For Every Season (19 page)

Steven took a bite of bread. “I wouldn’t say she has less time. She uses her hours differently, sort of like why she’s not here now.”

Iva wiped her mouth. “I didn’t mean anything negative.”

“It was a good question.” Samuel hoped to assure her. “I’ll take a glance at the notes and decide then.”

Sandra lifted Casey out of her highchair, and the little girl arched her back, kicking and crying. Exhaustion had gotten the better of her. Those around the table tried to talk despite Casey’s grumpiness.

When the meal was almost over, Samuel heard the front door swoosh open. Moments later Jacob and Rhoda walked into the kitchen. Without any hesitation Jacob took the fussy child from Sandra.

In an instant all was silent. Welcome, beautiful silence.

Jacob set the little girl in his lap and took a seat next to Rhoda. Sandra sat back in her chair, her tense expression easing for the first time since she’d come to the table. Casey visibly relaxed.

“It was good of everyone to help watch Casey today. Thank you.” Sandra picked up her fork.

Jacob brushed some stray hair from Casey’s face. “If she can’t sleep tonight, perhaps Samuel would sing her a few verses of ‘Winnie-the-Pooh.’ ”

The others—Phoebe, Steven, Leah, Landon, and Iva—laughed.

Rhoda looked apologetic. “Sorry, Samuel. I was just telling Jacob about Casey’s day, and that sort of slipped out.”

“Sure it did.” Samuel elongated the words for effect, but he didn’t mind. It was time Jacob began teasing him again. He took a drink of water and sang a line of the song. Arie clapped and Casey smiled. The others laughed.

“What’s so funny?” Samuel asked.

Rhoda put food on her plate. “You can’t see it? A broad-shouldered, outdoorsy man singing a children’s song?”

Jacob tore pieces of chicken into tiny bits and set them on his plate. Casey grabbed them and gobbled them. After years of knowing that Jacob had called and mailed letters to someone each week, Samuel found it odd to actually see him interacting with Sandra and Casey at the table. The little girl slumped against him as if she hadn’t thrown a tantrum only moments ago.

Jacob took a long sip of water. “I told Rhoda this already, but you all need to know too. Things went well at the lawyer’s office.” He gave a reassuring nod to Sandra. “But I’ll need to go to Virginia in the next week or two for a deposition.”

“What’s a deposition?” Phoebe asked.

“I’ll meet with some lawyers, take an oath that I’ll speak the truth, and answer their questions about a deck that collapsed—one that I worked on when I was employed by Jones’ Construction.”

“Just you or you and Sandra?” Steven asked.

A hint of something Samuel didn’t understand shadowed his brother’s face.

“Just me. I should only be gone three days. Four at the most. It takes twelve or thirteen hours to get there by train, so half the time will be spent traveling.” He focused on Steven. “I’d like to take Rhoda with me.”

Steven’s fork clanged against his plate. “Are you serious?”

“I know it’s asking a lot.”

Steven stared at him, his mouth a hard line. “You shouldn’t ask such a thing. I know you spend a lot of time among the Englisch, but surely you haven’t forgotten that single Amish women don’t travel with men unless they’re a family member or with chaperones.”

“Phoebe and the children could go.”

“Until Samuel sells the land in Pennsylvania, there is no money.”

“Sells what land?” Rhoda’s eyes opened wide. “That’s how you’re getting the money? That’s not a good plan. We can’t buy it back. Can’t we—”

Samuel held up his hand. “Let it go. If there were another way, I would’ve done it. The decision is made, and it’s not up for debate.”

She pursed her lips. “Jacob, did you know about this?”

“No.” His brother glanced his way. “But we’ve not talked about much lately.” He wiped Casey’s hands with a napkin. “I still have a little money left from my construction work this past winter. I used most of it to pay the lawyer, but I think I have enough for Phoebe and the children to go with us.”

Steven bristled. “I understand that Phoebe is out of sight because she doesn’t work in the field or tend to the livestock, but what she gets done each day in keeping everyone fed is directly related to the energy and success we have in the orchard.” He shifted. “I’m sorry, but we can’t spare anyone right now. Maybe this could wait until after the harvest.”

“It can’t.” Jacob put his water glass to Casey’s lips. “Later this week the lawyer’s office will call with a day and time that I have to be there. It’s moving fast because the trials already had court dates. They dragged on for two years, but now it’s all on a tight schedule.”

