“Don’t you think we should consider getting the girls a puppy for Christmas?”
“I’ll think about it. Right now I have more important things on my mind.” He glanced at the barn door. “Sure wish Will would come back. There are so many things I didn’t get to say. I’d hate to leave without talking to him again.”
“Can you come back tomorrow?” Regina asked. “By then Will might be more willing to listen to what you have to say.”
Frank nodded. “I guess we could come by here before we head for home.”
“What time did you plan to leave?” Mark asked.
“Right after breakfast. I’d like to be on the road by nine or ten at the latest.”
“We’re always up early for milking, so come by anytime in the morning.”
“Thanks.” Frank looked over at Megan. “I think it’s time for us to head for the hotel now, don’t you?”
Megan nodded. “I’m kind of tired, and I’m sure the girls are, too.”
As Frank rounded up their daughters and herded them out the door, Megan stepped up to Regina. “It’s been nice meeting you. Thanks again for inviting us to share Thanksgiving with you today.”
“You’re welcome. It was nice meeting you, too.” Regina sighed. “I just wish things had turned out better between Will and his dad.”
“I wish they had, too. Frank’s waited a long time to see his son again, and if we have to return home without him being able to explain things to Will, I’m afraid he’ll sink into depression.”
Regina nodded. “And if Will doesn’t hear the truth about why Frank left and never returned, I don’t think he’ll ever come to grips with his past.”
As Will guided his horse and buggy down the road, his mind replayed the events of the day. He felt bewildered and exhausted from all the things that had been said. Even the things that hadn’t been said filled his thoughts and caused his heart to ache. Should he have stayed and listened to what Pop had to say, or had he done the right thing by leaving?
Nothing would have been gained by us rehashing the past, he finally decided. Pop wouldn’t admit that he hadn’t left me a note. He’s just a big liar. I wish Mama Regina had never invited Pop and his family for Thanksgiving dinner. I wish he’d stayed out of my life forever!
A car sped past, going much faster than it should in snowy conditions, causing slushy snow to splash against the buggy’s front window. Blazer shook his head and whinnied loudly as some of the slush hit his face.
Will grimaced as he gripped the reins and strained to see out. The roads were worse tonight than they had been all week.
The buggy vibrated as it swayed precariously, and Will continued to fight for control. “Hold steady there, Blazer. Easy, boy.”
Blazer reared up, lifting the front of the buggy clear off the pavement.
“Whoa! Whoa!” Sweat rolled down Will’s forehead.
Blazer reared again, and when his hooves thudded against the pavement, he stumbled and fell. He thrashed around for a bit but, with Will’s encouragement, finally managed to get up.
Before Will could gain full control of the situation, the horse took off at a run. The buggy whipped across the slippery road like a leaf being tossed in a strong wind, and nothing Will did brought it under control.
Blazer’s hooves slipped again, and he jerked to the right. The buggy careened off the road and—crash!—slammed into a telephone pole, smashing Will’s door and tossing him to the passenger’s side of the buggy. He screamed as the buggy toppled over and searing pain shot through his leg. When he reached down and touched it, something warm and sticky oozed between his fingers. Blood!
As Will lay there, light-headed and unable to move, an image of Karen popped into his head. He didn’t know how badly he was hurt or how his horse had fared, but he prayed someone would find them—and soon.
CHAPTER 33
While Regina and Mark did the milking, Karen finished cleaning up the kitchen. It gave her time to reflect on everything that had happened and evaluate her relationship with Will. As much as she hated to admit it, things hadn’t been right between them since he’d read that newspaper article about the little girl who’d been abandoned by her parents and left in a park. He had even become more jealous of Leroy during that time, too, and Karen figured it was probably due to the insecurities he felt from having been abandoned by his father. Then after Will learned that his father was trying to contact him, she’d realized that not only was Will dealing with jealousy and insecurity, but he was full of bitterness. It was obvious that he had never come to grips with his past or forgiven his dad. Until he did that, Karen didn’t see how they could be married.
As Karen wiped the table with a sponge, tears rolled down her cheeks and splashed onto the front of her dress. Maybe Will and I aren’t meant to be together. Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to become his wife.
When the back door creaked open and clicked shut, she wiped her eyes with the palm of her hand.
“Mark and I got the cows milked, and now he’s cleaning things up in the barn. How’s it going in here?” Regina asked, stepping into the kitchen.
“Fine. I’ve gotten most everything cleaned up.”
Regina glanced around. “Looks good to me. Danki for taking care of this so I could help Mark with the milking.”
“You’re welcome.”
Regina stared at Karen. “Have you been crying? Are you still upset because Will took off the way he did?”
Karen nodded.
