by Jo Ann Brown
Joshua didn’t look at him. “Once you’re done at the bridge, you won’t have many chances to spend time with Hannah, ain’t so?”
“Ja.” So much for his appearance of not having a care in the world. He should have known he couldn’t fool his older brothers.
“Unless you ask her to walk out with you,” Isaiah said.
“Not likely. I ruined everything last time with her.” And this time.
“You did,” Joshua said as his other brothers nodded. “I have to admit I was surprised she wanted anything to do with you once she removed the bees from the bridge.”
“I don’t know if she would have if it hadn’t been for Shelby. The kind preferred me at first.”
“You know what the Englischers say, don’t you?” asked Ezra as he reached for another chocolate chip cookie.
“What’s that?” he asked, though the twinkle in his brother’s eye warned he wouldn’t like hearing what Ezra had to say.
“There’s no accounting for taste.” Ezra’s retort brought more howls of laughter from his brothers.
Daniel accepted the teasing with a wry grin. The Stoltzfus brothers ribbed one another, but also stood behind one another in trying times. They’d come together to support their mamm and each other when Daed died, and they’d done the same when two of the brothers had lost their wives. Joshua was married again, and Daniel hoped Isaiah would eventually as well.
“Speaking of Hannah,” he said, “let me ask you a question.”
Again his brothers exchanged a glance. He wished he understood what they were signaling to each other, but, for once, he wasn’t part of the silent discussion.
“Go ahead.” Amos leaned forward, clasping his hands between his knees.
He did, before he lost his nerve. “I’ve been wondering how you do it. Except for Jeremiah, Micah and me, you’ve been married or are getting married. What’s the secret to owning a business and having a wife and a family? How do you have everything at the same time?”
“You’re kidding, ain’t so?” asked Joshua.
Ezra shook his head. “It’s impossible to do everything. Have a wife, have a family, have a job.”
“But you do it!” Daniel exclaimed.
“Ja, we do it.” Ezra sighed. “We do it, but no matter how hard we try, something or someone gets too little attention.”
“It’s like trying to roll a log,” added Joshua. “You have to adjust to keep from falling in the water, and sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you get dunked.”
“Only you can decide what’s your priority.” Isaiah sighed, a sure sign the conversation wasn’t easy for him because his beloved Rose had died less than a year before. “And then, there are times when you have no hope of keeping things in balance. Something has to give.”
Daniel ate the cookies and two more as he listened to his brothers talk about the occasions when their jobs had intruded on their family time and other times when family had to take a back seat to their work obligations. His spirits fell lower and lower. Before he got depressed, he stood and thanked his brothers for their advice.
As he went outside, he heard his name from behind him. Amos walked out of the shop and clapped him on the shoulder. Together they stood on the covered porch and stared at the rain.
“You can’t say when love is going to come into your life.” Amos shrugged, then sighed. “Look at me! I didn’t expect to fall in love when I decided to halt a miniature thief before Christmas. Now Mamm and Belinda are discussing wedding plans, though we won’t be married until October or November.”
“But you were smart enough to hold on to love once you had it.”
“After learning the hard way that you need to be sure it’s truly love. If you want my advice, Daniel, here it is. Once you know it’s love, don’t let it go. You’ve been blessed with a second chance to accept God’s most precious gift. You blew it once. Why would you risk doing so again? You may never have a third chance.”
“But, after listening to you, I don’t know how I can keep everything in balance.”
“You can’t. Not by yourself. You have to bring God into it, Daniel. Hand over the things to Him that you can’t do by yourself. Not that he’s going to borrow a hammer and work beside you.”
“I wasn’t expecting that!” He chuckled, glad his older brother was being honest with him.
Amos didn’t smile as he put his hand on Daniel’s shoulder again and looked him square in the eyes. “What God can do for you, if you’ll let Him, is reach into you and lift the weight of your obligations from your heart. The obligations will still be there, but you’ll know no matter what happens, you never have to handle them alone. Going to God should be your first choice, Daniel, not your last resort.”
Daniel stared at him as the words struck a chord deep within him. Hannah had said much the same thing, but he’d thought what worked for her wouldn’t work for him. God had more important things to do than listen to Daniel go on and on about his dreams.
Didn’t He?
“Think about it,” Amos said before walking away as a car pulled into the lot and parked in front of his shop. He waved to the two women scurrying through the rain. He held the door open for them, then followed them into the store.
As Daniel climbed into his buggy and turned Taffy along the road leading toward the covered bridge, he couldn’t think of anything but Amos’s advice. Go to God first with his problems?
Is that what I should do, Father? As he asked the question, he heard the answer in his heart. Who had Daniel gone to with his worries as a child? To his daed, who helped him find a way to ease his concerns and solve his problems. Why hadn’t Daniel considered before that his relationship with his heavenly Father should be the same as with his daed?
By the time he reached the covered bridge, Daniel’s head hurt with the thoughts rushing through it. He had a lot to sort out while he worked on nailing the last remaining boards into place on the deck. Once the rain eased, he and his crew could finish the sides of the bridge and paint them. After that, he could start the work at the O’Neills’, and he’d have no excuse to come to the creek.
