Mark moved to the couch and sat beside Ariana. “He makes some good points.”
“He always does.” She took a bite of the cookie. “I know what happened in the woods. After getting out of the rig to walk through the woods to the campsite, I fell. When I heard a rumble, I instinctively rolled onto my stomach and covered my head with my arms and hands.” She showed him the back of her hands. “Some of the limbs from the tree must have hit me.”
“The whole thing is starting to make sense, isn’t it?” He leaned in and held her fingertips, inspecting the backs of her hands. He pushed the sleeves of her housecoat back. “Those are deep bruises. Are you sure nothing is broken?”
“Pretty sure. The breath was knocked out of me, so I think I was hit in the back too. I rose to my feet, fighting to breathe again. My vision blurred, but in the quiet afterward, with my hands on my knees, I looked up, and I saw you. I heard you—the one you keep hidden.”
Was it possible? He hoped not, although she’d spent months trying to learn how to pick up on what wasn’t being said by others and even within herself. How would he explain himself if she saw even a tiny bit of what he tried so hard to hide from her?
“You need my help.”
“Come again?”
“In the woods you stood, motioning for me to follow you. You said, ‘I need you.’ I’ve been putting it together, and you were rattled at your Mamm’s house a week ago. Something somewhere was going wrong. In the woods, while my senses were dulled or maybe more alert, your hidden man told me the truth. Am I wrong?”
He glanced at Mark, trying to think of something he could say. If she heard Quill’s heart say that, it wasn’t for one specific area of need. But given the choice, he’d rather admit that he needed her for one thing rather than the truth—that he needed her for all time. As much as he didn’t want her involved with Gia, maybe it was his out to avoid admitting anything else.
“Maybe I could use your help, but I’m not taking it.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “You left here with Frieda at twenty. I’d like the kind of moxie you had to steal away at twenty with a sickly girl and make it on your own—knowing I would learn to hate you for it—and take care of her in every way.”
Was she still a bit addled? “I’m not sure I’m following your thinking, but was it necessary to hate me for it?”
She laughed. “Mark, tell him that a woman scorned does not dabble in being slightly frustrated.”
Mark said nothing.
Quill lifted the thermos and refilled its plastic lid. “I’m not sure a fifteen-year-old girl can be considered a woman, and we never talked about dating, so you weren’t scorned.”
“A quote from Moonstruck: ‘What you don’t know about women is a lot.’ ”
He held out the cup to her. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She took it. “Let me help you this one time with whatever it is. It’s my gesture to thank you for all you’ve done for me. Then we can say our good-byes, and our only contact will be through your Mamm.”
“I can’t, Ari.”
“The voice, your voice calling to me, said otherwise.”
He was caught. She was convinced of what she’d heard, and she’d heard right. His only salvation was that she thought it pointed to one event.
“Besides, the oddity of everything—Rudy not coming at the last minute, the tree, the insight—I’m thinking it could be God intervening. Who’s Gia?”
Quill now had the breath knocked out of him. He closed his eyes, taking a moment to regroup. “Why do you ask?”
“Your Mamm let the name slip. She’s the one you’re trying to help, right?”
He said nothing.
“If I have to track you to Kentucky or Mingo or wherever Gia is, I will. You know I can. I think I’m meant to help you, Quill. Why else would that message be so clear?”
What was God doing?
Quill thought of an out. “How would Rudy feel about this?”
The stairs creaked, and when they looked that way, four-year-old Esther was at the foot of the stairs, rubbing her eyes.
“I’ve got this.” Mark strode in that direction. “Hey, sweet girl. Let me guess. You’re thirsty, right?”
Esther nodded and held out her arms. Mark scooped her up, and Ariana returned her attention to Quill. “So when a twenty-year-old guy tells you that he believes he’s supposed to do something to help a friend, that he believes God has opened doors to him that he’s supposed to go through, you respond by continually asking how his girlfriend feels about it?”
Quill slouched. “It’s different where you’re concerned.”
“I get that. You’re more invested when it’s me.”
He glanced toward the kitchen where Mark had Esther in one arm while he filled a glass with water. Quill turned to her. “That’s part of it.” He wasn’t sure if he was right to share this or not. “I don’t know how to best explain myself, but I can handle disappointment and heartache as long as you are okay.”
“I’m confused.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” He was in too deep to stop now. “Leaving Summer Grove was really, really hard, but I did it in a way that didn’t disrupt your finding the right guy and making everything you wanted come true. I can’t sit here now and make a plan that could jeopardize you and Rudy.”
“Ya. But you also can’t tell me no simply because I’m a female with a beau when you wouldn’t tell a man no simply because he had a fiancée. That would be a double standard, and that’s not you. Is it?”
“My sanity for five years has come from knowing I’d done nothing to ruin your dreams.”
Ariana building the life she wanted had been his only solace in the heartbreak of losing her. There was an initial heartbreak on her part too. He knew that, but then two years after he left, she started dating, going long distances in search of the right guy.
She leaned in. “I’m learning how to know me. It’s a huge step. We both know it is. You want me to ignore the whisper on the wind, Quill? You want me to have worked through all the layers of how to follow God even though that may be outside the Ordnung and then tell me no because of a guy?”
