The buggy lay smashed against a tree at the bottom of a steep hillside. Snow was quickly covering the splintered wood. A large black shape moved off to one side. He realized it was his mare. She was on her knees and struggling in the tangled harness.
“Sarah!” he shouted into the night.
“Levi?” came a weak reply. It was Merle.
Levi crawled toward the sound. He found the boy sitting on what once had been a door. “Merle, are you okay?”
“I’m scared.”
“I’m scared, too. Where is Phoebe? Where is Sarah?”
“I don’t know. What’s wrong with your horse?”
“I’ll see to her in a minute. I have to find the others. Sarah!” he shouted as loud as he could.
“She’s with me.” The voice belonged to Phoebe and it came from up the hillside.
Levi took the boy in his arms and carried him back to Rosanna. “Stay here.”
He quickly worked his way up the steep slope where he found Phoebe sitting beside Sarah who lay sprawled sideways across the hill.
To his relief, she was breathing.
Thank You, dear Lord, for sparing her.
He looked at Phoebe. “Are you injured, child?”
“My hand hurts real bad.”
“Let me see.” She held it out. She had two dislocated fingers. His stomach took a wild flop, but he knew what he had to do. He searched around and found her doll nearby.
“Phoebe, I want you to bite down on your dolly’s legs as hard as you can. Will you do that for me?”
“I don’t want to bite her.”
“This is important. She’s going to help make your hand better, but you have to close your eyes and bite hard. She won’t mind. She wants to help.”
“Do as he says, Phoebe.” Rosanna called from below.
Phoebe bit down on her doll and he quickly jerked her fingers back into place. She screamed and then fell back.
Rosanna struggled up the hill toward her.
Levi said, “She’s okay. She just fainted.”
He turned his attention to Sarah and lifted her gently in his lap. “Sarah, speak to me,” he begged.
Her kapp was missing, and there was blood covering the side of her face. After a moment, her eyes fluttered open. Relief made him giddy.
Thank You, God. I will never again miss the chance to tell this woman how much I love her.
Sarah gazed up at him. Slowly, she raised her hand and touched his face. “You’re alive.”
“We all are.”
“The children?” She tried to sit up, but he wasn’t willing to let her go.
He glanced over his shoulder. Phoebe was sitting, supported between Merle and Rosanna. “They’re banged up, but nothing too bad as far as I can see. What about you? Tell me where it hurts.”
“I’m not sure.” She touched her head and winced. Squinting, she moved her hand in front of her face and stared at her fingers. “Is that blood?”
Pellets of sleet mixed in with the snow stung Levi’s face. He needed to get her and the children to shelter. “Do you think you can stand? We need to get out of this weather.”
“I’ll try.”
He lifted her to her feet but she crumpled against him with a cry of pain. “My knee. It won’t hold me.”
He lowered her to the ground. “Which one?”
“The right one. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have invited them to visit. I knew something bad would happen.”
“Sarah, you didn’t cause this.”
“You don’t understand. Everyone I love is in danger.”
She must have hit her head harder than he thought. She wasn’t making sense. He sought to soothe her. “Don’t fret. The children are going to be fine.”
With gentle fingers, he examined her leg. Her knee was already swelling. “I can’t tell if it is sprained or worse.”
She looked at her nieces and nephew huddled together. “If you can help me to the buggy, Levi, I’ll wait here while you take the kinder to safety.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I’ll be fine. Just take care of the children. Please, Levi.”
“This is going to hurt.” He slipped his arm beneath her knees and lifted her. She clutched his shoulders and bit her lip but didn’t cry out. He carried her to the wreckage of the buggy. It was useless as a shelter. He lowered her to the snow-covered ground. There was no way he was going to leave her here alone. He looked at the children. They would all have to go together.
Leaving them briefly, he moved to his horse. She had stopped struggling and lay quietly on the ground. “Easy, my girl. I’ll get you loose.” He managed to unbuckle and lift the harness from her. She surged to her feet, but limped heavily as she managed a few steps. She wouldn’t be able to carry Sarah or the children.
He searched for a suitable place to leave her and found it beneath a leaning cedar. Leading her slowly, he tied her under the makeshift canopy knowing she would be safe until he could return for her.
Moving back to Sarah and the children, he surveyed what they had and what they would need. The first thing was to get up the hill to the roadway and hope they could flag down a passing vehicle. It was unlikely this time of day and in this weather. Barring that, they would simply have to walk to the home of Sarah’s aunt.
He said, “Rosanna, I need you to unbuckle one of the long lines from my horse’s bridle.”
To his relief, she quickly did as he asked. When she came back with the leather strap he said, “Now, I want you to make three loops for handholds about three feet apart.”
“Like this?” she asked as she tied the first one.
“Ja.”
“I’m cold,” Phoebe whined.
Merle said, “I want Mama.”
Sarah said, gently, “Darling, Levi is going to take you to Aenti Emma’s. I want you to do as he tells you.”
Rosanna held up the rein with three loops in it. “Is this right?”
He took it from her. “Couldn’t have done better myself.”
