Read The PIECES of SUMMER Online

Authors: WANDA E. BRUNSTETTER

The PIECES of SUMMER (2 page)

“I appreciate the offer, but I can put them in the ground myself,” she said, bringing
her gaze back to Jonah.

Jonah’s smile disappeared. “Okay, if that’s what you’d prefer.” He leaned on the porch
railing, as though needing it for support. “Umm…Is there something else you’d like
me to do?”

She shook her head. “I can’t think of anything right now, but I do appreciate your
willingness to help.”

Fritz leaped back onto the porch and pawed at Jonah’s pant leg. Jonah’s smile returned
as he bent to pet the dog. “You sure like attention, don’t ya, boy? Sorry I forgot
to bring you a treat, but I’ll remember the next time I come over.”

Fritz responded with a wag of his tail.

“My folks’ dog, Herbie, is the same way,” Jonah said, looking at Meredith. “He just
can’t seem to get enough attention.”

“I guess most pets are like that.”

Just then, Alma, carrying a wicker basket full of laundry, came around the side of
house where the outside basement entrance was.

“Here, let me help you with that,” Jonah said, extending his hands.

Alma smiled appreciatively. “Danki, Jonah, that’s real nice of you. Would you mind
carrying it over to the clothesline for me?”

“Not at all.” Jonah took the basket and headed across the yard.

Alma turned to Meredith and smiled. “Jonah is one of the nicest young men I’ve ever
met.”

“That’s what Laurie says, too,” Meredith said. “To tell you the truth, I think she
might have a crush on Jonah.”

Alma’s eyes widened. “You really think so?”

“Jah
. Haven’t you seen the way she acts when he’s around—all smiles and full of so many
questions?”

“I hadn’t really noticed.” Alma rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “But I have seen the
way Jonah lights up whenever he looks at you.”

Meredith’s face heated again, and she knew without question that her cheeks must be
bright pink. If Jonah was interested in her, she wasn’t sure what to do about it.
Luke had only been gone a few months, and it was too soon for her to even be thinking
about a relationship with another man. Surely Jonah must realize that, too. Maybe
he had no desire to be anything more to her than a good friend. Maybe Alma was just
imagining things.

And what about Laurie?
Meredith thought.
If she is interested in Jonah, which I’m quite sure she is
,
she’d be hurt if she thought Jonah was after me
.

“Please don’t say anything to anyone about your suspicions,” Meredith said to Alma.

Alma squeezed Meredith’s arm gently. “I won’t say a thing. But mark my words: eventually
that man’s gonna ask you to marry him.”

Philadelphia

Where am I?
the man wondered as he opened his eyes. He was conscious of voices, but none of them
sounded familiar. Were they discussing him? If so, why? Was he sick or injured? There
must be something terribly wrong, because it hurt when he breathed, and he couldn’t
talk.

He tried to raise his head, but he couldn’t do that, either. Why did he feel so strange?

“It’s okay, Eddie. Just lie still and relax.” A young woman with dark hair and dark
eyes stood a short distance away, smiling down at him.

Why did she call me, Eddie? Where am I?
he silently screamed, but he couldn’t form the words.

“You’re in the hospital,” the woman said, as though sensing what he wanted to know.

How many days have I been here? How bad am I hurt? Was I in an accident or something?
So many questions swam around in his brain it made his head hurt even more trying
to think things through. All he wanted to do was sleep and escape the pain.

“It’s okay,” the woman said, placing her hand on his arm. “You’ve been through a lot.
What you need more than anything is lots of rest. When your throat heals sufficiently
and you can talk, we hope you’ll be able to tell us who you are and what happened
to you.”

I’ve been through a lot? What does she mean? I wish I knew what happened to me
, the man thought as he closed his eyes and succumbed to sleep.

Bird-in-Hand

That evening as Meredith lay sleeping, she was awakened by a strange noise. Fritz
must have heard it, too, for he began to growl.

Thinking maybe Alma had gotten out of bed and bumped into something in the guest room,
Meredith grabbed the flashlight on her nightstand and got up. After slipping into
her robe, she tiptoed across the hall to Alma’s room.

The elderly woman lay curled on her side, snoring softly. Meredith noticed that Alma’s
hearing aids were lying on the dresser, which explained why the strange noise hadn’t
awakened her.

With Fritz still growling and walking at her side, Meredith stepped back into the
hall and listened. There it was again—a noisy clatter. Slowly, Meredith made her way
down the stairs, with Fritz plodding right beside her, ears perked and head cocked,
as though ready for action.

When Meredith’s feet touched the bottom step, she heard the noise again—this time
much louder. She was sure it was coming from the basement.

