A Mother's Secret (2 page)
W
hile this novel is set against the real backdrop of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, the characters are fictional. There is no intended resemblance between the characters in this book and any real members of the Amish and Mennonite communities. As with any work of fiction, I’ve taken license in some areas of research as a means of creating the necessary circumstances for my characters. My research was thorough; however, it would be impossible to be completely accurate in details and description, since each and every community differs. Therefore, any inaccuracies in the Amish and Mennonite lifestyles portrayed in this book are completely due to fictional license.
J
oshua Glick held the reins and guided his horse through the crowd at the auction. Both Amish and
English
spectators lined the path he followed while riding behind other horseback riders. If Joshua were prideful, he would be tempted to brag that Buck, the massive draft horse he rode, was the cream of the crop—not just from his horse farm, Glick’s Belgian and Dutch Harness Horses back home in Paradise, Pennsylvania, but at the auction as well.
Joshua hoped to sell at least five horses today, which would bring a nice profit.
Business had been booming ever since he bought out the other half of the farm from his former sister-in-law, Hannah, when she left the community last year. He was even beginning to suspect he needed to hire more helpers. The volume of business was becoming too much for him and his assistant, Daniel King, to handle alone.
He suppressed a smile as he thought of his farm. Joshua had promised himself he’d keep the business going as a way to provide a living for his brother’s widow and their three children. Then when Hannah remarried and she and two of her children
left, Joshua became the sole owner and it was no longer a source of income for Gideon’s family. But now, seven years after Gideon’s death, the business was becoming everything Gideon dreamed of when the brothers established it nearly a decade ago, and it was a way to keep Gideon’s dreams alive. It was Joshua’s connection to his only sibling, and he was going to do his best to make it the best farm it could be for Gideon. If only his brother were alive to see it now . . .
Above the noise of all the people, Joshua heard someone heckling the parade of horses. He scanned the crowd and spotted a group of three Amish boys standing with the crowd. They looked to be in their mid-teens.
“Look at that fat old mare,” one of the boys said in Pennsylvania Dutch while pointing to a horse in front of Joshua’s. “She couldn’t pull a buggy if her life depended on it!”
One of the other two boys laughed.
Joshua turned toward the horse in front of him and returned his thoughts to his business and hopes for sales that would make the trip to the auction cost-effective.
He was deep in thought when Buck suddenly reared, kicking his massive legs and sending Joshua’s stomach up to his throat as he swayed and nearly slipped off the horse. The surrounding crowd of spectators broke into a chorus of gasps and shouts. Joshua held on to the reins and climbed off the horse. He found Buck’s eyes wide with fear.
“It’s okay,” Joshua cooed, calming the horse by rubbing his neck. “It’s fine,
bu
. Calm down. Calm down,
bu
.”
Daniel ran over, appearing from behind Buck. “Is he all right?” At nineteen, Daniel was muscular from working on the farm and stood close to Joshua’s height of five-foot-eleven. “Oh
no! He’s bleeding! Look at that cut on his rump.” Daniel pulled a rag out of his pocket and placed it on the large gash. “I’ll try to stop the bleeding.”
Joshua examined the wound. “He’s going to need stitches. We’ll have to call the vet when we get home.” Joshua moved to Buck’s head and rubbed his neck again while studying the horse’s eyes. “He’s calming down.” He turned toward Daniel. “Did you see what happened?”
Daniel nodded toward the crowd. “I think one of those
kinner
threw a rock. He had
gut
aim because he hit Buck right in the rear.”
Irritation rose within Joshua as he looked toward where Daniel indicated he’d seen the children, probably the same boys Joshua had noticed. “Those
buwe
need to learn to respect the animals. Someone could’ve been hurt, and now I’m going to have a huge veterinarian bill to pay.” He gestured toward the horse. “I’m going to go talk to the
buwe
. You take care of Buck. Make sure you clean and cover the wound well. Like I said, we’ll have Cameron Wood treat him when we get home.”
“I’ll take care of it.” Daniel took the reins. “I’ll take him back to the barn and find the first aid kit.”
Joshua headed toward the boys, who were standing by a fenced-in area surrounding a herd of ponies. The boys looked over at Joshua, and their eyes widened before they took off running.
Joshua quickened his steps. As the boys rounded the corner of the pen, the shortest one stumbled and fell, landing on his knees and grimacing.
Joshua caught up with the boy and gritted his teeth while he stood over him. “Did you throw that rock,
bu
?”
The boy shook his head and pointed in the direction the other two boys had gone. “I didn’t do it. One of them did.”
Joshua studied the boy while wondering if he was lying. Was he guilty and only blaming it on one of the others to escape punishment? Glancing around, Joshua found that a crowd had gathered and eyed Joshua and the boy with curiosity.
“Stand up. We’re going to go have a talk.” After the boy stood, Joshua took his arm and pulled him along.
“But I didn’t do it!” the boy protested as Joshua steered him toward a large barn. “It was Robert! He and David ran off. Go find
them
!”
