The Amish Wonders Collection

by Ruth Reid

  “Amanda is okay. You have to trust me.”

  Mattie leaned forward. “But how do you know?”

  “She’s one of my kids.”

  Mattie’s brows puckered. She sank lower in the chair and crossed her arms.

  “I’ve visited her in the home, and I call and check on her—daily.” She was upset with him, and he didn’t like keeping secrets from her. “Amanda saw a doctor. She had a mild case of chicken pox, and from what I was told, the sores have scabbed over.”

  Mattie leaned forward. “I want to see her.” She tapped the tip of her index finger on the table. “The court papers granted me two hours a week.”

  “I’m working on that.” He pointed to her sandwich. “Eat. You need your strength.”

  “Bo, I’m serious. I have to see her.”

  “Then I suggest you eat.” He glanced at his watch. It wouldn’t be much longer before Nathan’s procedure was completed and he was back in his room.

  Mattie sat in the waiting room. After lunch, Bo mentioned he had to meet someone in the lobby. She didn’t mind. It gave her a few minutes alone. She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. Perhaps a short nap would help. She’d never been this exhausted. Mattie touched her forehead and cringed. She had a fever. No wonder she was roasting hot. A pang of fear crept into her mind when her clothes felt scratchy on her skin and she began to itch. This wasn’t the time to get sick. Nathan needed her.

  “Mama!”

  Mattie’s eyes shot open at the sound of Amanda’s voice. Seeing her daughter snuggled in Bo’s arms, Mattie bounded up from the chair. “How did—Where did you—Can I hold her?”

  “Of course.” He lowered Amanda into Mattie’s arms.

  Mattie hugged her daughter. “Danki,” she whispered to Bo.

  “I’ll wait in the hall and give you some time alone.”

  As he started to leave, Amanda called out his name. Mattie was stunned. Her daughter didn’t warm up to strangers.

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes, pumpkin.” His gaze traveled from Amanda to Mattie and he winked. “Enjoy your time.”

  Mattie’s face heated. A handsome man hadn’t winked at her in years—and an Englisch man at that. Bo Lambright had not only charmed her daughter, he’d charmed her.

  Chapter Thirty

  Taking a child from her mother was never easy. Amanda was no exception. She and Mattie both bawled when he separated them. But he had promised Mrs. Appleton that he would have Amanda back by the time she finished running errands.

  “It’s been barely an hour,” Mattie protested.

  “I’m sorry. I told her foster mother—”

  “I’m her mother.” Mattie cried harder, which made Amanda cry harder.

  Bo patted Amanda’s back. Maybe this was a mistake. They were starting to draw attention from the nurses. One even poked her head inside the room to check on the commotion. “She needs a nap,” he explained. He didn’t like Mattie scowling at him, but it couldn’t be helped. “I’ll be back in a minute and we can talk about a longer visit next time.”

  Mattie followed him into the hall.

  “Wait here, please.” He couldn’t allow her to follow him down to the lobby. It was against regulations for the mother to know who the foster family was. Amanda cried so hard that when he finally got her settled down, she fell asleep in his arms. She picked up her head when the elevator dinged, but then lowered it against his shoulder.

  Not seeing Mrs. Appleton in the lobby, Bo strolled the area. He didn’t want to wake Amanda and she seemed content in his arms. Holding her, a surge of protectiveness welled up inside him. He’d cared for several infants, but none that captured his heart the way Amanda had. She was precious, and he silently vowed to find a way to return her home.

  “I hope I didn’t keep you waiting,” Mrs. Appleton said, entering the lobby.

  “Not at all. I appreciate you going out of your way like this.”

  “It really wasn’t out of my way. I had errands to run. I was just glad Amanda’s chicken pox was scabbed over and she was no longer contagious.”

  “Me too.” Bo slipped sleepy Amanda into Mrs. Appleton’s arms just as Erica Davis and Norton Farley entered the hospital. He turned his back to his boss and Davis. “I’ll call you later,” he whispered to Mrs. Appleton, who thought he was doing it for the sake of the sleeping child and nodded.

