A Plain and Simple Heart (The Amish of Apple Grove) Read online

  The door in the back of the courtroom opened. Colin glanced over his shoulder and suppressed a moan. He knew it. A man couldn’t belch in this town without these three there to lecture him. The women entered the courtroom and took seats in the row of empty chairs beside Mrs. Evans. The deep scowls on their faces were set in stone this morning.

  Struggling to remain upright, Angus gripped the corners of the judge’s desk. “Rest-ee-tooo-shun? What’s that mean, Tank?”

  The judge peered at the defendant over the top of a pair of spectacles perched on the bridge of his beaklike nose. “That means, Angus, that you’re going to have to pay Mrs. Evans for that window you broke in the front of her milliner’s shop.”

  “But I don’t have no money, Tank. You know that.”

  A woman’s disapproving voice spoke from behind Colin’s head. “You would have plenty of money but for your habit of frequenting that establishment of sin.”

  Colin rubbed his fingers across his forehead and avoided the judge’s suddenly harsh expression.

  “Mrs. Diggs, I’ll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself in my courtroom,” Tank said, his voice stern.

  “’Tis more than mere opinion.” Annie Diggs’ voice gained volume as she warmed to her subject. “’Tis a proven fact that whiskey leads to slovenly, disreputable living and violence, which this man proved well enough last night.”

  Tank leaned across the desk and leveled a glare on her. “Madam, if you cannot silence your tongue for the duration of this court session, I’ll have you removed.”

  Colin slid lower in his chair. He knew who would be asked to strong-arm Annie and her scowling companions from the courtroom.

  Angus turned, his movements slow, to face his accusers. His bloodshot glance slid quickly away from Annie to rest on Mrs. Evans. “I’m right sorry about your winder, ma’am. I didn’t do it a’purpose. I had maybe one or two more’ns good fer me, and things got a little out of control.” He affected an unsteady bow.

  One backward glance at the ladies’ frowning faces informed Colin the apology failed to meet its mark.

  The judge continued. “Angus, how long will it take you to come up with fifteen dollars?”

  “Fifteen dollars! Tank, I’ll have to sell a coupla m’ hogs to pay that. And that’s if ’n I can find somebody to buy ’em.”

  “Well, get working on it. When you get the money, give it to Mrs. Evans.” His gavel came down with a crack. “Case dismissed.”

  The ladies indulged in a communal outraged gasp. Chairs scraped across the floor as they rose to their feet as one.

  “That’s all?” Annie demanded, her eyes snapping fire beneath her tightly wound hair. “Outrageous!”

  Tank stood, placed his hands on the surface of his desk, and thrust his bulldog face forward.

  Here it comes. He’s going to order me to arrest her for contempt.

  Colin rose to his feet and turned toward the women. “Now, Annie, hold your peace. Miz Evans will get a shiny new window, and Angus will go home and sleep it off.” He spread his arms wide and started herding them forward like chickens. “You ladies go on home now. Court’s over.”

  Apparently Judge Tankersley had decided not to push the matter and was heading toward the side door. Wisely, Angus was beating a hasty retreat on Tank’s heels.

  Annie drew herself up to her full, not-inconsiderable height, her shoulders stiff beneath her lace collar. “The man broke the law, and he is permitted to go free? An outrage, that’s what it is. Or does the judge not realize there are laws against consuming liquor in Kansas?”

  The door clicked closed behind him, and Colin relaxed. At least he wouldn’t be arresting a pack of women today.

  The ladies stood ramrod straight, awaiting an answer. He kept his smile in place by sheer willpower. Things could get tricky. The truth was, liquor had been outlawed in Kansas for four years now, but that was a law few wished to see upheld, especially not the owners of some of the most successful businesses in town.

  Especially not when a few of them were numbered among the town’s most prominent citizens.

  Mayor Bowerstock himself was one of the owners of the Lucky Dollar Saloon, and if the rumors were to be believed, so was Judge Tankersley, though he kept that quiet. And because those two gentlemen were the law in Lawrence, with the consent and turned heads of the town council, men like Angus had little to fear from the justice system.

