The Hope of Refuge (28 page)

Ephraim hoped Rueben would move on before they passed him, but he didn’t.

“Aren’t you going to stop and speak to him?” Cara asked.

“No.”

“At least wave?” She studied him as if waiting for some piece of information to make sense.

“He wasn’t looking our way.”

It did seem a little odd that Rueben hadn’t made eye contact or acknowledged them, but in a way Ephraim couldn’t blame Rueben for being angry with him.

Thankfully, she dropped the matter. Soon they were entering his driveway.

He slowed the horse as he pulled into the barn. “I haven’t been home before dark all week.”

She rubbed her thumb and index finger together, mimicking what she’d told him represented the world’s smallest violin.

“Slave driver.”

“Rich boy.”

She slid the strap of the backpack onto one arm and climbed down. He unhitched the horse and put it in the field. Better Days ran after the horse, and Lori took off.

She gazed beyond the gate that led to the pasture. “Look at that pond.”

He’d seen it a million times, but today the golden amber shades reflecting the almost-setting sun reminded him of the harvest moon. “Want to walk that way?”

“Yeah, I do.”

As they strolled, Cara seemed to soak in her surroundings, studying the trees and wildflowers as they drew close to the pond.

“‘From, look.” Lori ran up to them, holding a stick. “Watch this.” She tossed it, and Better Days raced to it. He stared at it before running back to Lori.

“Here, boy.” Ephraim whistled. The puppy ignored him, but the mama dog came running from nowhere. Lori giggled and grabbed another stick. While Cara gazed at the pond, Lori tossed the stick, and, surprisingly, the mama dog fetched it each time.

Cara tucked her arms around herself. “It’s gorgeous.”

“A night sky is better.”

She went to the water’s edge, and he wondered what she was thinking. And feeling.

The leaves on the trees that lined the upper banks whispered in the breeze. A group of mallards landed on the water in front of her, causing ripples.

Lori ran toward her mother but couldn’t stop in time to keep from pushing her forward. Lori fell back on the bank, but Cara almost landed in the pond. While regaining her balance, the mama dog crashed into the back of her legs, making her knees buckle. Cara fell headfirst into the shallow water.

Ephraim ran in, grabbed her by the arm, and helped her to her feet. Mud dripped from her arms and chest. Her white sneakers were hidden under the soft, gooey mud.

“You okay? The dog—”

She slung filth from her hands. “I’m well aware of what happened.”

“Come on, let’s get you out of here.” He held on to her arm as he took a step toward dry land.

Cara tried to move forward, but she seemed stuck. She yanked on one leg. Her bare foot suddenly jerked free, and she jolted against Ephraim, and they both began to topple. As he reached for her other arm to steady her, the dog jumped on him, sending both of them into the water.

He got to his feet, feeling the slimy muck seeping through his clothes. He grappled for better footing and then took her by the arm, trying to help her stand. As she pulled against him to get upright, he slipped and took her down with him.

Cara sat in the shallow water, looking at him as if he’d planned all this. “We can do this, right?”

He laughed. “We haven’t been successful so far. But I don’t think we can give up.” He stood and reached for her.

She put both hands in the air like a stop sign. “Oh no. Not a chance. You’ve helped me enough, thanks.”

Every moment he spent with her seemed to make him crave more. Suddenly he realized they were in far murkier waters than the pond.

She pulled herself to her feet and dug in the mud until she found her shoe. Tossing it to the bank, she almost fell again.

With her feet and hands in the shallow water, she half walked, half crawled onto dry land and sat on the grass. “I smell like fish and sludge. Yuck.” She glanced up to see tears in Lori’s eyes. “If you cry, kid, so help me I’ll push ‘From back in the water.”

“What’d I do?” He took two giant steps out of the water and flopped onto the ground next to her. “Let’s throw the dog into the water. This was all her fault.”

The tension in Lori’s face eased. “You’re not mad, are you, Mom?”

“Yes, yes I am.”

Lori laughed. “Seriously?”

“I’m also wet and muddy.” She stood. “One bathroom for two adults to get cleaned up. Now, how’s that supposed to…”

She let her sentence trail, and Ephraim looked to see why. On the hill above them stood Mahlon, Deborah, and Anna Mary. They stared. His sister looked as if the scene in front of her made no sense. She turned away. Mahlon waved and then followed her. He knew what was happening. They’d heard the ruckus and had come to see if someone needed help, but now they had to leave without talking to him. Anna Mary didn’t budge.

“Tough crowd,” Cara mumbled. “What’s going on?”

He shrugged, watching as Anna Mary came toward him. Was she going to sidestep the ban and talk to him?

Cara got to her feet and started up the hill. “Anna Mary, hi.”

Anna Mary didn’t respond. She focused only on him. “This is wrong, Ephraim. Are you trying to make her think you could actually be interested in someone like her?”

“Someone like me?” Cara’s voice took on an edge.

She faced Cara. “I’m not blaming you. He should think. But men don’t, you know.”

“Someone like me?” Cara repeated.

He wasn’t surprised at Cara’s seething tone. But he didn’t understand why Anna Mary wasn’t sounding at least a bit jealous. Since they began seeing each other, she’d had times of flaring with jealousy over girls he’d spoken to or taken home from a singing umpteen years ago. And none of them meant anything. Never had. Yet his feelings for Cara were multiplying faster than made any logical sense.

“While he’s been
helping
you, his business didn’t meet its scheduled work load.”