“You know Will—he needs to be alone when he’s upset about something. I’m sure after he’s had some time to sort things out that he’ll come home and we’ll work everything out together.”
“I hope that’s the way it goes.”
Regina opened a cupboard door and removed a recipe box. “You mentioned that you’d like the recipe for White Christmas Pie, so I’d like to give it to you now.” She handed the box to Karen. “It should be filed in the pie section.”
“I…I still want the recipe, but I’m not sure Will and I will be getting married, so—”
“What do you mean?” Regina looked stunned.
Karen sighed deeply. “After what happened today, I’m having second thoughts about marrying Will.”
“You can’t mean that. Will loves you, Karen.”
“I love him, too, and Will has many fine qualities, but it’s obvious that he’s still deeply troubled over his past and is full of bitterness toward his daed. I’m afraid things will never be right between Will and me unless he and Frank are able to make their peace.”
“You’re right, and I’m hoping when Frank comes back tomorrow that he can tell Will what he told us this evening and Will is willing to listen.” Regina hugged Karen. “Please don’t give up on Will. He needs you in his life.”
Karen sniffed. “I’m not giving up on Will, but I won’t marry him until he sets things right with his daed.”
“Then we’ll have to pray that he does. And now,” Regina said as she headed for the stove, “I think I’ll pour myself a cup of coffee while we wait for Will. Would you like one, too?”
“No thanks. I’ll just look for that recipe.” Karen opened the box and flipped through the recipe cards until she came to the pie section. When she found the recipe for White Christmas Pie, she removed it and read the ingredients. “This looks fairly simple. Is there more on the back?” She turned the card over and gasped. “Regina, you’d better take a look at this!”
“What is it, Karen?”
“Frank was telling the truth about the note he wrote for Will. It’s right here—on the back of this card.”
Regina rushed across the room and peered over Karen’s shoulder. “I remember seeing the recipe card on the counter the morning Frank left our home in Lancaster County, only the card was faceup with the recipe showing. I had no reason to turn it over.” She clicked her tongue as she slowly shook her head. “So that’s why I didn’t see Frank’s note. I put the recipe back in the box and, until today, never took
it out.”
Tears flowed down Karen’s cheeks as she pressed her weight against the counter and stared at Frank’s note. “Will needs to see this. He needs to know that his daed wasn’t lying when he said he left a note.”
“You’re right. Once Will sees the note on the back of the card, he’ll finally believe.” Regina glanced at the clock. “I’m really beginning to worry. Will’s been gone almost two hours. I think he should have been back by now.”
“I’m worried, too. I’m afraid he might have decided to leave for good and never come back.”
Regina shook her head. “Will wouldn’t do that. I’m sure he wouldn’t.”
“Sometimes when people are under pressure and unable to deal with a problem, they do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.”
Mark stepped into the kitchen just then. “I got the milking apparatus and barn all cleaned, but there’s still no sign of Will.” He looked at Regina. “I don’t know about you, but I’m getting concerned.”
“We’re worried about Will, too, but you need to look at this!” Regina handed Mark the recipe card. “Frank did leave a note for Will. He wrote it on the back of my recipe card for White Christmas Pie. It must have gotten turned over, because I never saw the note when I put the card back in the recipe box.”
Mark studied the card. “You’re right; this was written by Frank. Will needs to see it so he’ll know his daed was telling the truth.”
Regina glanced at the clock again. “I wonder where he went and what could be keeping him.”
“Maybe he went over to the Chupps’ to see Nathan. Want me to drive over there and find out?”
Regina nodded. “That’s a good idea.”
“The Chupps’ place is on the way to my house, so since you’ll be heading that way, would you mind giving me a ride home?” Karen asked.
Regina’s eyebrows furrowed. “Aren’t you going to wait here for Will?”
Karen shook her head. “If Will wanted to be with me, he wouldn’t have run off like he did. I think it’s better if I’m not here when he gets home.”
Regina touched Karen’s arm. “I’m sure he didn’t leave on your account.”
“That’s right,” Mark put in. “The reason Will left was because he couldn’t deal with seeing his daed.”
“Even so, I’m tired and I’d appreciate a ride home.”
“I’ll get Bob and hitch him to my buggy right away.”
“I wish you could have worked things out with Will today,” Megan said as they neared Shipshewana.
Frank sighed. “I wanted that, too, but as you saw, Will did not.”
Megan glanced in the backseat and was relieved to see that the girls were asleep. She didn’t think they needed to hear this conversation. They’d heard enough during dinner.
“It’s only natural that things would have been strained,” she said, turning back to look at Frank. “After all, you and Will haven’t seen each other in a very long time.”
“I keep asking myself if there was anything I could have said or done today to make things right between me and Will.”
