by Beth Shriver
Both horses took off full speed. Gideon tried to keep their strides in rhythm, but they were too frightened, which made for a bumpy ride. They blazed past the house and were in such a high speed the horses had them turning onto the road to home much quicker than they’d expected.
“Those two can fly.” Yonnie watched both horses with astonishment.
“Ross, yes, but Betsy’s been holding back on me.”
Yonnie stared at the dark clouds covering the late afternoon sun. “Looks like it’s simmering down.”
“Do you want me to drop you off at Beverly’s?”
“Jah, you’d think those Englishers would grow tired of being the only dog in the fight.”
“They don’t think the way we do. Danke for helping me with that load, and tell Beverly hallo.” Gideon waved as he drove away without waiting for a reply. Yonnie waved as he ran up to her house, head down, tucked away against the wind.
Elsie’s place was down at the end of the road and on the left. He was almost there but slowed as he passed by his family home. A few shingles were missing and a fence was down, but from what he could see, everything seemed to be in good shape.
As he turned down the lane, he looked out over John’s cornfield to see the huge cloud gain velocity. It whipped through the ground like a top, chopping up the corn and sending the debris flying in every direction. Since they’d moved to tornado alley, this was the worst storm he’d seen, and he knew there would be more now that summer was here.
By the time he pulled into the Yoders’, the Fishers’ cornfield was ravaged by the fierce winds. Then the layers of clouds spread and the wind calmed. He watched them break apart into many small billows that continued to shrink until the sky was clear. What was so strong and powerful only a few minutes ago was now an innocent puff of air. Gideon felt God’s authority in how He controlled the skies and was humbled. He would build Elsie’s and his life together on the Rock, not on sand.
He examined the Yoders’ house and grounds. There was minor damage but nothing too concerning, and he felt a sense of relief. Gideon slid down out of the wagon. His wet shirt was drying but still stuck to his skin. The cover of the wagon held out better than he thought it would. Maybe it was that good Amish craftsmanship the Englisher talked about.
As he walked to the house, he noticed the garden that only a short while ago was full of colorful flowers. The lines of vegetables had markers of wooden sticks with names of the plant at the end of each row in Adam’s and Aaron’s handwriting. The small gate into the garden had a broken hinge that hung to one side. The fence had surrounded the vegetation, and honeysuckle vines had been planted on the outside of the fence, but they were now scattered and torn. It was an amazing transformation from just a few days ago when he saw the beginning stages of cleanup after the winter. And now again it was in ruins and in need of repair.
The back door opened. Elsie came out and ran to Gideon. “I’ve been worried about you.” She wrapped her arms around Gideon’s neck, and when she did, the life storms, as well as the earthly one they’d just experienced, disappeared, and all was right for a few short moments.
Chapter Twenty-Five
I CAN’T STAY IN this house one more minute.” Katie paced across Elsie’s bedroom, stopped at the window, then turned and walked back again.
Elsie sat on the bed watching her fuming with frustration and anger. What Elsie felt was more hurt than anything. “Sit down and talk to him.”
“Daed won’t even look at me. How am I supposed to have a conversation with him?”
“Maybe when you go through baptism and the rest of what the bishop asks, he’ll be better.” Elsie knew how stubborn her daed was. His harsh behavior was caused by his broken heart, not that he loved his eldest child any less than when he first laid eyes on her.
Katie plopped down on the bed next to Elsie. “I talked to Will, and he said I was welcome any time.” She lifted her upper lip.
Will had not taken the news lightly when Jake didn’t return with Katie and knew how conservative their daed was, so he empathized with Katie. The idea took a minute to sink in, but then Elsie decided it could be helpful for Katie and Ruby to be together. “That might be a good idea.”
“Really?” Katie studied her face.
“Ruby may appreciate the company. Will’s had a hard time getting his crop started, and Ruby’s family are all still in Virginia. I think she’d like the company.”
