Quill leaned against the side of the barn, waiting for the owners of the three carriages to leave the Brenneman home. If he was positive the rigs belonged to family members, he’d go to the door now and knock. He used to know who every horse and rig belonged to, but he’d been away too long, and people had traded horses and bought new rigs.

As the winds howled and the temperature dropped, he wondered if he’d get a chance to speak with Ariana before he had to leave Summer Grove tonight. Remorse pressed in as he stared into the vast beauty of the dark sky and its sparkling stars. She’d wanted to talk, to have a final, decent good-bye, and he’d lied to her, making her believe the problems crashing in on her were her fault. He’d needed her to get to warmth, to get home, where she could be checked out, maybe seen by a doctor. But he couldn’t leave things like this. He’d done that five years ago, and he could not do it again.

A clatter echoed from the barn, and Quill assumed Mark was finishing the last milking of the day. Mark’s brother-in-law Emanuel had been helping him for a while, but he’d gone inside about thirty minutes ago.

Maybe Ariana and he could be at odds on a colder, more miserable night, but he doubted it. He was reasonably skilled at remaining calm and in control of what he said. But, good grief, she got under his skin like no one else.

Her voice echoed in his mind, and his body grew tense. You need me, don’t you? What was he supposed to do with a question like that other than deny it?

The door to the Brenneman house opened, and he recognized three of her married siblings and spouses. They were surrounded by seven or eight children and carrying two little ones. He couldn’t tell through the thick coats, but he guessed at least one of the three women was expecting again.

Quill was looking at Ariana’s future. He wanted that for her—the dream she’d always had of a good man, an Amish wedding, and a houseful of children. But he was tired of thinking about it.

The siblings waved and bid one another good night, and soon they were in their carriages and pulling out of the driveway.

Quill hurried across the snowy yard. He climbed the wooden porch steps, knocked on her door, and waited.

Isaac opened the door, and apparently he was speechless.

“I know you don’t want me here, but I need to see Ariana. I won’t take but a minute.”

“Nee. Du kannscht.” Isaac started to close the door.

Quill stuck his foot in the way. “I’m sorry, Isaac. I mean no disrespect, but I can’t leave here until I see her.”

For a long minute Isaac stared at him. “Wait here.” He left, and through the window Quill saw the busyness cease as the other siblings disappeared, probably being shooed upstairs to their rooms and told to stay there. It wasn’t likely Isaac told them why he was clearing the downstairs.

About five minutes later Isaac opened the door. Quill stepped inside and closed it behind him.

Isaac picked up a kerosene lantern. “I’ll get her. You can wait here.”

By here, Isaac meant for Quill to stand at the back door, ready to speak his piece, and then leave. Isaac wasn’t being intentionally rude. He had asked for Quill’s help in September because he didn’t have anyone else to turn to. Even then, there had been an unspoken expectation that Quill would disappear from the Brennemans’ lives once his investigation of the daughters being swapped was completed. For a multitude of reasons, it hadn’t yet worked that way.

Mark came inside, and in the middle of taking off his coat, he spotted Quill. “Schlabach? What are you doing here?”

“Hi.” Quill saw no reason to avoid the question. “I’m waiting to speak to Ariana.”

“So you just traipse in and out of Amish homes at will these days?”

“No, of course not.” The Brennemans had approved Quill picking up Skylar in October and dropping her off here. Should he remind Mark of that? He’d made himself available to this family whenever they asked. Tonight he needed them.

Mark removed his boots and winter hat and went to the mudroom. A moment later Quill heard water running in the sink. He knew this routine well. Mark returned, rubbing his face on a threadbare towel. The two had been close at one time, but that friendship had been another casualty of Quill’s decision to leave the Amish.

Isaac returned. “She’ll be down in a minute.”

The three men stood there, awkwardly trying to make small talk about the harsh winter and being ready for spring.

Quill decided to say something worthwhile. “Skylar seems to be doing well.”

Isaac smiled, looking pleased. “She is. Now if I can get Ariana’s attitude straightened out, both girls are looking at bright futures.”

“Yeah, we often want people straightened out by our standards. I’m guilty of it too.”

“God’s standards, not mine.”

“Maybe.” Quill shrugged.

Soft footfalls echoed off the stairway. “Daed?”

“Here. By the back door.”

Ariana came around the corner, looking like something from his dreams as the glow of the kerosene lamp in her hands surrounded her. Her hair was only half pinned up, the blond tresses damp, water still dripping from some of them. An off-white dress peeked out from a thick housecoat, and her feet were bare.

When she saw Quill, she stopped cold. The look in her eyes made it clear that her Daed had not told her he was here.

Quill’s heart moved to his throat. “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t budge or speak, but the kerosene lantern trembled.

