Amish White Christmas Pie (13 page)

As Megan waited in the kitchen for Frank and the girls to come down for breakfast, her gaze came to rest on the Amish newspaper a friend had given her.

Flipping through the pages, she discovered the classified section. “Hmm…I wonder…”

“You wonder what?” Frank asked when he stepped into the room.

“Look at this.” Megan pointed to the paper. “There are some interesting want ads and notices in the classified section of this Amish newspaper.”

He meandered across the room and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Like what?”

“Under the notice section, there’s an ad from someone searching for a friend who moved from Nevada to Ohio to learn more about the Amish communities there.”

“That’s interesting, but don’t you think you ought to get breakfast started? I’m hungry, and I’m sure the girls will be, too.”

“I thought this was supposed to be your Sunday to fix breakfast.”

He drank some coffee and flopped into a seat at the table. “After driving a truck all week, I’m really bushed this morning. Would you mind making breakfast?”

“Since you asked so nicely, I’d be happy to fix breakfast.” Megan motioned to the newspaper again. “I’d like to discuss something with you first though. I think you should run an ad in
The Budget
. I’m surprised one of us hasn’t thought of it before.”

His eyebrows lifted. “Why would I want to run an ad in
The Budget
? I don’t have anything to sell that would interest the Amish.”

“Maybe not, but you do have a son you haven’t been able to find.”

He drummed his fingers along the edge of the table. “Are you suggesting I place an ad asking if anyone knows my son or the Amish couple I left him with who used to live in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania?”

“That’s exactly what I think you should do.”

He shook his head. “I think it would be a waste of money.”

“How come?”

“Because when I was able to return to Lancaster County after my accident, no one I spoke with knew where Will and the Stoltzfus couple had gone.”

“But if you ran an ad in
The Budget
, you’d be doing something that might lead to your son. Wouldn’t that be better than moping around here every holiday season, making everyone in the family feel miserable?”

“I’m not moping around or trying to make anyone miserable. I’m having a cup of coffee while I wait for my breakfast. After I’m done eating, I’m going to stretch out on the couch and watch TV.”

“I was hoping you might go to church with me and the girls this morning.”

“Not interested.” Frank pushed away from the table. “I think I’ll go upstairs and see if the girls are awake.”

“What about the ad for
The Budget
?”

He shook his head. “I really don’t think it’s worth the effort.”

At eight thirty, Will pulled his horse and buggy up to the Grabers’ place, where church was being held. Several black buggies were parked in a row near the box-shaped wagon that had been used to transport the wooden benches from the Bontragers’ place, where they’d had their last church meeting. The first person Will spotted was Leroy, dressed in his Sunday white shirt, black pants, matching vest, and
mutza
coat.

“How’d you get those dents in your buggy?” Leroy asked as Will began to unhitch his horse.

“My horse got loose from the hitching rail when I was visiting Karen last week, and he ran into a van out on the road. Then as we went to chase after the horse, the buggy sideswiped the man’s van.” Will glared at Leroy. “You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

Leroy’s dark eyebrows drew together. “Huh?”

“Did you let my horse go?”

“Of course not. Why would I do something like that?”

“You tell me.”

“Don’t be lecherich, Will.”

“I’m not being ridiculous. You’ve always liked to get my goat, and I figured you—”

“Well, you figured wrong! It’s too bad about your horse breaking free, but I had absolutely nothing to do with it.” Leroy grabbed his horse’s bridle and led him to the rope that had been stretched between several posts in the barnyard.

Will figured there wasn’t much more to be said without making a scene, so he followed with his horse. Maybe Leroy was telling the truth. Ben might have gotten tired of waiting and broken free on his own. He had been pretty unpredictable lately. Since Will had no proof that Leroy had done it, he guessed he’d better give him the benefit of the doubt.

As soon as Will had his horse tied to the rope, he headed for the new addition the Grabers had built onto their house for church and other large gatherings. He was almost to the porch when he spotted Karen’s folks coming up the walkway with Karen’s sister, Cindy, trailing behind. “Where’s Karen?” Will asked, stepping up to Cindy.

“She woke up with a lot of pain in her jaw, so she stayed home in bed.”

Will winced. “I’m sorry to hear that. When I was over the other day, she seemed to be getting along fairly well.”

“That’s what we thought, too,” Hannah interjected. “I’m pretty sure Karen has a dry socket, so we’ll have to see the dentist sometime tomorrow.”

“I could take her if you like,” Will offered.

Hannah smiled. “I appreciate the offer, but I’d rather go with Karen myself. That way I can ask the dentist a few questions.”

“Maybe when church is over, I’ll go over to see Karen. I’d feel better if I knew how she was doing.”

“She might be sleeping,” Karen’s father, Alvin, replied. “Maybe you should wait until late this afternoon.”

Will nodded. As much as he wanted to see Karen, he wouldn’t go against her father’s wishes.

“Where are your folks?” Hannah asked. “Aren’t they with you today?”

