More thunder rumbled as rain splattered harder on the roadside stand where Tena Speicher frantically packed her wares into coolers.
“Ach. No!” She groaned as she worked faster to clear the fruit and vegetables lining the shelves. Then, just as the rain let up, she grabbed the rest of the baked goods and shoved them into the last cooler. Thank goodness they were wrapped. It was bad enough that the burst had completely doused her clothes and shoes.
She swiped at the raindrops dripping from her prayer covering, and a new clap of thunder caused her to jump.
Where was Wayne?
Tena glanced toward the road, where huge puddles had formed. Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention to a man walking along the side. Despite wet skin, the hair on the back of her neck raised as she took in his disheveled appearance and slight limp.
She could see what he was wearing beneath a billowing, clear rain poncho. Clad in dirty blue jeans with holes in the knees, he also wore a faded black T-shirt that looked streaked with mud, sandals on his feet, and an olive-colored jacket tied around his waist. His jaw was covered with a straggly brown beard, and his brown hair looked as if it hadn’t been trimmed in months. A large olive-green duffel bag was slung over his broad shoulder. As unshaven as he was, his face drenched with rain, she couldn’t guess his age.
His dark eyes locked with hers, and her heart thudded in her chest.
She glanced toward her great-aunt Emma’s house as her mouth dried. Why had she decided to pack up the stand by herself? Her friends rarely worked on their community garden on a Friday, preferring Saturdays. But a handful of them decided to care for their overabundance of ready-to-harvest crops today. They’d even decided to open the stand for business.
When they all decided to leave earlier than planned because of the threat of rain, she insisted she could pack up everything at the stand by herself so they could beat the storm. Wayne King stayed behind to help her carry it all to the house, but where was he?
“Excuse me, miss. Do you have anything I could eat?”
Tena spun as the stranger came closer. She took a step back and shook her head. “No.”
He lowered the duffel bag, but he didn’t let it fall to the already muddy ground. He gestured toward the empty shelves. “Don’t you sell food here?”
“Yes,” she said, making sure to speak English when with an Englisher. But if Wayne had been there, she would have told him how uncomfortable she felt in Pennsylvania Dutch. She gestured toward the dark sky. The rain was bound to come down again. “But I have to close up because of the rain.”
“I would appreciate it if you could spare something first. I’m so empty my stomach hurts. Anything small would stop the hunger pangs.” He pointed to the coolers. “Is there anything in there I could have?”
“I’m sorry, but no.” She folded her arms over her soggy black apron as more thunder rumbled above her. She needed to get away from him, but how? He was standing in her way.
“Don’t you have anything too old to sell now?”
“No. We’ll store everything and sell it tomorrow. Our profits go to charity.” She instinctively reached under the counter and placed her hand on the money box. Why hadn’t Wayne hurried down to help her carry the food to the kitchen when it started to rain? Even if she could get past this strange man, he might try to follow her to the house.
Panic swelled inside her. He could be just like the Englisher who’d left her brother for dead.
“You’re sure none of your food just got ruined?” The stranger leaned forward on the counter, his eyes trained on hers. “I would be happy to take it off your hands. Anything is better than nothing, and then you won’t have to bother with throwing it away.”
She shook her head. “Even if I did, I’m not permitted to give away the food. As I said, my friends and I run this stand to raise money for a local charity.”
The man ran his hand down his face, displacing the rainwater in his beard. Tena was almost certain she spotted desperation in his eyes. Her heart pounded against her rib cage. What would he do? Hurt her?
“Hello there!”
Relief flooded her when she turned and found Wayne King walking up to the stand. Oh, thank you, Lord! She squelched the urge to hide behind him.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” the stranger explained, “but I was wondering if you had any food to spare. I haven’t eaten since yesterday. I can’t pay you, but . . .”
“Of course we do.” Wayne opened the closest cooler, retrieved a bag with three cookies, and handed it to the man. “Do you like chocolate chip?”
The man smiled, showing surprisingly white teeth. “That sounds amazing.”
