by Debby Giusti
NINE
Ruthie pulled in a deep breath to calm her pounding heart and racing pulse. She did not want the boys to suspect that she was upset. Andrew was still young and overlooked subtle nuances, but Simon had always been more attuned to her feelings. He could sense her upset even when she tried to appear calm. At the moment, she felt totally out of control.
Her concern was for naught. Both boys were so engrossed with the computers that they failed to notice anything different about her demeanor, for which she was grateful.
“This is cool,” Simon enthused.
She did not know where Simon had learned about something being cool, but his statement was followed by laughter from Andrew.
Worried they were making too much of a ruckus, she patted both boys’ shoulders and then held her finger to her lips. “Shhh. You need to be quiet.”
Glancing at the large monitor, she shook her head. The bishop would not approve, of this Ruthie was certain, but when she leaned closer, she saw Bible verses printed on the screen.
Noah pointed to the lines of text. “I told the boys how the Bible can be accessed on the computer. We were looking up some of their favorite verses of Scripture.”
Bible verses were not what she had expected to find on the screen. Once again, Noah had surprised her.
“What’s your favorite text?” she asked, trying to keep her voice light in spite of her still erratic heartbeat coupled with her surprise at the boys’ search for Scripture.
“Matthew 6:14 to 15.” He pointed to Simon. “Look it up and read the verses to your mamm.”
“I need to remember what you told us.” Simon carefully tapped the keyboard.
“Now hit Enter,” Noah prompted.
A new verse appeared on the monitor. Simon leaned closer. “The passage says, ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.’”
Ruthie was amazed at how easily Simon had pulled up the passage. She glanced at the text. Forgiveness sounded easy and it was the Amish way, but sometimes the results of one’s mistakes caused too much pain. The act could be forgiven, but life would be forever changed.
“What about the man who plans to buy your property?” she asked Noah. “Did you find him on the computer?”
“Not Prescott Construction. He must not advertise on the web.”
Ruthie pointed to the nearby youth section. “Boys, find a book to check out while I talk to Noah.” Both Simon and Andrew hurried to the area designated for children.
“You are teaching the boys something they will never use,” she said to Noah once they were alone.
“When they are older and want to get a job in town, Ruthie, they will need to use a computer. Many Amish craftsmen use computers to keep in touch with their customers and to order their supplies. As I understand the Ordnung, technology can’t come into the home, but in an office or an outbuilding it’s allowed for business purposes.”
“Perhaps you are right, but for now, we are farmers who do not need technology.”
“Let me do a little more searching while the boys find books to read, then we’ll have lunch. I promised pizza if that’s okay with you.”
“Pizza would be a special treat.”
Noah was exposing the boys to so many things. She would not let their minds be turned to the ways of the world, but for one day, allowing them to experience something new would be all right. At least, she hoped it would not cause them problems when they returned to the farm.
Ruthie’s mind would be filled with other thoughts, as well. Would she be content to hole up on the mountain with no one around?
Prescott Construction. Would a construction company be her new neighbor after Noah left the mountain?
Perhaps by then, the bridge would have fallen into the water, isolating her even more. Her shoulders slumped with concern as she thought again of the man who wanted to do harm to her and her children.
She turned and stared at the other library patrons, searching for the man who had retrieved the dropped envelope to make sure he had left the library and had not returned. After what had happened, she never wanted to see him again, and she never wanted her sons to worry about a man who might attack their mother or bring harm to either of them.
* * *
“It’s time for lunch,” Noah said once they left the library. “I mentioned pizza earlier. Does that still sound good?”
“We like pizza,” Simon said, serious as always.
Andrew tugged on Noah’s hand. “Can we have pepperoni?”
“Whatever you want.” He looked at Ruthie. “And whatever your mother says you can have.”
“Pepperoni and peppers.” Simon grabbed his mother’s arm. “Please, Mamm.”
“Yes to both, if Noah agrees. Anything sounds delicious to me.”
On the way to lunch, they stopped to watch a train chugging through town. The boys were wide-eyed with excitement as the train whistle blew and the engineer waved a greeting.
“Someday I want to ride in a train,” Andrew enthused.
“Yah.” Simon nodded in agreement. “And I want to take that trip with you.”
They were still talking about trains when Noah ushered them into the pizza parlor. “Table for four,” he told the hostess.
“Family of four,” she said into a microphone.
Noah swallowed down a lump of regret. If only they were a family. He had lost that chance ten years ago, when he had left Ruthie and his Amish faith.
A waitress hurried to help them and ushered them to a table.
The boys played word games printed on paper place mats while Ruthie watched.
Noah touched her arm. “Pepperoni and peppers?”
“The boys will love that.”
“How about a second pizza with mushrooms and onions?”
She lowered her gaze.
“Isn’t that what you liked years ago?”
She nodded. “You remembered.”
“Why wouldn’t I? We were close, Ruthie.”