“Not just any guy. Rudy. My understanding is you dated half of the eligible Amish men in three states to find him.”
She laughed. “True. Well, not nearly half, but other than that, true.” She leaned in. “Here’s the funny part. Rudy lived in Indiana, in an area I would’ve never come close to visiting because the Brennemans have no relatives there. And yet he came to Summer Grove. I hadn’t needed to do all the searching after all.”
He knew her message: trust God and stop fighting this.
Could he keep her safe while getting Gia and three children to safety? Maybe he could devise something for her to do that kept her far removed from the activity.
“So here’s what’s going on…” He explained the situation as well as his plan. “Gia’s ex-husband takes her grocery shopping in Camp Hill at the same store on Saturday afternoon once every four weeks.”
“I’ve heard of Camp Hill.”
“It’s about fifty miles northeast of here, but it’s just a few miles outside of Harrisburg, so it has lots of roads and highways. The time Gia shops is anywhere from noon to closing, but the place and the day of the week stay the same. The other good thing is, because she goes only once a month, he expects her to be in the store a really long time.”
“I bet. A month’s worth of groceries is a lot.”
“That works in our favor. He doesn’t leave the parking lot, but he gets glued to his phone, or he naps. The difficult part is that Gia is skittish. She’s desperate to get out but afraid to take a step in that direction.”
“She’s probably afraid it’s a setup.”
“I’ve been wondering the same thing.”
“Why are you taking a plane with her? If she doesn’t trust you, wouldn’t it make sense to get her to the airport and you leave?”
“Someone somewhere along the line seem
s to know her. The word is that she panics in new places, so bad she can’t think, which makes everything worse. If I go, all the stress of how and where to go is on me. Plus, a mom with three young children needs an extra pair of hands.”
“You’re right about that.”
“I’m not sure she won’t have the same fears rule her again.”
“Have you seen this angelic face?” Ariana propped a hand under her chin and gave a smile that said she was teasing.
He didn’t like the idea of involving Ariana, but Gia was more likely to respond to an innocent-looking woman than him. “Maybe it could be our key to success,” Quill said. “Harrisburg is the closest airport, but the goal is to get her out of the area. We’ll go to BWI in Baltimore. It’s busier and harder to spot someone, but if he’s going to check public transportation, he’ll start at the closest and easiest ones to get to.”
She tucked fallen hair under her prayer Kapp again. “Just to clarify, I’m going with you to help this woman escape to somewhere safe, right?”
His heart pounded with anxiety. Again, what was God doing? “Apparently so.”
The snow crunched under Abram’s feet as he sprinkled salt on the three steps that led to the café’s back door. He blinked and then opened his eyes wide in the cold air to wake himself up. Getting up before sunrise was never easy, no matter how many times he did it. The world was finally getting lighter around him, although the sun hadn’t risen yet. He had already been to the café, back home, and returned to the café this morning. Sidewalks were salted, and baked goods were in the gas oven. But the generator was out, so all of Skylar’s beloved coffee machines were down. He could use some of the coffee Skylar was currently making by a pour-over method.
“I’m really hoping this won’t take too long. Denki for coming, Daed.”
Daed had a Phillips screwdriver in hand, removing the cover to the generator. He’d already tried all the tricks of starting a generator. “Glad to help. If I can’t figure it out, Mark will be along in a few minutes. He knows more about these gas generators than I do, but he and Emanuel are fixing something on the milk-cooling tank first. Machines get finicky in cold weather.”
A horse-drawn rig pulled up behind the café and headed down the snow-covered gravel path toward the hitching post. Abram set the bag of salt beside the steps. “I’ll be back.” He went toward the carriage, and when it stopped, he opened the door.
Cilla grinned. “Morning, Abram.” Her sweet voice shook out some of his sleepiness, as if her smile was a strong shot of caffeine.
“Guder Marye, Cilla.” His eyes met hers, and he saw the possibilities of his future unfold before him. As he helped her down, he wondered if she was thinking about the same thing he was, that tomorrow was Valentine’s Day and their first official date night. Part of the reason he was so tired was because he couldn’t sleep for thinking about it and the kiss they’d shared last week.
He was as bad as a kid at Christmas. They would drive to the Sunday evening singing and then leave together, making their burgeoning relationship public, at least to the other singles and chaperones.
Aware of his Daed being not more than fifteen feet away, Abram tried to keep the conversation sparse. “The generator is acting up. Daed came by to take a look at it. Mark will be joining him soon.”
“Ah.” She began removing the rigging from the horse. “That means Skylar is probably having to be creative with making coffee.” She led the horse to a small pasture while Abram lowered the staves of the carriage to the ground. She patted the horse, peering around it. “How about I bring you each a hot cup in a few minutes?”
“That sounds great.” Abram couldn’t look at her without smiling and daydreaming, not just about their first date, but about what life would be like if they proved to be as connected as it seemed they were.
“Gut.” She gave a little wave as she entered the café.
“Abram, ready?” Daed’s voice interrupted his thoughts, and Abram realized he had been staring at Cilla for a moment longer than was socially acceptable.
