Dark Crossings

by Marta Perry

  “When the deer spooked, the pigs did, too,” she finished for him.

  “There’s no sausage in my larder this fall.”

  Lena pressed her hands to her forehead. “Oh, you must think I’m ab im kopp.”

  He unfolded his arms and took her hands between his big callused ones. “I don’t think you’re crazy. I think you are a woman who cares for all God’s creatures. I’m so sorry my cousin fired you.”

  “If you didn’t tell him I went to see Wilfred, who did?”

  “I don’t know. It could have been anyone.”

  “Isaac, can you forgive me for thinking such terrible things about you?”

  “In time—if I can see more of your sketches.”

  “My drawings? Why?”

  “The one I have was easy for me to copy in wood. There might be others I could use. I would pay you for any I chose.”

  “I will think about it.”

  “Fair enough. It’s getting late. You should be getting home. Where is your buggy?”

  “Papa dropped me off.”

  Isaac let go of her hands. She missed the strength and warmth of his touch instantly. “Is he coming back for you?”

  “Nay.” She hated to admit it. “Papa said a long walk to think over my sins would do my soul good.”

  “Then I shall join you on your trek.”

  Quickly, she shook her head. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “But I do. I walked to work this morning, so I’m afoot, too. I will get a lantern for us.”

  “Is Ruby home alone?”

  “Nay, she is spending the night with a friend from school.”

  “I am glad she is making friends here.”

  * * *

  LENA WAS GRATEFUL for Isaac’s large, reassuring presence as they walked along the verge of the highway. The night air was cold on her face, but there was no wind to make it biting. Isaac’s lantern illuminated a small circle of the ground before them, but didn’t reach into the dense forest that pressed close to the roadway. Only a sliver of moon hung in the sky.

  Until the poaching started, Lena wouldn’t have thought twice about walking home alone in the dark. Now, that sense of safety was gone. She wasn’t sure it would ever return. Her quiet, uneventful corner of the world had been invaded by an evil presence.

  She glanced at the tall man walking beside her. She was so glad he wasn’t involved in the poaching.

  As if he sensed her scrutiny, he looked her way. “My Ruby is happier now than I have seen her in many, many months. I have you to thank for that. You have been good for her in a way I could not be.”

  Should she tell him that his daughter spoke? Lena had promised her she wouldn’t. If only she knew why Ruby didn’t want her father to know. “Ruby is a special girl. There is nothing I want more than to help her.”

  “I see that about you. I wish I had your gift for making her happy.”

  Lena shoved her hands deeper into her coat pockets. Was this the time to ask about his wife? She was certain her death held the key to understanding Ruby’s silence.

  Knowing it might shatter the tenuous relationship she sensed growing between them, she hesitated, but finally said, “Isaac, can you tell me about the day your wife died?”

  Seeing the sadness that came over his face touched Lena deeply. She wanted more than anything to comfort him, but wasn’t sure how to do that. She laid her hand on his arm.

  His lips pressed into a hard line. For a moment, she thought she had gone too far, pried too deeply.

  He gave a deep sigh. “I reckon you are bound to hear the story sooner or later. It is said that a man’s pride goes before his fall. So it was with me, only it was my wife and child who suffered because of my sin.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  ISAAC’S VOICE SHOOK with raw pain. Lena wanted to wrap her arms around him and hold him close, but she sensed he would reject her comfort. Instead, she said, “Tell me what happened.”

  “My carving was much in demand in the little community where we lived. Many Englische tourists came to our town and they paid well for Amish crafted furniture. Instead of giving more of my earnings to the church, I spent far too much to buy a high-stepping, spirited horse and a new buggy, the kind I always wanted when I was a boy.”

  He fell silent. Lena didn’t press him. He had to find his own way to tell the story.

  After drawing a deep breath, he said, “Ada Mae disliked our new horse. She didn’t trust him. I told her she was being foolish. One day, she wanted to go visit her sister, who was ill. I promised I would close the shop at noon and take her, because I knew how much she hated to drive that horse.”

  Isaac stopped walking. Lena stood beside him. They were alone in the world, cocooned in the lantern light, with only the moon and the stars to see them.

  After a short while Isaac began speaking again. “As I was closing up my shop, a man came in. He owned a store in New York City. He wanted to feature some of my work there. I was flattered by the offer and greedy at the thought of the money to be made. To my shame, I forgot that Ada Mae and Ruby were waiting for me.”

  “You are only human, Isaac. We all forget things.”

  “You are kind to say that, but it was my pride that made me forget them. When I came home an hour later, I found my wife lying in the barn. Ruby was with her. Ada Mae had grown tired of waiting for me and decided to drive herself. I wish she had simply come to the shop, but I imagine she was upset with me. She did have a temper at times.

  “When she tried to harness the horse, he kicked her in the chest. The doctor said a broken rib punctured her lung. She lay dying for more than an hour as I discussed money with a man whose name I can’t remember now.”

