A Season for Tending: Book One in the Amish Vines and Orchards Series

by Cindy Woodsmall

  She was just tired. That was it, and she had no desire to make herself a target of gossip again. Everyone in Harvest Mills seemed willing to give her a fresh start after the crazy rumors that had surrounded her in Morgansville.

  Jacob swept the shards of glass into the pan, and suddenly she felt as if he were sweeping up the shattered remains of his life—as if it wasn’t yet broken but soon would be.

  “Rhodes?” Jacob clasped her arm, his voice muffled.

  Chills upon chills layered her skin. This feeling was even stronger than when she’d sensed something wrong with Mrs. Walker. Acting on that had saved the old woman’s life.

  “Jacob, go to your house and get everyone in the cellar.”

  He led her to the doorway and pointed at the clearing in the distance. “The storm’s over. The rain will be gone soon too.”

  She walked onto the lawn, studying the ever-brightening sky.

  Jacob came alongside her, looking for evidence that couldn’t be seen.

  Was she wrong? Another shot rang out inside her, and she jumped. She grabbed him by the arms. “I need this from you. Please, Jacob.”

  He stared into her eyes, and she realized he loved her. Probably more than even he knew. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. “Okay.”

  The earth rumbled under her feet. Was it real? Or a warning?

  “Go!” She shoved him toward the house and ran in the opposite direction for the orchard. “Samuel!” She hurried farther into the orchard. “Samuel!” On she trudged, mud covering her skirts, rain drowning out her voice. “Samuel!”

  A clap of thunder shook the ground, and the heavens opened. Rain fell harder, mixed with pea-sized hail. “Samuel!” Daylight disappeared as if someone had turned off the lights.

  She spotted him at last. “Samuel!” Please, God, let him hear me!

  He stopped and turned to face her—

  The tree in front of him split, sending splinters of wood in every direction. Samuel fell, and she ran to him. Before she reached him, he got up and headed for her, limping and holding his leg. Lightning crackled across the sky, hitting a tree, exploding it. She screamed, covering her head with her arms.

  When the sparks stopped flying, she ran for Samuel. A piece of something was sticking out of his leg and blood oozed through his trousers.

  “Let’s get out of here!” he yelled over the tumultuous sounds of rain, hail, and wind.

  Rhoda put her arms around his waist, and he leaned into her. The wind ripped at their clothing and made it impossible to catch a full breath. The sound of wood twisting and moaning surrounded them. Seeing more than ten feet ahead was impossible, and Rhoda prayed they were going in the right direction.

  The summer kitchen finally came into sight, and soon they staggered onto the porch and into the house. They went to the back room, which didn’t have windows that could shatter and fill the air with glass. She eased him onto the bed, and he leaned his back against the wall. She settled beside him, closing her eyes and praying their families were safe.

  Pans clattered. Glass broke. Roofing ripped off overhead.

  Samuel wrapped her in his arms, assuring her they were safe.

  The winds died, and the thunder became distant. Finally a deafening quiet settled over the place, leaving only the sound of a gentle rain.

  She opened her eyes, tilting her head back to look into Samuel’s face. “I sent Jacob to your house to get everyone to safety, but I didn’t do it when I should have.” Tears ran down her cheeks. “What if I waited too long?”

  He hugged her tightly, saying nothing.

  She eased from his warm embrace, and he released her. “I have to check on your family.”

  “I’ll do that.” He tried to get up and winced before collapsing.

  “Stay off your leg.” After helping him shift to a prone position, Rhoda covered him with a blanket, all except his leg.

  Her knees threatened to buckle as she went through the roofless kitchen with glass, shingles, and cooking utensils strewn in her path. She whispered prayers as she headed down the path to the main house.

  Her wet clothes clung to her, and water squished inside her black slip-on shoes. She saw a honey-brown patch of color through the underbrush and hoped she’d just caught a glimpse of Jacob’s hair. “Jacob?” She ran.

  He came around the blind, gaining speed. “Rhoda!”

  She hurried to him, and he swallowed her in his arms, lifting her feet off the ground.

  He put her down, embracing her tight. “Samuel?”