Jacob looked to Rhoda, disappointment evident in his expression. But surely Rhoda had known what Steven’s response would be.

Jacob scowled at Samuel. “I have no choice about going, not if I want to be rid of this problem.”

Samuel felt his brother’s familiar challenge of late, but he refused to react to it. So he leaned in. “And we want that for you too, Jacob. All of us. Isn’t that right, Steven?”

Steven hesitated, as if realizing how abrupt he’d sounded. “Ya, of course. If we can help from here, just tell us what you need, but my sister cannot go with you. You’ll be done in a day?”

“The deposition should take only a day, but the district attorney has been looking for Blaine. He’s Sandra’s husband and was my immediate boss at the construction job. He was neck high in illegal and unethical behavior, and by trying to help, I crossed into some of that same kind of activity—illegal and unethical. He disappeared just before everything fell apart. I may also have to go back in a few months to testify. I don’t fully understand the process, so I’m taking my lawyer’s word for how things will go. He says this is a good deal for me, and if I follow through, my name should be cleared.”

“If they want to know about Blaine, why isn’t Sandra going?” Leah asked.

A look passed between Sandra and Jacob.

Rhoda put her hand over Jacob’s. “There are some serious safety issues for Sandra and Casey if they go to Virginia.” She focused on Samuel. “We need to talk about possible solutions.”

Samuel knew she wanted his help, and he wanted to give it. He placed his napkin next to his plate. “Then let’s brainstorm.”

“Denki.” Rhoda smiled a kind of smile that spoke of truly appreciating him.

She’d barely touched her food, but she pushed back the plate. “The topics may not be comfortable for everyone. This plan will be completely legal, but it’ll also be a little sneaky, sort of like the believers lowering Paul in a basket during the night so the violent ones couldn’t get hold of him.”

“Who’s Paul?” Sandra asked.

“She’s referring to something in the Bible.” Jacob looked at Casey. “Are you full?” She nodded, and Jacob carried her to the sink and rinsed her hands and mouth. Then he turned her around to face him, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

Steven rose. “I think we should get the children ready for bed.”

“Sure,” Rhoda answered. “We’ll clean up the kitchen.”

Sandra watched Steven and Phoebe leave.

Rhoda fixed a fresh glass of water. “Don’t worry about him. He’s just not comfortable with us talking about anything sneaky.” She set the drink in front of Jacob and removed the one Casey had been sipping from.

Iva stood and began scraping the dishes clean and stacking them. “There are plenty of references in the New Testament to people being sneaky if it was to protect someone. In one place it even sounds as if Jesus became invisible in order to walk through a crowd who wanted to stone Him.”

While the women made short work of cleaning up the kitchen and Samuel went to his room to get paper and pencils, Jacob patted Casey’s back until she was sound asleep. Soon Rhoda, Jacob, Iva, Leah, Landon, and Samuel were at the table, ready to help a woman and child only Jacob really knew.

Iva made one last swipe with the dishrag over the table. “I should probably go.”

Samuel liked having Iva around. It sort of evened out the boy-girl ratio, and it seemed to lessen some of Jacob’s tension. “You sure?”

“This is a family meeting.”

“More than half of us aren’t related,” Landon said. “Samuel, Jacob, and Leah are. With Steven and Phoebe gone, Rhoda isn’t related to anyone. Neither is Sandra nor me.”

Jacob tapped the table. “If you’re fine with the word
sneaky
and can be discreet, we’d welcome you to stay.”

Iva sat and propped her elbows on the table. “I’m ready.”

Jacob took a sip of water. “So here’s the problem.”

As Jacob expounded on the issues concerning Sandra, Samuel began to understand a little better why his brother felt so protective of her, and it made sense to him why Jacob had sacrificed so much to help her and Casey. He never doubted that Jacob’s heart was in the right place concerning Sandra, but he hoped for Rhoda’s sake that Jacob didn’t continue to have people or problems that came ahead of her.

SIXTEEN

Iva listened intently as Jacob explained the problems facing Sandra in detail for everyone at the table. She’d never known a man to go this far out of his way to help any woman, wife or girlfriend, let alone an Englisch woman. It seemed to her that was akin to offering a hand to a leper in the time of the Bible. But the little girl asleep on Jacob’s shoulder was
so
precious. Perhaps she was a terror when exhausted, but that came with being three years old, didn’t it?

