“What is it? You look spooked.” He grabbed her arm. “What’s happened?”
“I-I…” And suddenly, she couldn’t speak further. She began to cry and then was so ashamed of herself that she sputtered, trying to hide it. “I-I’m fine. It’s just that … that…”
He held onto the handle of her bike. “Get off, Leora. Take a breath. Climb off. There you go.”
He set her bicycle on the ground and turned to her. “What’s happened?”
She looked up at him, at the concern in his eyes, and began to cry all over again. He put his arm around her shoulder and drew her inside the barn out of the breeze.
“Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, sniffling and wiping at her eyes. “I-I’m sorry.”
“For what? You’ve nothing to be sorry for. Ach, you’re cold, Leora. Let’s go inside.”
She shook her head. She couldn’t go inside his house. What would people think?
“Come on,” he said. His arm was still around her shoulder and despite her protests, he took her straight into his house. “Sit down,” he instructed, leading her to the rocker beside his warming stove. He knelt before the stove, poked around inside a bit and put in another log. Closing the door, he got up and pulled another rocker close to hers. He sat down.
“Take your time,” he said. “But I want to know what happened.”
Chapter Seventeen
Leora pressed a hand against her chest, and her breathing slowed. She felt absurd now, sitting there, like a hysterical woman. She took another breath. “I’m sorry. It’s n-nothing.”
“Clearly, it’s not nothing if you’re upset.”
“I think… I think that the hooded person was in my shed,” she told him.
He jumped out of his chair. “What? Did you see him?”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t expected such a reaction from him.
He leaned close. “Did you see him? Did he hurt you?” His voice rose with every word.
“Nee,” she said. “Nee. I didn’t see him. But I saw his footprints, and he closed and latched my shed while I was feeding my chickens.”
Noah was staring at her now, his expression hard and alarmed. “You’re sure?”
She nodded. “And I didn’t… Well, I didn’t lock my front door when I went out this time and I was…” Could she admit it to him? Could she admit her fear? But he already knew, didn’t he? She was there, wasn’t she? “I was afraid he had gone into my house.”
Noah hands fisted at his sides. “You didn’t go in, did you?”
“Nee. I’m sorry. I should have checked…”
“Nee, you shouldn’t have. You did the right thing. I’ll go back there. I’ll check inside.”
“But what if… What if he’s dangerous?”
“He sets fires, Leora. I’ll be all right. You can stay here and wait till I get back.”
“Nee!” she cried, and then felt embarrassed at the frantic note in her voice. “I want to go with you.”
He studied her for a long moment. “All right. We’ll go together. I’ll put your bicycle in the back of my buggy.”
She let out her breath, not realizing she’d been holding it. “Thank you, Noah.”
He touched her cheek with the back of his fingers. She felt his rough skin, felt the warmth of his hand, felt the emotion of his touch, and her eyes burned with unshed tears.
“Thank you for coming to me…” he said softly.
“I wasn’t going to,” she whispered. “I was really heading for Martha’s house.”
He smiled tenderly at her. “But you didn’t make it there.”
She shook her head. “I didn’t make it there…”
“I’m glad. I’ll hitch up the buggy, and we’ll go.”
She helped him hitch up Flicker, and he smiled at her more than once over the horse’s back. He hefted her bicycle into the back of the buggy and they both got in. Neither said anything as they drove to her house. She glanced at him every few moments and saw the set of his jaw and the look of determination on his face.
“Do you… Do you think we should contact the Englisch police?” she asked.
He shook his head. “At this point, there’s no need. We don’t know for sure if he’s even still there.”
“Maybe I imagined it all,” she said, now that her nerves had settled some. “Maybe it was all in my mind.”
He looked at her. “I don’t think you would have imagined a shed door shut and latched,” he said. “Nor would you have imagined footprints in the dirt.”
She swallowed and nodded. He believed her. He didn’t think she was being emotional.
It didn’t take long to arrive at her house. Noah drove the buggy straight to the porch and got out. He paused before shutting the buggy door.
“I’d rather you stay here,” he said.
She didn’t argue, she just nodded.
He shut the buggy door and climbed her porch steps and disappeared inside. Leora didn’t know what she expected, but she scooted forward on her seat and every muscle in her body was tense. She was waiting to hear him holler or to hear footsteps fleeing the scene or something.
But all was quiet. She held her breath, her eyes glued to the front door of her house.
And then Noah appeared again. He shut her door and came down to the buggy. He spoke through the buggy window. “If he was here, he’s gone now.”
She let out her breath in a whoosh.
“Will you show me the footprints?”
She swallowed and got out of the buggy, leading him around to her shed. She opened the door and looked down. She’d forgotten that she’d come in after she saw the footprints, and they were all but obscured completely beneath her own prints.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I came in here afterward. They were right there.” She pointed to the ground.
He squatted and studied the dirt. “I can kind of see where there might have been a large print.” He stood up then and went further inside the shed. She stayed at the door, watching him look around. He peered behind the bags of feed and also pulled a few pieces of stored plywood away from the back wall.
“He could have hidden back here,” he said.
She shuddered. “Jah. That’s what I had thought.”