  Which was exactly the reason Colin was counting the days until the new sheriff arrived. It was time to let someone else dance at the end of the council’s string.

  “Now, Annie, you know I can’t speak for the judge.” He gently shooed the women toward the doorway. “Why don’t you ladies go home and make yourselves a nice cup of tea.”

  Annie’s chin lifted. “Don’t be condescending, young man.”

  “No, ma’am. Wouldn’t think of it.”

  The women allowed themselves to be directed toward the exit. The ruffles that flowed from their bustles shook with every step of their booted feet.

  Mrs. Evans turned on the threshold, her sweet old-lady eyes searching his. “Sheriff, is the rumor true? You’re not leaving our fair town, are you?”

  So, word had finally seeped out. Amazing it had taken three whole days to spread across town.

  “Yes, ma’am. That rumor’s true enough. The new sheriff will be here in a couple of weeks.”

  Fifteen days exactly, and every one of them waiting to be marked off on the jailhouse calendar.

  Annie shoved her head back in the doorway to level a glare at him. “Let us hope the new sheriff will have a stiffer backbone than the current one. We need someone to stand up against the lawbreakers in this town.”

  Colin touched his hand to his hat in a polite gesture. “Yes, ma’am.”

  That was unlikely, because Mulhaney had been handpicked by the mayor from a list of possible candidates, but the sheriff saw no reason to dash her hopes.

  With a ferocious sniff, she marched away.

  Mrs. Evans waited until Annie was out of earshot to kindly pat his arm. “I like you, Sheriff. You’re between a rock and a hard place, but you’re doing a fine job. I’ll miss you.”

  His smile was genuine this time. The petite widow went along with the crowd because she was lonely, but she only followed, never led the rebellion.

  “Why, thank you, Miz Evans. I appreciate your kind words.”

  He stood in front of the courthouse, watching the ladies march down the street, the hems of their heavy skirts raising puffs of dust with every step. The temperance movement was gaining strength among the women of Lawrence, and he saw storm clouds on the horizon. The more of them who joined with Annie Diggs and her outspoken group of ladies, the more like thunder their fair voices sounded.

  Clouds raced across the night sky. As the horse plodded down the worn path between open fields, one moved across the moon and plunged Rebecca’s surroundings into darkness. The wind blew the chill of night directly into her face. Perched on the bench seat of Papa’s buggy, she pulled her cloak more tightly around her shoulders and squinted. Thank goodness Big Ed remembered the way to Emma’s house, as well he should. She, Maummi, and Papa had visited only three days ago. Her heart stuttered at the thought of her father and grandmother back home in Apple Grove, tucked warmly in their beds. In a few short hours they would wake for the day and find her note.

  Would Papa be furious? She’d never seen him even mildly angered, except for the time she’d helped tie four cats’ tails together. The childish prank earned her a month of complete silence, an impossible task to be sure. Would he come after her? No, she didn’t think so. He would respect her wishes because that was the kind of man he was, but he would be hurt, and though she had assured him in her letter there was no reason to worry, he would.

  Her determination wavered.

  I’ve often been accused of youthful fancy. Is going after the man I love yet another foolish act?

  She was a woman now, with womanly thoughts. S
he would never willingly hurt Papa or Maummi, but she must explore life while she could. Rumspringa came only once before the time of commitment to the Ordnung began.

  When I return with my future husband, they’ll understand. And they’ll forgive me. Amish forgive their own.

  The issue settled in her mind, she flicked the reins to encourage Big Ed into a faster pace.

  It wasn’t long before Emma’s house loomed ahead, a dark structure faintly visible in front of an even darker landscape. The final stop before her adventure truly began.

  The windows were black at this time of night. Correction. Early morning. Judging by the position of the obscured moon in the sky, midnight had passed some hours ago. She’d made good time crossing the ten miles from Apple Grove to Emma and Luke’s ranch, and thankfully she had encountered no one.

