Love Inspired Suspense June 2021--Box Set 1 of 2, page 27
The passenger door clicked open and a young man climbed out dressed in a camouflage jacket and ball cap. A fresh blanket of goosebumps raced across her flesh. Had he been one of the guys hanging around the bonfire?
The man standing on the road apparently saw her apprehension and laughed. “I didn’t realize you didn’t recognize me. It’s Deputy Eddie Banks.” He lifted his baseball cap a fraction, then settled it back down on his balding head. He smiled and a whiff of stale beer reached her nose.
Her body sagged in relief. “Neh, I hadn’t realized it was you. I’ve only seen you in uniform. And...” she laughed as a wave of embarrassment coursed through her “...I’m a little out of sorts.”
“Completely understandable. Just coming home from picking up my son at one of those parties.” He leaned in conspiratorially. “You remember those days.”
“Funny thing, I had been at the same bonfire with my brother.” Her lips, her face, her entire body felt numb. She figured there was no use in lying. His son was bound to recognize her.
The deputy made a noise she couldn’t quite interpret.
Liddie crossed her arms tightly over her middle. “Did either of you hear a gunshot?”
“No, is that what happened here? Your horse got spooked?”
She nodded, her quivering lips making it difficult to speak.
The deputy turned to his son. “Any of your friends fooling around with firearms?” The father cupped his son’s shoulder firmly. “If you guys aren’t careful, you’ll lose your hunting license.”
“We weren’t fooling around. I swear,” the young man complained.
The deputy turned to her. “Maybe it was a car backfiring.”
She shrugged and visibly shuddered.
“Let’s get you home.” Deputy Banks held out his hand, directing her toward his pickup truck.
Liddie turned to the son. “Are you sure you can handle this? Brownie’s a little skittish after the loud noise.”
The deputy’s son smiled for the first time. “No problem.” He hopped up into the buggy, then leaned over and grabbed the reins that had fallen during the accident.
Liddie was about to protest again when a stiff frigid wind finally forced her hand. She had no reason not to trust this kid and his father.
Once inside his truck, Deputy Banks turned up the heat full blast. Liddie held up her numb hands to the vents. The deputy pulled out onto the road and looked in his rearview mirror. “Don’t worry. Carl’s had a lot of experience with horses. We own three.”
In the side mirror, Liddie angled her head to watch the deputy’s son behind the reins of her buggy. It’ll be okay, Brownie, she mentally telegraphed to her sweet horse as the buggy seemed to lurch forward before finally straddling the lanes on the country road.
A short while later, Deputy Banks turned in to the lane of the Troyer farm, then shifted toward her. “If it would make you feel better, I can call the incident in. A report of shots fired. Have one of the on-duty deputies check out the area.”
Liddie’s gaze drifted toward the house. The same warm light she had seen earlier when she and Elijah passed by still glowed in the front room. Jonah was up late. The thought of a patrol car coming out here unsettled her. She could check out Moses’s information herself without getting the sheriff’s department involved. No need to upset the children.
Liddie cleared her throat. “Neh, you’re right. It was probably a car backfiring.”
* * *
Jonah sat in the front room ostensibly going through some papers, but in reality, he had been rehashing his conversation with Maggie’s sister, Ruthann. Would his children be better off in a family environment without all the constant drama? The last embers of the wood-burning fireplace died out one after the other, but he still wasn’t ready to retire. Snowball was curled up on a pillow near his feet. He reached down and touched his head with the tips of his fingers.
Suddenly the dog’s ears twitched, his head came up, then he jumped to his feet. His claws clacked on the hardwood floor as he made his way to the front door. A tingling started in the base of Jonah’s head. Slowly, he rose to his feet. “What’s wrong?” he asked, more than surprised he had resorted to talking to a dog.
Jonah moved to the window and peeked out; a truck idled in front of his house. He frowned and stepped away from the window so he wouldn’t be seen. “What’s that about, Snowball? Someone lost?” It didn’t seem likely.
