Love's Abundant Harvest (11 page)

B
oom!

Lucy sat straight up.

Sam jumped out of bed. He grabbed his clothes from a chair, hopping on one foot,
stuffing his other leg into his pants.

Lucy held her belly and turned to the side of the bed, placing one foot down and
then the other. She felt like a snail, moving in slow motion. Heat filled the room,
and when Lucy went to the window and opened the shade, she gasped. Yellow, orange,
and red flames engulfed the seventy-six-foot silo.

“Move, woman! My farm's gonna blow!” Sam screamed and ran down the stairs.

The top of the silo shot into the air, hurling chunks of concrete across the road.
Smoke poured from the silo, rolling out of the structure like a white cloud.

Lucy lifted her arms to cover her face and pulled the curtain down. The back of the
haus
shook as if a boulder had smacked into its wooden frame, knocking out the mudroom
downstairs. Lucy moved as quickly as she could, holding her belly with each step.
Tears flooded her cheeks as the heat scorched her flesh.

“
Mamm
!”

No reply.

“
Mamm
!”

As she passed
Mamm
's room, she poked her head inside
but saw no one. Lucy hoped she
was already outside. It wasn't the smoke so much as the heat that made her eyes spring
with tears and pain crawl on her flesh as if she were in a living hell with no mercy
from the scathing heat.

What about my baby? How will he be affected by smoke filling my lungs?

Getting to the front door opposite the silo's location seemed to take forever. Her
bare feet hit the wood planks of the porch. She fell but got up, dismissing the pain
in her ankle. All she could do was run fast. She took in a breath and coughed on
the soot and bits of flying debris filling the air.

When she was in the middle of the yard, she stopped and turned to take in the scene
around her. All she could do was stand and watch as the silo burned. Relief washed
over her when she heard the wail of the fire truck in the distance. A few minutes
later the firefighters arrived and they leapt out and took to the hoses. There were
no hydrants, only the water in their vehicles. One fireman ran over to her and motioned
for the medic. “Is there anyone else in the house?”

Lucy shook her head but then nodded.

It didn't take long for word about the fire to get around the community. Soon buggies
and wagons and a couple of riders on horseback filled the road. A stream of Amish
came prepared to help with whatever they had. The men went as close to the fire as
they could, which wasn't close due to the heat. The women came toward Lucy with hands
full of food, drink, and, she hoped, something to cool her skin from the blistering
heat. She looked for Sam and
Mamm
but saw neither of them.

Lucy felt hands on her . . . water on her lips . . . salve on
her face and arms.
She looked at faces, but they were only a blur. Drops of water fell from her eyes.
She was weeping. Then she heard her own voice, crying out, asking about her baby.

Hushed tones and whispers calmed her. Frieda and Rosy loomed over her with wide,
pensive eyes. Nellie rubbed her back, and Lucy flinched as hot debris flew around
her. Lucy looked through the blur to see Rosy crying. Then, all went black.

Manny jumped out of bed at the sound of a knock at the door. He pulled on the clothes
closest to him and grabbed his boots. More pounding spurred his pace. When he opened
the door, Caleb had his hand on the doorknob, ready to burst in. Manny's eyes stung
from smoke.

“There's a fire.” Caleb started down the porch steps with Manny right behind him.

“What happened?” Manny jumped into Caleb's buggy and braced himself.

“Hi-ya!” Caleb's driving had Manny hanging on and his foot pressed against the foot
rest. “Silo exploded. Didn't you hear it?”

“
Jah
, but I didn't think it was something like this. Where?” Manny wrestled with
his shirt, trying to hold on and still brace himself so he wouldn't go rolling out
of the buggy. Manny looked at Caleb, wondering if he'd heard the question. “Whose
place?”

Caleb turned toward him. “Sam's.”

Manny's
gut
churned. “Is anyone hurt?”

“I don't know. I came and got you and haven't had a chance to find out anything more
than I told you.” By
the way he looked at Manny, it seemed Caleb knew he'd be more
upset than just any other neighbor, and it made Manny wonder if his concern for Lucy
showed more than he thought.

“Can't this nag go any faster?” Manny felt like jumping out and running. He could
blow off steam, and it would at least feel as if he was getting there faster.

“Should have thought to hitch up two horses, but I was in a hurry to come get you.”
Caleb glanced at him. “You're no good to her upset this way. Keep your head together.”

Manny paused in surprise. He didn't think he'd been around her enough with Caleb
there to observe his concern for her. He overlooked the comment and kept his eyes
on the inferno before them. “I just hope she's . . . they're all right.”

The closer they got, the hotter the air grew around them. The wind had picked up,
blowing smoldering debris around the area. Sparse groups of people walked past them,
going the opposite way. Manny leaned out the window. “Where are you going, Elam?”

“
Ach
, Manny. The firefighters are telling people to leave, sending us home. They
say we can help best tomorrow when things are under control.” Elam patted Manny's
arm. “You younger men might be of some help to them, but for most of us we'll be
doing what we can some other way.”

“Did you see Lucy?”

He shook his head. “
Nee
, but her
mamm
was looking for her.”

Manny nodded. “
Danke
.” They went a few feet forward but drew up when the heat became
too much for the horses. He jumped out of the buggy, with Caleb on his heels. They
both stopped short when Manny saw Lucy on
the porch. A medic held an oxygen mask
over her nose and mouth.

He moved forward, but Caleb stopped him, clasping him on the shoulder. “Take a breath,
friend. She needs to see your strength, not your concern.” Caleb let go and slapped
his back.

Manny took in a breath and nodded, coughing out the stinging air. When he got closer,
he saw Lucy's head fall to one side, eyes closed. She didn't move. He ran the last
few feet, hovering over her, waiting to see her chest rise. “Is she all right?” he
asked the paramedic, keeping his eyes on her.

