“I can give you a hand restretching the wire fencing,” Joshua offered.
“Sure.”
Joshua set to work pulling the old staples that held the wire onto the wooden fence posts. “Have you known Mary long?”
“Since she first came here. Four years now, I guess it is.”
“Did you know her husband?”
“Nee, I’m not sure she was married. If that’s the case, I don’t hold it against her. We all make mistakes. She’s a fine woman, and her little girl is as sweet as they come.”
Joshua mulled over that startling bit of information. Did it change the way he felt about her? He wasn’t sure, and that shamed him. “Hannah said her father has gone to heaven.”
“That is what Mary told Bishop Zook when she joined our congregation. He was an Englisch fellow, and that’s all I know about him.”
Joshua stared at the house. “Does she mourn him still?”
“That I cannot tell you, but she doesn’t go to the singings and she has turned down a lot of fellows who have tried to ask her out. Some people say she’s too particular. I think she’ll come around when the right fellow shows an interest.”
Joshua glanced at his companion. “It could be the right fellow doesn’t live around here.”
Delbert stared at Joshua for a long moment, then he burst out laughing and slapped Joshua on the back hard enough to make him wince. “Only God knows the right one for each of us. If He has someone in mind for her, then that’s the one she’ll wed, and it won’t matter where he’s from. We should finish this pen right quick. Others need my help today.”
The man had a big heart to match his big frame. “Delbert, I need to find a way to get to Bowmans Crossing as soon as possible.”
“Why can’t you get home the same way you got here?”
“My buggy was wrecked in the storm and my horse was injured.”
“Sorry to hear that. I know a fellow in Hope Springs that drives Amish folks. I’ll take you by his house. If he can’t take you, well, you’re handy with a hammer. You’ll be most welcome to join the rest of us in the cleanup.”
Joshua was ready to get home. He would miss his growing friendship with Mary, but it was better to leave before the attachment deepened. He had no illusions about his chances with her and the less he had to do with her father, the better. She wasn’t the one for him. Joshua didn’t believe Delbert was the man for her, either, but he wished the big fellow well in his pursuit of her.
Delbert looked around and lowered his voice. “I should warn you about the Beachy twins.”
Joshua looked toward the porch roof, where the two young men were finishing the last of the repairs. “What about them?”
“They have a knack for playing pranks on folks. Harmless pranks for the most part, but beware. You might sit down on a chair and get up to find a red bull’s-eye painted on the seat of your pants. It happened to me and I never did figure out how they did it.”
Joshua laughed outright at Delbert’s pained expression. “I’ll beware of them. Danki.”
* * *
“What can be so funny?” Mary stood at the window watching Delbert and Joshua out by the henhouse.
“What’s that, child?” Ada asked. She was at the kitchen table wrapping sandwiches and packing them into boxes.
“Joshua and Delbert are out there slapping each other on the back and laughing like a pair of fools.” It was an exaggeration on her part, but she had a sneaking suspicion that they were laughing at her expense.
“The Lord has blessed Delbert with a wunderbar sense of humor. The man likes to make other people smile. There’s nothing wrong in that. Would you pack the plates for me? I expect there will be a lot of hungry people working in Hope Springs today. We’ll need to fill some jugs with water, too.”
Mary turned away from the window. If the town had seen the same kind of destruction she had witnessed, it would be bad. She was foolish and vain to be worrying about what Joshua Bowman thought of her. She put him out of her mind and began helping Ada prepare lunches.
A few minutes later, Joshua walked in the door. “I wanted to thank you for your hospitality. I’m going to ride into Hope Springs with Delbert and check on my horse, then I’m going to try and find a ride home.”
The twins came down the stairs. Atlee patted Hannah on the head. “That should keep the rain from coming in, Hannah Banana. Take care.” They doffed their hats and went out.
Joshua went to collect his gear. When he returned, Ada handed him a large box. “Take this with you and tell Delbert to leave it at the Wadler Inn in Hope Springs. The twins said it is still standing. We don’t have room for everything in our little cart and our pony Fred can’t pull a bigger wagon.”
Joshua nodded. “I’ll be happy to do that for you. Anything else?”
“Nee. Bless you for all your help and for taking care of Mary and Hannah.”
“It was my pleasure.”
Mary didn’t want to say goodbye to him. Not yet. Berlin wasn’t that far away. He could find an excuse to return if he wanted to. Did he want to?
“Will we see you again?” she asked quickly, and then looked at her feet. That was too bold of her.
“I would like that,” he said quietly.
Her cheeks grew warm. She knew she was blushing. Then she realized he didn’t know anything about her. Not really. When he learned her history, he’d run the other way, and that was fine. She didn’t need a fellow to like her. Only—wouldn’t it be nice if he did?
Hannah ran and bounced to a stop in front of him. “Goodbye, Joshua. When will I see you again?”
“That’s hard to say. I live a long way from here.”
“But you could come for a visit. He’s welcome to visit, isn’t he, Mamm?”
