A Simple Autumn: A Seasons of Lancaster Novel (32 page)

As Annie bowed her head in silent prayer, she asked Gott to keep her family safe from
harm. Although she was grateful for the distraction of Levi and Sam, who enjoyed the
novelty of having dinner together, she was anxious to finish. She couldn’t relax until
she knew everyone was safe.

Wary of the strong winds, Jonah warned that it wasn’t a good idea to take a carriage.
Better to walk the half mile. He would go along so that he could call his family’s
phone and leave a message for them not to expect Sam and him home tonight.

“This is an adventure for me,” Annie said as they stepped out into the dark storm.
The thunder and lightning had passed, but rain was falling steadily. She had secured
the plastic poncho around her with a string at the waist, but the wind tugged at the
bottom. “I’ve never deliberately walked into a storm.”

“You’re not missing anything,” Jonah said.

With the patter of falling rain all around them, the farm seemed different—like a
forest of rain.

“It’s not so bad,” she told Jonah. “I could have walked this by my—” The words weren’t
past her lips when the wind kicked up and knocked her back. She put her arms out to
regain her balance, but that opened the poncho for the wind to catch it like a kite.

She wobbled and gasped and finally laughed as she was knocked back into Jonah’s arms.

“Easy there,” he said gently, his lips not far from her ear.

“That wind is like a giant fist!” Annie had never experienced anything
quite like it, but somehow she was more amused than frightened. Was it because Jonah
was by her side, here to save her?

“This storm has a lot of power. I’ve seen winds like that knock over carriages. It’s
a good thing we’re walking.” He eased her to her feet again, but he kept one hand
behind her back, his fingers curling round her rib cage. “How about if I hold on to
you, just in case it hits again?”

“That’d be good.” She didn’t mind the feel of his arm around her at all. In fact,
there was something reassuring about the way her body fit against his. Something very
natural about it. What a blessing that he was here tonight, when she and Mamm truly
needed help.

As they walked together, arm in arm, their steps matched in the dark storm, she thought
about what he said about how a carriage could topple in high winds.

“Do you think something happened to their carriage?” she asked, worrying aloud. “In
the rain and wind …”

“I don’t think Rebecca and Daniel would leave town in a storm like this,” he said
evenly. “And your dat has more experience with foul weather than all of us put together.”

“That’s true. I’m just all in knots about it. I think Mamm is worried, too, only she
doesn’t want to scare me.”

“Let’s just get to the phone shanty. One step at a time.”

She looked up at him in admiration as he continued to guide her forward. Jonah’s easy,
steady approach was good at a time like this.

At last, the small shanty was in sight. Another gust of wind battered them as they
reached the tiny hut, but Jonah held on to her tightly. She felt the wind tug at her
dress, and she was sure she would have been swept away if it weren’t for Jonah.

He opened the door and she stepped inside, wind whistling through the tiny building
until he entered and closed the door behind them. The space was small, and Jonah stood
close behind her,
his hand between her shoulder blades as she checked the answering machine.

“The light’s flashing! There’s a message.” She pressed the button, and relief washed
over her at the sound of Rebecca’s voice.

“Mr. Kraybill warned us that there’s a bad storm coming with lots of rain and high
winds, so we’re all staying in town. We’ll sleep in the office over the harness shop.
Hannah is here, and Leah and Susie King, too.”

Jonah rubbed his chin. “I’m glad to know my sisters are in good hands.”

“Susie is very excited. She’s calling it a storm bee,” Becca went on.

“That sounds like Susie,” he said.

When Rebecca’s message ended, Annie checked the answering machine one more time. “Only
one message,” she said, looking up at Jonah, whose face was barely lit by the flash
of the answering machine light. “Do you think Dat is trying to make his way home in
the storm?”

“I don’t know.” There was a grave silence as they both considered the possibilities.
“Is there someone else we can call? Maybe a friend in Paradise he might be staying
with? Do you know anyone there, Amish or English?”

Annie took a deep breath, considering. “No one I can think of.” She stared at the
floor while Jonah quickly called his family’s phone shanty and left a message there,
saying he and Sam were fine and would stay the night at the Stoltzfus farm.