He was about to peek out the window again when the front door handle jangled, followed by a quiet knock. He furrowed his brow. He had already flipped the dead bolt, so he wasn’t worried about anyone getting in, unless he let them. And he wasn’t expecting anyone.
The knock sounded again, quiet, respectful.
“Who’s there?” he asked through the door.
“It’s Liddie.”
Jonah scrambled to undo the lock and flung open the door, his gaze instinctively drawn to the truck behind her. “I didn’t expect you...” His words trailed off as he took in her disheveled appearance. He stepped back to let her pass, shocked by her muddy dress. “What happened? I thought you were visiting your family.”
Liddie lifted her weary gaze to him. She plucked the fabric of her wet dress away from her legs and said in an exhausted voice, “Can you please check on my horse? Deputy Banks’s son is bringing her up with my buggy.”
He studied her, trying to process what she was saying. “Of course. Of course. Are you okay?”
“Yah, yah... Let me change into dry clothes and I promise to tell you everything.”
Jonah threw on his coat and ran out to the yard. Deputy Banks climbed out of the truck and took off his cap. “Good evening, Jonah.”
“Evening.” An uneasiness settled in Jonah’s gut, like the moment just before a person was about to find out something they didn’t want to know. He glanced back toward the house, wanting to allow Liddie the chance to explain before Banks had his say. He felt a certain sense of loyalty toward her.
“Seems your nanny can’t stay out of trouble.” Deputy Banks took a step toward him, tucking his hands into his pockets, and rolling up on the balls of his feet. Seemed the deputy was going to get the first word.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jonah saw the horse and buggy turn up the lane. “Let me take care of Liddie’s horse.”
“Ah, you can meet my son Carl.”
The deputy followed Jonah over to the buggy. “Thanks.” He had so many questions, but again, he wanted the answers directly from Liddie.
“Yeah, no problem,” the kid said, as he slid over and jumped down to the ground. He covered one fisted hand with the other and blew into them, obviously chilled from the ride. “I’m going to wait in the truck.”
Jonah took the kid’s place on the bench. The deputy hovered nearby, obviously eager to say something. “It’s late, Deputy. I’m going to get the horse settled and call it a night.”
The deputy took a step back and tipped his hat. “Night then.”
Jonah flicked the reins and the horse jerked forward. He felt the deputy’s eyes on him as he made his way toward the barn. He unhitched Liddie’s horse and led her into the barn to an open stall. He ran a comforting hand down the neck of the strong animal. “Easy. Easy.” The horse lifted her head and snorted, then seemed to settle in. He closed the gate, then slipped out of the barn, relieved to find the deputy and his son had gone.
Jonah hustled across the field, the hard, frozen earth crunching under each step. He went inside, took off his coat and boiled water for tea.
When Liddie finally appeared, she had her hair pulled into a long ponytail and was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt. She immediately apologized, apparently self-conscious about her attire. “I just needed to get warm,” she whispered. “These are the warmest clothes I have.” She plucked at the college sweatshirt. “And I figured the kids are sleeping. They won’t see me.” She rattled on.
He waved his hand, dismissing her Englisch clothes. He extended a mug of hot tea to her. “Let’s sit by the fire.” He threw in another log and poked it.
Liddie settled into the rocker across from his and seemed to sigh as she took a long sip of the tea. “Denki.”
“You’re welcome.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. “Now please tell me what happened. I thought you were going to stay the night with your family.” He found himself holding his breath, waiting for her to finally share her side of the story.
Liddie looked up toward the ceiling, then at him, her warm blue eyes sad. “My horse got spooked.” She seemed lost in a trance. “I couldn’t control her and I got tossed in a ditch.”
“Are you okay?” He searched her face for any sign of injury. She seemed to be all in one piece. Thank Gott.
“I’m fine,” she said, apparently wanting to dismiss that part of the story. “I shouldn’t have been out alone.”