  He waited for her to leave, then slipped down the hall to the cafeteria. He needed a cup of coffee and Mattie would probably want one too. A few minutes later, coffee in hand, he stepped into the elevator. Remembering he’d left the bag with the Amish clothes in Josh’s room, he pressed the second-floor button.

  He entered Josh’s room and froze. Erica Davis and Norton Farley were interviewing Josh about the accident. He glanced at the Walkers standing near the window, but couldn’t get a read of their expression. Had the Walkers changed their minds about taking Josh back?

  His boss glanced at Bo, then turned back to Josh. “Will you excuse me a minute, please?” Norton addressed Bo. “Lambright, we need to talk.” His face was a bright candy-apple red as he marched past him.

  Bo spotted the bag of Amish clothes he’d left in the room last night and snatched it from the floor. He patted Josh’s arm. “Don’t get into any more trouble, you hear?”

  “I won’t,” Josh mumbled.

  Bo left the room with Davis trailing behind him.

  Norton’s face was still sunburnt red. “What were you doing with the Diener child in the lobby?”

  Bo cleared his throat. “Before you get hot under the collar, I have a court order granting the mother supervised visitation.”

  “You’re on suspension, or did you forget that?”

  “I’m also the court-appointed supervisor.”

  “You should have deferred it to someone else in the department.” Norton spoke in a low voice, the muscle in his jaw flexing.

  “It would have gotten caught in red tape.” Bo glanced at Davis leaning against the wall, arms folded, a wry grin on her face. He looked back at Norton. “Time was running out. The boy’s dying, and not from anything the mother did. The doctor found out today Nathan Diener has chicken pox. It’s not child abuse.”

  “I have internal investigators breathing down my neck. And now I have a foster kid—one of yours—who ran away from home and was injured in a car accident. You knew about the accident yesterday and yet you didn’t report it to the agency.”

  “I should have,” Bo admitted.

  “Yes, Lambright, you should have.” Norton wagged his head in disgust, his hands on his hips. “You’re going to find yourself skinned by those investigators, and I’m not going to be able to help you.”

  “I understand.”

  “Even when you go by your gut, you have to follow the rules.” Norton sighed. “Let’s hope this stays buried until after the review board’s hearing.”

  Bo caught a glimpse of Davis’s arched brows and had a sinking feeling none of this would stay buried.

  Once Norton went back into Josh’s room, Davis came up beside him making a tsk, tsk sound. “I think you might find your suspension extended.”

  “Maybe.”

  She lifted her hand to her chin and tapped her index finger against her jaw. “Why are you doing it?”

  “To help an innocent woman. By the way, I didn’t appreciate your phone call the other day. Even if I could sway the Amish, I wouldn’t encourage them to sell their mineral rights.”

  “Great Northern Expeditions wants to buy the Amish land. They’re heavy contributors to your mother’s campaign as well as my father’s. It’s in everyone’s best interest for the Amish to sell.”

  “I don’t agree. Besides, I don’t have any influence in their decisions. I’m an outsider.”

  She snorted. “Are you sure about that?”

  He turned and stormed away. He’d heard enough. Bo was even more convinced politicians had their dirty hands in everything. He wished his mother wasn’t one of them. Bo step
ped into the elevator and pressed the button for the third floor. When the doors opened again, Mattie was sobbing uncontrollably, waiting to get on.

  She rushed inside, and he caught the elevator doors just in time to bolt back in before they closed. Mattie sobbed so hard on the way to the lobby, she couldn’t express a single discernable word. Once the doors opened, she darted toward the main entrance. Bo wasn’t able to stop her until they were outside on the sidewalk.

  “Mattie, take a deep breath.”

  She drew in a hitched breath and waved what looked like a prescription. “I . . . I-I have shingles.” She motioned to a red streak that ran from her neck up the side of her face next to her ear. “I have to take medicine.”

  “I’m sorry.” Bo didn’t know what else to say. Shingles was the reactivated form of the chicken pox virus.

