[Kentucky Brothers 01] - The Journey (31 page)

With heart pounding and hands sweating so badly she could barely hold on to the reins, Suzanne got her horse and buggy moving quickly and raced out of the yard. She wanted to stay and see if Titus was okay, but first she needed to get to a phone and call for help. Since the Beilers’ place was the closest, that’s where she would go.

When she arrived a short time later, she raced to the house and pounded on the door.

Esther answered Suzanne’s knock, and she quickly told her friend what had happened.

“Ach, my!” Esther exclaimed. “Now I know why Titus is late for supper. We were beginning to wonder if he’d forgotten.” She clasped Suzanne’s arm. “We’d better run out to the phone shanty and call the sheriff right now.”

When they returned to the house a short time later, Suzanne explained to Esther’s folks all that had happened. “I’m worried about Titus,” she said. “I’m going back to his place to see if he’s okay.”

“I’m going with you,” Esther put in.

Esther’s father, Henry, shook his head firmly. “I cannot allow that, girls. The man who hit Titus is obviously dangerous. We need to let the sheriff handle this.”

Suzanne knew Henry was right, but she felt almost sick thinking about what had happened to Titus and wondering if he’d been seriously hurt. She paced back and forth on the Beilers’ front porch until she heard sirens heading in the direction of Titus’s place and knew it must be the sheriff.

With no thought for her safety, Suzanne darted down the porch steps, untied her horse from the hitching rail, and climbed into her buggy. Taking up the reins, she directed Dixie onto the road.

When she arrived at Titus’s place, she saw that the sheriff and several of his men had the trailer surrounded and were calling for those inside to come out.

When there was no response, two of the sheriff’s deputies cautiously entered the house.

Suzanne held her breath and waited to see what would happen.

Several minutes went by; then one of the deputies stepped out of the trailer. “There’s no one inside except Titus, and he’s lying on the floor with his head bleeding. You’d better call for an ambulance right away,” he called to the sheriff.

Suzanne’s heart pounded as she leaped from the buggy.
Dear Lord, please don’t let Titus be dead
.

S
uzanne picked up a magazine and thumbed through a couple of pages. She’d been sitting in the hospital waiting room for the last hour, waiting to hear how Titus was doing. Knowing he’d need someone to go to the hospital with him, after the sheriff had called for the ambulance, she’d put her horse in Titus’s barn and ridden with Titus.

Someone touched Suzanne’s shoulder. She jumped up from the chair and whirled around, surprised to see Esther and her parents.

“We came as soon as we got your phone message,” Esther said. “How’s Titus?”

Suzanne shrugged. “I haven’t heard anything yet, and I’m really worried. What if he’s—” Her voice caught on the sob rising in her throat.

“You took a chance going over to his place when I told you not to,” Henry said. “You could also be in the examining room right now; not just Titus.”

“I … I couldn’t help it. I needed to know whether he was all right.”

“Why’d you go over there in the first place?” Dinah asked.

“I was on my way home from the greenhouse and decided to stop and see if I could help him clean up the mess in the trailer.” Suzanne drew in a shaky breath. “I hope Titus will be okay.”

Esther reached for Suzanne’s hand and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “We just need to keep the faith and pray for him.”

“Who were those men, and why’d they want to hurt Titus?” Henry asked.

“I’m not sure, but from what I heard the sheriff say while we were waiting for the ambulance, I think it has something to do with the money Titus found in his phone shanty.” Suzanne paused for a breath. “By the time the sheriff got to Titus’s place, the men were gone. They’d just run off and left Titus bleeding on the living room floor.”

Dinah’s eyes widened. “If those men aren’t caught, they might come back or try to hurt someone else.”

“Not to worry,” Allen said, stepping into the waiting room. “I just spoke with the sheriff, and the men have been caught. They were found hiding in the woods.” He looked down at Suzanne and smiled. “Thanks for letting me know about Titus. How’s he doing, do you know?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t heard a thing since they took him in.”

“I’m going up to the nurse’s station and see what I can find out, and then I’m going to phone Titus’s brother Zach so he can let his folks and the rest of the family know. I’ll be back soon.” Allen paused and pulled a cell phone from his pocket. “This belongs to Titus. He left it in my truck this morning. Too bad he didn’t have it with him when those men showed up at the trailer. He might have been able to call for help.” He turned and hurried from the room.

Suzanne sucked in another deep breath and tried to relax. If she felt this bad about Titus, she could only imagine how Esther must feel.

“Do you think Titus’s folks will come here when they get the news?” Esther asked her mother.

Dinah nodded. “I’d travel any distance if one of my kinner had been hurt.”

“It would be nice to meet Titus’s folks,” Esther said, “but not under these conditions.”

Suzanne shuddered. She couldn’t imagine how horrible it would be for his parents if they traveled all this way only to be told that their son was dead.

