Amish Protector

by Marta Perry

  It was obvious that Aunt Jessie had heard her calling, and she nodded approvingly. “Gut. It’s time you talked with your folks again,” she said shortly.

  To Joanna’s relief, Aunt Jessie didn’t suggest going with her. That would allow her to depart a little earlier than needed and head for the hospital. She wasn’t lying about it, she told herself. She just didn’t mention it.

  The day at the shop seemed longer than ever. Finally, it was time to close. Joanna collected her bonnet and sweater. Telling Aunt Jessie she’d be back by dark, she headed out, going straight to the hospital.

  Joanna had no sooner stepped off the elevator than she spotted Mary Ellen Dover. She quickened her step. Knowing Mary Ellen, she might get some real answers to her questions about the patient.

  “Joanna.” Mary Ellen swerved and came to greet her. “I thought you’d be up to see your patient again.”

  “My patient?” She lifted her eyebrows, smiling at Mary Ellen’s capacity for involvement in anything that was going on. “Not unless we’ve changed places.”

  “You know what I mean.” Mary Ellen took a quick look around before jerking her head toward the patient’s room. “Our mystery patient is still a mystery.”

  “There’s been no improvement at all?” Disappointment dragged at her. “That’s discouraging, isn’t it?”

  “Depends on how you look at it. It may be that her brain just needs time to heal. And from what I’ve seen, I’d say her coma is a bit lighter today.” She looked around again. “But don’t quote me.”

  “I promise,” she said, her heart lifting at the news. “Is it okay if I go in?”

  “Sure thing. Nobody’s told me to restrict visitors anyway. Just sit and talk to her. It might help and it certainly can’t do any harm.”

  Joanna hesitated as they reached the door. “Talk about what? Should I mention the accident?”

  “Just as long as you sound reassuring it won’t hurt. They say people in comas do respond to things like music or someone talking. We can hope anyway.” She leaned closer. “Did you know that Chief Jamison has been pestering the attending physician to do a DNA test?”

  “No.” Joanna’s stomach lurched, remembering Cathy’s comment the night before. “Are they going to do it?”

  “Dr. Parkinson says not without a court order. Loudly.” She grinned. “I just happened to be outside the lounge when they were talking.” She spotted someone approaching the nurses’ station. “I’ve got to go. Go on, talk to her.”

  Joanna pushed open the door, thinking about what Mary Ellen had revealed. She had no idea whether the police would be able to get a court order or not, but it certainly sounded as if the chief was getting more impatient by the day.

  Her first look at the woman in the bed lifted her spirits. A faint tinge of color had replaced the pallor she’d seen before, and it seemed to her that the woman moved a little in reaction to her entrance.

  Her doubts about coming here ebbed away, and she moved to the chair she’d had before, drawing it closer to the bed.

  “I’ve come back to see you again.” She put her hand lightly over the unresponsive one that lay on the sheet. “Do you remember me? My name is Joanna.”

  Nothing, but she’d go on with it. Just sound encouraging, Mary Ellen had said. She’d try.

  “I run a quilt shop. Did you know that? Your accident happened when you were coming up the stairs to my apartment.”

  Wait, that might not be considered encouraging. She tried again.

  “You’re doing much better today. If you could look out the window, you’d see that the trees on the mountain are starting to turn color. Soon, they’ll all be gold and orange. I think fall is my favorite time of year in Pennsylvania.”

  She didn’t respond, but it seemed to Joanna that she was listening. Maybe that was wishful thinking, but encouraging, even so.

  “Mary Ellen, your nurse, is a friend of mine. She’ll take good care of you. We’d all like it if you’d open your eyes and talk to us.” Encouraging, remember? “I’m sure you will soon. Then we’ll be able to talk.”

  “Sounds to me as if you’re already talking.” Noah had entered without her hearing him, and spoke Dutch.

  “Speak Englisch,” she said, smiling. “She might be able to hear you, and I’d guess she doesn’t speak Pennsylvania Dutch.”

