Amish Christmas Twins

by Patricia Davids

  “That doesn’t sound good,” Noah said.

  Nick shook his head. “We don’t suspect foul play. According to the Columbus police, the woman is involved in a custody situation. They think she disappeared on purpose.”

  “Millersburg is quite a ways from here,” John said. “Any reason to think she is in our area?”

  “None, but we’re conducting a statewide search. We take missing children seriously. I wish we had posters to put up, but strangely there aren’t any photographs of this woman or her children.”

  “They must be Amish,” Noah joked.

  Nick chuckled. “They aren’t Amish. Her husband was wanted for embezzlement before he was killed about six months ago. She’s about five feet two inches tall with blond hair and blue eyes. The twins are blonde with blue eyes, too. The woman was last seen wearing a red coat and carrying a purple backpack. That’s all we know.”

  Noah leaned forward. “Is she a criminal, too?”

  “Let’s just say we want to talk to her.”

  John remained silent. Nick had just described Willa the first day they met. No wonder she looked frightened when Nick came through the front door. Why were they looking for her and her children? What had she done? He was tempted to ask Nick but decided he owed Willa the chance to explain.

  The men arrived at the fire station a short time later. John put his concerns about Willa aside and concentrated on the meeting he was required to attend. The safety of his community and his fellow firefighters might depend on the information that was shared by the emergency preparedness officers. It wasn’t until they were on their way to Noah’s later that evening that John wondered exactly how he was going to question Willa.

  Nick’s cell phone rang as he turned into the horse farm. He pulled it from his pocket and listened to the caller for a minute before he said, “I’m heading home now. I’ll pick up Joshua and Mary. We’ll meet you at the hospital in thirty minutes.”

  He hung up. Noah leaned forward in the back seat. “Is something wrong?”

  “My wife thinks her mother is having another heart attack. It doesn’t look good.”

  Noah laid a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “Let us know if we can help.”

  “I will. I need to get going.”

  Nick drove John home and then took off with his red lights flashing as soon as John was out of the car. John climbed the steps slowly and opened his front door with reluctance.

  Willa was waiting at the kitchen table when John walked in. Her face was pale, but she looked composed. She clutched a mug of coffee in her hands. Before he could speak, she said, “I have some explaining to do, but would you like your supper first?”

  “Our fire chief brought pizza for everyone, so you don’t need to fix me anything.”

  She took a deep breath and raised her chin. “That’s too bad. I was hoping for a short reprieve. What did Sheriff Bradley say about me?”

  “He noticed that you were frightened, and he asked me if I knew why.”

  She pressed her lips tightly together. “What did you tell him?”

  “Only what I know, which isn’t much. I told him that your husband died recently, that a police officer brought you the news and that you weren’t expecting to see another officer at our door tonight. He also mentioned there is a missing-person report for a woman with twin daughters who got off a bus outside Millersburg.”

  Willa rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if she were cold. “I can’t believe they tracked me to the bus station so quickly.”

  He took a seat opposite her at the table. “Willa, who is looking for you?”

  She gripped her mug again and lifted her chin to meet his gaze. “My husband’s parents are looking for me. They want custody of my daughters. They want to raise them as their own and to make sure I never see them.”

  He didn’t understand. “How would such a thing be possible? Have they told you this?”

  “I have never met them, but that is what they told Glen. My husband said they filed a police report claiming we were unfit parents a month after the girls were born and that a judge had granted them temporary custody. Glen said we could never fight them in court. They have too much money and too much influence, so we took the babies and ran. If his parents or the police locate us, they will take the girls away from me and I may never see them again. I could even go to jail for disobeying a court order.”

  John read the sincerity in Willa’s frank gaze. He raked a hand through his hair. He didn’t know what he had been expecting, but it wasn’t this.

  She took a sip of her coffee and waited for him to speak. He had no idea what to say. He couldn’t imagine his friend Nick taking the twins away from their mother. “Your husband’s parents have been looking for you since the girls were newborns?”

  “They have a private investigator looking for us. My husband spent the last three years trying to keep our whereabouts a secret, but we were always discovered. Many times we had to leave at a moment’s notice to avoid being caught.”

  “That must have been a difficult way to live.”

  She lowered her gaze. “It was. It took money and planning to hide from those looking for us. Glen was the one who did all that. I simply followed him. I discovered how difficult it was after he was gone. I couldn’t do it alone.”

  “Why go to your grandfather? Surely his family would know to look for you among your relatives.”

  “Glen told them I was an orphan when he called them to tell them he had gotten married. He thought they would stop hounding him if he proved he was starting a new life. As far as I know, Glen’s family has no idea I was raised Amish. He was ashamed of my backward ways, my odd speech, my ignorance of modern technology. I tried very hard to become English enough for him.”

  John could tell by the sadness in her eyes that she hadn’t been able to accomplish her mission. “So you came to hide among us.”

