by Emma Miller
That suited Bram perfectly. He’d rather keep any money transactions as quiet as possible.
It wasn’t until after he was home and settling Partner in for the night that he remembered he had forgotten to warn her about Kavanaugh.
Chapter Thirteen
Streaks of lathered sweat covered Partner’s flanks by the time Bram turned him into the Stoltzfus family’s drive on Thursday afternoon. Today’s trip to Goshen, through Middlebury and then to Shipshewana had been exhausting and fruitless. Another day of hunting with no sign of Kavanaugh.
He should go home, but he couldn’t pass this close to the Stoltzfus farm without seeing Ellie. Four days had passed since their Sunday drive, four days with thoughts of her crowding every moment. He craved one glimpse, one sure confirmation she was safe.
Tying the horse to the corral fence next to the barn, Bram loosened his harness and made sure he stood in the shade of the tall maple trees. He filled his cupped hands with water in the nearby trough and wet the horse’s nose and mouth. Partner was too hot yet to let him drink his fill.
Bram removed his hat and wiped his forehead with a sleeve. The yard was deserted, but that wasn’t surprising. In the middle of the afternoon he expected the children to be napping. Ellie and her mother were probably working in the cool house.
The metallic squeak of a pump handle rang through the heavy air, the sound coming from near Ellie’s Dawdi Haus. Bram turned that direction and then pulled up short at the sight of Ellie and her two brothers carrying buckets of water to the field beyond Ellie’s house.
What was she thinking, working like that in this heat?
He met her as she returned to the pump for another trip, and her pale face and bleary gaze told him he hadn’t come any too soon. She tried to wave him off as he took the bucket out of her hands, but she let him steer her toward the shaded glider in the side yard.
“The strawberries,” Ellie said. Her voice lacked strength, as if she was falling asleep. Bram’s stomach clenched, and he hoped he wasn’t too late.
Ben and Reuben were at his side.
“We tried to get her to stop,” Reuben said, “but she said she’d do the whole field by herself if we didn’t help her.”
“I can believe it.” If he had ever seen a more stubborn woman... “We need a bucket of water and some towels.”
While Reuben ran to fill Ellie’s abandoned bucket, Bram started to unfasten Ellie’s dress at her neckline.
“What are you doing?” Ben reached out to stop him.
“She’s suffering from heat exhaustion. We have to keep her from having a heatstroke.”
Ben didn’t argue; he ran into the house for towels.
“I have to water the plants before they die.” Ellie tried to refasten her dress, but her movements were uncoordinated and slow.
“Ellie,” Bram said, “we have to cool you off first. You shouldn’t have been working out in the heat.”
Reuben set the full pail of water next to Bram as he knelt on the ground. “Will she be all right?”
“Ja, if we can get her cooled off. Where’s John? And your mother?” Bram took the towels Ben brought and plunged them in the cool water.
“They took the girls over to Lovina’s. They’re making jam, and Dat was going to a sale with Noah.”
Ben had brought a dipper, and after Bram gave Ellie a drink, they all took turns.
“The children?”
“In the house sleeping.”
Bram took one towel, wrung most of the water out of it and draped it over the back of Ellie’s neck. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was rapid. He took another wet towel and began sponging her face. It wasn’t enough.
Bram took handfuls of water and poured them over Ellie’s feet and lower legs. He wet his towel again and went back to sponging her face, hands and arms.
Ellie caught the towel in one hand and took it from him.
“I can do that, Bram. Denki.”
Her face was returning to a normal color. Her eyes looked tired, but the glaze was gone. Bram’s stomach unclenched, and he sat back on his heels. He glanced from Ben’s flushed face to Reuben’s. Ellie wasn’t the only one suffering from the heat.
“Do you boys have a swimming hole?”
“Ja, but what about Ellie?”
“I’ll take care of her. She’s out of danger now, but you need to get cooled off, too.”
Ben looked at Reuben. After a long minute of indecision, Reuben nodded.
“You’re right. We’ll take care of your horse before we go.”
Bram nodded. “Denki.”
* * *
“If I were a different man, I’d throttle you right now.” Bram’s voice was gentle as he sponged her cheeks with a wet towel.
Ellie didn’t answer, but sniffed back threatening tears. He sounded angry with her, but why? She was only taking care of the work that needed to be done.
Bram took the towel off the back of her neck and rinsed it in fresh water before handing it back to her. She held it to her face and neck. The cool cloth felt wonderful-gut on her bare skin.
“What were you thinking, working out in that field in this heat?”
“The strawberries. I watered them early this morning, but this afternoon I saw they were dying.” She was too weak to stop the tears that fell. “I can’t lose those plants.”
Bram sat on the glider and offered her another dipper of water. She drank it slowly, the water seeping into her body in cool swallows.
“Those are your strawberries?”
She nodded. “That’s why I don’t have enough money to pay the taxes on the farm. I used my savings...” Ellie glanced toward the dusty field dotted with shriveled bits of green. “But I’m going to lose them all, aren’t I?”
“I’m afraid you’ve already lost them. It’s just too hot. My corn is drying up, too.”
