Amish Summer of Courage: Book Six Read online

  Chapter 8

  By the time Levi finished straining and rinsing the last batch of butter, he wasn’t sure his arms would ever work again. He had placed two pounds of the butter into wooden molds for the Millers to use; the rest was packed into plastic, reusable containers that would need to be delivered to the bakery immediately. Though Levi was much too tired to make the delivery, he was eager to see Rachel again.

  He had never worked so hard in all his life. When he’d worked for the Schrock family the previous summer, they’d taken it easy on him, teasing him and saying that he was a soft Englischer. Today he didn’t feel like that. Today, he felt he could pull his weight and more if needed, in order to prove his worth to his new employer—especially since Hiram believed him to be Amish. He had to put that soft Englischer behind him and tough it out. He knew the Amish worked hard, and he would pull his weight even if every muscle in his body protested.

  Filling the back of the buggy with the tubs of butter, Levi set off on the short journey to the bakery before Rachel closed for the day. Hiram had told him that she would need the butter when she opened in the morning, and he didn’t want to let either of them down. Steering the buggy down the main road, Levi remembered the softness of Rachel’s hands when she’d wrapped them around his the other day. Using the method to give him a driving lesson had tickled his senses in a way no other female had ever come close to in his life. Driving was really a matter of a few simple commands, Levi had discovered, but the horse was so well-trained, the buggy practically drove itself. It still made him tingle at the thought of her hands resting on his.

  When he pulled into the back of the bakery, he wasn’t sure if he should go around to the front the way her customers did, or if he should risk frightening her by going in the back door. Stepping down, his body stiffened under the strain he’d put on his muscles. Moving was slow, and everything ached. Leaving the butter in the buggy, he decided it was best to go through the front door so he wouldn’t startle her.

  The jingling of the bells on the door rang in his ears as he opened the door, the strong smell of sweet baked goods filling the air. Levi’s stomach gave a rumble, reminding him that he’d not eaten for many hours. He chuckled to himself knowing that hard work had made him that hungry.

  Rachel was behind the counter and looked beyond the customer she was helping to flash Levi a smile. In that short moment of eye-contact with him, she’d thought he looked somehow different than he’d looked the day before. How had one day managed to change him? Truth be told, he looked more Amish than he had the first day she’d met him. Was it possible that living in the city instead of a farm had robbed him of his true heritage? Rachel could sense his eyes on her as she finished with the last customer for the day.

  Levi stepped forward and managed a weak smile. “I have your butter in the back of Hiram’s buggy. Shall I bring it in through the back door?”

  Rachel nodded, noticing how worn out he looked. Her eyes followed him as he walked slowly out the door, his gait was that of a much older mann. She giggled, knowing he was probably sore from churning the butter. She walked through the bakery and unlocked the back door, swinging it open for him.

  She could see he was moving slowly, so she went to the buggy to help bring in the butter. Looking in the back at all the tubs, she gasped.

  “You and mei grossdaddi have been hard at work today.”

  Levi cleared his throat. “Hiram suffered from a bit of heat-stroke yesterday when we were working in the fields. The doc told him to rest for the next few days and he’ll be good as new.”

  “Did you churn all this butter by yourself?”

  Levi looked at her with tired eyes.

  “Yep—er—jah,” he said.

  Rachel ignored his change in speech. She could see why he walked like he had been out plowing all day.

  “I would not have been able to churn that much butter in one day.”

  Levi looked at her with one raised eyebrow and a crooked smile that she thought made him look very handsome. “It was the first time I’d ever churned butter before. Is it supposed to take that long?”

  Rachel giggled. “Jah, it does.” She opened one of the containers and peeked inside. “It looks and smells heavenly, so you must have done it right. Danki, you did a gut thing helping mei grossdaddi. May I ride back with you so I can check on him?”

  “Of course you can,” Levi managed.

