Lamb to the Slaughter (Serenity's Plain Secrets Book 1) (6 page)

“We’re going to pay Mr. Bachman a visit. In this weather, I’m sure he’s not busy.”

“Yeah, I figured you were going to say that.” Todd sighed, and then he added, “You might want to let your hair down and change into street clothes. You don’t want to freak him out, or anything.”

The look I sent Todd was so fierce that his smirk disappeared and he mumbled, “—just saying.”

4

NAOMI

August 16th

N
aomi yawned as she gathered the dirty dishes from the table. She wondered how she was going to stay awake the rest of the day at the same time that she turned to frown at her mother. Instead of Mamma getting up to take care of three year old Emma, who’d woken in the night sick, it had been Naomi who’d sat with her little sister for hours, patting her hot forehead with a cool, wet cloth until the fever broke. The children were Mamma’s responsibility, not hers, but she was always taking up the slack since Mamma was too tired or depressed to do anything.

“Don’t forget, Naomi, you need to pick up those groceries before you come home this evening,” Mamma said over her shoulder from the sink.

“Jah, I won’t,” Naomi said in a defeated voice, not allowing the bitterness to show for fear of what Mamma might do to her. She didn’t have the energy for a fight this morning.
Maybe, another time she’d be able to speak up for herself, but not today.

Besides being up all night caring for her baby sister, Naomi had risen at five o’clock to do four loads of laundry by hand. Now, as she scraped the remnants of breakfast from the plates into the bucket, she was already exhausted. She rubbed her eyes vigorously to clear the haze from them. To top it all off, she had the shopping to look forward to after a full day of working at the butcher shop.

The beeping horn pulled Naomi from her resentful thoughts. She grabbed her bag and headed to the door without a goodbye from Mamma. If her mother had wished her well that day, she would have been shocked. The silence didn’t darken her mood any more than it already was.

Emma and Nathan did smile at her though, and she patted each of their small heads when she walked by. At the door, she turned and winked at Emma before stepping out into the misty morning air. The chilly breeze lifted the hairs on her arms, but she wouldn’t return to the kitchen for her jacket now that she was finally free. Knowing that the afternoon sun would have her sweating later on, she confidently stepped off the porch, heading toward the maroon Suburban that would be her chauffeur for the five miles or so to the butcher shop. Thankfully, the distance was too great for her to have to take a horse and buggy. Seeing the other girls’ white caps blazing through the windows lightened Naomi’s mood a little and she quickened her pace. Sandra would cheer her up. She always did.

Naomi glanced at the wall clock and rolled her eyes in disgust. The last ten minutes always went on forever, she thought, as she took the sharp blade and quartered the loin meat neatly. This particular piece was awfully bloody and she used the paper towels to pat the meat several times, soaking up the extra juice before she placed the pieces on the foam trays.

The bellow of the steer in the adjoining room sent a shudder through her. Naomi had been working at the butcher shop for a year, but she still had issues dealing with the killing part. She knew that if she lifted her head even a fraction, she’d see the steer go down through the open doorway. The sound of the shot was bad enough, but watching it happen was far worse. She prayed inwardly that she got picked up before this particular cow was done in.

“So, did you enjoy spending time with Eli after the singing on Sunday?” Sandra’s voice startled Naomi. The girls had been too busy to talk much, especially when Mr. Zook was so serious about them paying close attention to what they were doing with the knives. It seemed to Naomi that almost every month, one of the girls was rushed to the doctor for stitches.

Naomi stalled her hands above the chunk of meat and raised her eyes to Sandra, thinking how lucky her friend was that she only worked two days a week at the shop. She, on the other hand, worked all five. Her Father’s crops hadn’t done as well the previous year and her family desperately needed the money. The responsibility fell onto Naomi’s shoulders, being that she was the oldest child.

