by Jo Ann Brown
Chapter Twelve
As Caleb’s buggy reached the pair of stoplights at the very heart of the village, where Broadway and Main Street intersected, the light snow changed into a heavy fall. Caleb stopped for the red light. Going in the other direction, cars had slowed to a crawl, their windshield wipers fighting against the snow piling up on the glass. A couple of shopkeepers were already outside brushing snow off the stone steps leading up to their front doors. Kinder rushed along the sidewalk, hunched into their coats. Not even youngsters were excited any longer by snow after the hard winter.
“I remember when snow was fun and not something that gets in the way,” Caleb said as he switched on the wiper on the front of his buggy.
“I still think snow is fun.” Annie opened her door and ran her hand over the window to knock off the snow, so he could see any oncoming traffic to the left.
Thanking her, because they must take extra care that a car would be able to stop on the snow-covered road, he chuckled. “Why am I not surprised? You somehow always find something positive.”
“Isn’t that better than the alternative? Finding something depressing about every situation?”
“Are you saying I do that?”
She laughed, “No, but if the boot fits...”
“It doesn’t fit well. Or, at least, I hope it doesn’t.”
When she chuckled again, he relaxed as he hadn’t been able to since he’d picked her up at her house. She’d been as serious and quiet this morning as she’d been yesterday afternoon before they somehow got themselves locked into the closet...or were shut in with Becky Sue’s help. It hadn’t helped that Joey had launched into shrieks the moment Caleb walked into the Waglers’ house. Annie had rushed him out so the others could calm the boppli, who wanted nothing to do with him.
Was he the only one the boppli reacted to like that? Annie, for once, had no suggestions other than to be patient. It was gut advice, but hard to follow when Caleb wanted to put the kind at ease.
Caleb turned the buggy north along Main Street toward the hardware store on the right side of the street. He’d hoped the snow would hold off until they got home from the long-postponed trip to get paint. Clouds covering the tops of the mountains had descended into the valley, bringing the storm with them. Already plowed snow blocked the wide parking lane beside the sidewalk, narrowing it until there was room for only a single car instead of the usual two.
He saw Annie’s surprise and realized she’d expected him to leave the buggy and horse by the hitching rail near the library.
Drawing in the reins to stop them closer to the hardware store, he said, “As fast as it’s snowing, the plows will be out soon. Dusty will be safer here between cars than in the open where the spraying snow could strike him.”
“I didn’t think about that.” She chuckled. “I thought that—for the first time ever—you were breaking the rules.”
“I am. The village leaders have asked us to park the horses by the library or at the hitching rail in front of the grocery store.”
“No, you’re not breaking the rules. You’re protecting Dusty.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
When he looked at her as the buggy rolled to a stop, he saw she was grinning and shaking her head. “Maybe for others. But for you, Caleb, breaking such rules is a big deal.”
He decided the best answer was to laugh, so he did. As he got out and scaled the snowbank beside the buggy, he wondered what else she could discern about him. No other woman—or any man, to be truthful—had tried to look beyond the obvious to pick out the truth he kept close to his heart. Yet Annie had been able to do that almost from the moment they’d met. He recalled the questions she’d asked him when he came to talk to her family about the settlement he envisioned. Those questions had been insightful and demanded he be honest at the same time.
As he stepped onto the sidewalk that was littered with snow, he realized her questions made him lower the barriers he kept up between the world and himself. And between his head and his heart, as if he didn’t trust them to work together.
“Did you forget something?” Annie called as she climbed the steps to the hardware store’s front door.
Shaking his head, and sending snow flying from the brim of his hat, Caleb hurried to catch up with her. He had to keep focused on making his dreams come true instead of daydreaming about Annie.
She led the way to where cans of paint flanked sample cards. The lighting in the hardware store wasn’t strong, and shadows covered most of the displays of tools and equipment lining every wall. The long wooden counter at the rear of the store was deserted, but he knew Tuck, who owned the hardware store, would pop out when they were ready to buy something.
“What do you think?” she asked.
He stared at the array of colors. “I don’t know where to begin.”
She reached out and pulled a card with several shades of yellow on it. She tapped the middle one. “There’s the color I was envisioning. You might want to look at it over by the window to see it better.” She handed it to him.
For the very shortest possible moment, their fingertips touched. A spark as hot as if he’d grabbed a welding torch seared him. A buzzing sensation lingered as he fought not to fumble taking the card. His other hand rose toward her face, partially concealed by her black bonnet. He lowered it before he could give in to his longing to touch her as he had in the closet yesterday.
“You like this yellow?” he managed to ask, though his brain was urging him to step closer to her.
“It’s bright and cheerful.” She drew out another card. “Then there’s this blue. It may go better with the wood on your display cases.”
How could she sound so calm? He was sure he’d seen her pull back in shock, too. Then he noticed she was speaking at a rapid clip as she pulled out several more cards and outlined the pros and cons of each color. She wasn’t as serene as she was trying to appear. Could she be drawn to him?