“I’ll pack my things.” Katie was up and around before she finished the sentence. Then they went to tell Mamm.
“Do you two want to help me finish with the mincemeat sandwiches?” When Mamm turned to see them, she stopped mixing and turned to Katie. “What is it?”
“I’ve decided to stay with Will.” The way Katie said things hurt. She was always direct but even more so now.
Mamm wiped her hands on her apron and leaned against the counter. “Why?”
“It’s too hard with Daed.” As she spoke the words, Daed came in for the afternoon meal, keeping his eyes downcast, and sat at the table.
“Do you have something to say to me?” He didn’t speak her name.
Katie rolled her eyes. But when Elsie looked closer, she saw the tears Katie was trying to push away. “Now you talk to me.” She threw up her hands dramatically.
“You gonna go running off again?” He took his napkin and laid it across his lap.
“You don’t want me here.”
Daed stood abruptly and kicked his chair out from under him. “I’ve wanted you here for the last six months and thirteen days.”
Katie stood at attention, her eyes wide with emotions. Their daed was a passionate man, but at this moment he was undone.
“If you leave again, don’t come back.” His large fists shook at his sides as he stomped out the door.
Katie fell into the chair he’d just abandoned and put her face in her hands. “I can do no right by him.”
“You already have, by coming home,” Mamm said to her. The boys came flying in, and she went back to preparing lunch. There was no need to upset them.
“Maybe my idea wasn’t so good after all.” Elsie felt responsible, but she would have explained her reasoning had she gotten the chance.
“This was your suggestion?” Mamm asked but didn’t stop working long enough to look at her.
“Jah, I thought it would be good for Ruby.” She didn’t need to explain; her mamm knew of Ruby’s struggles.
“Hmm, maybe so, at least until your daed and you can work this out.” She placed a sandwich in front of Adam and looked over at Katie. “As long as you come over for a meal once a day.”
“You mean to see Daed. Fine! It’s better than living here.” Katie mumbled the last of what she’d said, and Elsie was grateful. Although Mamm was patient, she would only take so much from Katie.
After they finished their meal, Katie said good-bye to the boys and Elsie got her bag. Will’s place was at the other end of the community, so the ride took awhile. Only the sound of the steel wheels crunching on the gravel road was heard until Katie broke the uncomfortable silence.
“If he missed me so much, why does he ignore me?” She was quiet for a moment until Elsie didn’t respond, then she started to complain again. “He always said he wished they could have had more children, but because I left, he doesn’t recognize his grand-child?” Katie turned to her.
“You know Daed loves you and the baby you’re carrying. He just doesn’t know how to show it right now. Give him some more time.” Elsie clucked at the horse.
“You sound like Mamm.” Katie frowned, but Elsie considered that a compliment. Her mamm was a strong woman that Elsie hoped to grow into.
When they got to Will’s farm, Ruby answered the door as if she was waiting for them. “Hallo, Elsie. Katie, you are radiant.”
Katie smiled genuinely for the first time sense Elsie had seen her again. “I haven’t heard anyone use that word.”
“Ruby reads a lot. You should see the library
she’s started.” When Elsie heard the back door open, she grew tense. If Will could accept this as doing something for his sister and forget that Jake wasn’t here, maybe he’d handle this like he should.
Will walked through the kitchen and called out, “Who’s here?”
Elsie was glad Will was there and not only Ruby. He was a much more progressive thinker when it came to the Amish ways. In this community he was able to live in a way that better suited him, so he would concentrate on Katie moving forward rather than focusing on decisions she made that the congregation didn’t believe were appropriate.
He rounded the corner into the family room. He stopped and stuck his hands on his hips. “Well, if it isn’t both of my sisters standing right here in my haus.” He went to them and gave them both a tight squeeze then kissed them on top of their heads. “You staying for lunch and dinner?”
Ruby shifted her weight, so Elsie dropped the bag on the floor to distract from the talk of cooking.
