Renewing Hope (In Your World #2) (17 page)

I let out a steadying breath when we pulled up to a large open warehouse, buggies and trucks lined up along the side of the market. We unloaded our food quickly, the booth set up for our community close by. Sarah Jensen and an elderly woman supervised the booth, their smiles widening when they saw the number of pies we had brought.

"I have heard of your pies, young Katherine," the old woman said, squinting to investigate one of my apple pies. When she looked up again, I noticed one of her eyes was blind, clouded with age and cataracts.

"Ethel, she puts my pies to shame," Fannie replied, holding me close.

The old woman laid the pie back down on the table and patted me lightly on the arm.

"Well, that should make the young Fisher boy happy. Fatten him up. He is far too thin," she said, nodding seriously.

"I will do my best," I murmured, smiling at the idea that perhaps I could make him happy with more than simply my pies. And even more so, that Ethel already approved of me to do so.

Perhaps pie was the way to the Amish heart.

“Bishop Yoder, pleasant day.”

I froze with a pie in my hand at the name on Ethel’s lips. Turning, I found the Bishop standing in front of the booth, eyeing the baked goods and jams. When he looked up to find me standing there with pie in my hands his friendly face faltered and a slight sneer appeared. It only lasted an instant before the man standing beside him spoke. I hadn’t even noticed the young Bishop, Zachariah Ropp, standing there.

“It is good to see you again, Katherine Hill,” he said with a courteous nod of his head. “I have heard many say your baked goods would make a fine addition to this market.”

The Bishop’s eyes narrowed at the young man’s compliment.

“I am happy to offer whatever I may, Bishop Ropp,” I replied, my voice soft.

Fannie came up beside me and transferred the pie in my hands to the table.

“She is blessed in her baking,” she replied simply.

“You have taught her much then,” Bishop Yoder stated, never taking his judging eye from mine.

“No, she was blessed before she arrived with us, Bishop Yoder,” Fannie replied. “I dare say she outshines my own skills.”

“Really?” Bishop Ropp asked, his eyebrows rising slightly. “Naomi Yoder has said that no one can cook like you. Your cakes and dishes are always the first to go at your Sermons, I hear.”

Fannie wrapped her arm around my waist and smiled.

“Not any longer, I think,” she said. “I do believe Katherine’s pies disappeared while the main dishes were still hot on last Sermon.”

“You will make an Amish man very happy one day,” Bishop Ropp said before jerking his head toward his elder Bishop, who made a strangled noise in his throat.

Clearly Bishop Yoder didn’t think so.

“An Amish wife must know more than how to fill her husband’s belly,” he muttered and nodded his goodbye before stalking off toward the horse auction.

Bishop Ropp looked after him for a moment before offering his clipped farewell and following after. Ethel patted my hand and gestured toward the retreating Bishops.

“Do not worry over Bishop Yoder. He has just forgotten what a meal made with love tastes like.”

“I do not think Nathan Fisher starves so,” one of the other women teased.

“Leave her be, Mary,” Sarah said, winking at me as my blush deepened.

"Shall we shop?" Fannie interrupted, pulling me toward the main floor.

I waved my goodbyes and Fannie walked me around the warehouse floor, my embarrassment subsiding as we walked amongst other Amish that smiled and nodded along our way. She pointed at booths that we would come back to, and booths to avoid for their steep prices. By the time we had returned to our own booth, we were laden with supplies and had several young boys assisting us to our buggy.

I was rather happy with myself, my interaction with the Bishop forgotten. I had managed to get quite a lot with only about half the money Nathan had given me that morning. We still had a trip into town on our way back, during which I hoped to get a few other things. But our money seemed to be stretching better than I had hoped. Fannie seemed to be pleased with my success as well. Our buggy was crammed full of goods that would last us for quite some time into the winter.

Our pies had sold quickly, earning us a bit of money Fannie said would help with making clothing purchases for the cold weather ahead.

"Nathan will need more thermal underwear, as will you," she said as we climbed out of our buggy once again. We were in front of the feed store, Jonah and Nathan wanting us to place their order for animal feed.