  Looking into her hazel eyes made Levi want to be a better man. If he could, and she would accept him, he would become Amish for her. He admired the closeness of her family and the unconditional love they all seemed to have for others. Was he capable of such love? He thought it was possible, especially with someone like Rachel to love him in return. Her lifestyle was something he’d craved ever since he left the Schrock farm at the end of the previous summer. He’d learned so much from the family—even how to pray. But when he’d returned home to his dad, his life was once again filled with hatred and despair to the point he’d made a promise to himself to find a way out. He would finish this job for Bruce, and then he would be free to love and be loved the way God wanted him to.

  Chapter 9

  Levi lay awake on top of the handmade quilt in his room at the Miller’s house. He’d turned off the cell phone without checking the messages from Bruce. He was certain they were full of venom as usual, but tonight he didn’t want to think about anything except Rachel. He would deal with his dad tomorrow morning when he went into town to give him most of his first week of pay. Levi wasn’t looking forward to seeing the man, and all he wanted to do now was have a pleasant night of sleep after such a full day of hard work. His muscles ached more than they ever had before, but all he could think about was wrapping his tired and worn-out arms around Rachel.

  A warm breeze fluttered the sheer curtains at the open window. It reminded him of the way Rachel’s hair had danced across the side of her face when he drove her home in the open buggy. Hiram had offered the smaller buggy to save the tired horse from too much of a workout at the end of a long day. Levi thought it resembled the courting buggies he’d seen while staying with the Schrock’s. Remembering how badly he’d felt at the end of the summer when Bruce got out of jail and he had to return to the careless ways of his father, he was grateful to be once again among the Amish and their gentle ways. If he could, he would stay here for the rest of his life. But even he knew that wasn’t a realistic thought.

  Levi rolled over toward the window, listening to the crickets and watching fireflies glow along the grass down below. His life had never been better than it was when he was among the Amish. Was it possible that he could take his share of the lost money and buy himself some land here and continue to live among the Amish? What would happen when they discovered he wasn’t Amish? Would they shun him? If he was careful, maybe they would never know.

  ****

  After the morning chores, Levi harnessed the small buggy and headed into town. He’d asked Hiram before he took the job if it would be okay for him to take his wages to the post office at the end of each week, and he’d consented after making a comment about how pleased he was that Levi was responsible enough to take care of his elderly father. If Hiram had known that he was taking the money to a greedy Englischer, he might not have been so impressed with him. Bruce wasn’t so old that he couldn’t earn an honest wage, but he had led a hard life being in and out of jail over the years and leaving his only son to fend for himself. Levi hadn’t even stayed in school, and his peers were about to graduate high school without him.

  Maybe I fit in here in more ways than one. The Amish rarely go to school past the eighth grade. At least none of them would ever call me dumb like my so-called friends did.

  When he steered the horse onto the main road in town, his heart rate went into double-time as the small motel came into view at the end of the strip. This would be the first time he’d seen Bruce since he’d gone to live at the Miller’s house, and he wasn’t looking forward to seeing him.

&nbs
p; No sooner did he pull the horse up in front of room 217, than Bruce came staggering out the door. He smelled of tobacco and whiskey, and looked like he was in need of a good bath. His peppered gray hair stood up on one end, and his clothing looked as if he’d slept in it.

  Bruce rested his arm across the buggy and leaned in toward his son. “Well look at you, Blake. I almost didn’t recognize my own boy in that get-up. You look like a real Amish.”

  “Be quiet or someone will hear you. My name is Levi, and you better remember that or you will blow our cover.”

  Bruce grabbed his son by the collar and pulled him close. “And you better remember to respect me, Boy, or you won’t like what will happen to you.”

  Levi cringed under his dad’s threat. The sour smell of whiskey on the man’s breath made him sick to his stomach, and his heart raced remembering many such similar confrontations that didn’t end well. He was too old to allow this man to bully him, but Bruce had turned him into a coward who cringed at the rise of his dad’s voice alone.

