Sanctuary (9 page)

  
Chapter Eleven
  

TENDRILS OF ENGLISH IVY, trained along the windows in the kitchen, was the perfect touch for the dining area. Melissa marveled at such a unique window treatment. Something she had never thought of doing. “What a great idea,” she told Lela.

“I decided there was no need for curtains in this room,” Lela explained happily over homemade chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.

“You could be an interior designer,” Melissa remarked. “Who would’ve thought to eliminate the need for curtains by using strands of ivy?”

“Well, I’ve always loved natural light.” Lela smiled, glancing at the windows. “Even as a girl, I liked to bring the outside in.”

“I know the feeling.”

They ate in silence until Lela remarked, “There’s really no need for privacy what with the courtyard out back, you know.”

“And all those beautiful trees.”

“Oh yes, I do love my maples.”

Melissa had a sudden urge to share her tree-hugging experiences. College years had spawned impulsive behavior. Yet she’d saved some enormous ponderosa pines in her lifetime and was proud of it. Taking another bite of her grilled cheese, she decided against the urge to reveal too much about herself. She must use caution.

Still overly anxious about her car, Melissa asked Lela when she might be able to move it.

“I’ll call my brother-in-law as soon as the table is cleared off and the dishes are washed and dried.” Which she did promptly and without accepting Melissa’s offer of help.

“Hello, Thaddeus,” Lela said when he answered.

“Well, how
are
ya, Lela?”

She filled him in quickly, so as not to call too much attention to her suspicions. After all, Melissa was sitting right across the room, curled up on the same sofa as before. “I have an overnight guest who needs a place to put her car. Somewhere out of the way,” she told him.

“That’s no problem. She can park it in our shed for the time being.” Thaddeus fell silent for a second, then asked, “When didja decide to take in boarders?”

“Just last evening.”

“Does Elizabeth know anything ’bout it?”

“Well, not yet she doesn’t.”

He sighed into the phone, probably mulling things over.

Before he could question her further, she said, “Then you won’t mind about having a car parked in the shed?”

“Don’t mind if it ain’t too awful long,” said Thaddeus.

“We’ll be on over, then.”

After hanging up the phone, she invited Melissa out on the front porch and pointed to the sprawling farmhouse up the way. “My sister and her family live over there. Her husband, Thaddeus, says it’ll be all right to put your car in their shed.”

“Thanks, Lela. This means a lot to me.” Melissa pushed her hair behind her ear and turned toward the house. “I’ll go in and get my car keys.”

When she returned, Melissa asked Lela to ride along.

“Well … that’s nice of you, but I don’t mind the walk.” She didn’t want Melissa to think she was hesitant to trust her. But she wasn’t sure if she ought to. The younger woman
was
a stranger, after all.

“Please, I insist,” Melissa said. “You’re doing me a big favor, and I’m very grateful.”

Papa had often said if a person was gracious—thankful—you could most likely trust him or her. Melissa certainly was that. “All right, I’ll ride there with you.”

Melissa’s eyes widened. “So, it’s okay? I mean, you’re allowed to?”

She laughed softly. “Of course, I may ride in a car. I’m not Amish, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I couldn’t be sure,” Melissa said with a grin. “I’m not at all familiar with the customs here. I’ve heard there are many varieties of Plain folk.”

“That’s for sure,” she replied, not wanting to go into all that just now.

They drove together, Lela in the front seat, telling Melissa where to turn into the long dirt lane. “See that sign there—says
Amish Quilts & Sundries
—that’s where you turn. Then keep going till you come to the barnyard.”

Melissa did just that. And when the car came to a stop, Elizabeth and the children came running out to greet them. “Here comes my sister and her brood. They’ll be more than happy to meet an Englischer. They probably haven’t seen or talked to a modern lady like you in the longest time.”

When Melissa didn’t seem to understand, Lela explained further. “In Plain circles, if you’re not Amish, you’re viewed as an outsider—an Englischer.”

“Oh,” said Melissa.

Lela wasn’t at all certain if the woman eager to hide her car had any idea that she was actually considered worldly in the eyes of Elizabeth and the youngsters gathered round. But, really, she was more concerned how Elizabeth and Thaddeus would react to her taking in strangers as boarders.

Melissa was careful not to stare at Lela’s Amish relatives. She recalled seeing from her bedroom window this morning the dark dresses and little white caps on the women riding in the horse-drawn carriages. But now, as she encountered the lineup of bare feet and the long brown dresses and black aprons worn by Lela’s sister and her girls, and the peculiar black trousers, suspenders, and cropped hair on the boys, she felt terribly awkward. Still, their rosy cheeks, bright eyes, and genuine smiles soon captured her heart, and she felt strangely warm. Accepted.

“Melissa, this is Elizabeth King, one of my three sisters,” Lela said, introducing them. “Elizabeth lives the closest of all my siblings.”

“Hullo,” said the soft-spoken woman. “Nice to meet you.” The children were next, beginning with Mary Jane, followed by Timothy, Linda, and John, the baby.

When Elizabeth invited them inside for lemonade and cookies, Melissa felt herself tense up. “Do you mind if I put my car in the shed first?” she asked, feeling the urgency to hide the vehicle from prying eyes as soon as possible.

“Not a’tall,” Elizabeth said, exchanging curious glances with Lela.

Relieved, she scurried off to the car and pulled it forward, noticing an Amishman motioning to her. Tall, blond, and exceptionally tanned, the man nodded and smiled as she drove her car into the shed. Getting out, she called her thanks to him, deciding that he must be Elizabeth’s husband.