“That’s enough, Anna Mary.” But it was too late. He saw in Cara’s eyes that she understood more than he wanted her to.

Anna Mary clenched her jaw. “Then we need to talk. Privately.” Cara snatched the backpack off the ground and held her hand out for Lori. When they were out of hearing range, Anna Mary turned back to him. “The bishop gave me permission to be here.”

Ephraim’s heart rate increased. “What’s going on?”

“The shop is already getting behind on orders, and you’ve only been gone a week. Grey and Mahlon tried to keep up, but your Daed had to step in. It’s too much stress for him. His arrhythmia went wild, and now he’s in the hospital.”

As if the past week had been a fling and now reality had closed in around him, he couldn’t catch his breath. “I want to see him.”

“The bishop said he’s willing to lift the ban concerning your Daed.”

“Good. And I want to talk to his cardiologist.”

“Becca’s been trying to see the doctor too. Last I talked to her, she said he’s supposed to be making hospital rounds tomorrow morning.”

Ephraim’s heart twisted. Cara couldn’t finish that painting job by herself, not before the Garretts came home. But he couldn’t let himself be sidetracked any longer. The last time he spoke to Daed’s nurse, she hinted there might be an option concerning his heart problems. He needed to check into that before his father’s heart failed altogether.

Trying to plan a dozen things at once, he felt as if he were trapped inside the old dark silo where Cara once hid. “I need you to do several things for me. One, ask Mahlon and Grey to help Cara tomorrow. She’s wrapping up a painting job. If either of them will go in my stead, I’ll head straight to the hospital.”

“They’ll do it. You know they will. But I have more that I need to tell you.”

He wasn’t sure he could handle more.

“My Daed, the bishop, and a few members of the community have found a place for Cara to move to—in Carlisle.”

“Your Daed got involved?”

“He’s more upset than I am about that woman being here.”

With his mind lingering on Cara day and night, Ephraim could see why Rueben felt concern. The emotions churning inside him alarmed him at times. Maybe he should let the wisdom of the men in the community prevail over his current choices.

“The twenty-mile distance will more than satisfy the bishop’s desires that she move on, but it’s not so far you can’t keep up with how she’s doing. Daed and some others pitched in to cover three months of rent plus the deposit. The bishop also has a list of potential jobs within walking distance of the place.”

Duty to his family and community and desire to be with Cara warred within him.

“Let her go, Ephraim. Stop trying to be her answer to everything, and do what’s best for your family. For the business and community. For us.”

He knew she was right. With his Daed sick and the shop struggling, he had no choice. Besides, finding Cara a place and making sure she and Lori weren’t separated was his goal—that and getting the community to accept who she was and treat her right. If the bishop, Rueben Lantz, and some others had gone through all the steps to find her a place, they must be willing to accept her—at least somewhat—in spite of the rumors concerning her and her mother.

Ephraim made himself respond. “Ya. It does seem to be time.”

Cara’s friendship seemed to fade, like a dream he couldn’t hold on to once he awoke, leaving only longing in its stead.

“How could he do this?” Deborah fought against tears. “It’s like he’s enjoying being shunned. Did you see him laughing and horsing around?” She stopped at the clothesline and yanked a towel from its clips.

Mahlon slid his hand into hers. “It was a funny situation. That’s all. They’d both fallen into the water.”

“What was he doing at the pond with her anyway? Having a stroll has nothing to do with giving her a place to live.” Deborah half folded the towel and dropped it into the basket. “And what if Daed had seen that? Does Ephraim understand what it could do to him?”

Mahlon picked up the laundry basket and held it for her. “Your Daed wasn’t there. Don’t borrow trouble.”

She took a dress off the line and folded it halfheartedly before tossing it in the basket. “I wanted to be the one to talk to him.”

“I know. But the bishop was right. If Ephraim was going to feel drawn back into the fold, it’d be Anna Mary doing the pulling. If a woman in love can’t make a man see and hear what he needs to, no one can.”

“Mamm could’ve gotten through to him. If she were around, he’d not have done any of this.”

“You can’t know that. Come on, Deb. Ephraim deserves a little room. He’s stepping out to do something he feels is right. Do you really think he’s that wrong?”

Without answering him Deborah pulled more clothes from the line and wiped at tears. This past week had been miserable. And knowing Mahlon wanted to get away by himself only added to the hurt she carried.

Seeing Anna Mary coming toward them, Deborah stopped messing with laundry. “How’d it go?”

She gave a nervous shudder. “I’ve never been so bold with Ephraim. But I told him what he needed to do, and he agreed.”

“He’s going to do it?”

Anna Mary nodded.

“Did Cara agree?”

“I didn’t talk in front of her.” Anna Mary crossed her arms. “But I told Ephraim it’s not right to act so friendly around her. She’s gonna get the wrong idea about how he feels toward her.”

Deborah sighed. “I just hope Daed doesn’t find out that Ephraim’s not keeping his distance from her as he should.”

Ephraim knocked on his own front door, waited a few moments, and entered. How would he explain to Cara that his family and business needs dictated his life? They had for years.

She was standing beside the double kitchen sinks, still wearing the wet, muddy clothes. Her face and arms dripped with clean water as she grabbed a hand towel. The backpack sat in one of the sinks. She turned to face him. “You’ve been lying to me.”

“I have not.”

She ran the rag over her face and bare arms, keeping her eyes fixed on him. The hurt she tried to hide sliced into him. “Fine. Don’t be honest with me.”

With no clue what to say, he wrestled with everything that had to be said.