She reached out and laid her hand against Owen’s cheek. “He was and I think you are, too.”
* * *
OWEN COVERED HER hand with his and turned his head to kiss her palm. She didn’t jerk away. She stared at him with sad eyes. Was it pity or understanding?
He stepped away and managed a smile. “Good night. I will see you in the morning. At least we are done with the shearing.”
“There’s still a lot of work to do to get ready for lambing. Guten nacht.” She turned and walked away.
He closed the door and went back into the kitchen. He stood by the sink, staring out into the darkness.
The damage had been done and the past couldn’t be changed. He was grateful that they had finally been able to talk about that time in their lives. Maybe they really were becoming friends. He smiled at the thought and waited to see her light. When it came on at last, he went to bed content for the first time in a long, long time.
The next morning found him working alongside Ruth as they dismantled the panels for shearing and reassembled them into numerous small pens for mothers and their newborns.
In the new addition at the back of the barn Ruth stockpiled milk replacer and colostrum along with vitamins and iodine. To Owen it was beginning to look more like a pharmacy than a barn.
Grace was determined to make a pet out of Polkadot. Owen had separated her from the rest of the flock and placed her in her own stall. Grace brought her hay and grain, and soon the sheep was following her around the small enclosure when Grace took her out for exercise. Ruth’s suggestion that Grace keep a little grain in her pocket did the trick.
It was nearly one o’clock when Owen heard a car pulling up outside. He walked to the front door and opened it. The sheriff stepped out of his SUV and walked around to the passenger side. The car door opened, and the bishop stepped out. Owen had a sinking feeling that this visit wasn’t going to end well for him. He prayed he was wrong.
“Is it them?” Ruth asked from the kitchen.
“I see the sheriff, the bishop and a young woman in a gray suit with short brown hair.”
Ruth came out of the kitchen holding her arms across her middle. “I don’t know why I’m so nervous. What if they don’t think an Amish home is appropriate for her?”
“I reckon we’ll find out.” He held open the front door. “Afternoon. Won’t you come in?”
“Thanks.” Sheriff McIntyre stepped in. Owen couldn’t read anything in his expression.
Ruth nodded to the bishop. “Thank you for coming. Have you any news of Grace’s mother?”
The sheriff shook his head. “We haven’t learned anything new.”
“That is a shame. Come into the kitchen and have a seat,” Ruth said. “I just finished making some apple strudel, and I have coffee if you would like some.”
“Sounds good. Thank you.” The sheriff headed into the kitchen. The bishop and the social worker followed and sat at the table.
Owen decided to stand by the counter instead of taking a seat. He declined Ruth’s offer and waited until she had served the others. “So what have you come to tell us?”
The sheriff turned in his chair to face Owen. “Grace has been declared an abandoned child and has been made a ward of the state, pending the discovery of any relatives who can care for her. We have been contacted by several people who believe Grace may be a missing member of their family. Then there are several people who wish to adopt her.”
“She’s not going to be put up for adoption,” Owen said, trying to keep his annoyance in check.
“I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that,” the sheriff said. “That’s why we are here. Ruth, Owen, this is Miss Terry Landry. She’s a social worker with our Child Protective Services.”
Miss Landry held out her hand to Ruth. “I’ve never met an Amish person before. Please excuse my ignorance if I do or say something inappropriate.”
Ruth chuckled and took her hand. “Please don’t be nervous. We are just people with Plain ideas. We don’t expect those not of our faith to understand our ways.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll get right to business. Because Grace has no parent or legal guardian to speak for her, it leaves us with a dilemma. As an abandoned child, she could be placed in the foster care system until a relative who is willing to take her and has the means to care for her is found. Because she’s Amish and we have no Amish foster care parents, the consensus at our department is that she should remain in an Amish home. Mr. Mast, I understand Grace is living with you.”
“You could say that, but she spends most of the day with Ruth.”
Miss Landry gave him a perplexed look. “I don’t think I understand.”
Ruth leaned forward. “I’m like her kinder heeda.”
Miss Landry looked to the bishop. “What does that mean?”
“A kinder heeda is someone who looks after the children.”
“Like a nanny or babysitter?” Miss Landry scribbled a note.
“Ja.” The bishop grinned and nodded.
Miss Landry paused in her writing. “Is there a married Amish couple who might be willing to foster Grace?”
Ruth glanced at Owen and then back at the social worker. “That might prove to be difficult.”
Miss Landry tipped her head. “Why is that?”
Ruth sighed. “Grace is very attached to Owen. It took some time for her to be comfortable having him out of her sight. She still becomes upset if she doesn’t know where he is. I don’t think taking her away from him is a good idea.”
The woman tapped her pencil against her pad. “My understanding is that Mr. Mast is only here temporarily.”
“I’m looking after my uncle’s farm and helping Ruth until he returns.”
“Do you have employment? Are you able to financially care for Grace?”
Owen could see where this was leading. She didn’t think he was a suitable guardian.