“Of course he is,” Ada said when Mary remained silent.
“Danki, Ada. Goodbye, Hannah. Goodbye, Mary.”
“Goodbye.” Clenching her fingers together until they ached kept Mary from saying anything else. She was a terrible judge of men. The ones she’d thought cared for her had hurt her unbearably. It was better to keep the memory of Joshua’s kindness rather than count on him and have him fail her.
When she found the courage to look up, he was already out the door. Her spirits plummeted. Would she ever see him again?
“He was a nice young fellow,” Ada said from behind her.
Mary crossed the room to look out the window. “Ja, he was.”
“I’m gonna miss him,” Hannah said and left the room with Bella on her heels.
Mary watched Joshua climb into the buggy with Delbert. The vehicle still tipped heavily to one side. She smiled at the thought of Joshua hanging on to the edge of the seat to keep from sliding into Delbert’s lap all the way into Hope Springs. He would make Hannah laugh when he told her the story.
Only he wouldn’t be back to share it with her.
And it was better that way. Wasn’t it? She didn’t want her daughter growing to depend on someone who would let her down.
That was true, but protecting Hannah from disappointment wasn’t the whole reason Mary didn’t date. The sobering fact was that she didn’t want to like someone and then find out he wasn’t what he seemed. She was terrified of making another mistake. It was better to depend on God and her family. It was enough. Although she was lonely sometimes.
Mary watched until the buggy was out of sight. She wasn’t missing Joshua already, was she? That was ridiculous. They’d known each other for less than two days. A few extraordinary hours. It was foolish to think he’d return to see her and more foolish to wish he would. He surely had a girl waiting back home. He hadn’t mentioned one, but it was the Amish way to keep such things private.
He’d been kind to her and to Hannah. It was silly to read anything else into that kindness.
“The Lord provides,” Ada said.
Mary shot her grandmother a quick look. “The Lord provides what?”
“All that we need.” Ada wore a self-satisfied smile. Humming, she returned to the table to finish packing supplies for their trip into town.
“You’re right. He does.” Mary joined her grandmother at the table. The Lord had supplied a kind man to come to her rescue in the storm and that was all there was to it. She was grateful, but she wouldn’t expect anything more.
Chapter Six
As Joshua rode into town with Delbert, the extent of the destruction became increasingly evident. Where the tornado had reached the town, it had obliterated everything in its path. Houses had been leveled. Mangled cars had been rolled into buildings and trees lay everywhere. Pink insulation and articles of clothing fluttered from the remaining branches of denuded trees that were still upright. It was almost impossible to take in the scope of the damage.
A National Guard soldier had them state their business, and then allowed them to go on after warning them that the town would be closed at 6:00 p.m. and everyone would have to leave unless they were a resident with a habitable house.
A few blocks later, Delbert stopped his horse in front of a building that was little more than a pile of pale bricks. A single wall with an arched window remained standing. The grassy area around the building was covered with brightly colored books.
Delbert whistled through his teeth. “I heard it was bad, but I didn’t know it was this bad.”
“Was this the library?” Joshua had come to value books in his time behind bars. They’d become a solace during the long days and longer nights in his small cell.
Delbert nodded. “Across the street is the Englisch grade school.”
That building was in the same condition as the library. A group of women and children were picking up books and papers off the ground and placing them in large blue plastic bins. Up ahead, Ethan Gingerich had his team of draft horses hitched to a fallen tree that had obscured most of a house. At a word from him, the horses leaned into their collars and pulled the massive trunk into the street. A battered white van emerged from the foliage. It had been crushed against the home. An elderly man moved to look it over.
Delbert sighed. “I reckon Samson Carter can’t take you to Bowmans Crossing today.”
“Why not?”
“Because that is Samson and that is his van. We can ask him if he knows anyone else who can give you a lift if you want?” Delbert waited for Joshua to make a decision.
An elderly woman joined Samson and the two of them stood with their arms around each other surveying the damage to the house and vehicle. She was crying. Everywhere Joshua looked, he saw people picking through the debris of what had once been a town but now resembled an enormous trash heap. Looking down, he noticed an open book on the sidewalk beside the buggy. Its pages fluttered in the breeze. He got out and picked it up. It was a second-grade reader that belonged to a girl named Ann. His mother’s name was Anna.
He turned to Delbert. “I reckon I wasn’t meant to go home today.”
“I thought you had to get back?”
“I have to be home by next Thursday for certain, but my family will understand that I’m needed here until then. I’ll write and let them know.”
“I’ll keep an ear out for anyone going that way.”
“I’d appreciate it.” Holding the book in his hand, Joshua crossed the street and joined the volunteers at the school.
* * *
Mary’s eyes brimmed with unshed tears as she made her way past ruined fields and damaged farms to the outskirts of Hope Springs. Ada clutched Hannah close to her side and kept patting the child’s back to comfort her. Mary knew her grandmother needed comforting as much as Hannah did. Ada loved the community that had welcomed her wholeheartedly when she first arrived.