  Bruce tightened his grip on Levi’s shirt. “You got some money for me, Boy?”

  Levi jerked from Bruce’s grasp and reached into his shirt pocket. He pulled out the bills and handed them to his father.

  Bruce snatched them out of his hand and examined them momentarily. “Is this all that Amish farmer is paying you? You’re not holding out on me are you, Boy?”

  Levi gulped. Bruce would know if he was lying to him, but he needed to keep a little bit of money to himself so he could buy a few necessities. He couldn’t let Hiram pay him wages and take care of his every need on top of that.

  He took a step back. “I kept a few dollars for myself so I could buy a bottle of aspirin and a tube of toothpaste. They’re working me pretty hard and I get sore.”

  Bruce shook the money at his son. “You’re young. You’ll bounce back without aspirin. This is barely enough to cover my expenses here. What am I supposed to use to buy food? I gotta eat. I bet those Amish folks are feeding you real good. Meanwhile, your old man is sitting here starving.”

  Levi wanted to yell at his dad. Tell him to stop wasting his money on whiskey and cigarettes, and to put in an honest day’s work. But anything he could have said would have fallen on deaf ears. They’d argued it over many times before, and the outcome was always the same. He wouldn’t give Bruce the opportunity to give him a sound lashing out here on the street. He hopped in the buggy and flicked the reins on the backside of the mare, pulling back a little to the left to get her to back up. Levi wished he’d driven a car to the motel so his get-away would be faster, but he’d managed to send a clear message to Bruce. All he wanted to do was leave this life behind and truly be Levi Schrock; he no longer wanted to be Blake Monroe.

  If only it was that easy.

  Chapter 10

  When Levi returned to the Miller farm, Hiram was waiting for him in the barn.

  “I decided I needed to work with you today since we will end our work day early to have a meal with my dochder and her familye. I was a little curious as to why you aren’t doing things traditionally. I know each community does things a little differently, but some of the things you do seem a little off balance.”

  Levi’s heart beat faster. Had he been found out before he was able to get any information for Bruce regarding the whereabouts of the money?

  Think, Blake! How would Levi answer such a question?

  “I’ve lived in town with my daed all my life. I only learned most of what I know from being around my cousins on their farm. Last summer, when my cousin broke his leg, I stayed with them and stepped in to do his chores. It wasn’t easy since I had never lived on a farm before. I’m sorry if I’m doing some of it wrong, but I’ve had very little instruction and had to learn most of it on my own. Since my aenti is a widow, my onkel wasn’t there to work with me. Please show me what it is I’ve done wrong. I’d like to make it right.”

  Hiram put his hand to his beard and gave it a tug. There was something not quite right about Levi’s story. He hated the idea of checking up on him, but perhaps a letter to the Bishop in Ohio was in order. He would send the letter as soon as possible and make sure there was not something that Levi was trying to hide. If he was hiding from an offense in his own community, he would not find refuge here. Bishop Troyer, though very lenient, would hold him accountable for whatever it was that Levi was hiding. Hiram hoped it was just his imagination and that there was nothing Levi was running from. It wasn’t just his language, but his lack of skills over simple chores that made Hiram suspicious of him. As an Elder of the community, he had a duty to make sure Levi’s story checked out.

  “Why don’t we start with you putting things back where you found them? Since you are obviously not used to working on a farm, I will tell you that being organized is the best way to save time. I appreciate you making the butter in my absence yesterday, but now I can’t even find the churn.”

  Levi gulped. “I left it on the side of the barn where I rinsed it off. I left it to dry and forgot to put it away. I’m sorry.”

  Hiram held up the milking stool and showed Levi its broken leg. “You left this in the stall after milking and she trampled it. I had to fix the leg before the morning milking. You must be more responsible, Levi.”

  “I will, Sir. I give you my word.”

