Chapter 8
Jude drank deeply from his glass of cold water, preparing to sell one last lot of sheep to the crowd of area farmers gathered in the sale barn near Cedar Creek. Although the bidding had been unusually active and he’d sold more cattle, hogs, and sheep than usual for a blustery March day, his mind had occasionally wandered home . . . wondering how Leah’s day with the twins had been going. When one of the Amish barn hands opened a side gate to drive the lambs into the fenced arena in front of the elevated booth where he sat, Jude shifted the microphone into place—and then gripped it hard.
On the other side of the fence, Jeremiah was taking a seat in the bleachers. And Stevie was with him.
A prickly feeling went up Jude’s spine, but when his son waved at him, grinning widely, Jude waved back. He hadn’t seen Stevie so happy in months, so the day had to be going better than most despite the serious set to Jeremiah’s jaw.
“All right, folks, we’ve got a dozen nice Suffolk lambs,” Jude announced, allowing his amplified voice to catch the attention of the attendees as he read from the small computer screen in front of him. “They’re from Jake Sutter up in Trenton, so you know they’re good. Starting the bids at a dollar fifty, do I hear two?”
Jude eased effortlessly into his chant, acknowledging the raised cards of the three farmers who bid first. Below him in the pen, young Bram Kanagy, who owned the sale barn, was walking between the lambs to keep them moving so folks could get a good look at them. Jude focused on raising the bids until one fellow and then a second one dropped out. “Sold! Six dollars a pound to number one twenty-four. On behalf of the Kanagy brothers I want to thank you folks for coming out today,” he said cordially. “Mary, our cashier, is ready to help you settle up before Bram and Nate help you load your livestock. Have a great day and may God bless.”
Jude switched off the microphone and said a few words to redheaded Mary, who sat beside him and had been keeping track of the sale transactions for her husband, Bram. He left the booth, wondering what sort of news Jeremiah had for him—and wondering why he had Stevie in tow. By the time Jude made his way through the jovial crowd of farmers who were lining up to pay for the livestock they’d bought, he saw that Vernon Gingerich had spotted his brother as well, and had gone over to chat with him.
“Great sale today!” the white-haired bishop called over to Jude. “I picked up a fine lot of Black Angus calves to fatten up.”
“You had several to choose from,” Jude agreed. He knew that livestock was the furthest thing from Jeremiah’s mind, so he asked the obvious question. “What brings you boys to the barn today? It’s a nice surprise to see you, Stevie!” he added as his son launched himself from the bleacher.
“Leah took me to Uncle Jeremiah’s coz she went out huntin’ the girls,” Stevie blurted, landing against Jude’s shoulder.
“Apparently, Alice and Adeline believe you’re not their father—and they told Stevie the same thing this morning?” Jeremiah asked carefully. He, along with the rest of the Shetler family, had known the truth about Frieda’s babies ever since she’d confessed it, and they had agreed to honor Jude’s situation by keeping silent.
Even so, Jude’s heart shriveled. Who could’ve foreseen the consequences of entrusting the story of his past to Leah after she’d bared her soul to him? As he hugged his son—for Stevie was his boy in every way that mattered—he wondered what Bishop Vernon was thinking as he followed this conversation. When the bishop from Leah’s Cedar Creek district had counseled them about the potential pitfalls of bringing a new wife into a home with teenage twins, he hadn’t been privy to the details of Alice and Adeline’s birth. Jude figured Bishop Vernon felt even less confident about the possibility of the Shetler family coming together than he had before Jude married Leah.
“Oh, my. It’s been quite a day at your place, by the sound of it, Jude,” Vernon said. He rubbed Stevie’s back, smiling at the boy. “But I can see you’ve let God’s love and light guide your feelings about your dat, Stevie—and that’s a wonderful gift you’ve given us all.”