  “Injured, but safe. Your family?”

  “They’re all fine. Katie has a gash on her forehead from some debris that hit her as everyone moved from the house to the cellar. A whole side of our house was ripped off, and the damage is horrendous, but everyone is alive.” He touched the end of her nose. “Thanks to you. How bad is Samuel?”

  “It looks like a piece of a tree lodged in his leg. But he’s safe on my bed, with orders to stay there.”

  Jacob lowered his lips to hers and kissed her. “Forgive me for not being quicker to trust you?” He nuzzled her neck.

  She backed away. “It’s taken me most of my life to learn to trust myself. I even fought this time longer than you did. I’m just glad you were there to send for help.”

  “So am I.”

  She took him by the hand and started toward the office barn. “I need to check on my family. And Landon. Unless the weather kept him home, he was likely a few miles from here when the storm hit.”

  When the King house came into view, she couldn’t believe her eyes. It looked like a dollhouse that had been dragged through the mud.

  Jacob squeezed her shoulder. “The girls’ room, where Leah, Katie, and Betsy were asleep, was hit the worst.” His voice cracked. “But all of it can be replaced or repaired.”

  She wanted to stop for a moment so they could sympathize with and encourage each other, but she was desperate to hear her Daed’s voice assuring her that everyone was okay.

  They went to the barn. Other than the roof, most of the building wasn’t damaged. The animals were skittish but unharmed. She’d always heard stories about tornadoes destroying one place and leaving its neighbor almost untouched. Rhoda grabbed the phone and pressed it to her ear but heard nothing. The lines were down.

  Fear circled inside her as she replaced the receiver in its cradle. “It’s not working. How are we going to get help for Samuel?”

  “I’ll hook up a horse to a wagon so he can lie in the back of it, then take him to the doctor.”

  “You think the roads are passable?”

  “Not yet. I’ll leave him here for now. Daed and Eli will help me get horses and ropes to drag the debris out of the road. And we’ll bring saws to cut anything that’s too large to move.” He snapped his fingers. “By nightfall we’ll have a path cleared between here and the main roads.”

  “Should I come too?”

  “Stay with Samuel. Keep fluids in him, and keep him warm. He needs to get into dry clothes. I’ll be back for him as soon as the roads are clear.”

  In all the chaos she hadn’t thought about what Samuel needed, but Jacob was right. Back when she grew herbs, she’d read about people going into shock and how to prevent it. She hadn’t realized that Jacob had been trained in first aid too.

  “Got it.”

  He lifted her face upward. “Your family is fine. I’m sure of it. Can’t you feel it?”

  She closed her eyes, trying to sense peace about them. “I can’t.”

  “Well, they are.” He smiled before he tucked her head under his chin.

  Even if he was simply trying to comfort her, she appreciated it and felt better for his saying it.

  “Jacob, did you tell your family I sent you to get them into the cellar?”

  His arms felt warm and strong as he held her. “By the time I arrived, the only thing on my mind was getting them to safety. And then my concern for you and Samuel took over every thought.”

 
; “Since the storm looked as if it was gone when I sent you to get them to the cellar, maybe we could keep that between us. People feel odd about certain things, you know?”

  “Your secret is safe with me.” His voice rumbled through his chest, vibrating against her ear, and she knew he’d protect her in every way possible. “We make a pretty good team, you know.”

  She took a deep breath, grateful to have his strength to draw from because today would be one of the longest, hardest days she’d faced since losing Emma.

  FORTY-THREE

  Leah shook like a newborn calf, unable to believe what’d happened. They couldn’t stay inside the unstable home—Mamm wouldn’t allow it—so Leah and her sisters walked the yard, picking up strewn clothing and bedding. Daed had set up a seventeen-gallon washtub, and the girls were washing clothes outside. Katie and Betsy wrung out the items by hand and put them on the clothesline, refusing to leave their parents’ sight. The gash on Katie’s forehead had stopped bleeding. It’d take months, maybe a year, to put their lives back together, but they milled about doing silly things like laundry, as if that was the beginning.

