Nick nodded. “It’s dangerous business racing on a public road. Gina Curtis had to put her car in the ditch to avoid hitting someone. It did a fair amount of damage to her front end. None of the buggy drivers stuck around. She wasn’t hurt but she could have been.”
Eli glanced at his son. “Do you know anything about this?”
“No, Papa.” Jacob glared at the sheriff. If he did know something, he wasn’t talking. Noah remained uncharacteristically quiet.
Eli said, “Go on to school now, children.”
The kids rushed down the steps with their lunch pails in hand and headed toward the school two miles away. Several times they threw looks over their shoulders. John had the distinct feeling they did know something.
After bidding Mr. Imhoff goodbye, John climbed in the sheriff’s SUV. When Nick got in and started the truck, John said, “You think Jacob was involved, don’t you?”
Nick turned the vehicle around and drove out the lane. They passed the children walking. Only Anna waved.
Nick said, “Gina’s description could fit ten boys in this area. I didn’t expect to get a confession. Illicit buggy racing goes on amongst Amish teenagers the same way drag racing goes on among the English kids. A lot of Amish parents turn a blind eye to that kind of behavior during the rumspringa.”
“What’s that?”
“It means running-around years. Amish teens are free to experiment with things that won’t be allowed once they join the church. You’ll see their buggies out-fitted with boom boxes, they’ll have cell phones and they’ll dress like regular kids when they are away from the farm. Jacob is young for that type of behavior. Rumspringa normally starts when the kids are about sixteen, but his dad has some fine horses.”
“Yes, he does.”
The sheriff looked at him sharply. “Do you know something about horses?”
“I know which end is which. I seem to know what a good Standardbred looks like. I found out I can drive a buggy and Eli’s two-wheeled cart without a problem. He’s been letting me use the cart to visit farms around here. The one thing I did remember was a woman’s voice. She called me her geils-mann.”
“She called you her horseman? That’s interesting. Maybe we ruled out your being ex-Amish too soon. It’s good to hear things are coming back to you.”
John had been wondering about the young woman ever since his vision. Was she his sister, a friend, his wife? He had no way of knowing.
He turned to stare out the window. “Not enough things are coming back to me.”
* * *
Karen didn’t want to reveal to her father her burning curiosity about the sheriff’s visit. Instead, when he came inside, she served him another cup of coffee before casually asking, “Where is the sheriff taking John?”
“To see the doctor in town.”
“Oh.” Relief made her knees weak. He wasn’t taking him away to his old life. She sat down quickly. Even though that was what she prayed for, losing him, even for the right reason, wasn’t something she wanted to face. Not yet.
Eli watched her closely. “You have taken a great liking to John Doe.”
Apparently her feelings weren’t as well hidden as she had hoped. She toyed with the corner of her apron. “He is so lost. I wish to help him. That is all.”
Her father covered her hands with his own. “Take care, daughter. He is not one of us.”
“He is one of God’s children.”
“Do not seek to divert me. You know exactly what I mean. Our faith makes no exceptions for those who stray outside the Ordnung.”
“I have done nothing against the rules of the church. John will only be here a few more days.” She forced herself to smile in reassurance, but her father was not fooled.
“I should have encouraged you to marry long ago, but I was so befuddled without your mother. It was selfish of me.”
“Papa, I am happy caring for the little ones and keeping your house. I could not ask for more.”
Sadness filled his eyes. “I would ask for more in your life. A woman should have a husband to love and shelter her. The risk of temptation would not be so great.”
Karen looked down at her hands. “I am not tempted by John Doe.”
“Do not forget that I am a man like all other men. I see the way he looks at you. I see the way you try not to look back at him.”
She pulled her hands away from his. “I care about him. I don’t deny that. When I saw him lying on the ground bleeding and wounded, I saw Seth. I could not save my brother. He died in my arms. I know his death was the will of God. Just as I know John lived by the will of God alone.”
“We do not know why God brings sadness or joy into our lives. We only know all comes from His purpose for us.” Eli leaned back in his chair and took a sip of coffee.
“I know that, Papa. But why has God taken away John’s memory? I believe it is because God wants to show John something he could not see before.”
Eli grasped her hand again. “Karen, Karen, you cannot know this. You cannot presume to know Gotte wille.”
She looked into his eyes so full of concern. “I’m sorry, Papa. I did not mean to upset you. Please trust me when I say you have nothing to worry about.”
Leaning forward, she said earnestly, “My heart is here, with you, and with the children. Nothing could make me throw that away.”
He relaxed and nodded slightly. “You have always been a goot daughter and strong in your faith. You see something in the Englischer that I do not see. You may be right. God sent John Doe into our midst for a reason. I will keep an open mind about this man.”
* * *
John entered the Hope Springs Medical Clinic, a modern one-story blond brick building, with a niggling sense of dread. He’d had enough of hospitals and doctors without getting any answers in return. Inside, he checked in with the elderly receptionist and took a seat in the waiting room. He didn’t have to wait long.
A young woman in a white lab coat and blue scrubs called his name. He followed her down a short hallway and took a seat on the exam-room table.
“It’s nice to finally meet you, Mr. Doe. I’m Amber Bradley, Nick Bradley’s cousin.” She stuck a thermometer under John’s tongue.
She removed it when it beeped and John said, “You’re the one I need to thank for the financial help.”
Wrapping a blood-pressure cuff around his arm, she said, “You’re welcome, but it wasn’t just me. A lot of people wanted to help.”
John remained quiet until she had finished with his blood pressure. When she took the stethoscope out of her ears, he said, “I wasn’t aware that I required a midwife.”
She chuckled. “I am a woman with many hats. One of those being an office nurse.”
The door opened and a tall, distinguished man with silver hair came in leaning heavily on a cane. “Yes, and she is proof that good help is hard to come by these days.”
“Ha!” she retorted. “You just try running this office without me, Harold.”
“No doubt I’ll have to when you marry what’s-his-name,” he grumbled.
“Is that any way to talk about your grandson? Don’t worry, Mr. Doe, Dr. White’s bark is worse than his bite.” She checked John’s ears, his eyes