  The buggy rolled to a halt near the house. Rebecca hopped down, looped Big Ed’s lead over a handy branch, and hurried up the porch steps to the door, the wind battering at her back. She raised her hand but hesitated before her knuckles rapped on the wood. Luke and Emma were sure to put up a fuss about her actions. They would urge her to put her plan out of mind and go home. But she needed their help.

  I will convince them that I am a woman now and my mind is set. They have no right to rob me of my rumspringa.

  She knocked as hard as she could. The sharp sound echoed inside the house. When, after a moment, she heard no response, she pounded with her fist.

  “Emma.” The wind tugged at the brim of her bonnet, securely tied beneath her chin. “Emma, please wake up!”

  Finally, she heard a noise from the second floor inside. A moment later feet pounded on stairs. Satisfied, Rebecca lowered her hand and waited for the door to open.

  When it did, her breath whooshed out of her chest in a rush. Instead of her sister’s face, a gun barrel came forward and stopped inches from her nose. Her eyes crossed to focus on it and then rose. On the other side of the rifle she glimpsed her brother-in-law’s angry face, though her gaze instantly pivoted back to the metal instrument of death pointed directly at her.

  “Whoever you are, you’d better have a good reason for—oh.” The barrel lowered and Luke squinted at her. “Rebecca? What in tarnation are you doing here at this time of night?”

  “Rebecca?” Her sister’s voice sounded from behind him, and in the next minute she hurried into the room wrapping a dressing gown around her round belly. “What’s wrong? Is it Maummi? Has something happened to Papa?”

  For a moment Rebecca couldn’t answer. She rested a hand over her thumping heart and forced her stunned lungs to draw in a breath. “They are both fine,” she finally managed. “May I please explain?”

  Luke stepped aside. “Of course. Come in before you catch a chill.”

  Rebecca entered the room and stepped to one side while he closed the door. When he had moved to his wife’s side, she faced them. Confronted by two expectant gazes, her courage flagged. What if they refused to help?

  Then I’ll go on anyway. I’ve come this far on my own.

  Straightening her shoulders, she raised her chin and spoke calmly. “I have decided to go to Lawrence and bring Jesse back to Apple Grove.”

  Two jaws went slack.

  “Jesse Montgomery?” Luke’s eyebrows crooked toward the center of his forehead. “The Jesse who helped drive a herd to Kansas?”

  “Shhh!” Emma place a finger over her lips. “You’ll wake Lucas.”

  Rebecca lowered her voice. “The same. He is my one true love, and I will have no one else for my husband.”

  Luke snorted.

  Emma rested her hand on his arm. “Why would you want to bring Jesse to Apple Grove?”

  “Because we—or, at least, I fell in love with him, and I’m reasonably sure he loves me too.”

  “Jesse?” Luke laughed. “Rebecca, you’re talking nonsense. Jesse is a friend, but he would be the last man on earth I’d want you to marry. He has a lot of settling down to do.”

  “Which I’m sure he has done.” She lifted her chin. “It’s been four years. He must surely have tamed his wild side.”

  “Jesse?”

  Emma gave her husband a look full of unspoken communication. “Luke, why don’t you go back to bed? I will handle this.”

  With obvious reluctance he left the room. Emma stepped forward and took hold of Rebecca’s arm.

  “Come warm yourself by the kitchen stove. I’ll fix a pot of tea.”

  Rebecca followed her to the table and slid into a chair while the lamp was lit. A warm, yellow glow illuminated the room and cast long shadows from the high-backed chairs onto the walls. When they were seated around the shiny clean surface, Emma entwined her fingers on the table in front of her and said simply, “Tell me.”

  “I don’t know why you find this so surprising. I spoke of my love three days past,” Rebecca reminded her. “I’ve adored Jesse since the moment we met. You yourself told me I must find him and see if he returns my love.”

  “I said you must find Jesse?”

  “You said I must find my love and express my feelings.”

  “I didn’t know you were speaking of Jesse. I thought you were in love with an Amish man.”

  “She would never tell you to go after Jesse.” Luke returned to the kitchen with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders.

  Emma frowned. “I thought you went back to bed.”

