4. Maverick

4

Maverick

I sat out on the front porch, Rebecca was sleeping, and the sun had just gone down. She amazed me.

Every morning, she was up at four or five to make bread and do other household things. I tried to tell her she didn't have to do anything, but she enjoyed staying busy.

Sometimes, she would spend her time crying. That's why she liked staying busy. I would watch her when she didn't know, and she held so much pain in her eyes. No one should have to go through that kind of pain.

Sarra has taken her under her wing. They became best friends this last week, and the kids love her. I listened as she spoke to them in her soft voice. I hated to do this, but it was time for us to leave for another safe house. It's been over a week already.

"I don't understand; no one knows I'm here. They think I'm dead."

"But some people know you are alive. Mary's fiancé knows you are alive. I'm sure all of your community knows you are alive. Would they tell a lie and say you are dead."

"The bishop is already doing that," she said, shaking her head.

"Michael was my good friend for my four years in college. I rented a room from him. Michael was already out of school.

He was Amish but moved away when he was sixteen and worked his way through college. He told me the Amish didn't attend college, but he was determined to go.

"I know him, and Michael won't tell anyone where you are. But there are all of the others who will tell."

"I don't want anyone getting hurt, trying to keep a secret that I'm alive. I know what I have to do. I have to go home. I can't have the bishop lying for me or my other friends not knowing what to do."

"No, you are not going home."

"Yes, I am." She turned around and went to her room. I followed. She was carefully packing her bag. She looked at me and smiled. "I'll be fine. This might be the only way for us to find out who killed my family."

"I'll stay with you. It will be okay because Shane and Marcus are there. I'll call Michael and tell him your decision. He's not going to be happy. What with the newspaper saying the whole family was murdered."

"He can have a woman meet us there so that you won't be with all men. I remember Michael telling us about the community. If I remember correctly, that was looked down on."

"You should call him bishop; he deserves that title. It would be better if you stopped calling him Michael. If for no other reason than the respect he deserves."

I was a little taken aback by her speaking her mind. Was the real Rebecca Cover more of a woman than a girl? ‘Stop thinking about her like that!' I shouted in my head. "You're right; he deserves it. I'll call him, and we'll leave in the morning."

I glanced around at the land we passed. It was beautiful, with the river running alongside the Road. When we landed in Ohio, I was able to lease a vehicle.

Rebecca said she would start using her buggy when we reached her home. There was no way in hell I would let her on a buggy in the wide open where anyone could shoot her. But she didn't want her community to look down on her.

"It's beautiful here," I said, glancing at the trees along the road. We turned off onto a gravel road and traveled for a while later before the large barn came into view. I glanced at Rebecca, and she was crying. I reached over and took her hand to give her strength to keep going.

"How big is your property?"

"Eighty acres. My Dat bought another ten acres when my youngest brother was born. So that when their families lived here, they could each have forty acres each."

"That sounds like a lot of land to take care of for one man," I raised my eyebrow.

"We all worked our land. My Dat taught Mary and me everything he knew about taking care of the land."

"So your Dat taught you everything about farming, and your Mamm taught you everything to do with housekeeping? You and Mary must have been awfully busy. What days did you take for yourself?"

"Sunday, we didn't work on Sundays."

"Not ever?"

"Will we work sometimes if we have to harvest the corn or wheat? If we need to get the fruit off the trees, we have to work, or it will rot," she said, looking around at the land like she would see her family run to her like it was all a nightmare.

I saw the river not far from their house. It must have brought their property up in price; there were benches and tables near the water, and it was so peaceful looking. "Has anyone wanted to buy this property?"

"My Dat said a developer from Los Angeles wanted to buy our property. He told him we would never sell. That's why I have to stay here and work the land. My family loved this place. This is our home. Our family plots are on this land. Generations of Covers have worked this land."

A red flag went up immediately. I saw Shane and Marcus picking peaches, dressed like Amish men, but their shirts off. I smiled as they walked over. "Why are you dressed like you're Amish?"

"I found a few letters in the secret compartment of the desk. Someone was pressuring your father to sell this property. We're dressed like this so they'll think we're Amish and, more importantly, family members," Shane explained.

"Do you think they believe you?"

"Yes, we think so. Michael said we should pick the fruit before it rots." Shane glanced at Rebecca and smiled. Her eyes were wide, probably because she'd never seen a man without a shirt, and Marcus had tattoos."

"Amish men would never take their shirts off," she said, getting out of the vehicle and walking into the house. I watched as she held her hand to her heart and bowed her head for a moment before entering with her bag.

"What's going on? I thought you were going to protect her at a safe house."

"She has a mind of her own. She didn't want her friends to have to lie and say she was dead. So here we are. I'll help with some things, but you two can be the Amish; I doubt I could pull it off."

I saw a buggy coming up the road and recognized Michael, or rather, the bishop. He hopped down, and we hugged. "I don't know if I can get used to calling you bishop. Look at you! Why haven't you been working out? You promised me you would keep working out."

"Now I'm embarrassed. You look better than you did in college."

"That's because all the guys I hang around with work out and stay in shape. Since three men are here now, we'll need a woman to stay with Rebecca. Marcus may want to get back to his family."

"I'm good; I'll stick around for a bit longer; now that Rebecca is here, things will undoubtedly pick up."

