For Every Season Page 15

  “Phoebe and the children could go.”

  “Until Samuel sells the land in Pennsylvania, there is no money.”

  “Sells what land?” Rhoda’s eyes opened wide. “That’s how you’re getting the money? That’s not a good plan. We can’t buy it back. Can’t we—”

  Samuel held up his hand. “Let it go. If there were another way, I would’ve done it. The decision is made, and it’s not up for debate.”

  She pursed her lips. “Jacob, did you know about this?”

  “No.” His brother glanced his way. “But we’ve not talked about much lately.” He wiped Casey’s hands with a napkin. “I still have a little money left from my construction work this past winter. I used most of it to pay the lawyer, but I think I have enough for Phoebe and the children to go with us.”

  Steven bristled. “I understand that Phoebe is out of sight because she doesn’t work in the field or tend to the livestock, but what she gets done each day in keeping everyone fed is directly related to the energy and success we have in the orchard.” He shifted. “I’m sorry, but we can’t spare anyone right now. Maybe this could wait until after the harvest.”

  “It can’t.” Jacob put his water glass to Casey’s lips. “Later this week the lawyer’s office will call with a day and time that I have to be there. It’s moving fast because the trials already had court dates. They dragged on for two years, but now it’s all on a tight schedule.”

  Jacob looked to Rhoda, disappointment evident in his expression. But surely Rhoda had known what Steven’s response would be.

  Jacob scowled at Samuel. “I have no choice about going, not if I want to be rid of this problem.”

  Samuel felt his brother’s familiar challenge of late, but he refused to react to it. So he leaned in. “And we want that for you too, Jacob. All of us. Isn’t that right, Steven?”

  Steven hesitated, as if realizing how abrupt he’d sounded. “Ya, of course. If we can help from here, just tell us what you need, but my sister cannot go with you. You’ll be done in a day?”

  “The deposition should take only a day, but the district attorney has been looking for Blaine. He’s Sandra’s husband and was my immediate boss at the construction job. He was neck high in illegal and unethical behavior, and by trying to help, I crossed into some of that same kind of activity—illegal and unethical. He disappeared just before everything fell apart. I may also have to go back in a few months to testify. I don’t fully understand the process, so I’m taking my lawyer’s word for how things will go. He says this is a good deal for me, and if I follow through, my name should be cleared.”

  “If they want to know about Blaine, why isn’t Sandra going?” Leah asked.

  A look passed between Sandra and Jacob.

  Rhoda put her hand over Jacob’s. “There are some serious safety issues for Sandra and Casey if they go to Virginia.” She focused on Samuel. “We need to talk about possible solutions.”

  Samuel knew she wanted his help, and he wanted to give it. He placed his napkin next to his plate. “Then let’s brainstorm.”

  “Denki.” Rhoda smiled a kind of smile that spoke of truly appreciating him.

  She’d barely touched her food, but she pushed back the plate. “The topics may not be comfortable for everyone. This plan will be completely legal, but it’ll also be a little sneaky, sort of like the believers lowering Paul in a basket during the night so the violent ones couldn’t get hold of him.”

  “Who’s Paul?” Sandra asked.

  “She’s referring to something in the Bible.” Jacob looked at Casey. “Are you full?” She nodded, and Jacob carried her to the sink and rinsed her hands and mouth. Then he turned her around to face him, and she laid her head on his shoulder.

  Steven rose. “I think we should get the children ready for bed.”

  “Sure,” Rhoda answered. “We’ll clean up the kitchen.”

  Sandra watched Steven and Phoebe leave.

  Rhoda fixed a fresh glass of water. “Don’t worry about him. He’s just not comfortable with us talking about anything sneaky.” She set the drink in front of Jacob and removed the one Casey had been sipping from.

  Iva stood and began scraping the dishes clean and stacking them. “There are plenty of references in the New Testament to people being sneaky if it was to protect someone. In one place it even sounds as if Jesus became invisible in order to walk through a crowd who wanted to stone Him.”

  While the women made short work of cleaning up the kitchen and Samuel went to his room to get paper and pencils, Jacob patted Casey’s back until she was sound asleep. Soon Rhoda, Jacob, Iva, Leah, Landon, and Samuel were at the table, ready to help a woman and child only Jacob really knew.