  “Not when your sister’s talking about going after Jesse.” He pulled up a chair and sat down.

  “Jesse might be Amish one day.” Rebecca set her jaw. “Don’t laugh, Luke. Love can work miracles in a man.”

  “Rebecca, I believe you think you have feelings for Jesse, but they’re not real.”

  “How can you say so? Jesse is your friend.”

  “He is my friend, but I know him. He would disappoint you. Jesse isn’t the kind of man to change.”

  “I refuse to consider the notion. He is a good man.”

  Emma shook her head. “You did not notice the way he drank too much, fought too much, and led a most unseemly life. This is the man you would favor to be your children’s father?”

  “Enough time has passed that he has settled his wild side.”

  “Some men never manage to settle their wild side, Rebecca.” Luke reached for a cup. “I’m going to make a pot of coffee. I don’t want to injure your tender feelings, but the last time I spoke with him, Jesse didn’t return your affections.”

  “That’s because I was only a child when he saw me last,” she replied, drawing upon reserves of calm. “I’m not a child any longer.”

  “No, you’re not,” Emma agreed. “You’re a young woman who is capable of putting childish fancies behind her. There are many good Amish men who would make you a fine husband—and while you traipse across the state looking for Jesse, what of Papa and Maummi? Because you are here under the cover of night, I assume you did not tell them of your intentions.”

  That was a weak point in her plan to be sure, but she felt it was unfair of her sister to call attention to it so early in the conversation. She firmed her lip against a tremble. “I left a note.”

  “Saying what? That you hope they won’t worry about a seventeen-year-old girl traveling across Kansas alone to confront a man who has never given the slightest hint of romantic feelings for her?”

  Tears prickled behind her eyes. Emma spoke the truth, but need she say it so harshly?

  She tilted her head firmly upward. “I told them I am traveling to Lawrence on rumspringa and that I will return.”

  Her sister drew in a slow breath and leaned back in her chair, her eyes focused on Rebecca’s face. “Many do not indulge in rumspringa. And most of those who do continue to live at home.”

  “Just because you didn’t take one doesn’t mean I can’t.” Rebecca folded her arms across her chest. “I am not many or even most. I insist on experiencing rumspringa my own way. I’m of age, and I may do as I wish.”

  Her sister’s eyes narrowed. “Th
ere’s a difference between the thing that is permitted and the thing that is wise. As Maummi says, ‘The beginning of wisdom is the knowledge of folly.’ ”

  The very idea of her sister quoting one of Maummi’s proverbs was outrageous. With an effort, Rebecca prevented herself from snapping a reply. “Is it folly to follow one’s heart?” She held her sister’s gaze. “As you did?”

  White teeth appeared and clamped down on a rose-colored lip. Rebecca indulged in a private smile. She’d aimed for Emma’s own experience with love and hit her mark.

  Luke held up a hand. “Rebecca, we haven’t seen hide nor hair of Jesse in almost four years. Who knows where he is by now? Have you considered that he might be married? And he wasn’t fond of the Amish.” His glance slid sideways toward his wife. “Except for your family.”

  Rebecca knew Jesse thought the Amish way was strange, but that was then.

  “People can change, Luke. Four years ago he wasn’t ready to settle down. For all you know, he’s ready now.”

  “For all you know,” Emma said, “he might have already settled down and have two or three children!”

  Rebecca sat back slowly, letting the words sink in. She hadn’t considered offspring. Jesse was several years older than she. What if he had married? The idea pricked her mind like a burr, painful where it touched.

  “If you know he’s in Lawrence, write him a letter,” Luke set the coffeepot on the stove to perk. “Tell him how you feel and invite him for a visit. He can stay with us and meet Lucas. And he can call on you at home.”

  “That’s a wonderful solution.” Emma nodded enthusiastically. “That way Papa and Maummi won’t worry.”

  Might a letter work? Rebecca lowered her gaze to her lap and studied her clasped hands. It would be a sensible way of finding out if Jesse had already chosen a wife without embarrassing herself in person. He would reply with the grim news, and she could nurse her wounds in private.