The Hope of Refuge (8 page)

“Lori, we need to move. Now.”

“I am moving. Watch me.” She spurred the tree and mimicked all the motions of riding a horse.

The sound of the real horses’ clopping grew louder. She couldn’t see a rig just yet, but it’d top that hill soon.

“Lori.” Cara narrowed her eyes, giving another sharp look. “Now.”

Lori huffed, but she hung on to the tree with her arms, lowering her legs as close to the ground as she could. Cara wrapped her hands around her daughter’s tiny waist. “Okay, drop.”

Lori did.

“Come on. We need to keep walking, like we’re just out for a stroll, okay?” They hurried to the far side of the road near the old barn.

Her daughter tugged on her hand, stopping her. “Did you hear that?”

What, the sound of me failing you?

Lori’s brown eyes grew large. “I hear puppies.” She pulled at her mom’s hand, trying to hurry her. “It’s coming from that building.”

The whole plot looked abandoned, from the empty foundation to the dilapidated barn, and Cara thought maybe it was a better idea to get off the road and totally out of sight. The two ran to the barn door. As they ducked inside, Cara spotted two horses heading their way, pulling a buck-board. That meant she and Lori might have been seen too. She closed the door and peeked through the slats, hoping the rig passed on by.

“Mom, look!”

Her daughter was sitting in the middle of a litter of six puppies, all excited to have her attention.

“Shh.” Cara peered out the slit of the slightly open barn door, trying to see where the horses and rig had gone. She didn’t hear any clopping sounds.

“Excuse me.” A male voice called out to her.

She jolted and looked in the other direction. Two men sat in the horse-drawn wagon, staring at the barn.

“Stay here,” Cara whispered firmly before stepping outside.

Ephraim held the girl’s stare, feeling as if he’d seen her somewhere before. She certainly wasn’t someone he’d met while doing cabinetry work. With her short crop of blond hair, tattered jeans, a tight sweater-shirt that didn’t quite cover her belly, he’d remember if he’d been in her house.

But those brown eyes… Where had he ever seen eyes that shade of golden bronze…or ones filled with that much attitude? On one hand, she gave off an aura of a bit of uncertainty, perhaps an awareness that she wasn’t on her own property. But there was something else, something… cynical and cold.

She stepped away from the barn. “Is there a problem?”

“I was wondering the same thing. You’re on private property.”

“Yeah, I didn’t figure this was a national park or anything. I’m just looking around. The old place has character.”

“Thanks, but it being old is a cause for potential danger. I’d prefer you kept moving.”

“I bet you would. I’m sure you’re real concerned about my safety.”

The sensation of remembering her made his chest tingle. Maybe she was one of the fresh-air teens from New York the Millers sponsored each summer. They usually didn’t arrive until mid-June, but… “Are you from around here?”

A bit of surprise overtook the hardness in her eyes for a moment. “Is that the Amish version of ‘Haven’t we met before?’”

Ephraim’s face burned at the hint that he was coming on to her. He removed his hat, propped his elbow on his leg, and leaned forward. “It was the polite version of ‘I want you off my property.’ But if you’re a newcomer to the area who’s out for a walk, I was willing to be nice about it.”

She raised an eyebrow, and he got the feeling she was holding back from telling him what she really thought. He’d had enough experience with her kind of Englischer women from his days of living and working among them to know that her restraint wasn’t out of respect as much as self-serving interest.

She dipped her fingertips into the front pockets of her jeans. “Like I said, we just stopped in for a minute. I didn’t think a brief look around would cause such a fuss.”

Slipping his hat back on his head, he considered his words. Dry Lake had plenty of teen troubles sometimes, and in his caution he was probably coming across more harsh than he should. “I…I—”

Deborah screamed. Ephraim scanned the area and spotted her running toward them and motioning. “It’s Daed. Hurry!”

Ready to dismiss the unusual stranger, he slapped the reins against the horse’s back and the rig took off.

Cara slid through the barely open barn door while keeping her eye on the horse and wagon as it headed down the road. The man who did the talking was every bit as cold and personable as winter with a tattered coat. She’d seen it too many times before—good-looking, strong men as unfeeling and heartless as the dead. “Come on, sweetie. We’ve got to go.”

“No, Mom. Come look.”

One glance at Lori erased a bit of stress and fatigue. It felt odd to grin, but the furry black pups, already weighing about five pounds, were sprawled across her daughter’s lap, sleeping soundly while she petted them.

Lori gazed up at her. “We can’t leave. They like me.”

Was that a trace of awe and excitement in her daughter’s eyes and voice?

Cara knelt beside her and stroked a puppy “They’re real nice, Lorabean, but we can’t stay here. Heartless Man might come back.”

“Please, Mom.” Lori’s brown eyes reflected a desire so strong, so hopeful, as if every empty promise the Santas of the world offered at Christmas could be salvaged by granting her this one request.

