Kitabı oku: «Hidden In Amish Country», sayfa 3

THREE

Where was Kurt?

Sadie glanced at the clock on the wall for what must have been the twentieth time. He had promised to be at the hospital to pick her up by ten in the morning. It was now almost noon. She didn’t know if she should be annoyed or worried, although in her present condition she was leaning more toward worried. Was such extreme tardiness something she should have expected from Kurt? She had no way of knowing, but that wasn’t the impression she had gotten from him the day before.

She could try calling him again. The cell phone that his friend Ben had brought in was still lying where he’d left it. She had found Kurt’s name and picture in her contacts. So she really did know him, even though she still couldn’t recall a thing about him. She’d given herself a headache the night before, trying to remember anything about her life. It was all still blank.

Five more minutes passed. This was getting ridiculous.

A nurse walked in the room. “Honey, is your ride coming for you? Do you need us to call someone?”

Great, now the hospital was trying to kick her out. She pasted on what she hoped was a pleasant smile that disguised just how frayed her nerves truly were. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon. I’ll give him another call.”

“That’s a good idea. Let me know if you need any help.”

The nurse gave her a comforting smile and retreated out of the room. Sadie snatched the phone from the table and tapped the phone icon next to her brother’s name again.

This time, the call was picked up. She barely let him answer before she was talking. “Kurt? Where are you? They need this room for another patient. Are you coming to pick me up?”

“Ah, yes, Sadie. I’ll be there soon.”

The phone disconnected. She stared at the device in her hand, frowning. The voice was a bit muffled, but it hadn’t sounded like Kurt’s. There had been a lot of commotion in the background, though, so maybe she was wrong.

She stilled. In her mind, she replayed the commotion. Had someone been shouting run?

She glanced again at the phone, shivering as a chill settled into her body that had nothing to do with the cold. Whoever he was running from, they had Kurt. She had no way to prove it. It could have been another friend who had answered his phone, but she knew it was not.

What she did know was that someone was coming for her.

Galvanized into action, she jumped off the bed and grabbed her coat. Kurt had been very sweet the night before, leaving during dinner to bring her a change of clothes. Nothing fancy, just a simple pair of blue jeans and a T-shirt and a pink-and-purple flannel shirt. When she saw the clothes, though, she thought they must have been favorites, judging by the amount of wear in the knees and elbows. Which showed how well he knew his sister. What if she never got the chance to get to know him?

Stop it! This kind of thinking would get her nowhere. She could go to the police. She considered that option; surely it made the most sense. Except Kurt had been so adamant that he couldn’t that she hesitated. She had no way of knowing if she’d put him in more danger by alerting the police. She didn’t want to do that.

Nor could she go home. The ambulance driver had brought in her purse. She had her driver’s license, so she knew where she lived. She also had an idea that if she went there, someone would be waiting for her. Panic started to churn inside her. Then she remembered. The early morning nurse had brought her a newspaper. There was a write-up of the accident in it. She snatched the paper. It gave the address where the crash had taken place. Ben had said that it happened right in front of his house.

She would go there. He wasn’t really expecting her, even though they’d tossed the idea around of her staying with him. Last night she had not wanted to impose on him, a stranger. This morning, he was the only one she felt she could trust.

She made her decision. Grabbing up the newspaper and her purse, she left the room. The nurse at the station was talking with a doctor as Sadie strode by. She averted her face. Neither of them called out to her but continued what appeared to be an intense discussion about another patient. She rode the elevator down to the lobby, feeling the walls closing around her the entire time. She tensed as the door slid open with a soft whoosh, but no one was on the other side.

Relieved, she pulled the hood of her coat up, both to protect herself from the chilly air and to shield her face. She walked past the reception desk and out into the cold.

Now what? There was no one meeting her, and she had no car.

A car with a taxi sign pulled up in front of the hospital, and an older woman got out. She paid the driver and started to head toward the hospital.

Sadie looked around. No other taxis were in sight. This might be her only chance. She quickened her step, trying to hurry without drawing attention to herself. Please, don’t leave.

The driver saw her and he smiled. She could almost see him mentally adding on another customer. “You need a ride, miss?”

