The Hope of Refuge (12 page)

With Monday’s workday behind him, Ephraim set up his telescope in the hiddy. He tried to focus on the stars glistening in the dark sky, but frustration at that girl’s brazenness to walk into his house last night and steal from him had his attention much more than the heavens. She fit his Daed’s description of the drunken thief he’d seen—the one his Daed had warned the community to watch out for. Ephraim had yet to figure out what she’d stolen from him. But he’d seen her arms filled with something.

Mars had come into view high in the western sky. Around midnight it’d set in the northwest. Since he wasn’t taking an eye off his home tonight, he’d probably be here for that too, if he could concentrate long enough to see it.

Because he’d witnessed her leaving his house with an armload of things last night, he’d gone to the barn half a dozen times today, thinking she might be there. He’d ridden through various parts of Dry Lake, but he’d not seen her. He would have a few choice words for her when she did show up. And she would. Thieves returned to easy prey, and he knew his place must look like easy prey.

If his uncle hadn’t called to him while coming across the field that separated his place from his Daed’s, he would have confronted her right then. But he didn’t want any disturbing news getting back to his Daed and Becca.

A faint sound drifted through the air, and he eased to the entryway of the hiddy. He saw nothing, so he started walking around the property, searching the place. Near the edge of the cornfield closest to his home, he saw what appeared to be a little girl sitting on a rock. The thief had to be here somewhere too. Realizing her target might be his father’s house, he hurried through the trees and across the field. He saw her at the clothesline, but she had on a dress this time. An Amish one.

He eased up behind her and cleared his throat. Without hesitation she took off running. “Stop.” He tore after her and grabbed her arm.

She yanked, trying to free herself. He twisted her arm behind her. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Don’t bank on me promising you the same.” She ground out the words as she lowered her body, taking him with her, and then threw back her head, smacking him in the mouth.

“Ow!” He dug his fingers into both her arms and pinned them, wrestling her to the ground. Blood dripped from his lip onto her back. “I’m trying to be easy. Would you just stop?”

She squirmed, cursing at him and trying to throw him off “Let me go!”

“When you calm down, then we’ll negotiate.”

For her size her strength astounded him. Her salty language—exactly what he expected from a thief.

Ephraim’s mouth ached all the way across his face. “Either you stop fighting and talk to me, or I’ll call the police, and you can talk to them.”

To his shock she became perfectly still. He released one arm and held on to the other as he stood, helping her stand with him. She was probably five foot three and couldn’t weigh much over a hundred pounds. “You’ve been stealing from us.”

“I suppose that was your dress I took?”

“Cute. But it wasn’t yours.”

“I didn’t steal it.”

He wiped blood from his mouth. “It wasn’t yours, and you took it. Is there a new definition for the word
steal
that I’m not familiar with?”

“I brought money back.”

“Sure you did.”

“You can argue with me about it or go look for yourself. It’s on the clothesline.”

Still holding on to her arm, he walked to the spot. A ten-dollar bill hung from the line, pinned securely.

Moonlight shone across her face, revealing her beauty. He saw something else too—the confidence of a woman, and suddenly she didn’t look as young to him. With her size and defiant stance and the jeans and a shirt that showed her stomach, he’d assumed she was a teen. But the way she held her own, staring at him with a certain assurance, he truly looked at her for the first time. “So giving money after taking things that weren’t for sale is okay?”

“Lofty words coming from someone whose mommy and daddy gave him everything he needed his whole life.”

“And what else has your little sister seen you steal?”

She stilled, but she didn’t answer him.

“Speak up. What else did you take?”

She studied him, looking rather awed by his question. “You’ve got so much you don’t even know what’s missing?”

Somehow he was losing this argument. How was that possible? “Tell me what you took.”

“Just some food and a blanket.”

“You planning on paying me back too?”

She didn’t respond, but he knew the answer. So why did she return to leave money only for Deborah?

“Where do your folks… do you live?”

She opened her mouth but then seemed to change her mind.

“Well?”

“I won’t borrow anything else, and I’ll never set foot on this place again. I promise. Just let me go.”

He figured that answer was the best he’d get from her. Whatever was going on, he didn’t have it in him to call the police. After all, she had brought money to replace the missing dress and taken items from him he’d never miss.

He released her. “Go.”

She paused, staring at him as if he’d done something she didn’t expect. Then she took off running.

Ephraim turned to look at his Daed’s house. The dim shine of kerosene lamps barely left a glow on the lawn. Daed and Becca would be home tomorrow, and he intended to keep things calm around here.

She stole food and a blanket? He tumbled that thought around.

Was it possible this young woman and her sister were using Levina’s, or rather
his
, barn as a hangout… or maybe even as a place to sleep?

Wondering if his brother knew either of the girls’ names, he headed for the house. Once inside he went to the sink, grabbed a clean rag, and ran cool water over it. Placing it on his bleeding lip, he sighed. Why did she have to show up now? Her presence would only make it more difficult to keep things peaceful and quiet for his Daed.

She knew how to hit a bull’s-eye when arguing. But that didn’t make her right. Stealing was stealing. Ephraim went into the living room. Annie and Simeon were in the middle of a game of checkers.

“Simeon, do you know the names of those girls you said were in the barn looking at the puppies?”

