A Sister's Secret (25 page)

Judith blew out her breath and rubbed her hands briskly over her arms. Spring would be here soon, but it was still too cold to be outside without a shawl or a jacket. “I’d best get back inside and see about Anna.” She’d only taken a few steps when she realized that she’d left the child alone with a stranger.
What was I thinking? If only I’d thought to call Grace downstairs before I left the house in search of Roman.
She hurried her steps.
Guess I wasn’t thinking straight because I felt so flustered over that land developer’s pushy ways, the reporter’s noisy questions, and then Anna showing up unexpectedly.

She stepped onto the porch, and was about to open the door when Gary stepped out. She startled and took a step back, nearly losing her balance.

“Sorry if I frightened you, but I’ve got to go.” He hurried down the steps and toward the driveway. She saw no sign of a car. Surely the man hadn’t walked here all the way from town.

She reached for the handle of the screen door and was about to pull it open when a thunderous explosion rumbled through the house. breaking glass crackled.

Judith’s heart thudded against her chest as she raced into the kitchen. “Anna!”

Chapter 25

The vibrating floor beneath Grace’s bed caused her to waken, and the rumbling roar made her aware that something horrible must have happened. She scrambled off the bed and without even bothering to put on her shoes, rushed from her room. At the bottom of the steps, she nearly collided with Martha as she dashed into the house.

“What happened, Grace? It sounded like something blew up in here. I heard it all the way out in the barn.”

Trembling, Grace shook her head. “I—I don’t know. I was upstairs in my room and heard a terrible noise. It shook my bed, rattled the windows, and vibrated the walls.” Her gaze went to the kitchen. “You don’t suppose—”

Martha made a beeline for the kitchen, with Grace right on her heels. Their mother was kneeling on the floor by the table, her arms wrapped around Anna. On the other side of the table lay several broken jars, with blobs of applesauce splattered everywhere.

Grace’s heart pounded, and she rushed to her mother’s side. “What happened? Is Anna hurt? Are you okay, Mom?”

“The pressure cooker’s gauge must be faulty. It exploded when I was out on the porch.” Mom’s voice trembled with emotion. “Anna’s shaken up, but she seems to be okay.” She nodded toward the broken glass. “Thankfully, nothing went past that side of the table.”

“Dad put a new gauge on the cooker a few weeks ago,” Martha said, stepping around the mess and up to the stove. “Makes no sense that it would go like that.”

Grace reached for Anna, but the child wouldn’t budge. She clung to Mom, weeping for all she was worth.

“That’s what I get for leaving the stove unattended and going outside to see where your daed was heading,” Mom said tearfully. “That reporter had me so rattled with all his questions, and then when Anna showed up saying her grossdaadi was mad at her and was going somewhere—”

Grace felt immediate concern. “Reporter? What reporter?”

“The fellow who asked me some questions in town the day we went looking for your wedding dress material.” Mom clambered to her feet, pulling Anna to her side. “First that land developer showed up, and he followed me into the kitchen. Then the reporter came to the door, and soon after the land developer left, the reporter came into the kitchen. When Anna ran into the house and said your daed was going someplace, I went outside to see what was up.”

“I thought Gary had left Holmes County.”

“Said he was back now and doing a follow-up story about our break-ins.” Mom glanced toward the door. “Without even thinking, I left him in the kitchen with Anna, but he headed out a few minutes before the explosion.”

Grace gritted her teeth so hard her jaw ached. Could Gary have had something to do with the pressure cooker exploding? Could he have tampered with the valve while Mom was outside talking to Dad? She glanced down at her daughter, still whimpering and clinging to Mom’s skirts; then she moved quickly toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Mom called after her.

“Outside to see if I can find Gary.”

“Not without me.” Martha caught up to Grace at the door and pushed it open. “If you do catch up to that curious reporter, you shouldn’t be alone with him.”

Grace offered her sister a grateful smile. “I appreciate your concern.”

***

As Martha followed Grace down the porch steps, her thoughts raced like a runaway horse. What if her sister was right and the reporter was responsible for the break-ins and other attacks? If they couldn’t report it to the sheriff or prove that he’d done it, how would they ever make him stop?

“There’s no sign of his car.” Grace pointed to the driveway. “Guess that means he’s already gone.”

“Maybe so, but let’s look out by the road, in case he parked his car somewhere nearby,” Martha suggested.

“Jah, okay.”

They hurried down the driveway, and when they approached the mailbox by the road, they saw him standing across the street with a camera pointed at them. Grace turned her head, but Martha marched boldly across the street until she stood face-to-face with Gary. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Just taking a few pictures to go with the article I’m planning to write.” He turned the camera toward her, but she put her hand in front of the lens.

“Don’t even think about it.”

Gary’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped open. Apparently, he wasn’t used to hearing an Amish woman speak so boldly.

Grace joined them. “Wh–what are you doing here, Gary?”

“I’m back in the area again, hoping to do another story or two.” He nodded at Grace. “I came by to see if there have been any more attacks at your place.”

Martha planted both hands on her hips and stared up at him. “Did you mess with the gauge on our mother’s pressure cooker?”

“Of course not. Why do you ask?”

“It blew up minutes after you left our house. Since you were alone in the kitchen—”

He held up his hand. “I hope you’re not insinuating that I had anything to do with it.”

“My daughter was in the kitchen when the cooker blew.” Grace took a step closer to him.

His eyebrows furrowed. “Your daughter? That little girl with the whiny mouth is yours?”

Grace nodded. “My secret’s out now, so you have nothing to hold over me anymore.”