Cara sat cross-leggedly, wondering what it could possibly hurt to give Lori a few hours with the puppies. Besides, they had to sleep somewhere tonight. Glancing around the place, she noticed rusted pitchforks, ten-gallon tubs, and moldy bales of hay A decaying wagon sat in a corner with painters tarps, ropes, and a watering can. The tin roof had sections missing.

The barn side of a silo caught her attention. She went over to it and tugged on the door, almost falling when it finally opened. Clearly the door had been closed for a long time. If the man came back, she and Lori could hide inside. He’d never think to look in there. When they were on the road, they’d crossed a small bridge not far from here, so the creek had to run nearby. That meant water to drink, wash up in, and brush their teeth with. If she could get the two days’ worth of traveling grime washed off of her and Lori, she might be able to sleep—even if she was in a dirty barn.

A piece of tin standing against the wall rattled and shifted. An older dog walked out from behind it. After one glimpse at Cara, the mama dog lowered her head and tucked her tail between her legs.

Cara knelt, motioning for her. “I know just how you feel. But you can’t go around acting like it.” The old dog came to her and stood still while Cara rubbed her short black hair. “If you act all sad and dumped on, people get meaner. Don’t you know that by now?”

The dog wagged her tail. As if sensing their mom’s presence, the puppies woke and started whining and going to her. She licked Cara’s hand and then moved to a corner and lay down, letting the pups nurse.

“What’re they doing, Mom?”

Cara pulled the sack of bagels out of Lori’s backpack. “They’re nursing. That means they’re getting milk from their mother.”

“Did I nurse?”

Cara passed her a bagel. “It was free food. What do you think?”

Lori wiped her hands on her dress. “If I only eat half of my bagel, can I share it with the mama dog?”

“Your part
is
half of a bagel, so, no, you can’t share any of it. She’ll be fine. We should be so lucky as to scavenge like a dog and not get sick.”

“You know what?”

Cara shrugged. “I don’t want to play guessing games, okay?”

“If I ever had more food than I needed, I’d give it to other hungry boys and girls.”

Cara rolled her eyes. “As if.” The sarcasm in her tone ran deep within her; Cara knew that all too well.

Remembering how she used to dream of jumping on a horse and riding into a world that had people who loved her and flowed with tables of food, Cara stared at her half of the bagel. “Never be afraid to hope, Lorabean. Never.”

Deborah continued to shake as Ephraim pulled into the driveway. Daed sat beside her, with Mahlon on the other side of him, as they rode on the back of the wagon with their legs dangling. She and Mahlon held on to her Daed so he wouldn’t fall out as the wagon bumped along. His ashen face tortured her.

Dear God, don’t take him! Please
. The phrase screamed inside her. The loss of her mother had nearly destroyed her whole family. She couldn’t stand losing someone else. Not after Daed and Becca had spent years building a new family while giving strength to the one they each already had.

Mahlon jumped off the back of the wagon before it came to a complete stop. His eyes locked on hers, saying he cared and he understood. She knew he did. He always had, and she relied on his quiet strength.

Becca ran out the door. “Abner?”

“He’s had a spell.” Deborah choked on tears she refused to shed.

“Call the doctor, and call for a driver.” Becca spoke in a whisper that didn’t hide her panic.

Ephraim was already halfway to the shop.

“I’m fine now.” Daed waved his arm for everyone to let go of him. “Stop fussing over me.”

They released him.

“But you will be seen by the doctor, Abner. You must,” Becca pleaded.

“I said I’m fine.”

Deborah stood in front of him. “You were talking nonsense, Daed. And you had sharp chest pains.” She wiped her fingers across his forehead. “You’re still sweating.”

He held her gaze. “I’ll be okay. I just need to rest.”

“Please.” Deborah gently squeezed his arm. “I need you to go to the hospital to be sure of what’s going on. Not tomorrow or later in the week. Right now.”

He slowly reached for her face and cradled her cheeks in the palms of his rough hands. “Okay. But don’t let the young ones slip off while we’re gone. You keep them close to home. Away from that drunken thief. And lock the doors.” His raspy breathing came in shallow spurts, and his hands trembled. “Once I get to the hospital, those doctors’ll want to keep me at least one night. They always do.”

Deborah placed her hands over his. “Mahlon will stay and help Ephraim get ready for the auction. And Ada will fill in for Becca. The community can do the auction on schedule even without you giving out instructions left and right.”

Daed gave a nod.

Becca stepped forward. “Kumm.” She took Daed’s arm and helped him into the house.

“He’ll be okay.” Mahlon came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “It’s probably another incident that’s easily fixed. You remember last year when he’d taken in too much salt and had a fluid overload.”

“He never had any pain with that.”

“No, but anyone with his kind of heart condition has times when his medication needs to be adjusted. We know that from past experiences. I’m sure it’s something the doctors can solve.”

“He kept saying that he saw a woman coming out of the Swarey home and that she’d stolen things from them and was drunk. I didn’t see anyone. Then he started mumbling about a ghost and Mamm having loved her and maybe he’d been wrong, like Pontius Pilate.” She swallowed, trying to hold in her emotions. “I couldn’t do anything to help him.”