Her Brother's Keeper (30 page)

He brushed away a strand of hair that was across her face. “Good to see you smiling.” Then he shook his head. “I'd forgotten how beautiful you are.”

Charlotte could feel herself blushing. “I don't even have any makeup on, so I'm doubting that comment.”

“I told you over dinner the other night, you don't need any.” He eased away. “Let's get your stuff and get you home.”

“I'm ready.”

Charlotte grabbed her chest, and for a few seconds, she couldn't breathe. She ripped into her carry-on bag, then dumped her purse right there on the floor. “No, no, no!”

Ryan squatted down beside her. “What is it? What's wrong?”

“I must have left Ethan's book, his journal, on the plane.”

Eighteen

H
annah knocked on Edna's door, the picture in the pocket of her apron.

“Wie bischt
, Hannah? What a nice surprise.” Edna pushed the screen door open and stepped aside. “I just finished making a batch of
yummasetti
.”

Hannah regretted that she hadn't made
yummasetti
for Mary, or Charlotte, since it was a traditional Pennsylvania
Deitsch
casserole. She doubted that they had that in Texas. Hannah wondered if she would ever stop thinking about the cousin she'd thought she had, and whom she'd grown to love like a sister.

But right now, she had other business to take care of. Edna lived in a small house on the back of her parents' property. Most likely, it would become the
daadi haus
someday, where her parents would live when she and John got married. Assuming they still got married after
Hannah showed her the picture. Would Edna feel like she had to confess to her fiancé?

“I need an explanation for this,” Hannah said tearfully as she handed Edna the photo.

Edna stared at the picture for a while before she looked back at Hannah. “Where did you get this?”

Hannah was barely over the threshold, but when Edna moved to the couch and sat down, Hannah took a few steps into the living room, but stayed standing. “Were you and Ethan . . .” She swallowed back the lump in her throat. “Were you and Ethan . . . involved?”

Edna jumped off the couch, her eyes round, mouth open. “Hannah! Of course not. Is that what you think?”

Hannah felt relief wash over her, but she still needed an explanation. “But the note on the back . . .”

Edna turned the photo over, then smiled. “
Ach
, I can see why you might have thought that, but dear Hannah . . .” Edna stood up and walked to her. “Do you really think I would do that?”

Hannah raised her shoulders, then dropped them slowly.

“I wondered what happened to this photo after Ethan died. If I tell you something, please don't tell anyone.”

Hannah wasn't sure she could promise that, so she didn't say anything.

“I know pictures are forbidden, but do you remember when John was leaving for Ohio? He was gone almost two months to help his cousins rebuild their house after a fire.”

Hannah nodded.

“I wanted him to have a picture of me to take with him. Do you remember the day at worship service when Ethan said he used to be very
gut
on a computer?”

“Nee
, not really.”

“You were standing there when we talked about it. Later, I went to his house and asked if he would take a picture of me. I had planned to just put it in a small frame to give to John. But Ethan said he could crop the photo to just my face since my hand was in the air. He asked if I wanted him to print a saying across the front, and I said yes. I wrote that on the back of the photo. But Ethan died before he was able to do it, and I never knew where the picture was. Where did you find it?”

Hannah sighed. “It was in his house.” She hoped she wasn't telling a lie since she could only presume that's where Charlotte had found the photo. Hannah didn't feel like going into a long explanation about Charlotte. The community would find out eventually, but not today.

Edna smiled. “I asked him not to tell anyone.” She looked back at Hannah as her smile faded. “I am so sorry for what you must have thought.”

Hannah sat down on the couch and rubbed her forehead, then she tearfully looked at Edna. “Someone told me that they saw you and Ethan holding hands. Is that true?”

“Ach
, Hannah. If someone saw Ethan and me being affectionate, it was just a genuine thank-you for his help, nothing more.”

“I thought maybe there had been a romance between the two of you, that maybe Ethan felt guilty and that's why he killed himself.” She felt relieved, but still left wondering why an affair with Edna would lead Ethan to take his life.

Edna sat down beside her. “
Nee
, Hannah. I would never have done that. Never.”

“I'm sorry for thinking that.”

Edna shook her head. “Don't apologize
.
I would have thought the same thing. But you do believe me,
ya
?”

Hannah's stomach was still tied in knots, but she wanted to believe Edna, so she nodded. Edna got them each a cup of coffee and a slice of pecan pie, and they chatted about things that had nothing to do with the photo or Ethan. Mostly, Edna talked about her wedding in November. But Hannah's mind kept drifting and her stomach churning. Something wasn't right, and she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. After a while, she told Edna that she needed to go. She was walking down the porch steps toward her buggy when Edna called out, then hurried to catch up with her.

“Ya?”
Hannah turned to face her.

“Um . . . can I please have the picture?” She held out her hand, smiling. “You know, for John and all. Maybe I can get someone else to crop it for the frame.”

Hannah reached into her pocket as her stomach began to act up again. She handed the photo to Edna, then turned and left without saying anything else.