When Jacob finished telling of Sandra’s predicament, everyone remained silent, clearly processing all he’d said and trying to think of a solution.

Landon asked about sending Sandra and Casey to live with Rhoda’s parents, but that was soon discounted. Samuel suggested Sandra change back to her maiden name, and Rhoda tossed out the idea of Sandra locating her dad and moving in with him. They found weaknesses in every suggestion.

Silence fell, and the clock struck the hour as they pondered without speaking.

Iva had an idea, but what if she hadn’t understood everything? Would the others think her stupid?

Jacob looked around the table. “Anything else? Anyone?”

Iva meekly raised her hand. “Sort of … Maybe.”

“By all means.” Jacob’s smile was welcoming. “Don’t be afraid. You just heard a long list of my mistakes while I tried to help Sandra, and you see where they got us. Sandra’s too. You heard other people’s not-so-bright ideas, and I can tell you even less brilliant plans Samuel’s had over the years … and Leah … and—”

“Enough.” Leah dipped her fingers into Jacob’s water and flicked the drops at him. “She’s got the idea.”

Jacob wiped his face, amused at the unexpected sprinkling. “I feel particularly compelled to recall numerous brilliant schemes of Leah’s.”

His sister grabbed the glass and threatened to toss the whole thing on him.

Jacob cradled Casey’s head and pointed a finger at Leah. “If you wake her, you deal with her.” His grin reflected triumph even before she set the glass on the table and took her seat.

Iva liked this family. There was a respect for women unlike what she’d experienced in her own community.

Samuel tapped his paper with a pencil. “What’s your idea, Iva?”

“I think Sandra needs to move away from here … and if she’s to be somewhere Jacob doesn’t know about, then he shouldn’t be at the table while we talk about it.”

Jacob rocked back in his chair, considering her. He got up and pointed at Samuel. “She’s a smart one.”

Samuel seemed less confident of Jacob’s proclamation, but he nodded.

“I’ll be in the rocker in the living room.”

After he was gone, Samuel motioned for everyone to shift closer, filling in the empty chairs between them. Suddenly Iva felt very self-conscious. “We need to move Sandra to some place new, right?”

They all nodded.

“The problem is it must be done without involving relatives or leaving a paper trail, so she can’t hire anyone to help her. I saw all of you on television, which means a lot of people did too. So none of you can do it. If whoever wants to harm Sandra happens to come looking for her, and a neighbor says she left with one of you, they’d know where to start searching for her. That might be a ridiculous long shot, but the goal is to be so careful that whatever new place she’s set up in, she never has a shadow of any concern about being found, right?”

Samuel set the pencil down. “Jacob sold you short. You’re more than just smart, and you’re covering angles I never would’ve thought of.”

“When you’re Amish and you love photography, you learn to cover your tracks so no one confiscates your camera.”

The group nodded, almost chuckling. All, that is, except Sandra. “Amish can’t have cameras?”

“They’re frowned on,” Iva volunteered. “But I bought one anyway.”

“Good for you,” Sandra said. “I admire you Amish, but what you do without to hold on to your beliefs and culture staggers the mind.” She tucked her dark hair behind her ear. “It must be worth it to be surrounded with this kind of good people.”

“It has its upsides, no doubt.” Iva picked up her glass, but it was empty.

Samuel rose. “Hang on. I’ll get you some water.”

That was so out of character for the Amish men Iva knew. Her heart had almost soared when Steven spoke of all Phoebe did for everyone. He talked as if she were a partner of the orchard even though she was mostly the cook who never even went into the field. Unlike her father, Steven didn’t hint that his wife was an underling who was doing a poor job of earning her keep. She’d like to marry a man who thought as highly of her as Steven did Phoebe.

Samuel set the drink in front of her. “You said what wouldn’t work. Any ideas about what will?”

Iva took a sip. “No one would recognize me.”

Rhoda studied her. “We’ll need two drivers. One for her car, and one for a pickup to move her things. Can you drive?”

Iva tried not to smile, but it didn’t work. “I can. I even have a driver’s license.”

“Landon?” Rhoda glanced at him.

“Yeah, I could loan her my truck.”

“What?” Leah yelped, laughing. “I’ll get you for that, Englisch boy.”