5. Rebecca

5

Rebecca

I couldn't believe it was one in the morning, and Maverick stood beside me, helping me with canning peaches. I paused and looked at him. "Maverick, you know you don't have to help me. I've been canning peaches since I was five years old," I said, looking up at him.

"I know that. I want to help. You haven't stopped working since we got here; I saw how many peaches are in the cellar. Do you always work this hard? Don't you ever take a break? I don't like seeing you overwork yourself. From the moment I met you, all you've done is work. If you run out of work at one house, you go to another."

"I've always been like this. My mother was the same way, and so was Mary."

"Why don't you go to sleep, and I'll clean this up?"

"It's hard to go up to bed. I shared my room with Mary; her bed was empty, but her things were still there. Knowing Mary is gone forever is so hard, and tomorrow, I need to visit Mark. Everything is still in my family's rooms, and I don't know what to do."

I turned her to face me. "I'm here with you; I'll help you in any way I can. We can go through everything together, and what you don't want, you can either give to a family in need or keep in boxes until you're ready to decide."

"Will you sleep in Mary's bed tonight? I won't tell anyone. I just don't want to be in there alone."

"Yes, I will, but I need a shower first."

"The bathroom is down that hallway. There's hot and cold water, but not a lot of hot. My Dat was planning to install a bigger hot water heater but never got the chance. Some families don't believe in indoor plumbing."

"Have they caused trouble because your family having indoor plumbing?"

"They tried, but my father was considered an elder even though he was young."

"How old was your father?"

"He was forty-two, and my mother was forty-one. They had a long life ahead of them. There, I think it's all clean. I'll get you a towel." I grabbed him a towel, got myself one, and walked outside. I headed to the river, the same spot Mary and I swam every night in the summer.

I stripped off my dress and dove in. It was heavenly. I hurriedly washed my hair and body, then lay on my back for a while, floating. The river felt different. As I floated, I realized there was a dam somewhere up the river, and it would flood our fields.

I got out, grabbed my towel, and ran down the river to see what was happening. The moon was high for me to see. I slipped my dress over my wet body, pulling it down where it stuck.

I looked for Rebecca and was surprised to see her bathing in the river. It must have been cold even in summer. I couldn't take my eyes off her as she got out, dried off quickly, and slipped her dress over her head.

"Damn," I muttered, feeling a surge of desire. Then she ran along the river, looking for something. I ran after her, wondering what she was searching for.

"What are you doing?" I asked. She jumped two feet. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She kept running. "Someone has blocked the river. Maybe beavers, but I have a feeling it's men who did this."

"Stop. This might be a trap. We'll get Shane and Marcus and be better prepared. Plus, the truck can pull the logs away from the dam if it's beavers." We ran back to the house. I woke up Shane and Marcus and put on my boots.

When we got there, Rebecca was already in the yard. She didn't have her kapp on, and her hair hung down her back past her waist. She jumped into the truck's back seat, and we drove along the river.

"What are we looking for?" Marcus asked.

"The river is dammed up and will flood the fields, ruining our entire crop," Rebecca explained.

"Do you think it's beavers?" he asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"This has happened twice before. Both times, we caught it because I bathe in the river and know how the water feels."

"Rebecca, I don't want you to get out of the vehicle when we stop. I don't want anyone to see you. Get down in case they're watching. How much further is it?"

"We're here. You can tell it's a man-made dam. I wonder if my father thought it was man-made. They killed my family. I want to hurt them. Do you think God will strike me for saying that?"

"No," Marcus said. "He wants them struck down."

"Get down, Rebecca. I'm going to open the door." We got out, and seeing the footprints, it was clear it was men who did this. Ten men walked out from behind the trees.

"Well, look who we have here. Three against ten. Oh, I forgot you men are chickens and don't fight," one man laughed.

When they stepped closer, we let them have it. All ten were knocked out cold. Then we walked to the edge of the river.

"How are we going to take the plug out of this dam before it floods the fields?" Marcus asked.

That's when I spotted Rebecca in the water. She dove under and came back up with a log in her hand. "Rebecca, get out of there before the water sweeps you away!" I shouted.

She pulled herself out just as the logs rushed by, carried by the dammed-up water. I went to shake her but stopped when I saw her crying as she wrung out her dress.

"I'm sorry for shouting at you," I said.

"I didn't even hear you shout," she replied.

"Then why are you crying?"

"Because my father came here alone last time, I wonder if these men hurt him, and he didn't tell us. My poor father had to deal with all of this alone. Do you think he told my Mamm anything?"

"Probably not. Was it normal for your dad to share things with your mom?"

"I don't know. What are you going to do with these men?"

"I'm taking them to the Sheriff," Shane said. "We'll drop you two off first."

We tied the men up with Shane's zip ties in his truck and threw them in the back. I rode in the back seat with Rebecca. She kept wiping her eyes, clearly sad thinking about her father having to deal with these people alone.

"Would your father have told any of the other Amish men?"

"I would think so. They would meet weekly to discuss things, but my father would have called for a meeting if there were an emergency. I'm sure he never thought these people would murder for a piece of property."

"People will murder for anything and sometimes for nothing. But I've seen greedy developers murder for land. The more I hear about this, the more I think that's what happened," I said.

"I agree," Shane said.

"I also agree," Marcus added. "I've seen this happen before. We walked around, and I wondered if they wanted this property; it was beautiful. Talk to the Sheriff when we get to town."

"I'll call for a meeting with the elders tomorrow," Maverick said.

"They might not talk to you because you're an outsider."

"I don't care what I am. They will talk to me. I want to know if they knew something before your family was murdered."

"That won't bring them back."

"You could have been murdered. You just missed the killers. I bet you anything these men we have here are the ones who murdered your family."

"Why are you so angry? The Sheriff won't keep these men. The new Mayor doesn't like us because we grow and raise all our own food, make our own clothes, and use horses and buggies."

"We don't spend much money in town. We raise chickens, cows, and pigs. We do love Betsy's bakery, though. Betsy was my mamm's best friend. I'll have to visit her and my friends soon so they won't worry about me."

We got out, and Rebecca ran into the house to change out of her wet clothes.

"We should throw them in the river," Shane said.

"If we have more trouble with them, we'll throw them in the city's sewer. I won't allow these people to hurt Rebecca," I said before turning and walking into the house.