Anna's Healing (41 page)

She stopped reading when Spencer walked into the room.

If anything, he looked worse than he had before. Perhaps he'd been arguing with Peggy. Anna hadn't heard anything from their end of the motor home, but she had been completely focused on Karen.

Spencer gazed at his wife, and in that moment Anna saw on his face the depth of his love for Karen. It caused her heart to ache. Her mind was filled with images of her own mother and father,
Mammi
and
Daddi
, even Erin and Samuel. Each couple experienced love in their own way, but they were all completely devoted to one another.
She thought of Jacob, and she realized how much she wanted to experience that kind of love. The kind that sees you through a lifetime, even if in the end it breaks your heart.

Spencer stared at the sleeping form of his wife for another moment, and then he motioned Anna out of the room.

CHAPTER 62

C
hloe hit the “Send” key on her tablet.

The report she'd filed had been brief, barely more than a hundred words, but it pretty much summed up the current situation.

The Cody's Creek Police Department is seeking information regarding the possible abduction of Anna Schwartz. Miss Schwartz has been the subject of much media attention since her healing from a complete spinal break.

Police have reported that Miss Schwartz was last seen at a neighbor's farm. Though she left at 6:20 last evening to walk the quarter mile home, she never arrived at her uncle's house.

A late model Dodge truck with Texas plates was seen in the area. Police would like to question the driver, an older white male. If you have any information regarding Anna or the Dodge truck, contact the Tips hotline immediately.

It wasn't her best writing—not that she cared. At the moment all Chloe cared about was finding her friend. It was a few minutes past midnight, but Chloe felt as if she'd devoured an entire pot of coffee and a dozen donuts. Her blood was practically thrumming through her veins, or perhaps that was hope energizing her. She walked out onto the front porch and stared up at the dark sky. Though gas lanterns still
shone from the living room, at least the officers had cut the floodlights around the house. There were no clues there and no reason to continue searching. Anna was in the Dodge truck, or she had been. They'd had at least three separate confirmations of an Amish girl leaving with an older
Englisch
man.

She'd texted her mom the latest news, and Teri had responded that she'd sent a request through the prayer chain for Anna's safe return. She reminded her daughter to
keep the faith
and
not lose hope
. Those two phrases would have sounded cliché to Chloe a year ago, but now she clung to them like a life raft in a turbulent sea.

After reading her mom's text, she'd emailed Eric. He'd promised to put her post directly on the website within the hour. He actually congratulated her on getting the scoop. Yup. Her boss was still counting website hits, and he didn't seem worried at all that a woman was missing.

She wasn't the only one who would report the story. At that very moment Lacretia Gates was briefing the press people assembled out on the lane. The Cody's Creek Police Department had been hesitant to issue an alert because, technically, Anna needed to be missing forty-eight hours before they could open an investigation. Lacretia offered to call the governor and confirm that this was a special case. Officer Starnes had quickly backpedaled and agreed to make an exception.

Suddenly the screen door behind her slammed shut. Jacob didn't pause to look at or speak to her as he hurried down the steps.

“Where are you going?”

He didn't answer, so she jumped up and ran to catch up with him.

“Jacob, where are you going?”

She reached for his arm, but he brushed her off.

“I have a car, Jacob.”

That stopped him. He turned, studied her a moment, and then said, “Good. Let's go.”

“Not until you tell me where we're going.”

“To Texas. I'm going to get Anna.”

“You're what… going to speed down there and find her? Do you realize how big Texas is? Where will you look?”

“I don't know. I do know that I have to find her!”

“Jacob, listen to me.”

He turned and continued down the lane.

“You need to be here.”

Again, he stopped, but this time he didn't turn toward her.

“You need to be here when they call. Let the police do their job. They will find her, and when they do, you need to be here to talk to her, not out traveling the interstate.”

At that moment Anna's mother stepped up beside them. Chloe hadn't even heard the clatter of the front screen door. She'd been too focused on Jacob, on trying to think of a way to stop him.

Martha paused a moment beside Chloe, squeezed her hand, and then she moved on toward Jacob.

“So much has happened since I arrived. I haven't had a chance to thank you properly.”

When he looked at her in surprise, she continued. “Anna wrote me weekly, and we talked sometimes on the phone when she could get to the phone shack. She told me, Jacob. She told me all that you have done, and what good friends you two have become.”

“That's what she called us? Friends?”

To Chloe, it looked as if his face had become a caricature for misery.

Martha linked her arm through his and guided him back to the front porch. “She may have hinted at something more, though I wouldn't want to share anything from her letters that she hasn't shared with you already.”

Jacob shook his head, “We haven't had time to talk about it. I didn't take the time when I had the chance.”

As Chloe was wondering whether she should give Martha and Jacob a few moments alone, Martha sat on the step and patted the spot to her right and left. Jacob and Chloe sat with her.

“You think she didn't know? That you care for her?”

“If you ask me, she knew,” Chloe said. “She would break into a smile at anything you said, her face would blush, and she'd forget whatever she was doing at the moment.” When Jacob and Martha looked at her, she added, “I'm a reporter. They pay me to notice things.”

Jacob's arms were propped on his knees, and he dropped his head into his hands. “I don't know. I hope she did, but—”

“My Anna. She's a bright girl.” Martha paused, and then she added, “I wouldn't be breaking her confidence to say that she cares for you, Jacob.”