"How cold does it get in the winter?" I asked, dreading her answer.

"There will be days it will be difficult to even step out to the barn, but chores must still be done," she replied and opened the door for me into the front office of the feed store.

I knew it would be rough. The only saving grace to that would be staying warm with Nathan throughout the winter. That thought made me smile. We ordered what we had been asked to order, my eyes widening a little at the prices of feed for the horses and cows. I wondered how many meals I could make with just milk and eggs, as that would be what we would have on hand and could afford little else if we expected to keep the horses and cows fed.

"It is not so dire, Katherine," Fannie assured me as we walked back out. "I have many canned goods in the cellar I intend to offer you so that you may have something there."

We walked to the general store down the street, Fannie wanting to check with the shop owner about future cake orders when a flash of orange caught my eye. I turned a little too slowly, but swore I had seen a woman with red hair duck into the alley next to the diner. A cold chill ran up my spine at the memory of that alley and the time Nathan had come to my rescue.

But more than that, I felt the prickling of fear at having possibly seen Joanna.

Was she spying?

Or was she simply in town? She had not yet returned to her parents' house, as far as I knew, and with the appearance of Jeff earlier in the month, I had my suspicions.

"Are you ready, Katherine?" Fannie asked, coming out of the store. "We need to still empty our goods when we return home."

I nodded and was quiet as we made our way home. Dozens of thoughts ran through my head, all dark and fearful, as I pictured Jeff's predatory smile, Joanna's narrowed eyes, and Sean's rough way. Every time I thought of Jeff or Joanna, I thought of Sean.

Why hadn't I heard anything?

Would they mail me a notice of his conviction?

He had to be here in Iowa by now, awaiting trial or in prison already.

I had been thinking about him a lot lately, perhaps because I knew at some point, there would be a question of whether I had forgiven him. The idea of doing so made my stomach turn. So perhaps that is why my stomach lurched when I saw the police car in the driveway of the Berger’s farm as we rolled in. And when I saw the sheriff listening to Jonah and Nathan, I knew something was up.

This was not a simple call.

I could see it in Nathan's panicked eyes when they met mine.

Something had happened.

Nathan’s fingertips hovered around my elbow and he directed me to the swing, where the sheriff detailed the news he had to share. My head swam as I sat there, Nathan's arm preventing me from falling. It was hard to breathe, difficult to concentrate on what the sheriff was saying. When he told me Sean had escaped, I nearly collapsed there in front of them. If not for Nathan's strong arms holding me, I would have crumpled.

I hadn't really heard how he had escaped.

Something about feigning sickness.

Something about a switch at the hospital.

Things you only hear about in movies, never in real life. But somehow he had slipped away and now they had Sean's friend Brendan in custody instead of Sean. Brendan had been there the night I had run. Brendan and Sam had held me down. Brendan had pulled at my clothes while Sean had hit me.

"Miss Hill, you need not worry," the sheriff was saying. "The Arcata Police Department has had sightings of him in their jurisdiction. He would be an idiot to come back here, with federal marshals looking for him."

"You are sure he is not in the state?" Nathan asked beside me.

"As much as we can gather. He was seen near Arcata last week with a group of his friends who appear to be helping him hide, like they did before he was arrested."

"Kate, breathe."

I looked up at Nathan, the worry in his eyes making me feel more lost as I tried to pull myself together.

"Miss Hill, he won't come back here. He has only made his case here worse. I wouldn't be surprised if he makes his way to Mexico," the sheriff said, trying to comfort me.

"You don't know Sean," I mumbled and closed my eyes.

"If you like, we can have an officer camp out here for a few days. Will that make you feel safer?" he offered.

Would I feel safer if an Outsider watched as we tried to go about our peaceful way?

Would this drive the wedge further between the community and me?

"What of his friends here?" Jonah asked, concern lacing his usually kind features. "Have you investigated them?"

"They claim to know nothing. They deny having helped him in the first place."

"Is there any threat to Katherine?" Jonah pressed.