He tied one end around his waist, and then squatted so he was eye level with the children. “I want each one of you to put your hand through a loop. Rosanna, I want you on the end so that the little ones are between us. If everyone holds on, no one can get lost. Okay?”
The children nodded. He looked at Phoebe. “I need your apron to make a bandage for your sore hand. Is that okay?” She nodded. He fashioned a makeshift sling and some padding for her arm. It was the best he could do.
Rosanna quickly fastened the loops around her sister’s good hand and then placed one over Merle’s.
Levi moved to pick up Sarah. She tried to push him away. “You can’t carry me all the way to my uncle’s farm. I will only slow you down.”
“Sarah, the longer you keep talking, the longer these children have to stand here in the cold.” He scooped her up in his arms and ignored her hiss of pain. It couldn’t be helped.
He stared up the hillside. It would be a steep climb at the best of times. At night, in the snow, with Sarah in his arms, it was going to be a nightmare.
He looked at the children lined up behind him. “Ready?”
They all nodded. Levi began making his way up the slope with careful steps. The wet snow made the climbing treacherous. It wasn’t any easier for the children behind him. Each time one of them slipped and fell, he felt the jerk on the line at his waist. He struggled to keep his feet.
His arms ached with the strain, but he didn’t stop. By the time they reached the top and the roadway, everyone was out of breath and panting. Merle began crying.
“The hard part is over, dearest,” Sarah said with her face buried in Levi’s neck. Her voice had grown weaker.
The steep part was over. Levi wasn�
��t sure they were past the hard part. “This way,” he said, and started walking.
They had only gone a little ways when Rosanna called out, “Can we rest now?”
“Sure.” Levi dropped to one knee, allowing Sarah’s weight to rest on his leg and give his aching arms a much-needed break. She still had her face buried against his neck. If the children weren’t present, he would have kissed her and professed his love again and again.
That would have to wait until they were all safe, but the sun would not set tomorrow before he found a way to be alone with Sarah and make his feelings known. Did she care for him at all? He prayed that she could find it in her heart to love him a little.
He struggled to his feet. “Time to go.”
Merle refused to get up. “I can’t go on. I’m tired. I want my daed to come get me.”
“Great,” Levi muttered as he sank to his knee again. He couldn’t carry Sarah and drag the children, too.
“They are scared, Levi. Talk to them. Take their minds off what they have to do.” Sarah’s voice was weaker. He worried about the blow to her head. How serious was it?
He said, “Merle, I heard you’re quite a fisherman. Is that true?”
“Ja,” came the small reply.
Levi rose to his feet and hefted Sarah to a more comfortable position. “What’s the biggest fish you’ve caught?”
“I caught a four-pound bass at our pond.” Merle’s voice grew stronger. “It was a whopper.”
Levi cocked his head to the side and said in mock disbelief, “Four pounds? Nee, not a little fella like you.”
Merle rose to his feet. “I’m stronger than I look.”
Levi hid a grin. “I believe you. Girls, what about you?” He started walking. The children moved close to his side.
Rosanna said, “I caught a six-pound blue cat down at the river.”
“Are you sure it was a blue catfish and not a channel cat? Merle, did you see it?”
“It was a blue cat all right.”
“Some channel cats can look blue.” Levi kept a slow pace, even though his mind screamed at him to hurry for Sarah’s sake.
Merle said, “Channel cats have spots on their sides.”
Levi asked, “Did it have spots, Rosanna?”
“Not a one.”
Phoebe said, “I caught a pumpkin seed.”
“You did?” Levi pretended to be impressed.
Merle looked up at Levi. “It wasn’t very big.”
“But it was real pretty,” Phoebe insisted.
Levi said, “I reckon it was. I think pumpkin seeds are about the prettiest fish around. What about you, Rosanna?”
“I saw a goldfish in a store once. It was beautiful. It had a long tail that looked like a ribbon.”
“You don’t say?”
“I saw it, too.” Merle jumped in to support her claim.
Phoebe said, “I’m cold. Can we stop now?”
“Not yet, Phoebe. We still have a little ways to go.”
“How far?” she demanded.
“Look up ahead. I see a light in the window. Do you see it?”
Phoebe said, “I don’t see anything.”
“I do,” Levi insisted. It was an exaggeration on his part. He couldn’t see more than twenty yards through the snow, but he knew a light was shining in the darkness, waiting to guide them to safety.
“Is it a Christmas candle?” Rosanna asked.
He smiled down at her. “That’s right. It’s a Christmas candle in your aunt’s window. It’s meant to remind all of us that Christ is the light of the world.”
Merle said, “Christmas is God’s birthday.”
“It’s His son’s birthday. We did a play about the birth of Jesus for our school program,” Rosanna told them.
Levi’s aching arms couldn’t hold Sarah any longer. He said, “Let’s rest a moment.”
He dropped to one knee again. Please, Lord, give me the strength I need.
“I’m so sorry this happened. I can stay here while you go on.” Sarah’s voice was weak, her words slurred together.
He redoubled his resolve and struggled to his feet. “I was just giving the kids a break. Rosanna, tell us about your play while we walk.”
Phoebe said, “I was one of the angels.”