She nodded. “Can you take me here?” She pointed at the address listed in the paper.

“Absolutely! That’s about a twenty minute drive. That all right?”

“Fine.” She hurriedly climbed into the vehicle. The driver, a young man in his twenties, pulled away from the curb and slid smoothly into the light traffic. She glanced back at where she’d just left.

A man was jogging from the parking lot toward the hospital. Pulling her hood so it hid the right side of her face, she looked away. Something about the man struck her as familiar. Half a memory of an angry face formed, then it faded. She had seen him before. And he scared her.

She had been right to leave the hospital. Whoever had answered her brother’s phone probably had him, and they were apparently coming to get her, too.

She bit down on the panic that was screaming to get out. Ben was the only one she could go to. Maybe he’d know what to do.

Her phone vibrated. Hands shaking, she looked at the text.

I got away. Hide. Don’t text back. Danger. No police.

Kurt had gotten away. The very fact that he told her not to text back reassured her that it really was Kurt and not someone trying to get to her.

When the driver pulled up at the large two-story farmhouse, she distractedly paid him. There was something very solid and comforting about the look of the house. And, she realized, something familiar. Not specifically about this house, but about the feel of the place.

This was not her first visit to an Amish home, she decided. For a moment, she tried to grasp at the memory, but gave up as it continued to evade her.

A young boy watched her approach from the wraparound porch. He looked about seven. Ben’s son was seven. She thought back briefly, trying to recall his name.

“Are you Nathaniel?” she asked gently.

He nodded, his eyes wide.

“Could you ask your father if he has a moment to talk? My name is Sadie.”

The boy whirled around and dashed into the house, calling for his father. Sadie climbed the steps. The sudden adrenaline rush she had experienced as she escaped the hospital had gone, leaving her exhausted. Her bones felt like they had turned into half-cooked spaghetti. She just wanted to slump down against the wall and take a nap.

Footsteps pounded toward the door. She straightened her spine, embarrassed at her weakened state.

The man from the hospital appeared, his dark eyes astonished as he held open the door for her. His gaze swept the driveway behind her. Searching for Kurt, she realized. He wouldn’t have expected her to show up alone.

When those eyes returned to her, she responded to the question in their depths.

“I need your help.”

Ben stared at the woman in shock. He hadn’t really thought that she would show up here, much less on her own. The silence between them stretched tensely before he realized that her face under the bandage on her temple was pale and drawn. There was an air of sorrow that hovered around her.

He was being rude. “Sadie. Come in. My son and I were getting ready to eat lunch. Please join us.”

He could see the dismay that crossed her face and hurried to make her feel at ease. “It’s no imposition. I made plenty.”

He led the way into the kitchen. The little boy who’d greeted her sat at the table, his eyes excited. “Is it her, Dat? Is it the lady from the car?”

Ben chuckled. His son had run into the house telling him that the lady from the accident was at the door. Ben hadn’t mentioned the idea that she might come and stay with them. The more he had thought about the idea, the more ludicrous it had seemed. He was a widower living with a young boy. Having a young woman in the house at night was not appropriate, and he didn’t know who he could have stay with them. It would have been different had they been near his own family, but he and Nathaniel had moved to this district three years ago after Lydia was gone. They had friends, but no real family close by. He had done that on purpose, to escape from the expectations that he remarry and give Nathaniel a mother.

He had never expected to have her show up on his doorstep alone.

That alerted him that something had gone wrong. His stomach tightened. Kurt had been working on a sensitive project. A potentially dangerous one. Despite Ben’s desire to keep his distance from the pretty Englisch woman, he needed to discover what had happened to Kurt.

The small group settled down to eat. Ben and Nathaniel both bowed their heads to pray silently, the way they always did before meals. When he opened his eyes, he saw that Sadie was staring at her plate uncomfortably. It had never occurred to him that she might not be a praying person. Kurt was, he knew, so Ben had assumed that his sister was, as well. Or had she forgotten?

