Annie's Truth (Touch of Grace) (36 page)

“Figured so.” Amos eyed jars of different nails and screws, which were glued to a shelf by the lids. He unscrewed one and fished out a tiny screw. “You two finally got things straight?”

“I think so. What do you think?”

“I’m just waiting.” He stopped his task and looked directly at John, a rare gesture. “You know I approve of the two of you together.”

“There’s no hurry. I just don’t want anything to interfere again.”

Amos paused a second time. “Hurry or wait. It doesn’t matter; there’s always going to be something that comes up.”

John slapped Amos on the shoulder. “We’ll make it through the next obstacle just like we did this one.”

“I know you will.” Amos screwed the jar back into the lid and began to work on his sander again. Their conversation was over.

 
Chapter Forty
 

W
HEN THE
B
EILERS
returned from church, they found a police car parked in front of the house. The same two officers were in the kitchen with Hanna. She’d missed church, saying she felt sick,
grenklich
. Annie thought it was more her spirit than any physical illness.

Amos hurried in with Mamm and the others close behind. Annie brought up the rear, catching the end of the conversation.

“We brought the driver in last night. He was pulled over for a DUI.”

“Hmm?” Mammi shook her head.

“Drinking and driving, ma’am,” the tall officer yelled to her.

“I’m not deaf. Just didn’t know what that stood for.”

“Sorry, ma’am.” He looked back over to Amos. “We’ll let you know when the trial is. We’ll need both young ladies to be witnesses.”

Amos grunted. “It’s not our way.”

“I understand, sir,” the short, dark-haired cop answered. “But if we’re going to have any justice involving this incident, we’ll need to hear their accounts.”

“You’ll have to take it to our minister.” Amos left it at that and walked out of the room.

“Thank you for coming, officers.” Mamm seemed ready to be rid of them as well. To their way of thinking, the situation was best forgotten, especially with everything else that had gone on recently.

“We’ll be in touch.” The tall cop led the way to the door.

“Would you like to join us for noon meal?” Mammi asked, as was the way of the Amish, but it wasn’t heartfelt.

“No, thank you, ma’am. We need to get back to work.” The shorter officer tipped his hat and followed his partner out the door.

“Danke.” Annie smiled at him as they left but was uncomfortable about the possibility she might need to appear in court. The police seemed to think they were a bother due to the Amish disinterest in the legal system, and she most definitely didn’t want to see the young man they’d identified. She tried to distract herself preparing the meal.

With the excitement over, the men and boys went out to do chores, and the women and girls started the noon meal. Chicken and dumplings would be served with potatoes and gravy, one of Annie’s favorites.

As Annie filled a large pot with water and began to cut the chicken into bite-size pieces to make a broth to boil the dumplings, she began to think about how the legal process worked. The young man was caught doing an illegal activity, and now he would go to court to see what his punishment would be, much as she’d gone through when she had returned here. But it sounded like this man could walk away with no punishment if she didn’t tell of his crime. Annie compared her situation to his, and although she understood one better than the other, it seemed strange to her that this young man could get caught in the act and avoid repercussions by simply not telling the truth. It was all a matter of others proving his guilt.

She mixed the flour, eggs, and water together as further thoughts came to her. Since her visit to the outside world, she contemplated these situations more; she’d never had any reason to think about them before. The more she thought about it, the more she appreciated where she was and the lifestyle the Amish lived. She rolled out the dough and let the noodles dry and thought of the young man and all the material possessions he had. That seemed to give him more control of the situation in that he could get his way because of the money.

When the noodles were dried out enough, she put them in the boiling broth and went over to help Mamm with the side dishes. A vegetable, bread, and sometimes a fruit were usually served with every meal.

“What are you thinking about?” Mamm’s voice broke her concentration.

“Ach, I was just wondering about that young man and how this all works.” Annie went on, explaining to her mamm all she’d thought through. But Mamm remained silent. “What do you make of it?”

“It’s not our worry. And it’s not our way. I’m praying, and that’s all that can be done at the moment.” Mamm pulled out two steaming loaves of bread from the stove and set them on the counter to cool a bit before cutting slices.

