A Sister's Hope (32 page)

“Have you and Luke been courting behind our backs?” Mom’s question drove Martha’s thoughts aside.

Martha wasn’t sure how to respond. Even though she and Luke weren’t officially courting, they had gone a few places together. He’d also said he wished they could court. She gulped down some more water. “No, we’re. . .uh. . .not courting.”

“Then why was he hugging you?” Dad asked.

“We weren’t really hugging. Luke was trying to comfort me.”

“Comfort you?” Mom’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why did you need comforting, Martha?”

“Because I was upset about my horse’s reins having been cut,” Martha blurted out.

“What?” Mom and Dad said in unison.

“I thought at first they were just broken, but Luke’s the one who discovered they’d actually been cut, and then—” Martha saw Mom’s hands begin to shake, and she caught herself in time before blurting out the part about the note she’d found in the back of her buggy.

“Ach, Martha,” Mom said shakily. “You could have been hurt.”

“We’ll talk about the reins being cut later,” Dad said, staring hard at Martha. “Right now I’d like to deal with the issue of Luke having his hands all over you.”

Martha shook her head vigorously. “He didn’t, Dad. Luke was just—”

Dad slammed his fist on the table again. “I will not allow it to happen a second time! I forbid you to see Luke again!”

Martha’s eyes filled with tears as she pushed back her chair and rushed from the room.

Judith released a shuddering sigh. “Ach, Roman. Why’d you say such a thing to our daughter? Can’t you see how much it hurt her?”

“I don’t care if it did. She shouldn’t be sneaking around and meeting up with Luke behind our backs.” Roman grunted. “Hugging him right there on the side of the road where everyone could see. What was that girl thinking?”

“Maybe it’s the way she said. Luke might have just given her a hug to comfort her.”

“Over some broken reins?”

“They weren’t broken. You heard what Martha said.” Judith paused and drew in a quick breath. “Those reins were deliberately cut, Roman. It was another attack.”

He grabbed his glass of water and took a drink. “I doubt Martha was upset enough to need the kind of comforting Luke was offering. I think Luke just used it as an opportunity to put our daughter in a compromising position and make her look bad.”

“Why would he do that?”

“For the same reason he’s been doing all those horrible things to us. He’s trying to get even with me for firing him.”

“Please don’t start with that again, Roman.” She touched his arm. “I thought you’d decided the land developer was probably behind the attacks.”

“I said it
could
be the land developer, but I have no proof.”

“We never will know for sure who’s responsible until the sheriff catches him.”

“Jah, right! Like Sheriff Osborn’s going to camp out on our property and wait for someone to pull another prank.”

“They aren’t pranks, Roman. Whoever’s behind the attacks is out for more than a good time.”

“You’re right about that.” He scratched the side of his head. “Fact is, I’ve been thinking and praying about this a lot lately.”

“Will you speak to the sheriff again and see if he has any leads?”

He shook his head. “I’m thinking I might do a little investigating on my own.”

Her eyebrows lifted high on her forehead. “What kind of investigating?”

“I haven’t come up with a plan yet, but when I do, you’ll be the first to know. In the meantime, I’ve got other things that need to be done. I talked with Cleon this morning, and we’ve decided to get started on my new shop, hopefully in the next week or so.”

“Will you have a work frolic then?”

He nodded. “Probably so. It’ll be good to be in my own shop again. I’ve had about as much of working in that smelly barn with Martha’s yappy dogs as I can take.”

“I hope Poppy comes over to see me soon,” Anna said as she swirled her noodles around on her plate with a fork. “I wanna show him Papa’s bees.”

“You know you’re not to go near my bee boxes,” Cleon said with a shake of his head. “I’ve told you before that you might get stung.”

Anna’s lower lip protruded. “I never get to have any fun.”

“There’s nothing fun about seeing my bee boxes.”

“Then how come you go out there all the time, Papa?”

“Because I have things that need to be done.”

“What kind of things?”

“I have to check on the honeycombs, and when the time is right, I extract the honey.”

Anna smacked her lips. “I love peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Sure wish we could’ve had that for supper tonight.”

“You had a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch,” Grace reminded the child.

“I could eat another one now. It might help me not miss Poppy so much.”

Cleon reached over and patted Anna’s hand. “He’s going to be renting a place near Berlin, and that’s not far away, Anna. I’m sure you’ll be able to see him a lot this summer when you’re out of school. Maybe your mamm will take you to see his new house sometime later this week.”

Anna’s face lit up. “How about tomorrow after school?”

“We can talk about that later,” Grace said.

Cleon turned to face Anna. “In the meantime, you need to finish eating your supper.”

