Luke would not allow himself to feel guilty for dropping that announcement in the middle of the room and watching it explode. The look his uncle had sent toward Jennie, as if she were somehow at fault for his troubles, infuriated him. No one had the right to judge her. No one. Not even his family.
“Your wife.” Tante Eleanor’s voice was a thin whisper cutting through the silence.
“Jah. My wife. She and LJ are in danger. We came here hoping to find a refuge where her life would be safe.”
At the mention of danger, the atmosphere changed. Jed and Eleanor would good people. He’d never doubted that they would embrace Jennie and LJ once they were aware of the whole story.
“Danger!” Jed strode forward. “Cumme! Cumme! You look tired.”
Luke put his hand on the small of Jennie’s back. When she glanced at him, startled, he dropped his hand. He could not treat her as if she were his wife in truth. He had no reason to be touching her. He clenched his fist at his side and followed her into the kitchen area.
“Dinner won’t be for an hour or so.” Eleanor brought a pitcher of water to the table. “We can talk for a bit until the others are finished with their chores.”
Luke loved his cousins, but he was relieved to know that he and Jennie would have some time alone to give his tante and onkel the main points of what was happening. The fewer people who knew the sordid tale, the better.
As expected, his relatives were full of sympathy for Jennie. Although, he did detect several concerned looks cast his way. Well, he wasn’t backing out. He would help Jennie as long as he needed in order to ensure she and LJ were safe. It was the right thing to do.
He also couldn’t bear the idea of returning home with no assurance that they were well. Whatever happened, for now, they were in his care. He would not fail them, no matter what it cost him.
Some of his determination must have shown when Jed met his eyes. The older man’s gaze dropped, his shoulders sagging slightly, resignation stamped on his face.
LJ’s lids began to droop before their conversation was over. Jennie pulled him into her arms. Luke couldn’t keep his eyes off the beautiful sight of the mother cradling her child.
If only...
He blocked the thought. When the rest of the family arrived, all conversation about the danger that was hunting Jennie ceased. Eleanor and Jed introduced her as Luke’s friend who’d be staying with them for a short time. His cousins accepted the information calmly.
Luke tried to suppress his annoyance at the way she was introduced. He wanted to be able to tell them that LJ was his. His uncle laid a stern eye on him. He nodded, understanding the warning, though he didn’t like it.
When he went to bed that evening, he shared a room with one of his cousins. He lay awake in bed long after his cousin drifted off to sleep, reliving the moment when the gas had exploded in Randi’s house. Regret filled him that he had been unable to save her. It wasn’t his fault, he knew that. He had managed to get Jennie and LJ out, it was true, but he would never forget the memory of Randi’s still body lying in the snow. It should never have happened.
None of this should be happening.
He squeezed his eyes tight, shying away from thoughts of what could have happened on the road earlier that day. It seemed everywhere they went, danger followed.
Inhaling deeply, Luke prayed for guidance. He prayed that Gott would continue to protect them and bring those who would cause harm to Jennie and LJ to justice.
He also prayed for help guarding his heart.
But he feared that prayer was too late.
The next morning, he awoke early to find his cousin had already left. Ach. Luke should have risen to help with the morning chores. Dressing quickly, he left the haus to go find his cousins and onkel.
The day passed in an uneventful manner, for which he was grateful. It didn’t stop him from looking over his shoulders, waiting for someone to take a shot at them or to attempt to run them over.
At least they went to bed that night with no additional injuries. That was a blessing, for sure.
On Sunday, no chores were done. Luke and Jennie took advantage of the time to get rested up. When he’d mentioned that Trooper Carter had told Jennie to go off the grid and hide, his tante had suggested that while they were here, Jennie dress in his cousin’s dresses. He supposed she thought that Jennie would blend in more and not be so easy for her attackers to find.
It made sense. The problem, as far as he was concerned, was that it was harder to remember why Jennie was off-limits to him when she looked like a lovely Plain woman. His cousin’s pink dress and crisp white kapp, in his mind, enhanced Jennie’s natural beauty. She used to wear cosmetics, and she’d been beautiful. But he thought she was breathtaking now without any additional products.
Monday morning dawned clear, though Luke had an ache in his leg that he knew from experience meant it would snow later. Somehow, he always knew. The doctor told him that he might be more sensitive to changes in barometric pressure. So far, the doctor had been correct.
Luke was given the chore of chopping more firewood. His relatives used it for their own haus, but they also sold wood to the surrounding area. “It’s gut business and it helps our friends.”
Luke liked the manual labor. As he worked, the motion of chopping the wood brought back an image of working on a haus with his onkel. He paused briefly, willing the image to become focused.
And then he saw it clearly. He heard a laugh. It was a younger Jennie. His mind recalled that day, eight years earlier, when they had finished the first haus they had worked on. Jennie had been painting, and he had worked on the roof. When they were finished, he’d taken her out to a restaurant to eat. And later that night, before he’d left, he’d kissed her.
His eyes flared open wide, his pulse thumping through his veins.
“Hey, Luke.”
For a second, he thought the voice was part of his memory. When he heard it again, he turned to find Jennie standing several feet away, her head tilted to the side as she considered him with concern. “You okay?”
“Jah.” He swallowed, shoving the memory aside. “I’m gut. Just thinking.”
He wasn’t about to tell her that he’d been thinking about her. Or that he’d been remembering their first kiss. The tips of his ears warmed, but he strove to retain a facade of nonchalance.
