A Dark Amish Night
Page 18
Hannah let the children sleep. She was not tired. She really should be working, but after talking to Dylan before she got home, she knew the bakery was in good hands. Dylan would do fine without her for one day. She was wrapped in her favorite shawl over her nightgown, sipping a cup of coffee. This was a brave new world for her today. A day she was happy to be facing. When the children finally stirred, Hannah made them a bite to eat then they walked together to the Bishop’s house.
Martha let them in and told Hannah how happy she was that everyone was safe. Hannah thanked her then asked if she could speak to the Bishop alone.
Soon, Hannah found herself facing the Bishop, yet again. Except she was no longer afraid, she was determined to speak her mind and have her way.
“Hannah, not that I’m not glad to see you, but I figured after a night like last night you would be home resting.”
“The children slept and I’m fine. I came to tell you that I’m leaving the church. I will always be grateful for all the community has done for me, but I don’t believe that I can live the rest of my life in the confines of the Amish faith.”
“Now, now, Hannah, you’ve been through some terribly trying circumstances. This isn’t the time to be making such a big decision like this. Why don’t you think about it and pray over it. Then we’ll talk about this when you’re more yourself.”
“There’s nothing more to talk about. I don’t really want to talk, or think, or pray about it anymore. I just came to tell you this. I’ll sign over the farm to the church. That should more than pay off what I owe for what I was loaned to get the bakery started, and for paying off Timothy’s medical bills. I hope the church will let Millie and Abe stay on the farm. With what money is left over, I want the church to have it for everything that has been done for me by the community. I want that money to be used to benefit anyone in the community who needs it. I will not be returning to the church ever again.”
Hannah put the deed to the farm on the Bishop’s desk and grabbed a pen. Before she could sign it the Bishop stopped her. “Wait, Hannah, don’t do this just yet. Sheriff Ramsey was just here. He wants to come in to the faith. You don’t have to leave. He’s set to put his old life behind him and become a farmer. He was raised on a farm. I think, in time, he will fit very well into the community. He’s a good man and he wants to marry you. You do not have to leave the community. Just be patient and wait a little longer. All will be as it was before. You’ll see.”
“No, nothing will be as it was before. Quinn can never replace Eric, and I wouldn’t want him to. I’m not the same person I was before Eric died. I’m not content to be a wife and a mother working on a farm. It was a great life, but that life is gone now. I’m in love with Quinn, and I want him in my life, but I also want my independence. I love having my bakery and making my own money. That is the life I now want. I can never go back. I love my children and I want them to know it. I would gladly kill for them, and I very nearly did. If I were really Amish I would have sacrificed myself and my children for the sake of good.” Hannah stood up took off her prayer cap and laid it on the Bishop’s desk. She pulled the pins from her hair and her long locks fell down her back.
She signed the deed and handed it to the Bishop. “I am not Amish, not anymore.”
Quinn sat at his desk, He read over his letter of resignation he’d typed up on his computer. He figured it would take him at least a month to wrap things up. He planned on handing over the files for the Eric Hershberger case to Ollie, since it seemed that Jess and Rachel were across state lines. If anyone in the FBI could track them down it would be Ollie.
After talking more with Peter it was now believed that Jess Zook and Sally Beaufort, also known as Rachel Yoder, would make their way into deep Amish country to hide. Without much money or resources Peter believed Jess would head to family that kept to themselves in a very strict sect of Swartzentruber Amish in northern Ohio. Jess was known to speak fluent Pennsylvania Dutch, and could very easily hide among people who were cut off from the outside world.
Peter gave as much information as he could. He shared that growing up he and Jess had been very close cousins and had left the community together during their Rumspringa. When Peter went to prison, Jess returned to Heaven, taking a job as a deputy as opposed to being baptized into the Amish faith. Peter was now left to raise his two small children without a mother and Quinn didn’t envy him that. He did hope that Peter’s family would help him, and not shun him for lying to them about being married to Rachel.
It was getting late, well past dark, and Quinn headed home. He knew the next few months of his life would be difficult, but if he could marry Hannah at the end of this transformation of his life, he would be all the happier for it. He promised himself no regrets, Hannah and her children were well worth it.
He let himself into his house and the first thing he noticed was the smell. His place had never smelled this good before. It was the mouthwatering aroma of a home cooked meal. He slowly stepped from the small entrance way into the living area then into the kitchen. The sight waiting for him was unbelievable and almost made him cry. Hannah was at the stove cooking. The children were setting the table with his humble dishes. They saw Quinn first.