“Best friends growing up.”
He smiled. “Along the way the friendship ended and something more developed.”
She glanced at the boys, who seemed oblivious to their conversation.
“We are just talking about friendship,” Noah assured her. “There’s nothing to be concerned about.”
Glancing over her shoulder, she studied the various customers already enjoying lunch. “I keep thinking about the man who followed me today.”
“Do you see him here or anyone else who looks threatening?”
Trying not to be obvious, she peered at the people sitting around them. “There are a few men who are the same height, but no one looks like the man who followed me today.”
Noah glanced at the corner table, where two men shared a pizza. Both were big and beefy and wore long-sleeved black polos and khaki slacks. A logo was embossed over their shirt pockets, but Noah couldn’t read the lettering.
He dipped his head toward the table. “Either of those guys look familiar?”
“One man seems in his fifties, the other is much younger. From their clothing, it appears they work together.”
“Maybe Prescott Construction,” Noah mused as if grasping for straws.
“I cannot read the logo on their shirts. You could ask them who they work for,” Ruthie suggested.
He shook his head. “Not today. Besides, if they are with the construction company, I wouldn’t want to do anything to sour the land deal.”
“Of course not.”
He heard sarcasm in her voice.
“Did you notice anyone with a tattoo?” he asked.
“Because of the cool temperature, everyone is wearing long sleeves.”
“A description
of the tattoo will help the sheriff find the attacker.”
“I still do not want to discuss this with law enforcement.”
“Law enforcement will find him,” he assured Ruthie.
But would the sheriff’s department find him before he came after Ruthie again?
TEN
“Thank you for bringing us to town and for all the ways you are making this day special for the boys,” Ruthie said after the waitress had taken their order.
“The boys are special to me, Ruthie.”
She glanced away, unwilling to meet his gaze.
He touched her arm again. “It’s okay.”
“You are selling your property.”
He nodded. “I am.”
The waitress filled water glasses for the adults and brought orange drinks for the boys. Two pizzas arrived soon thereafter. The boys ate until they were seemingly stuffed.
Ruthie laughed as she reached for her third slice. “This is more pizza than I’ve had in years,” she confessed.
Noah smiled. “I’m glad. Pizza is always good. This seems especially so. We don’t want any leftovers.”
Simon and Andrew stepped up to the challenge and each boy ate two more slices. “I’m full,” they both said in unison when they finished.
Noah glanced at the bag Ruthie had placed on the floor next to her chair. “Looks like you have a lot of mail to read.”
“I should have come to town earlier.”
“Have you talked to the post office about delivering mail to your house?”
The boys were once again engrossed in their place mats and laughing among themselves. Ruthie lowered her voice so they wouldn’t hear. “The postmaster mentioned home delivery. Ben had arranged for them to hold the mail for his monthly trip to town.”
“While you stayed on the mountain?” Noah asked.
She nodded. “I needed to stay to care for my father.”
The waitress brought the check. “I’ll pay at the register.” Noah slipped from the chair.
Ruthie instructed the boys to wash their hands and faces in the restroom. She glanced again at the two men eating in the corner, realizing there was nothing familiar about either man except that they were tall and muscular.
As she looked around the pizza parlor, she saw a number of other patrons with similar builds. She had to stop seeing the man from the mountain every time a tall, bulky guy appeared. Men dressed in dark clothing seemed even more suspect to her.
She looked at Noah as he stood in line to pay the cashier. He fit the mold, as well. Tall and well built, he was wearing a long-sleeve navy blue shirt with dark trousers, yet she knew Noah would not do her harm. At least not physical harm. If she did not guard her heart, she would be hurt in unseen ways when he left. She did not want to get involved with any man again, especially Noah.
As soon as the boys returned to the table, she gathered her mail and handbag and followed them to the front of the pizza parlor.
A big man dressed in black with dark eyes and a scowl walked inside just as the boys neared the door. Simon nearly collided with him. Not the man who had stopped her at the library, but someone who gave her pause.
The guy grabbed her son’s shoulders. “Watch where you’re going, little man. You don’t want to get hurt.”
Something in the man’s annoyed tone made Ruthie’s stomach tighten. Everything happened so fast. He was standing in front of Simon one second and hurrying into the main dining area the next.
Wishing she had gotten a better view of his face, she grabbed both boys’ hands and pulled them into a sitting area away from the door.
Simon frowned as if to say he was too old to hold his mother’s hand. “Mamm,” he moaned.
She ignored his annoyance. “We’ll wait here patiently for Noah before we go outside.”
“I did not mean to get in that man’s way,” Simon said.
“Did he hurt you?”
Simon shook his head. “No, but he looked familiar.”
“Could he have been the man you saw at the river’s edge? The man who wanted to know where to fish?”
“I am not sure.” He turned and looked into the dining area. “Where did he go?”