When he hung up, she stared at the phone. “Who can we call? We have to find Dat.”

“You won’t have much luck finding an Amish man with a telephone.” Annie knew he was
right, but she didn’t want to leave the phone shanty without word from Dat. “I’m so
worried for him.”

“I know,” Jonah said softly. “But we can’t stay here all night.” He
touched her cheek gently. “You’re a good daughter to worry for your dat, but Gott
will take care of him.”

His touch stirred something deep inside her even as it seemed pure as snow. Maybe
it was because his words reminded her of a song refrain—
God will take care of you.…

As they walked back to the house, Annie leaned heavily into Jonah. The excitement
of their journey in the storm had faded to a dull fear that she could not ignore.
Like a burr, it needled her and hindered her every movement as she worried about her
dat. Was he out in this storm alone, in the cold, driving rain? Were the battery lights
working on his carriage? Was he right now calling the phone shanty, leaving a message
telling them not to worry?

Annie held tight to Jonah and tried to chase those dark thoughts from her mind. She
imagined waking up in the morning and finding her dat in his usual chair, reading
a newspaper while he sipped coffee.

Please, Gott, let that happen just as it has every other morning.…

Back at the house, they stepped into the mud porch, hung up the rain gear, and dried
off. Inside, they found Lovina on the couch, sandwiched by two sleeping boys who leaned
against her.

She held up the book in her lap. “I was reading them Bible stories, and suddenly,
they got very quiet.”

Jonah squatted down beside his brother. “They had a long day.”

“Any news?” Mamm asked, her eyes alight with hope.

“Someone in town warned them about the storm,” Jonah said.

“Rebecca, Daniel, and Hannah are going to stay in the office over the harness shop,”
Annie explained. “Susie and Leah are with them. They plan to stay through tomorrow’s
work and return home in the afternoon.”

Lovina nodded. “I thought as much. Any word from Aaron?”

Annie shook her head. “No message from Dat.”

“He must have taken cover somewhere along the way,” Lovina said. “Maybe in Paradise,
or at a friend’s farmhouse.”

Jonah lifted Sam into his arms and straightened, hitching the sleeping boy over his
shoulder. “Where should I put this one?”

“Upstairs,” Lovina said as Levi shifted and snuggled against her. “You and Sam can
sleep in Sarah’s old room.”

“I’ll show you,” Annie offered.

“And I’ll get this one to bed.” Lovina rose from the couch and turned to scoop Levi
into her arms. The small boy was lighter than Sam, so it was no problem for her.

“Kumm.” Annie took a small lantern and led the way upstairs. Away from the fire of
the living room there was a chill in the air. Autumn was here. Inside Sarah’s old
bedroom she turned down the quilt and stood back to watch as Jonah tucked his little
brother in.

“He might want an extra blanket.” She took a warm blanket from the closet and spread
it over the sleeping boy’s feet.

“That’s good,” Jonah said quietly.

When he bent over to kiss Sam on the forehead, she felt a pang of tenderness for this
man who had lost his father but still knew how to care for a child. Jonah would be
a fine father someday.

A wonderful good dat.

I
t was a vigil of sorts; waiting for Aaron’s carriage to turn down the lane. Jonah
knew Aaron would have looked for a place to stay the night, but not knowing that he
was safe kept everyone on edge.

Annie stood at the front window, hugging herself as she stared into the darkness.
Behind her, Jonah sat quietly, his fingertips pressed to his mouth as he considered
distracting Annie.

“There’s no need for all of us to stay up all night,” Lovina said as she gathered
the children’s books into a neat stack and tucked them away on the shelf. “Why don’t
you two get some sleep? Jonah? Don’t feel obliged to stay up waiting.”

“Denki. When I’m tired, I’ll go up.”

“And you, too, Annie.” She slid an arm around her daughter’s shoulders. “He’ll be
along soon. Don’t you worry.”

Annie hugged her mamm. “I’ll just feel so much better to see him arrive home.”

“Well, if he’s staying off the road at someone’s place, you’re going
to be up all night.” Lovina patted her daughter’s shoulder and turned away. “But I
don’t think I can sleep a wink either. I’ll make some cookies for the tea shop and
kill two birds with one stone.”