He shook himself out of the reverie. “Ya, let’s see if we can figure out what’s going on.”
Daed had the cover removed, and he looked the machine up and down. Abram was a roofer and apparently a bit of a chef, but he had no idea where to begin looking for a problem on an engine. He wasn’t sure Daed did either.
After a few moments Daed took a step back. “I think we’ll have to wait until Mark gets here. I don’t see anything obvious.”
“Ya, I’ve got nothing.”
Daed leaned against the brick wall of the building, looking at his feet. “You and Cilla?”
“Ya. Well, sort of. Our first date is tomorrow.”
Daed pursed his lips and nodded. “After working together all these months, I guess you two know each other pretty well.”
Something was on Daed’s mind. “I think so, at least far more than most who are going on a first date, right?”
“Are you two sort of set on a path?”
“Unless something unexpected derails us, ya.”
Daed released a long sigh through pursed lips. “Listen, Son, marriage is a serious commitment, a much more difficult and complex relationship than any single person can understand. Marrying someone with a serious illness will make you appreciate the good times more, but it’ll also make the hard times heavier.”
“You disapprove?”
“Nee. I’m just asking you to think. Look at how difficult things get with your married siblings and your Mamm and me. Imagine the excitement and the fever pitch of wanting her don’t exist. Imagine she’s done the unthinkable or you have—like what your Mamm and I did that caused Skylar and Ariana to grow up in the wrong homes. Stop romanticizing your life and be real. That will take some effort, and you won’t really come even close, but try. Spend weeks trying, and when you see the relationship without those things, when you can imagine living year in and year out with each other’s weaknesses, if you still believe a relationship with her is worth it, then stay on that path. But if you have doubts, end it.”
“Way to ruin the fun first date, Daed.”
“Ya, well, it’s all fun and games until the real pressures of life hit. I’d marry your Mamm again. I think she’d say the same, but I’ve seen a lot of bad marriages in my day. There were red flags before they were married, but everyone was too smitten to pay heed. I’m begging you to pay heed.”
“Did you have this same conversation with Salome, Malinda, Abner, and Ivan?”
“I did.”
“Ariana?”
“Not yet. I’m not sure I need to have it. Her relationship with Rudy is being tried in the fire already.”
A soft cough made them both look up. Mark was standing nearby, and it seemed neither of them had noticed his arrival. “Sorry. I parked around front and walked. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.”
“I’m glad you’re here, because we can’t figure out what’s wrong,” Abram said.
“I agree about Ariana and Rudy’s relationship being tried in the fire,” Mark said. “Unfortunately, Daed, it’s sort of a flame you started even though you didn’t mean to. I don’t know whether you can put it out at this point, but you should try.”
“I love Ariana.” Daed’s brows furrowed. “And I’m trying to get her in line with the very things she used to respect.”
Mark crouched, looking at the motor of the generator. “But you keep at her, and you’ve let others keep at her, and yet when you discovered Salome and Emanuel were going to break their oath and leave during the night, taking their five children with them, you didn’t say or do anything to them. You just swept it under the rug and behaved as if none of it ever happened.”
“I was plenty upset about that, but Salome is a grown woman. Ariana is still under my protection as an unmarried child.” Daed looked from Mark to Abram.
Mark stood, wiping his hands on his pants. “Daed, do you think Bishop Noah is holding himself to as high of a standard as you
are expecting of Ariana?”
“I see it differently. When you have a daughter you’re trying to safeguard, we’ll talk about this.”
“I’m all for safeguarding her,” Mark said, “but it seems you slipped into safeguarding other things, and it’s being done at her expense.”
Daed’s eyes were wide. “Have you forgotten all she’s done wrong?”
“No one will ever forget, Daed. It’s a story that will be passed down to her children and grandchildren, much like the story of the clinic burning down the day she, Abram, and Skylar were born. Only one of those two stories should’ve been made public. Only one.”
Daed stepped nearer to his older son. “Bishop Noah is our leader, appointed by God to keep our community on the right path. I’m following his lead.”
Mark shook his head and looked at his father. “Daed, I’ve overheard the bishop talking to you in years gone by. I won’t mention anything specific, but how can you have such unwavering support for a man who clearly thinks himself better than you—and at the cost of dividing your family?”
Daed paced, looking heavenward. He turned to face them. “I…I don’t know. All I know is I’m trying my best to be loyal to our ways. The situation is impossible.”
“Daed,”—Abram stepped forward—“if you don’t know the answer, stop pushing your children to accept your answer.”
The house was pin-drop quiet as Skylar finished washing the breakfast dishes. Church Sunday, and everyone was still gone. At least seven hours passed on meeting days from the time they left until they returned. Isaac had requested she start going with them. It made absolutely no sense for her to sit on a hard, backless pew to hear words in a language she didn’t understand. So she told him that.
The sound of carriages caught her attention. They were home, and just in time, because Jax would be here soon to pick her up, and she needed to get permission. Back home she wouldn’t have sought anyone’s approval to leave when and with whom she wanted. She was twenty, for Pete’s sake. But simply forewarning Lovina or Isaac could have dire consequences on her living situation, and she wasn’t ready to leave yet.
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