Stop thinking negative thoughts
, she scolded herself.
Pray, and thank God in advance for Titus’s healing
.

Paradise, Pennsylvania

Fannie had just sat down on the sofa beside Abraham, hoping to read awhile before going to bed, when the door flew open and Zach rushed into the room, his eyes wide and his face glistening with sweat.

“What’s wrong? You look umgerennt. Has something happened?” Abraham asked.

“I am upset. Something pretty terrible has happened.” Zach paced the floor for several seconds; then he finally took a seat in the rocking chair across from them and drew in a couple of deep breaths. “I don’t want to frighten you, but I just had a phone call from Allen, letting me know that Titus is in the hospital in Hopkinsville.”

Fannie dropped her book and sat up straight. “What’s happened? Why’s Titus in the hospital?”

Zach explained all that he’d heard, and ended by saying,” Allen spoke with one of the nurses, but she wasn’t able to give him any information about Titus’s condition.”

Fannie jumped up. “This wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t moved!” She trembled as she turned to face Abraham. “We have to go to Kentucky!”

Abraham nodded grimly. “You’re right. We’ll leave right away.”

Hopkinsville, Kentucky

Titus moaned and opened his eyes. A middle-aged woman wearing a white uniform stood beside his bed. “Wh-where am I?”

“You’re in the hospital.” She placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “You have a concussion and a pretty deep gash on the back of your head. You’ll have to stay in the hospital a few days for observation.”

He moaned again. “No wonder my head hurts so much.”

“There’s a young man out in the hall who says he’s your friend. Would you like to see him?”

“Sure.”

The nurse left the room, and Allen entered a few seconds later. A deep frown etched his forehead as he moved toward Titus’s bed. “I’m really sorry about this. I should never have let you go home alone.”

“It’s not your fault. You had no idea the men who ransacked the trailer would come back.”

“I’ve talked to the sheriff, so I know the men have been caught, but I have no idea what happened before the sheriff came. Do you feel up to filling me in?”

“The men have been caught?”

Allen nodded. “After one of them slugged you on the head, they took off. But the sheriff’s deputies caught them hiding in the woods behind your place. They’re in jail now, and the sheriff will be questioning them about the money they hid.” Allen took a seat in one of the chairs beside Titus’s bed. “It’s a good thing we haven’t spent any of that money, because I’m sure now that it was stolen.”

Titus tried to sit up, but it hurt too much, so he lay there with his eyes closed, trying to remember all that had happened. “Everything seems kind of hazy, but I remember getting ready to go to Esther’s for supper, and then …” He paused and rubbed his forehead. “Then two men showed up and demanded that I tell ‘em where the money was.”

“What’d you say?”

“Said it was in the bank.” Titus grimaced, as the details became clearer. “One of them shoved me real hard, and the other one said I’d have to take ‘em to the bank and get the money. Then I heard a horse and buggy pull into the yard, and when I saw that it was Suzanne, I shouted a warning to her. That must have been when I got hit on the head, because I don’t remember anything after that.” His eyes snapped open. “Where’s Suzanne? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. She and Esther, as well as Esther’s folks, are in the waiting room.” Allen glanced toward the door. “I think Suzanne was really worried about you, because the sheriff told me that she insisted on riding to the hospital with you in the ambulance.”

“Tell her I said thanks.”

“If you’d like to tell her yourself, I’ll go ask her to come in.”

“Maybe later. I’m tired and my head hurts too much to talk anymore right now.”

“Okay. I’ll leave you alone to rest.” Allen stood. “Oh, I forgot to mention. I phoned Zach and asked him to let your family know what happened. I’m sure your folks will hire a driver and come to Kentucky right away.”

Titus moaned. “That’s just great. If Mom sees me in the hospital, she’ll insist that I move back home. Well, I won’t do it. Kentucky’s my home now, and I’m stayin’ put.”

F
annie’s heart pounded as she and Abraham hurried down the hall toward Titus’s hospital room. They’d hired a driver to bring them to Kentucky, and it had taken them over twelve hours to get here. She was not only tired and stiff from riding in the van so long, but she was also apprehensive about what they’d learn when they saw Titus.

“Don’t look so glum,” Abraham said, as they approached the door. “From what we were told, Titus’s injuries aren’t life threatening.”

“I know, and I’m grateful for that, but it upsets me to know he was hurt by those men, and I shudder to think of how much worse it could have been.”

He nodded. “We have much to be thankful for, because the Lord was surely watching out for our son.”

Fannie paused at the door, and tears gathered in her eyes. She blinked several times, to keep them from spilling over. “Are you going to help me convince Titus to come back home with us once he’s well enough to travel?”

Abraham shrugged. “Let’s not talk about that right now. Let’s put on a happy face and say hello to our son.”