Mary gently touched her arm but asked no further questions, giving her daughter the time she needed to compose herself and tell the story in her own way.
“Gut.” Thomas remained standing in the doorway. “I am glad you were not hurt.” He lifted his flat-brimmed winter hat, ran a hand through his blond hair and put the hat back in place. As much as he wanted an explanation, he knew it wasn’t his place to demand one. His heart slammed against his chest. His lungs threatened to rob him of breath. He hadn’t seen Elizabeth in years and here she was right in front of him. To think that just a minute or two longer and she might have died at the hands of a stranger in her very own barn was more than he could handle at the moment. He’d get the details later. For now, he needed distance so he could breathe. “I will leave the two of you to speak in private.”
Before either of them could respond, he nodded at both women. “Excuse me. I have work waiting for me in the barn.” He strode as fast as he could from the room.
He worked for over two hours, refusing to let his mind whisper one single thought. He milked the cows and prepared the containers for the local man to collect and take to market. He cleaned the stalls and pitched fresh hay with such speed and force a sweat broke out on his forehead despite the freezing temperatures of morning.
And although he fought hard to keep Elizabeth out of his thoughts, she crept in softly and slowly, like the sun was doing now with the dawn. He doused the lanterns and, pausing for a moment in the broad opening to the barn, stared at the white clapboard house.
Who was that man? And why had he tried to harm Elizabeth?
He knew it was not his business. He had no right to question her, to demand answers. Their time together had passed long ago. But he couldn’t seem to let it go.
He went to the tack room and washed his hands in the sink, then splashed water across his face and along the back of his neck.
Obviously, Elizabeth needed help. She must have come home looking for that help and trouble had followed her.
Thomas hung the wet towel on a rod, finger-combed his hair and put his hat back on. He sighed heavily.
She had to be terrified, even though she fought hard to make an outward show that she was in control and able to handle things on her own.
What had happened to her over the years? Where had she been?
It was none of his business.
She had made her choice years ago and it had not been a life with him. He had gone on and made a different life for himself. A happy life. One that had no room for her. He thought about his kinner and a smile caught the corners of his mouth. They were his joy. He couldn’t help wanting to introduce them to Elizabeth. Foolish, he knew. But once she had been a friend...and so much more.
Thomas sighed again.
But if someone was terrorizing Elizabeth or trying to do worse, than he would have no choice. He wasn’t the kind of man to walk away when someone needed help. And he would never walk away from Elizabeth when she needed him. He would be a friend to her. He would find a way to help.
Even when the shattered pieces of his heart silently wished he had never laid eyes on her again.
* * *
Elizabeth stood at the kitchen sink washing dishes when her mother came up behind her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth reached up and patted her hand. “For what? You did nothing wrong.”
Mary turned Elizabeth to face her. “I’m sorry you had that frightening encounter with the stranger in the barn. I am also sorry I did not tell you sooner about Thomas. I am sure the shock of seeing him again was difficult for you.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, Mamm? Was Thomas right? Did you think I would run away again?” Elizabeth studied her mother’s face. She’d known she would see Thomas sooner or later. She had tried to prepare herself for it before she returned to Sunny Creek. But she supposed no amount of preparation would have been good enough. The shock of seeing him again—leaning over her in the barn, standing in the kitchen doorway, his blond hair catching the glint of the lamp’s glow—had made her heart seize despite all the self-talk and preparation that had gone before. There were no words good enough to dampen her feelings or assuage the guilt for betraying him.
“Never mind. It’s all right, Mamm.” She put an arm around Mary’s waist. “Let’s sit. We’ll have a cup of coffee and talk this out.”
“Go to the barn and ask Thomas to kumm in.”
Elizabeth’s eyes widened. That was the last thing she wanted or needed right now.
“Now that you have had time to compose yourself, you will sit and tell both of us the story of this man.”
“I will tell you, Mamm, but I don’t think we have to involve Thomas.”
“Thomas is already involved. He deserves an explanation.” Her mother smiled at her. “Besides, he is a smart man. He will be able to tell us what to do.”
Elizabeth bristled. She’d lived independently and successfully for years. She didn’t need a man, especially not Thomas, to tell her what to do.
But she was back in Amish territory and things were done differently here. Women listened to their men. Men listened to the bishop and the elders. This was what she wanted, wasn’t it? To be home again? To feel safe?
For the first time, she wondered if coming home had been the right thing to do. She had come home to be with family and friends, where she had always felt safe. But had that decision been selfish? Was she inviting danger into the lives of the people she loved? Why hadn’t she considered that possibility before she’d come back? Now it was too late. If anything happened to anyone in the community, it would be her fault.
Elizabeth looked at her mother. She should leave. Today.
But where would she go? This was her home. These people were her family. And she knew she needed their wisdom, their guidance and their love. She would tell them the truth, all of it. Then she would gauge their reactions and consider Thomas’s counsel. But if she felt her presence would put her loved ones in danger she would not hesitate to leave.
“You’re right, Mamm. I will call Thomas in for breakfast. He must be finished his chores by now.”
“Gut.” Mary moved to the stove and lifted a cast-iron skillet. “I cook for him every morning and he always brings a healthy appetite.” Mary began fixing the meal.
“Thomas has a beard, which means he also has a wife. Doesn’t his wife fix him breakfast?” She said it as nonchalantly as she could, but one glance at the smile on her mother’s face and she knew she wasn’t fooling anyone.
Her mother continued with her cooking and replied as nonchalantly. “He waited a year for you to return. Kept coming by the farm every week to see if we had heard from you. Finally, your daed took him aside and had a man-to-man talk with him. I don’t know the details. I never asked. But I assumed he told him to stop waiting for you because shortly afterward Thomas married.”
A kaleidoscope of emotions exploded inside Elizabeth’s heart. What had she expected? For him to love her forever even after she’d left him? Of course he would marry. She had been gone for seven years. But when she’d seen him again those years had vanished and all she saw was the man she’d once loved.
She couldn’t allow those feelings to resurface. They would only cause pain. He was a married man with a family now. Besides, the reason she’d left, the secret she couldn’t share with him, still existed. She’d left for his good. She’d wanted him to be happy, to marry and start a family. But she’d never realized how deeply it would hurt both of them.
Tears trickled down her cheeks. She brushed them away before her mother could see her distress.
“Did