Isaac took the lantern from her. “Can you forgive him of whatever it is and let him be on his way?”

She stared at Quill, no hint of forgiveness on her face. “You’re not supposed to join the ever-growing crowd in Summer Grove who believe I’m the problem. Not you too.”

“My temper flared. Still, as a friend, I never should’ve—”

“A friend?” Mark asked. “Are you friends again?”

Ariana grabbed a handful of hair and twisted it in a knot, tucking it up somehow without a hairpin. “The only way I survived the Englisch world at first was because Quill came every single time I needed him.” She looked at Quill. “But apparently throughout every trial, there and here, he thinks I’m the problem, which is…very insightful.” Her eyes searched his, as if she was trying to see if he’d been lying to her all this time.

“Could you be reasonable here, Ari? I was saying—”

“You should be thrilled.” She turned to her Daed. “He agrees with you and the ministers. Apparently I’m a problem in both worlds.”

“That’s not what I was—” Quill began again.

“No? Because the words seemed clear to me,” Ariana said.

Isaac’s head moved back and forth between Quill and Ariana. “You can’t have a foot in both worlds. You’ll love one and hate the other.”

Quill blinked. How did that fit into this conversation?

“I am of both worlds, Daed.” Ariana held out her hands, palms up. “You can’t discipline or humiliate that out of me.”

“Humiliate?”

“You’ve stripped me of the right to work at my own café. The ministers stood in this home, my home, and preached against me, feeling no concern that you would be offended. And you weren’t. You agreed with them.” Her voice trembled. “We both know the news of it has spread like wildfire among the Amish, crossing state borders.”

Isaac’s face reflected remorse. “It has gotten out of hand. I never meant…”

When Isaac let the sentence drop, Quill tried to veer the conversation back to its point. “Ari, I don’t agree that you’re the problem. Not at all. Not for a minute. But you were thigh deep in snow and addled, and yet you refused to get on the horse. I would have said anything to get you headed toward home.”

“Her refusal to do what’s best continues to grow,” Isaac said. “The ministers offered reasonable solutions, and she’s refused them.”

“Reasonable for whom? Would you have considered it reasonable if Nicholas had refused to let me return here?”

“Nee. That’s absurd.”

“Is it? Your grounds for wanting me to cut off all contact with him are religious. His grounds would be to stop the inflow of religious teachings. I hate to upset the apple cart, but both viewpoints have merit, and I will not end either relationship.”

“Nor turn over your phone to me. Or even Rudy, as I understand it.”

“Oh, the phone. Good grief, you’d think it was a golden idol. I will not cave to bullying.”

“Ariana,” Isaac whispered, clearly struck immobile for several long seconds. “You stand in my house and call my decisions, my appropriate discipline, bullying?”

“Discipline is used to protect someone or to turn a person’s heart toward God. Bullying is using one’s power to force another to do what he wants.”

“But disobedience to your father isn’t of God.”

“Daed, there are lots of things going on here that aren’t in obedience to our heavenly Father. Things are being twisted. Arguments are being made against me as if obeying God is the issue, but it isn’t. Opinions of who God is and what He wants is all I’ve defied. The Word doesn’t mention cell phones. It doesn’t approve using Quill when needed but not befriending him, and it certainly doesn’t say I need to forsake Dad because he’s not yet a believer.” Ariana brushed drops of water off her neck. “I need to talk to Quill.”

“What?” Isaac looked from one to the other. “Alone? No.”

“How is it that you connected with Skylar?” Ariana asked.

“That was different. We were parents looking for our child, and…” He sighed. “Fine. But I could be shunned for allowing this.” He shooed them toward the living room and put on his coat. “I sent everyone to their rooms earlier, and I’ll be in the barn. If someone shows up unannounced, I hope I can distract them in conversation until they decide to leave.”

Ariana went to the living room, and Quill trailed behind, with Mark following him. She sat in the chair next to the fireplace and curled her feet to the side where they could absorb the warmth from the hearth.

Quill sat across from her. He wanted to ask about the man she saw and find out what she thought now that a few hours had passed, but since he wasn’t sure how she would feel about that topic with Mark listening, he didn’t mention it.

She grabbed a pillow and pulled it to her stomach. “Mark, do you know what Mamm did with the satchel?”

“Ya.” He left.

Quill stood and removed his coat. “I know me being here is awkward, but I had to see you. I couldn’t leave things as they were. If this is good-bye, let’s do it right, okay? But for the sake of everyone in this house, I need to leave as soon as possible.” He sat again.

Mark returned with the satchel.

“Denki.” She pulled out the container of cookies and the thermos. “Are you going to join us or stare at a distance and eavesdrop?”

“I’d just as soon keep my distance.” Yet Mark stood there, neither leaving nor sitting.