“Ma, Quinn’s home.” Timothy ran up to him followed by little Ruth Anne, who put her arms out, begging Quinn to pick her up. He bent down and pulled Ruth Anne up into his arms. Hannah turned and placed a platter of pot roast with all the trimmings on the counter. She wore a simple yellow dress that flattered her curves with her hair falling in soft waves down her back. Quinn thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
Hannah smiled at Quinn. “I hope you don’t mind that we let ourselves in.” When Quinn only stared at her in silence, she spoke again. “You like my new dress? I actually borrowed it from Dylan. I don’t know if you’ve met Dylan yet, but I think you’re going to like...”
Hannah did not get the chance to say more. Quinn crossed the space between them in one long stride. He gathered Hannah, pulled her close and kissed her long and hard. He would have stayed like that with her forever, but Ruth Anne began to squirm and giggle in his grasp and Timothy cleared his throat. “Ahemmm…”
Quinn reluctantly let Hannah go. “Hannah, what is this? I don’t understand. I spoke to the Bishop yesterday. I’m supposed to go live with a host family for a few months…”
Hannah put her finger up to Quinn’s lips. “No, you’ll not be doing that. The children and I need you here, in this world. I won’t be living as Amish anymore. It’s hard to explain, Quinn, but I just don’t fit into that world anymore. Everything has changed. I’m not the same person I was before Eric died. I just can’t go back and live that life anymore. I want to marry you, if the offer still stands.”
“Oh honey, I’ll marry you tonight. Just let me wake up the judge.” Quinn was serious.
Hannah laughed. “Hold on there, cowboy. I think we need to do this with a proper wedding and all. I’m still a Christian, and I’ll be wed in a church in front of God and everybody. In the meantime, let’s eat this dinner before it gets cold.
After a pleasant meal with a full belly, Quinn sat in his backyard gazing up at the stars with Hannah at his side; both of them snuggled under thick blankets side by side. The children had fallen asleep on the couch. Quinn knew he would have to take Hannah and the children home soon, but he lingered. Having them here in his home was like heaven on earth. Hannah said she had until the end of December to stay in the house she was renting from the Fishers.
“I was thinking I would like to get married on New Year’s Day. I know that’s just a couple of weeks away, but what do you think Quinn? Could we do that?”
“Well, I don’t know if I can wait that long.” Quinn laughed and smiled at Hannah.
Hannah laughed with him. “Seriously, though, can we do that?”
“You just tell me when and where and I’ll be there. I think we need to go ahead and start moving some of you things in here before Christmas, th
ough. We’ll have to look for a bigger place down the road, but I think I can squeeze you and the kids in here for now.” Quinn looked at Hannah as she gazed up at the clear sky.
“Hannah, how is Timothy taking all this, really?”
“He’s okay I think. He’s really sorry he lied to both of us all these months, but how do you punish someone for trying to protect their family? I’m just as guilty as he is of that sin, if it is a sin. He and I were both questioning our place in the Amish community, and I think we came to the same conclusion at the same time. We just don’t fit anymore. Timothy has a long journey in front of him. In the end he, and Ruth Anne, will have to decide where they belong. The Bishop has shunned me, again, for six weeks this time. At the end of those six weeks I’ll be fully excommunicated from the church. But the children can go back when they come of age, if they choose to. By the way, he wants to talk you about getting a four wheeler. Just take your time and think about that for a while. It’s going to be one step at a time here for this poor mother’s heart, please.”
“I promise to give a four wheeler a lot of thought. So what will it mean to you to be excommunicated from the church?”
“Well, after my shunning period ends, it means that I’ll live as an Englisher and be treated as one by the community. The Amish will talk to me and do business with me, but I’ll always be an outsider to them now. But I’ll be free, Quinn. Free to live and love as I choose.”
“And what about Eric? How are you feeling about his death now?”
“There’s a part of me that will always love Eric. Yes, I wish I could go back in time and somehow save him, but I can’t. I want to live the rest of my live in the here and now with no more regrets and no going back. I love you, Quinn, and I always will. So how are you feeling about Kathleen right now? ”
“Like you there is a part of me that will always love her. She has been a weighted and heavy stone in my chest for so long, but when I’m with you, Hannah, the heaviness is gone and she is now a sad but good memory. I love you, too. No regrets and no going back for me either.”
Quinn smiled in the dark as Hannah held his hand and continued staring up at the stars with him. It was freezing out, but Quinn had never felt so warm. He had come home at long last.
Don’t miss the exciting sequel to
A Dark Amish Night
Coming Spring 2016
Undercover Amish
Maggie Miller is a well-trained Special Agent for the FBI, but Maggie finds herself facing her worst fears when she has to return to her hometown in order catch two killers on the run, who murdered her ex-fiance. She has spent her entire adult life running from her childhood in a tight Amish community, but it is her past life that she must return to in order to put those killers behind bars.