She glanced around at the simple dinner table, at the old cookstove. “Look at this place. Can you really say you want our little girl raised in this hovel, around Amish people who don’t have a clue what the real world’s all about? I’ll get custody one way or the other. It doesn’t matter how. I’m happy to fight dirty. It’s the way I like to win.” She hitched Naomi higher on her slim hip. “Now get out of my way. We want to be on the road before the traffic gets heavy.”
“I could just take her from you, you know.” He continued to hold his ground, rigid and unwavering.
“I’m sure the pictures of you tearing a crying child from her mother’s arms would be very revealing to the judge. You got your phone handy, Max?”
“Right here.”
Leviticus’s legs tried to give way under him. “This isn’t the end. We’ll have our day in court and you’ll lose.”
Her dark eyes sparkled with victory. “We’ll see.” She brushed past him, her heels clicking, her head held high.
He swallowed a lump the size of a fist restricting his throat. “You can count on me being there.”
Naomi reached out her arms to Verity. “Mamm!” But then she and Julie disappeared through the back door and into the shadows of dusk.
Calm and collected, Maxwell Horthorn sauntered past and through the door. He paused, one foot still in the kitchen. “Don’t fight Julie on this. Her mind is made up and you know what she’s like when her back’s up. She always wins. She’d love to have you arrested for kidnapping.”
The screen door slammed shut in Leviticus’s face.
Bewildered, his anxiety building, Leviticus stumbled over to the kitchen window and watched as Julie deftly snapped his howling child into an expensive-looking car seat wedged into the back of the car and slipped in beside her. Determination strengthened his resolve. He’d get Naomi back. He didn’t know how, but he’d find a way with Gott’s help.
He turned to Verity, but she was already out of the room, moving fast down the hall.
He reached out for her, tried to grab her arm, but she evaded him, her back against the door of his father’s bedroom. “Don’t you touch me. Nothing you can say will explain away what I’ve just heard. Our little girl is gone because of you. You should have protected her, made sure she was safe from the likes of her.”
Leviticus let his hand drop, watched as Verity turned and ran, using the walls to hold her up until she slipped into her room. As soon as the door slammed shut, he heard her wail, heard her banging her fist against the door. “My boppli!”
Leviticus shook all over, his heart ripped from his chest.
“Gott, help me. What have I done?”
Chapter Eighteen
Only a few people were on the beach. Most who weren’t clearing away rubble from the storm stood in line at small food trucks, waiting on burgers to fry or ice cream to be topped with chunks of chocolate or sugar-covered licorice. Desperate to be away from the grove for a few hours, Verity found a clean spot and settled herself and Faith on a homemade quilt.
“When’s my new daed coming home?” The sun straight overhead beat down on them. Faith let sand run through her fingers as she squinted up, waiting for her mother’s reply.
Verity smiled down at her, adjusted the kapp on her daughter’s head. How should she answer the child? She stared out and watched an ocean wave as it raced onshore, piled high with froth, only to stop inches from her bare feet. “Soon, I’m sure.” But she wasn’t sure. The only thing she was sure of was that she missed Naomi with all her heart and couldn’t understand how Leviticus could let something so horrific happen to their little girl.
She’d been forced to lie about where Naomi was at bedtime and again this morning. It broke her heart, but the lie was better than trying to explain the truth. There was no explanation that made sense.
“He and Naomi have been gone a long time. Days and days.”
Verity fought tears threatening to flow. “Not so long, bumpkin. Just overnight.” Verity held back her true feelings. She was glad Leviticus had still been gone when she got up, hoped he’d left Pinecraft. Leviticus had kept so many secrets. Done so many horrible things, and now the child paid the price.
She sighed, drew salty air into her lungs. As far as Faith knew, Naomi was still visiting familye so the two of them could have a special day on the beach. It had been the best she could come up with in the moment. Her mind still whirled with the harsh realities of life. Naomi could be gone forever. What would she tell Faith as time slipped past and Naomi never came back?