Ellie reached a hand to the front of her dress where it hung loose. How did she get this way? She started to refasten it, but Bram stopped her by taking her hand in his.
“Not yet. You haven’t cooled down enough.”
“But I must look a sight.”
When Bram twitched the corner of his mouth into that secret grin reserved just for her, any resistance she had to him melted away to nothing. Ja, she trusted him, and more. Much more.
“You sure do. Are you feeling better?”
“Ja. I didn’t realize how exhausted I was until I sat down.”
Bram still held her hand in his. He reached up with his other hand and tucked some damp hair behind her ear.
“You don’t have to worry about the money, remember? I said I had enough.”
“But how will I pay you back?”
He squeezed her hand with reassuring pressure. She let the tension drain out of her shoulders.
“You will somehow, but I’m not in a hurry.”
Ellie closed her eyes. Bram put his arm around her and pulled her close to him.
Resting in his embrace, Ellie let herself lean into him, giving way to the comforting strength of his presence. Long minutes went by before she thought about moving, but she should.
Sit up, she told herself, but instead she opened her eyes to see Bram’s face just inches from her own, his expression unreadable, his eyes locked on hers. He bent his head slightly and then paused, his eyes flickering with doubt.
Ellie put her hand up to his cheek, bridging the gap between them. His blue gaze stilled and darkened. He was going to kiss her and she longed to let him, but she couldn’t. To kiss him would be a step into a sin she would never be free of.
Forcing herself, she lowered her hand and shifted away from him. A hot breeze played between the two of them on the glider.
* * *
Bram wanted to purs
ue Ellie as she drew away from him. She had wanted his kiss, but she was right to stop him. With an inward groan, he loosened his hold on her soft, yielding form, his arms already aching with the loss. He kept her as close as he dared with his left arm around her shoulder and closed his right hand around hers. It was small, soft and cool from the wet towel as it lay in his larger one. Relaxed. Trusting. Fragile. A bird in his hand.
His throat tightened as he turned her hand over and stroked her palm with his thumb. What reason had he ever given for her to trust him? How could he ever keep her safe?
He opened his mouth to speak, to warn her about the man he was hunting, but the look on her face stopped him. She was watching their hands together, a small smile turning up the corners of her mouth. A slight breeze had dried a few hanging strands of her hair, and they drifted across her forehead, making her look like a young girl. The worry line that usually strained her features was gone. When had it disappeared?
He couldn’t tell her. Not yet. This wasn’t the right time to let her know about the violent past that continued to dog his footsteps. Kavanaugh had been close, but even though Bram had spent the past week hunting for him through the neighboring towns, he hadn’t seen any sign that the gangster was still around. As long as he kept to his plan, he would be safe.
Bram tightened his hand, enfolding Ellie’s in his own. They would both be safe.
* * *
“Will we buy ice cream?”
Susan heard her brother. “Ice cream? Will there be ice cream there?”
“Ice cream costs too much money.” The disappointed looks on the children’s faces pulled at Ellie’s heart, but they didn’t argue with her. “I think we can buy a treat at the grocery store, though. How about some chocolate to make brownies?”
Johnny and Susan grinned at each other with delight. Trips to town were rare, and even though Daniel would have said the trip was enough of a treat, the chocolate would make it extra special.
“I hear Bram’s buggy.” Johnny raced out the door to meet him.
“Wait, Susan. You need to wear your kapp.”
“Just like Memmi.” Susan smiled up at her, the stiff white kapp framing her sweet face as Ellie fit it over her braids.
“Ja, just like Memmi. Now, you go on out with Johnny. We don’t want to keep Bram waiting.”
Ellie settled her bonnet over her own kapp before picking up Danny. Bram’s greeting to the children drifted in through the open window, sending her stomach rolling and heat flooding to her cheeks. Bram was here to take them to LaGrange, to the county tax office.
It was a trip she had been dreading, but Bram had lifted a sore burden from her when he’d offered to loan her the money she needed. She would pay the taxes this morning, and then she didn’t need to worry about them for another year. Surely by then Mr. Brenneman would be working again, and she would be able to pay Bram back as well as pay next year’s taxes.
Another reason for her light mood filled the field next to the house. At least half of the strawberry plants still survived, in spite of yesterday’s heat. Perhaps she would have berries to sell next spring after all.
From Bram’s animated conversation with the children as they waited for her in the back of the buggy, it sounded as if he was looking forward to this trip as much as she and the children were. When she stepped out of the house, he came to meet her.
“Good morning.” He leaned so close to her she was afraid he was going to start the day with a kiss on her cheek, but he only gave her a grin as he took Danny—that secret grin meant just for her.
“Good morning, Bram. Denki for driving us into town.”
He helped her into the buggy and then held her hand until she looked at him. “I wouldn’t let you go alone. I’m here for you, Ellie.” His voice was low, intimate. Her cheeks flushed hot.
Taking Danny from him, she waited as he climbed in on the other side and chirruped to Partner. Her heart fluttered like leaves catching a passing breeze, and she resisted the urge to thread her hand through his elbow as if they were courting. How long had it been since she had felt like this? Bram’s strength gave her a security she hadn’t known since she was a girl.
