by Debby Giusti
“You’ve been so kind.” As much as Rosie did not want to leave Joseph, she saw the eagerness and excitement in Susan’s blue eyes as she held out her hands. Joseph loved people and had never been shy around strangers, so Rosie felt sure he would go to Susan readily. And that was the case. “I shall be back momentarily.”
Rosie washed and dried her hands and returned soon thereafter to retrieve her little one. She found Joseph sitting in a high chair that looked handcrafted. Seeing her as she entered the kitchen, he kicked his legs and his hands waved in the air. He laughed and his merriment filled the kitchen and brought a smile not only to her face, but also to her heart.
“You have a big boy chair,” Rosie said to her son. She glanced at Susan. “The craftsmanship is lovely.”
“Our father made the high chair for Ezra, but all of us used it. We keep it in the pantry for when friends visit with small children.”
“Thank you for letting Joseph sit in such a special chair. You are both very thoughtful.”
“I gave him a tiny morsel of roll,” Susan admitted. “I hope you do not mind.”
Rosie smiled at the powdered sugar icing that ringed his lips. She stepped closer and bent down to smile into his face. “You love Susan’s rolls, I can tell.” Taking a napkin from the table, she wiped his mouth. “Susan knows what you want before you even know yourself.”
“She has a gift for hospitality,” Ezra said. His love for his sister was evident, and that fact only made Rosie like him even more.
“I will pour coffee.” Susan started to rise.
“Let me.” Rosie headed to the stove and lifted the coffeepot from the rear burner. She filled one of the cups on the counter. “Coffee, Ezra?”
“Please, but you did not come here to work.”
Rosie laughed. “Pouring coffee is hardly work, but work is good. I do not like to have idle hands.”
“You sound like our mother,” Susan reflected. “She did not want to rest until night came and it was time to sleep. She had more energy than all the rest of us together.”
Rosie smiled at the shared memory. “I am sure you have inherited her appreciation for work. Your home is spotless. With such a large family, this is sometimes hard to do.”
“We all work together,” Susan said sweetly.
“Your parents would be proud of you.” Rosie looked at Ezra. “It is hard to step into the parental role.”
“No one can take their place,” Susan said. Her focus was on Joseph, and she failed to see the look of knowing that passed between Ezra and Rosie.
“Ezra is a good older brother,” Susan continued. “He runs the farm well. Aaron is a help. David as well, although David sometimes thinks he can do things by himself.”
“He is wise beyond his years in many ways,” Ezra acknowledged, “while still a boy at other times. I did not want the younger ones to lose their innocence. Life is hard. Losing parents is especially tragic, but they have handled the loss bravely.” He glanced down at his coffee. “Sometimes I think they fared better than I have.”
Susan patted his hand. “They feel secure with your guidance, Ezra. You have given up your freedom, the freedom you sought. This has been one of the many gifts you have given the family.”
He drank deeply from his cup and then pushed back from the table. “I must unhitch the mare and get to the chores. The day will be gone if I do not start working.”
He glanced at Susan. “You will show Rosie to the guest room.”
“Yes, of course.” She smiled at Rosie. “You might want to rest for a bit. Joseph can stay with me.”
Much as Rosie did not want to be a burden to Ezra’s family, she appreciated the offer, and from Joseph’s laughter, it was evident Susan had stolen his heart.
“You do not mind?” Rosie asked.
“I would not offer if it was not something that I wanted to do.”
“Perhaps resting for a few minutes would be good. But if Joseph becomes unsettled or too much for you, let me know.”
“The guest room is at the top of the stairs to the left. The linens on the bed are fresh.”
Rosie sipped the rest of her coffee and carried the cup to the sink. Looking out the window, she could see the road below. If what Ezra said was true, the family would know if anyone approached the mountaintop from the road. Larry Wagner would not surprise them. Tonight she would worry more about her safety, but now, in the light of day, she felt secure.
She turned and found Ezra staring at her. His gaze burned into her as if he wanted to tell her something more.
Her heart lurched in response, causing a wave of concern to wash over her. She might be secure from Larry Wagner today, but Ezra was another problem. The way she responded to his closeness and his concern for her well-being brought another fear to her heart. How could she leave the mountain and Ezra and head north, knowing she would never see his welcoming smile or understanding eyes again?
She had noticed him in school years earlier, although she had not, at the time, understood her own attraction to the handsome boy three years her senior. Now she realized the truth of those feelings. Ezra was a gut man. He would make some woman a fine husband, but that woman was not Rosie. She had to put Joseph’s needs first, which meant leaving the mountain and everyone she knew to start a new life. A life without Ezra.
TEN
Ezra tackled the chores with a vengeance, as if wanting to fight off the feelings for Rosie that were taking hold inside him. He also wanted to crush Larry Wagner, who had caused her so much pain. He cleaned the stalls and the tack, rubbing the saddles with soap and wiping them clean until they glistened in the light from the window.
A fence needed mending on the distant pasture, but he did not want to stay away from the house for a long time, lest something happen while he was gone. He remembered too well the terrible tragedy that had befallen his parents.
A robbery gone wrong, the police had proclaimed.