“Mark, five years ago Quill had no choice but to leave as he did, without warning. I doubt any Amish since coming to America have paid a higher price for doing what they believe in.”

Quill knew she wouldn’t see it that way if they hadn’t been forced together while she was living Englisch. They’d worked through five years of damage while she was on the outside. Now if he could just keep from damaging that while he said good-bye.

She passed Quill the thermos.

He opened it, poured the liquid into the cup, and passed it to her. Mark tossed a log onto the fire.

She sipped the coffee before holding it out to Quill.

He took the cup, wondering why they were sticking to the thermos as if they were at the campsite.

She tucked her hair into the bun again. “You need my help.”

“No.”

She picked up the container, opened it, and held it toward him.

He didn’t want to take a cookie and sip coffee as if they were working through things the way they had when she was living Englisch. He wanted her to accept his apology, to truly believe he hadn’t meant what he’d said, and for them to say good-bye without dragging it out any longer. He and Rudy agreed on a couple of things. They both loved Ariana, and Quill needed to put space between himself and her. But he took a cookie.

She picked up one too and held the container toward the fireplace, where Mark stood. Mark got a cookie, and she set the container on the couch next to her.

Quill fidgeted with the cookie. “How does Rudy feel about all this turmoil going on with you?”

“He’s not jumping up and down for joy, but he’s a sweetheart, and we’re doing really well.”

“That’s good.” Quill was relieved. “Look, Ari, you’ve seen what Mamm’s life has been like. The ministers have marked her because every son left. In most people’s eyes she’s barely short of being shunned, and the condition feels contagious to them, so most avoid her. You, on the other hand, can keep yourself from being branded. There’s still time. Think of Rudy and your future.”

Mark moved to the couch and sat beside Ariana. “He makes some good points.”

“He always does.” She took a bite of the cookie. “I know what happened in the woods. After getting out of the rig to walk through the woods to the campsite, I fell. When I heard a rumble, I instinctively rolled onto my stomach and covered my head with my arms and hands.” She showed him the back of her hands. “Some of the limbs from the tree must have hit me.”

“The whole thing is starting to make sense, isn’t it?” He leaned in and held her fingertips, inspecting the backs of her hands. He pushed the sleeves of her housecoat back. “Those are deep bruises. Are you sure nothing is broken?”

“Pretty sure. The breath was knocked out of me, so I think I was hit in the back too. I rose to my feet, fighting to breathe again. My vision blurred, but in the quiet afterward, with my hands on my knees, I looked up, and I saw you. I heard you—the one you keep hidden.”

Was it possible? He hoped not, although she’d spent months trying to learn how to pick up on what wasn’t being said by others and even within herself. How would he explain himself if she saw even a tiny bit of what he tried so hard to hide from her?

“You need my help.”

“Come again?”

“In the woods you stood, motioning for me to follow you. You said, ‘I need you.’ I’ve been putting it together, and you were rattled at your Mamm’s house a week ago. Something somewhere was going wrong. In the woods, while my senses were dulled or maybe more alert, your hidden man told me the truth. Am I wrong?”

He glanced at Mark, trying to think of something he could say. If she heard Quill’s heart say that, it wasn’t for one specific area of need. But given the choice, he’d rather admit that he needed her for one thing rather than the truth—that he needed her for all time. As much as he didn’t want her involved with Gia, maybe it was his out to avoid admitting anything else.

“Maybe I could use your help, but I’m not taking it.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “You left here with Frieda at twenty. I’d like the kind of moxie you had to steal away at twenty with a sickly girl and make it on your own—knowing I would learn to hate you for it—and take care of her in every way.”

Was she still a bit addled? “I’m not sure I’m following your thinking, but was it necessary to hate me for it?”

She laughed. “Mark, tell him that a woman scorned does not dabble in being slightly frustrated.”

Mark said nothing.

Quill lifted the thermos and refilled its plastic lid. “I’m not sure a fifteen-year-old girl can be considered a woman, and we never talked about dating, so you weren’t scorned.”

“A quote from Moonstruck: ‘What you don’t know about women is a lot.’ ”

He held out the cup to her. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She took it. “Let me help you this one time with whatever it is. It’s my gesture to thank you for all you’ve done for me. Then we can say our good-byes, and our only contact will be through your Mamm.”

“I can’t, Ari.”

“The voice, your voice calling to me, said otherwise.”

He was caught. She was convinced of what she’d heard, and she’d heard right. His only salvation was that she thought it pointed to one event.

“Besides, the oddity of everything—Rudy not coming at the last minute, the tree, the insight—I’m thinking it could be God intervening. Who’s Gia?”

Quill now had the breath knocked out of him. He closed his eyes, taking a moment to regroup. “Why do you ask?”