  “I didn’t know what else to do. I prayed my family would take us in. My grandfather wouldn’t. He didn’t believe I sincerely wanted to return to the faith, but he told me to go to his sister in Hope Springs. He loaned me the horse and buggy for the trip. You know the rest of the story.”

  “Your plan is still to continue to Hope Springs?”

  “It is. I’m hoping and praying that no one will look for me there. I love my daughters more than my own life. I will do anything to keep them with me. The question now is what will you do with this information?”

  John hadn’t known Willa long, but she wasn’t an unfit mother. He was certain of that. “Nick Bradley is a friend, but he is an outsider. The Englisch ways are not our ways. We have our own laws laid down by God and the church. The law that says you are a poor mother is an unjust law.”

  She breathed a deep sigh of relief. “It means a lot to hear you say that.”

  “I’m pleased you feel you can confide in me.”

  A pink flush stained her cheeks. “You and your mother deserve to know the truth.”

  He rose to his feet and crossed to the sink, not wanting her to see how moved he was by her trust in him. After years of hiding and then finding out he was friends with the sheriff, it had taken courage for her to reveal her story. He poured out his cold coffee.

  Willa brought her cup to empty it into the sink, too. “Do you think the sheriff will come back? That he will guess who I am?”

  “He said he isn’t looking for an Amish woman. He has met you and he has no reason to doubt you are anything but a visiting Amish friend of ours.”

  They stood shoulder to shoulder in the silence of the still house. He looked down at her bowed head. The top of her kapp wouldn’t reach his chin unless she stood on tiptoe. She was such a tiny woman to bear such a large burden. It would be easy to put his arm around her and draw her close.

  The thought shocked him. He never imagine
d he would want another woman in his arms after Katie died, but he did. He wanted to hold Willa and not just to comfort her. He wanted to be comforted by her. The urge was overwhelming. He had to grip the edge of the sink to keep his hands from doing just that.

  He had no right to touch her and no reason to think she would welcome his embrace. “You are a brave woman, Willa Lapp. I’ve never met anyone quite like you.”

  “I don’t feel brave.” She slanted a glance up at him. “Will you tell your bishop about me?”

  “Since you are leaving, I don’t see the need to inform him about this, but I urge you to do so when you reach your family in Hope Springs. It is always wise to seek the council of holy men.”

  “I’m sorry I put you in a difficult position with your friend. It is a poor way to repay your kindness. I did tell your mother all of this. I assumed that she would tell you.”

  “It makes me wonder why she did not.”

  “You don’t think it simply slipped her mind?”

  He gave her a wry smile and shook his head. “Not for a minute.”

  Chapter Eight

  The sound of tires crunching through the snow outside brought Willa bolt upright in bed later that night. Car lights shone through the window. Had the sheriff come back? Was he going to take her children?

  She jumped out of bed, pulled a robe over her nightgown and rushed into the hall. John came out of his room fully dressed. He carried a flashlight in his hand. The beam illuminated a circle on the floor, but it gave enough light for her to see his face. “It’s all right, Willa. Go back to bed. I’m being called out for a fire.”

  The painful hammering of her heart slowed. “I thought the sheriff had returned.”

  “It is only the Englisch neighbor who collects Amish volunteers in our area.” He spoke softly.

  As her panic receded, she realized he was heading out to fight a blaze in frigid conditions. Would it be dangerous for him? “What kind of fire is it?”

  He stood inches away from her. “I don’t know the details. I’ll learn more when I reach the fire station.”

  “Be careful, John.”

  He touched her cheek. “I trust God to keep me safe as you should, too.”

  She wanted to grasp his hand, but she didn’t. “I sometimes think He is busy elsewhere and isn’t paying attention to me.”

  “Never think that. He is with us always. Go back to bed.” He slipped past her and went out the door, letting in a blast of cold air.

  She pulled her robe more tightly around her. She hadn’t realized how much she did doubt God’s mercy until this instant. The faith that had sustained her since childhood hung by a thread. What kind of life would she have if she lost it?

  Unable to go back to bed, she went into the kitchen and made a sandwich for herself and one for John in case he was hungry when he returned. Spreading the mayo, she realized she hadn’t given a thought to the people affected by the fire. Laying down her knife, she folded her hands and asked God to watch over John and the other firefighters. The lives or livelihoods of a family somewhere might be in peril. She prayed for them, too.

  Picking up her knife again, she finished cutting the sandwich and carried her plate into the living room, where the window looked out toward the lane. She settled in a chair, ate a few bites and kept watch for John’s return.

  The clouds in the east held the barest hint of pink when a red pickup turned into the lane and stopped by the house. John got out, and the vehicle drove away. She couldn’t help but notice the tired slump of his shoulders as he approached the house.

  He looked surprised when she opened the door for him. “What are you doing up so early?”

  Willa stretched her stiff neck as she took in his grime-covered face. “I couldn’t sleep. You look tired. Was it a bad fire?”

  “Bad enough.” He walked into the kitchen, turned on the water and began to wash his face.

  She waited until he finished washing and drying off. “Was it a family you know?”