And Leviticus’s past. What was she to think? What did Gott think of his past actions? Killing was a sin. He’d killed a child, if Julie was telling the truth. All this misery was Leviticus’s fault. If only he’d confessed, told her what had been troubling him. But she was tired of thinking about his lack of forethought concerning Naomi, about the war he’d fought in. She wouldn’t wonder about the circumstances surrounding the killings that had taken place during the war. She had tormented herself enough last night with what-ifs and if-onlys.
A brisk wind blew, kicking up sand in Faith’s face. Verity smiled as her dochder fanned it away, her young kind’s frown expressing irritation at being distracted from the sandcastle she was building with a shovel and bucket. But then Faith smiled and scrambled up. “Theda! I didn’t know you were coming to our day at the beach.”
Theda Fischer strolled up arm in arm with Otto, who looked like an Englischer in his rolled-up pant legs and bare feet, the straw hat on his head and his beard the only giveaway that he was truly Amish.
“Guder mariye, Verity. You’re looking very rosy-cheeked under the warm morning sun.” Theda accepted Otto’s arm as he helped his wife settle next to Verity.
Otto offered Faith his hand and helped her to her feet. “Let’s you and I go chase seagulls while the ladies talk about all things Thanksgiving. That subject is much too boring for us, ain’t so?”
Faith nodded and then waved goodbye and scurried along beside Otto, her small bare feet kicking up sand.
“I would have thought you’d be home preparing pie for tomorrow.” Theda reverted to her native tongue of Pennsylvania Dutch, the language she’d first learned at her mother’s knee.
Verity used her hand to shield her eyes from the sun. Dressed in a plain blue dress with an apron of starched white cotton, the older woman looked her over with compassionate eyes. This was no chance meeting. Clara must have gotten word to Theda about Naomi being whisked away by her birth mother. She needed help understanding why Gott would let such a thing happen.
“The pies are ready. I cooked most of them through the night.”
“No sleep for the weary?”
“Nee.” Verity brushed sand from the edge of her dress, doing her best to avoid Theda’s scrutiny.
The older woman grasped Verity’s hand and held on tight. “I’m told all is not well on the grove.”
Humiliation flushed her cheeks hot. She’d been such a fool.
Theda patted Verity’s hand. A sweet smile curved her lips. “You’re not mad at Leviticus, are you? You should be angry at the situation you and Leviticus find yourselves in. Ain’t so?”
Verity watched Faith running ahead of Otto as they headed for the ice-cream shack. No doubt the kind had convinced Otto an ice-cream cone would make the day special.
“I’m angry at Leviticus and the woman who birthed Naomi, but mostly at myself for being such a bensel and believing his lies.”
“True enough he didn’t talk to you about his past, but he didn’t cause Naomi’s mother to come and get her.”
“No, but lies of omission are still lies. There were things I should have known, things that would have made a difference to Otto’s decision making about marriage. He would have never asked me to get into an arranged marriage with Leviticus if he had known about the things that man has done in the past.”<
br />
“Otto did know.”
Verity pulled her hand away, putting space between them.
From a distance, Verity heard Faith’s burst of laughter. She looked down the shoreline, searching among the few children playing in the surf. His legs as short as a boy’s, Otto ran after a scurrying seagull and managed to miss its tail feathers by inches. “Otto knew and didn’t tell me my future husband was a murderer?”
Gray clouds gathered overhead. The wind picked up. Red riotous curls peppered with gray danced under the kapp Theda had tied with her ribbons to keep it on. Her sagging jowls reminded Verity how old Theda was as she kept her gaze on her.
“Yes, he knew. Before Albert had his last stroke, Leviticus came to see us late one night. He was perplexed about the future, concerned he’d done more harm than good by returning home. Otto gave him sound advice. Prayed with him and sent him home.”
Verity sat up very straight, her mind racing. How could it be? Leviticus had confessed his sins to Otto, and still her bishop arranged a marriage of convenience between them? “He knew about everything?”