She waited. When he said nothing more, she shrugged and let the matter drop as he had hoped she would. “Your uncle has some errands he wondered if we’d run for him.”
Luke frowned. “I’m not sure—do you think it’s safe?”
She chewed on her lip. “Well, if he had asked us to drive into town, I’d say no. As it is, all he’s asked is that we walk to the Amish store and pick up some baking items for your aunt. I’ll admit, I wouldn’t mind the trip, but I don’t want to go by myself.”
He thought about it. They would be staying in the Amish area. They could even cut through the back paths. After a moment he nodded. “I think we could do that. Give me a moment to put this ax back in the barn.”
As he walked past, she dropped in beside him. He clasped his hands behind his back to avoid the temptation of reaching out and grabbing hold of her hand. When she tucked her own hands beneath her black cape, he wondered if she was fighting the same temptation.
Then he scolded himself for wishing it was true.
A squeal of tires on the street had them both whirling to face the road. A car thundered past, stopping in front. Luke threw his body in front of Jennie as the driver pointed a gun in their direction.
“Get down!” Pushing her down against the barn, Luke covered her body with his as the gunner opened fire.
Debris rained down around them as a bullet hit the barn, leaving a fist-size hole in the wood. A second shot hit just inches away from Jennie’s head. She couldn’t breathe, feeling the wood exploding around her.
As scared as she was for herself, she was terrified for Luke, hovering over her. She didn’t want to save her life at the cost of his. Even as she tried to push him away so he could get lower, he moved off her, groaning.
The car raced away.
Blood was streaming from a wound in Luke’s shoulder. A large chunk of wood, debris from the garage, had impaled him straight through his coat.
“Luke!” she screamed.
“Ach, don’t worry so, Jennie girl,” he said, smiling at her, his eyes lined with pain. “It’s nothing. Just a large splinter. Far better than a bullet, ain’t so?”
“Luke, don’t joke. You’re hurt.” She could barely choke out the words.
“It’s not so bad. I’m alive, and so are you.”
She agreed, struggling to remain calm.
Within seconds, he was surrounded by family and friends. She stepped back to allow them room, but his lids snapped open again. He searched frantically among the host of people surrounding him, prodding and asking questions, until he found her.
“Jennie.”
She stepped closer. He sat up and his coat flapped open. Underneath, his shirt was covered with blood, but it didn’t seem to be spreading.
“Where’s LJ?”
“The child’s taking a nap,” Luke’s aunt assured him. He didn’t seem to hear her.
“Check on him, please?”
Jennie caught some of his urgency. “I will.”
Pausing only long enough to be sure Luke was okay, she flew back into the house and up the stairs. LJ had been placed in the room at the end of the hall. His door was shut. Jennie ran to the door and opened it.
Her heart stopped. The window was wide open, the cold air rushing in. LJ was nowhere in sight.
Her baby had been kidnapped.
Taking the stairs two at a time, she leaped down the last three and rushed outside, shouting as she went. “Luke! Luke! LJ’s gone! LJ’s been taken!”
Luke shot up from where his aunt had been tending him, ignoring his bleeding shoulder. “Are you sure?”
She nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. “The window was open and he was gone. The door to the room was still closed.” She gulped, unable to manage any more.
Luke took over. “Onkel, there had to have been two of them. The one in the car shot at me. There’s no way he could have gotten to LJ without us noticing. His partner was probably on foot. He must have gone through the back pastures.”
“We’ll search for him. Jennie, go into my office and call for your police.”
Jennie didn’t hesitate. She took off and went into the office. She dialed with shaking fingers.
“911. What’s your emergency?”
“Someone has taken my son. He’s only four.” She choked on a sob. Hold it together, Jennie. LJ needs you to be strong.
“Ma’am, can you verify your location?”
Stumbling a bit over the address, she gave the dispatcher the information, as well as LJ’s appearance and what he’d been dressed in.
“A police car has been dispatched from Union City, ma’am. They should be at your address within ten minutes. Can you stay on the line until they arrive?”
She didn’t want to. “My son. I should be looking for my son.”
“Ma’am, you need to stay on the line. If we need any more information, you’re our contact.”
Impatience and anxiety vibrated in her blood as she waited. Ten minutes had never seemed to take so long. What was Luke’s family doing now? Was Luke searching? Of course he was. Luke would do anything for LJ. If the kidnapper was nearby, Luke would search until he found his son.
If she’d had her phone on her, she could have walked outside and seen what was happening. Unfortunately, she’d shut her phone off and left it in her room to save the battery. Plus, the Amish dress she was wearing had no pockets.
She slammed the phone down when the police pulled in, running to meet the troopers before they had completely stopped the car. “My son is missing. Someone took him.”
She could see the look in their eyes. They thought she was being melodramatic. “Call Trooper Carter with the state police if you don’t believe me. Tell him LJ Beiler is missing. This is the second kidnapping attempt in four days. He’ll tell you.”
The condescending smiles disappeared. One of the troopers immediately got on his phone; the other had her repeat the details she’d already told the dispatcher.
The troopers joined in the search, one on foot while the other drove off to search the surrounding area in his cruiser. Jennie was told to remain near the house in case LJ came home. She was given explicit instructions to call the police if he returned.
A minute later, she was alone in a mother’s worst nightmare.