Jude sighed, glancing around to be sure the other sale attendees couldn’t hear their conversation. “It all started when Leah and I were pouring our hearts out in the wee hours, unaware that the twins were listening on the other side of the wall,” he said, shaking his head. “The girls were upset, of course. They said that if I’m not their father and Leah’s not their mother, they have no reason to listen to us—much less obey us. I would’ve given anything to stay home today to help Leah deal with them, but—”
“Leah seemed to be handling it pretty well, all things considered,” Jeremiah put in. “She took out on her horse to—”
“Jah, and she’s lettin’ me raise the new baby goats that was borned in the night!” Stevie crowed as he grinned at Jude. “And I got to feed the calves this morning, too.”
Jude’s heart swelled with love for Leah—and gratitude to God—that, for whatever reason, Stevie had finally decided his stepmother was a woman he could trust. “That’s exciting,” he said, hugging the boy close as he gazed at Jeremiah. “Do we have any idea where she planned to look?”
“She was goin’ wherever Tinker Bell was!” Stevie blurted out. His eyes twinkled with mischief. “I told Leah the girls let me watch a movie about Tink on their phone, and I wasn’t supposed to say nothin’ about that. But Alice and Adeline aren’t s’posed to have that fancy kind of cell phone, huh, Dat?”
Jude’s suspicions spun as he wondered how many more revelations his boy would make. “No, but that’s another matter entirely,” he said. He lowered Stevie until the boy was standing on the bleachers. “Our first priority is locating Adeline and Alice before trouble finds them, so—”
“I’d check at home first,” Bishop Vernon said pensively. “Your girls are upset by what they overheard—and they’d be acting out even if their mother were still alive—but I doubt they had a destination in mind when they took off. They’ll find out pretty fast that the English world doesn’t offer many options to young people without ready cash or a car.” He squeezed Jude’s shoulder, nodding. “If anyone can ferret them out, Leah can. She’s resourceful in ways most Plain women aren’t.”
“Let’s hope so,” Jude muttered. “We certainly didn’t see this coming when we considered the problems our marriage might face.”
Vernon’s blue eyes shimmered with a hint of sadness. “My suspicions about Frieda’s youthful inclinations years ago have just been confirmed,” he said with a shake of his head. “You and Leah have taken the higher path, and I wish you all the best as this situation plays out. Shall we pray about it?”
Jude couldn’t recall ever praying in a sale barn, but he bowed his head and motioned for Stevie to do the same. If Bishop Vernon and God could give him some assistance with Alice and Adeline, he’d be foolish not to accept it.
“Lord and Father God, You’ve loved Your wayward children since before Adam and Eve rebelled against You,” Vernon intoned. “We ask Your continued assistance as Jude and Leah strive to reconcile their family’s difficult situation. Bless Adeline and Alice with the insight to follow Your ways and to believe in the blessings You’ve given them in the form of caring parents. Amen.”
“Denki, Bishop,” Jude said, pointing Stevie toward the door. “I’ll head home as you’ve suggested, and hope the girls are there.”
“If they’re not, come and get me,” Jeremiah said, clapping Jude on the back. “Between the two of us, we know of every possible place in Morning Star where they might be holing up. Your girls aren’t the first Amish teenagers to run around doing questionable things during their rumspringa, after all.”
Jude smiled. “Jah, but it feels like a hundred years ago when you and I were running under the adults’ radar. And we were guys—without cell phones,” he added. He held out his hand, pleased when Stevie grabbed hold of it. “Let’s go home, son. You can tell me about the new baby goats and the calves along the way.”
As they rode in the rig, Jude nodded and smiled at Stevie’s enthusiastic rendering of his adventures with Leah this morning, but his mind was gnawing on a different subject altogether. What if Alice and Adeline have taken off with those English boys folks suspect they’ve befriended? What if they’ve learned enough about getting around in the English world to fare better than Bishop Vernon has predicted?
“—and then Leah told me about how come the calves and some of her cows are black with white faces even though the bull is red,” Stevie was saying excitedly. “And she let me scoop their alfalfa pellets into the feeding trough!”
Jude focused on his boy, grateful to God for the purposeful shine in Stevie’s eyes as he spoke with such enthusiasm. “What was so special about today—so different?” he asked softly. “You’ve been around Leah for a long time now, yet today’s the first time I’ve seen you really excited about spending time with her.”