“Nee, not everything. But the most important aspects of Leviticus’s life with the Englisch. I heard a portion of the conversation, but not enough to form an opinion of my own. As I usually do, I trusted Otto to know what was best.”
“Faith and I deserved better than a man who carried a gun and used it when he deemed necessary. Lives were lost. He played at being Gott.”
“Ya, lives might have been lost. Leviticus could have died from his wounds, too.”
Verity sucked in her breath, her heart pounding against her ribs. “Another fact he kept from me. I didn’t know he’d been injured.”
“Would you have rather he stayed in the Englisch world, died from his wounds without Gott’s forgiveness?”
“Of course not. I wish for no man to meet Gott with sin in his heart.”
“Gott in His mercy saved Leviticus for another purpose. Perhaps the purpose of bringing joy and love back into your life. It is time for Leviticus to come back to the Leit, be forgiven for sins committed while a foolhardy bu.”
“He’s not a bu any longer. He’s a man. A very foolish man.”
Theda shook her head, disappointment creasing her forehead. “And you are too gut to forgive him, even though Gott saw fit to forgive it all?”
Verity did nothing to hold back the tears. Shame made her face flame. “I’ve prayed for Gott to help me forgive and forget, spent hours last night trying to understand, make concessions for Leviticus, but nothing makes sense to me. How could he take lives in a war that wasn’t his, put his dochder at risk? There were no legal papers drawn up. Only a verbal agreement with Julie. He’s smarter than that. And now that woman has every right to take Naomi, and there is nothing we can do to keep her with us.”
“You have never made impulsive moves, never sinned, never told a lie? I’m certain-sure I have, no matter how hard I try to stay true to the Ordnung and stand blameless before Gott. A fraa’s job is to be always by her husband’s side. You didn’t stand by Leviticus when he needed you the most. Perhaps you know better than Gott, Verity? Perhaps your mamm failed to teach you that forgiveness is blessed? Are you too proud to be married to a man who has sinned in the past and asked forgiveness of his community, his Gott? Perhaps you see yourself as too important for a man such as this. Do you hold Leviticus to a higher standard because he disappointed you all those years ago?”
Faith came running up to her mother and thrust out her hand. “Look. We found a sand dollar. It’s a little broken, but Otto said Gott loves broken things.”
That small voice deep inside her head spoke so clearly as she held the less-than-perfect sand dollar. Leviticus is like this sea creature. He’s broken but precious to Gott.
Otto gave Theda a hand up.
“Think on the things we spoke about,” she said, brushing down her skirt and apron.
Verity nodded, too ashamed to look up. She wiped a tear from her eye and then two.
“Are you crying, Mamm?” Faith hugged her mother around the shoulders.
“Nee, my precious. I’m not crying. There’s sand in my eyes. Now let’s go home and get ready for Albert’s return. There’s a meal to cook and I’m going to need your help with the salad.”
* * *
The plush chair was the most comfortable he’d ever sat in, but still Leviticus squirmed. A lot rode on this visit to Otto’s lawyer. Verity sat across from him, her legs crossed at the ankles, head down, as she stared unseeing at a magazine cover turned wrong side up. They’d spoken briefly when he’d returned home the night before but said nothing about the previous night or how she felt about the things she’d learned that he’d done or hadn’t done. He had no idea where things stood between them, but if he took a guess, he’d probably be more heartsick than he was already.
Otto roamed the large office, glancing at pictures of horses in meadows, of wildflowers and ladies in sun bonnets on rugs in green meadows.
Seated behind a large wooden desk littered with cream-colored files and legal books, the middle-aged secretary, who’d been ignoring them for the last hour, fanned herself with a folder and then suddenly jumped from her swivel chair like a bee had just stung her on her backside. “Mr. Glass can see you now.”
She curtly acknowledged Otto with a nod as he approached, then promptly turned her back on him, her concentration now on the silver laptop screen in front of her.
