Wonderful Lonesome (17 page)

When he reached Ruthanna and Eber’s place a half an hour later, he saw no sign of activity. The barn was closed up. Even the chickens were sluggish in the afternoon heat. Rudy dropped from his horse and rapped on the door, where he could hear Ruthanna’s cumbersome movements within. When she opened the door, he kept his voice low.

“Have I disturbed Eber’s rest?”

Ruthanna puffed out her cheeks and blew out her breath. “He’s not here.”

“Oh?”

“He wanted something from Limon.”

“I wish I had known. I would have gone to get whatever he needs.”

“That’s what I said. He wouldn’t wait. I didn’t even want to ask what it was that could be so urgent.” Ruthanna stepped outside the house to share the small space of the stoop with Rudy.

“I’m here,” he said. “I may as well see if there is something I can do to help.”

She shook her head. “Thank you, Rudy. That’s very kind. But Eber is feeling sensitive these days. I don’t want to have to explain to him how the chores got done.”

“I see.”

“But since you have ridden all the way over, I hope you will let me get you a cold drink.” She laughed. “Or a lukewarm drink, at least. I have some tea that used to be cold.”

“I would be obliged.”

As Ruthanna retreated into the house, Rudy spied the chair that sat out in the yard and moved it close to the stoop where it would be in the shadow of the house. Then he sat on the step and set his feet on the ground below. Ruthanna reappeared with a glass in each hand. Rudy wondered how much time she had left before her baby would come, but it was unseemly to ask.

“Is Abbie still stopping by to check on you?” he asked.

Ruthanna sat in the chair. “Nearly every day. And we’ve been into town together a couple of times. She is such a sweet friend.”

Rudy took a long gulp of liquid. “I am glad you think so.”

“I cannot imagine how I would get by without her.”

Rudy had pondered the same question lately.

Willem wasted no time at his farm, going directly to the barn to pull another axe from the rack and throwing himself astride his horse before the animal had time to even nuzzle the barren ground. As it was, more than an hour would have passed by the time Willem got back to Reuben. Even if the boy had worked steadily in Willem’s absence, they could continue at least two more hours before abandoning the exposed hole. Willem was already calculating when he could dig again. If he went soon, perhaps no one else would discover that he had begun and he could exhaust that section of the vein. He dug his heels into the horse’s flanks and spurred speed.

At the ravine, Willem pulled up on the reins, confused. He was sure he returned to the same place where Reuben had left the Weaver mare. His wagon should be down below.

Except Reuben’s horse was missing.

“Reuben!”

Willem listened for a response that did not come.

“Reuben!”

Willem left his horse and scrambled down the side of the ravine. Reuben was nowhere in sight. And Willem’s wagon was empty, with his second horse content to stand still and swish her tail. Fury rose from his gut. Everyone knew it was unsafe to leave a wagon of coal without someone to watch it. Too many came to this vein for coal who would find it much easier to take what someone else had dug out, not to mention the risk of losing his horse. Even when Amish men were the only ones digging with no
English
around them, none of them left a load of coal that represented as much as a day’s labor. With two wagons backed up against each other, two men—or even one—could shovel the soft coal from one to the other in almost no time.

How could Reuben have left and allowed this to happen?

Furious, Willem stomped out of the ravine and led the stallion back down to harness with the mare and pull out the empty wagon.

“Reuben!” Willem bellowed at regular intervals.

When his team had all eight feet on level ground again and the wagon was steady, Willem heard the rustle of horse feet and spun around to find Reuben approaching. He snatched the reins out of the boy’s hands.

“Get in the wagon.”

Reuben’s eyes widened. “What happened to the coal?”

“That’s what I want to know.” Willem tied Reuben’s horse to the back of the wagon. “I said get in. I’m taking you home myself.”

Abbie handed the pail of slop for the chickens to Levi just as she saw dust swirl up in the lane.

“It’s Willem,” Levi announced.

“I see that.” She had not expected to see him after dispatching Reuben to assist the coal-digging effort.

“Why is Reuben riding with Willem?” Levi asked. “I thought you said he rode down to help Willem.”

“He did.”

Reuben sat with shoulders slumped on the bench beside Willem, arms crossed in front of him. As they got closer, Abbie realized the horse Reuben had taken was trotting behind the wagon. At least it had not gone lame. She put her hand on Levi’s shoulder as Willem pulled to a stop in front of them.

“Is your father here?” Willem’s gruff tone overlooked any pleasantries.

