The PIECES of SUMMER Read online

  Meredith didn’t want to go back to the house, but the thought of leaving Alma there all alone made her nervous.

  Remain calm, a voice in her head seemed to say. Remain calm and stay put like you were told to do.

  She thought about the verse of scripture she’d read the other day: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” John 14:27.

  Feeling a bit more relaxed, Meredith paused to offer a prayer. “Heavenly Father, please keep Alma and me safe, and send us some help real soon.”

  Meredith opened the door and let Fritz into the phone shack with her. It should keep him from barking and help her remain calmer, too. She didn’t want Fritz’s yapping to alert whoever was in the basement any more than it might already have.

  It seemed like an eternity before she saw the sheriff’s car pull into the yard. She was glad it was him and not some other officer she didn’t know very well.

  “We were on patrol and received word that you’d called about an intruder,” Sheriff Tyler said when he and his deputy, Earl Graves, got out of the car.

  Meredith nodded, relieved that help was finally there. “The intruder’s in the basement. I wedged a chair in front of the basement door, so hopefully he won’t get into the main part of the house.”

  The sheriff gave her a nod. “Good thinking. Did you get a look at him, or did he say anything to you?”

  “No, but I know someone’s in the basement because of all the noise I heard coming from down there. It sounded like they were rummaging through everything, although I don’t know why, because there’s nothing really valuable down there.”

  “Well, you’d better stay out here and let us handle the situation.” Sheriff Tyler looked at his deputy. “Let’s go, Earl.”

  With the door of the phone shack partially open, Meredith watched as the two men entered her house. “Ach, my…I hope Alma’s all right.”

  Meredith prayed as she waited, but when she heard someone scream, she couldn’t wait any longer. She had to know if Alma was okay.

  With Fritz on her heels, Meredith, cradling her stomach with her hands, ran as fast as she could to the house. She’d just entered through the back door, and lit a gas lantern, when she heard the sheriff holler, “Get that feisty fellow, Earl! See if you can trap him in one of those empty boxes.”

  Meredith’s forehead wrinkled. Who in the world was in her basement? Only a child could fit in a box. Was it possible that one of her neighbors’ children had gotten into her basement? But it was the middle of the night, so that made no sense.

  Meredith crept closer to the basement door, keeping a firm grip on Fritz’s collar, but jumped back when she heard a loud crash. She was glad she hadn’t gone into the basement when she’d first heard the noise. Whoever was down there must be putting up a fight.

  “You okay, Sheriff?” Earl yelled.

  “Yeah. Just tripped over some boxes and fell on the floor. Sure wish there was a light I could turn on down here. Can’t see much with just our flashlights.”

  “Did ya trap him, Sheriff?”

  “Nope. He got away from me again. Oops…there he is now…Open the basement door and we’ll see if we can chase him out.”

  Meredith wasn’t sure whether the sheriff was referring to the outside basement door or the one that led to the kitchen. But the next thing she knew, Earl let out a yelp, and the inside basement door swung open. A few seconds later, a fat little raccoon darted into the kitchen, with Earl right behind it.

  “What are you doin’ in here?” he shouted, nearly bumping into Meredith. “Thought the sheriff told ya to wait outside.”

  Meredith answered the deputy’s question, but her voice was drowned out when Fritz started yapping and chasing after the raccoon. Round and round the room they went, bumping into the table, the cupboards, and even the stove. The animal with the masklike eyes skirted past Fritz and jumped on the countertop, knocking over a canister of flour. Talk about Fritz being in the wrong place at the wrong time! The flour not only spilled onto the countertop but cascaded down onto the dog’s head and body, just as he ran under the falling powdery white stuff.

  Yip! Yip! Yip! Fritz now looked more like a white Dalmatian than the German shorthaired pointer he truly was, with only a few spots of brown color showing from his coat.

  Fritz sneezed, sending puffs of flour from his nostrils, and tried to gain traction on the slippery white mess as he pursued the bandit-looking creature with determination. Sheriff Tyler and Deputy Earl were hot on the chase, slipping and sliding where Fritz had just been, while Meredith stood back, watching the whole thing as she struggled not to laugh. It was really quite a comical scene, and she felt relief, knowing the intruder was just an animal and not a robber after all.