  Iva made one last swipe with the dishrag over the table. “I should probably go.”

  Samuel liked having Iva around. It sort of evened out the boy-girl ratio, and it seemed to lessen some of Jacob’s tension. “You sure?”

  “This is a family meeting.”

  “More than half of us aren’t related,” Landon said. “Samuel, Jacob, and Leah are. With Steven and Phoebe gone, Rhoda isn’t related to anyone. Neither is Sandra nor me.”

  Jacob tapped the table. “If you’re fine with the word sneaky and can be discreet, we’d welcome you to stay.”

  Iva sat and propped her elbows on the table. “I’m ready.”

  Jacob took a sip of water. “So here’s the problem.”

  As Jacob expounded on the issues concerning Sandra, Samuel began to understand a little better why his brother felt so protective of her, and it made sense to him why Jacob had sacrificed so much to help her and Casey. He never doubted that Jacob’s heart was in the right place concerning Sandra, but he hoped for Rhoda’s sake that Jacob didn’t continue to have people or problems that came ahead of her.

  SIXTEEN

  Iva listened intently as Jacob explained the problems facing Sandra in detail for everyone at the table. She’d never known a man to go this far out of his way to help any woman, wife or girlfriend, let alone an Englisch woman. It seemed to her that was akin to offering a hand to a leper in the time of the Bible. But the little girl asleep on Jacob’s shoulder was so precious. Perhaps she was a terror when exhausted, but that came with being three years old, didn’t it?

  When Jacob finished telling of Sandra’s predicament, everyone remained silent, clearly processing all he’d said and trying to think of a solution.

  Landon asked about sending Sandra and Casey to live with Rhoda’s parents, but that was soon discounted. Samuel suggested Sandra change back to her maiden name, and Rhoda tossed out the idea of Sandra locating her dad and moving in with him. They found weaknesses in every suggestion.

  Silence fell, and the clock struck the hour as they pondered without speaking.

  Iva had an idea, but what if she hadn’t understood everything? Would the others think her stupid?

  Jacob looked around the table. “Anything else? Anyone?”

  Iva meekly raised her hand. “Sort of … Maybe.”

  “By all means.” Jacob’s smile was welcoming. “Don’t be afraid. You just heard a long list of my mistakes while I tried to help Sandra, and you see where they got us. Sandra’s too. You heard other people’s not-so-bright ideas, and I can tell you even less brilliant plans Samuel’s had over the years … and Leah … and—”

  “Enough.” Leah dipped her fingers into Jacob’s water and flicked the drops at him. “She’s got the idea.”

  Jacob wiped his face, amused at the unexpected sprinkling. “I feel particularly compelled to recall numerous brilliant schemes of Leah’s.”

  His sister grabbed the glass and threatened to toss the whole thing on him.

  Jacob cradled Casey’s head and pointed a finger at Leah. “If you wake her, you deal with her.” His grin reflected triumph even before she set the glass on the table and took her seat.

  Iva liked this family. There was a respect for women unlike what she’d experienced in her own community.


  Samuel tapped his paper with a pencil. “What’s your idea, Iva?”

  “I think Sandra needs to move away from here … and if she’s to be somewhere Jacob doesn’t know about, then he shouldn’t be at the table while we talk about it.”

  Jacob rocked back in his chair, considering her. He got up and pointed at Samuel. “She’s a smart one.”

  Samuel seemed less confident of Jacob’s proclamation, but he nodded.

  “I’ll be in the rocker in the living room.”

  After he was gone, Samuel motioned for everyone to shift closer, filling in the empty chairs between them. Suddenly Iva felt very self-conscious. “We need to move Sandra to some place new, right?”

  They all nodded.

  “The problem is it must be done without involving relatives or leaving a paper trail, so she can’t hire anyone to help her. I saw all of you on television, which means a lot of people did too. So none of you can do it. If whoever wants to harm Sandra happens to come looking for her, and a neighbor says she left with one of you, they’d know where to start searching for her. That might be a ridiculous long shot, but the goal is to be so careful that whatever new place she’s set up in, she never has a shadow of any concern about being found, right?”