  She wanted to run through their district and find out how the other families were doing, especially Michael. She shouldn’t care, but she did. Still, Daed said she had to stay put, although he let her meander a bit into the orchard, looking for Hope. No one had seen her since the storm.

  The sun shone bright, making it feel as if their disaster were somehow a charade. She’d like to thank God for protecting her and her family, but it’d been so long since she’d prayed. Did He even want to hear from her?

  Jacob and Eli had left five hours ago to clear the roads to the nearest hospital or a doctor’s place, and they hadn’t been seen since. If Landon needed help, she hoped Jacob had come across him. Most of all, she wished they had a solution for Samuel. He lay in Rhoda’s bed, shaking with pain, starting to lose consciousness.

  Rhoda stayed by his side while Mamm made soup. Everyone prayed for a working phone line or some other way to get help.

  Leah heard a yelping noise and started searching for the source. After circling the house, she came to a pile of clapboard siding in the front yard. She moved the wood piece by piece until Hope sprang free, barking excitedly. Leah picked her up and took her to Katie and Betsy. They rejoiced and held her close, but they didn’t leave Mamm’s side.

  “Hallo!”

  It was Jacob. Leah turned in the direction of his voice and saw him and Eli appear out of nowhere, riding bareback.

  Jacob dismounted. “How’s Samuel?”

  Daed hurried across the yard. “He needs a doctor.” He embraced Jacob. “I was getting worried. What kept you two?”

  Jacob dropped the reins, letting the horse stand free. “It’s a mess out there, but we got the last tree out of the road, and we can get him to the hospital now.”

  Daed shook his head. “A horse and rig can’t get from here to the closest hospital no matter how clear the roads are. There’s at least ten miles of highway.”

  Leah couldn’t muster any anger at the Amish ways today. She was too grateful to be alive, but this was just another example of why she didn’t want to hold on to the Old Ways. They should own a car. The minimum speed limit on a highway made using a rig illegal. A horse-drawn carriage went about ten miles per hour, and a horse couldn’t maintain even that speed for long. A horse and buggy on a freeway was an accident, perhaps a car pileup, just waiting to happen.

  Eli got off his horse “We’ve got the highway issue covered too.”

  “How?” Daed embraced him.

  “We found Landon.” Eli removed his work gloves. “He was on his way here when the storm hit, and he helped us clear the roads. But an intern who had a limb fall on his SUV needed a ride to the hospital, so Landon took him. Soon as Landon drops him off, he’ll come here.”

  Jacob brushed bits of debris from his hands. “In the meantime the intern gave me instructions about moving Samuel. He said there wasn’t much point trying to get an ambulance out here.”

  Daed picked up the reins of Jacob’s horse. “What needs to be done?”

  “I need to wash up. When Landon arrives, we need to get Samuel into his truck without putting any pressure on his leg or the wood that’s embedded in it. And his leg needs to stay elevated. That means only Landon, Samuel, and two of us can go.”

  Mamm kept her hands on Betsy’s and Katie’s shoulders. “I’d better stay with the girls.”

  Daed passed the reins of the horse to Mamm. “The girls can help you take care of the horses.”

  Eli gave the reins of his horse to Katie and put his hand on her head. “Take good care of her. She worked hard this morning dragging fallen trees out of the way.”

  “I will.” Katie beamed up at him.

  Jacob started for the summer kitchen, and then he turned to Leah. “How about you?”

  Tears pooled in her eyes. He hadn’t lumped her in with the little girls, and he wasn’t telling her what to do. He was asking. “I’m wherever you want me.”

  He motioned. “Kumm.”

  She hurried to his side, and the four of them—Daed, Jacob, Eli, and Leah—strode toward the summer kitchen. Most of the roof was missing from the old stone building, but the four walls appeared as solid as ever.

  They entered the almost-unrecognizable room. Daed began picking up debris to clear a path. Despite the scattered and now dented canning equipment and the broken jars, the appliances appeared not to be damaged. Papers were strewn, but Leah knew Rhoda had the original recipes tucked safely away somewhere.

  Jacob eased his way to the tiny bedroom, and Leah went with him. The bedroom was about two feet wider than the twin bed inside it and no longer. Leah guessed this area had once been a walk-in pantry.