Anna’s forehead wrinkled. “Daniel don’t have to eat his supper.”

Grace glanced over at her son, sitting in the high chair next to the table. “That’s because he’s already eaten. I fed him earlier, remember?”

“Then how comes he’s sittin’ in his chair with a cracker and a cup of milk?”

“So he can feel like part of the family and be near us,” Cleon answered.

They ate in silence for the rest of the meal. Grace hoped Anna would be willing to take Daniel into the living room to play after supper, because she needed to talk to Cleon and tell him what had happened when Carl had shown up this morning saying Anna wasn’t safe living with them.

“It’s later now,” Anna said. “Will you take me to see Poppy tomorrow after school?”

“I don’t think so.” Grace gritted her teeth.
I wish Wade’s dad hadn’t come back to Holmes County. I wish he would stay out of Anna’s life.

“How come?” Anna persisted.

“I’ve got too much to do tomorrow.”

Anna gave Cleon an imploring look. “Will you drive me to Berlin so I can see Poppy?”

“Your daed will be working tomorrow afternoon,” Grace said.

Anna bumped the tray on Daniel’s high chair, and Daniel let out an ear-piercing wail. Grace grabbed a couple of napkins to wipe up the milk that had spilled out of his cup.

“Stop that
gegrisch
!” Anna said, covering her ears with the palms of her hands.

“He’s only hollering because you bumped his tray and spilled his milk.”

“He’s hurtin’ my ears.” Anna pinched Daniel’s arm, and he screamed even louder.

Grace’s hands shook as she lifted Daniel from his chair and placed him in her lap. “Anna, tell your bruder you’re sorry for pinching him.”

Anna shook her head. “He’s too young to know what I’m sayin’. Besides, he shouldn’t have yelled in my ear like that.”

“Either apologize or go to your room,” Grace said through tight lips.

With tears in her eyes, Anna glanced over at Cleon.

“You’d better do as your mamm says,” he said.

“But I haven’t had my dessert.”

Grace’s face heated up. “Then apologize to Daniel!”

Anna shook her head and dashed from the room.

Cleon’s forehead wrinkled as he looked over at Grace. “Did you have to yell at her like that?”

Grace’s defenses rose. “She acted like a pill throughout the meal, and when she pinched Daniel, I’d had enough.”

“She’s upset about not being able to see her grandpa tomorrow.”

Grace wrapped her arms around Daniel and held him tightly, hoping the gesture might offer her some comfort. “I’m not sure Anna should ever see Carl.”

“Why not? I thought we agreed that she could see him if someone in the family was with them.”

“He found out about the attacks against my family, and he doesn’t think Anna’s safe living here.” Grace gulped on the sob rising in her throat. “He said he wants Anna to move in with him.”

A muscle on the side of Cleon’s neck quivered, and he blinked rapidly. “I won’t let that happen, Grace. I promise you’ll never lose your daughter again.”

T
he following morning as Grace stood at the stove, stirring a pot of oatmeal, she thought about Carl’s suggestion that Anna come to live with him, and it upset her all over again. She did want Anna to be safe, but not at the risk of letting Carl take control of her again. No, Anna’s place was here, with them.

Forcing her thoughts aside, Grace turned from the stove, cupped her hands around her mouth, and called, “Anna, breakfast is ready!”

No response.

“Maybe she’s in the bathroom,” Cleon said as he stepped into the kitchen.

Grace shook her head. “I’m sure I would have heard her come down the stairs.”

“Maybe she took them softly for a change.” Cleon moved toward the high chair and ruffled Daniel’s curly hair. “Or Anna might have come downstairs during one of this little guy’s yelling matches. No one can hear much of anything when he gets to hollering.”

Grace bit back a chuckle. Daniel had become pretty verbal lately. “Would you mind checking the bathroom to see if Anna’s there while I finish making the pancakes?”

“Don’t mind at all.” Cleon left the room and returned a few seconds later. “No sign of Anna in the bathroom. Want me to check upstairs and see if she’s still in her room?”

Grace nodded.

Cleon left again, and when he returned, he was frowning.

“What’s wrong?”

“Anna’s gone.”

“Gone?”

“She’s not in her room, and when I looked in her closet to see if she might be there, I discovered that her suitcase was missing.”

Grace gasped. Had Anna been kidnapped, or had she run away?

As Luke bounced along in the passenger’s seat of John’s SUV, he was surprised when he spotted Grace’s daughter, Anna, walking along the edge of the road in the opposite direction of the schoolhouse, lugging a small suitcase. “Hold up there, would you, John? I know that little girl, and I’d like to find out where she’s going with that suitcase.”