“Tena made them, so they are amazing.” Wayne grinned down at her, his smile fading as she stared up at him. He raised his dark eyebrows as if to ask her what was wrong, although standing there dripping wet wasn’t exactly great. She pressed her lips together and shook her head.
The man devoured the cookies and then set the plastic bag on the counter. “Those were delicious.” He nodded at her. “So you’re Tena.”
“Yes.” She touched one of the wet ribbons hanging from her prayer covering and cleared her throat. Why had Wayne told this stranger her name? She didn’t want him to know anything about her. She just wanted him to go and leave them alone.
“Why don’t we give you a real meal?” Wayne said. “Help me carry these coolers up to the house, and then Tena and her great-aunt Emma can whip up something for you. Well, after Tena gets out of those wet clothes.” He turned to look at her again. “I owe you an apology for not getting down here sooner, but the storm spooked Emma’s horse and she asked me to see to it.”
Tena’s eyes widened, and fear whipped through her as she gaped at Wayne. Had he lost his mind? Why would he invite this strange Englisher into her great-aunt’s home? She had to stop him. He couldn’t put them in danger like that!
“That would be fantastic.” The stranger lifted his duffel bag, and then he came around the counter. “Which one would you like me to carry?”
Wayne pointed to a cooler and then gestured toward the driveway. “Just head up there and around the back to the porch.”
When the man walked away, Tena grabbed Wayne’s arm, but then she released it. Her cheeks heated as his vibrant blue eyes, the ones she thought of as sapphires, focused on her face. She’d never been so forward with a man, but she had to get his attention.
Wayne stepped toward her and lowered his voice. “Are you all right?”
“No, I’m not.” She pointed to the man making his way to Aenti Emma’s home. “How could you invite him into mei aenti’s haus? For all we know, he could be an escaped prisoner or a thief or . . . He could hurt us!”
Wayne’s expression warmed, and he shook his head. “He’s hungry, and we have plenty of snacks donated by the other members of our garden group. We also have lots of crops. We can offer him something to eat, and then he’ll leave. I promise I won’t go home until he’s gone. I won’t leave you and Emma alone with him, okay?”
She bit her lower lip as she looked up into his eyes. “Promise me.”
“I promise.” His easy smile turned up the corners of his lips. “Trust me.”
Oh, how she wanted to trust Wayne, but trust didn’t come easy to her.
He tilted his head. “What’s going through your mind right now?”
“I’m just thinking about how the temperature is dropping because of the rain. It may be August, but I can feel a slight chill in the air.” She picked up the cookie bag and shoved it into a trash can under the counter. Then she set the money box on top of the smallest cooler and lifted it into her arms. “We need to get inside. I don’t think the rain will hold off much longer.”
“Right. Let’s go.” Wayne picked up the remaining cooler, and she followed him up the rock driveway, dodging mud and puddles on her way to Emma’s back porch. They made it just before more rain began to fall.
The stranger stood by the door with the cooler at his feet. Hank, Aenti Emma’s large, orange tabby cat, stood at the far end of the covered portion of the porch, watching the raindrops as they soaked the rows of fruits and vegetables Wayne and his friends had planted in the spring. The garden was established in memory of her great-uncle Henry.
The door opened with a squeak, and her great-aunt smiled as she looked at Tena and Wayne. Then she noticed the stranger.
“Hello there,” Aenti Emma said. “May I help you?”
Her great-aunt was in her late sixties, but her flawless skin and dark-brown hair made her look much younger. Just last week, a woman at the market asked her if she was Tena’s mother.
“Emma,” Wayne began as he walked over to the man, “this gentleman hasn’t eaten all day. I thought we could give him a meal.”
“Oh, of course.” Aenti Emma smiled and held out her hand, and the man shook it. “I’m Emma Bontrager. Welcome to my home.”
“Thank you. I’m Alex McCormack. It’s nice to meet you.”
Tena shook her head at her great-aunt’s response. Was she crazy too? Why wasn’t she leery of strangers, especially English strangers?
