every lane hoping to catch a glimpse of a little boy on a big horse. “I just don’t know what to do with that child.”
“He’s hurting and he doesn’t know where to turn.”
“He’ll get over it, I know. It just takes time. But he has got to learn that he can’t run away from problems.”
“It’s possible Micah is acting out because he has bottled up his anger and his grief. It’s important that you talk to him about what’s troubling him.”
“I know he feels he needs to be the one taking care of his brother and sister. He resents that they had to come live with me.”
“I don’t think he resents you.”
“I don’t think he even likes me.” He snapped the reins again.
“Maybe he is afraid to like you,” she suggested.
Puzzled, Ethan glanced at her. “Why would he be afraid to like me?”
“Because he doesn’t want to feel the same kind of pain he’s going through now if something should happen to you. He was so scared the night you cut your arm. You need to sit down and talk to him about the things he’s afraid of. Losing you. Being alone. Being separated from his brother and sister.”
They were the same kinds of fears that had plagued Ethan as a child, but he wasn’t ready to admit that. “Let’s pray that I have a chance to talk to him.”
Clara laid a hand on his knee. “You will. Have faith, Ethan.”
He swallowed against the tightness that closed his throat. Surely, God would not take Micah away from him, too.
* * *
Clara held on to her faith in God’s goodness, but she couldn’t stop worrying any more than Ethan could. Thankfully, the two younger children were soon dozing in the back of the buggy. Ethan kept the horse at a steady, ground-eating trot, but it still seemed to take forever to reach his lane. He pulled the buggy to a stop just beyond it and handed the reins to her while he jumped out to check the message machine in the phone shack he shared with other Amish families in the area.
He stepped inside the small gray-and-white building but came out almost instantly. He shook his head and her hopes fell. It didn’t seem possible that a boy and a horse could vanish so completely. When Ethan climbed in beside her, she said, “Maybe he’s waiting for you at home.”
“Maybe.”
There was nothing else to say. Ethan drove the buggy up the lane and stopped in front of the house. His mare whinnied from the pasture gate. Their borrowed horse answered her, waking the two children in the back. Lily sat up and rubbed her eyes. “Is Micah still lost? I want to see him.”
“I’m hungry.” Amos picked his hat up off the floor and put it on his head.
Ethan’s gaze was fixed on his mare across the way. “Rosie is still alone in the pasture. I don’t think Micah has come back.”
Clara got down and opened the back door of the buggy. She lifted Lily out and then Amos. “Come inside, and I will fix you something for lunch.”
Ethan got out and secured the horse. He began calling for Micah but got no answer. Clara said, “I’ll check his room.”
Ethan nodded. “If he’s not here, I’m going back to the phone shack to wait for a call.”
Clara had started to lead the children into the house when the sound of a car coming up the lane stopped her. She moved to stand by Ethan as the sheriff’s white SUV stopped in front of them. The tinted window rolled down. An officer in a brown trooper’s hat pulled off his sunglasses. “Are you Ethan Gingerich?”
Ethan took a step forward. “I am.”
The officer stepped out of the vehicle. “I’m Sheriff Nick Bradley. I understand that you have a missing child.”
Clara moved up to grasp Ethan’s arm. “His name is Micah. He’s only eight years old. He’s been missing since early this morning. He has blond hair and blue eyes. Ethan, what was he wearing?”
“Was he dressed like this?” Sheriff Bradley pulled open the rear door of his SUV. Micah sat slumped in the backseat with his eyes downcast.
With a glad cry, Clara raced toward him. Lily and Amos came right behind her. “Micah, you scared us all half to death. Are you all right?”
He nodded but didn’t speak. He glanced toward his uncle. Clara realized Ethan was still standing by the porch steps. He was hanging on to the newel post as if he needed it to stay upright. He straightened when everyone looked his way and walked toward the vehicle. He stopped beside the sheriff. “You have my thanks for bringing him home safe. Where was he found?”
“He was at the bus station in Hope Springs. He wanted to trade his horse for a bus ticket to Elkhart, Indiana.”
Clara looked at Micah in amazement. They had people searching the roads and farms close by, but no one had thought to go into town to look for him.
“The horse was not his to trade,” Ethan said.
The sheriff folded his arms. “I reckon that makes him a horse thief. The law is pretty tough on horse thieves. Do you want me to take him to jail?”
Clara stared at them in shock. “Ethan?” Amos and Lily were holding on to her skirt. They stared fearfully at the sheriff.
“I’m thinking on it.” Ethan folded his arms and mimicked the sheriff’s stance.
Aghast, Clara scowled at both of them. Now was no time to frighten the boy. She fumbled with the seat belt until she was able to release it. “Do not mind them, Micah.”
“That has been the problem all along. He does not mind me, nor does he mind you. Perhaps he will mind Sheriff Bradley.”
“I don’t care if my prisoners mind me or not. I just lock them in a cell.”
“You are not going to lock up this child. For shame, the both of you.” Clara had Micah out of the car, but she kept a protective grip on his shoulders.
“Is my mare okay?” Ethan asked.
Micah turned and buried his face in Clara’s waist. How could Ethan be worried about his animal at a time like this?
Nick pushed his hat back with one finger. “As far as I could tell she is. Adrian Lapp has her. He’s bringing her along with your other team.”
Ethan shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “I reckon the boy can stay here, then, if the Englisch law allows it.”
“It allows some judgment calls on my part. You aren’t going to be a repeat offender, are you, young man?”
Micah glanced his way from the safety of Clara’s apron. “What does that mean?”
“Are you planning to borrow another horse without permission?”
“Nee.”
“All right. He’s all yours, Mr. Gingerich. Don’t hesitate to call me if you change your mind.” The sheriff tipped his hat toward Clara, got back in his SUV and drove away.
Ethan walked up to Micah with his hands on his hips. “It is time you and I had a long talk, Micah.”
“Am I going to get a whipping now?” he asked fearfully.
Ethan dropped into a crouch, bringing him eye level with Micah. “No. I’m angry with you. I’m disappointed in you. But I’m so very thankful that you are safe.”
Clara stepped back as he pulled the boy into his arms. She pressed a hand to her lips to still their tremors as happiness and relief overwhelmed her. She couldn’t tell which one of them needed the hug more. Perhaps now they could finally start being a real family.
The Amish Nanny Page 15