"That's what worries me," I glanced at Michael. "I heard you have a son?" I said, looking at him.

"Yes, that's why I came back here. I learned I had a son after his mother died. Do you remember the girl with blonde hair I used to hang out with? She was a free spirit and smoked weed all the time. She never told me I had a son; her mother called me when she died."

"Wow, thank God she called you."

"Yes, they were going to give him up for adoption, but then she decided to call me. I picked Jonah up and came straight here. I wanted to be someone Jonah could be proud of, so I worked hard and became the bishop."

"Do I get to meet your son?"

"He's away right now but should be home this weekend. He thinks he's in love with Rebecca, but I know she isn't in love with him. She told him she wasn't. He's eighteen."

"That's why I sent him to visit his grandmother. He needs to meet other girls and get Rebecca off his mind."

I wasn't pleased to hear about someone being in love with Rebecca. "Rebecca is twenty; wouldn't he want someone closer to his age?" I asked.

"Nope, he's only ever wanted her. It started when he was seven. Some local kids wanted to scare the Amish kids, so they threw Jonah into the river, and he went under."

"Rebecca jumped into the river to save him. She grabbed Jonah's shirt and pulled them both to the side, where other kids helped them out. Then she walked over and punched each boy, telling them they should be ashamed of themselves.

"That was the first time she had ever been in water over her head. Rebecca didn't know how to swim but jumped into that roaring river and saved my son. From that day on, Jonah was her shadow."

"I have to say, I don't blame your son. Hearing that story, I could fall in love with her myself."

"Maverick, I hope you're kidding. Rebecca isn't like any woman you're used to being around," Michael warned. I didn't answer. Instead, I turned when Rebecca walked out to greet her bishop.

"Bishop, would you like to come inside for a cup of tea?"

"Rebecca, why are you back here?"

"Because all I could think of was that whoever killed my family would torture my friends to find out where I was. I didn't want anyone else to get hurt."

"At least Maverick is here with you. He won't let anyone hurt you," Michael said. I turned when I heard a dog bark. Rebecca turned as well.

Rebecca was on the ground crying as the dog licked her face. "Chewy is alive. I can't believe he's alive. Where has he been?"

Shane put his shirt on. "He was in the basement when we got here. They might have thrown something down there, and he went after it."

"But I tried to find him before I left. Maybe he was knocked out or something. I'm so happy you're here, Chewy. I love you."

She sniffed and turned toward me. "This is Chewy; he belonged to us kids, mostly my brothers. He loved them so much. I'm so happy he's alive," she whispered softly.

Her chin quivered, and I took two steps and wrapped her in my arms. I didn't care what the bishop thought.

"I'm happy he's alive, too, but what about Molly and Bub? Are you still taking one of their puppies?" I asked, knowing the German Shepherd would be a good watchdog.

"Yes, I can't wait to have one of those puppies. I'm taking a female because Rebel said they are better guard dogs. I'm so excited to get one."

"What are you doing?" I asked, noticing her apron.

"I'm canning peaches. There are a ton of them in the house." She looked at Shane and then at the baskets of peaches on the ground. "If it's okay, can we put those in the cellar? It's cool down there, and they last longer."

"Of course. We were about to get something to eat. Marcus made Chili Verde in the crock pot. Why don't we all get some? Bishop, you might as well stay; he made homemade tortillas, too."

"I would love to stay. Rebecca, since you‘re here, Kai Hamilton will stay here with you. She'll be here in the morning."

"I look forward to having her here with me."

"Kai Hamilton became Amish when she married Jarold. They had been married for eight years when Jarold had an accident plowing his field. She'll be bringing her two children over here with her."

"How did he have an accident plowing his field? I mean, what is there to do? The horse pulls the plow, and you push it. What happened?"

"We don't know if he blacked out. Herman, who owns the property next to the Hamilton's, found Jarold lying on one of the sharp blades; it was stuck in his chest, and he was dead."

"When did that happen?" I asked. We had already entered the house and set up a buffet line for the Chili Verde.

"About eight months ago. It's been hard for Kai to do everything on her own. This way, Daniel and his boys will keep her place up while she is here. Although I heard his parents are taking it from Kai because she wasn't born Amish, as they say," he shook his head.

"It's the only way she will accept help. The women here haven't been that kind to her. Her sons should have that property. But there are people in the community who treat her boys like they aren't true Amish also. The Covers treated her and the boys like they all were born here, as did Daniel's family. The others weren't as kind."

"I thought all Amish people were kind," I said, taking a bite of my food. I heard Rebecca chuckle. "What's so funny?"

"We are just like everyone else in certain things. Women can be catty wherever you go. Some of the women here think they are above everyone else. My mom used to set them straight when they made a nasty remark, to someone who didn't deserve it."

"Would they be nasty to you?"

"No, I've never given them a reason to be nasty to me, and if they ever treated me with disrespect, I would set them straight. I'm a woman who can fend for herself."

"I'm beginning to realize that," I said, watching her eat. I knew the food was spicy and saw her grab some water.

"Sorry, it's a little spicy," Marcus said.

"I love spicy food. Even if I have to drink a lot of water, I will still eat it. All of us liked Mexican food," she said, smiling at Marcus.

Damn, I was jealous of her smiling at Marcus.