That was an unsettling thought, that one might forget Gott. Even during the darkest times of his life, he never doubted that Gott was there. Truthfully, he had often wondered how he would have survived without his faith. Shame filled him when he realized that just a few minutes ago he had looked at this woman who was obviously in need and had basically been trying to decide how to best get rid of her because her presence in his life was not convenient. That was not who he was. That was not what he wanted to teach Nathaniel.

Questions burned inside of him. Questions that would have to wait until his son was no longer in the room.

“Sadie,” he began the moment they finished eating and Nathaniel had skipped off. “Where is your stepbrother? I know we had talked about you coming out here, but I had gotten the impression that you didn’t want to do that. Am I mistaken?”

The eyes that rose to meet his were wide with anxiety. “He never came to pick me up this morning. When I called his phone, someone else answered it. I could hear my brother yelling in the background for me to run. I think whoever he was investigating had found him.” She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone.

“What—”

“Hang on,” she shushed him. “I want to show you this text I received. I believe it’s from my brother.”

He read the text. No wonder she was terrified. Instinctively, he tilted his head and listened tensely. When he heard the sound of his son practicing his spelling words, he relaxed.

“Have any of your memories returned?” Anything she remembered could possibly help them right now. She shook her head, destroying that hope.

They both started when someone pounded on the front door. No one he knew would pound the door that way. And, he thought to himself, he didn’t know anyone who would use the front door. Most people came around to the side.

He moved quickly across the house. He could see a young blond man standing outside. The man wasn’t looking into the house; instead, he was glancing wildly around him as if searching for someone. Even standing as he was, inside, Ben could see that the man was bouncing on the balls of his feet, almost as if he was ready to be off in an instant.

“That’s the taxi driver who brought me here,” Sadie whispered at Ben’s back. “He wasn’t as jittery when I saw him before. Something must’ve happened.”

Ben waved her back, motioning for her to stay out of sight. She gave him a disgruntled look but complied. Only when he was sure that she was not visible from outside did he open the door. No doubt she was still listening. He schooled his face into a bland expression. At least, he hoped he did.

“May I help you?”

“Where is she? That lady I dropped off here a while ago? She still here?”

The questions shot out of the young man so fast that they blended into each other. Ben couldn’t very well say that he didn’t know who the man was talking about. The man had probably seen her talking to Nathaniel before he left. He hesitated to give any clue about Sadie’s whereabouts, however. His instincts said that the driver was honestly concerned about her, but his instincts had been off before.

“Why do you want to know?”

The driver glanced around hurriedly again. “Look, I think she’s in trouble.”

So did Ben. If this young man had wanted to harm Sadie, he’d had plenty of opportunity when she was in his car. Making a decision, he motioned for the young man to enter the house. He shut the door and turned back to find that Sadie had stepped from her hiding place.

Upon seeing her, the young driver exclaimed in relief.

“Man, I’m glad to see you!”

Ben saw her brow crease in consternation. She frowned and caught Ben’s eye for a moment before she looked back at the driver.

“I’m sorry. I don’t understand.”

Visibly trying to collect himself, the driver shoved both his hands through his hair. “I went back to the hospital. The woman I dropped off earlier had booked me to come back and pick her up at a certain time. When she got into the car, she was very excited. She was telling me all about how a man had come in searching for a young woman who had been in a car accident. He claimed to be a detective.”

“He was no detective!” Sadie burst out.

Ben wanted to ask her how she knew that, considering she had no memory. He didn’t, though, for the basic reason that he agreed with her. If Kurt was right, the man searching for her was not out to help her. He hated to think that anyone from the local police force could possibly be involved, but that would explain why Kurt was so hesitant to go to the police.

“I don’t know who he was,” the driver responded. “All I know is that my customer pointed out the man who was looking for you as we pulled away. He sure didn’t look like any policeman I ever saw. He looked mean. When he reached into his jacket to get his phone out, I saw a gun. I don’t know if you’ve ever had the feeling that someone was up to no good, but that was exactly the feeling I got.”

Sadie had gone pale.

“Sadie, no one knows you’re here.”

“So will you help me?” Her voice was nearly steady, with the barest hint of a tremble. She’d leave if he said he didn’t want the risk. He couldn’t turn his back on her, though. It wasn’t the way he’d been raised. One didn’t ignore those in need just because it was inconvenient.