“I’m Wayne King.” Wayne shook Alex’s hand and then gestured toward her. “As I said, this is Tena. She’s Emma’s great-niece, visiting from Indiana.”
“Hi,” Alex said.
Tena nodded, barely keeping a frown off her face.
“Let’s get inside.” Emma beckoned them in. The man set down his duffel bag, took off his poncho, and shook it free of rain. Then he and Wayne complied, moving past her into the mudroom with their coolers.
Tena, however, hung back, hoping for a moment to speak to her great-aunt alone.
“Hank,” Aenti Emma called to the cat. “Get in here. It’s raining, you gegisch thing.”
The cat looked at her, yawned, and then sauntered toward the open door as if he had all the time in the world.
When Tena arrived for her visit and met this feline roommate in June, Aenti Emma explained that Hank had invited himself into the house last Christmas Eve during a snowstorm. Despite her efforts to shoo him away, the cat had stayed. And it seemed that Aenti Emma loved his company as much as he loved hers. Yet she didn’t seem to mind when Hank decided to spend most of his nights on Tena’s bed.
“Are you coming in, Tena?” Aenti Emma asked.
“Ya, but I want to talk to you first.” Tena motioned for her to step out onto the porch, and then she lowered her voice. “I don’t know why Wayne brought this man up here,” she said after Aenti Emma let the door click shut. “He came to the stand and asked for food. Wayne gave him some kichlin, which I suppose was okay. But then he invited him to come into your haus. I tried to stop him, but I couldn’t.”
“It’s okay.” Aenti Emma rubbed Tena’s arm. “I don’t mind helping a stranger in need. That’s what we’re called to do, right?”
Tena gaped. “Ya, but we don’t know anything about him. And he’s an Englisher.” She grabbed her arm. “What if he wants to see inside your haus so he can sneak back here and rob you?”
Aenti Emma chuckled. “What would he possibly want to steal from mei haus?” She gestured toward the door. “Would he want my book collection? Or maybe your onkel’s wood carvings?” She waved off Tena’s concern. “You said Wayne offered him a meal. He didn’t ask for it. That tells me he wasn’t looking for a reason to see the inside of my home.” She pointed to the door. “Stop being gegisch. Let’s go inside so you can change, and I’ll make this man something to eat.”
Tena’s shoulders tightened as Aenti Emma walked into the house. She wrung out the skirt of her gray dress and her black apron the best she could, but she was a mess. Then she picked up the money box and cooler and took a step before someone tall and wide blocked her way.
“Let me get that for you.” Wayne took the cooler from her hands and gave her the money box. “I already stowed the other coolers in the utility room. I’ll put some of the food in the refrigerator out there.”
“You don’t have to do that.” She forced a smile. “I’ll take care of it.”
“I don’t mind, and I know you want to get out of those wet clothes.” He paused for a moment. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine.” She nodded toward the door. “Go.”
“You’re awfully pushy.” When he gave her a lopsided smile, her heart surprised her with what felt like a somersault.
Tena stepped into the kitchen after shedding her wet shoes in the mudroom.
“What do you like to eat, Alex?” Aenti Emma was asking.
“Anything is fine. Thank you.” He stood next to her at the counter.
“Would you like to wash up?” Aenti Emma pointed toward a doorway. “The bathroom is right through there, on the right.”
“Go get changed, Tena,” Aenti Emma said after Alex left the room. “I’ll set the table for all of us. We’ll have supper with our guest since it’s almost time to eat anyway. I didn’t plan a home-cooked meal since it’s been so hot, but it will be filling.” She pointed toward the stairs. “Go on.”
Tena hesitated. “I don’t want to leave you alone with—”
“Stop.” Aenti Emma frowned. “Wayne is here, and I’m fine. Go get changed, and then you can help me get the meal ready.”
Tena hurried into Aenti Emma’s bedroom and hid the money box in her closet. Then as she climbed the stairs, she prayed Alex wasn’t planning to hurt them.