That was silly.
As she talked about painting sample patches on the wall and deciding which one was best after viewing several, he nodded, half listening. If Annie was interested in being more than his friend and employee, why had she asked him to take her sister to the mud sale instead of her? He must be missing something.
He wished he knew what.
* * *
Annie stepped back, being careful not to bump into the paint sample containers she’d put on the kitchen floor. Five large rectangles gleamed on the wall. Yellow, blue, green, tan and gray. She couldn’t wait for them to dry so Caleb could choose which one he liked best.
She bent to screw on the gray sample’s lid. She straightened with a gasp when the door opened, nearly hitting the container holding the yellow sample. Grabbing it, she jumped out of the way as Caleb rushed into the bakery.
She took one look at his face and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Becky Sue has disappeared!”
Staring at him, hoping she’d heard him wrong, she repeated, “Disappeared? Has she run away again?”
“It seems so.” Pushing back his black hat that drooped toward his eyes with the melting snow on its brim, he said, “Miriam alerted me. Becky Sue stormed out when my sister insisted she help with some chores. Did she come here?”
“No.” Annie sighed. At the Waglers’ house, the tug-of-war between Grossmammi Inez and the girl had been growing more heated. She hadn’t guessed that Becky Sue was being as obstinate with Miriam. “Did she go home...to our house?”
“No.”
“Maybe she went into town.”
“It would take her an hour on foot to go to Salem. She’d be foolish to make such a trip on a stormy day. Drivers wouldn’t see her until they were almost upon her.”
“Vanishing like this is already foolish.” She whirled as the timer beeped. Rushing to the stove, she opened the door and pulled out
the cookies. She didn’t set the other tray inside to bake.
As she used the spatula to push the cookies onto the aluminum foil, she watched Caleb open the storage closet and look inside. He didn’t doubt her assertion, she knew, but he had to see for himself that his cousin hadn’t taken advantage of Annie’s focus on her baking to slip past her.
“Do you think this has anything to do with where she was the other day when we got locked in the closet? She said she was out, but didn’t explain where she was going.” She pulled off the pot holder and set it on the table beside the cookies.
He drew in a deep breath through clamped lips and then shook his head as he walked into the front room. “I don’t have the slightest idea what that girl will do next.”
“What about Joey?”
He bent and opened the trap door in the floor. Closing it, he answered, “She didn’t take him.”
Annie watched him stamp into the kitchen. “I don’t believe Becky Sue has run away. She wouldn’t leave him behind. Not when...”
He spun to face her. “Not when he’s terrified of me.”
“Caleb, this isn’t the time for discussing the whims of a one-year-old. If your cousin has gone missing, something could be very wrong.”
“Don’t you think I know that?” He paced the kitchen, his boots striking the concrete floor as if he intended to drive his feet right through it. “Do you know who her friends are? Beyond our families, I mean.”
“I don’t think she has made any yet.”
“There must be some clue to where she is.”
Annie planted herself in front of him. When he started to go around her, she grasped his sleeves and forced him to halt before he dragged her off her feet. “Calm down, Caleb. We’ve got to think about this rationally.”
“Even when she’s not being logical?”
“It’s more important we think clearly.” She looked at the falling snow. “We need help. We might not be able to find her on our own.”
The wild light dimmed in his eyes as he nodded. “Danki, Annie, for your gut sense.” He shifted his arms so he could grip hers. “Wait here while I get help.”
“No!” She reached for her coat.
“It’s so cold, Annie, and I don’t have my regular buggy.”
“Where’s your...?” She answered her own question. “Becky Sue took it, ain’t so?”
“It’s gone. She’s gone. You do the math.” He sighed. “You’d be better off staying inside.”
“I’m going to get cold when I walk home, so what does it matter if I get cold now? We have to find Becky Sue before something happens to her.”
He was torn. She could see that. He didn’t want to miss a minute of them working on the bakery, but he was worried sick about his young cousin.
At last, he nodded and motioned for her to lead the way outside. She paused long enough to check that the stove and oven were off, then pulled on her coat and bonnet. She threw her shawl around her shoulders and took a deep breath before heading out with him into the storm.
She regretted her insistence the moment she stepped outside and the howling wind tried to suck her breath right out of her mouth. Why had Becky Sue chosen such a horrible day to disappear? Closing her lips, Annie bent her head and pressed forward into the storm’s unrelenting wall. She climbed into the buggy on one side while Caleb jumped in from the other. A single glance from him told her what she already knew.
If they didn’t find Becky Sue soon, it might be too late.
* * *
Two hours later, half-frozen and wondering if he’d ever get feeling back in his hands, Caleb turned the open buggy toward the bakery. The storm was getting worse, and he couldn’t risk a hit-or-miss search any longer. He’d alerted his neighbors, but none had seen the girl.
“Where are we headed?” Annie asked as she huddled beneath the trio of blankets they’d piled on top of themselves.
“To the bakery.”
“To call the police?”