Stevie’s eyes widened as he considered Jude’s question. “I dunno,” he said with a winsome shrug. “I guess I was really happy when she told me I could be a friend to the new goats. Alice and Adeline are always tellin’ me I’m too little and too—too stupid to do stuff—”
Stevie’s chin quivered as he took in Jude’s shocked frown. “Uh-oh. Now they’re gonna know I blabbed about somethin’ else they told me to keep quiet about.”
“No, they’re not,” Jude whispered, cupping his boy’s face in his hand as he held Stevie’s gaze. He wasn’t surprised that the twins were showing Leah so little respect, but his heart curdled at the thought that they’d been convincing Stevie he was stupid or inadequate. “There’s something else I need to know, and it’s just between us guys, all right? Leah and the girls will never hear what you tell me.”
Stevie’s expression grew serious. “Jah, Dat. It’s just you and me and Rusty—and horses can’t carry tales,” he added, crossing his heart with his finger.
Jude didn’t spoil the moment’s solemnity by chuckling at Stevie’s way with words. For safety’s sake, he guided his bay gelding to the shoulder of the road and eased the horse to a halt. “Stevie, do the girls ever tell you things about Leah that . . . that make you think your new stepmamm is mean or scary?” he asked carefully. “Have you stayed away from Leah because you believed Alice and Adeline when they said Leah might hurt you?”
The boy’s wide eyes spoke volumes, and Jude’s heart twisted in his chest.
“Sometimes,” Stevie replied in a faltering whisper.
Jude bit back a remark intended for his daughters, because his son shouldn’t have to carry the burden of his disappointment. “You don’t have to tell me what they’ve said,” he muttered, “but I hope that after today, you realize that Leah would never hurt you or be mean to—”
“And Leah won’t never tie me up in the closet with my mouth taped shut like the girls said, neither, will she, Dat?” Stevie blurted. “And she won’t make me eat chicken poop for lunch coz she can’t cook nothin’ better. I know that, coz we have really gut grilled cheese sandwiches a lot of days!”
“Oh, Stevie, I’m sorry,” Jude murmured as he pulled his son close. “I don’t know why your sisters have put such awful ideas in your head about Leah, but I’m glad you’ve decided not to believe their hateful talk.”
Stevie nipped his lip. “Even though Alice and Adeline was talkin’ mean to Leah this morning at breakfast, Leah got real worried about ’em when they didn’t come home,” he said. “She wouldn’t never tie them up in the closet, neither, Dat. Leah’s not mean, even when the girls hurt her feelings. Anybody who loves animals so much can’t be a bad person.”
Jude closed his eyes, grateful again for his son’s unwitting insight. “You’re right about her, Stevie,” he said as he lightly clapped the lines across Rusty’s back. “Let’s get on home, and we’ll hope that Leah and the girls are already there.”
“What if they’re not, Dat?”
“We’ll take Uncle Jeremiah up on his offer to help look for them,” Jude replied.
A smile flitted across Stevie’s face. “Boy oh boy, the girls’ll be in big trouble if the bishop has to go after ’em!”
They’re already in big trouble, Jude thought as the house came into view. He’d expected the girls to feel some resentment about his new wife, but where had such hatred and disrespect come from? Why had the twins given Stevie such awful ideas about being tied in the closet and fed chicken manure?
As Jude drove down the lane toward the stable, he dared to believe he saw movement through the kitchen windows. It would take every ounce of restraint he could muster not to lash out at Alice and Adeline when he saw them—so he reminded himself that the knowledge he’d gained from Stevie would be an effective tool only if he kept it to himself until a moment his girls couldn’t deny it.
“There’s the Tink buggy!” Stevie crowed as Rusty pulled them into the stable.
Jude slipped his arm around his son as the bay entered his customary stall and came to a halt. “We guys have to stick together,” he reminded Stevie gently. “How about if you help me with the horse chores? And then, when we go inside, how about if you let me do the talking? I want to see what the girls say about their day—”
“So they tell on themselves,” Stevie put in brightly. “You do that with me sometimes, too, coz you know everything about what I’ve been doin’, huh, Dat? You know when I’m tellin’ the truth and when I’m fibbin’.”
