Tuesday, December 19
Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny. Susanna was grateful for the good weather since the mood inside their house was rather dark.
When she’d awoken, she’d discovered Amanda sitting next to Traci on the couch with her arms wrapped around her. Traci was pale. Her eyes were watering and she had a terrible cough.
Then their mother informed her that Daed was just as sick and was in bed. After helping with some chores around the house, and realizing that the rest of the inhabitants in the house were about to take naps, Susanna decided to finally go out to the bridge and try to figure out what had happened.
She needed to prove Traci wrong. She needed to be able to tell herself that no one could have tried to damage the bridge on purpose.
She set off, determined to spend some time appreciating how beautiful everything looked all covered in white.
She also used the time to try to reflect on how she was feeling. She thought back to before they moved to Horse Cave. She’d been so excited and hopeful when their father had first told them about his inheritance and his bid on this farm.
It hadn’t even occurred to her then to think about the family that was selling the farm. Now that she’d met Neil Vance, though, she was wondering why the Lord had put them on either side of such contrasting beliefs.
Approaching the bridge, she noticed the broken board right away. It was split in two. Below it, the five-foot-wide creek was frozen . . . with the exception of a sizable hole in the ice.
Staring at it, she imagined Traci falling through the ice, being scared, at a loss for what to do. The only saving grace was that it wasn’t terribly deep. The water was only about three and a half feet deep. Not enough for a thirteen-year-old girl to drown in . . . unless she’d hit her head and gotten trapped under the ice.
A chill that had nothing to do with the cold temperatures settled inside her. Traci could have died.
After allowing herself a few seconds of grief, she shook it off and got back to the reason she’d come there. She needed to inspect the boards, to see if there was any visible mark or indication that could prove Traci’s suspicion correct.
She stepped toward the bridge, suddenly wishing that she hadn’t come alone. Of course, even if she did fall through another board, she would be okay. She wasn’t a scared teenager, she was taller than Traci, and it was a bright day. She wasn’t going to get stuck or disoriented or overcome by panic.
But it still would have been better to have gone with another person.
After eyeing the wood slats as well as she could from the bank, she knew she had only one option if she was going to hope to find any answers. She was going to need to get on the bridge, kneel down on one of the sturdier planks, and then peer at the broken wood.
Decision made, she set down the little quilted backpack she’d been carrying and stepped onto the bridge. Immediately, her foot slid.
It was icy.
Glad she was wearing gloves that had a bit of a grip on them, she clutched the handrail and took another step. Then two more.
She was about two feet in. After another couple of steps, she would be able to kneel down and look for damage.
Feeling more determined, she took another tentative step. The wood groaned under her weight. Had this one been sabotaged, too? Perhaps if she knelt on one knee. Wasn’t dispersing her weight supposed to be better in—
“What are you doing?”
Startled, she turned, then felt her foot slide on another patch of ice.
Neil Vance muttered something as he reached out for her and grabbed her by the waist.
“Hey, what are you doing?” she asked around a squeal . . . as he brought her off the bridge and set her down on the bank of the creek.
Then, there they were, standing together, his large hands firmly grasping her by her waist. Somehow hers were now on his forearms. Holding on to his thick wool coat.
Once again, she was reminded how tall he was. With his boots on, he stood at least six inches taller than she. His unusual flinty-blue eyes studied her expression.
Then promptly set her free.
“What am I doing?” he repeated, giving her a look that said that he thought she had completely lost her mind. “I’m trying to save a second Schwartz sister from falling into the creek.”
“I wasn’t about to fall.”
“Well, you really shouldn’t have been trying to cross it.”
“I wasn’t. I was only attempting to get a better idea of what happened.”
He looked around. “So you came out here by yourself.”
Since that was obvious, Susanna pointed to the hole in the ice instead. “Traci fell in right there. Then her dress got caught on a rock or branch or something in the ice.”
“How did she get out?”
“My father found her.”
“And she really is all right?”
Worry laced his tone. He was worried about Traci, and that helped her calm down and act less argumentative. Lifting a shoulder, she answered with care. “More or less. As I told you, she’s a bit sick, with a bad cold now; and we learned she also turned her ankle. She should be right as rain in a couple of days.” Staring at the hole in the ice, she felt an unwanted tremor race down her spine. “She could have been hurt much worse.”
“Susanna, if you needed to cross the creek this morning, you should have just walked across on the rocks. It’s frozen solid because it’s so shallow there.”
“Is that what you did?”
“Jah.” Looking over her, he said, “Are you scared to cross on the ice? I can help you, if you’d like.”
“That’s kind of you.” It was actually really kind. So far, everything that he’d been doing, lifting her off the bridge, offering to help . . . well, it was all very kind.
It was time to tell him the truth.
“I was hoping to get a good look at the wood planks.”
“You can’t fix it today, Susanna. Listen, when the weather gets a little warmer, I’ll come out here with Roy or Dale and repair it.”
“I hate to point out the obvious, but this bridge isn’t your problem anymore.”
“Don’t be so stubborn. I’m trying to help you. Listen, I helped my father build this bridge. Dale and Roy helped repair a couple of loose boards just last summer. We know what we’re doing.”
“The boards were replaced that recently?”
He paused. “Yes. Why?”
“That just surprises me.”
“Because? Wait. What do you want to inspect?”
“To see if the wood had been tampered with.” Before he could say something sarcastic, she said, “Traci is sure that someone weakened the board. She heard a sharp snap as it broke.”
“Anything that breaks would make a snap, don’t you think?”
“Usually, I would agree, but she also pointed out that recently she, Amanda, and I all stood on the bridge at the same time. None of us heard any creaking. The wood seemed strong.” Blowing out a burst of air, she said, “And you just said you thought it was in good repair.”
He looked wary. “I thought it was. But snow and rain and everything else can weaken it. I bet that is what happened.”
“Traci is small. She’s only about a hundred pounds, Neil. Maybe even a little less than that.”
All traces of humor were gone from his face now. “Why would someone want to tamper with this bridge?”
“I don’t know, but I have a guess.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “You might as well tell me.”
“I think someone wanted one of us to get hurt so we would start to get afraid of living here.”
“I think you’re letting your imagination get the best of ya. Boards break all the time.”
“That is true. But then again, someone did shoot at me just a couple of weeks ago. And then, there was the broken fence.”
“Don’t you think you are jumping to conclusions?”
“Nee. Someone wants us gone and isn’t going to rest until that happens.” Looking at him directly in the eye, she lifted her chin. “I’ve decided I’m going to figure out who it is.”