  Samuel set the pencil down. “Jacob sold you short. You’re more than just smart, and you’re covering angles I never would’ve thought of.”

  “When you’re Amish and you love photography, you learn to cover your tracks so no one confiscates your camera.”

  The group nodded, almost chuckling. All, that is, except Sandra. “Amish can’t have cameras?”

  “They’re frowned on,” Iva volunteered. “But I bought one anyway.”

  “Good for you,” Sandra said. “I admire you Amish, but what you do without to hold on to your beliefs and culture staggers the mind.” She tucked her dark hair behind her ear. “It must be worth it to be surrounded with this kind of good people.”

  “It has its upsides, no doubt.” Iva picked up her glass, but it was empty.

  Samuel rose. “Hang on. I’ll get you some water.”

  That was so out of character for the Amish men Iva knew. Her heart had almost soared when Steven spoke of all Phoebe did for everyone. He talked as if she were a partner of the orchard even though she was mostly the cook who never even went into the field. Unlike her father, Steven didn’t hint that his wife was an underling who was doing a poor job of earning her keep. She’d like to marry a man who thought as highly of her as Steven did Phoebe.

  Samuel set the drink in front of her. “You said what wouldn’t work. Any ideas about what will?”

  Iva took a sip. “No one would recognize me.”

  Rhoda studied her. “We’ll need two drivers. One for her car, and one for a pickup to move her things. Can you drive?”

  Iva tried not to smile, but it didn’t work. “I can. I even have a driver’s license.”

  “Landon?” Rhoda glanced at him.

  “Yeah, I could loan her my truck.”

  “What?” Leah yelped, laughing. “I’ll get you for that, Englisch boy.”

  Landon’s smile indicated he was up for Leah’s challenge. He popped his knuckles. “She has a license.” He leaned in. “You know, read the manual, knows the laws, has experience. The kind of thing that’s important before letting someone get behind the wheel of your vehicle.”

  Leah arched an eyebrow. “Nevertheless, you will pay.”

  He rolled his eyes playfully. “Of course I will.”

  “So”—Sandra ran her fingers through her hair—“where am I going?”

  Sandra’s voice was loud, and Iva covered her lips with her index finger. “You should get an idea of what state, but tell no one.” Iva deadeyed her. “No one. We’ll figure out the rest as we go. That way if an attorney asks Jacob if he knows anyone who knows where you are, he can honestly say no. I’ll show up one day, and we’ll get you moved.” Iva played with the condensation on her glass. “But wherever you go, they’ll require deposits and such. Is there money for that?”

  Rhoda’s eyes moved to Samuel’s. Without so much as a whisper between them, he seemed to understand what she was thinking. He nodded, and her smile reflected approval. Sometimes, like now, Iva had a hard time distinguishing who Rhoda favored—Jacob or Samuel.

  Samuel stood. “Ya, we can get the money to do this. Is this the plan?”

  All eyes turned to Rhoda, so Iva looked to her too.

  Rhoda took a deep breath. “This is a good plan, Iva, and it warms my heart that you’d be willing to take such a risk just to help us.” She nibbled on her bottom lip. “But this is a huge, intimidating task. Why would you want to do this?”

  “So far I’ve been of no real help around here, other than giving Phoebe a hand with some chores and going through the mail. The office work will be caught up soon, so this is my chance to show you I’m valuable in all sorts of ways. I hope it will make you want to keep me around for months yet. If you do, I’ll have even more time to prove my value. On top of that, what you see as intimidating, I see as great opportunities to photograph so much more than my community in Indiana and around here.”

  “Good answers.” Rhoda nodded. “Really, they are, but I think all of us, including you, should take a few days to think this over before we commit to it.”

  Everyone nodded, apparently seeing it as reasonable, but Iva was a little disappointed that Rhoda didn’t support the idea then and there. It was a good, solid one.

  Did Rhoda not trust her?

  Rain poured off the end of Jacob’s winter hat as he stooped to grab the morning paper from the cracked concrete driveway. Samuel usually had it snagged by this time. Where was his brother anyway?