He glanced along it toward Hannah’s house. Nobody was visible there, which was no surprise with the clatter of rain on the buggy’s roof. He looked away, knowing he needed to figure out a lot before he tried to insert himself into the lives of Hannah and her family again.
Stopping the buggy by the bridge, he apologized to Taffy for leaving the horse out in the rain. He could take the horse to Hannah’s barn, but he wasn’t ready to face her.
He walked into the bridge and found it deserted. He’d told his crew not to bother to come if the rain continued today because they needed a dry day to work on the exterior. Moving to the far end, he stood by the thick board that was ready to be put into place.
Daniel bit back a gasp as he looked down. Hunter’s Mill Creek had risen so high it was a foot or less from the bottom of the bridge. It had swallowed large sections of its banks and was crawling toward the road. Lost in his thoughts while he drove to the bridge, he’d missed how high and fast the creek was running.
Leaving the shelter of the covered bridge and walking out into the storm, Daniel ducked his head. The wind blew rain hard into his face, and he pulled up the collar of his work coat to protect his cheeks. The rain was falling faster by the minute. It was as if someone had turned on a faucet in the sky and left it running. None of the previous storms had been this bad.
He leaned out over the abutment and watched the water race under the bridge. The current of the usually sleepy creek was so swift that foam was splashing into the air whenever the water hit a submerged stone. Branches and other debris rushed past, disappearing beneath the water and then reappearing farther downstream.
Would the bridge hold?
He climbed over the guardrail and balance
d a moment on the top of the stone abutment. Sliding on his feet and hands down the steep hill, he took care to go slow. If he tumbled into the creek, he might not get out alive. He braced his feet on the hillside and held his hand to his forehead. That kept the rain from his eyes while he appraised the work he and his crew had done over the past month.
The braces along the arch connecting one side of the bridge support to the other remained in place. The rotted boards had been replaced beneath the trusses and along the roadbed. Wind-driven raindrops splattered against the arched skeleton walls and the roof, but the bridge didn’t shudder as the gusts struck it. If the water didn’t rise farther, the old bridge should be able to survive the flood.
He almost laughed at the thought. At the rate the rain was coming down, even if it stopped that very second, the water would continue to rise for days. Sandbags wouldn’t help. There was no place to put them to divert the water away from the bridge. Its future was in God’s hands. There was nothing else Daniel could do to protect it.
Going to God should be your first choice, Daniel, not your last resort. His brother’s voice echoed through his head as he glanced toward Hannah’s house again.
Shock struck him anew. He’d known, of course, that the house was close to the creek, but now he noticed how it was on the same level above the water as the deck of the bridge. If the creek kept rising, her home was going to flood. The barn behind it should be fine, because it was set on higher ground.
Glancing once at the bridge, he prayed, God, I’m leaving the bridge in Your hands, but please keep Hannah and her family safe in Your hands as well. Help me help them because I’m not sure I can do it alone.
He ran to his buggy, knowing he couldn’t hesitate. Hannah needed to evacuate along with her great-grandmother and Shelby.
Taffy shivered with fear as Daniel reached him.
“Let’s go,” Daniel urged, stroking the horse’s nose.
The horse shifted his weight, and Daniel tugged on the bearing rein. He kept talking to Taffy as they walked into the storm, unsure if the horse was comforted by his voice. Or if the horse could hear it. Between the wind and the pounding rain, Daniel could barely hear his own voice.
He froze as he led a reluctant Taffy toward the Lambrights’ house. Had he heard someone call his name? It must have been his imagination.
Then he heard it again. “Daniel, is that you?”
Hannah!
Tugging Taffy after him, he rushed up the muddy driveway. He saw her standing on the porch, waving. He left the horse and crossed the yard, leaping onto the porch. “You need to get out of here.”
“I know.” Her bonnet was a black, soggy mass around her face. Strands of her hair fell and stuck to her cheek. She shoved them back. “The Joneses have already left. They stopped to ask us to go with them.”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I tried to get Grossmammi Ella to go, but...” Her shrug said it all. Her great-grandmother had been too stubborn to leave.
“Let’s get her and Shelby and go.”
“Take them and go. I can’t leave!”
“Hannah, I know things aren’t right with us, but—”
“Daniel, it’s the bees.” Her eyes were frantic. “The bees are going to drown.”
“Drown?”
“Ja. If the hives fill with water, they’ll drown.”
“Then let’s move them.”
She threw open the door and motioned for him to follow her. As he did, he was praying God would be merciful and save all of them.
* * *
Hannah retrieved her beekeeper’s clothing. When it’d begun to rain hard last night, she’d brought it upstairs. Just to be prepared if the worst happened. Now it was.
While Shelby danced around them, excited, Hannah gave Daniel several pieces of the protective clothing for his use. His hands were too big for her gloves, but he pulled them on as best as he could. Taking rubber bands, he wrapped them around the long ends and the sleeves of his coat. The rain would keep most of the bees in the hive, but a few might dare the storm to protect their hive when it was moved. She insisted he wear her hat and veil.