“They came in their own buggy and left home before I did, so I’m guessing Mama Regina’s in the kitchen visiting with the women, and Papa Mark’s probably in the yard someplace talking to the men. Since I was planning to take Karen for a buggy ride after church, I brought my own rig today. I wanted to show her my dog’s puppies today, too.”

“I’m sorry your plans were ruined,” Hannah said. “Karen felt bad about not being able to come to church this morning, and I know she was looking forward to spending time with you afterward.”

Alvin thumped Will on the back. “I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other times for you and Karen to go buggy riding.”

“Jah.”

Will spotted Bishop Miller and the other ministers leading a group of older men to the addition. He followed, along with several others, and when he stepped onto the porch, he removed his black hat and placed it on a bench near the door where other men’s hats lay. Then he entered the house and found a place on a backless wooden bench beside his friend Nathan.

“I haven’t seen you for a few days,” Nathan said. “How are things going?”

“Not so good.” Will began telling Nathan the story of how his horse had gotten loose but had to stop talking when the bishop announced the opening of the service.

Harley Kauffman, the song leader, announced the page number of a hymn and asked David Graber to lead it. The people opened their
Ausbund
hymnals to the appropriate place. As they began to sing, the ministers left to meet in another room so they could decide who would take which parts of the service and discuss church business.

The congregation finished the first hymn and began the second. It took almost fifteen minutes to sing the four verses of the praise song, and Will’s mind began to wander as he thought about Karen. He was anxious to check on her and see how she was doing.

During the second verse of the next song, the ministers returned to the room and took their seats. The singing stopped at the end of the verse. Will pulled his attention to the side of the room where Perry Hochstetler, a visiting minister, stood. Perry spoke for half an hour; then everyone knelt for silent prayer. After that came the scripture reading from Deacon Mast, and then Bishop Miller delivered the main sermon.

Will’s mind continued to wander as he thought about his encounter with Leroy. He knew it was wrong to nurse a grudge or feel jealous of someone, but he couldn’t seem to help himself where Leroy was concerned.

By the time church was over, Will was struggling with his emotions so much that his face was beaded with sweat. When the men and boys exited the house by rows, he hurried outside for some much-needed fresh air. He was tempted to get his horse and buggy and head over to see Karen but remembered that her father had said she was probably sleeping.

“Let’s find a place to sit, and you can tell me the rest of that horse story you began before church started,” Nathan said.

Will nodded and motioned to the barn. “Why don’t we go in there and get out of this chilly air?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“How are those hundlin of yours doing?” Nathan asked as they began walking.

“Real well. They’re cute little pups. I don’t think I’ll have any trouble finding homes for them after they’re weaned.”

“If I knew for sure that I’d be staying in Indiana, I might buy one from you.”

“You could always take the pup back to Ohio.”

“That’s true, but I’ll have to wait and see how it goes.”

They were almost to the barn when David Graber came running across the yard, waving his arms and hollering. “There’s a horse hung up on the hitching rope, and I think it’s dead!”

Everyone in the yard dashed toward the line of horses, including Will and Nathan. When Will reached the rope, he screeched to a stop and gasped. His horse was hung up on the rope!

I
’m sure sorry about this,” Elam Graber said to Will as they watched his lifeless horse being loaded into the dead animal truck for removal on Monday morning.

Will slowly shook his head. “I still can’t figure out how Ben got hung up on that rope. He’s been pretty spooky lately, so I guess it’s possible that he was trying to break free.”

“There’s gonna be a horse auction in Topeka on Saturday. If you’re lookin’ to buy another horse right away, that might be a good place to go.”

“That’s what I’ll probably do, but I’m not happy about having to buy a horse right now. I just got a bill from that English fellow whose van my horse and buggy ran into the other day, and I’ve got some repairs to have done on my buggy, as well.” Will shrugged.

“At least I can borrow one of my daed’s driving horses until I’m able to get a new one.”

“I’m sure he’s got an extra buggy that you can use while yours is being repaired.”

“Jah. Well, guess I’d better get going,” Will said as the truck pulled out of the Grabers’ driveway. “I’ve got a couple of errands to run, and then I want to stop by the Yoders’ and see how Karen’s doing. After everything that happened with my horse yesterday, I wasn’t able to make it over there like I’d planned.”

“Sometimes those wisdom teeth can sure cause trouble. I remember when I had mine out that it took nearly a month until I felt well enough to eat a decent meal.” Elam patted his oversized belly. “Thought I might starve to death, drinkin’ liquids and eatin’ nothing but soft foods for so long.”

Will moved toward Bob, Papa Mark’s horse, waiting patiently at the hitching rail with his buggy. Elam was quite the talker, and Will knew if he didn’t get going he probably wouldn’t make it over to Karen’s house today, either. “Danki for seeing that my horse got hauled away this morning and for paying the pick-up fee.”

Elam nodded. “No problem. It was the least I could do, seeing as it was my rope that strangled your horse to death.”

Will released Bob from the hitching rail, climbed into his buggy, and gave Elam a friendly wave. It was time to see Karen.