Even when Daniel was alive... Ach, had she really been the proud, stubborn woman she remembered? She never let him care for her, cherish her. Their lives together could have been even happier if she had learned to be content with what Daniel—and Gott—provided for her. She shied away from the thought that perhaps their lives together could have been longer if she hadn’t insisted that he expand the farm. How had Daniel ever put up with her? How did Gott ever put up with her?
She stole a glance at Bram and caught him watching her, a quiet smile on his face. Ja, she could get used to this.
When they arrived in LaGrange, Bram drove Partner to a hitching rail in the shade on the courthouse square. Their footsteps echoed in the vast entrance of the limestone building, cool and dark after the blazing sunshine. Bram found the tax office, and Ellie signed the papers while he handed the money to the clerk.
Bram shepherded them outside again and steered them to a bench on the shady lawn.
“Now I think we need to do some shopping.”
“Ja, I hoped we could stop at a grocer’s.”
Bram cleared his throat, watching the children as they played a hopping game on the cement walk. “I was thinking of a dry-goods store.”
“I don’t need anything there.”
“I think you do.”
Ellie thought of the few coins in her pocketbook. Some baking soda, flour and the chocolate would use all her money.
“Bram,” she said, lowering her voice so the children wouldn’t hear, “I only brought enough to buy the groceries I need.”
“You need a new dress.” His lowered voice matched hers, and he held her gaze with his own.
He was right, of course. The brown one she was wearing had been mended many times, but it would still do. The children’s clothes came first when she had money to spend on fabric.
“I don’t need a new dress, even if I could afford it.”
“Ellie, let me buy you the material. Enough for Susan, too.”
Her face flushed hot as she glanced at Susan playing tag with Johnny. The little girl’s dress was much too short. Watching her, Ellie knew she had lost the argument, but only part of it.
“I’ll let you loan me some money for a new dress for Susan.”
“Enough for both of you. And it’s not a loan. It’s a gift.”
Ellie started shaking her head.
“Ellie, please.” His eyes were pleading. “I have more than enough money. Let me do this.”
A cold thought fluttered in the back of her mind. His money again. She was coming to depend on him too much.
He lifted her hand from her lap and held it entwined in his solid, capable fingers. He leaned close to her, letting Danny pat his short beard.
“Let me take care of you.” His whisper was carried off on the breeze, but not before it reached her ears.
Tears stung her eyes as his words destroyed any argument she had left. She nodded without speaking.
* * *
Bram glanced in the windows of the empty building next to the dry-goods store as they came back onto the sidewalk. Another closed bank was a common enough sight these days, but this one meant he didn’t have to worry about Kavanaugh showing up here. He could relax his guard a bit and enjoy the day.
The stop in the store had been a success. He had persuaded Ellie to choose several pieces of fabric. One was green, perfect for weekdays, and another was a deep blue that matched her eyes. That would be for Sundays. A couple lengths of black and white for aprons and other necessities hadn’t been hard to convince her to add in. He had also bought a new straw hat for Johnny and one for himself.
“If I cut carefull
y,” Ellie said, her eyes glowing, “I’m sure I can make some shirts for Johnny and Danny out of the blue. And there is enough of the green to make dresses for both Susan and myself.”
Bram had never seen Ellie so animated. If he had known new fabric would make her this happy, he would have made this trip weeks ago.
When they reached the buggy, he checked on Partner while Ellie helped Johnny put the bundles in the back of the rig. He wasn’t ready to take them home. Ellie would immerse herself in her work again, and he’d have to make another round of the nearby towns, looking for some sign of Kavanaugh. There must be something he could do to make this day last longer.
Activity at the drugstore caught his eye. Ja, a lunch counter would be a wonderful-gut treat for Ellie and the children.
He took Danny from Ellie’s arms and stopped her before she climbed in the buggy. “Are you ready for lunch?”
“Lunch? I didn’t pack anything. I thought I would make dinner at home.”
He pointed toward the drugstore and then reached for Susan’s hand. “There’s a lunch counter over here. Have you ever eaten at one?”
“You mean buy a meal?”
Her voice was incredulous. If she only knew how many hundreds of meals he had eaten at lunch counters just like this one.
“Ja, buy a meal. I’m sure the egg-salad sandwiches here are almost as good as yours.”
She looked at him with suspicion. “You’ve never tried one of mine, so how do you know?”
Bram laughed at this. “Let’s just go in and eat.”
Watching Ellie enjoy the new experience of eating out made everything he had done to earn that money worth it. Johnny and Susan swung their legs as they sat on their stools at the counter eating their hot dogs while Danny ate bits of a grilled cheese that Ellie cut up for him. She had been nervous at first, but she had relaxed at her first bite of a chicken-salad sandwich.
To top off the treat, Bram ordered ice-cream cones. He was sure Johnny’s eyes would pop when the clerk handed his to him. Life didn’t get much better than this.
The final stop was at the grocer’s around the corner from the drugstore. Ellie bought her supplies, and Bram filled a box with groceries for himself, making sure he bought plenty of sugar. Ellie was probably using sorghum in everything she baked, since sugar was expensive. He’d slip the sack into her box later.