Sarah’s arm slipped from around his neck. “Stay with me, Sarah. Did you hear? Phoebe was an angel in her school play.”
“I know.” Relief flooded him at the sound of Sarah’s voice.
“Who did you play, Rosanna?” she asked.
“I played the innkeeper’s wife.”
Merle said, “I’d be Joseph if I was old enough to go to school.”
“You will be old enough one day, Merle.” Levi squinted to see ahead of them. Was it his imagination? No, there was a light.
“Are we there yet?” Phoebe asked.
“We are. This is the lane and up ahead is your Aunt Emma’s house. Can you see it?”
“I see it.” Rosanna’s voice brimmed with relief.
“Me, too.” Merle dropped his loop and ran ahead.
When Levi and the girls arrived, Emma and her husband were at the door. Emma quickly stripped the wet coats from the children and wrapped them in quilts while her husband helped Levi carry Sarah to the sofa.
When she was safely surround by her family, Levi said, “She needs a doctor. She hit her head pretty hard. May I use your buggy?”
Abe patted Levi’s shoulder. “You get out of that wet coat and warm up, son. I’ll fetch the doctor.”
Levi gave his coat to Emma and sank into Abe’s chair.
“Levi?” Sarah called his name and raised her hand. He was on his knees beside her in an instant.
He took her cold hand in his. “What, Sarah?”
“I’ve never heard you talk so much in all the years I’ve known you. You were wonderful. You saved us all.”
“Rest, Sarah. I’ll be right here if you need me.”
“I never doubted it for a moment.” She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. Levi closed his eyes, too, and gave thanks to God for sparing the life of the woman he loved.
* * *
Sunlight was streaming through the window when Sarah opened her eyes. The room in which she lay was vaguely familiar. A sharp headache pounded behind her eyes. Slowly, the events of the previous night came back to her and she realized she was in her aunt’s home.
She tried to sit up but the effort was too much. It made her knee hurt insanely. She grimaced and lay back. Memories of their horrid mishap flashed through her mind. Levi and the children had come so close to death. Once again, the ones she loved had been made to suffer. She folded her hands and bowed her head.
Thank You, Lord, for sparing Levi and the children. Please, God, I won’t love him if only you’ll keep him safe. I’ll be happy for him and Leah, I promise. Have pity on me. Don’t make me endure another loss.
“Are you awake, child?” her aunt asked from the door.
Sarah opened her eyes. “I am. How are the children?”
“Their cuts and scrapes have all been tended. They are fine, but Merle seems to be particularly upset. He says he won’t go back inside a buggy.”
“The poor child. And Levi? He was so sick only a week ago.” Only bad things had happened to him since her feelings for him had begun to change. She couldn’t cause him more pain. She wouldn’t.
“Levi seems fine for a man who didn’t get a wink of sleep for worrying about you. He did put away a good breakfast this morning. That’s always a sign a man is feeling well. He wants to see you when you’re awake. Shall I send him in now?”
Could she face him without revealing her love? Somehow, she had to. “I will see him.”
Her aunt
went out. The door opened again and Levi peeked in. “How are you?”
“Oh, look at your poor face. You have a black eye.” It was all her fault. If he had gone straight to Leah’s home, none of this would have happened. Why did everyone she love end up getting hurt?
“I’ve had worse than this.” He dismissed her concern.
He might pretend it didn’t bother him, but Sarah knew better. It must hurt as much as her knee. How had he found the strength to carry her so far?
Don’t think about how much you want to be held in his arms again.
She stared at the quilt pattern on the bed. “What happened last night?”
“We lost a wheel and tipped over in the worst possible spot. But we are all alive to tell the tale. God was merciful.”
God had shown mercy last night, but what about next time? She couldn’t bear the thought of losing Levi. It would be painful to see him happy with Leah, but she could live with that if he was safe.
He moved closer and pulled a chair to the side of her bed. Her heart started beating like crazy.
He took her hand and gazed into her eyes. “I’m so thankful you are safe, Sarah. Last night, when I came to in the buggy and couldn’t find you, I thought I would never have the chance to tell you this. I love you, Sarah.”
Her eyes flew open wide. “No, you don’t.”
“I know my own heart. I do love you. What I don’t know is how you feel.”
Terrified. Wonderful. Sad. If only I could love you in return, but I don’t dare. My heart is breaking, but you can never know that.
She looked out the window. “You’re simply feeling guilty about the accident. You don’t love me. You are in love with Leah.”
“Leah? Why would you think that?”
She looked at him and saw astonishment written on his face. “I saw you kiss her.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know who you saw kissing Leah, but it surely wasn’t me.”
Had she been mistaken? No, she had seen Leah in his arms. “The day you sold her a new buggy, I saw you holding her in the shop. She was in your arms. You were about to kiss her. And that’s fine. She is a wonderful woman.”
“She had a cinder in her eye. I was trying to get it out. I wasn’t going to kiss her. The thought never crossed my mind. It is you I wish to kiss, Sarah Wyse. If you can love me even half as much as you loved Jonas, I will spend my life trying to make you happy. Say that you will marry me.”
A Hope Springs Christmas Page 17