  “Th-they said it was t-too dangerous for the patients. I’m contagious.” Another wave of sobs overtook her. He helped her to a nearby bench and encouraged her to sit and catch her breath, unaware of the cameraman and news reporter approaching until they called out Mattie’s name.

  Bo shielded her from the storm of questions while at the same time hailing a cab that was parked near the entrance.

  “They’re never going to leave me alone, are they?”

  Bo glanced out the back window. They weren’t following yet, but they wouldn’t be far behind. “We’ll have to get your prescription filled later.”

  Mattie was silent on the ride back to her farm and Bo spent the time in prayer. When they reached the area where the trees blocked the gravel road, Mattie got out of the car and started hiking, arms swinging. He paid the driver and hurried to catch up with her. By the time he reached her, she was angry.

  “You took Nathan away from me.”

  “You’re going to get him back once everything is sorted out.”

  She whirled around to face him. “What if God takes him first?”

  Bo swallowed hard. The same thought was in the back of his mind, and he’d been fighting to keep it stuffed away.

  A news van pulled to the fallen log and parked. The reporter jumped out first with a cameraman close behind.

  Mattie took off running, cutting into the dense woods and disappearing in the copse of towering jack pines.

  Bo cut off the news reporter. “You’re on private property.”

  “We just want to ask a few questions,” the reporter said.

  Bo held up his hand to block his face. “Turn off the camera if you want to speak with me.”

  The reporter signaled to the cameraman.

  “I’ll only talk off the record,” Bo said.

  “Agreed.” The reporter pulled a small pad of paper and pen from his shirt pocket.

  “No comment.” Bo turned and walked away.

  “Hey, what happened to ‘off the record’?”

  Bo turned. “Give me your business card. You’ll get a full story—if I don’t see your van around here again.”

  “When?”

  Bo shrugged. “I’ll call.” He scanned the wooded area in the direction Mattie had fled. He’d give her space and stay on the road. Reaching the house before she did, he tossed the bag of Amish clothes in his car. He would wash them before giving them back. Bo plopped down on the porch step and buried his head in his hands. “Lord, this is all my fault. I should have fought harder to close the case. I should have insisted that Davis be assigned to someone else. Lord, please don’t take Nathan. Please, please, please heal him.”

  He waited over an hour for Mattie to surface from the woods. She carried her prayer kapp in her hand. Her chestnut hair hung down past her shoulders, and as she drew closer, he noticed her blotchy face and swollen eyes.

  “What did the news people want?” She held up her hand. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

  He stood and followed her up the steps.

  “I don’t feel like having company,” she said, scratching the back of her neck.

  “I won’t stay long.”

  Surprisingly, she let him follow her into the house.

  “You can be upset with me, but don’t get angry with God. Don’t lose faith.”

  She tossed her kapp on the table and went to the sink where she turned on the tap, then cupped a handful of water and splashed it over her face.

  He came up beside her as she dried her face with a hand towel. He cupped her shoulder and turned her so that she was facing him. Bo tipped her chin up. “God is near to the brokenhearted.”

  Tears welled and her face contorted.

  Bo ushered her into his arms and held her tight. “I’m so sorry this is happening, Mattie. I’m so sorry.”

  She clung to him several minutes, then pushed off his chest. “Have you had chicken pox?”

  “Yes,” he said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I don’t care if I get shingles.”

  She cracked a smile. “Gut.”

  He returned her smile. “I would have guessed you’d like to see me covered in spots and scratching like a flea-infested dog.”

  She lowered her head, and her hair cascaded over her face. “I’m sorry I took mei frustration out on you.”

  “You don’t need to apologize.”

  “Jah, I do. You’ve been very kind to me. You didn’t have to bail me out of jail or make arrangements for me to see mei kinner, but you did. It says a lot about your character. You’re a gut man.” She scratched her neck and grimaced.

  “You don’t have fleas, do you?”