  She saw Rhoda kneeling on the floor beside Samuel, holding his hand, whispering.

  “How’s he doing, Rhodes?”

  At Jacob’s voice she jolted, then looked so relieved to see him. “I’ve decided he’s a tough old bird.”

  “Ya.” Samuel’s voice was hoarse. “Let me lie around all day with a kind woman tending to my every whim, and I’m as tough as they come.” Samuel held up one hand. “Anyone checked on Catherine’s family yet?”

  “Ya. Eli took a few minutes to ride over there while Landon and I were taking a breather. A tree fell in their yard, and the branches destroyed their front porch and broke some things in the kitchen, but no one was hurt.”

  “Es iss wunderbaar gut.”

  Samuel was right, it was wonderful good. But Leah couldn’t restrain her anxiety. For no sooner had her brother muttered the words than he dozed off. Or had he lost consciousness?

  Jacob motioned for Rhoda to come to him. They went into the main room.

  Leah took her place beside Samuel. His chest rose and fell as if breathing were a job all its own.

  Samuel opened his eyes. “Don’t you worry, Leah. Daed’s always said I had apple trees in my blood. This isn’t anything new, not really.”

  Why did this have to happen? “I’m sorry, Samuel.”

  “Sorry? What for?”

  She shook her head. He didn’t need her to dump her guilt on him. “For not being a better sister, a better person.”

  “Me too.” He waved his fingers. “I mean, I’m sorry I haven’t been a better brother.”

  She kissed his cheek. “I knew what you meant. Rest.”

  She heard a car engine. That had to be Landon.

  Jacob came to the doorway and gestured for Leah to come out of the room. She did, but she stayed nearby. Rhoda was at the sink, staring out a broken window. If only they had a way to reach her family.

  Jacob moved to the side of the bed. “Landon’s here. We have to move you to his truck without putting any pressure on your leg or the wood in it. I think the best way is if I carry you.”

  Landon walked inside, wearing muddy jeans and a soaked and torn T-shirt. Leah wanted to hug him, but she wiped her hands on her apron instead.

>   He looked past her. “Hey, Rhodes.” His voice was barely a whisper.

  Rhoda turned.

  He went to her and held up his cell phone. “They’re safe. I just now got through, and the block your family lives on sustained no damage at all.”

  She grabbed the phone. “Can I talk …”

  “The call dropped, and the cell towers are too busy to get another call through right now, but I talked to your Daed after the storms passed. He said to give you a hug.” Landon whispered something else that Leah couldn’t hear, and Rhoda put her arms around his neck.

  “Girls.” Landon shook his head and released Rhoda, wiping his misty eyes. “Well, come here.” He motioned to Leah.

  She did, and he hugged her tightly, like an exuberant child clutching a teddy bear.

  “I’m glad you’re safe and here.” Leah backed away and poked his shoulder.

  “My truck didn’t fare so well. It’s pitiful, and I guess that’s what happens when a guy doesn’t have the sense to get out of a hailstorm.”

  “That bad?”

  “Let’s just say my vehicle won’t be much to look at anymore.”

  Leah bit her lip. “I don’t think we got much hail, but the wind did enough damage on its own.” If the whole orchard was hit as hard as the part she’d seen, there wouldn’t be any more apples to can.

  Landon checked his cell phone and slid it back into his pocket. “About seven houses in the area are worse than this one. Several of them are Amish homes.”

  Leah’s knees felt weak. “Whose?”

  “I don’t know any names. Jacob will.”

  “Anybody hurt?”

  “Not in the Amish homes. News said five people have died across the state.”

  “I don’t want to be around when Samuel fully understands the extent of the damage that’s been done to the orchard.”

  Rhoda rubbed her chest. “It’ll break his heart.”

  Leah dreaded when that day arrived. Clearly tornadoes and hard times hit no matter whether a person lived the Old Ways or the Englisch way. Her relationship with her family had changed a lot lately, and she was grateful, but it wasn’t enough to make her want to stay living under the ways of the Amish. If she tried, surely she could find a way to leave peacefully when the time came. But that would be a while.