Jonah ran a hand across his beard. “Back up. Start from the beginning. Why were you out so late?”
Liddie relayed the story about going to the bonfire with her brother in the hopes of asking questions about the man who had scared Daisy. About the man his daughter was convinced had hurt her mother.
“How do you know this man’s friends?” Jonah asked. He didn’t like the idea of Liddie hanging around Outsiders, especially ones who didn’t appear to be upstanding citizens.
“Moses is Amish. He courted my sister for a bit, then he seemed to like me,” Liddie said with a faraway quality to her voice.
“Do you like him?” The question fell from his lips before he had a chance to call it back. That really wasn’t the point, but the thought made him feel something he hadn’t in a very long time. Was he jealous? He shook away the thought. He had no business thinking along those lines.
“I have no interest in Moses,” she said flatly. “I asked him what he knew about Dean.”
Jonah waited, again getting that strange sensation that he wasn’t going to like what he heard.
“Moses says that Dean and a few other guys had bragged about using unsuspecting farmers’ land to grow marijuana.”
Jonah’s heart leaped to his throat. “Are they using my land?”
With both hands wrapped around the mug, she lifted it to her lips. She blinked slowly. She was obviously exhausted after tonight. “I don’t know, but I think we should check.” She reached over and placed the mug on the hardwood floor. “It would explain a lot, wouldn’t it?”
“Did you tell the deputy?”
She shook her head slowly, then lifted her gaze to his. “It didn’t feel right, him showing up right after Brownie got spooked. The noise sounded like a gunshot.”
His eyes flared wide. “A gunshot? Do you think the deputy had something to do with it?” Had he taken aim at her? Cold icy dread hardened in his gut. Jonah had never cared for the deputy, but he had always attributed his unsettled feelings toward him to his role as investigator in his wife’s murder.
“Neh, I don’t think the deputy would hurt me.” Liddie’s face remained expressionless. “But it seems strange that his son was at the bonfire. The kid who brought the buggy home for me. The deputy told me he had just picked up his son.” She shrugged and shook her head slightly. “Maybe I’m not thinking clearly.”
“You did tell the deputy about the gunshot, though, right?”
“Yes, just not the information about the marijuana fields. No sense drawing any more attention to your farm than necessary, especially if I’m wrong.”
“What did the deputy say about the gunshot?” Jonah asked.
“That it was probably a car backfiring.” She let out a quick breath. “Maybe it was.” She smiled slowly, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “I really don’t know. We need to check the fields for ourselves in the morning.” She slowly got to her feet. “I’m tired.”
Jonah wanted to reach out and take her hand and ask her a million more questions and at the same time reassure her that he’d protect her. But the traitorous words got lodged in his throat. Instead, all he said was, “Are you okay?”
“Yah, nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix.” She clutched her hands to her chest, as if she had sensed he had been close to taking one in his. “I better get to bed. The kids are up early.”
TWELVE
Liddie rose with the sun and got ready for the day. As she was putting in the last pin to fasten her bun, she heard the floorboards outside her bedroom door creak. She placed her white bonnet neatly over her hair, leaving the strings dangling, and checked her reflection before slowly opening the door. Andy stood on one foot and had his arms extended out to his sides, balancing as if on a beam.
“New trick?” Liddie asked, unable to contain her smile. Leave it to a child to provide a welcomed reprieve from her worries.
Andy returned her smile and teetered precariously over to one side before righting himself. “Yah, Henry said he could do it longer than me, but next time I’m going to beat him.”
Liddie reached out and tousled his hair. He needed to run a comb through it. “Did you have a nice visit with your cousins?”
He nodded eagerly. “I hope we can go back to visit. My aunt asked me if Daisy and I would like to live there, but I don’t think there’s enough room for all of us. Dat would miss his workshop.”
Liddie wondered for a moment what that was all about, but she was too preoccupied with her own problems to take on any more. Already in hot water with her father, Liddie had made things worse by running off with her younger brother to a bonfire in the woods. She hadn’t given her parents the courtesy of a goodbye. To add to her misdeeds, she had abandoned her drunk brother. She suddenly felt queasy. Her father would likely never forgive her.