“What’s this?” Will stared at Katie. “You’re not leaving again.”
“I was hoping to stay with you.” Katie’s eyes darted between Ruby and Will.
Ruby stared at Will, her eyes pleading for attention before he agreed without her permission.
“Of course you can.” Will glanced at Katie’s stomach. “You’ll have to tell us what you feel like eating. And you can have a room all to yourself down the hall.”
Ruby turned pink and hadn’t taken her eyes off him. “Will.”
He let out a belly laugh. “Sorry, I’m talking too much. It’s so nice to have family with us.”
“Jah, I’d like to talk with you,” Ruby told him as soon as he stopped blabbering.
Tension filled the room as silence fell. Katie turned to Will. “Daed and I aren’t getting along, especially since Jake’s not here.”
“I don’t blame Daed for that.” He didn’t seem to care about insulting her, just stared her down until she responded.
“He is my husband now, Will.”
“You have enough to figure out without worrying about Jake.”
Katie’s face tightened from battling with Will’s assumptions. “I’m not sure what’s going to happen. All I know is I need a peaceful place to rest when this baby comes.”
Will’s eyebrows scrunched together. “You make it sound like it’s coming right now.”
“William,” Ruby scolded, but that was just his way. He wasn’t always proper like he should be.
“I’ll get your bag after Ruby shows you to your room.” He took Katie by the arm.
When Ruby walked by her, Elsie clasped her hand. “Danke for taking her in.” It was strange to thank someone for doing what they did naturally, but Elsie felt she should to encourage her.
Ruby nodded and went to the stairway without saying a word. Elsie knew this was stressful for her and hoped she’d find some comfort once she got used to having guests. Their community was so large in Virginia that Elsie didn’t know her until they moved down here, and even still it wasn’t easy.
Elsie heaved a sigh as she left the house. It seemed right for them to be together. But Will’s attitude would have to change about Jake, or he needed to keep his thoughts to himself, but that wasn’t Will’s way.
As she climbed into the buggy, Elsie knew she needed to talk to Gideon about the trouble at the store a few days ago. So much had gone on she hadn’t had a chance to be alone with him long enough to tell him.
Riding up to Gideon’s house, she admired the even lines of detassled corn with no tassels sticking out of the top. It was helpful to have five sons to work the farm, compared to only her daed and two five-and-a-half-year-olds. Will came over to lend a hand and Daed helped him, but mainly during planting and harvest.
Gideon was in the field with a pitchfork throwing hay on a flatbed. The summer sun was overhead beating down on the large field. Gideon’s hat was off and his suspenders hung down, bouncing against his legs. His brothers were spread out throughout the field doing the same work.
Elsie stopped and waited. He finally saw her and yelled to his youngest brother to take over for him. As he approached, the straw hat went on, and he flipped his suspenders over his shoulders. “This is a nice surprise.” He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck.
“I know you’re busy, so I won’t keep you.”
“No worries. It’s good for him to work by himself.” Gideon gestured to his brother who looked like a younger version of him.
“I’m glad you came. It breaks up my day.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, the day I went to the store, Ruby and I had a run-in with the Englishers.”
Gideon’s eyebrow lowered as he listened.
“We heard some loud popping noises. Sounded like gunshots. Once I got Angus settled, I saw a bundle of fireworks in the back of the buggy.” Gideon’s face twisted into what she thought would be anger, but he just shook his head.
“MaryAnn told Omar about the Englishers causing trouble at her place, but he didn’t tell me that you were involved.”
“I suppose he thought I’d tell you.” The run-ins with the English boys were becoming part of their lives to the point it wasn’t so much of a surprise anymore. What would it take to make it end? Maybe it wouldn’t, and it was their plight.
“They caused us trouble on the way home from town the other day. Tried to run us off the road during that storm, so it turned out to be quite a challenge to get ’em off our tail. Then we got busy doing repairs so I didn’t tell you either.”