The smell of hay and animals permeated Joshua’s senses as they entered the structure. He moved to the middle of the barn and stopped, facing the boy. Annoyance nipped at him. “So then why did you try to run away? That makes you look guilty.”
“I didn’t . . . I don’t . . .” The boy looked around as if searching for something or someone. Was he searching for an excuse?
“What’s your name?” Joshua crossed his arms over his chest.
“Benjamin Lapp.” The boy’s voice was small and unsure, matching his slight frame.
“Where’s your family?”
Benjamin looked behind him, where a group of inquisitive Amish folks were gathering and watching them from the open barn door. “I don’t know. They were somewhere around here.”
“Do you realize how dangerous it was to throw that rock at my horse?” Joshua gestured with emphasis as agitation surged through him. “Your rock cut him when it hit him. Now he needs stitches. Do you have any idea how much that’s going to cost me? Not only that, but he could have been injured much worse, especially since he reared up like that. Or he could have landed on
someone. Someone could’ve been seriously hurt, and it would’ve been your fault. Do you understand?”
“I told you, I didn’t—”
“
Ya ya
, you say you weren’t the one who threw the rock, but you certainly took off running when you saw me.” He studied the boy’s young face. “How old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
“Fifteen?” Joshua shook his head. “You look about twelve. If you’re truly fifteen, then you should know better,
bu
. Do you live on a farm?”
Benjamin nodded. “A dairy farm.” His voice seemed to lack strength, similar to his physical appearance.
“Then you definitely should know better than to scare a horse. You know how powerful those animals are. They could easily break a person’s foot if they stepped on it. I knew a man whose cousin was killed when he was kicked in the head by a horse. He was knocked down, he hit his head again, and he died the next day. They can be gentle animals, but when they’re startled, they can also become lethal.”
Benjamin hung his head. “Yes.”
“You really could’ve hurt someone.” Joshua was on a roll and couldn’t stop himself from lecturing the young man. “If I hadn’t calmed down my horse, it could’ve been much worse. I could’ve been dragged if I’d fallen off and he’d started running. That wouldn’t have been good for the crowd to see. I’m here to sell my horses, not entertain the crowd. This isn’t the circus, you know. And now I have a vet bill to pay.”
A woman made her way through the crowd at the door and came into the barn, glancing back and forth between Joshua and Benjamin. She looked to be in her early thirties and stood
several inches shorter than Joshua. She had the same blonde hair and deep brown eyes as Benjamin.
“
Was iss letz?
” Her voice was all business.
Joshua pointed toward Benjamin. “This boy threw a rock at my horse and hit it on the rump and cut him badly. The horse is going to need stitches, and I’m stuck with a vet bill that I didn’t need right now. He reared and kicked, but thankfully no one was hurt.”
The young woman looked surprised as she turned to the boy. “Did you do that, Benjamin?”
“No.” The boy threw his hands up in exasperation. “Robert did it, but he doesn’t believe me. It’s just like always. Robert and David make trouble, and I take the blame for it. No one ever believes me.”
“I believe you.” She studied him. “Ben doesn’t normally lie,” she said without looking at Joshua.
“I’m not lying.” Benjamin’s eyes seemed to plead with the woman.
“He says he’s not lying, but he and the other
buwe
ran away when they saw me walking toward them. They all looked awfully guilty too.” Joshua pointed toward the boy as she turned her attention back to Joshua. “He needs to learn respect for horses. I could’ve been hurt or killed when my horse kicked. Or worse, Buck could’ve hurt someone in the crowd. We parade the horses through the crowd to show the people how gentle the horses are. Throwing a rock at a horse doesn’t exactly convey that message. Instead of showing what a gentle horse Buck is, I scared the crowd.”
The blonde looked unconvinced as a frown pinched at the corners of her lips. “Well, if Ben says he didn’t throw the rock,
then he didn’t throw it. I believe him. I think you should give him the benefit of the doubt. You didn’t see it happen, did you?”
Joshua grimaced, surprised by how outspoken the young Amish woman was. He’d never known an Amish woman to be quite so confident, especially in front of a stranger. “No, I didn’t actually see him throw the rock, but I know what I saw after the incident. He looked guilty. Besides, the
bu
was standing there before the rock was thrown.”
“What’s all the commotion over here?” An older man with thinning gray hair, a long, gray beard, and a potbelly came in.
“This man says Benjamin threw a rock at his horse. Now the horse needs stitches.” The blonde gestured between the boy and Joshua. “Ben says Robert did it, and then Robert and David left him to take the blame.”
“Joshua,” Joshua said.
“What?” The woman looked at him.
“Joshua,” he repeated. “My name is Joshua Glick.”
“Joshua.” The older man held out his hand. “I’m Titus Lapp.” He gestured toward the blonde. “This is
mei dochder
, Carolyn.”
Carolyn nodded at him.
“Where are you from?” Titus asked Joshua.