  “Oh, Isaac, how terrible.”

  “Terrible for me, yes, but worse for Ruby. She was with her mother the whole time. My workshop was less than two hundred yards away. I don’t know why Ruby didn’t come get me. If only she had.”

  He stopped as his voice broke with emotion. After a moment, he recovered enough to continue. “I managed to get Ada Mae to the doctor, but it was too late. She died in the hospital emergency room. If only Ruby had come to me as soon as it happened, Ada Mae might have been saved. I try to accept it was God’s will, but I can’t stop thinking that I could have saved her.”

  “Why didn’t Ruby get you?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve asked her that a hundred times. Ada Mae’s parents and her sisters, our bishop, my family, we all asked Ruby the same thing. She has never answered any of us. She’s never spoken since that day.”

  “The poor child.” The answer to Ruby’s silence lay in the time she’d spent with her dying mother. Somehow, Lena needed to learn from Ruby herself what had happened that day.

  She and Isaac walked along in silence until he said, “I don’t know if she forgave me.”

  “Ruby?”

  “My wife. I don’t know if she forgave me or not. I pleaded for her forgiveness, but she never woke up. Now I will never know.”

  Lena grasped his arm, forcing him to stop and face her. “Isaac, was your wife a devout woman and true to her faith?”

  “She was.”

  “Did she often neglect her Christian duty?”

  He shook his head. “Never.”

  “You say that with great certainty.”

  “Ada Mae loved God. She lived her life to please him.”

  Lena wanted to shake him. “Why then do you think her faith failed her at the end
?”

  His brows drew together in a frown. “I never said she lost her faith.”

  “Is not forgiveness the cornerstone of all the Lord has taught us?”

  “You know it is.”

  “Then believe that she forgave you, Isaac. To doubt that she did is to say her faith meant nothing to her.”

  “You are right,” he admitted in a bemused voice.

  “Frequently.” She tugged on his arm. “Come, it’s late and I have lessons to prepare for the morning.”

  The woods receded on one side as their route skirted the creek near the school. They were almost at the school lane when the sound of raised voices reached them, coming from near the covered bridge.

  Isaac said, “Stay here. I will see what is going on.”

  “Nay, don’t go.” Lena grabbed his hand.

  He squeezed her fingers. “Someone may need our help.”

  She was being silly. The woods weren’t populated with bogeymen. She nodded. “You’re right.”

  “Occasionally,” he said, with a smile that set her insides whirling.

  She grinned in return, but quickly sobered. “Be careful, Isaac.”

  A chill wind swept over her skin, making her shiver as she watched him walk toward the bridge. He held the lantern high and called out, “Is everything all right? Do you need help?”

  A flash of light, followed by the report of a gun, made her jump. The lantern in Isaac’s hand exploded and went dark. A second later, she was knocked to the ground by a hurtling force that carried her off the edge of the road and down the creek bank.

  A hand clamped over her mouth. She struggled to get free until Isaac whispered in her ear, “Quiet.”

  Reeds poked Lena’s back and scratched her neck. She lay panting under his weight, listening for the sound of another shot or the burning pain of a bullet. Silently, she prayed as she’d never prayed before.

  Nearby, she heard a man’s voice growing closer. “Are you crazy? No one cares about a few dead deer. If you kill a man, the law will be crawling all over us in no time.”

  “Quit your whining. I aimed for the light. I just wanted to scare him.”

  “How do you know you didn’t scare him to death?” The sound of footsteps stopped on the road above. Lena squeezed her eyes closed. Lord, deliver us from evil.

  “The Amish are tougher than that. Mind your own business after this, farmer.” An engine roared to life and a vehicle rumbled closer, then moved past, the noise fading into the distance. Gradually, the night sounds of the forest returned.

  Lena realized her arms were pinned to her sides by Isaac’s strong embrace. His face was mere inches from hers. He was listening intently. After a few minutes, he fastened his gaze on her face.

  She whispered, “Are they gone?”

  “I think so. Are you hurt?”

  “I’m not sure, but I don’t believe so.” She was shaking from head to foot. She tried to sit up but his weight prevented it. She wiggled beneath him.

  “Be still, woman.” His voice held an odd quality that made her freeze.

  “Isaac, let me up.”

  “Not yet. Lena Troyer, I’m surely going to regret this,” he whispered, his breath tickling her ear and sending shivers over her skin.

  “Regret what?”

  “This.” He lowered his face to hers and kissed her tenderly on the mouth.

  It was Lena’s first kiss, and so much more wonderful than she had imagined it would be. Isaac’s beard prickled her skin, but in a good way, for it was softer than it looked. To her surprise, her nose didn’t get in the way at all. Warmth flooded her body from the inside out. She wanted her arms free so she could wrap them around him.

  As abruptly as it began, the kiss was over and Isaac was pulling her to her feet. “We should get out of here.”