  Hiram already thought Levi was a hard worker and admired his polite manners. But he couldn’t shake the look on the young mann’s face when he’d talked to him just now. He could see fear in Levi’s eyes. He had to wonder if he’d suffered a few too many lashings growing up. The sadness in his expression when he thought no one was looking was almost haunting.

  Instructing Levi on the proper way to clean the horse stalls was the first priority on Hiram’s list. Each taking a stall, Hiram gave Levi detailed instructions, which he followed to the letter. It did his heart good to see how dedicated the young mann was. He certainly earned every penny of his wages. But there was still something not quite right about his young hired hand. If only Hiram could narrow it down.

  Levi worked silently beside his boss. He knew the more he spoke, the more opportunity that left for him to make a mistake and say the wrong thing. He was already worried that Hiram suspected he was an imposter. Why had he thought he could pull off such a scam? Surely the Amish can recognize one of their own. He’d heard stories of people trying to hide among the Amish when they were in some sort of trouble, but he’d never heard of the outcome. Had it ever been successfully done? With few phones in the community and no internet access, how would they ever find out he was an impostor? Unless he made a mistake big enough to cause them alarm, he didn’t see any reason his plan couldn’t work. He’d already managed to fool them. He would work hard, keep his mouth shut as much as possible, and his ears open for any clues to the whereabouts of the money. The money that would free him from all of his problems.

  Chapter 11

  Levi was exhausted, and no longer feeling up to having dinner with Hiram’s family. But knowing Rachel would be there made him eager to wash his face and put on a clean shirt and trousers. Knowing it might afford him the opportunity to talk to Abby made him both apprehensive and eager. He was all for getting the information he needed so he could get Bruce off his back once and for all. The sooner he could find out what Abby knew about the money, the sooner he could be rid of Bruce.

  Levi paused, reflecting on the simplicity of the room he’d been staying in. No place had ever felt more like home to him. Never before had so much been at stake as it was now. His entire future was riding on this one piece of information. If he couldn’t get it, he had no idea what his future would hold. He hated the thought of following in his father’s path of petty crime. He wanted freedom—from a future life filled with sorrow, and freedom from Bruce. He could not let his fear get in the way of what he had to do. He would be bold and get answers, even if it caused suspicion.

  Hiram called from the base of the stairs, asking if he was ready to go. Nettie had made a cass
erole to take with them. The smell filled the house, making Levi’s stomach growl with anticipation. He’d worked so hard the past few days, he was hungry constantly.

  Fresh air and hard work will do that.

  ****

  The drive to the Yoder farm was pleasant and scenic, as was all the area. He loved the sounds of cows and other animals from neighboring farms, chicken’s clucking filling in the silence of the ride. It would have seemed awkward to ride in the back of the buggy, except that he enjoyed the secure, family feeling it gave him. He wished he could have been raised in such a serene place, but his reality was far from this. People had told him the Amish were a backward people, slow in everything they did. He’d seen the opposite since he arrived a week ago. They didn’t have modern conveniences, but their lifestyle was anything but slow. Everything they did had a purpose: to serve their families and the community. If Levi could have his way, he would never leave.

  When the buggy stopped, Levi jumped out of the back and assisted Nettie with her casserole. Rachel stood on the front porch wiping her brow with a tea-towel. She leaned against the rail and waved to everyone, sending a smile in Levi’s direction. His heart sped up as he took in the wraparound porch with hand-carved scrollwork in the corners of the posts. Tall, grassy plants bordered the porch, purple flowers shooting up between the blades and thick stems.

  Levi watched Rachel hug Hiram and Nettie while he lingered in the yard near the buggy. He listened to the pleasant exchange of words between family, wishing he’d had such a loving family. Levi had known of his dad’s half-sister, but she’d warned Bruce to stay away because of his criminal nature. His dad’s only brother, Eddie, had been dead since Levi was too little to remember him well. He’d missed out on having cousins and family the way most kids had. But here he was about to enter into a house where his cousin Abby was, and all he could see was Rachel.