“We should tell Omar, Gideon.”
“Jah, I’ll give him the details you told me. He keeps a record of it all in case something turns around on us.”
“He writes it all down?”
“Nee, keeps it in his head.”
Gideon reached for Elsie’s hand and met her eyes. “My favorite story from Martyrs Mirror is about the martyr Dirk Williams. He was imprisoned and put in a castle, but he escaped by tying cloth together and shimmying down the side. When a guard saw him, Dirk ran across a frozen lake, making it safely to the other side. The guard pursued him, broke through the ice, then yelled for help. Dirk Williams went back and saved his captor.” He smiled faintly. “This will pass.”
“Those martyrs sure gave us a lot to live up to.” Elsie grinned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. He responded by squeezing her hand.
“How is everything at home?” His reluctance was obvious by the way he asked. He glanced over at his brother.
She wanted to tell him what was on her mind, about her daed and Katie. She also wanted to hear his opinion about Katie staying at Will’s. But then she decided to enjoy this moment they had together, knowing it wouldn’t last long.
Chapter Twenty-Six
TIMOTHY’S SILVER TRUCK came roaring down the lane, stopped for a moment, then drove on, leaving a cloud of dust behind. Elsie could see his friendly smile and blond hair as he got closer.
She told the boys to keep an eye on the milking and waited for him. “I’m surprised to see you out in this narrisch weather.”
He lifted an eyebrow in question.
She saw him almost every day and sometimes forgot he didn’t understand most of their Pennsylvania Dutch words. “It’s crazy, unpredictable.”
“Is everything all right here?” He took a glance around the place. “Looks like the weather vane has gone missing, and the garden needs some CPR.”
She furrowed her brows, knowing how he felt only a moment ago not understanding her words.
“It needs help,” Timothy explained, and then turned back toward the dirt lane leading to their home. “There’s a guy under a tree out front. I’ve never seen him before, not that I know everyone in the area yet, but pretty darn close.”
Elsie glanced at the large maple. Long thick branches covered with healthy, red leaves created a circle of shade around the tall tree. Elsie’s curiosity piqued, but with the Englishers persistent intimidation, she didn’t want to
approach this person alone.
“I’ll go with you,” Timothy offered, as if reading her mind. “I’ve heard about some teenage boys bothering the Amish. Has anything happened here?”
Elsie thought about how much had happened over the last year—from moving to these Englishers and to friendships, one of which was with this man she’d come to know and consider a friend. “Jah, they like to pick on me. But they may have also done some vandalism in the community too.”
Timothy slowed his walk. “What did they say to you?”
“Told us to leave and . . . said some other things that I don’t want to repeat.”
Timothy clenched his jaw. His face held the same stone expression Gideon’s did when he found out about them. “If this guy is one of them, I’ll take care of him for you.”
“Nee, we don’t believe in violence.”
“Yeah, but I do.” Timothy met her eyes and sighed. “All right, but I’ll be sure and get the word out in town. I haven’t been paying much attention, but I will now.”
“Danke. Did you talk to him?”
“Yeah, he said you knew him, so I figured it was all right for him to be here, even though I thought it was strange that he’d plant himself there instead of coming up to the house.”
Elsie stopped, realizing who it was. “You don’t need to walk me any farther. I’ll catch up with you at the barn.”
He stood still but kept his eyes on her. “How do you know this guy isn’t one of them?”
“Nee, this one I know.” She started walking again, trying to get a better look at him before he turned around. When Elsie saw his profile, there was no question. His blond hair was cut short, not the Amish way that covered the earlobes. Instead of a bowl trim, his hair was in layers and came up high on the back of his neck. He was wearing denim pants and a T-shirt, nothing like the clothes he wore for the first twenty-two years of his life.
Timothy stayed put as Elsie got closer to the tree but kept a sharp eye on her. She was glad he did, but not for Jake’s sake.