âIt seems youâve come to my rescue once again.â
He held out his hand to seal the deal and gave her a crooked grin. It deepened the lines that bracketed his mouth, lending him a boyish charm.
With only a brief hesitation, she accepted his hand. Her pulse skipped a beat, then pounded erratically as her small hand was swallowed by his large warm one. It wasnât softâit was calloused and rough like the hand of a man who worked outdoors for a living. A blush heated her cheeks, but she couldnât take her eyes off him.
She remembered him so clearly. The shape of his brow and the stone-gray color of his eyes, even the way the stubble of his beard had felt beneath her fingers. She remembered, too, the husky sound of his voice when he told her she was beautiful.
Something light and sweet slipped through her veins. An echo of a time when sheâd been a giddy teenager smitten with a local boy. A time before sheâd had to become a surrogate mother to her younger siblings and put her girlhood dreams away.
âOur school program will be so much fun. Weâre going to do a play and sing songs. I have a poem to recite all by myself. I canât wait for Christmas.â Eight-year-old Anna Imhoff leaned out the side of their Amish buggy to let the breeze twirl a ribbon she held in her hand.
Karen Imhoff listened to her little sisterâs excited prattle with only half an ear. Christmas was still eight weeks away. There were more pressing problems on Karenâs plate, like buying shoes for three growing children, her fatherâs mounting medical bills and finding a job until he was fully recovered.
Anna sat back and grabbed Karenâs sleeve. âLook, thereâs a dead man.â
Before Karen could respond to Annaâs startling comment, the horse pulling the buggy shied violently, then bolted. Caught off guard, Karen was thrown back against the leather seat as the mare lunged forward. Anna screamed at the top of her lungs. Her brothers in the backseat began yelling. The horse plunged ahead even faster.
Regaining her balance, Karen grasped the loose reins. She braced her feet against the floorboards and pulled back hard. âWhoa, Molly, whoa!â
Molly paid no heed. The buggy bounced and swayed violently as the mare charged down the farm lane. Mud thrown up by her hooves splattered Karenâs dress and face. Gritty dirt mixed with the acid tang of fear in her mouth.
Anna, still screaming, threw her arms around Karenâs waist, further hampering her efforts to gain control. The horse had to be stopped before they reached the highway at the end of the lane or upended in the ditch.
Muscles burning, Karen fought Mollyâs headlong plunge. A quarter of a mile flew past before Molly gave in. The horse slowed and came to a stop a few feet shy of the highway just as a red pickup zipped past. The brown mare tossed her head once more but didnât seem inclined to run again. Karen sent up a heartfelt prayer of thanks for their deliverance then took stock of her passengers.
Anna, with her face buried in the fabric of her sisterâs dress, maintained her tight grip. âI donât like to go fast. Donât do that again.â
Karen comforted her with a quick hug and loosened the childâs arms. âI wonât. I promise.â
Turning to check on her brothers, Karen asked, âJacob? Noah? Are you all right?â
Fourteen-year-old Jacob retrieved his broad-brimmed black hat from the floor, dusted it off and jammed it on his thick, wheat-colored hair. âIâm fine. I didnât know Molly could move like that.â
Ten-year-old Noah sat slumped down beside his brother. He held his hat onto his head in a tight grip with both hands. The folded brim made it look like a bonnet over his red curls. He said, âThat was not fun.â
âI thought it was,â Jacob countered. âWhat spooked her?â
âIâm not sure.â Karenâs erratic heartbeat gradually slowed to a normal pace.
Brushing at the mud on her dress, Anna said, âMaybe Molly was scared of the dead man.â