He was no longer surprised their minds worked in tandem. “I don’t have any other choice. I don’t want to delay any longer, and it’s going to take longer to get back because of the snow.”
“That isn’t snow. It’s ice.” She whipped her scarf off and half turned to wrap the bright blue scarf around him. Looping a finger beneath the top edge, she pulled it up enough to cover the bottom half of his face. “Does that help?”
His voice was muffled as he replied, “Me, but you don’t have any protection against the storm.”
“I do.” She raised her shawl up over her bonnet and held it closed in front of her nose.
He was about to argue, then noticed how tight the stitches were in the thick wool shawl that reached almost to her knees. The wind would have to blow harder to drive the icy pellets past them.
“Did Leanna make your shawl?” he asked, to keep the conversation going. For some reason, it didn’t feel as cold when they talked.
“No, I did.”
“I didn’t think you liked handicrafts.”
“I don’t like quilting, but I love to knit.” Her laugh was muffled. “Last Christmas, I made scarves for everyone in the family. The kinder got ones with images of goats and ducks knit into them.”
“They must have liked them.”
“Rhoda says she doesn’t have to insist on the kinder wearing their scarves when they go to school. They love wearing them.”
He chuckled. “Sounds as if they were a great success. Maybe you should think of putting some out for sale at the bakery.”
Her voice dropped to a near whisper. “I don’t know if that’s a gut idea.”
“Why not?” He wondered why she always acted shy and withdrawn when he made a suggestion that would bring her more attention. “You’ve been talking about displaying Leanna’s quilts. I think adding your scarves to the bakery’s wares would add the color and interest to the space like you’re always talking about.” When she didn’t reply, he kept his sigh silent. “Think about it. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Why was she being so grudging? She’d offered him one idea after another, almost every one gut, and he was certain his customers would be interested in her hand-knit scarves.
When Annie remained silent, he put his arm around her shoulders and drew her closer so they could use each other’s warmth to battle the wind. He was relieved to feel her shiver, because that meant she wasn’t being overtaken by the cold yet. She was, he’d learned, far stronger than she looked.
Even so, she let him help her out when they got to the bakery. He left Dusty in a leeward spot, not wanting to unhitch the horse until he was sure when or if he’d be leaving the bakery tonight.
Keeping his arm around Annie, he lurched with her through the wind and into the bakery. They stopped inside the door, and Caleb reveled in taking a breath that wasn’t snatched away by the storm.
He went to the phone and called 911. When someone picked up, it didn’t take long to explain the situation. He was told the sheriff’s department would send a deputy to the bakery as soon as possible.
“It may take a little longer than usual,” the female dispatcher said. “Lots of accidents with the storm.” She confirmed the bakery’s address before hanging up.
Putting down the phone, he said, “Now we wait.”
“The thing we hate most.”
“Ja.” There was nothing else he could say. She knew as well as he did how dangerous the weather was if Becky Sue hadn’t been prepared for the storm.
* * *
Annie made hot chocolate while Caleb tested the fancy kaffi machine that he’d found in one of the crates delivered from the Summerhayses’ house. He kept asking for her help to figure out the many buttons and attachments. She did her best to assist because she was grateful for anything to keep busy while they waited for the deputy to arrive. The ticking of the w
all clock was a constant reminder of each passing minute. She kept listening for a vehicle to pull into the parking lot.
Even so, she recoiled when a heavy knock sounded on the front door. She went into the main room as Caleb hurried to answer the door. A man in a sheriff’s department uniform stood on the other side.
The deputy sheriff thanked Caleb as he came inside. He wasn’t as tall as Caleb, but his shaved head and grim expression warned he was all business. After a quick scan of the space, he introduced himself as Rick Flanagan. He nodded when Caleb gave him his name and hers. An offer of something warm to drink was waved aside by the deputy, and he got down to gathering information on why they’d called the sheriff’s office.
The two men couldn’t appear more different. Deputy Flanagan wore a uniform with a gun in a holster along with a myriad of other gadgets, and a radio and a camera hooked to his shoulder. Caleb’s simple white shirt and black suspenders attached to his broadfall trousers announced he was a plain man who eschewed any sort of violence.
Yet both spoke with the same calm determination to resolve the problem. She wished she could be like them, but her heart was pounding as if trying to break out of her chest.
Could they find Becky Sue in time?
In silence, she watched. Deputy Flanagan listened to Caleb. The deputy nodded and wrote in a small notebook until Caleb said, “And that’s all we know.”
“A girl who’s run away once will run again, I’m sorry to say. Miss Wagler, do you have anything to add?”
“No, sir. Other than I’m worried that she didn’t run away.”
“You believe someone may have forced her to go?”
“I can’t believe she would leave her son behind if she’d had a choice.”
The deputy nodded, but his face remained as free of emotion as the wall behind him. “You may have to make an official statement to that fact when we find her. Running away is very different from abandoning a child.”
“She wouldn’t do that,” Annie asserted.
