A Hand to Hold (27 page)

“Deborah?” Elisabeth said, but when Deborah didn’t turn around, she looked at Stephen, her blue eyes wide with bewilderment. “What’s going on?”

Deborah had moved to the corner of the room, her face buried in her son’s neck. Stephen motioned for Elisabeth to go outside. He met her on the front porch.

“Stephen, what’s wrong with Deborah?”

He looked down at his sister, barely making out the white hue of her prayer
kapp
in the darkness. “Why were you late bringing Will home?” His tone was sharper than he intended.

“We stopped off at Aaron’s parents’ house for a short while. Aaron was helping his
daed
move some furniture out to the shed. We stayed a little longer than we thought.” Her voice sounded small. “I didn’t mean to make her mad. I should
geh
talk to her . . .”

Stephen cut in. “Now’s not a
gut
time. Where’s Aaron?”

“He’s waiting for me by the barn. Stephen, are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

He told her about Moses’ collapse and that Deborah was worried about Will. “She’ll be okay, once she finds out her
daed
is fine.”

“Is he going to be fine?”

He glanced over his shoulder, making sure Deborah wasn’t near the door. Lowering his voice, he said, “I don’t know.”

Elisabeth drew in a breath. “Should I stay? I can tell Aaron to
geh
home without me.”

Stephen shook his head. “I’ll stay.”

She nodded. “Make sure you keep an eye on her. I’ve never seen her so upset, not since she was . . . well, just look out for her, okay?”

“I will.” He wondered what his sister was referring to, but he didn’t ask.

Once Elisabeth left, he walked back inside. Deborah was sitting on the couch, Will leaning against her. He was still asleep. Stephen sat next to her, glad when she didn’t tell him to go away.

“Elisabeth and Aaron must have worn him out.” She touched her lips to the top of Will’s head. Then she looked at Stephen. “I owe her an apology.”

“
Nee
, you don’t. I explained everything to her. She understands.”

“I’m glad. She’s a
gut
friend.” She turned to him. “I’m sorry about what Naomi said. She was just upset over
Daed
.”

He knew it was more than that. “It’s forgotten. No harm done.”

She gave him a half-smile and looked down at Will. “I was so worried about him.” She put her hand on his back. “I’m worried about
Daed
.” Her smile disappeared, and her lower lip trembled.

He wished he knew the right words to comfort her, but he didn’t. He held out his hand to her. She looked at it for a long moment before entwining her fingers in his.

“What do you mean he’s had a heart attack?”

Deborah clenched her jaw at Naomi’s shrill question. It had been nearly an hour since the doctor had arrived. She had already put Will to bed, and Stephen was waiting outside in the living room. She threaded her fingers together, remembering the warmth of his hand. The comfort of his embrace. She couldn’t have made it through this without him.

Deborah looked at her father, taking in his pale complexion and gray lips. He seemed to have aged a decade since she’d seen him this morning. A blue-and-white quilt was draped across his chest and tucked under his arms. His eyes were closed, and she asked, “Is he asleep or unconscious?” She made sure to keep her voice at a normal level.

“Asleep. I gave him a mild sedative.” The young doctor turned to Naomi. “To answer your question, I don’t know for sure if he had a heart attack. I need to admit him to the hospital for tests.”

“Then do it!” Naomi clasped her hands together. “Do whatever you have to do!”

Dr. Williams held up his hand. “Ms. Coblentz, you’ll have to keep your voice down. I don’t want your father to get upset.” When Naomi nodded, he continued. “I asked him to go to the hospital, but he refused. He said he was just tired, which of course is common for cardiac arrest, or he could just be extremely fatigued. But he did complain of chest pain, and I think he should have an EKG to make sure. However, I can’t force him to go to the hospital.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Deborah looked at the doctor, who had to be in his late twenties or early thirties. Was he even old enough to practice medicine?

He rubbed his dark brown mustache and glanced at her father. “Other than try to convince him to come to the hospital for tests, make sure he rests for the next few days, longer if possible. Keep his stress level low, and under no circumstances is he to do any physical labor for a while.”

Deborah thought about the farm. All her father did was physical labor. How were they supposed to keep him from doing that? “Anything else?”

“Call me if he gets worse. Short of breath, any more fainting, or complaints of chest pain.” He picked up his jacket, which had been lying on a rocking chair in the corner of the room. “Don’t hesitate to call 911 too.”

“We won’t,” Naomi said, casting another glare at Deborah.

Deborah didn’t acknowledge it. She didn’t have the time or the energy to deal with Naomi right now. “I’ll walk you out, Doctor.” She left the room, leaving Naomi with her father. Deborah hoped she wouldn’t wake him up.

When she and Dr. Williams walked into the living room, Stephen was leaning forward on the couch, his head hanging down. He stood up. “How is he?” When she held up one finger and mouthed the words “just a minute,” he nodded and sat back down.

She walked Dr. Williams to the door. “How much do I owe you?”

He waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll bill you.” He gave her a small smile and opened the door. “The good thing is that your father seems okay. Once he regained consciousness he didn’t have trouble breathing and the pains in his chest were gone. But if you can convince him to come in for tests, that would be the best thing.”

“Thank you.” She closed the door behind him and went back into the living room. Then she sat next to Stephen and faced him. He looked so tired, his expression filled with worry. “You didn’t have to stay,” she said. But she was glad he had.

He looked at her for a moment. “I wanted to see how your
daed
is.”

“He might have had a heart attack.”

Stephen’s eyes grew wide. “Really?”

“But we can’t know for sure because
Daed
won’t go to the hospital and get tested. Which doesn’t surprise me. So Dr. Williams asked if Naomi and I could convince him to do it.” She stared at the coffee table in front of her. “But I don’t know if we can.”