“You did the best you could, but there was no way you could get through to Will when he wouldn’t listen. Maybe when we stop at the Stoltzfuses’ tomorrow morning, things will go better. A good night’s sleep can do wonders for a person’s frame of mind.”
“Are you saying I was in a bad mood today and that’s why things went wrong?”
“Of course not. I’m just saying that Will might be more willing to listen to your side of things after he’s had a good night’s sleep.”
Frank grunted. “If Will’s even there tomorrow. When he took off after dinner, I got a horrible feeling that I might never see him again.”
As Karen and Mark headed for her house, she decided to bring up the situation with Will and Frank again.
“If Will sees the note Frank wrote on the back of Regina’s recipe card, do you think things will work out between him and his daed?” Karen asked.
“I hope that’s the case. Even though Regina and I think of Will as our son, we’d like to see him have a relationship with Frank.”
Karen sighed. “What if Will isn’t there when Frank returns to your place in the morning?”
“Where else would he be?”
“What if he doesn’t come home tonight? What if—”
“Look over there!” Mark shouted as he pointed to the other side of the road. “I think that’s Will’s buggy tipped on its side. Ach, what a mess!”
Karen’s breath caught in her throat. Dear Lord, please don’t let it be Will’s.
Mark guided his horse to the side of the road and pulled the buggy in behind the other rig. Then he grabbed a flashlight and jumped out of his buggy.
Karen was right behind him, her heart hammering in her chest.
Mark shined a beam of light onto the buggy. The door on the driver’s side was pushed in, and the shafts that had been connected to the horse were broken. As Mark shined the light around more, Karen recognized Will’s horse lying several feet away from the buggy. He wasn’t moving.
“Will! Can you hear me?” Mark shouted, cupping his hand around his mouth.
No response.
“I need to get in there!”
Karen clutched Mark’s arm. “Please, let me go.”
“All right, but I’ll need to get some tools from my buggy so I can clear the front window out of Will’s buggy. It’s the only way you’ll be able to get in.”
Karen nodded, feeling numb. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion.
Tears flowed down her cheeks, and her body trembled as she stood helplessly waiting for Mark to return with the tools. What if Will was dead? What if she never got to tell him how much she loved him?
Mark stepped up to her, holding a crowbar and a hammer, with his flashlight tucked under one arm. “You’d better stand back while I get the window pulled free.”
Karen moved aside, watching, waiting, and praying. Finally the window released, and Mark tossed it to the side of the road. “You’d better take this,” he said, handing her the flashlight. “You’ll need it to see how things are once you’re inside.”
Karen took the flashlight, and with her heart thudding and legs shaking, she crawled inside. She spotted Will right away, scrunched against the passenger door. He wasn’t moving. With a shaky hand, she slipped her fingers around his wrist to check for a pulse. She felt a pulsation beneath her fingertips, but it was very weak. She leaned close to Will and put her face in front of his mouth. A faint breath blew against her cheek, and she felt a sense of relief knowing he was still alive.
“How’s Will?” Mark called.
“He’s unconscious, and his pulse is awfully weak.” Karen’s voice quavered, and she drew in a shaky breath. Dear God, please let him live.
“Can you tell how badly he’s been injured?”
She lifted the flashlight and spotted a bump on Will’s forehead, and then she saw a huge tear in his pants and gasped. Blood squirted from Will’s leg like a gusher of water spurting from a well.
Knowing she needed to get the bleeding stopped, Karen shined the light around the buggy and was relieved when she found a lightweight blanket on the floor. She scooped it up and, using one corner of the blanket, applied pressure to Will’s leg.
“I checked on Will’s horse, and he’s dead,” Mark said when he stuck his head inside the buggy a few minutes later. “How’s Will doing?”
“He’s unconscious. It looks like his leg’s been cut, and it’s bleeding really bad. I’ve applied pressure, but he needs to get to the hospital right away.”
“We’re close to the Chupps’ place, so I’ll go there and call for help while you stay with Will and keep pressure on his leg.”
Karen swallowed against the bile rising in her throat. “Okay.”
“I’ll be back as quick as I can.” Mark disappeared into the night.
It seemed like an eternity until Mark returned to the buggy.
“
I called 911 from the Chupps’ phone shed, and help is on the way,” he panted. “How’s Will doing?”
Tears welled in Karen’s eyes as she spotted blood seeping through the blanket. “Not so good. I haven’t been able to get the bleeding stopped.”
“The ambulance should be here soon. Nathan’s gone to my place to get Regina, and he’s lining us up a ride to the hospital.”
“I’d like to ride in the ambulance with Will, if you don’t mind,” Karen said, swallowing hard.
“That’s fine. We’ll meet you at the hospital.”
Amish White Christmas Pie Page 23