  “Good guess,” he said, in English this time.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I could ask you the same thing.” He came a little closer, but she noticed he still averted his eyes from the woman in the bed.

  “I’m checking on our...visitor? Would that be the right word? I hate to keep calling her a stranger.”

  “It’ll do,” he said. “She did seem to be coming to your door.” He shrugged. “I suppose we both feel some responsibility. Is she doing any better?”

  “She has more color in her face.” Joanna made an effort to sound optimistic, remembering that the woman might hear her. “And Mary Ellen said she didn’t seem so deeply asleep. At least, I think that’s what she meant.” She hesitated, but probably Noah would want to know. “She also said that Chief Jamison wanted them to do a DNA test, but the doctor wouldn’t without a court order.”

  He said what she had thought. “He must be feeling desperate. I wonder what he hoped that would tell him.”

  She was about to answer when the door swung open again and Chief Jamison walked in. He frowned at the sight of them.

  “What are you two doing here?”

  His voice was sharp enough to make Joanna blink. “I wanted to check on her. The nurse suggested I talk to her for a few minutes. That’s supposed to be good for her.”

  “Is there a reason why we shouldn’t?” Noah sounded as if he was determined to control himself.

  Jamison looked abashed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to bark. It’s been a discouraging day. Everything I’ve tried has turned into a dead end. But somebody has to know who she is. She didn’t just drop out of the sky.”

  In the wake of his remarks, she wasn’t sure he’d appreciate something encouraging. Still, in her opinion, things were a bit brighter. “She does seem a little better today. Maybe soon she’ll wake up and tell us who she is.”

  “I’d give a lot to have that happen.” He frowned at the serene face. “But maybe she won’t.”

  Joanna considered mentioning the proposed DNA test but didn’t want to betray Mary Ellen’s eavesdropping. “Isn’t there anything else you can try?”

  He shrugged. “I thought a DNA test might be useful, but the doctor in charge won’t authorize it without a court order. Guess I’ll have to see if I can round up a judge to hear it. Meanwhile...” He stopped, then started again. “The fact is I keep wondering how a simple fall forward on a set of wooden stairs could have caused her injury.”

  Joanna’s breath caught. She had idly thought it was odd, given how often she’d tripped going up and down the stairs over the years, but he hadn’t mentioned it. It seemed he took the possibility seriously.

  “Can’t the doctor tell anything from the injury?”

  Jamison frowned. “Odd things happen. That’s what he said. And that gets us nowhere.”

  The chief’s discouragement must be contagious. Joanna found her earlier optimism draining away. Stop that, she demanded.

  “I’m sure something will turn up soon.” She firmly set her mind on answers to prayers. “At least she’s safe and getting good medical care. And folks are praying for her.”

  Jamison’s expression softened when he looked at Joanna. “You’re a good person, Joanna. I hope you’re right about that.”

  She nodded, a little embarrassed. “Yah, I hope so. I...” She stopped—startled—and looked down at her hand that still covered the patient’s.

  “She moved!” Excitement flooded through her. “When I spoke, her fingers twitched.
I’m sure. I felt it.”

  “Let’s get that nurse in here.” Jamison grabbed the call cord and pressed the button. “You go on. Keep talking to her. You might be just what she needs.”

  She glanced at Noah and then turned back to the woman. Worrying about anyone’s opinion of her was a waste of time. If there was anything she could do to help this woman, she would do it, no matter what.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  JOANNA WAS STILL having trouble controlling her excitement when she neared the familiar lane at the farm. Princess, spotting a turning she knew, pricked her ears and picked up her pace. Joanna took a deep breath, willing herself to keep as firm a rein on her emotions as she did on the mare.

  Should she tell her parents about what had happened at the hospital? She couldn’t lie to them, but should she volunteer information? Daad wouldn’t approve of her deeper involvement, and she wasn’t sure how Mamm would react, but it would doubtless worry her. Maybe she’d just have to see how the talk went and take her lead from it.

