door closed. “Okay.” Her dismissal had been unmistakable. “Please turn on a light once you get inside. I’m not leaving until you do.”
Without saying another word, Rebecca climbed out of the car. In the growing darkness, he watched her move toward the farmhouse, her full skirt swinging around her legs. He had spent three years studying the Amish youth, but he had never had a conversation like he’d experienced tonight.
Rebecca’s dark hair and dark eyes would stay in his memory long after her clean scent left the cab of his dirty old pickup truck. Completely against his nature, he waited in his truck drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, while Rebecca let herself in.
He watched as she disappeared into the house and he waited.
And waited.
As time stretched, his pulse thudded in his ears. No light.
“Come on, Rebecca.”
He angled his head and leaned closer to the windshield, as if that would make the light appear sooner. He glanced at the digital clock on the dash. Three minutes had passed.
Shaking his head, he pushed open the car door.
Something was wrong.
* * *
Rebecca unlocked the front door and stepped inside. She locked the door and placed the keys on the small shelf next to the door. The scent from last night’s fire in the woodstove still hung in the air. Growing up, the smell always had made her feel warm and cozy, the sign of an inviting home in the cold of winter. That had been a long time ago. Too much in her life had changed since the tranquil days of her childhood.
Back sore, she set her tote bag and umbrella down on the bench inside the door.
When she had met Professor Burke she hadn’t expected such a warm gentleman. Some of the Amish elders, although polite, had complained about the so-called professor meeting with their youth and filling their heads with worldly ideas.
However, Rebecca wasn’t sure. She thought the professor was truly interested in studying their way of life, not inserting himself into it. However, she couldn’t hide her disappointment that he couldn’t give her any new information about her son. She had hoped to find a way to reach Samuel because she had failed at all her attempts and Samuel only seemed to be growing more distant with time.
She took off her coat and hung it on a hook. Maybe it was the nature of being a young man on the cusp of making a pivotal decision in his life.
Oh, she wouldn’t be able to bear it if he left Apple Creek. She feared for his soul if he did.
A rattling sounded at the back of the house. Maybe it was Samuel. What if it wasn’t? A quiet yelp sounded in her throat and she almost called out to him when something made her pause.
Holding her breath, she walked through her home toward the kitchen. The floorboards creaked under her deliberate steps. The back door yawned open and a stiff wind sent it crashing against the wall.
A dark shadow bolted across the yard. Tingles of panic bit at her fingertips.
Someone had been in her house.
Rebecca slammed the back door shut and turned the key in the lock. How had they gotten in?
Her raspy breaths sounded in her ears. A pounding at the front door startled her. She spun around and stared, uncertain what to do. She was out here. Alone.
Slowly, she walked to the front door. Her mouth grew dry and a weight bore down on her chest, making it difficult to breathe. She reached the front door and flattened her hands on the cool wood.
“Who is it?” The words came out as a croak.
“It’s Jake. Are you okay?”
Relief washed over her. With a shaky hand, Rebecca grabbed the keys and opened the door. All her limbs went numb. Her lips couldn’t form any words.
“I got worried when you didn’t turn on a light.” The professor’s gaze swept across the sparsely furnished room cloaked in heavy shadows. Rebecca wondered if he saw something she hadn’t. Rockers sat in the middle of the room. A table with her knitting sat between the chairs. The familiar setting seemed foreign now.
An intruder had been in her home.
Rebecca crossed the room and turned the switch on the kerosene lamp, casting the room in a warm yellow glow. She couldn’t stop shaking. “Someone was in my house. They ran out the back door when I came in.”
The professor stepped back, the surprise evident on his face. “Are you sure they’re gone?”
Rebecca’s eyes drifted to the back of her house. “I s-s-saw s-s-someone running across the yard.” She clamped her jaw to get it to stop shaking.
“I need to check the house. Make sure no one else is here.”
Her stomach dropped to her boots. Why hadn’t she thought of that? She grabbed the arm of the rocker and lowered herself into it, suddenly feeling sick.
“Stay close to me while I check the house.” The professor held out his hand and she studied it a minute before rising to her feet and taking it. A knot of emotions trapped her words. “Do you have a flashlight?”
Nodding, she dropped his hand and led him to the kitchen. She grabbed the cool handle of the solid flashlight sitting on the counter and handed it to him.
Its beam made everything not in its path seem even darker. The professor must have sensed her discomfort. “I’ll make sure you’re safe.”
A nervous giggle escaped her lips. “Yeah, the professor protecting an Amish woman.”
The professor moved toward the basement door. “Don’t underestimate me. Before I went back to college for my PhD, I was an army ranger.”
“I suppose that makes you tough?” She had heard of the army, of course, but she didn’t know what a ranger was. The Amish were conscientious objectors and didn’t believe in fighting in wars.
The professor opened the basement door and cast the beam of light down the stairs. “Tougher than most.” He gently squeezed her hand. “Stay right here. I’m going to check the basement.”
After a few long, tense-filled minutes, he emerged from the basement. “No one’s down there. Let’s check upstairs.”
She nodded, nerves getting the best of her.
As she skulked behind the professor, afraid to walk through her own home, she could already hear the church elders tsk-tsking over a man who wasn’t her husband going upstairs. Surely they’d understand. If they ever found out. Right now, the elders weren’t her biggest concern. Someone hiding under her bed or lurking in a dark corner was.
Fear knotted her stomach. She’d never be able to sleep tonight.
The professor pointed his chin toward the door at the top of the stairs. “Is this your bedroom?”
She nodded and emitted an indecipherable sound that she hoped he took as yes.
