The Wonder of Your Love (A Land of Canaan Novel) (31 page)

“That’s okay. Can you give her this?” He held up a brown paper bag, but Danielle was still summing him up. He reminded her of some of the hockey players back home—tall and athletic, although he wasn’t missing any teeth.

“Sure,” she finally said as she accepted the bag.

“I’m Levi Detweiler.” Mr. Handsome extended his hand, and Danielle slowly latched on. “My mom is a friend of Martha’s, and she asked me to bring her this rhubarb jam. I think Martha goes into withdrawal or something if she runs out.” He almost smiled. One side of his mouth curved up, but it was brief.

“You wanna come in?” Danielle paused. “I mean, Martha will probably be back soon, if you want to wait.”

He grimaced a little. “Is anyone else here?”

Danielle felt her heart skip a beat. Why would he ask that? Would he hurt her in some way if she said no one was home? “Uh, no. But I just remembered Martha will be back
any
minute.”

“I gotta go. Nice to meet you.”

Danielle watched him leave. He was intriguing, almost in a creepy sort of way. He had those weird clothes that soft voice, and his mouth was crooked in a way that made it hard to tell if he was smiling or angry. But she didn’t think she’d ever seen a hotter-looking guy.

“L
EVI’S THE QUIET
one,” Martha said as she plopped a bag of groceries on the table. “A fine fellow. His brother, Jacob, got married about a year ago, and his sister Emily just got married this past November. I guess Levi’s still looking for his someone special.” She pulled a frozen pizza out of the bag, along with some Fritos and a six-pack of soda, and put them all on the table. “We’re splurging on junk food tonight, but don’t get used to it, missy. I just don’t feel like cooking.”

“I’ll be his someone special,” Danielle said as she pulled the bag of Fritos open. “He’s hot.”

Martha put her hands on her hips. “That is no way for a nice girl to talk, Danielle.”

Danielle chuckled. “You’re kidding me, right? Just yesterday I heard you say the mailman had nice buns.”

“Are you familiar with the expression ‘Do as I say and not as I do’?” She reached up and tightened her butterfly clip.

“Well, the Amish guy sure was cute. Levi. I asked him to come in, but he got kinda weird about it. Then I thought maybe he might be dangerous or something.”

Martha cackled. “Dangerous? Levi? Uh, no. He didn’t come in the house while you were here alone because it wouldn’t be proper.”

“I think Amish people are weird.”

Martha pointed a crooked finger at her. “There will be no talk like that in this house. There’s no finer group of folks.”

Danielle shrugged. “Whatever.”

Martha stared at her for a moment, then shook her head. “I’m going to heat this pizza. Now would be a good time to shower if you want.”

Danielle started to argue that she’d prefer to take a shower closer to bedtime, but the woman had bought pizza, Fritos, and soda for dinner, so she’d go along with her on this. “Okay.” She crossed through the living room toward the stairs, then turned around. “Martha?”

“What?”

Danielle waited until she turned around. “Thanks for letting me stay.”

Martha rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”

Danielle grinned as she headed up the stairs.

M
ARTHA WAITED UNTIL
the oven heated up before she popped in the frozen supreme pizza. Arnold was going to the gym in town this evening, something he’d started doing twice a week. He said it helped his arthritis. She’d made it pretty clear that she had no plans to join him in that particular activity. Exercise made her nauseous. Besides, she was hoping maybe she and Danielle could chat a little. It bothered Martha that Danielle had no interest in God. Only once since their stay in the hospital had Martha broached the subject, and the girl turned red and marched upstairs. Danielle seemed angry with God. A few years ago Martha would have let it go. But when Arnold, Emily, and David opened her heart to the Lord, her life had changed. She wanted that for Danielle too.

But one thing she was learning about teenagers—if they think you want them to do something, they will do the exact opposite. So Martha knew she needed to approach the subject carefully. She smiled, recalling how she had to find the Lord in her own time, knowing that everything ultimately happens on God’s timetable.

She’d just shoved a handful of Fritos into her mouth when she heard a car pull up. No one she recognized, and from the looks of it . . . no one she knew. A woman dressed in tan slacks and a dark brown coat held her hand in front of her face to block the light snow flurries. Martha had the door open by the time she was about to knock.

She was an attractive woman, midthirties, Martha guessed. She wasn’t smiling.

“Are you Martha Dobbs?”

Martha gave her a critical squint. “Who wants to know?”

“I’m—I’m looking for someone. I think she might be here. My name’s Vivian Kent.”

Martha raised her chin and eyeballed the woman for a moment. “Who ya looking for?”

Vivian pulled a photograph from her purse. “Have you seen this girl?”

Martha stared at the picture of Danielle. “Who are you to her?”

“I’m her mother.”

Seventeen

M
ARTHA PULLED THE DOOR WIDE
. “C
OME IN.
Y
ES,
Danielle is here.” She wasn’t sure what she was most upset about, the fact that the woman might have her arrested for harboring a runaway, or that Danielle had lied to her. “Danielle said her parents were dead.”