“No, Hannah, you need it,” he argued.
“I’ve got the smoker. If they panic and come toward me, I’ll use it. You won’t have anything to protect you. I can’t have you flinch when you’re carrying the hive. If it tumbles over, it could kill the queen bee and destroy the whole hive.”
“But—”
“They most likely won’t budge from the hive. I’ll be fine.” Not giving him time to reply, she turned to her great-grandmother who was sitting by the window and staring at the rising creek. “Grossmammi Ella,” she said, making sure her voice remained calm, “we’ll be in the backyard. Shelby has her toys, so she’ll be fine until we get back.”
“Be careful.” The old woman’s gaze went to Daniel. “Please be careful, Earney.”
He didn’t miss a beat as he said, “I will. Keep an eye on the creek and the covered bridge for me, won’t you?”
“Ja.” Her great-grandmother straightened in her chair. “I will.”
“Danki.” He tossed aside his straw hat. Pulling on the beekeeper’s helmet, he didn’t lower the veil over his face. “Let’s get this over with.”
When Hannah stepped outside, the rain seemed to be coming faster. She hadn’t guessed that was possible. Her soaked bonnet clung to her hair like a deflated balloon.
She explained the easiest and safest way to move them was to lift the boards the hives sat on. They’d carry each hive into the barn as if it were on a litter.
When Daniel nodded he was ready and pulled down the veil, she smoked the closest of the three hives. The rain tore apart the smoke, so she wasn’t sure how much reached the bees.
Keep them calm, she prayed as she set the smoker on the wet grass and bent to lift the hive.
It was heavier than she remembered, even with Daniel taking most of the weight on his side. They inched up the hill toward the barn. She saw bees gathering near the hive’s entrance, but few ventured out. They were knocked to the ground by the rain, and she promised herself she’d try to find them once the hives were safe.
Setting the hive far enough inside the barn so it would stay dry, she hurried with Daniel to get the second one. When she asked him if he was all right, he nodded but said nothing.
They repeated the task twice, losing a few bees each time. Leaving Daniel to throw bright blue tarps over the hives to protect them further, she ran into the rain to collect the lost bees in her apron. They struggled as she set them on the floor near the hives. Each one must find its way to its own hive.
“Those are all I could find.” She straightened and leaned against the low wall between the front of the barn and the stalls. Checking the tarps over the hives to make sure air could get to the bees, she listened to the hammering rain. Each drop sounded as if it were trying to pierce the roof.
The animals were restless, but she wasn’t sure if the storm bothered them or the low hum of the bees. But they should be safe in the barn.
Wiping her wet hair from her eyes, she turned to Daniel who had taken off the beekeeper’s helmet. He looked as soaked as she felt, but also incredibly handsome. His dark hair caught the faint light and glistened like his bright blue eyes. She wanted to stand there and drink in the sight of this man whom she’d loved almost from the moment they met.
She halted herself before she flung herself into his arms. Staring at the hives beneath the bright blue tarps, she said, “I couldn’t have done it without you. Danki.”
“I’m glad to help.” He undid the rubber bands and handed them and the gloves to her. “Once the storm is past, I’ll help you move them back.”
“You don’t have to.”
“You can’t move them alone. I’ll help...though I’d r
ather go to the dentist.”
She laughed. “That’s obvious. You should have seen your face. You looked like you were about to grab a poisonous snake.”
“I’m leery of bees. That’s no secret.”
“And that’s why I’m so grateful for your help. Not everyone would be able to get past their fears to touch the hives.”
He put a hand on the wall behind her, standing closer than he had since they were in his house. He didn’t touch her as he bent so their eyes were level. “With God’s love, everything is possible. I believe that, and I’ve come to realize I need to live my belief every day.” Each word brushed her damp face and touched her battered heart. “If I don’t take the opportunities God makes available to me, I’m ignoring His blessings.”
“You believe that? Really?” What a turnabout from his assumption he could handle everything on his own.
Lightning flashed and thunder crashed overhead, shaking the barn like a dog coming in from the rain.
“That was close.” Daniel stepped away from her. “Let’s go and get Shelby and your great-grandmother and get out of here.”
She nodded. With one last check of the bees and the other animals, she ran with him out into the rain. She was drenched and cold by the time they reached the kitchen door.
“You get what you need for them,” Daniel said, “while I help them put on their coats.”
She nodded and hurried into the living room. It was empty.
“Grossmammi Ella! Shelby!” She ran to the bottom of the stairs, though her great-grandmother had not climbed them in a year. Had Grossmammi Ella decided to take Shelby up for her nap? The old woman wasn’t steady enough to lift the toddler into her crib.
Taking the steps two at a time, she reached the top and called her great-grandmother’s name and then her little sister’s. Her voice echoed along the hallway. She pushed aside the nursery door, hoping Grossmammi Ella would be there and unharmed.
The room was as deserted as the first floor. Spinning, she ran down the stairs and collided with Daniel.