Naomi held the knife in the air and said, “You know I did. Eli and I have such great chemistry that it always feels right being with him. I just wish Mamma wasn’t so uptight about it.” She frowned at the meat, remembering how Mamma had
barged onto the porch a whole hour before Eli was expecting to head home the night before, ordering her to bed. Dat wasn’t nearly as bad. He actually seemed embarrassed by his wife’s tirade.

Sandra lowered her voice to a whisper and Naomi had to strain to hear her words over the bellowing of the cow. “Is she giving you a difficult time about you courting Eli?”

“Of course, she gives me grief about everything in my life. And all I do is slave for her. You’d think she’d be at least a little grateful, but nooo.” She pouted for effect, causing Sandra to shake her head in sympathy.

The young English man standing in the doorway caught Naomi’s eye. He had dusty blond hair and wide set brown eyes. His nose was straight and his frame strong and muscled. It registered in her mind that he was close to as good looking as Eli was. Then he said Naomi’s name and she froze, nearly fainting.

“I’m Naomi,” she squawked out, hating the sound of her voice.

As the young man approached her, she noticed his comfortable, athletic stride and the way he flung the hair from his face before he spoke to her. He held out his hand for a second, but quickly dropped it to his side after seeing that one of hers was holding a knife and the other was encased in a bloody glove.

“I’m Will Johnson. Jerry is my uncle—his wife, Teresa, got real sick today. He asked me to come get you after he talked to your mother on the phone this afternoon. I’m supposed to take you to the grocery store and then home.”

The information swirled around in Naomi’s mind, leaving her light headed, and giddy at the same time. She set
the knife into the bucket to be washed later and stripped the gloves off quickly.

“I’ll go get my purse,” she chirped.

“Okay.” Will smiled and went back out the doorway.

Sandra whined, “You are always so lucky, Naomi! Why can’t I have a driver that looks like that?”

Naomi smiled brightly and shrugged, “See ya later.”

While Naomi walked across the gravel, she listened to the cheerful chorus of chirping coming from the tree that the black club cab truck was parked beneath. The birds’ singing, along with the warmth of the bright sunshine, filled Naomi’s heart with happiness as she stretched her legs, climbing into the passenger side. When she saw the blond girl sitting in the cramped, back seat, her good mood suddenly dampened, until Will introduced them.

“This is my little sister, Taylor.”

With another glance, Naomi saw the resemblance and guessed the girl to be a few years younger than she herself was. Taylor had the same layered locks her brother did, and a mischievous smile curled up on her lips.

“You’re the first Amish person I’ve ever met,” Taylor said with no shyness at all.

“Really?
That’s kind of amazing a around here,” Naomi said, not sure how else to respond.

The truck pulled onto the roadway to the soft beat of a country western song. Naomi peeked over at Will, surprised by his choice of music.

“Well, ‘course I’ve seen your people all over the place, but I never actually talked to one—until now.” She took a breath and rattled on, “How can you stand wearing a dress all the
time? I can hardly put up with it when my mom insists that I wear one for a wedding. Do those little caps hurt your head?”

Taylor’s wide eyes and open curiosity kept Naomi from becoming angry. Instead, she laughed, the sound filling the truck. Naomi couldn’t recall ever having laughed in the company of strangers before. She was amazed at how comfortable she felt with these particular Englishers, to do such a thing.

“Sorry about my sis. She’s mental,” Will said in a solemn voice. He softly shook his head.

“I am not! I’m just trying to get to know Naomi, that’s all. By the way, your name is so pretty.”

Naomi was overwhelmed. Never before in her life had she been around such a forth right person—and a girl besides. She stared down at her hands as she laced her fingers together in her lap, suddenly feeling shy.

“Thanks,” Naomi mumbled.

The trip into town was anything but quiet with the constant chatter from Taylor. By the time the truck reached the store, Naomi was worn out from answering Taylor’s questions, but not in a bad way. When Taylor insisted that she help Naomi, the Amish girl let her. Since Will had remained in the truck, Naomi finally got some of her own questions answered.

