What’s got you looking so happy today?” Abe asked as Martin walked across the room carrying a large sheet of leather. “You’ve been wearing a silly grin on your face all morning.”
Martin’s smile widened. “Guess I’m excited about getting married. It won’t be long now; just a few more weeks.”
Abe’s heart clenched when he thought of how happy he’d been as he’d looked forward to his own wedding day. He had never expected to lose Alma at such a young age, and the thought that he might be left to raise six kinner by himself had never even entered his mind.
“Have you found a place to live yet?” Abe asked, knowing he needed to think about something else.
Martin dropped the leather onto one of the workbenches and turned to face Abe. “Found a little house to rent that’s not far from here. It’s owned by Ray and Donna Larson, the English neighbors who often drive for Ruth’s family.”
“Didn’t realize the Larsons owned any land except their own.”
“Oh, jah. They own a couple of places. From what I’ve heard, they tried to buy Roman’s place some time ago, too.”
“I do recall Roman mentioning that, but I didn’t realize they’d bought other pieces of property.” Abe leaned against his desk. “The Larsons seem like pleasant enough folks, and I’m sure they’ll make good landlords. Even so, it’ll be nice when you and Ruth can have a place of your own.”
Martin nodded. “I’d like to build a house like Cleon and Grace’s place—one with plenty of space and lots of bedrooms for all the kinner we hope to have someday.”
Abe grunted. “After what went on at my house last night, I’d gladly have given you a couple of my beschwerlich kinner.”
Martin looked stunned. “I’ve never heard you refer to your kids as troublesome before. What happened last night?”
Abe gave his beard a quick yank. “Right before supper, Esta’s puppy piddled all over the kitchen floor.” He grimaced. “If I’ve told her once, I’ve told her a dozen times not to leave that critter in the house unattended.”
“Doesn’t your sister monitor things like that?”
“She’s supposed to, but with six kinner to look after, not to mention cooking and cleaning, a lot goes on that Sue doesn’t seem to know about or catch in time.”
“I suppose it would.”
“To give you another example of how things went last night, Molly spilled her milk on her plate of stew. Then she started howling and dumped the whole thing onto the floor.” Abe shook his head. “Sue was so upset about having to clean the floor again, she broke into tears.” Abe moved away from his desk and turned on the air compressor for one of the sewing machines. “I love my kinner, but they sure try my patience at times.”
“I guess that’s how it is with most parents, although I’m still looking forward to Ruth and me having children.”
“And you should be.” Abe nodded to the sewing machine. “Guess it’s time we quit jawin’ and get back to work.”
As Ruth and her family sat around the supper table that night, she noticed deep grooves lining her father’s forehead. Had Mom told him about the shredded clothes, or was something else troubling him?
“How’d your dental appointment go, Dad?” Ruth asked. “Did you have much pain with that root canal you were supposed to have done?”
Dad groaned. “Seems like all I do these days is go to the dentist. Dr. Wilson had me so numbed up, I couldn’t feel a thing.” He grimaced. “After the appointment, when I ran into Steven Bates, I felt pain.”
“Pain from your tooth?” Martha asked.
Dad shook his head. “Pain because one of my used-to-be loyal customers won’t speak to me anymore.”
Mom reached over and patted Dad’s arm. “Did you say hello to him?”
“I was going to, but he walked by like he didn’t even see me.” Dad wiped his mouth with a napkin and frowned. “Looked right at me when I came out of the dentist’s office, and then he stuck his nose in the air and hurried into the building without so much as a word.”
“Do you think he’s still angry about those cabinets that fell off your delivery wagon a while ago?” Ruth asked.
Dad gave a quick nod.
“If you two don’t mind cleaning up the kitchen without me this evening,” Mom said as she pushed away from the table and picked up her dishes, “I think I’ll go to bed.”
“We don’t mind,” Ruth was quick to say. It was obvious by the dark circles under Mom’s eyes that she was all done in. She probably didn’t want to listen to Dad’s complaints tonight, either.