Very wrong... Ezra’s stomach tightened. Their murder had been due to his own desire to live life to the fullest. Only he had brought pain and grief to himself and his family.
Foolish and stupid. He felt as slimy as the muck he raked from the stalls.
Worried that the cattle would find the hole in the fencing, he saddled one of the geldings and rode to the distant pasture. Working quickly, he fixed the fence temporarily to keep the animals contained.
As he galloped back to the house, his heart nearly stopped when he saw a car heading up the hill. White, but not a SUV. He breathed out the deep breath he had been holding, slipped from the saddle and guided the horse into the barn minutes before the car pulled to a stop.
A man dressed in a blue uniform stepped from the unmarked vehicle. He was in his early forties with a thick neck and deep-set eyes. He nodded to Ezra.
“I’m Officer Vincetti, and I’m trying to find a woman who worked in town at the Shady Manor nursing home. She’s Amish with blond hair and blue eyes. Her name is Rosie Glick.”
“This is the Stoltz farm. Perhaps you could check in town for the address of the Glick family.”
The officer nodded. “I am aware of who you are, but I hoped you would have information about Ms. Glick.”
“She has done something wrong?”
“That’s what I need to find out.”
Ezra said nothing and hoped his silence might encourage the officer to provide more information. Thankfully his plan brought success.
“Ms. Glick has been accused of breaking into a secured area of patient records,” the officer volunteered. “Some drugs have also gone missing, which is why I need to talk to her.”
“Has she been accused of taking the medication?”
“The manager of the nursing home has mentioned her possible involvement.”
“And this man is to be trusted or is he overlooking his own mishandling of medication?
” Ezra asked.
The cop raised an eyebrow. “The manager is well-thought-of in town, Mr. Stoltz. Is there something you would like to share with me?”
“Only that the Amish make easy targets. We keep to ourselves, and our ways are sometimes hard for the Englisch to understand. Integrity is the hallmark of an Amish man or woman. I wonder if you are looking in the wrong community for the thief.”
“Do you know anything about Rosie Glick?” the officer persisted.
“I know that if she is Amish, she can be trusted.”
“If you see Rosie Glick, let me know.” The officer handed him a business card.
“I do not have a phone on which to call you.”
Vincetti nodded. “I know many of the Amish have cell phones or telephone booths near their property. You should be able to contact me.”
“I appreciate your attempt to rid the town of crime, but this time of year, many Amish visit family or go on vacations. Pinecraft, Florida, is a well-known destination. Perhaps you should search there.”
The officer glanced at the house and honed in on the guest-room window, which made Ezra uneasy. Hopefully, Rosie was asleep and not peering from the window.
The door to the kitchen opened. Ezra swallowed hard. He wanted to warn Rosie to stay inside, but instead of Rosie, Susan appeared.
“Is something wrong, Ezra?” she asked.
“Nothing, Susan. It is cold out here. Go into the house.”
The policeman watched her go back inside. Then he rubbed his chin. “As I recall, you ran with a bunch of bad boys in town. People say you changed after your parents died, but I’m not so sure. If there’s something you’re not telling me, I’ll find out. Do you understand?”
Ezra continued to stare at Vincetti until he climbed into his sedan and drove back down the hill.
Ezra let out a deep sigh of relief and glanced at the guest-room window, where Rosie stood staring down at him, her gaze filled with questions.
Ezra had told her she did not need to worry, but he was wrong. A case of tampering with records and stealing drugs was being made against her. A very strong case.
What have I done bringing her here?
He turned and walked into the barn, trying to sort through the mystery that was Rosie Glick. Surely, she was not guilty of criminal activity. But one thing was certain—Rosie Glick was keeping secrets.
* * *
Rosie’s stomach churned. She rubbed her hand across her midsection, hoping to quell her upset. She had awakened to the sound of an automobile pulling into the drive. Fearing it was a white SUV driven by the man who kept coming after her, she had thrown back the quilt, climbed from the bed and hurried to the window.
Relieved not to see an SUV, she soon realized the visitor was anything but friendly, yet Ezra seemed to chat with him as if they were buddies. Were they? If so, had he told the policeman about the woman hiding out in his guest room? A woman suspected of tampering with patient records and stealing patient medication? Drugs that could be sold on the street?
She raked her hand through her hair, unfazed when her bun came loose and her hair fell askew over her shoulders. How foolish of her to place her trust in Ezra. The boy she remembered had a sharp edge at times, in spite of the help he gave the teacher with the stove and other chores. He never seemed totally happy and would often stare out the window as if willing himself to be anywhere but school.
Like Rosie, he had run with a bunch of Englischers. She understood that wanderlust that made everything outside the Amish way look inviting. How quickly she had succumbed to its lure. But she had even more quickly realized her mistake.
Now she embraced the Amish way and wanted nothing to do with anything of the world. She was not sure where Ezra stood. He had come home to care for his siblings, and that was admirable. But where was his heart? Was it still on the other side of the divide between the plain life and that which was fancy?
Plus, she feared he had contacted the police, although she did not know how. Did he have a cell phone?