  “Where shall we go?” she asked breathlessly. If he suggested they fly to the moon she was willing to go along with him.

  He looked at her closely. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  The warm, fuzzy haze brought on by his kiss was quickly being replaced by the cold reality of the situation. Gathering what dignity she could manage, she scrambled up the bank unaided. “I’m fine. I’m not the one they shot at. Are you okay?”

  “My hand stings. I reckon I have a cut or two from broken glass.” He climbed up after her.

  She grasped his arm and held it toward the faint light of the moon. His hand was laced with black rivulets. She could smell the blood. Without a lantern it was impossible to tell how badly he was injured. “Should we go back to town?”

  Isaac pulled away from her. He walked across the road and picked up his hat. After reshaping it, he settled it on his head. “They went in that direction. It’s closer to go to your father’s house.”

  “It is closer still to Clara’s home. She has a phone. We can call the sheriff.”

  Isaac laid a hand on Lena’s shoulder. “There’s no need to do that. We must forgive these men and pray for them.”

  She nodded, embarrassed that she had so easily forgotten the teaching of her faith during her fright. “Then let us hurry home before they come back. They are surely madmen. May God protect us.”

  “And all those we care about,” Isaac added, staring in the direction the men had gone.

  * * *

  THE FOLLOWING MORNING, Lena arrived at the school much later than normal. She had taken hours to fall asleep. It wasn’t the fright that kept her awake, or the fact that she’d lost her job. No, it was reliving Isaac’s kiss that had her staring at the ceiling of her bedroom until the wee hours.

  What did it mean? Was he in love with her? How was that possible? They’d known each other only a few weeks.

  She liked him. Okay, she more than liked him, but he’d not said a word about his intentions all the way to her father’s house, or later, after she’d patched the cuts on his hand.

  It was clear he still mourned the loss of his wife. Did Lena somehow remind him of her?

  No, he kissed me! In her heart, she knew he hadn’t been thinking about anyone else.

  He was coming to tackle the barn repairs today. Somehow, she would find a chance to ask him what he meant by kissing her. Did he regret it, as he’d said he would?

  “Please don’t let that be so,” she whispered.

  She glanced at the clock; it was time to start classes. This would be the last time she did so. Tears stung her eyes as she rang the bell to call the children in from their play.

  When everyone took their seats, she saw that Ruby and the twins were still absent. Lena glanced again at the clock on the wall. She would have to have a conversation with the twins’ parents regarding their tardiness.

  No, she would leave that task for the new teacher.

  Suddenly, the door burst open. The twins came in, half carrying, half dragging a man between them. Blood covered the front of his clothing.

  Lena rushed toward them. “What has happened?”

  “We found this fellow down at the bridge. He’s been shot.”

  The stranger’s face was twisted in a grimace of pain. His eyes opened and focused on her. “They’re following me. Don’t want to lead them here. Don’t want to put the children in danger. Have to find Isaac.”

  “Isaac Bowman?”

  “Ja, my brother.” He tried to stand on his own but slumped forward. The twins kept him from falling.

  Katie looked out the door. “There are two men on four-wheelers coming this wa
y. Lena, they have guns.”

  “How far away are they?” she asked.

  “They’re at the bridge.”

  Lena ran down a list of possible hiding places, and discarded them all. There was no time to get the man up to the attic or out to the barn, and those were the first places the others were sure to search.

  She glanced around and her gaze landed on her desk. In one of the romance novels she’d read, the heroine had hid inside the kneehole of a desk to avoid being detected. Would it work? She had no other choice.

  Lena spoke to the children. “I want everyone to take his or her seat and remain silent no matter what happens. We must all pray to God to deliver us from evil this day.”

  She turned to the twins. “Help me hide him under my desk.” The boys nodded and assisted the stranger to the front of the classroom, where he sank to the floor. Lena leaned down to speak to him. “You must remain silent. Can you do that?”

  “Don’t put yourself at risk for me,” he managed to whisper.

  “Just do as I say and be quiet.” She helped push him into the space beneath her desk. He barely fit.

  Quick-thinking Katie was already wiping up traces of blood from the floor with her apron. She stuffed it in her desk and sat down.

  Lena spoke to the twins. “Take off your coats and give them to me. They have blood on them.”

  The boys did as she asked, and she used their coats to cover the wounded man. “Quickly, everyone take your seats and pray.”

  Lena pulled her chair up as close to the desk as she could get it. There was fear in every face looking up at her for courage. Barely a second later, the men drove up to the school. One appeared in the open doorway. The other came in the back way. Lena tensed. Both men carried rifles.

  Lena stayed seated, hoping her skirt would hide the wounded man as one of the gunmen walked behind her.

  “May I help you?” She was amazed at how level her voice sounded.

  “We’re looking for someone,” the man in front of her said. Lena realized that she knew him. It was Chuck Carter, the husband of Wilfred’s granddaughter.