  Suspicion tried to lay hold of him. Jacob wasn’t very good at refusing distrust the power to turn him into a paranoid suitor. Still, he and Rhoda were doing very well, and he and Samuel were trying to mend the gash between them.

  He removed the plastic cover from the newspaper and shoved it into his pocket. One glance at the headline—“The Frost Man Cometh”—roiled frustration within him.

  It was the last day of April, and they were facing a frost in May!

  This is why he hated farming. They could work around the clock for eleven months, and a few nights of freezing temperatures could undermine everything in a matter of hours. As could powerful winds, a warm winter, rain during pollinating season, and a number of other acts of nature.

  According to the paper, when the rains moved out, freezing temperatures would swoop through the Pine Tree State. Freezing weather in Orchard Bend wasn’t uncommon this time of year. Budding trees were.

  He headed for the office. If Samuel wasn’t there, he would leave the paper on his desk. Samuel would go there before he went to supper.

  Jacob dreaded sharing this news. This kind of weather was why his first love was construction work, even with its seasonal ups and downs. His pleasure in carpentry had been taken from him through the jumble of misdeeds and poor management by Jones’ Construction. But after he’d known Rhoda for only a few weeks, she had begun helping him fight the battle against his truckload of guilt. She had helped him work through his reservations and slowly learn to love having a hammer in his hand again. The fact that she made it possible for him to heal, albeit without knowing about the two fatalities that resulted from the collapse of a deck he had built, gave a picture of who they were together—strong but silent on a lot of subjects.

  Building houses, hotels, apartments, stores, offices, and whatever had its own set of challenges, but a carpenter’s work had a definite final outcome. Really bad weather could put a crew behind. But a few nights of freezing temperatures at an odd time of year meant very little, and it certainly didn’t wreck months and months of hard work. Even if something as disruptive and destructive as a tornado came through, the workers were paid for every hour they’d worked.

  When he stepped into the barn, he heard soft voices talking and laughing. He jerked open the offi
ce door.

  Iva and Samuel looked up.

  “You startled me.” Iva pressed a hand to her throat.

  But the look on Samuel’s face said he knew why Jacob had purposely burst into the room.

  “Sorry.” Jacob relaxed his fists. “Why was the door shut?”

  “Oh,”—Iva went to the file cabinet—“Ziggy and Zara smell like dogs tend to when they’re wet, and I shooed them out and closed it. I’m surprised they’re not trying to follow you in.”

  “They probably went looking for Rhoda”—Samuel punched several numbers on a calculator—“who’s sure to be in one of the greenhouses.” He grabbed an opened envelope from the desk. “I sold two acres, with Daed’s approval, and this is the agreement with the buyer. We’ll get the check as soon as it’s surveyed and I write up a bill of sale.”

  “I know that was hard to do.” Jacob doubted anyone knew it more than he did. Before Rhoda, Samuel saved without spending, and no matter how tight money got, he’d never been willing to sell an inch of property, let alone two acres. Was he going to do so now because of the feelings he had for her or because of the businesses they were trying to launch with her?

  Samuel looked at the envelope. “He’d love to buy more land later on, if I’ll sell it, but two acres is all I can stand to part with and all he can afford right now. The economy’s taken a toll on him too. But the money from those acres should give us enough to pay the bills, rent a house with a kitchen you can update, plus cover the supplies and the pickers.”

  “There may not be money for all that.” Jacob unfolded the newspaper and set it in front of Samuel. “The fight begins.”

  Samuel pulled the paper closer. “I knew a week ago this was a possibility. Since then close to seventy-five percent of the orchard has blossomed. You’re right, Jacob. The battle will start within twelve hours of the rain moving out.”

  Iva pulled a folder from the cabinet. “All hands on deck. All prayers appreciated.” She gave Jacob an apologetic shrug. “It’s something my mother used to say at times like this.”

  Samuel didn’t look up from the paper, but Jacob was sure he wasn’t feeling well. After numerous times of being tempted to sell an acre or two over the years, Samuel had finally done it, only to be faced with needing more money for far more than debts and the cost of remodeling a canning kitchen.