Accidentally Amish (21 page)

Verona stirred up the fire in the hearth to ensure it would be burning when Jakob returned with the children. Lisbetli was probably already asleep in someone’s arms.

Verona had spoken the truth when she told Jakob she was tired. Her deceit was only in disguising the depth of her exhaustion and the frequency of the headaches that sliced through her eyes. The illness she carried from the ship had never fully left her.

And it would not.

She knew that as surely as she knew Mrs. Habbecker’s baby would not draw breath. The vistas of the homestead on Irish Creek were not for her eyes, but she would not stand in the way of Jakob’s future there with the children. The authorization to make the legal survey of the land would come any day, and she would make sure Jakob mounted his horse and rode off to meet the surveyor. Every detail of the survey must be accurate. There must be no question of the land Jakob was investing his life in, so he would want to be present to verify each measurement. Already Christian loved the land without even seeing it, and Maria was determined to plant beets. The Bylers would have their fresh, free life. But without Verona.

Verona carried her candle to the bedroom, where she undressed and got into bed. Tomorrow she would make Jakob ready to ride before the week’s end.

A
nnie stood at the bottom of the basement stairs and turned to her mother with widened eyes.

“Are you in a contest, Mom? She who has the most boxes wins?”

Myra slapped Annie on the arm. “Half of this stuff is yours.”

“Is not.”

“Is too. You never had room at the apartment. But now your condo has lots of space. You should take it.”

“What if I don’t want it?” Annie poked at a box with her name on it.

“Then why would I want it?”

“Well, I’m not here to go through my childhood mementos,” Annie said. “Where do you think the book is?”

Myra led the way. “There’s a pile of boxes in the back corner that came from Grandma Friesen’s house.”

“That stuff is still here?”

“It just never seems urgent to go through.” Myra shrugged. “Speaking of mementos, did you bring any back with you?”

“Back with me?”

“From wherever you were. You never said where you were. On your covert operation.”

“It was just business, Mom.” Annie turned her gaze to a tower of cardboard. “Not the kind of place you pick up souvenirs.”

“You start with this one.” Myra shoved a box toward Annie. “Can’t you tell me now where you were?”

“Westcliffe. I was in Westcliffe.”

Myra plunged a hand into a box. “As in speck-on-a-map Westcliffe?”

“That would be it.”

Myra sucked in air. “You met somebody! You finally broke up with Rick.”

Annie riffled through a box of her deceased grandmother’s dresses. “Mom, why do you have Grandma’s clothes?”

“Think vintage. And stay on topic.”

Annie folded the box flaps down. “Rick and I didn’t exactly break up, but the result is the same. He’s history.”

“And who is the future?”

“No one.” Annie reached for another box. “You were right about Rick all along, that’s all.”

“Is he still your lawyer?”

“Nope.”

“And you didn’t meet someone else?”

Annie was slower to answer. “No.”

“Annalise Friesen, you tell me the truth.”

“I … met a family. They … befriended me.”

“And?”

“And nothing.”

“You’re not telling me everything.”

“Okay.” Annie lifted her eyes to her mother’s. “They are Amish.”

“Amish!”

“They’re not freaks, Mom. They just have their own way of living and believing.”

“Of course. I’m just not sure what you would have in common with them.”

“Circumstances sort of threw us together. I told you I met someone named Beiler.” She paused to spell the name. “It was the Amish family.”
It was the Amish family’s son.

“So you think those Beilers and our Bylers might be connected,” Myra said.

“It just got me going down an interesting trail. There was a guy in 1737 named
Jakob Beyeler.
” She paused again to spell the name. “It looks like the Beilers are related to him. Maybe we are, too.”

“Was he Amish?”

“Quite likely.” Annie opened another box. “I’m sorting that out still.”

“I’ve never heard any stories about any Amish ancestors. But you know who might know? Your great-aunt Lennie.”

“But she lives in Vermont, and she can’t hear on the telephone.”

“You’re in luck. If you hadn’t stayed incognito for so long, you might have heard the family news. She’s coming for a visit. She’ll be here in a few days, and then she’s off to California to see her new great-grandchild.”

Rufus cleared the large worktable and wiped wood shavings away before laying out the carefully cut panels. He welcomed a few days in the workshop instead of on a job site. In the morning, his two sometime employees would arrive to help sand and assemble. They had talent—one more than the other—but would require close supervision. At odd moments, he wondered if it was worthwhile to pay for their help at this stage, but how else would they learn?

Beside Rufus, Jacob perched on a stool with his elbows on the edge of the worktable. “Am I going to be a cabinetmaker when I grow up?”

“Would you like to be?” Rufus flicked his eyes at his little brother.

“You make pretty cabinets. It might be too hard for me.”

“It might be hard now, but I’ll teach you.”

“Who taught you?”

“
Daed.
And his
daed
taught him.”

“When can I learn?”

“I’ll tell you what,” Rufus said. “I have some scraps from this project. I’ll help you make a little box for
Mamm
‘s birthday. Would you like that?”

Jacob sat up straight. “
Ya
! When is
Mamm
‘s birthday?”

“In two months. We should have plenty of time.”

The little boy stilled, his shoulders limp. “I wish Ruth could come for
Mamm
‘s birthday.”

“You miss Ruth, don’t you?”

“Don’t you?”

“Yes I do,” Rufus answered quietly. “Every day.”