“Jah, I will help.”

The smile that lit her face was dazzling, radiant with relief.

It shook him how much he liked being the cause of that smile.

“Look,” the driver said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a card. His features weren’t as strained as they had been moments ago when he arrived, but he still had an air of concern about him. “I think you’re as safe here as anywhere. And the dude’s probably right. I mean, I doubt anyone knows that you’re here. But I want you to have my card, just in case you find that you don’t feel safe. I would be happy to take you to the police, or if you think of somewhere else you think you should go. Just call me. Just tell me to pick you up at—what’s your name?”

He directed this last toward Ben.

“Ben Mast.” He was slightly amused at the earnestness in the young man’s expression. And oddly touched. He was surprised to find an Englisch youth with such compassion.

The young man nodded. “Right. Tell me you’re at Ben’s. I’ll know.”

Sadie looked at the card, then back up at the young man. “Thank you, Braden. I appreciate your help today. I will hold on to this. If I need help, I’ll call.”

Braden took his leave. Within moments, Ben was left standing in his kitchen with his son and the woman who had literally crashed into their lives, and now threatened their peaceful existence with her mere presence in their home.

Gott, please don’t let me regret this decision.

He wondered if the prayer was too late.

FOUR

Once the decision to allow Sadie to stay was made, there was no going back. But Ben could not allow an unmarried woman to remain in his house with only himself. Even if she remained hidden and no one else in the town was aware that there was an Englisch woman in his house, Nathaniel would know. Ben would not scandalize his young son by teaching him that it was okay to ignore the rules when they were not convenient.

And at the moment, the rules were the epitome of inconvenient. Still, rules were there for a reason. They helped to keep one out of temptation and close to Gott.

“You look very serious, Ben.”

He hadn’t realized that she had been observing him while he pondered the unique dilemma he found himself in.

He smiled at her, trying to ease the concern in her eyes. “Jah, I am trying to solve a problem.”

“May I help?”

He could feel his smile wanting to change into a sarcastic smirk and kept his face still with effort. What would she say if he told her that she was the problem he was trying to solve? No doubt she would not be amused. Nee, he wouldn’t be cruel. It was plain that she was feeling guilty about the situation she had put his family in. Not that he was blaming her. No one would choose to have someone chasing them. And she had to be going out of her mind worrying about her brother, the one solid connection she had at the moment.

“Listen, I need to go and talk with a neighbor. Could you stay here with Nathaniel for a few minutes? I will be back soon.”

She nodded. “Of course. Whatever you need.”

Ben passed her and headed out the door. Without thinking about it, he placed a comforting arm on her shoulder as he passed. He should have left without touching her. A jolt of electricity shocked him. She jumped, obviously having felt the same thing. Not gut.

Averting his gaze, he pretended that he hadn’t felt the spark that shimmered between them, although he was fairly sure that his ears were turning red. Ben jammed his hat on his head and strode out, never looking back. He did not want to see the look on her face right now.

Jogging across the street to Caleb’s house, he rapped sharply on the wooden door frame. Then he grimaced. It was not polite to pound on someone’s door, but he was so rattled he was hardly thinking.

He could hear footsteps approaching, then the entrance was opened. Lovina looked surprised to see him.

“Ben? Is Nathaniel gut?”

“Jah.” He nodded at the kind-hearted woman. Lovina was only a year or two older than his own twenty-six years, but she seemed older. He could hear the chorus of young voices inside her house. She and Caleb had four kinner. She also had a widowed aunt living with her. “I was wondering if I might speak with you and Caleb. And Ruth.”

Her eyes widened at the mention of her aunt. He didn’t know Ruth that well, so it probably appeared to be a strange request. To his relief, she didn’t argue or ask questions. “Jah, please come in.”

He stepped inside as she left the room to gather her husband and her aunt. When the three returned, Ben cleared his throat. He had not planned what he would say, and the words seemed to stick in his throat. Finally, he drew in a deep breath and plunged into the story.