He scratched the back of his head. “What secret are you talking about?”

Martha stepped between them. “Anna. She’s talking about Anna.”

“Huh?” Gary looked at Grace, over at Martha, then back at Grace again. “You two are talking in circles. I have no idea what secret you’re referring to.”

“The one about me being married to Wade and giving birth to his daughter.”

“I never knew you and Wade had a kid.”

“You said you knew he’d married me.”

“Yeah, I knew that much.”

“After I broke up with you and started dating Wade, you said you would get even with me.”

He shrugged. “Guys say and do a lot of things when they’re trying to keep a woman.”

“It seems odd that we never had any attacks until you showed up in Holmes County,” Martha put in. “And since you’ve been asking all sorts of questions and pestering Grace to have coffee with you and all, you’re our prime suspect.”

Gary leaned his head back and howled. “Prime suspect? Who do you think you are—the Nancy Drew of the Amish?”

“Who?”

“Never mind.” Gary turned to face Grace again. “You and your little sister are acting paranoid. You have no proof that I’m anything other than a reporter trying to do his job.” He pointed to his camera. “Do you honestly think I would be stupid enough to jeopardize my chance to sell a dynamic piece to some big publication?”

She opened her mouth to reply, but he cut her off. “As I said, I’m back in the area to do a few more stories on the Amish, and I might do a couple articles about some of the events happening in the area. So whether you like it or not, I’ll be sticking around Holmes County for as long as I want.”

Grace’s face paled, and her whole body trembled. Martha didn’t think it was doing either of them any good to continue arguing with the Englisher, so she took hold of her sister’s arm and steered her toward the house. “Let’s go, Grace.”

“Say, Gracie. Did you and that Amish man ever get married?” Gary called after her.

She gave a quick nod.

Martha glanced over her shoulder as Gary headed for his car parked on the shoulder of the road. She felt certain of one thing: If he was responsible for the things that had happened to them, God would deal with him in His time.

Chapter 26

For the next several days, Grace made every effort to spend more time with Anna. They’d baked cookies together and taken them over to the Wengerds’ place so Anna could play with Esta while Grace and Alma visited awhile. The next morning, Anna helped Grace feed and water the chickens in the henhouse. At the moment, Grace was sitting in one of the wicker chairs on the back porch, watching her daughter romp around in the yard with Heidi’s rambunctious pups.

Anna seemed to be accepting her new life better these days—accepting Grace better, too.

“Thank You, God,” Grace murmured as she took a sip of tea from the mug she held. She closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath.
Bless my husband, Lord, and bring him home soon.

“Are you sleepin’?”

Grace startled at the sound of her father’s deep voice, and she turned to face him. “I was watching Anna play with Heidi’s pups.”

Dad took a seat in the chair beside her and set his cup of coffee on the small table between them. “Watching with your eyes closed, huh?”

Grace smiled. “Actually, I was talking to God.”

“Ah, now that’s a good thing. I’ve been doing a lot of that myself here of late.”

“Because of the attacks on our family?”

He shrugged. “There’ve been no more for some time. I’m sure that trouble is over.”

“What about the pressure cooker exploding the other day?”

“That was an accident, plain and simple.”

“An accident?” Grace could hardly believe her ears.

“The gauge must have been faulty, or maybe the valve was broken.”

“You replaced the gauge with a new one, so I don’t see how it could have been faulty.”

“Maybe it happened because your mamm left the cooker on the stove too long and it overheated.”

She touched his arm. “I’m sure that wasn’t an accident, and neither were the other things that have happened to us.”

“I know you believe the reporter had something to do with it, but I’m equally sure he didn’t. The things that were done before were most likely done by some rowdy English fellows who’ve probably been the cause of a few other destructive things that have been done in our area.”

“I still think Gary might be the one responsible, but since I have no proof, I guess there’s not much I can do about it.” She released a weary sigh. “I’m just glad no one was hurt when the pressure cooker blew up. It would break my heart if something happened to Anna.”

“God was watching over your mamm as well as your
dochder;
there’s no doubt about that.” He smiled, but a muscle in his cheek quivered, letting her know he was more concerned than he was letting on. “It’s silly of us to think it could be this person or that. It’s just speculation on all our parts.”

“That’s true, but—”

“Only God knows the truth, and He will handle things in His way, His time. You’ll see.” He leaned back in his chair and took a drink of his coffee.

Grace mentally scolded herself for being overly suspicious of Gary, but she shuddered to think what could have happened to Anna if she’d been sitting on the other side of the table. The child could have been cut by the broken glass or burned by the hot steam that shot from the pressure cooker when it exploded.
Thank You, God, for watching out for my little girl.

Dad motioned in the direction of Cleon and Grace’s new home. “Since Cleon’s brothers have been coming over to help me work on your place the last couple of weeks, I believe we’ll have it ready for you to move in by the time Cleon gets home.”

She stared at the silhouette of the two-story structure sitting near the back of her folk’s property—the place she had hoped would be her and Cleon’s happy home. “I appreciate all the work you’ve done on the house, and when it’s done, Anna and I will move in, but I’m not sure about Cleon.”

Dad frowned. “What do you mean? It’s Cleon’s home, too, and I’m sure when he returns from his business trip, he’ll be glad to find the house has been finished.”

Grace nibbled on her lower lip as she contemplated the best way to voice her thoughts. “I’m ... uh ... not sure Cleon will ever return home. His last letter let me know how hurt he still is, and he said something that made me think he might decide to leave the Amish faith and go English.”

“What did he say?”