Although Annie didn’t respond, she understood completely and took her mamm’s words to heart. Once Zeke got involved, it would be taken care of, so she needn’t spend any more time trying to figure out something that was over as far as they were concerned.

As she placed the food on the table, Annie looked around the kitchen. The room glowed. It went beyond clean; it was simplicity too. The large table, black metal stove, and linoleum floors were nothing special in color or fashion, but the air vibrated. There was no place she’d rather be.

As everyone began to gather around the table, Annie felt the light atmosphere, as it had been before all of the changes happened. When they finished, the young ones poked one another and bantered back and forth. The adults talked about the weather and how thankful they were for the bountiful crop they’d brought in to get them through the upcoming winter. There were no harsh words or tension; only kindred spirits reunited. But through it all the nagging thought of the upcoming trial drew her away from the calm. Annie prayed she wouldn’t have to set eyes on that young man ever again.

 
Chapter Forty-One
 

A
NNIE WALKED OUT
of the chicken coop twirling a basket of fresh eggs around, bumping her leg as she walked slowly to the house. She stopped to admire the sunrise. The yellow sun wore a skirt of red just above the mountain range, and the chilly air bit at her lungs as she breathed in deeply.

Looking across at the nearby farms, Annie thought of each of the families individually and how they had dealt with her adventure. She’d realized most of the speculation was when she was at church with Zeke nearby. She hadn’t thought of Zeke’s power negatively until John had told her his true feelings on the matter. She wondered how many others shared his thoughts.

Time had healed the wounds inflicted when she first returned. It took some longer than others, but overall most understood, and some even supported her decision to make the trip to the English. Still, there were some wounds that might never mend. Hanna, for one, was so different when she came back, Annie didn’t know whether their relationship would ever be the same again.

“It’s awful cold to be standing outdoors without any work at hand.”

Annie welcomed John’s brisk voice. He had been hurt and reacting out of pain when she returned. She understood that completely now.

She pulled her light jacket around her. “I should have listened to you about the cold weather.” She took in his mud-splattered pants and soiled shirt. “Have you been wrestling with one of the hogs?”

He looked down at his clothes and brushed off some of the dried dirt. “Robert spooked the milk cows this morning while I was in the pen trying to herd ’em in to the milk barn.”

Robert was John’s youngest and orneriest brother. “I can’t imagine he did it on purpose,” Annie teased.

“Ach, I’m sure.” The ends of John’s lips turned down with a small shake of his head. They walked in silence for a moment. “Why don’t you talk about your birth mother?”

Annie turned to him. “I think about her all the time. I feel awkward talking about her. That’s what all the fuss was about.” She glanced at the house. “And I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings.”

“Everything’s quieted down, but you shouldn’t limit your relationship with her. I think people might understand that now.”

“Maybe. I just hate to stir things up since peace has settled in again.”

He squinted into the bright sun. “It is nice out here.”

“Nice and quiet.” Annie kissed him on the cheek and then looked around to see if anyone might have seen.

John chuckled. “I’ll see you later.”

She nodded and took the eggs into the house. Then she went to her room and sat at her desk. She fiddled with a tablet of paper for a while and took out a pen.

She peered out the window for a moment to take in the rolling hills and never-ending pastures before beginning to write.

Monica,

I hope this letter finds you well. I think about you often, about your haus that reminded me so much of the one I live in. I thought since I’ve seen your world that you might want to know about mine.

We have fifty acres to the south and another hundred north of our haus. We grow crops and raise livestock, mainly corn, tobacco, and Guernsey cows that make us a good profit selling their milk and cream. It’s prettiest in the summer here when the leafy tobacco is a shade of yellow and the corn is plump. Honeysuckle wraps around the fence lines and in Mamm’s garden, creating a sweet scent as you pass by. You can pick a bloom off the vine and suck on the end. It tastes like honey, which is why the bees swarm around those flowers more than any others.

I spend my day milking, gathering eggs, churning, canning, and cooking. In the off time we quilt, make candles and dolls. I’ll send you one of my quilts if you like. I just finished one called “sunset and shadow.” It means a lot to me. Maybe it would for you too. It’s about finding the balance in life. You might understand if you could see it.

Annie looked at her bed with the orange, yellow, and black quilt folded over the steel footboard. Would she think it was silly to send the quilt to her?