Ada had once belonged to a strict, ultraconservative Old Order Amish congregation that didn’t allow their young people a choice—they were expected to join the Amish faith. Because their daughter chose to live English, Ada and her husband were forced to shun Miriam. The split was painful for everyone. After Ada’s husband died, she knew the only way she could have contact with Miriam was to leave the community she had lived in for sixty years. Hope Springs became a place of healing for both Ada and Miriam, and ultimately for Mary, too.
She loved the community for the same reason—unconditional acceptance from the gentle people who lived devout plain lives amid the rolling farmland and tree-studded hills. Now the village they both loved had been all but destroyed.
The closer they got to town, the more damage they saw. Broken tree limbs and whole uprooted trees blocked the streets and lanes. At the edge of town, houses and businesses were simply gone. Only rubble remained. They heard the sound of chain saws long before they saw the men working to clear debris. Several large vans with brightly painted letters on their sides were lined up along the road. A group of people stood beside them. Long black cables snaked around them and satellite dishes adorned the tops of the vehicles.
Two young men in military uniforms motioned for Mary to stop at the edge of town. Bella lay on the floorboards of the cart with her head on her paws, but she sat up when they stopped.
One soldier approached the cart. “I’m sorry, ladies. We’ve just been told not to allow anyone down this road. There’s a gas leak. Until the utility company can get in to shut it down, it’s too dangerous. You’ll have to go around.”
“We have food for the volunteers. Sheriff Bradley is expecting us,” Mary said.
A helicopter buzzed low overhead. Hannah looked up. “What are they doing?”
“They’re from one of the television stations. They’re taking video of the storm damage.”
Hannah gave him a puzzled look. “What’s a video?”
He smiled. “Pictures for television.”
“Why?”
“Because this is news.” He pointed toward a side street. “The command post has been set up at the Wadler Inn. If you go two blocks west, you might be able to go north from there. There are still a lot of downed trees and power lines, but I think you can get your buggy through. The power is off to the whole town, so don’t worry about touching the lines. Just be careful.”
“We will. Danki.” Mary started to turn Fred and head the way the young soldier had indicated. The group from the news van approached. One of them carried a large camera on his shoulder aimed in their direction. They were blocking Mary’s way. A woman in a bright red dress came to the side of the cart and held a microphone toward Mary. “Vanetta Jones of WWYT News. Can you tell us how the Amish community is reacting to this disaster?”
The pony, frightened by the commotion, shied away. Mary had trouble controlling him. “We’re here to help our neighbors however we can.”
Ada turned her face away from the camera and held up her hand. “Please, no pictures.” Mary struggled to control the pony, who was threatening to bolt. “Please, let us pass.”
The cameraman and reporter stepped aside. Mary urged her pony forward, happy to leave the intrusive people behind her.
“I can’t believe this is the same town,” Ada said quietly. “I don’t recognize it. I’m not sure which street we’re on.”
Mary wasn’t, either. Nothing identifiable remained among the piles of debris. A sea of broken tree limbs blocked her way. Crushed cars were scattered helter-skelter among roofless and wrecked homes with large red Xs painted on them. Halfway down the second block, an English family sat huddled together on concrete steps. A mother and father with three children, one a baby in the mother’s arms. The baby was crying. The whole family wore dazed expressions. Their clothes were dirty, and only two of them had shoes on. A damaged van sat nearby. The house the steps once led up to was completely gone. Only the bare floors remaine
d. All the nearby homes were in a similar state.
Mary stopped the buggy, handed the reins to Ada and got out. Although she was leery of strangers, she couldn’t pass by these people in need. She pulled a box from the stack behind her seat and carried it to the young couple.
“We have some food and some water for you.”
The man took the box. “Thank you. I don’t know you, do I?”
“We’ve never met. Do you have somewhere to go?”
“We slept in our van last night but it doesn’t run. We can’t leave.”
Mary’s heart ached for them. “We’re on our way to the inn. If they have room, I’ll send word.”
“We don’t have the money to stay there. I don’t know where my wallet is.” He looked around as if expecting to see it on the ground.
“You won’t need money,” Ada said quickly. “God commands us to care for one another. There won’t be any charge.”
Bella hopped out of the cart and trotted up to the young boy and girl seated beside the man. Hannah followed her. The big dog sat and offered her paw to shake. The boy tentatively reached for her foot and shook it. He was rewarded with a quick lick on the cheek.
Hannah said, “This is my dog, Bella. She’s sorry your house got blowed away.” All the children began to pet her. Their faces slowly lost their hollow expressions.
Mary spoke to the young mother. “What do you need for the baby?”
She glanced around. “Everything. Diapers, formula, a crib.”
“All right. We’ll be back later. For now, I have some dry blankets and some kitchen towels you can use as cloth diapers until we return.” Mary got the supplies from the back of the cart and gave them to her.
“Bless you.” The young mother started crying and her husband pulled her close.
Amish Redemption Page 7