Verity sprang up and led the way across the carpeted room. Leviticus hesitated, his throat restricting his breathing. His stomach clenched as he took Verity’s elbow and accompanied her toward the office door, doing his best to reach Otto before they went in. Am I doing the right thing? Leaning in close to Otto’s ear, he whispered, “You certain-sure I can trust Sam Glass with the whole truth?”
Otto guffawed. “Ya, sure you can. He’s been a real help to the community over the years.” The tips of his fingers scratched his gray-speckled beard while opening the lawyer’s office door.
Otto with a nervous tic? Not a good sign.
Otto cleared his throat, glanced past Leviticus to Verity, who flashed a brave smile. “Believe it or not, even we Amish have the need of a lawyer on occasion.”
Otto turned the knob on the door and it swung open wide. A tall balding man rose from a plush leather chair. “Well, look who the wind’s blown in.” He smiled, exposing straight white teeth that were obviously fake. His hand extended, he greeted Otto with a friendly smile and warm handshake.
Otto returned the man’s smile. “Danki for seeing us on such short notice, Sam. It’s been too long.”
“Too long indeed.” The two older men slapped each other on the back affectionately, giving Leviticus the impression that they had been friends for a long time. They chatted robustly about family matters and then shifted their friendly banter to the lousy weather they’d been having, and the cost of the city cleanup.
Leviticus thought of the dwindling amount in his bank account. The grove was fast becoming a money pit and he didn’t have a clue what this meeting was going to cost him, but it had been two days since Julie had shown up and snatched away his daughter. He’d get Naomi back no matter the cost or what he had to do. He rolled his shoulders, trying to ease some of the tension building in his upper back and neck.
Otto pointed Leviticus’s way. “This here is Leviticus Hilty, one of Pinecraft’s faithful.”
Leviticus took the lawyer’s extended hand.
“You must be Albert’s son.”
“I am.” He accepted Sam’s friendly pat on the back.
“Your father and I go way back. I heard he’d been ill. Is he doing better?”
Relief about Albert coming home had Leviticus grinning from ear to ear. “He is. Mose is bringing him home this afternoon while we’re out.”
Sam Glass smiled. “Just in time for Thanksgiv
ing. Good, good. And this pretty lady must be your wife.”
“Ya.” It was the first time he’d had the opportunity to claim Verity as his own. Pride made his chest swell as he watched her delicate hand be engulfed by Sam’s tanned paw.
Sam’s smile was polite as he pointed toward three empty chairs near the big desk in the center of the room. “Let’s all get comfortable. Anyone want a cup of coffee or bottle of water before we get started?” Sam’s alert brown eyes focused on Verity and then Leviticus.
Otto answered for them. “Nee, nothing for us. But you go ahead. I know how much you like your coffee.”
Grabbing a disposable cup of hot brew from the coffee maker behind him, Sam once again made himself comfortable in his chair and refocused his attention back on them. “So, what’s up? Sale of a house go wrong?”
Leviticus leaned forward, sitting on the edge of the plush leather chair he’d settled in. “It’s my daughter...our daughter Naomi. Her birth mother, Julie Hernandez, came and took her and we want her back.”
“You two have primary custody of the child?” Sam scribbled on the pad in front of him.
Leviticus dropped his chin. He hated that Verity had to hear all the stupid things he had done before coming home. “No, but I had a verbal agreement with Julie. When she found out she was pregnant, she agreed not to give the child up for adoption if I promised to raise it without her.
“When I returned from my tour in Afghanistan, Naomi had been born and was being cared for by a full-time nanny. Julie came home two days later and seemed glad to relinquish custody of Naomi to me without complaint or hesitation. I came down to Pinecraft with my dochder, so she could be raised Amish and get to know my family.”
“Before that, had this woman always kept her word to you?”
“More or less. I had no reason to think she wasn’t serious about not wanting the kind...until yesterday when she showed up at our door with an attorney.”
Their Convenient Amish Marriage Page 17