The bishop leaned forward and laced his fingers together on the table. “Something you must understand about us is that we, our Amish community, care for our widows and orphans. A man never has to worry that his family will suffer if something happens to him. Grace will be clothed and fed, housed and educated by us.”
Miss Landry put her pencil and pad aside. “I was not aware of your community’s commitment. Thank you for explaining it. Ruth, if you could show me through your home I would appreciate it. After that I would like to visit with Grace and then I would like to tour the home where Mr. Mast is staying. And, Ruth, your apple strudel was yummy.”
Ruth stood up. “Danki, thank you. Come this way.”
As Ruth walked past him, she leaned close. “Did you clean those dirty dishes?” she whispered.
“I did.”
She smiled and followed Miss Landry into the living room. Owen went outside to find Grace. He found her in the barn peeking out from the storage room. “What are you doing in there?”
“It’s a safe place,” she whispered.
“You don’t have to hide from the sheriff or anyone else today. They are all safe people. There is a lady here who wants to talk to you. I hope you will answer her questions and be polite.”
She stepped out of the storage room and closed the door. “Will you be with me?”
He dropped to one knee in front of her. “I won’t be in the same room, but I will be close by.”
“Promise?”
“I promise. Come up to the house. I would like you to meet her.” He stood and held out his hand. She grabbed him and hung on. He knew she was worried even though she had no idea what was going on. Inside the house he helped her out of her coat and hung it up. Miss Landry came down the stairs with Ruth. “Hello. You must be Grace.”
“I’m Grace.” She stepped closer to Owen.
Smiling, Miss Landry leaned down and held out her hand. “I’m deli
ghted to meet you. Let’s go over to the sofa and sit down. I hear that you have a new pet. Can you tell me about it?”
Grace looked at Owen. “It’s okay. Ruth and I will be in the kitchen. Just holler if you need something.”
Grace reluctantly followed the woman into the living room. Ruth and Owen returned to the kitchen. Ruth sat at the table, where the sheriff and the bishop remained. Owen paced back and forth across the room. He stopped and turned to Ruth. “What did she say to you upstairs?”
“She said she didn’t think she could live without electricity in her home.”
He started pacing again. “The Englisch all feel that way. They think we are backward.” He knew he sounded churlish, but he didn’t care. The woman had the power to take Grace way and he didn’t like it. What was the child telling her?
What were Miss Landry’s real intentions?
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
RUTH WAS RELIEVED when Miss Landry left Grace’s side to come back to the kitchen. “Were you able to find out anything?”
“Not much. What do you know about her safe places?”
“She seems to need one wherever she stays. Apparently, her mother taught her to hide. We have wondered about it, but Grace would not explain it further.”
“It leads me to believe her home life was not happy.”
Ruth shrugged. “I can’t speak to that. I never met her mother.”
“Of course. She wouldn’t answer some of my questions about her father, except to tell me that she can’t say. Is that because she doesn’t understand? I’ve read that Amish children don’t learn English until they start school, yet Grace speaks English very well.”
“We noticed that,” Owen said. “She is fluent in Pennsylvania Dutch but seems to prefer to speak English. There are some Amish who believe teaching their children to speak English before school is important. Or it could be that she has family members who aren’t Amish and she would have been exposed to the English language early on.”
“I see.”
“Would you like me to ask her your questions in Deitsch?” Ruth offered.
“Thank you. Let’s try that.”
Ruth translated Miss Landry’s questions into the language spoken by the Amish, but Grace wouldn’t supply any new answers. Ruth finally gave up. “I’m sorry. She insists that she can’t say.”
Miss Landry looked disappointed but seemed to take it in stride. “Thank you for your help anyway. The last thing I need to do is to get a DNA sample from Grace. I can explain what it is and that it isn’t harmful in any way.”
“We were expecting you to do this,” Owen said. “We understand how it’s done.”
Miss Landry appeared surprised once again. “Excellent.”
She reached into her bag and pulled out a small plastic package, put on a pair of blue plastic gloves and withdrew the swab. “Grace, I need you to open your mouth so I can touch the inside of your cheek with this. It won’t hurt.”
Grace clamped her mouth shut and frowned at Owen. He smiled to reassure her. “It’s okay. Let the woman do her job.”
She transferred her scowling gaze to Miss Landry, but she opened her mouth. Miss Landry swabbed Grace’s cheek, put the swab back inside a plastic tube and placed it in a red plastic container. “Sheriff, I would like to visit Mr. Mast’s home now.”
“Sure thing.” He settled his trooper hat on his head and led the way to his SUV. Owen went with him. Ruth stayed behind with Grace as Miss Landry gathered up her things.
Ruth was afraid to ask but she had to know. “Is there a chance the child won’t be able to stay with Owen?”