“Caleb, you remember that Englisch woman who crashed into the tree.” It wasn’t a question, for he didn’t believe either of them would ever forget it. He would probably hear the sound of her car crunching against the tree in his nightmares.

“Jah, I remember well.”

“Her name is Sadie. She is the sister of a friend I had met through my work. She has lost her memory, and her brother is not at home right now. I have been asked to look after her, at least, until he returns.” He decided not to mention the true nature of Kurt’s disappearance. “I told her I’d help, but—”

“Ack,” Ruth broke in. “It is not proper for you to have a woman in your home without a chaperone.”

Relieved that she understood the situation, Ben sighed. “Jah, but I believe I should help.”

Ruth turned to her niece. “Lovina, I will be moving in to the Mast haus for a few days.” She raised an eyebrow at Ben. He felt like a schoolchild being scolded. “You have a place for me to sleep?”

“Jah, I have a spare room for you.” He’d have slept in the barn, if necessary. Thankfully, that would not be needed.

“Gut. I will come over soon. You should not be in the haus alone with her.”

“Denke, Ruth. I was in a bind.”

The stern lines of her face softened. “Gott wants us to be charitable, Ben. He also wants us to guard ourselves.”

He understood the warning and flushed.

Thanking his neighbors again, he left and rushed back to the house. The moment he entered, he saw that Sadie had cleaned up the lunch dishes and had started to sweep the kitchen. He appreciated it.

“Denke for cleaning up, Sadie.” He glanced around the room. “Where did Nathaniel go?”

“He asked if he could go to his room for some quiet time. I told him that was fine. I figured you wouldn’t want him to leave the house while you were gone. Not with all that’s happened.”

“You were right.”

She narrowed her gaze slightly. “So? Have you solved your problem?”

He nodded. “I believe that I have.”

She pulled the broom close to herself, holding on to it with both hands, and waited. She was a good listener, he decided, at least, when she wasn’t feeling terrified.

“My neighbor’s widowed aunt is coming to stay with us,” he announced. “That way, both our reputations are protected.”

Her eyes widened. He could see the alarm in the stiffness of her posture. Raising his hands, he made a calming gesture. “I was vague in the details, but we can’t stay here together like this. It wouldn’t be proper.”

Tilting her head, she frowned at him. “We weren’t doing anything wrong.”

“Maybe not,” he acknowledged, “but it is the Plain way. Ruth will be here soon.”

She opened her mouth, no doubt to ask another question, but the question was never voiced. Knuckles knocking against the screen door ended the conversation.

“Ben! I’m here!” Ruth’s voice boomed through the door. Ben glanced at his companion, choking back a laugh at the amused expression on her face.

“Door’s open, Ruth,” he responded. The older woman entered the house, her sharp eyes zeroing in on the two people standing next to each other in the kitchen. It wasn’t hard to read the reprimand in her stare. Ben found himself backing away from Sadie without even thinking about it. Then he flushed. They hadn’t been standing that close, and Sadie was still holding onto the broom.

“You’re Sadie, ain’t so?” the older woman demanded, inspecting the Englisch woman.

“That’s right.” Sadie inspected her right back, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. Apparently, she wasn’t offended by Ruth’s gruff ways.

“I’m sorry that you were in an accident,” Ruth murmured, her eyes touching on the bandage adorning Sadie’s temple. “Are you in any pain?”

“Not much. My head did ache yesterday, but today it feels a lot better.”

Ben was relieved to know that her condition was improving. Ruth quickly got herself settled into one of the spare rooms on the second floor. He showed Sadie to the room across from that. Ben discreetly moved some of his own belongings from his bedroom to the bedroom on the first floor near the kitchen. It wouldn’t do to have his room so close to their guest. Ruth gave him an approving nod as she observed his actions. It was all as it should be.

Nathaniel, of course, was thrilled to have so many people in their house. It was quite the adventure for him. Ruth was known for her skill at baking, and before they sat down for dinner the house was already filled with the aromas of cookies and a fresh pot of hearty stew. Sadie had pitched in and assisted her, and he noted that she was familiar with baking and cooking. It was interesting how the memory worked, that she could still manage to perform tasks that she had forgotten she had ever learned, but she couldn’t recall basic information about herself.