Ruthie glanced over her shoulder and studied the people sitting at various tables, but she did not see the big man with the dark gaze.
“Perhaps he went to the restroom,” she suggested.
Noah paid the bill and joined them at the door. “Everything okay?”
Ruthie glanced again into the dining area. She was not convinced the man was in the restroom. Had he gone out a back door? If so, why had he passed through the pizza parlor? Was he here to spy on them?
“Ruthie?” Noah raised an eyebrow. “Is everything okay?”
“Yah,” she said, unwilling to tell Noah about her concerns. “Everything is fine.”
* * *
“The sheriff’s office is on the next block,” Noah said once they were outside. “We’ll go there next.”
“Thank you for lunch,” Ruthie said.
He smiled. “I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“The boys did, as well.” She gently nudged them.
Taking the hint, they both said, “Thank you for the pizza.”
“We’ll do it again, yah?” He patted their shoulders.
“Yah!” Smiles covered both boys’ faces.
They skipped ahead on the sidewalk, giving Noah an opportunity to talk to Ruthie.
“You need to tell the sheriff’s deputy everything that happened.”
Her face grew serious. “I am not sure this is a wise idea. What can he do?”
“He knows people in town, Ruthie. He hears things. There may be a stranger causing problems. The deputy can question him and learn the truth.”
She nodded. “If you think it will end the attacks, then I will talk to the deputy, although I do not know if he will listen to an Amish widow who lives so far from Willkommen.”
“Too many Amish are wary of law enforcement, but the sheriff’s deputies are not to be feared.”
“I will follow your advice, Noah.”
“Good.” He glanced at the boys as they approached the upcoming intersection. “Turn left at the corner,” he cautioned.
Ruthie hurried to catch up to them. She glanced over her shoulder a number of times until Noah looked back, as well.
“Something’s bothering you,” he said.
“I am thinking the boys are much too visible in case the attacker lives in town.”
“I should have brought the buggy.”
“The exercise is gut, but perhaps I am also worried about what to tell the deputy.”
“Just tell him the truth.”
“I would not lie.” She squared her shoulders.
“I didn’t say you would.”
The boys glanced at each store-window display they passed, finding wonder in the items for sale. “It is so long since we have been to town,” Andrew said. “There is so much to see.”
Tires squealed around the corner and a dark sedan with tinted windows approached at a high speed. Noah quickly herded Ruthie and the boys away from the road. The car’s front tire came up on the sidewalk.
Ruthie screamed and shoved the boys farther from the car. Noah turned as it raced past. He focused on the rear license plate, but mud was smeared on the plate and he was unable to read the numbers.
Ruthie grabbed Noah’s hand. “If you had not moved us away from the curb, I fear what would have happened.” Tears filled her eyes.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and then pulled the boys into his embrace, too. “The car’s gone and we’re all okay.”
“But—”
He nodded to her, knowing there was a reason the car had jumped the curb, and it wasn’t because the driver was going too fast. With the tin
ted windows, he couldn’t see the driver’s face, but he was sure the guy was the same man who had come after Ruthie. The attacker was in town at this moment. Noah didn’t want to scare the boys more than they already were, which is what he tried to silently convey to Ruthie.
She wiped her eyes and nodded back to him as if understanding that she needed to be strong for the boys’ benefit.
Noah glanced in the direction the car had gone. The guy who wanted Ruthie’s property was becoming unhinged. One thing was certain—Ruthie and the boys were in his crosshairs.
ELEVEN
Coming to town had been a mistake. Ruthie knew it in the depths of her being. She clung to her boys. Her heart pounded almost as fast as the automobile had raced past them.
“Mamm, who was driving that car and why does he want to hurt us?”
Simon’s question deserved an answer, but a lump filled her throat at the thought of what could have happened. Noah must have understood her upset. He patted Simon’s shoulder.
“The man was driving too fast, Simon. Cars are dangerous, as we all know. We must be cautious, even on the sidewalk.”
“I did not see the car until it had already passed,” Andrew said. His little face was drawn and pale.
Noah nodded. “You boys responded immediately and stepped out of danger. That was very good.”
Both boys seemed to take pride in their ability to react quickly. “That man should not be able to drive along the streets,” Andrew said, staring in the direction the car had gone.
“If the sheriff had seen him,” Simon said, “he would have gotten a ticket and his license would have been taken away.” He looked up at Noah. “We need to tell the sheriff about what happened so he can arrest that man.”
“We’ll tell him, Simon. That’s a good suggestion. The sheriff needs to know.”
Ruthie’s father had insisted the Amish take care of their own problems and not involve law enforcement. She had agreed to talk to someone at the sheriff’s office, but she did not want to reveal family difficulties to a deputy she did not know. “I am not sure what we should do.”
“Mamm!” Simon tugged on her arm. “You told me to be truthful when things happen even if I am at fault so I can learn from the mistakes. That man needs to learn from his mistakes.”