“The shed doesn’t lock?”
“Just the latch on the outside.”
He rubbed his chin. “I think I’ll put a padlock on the door.”
“Is that really necessary?” she asked. She had mixed feelings about that—part of her saw the value and liked the idea, but she hated to put Noah to the trouble. And she didn’t like the fact that the hooded man—if that’s who was there—was controlling them in a way.
“Jah. If not for you, for me.” He came out of the shed and gazed down at her. “I will worry about you, Leora.”
She blinked and felt her throat tighten.
“What do you think about staying with Martha for a few days? I’m sure she’d welcome you. At least until the person is found.”
“But what if he’s never found? I’m going to have to live here by myself again anyway.”
“That is true. But maybe, he’ll be caught soon. Then the danger will be over.”
She squared her shoulders. She couldn’t bear to be that fearful woman. “Nee. I’m staying here. I’ll be fine, Noah. It’s just that I forgot to lock the door. I won’t forget anymore.”
“Leora, please…”
“Nee. I will stay here, but I’ll be more careful. I promise.”
“I just don’t like it.”
She smiled at him, pulling forth all her courage. “I know you don’t. But truly, Noah, I’ll be fine.”
“Isn’t there someone you’d like to invite here to stay, then?”
She laughed softly. “Nee. I’m all right.”
He blew out his breath.
“Thank you, though. For bringing me home and checking my house. I appreciate it.” She suddenly became aware of the fact that she hadn’t washed or freshened up si
nce yesterday morning. She took a step back, wondering just how bad she looked.
“I will come over anytime you need me,” he told her. “Don’t hesitate to come find me.”
“I won’t,” she said, knowing she would. How could she be bothering him all the time? It wasn’t seemly.
“Thank you again, Noah.”
“You’re not going in to work, are you?” he asked.
“Nee. Not today.”
“Do you need a ride tomorrow?”
“Um… I don’t know yet.”
“I’ll stop over in the morning and check. Is that all right?”
She smiled again. Goodness, but this man made her smile continually. “That would be fine.”
He still seemed hesitant to go, but he finally walked back to his buggy. She went around to her porch and waved him off. And then she went inside. She carefully locked the door behind her. She would take a shower immediately this time. And put on a new frock.
Then she remembered that she’d left her partially eaten meatloaf sandwich out on the table. She went to the kitchen and saw it sitting there. Her first thought was that Noah had seen it. What would he think about her leaving half-eaten food around? She was becoming more and more vested in what Noah thought, but ach, he was such a nice man.
She liked him. Perhaps, more than liked him. She picked up her sandwich, noting that the bread was now dry. She didn’t want it; although, she was hungry. She hated to waste food, but in this case, she was going to. She dumped the sandwich into the garbage can. The glass of milk she’d poured had gone warm. She poured it into a saucepan, deciding that a hot cup of cocoa would do nicely right then.
She laughed when she’d fixed it and sat down to drink. Once again, she’d put off her shower.
Chapter Eighteen
Noah was troubled. He didn’t like the fact that Leora insisted on staying alone. When he went later that afternoon to Marlie’s place, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going to happen to Leora.
Marlie came right out to the front porch when he arrived.
“Thank you, Noah,” she called out. “Bart is coming home. He should be here any minute. He found a van driver right away.”
“That’s gut news,” Noah answered. He secured the reins and got out of the buggy. “How are you doing?”
“I’m doing fine,” she said. And indeed, she looked much better this time. “People have been by. The bishop came, too. He’s calling a special prayer meeting at five o’clock today—at his place.”
“Gut. Will you go? And Bart will be back in time, right?”
“Surely, he will,” she said. “And we’ll go. We need to pray not only for safety but for the person responsible. He must be filled with hate.”
Noah wondered. What was it that made a person do such things? He thought it was more likely fear than hate. Fear of the unknown. Fear of something different.
“I want to thank you again for last night,” Marlie told him.
“Nothing to thank me for,” he said, and he meant it. He could list a dozen men who would have done the same thing without a second thought.
“And Leora. You were both so gut to me.”
The sound of a baby crying reached his ears.
“Ach, that’s the boppli. I need to go. Would you like to come in for a bite?” Marlie asked.
“Nee. I’m fine. I just wanted to make sure all was well.”
“As well as can be expected.”
“How was Bart doing when you talked to him?”
“He was mostly worried about me and the kinner. Of course, he’s upset, but he was praising the gut Lord that we’re all safe. ‘A barn can be rebuilt’ he told me.”
“He’s right.”
The boppli’s cries increased.
“I do need to go now.”
“Of course. I’ll be seeing you at the prayer meeting.”
“Jah. Bye, Noah.”
“Bye.”
Noah got back in his buggy. As he drove by the burnt remains of the barn, his mind returned to thoughts of Leora. He was fairly certain she’d want to go to the prayer meeting. She would probably need a ride, too, unless someone else went by to fetch her.
His thoughts immediately switched to Bill Jeffreys, and he shook his head, huffing out his breath. It wasn’t likely that Bill Jeffreys would even know about the prayer meeting, much less give Leora a ride to it. Goodness…
Plain and simple, Noah was jealous of Bill Jeffreys.