When she got home, Jacob was in the rocking chair on the porch. She tethered her horse and crossed the yard. “Can you maybe get the horse and buggy put up for me? I'll do one of your chores. I'm just so tired.” She walked toward the front door, turning around when he didn't answer. “Please.”

Jacob took off his hat, ran a hand through his hair, and nodded. “
Ya
, I'll take care of it.”

Hannah started walking again, but slowed her step and turned around. “Are you okay?”

Jacob didn't answer right away. Finally, he said, “I guess.”

Hannah went back and sat in the other rocking chair. She should have thought about how much Charlotte's betrayal would have affected Jacob too. They'd seemed to get along well. “What's wrong, Jacob?”

Since Jacob had hit his teenage years, he and Hannah had drifted apart a little. She knew it was his time to experience the
Englisch
world, and that he was growing and maturing, but she could still tell when something was bothering him.

Her brother shrugged. “I don't know. It's just . . . I thought I overheard Mary talking on the phone and saying something about lies and maybe not being Amish. But I wasn't sure, and I guess I should have said something.”

“When?”

“Not that long ago. I just didn't want to believe that she might be lying to us, so I didn't really try to find out
anything. But I could tell that she thought I overheard something. Now I know I should have spoken up.” He sighed before he went on. “It's just, you seemed to get along so
gut
with her. And for the first time in a long time, you looked happy.”

“The outcome would have been the same, Jacob. And she probably would have lied to you anyway and said you misunderstood what you'd heard. She obviously had no plans to tell us who she really was, and I can't help but wonder how long she would have kept going with the lie.”

“Must run in the family.”

Hannah scowled. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Jacob shrugged again. “Never mind. It doesn't matter anyway.”

Hannah wanted to let this go. She was exhausted, but she didn't need one more thing to worry over. “Are you calling Ethan a liar?”

“Nee
. I said never mind. Maybe now that Mary—I mean Charlotte—is gone, you can date Isaac. He's always liked you. Everyone can see that. I never did understand why he was taking Mary Charlotte on picnics.” He paused, sighing again. “At least Isaac is a
gut
man.”

“Quit doing that, Jacob! If you have something to say about Ethan, just say it.”

Jacob was quiet.

“Does it have anything to do with Edna Glick?” Maybe Edna had lied after all, and Jacob knew something Hannah didn't.

Jacob scowled. “Huh? Why would you ask about Edna?”

Hannah told her brother about the picture she'd found and about Edna's response.

“Ach
, well . . . I doubt she would have told you the truth if they
were
seeing each other.”

“If you know something, you must tell me. Why are you talking like Ethan wasn't a
gut
man?” Hannah wasn't sure she could handle one more thing, but it was too late to turn back. “Tell me, Jacob.”

“I don't know anything.” Jacob bolted from the chair and went inside.

Hannah wished she had someone to talk to about Edna, about Jacob . . . She missed her cousin, her friend.

She rushed into the house and followed Jacob to the top of the stairs. “You have to tell me if you know something,” she said in a whisper, not wanting either of her parents to hear.

“It doesn't really matter.”

Hannah stomped a foot. “It does to me.”

Jacob put his hands on his hips and stared at the floor, then looked up at her. “I heard him on his cell phone one time, whispering. And I heard him tell someone
I love you, baby
.”

Hannah folded her arms across her chest, then grinned. “For your information, Jacob, Ethan used to call me
baby
quite often. Remember, he used to be
Englisch
and that's a common term of endearment.”

Jacob took off his straw hat and rubbed his forehead. “
Ya
, well, at the time he said it, you were standing across the room talking to
Daed
. And you weren't on any phone at the time.”

“Ethan loved me!” She didn't care who heard her as another knot formed in her throat. Edna was her friend. She'd known her for her entire life, and she believed her. Isaac misread what he'd seen. And Ethan could have been talking to anyone. “You just never liked him, Jacob!”

Hannah was desperate for something to hold on to. She wasn't sure how she'd survive if Ethan hadn't loved her. She was confused about who to trust. And the irony was, she wished that Charlotte was here, the person who had lied to Hannah the most, yet ultimately was the only one she trusted to tell her the truth about Ethan.

She would pray that Charlotte found answers in the book Hannah gave her.

Ryan stayed with Charlotte's luggage as she walked with a security guard back to the arrival gate. They wouldn't let her back on the plane, but the flight attendant said she would go look for the book.

“I was in seat 26-A. It's a small brown leather book. It's very important to me. Thank you so much.”

“Be back shortly,” the flight attendant said as she disappeared behind the closed door of the tarmac.

“I cannot believe I've lost that book.”

The young security guard said, “You'd be surprised at all the things people leave on a plane. LeAnn will find it. It's probably under the seat.”

“I hope so.”

The flight attendant—LeAnn—returned about ten minutes later. “I'm sorry. I can't find anything. I looked under the seats, in the pocket on the back of the seat, but there wasn't anything there.”

Charlotte blinked back tears and shook her head.

“There's a form you can fill out for lost and found with a place for the description of the item and your address and phone number in case someone turns it in.”