  “That’s nett funny.” She opened a kitchen drawer and searched its contents. “I should have calamine lotion in here somewhere.”

  “I’ve heard honey works too,” he offered.

  “So does brown vinegar, but I’d have to bathe in it.”

  “Oh, I guess that’s my cue to leave.”

  She started to open the cabinet that Grace had emptied of honey and stopped. “I was hoping you would use your cell phone and call about Nathan before you left.”

  “I can do that.” Bo removed his phone from his pant pocket and dialed the number for the hospital. He asked for Doctor Oshay, and after a brief hold, the operator returned on the line to say he wasn’t answering his page. Bo asked to be connected to the pediatric nurses’ station, and a moment later was told there hadn’t been any change.

  “No change,” he repeated aloud for Mattie.

  Her hopeful smile dwarfed into a frown.

  “I think that’s good news,” Bo said. “The nurse said he was holding his own.”

  Mattie nodded, but Bo wasn’t sure she truly agreed.

  She had expected the same news he had wanted to hear: Nathan’s condition had miraculously changed—he was healed—but that wasn’t the case. Bo slipped his phone back into his pocket. “I’ll check on him again.”

  “And you’ll let me know?”

  “Of course, and if he gets worse, I’ll sneak you into the hospital to see him too. But I’m believing in a miracle.”

  “Me too.”

  He paused at the door. “Maybe we should pray again before I leave.”

  She smiled. “I’d like that.”

  “Father, we ask that You watch over Nathan. Heal his body fully. Please give Mattie peace over this situation and heal her as well. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

  “Danki. You have a way of calming mei nerves when you pray,” she said.

  “Then God has answered mei prayer.” He reached for the doorknob.

  “Don’t forget to let me know.”

  “I won’t.” He would give her a daily update just so he had a reason to see her. Bo told her good-bye and headed down the driveway. Then realizing he needed his car to be able to come get her for an emergency, he stopped at Ben and Grace’s house.

  Ben came to the door, but instead of inviting Bo inside to talk, Ben stepped onto the porch. “What can I do for you?”

  “I was wondering if there’s a way we could move the tree blocking the road. I’d like to be able to drive my car. It’s been p
arked at Mattie’s house.”

  “I saw it there earlier.”

  “My car was there overnight, but I wasn’t. I hope it didn’t cause any problems with Mattie’s reputation.”

  “What is it you want with her?”

  “I’m trying to help get her children back. I’m not sure if you’re aware, but Nathan was diagnosed with chicken pox. Amanda has them, and now Mattie has shingles, which is another form of the same virus.”

  “No, I didn’t know.”

  “Amanda and Mattie are doing okay, but Nathan has a rare form in that the lesions develop internally. He might need a liver transplant.”

  Ben looked stunned. “I’ve never heard of chicken pox doing that.”

  “I hadn’t either. Apparently the doctors didn’t catch his symptoms and that’s why they mistakenly accused Mattie of child abuse.”

  “So they’re dropping the charges?”

  “It’ll take some time, but I’ll see that it happens,” Bo assured him.

  Ben eyed him a moment. “We were going to wait to move that big oak until after things settled down. We wanted to keep the Englischers off our land.”

  “So I was told.”

  Ben smiled. “But I suppose we can’t keep your car ransom. I need to grab my hat and gloves, then we can hitch the team.”

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Over the following days Mattie had a flood of visitors stop to check on her and to drop off meals, but every time someone came to the door, she was hoping to see Bo.

  “You look disappointed,” Grace’s aenti Erma said. “Don’t you like split pea soup?”

  “Jah, I do.” Mattie opened the door wider and stepped aside. “I keep hoping it’s Bo.”

  “I figured as much. Do you think that’s a healthy desire?”

  Heat rushed to Mattie’s face. “He promised to check on Nathan and keep me updated on his condition.”

  Erma set the container of soup on the counter, then pulled a chair out from the table and sat. “Grace had a doctor’s appointment. They’re keeping a close eye on her since there’s an increased risk to be exposed to chicken pox while you’re pregnant.”