A Hand to Hold (21 page)

As she had hoped, Ruth’s second day of school was better than the first. She had prayed for God to help her relax, to be firm but not inflexible. The approach worked. There were no fights, no cheating attempts, and little Lori only cried once and had been easily soothed with a hug. The only disappointment was that Jacob Kline hadn’t shown up. She hoped Zach would be able to talk to him, to find out how that young man ticked.

She had thought about Zach throughout the day. It was hard not to, as nearly everything in the
schulhaus
triggered a memory. Even the scent of the new wood and fresh paint brought his image to her mind. She couldn’t escape him and, she admitted to herself, she didn’t want to.

At the end of the day, she dismissed the class. When the last student exited the schoolhouse, Ruth breathed a sigh of satisfaction.
Thank You, Lord
.

For the next half hour, she graded papers while she waited for Stephen to pick her up. She had just finished checking the last math assignment when she heard a knock on the door. Looking up, she saw Zach standing in the doorway.

“Just checking to see how your day went.” He didn’t come in the door.

“Gut.”
She removed her glasses and smiled. “Exceptionally well, actually.”

He leaned against the doorjamb. “I’m not surprised.” His gaze went to the window. That morning she had stuck a tin can on the sill. The window wasn’t open as wide as before, but the prop was steadier. “Nice fix. I’ll come by later tonight and put in the new window.”

“There’s no hurry. We can manage for a few days without it.”

“All right, but I’ll get it done this weekend.”

“I know you will.” The smile he gave her, along with the light redness she saw on his freckled cheeks, made her heart flip. “Jacob wasn’t at school today.”

“He wasn’t?” He stood straight and walked in the schoolhouse. “I had a talk with his father today. He said since they moved here from Iowa in June, he’s had trouble with Jacob. Said he left behind a lot of
freind
. And he thinks that’s why Jacob’s been running off all summer.”

“That’s not a reason to run away from school or be disrespectful. There are a couple of other students new to the area too.”

Zach shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you. David believes that’s the problem, and he’s not sure what to do with him. He’s got his hands full trying to make the shop a success and support his
familye
.”

“What do you think he does all day?”

Zach shrugged. “Fishing? Hiding in the woods? I don’t know.”

Ruth stood, pushing her chair out from behind her. “Then we should
geh
find him. Tell him how important it is that he attend school, and that he has to be respectful to his parents.”

He let out a bitter chuckle. “If only it were that easy.” He looked down at her. “Ruth, we could scour Middlefield until midnight and we wouldn’t find him. He doesn’t want to be found. He’ll come home tonight, and his
daed
will talk to him again. Matter of fact, he said he’d walk Jacob to school in the morning to apologize.”

Ruth nodded. At least that was something. But it still didn’t give her much insight into Jacob and how to reach him. That would take a lot of prayer and a lot of patience, and she was willing to invest both. “I appreciate you stopping by and letting me know.”

“No problem. If I get a chance to talk to him, I will. But he’s not one for listening, according to his
daed
. Hate to say it, but I know what that’s like too. I was never one to pay much attention to what my
daed
told me.” He shrugged. “Change of subject. Do you have a ride home?”

“
Ya
. Stephen’s picking me up.”

“All right, just making sure.” He moved to leave. “But if you ever need a ride, just let me know. I’ll be glad to give you one.” With that he walked out of the schoolhouse.

Ruth smiled.
I definitely will
.

The next morning Ruth was writing math problems on the blackboard when David and Jacob Kline walked in, thirty minutes before school started. “
Fraulein
Byler?”

She had seen David Kline at church a few times, but they had never formally met. The Klines usually left right after the service. There was a resemblance between father and son. Both had the same hooded gray eyes, thin lips, and hair so dark it was nearly black, although David’s had started to thin. She set down her chalk and walked to them. “Hello,
Herr
Kline.” She moved her gaze to the surly young man next to him. “Jacob. I’m glad to see you here today.”

When Jacob didn’t respond, David nudged him forward. “
Guten morgen
,” he said in a flat tone, not looking at her.

“Jacob’s got something to tell you. Don’t you,
sohn
?”

Jacob crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m sorry.” He practically mouthed the words.

“She didn’t hear you.”

Ruth started to say she did, but she remained silent.

“I’m sorry. There. Can I
geh
now?” When his father gave him a curt nod, he dashed out the door.

David’s expression grew somber. “I’m sorry for that,
Fraulein
Byler. And I’m sorry Jacob’s missed school these past two days. It won’t happen again.”

“
Danki
. I appreciate you coming to let me know. I’ll try to talk to him about the importance of education sometime today.”

Shaking his head, David said, “You can try, but like I told Zach yesterday, my
sohn
isn’t too
gut
of a listener.” An embarrassed look crossed his face. “I guess the apple don’t fall too far from the tree. I was never much for school, although I see the importance of it now.” He tilted his head in the direction of the blackboard. “If I’d paid more attention to that, it’d be a lot easier to run my business. But when I try to tell that to Jacob, he doesn’t want to hear it. Anyway, I’ve got to get back to work. Let me know if you have any more problems with him.”

“I will.” She walked him to the door, then stepped outside. A few other students had arrived at the playground, and she could see Jacob running after a ball so fast that his hat flew off his head. He ran back to get it and plopped it on his head. The tension in his face was gone. It had been replaced with a grin as he played with two other boys near his age. Jacob seemed to fit in seamlessly with the other kids. But maybe that was just a fluke today, and he was fighting homesickness more than she realized. People masked their pain in different ways.