Jude stifled a laugh, cherishing his son’s innocent honesty. “Yup, I know a lot—and God knows even more,” he pointed out. “That’s why it’s never a gut idea to lie. It makes us feel real nervous about keeping our story straight, and it makes God and other folks sad because they love us and they want us to be at peace with ourselves and with everyone around us.”
Although such religious philosophy was deep for a boy who hadn’t yet started school, Jude sensed that Stevie understood it at a gut level. As he and his boy unhitched Rusty and filled the horse troughs and feed bins, Jude recalled a time when Alice and Adeline had shone with the same exuberant, forthright beliefs . . . and he wished he could return them to such a time, before hormones and the loss of their mother had altered them so drastically.
When Jude opened the mudroom door, the aromas of beef and gravy enveloped him. The kitchen was a picture of rare domestic bliss: Alice and Adeline, dressed alike in Plain green dresses, were adding vegetables to a delicious-smelling pot of stew that bubbled on the stove while Leah was tucking a large pan of biscuits into the oven.
Relief nearly overwhelmed him. His girls were home, apparently no worse for the day’s wear—and Leah wore a placid expression that hid a slew of secrets.
Adeline turned toward the door, smiling. “Stevie! We made your favorite green Jell-O salad with peaches and pineapple.”
“And biscuits to go with the beef stew,” Alice added with a purposeful gaze at Jude. “It’s going to be a yummy supper.”
“Sounds wonderful,” Jude said as he crossed the kitchen to slip his arm around Leah. She was wearing his favorite brick-red dress and a secretive smile . . . and when he nuzzled her temple, her light brown hair smelled like cigarette smoke. “How was your day?” he asked, including his daughters in the question.
The kitchen rang with silence.
Determined not to cave in to his curiosity—or to reveal how appalled he was about the girls’ attitude—Jude meandered over to gaze into the stew pot. He caught a whiff of English perfume, which didn’t quite mask the same acrid aroma of smoke he’d smelled on Leah. Was it his imagination, or did he also smell stale beer as the twins bustled away from him to set the table?
“We girls were all very busy,” Leah finally replied, her purposeful gaze suggesting that Jude would be hearing more details later. “Denki for fetching Stevie.”
Jude nodded. Surely, Alice and Adeline would suspect that Leah had had a reason for dropping off their younger brother, but he kept playing along with his wife’s ruse. “Jeremiah thought Stevie would enjoy watching the livestock—”
“And I got to hear Dat be an auctioneer!” Stevie crowed. “He talks really fast!”
As they set the food on the table, Alice and Adeline chatted with their brother about what he’d seen at the sale. In their crisp pleated kapps and modest dresses, the twins appeared to be models of Old Order propriety and cooperation, as though they’d gotten along with Leah since the first day she’d joined their family—as though they hadn’t been eavesdropping this morning, and overreacting to a conversation not meant for their ears. After the silent prayer, Jude allowed himself to enjoy a truly delectable stew and light, perfect biscuits, as though he believed his daughters had remained at home and out of harm’s way all day. The twins were quieter than usual.
“You ladies have outdone yourself this evening,” he remarked as he took two more warm biscuits from the basket. He focused on Alice and Adeline, noting that they didn’t meet his gaze. “What all did you do today, girls? I’m pleased to see such an improvement in your attitude, because I was awfully concerned about you when I left for the sale this morning.”
The twins exchanged a quick glance, shrugging simultaneously. “Not a lot,” Alice mumbled.
“Nothing special,” Adeline put in without missing a beat. “Just another day.”
Jude gripped the stew bowl to keep from slapping the table in frustration. Although he understood the value of hearing Leah’s version of the truth before he interrogated the twins, he despised game playing—acting as though Alice and Adeline had remained at home cooking and cleaning or working on other constructive projects, as most Amish girls their age seemed content to do.
“But it was a special day, coz two little goats got born,” Stevie said, conveying the wonder of birth in his observation. “And they’re gonna be my little goats, coz Leah says I get to take care of ’em. And we had the best grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, too. You shoulda been here, Dat!”