  Chief Jamison had been about as excited as she was at the woman’s response, especially when Mary Ellen confirmed that the patient’s pulse and breathing reacted when Joanna spoke to her. Mary Ellen’s pleasure at the slight improvement was so obvious that it touched Joanna. Clearly, the staff had grown to care about their anonymous patient.

  She’d begun to think she’d never get away, but she’d insisted that she had to leave. Her parents would worry if she didn’t show up on time. Finally, when she’d agreed to come back often and speak to the woman, she’d escaped.

  Noah had walked down to the buggy with her, releasing the line while she climbed up. He’d stood for a moment with his hand on the buggy, frowning up at her.

  She’d reached for the line he held. “I must go. Is something wrong?”

  “No.” But he’d looked worried. “Take care on the road. Be safe.”

  Well, she was here, and she’d arrived safely. There must be something about accidents that made people imagine further trouble. But that was no reason for Noah to fret about her. It was bad enough that her family was so concerned.

  She hadn’t yet reached the hitching post when her youngest brother, Zeb, popped out to take the horse and buggy. At fourteen, he was always outgrowing both his clothes and himself, making him likely to bump his head on things he used to clear and tripping him with great regularity. He always came up laughing, though.

  “About time you’re getting here.” He put up a hand to help her down as if, she thought, she was an old lady.

  “Why? Is Mamm worrying?”

  He grinned. “When is Mamm not worrying?”

  She swatted at him, returning the smile, and went on into the house. A wonderful aroma wafted out from the kitchen, a mixture of pot roast and apple pie.

  “Yum, it smells wonderful gut in here. I hope I’m not too late for supper.” She took off her bonnet and put it on her usual hook.

  “Here you are.” Flushed from the heat of the stove, Mamm hugged her. “Just in time.”

  “What can I do to help?” she asked, noting that her mother’s hug had been extra long.

  “Put the milk and water pitchers on the table. I’m ready to dish up. And ring the bell for your daad and your brothers. I don’t know why they wander off when supper is about ready.”

  “I’m here.” Daad came in the back door and winked at Joanna, making her laugh. “As soon as I hug my girl, I’ll ring the bell.”

  His arm, still as wiry and strong as that of a younger man, encircled her, and she inhaled the scent of his sun-dried cotton shirt. “Wilkom, daughter.”

  “Denke, Daadi,” she murmured, touched by memories of years of hugs. Funny that her throat went suddenly tight.

  Then she forgot it as she was caught up in the hustle of getting the meal on the table and working around the boys as they rushed in. In a few minutes they were all in their familiar seats, bowing their heads for the silent prayer. Joanna’s mind promptly started to stray to the stranger, and she hauled it back.

  Years of practice allowed Joanna to know just when Daad would look up, ending the prayer. The bowls and platters began circling the table, accompanied by her younger brothers’ daily teasing and arguing about who took the biggest serving.

  “Stop it, you boys,” Daad demanded. “Your sister will think you’ve turned into heathens since she left.”

  Joanna looked at them. “I don’t know, Daadi. They seem about the same to me. I think I’d miss their squabbling if it stopped.”

  The boys laughed, and Mamm shook her head with mock severity. “Ach, don’t encourage them.”

  Yah, she was home again. Everything sounded the same. Soon Daadi mentioned something about the silage, and they were off on the familiar subject of the work to be done, the ball bouncing around the table as everyone had an idea what should be done next.

  From the vantage point of no longer living at home, she noticed the way Daadi let each one have his say about the work. Maybe that was why they all did their share so willingly. They all felt they were part of the farm. Even young Zeb, who wasn’t the born farmer the other two were, was eager to put in his opinion.

  Maybe that was a blessing about living away from home—it let her see things a little clearer and appreciate what she wouldn’t have noticed as part of it.

  Conversation stayed general as they ate their way through tender pot roast, mashed potatoes, baked corn and winter squash, and ended with apple crumb pie. It was as they were getting up from the table that she thought she heard Zeb start to say something about the accident.