Vivian folded her hands in front of her and sighed. “I’m not surprised. We’ve had a lot of trouble with Danielle.”

Martha could believe that. The girl was willful.

“She’s upstairs taking a shower. She should be down in a minute.”

Martha felt a wave of relief. Apparently she hadn’t been called by the Lord to straighten out young Danielle. And she wouldn’t have to worry about her and Arnold taking on parental roles at their ages. What a mess that would have been.

“Can I get you a soda? Some tea?”

Vivian sat down. In Martha’s recliner. Martha fought the urge to ask her to move.

“No, I’m fine. How long has Danielle been here?”

“Oh, a week or two.” Martha scowled. “How long has she been missing?”

“Since the hospital. We traveled here from Wisconsin to visit a friend, and then Danielle ended up in the hospital.” Vivian hung her head and sighed. “When I couldn’t find her, I eventually had to go home.”

“Did you call the police, report her missing?” Martha was sitting on the edge of the couch, hands folded in her lap, wondering how Vivian could have left the state not knowing where her daughter was.

“I—I couldn’t really call the police. Danielle’s been in trouble with the police before.”

“Why does that matter? Someone beat the life out of her.” Martha leaned forward. “Who did that to her?”

Vivian swiped at her eye. “I don’t know. I went out with friends, and when I got back to our hotel room, she—she . . .” The woman folded an arm across her stomach as she looked at the floor.

Martha wasn’t sure what to say, but trouble or no trouble, someone should have called the law.

Vivian straightened. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry that Danielle showed up here and bothered you.”

“She’s no bother,” Martha said. “How did you find me, anyway? I mean, I know how Danielle found me. She took an identification card out of my wallet. I was her roommate in the hospital. Hey—I don’t remember seeing you at the hospital.”

“I was there.” Vivian smiled.

Really?
“I never saw you.”

Vivian fumbled with a button on her coat. “You—you were sleeping.”

“Oh.” Martha was thinking that if it had been Katie Ann in that predicament, she’d have never left her side. But she sighed, knowing that everyone wasn’t so thoughtful.

“And Danielle eventually called a friend of hers back home and told her where she was. The friend’s mother knew how frantic I was, so she phoned me right away.” Vivian dabbed at her eyes. “All I knew was that Danielle was here in Canaan. I’ve been asking around and showing her picture for two days, and finally someone recognized her—an Amish girl named Beth Ann said she was staying here.”

Martha nodded, then pointed to Vivian’s ring, a big gold thing on her right ring finger. There was a time when Martha used to adore big, clunky jewelry. “Nice ring.”

“Thanks. It was a gift.”

Martha stood up when she heard footsteps heading down the stairs. So did Vivian.

“You’ve got company, Danielle,” Martha said, ready for her lying houseguest to go.
What kind of kid says her parents are dead?
She shook her head.

“Hi, Dani.”

Vivian didn’t run up to Danielle as Martha expected, and Danielle turned pale as a ghost, her feet rooted to the floor at the bottom of the staircase.

“Hi, Mom.”

“Get whatever things you have here and let’s go. You’ve inconvenienced Martha enough.” Vivian readjusted her purse on her shoulder. “Be quick.”

Danielle turned around and ran upstairs.

“She really wasn’t any trouble.” Martha edged toward Vivian.

“I sure hope you can find out who did that to her, and prosecute that”—she took a deep breath—“. . . person.”

Danielle was back, carrying a plastic bag, which Martha assumed contained the two changes of clothes Danielle had brought with her, plus the four outfits that Martha had purchased for her, ones they’d finally agreed on, plus some undergarments.

“Good luck to you, Danielle.” Martha lifted her chin, feeling unappreciated, but still relieved.
The unruly teenager lies and breaks into people’s homes
.

“Thanks for the clothes.” Danielle’s eyes were locked with Martha’s as she blinked back tears. The girl had to be worried about the trouble she was in for running away, but surely Vivian would let it all go, after everything the child had been through.

“I forgot to ask. Where’s your dad, Danielle?”

“He died. About six years ago.” Vivian bit her bottom lip, then smiled. “So it’s just been Danielle and me since then.”

“Oh.” Martha walked them to the door.

Vivian reached into her purse and pulled out her wallet. “I’d like to pay you for any expense or trouble you went to.”

Martha waved a hand in the air. “No, no. Just get Danielle home where she can finish recovering. I still hope you find whoever did this.”

Vivian tucked her wallet back in her purse and smiled. “I just want to get Danielle home.”

“Bye, Danielle.” Martha held the door open for them, but Danielle didn’t look at her. As Martha closed the door, she sighed, then watched them through the window, until a chill ran up and down her spine. There was something about the way Vivian was manhandling Danielle to the car. Martha’s stomach seized up, a pang in her gut that something wasn’t right.

As she watched Vivian dragging Danielle by her arm, the girl stumbled, but Vivian just kept pulling her toward the car.

Martha flung the door wide and stepped onto the porch.

“Vivian, you wait just a minute! Do you hear me?” Martha marched down the snowy porch steps, certain that she could take on Vivian if it came to that.