“Your
daed
can be a little
obsenaat
.”

“
Ya
, I know. But getting him to the hospital isn’t the hard part. We also have to make sure he rests and doesn’t do any physical exertion. That’s going to be impossible.”

“I’ll take care of it. I can come by twice a day if you need me to.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.” She looked up at him. “Naomi and I can handle this.”

“But—”

“Deborah’s right.” Naomi came in the room. “She and I will take care of our
daed
. And of
our
farm.” She looked at Stephen, her expression set in stone.

Stephen moved his gaze to Deborah, as if he expected her to disagree with Naomi. In this case, she couldn’t. She couldn’t ask Stephen to take on any more responsibility than he already had. She and Naomi had to work together to take over the farm responsibilities.

“It would be best if you left.” Naomi pinned him with her glare.

“Naomi, that’s enough.” She’d had it with her sister’s rudeness, especially to Stephen. Her accusing him of taking advantage of her had been insulting, and he didn’t deserve that.

“He’s not needed here.”

Before Deborah could protest, Stephen rose from the couch. She could see anger flitting across his face, but he didn’t express it. “I’ll be back by tomorrow to check on Moses. For now I think it’s best I leave.” He glanced at Naomi, his lips thinning. Naomi lifted her chin, meeting his gaze directly. He turned to go.

Deborah followed him to the door. “Stephen?”

He turned, his frustration still evident.

She lowered her voice, aware that Naomi was standing behind them. “Please, don’t let her get to you.”

His eyes softened. “Deborah, don’t worry about me. I don’t want her getting to you. I’m serious about what I said. Anything you need from me, or your
daed
needs, let me know. I’m here for you.”

Deborah took a deep breath, almost overwhelmed with emotion. She nodded, unable to speak, then closed the door. She leaned her forehead against the door frame, her body shuddering from weariness.

“Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”

Deborah looked up to see her sister’s face turn the shade of a plum. “What?”

“
Daed
would be getting the medical care he needed if you had done that instead of calling the doctor. We’ll never get him to the hospital. You know that.”

“The doctor was quicker,” she said, her voice weak with fatigue. “I thought he would be the best bet.”

“You don’t know anything, do you? I don’t know how you expect to raise your child if you can’t make a simple decision.” She looked around. “Where is he, anyway?”

The shock of her sister acknowledging Will directly for the first time barely registered. “He’s upstairs, asleep. He spent the day with Elisabeth and Aaron.”

“Figures you’d want him gone.” She pointed her finger at Deborah. “That way you and Stephen could be alone together. I bet you were messing around while
Daed
was having his heart attack.”

Deborah clenched her fists. “I can’t believe you’d say that. Stephen’s not that kind of
mann
.”

“But you’re that kind of
fraulein
,” she sneered. “You proved that to everyone, didn’t you?” Naomi turned away and went to her father’s bedroom.

Deborah stood there, shaking with anger. How dare her sister say that to her? But she dared, because it was true. She closed her eyes. “Lord, help me,” she whispered.

She didn’t know how long she stood there in the living room, but when she stopped shaking she moved to the couch and prayed. The words she couldn’t find earlier poured out of her. She prayed for her father, for herself, for her son, and even for Naomi, asking God to soften her heart. If she and her sister didn’t manage to work together, they could lose everything.

Chapter 18

T
he third week of school had been the busiest yet for Ruth. She and her students had settled into a routine, and now that she knew them better, she was able to tailor her lessons to how they learned. Individualizing her plans took more work on her part, but she thought it was worth it.

At the end of the school day, Ruth dismissed the class. “Now remember, fifth graders, you have a math test tomorrow. Be sure to study. And third graders, practice your spelling words.”

“We will,
Fraulein
Byler,” several students said at the same time.

Ruth smiled. Then her gaze met Jacob, who was seated at the desk in the back of the room, and her smile dimmed. At least he’d attended school for the entire week. But he’d been disengaged from everything. At recess she noticed him on the edge of the playground, instead of playing with the other boys as he’d done last week. She’d been so busy, though, that she hadn’t had a chance to visit the Klines again. She hoped she’d have a chance to talk to them soon. She had some free time tomorrow afternoon. She made a mental note to visit Mr. Kline after school let out.

After the children left, Ruth sat down at her desk and didn’t move.
Ah, silence.
The frenetic pace of the week had given her little time to enjoy quiet moments. It had also given her little time to think. But those times when she was able to pause, Zach was never far from her mind. Now, in the quiet of the classroom, he came into her thoughts full force.

He’d asked her to leave him alone, and she had complied, thinking he might come around. But he hadn’t. Now she knew she had to be proactive. She wasn’t finished with Zach Bender, God had made that perfectly clear. He needed her. He just didn’t realize it yet.

Already her mind started to formulate a plan. First she’d have to convince him of the importance of reading. Then she had to figure out why it was so difficult for him. Ultimately she had to leap the biggest hurdle of all—getting him to accept her help. But she was up for the challenge. She had to help Zach. She cared too much about him not to.

She slipped on her reading glasses and went through the writing assignments in her students’ notebooks. She had just finished reading her lone sixth-grade student’s essay when she heard a knock at the door. “Just a minute,” she said, not lifting her head. With a red pen she wrote an A+ on the top of the young man’s paper.

“Ruth?”

The deep voice made her head jerk up. “Zach,” she said, trying to hide her surprise. He stood in the doorway, and her stomach fluttered. How handsome he looked in his dark blue trousers, light yellow shirt, and straw hat. His hands were shoved in his pockets, his expression unsure.

“Is it all right if I come in?”

She nodded, rising from her chair. Seeing him made her realize how much she’d missed him. Truly missed him, like a part of her had disappeared in his absence. But this wasn’t about how she felt. It was about helping him.