A Sister's Hope (43 page)

“Why did you come here tonight?” Martha dared to ask.

“Came to burn this barn down; that’s why I came.”

Martha’s palms grew sweaty as she thought about the dream
she’d had where the barn was on fire. Had it been a warning of things to come?

“You can’t do this, John.” Martha struggled not to cry. She had to remain calm. She couldn’t let him know how frightened she felt.

Dear God,
she silently prayed,
show me what to do.

“Who’s gonna stop me from burnin’ the barn?” Before Martha could respond, John grabbed her around the neck and jerked her to his side. “If you tell Harold, you’re gonna burn, too.”

“I wish you’d believe me, Roman,” Luke said as he paced in front of the kitchen table. Even though it was dark in the kitchen and Roman couldn’t see Luke’s face, he could tell by the tone of his voice that he was agitated.

Well, I’m agitated, too. I can’t believe that one of our own could stoop so low as to attack a fellow Amish man.
Roman gritted his teeth and clasped his fingers tightly together.
And I can’t believe one of my own daughters would betray me by falling for the one who’s been attacking us.

“I’d really like to go look for that key,” Luke said.

Roman was about to reply when the back door opened and clicked shut.

“Roman, are you here?”

“I’m in the kitchen,” Roman replied, recognizing his sister’s voice.

“It’s dark in here. How come you don’t have a gas lamp lit?”

“Didn’t think it’d be a good idea to light up the place and let anyone know I was here.”

“Oh, right.” Rosemary’s voice grew closer as she moved across the room.

“Hello, Rosemary.”

“Luke? Is that you?”

“Jah.”

“What’s going on here?”

Roman could see Rosemary’s silhouette as she came closer. “Luke
and I are havin’ a little discussion,” he mumbled. “I caught him sneaking around in the yard.”

“I wasn’t sneaking,” Luke defended himself. “I was just checking things out by the house; then I was going to the barn to spend the night so I could keep an eye on things, when Roman came up and startled me.”

“You were planning to sleep in the barn?” Rosemary’s tone was one of disbelief.

“That’s right. I knew Roman and Judith were gone, so I figured I’d take advantage of the fact that nobody was around and hide out in the barn a few nights.”

“Whatever for?”

“He made up some wild story about him and Martha working together to find out who’s been attacking us,” Roman said before Luke could respond. “Did you ever hear such a tale?”

Rosemary cleared her throat a couple of times. “Actually, Martha did tell me she and Luke—”

“I know, I know. She and Luke are
in love.
”

“It’s true we are,” Luke spoke again. “That’s one of the reasons I need to clear my name and find out who’s responsible.”

Rosemary moved over to the table and placed her hand on Roman’s shoulder. “Before you interrupted me, I was going to say that Martha told me she and Luke were doing some investigating because they wanted to find out who was behind the attacks. I believe Luke when he says he was planning to sleep in the barn so he could keep a watch on things. Maybe we should go up to Grace and Cleon’s place and ask Martha to confirm what Luke’s said,” she suggested.

Roman shook his head. “No way! It’s the middle of the night, and I’m not waking my daughter out of a sound sleep so she can tell me how much she loves Luke.” He grunted. “She’d probably say most anything to keep him out of trouble.”

“Then at least let’s go out to the barn so I can look for the key I dropped,” Luke said.

“What key?” Rosemary asked.

“The key to the padlock that locks the barn. Martha gave it to me
so I could get inside at night.”

Rosemary touched Roman’s shoulder again and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I think we should see if the key is there, don’t you?”

Roman ground his teeth as he mulled things over. Should he go look for the key to please Rosemary, or should he phone the sheriff?

J
ohn slipped the wrench into his pants pocket and stood. “There’s been enough talk!” He reached into his shirt pocket and withdrew a cigarette lighter; then he bent down and grabbed a handful of hay. “If ya don’t wanna burn with the barn, then you’d better get outa here now.”

Martha squeezed her eyes shut and started to pray.
Please, God, don’t let John do this. Give me the right words to say.
She opened her eyes and drew in a deep breath. “I. . .I don’t know all the details of how things were between my dad and your stepdad, but I’m sorry your stepdad took his anger out on you and your mother.”

The stubble of hay crackled under John’s feet as he shifted his position. “Roman’s gonna be sorry.” His voice cracked. “He ruined my life. He’s gotta pay.”

“Your life’s not ruined, John. You have a good business, a well-trained dog that’s devoted to you, and you’ve got your whole life ahead of you. If you’d just—”

“Shut up!” John flicked the lighter, and a glow of light illuminated his face. Deep lines etched his forehead. His eyes looked red and swollen. He pointed to the hayloft ladder. “Go down!”

Martha did as he requested, praying with each step she took. There had to be a way to get through to John. She couldn’t let him burn Dad’s barn. Her throat felt clogged as she thought about her dogs in their kennels near the back of the barn. She had to save them—Dad’s horses, too. Maybe if she made a run for the door, she could dash up
the hill to Cleon and Grace’s place and get help before it was too late. Or should she stay and keep talking to John—try to make him see the error of his ways? After all, John needed saving, too.