“I know
Mamm
misses her.”

“I’m sure she does.”

“Do you think Ruth misses us?”

“Of course.”

“Then why can’t we see her? If I ask
Mamm
, she cries. No one will tell me.”

Rufus put a man’s long arm around a boy’s small shoulders. “Do you remember when Ruth left?”

“A little bit. But
Mamm
told me to go to bed, and in the morning Ruth did not come down to breakfast.”

“Ruth wanted to go, and
Mamm
wanted her to stay. That’s why
Mamm
cries.”

Jacob looked up at Rufus. “That’s not the real story. But I guess I’m too little to hear the real story.”

“It’s real enough.”

“Is it against
Ordnung
for me to still love Ruth?”

Rufus shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“Is it against
Ordnung
for me to love Annalise, even though she’s
English
?”

“Well, God tells us to love everyone.”

“That sounds hard. But I do love Annalise. I guess she won’t come back, either.”

“No, I don’t think so.” Rufus was not going to lie to the boy.

“I wish I knew how to write better. I would write a letter to Ruth, and I would write a letter to Annalise. And I would tell them I love them just like God told me to in the
Biewel.
”

Rufus was silent. The chance that Jacob would be allowed to mail such letters was almost nothing. But the moment seemed too tender to offer the boy an explanation that would not satisfy either one of them.

“It’s almost time for supper,” Rufus finally said. “Why don’t you go see if
Mamm
needs some help?”

Rufus watched Jacob scamper across the yard and up the steps to the front porch. His thin form disappeared into the house. That little boy could be the closest thing Rufus ever had to a son of his own.

Rufus had filled his mind with Annalise, and his mind’s eye saw her again, standing alone in a parking lot, armed with the contents of her denim bag. He said a prayer for her then for himself.

He turned back to his panels, the sound of Karl Kramer’s steps across the motel lobby reviving in his ears. He almost wished he had a lock on the workshop door.

Annie’s phone buzzed in her back pocket, and she took her hands out of a box of hand-tatted table linens. She recognized the calling number. Lee Solano.

“Hello.”

“I went straight to your man Barrett.”

“And?” Annie glanced at her mother and shifted to wander to another corner of the basement. Even there, she would be careful about her end of this conversation.

“He’s backing down. Withdrawing the suit. Your genius is safe.”

“Did he ask for something?”

“He still holds a financial stake in the company. He wants you to buy him out.”

“That seems reasonable.” Speaking calmly, Annie caught her mother’s eye briefly. Her heart pounded.

“I recommend you sue for damages to reduce the amount.”

“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary.” Annie smiled at her mother. “The matter seems to be equitably resolved.”

“Don’t you want to make him sweat a little more?”

“Has his representation spoken to the matter?”

“You mean Mr. Stebbins? I’m sure we’ll hear about it when he finds out.”

“Thanks for the update,” Annie said lightly. “I’ll speak to you soon.”

Okay, God, why don’t I feel better about this?

She shuffled back to her mother, who was still sifting through boxes. “Sorry. Business.”

“Do you ever get to take time off?” Myra asked. “Were you working the whole time you were gone?”

“I’m running a company, Mom. That’s a full-time commitment.”

“But you have a partner. Can’t he carry some of the load?”

Annie sighed. She would have to tell her parents sooner or later. “Barrett has decided to leave the company.” That much was true. “I’m going to buy him out.” Also true. “And Rick is going to represent Barrett while we sort it out.” Probably true.

“Wow.” Myra’s countenance sagged. “I thought you and Barrett were getting along great.”

“We had a good run. I guess he’s ready for something new.”

“You need some time off, honey.”

“Maybe when this all gets sorted out.” Annie ran her hands over a pile of old magazines. “Maybe I’ll go back to Westcliffe. Find a front porch. Sit and look at the mountains.”

“I knew it. You
did
meet someone in Westcliffe.”

“No, Mom.” Annie flipped open a random
National Geographic
from 1992.

“I haven’t seen your face turn that color since the tenth grade.” Myra grinned. “You didn’t know that I knew Travis Carlton kissed you.”

“Well, nobody has kissed me this time. Can we just look for the book?” Her phone buzzed again. “It’s Jamie. I’d better take it.”

“A courier just brought a package,” Jamie said when Annie answered. “More legal papers.”

Rick.

“Can you tell what it’s about?”

“Let’s see,” Jamie said. “Something about a patent. In
his
name, in connection with … it’s all mumbo jumbo.”

“Thanks, Jamie.” Annie felt her mother’s unspoken questions even as she reassured Jamie.

“Aren’t you worried?”

“I’ll take care of it.”

Annie ended the call and smiled at her mother. “I need to make a quick call. I don’t want to bore you. Maybe I’ll just run upstairs while I do it.”

“If you don’t come right back, I’m quitting,” Myra said. “You’re the one who wants the book.”

“I’ll be right back.” Annie had already punched 9. By the time she got to the top of the stairs, Lee answered.

“It’s bogus,” Lee said after Annie explained what little she knew. “He can’t patent something he had no part in creating. He’s trying to edge in before your partnership legally dissolves so he can have a piece of the action.”

“So he can’t do this?” Annie paced across her mother’s kitchen, where she used to sit and do homework.

“I’ll have to see the papers, of course, but it sounds like a sneaky maneuver to me.”