  Finally, with Fritz nipping at its bushy ringed tail, the varmint darted out the open back door and into the yard.

  “Whew! That’s a relief,” Sheriff Tyler said, quickly shutting the door. “Don’t know how that critter got in your basement, but he sure gave us a merry chase.”

  “What’s going on in here?” Alma asked, yawning as she stepped into the room. “I woke up to use the bathroom, and as soon as I put my hearing aids in, I heard a ruckus down here in the kitchen.”

  Seeing Alma look around in obvious disbelief at the mess in the kitchen, Meredith quickly explained what had happened. Flour dust was still in the air, but it slowly settled, leaving a film on all the surfaces. Everyone burst out laughing when Deputy Earl removed his glasses that were also coated with flour particles.

  When their laughter subsided, the sheriff smiled and said, “When I responded to this call I knew it couldn’t have been the fellows who’d done the robberies in the area, because they were caught a few hours after I stopped by your place to warn you about them. I was a bit concerned, however, thinking we might have another thief in the area.”

  “In a way, there was.” Deputy Earl motioned to the floor, where a hunk of carrot lay. “I think that critter was all set to raid the root vegetables you’ve been storin’ in your cellar,” he said, looking at Meredith.

  Alma slipped her arm gently around Meredith’s waist. “The next time Jonah drops by, I’ll ask him to check for any places in the basement where an animal might get in and fix it so that nothing like this happens again.”

  Meredith shook her head. “Let’s not bother Jonah with that. I can ask my daed or Dorine’s husband, Seth, to do it. Right now,” she said, looking around at the mess, “I have a kitchen to clean up and a disgruntled dog to bathe.”

  Darby, Pennsylvania

  “I sure like this straw hat you got for me at the farmers’ market,” Susan’s grandfather said as the two of them worked together in the garden early Tuesday morning. “It helps to keep the sun out of my eyes.”

  “I’m glad you’re pleased with it, Grandpa.” Susan stabbed her shovel into the ground and pulled up another clump of weeds. It felt good to be outdoors in the fresh spring air, with her hands in the dirt. Gardening was kind of a hobby for her, and she found a sense of satisfaction in it. Grandpa obviously felt the same way, because ever since the weather had turned nice, he’d been spending several hours each day outside in the yard. Susan didn’t have the luxury of gardening that often, though. Most of the time when she got home from the hospital, she was either too tired to work in the yard or it was late and already dark. Today, her shift wouldn’t begin until noon, so she’d taken advantage of the early morning hours to help Grandpa get some weeding done.

  “Eww…look at this.” Susan wrinkled her nose as she watched a lengthy, plump earthworm wiggling from the dirt, still clinging to the bottom of the weed in her gloved hand.

  “Now that’s a good one.” Grandpa bobbed his head. “If I had plans to go fishing soon, I’d suggest puttin’ the wiggler in my bait box. But for now, you can just throw him in one of your grandma’s flower beds. It’ll be good for the soil.”

  Sus
an did as Grandpa suggested. “Oops! I missed the flower bed,” she said, watching as the worm landed in the grass.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Grandpa said. “The ground’s damp over there, and I’m sure it’ll worm its way under the grass and into the dirt.”

  Susan was just getting ready to pull another weed when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She pointed in the direction where Grandpa was already looking, watching a robin gobble up the worm she’d just tossed onto the grass.

  “See what fun your sister is missing?” Grandpa chuckled as Susan made a face. “I tried to talk Anne into joining us out here,” he said, “but she turned me down flat. Guess she’d rather put on her jogging clothes and run all over the neighborhood, working up a sweat, than dig in the dirt with us.”

  Susan laughed and wiped the perspiration from her forehead. “And what do you think we’re doing out here, if not sweating?”

  He grinned and yanked up another weed. “This is different. At least when we work up a sweat, we have somethin’ to show for our troubles. The only thing Anne has to show for all that jogging she does every day is a skinny body, without an ounce of flab.”

  “Well, you know my sister…She does like to keep fit and trim, which I’m sure helps her as a physical therapist.”