Yes, I shoulda, Jude thought, smiling at his son. Experience told him Stevie could only go so long before he blurted out everything he’d heard this afternoon, so he changed his usual evening pattern. “After being cooped up in the sale barn all day, I believe I’d like to take a walk in the fresh air and sunshine before I eat my dessert,” he said, gazing purposefully at his daughters. “If you girls will redd up the kitchen, please, Leah and I will return in a little while. And Stevie, their work will go faster if you help them.”
Disappointment flashed in his son’s wide blue eyes, but he nodded. Alice’s and Adeline’s faces tightened with suspicion as they exchanged glances. They began scraping the dinner plates as though they might take off the dishes’ simple designs along with the food.
“Denki for your help, kids,” Leah said as she rose from her chair. “I’ll grab my coat, Jude, and off we go.”
Jude’s pulse thrummed as he preceded her into the mudroom. He held Leah’s barn jacket as she shrugged into it, thinking he owed her a million more signs of his love and respect, considering what she’d endured since the wee hours of their morning.
“I love you,” he whispered as he let his hands linger on her slender shoulders. “I apologize for whatever you went through today—and I want to hear all the details.”
Fatigue lined Leah’s eyes, yet her smile radiated her love for him. “All in gut time,” she whispered with a slight nod toward the kitchen. “The walls have ears, after all.”
* * *
The mudroom door had no more than closed before Alice narrowed her eyes, pointing at her little brother. “What’d you tell her today, Stevie?” she demanded.
“Jah, how’d she know where to find us?” Adeline put in stiffly. “You’re in deep trouble if you’ve let on about the stuff we say and do when—”
Stevie crossed his arms, looking away. “How could I tell anybody where you were?” he replied. “I couldn’t carry no tales, because I didn’t know nothin’ about where you were or—”
“Don’t play stupid!” Alice blurted out, grabbing his shoulder to shake some sense into him. “If Uncle Jeremiah took you to the sale barn, that means Leah dropped you off at his place—”
“And you just can’t keep your mouth shut when you’re around him!” Adeline finished. She stood beside her sister, both with their fists on their hips, glaring at Stevie. “How much do he and Dat know?”
Stevie seemed oddly calm for a kid who usually cried at the first sign of conflict. His lips twitched as though he was trying not to laugh. “I dunno,” he said with a shrug.
“But you had to’ve heard every word they said!” Alice retorted.
Stevie shrugged again. “Maybe I did, and maybe they were talkin’ in the other room so I couldn’t hear,” he said. “When Dat and I got home, he said he was gonna do the talkin’ and I was supposed to keep quiet. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it. Me and Dat, we’re a team.”
“He’s not even your father!” Adeline reminded him hotly. “Why should you do what he tells you instead of listening to us?”
Stevie looked ready to cry, yet he stood taller. “Maybe you’re lyin’ about that—like you’ve told me lies before,” he said in a quavering voice. “He’s my dat, and that’s that. You’re in big trouble, and it’s not my fault. I’m goin’ out to see the goats.”
Stevie bolted before Alice could catch him. As the slam of the door reverberated in the kitchen, she exhaled loudly. “Well, are we going to hang around here and clean up the kitchen, or is it time to just leave?”
“Where will we go?” Adeline challenged. “If Dexter and Phil hadn’t left us hanging at the pool hall—if they’d come back for us like they said they would—we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
Alice laughed bitterly. “I have half a mind to call Phil and give him an earful, but then he and Dex would probably dump us for gut.”
“Jah, so much for them being our ticket out of here. At least today.” Adeline glared at the bowls of congealing stew and green gelatin salad. “Let’s clean up this mess and see what Jude and Leah lay on us when they get back. At least we’ll know what they’ve found out about us.”
“Jah, you know Dat—er, Judah—will spell it all out when he gets back from his walk, because Leah will tell him everything even though she promised she’d keep her mouth shut.” Alice spat at the stack of plates on the table. “Two-faced liar. What does he see in her, anyway?”