“Are you family?” The young medic didn't look up, monitoring the oxygen intake.

Knowing he might not give him the information if he wasn't, Manny said the first
thing that popped into his head. “
Jah
.”

“Husband?” The medic stood then waved over to the ambulance.

Manny fingered his beard. He was lying and knew it, but Sam wasn't there, so someone
should be. “They're both okay?”

The paramedic stuck a pen in his shirt pocket and almost smiled. “She's exhausted,
but her vitals are good. She should be just fine.”

“And the babe is well?”

“I got a strong heartbeat.”

The
ding-ding
of an ambulance backing up ended the conversation as the medic motioned
for the driver to approach carefully so they could drive straight out. “Excuse me,
sir, we need to load up a couple of the injured.”

“What hospital?” Manny stepped forward, but the medic stopped him. “Pomerene Hospital.”

Manny raked his hand through his hair, knowing it would take much longer to get there
in his buggy. “My buggy can't keep up with you.”

“She doesn't have to go in, but I think she should get checked out. It's three others.”

He lifted his hand up flat to stop the vehicle.

Manny looked back over at Lucy surrounded by Frieda, Rosy, and Nellie along with
a handful of others, all fussing over her. Her eyes were open, but sleepy. “Thank
Gott
.”

He turned back to the medic. “Who are you taking in?” He didn't think he'd get an
answer, but it was worth a try.

The medic was called away by another paramedic. He nodded toward the news teams driving
down the road. “Someone around here might be able to tell you.” He turned and jogged
to the ambulance, and then hopped in as the siren blared.

He walked over to the ambulance where they had moved Lucy, selfishly wishing he could
be the one to comfort her, care for her, and take her home. He had no right to have
those feelings, so he tried to stuff them away—but he couldn't because when he had
those thoughts, he felt whole, if only for a moment.

He stopped, almost to the cot, and scanned the area. Sam was nowhere to be seen.
Knowing him, he helped the others who were cleaning up the heaps of rubble that his
farm had now become. He looked back at Lucy and the three older women who stood nearby.
She couldn't be in better hands, but he thought he'd try to horn in and at least
see her face.

When he got closer, she turned her head and gave him a tired smile. The ladies turned
around and called him over.

“What a sight for sore eyes . . . ” Frieda put her hands on her hips.

He moved closer and studied her. “How is she?” Her fair face had been wiped clean
and her reddish hair combed out and tucked behind her, something he hadn't seen since
before Glenda passed away.

“It's not me I'm worried about. It's
Mamm
and Sam.” Lucy's eyes closed again, and
he thought she might have passed out or just fallen asleep. He knelt down closer
to see her chest rise, and then her eyes fluttered.

Her color was ashen, and her hands shook. “You don't seem okay.” He was just as worried
about the baby.

“I'm just tired.”

“What did the medic say about the baby?”

“Said he's fine.”

Nellie chimed in. “She needs some sleep.”

“And water.” Rosy held a bottle up to Lucy's mouth and watched her drink.

“I'll go see what I can find out.” He patted her hand.

“
Danke
, Manny.” Her eyes lingered on his. He took two steps backward and then turned
to go find out what had happened.

The first police officer he saw was on his phone, but he stopped the next one he
came to. “Excuse me. I'm looking for a couple of people. Can you help me find them?”

“Sure. I'm Officer Jeff Streeter. What are their names?” He took down the information.
“You're family?”

“I told the friends and family I'd look into it.” He felt guilty skirting around
the question again. Something inside him told him he was supposed to take care of
this
family, at least until other family members could do the job.

“I'll ask around for you, but I can't promise anything. Unfortunately it's a matter
of priority.”

“
Jah
, I understand. The woman in the ambulance is who I'm asking for—Lucy Wagner.”
He glanced toward the ambulance. “You've probably explained this a number of times,
but what happened?”

“This one's the worst explosion I've seen.”

Manny had heard silos blowing before, but not to this extent. It could be that since
Sam's silo is the largest, it would be more of an issue with something like this
happening, but it seemed to be more than that to do this kind of damage. “What made
this one so bad?”

“There have been many cases of silos and the associated ducts and buildings exploding.
If the air inside becomes laden with fine granulated particles like grain or dust,
it can trigger an explosion.”

“I didn't know how powerful one of these could be, until tonight.” Manny watched
the firefighters' futile attempt to stop the fire.

“Oh, yeah, powerful enough to blow a concrete silo and adjacent buildings apart,
usually setting the buildings on fire like it did here.” Officer Streeter checked
his phone.

“How can some dust do this?” Manny bought as much time as he could, hoping he'd hear
something over the officer's radio from another officer.

“It's often triggered by sparks caused by metal rubbing against metal ducts or due
to static electricity produced by dust moving along the ducts when they're extra
dry.”

Manny couldn't stand it any longer. He took a deep breath. “Would you tell me if
there were any fatalities?”

“If you are family.” He nodded toward the vehicle. “I just got here, but I can try
and find out for you, if the lady there is able to vouch for you. It's all protocol.”

“I'd sure appreciate it.”

The officer stepped away and spoke quietly to another officer. Manny stood, taking
in the scene. He figured he would have heard by now if someone had died, but there
was something eating at him. It wasn't right that Sam was not around. Manny would
have been more worried about Lucy than his farm if he was in Sam's shoes. It also
bothered him that Lucy's
mamm
wasn't with her. It sounded like her
mamm
was a take-charge
kind of lady, but he was beginning to think she might not be able to be with Lucy.
Something might have happened, that he hadn't heard of; his suspicions were increasing.