“Is everything all right?” Abbie looked from Willem to Reuben.

“I need to see your father. Reuben has something to tell him.”

Abbie put her hand flat on Levi’s back and urged him toward the barn. “Levi, why don’t you go ask
Daed
to come?”

She could tell Levi wanted to ask questions, but he left without speaking.

“Reuben?” she said.

“I thought I saw a coyote looking down into the ravine,” Reuben said. “It was a chance to see where the den might be.”

“I asked him to stay with the coal.” Willem jumped off the bench and paced in the dirt. “I thought he was old enough to understand what that meant.”

“I am.” Reuben straightened his back in protest. “Not a single person came by on the road the whole time you were gone.”

Willem glared. “Obviously somebody did.”

Abbie stepped into the space between Willem and Reuben. “You must both be hot and thirsty. I’m sure that after some refreshment we can have a calm conversation.”

“Coyotes, Willem.” Reuben set his jaw. “You know what it could mean if we could figure out where they come from. How often do we get a chance to see one in the daylight?”

“Did you find it?” Abbie asked. Never had she seen Willem so angry, and it rattled her, but she wanted to hear her brother’s story.

Reuben kicked the dirt. “No. By the time I got up to my horse, it was gone. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try to track it for a few minutes. I guess I didn’t realize how long I was gone.”

Ananias Weaver emerged from the barn with Levi at his side.

Abbie stifled a groan. “I’ll get you both something to drink.”

Did you hear?”

Ruthanna turned from the stove at the sound of her husband’s voice. “Hear what?”

Eber picked up the damp rag Ruthanna had used to wipe dust from the table before setting plates out and used it to wipe his hands.

“Someone stole Willem’s coal.”

Ruthanna’s shoulders dropped. “Surely not one of our people.”

“I pray not, but we cannot be sure.”

Ruthanna picked up a spoon to stir a stew of last year’s paltry vegetables, which she had canned, and a rabbit Eber had trapped the day before. “I don’t even want to think that one of us would do that.”

“Would you rather accuse one of the fine
English
we do business with?”

“I prefer not to accuse anyone.” Ruthanna tasted the stew and reached for the saltshaker.

“Of course we do not want to make false accusations.”

Eber pulled a chair out from under the table, sat, and started to pull off his boots. Ruthanna wondered if he had stopped to drink anything all day. Was it her imagination that his breathing was more labored than it had been lately?

“Ruthanna, we must be very careful whom we trust.”

“We trust God, do we not?”

“You know what I mean. I ran into Willem at the end of our lane. He was on his way home from the ravine. He made the mistake of trusting Reuben Weaver to watch his load while he came home for an axe, and the boy let himself be distracted.”

“He must have had a good reason. Reuben is old enough to know better.”

“You would think so. But his actions illustrate that even people we trust can let us down. For right now, I think it is best if we do not trust anyone but each other.”

Ruthanna laid her spoon down and took two plates from the shelf. “What are you saying, Eber? Trust no one? That’s no way to live.”

“I’m doing all the chores now. We don’t need help anymore.”

“We don’t know what might happen. Caring for each other is what our people do. How can we just shut people out?”

Eber raised one foot and laid it on the opposite knee, massaging it. “I am not suggesting we be rude, only that we can be self-sufficient. We can be gracious in explaining we have no need to trouble anyone.”

The baby squirmed within her, and Ruthanna rested her hand on her belly. “What about when my time comes? I will need Abbie and Esther.”

He nodded. “Yes, I can see that. But we are more than two months from that day. Perhaps we will know by then who is at the root of this trouble.”

Abbie waited three days. Reuben was sincerely sorry, and she believed that once Willem cooled off he would see that he had been harsh. But he did not come.

On Saturday morning she took a horse and the buggy and rode over to Willem’s. It might be unseemly for her to broach the subject with him, but she could not wait any longer. Reuben was miserable, and if she could do something to alleviate his suffering, she would. She had never been afraid to speak her mind to Willem, and if she wanted to be his wife—and she did—she saw no point in cowering now.

Willem was in the pasture brushing one of his own horses. Abbie tied her horse to a fence post near the gate and lifted the latch.

He looked up but did not greet her with a smile the way he used to. She counted her paces in her head as a way to keep calm.
One. Two. Three
. She hoped he would speak first.
Four. Five. Six
.

She stood before him, her hands crossed behind her waist. Now she counted his strokes through the horse’s mane.
Seven. Eight. Nine
.

He looked up again but still did not speak.