Jonah let his eyes follow Lovina as she disappeared into the kitchen. He wondered
if Annie’s mother knew how he felt about her daughter. Lovina was a woman who read
people well, so he expected that she knew. If so, she would have realized that he
would gladly stay up all night if it meant spending time alone with Annie.

Was that selfish? Here they were, at wit’s end waiting for Aaron to come home, and
Jonah couldn’t help but notice the tilt of Annie’s chin and the slenderness of her
fingers as she pressed them against the windowsill. She had rejected him. She was
leaving Halfway. She had said no to him in every way. And yet, he hadn’t stopped loving
her. He didn’t know if he ever would.

“How can you stay so calm?” Annie asked.

“I have faith in Gott’s plan,” he said quietly.

“Do you think He’s planning to send my dat home tonight?” she asked, still staring
out the window.

“I can’t say what will happen, Annie.” He frowned. Annie wouldn’t be consoled to hear
that Gott didn’t always deliver everything a person wanted.

He thought of another dark night, nearly two years ago, when he’d been waiting with
his brothers and sisters for his parents to come home. Their simple waiting vigil
had tumbled into a nightmare.

Suddenly Annie turned from the window, her face open, her blue eyes full of light.
“Oh, Jonah, I’m sorry. You’ve been through this before with … with your parents.”
Biting her cherry red lips, she came and sat beside him. “Is that what you’ve been
thinking?”

He nodded. He didn’t want her pity, but he would not lie to her.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“Do you really want to hear it? Because I don’t want to scare you. This thing with
your dat … it’s a very different situation, I think.”

“I know that. But tell me about that night. When did you hear the news?”

Strange how that night seemed so far away and yet so vivid in his memory. “I didn’t
hear it so much as I saw it.”

He and Mary had been the oldest in the house, with Adam gone on his rumspringa. Jonah
remembered talking with Mary about why their parents could have been running so late
on their errands.

“When Mamm and Dat and Simon missed dinner, Gabe and I went looking for them while
Sadie went to the shanty to call the police. We retraced their route to Halfway first,
but didn’t find anything. By the time we got back to the farm, we started circling
toward the back lots. That was when we saw the flashing lights of the police cars.”

The things he remembered about that night still surprised him. How the seat of the
carriage was cold as a block of ice, the ground so frozen that the carriage bounced
over small ruts in the road. The lights of the emergency vehicles, flashing red and
blue and white like stars on the ground, had drawn his eyes and beckoned him. He could
still remember that sinking feeling as if the earth were slipping away under his boots,
dropping him into darkness.

“So you saw the carriage?” she asked softly.

Jonah shook his head. He could still see the creases at the corners of the sheriff’s
eyes as he stopped them. “Hank warned us not to get any closer. Traumatizing, that
was what he called it. He brought us over to the ambulance, where the paramedics were
taking care of Simon. Not a scratch on him, but he couldn’t stop shivering. He couldn’t
speak. He was in shock.”

Those had been dark days, just after they’d learned that Mamm and Dat had been shot
and killed. Simon, who’d been traveling with
them in the buggy, had been spared, but he’d been shocked into silence. Just eight
years old and lost in the dark.

“Little Simon didn’t talk to anyone for months,” Annie said. “Mary talked to me about
it all the time. She was heartbroken for him, but she couldn’t get him to say more
than a word here and there.”

“Ya, and he had those terrible nightmares, too. We were all worried.” Simon had remained
silent for months after the murders. He had seen the killer, but the truth had been
locked inside him.

“What brought him out of that bad way?” Annie asked.

“Adam spent a lot of time with him. And when Remy came along, she got Simon to open
up more and more. We didn’t know she was a reporter, but she dug into every bit of
information she found. In the end, she helped the police find the man who had killed
Mamm and Dat.” Although the Amish believed that Gott brought His own justice to those
who sinned, it had helped to find the man who killed their parents. Jonah had been
relieved to know that a killer was no longer in their neighborhood. Simon had felt
the same way.

The truth had lifted the cloak of darkness.