“The girl’s name is Lori. I don’t know the mom’s.”

“The mom’s?” Ephraim plunked into a chair. So his second opinion of her was right. She wasn’t a defiant teen. “The older one is her mother?”

“Yep. Nice too. Although she’s pretty good at hiding from you.”

“Hiding where?”

“In the silo.”

“Are they living in the barn?”

He shrugged. “Didn’t ask. But ain’t no one gonna bother those pups with Lori and her mom there.”

Ephraim ran his finger over his swollen lip.
“That
, I believe.”

“Lori wants the solid black male if her mama will let her keep it. Her mom’s really nice. When I complained about Mamm treating me like a baby she said I should be glad I got people who keep me on a short leash, and if I want to live a long, happy life, I better listen to them.”

He really didn’t want to hear about any of the thief’s alleged qualities. “When did you talk about all this?”

“The first time I saw her.”

“When was that?”

“Saturday morning.”

His head hurt, making concentrating hard. Maybe she was new to the area. Then why did she look so familiar?

None of her actions made sense. She’d stolen the dress last night, and tonight she’d hung money on the clothesline to pay for it. Why would she need a dress yesterday and then have money for it tonight? Had she stolen the cash from somewhere? That didn’t make sense. No one used stolen money to pay for something they’d gotten away with stealing in the first place.

Deciding to pay another visit to the barn, he stood.

As he walked toward the barn, he noticed that his cornfield had been damaged by someone walking right over the sprouts. Before crossing Levina’s driveway, he saw a thin beam of light. If he went into the barn right now, the woman would make excuses, lie, and disappear. He’d be better off making himself comfortable somewhere and watching. To his left, near the cornfield, lay a fallen tree. He took a seat and waited. A few minutes later someone turned off the flashlight.

Had they slipped out the back or gone to sleep? He kept watch. About thirty minutes later the woman came out of the barn, wearing her jeans and too-tight top. She leaned against the side of the building for a while, looking rather peaceful under the moonlight. Barefoot, she crossed the road and went to the tree. As she ran her hands across the bark of it, Ephraim felt chills cover him.

It couldn’t be
.

He leaned forward, watching as she climbed onto the lowest branch, caressed the dip in it, and then rocked back against the trunk. Was it possible?

She ran her fingers through her short crop of hair and then down the side of her neck.

“Cara,” he whispered. Part of him wanted to yell her name and run over to see her. It was a foolish thought born from a childhood experience.

Cara Atwater
.

Twenty years ago they’d spent the better part of a week building a friendship unlike any other he’d ever had. Her tomboy ways had made her more fun than most of the boys his age. Her eagerness to try everything, mixed with her excitement about life, had been permanently etched into his memory.

When he’d left Dry Lake during his
rumschpringe—his
time to decide whether to become Amish or not—he’d gone to New York, hoping to find her. He’d lived and worked there for two years. He called the number for every Trevor Atwater, her father’s name, in the book. He watched for her in every park, restaurant, and store. Finally he gave up and moved to South Carolina.

It might have been fun to reconnect with her back then, but now she’d become her mother’s child—returning with a daughter and obviously with a past that could bring nothing but heartache to Dry Lake.

Malinda had caused a lot of division in the community. He couldn’t give Cara that same opportunity. Malinda left a legacy of grief—twice. Even Levina, Malinda’s grandmother, died waiting to hear from her again. Now Cara had returned to what had once been her great-grandmother’s place. Unsure what to think or feel, he watched her. What a mess her life must be in. No car, no house, no husband, no money.

He’d been so sure her mother was turning her life around when she’d left here twenty years ago. She had an Englischer husband, so the community couldn’t make a way for her to leave him by giving her a place to live. Because she was desperate for a safe place for Cara, the community was willing to take in Cara. But Malinda had left here with her and never returned.

The young woman in the tree drew a deep breath and folded her arms, looking as peaceful as she was beautiful. But looks were deceiving. Peacefulness did not describe her, and her beauty masked the troubled waters just below the surface.

In spite of longing to talk with her, he wouldn’t go to her. The community, especially his father, had to be protected. First thing tomorrow he’d go into Shippensburg and buy her a bus ticket. Then he’d fix her a box of things that would make life a little easier on her and her daughter.

As dawn eased the night away, Deborah stood in the laundry room, threading freshly rinsed dresses through the wringer before dropping them into the clean laundry basket.

A driver would arrive for her soon, and she had a lot of clothes to hang out before then. She usually did most of the wash on Mondays, but there had been so much work left over from Saturdays auction, she hadn’t managed to get to it yesterday. Late Saturday afternoon she’d washed the clothes she and her family had worn during the auction to keep the mud from staining them. She’d meant to remove the items a few hours later, but she’d forgotten. So that’d caused her to do something she’d never done before—leave laundry on the line on a Sunday. It wasn’t acceptable to have the appearance of having done laundry on a Sunday. Early Monday morning realization of what she’d done smacked her, and she hurried out to remove them, but her newly sewn teal dress was missing.

One of her friends was certainly playing a trick on her. When she found out who had masterminded this, that person had better watch her back, because paybacks were… fun. She’d begin by watching which of her friends blushed and who giggled the most the next time she saw them. That was a sure giveaway. Then she’d come up with a plan and get the rest of the girls to help her.