  With a quick look at Mamm, Jonas interrupted him. Isaac, catching on, challenged him to finish his share of the chores faster than the others, and they were off and running, their footsteps echoing on the porch floor.

  Mamm looked a little troubled as she and Joanna started the dishes, but Joanna turned the subject to the challenge of getting the new dresses made for Cathy’s wedding. Delighted to focus on someone marrying, even if it wasn’t her daughter, Mamm plunged into details of fabric and stitching. The dresses were the same as every other dress they owned, of course, but it was still exciting, and they required extra care.

  How could she bring up the subject of whether they might have any relatives who had turned Englisch? Somehow, the more she saw of Mamm, the less she felt that it was wise to ask her. If she could get Daad alone, that would be best.

  The sun was nearing the ridgetop when Daadi interrupted the wedding talk with the suggestion that Joanna leave so she’d get home before dark. Here was the chance she needed, and she’d have to take advantage of it. She certainly didn’t want to have the police car pulling up the lane so that the chief could ask the questions himself.

  Once the endless goodbyes were said, Daad walked out with her to hitch up the mare instead of letting one of the boys do it. Because he realized she wanted a chance to talk privately? She wasn’t sure.

  “It’s as well to leave now,” she said, hoping to find a way into the questions she had to ask. “It really is dark back by the stable these fall days. In fact, Noah said he’d put a light up back there, just to make it a bit safer.”

  Daad didn’t noticeably stiffen at the sound of Noah’s name, but she sensed some tension.

  “That’s kind of him, but not right that he should pay for it. Tell him if he’ll put it up, I’ll take care of the cost. After all, it’s my responsibility. I should have thought of that myself.”

  True, Daad owned the building, but it was unusual to hear him admit that he’d failed to do something.

  “That’s a gut idea.” She started to step up to the buggy seat, but Daad put out a hand to stop her. “I didn’t want to ask in front of your mamm, but is the woman any better?”

  “As a matter of fact...” She gave him a quick account of how the stranger had reacted to her voice. “So the doctor wants me to stop and talk to h
er whenever I can. And Chief Jamison seems to think that makes it more likely that she was coming to see me.” She hesitated, but it had to be said. “I realized that I hadn’t thought of being adopted when he asked about any relatives who might have left the Amish and be searching for family. I don’t like to ask Mamm, but...”

  “No, don’t ask your mother.” He spoke almost on top of her words. “I’ll look into it. You know how flustered she gets by...anything out of the ordinary.”

  “By anything about my being adopted, you mean.” She paused. “Does she think it makes her less my mother? She is my mother, in every way that counts. Nothing changes that.”

  Daad didn’t speak for a long moment, and she thought he struggled against emotion. Finally, he nodded. “I know. But that’s how she feels. We can’t change other people, Joanna. Not even if it would be better for them.”

  She wanted to argue, but she knew in her heart he was right. Mamm was sensitive about the fact that she hadn’t given birth to Joanna, and it hurt not to be able to make that better for her, just as Mamm had always made every trouble better for her. “I know. I’ll try not to remind her.”

  “Gut.” He helped her up to the buggy seat. “I can’t think of anyone from the family who might have gone Englisch, but I’ll look into it and let you know soon. All right?”

  Joanna nodded, her heart warming at Daad’s understanding. If only she could convince her mother of her feelings... But maybe that was something only the gut Lord could do.

  * * *

  THE NEXT AFTERNOON Noah grabbed a few minutes while his part-time help was there to start installing the outdoor lights in the back. He could easily walk away and leave things in Floyd’s hands. A retiree, Floyd didn’t like anything better than gabbing with customers, but since they seemed to like it just as much, Noah figured that was for the best.

  He’d hardly set down his toolbox when Joanna came out her back door and headed toward the stable. Seeing him, she waved.

  “I’m putting Princess out in the paddock. Do you want Blackie out, too?”