  He shook his head. “A gasoline tanker truck missed a corner and overturned on the highway about four miles south of here. The truck caught on fire. We managed to get the driver out before the truck exploded. It was a near thing. Then we had to keep the fire from spreading to a nearby house. We did with the help of another fire crew. The driver had some injuries, but the paramedics said they thought he’d be okay.”

  “That is a wonderful blessing.”

  “Some family will have a much happier Christmas, that’s for sure.”

  “I made you a sandwich, but would you like me to cook something?”

  “A sandwich is fine. I’m going to try to catch a few winks before we have to leave for church. You should do the same.”

  “I will.”

  She started down the hallway but stopped when he spoke. “Thanks for waiting up for me.”

  “I knew I was going to worry, so there was no point in trying to sleep.”

  “To worry is to doubt God.”

  “Perhaps, but it’s a skill I have perfected.” She walked on down the hall and wondered if that would ever change.

  * * *

  John woke when the sunlight brightened his room. A glance at the clock showed it was time to get his chores done before church. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and sat up. Had Willa gotten any sleep? She needed to take better care of herself.

  He dressed quickly in the cold room. As he started to make the bed, he realized he hadn’t thought about Katie for almost an entire day. Missing her beside him had been his first thought each morning and his last thought at night since her death. This morning his first thoughts had been for Willa.

  He sat on the side of the bed and waited for the sharp pain of grief to return, but it didn’t. He missed Katie. He missed her friendship and her smile, but he remembered those things with a gentle sadness. What had changed? He knew the answer as soon as the question formed in his mind.

  Willa and her daughters had brought a new energy into his home, and if he admitted the truth, she brought a special light into his life. He saw himself more clearly. He saw how crippling his grief had been. He would always miss Katie, but perhaps it was time to lay his sorrow to rest.

  An hour later John stomped the snow from his boots on the front porch and stepped onto the rag rug inside the kitchen. Willa was wiping strawberry jelly from Lucy’s face. He noticed the dark circles under her eyes had reappeared. She had been too worried about him to sleep. Did that mean she cared about him?

  Today was her last day with them. A few days ago, he had been eager to see the last of her. Now he didn’t want to think about her leaving. When had he become such a fickle fellow?

  He knew the answer. When Willa had slipped her hand in his and said that she trusted him. He wasn’t sure he had earned her trust, but it pleased him to know she gave it freely.

  “We’re almost ready.” She turned to wipe Megan’s face next and lifted her from the booster seat his mother had unearthed from somewhere.

  “Bundle them up well. It’ll be a cold ride. Are you sure you are up for this?”

  She straightened and pressed a hand to the small of her back. “Ask me in an hour. Can we make it through this much snow with the buggy?”

  “The roads have been plowed. We won’t have any trouble. You may want to put some bricks in your pockets today as long as they are hot ones. You’ll need them.”

  She gave him a sad smile. “At least you won’t have to try to lift me up onto the wagon the way you did a little over a week ago.”

  Was that all it had been since he’d met her on the road to her grandfather’s farm? Sometimes he forgot she was little more than a stranger. It felt as if he had known her for ages.

  She grimaced and bent from side to side. “My aching back is not looking forward to the dr
ive. I didn’t have this kind of pain during my pregnancy with the girls until I went into labor.”

  He reeled with shock. “Are you in labor now? Shall I get the midwife? Where is my mother?”

  She had the nerve to laugh at him. “I’m not in labor, John. I know what that feels like. This feels like I’ve been lifting twenty-pound sacks of potatoes all morning.”

  He strode past her to lift Lucy out of her high chair, hoping to hide the red tide he felt rising up his neck. “Perhaps too many rundlich boppli like this one.”

  Willa took Lucy from him and balanced the girl on her hip. “She is not a plump baby. She is exactly where she should be for her age.” She scowled at his feet. “And you are getting my clean floor dirty.”

  He looked at the trail of melting snow and barn muck he’d left as he crossed the kitchen. “It is my floor. I will get it dirty if it pleases me.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “I hope it pleases you to mop it. I’ve already done that once this morning, and I need to get the children ready for church. The mop is on the back porch.” She tipped her head toward the door and walked out of the room.

  John allowed a smile to slip free as he watched her carry Lucy to the back bedroom. Megan followed after her.

  “What are you grinning about?” his mother asked as she came in from the living room. She carried several flannel-wrapped bricks that she placed in the oven.

  “Willa is sadly lacking in demut. Have you noticed that?”

  “Nee, I have not noticed a lack of the humbleness in her, but why should that make you smile?”

  “Because it is my kitchen floor.”

  “You aren’t making any sense. Are you sick?” She reached up to lay a hand on his forehead.

  “Nee, I’m not sick. Make sure Willa and the girls are bundled well and you do the same. I don’t want you coming down sick.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I feel fine.” She glanced toward the back bedroom. “It is our last day together. I will miss them when they go. This house hasn’t felt so alive in years.”