When John stepped off the bottom rung of the ladder behind her, she turned to him and said, “Luke really likes you, John. He’s said many times what a good boss you are. He enjoys working for you.”

“Luke’s a good guy, not like Roman.”

Martha cringed. If John liked Luke so much, then why had he tried to make Luke look like the one who’d done the attacks?

“My dad’s not a bad person, John,” she said. “It’s not his fault your stepdad drank or beat you.”

“Uh-huh. Harold said it was. Someone’s gotta pay.”

“Harold said that because he couldn’t face up to his own problems,” Martha said. “It was Harold’s drinking that got him fired, and he beat you and your mother because he needed help for his drinking problem and uncontrollable temper, not because my dad fired him.” She paused to gauge John’s reaction, but he said nothing.

“Do you believe in God, John?”

He rocked back and forth on his heels. “Mom did. She read her Bible. She prayed when Harold got drunk.” He snorted. “For all the good it did her! God never answered Mom’s prayers. God didn’t care about us. If He had, He would’ve done somethin’ to make Harold stop. Roman needs to pay.”

“God doesn’t
make
us do anything,” Martha said, carefully choosing her words. “He gave us a free will to choose between right and wrong. You can’t blame my dad for the actions of your stepdad, either. Harold chose to drink and abuse his family; nobody made him do it.”

John gave no reply, but he made no move to light the barn on fire, either. He snapped the cigarette lighter closed and shoved it in his pocket. Martha took that as a good sign and continued with what she felt God had laid on her heart.

“Instead of hating your stepdad and my dad, you need to forgive them.”

John shook his head. “I can’t.”

“In your strength, you can’t, but with God’s help, you can. In Matthew 6:14, God’s Word says: ‘For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.’ ” Martha touched John’s arm. “The things you’ve done to my family are wrong. The only way you’ll ever find peace in your heart is to seek God’s forgiveness.”

John drew in a ragged breath and blew it out with another snort. “There’s only one way to find peace. I’ve gotta end it all.”

End it all?
Was John saying he planned to commit suicide? Was he going to burn the barn with him in it? Or was he planning to do worse things to them?

As Roman, Luke, and Rosemary approached the barn, Roman noticed that the door was slightly open. He turned to Luke. “Did you unlock the lock before you dropped the key?”

Luke nodded. “Said I did, didn’t I?”

“Did you open the door?”

“No, I never got that far.”

Roman frowned. “But it’s open now, so that means someone must be in the barn.” He turned to Rosemary. “You’d better stay out here. Luke and I will go in and see what’s up.”

She touched his arm. “Listen, I hear voices. Do you hear them, Roman?”

He tipped his head and listened. “You’re right. Someone must be inside.”

“Maybe it’s Cleon and Martha. Could be they came to feed her dogs,” Rosemary said.

“At this hour?” Roman blew out an exasperated breath.

“I’m going in,” Luke said, pushing past them.

As soon as Roman stepped inside, he realized that one of the voices was Martha’s.

“She’s talking to someone,” Luke whispered as they crept along in the dark.

“Maybe it’s Cleon.” Roman followed the sounds of Martha’s voice. As they drew closer, he saw the back of her head. He shined his
flashlight in that direction, and she turned to face him.

A man dressed in Amish clothes stepped out from behind Martha.

Luke rushed forward. “John! What are you doing in Roman’s barn in the middle of the night, wearing Amish clothes?”

“That’s what I’m wondering, too,” Roman said.

John kicked a hunk of straw with the toe of his boot and mumbled, “Came to burn down the barn.”

Rosemary gasped, and Roman gripped the flashlight so hard his fingers ached. “You were going to do what?”

John’s finger shook as he pointed it at Roman. “Came to make you pay for what you did to me and Mom!”

Roman’s forehead wrinkled as he slowly shook his head. “I don’t understand. I’ve never done anything to you. I don’t even know your mother.”

“John’s stepdad used to work for you,” Martha spoke up. “I guess he had a drinking problem and you fired him because of it.” Her voice was thick with emotion. “John said his stepdad used to beat him and his mother, and—”

Roman’s jaw dropped. “Harold Crawford? Was he your stepdad, John?”

John nodded. “I vowed to make you pay for turnin’ the only man I’d ever known as a father into an evil monster.”

“So you’re the one who did these things against the Hostettlers?” Luke stepped between John and Martha. “And you tried to make it look as if it was me?”

“That’s right. Roman’s gotta pay for every year Harold smacked me and Mom around.”

Roman trembled as he struggled to keep his emotions under control. Violence went against the Amish ways, but at this moment, he wanted to do something that would make John pay for all the horrible things he had done to Roman’s family.

“I was just telling John that he doesn’t have to hate you or his stepdad,” Martha said. “I told him he could ask God to forgive his sins and choose to forgive those who have hurt him.”

“Martha’s right,” Luke added. “You can release your pain to God and forgive Roman, your stepdad, and yourself.”

John’s gaze went to Martha, back to Luke, and finally to Roman. With a shuddering sob, he dropped to his knees.