Dad’s forehead furrowed as he stared at Mom. “Are you feeling grank?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sick—just tired. I’ve been fighting a headache most of the day, too.”
“Probably came about because of the clothesline incident,” Martha said with a scowl.
Dad’s eyebrows shot up. “What clothesline incident?”
Ruth looked up at her mother. “You didn’t say anything to Dad about what happened?”
She shook her head.
Dad’s face filled with concern. “What happened with the clothesline?”
“Someone shredded all the clothes we hung on the line.”
Dad strode across the room to where Mom stood at the sink. “Someone shredded the clothes, and I’m just hearing of it now?”
“I didn’t want to worry you, Roman.” Mom placed her dishes in the sink. “Besides, I knew what your response would be.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I figured you’d probably say it was done by some pranksters. And I was sure you wouldn’t bother the sheriff.”
Ruth and Martha exchanged glances. When she and Grace had returned home from town, they’d told Martha they’d gone to see the sheriff. Then Martha had told them about her visit with the Larsons. If Dad found out about either incident, he wouldn’t approve.
“No point in bothering Sheriff Osborn,” Dad said with a look of disdain. “He knows about the other attacks, and what good has that done?” He made an arc with his arm. “Came around asking a bunch of nosy questions and saying he’d keep an eye on the place, yet here we go again with another attack.”
Mom shuffled across the room. “I’m going to bed. Are you coming, Roman?”
He shook his head. “I’m not tired. Guess I’ll go out to the barn awhile and think things through.” He turned toward the table, where Ruth and Martha still sat. “If anything else happens, I want to be the first to know. Do you understand?”
They both nodded.
“Good.” He tromped across the room and went out the back door.
Martin felt a sense of excitement as he pulled into the Hostettlers’ and tied his horse to the hitching rail. He was anxious to see Ruth and tell her that he’d put a deposit on the house they would be living in after they were married.
Taking the steps two at a time, he knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Martha answered. “Gut-n-owed,” she said. “Won’t you come in?”
“Good evening,” Martin replied as he entered the house. “I came to see Ruth.”
“I figured as much. She’s in the kitchen.” Martha stepped onto the porch. “Tell my sister I’ve gone out to the kennels to check on my dogs,” she called over her shoulder.
Martin found Ruth sitting at the kitchen table with a cup in her hands. “Are you busy?” he asked.
She looked up and smiled. “Just having some tea. Would you like to join me?”
“Sounds good, if you’ve got some cookies to go with it.”
“I think that can be arranged.” Ruth set the cup down and scurried across the room. A few seconds later she was back with a plate of cookies and a cup for him. “These are ginger cookies from the bakeshop, and they’re really good, so help yourself.”
“Danki.”
“So what brings you by this evening?” she asked after taking a seat.
“Came to see you, of course.” He grabbed a cookie and bit into it. “Mmm … this is good.”
She nodded. “Most everything from the bakeshop is pretty tasty.”
“I’ll bet the Clemonses are going to miss your help when you quit work after we’re married. Speaking of which, I stopped over at the Larsons’ this morning and gave them our first month’s rent.”
“So we’re definitely taking the place?”
“Jah, if you’re still okay with the idea of living there until I’m able to build our own house.”
“I’d be willing to live anywhere with you.” Ruth’s tone was sincere, and the tender look she gave Martin made him wish he could marry her right then.
He took her hand. “Just a few more weeks, and we’ll be husband and wife for the rest of our lives.”
“If I can get my wedding dress done in time,” she said, dropping her gaze to the table.
“I thought you were going to make it today.”
“I was until the material got shredded.”
“Huh?”
“Someone shredded all the clothes Mom and I hung on the line this morning—including the material for my wedding dress.”
The rhythm of his heartbeat picked up. “Someone deliberately shredded your clothes?”
She nodded. “We found footprints leading from the clothesline into the field that separates our place from the Larsons’. We think whoever did it ran over there.”
Martin’s jaw clenched as he mulled things over. “If I’d known about this sooner, I would have mentioned it to the Larsons when I went by their place.”