  Grandpa grunted. “She could get fit and trim pullin’ weeds, I’ll bet.”

  “Not everyone likes gardening the way we do,” Susan reminded him. “Grandma doesn’t like it that much, and it doesn’t seem to bother you any.”

  “Well, she might not like to pull weeds, but she does cook all the produce we grow.” Grandpa jiggled his eyebrows playfully. “Yes indeed, my wife’s a mighty good cook.”

  Susan smiled. “I can’t argue with that.”

  They worked in silence for a while, until Grandpa set his shovel aside and said, “Think we got most of the weeds out now, don’t you?”

  “Yes, but a few days from now, there will probably be more.” Susan motioned to the picnic table under the leafy maple tree in the corner of the yard. “Should we sit awhile and visit before it’s time for me to get ready for work?” she asked.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  After they’d both taken a seat on the picnic bench, Susan turned to Grandpa and said, “When I got home from the hospital last night, you and Grandma were already in bed, so I didn’t get the chance to tell you that Eddie finally woke up.”

  Grandpa’s thick eyebrows lifted high on his forehead. “That John Doe patient of yours?”

  She nodded. “I guess he came out of the coma on Saturday while Anne and I were in Lancaster County. One of the nurses told me about it when I got to work yesterday.”

  “That’s good news, Susan. Did you get to talk to the young man?”

  She shook her head. “Unfortunately, he slept through most of my shift, and due to the injury to his vocal cords, even when he was awake, he was unable to talk. I’m hoping it won’t be long before he can communicate. I’m really anxious to find out who he is and how he got injured.”

  CHAPTER 3

  Bird-in-Hand

  Did you have a nice time in Florida?” Meredith asked when Laurie showed up at her house the following Monday morning.

  Laurie nodded enthusiastically, her face fairly glowing. “Oh, jah. It was a lot of fun spending time on the beach. No wonder you stayed in Sarasota a whole summer when you were eighteen. I think I could live there, too.”

  “You’re nice and brown, so it looks like you got plenty of sun,” Meredith said, making no comment about the time she’d spent in Florida. Sometimes she wished she could return to those carefree teenage days, when all she had to worry about was being courteous to the customers at the restaurant where she’d worked and enjoying her free time at the beach.

  “I sure did get some sun.” Laurie held out her arms. “With my fair skin, I had to be careful not to burn, so I used plenty of sunscreen. It must have helped, because I look more tan than burned.”

  “What else did you do besides go to the beach?” Meredith asked, glancing at her own arms, which were as pale as ever.

  “Oh, we…” Laurie stopped talking and dropped her gaze to the floor. “So, have you seen Jonah lately?” she asked, abruptly changing the subject.

  “He’s dropped by a few times. Why do you ask?”

  “Oh, just curious, is all.”

  “Do you like him?” Meredith questioned, curious at how quickly Laurie had changed the subject.

  “Who?” Laurie dropped into a seat on the sofa.

  “Jonah.”

  “Of course I do.” Laurie smiled. “He’s a very nice man.”

  Meredith hesitated a minute, wondering how best to express her thoughts. “I know you are interested in him, but I don’t think it’s good for you to be so obvious about it,” she said, taking a seat beside her sister.

  Laurie’s forehead wrinkled. “What are you talking about, Meredith? I’ve never said I was interested in Jonah.”

  “Maybe not in so many words, but whenever he comes around, you smile at him and seem to be hanging on his every word.”

  Laurie’s cheeks flamed. “I’m not the least bit interested in Jonah. I just know he’s a good friend of yours, and since he might end up to be my brother-in-law someday, I thought I should be nice to him.”

  Meredith’s mouth dropped open. “Wh–where did you come up with that idea?”

  “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, Meredith. It’s obvious that he’s smitten.”

  “You can tell that just by how he looks at me?”

  Laurie shrugged. “That’s only part of it. I don’t think Jonah would come over here so often, wanting to help out, if he wasn’t interested in you.”

  Meredith shook her head. “That’s ridiculous! Jonah’s just a friend, and he knows I’m still mourning Luke’s death.”

  “That doesn’t mean he’s not interested in having a relationship with you whenever you’re ready.”