As the girls strolled through the cereal aisle and Naomi tried to read her Mamma’s messy handwritten list, she asked Taylor, “So, how old is your brother?”

Taylor eyed Naomi, suddenly calmer, as if her mind had finally quieted. “He’s nineteen. Why?”

Naomi didn’t face Taylor, instead giving her attention to the boxes of flakes. “Just wondering, that’s all. Has he ever driven Amish before?”

“Yeah, he’s been driving some to and from work lately. He likes making the extra money. He’s planning to move to Montana to ride in rodeos.”

Naomi stopped and stared at Taylor in disbelief. “Really?”

“Yep, he almost has enough money saved right now, but he wants to be fully prepared for the trip. I’ll miss him. He’s the only brother I got. But if he does go, then I’ll be able to visit him sometimes and that would be cool,” Taylor said with a misty, faraway look.

The rest of the time in the store, Naomi fell into a moody silence, thinking about Will leaving Indiana and traveling all the way to Montana. Even though she wasn’t exactly sure where the state was, she knew it was a great distance away. She was confused about the angry feelings that were bubbling up within her. She’d just met Will and had no reason to care at all about where he went. But as Naomi paid the cashier, and Taylor was busy loading the bags into the cart, Naomi thought about what she would give to leave Blood Rock and go somewhere as exciting as Montana.

When they reached the truck, Taylor complained that she was hungry and Will insisted on treating the girls to supper at McDonalds. Naomi worried inwardly that Mamma would have her hide if she arrived home a minute later than her mother thought she ought to. But the pull of spending time with the Englishers was too strong for Naomi. She remained silent, happily watching the stores and businesses pass by as she tapped her foot to the beat of the music playing from the radio.

Once they were seated in the booth, Naomi tried to ignore the stares from the other patrons as she ate her food and listened to Will and Taylor discuss Taylor’s teachers and how
unhappy she currently was with them. Naomi was used to being rudely ogled by Englishers, but today was different since she was actually sitting with two of them. She didn’t think that the brother and sister were even aware of the stir that the three of them were causing in the restaurant. They didn’t seem to notice that the little girl in the neighboring booth was pointing at Naomi and asking her mother questions about the funny looking hat and dress she wore.

As Naomi took a sip of her cola, she quickly glanced from Will to Taylor and back again. It suddenly dawned on her that the young Englishers weren’t concerned about the other people around them. They weren’t paying any attention because they didn’t care what the others thought. Naomi, wanting to emulate their indifference, took a breath and turned away from the strangers’ faces, ignoring them too.

When Taylor went to the restroom, leaving Will and Naomi alone at the table, Naomi’s heart sped up nervously. She quickly scanned the restaurant to make sure that no Amish people had entered the building without her notice. Being alone with a man was completely forbidden for Naomi, especially since she was courting Eli. Although she knew she was doing wrong, she didn’t care as much as she should have.

Swallowing the butterflies, Naomi said, “Do you go to school, Will?”

He leaned back in a comfortable way and replied, “No, I graduated last year. I’ve been working all kinds of odd jobs to save up money for a trip out west.”

“Taylor told me you’re going to Montana,” Naomi said, realizing that her feet had stilled, along with her heart.

“That’s the plan,” Will said. His gaze settled on Naomi’s face as if he was seeing her for the first time.

“That’s so neat. Is it going to be very expensive?”

“The cost to drive out there isn’t the problem, it’s having the money to rent a place until I find permanent work and start making money riding.” He continued to stare at Naomi way longer than he should have.

“Isn’t riding the bulls dangerous?”

He laughed heartily, drawing the attention of several of the people in the neighboring booths away from Naomi and onto him. “Yeah, that is dangerous, but that’s not what I do. I ride in the team roping competition. I’m a heeler. I figure I can hook up with a partner better out there than I can here in the middle of Indiana. There are a lot more rodeos in that part of the country, too.”