Her hands trembled as she tried to redo her hair, bemoaning the strands that refused to comply. They were as she had been in her younger years, rebellious and hard to handle. No wonder her father had not welcomed her back into their home. Although even if Joseph did something to upset her, she could never turn her back on her own child.
She hurried all the more to tidy her hair, before she slipped the kapp over her bun and scurried out of the room, needing to see her baby and hold him in her arms. Joseph was the only one she trusted. He gave meaning to her life. She would do anything for her child, yet she had left him with a stranger, nice though Susan was. Tears burned Rosie’s eyes. How weak she had been, choosing sleep over the security of her little one.
Rosie ran down the stairs, nearly tripping over her feet, which would not move fast enough. Breathless, she bounded into the kitchen, almost ready to cry.
Ezra pushed open the door and stepped inside, bringing with him the clean, sweet-smelling fresh air of the outdoors. His gaze caught hers, questions filling his eyes, but she saw something else that tangled around her spine and made her stop short. Not fear, not worry, but attraction that was raw and uninvited. His look made her heart lurch and her chest tighten and a delicious warmth spread over her.
“You are in a hurry?” he asked.
She glanced around the kitchen. “Where is Joseph?”
“In here, Rosie.” Susan’s voice sounded from the living area.
Rosie rounded the corner and laughed when she saw Joseph standing up, holding onto Susan’s hands and taking feeble steps forward. His giggles made her fear flee. Still awash with the warmth from Ezra’s glance, Rosie felt weak yet also confused about being in this strange man’s house.
“Joseph is walking,” Susan said with joy. “He is so proud of his accomplishments.”
Unable to contain her relief, Rosie clapped her hands and reached for her baby boy, drawing him close before she twirled him around the room. “You are so adventurous, trying to walk with Susan. I was worried Mamm had slept too long. In fact if I had slept longer you would probably be running around the downstairs without me being able to catch you.”
Joseph giggled and wrapped his arms though her unkempt hair. Then he placed his wet mouth against her cheek in the sweetest kiss she had ever received.
Laughing with contentment, she stopped to enjoy the moment and then glanced up to see Ezra staring at both of them. The pain on his face confused her. Was he jealous of her son or upset that she was having fun with her baby?
She hugged Joseph closer, unwilling to let her moment of happiness be spoiled by a man she did not understand.
She and Joseph would leave the mountain as soon as possible. First, she must talk to Katherine and find information about Alice. Then she and Joseph would take the next bus to Ohio. They would make their new home there, far from the man in the SUV and far from Ezra and the confusion he made her feel.
* * *
Ezra stomped across the kitchen, ready to go outside again and head for the pasture. He had been foolish to think Rosie needed twenty-four-hour protection. A policeman had come to the house, but he had not found her. Hopefully, Ezra’s hinting that she was headed to Florida would make them look south and not at the top of the mountain.
When he reached for the kitchen door, it flew open and David and Mary hurried inside with books in their arms. Both of them had rosy cheeks and windblown hair.
“Ezra,” they both squealed, throwing themselves into his arms. Their warm welcome pushed away the sorrow he had felt seeing Rosie embrace her little Joseph. Sorrow had welled up within him thinking of his own parents, who had encircled him with their arms when he was young. The parents who had been murdered because of him so that none of the children would know the care and concern that came from a loving mamm and datt.
He dropped to his knees and drew h
is siblings closer.
“We both did well on our math tests,” David boasted. “Mary made one mistake, and I made none.”
“You are star students.” Ezra felt a swell of pride, as if he was their father.
“Teacher says we must be working hard at home to learn our lessons so well,” Mary said, her eyes wide.
“Your teacher is right,” Ezra agreed, knowing both children took their studies seriously.
“Can Miss Gingrich come for dinner sometime, Ezra? She is very pretty.” His little sister’s eyes widened, and she nodded as she spoke as if to underscore the validity of what she said.
“Miss Gingrich is a pretty lady,” Ezra replied, “but we will wait for a bit before we invite her.”
“Why?”
He smiled at Mary’s upset. “Because we have visitors.”
“Where are they?” She pushed past him and stopped at the threshold to the main room. No doubt, she had expected a familiar face and was taken aback seeing Rosie and Joseph.
“My name is Mary.” She introduced herself to Rosie. “I am seven years old.”
“It is nice to meet you. I am Rosie and this is Joseph. He is eight months old. Your sister Susan has been teaching him to walk.”
Mary stepped closer. “Will you let him walk so I can see?”
Joseph cooed at Mary and reached for her as if an instant connection had been made between them. As Ezra watched, Rosie placed Joseph on the floor and then encouraged him to stand while she held his hands. He took two steps forward, giggled at Mary and then dropped to the floor and crawled toward her.
“Looks like he prefers his old mode of transportation,” Rosie laughed.
Mary sat on the floor and held out her arms. Joseph crawled into her lap, looking proud of himself as he smiled first at Rosie and then at Mary.
“He likes me.” The little girl laughed.
“He does,” Rosie agreed.
David was more unassuming than his sister. He glanced at Ezra as if for support and then turned his gaze to Rosie.