Ruth leaned forward with her elbows on the table. “Martha thought it might be Drew, the Larsons’ grandson who’s been visiting for the past couple of weeks. After we discovered the footprints, she headed over there to ask about it.”
“What’d they say?”
“They assured her that Drew hadn’t left their property all morning.”
“Did Martha believe them?”
Ruth shrugged. “I guess so. She had no reason not to.”
“Was Sheriff Osborn notified?”
“Grace and I went to town while Martha was at the Larsons’, and we stopped to see the sheriff.”
“What’d he say?”
“Just that he’d be keeping a closer eye on things and that we should let him know if anything else happens. Oh, and also that he’s questioned Gary Walker and doesn’t think he’s had anything to do with the attacks.”
“That’s it? He didn’t come out to look at the footprints or check around the place for evidence?”
She shook her head. “If you want my opinion, he hasn’t taken anything that’s been done to us seriously enough. But don’t tell Dad I said so, because as you know, he doesn’t want the sheriff involved any more than he already is.”
Martin nodded. “So if it wasn’t the Larsons’ grandson who shredded the clothes, do you have any idea who might have done it?”
“Grace thinks Gary Walker, that reporter, did it. According to Sadie, Gary has left town now, so hopefully things will settle down again.”
“Let’s hope so,” he said, giving her fingers a gentle squeeze. “I can’t have my bride wearing shredded wedding clothes.”
She offered him a feeble smile. Martin had a hunch that Ruth was a lot more upset than she was letting on. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Everything will be all right once we’re married; you’ll see.”
“I’m worried about your mamm,” Roman said as he entered the section of the barn where Martha kenneled her dogs and found her kneeling on the floor, brushing the female sheltie.
“You mean because she went to bed early this evening?” she asked, looking up from her job.
He nodded and took a seat on the wooden stool sitting in the corner of the room.
“It’s been a trying day, and Mom said she had a headache. I’m sure she’ll feel better by morning.”
“Sure hope so.” He drew in a deep breath and released it with a groan. “I’d really hoped these attacks would end, but it doesn’t look like they will until someone is caught.”
Martha put Heidi back in her cage and set the brush on the table where she kept her grooming supplies. “How’s that ever going to happen, Dad?”
“I don’t know.” He gave his left earlobe a tug. “Were there any clues near the clothesline?”
She shook her head. “Nothing except for some footprints leading to the Larsons’ property.”
“The Larsons’?”
“Jah. I’d thought at first it could have been done by their grandson, Drew, but when I went over there to talk to them, I learned that Drew had been there all morning.”
“Hmm … Sure wish I knew for sure who’s been doing all these things.”
“I hope you don’t still suspect Luke.”
“Well, his sunglasses were found on the ground after your mamm’s clothesline was cut. And then his straw hat was found near the barn right after that brick was thrown through the kitchen window.”
“Those incidents happened last year,” she reminded him. “Besides, Luke admitted the items were his and said he had dropped them.”
Roman folded his arms. “I didn’t believe him then, and I’ve got my suspicions that the pack of cigarettes I found the day our place got toilet-papered might have belonged to Luke, too.”
“Maybe someone’s trying to make it look like Luke’s the one responsible. Have you thought of that possibility?”
He shrugged. “Guess anything’s possible, but Luke more than any of the other suspects on our list has reason to get even with me.”
“How do you know the one doing the attacks is trying to get even with you? Maybe it’s as Grace says, and the reporter’s trying to get even with her.”
“I suppose it’s possible, but—”
“I don’t believe Luke would boldly commit acts of vandalism against his own people, even if he is angry with you.”
“Bishop King thinks I’m being too harsh and judgmental where Luke’s concerned.”
Martha stared at the floor.
“Well,” Roman said as he stepped down from the stool, “we won’t solve anything by gabbing. I’ve got some horses that need to be fed.”
“And I still need to brush Fritz,” Martha said, reaching for the dog brush.
“Don’t stay out here working with those dogs too late, you hear?”
“I won’t, Dad.”
As Roman headed for the horse stalls, he offered up a silent prayer. Father in heaven, please keep my family safe.