Chloe watched the expression on Jacob's face as misery gave way to hope. It was like watching the sun come up over the Oklahoma fields.

He wiped at his eyes. “I should go and look for her—”

“No, I think Chloe's right. Let the officers do their job. Not only does Anna need you here, but Samuel will need help with the livestock.”

“I hadn't thought of that.”

“Well, I suspect you've been a bit distracted.” Martha stood and straightened her apron. “Now, I think we should all go inside and try to get some sleep. Erin made up the couch for you, Jacob. And Chloe, you can sleep in Anna's bed.”

“I couldn't sleep,” he said.

“Better try. Tomorrow's bound to be busier than today.
Mammi
keeps reminding me that
Gotte
has a plan for Anna, for each of us. This time, I think I'm going to trust her. I don't know why, but it seems the Lord has His hand on my girl.”

Jacob stood, and he and Martha walked back toward the front door. Chloe assured them she would follow soon. She wanted a few moments to let the quiet and peace of the evening slip into her soul. She wanted to think about that look on Jacob's face, and her own ideas about love and relationships. But more than anything, she wanted a few moments to pray.

CHAPTER 63

A
nna followed Spencer back into the kitchen.

She hadn't noticed the small television on the counter, but now it was turned to the news, though the volume was muted. It was plain enough to tell what the story was about. She recognized Lacretia and the scene outside her uncle's farm. Before she could fully comprehend what was being reported, Peggy and Spencer began shouting at each other.

“You have to take her back, Spence. Now!”

“I do not!”

“Yes, you do. What you've done is
illegal
, and the only hope you have is to return her.”

“They'll never find us, and besides—”

“Never find you? Are you watching the news? They know you're in Texas—”

“It's a big state, Peggy.”

“They know that you're driving a Dodge truck—”

“Plenty of those around.”

“And they know you're an older white male.” She held up her fingers to put imaginary quotation marks around the last three words.

A small groan escaped Anna's lips as she stared at the television. She'd caught sight of her uncle, and he didn't look good. This was too much stress for him. She had once again turned his world upside down.

Peggy and Spencer had stopped shouting at one another and were now watching her closely.

“I think I need to sit down.” Anna walked to the table and plopped down in one of the seats. Until she'd seen her uncle's farm on the television, this entire episode had seemed like a dream. Seeing Lacretia standing in front of the large group of spectators reminded her that this was very real—and also that she had more problems than Spencer, Peggy, and Karen. Seeing her uncle standing beside Lacretia reminded her of how worried her family must be.

“I can't walk in there and drop her off.” Spencer stabbed a finger in the direction of the television. “Do you think I'm daft?”

“Yes!”

“What good am I to Karen if I end up in jail?”

“Then why did you kidnap her? It's always about
feelings
with you two. You don't stop to consider consequences!”

“I'm well aware of the consequences! Maybe
you
aren't aware how sick Karen is.”

“Spencer, she's not just sick.” Peggy had been standing and wagging a finger at her brother as she argued. Now she collapsed into the seat across from Anna, the trailer rocking slightly when she did so. “She's also dying.”

“Don't say that.” Spencer walked to the sink, placed both of his hands on the counter on either side of it, and stared down into the depths of the drain. “Don't say that word in my house.”

“Dying? You want to ban the word
dying
? Whether you say it or not—”

“I will not give up on her!” He turned toward them, and Anna was able to see the tears streaming down his face. “Maybe Anna needs more time. Maybe she needs a few hours with her. If there's any chance she can help her—”

“I can't.”

Both Peggy and Spencer turned to stare at her.

“I'm not sure why I was healed. I don't know what plan
Gotte
has for me, but it's not healing others. I don't have the ability to do that.”

Spencer seemed to crumple before her eyes, as if until that point
the power of his hope—no matter how slim that hope was—had bolstered him up. He slipped to the floor, his back against the cabinets and his legs splayed out in front of him. Peggy and Anna hurried to his side.

“Spence. Talk to me. Tell me you're okay.”

“Perhaps he needs a drink.” Anna opened the refrigerator, retrieved a bottle of water, popped the top open, and handed it to him.

Peggy helped to steady his hand. After he'd sipped from it twice, he pushed it away.

“I'm a fool. I know that, but if there had been any chance—”

“I love her too, Spence. She's like the sister I never had. She's like my only sister. Do you think that I want to see her go? But facts are facts, and the truth is that Karen doesn't have long left. The nurse has said so the last three visits.”

Spencer wiped at his eyes with the heels of his hands. To Anna, the gesture reminded her of the young children in their congregation after they had fallen and scraped a knee or elbow. It softened her opinion of him, seeing him so vulnerable.

Peggy had sat beside him on the linoleum floor, and now Anna sat as well.

“I wish I could,” she said softly.

“I don't understand God. I don't understand how He works. Is it because of me? Did I do something terrible, so that… so that He has looked away from us?”

“
Nein
. I can't say I understand a lot either, but I am certain of God's love for all of His children. My grandmother finally pounded that into my thick skull.”

“I have so many regrets.” He glanced around the kitchen, and then he shook his head. “So many things I wanted to give her, experiences I wanted to share with her…”

“While I was sitting with your
fraa
—that is, your wife—she said she'd had a good life.”