“Your Mamm let the name slip. She’s the one you’re trying to help, right?”

He said nothing.

“If I have to track you to Kentucky or Mingo or wherever Gia is, I will. You know I can. I think I’m meant to help you, Quill. Why else would that message be so clear?”

What was God doing?

Quill thought of an out. “How would Rudy feel about this?”

The stairs creaked, and when they looked that way, four-year-old Esther was at the foot of the stairs, rubbing her eyes.

“I’ve got this.” Mark strode in that direction. “Hey, sweet girl. Let me guess. You’re thirsty, right?”

Esther nodded and held out her arms. Mark scooped her up, and Ariana returned her attention to Quill. “So when a twenty-year-old guy tells you that he believes he’s supposed to do something to help a friend, that he believes God has opened doors to him that he’s supposed to go through, you respond by continually asking how his girlfriend feels about it?”

Quill slouched. “It’s different where you’re concerned.”

“I get that. You’re more invested when it’s me.”

He glanced toward the kitchen where Mark had Esther in one arm while he filled a glass with water. Quill turned to her. “That’s part of it.” He wasn’t sure if he was right to share this or not. “I don’t know how to best explain myself, but I can handle disappointment and heartache as long as you are okay.”

“I’m confused.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” He was in too deep to stop now. “Leaving Summer Grove was really, really hard, but I did it in a way that didn’t disrupt your finding the right guy and making everything you wanted come true. I can’t sit here now and make a plan that could jeopardize you and Rudy.”

“Ya. But you also can’t tell me no simply because I’m a female with a beau when you wouldn’t tell a man no simply because he had a fiancée. That would be a double standard, and that’s not you. Is it?”

“My sanity for five years has come from knowing I’d done nothing to ruin your dreams.”

Ariana building the life she wanted had been his only solace in the heartbreak of losing her. There was an initial heartbreak on her part too. He knew that, but then two years after he left, she started dating, going long distances in search of the right guy.

She leaned in. “I’m learning how to know me. It’s a huge step. We both know it is. You want me to ignore the whisper on the wind, Quill? You want me to have worked through all the layers of how to follow God even though that may be outside the Ordnung and then tell me no because of a guy?”

“Not just any guy. Rudy. My understanding is you dated half of the eligible Amish men in three states to find him.”

She laughed. “True. Well, not nearly half, but other than that, true.” She leaned in. “Here’s the funny part. Rudy lived in Indiana, in an area I would’ve never come close to visiting because the Brennemans have no relatives there. And yet he came to Summer Grove. I hadn’t needed to do all the searching after all.”

He knew her message: trust God and stop fighting this.

Could he keep her safe while getting Gia and three children to safety? Maybe he could devise something for her to do that kept her far removed from the activity.

“So here’s what’s going on…” He explained the situation as well as his plan. “Gia’s ex-husband takes her grocery shopping in Camp Hill at the same store on Saturday afternoon once every four weeks.”

“I’ve heard of Camp Hill.”

“It’s about fifty miles northeast of here, but it’s just a few miles outside of Harrisburg, so it has lots of roads and highways. The time Gia shops is anywhere from noon to closing, but the place and the day of the week stay the same. The other good thing is, because she goes only once a month, he expects her to be in the store a really long time.”

“I bet. A month’s worth of groceries is a lot.”

“That works in our favor. He doesn’t leave the parking lot, but he gets glued to his phone, or he naps. The difficult part is that Gia is skittish. She’s desperate to get out but afraid to take a step in that direction.”

“She’s probably afraid it’s a setup.”

“I’ve been wondering the same thing.”

“Why are you taking a plane with her? If she doesn’t trust you, wouldn’t it make sense to get her to the airport and you leave?”

“Someone somewhere along the line seems to know her. The word is that she panics in new places, so bad she can’t think, which makes everything worse. If I go, all the stress of how and where to go is on me. Plus, a mom with three young children needs an extra pair of hands.”

“You’re right about that.”

“I’m not sure she won’t have the same fears rule her again.”

“Have you seen this angelic face?” Ariana propped a hand under her chin and gave a smile that said she was teasing.

He didn’t like the idea of involving Ariana, but Gia was more likely to respond to an innocent-looking woman than him. “Maybe it could be our key to success,” Quill said. “Harrisburg is the closest airport, but the goal is to get her out of the area. We’ll go to BWI in Baltimore. It’s busier and harder to spot someone, but if he’s going to check public transportation, he’ll start at the closest and easiest ones to get to.”

She tucked fallen hair under her prayer Kapp again. “Just to clarify, I’m going with you to help this woman escape to somewhere safe, right?”

His heart pounded with anxiety. Again, what was God doing? “Apparently so.”