Her mind went back to her school days, which were only a few years ago but seemed longer. The younger children playing tag under a clear blue sky, with the bright sunshine glinting off their yellow straw hats and white prayer
kapps
. Then, as now, a few girls were standing in a small group, taking turns whispering to each other behind cupped hands. Jacob and his friends were punching a volleyball back and forth even though there wasn’t a net, the same way Zach and the other boys had done.

And her standing apart.

Although now she didn’t look at this group of kids and wish she could be a part of them. She
was
a part of this group. They were her class, and they would learn and grow together. That included Jacob, God willing.

She called out to the students, telling them to come inside. They all ran toward the
schulhaus
, those who were barefoot grabbing their shoes and carrying them inside. Jacob was the last one, and he dragged the toes of his shoes on the ground as he walked. He moved to go inside the schoolhouse, but Ruth stopped him.

Ruth said a quick prayer, asking God to give her the words to reach this child. “I’d like to talk to you for a moment before we start the day.”

He looked up at her, his hooded eyes barely open. “I already said I was sorry. What more do you want?”

“Jacob, there’s no need to be angry. I’m trying to help you.”

“I don’t need no help.” He wiped his nose with the top of his forearm. “Especially from you. I’m only here because
mei daed
made me come. But I ain’t gonna learn nothin’, and you can’t make me.”

“You’re right. I can’t make you.”

Surprise crossed his face, and he opened his eyes a little wider. “What?”

“I can’t force you to learn. My job is to help you learn. I can’t do that when you’re not in school.”

Although he was just thirteen, he was nearly equal to her in height. “I don’t wanna be here, and don’t act like you want me here.”

“But I—”

He walked inside, leaving her with her mouth dangling open. So much for reaching him. But at least he went inside and didn’t run away.
Thank You, Lord, for small favors
.

For the next week, Stephen went to the Coblentz farm every evening. Just as Deborah had warned, Moses wasn’t happy about it.

“You’re here again?” Moses growled as Stephen approached him in the barn at the end of the week.

“Now that’s a fine greeting.” Stephen grinned, but it faded when he saw the old man’s stern expression.

“We agreed you’d help out for a couple of days. Temporarily. Remember?”

“I know. But Deborah and Naomi are busy canning vegetables from the garden, and you need to get the corn in. Plus there’s the fence that needs fixing, the roof in the barn is leaking—”

“You think I don’t know all that?” Moses leaned against the horse stall. The dappled mare whinnied and took a step back. The old man looked up at Stephen, weariness seemingly permanently etched in the lines and crags on his face. “Maybe I should just sell it.”

“Sell the farm?” Stephen looked at him, incredulous. “Why would you do that?”

“I can’t keep relying on your charity.”

“It’s not charity—”

“And I know
mei dochders
can’t take care of the place themselves.” He looked down at the ground. “It would be different if they were married. But I can’t see that happening any time soon.”

Stephen wondered if exhaustion combined with grief over Martha’s death had clouded Moses’ mind. It was unusual for a woman Naomi’s age to still be single, but that didn’t mean she’d never get married. And as for Deborah . . . he had no doubt she’d get married. There was something special about her. The way her eyes filled with love when she looked at her son. Her thoughtfulness in making sure Stephen had something to eat, despite him refusing supper before. Then there was the shy way she’d looked at him the other evening in the kitchen, when he’d accidentally bumped into her. He hadn’t realized how pretty she was until that moment. No, she didn’t have to worry about not getting married. Any man would be lucky to have her.

Moses’ deep sigh brought him out of his thoughts. “You don’t need to give up yet, Moses. Helping you isn’t work for me. I enjoy it. And I’m learning a lot. So don’t worry about not being able to pay me or taking advantage of me.” He looked down at the man. “I don’t know what else I can say to convince you, other than this. Think about your
grosssohn
. If you sell the farm, what will his legacy be?”

Moses blinked a couple times, and Stephen thought he saw his lip tremble. “I hadn’t thought about that. You’re right. This will all be his someday, Lord willing.” With renewed energy he stood up. “Let’s get back to work.”

Relief ran through Stephen. He followed Moses outside to the south end of the barn. He looked up to see several five-inch gaps and holes in the roof.

“There’s the ladder.” Moses pointed to the six-foot-tall metal ladder leaning against the side of the barn. “You’re not afraid of heights, are you?”

“As tall as I am, I better not be.”

Moses laughed, making Stephen grin. The speed with which the man could switch moods was amazing, and in this case, he was glad to see Moses had snapped out of his melancholy.

After checking that his tool belt was secure, he fetched the ladder and started to climb. Once on the roof, he looked down and saw Moses heading for the pasture. Stephen noticed he spent a lot of time out there, repairing the fence, which was broken in a few places. Seeing the sudden slump in the old man’s shoulders, Stephen frowned. Maybe he hadn’t shaken off his sadness after all.

Chapter 14

D
eborah sat in the old hickory chair on the front porch, watching her father trod to the back pasture again. Over the past week, he had spent every evening out in that pasture, and tonight was no exception. She saw him disappear beyond the gentle slope, and she sighed. Stephen had mentioned that the fence needed repairing, and undoubtedly her father was doing that. But the memory of finding him disheveled and partly out of his head with grief when she first arrived in Middlefield was never far from her mind. She wanted to talk to him, especially about her mother. No one mentioned
Mami
anymore, as if she’d never existed. Her connection to her mother was slipping away, and she was trying to cling to it. But like Naomi, her father went to bed right after dark and rose early, often heading outside before sunup.