Dismissing her growing dread, Liddie focused all her attention on the little acrobat. She playfully poked Andy’s exposed ribs as he tried to balance on the opposite foot. When he started to tip, she grabbed his hand to steady him. A frown formed on his sweet face. Before he had a chance to protest, she whispered conspiratorially, “Want a surprise?” She needed to check on Licorice and Brownie. The little boy would be very excited to meet her horse.
His flash of frustration disappeared and was immediately replaced by an enthusiastic nod. His long bangs swooshed in his eyes, making him blink. “We’re going to have to give you a haircut.” She had often been charged with cutting her younger brothers’ hair.
“Is that the surprise?” His shoulders slumped and he stuck out his lower lip, clearly disappointed.
“Do you think that’s your surprise?” She laughed. “Of course not. Now, go get dressed because we’re going outside and it might be a little chilly this morning. I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
Once downstairs, she inspected her coat and groaned. Dried patches of mud clung to the fabric. Considering she had ended up in a ditch, she was amazed the entire coat wasn’t ruined. She stepped out onto the back porch to flick off the dirt as best she could. It would need a proper washing later. She gave up and slipped her arms into the coat sleeves. She turned and stared out over the land. The early morning light reflected on the dew. The wind rustled through the overgrown land and the hairs on the back of her arms rose, giving her that uncomfortable “someone might be watching me” feeling again. Was someone really using Jonah’s land without his knowledge?
“What’s my surprise?” Andy’s excited voice caught her off guard.
She spun around to find him standing in the doorway in his stocking feet. “Get your shoes and coat on and I’ll show you.” She held the screen door open. “Want help?”
“I’m a big boy.” Andy dutifully listened and reappeared on the porch a few minutes later, black laces pooling around one boot.
Liddie bent down and tied it. When she straightened, the child had his cute face—reminiscent of his dad’s—all scrunched up while he took in her coat. “Did you jump in the puddles?” he asked. “My dat doesn’t like when I do that. I get muddy.”
“I made a mess, didn’t I?” She flattened her hand against the front of her coat and examined it. “It’ll have to do for now because your surprise is waiting. Ready?”
“Ready!”
Liddie held up her finger in a hold-on-a-minute gesture and slipped inside to grab a few carrots and tucked them under the string of her apron to hide them from Andy and maintain the surprise. She took his hand and the two of them strolled across the yard. The subtle sensation that someone was watching her once again whispered across her neck, raising the fine hairs.
When they reached the barn, she hoped they’d find Jonah. She’d feel safer in his company. “Let’s see if your dat is in the workshop.” Liddie opened the latch and she was met with the sweet scent of pine and stillness. “Well, he’s not here.” She tried to sound playful even as the events of the past few days kept crowding in on her, making her jumpy. If only she could get out of her thoughts. If only she could have faith that things would be okay. “Let’s go this way.” She and Andy cut through the workshop to the other side of the barn to the horse stalls.
Liddie slowed as she grabbed the handle on the door to slide it open. “Ready?”
Andy nodded eagerly, his eyes focused on the door. Every interaction with Jonah’s children made her heart grow fonder of them. Even after only this short time she couldn’t imagine not being part of their lives.
Jonah’s life.
“Hurry!” Andy said impatiently.
“Here.” She reached between the flaps of her coat and grabbed two carrots. “You’ll need these.”
“The carrots better not be my surprise.” He stared at them suspiciously and Liddie couldn’t help but laugh.
“No, silly.” She slid open the door separating the workshop from the stalls and Andy jerked his head back. “But they’re a clue...” She let her words trail off.
Andy lifted the carrots, one in each hand. His eyes grew wide, a realization dawning. “Did we get a new horse?” He ran up to the stall door and held out one of the carrots to her horse Brownie.