“Name’s Thaddeus King,” he said, extending one hand and removing his straw hat with the other. “Are you new to the area?” He held his hat flat against his chest.

First question … How many more?
she wondered.

“New England’s my home.” That was enough.

“Just passin’ through, are ya?” How far would he press?

She turned and scanned the farmland with her eyes. “I’d heard about Lancaster County from friends of mine. I wanted to see it for myself.” Not entirely true, but this would have to suffice.

“Well, then, Lela will just hafta bring you over again sometime. We’ll show you all around the farm.”

She didn’t have the heart to tell him she wouldn’t be staying
that
long. Yet he seemed kind enough. Helpful, too. Still, people like Thaddeus made her feel uncomfortable. She just didn’t know how to take him. Was he as considerate as he seemed?

“Slide over just a little,” Elizabeth said, waving her hand at young John. “Your auntie can scarcely squeeze herself in.”

“Oh, I’m fine,” Lela said, giving John a quick hug. “There’s plenty of room.”

They were assembled in her sister’s big kitchen, all of them, sitting around the long trestle table. Mary Jane helped her mother carry plates of cookies to the table. And there was a tall pitcher of fresh lemonade, the kind Elizabeth was known to serve her guests.

From across the table, she eyed Melissa, who seemed entirely out of place, what with her blue jeans and trendy T-shirt. Lela hoped the fancy woman didn’t feel uncomfortable.

“Care for some chocolate chip cookies?” Elizabeth offered a plate of warm treats, all smiles.

“Thank you” was all Melissa said. Silently, she reached for a single cookie, displaying rust-colored fingernails. Several flashy rings, too—two on each hand. Her Connecticut boarder was clearly well off, wearing diamond-studded rings.

She tried not to dwell on such thoughts. The Lord was sovereign, giving good gifts to whom He saw fit. It was not her place to judge. Yet she wondered what Melissa was all about. The woman renting her second bedroom seemed as
naerfich
—nervous—as anybody she’d known. Why so?

The walk back to Lela’s cottage was pleasant enough, though Melissa felt uneasy about being out on the open road. So vulnerable. Too accessible …

Even with Lela at her side, she felt the old apprehension settle in. Wild strawberry vines grew in the grassy ditch and occasional roses bordered the road. The setting reminded her of some of Ryan’s favorite haunts in New Hampshire and Vermont, where winding narrow roads led to delightful destinations such as ancient covered bridges and cider mills. The song of many birds gave her courage, sounds reminiscent of her New England home by the sea.

Home …

Ryan was and always would be her home. Where he was, there she longed to be. He had found her at a time when she was lost, disconnected from the world. Young and terrified, she had welcomed his love, making his heart her home.

I have to let him know I’m safe
, she thought.
He deserves to know that much
.

She walked a bit farther, reluctant to strike up another conversation with Lela. The smell of honeysuckle, the abandoned road, the patchwork land as far as the eye could see—all this offered her a chance to catch her breath. Desperately, she needed to soak in the serenity, because the minute the phone call came, most likely she would be on her way.

“Such a pretty day,” Lela commented.

“Yes.”

“I dislike staying indoors on days like this.”

She wondered what Lela did for a living. Surely she worked somewhere. “Do you rent out your second bedroom all year long?”

“I suppose I would if someone needed it” came Lela’s quick reply. “But I just got the notion yesterday to put out my room-for-rent sign.”

Melissa was taken aback by this information. “So I’m your first renter?”

“God dropped the idea in my heart,” Lela surprised her by saying. “Yes, you’re the very first.”

“Well, I’m honored.”

Lela continued. “I’d been reading my Bible and praying, asking the Lord what I might do to help someone in need.”

Melissa hardly knew what to say. Hadn’t
she
herself made a prayer to God last evening, as well? A reckless one, at best. She’d asked God to help her get away from that monster in the gray sedan.

“I do believe God answered my prayer,” Lela added.

And mine
, thought Melissa.

“You believe in Him, don’t you?”

The question was completely unexpected. She thought how she might answer. Lela’s face was indeed earnest—the good woman was waiting for an honest response. She deserved as much.

“I’m not much of a prize for God, I’m afraid,” she admitted softly.

“Well, now, you don’t have to be,” Lela said. “The Lord doesn’t look on your heart and expect it to be neat as a pin. That’s what
He
wants to do for you.”

She wondered how a stranger could know anything about the state of her heart. Broken was the best word to describe her heart at the moment. Wounded and bleeding.

“The Lord loves you, Melissa. Just as you are.”

She didn’t feel she had to respond to Lela’s comment. Instead, she focused on the bungalow with its gingerbread and wooden posts along the front porch, in the near distance. They made the turn at the bend, and the flower gardens arranged in perfect symmetry around the front yard came into view. Parallel rectangular beds divided by a flagstone walkway marked the path to the house. Black-eyed Susans bloomed en masse in a mixed perennial garden, outshining the other flowers.

“Is there taxi service out here?” she asked, not weighing the consequences.

“Well, I suppose there is, yes.” Lela looked puzzled. “Why do you ask?”

She knew she owed the woman an explanation as to why she wanted to call a cab when free transportation—her own car—had just been concealed in Thaddeus King’s shed. “I have a quick errand to run,” she said. “I wouldn’t want to bother your sister and husband again.”

Lela’s eyes widened. She was clearly confused.