“I’m going to file my report and my supervisor will make the final determination. You will get a letter from us in about a week. Grace is in no imminent danger. I don’t see a reason to remove her at this time, but I will have some recommendations for you. She needs to be seen by a pediatrician and I feel counseling for her should begin as soon as possible. This is clearly a very traumatic situation for her. The abrupt loss of her mother can have long-term effects on the child’s mental health.”
Her answers didn’t make Ruth feel any more positive.
Sometime later Owen returned alone. Ruth and Grace were spreading fresh straw in the pens that had been readied for the new lambs. Ruth left Grace to finish up and went to speak to Owen. Once they were out of earshot, she questioned him. “How did it go? Did she say anything?”
“Nothing more than what she said here.” He looked angry and that worried her.
“I am sure that they will let you continue to care for her. Grace adores you. Anyone can see that.” Ruth tried to reassure him, but her words fell flat.
“I got the feeling that Miss Landry didn’t really trust me.”
“We will leave it in Gott’s hands then, and pray for a just outcome.”
“I reckon that’s all we can do.”
Ruth rubbed her hand up and down his arm. “I’m going to check the pasture for any lambs. Why don’t you and Grace spend some time together? At least we can give her fine memories to take with her if she leaves.”
* * *
OWEN KNEW RUTH was right. If Grace was to leave them, he wanted her to have fond memories of him. Unlike his sister, who didn’t remember him at all. He walked toward the barn, where Grace was finishing her task. “Let’s see if we can get Polkadot used to a halter.”
Grace’s eyes lit up with excitement. “Are we going to teach her to pull a cart?”
Her joy touched his heart. Perhaps it was because he never had a chance to do things with his sister that he became determined to help Grace enjoy the time they had left together.
He found several small halters in Ruth’s tack room. He was able to modify one to fit Polkadot. Getting it on her the first time proved to be a bigger challenge than he’d expected. She was harder to hang on to with her short wool. He had made the mistake of trying to do it in her exercise pen but that left her too much room to dodge him without any other sheep around her.
He managed to get an arm around her neck, but she lunged forward and pulled him off his feet. He hung on as she made a full circuit around the pen, dragging him along. He had to let go when he realized he was accomplishing nothing but grinding dirt into his clothing. He finally backed her into a corner, grabbed her and sat her on her rump as he’d done when he was shearing her.
With all four feet off the ground she became instantly docile. He was able to get the halter on her head. Grace clapped in delight. He hadn’t realized that Ruth had returned until he heard her speak. “That was very entertaining. How often do you give shows?”
He was panting with exertion, but he managed to smile. “I hope this was a onetime demonstration.”
She grinned and chuckled. “That’s a shame. I think people might pay good money to see sheep wrestling. It could be a way to supplement my farm income.”
“The next time I put a halter on a sheep, it’s going to be on a very small lamb. Would you be so kind as to fetch me a lead rope? I think letting her go would be a mistake.”
Ruth disappeared into the barn and returned a few minutes later with an eight-foot length of rope. “Will this work?”
“That will be fine.” He attached one end to her halter and made a loop on the other end, which he then slipped over the top of a nearby fence post. He stepped back and let Polkadot regain her feet. She stood, shook her head and tugged at the rope several times but soon realized she couldn’t get loose. Grace climbed through the fence and offered the sheep a handful of grain. She munched it happily with her short tail wagging.
Owen came to stand by the fence where Ruth was watching him. “The next step in her training is to get her used to being around a cart. I seem to remember you had a pony cart for the children when they were little. Would you like to loan it to us?”
“I think it needs some repair.”
�
�Let’s go see if it will work for Grace?”
They found it under a blue tarp, backed into the corner of the machine shed, where her corn picker, bailer and wheat combine took up most of the space. She pulled the tarp aside. The cart was black with a red stripe down the side with a bench seat across the front and a box for hauling things on the back. Owen remembered one like it from his childhood when he and his brothers had taken produce to sell in town. There were missing boards in the bottom of the box but that would be an easy fix.
He looked at Ruth. “Do you think it will haul a pig?”
Her expression said maybe, maybe not. “If the pig isn’t too large and doesn’t jump out.”
“I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it.” He would fix up the cart and teach Polkadot to pull it so Grace might remember her time here fondly, but what she really needed was for someone to locate her mother. “Do you mind if I leave Grace with you for a while this evening?”
“Of course not. Are you going somewhere?”
“I’d like to search along the lake road.”
“Owen, I know that area has been searched several times.”
“I realized that. It’s just the most logical place for Grace to have come from. Her back would’ve been to the wind. She would’ve come along the sheep pasture fence and that might be how Meeka found her. Now that most of the snow is gone there may be tire tracks showing what people couldn’t see before. I need to go look. I owe it to Grace.”
Her sympathetic expression let him know she understood. “She can stay here as long as you want.”
He rubbed his hands on his dusty pants. “I just feel she is still out there.”
“If she is after all this time, I don’t think she will be found alive, do you?”
“I don’t. But if I can locate her maybe it will give Grace some comfort in the future to know that her mother didn’t abandon her.”
The Hope Page 19