"I don't think there is. He is gone. The Feds seem pretty sure of that."

"Kate?"

I opened my eyes and turned to see Nathan and Jonah watching me, the worry clear in their eyes.

"I don't know what to think," I whispered sighing in defeat.

Sean would never be out of my life it seemed.

Nathan tucked a stray hair behind my ear and turned to the sheriff.

"We appreciate your coming out to let us know. But if he is gone as you say, I think having an officer watch us will only make Kate more nervous," he said and held me a little closer.

"We will keep our daughter safe," Jonah added.

The sheriff straightened and put his hat back on his head.

"I understand. If you need anything, you know I am always happy to come out," he said and moved to leave.

Jonah and Nathan thanked him, while I nodded and stepped inside to give myself some distance from what I had just heard.

Sean was loose.

I would never be free of him.

Regardless of what the sheriff said.

I would always be looking over my shoulder.

I heard Nathan behind me before I felt his hands slip around and hold me in the dark hall.

"It will be all right, Kate," he whispered. "I will not let him hurt you again."

"After next Sunday, Nathan, you won't," I replied into his shoulder.

After we were baptized, Nathan would have no recourse to defend us. We didn't raise our hand to fight, even in self-defense.

"He will not come back. If he is hiding in California, he will not dare come back."

I nodded and pulled away as the door opened and Jonah came through, patting me on the shoulder.

"You will be safe here, Katherine. God will look after you," he said and disappeared into the kitchen.

"He is right," Nathan whispered. "God would not see you hurt."

I let it go with a nod, not wanting to argue with Nathan. Maybe this week or this month, we would be safe. But what about in six months, or a year? Even as Nathan assured me time and again that night, I just couldn't believe that we would never see Sean again.

Sean wouldn't give up that easily.

He would come back.

CHAPTER 10

Nightmares of the corn had no time in my mind when I was too exhausted to dream.

As the fall crops and preparations for winter kept us busy, my studies and struggles at learning the Amish life forced thoughts of Sean into the back of my head. We had so much to do; it was difficult for me to think much on anything except my studies and my daily tasks. With Emma’s and John’s baptisms to prepare for in the coming day, all our energy and thoughts were for our sister, and the celebration to come. I was hopeful that everything I had learned would earn me a bit of the same nervous energy I saw in Emma all week leading up to her baptism.

Soon, Nathan and I would hopefully be committing to this life. Emma was alive with excitement beside me as we finished up on our dresses for the weddings. It had taken me a month and it was almost finished. Hannah helped when she could, but she and Mark were staying at the Bowman farm now, settling in as the elder Bowman began construction on an addition to the house there.

It was Mark and Hannah's addition.

Several men had come together to pour the foundation for the multi-room addition to the farmhouse there and then laid out the skeleton framework for the two-story house. We had organized the feeding and care of the men, so that by the end of the two-day build, the beginnings of their house had been completed. Needless to say, Hannah was busy in preparation for her new home, while we prepared for the next step in our journey.

I sighed in relief when I finished the last hook and eye on my dress, watching Emma as she bent over to finish her own.

A knock at the door brought our heads up. It was well past supper; Nathan and Benjamin were talking in the kitchen while we worked in the front room. Jonah and Fannie were away helping with another birth, leaving us alone. I stood and walked with Abigail as she made her way to the door. Another knock, this one more pronounced, had Nathan and Benjamin coming down the hall. When we opened the door, we took a tentative step back, surprised to see Naomi Yoder there, tear-streaked and breathing heavily. She grabbed at us, her eyes wide.

"I must speak with Elder Jonah! My mother!" she croaked and nearly collapsed into my arms.

I felt Benjamin behind me in an instant, his hands reaching out for his sister, gathering her in his arms as she cried out and clutched at him.

"Benjamin! You have to come! Mother is very sick! We need a doctor!" she wailed.

"Mother and Father are at the Snyder's for their baby," Emma said, looking at me in a panic.

"What is wrong with Mother?" Benjamin asked, his eyes burning with a need for information.