The remainder of the day and evening went past in a blur. That night, as he lay in bed, Ben considered all the events of the day. Who was after her? Just as important as that question, what had happened to Kurt? Ben fell into a restless doze after eleven. The following morning he awoke to the crowing of the rooster, feeling as if he had not slept more than a few minutes. All he wanted to do was turn over and sleep for another hour.

With a sigh, he threw back his covers. Lack of rest was irrelevant. Chores still needed to be done. The animals needed to be fed and he had a job to do. Customers who depended on him. Crushing the wish to stay in bed longer, he rose and dressed quickly in the dark, then headed out to begin the day’s work. By the time he returned from the barn, the rest of the household was awake, breakfast was on the table and strong black coffee was on the cookstove.

The next two days passed without incident. Sadie didn’t say anything, but he knew that she never relaxed her guard. She peered out the window multiple times a day. He also noted that whenever she went outside, her eyes were constantly moving.

“Sadie,” he said gently on the third day, “I will not let you come to harm.” He immediately felt like a hypocrite. How could he promise such a thing? He hadn’t even been aware enough to see that his Lydia had been terminally ill, yet here he was telling this strange woman that he would save her from an unknown danger.

Nee, not him. “Gott knows what the danger is. He can protect you.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t respond for a moment. Then she sighed. “If only I knew that Kurt was okay.”

He found her concern for her brother touching, and interesting, considering he was a virtual stranger to her. “Have you remembered anything, say?”

She shook her head with a grimace. “Not a thing. Although some things seem so familiar to me.”

“Jah? Give me an example.”

They were in his workshop. She moved over to stand near where he was sanding the top of a large square table. He made the mistake of looking up at her once. The way her brown hair was warmed by the sun streaming in the window made his heartbeat bump. Flushing, he forced his eyes back down to his work and kept them there.

“An example,” she mused, reminding him of their conversation. “Well, for one thing, I love to bake with Ruth. And it’s not like I’m learning. When we made dinner last night, I found myself handing her ingredients before she asked for them. I knew what the next steps were.”

He frowned, recalling the meal the night before. It was a recipe that Ruth and Sadie had put together without any written instructions. It was also, he remembered, a traditional Amish recipe. Yet she had assisted as if she had been making it her whole life.

“I wonder where you learned to make the dumplings. It’s not a recipe most Englischers would know.”

“I have no idea.”

Ben continued to consider the information long after she returned to the house. He imagined that Nathaniel had probably met her at the door. Several times in the past few days, he had stopped just to listen to the sound of Nathaniel’s laughter. His son sure did enjoy having the attention of a woman. They both did. Best not get too comfortable, he warned himself. As soon as the danger was past, she’d be gone, back to where she belonged.

For she would return. There was nothing Nathaniel, or he, could do to change that fact. She was an Englischer, just like her brother. And as much as he liked and respected both of them, there was no place for a woman like her in his Amish world.

What was taking Nathaniel so long?

Sadie paced the length of the front room, keeping away from the large window, though her eyes continually strayed to it, straining to see outside.

Nathaniel had run upstairs to gather his spelling homework. He had come in after school yesterday waving his new words at her. His teacher gave them new vocabulary every Monday. This morning Sadie had promised that she would help him practice it after he finished his chores. The moment they were done, he had bounded up the stairs, yelling that he was ready to practice.

She grinned at the memory. She knew that she should not allow Nathaniel to worm his way into her heart. It wasn’t fair to any of them. She was only there for a short time. Until Kurt was found and had enough evidence to go to the police.

And then she would leave.

She caught her breath at the ache the thought caused. Of leaving adorable Nathaniel, who held her heart in his small hand. Also, she realized, she was sad at the knowledge that she would be saying farewell to Ben, no doubt forever. The man could drive her nuts with his calm logic and his unflappable demeanor. Except she had caught him watching her a time or two. Could he sense the attraction between them? She smiled. Then she shook her head, hard.

She was a fool. Why on earth would she want any attraction, any sense of true emotion, to develop between her and the brave and faithful Amish father? A future between them was impossible.