The driver stepped out of his car. “Dunkard girl! Watch where you’re going! Do I have to show you how to drive that thing?”
Ellen was suddenly afraid. What would she do if the boys came within reach of her? How could she protect herself if they surrounded her? Her heart pounded hard. She reached up to touch her face. Her forehead and cheek hurt. Her fingers burned from tugging hard on the leathers and her shoulder ached. She couldn’t get out of the vehicle.
Her fear vanished and she became angry. She sent up a silent prayer for God to help her get over her anger quickly and to keep her safe from the English teenagers.
“What do you think you’re doing?” a male voice called out to the Englishers from behind her.
That voice! Ellen recognized it immediately. He appeared next to her vehicle, confirming who it was. She frowned. Out of everyone within her church district, why did she have to be rescued by Isaac Lapp?
* * *
His heart thundered in his chest as Isaac watched the buggy bounce across uneven ground before coming to a halt in a ditch along the side of the road. The vehicle tilted at an angle and, alarmed, he raced toward the driver’s side to see if he could help. He peered through the opening of the window. When he recognized Ellen Mast sitting on the far side of the front seat, he inhaled sharply. She held a hand to her forehead, and he spoke softly so as not to scare her. “Ellen? How bad are you hurt?”
She blinked pain-filled blue eyes at him. “I’m oll recht.”
His lips firmed; he didn’t believe her. He glanced ahead toward the car and stared at the driver as another boy climbed out the front passenger side. “Ellen, hold on tight while I pull your buggy back onto the road,” he said gently as, ignoring them, he turned back.
“What are you doing here, Isaac?” a boy snarled.
Silently praying for control over his anger, Isaac faced the Englishers he’d once regarded as friends until he’d realized how mean the boys were. The group of friends was always asking for trouble. He moved toward the front of Ellen’s horse and glared at the two boys. Brad Smith had caused enough pain and heartache to last him a lifetime. Isaac wasn’t about to let the Englisher or any of his friends hurt anyone else in his Amish community, especially Ellen, a vulnerable young girl.
“Go home, Brad,” he called out. “You’ve done enough damage for one day.”
A third youth stepped out from the car’s backseat. He stared at Isaac across the distance. “I wonder what Nancy’s going to say when she hears you’ve been hanging around that Aay-mish girl!”
Refusing to rise to their taunts, Isaac grabbed the mare’s bridle and pulled the animal toward the road. The horse moved slowly with Isaac’s steady pressure on the reins. Within seconds, he’d maneuvered the mare back onto the road. The buggy bucked and jerked as the right wheels rolled up the incline onto pavement. He felt Ellen’s eyes on him as he calmed the animal with soft words, then returned to the driver’s side of the girl’s vehicle.
“Isaac!” the third boy snarled.
Isaac stiffened, then faced them. “Roy, go home—all of you! You could have caused her serious injury. If you don’t want to get arrested, then you’d better go and leave us alone.” Brad Smith and his friends were bullies who liked to pick on anyone who couldn’t fight back. Fortunately, Brad didn’t intimidate him. I won’t allow him to bully Ellen.
“You know them?” Ellen murmured as the boys piled back into the car and left.
“Ja.” He stared unhappily down the road in the direction they’d left before he turned, dismissing them.
“Who is he?” Ellen asked.
“Brad Smith. Nancy’s bruder.”
* * *
Nancy Smith. The name filled Ellen with dread. The girl who ruined my friendship with Isaac. Isaac had met the English girl during his rumspringa and liked her so much that he’d brought her home to meet his family. He’d taken her to a community gathering and a church service. If that wasn’t disturbing enough, he’d brought her to a Sunday-evening community youth singing. Having the English girl in their midst had felt awkward for her. She and Isaac had been good friends until Nancy had learned of his friendship with Ellen and proceeded to monopolize his time. Isaac had been so enamored of her that he’d allowed it. He’d forgotten about Ellen. But Nancy hadn’t. She had made it clear to Ellen that Isaac was hers and he no longer would have time for her. It had been a terrible loss for Ellen, as she had fallen in love with Isaac.
Thinking to do the right thing to protect her friend, Ellen had warned Isaac that the English girl was not a nice person. But, too blinded by his infatuation with Nancy, he’d refused to believe Ellen and had become angry with her. Ellen had felt betrayed by Isaac’s reaction and his lack of trust. Ellen had loved him; she wouldn’t have purposely set out to hurt him. If Nancy had been the good person she’d pretended to be, if she’d been kind and genuine, someone who could have made Isaac happy, Ellen would have kept her mouth shut. She’d thought she owed it to him to tell him the truth, but the truth had backfired on her. Not only did Isaac not believe her, he’d cut off all ties of their friendship.
I don’t want to think about it, Ellen thought. The incident had happened over two years ago, and she mustn’t dwell on it. As far as she knew, Nancy was no longer in Isaac’s life. She had gone, but she left a friendship in tatters.
Ellen was fine and she’d moved on. Hadn’t she been enjoying the company of Nathaniel Peachy, their deacon’s son? Her friendship with Nate was an easy one. With him, she didn’t have to constantly hide her feelings. They were friends and nothing more.
Besides, she had a new plan for her life. One for which her parents hadn’t given their approval, but it was something she’d begun to think of as God’s calling for her. She wanted to work with special-needs Amish children, those born with genetic disorders. Her friends Rebekka and Caleb Yoder had a daughter who suffered from Crigler-Najjar syndrome, a genetic disease caused by a buildup of bilirubin—a toxic substance responsible for jaundice—in the little girl’s blood. Fortunately, little Alice’s condition was type 2. The child had to remain naked under a special blue LED light for ten to twelve hours a day. The treatment could be especially brutal on cold winter or hot summer days.
After visiting the Yoder home, witnessing the child’s treatment, Ellen had felt something emotional shift inside her. Unlike little Alice, she’d been blessed with good health. She felt the powerful urge to help families like the Yoders with children like Alice.
The buggy suddenly jerked as it moved. Startled, she held on to the seat. She grimaced at the pain caused by the vehicle’s sudden shift in movement. Soon the jerking stopped and Ellen sighed with relief as she felt the buggy wheels rolling on pavement.
She stuck her head out the window. Isaac had pulled her vehicle out of the ditch and back on the road. Fortunately, no other cars had been around to hinder the progress. As Isaac had said, the English boys were gone. She could no longer see them. She just had to get through the visit to Katie Lapp’s and then she could go home.
Isaac climbed into the driver’s side of her buggy. “Your wheels are out of the ditch.” He stared at her, his brow furrowing. “Your head hurts,” he said with concern.
“I’m fine.” Ellen promptly dropped her hand and lifted her chin. The movement made her grimace with pain and she turned to stare out the passenger window. She had to be grateful for his help, but she didn’t want him here. “Why are you in my buggy?”
“I’m going to drive you wherever you’re going.”
“There’s no need. I’m fine. I just need a minute.”
He remained silent as he studied her. “Where are you headed?”
“To see your mudder.” She gestured toward