  Meredith stared straight ahead. “I don’t think I’ll ever be ready for that. I love Luke, and I always will.”

  Laurie placed her hand on Meredith’s arm. “Of course you will, but it doesn’t mean you can never love another man. Luke wouldn’t want you to grieve for him forever. He’d want you to be happy and find love again.”

  “How do you know what Luke would want?” The pitch of Meredith’s voice raised a notch. “You can’t speak for him.”

  “I realize that,” Laurie said, “but I know Luke loved you very much, and I’m sure he would want you to move on with your life and, most of all, be happy again.”

  “That’s easy for you to say.” Meredith instinctively looked around the living room at all the things that reminded her of Luke. “You don’t understand what it’s like for me.”

  “No, I don’t, but I do know how it feels to be in love.” Laurie clamped her hand over her mouth. “I—I…What I meant to say was…”

  “You said a few minutes ago that you’re not interested in Jonah, so if not him, then who?” Meredith questioned, bringing her focus back on her sister.

  “I–I’d rather not say,” Laurie mumbled.

  “If you’ve come to care about someone, then why not just admit it? What have you got to hide?”

  “Do you promise not to tell?”

  “Tell who? Mom and Dad?”

  Laurie nodded. “If they knew who I’ve been seeing secretly, they’d be umgerennt.”

  “Why would they be upset? Who is it, Laurie? Who have you been seeing that Mom and Dad wouldn’t approve of?”

  “Kevin Byler,” Laurie said in a near whisper.

  “But Kevin’s not Amish, Laurie. You know what that would mean if you married him?”

  “It would mean I wouldn’t join the Amish church like I’d planned to do this fall. But at least I’d be going to Kevin’s Mennonite church, and they preach God’s Word there, too.”

  Meredith sighed. She knew how much their folks, and especially Mom, were looking forward to seeing Laur
ie baptized into the Amish faith. She also knew, or at least hoped, that their folks would show some understanding if Laurie and Kevin decided to get married.

  Meredith gave her sister a hug. “I won’t tell Mom and Dad that you’ve been seeing Kevin, but if you two are getting serious, then you need to tell them yourself, and soon, before they hear about it from someone else. News travels fast in our community, and if anyone’s seen you and Kevin together, there is bound to be talk.”

  Tears welled in Laurie’s eyes. “I know you’re right. Kevin has a stand at the farmers’ market, too, and we’ve sometimes taken our lunches together, but we’ve always gone somewhere outside the market, where Dad and the others who work there couldn’t see.”

  Meredith looked her sister straight in the eyes. “Was Kevin with you in Florida last week?”

  Laurie sniffed deeply as she gave a slow nod. “We weren’t alone, though. Three other couples were with us. Oh, and the girls stayed together in one of the places we rented, and the guys stayed in another,” she quickly added.

  Meredith couldn’t believe her sister had been so deceitful, but then she didn’t think it was her place to judge Laurie. “From one sister to another, I’d like to give you some advice,” she said, giving Laurie’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

  “What’s that?”

  “Go to Mom and Dad as soon as possible and tell them the way you feel about Kevin. They may not like it at first, but at least this secret won’t be between you anymore, and you’ll feel better once you’ve apologized and stopped sneaking around. It never does anyone any good to be deceitful. Besides, you know it would hurt Mom and Dad deeply if they heard about this from anyone other than you.”

  “I know,” Laurie said tearfully. “I feel better already, just having told you.” She leaned forward and gave Meredith a hug.

  Jonah whistled as he guided his horse and buggy down the road toward Meredith’s house. He was in good spirits this morning—partly because it was such a beautiful spring day, but mostly because his horse was behaving so well. Jonah had figured when he’d first bought Socks from Meredith that it was just a matter of time before the frisky animal got to know and trust him, and he’d been right. Each time he took the gelding out on the road, things had gone better than the time before. Now Socks obeyed all of Jonah’s commands and didn’t try to run when he wasn’t supposed to. Apparently all the horse needed was time to adjust to his original owner being gone. And Jonah’s persistence in trying to win the horse over had no doubt played a role in the animal’s improved behavior, too.