Ach, but he needed to get control of himself.
He drove back to his farm, still shaking his head.
* * *
Leora wished she’d agreed to go in to work that day. It would have given her something else to think about. As it was, her mind kept circling and circling the hooded stranger. Every five minutes, she was craning her neck, looking outside, expecting to see the person gaping in at her. She tried cleaning her house—which barely took half an hour. She tried baking—it was the worst loaves of bread she produced in years. She tried reading—but her eyes simply skimmed the words without paying a stick of attention.
Then she set to pacing. Well, at least she’d get a bit of exercise.
Near supper time, she nearly wept with relief when she heard a buggy come into her drive. She hurried to the front door, unlocked it, and opened it.
Tom pulled to a stop in front of the porch. Martha climbed out. She was waddling a bit this time, and Leora couldn’t help but smile.
“Leora, you coming to the prayer meeting?”
“What prayer meeting?”
“The bishop called it. We’re going to pray about these fires. The meeting is at his place.”
“Jah. I’ll come,” Leora said. “Let me get my cape.”
She hurried back inside, grateful to have something to do. It was good of Tom and Martha to come by for her. She took a moment to bank the fire, and then she grabbed her cape. She glanced around the room. It’d be dark by the time she got back, and she didn’t fancy coming into a dark house. Not today. But leaving a lantern burning unattended was pure foolishness. She decided to grab a flashlight and put it in her bag. No one need even know it was there.
Again, she felt foolish for her fears, but there they were. At least with the flashlight, she could get to the lanterns with no issue when she came home.
She went back outside to see another buggy drawing near.
“Why, it’s Noah,” Martha commented from where she waited by her buggy door.
Had he come for her, too? Leora’s heart gave a happy jolt. “Just a minute,” she told Martha.
She ran back to Noah’s buggy as he drew to a halt. She went to his window. “Hello, Noah.”
“I came by to fetch you for the prayer meeting.”
Even in the cold, her cheeks warmed with pleasure. “Thank you, but Tom and Martha are here.”
He nodded slowly. “I’m too late.” He smiled at her. “You going with them, then?”
She hesitated, but only for a minute. It would create much less gossip if she went with Martha and her family. She could only imagine the tongues wagging if she showed up riding beside Noah King.
“Jah,” she said.
“I’ll see you there.” He smiled again and snapped his reins, pulling his buggy around Tom’s and leaving the drive.
Leora ran back and climbed in the back of Tom’s and Martha’s buggy, to sit beside their two kinner.
“Hello, Louisa and Ben,” she said. “How are you two doing?”
They both grinned up at her.
“Someone’s burnin’ our barns,” Ben announced.
Leora’s brow raised. Martha had gotten in by then, and she turned to her son. “We’re going to pray for them,” she said.
“So they don’t burn ’em no more,” Ben said, tugging at Leora’s cape.
“Jah, Ben. We’re going to pray so the fires stop.” Leora looked at Martha, who was giving her a frank look.
“Well?” Martha said.
“Well, what?”
/>
“Why did Noah come by?”
Leora bit her lip before answering. “Um. He was going to give me a ride to the prayer meeting.”
“I see.” Martha’s expression turned playful. “And here Tom and I ruined your plans.”
“We didn’t have plans,” Leora was quick to say.
“Hmm. So, he’s been coming over frequently, huh?”
“I never said that.”
Martha laughed and nudged Tom. “Noah is sweet on our Leora,” she said.
“Nee! He isn’t,” Leora insisted.
Martha reached back and tickled Ben, who giggled. “Did you hear that, Ben? Noah is sweet on Leora.”
“Martha,” Leora cried. “Ben will get ideas and tell everyone!”
“Nee, he won’t.” She looked seriously at Ben. “It’ll be our secret, won’t it?”
Ben’s eyes grew wide, and he nodded solemnly. “Our secret,” he repeated.
“But seriously, Leora. What’s going on?”
Leora glanced at Tom who didn’t seem to be listening. But then, how could he not? She gave Martha a pleading look.
Martha snorted. “Ach, don’t mind Tom. He’s deaf to this kind of talk, ain’t so, Tom?”
“Completely deaf,” Tom responded, deadpan.
Leora rolled her eyes. How she loved these people. They could always make her laugh. Her tortuous afternoon was forgotten.
“Well, Tom doesn’t seem so deaf to me,” Leora said, laughing. “In truth, Noah has been giving me rides to work sometimes. And he took me to Marlie’s after the fire.”
“I heard you spent the night,” Martha said.
“Along with Noah,” Tom interjected.
Martha’s mouth dropped open. “What? How in the world did I miss that little tidbit? Ach, Leora. You haven’t been telling me a thing.”
“We did spend the night in her front room,” Leora said. Then she grew serious. “Marlie was shook up. So were the kinner. I didn’t think she should be alone, and when Noah learned I was staying, he stayed, too. I suppose he thought we should have a man around.”
“I think he was right,” Tom said. “I’m glad he stayed. Marlie caught sight of who probably set the fire.”
Thanksgiving In Hollybrook (Hollybrook Holiday Amish Romance) Page 11