A sense of panic welled in her chest. There was definitely someone down there. What
if whoever had been breaking into people’s houses had somehow gotten into her cellar?
But how could that be?
she reasoned.
I was careful to keep all the doors locked today
.

Then a thought popped into Meredith’s head. When Alma had done the laundry this morning,
maybe she’d forgotten to lock the outside basement door. Meredith wished Luke was
with her right now, because she was really scared. She was sure Luke would have known
what to do. Alma was no help, either, since she was sleeping, and Meredith hated to
wake her. Besides, if there was someone in the basement, what could two helpless women—one
heavy with child, and one quite elderly—do to prevent a robbery?

One thing Meredith knew for sure—she wasn’t going to the basement to check on that
noise! Who knew what kind of person could be down there? From the sound of things,
whoever it was must be rummaging through everything. In her basement were several
metal storage cabinets, where Luke had kept a few extra tools that he’d used occasionally
around the house. There were also some paint cans, and shelves with household supplies,
such as paper towels, napkins, and garbage bags, but nothing Meredith could think
of that would be of interest to a robber to steal—unless, of course, he was after
the tools.

She quickly grabbed a kitchen chair and propped it against the door, making sure the
top of it was securely under the doorknob. Then, grabbing her jacket, and telling
Fritz to come with her, she hurried out the back door. She needed to get to the phone
shack right away and call the sheriff. She just hoped that chair would keep the intruder
from entering the main part of the house, because poor Alma was still upstairs by
herself.

CHAPTER 2

M
eredith’s hand shook as she reached for the phone to dial the sheriff’s number. Thankfully,
she’d done as Sheriff Tyler suggested and tacked the number for his office to the
wall inside the shack. She assumed he wouldn’t be in his office at this hour, but
surely someone would be there to answer the phone. Or maybe it would be better just
to call 911, because she was sure whomever she talked to would send help.

Woof! Woof! Woof!
Fritz barked frantically from outside the phone shack, and Meredith cringed.
Maybe I should have left him in the house to protect Alma. But if I’d done that, his
barking might have woken Alma, and she wouldn’t have understood what was going on
.

Meredith felt so rattled, she could barely think straight, much less make a phone
call.
If Luke was here with me right now, I wouldn’t feel so afraid and confused
.

With trembling fingers, Meredith made the 911 phone call. After she’d told the dispatcher
there was an intruder in her basement, she was warned not to go back in the house
but to wait in the phone shack for help to arrive.

Meredith didn’t want to go back to the house, but the thought of leaving Alma there
all alone made her nervous.

Remain calm
, a voice in her head seemed to say.
Remain calm and stay put like you were told to do
.

She thought about the verse of scripture she’d read the other day:
“Peace I leave with you
,
my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart
be troubled, neither let it be afraid” John 14:27
.

Feeling a bit more relaxed, Meredith paused to offer a prayer. “Heavenly Father, please
keep Alma and me safe, and send us some help real soon.”

Meredith opened the door and let Fritz into the phone shack with her. It should keep
him from barking and help her remain calmer, too. She didn’t want Fritz’s yapping
to alert whoever was in the basement any more than it might already have.

It seemed like an eternity before she saw the sheriff’s car pull into the yard. She
was glad it was him and not some other officer she didn’t know very well.

“We were on patrol and received word that you’d called about an intruder,” Sheriff
Tyler said when he and his deputy, Earl Graves, got out of the car.

Meredith nodded, relieved that help was finally there. “The intruder’s in the basement.
I wedged a chair in front of the basement door, so hopefully he won’t get into the
main part of the house.”

The sheriff gave her a nod. “Good thinking. Did you get a look at him, or did he say
anything to you?”

“No, but I know someone’s in the basement because of all the noise I heard coming
from down there. It sounded like they were rummaging through everything, although
I don’t know why, because there’s nothing really valuable down there.”

“Well, you’d better stay out here and let us handle the situation.” Sheriff Tyler
looked at his deputy. “Let’s go, Earl.”

With the door of the phone shack partially open, Meredith watched as the two men entered
her house.
“Ach
, my…I hope Alma’s all right.”

Meredith prayed as she waited, but when she heard someone scream, she couldn’t wait
any longer. She had to know if Alma was okay.

With Fritz on her heels, Meredith, cradling her stomach with her hands, ran as fast
as she could to the house. She’d just entered through the back door, and lit a gas
lantern, when she heard the sheriff holler, “Get that feisty fellow, Earl! See if
you can trap him in one of those empty boxes.”

Meredith’s forehead wrinkled. Who in the world was in her basement? Only a child could
fit in a box. Was it possible that one of her neighbors’ children had gotten into
her basement? But it was the middle of the night, so that made no sense.

Meredith crept closer to the basement door, keeping a firm grip on Fritz’s collar,
but jumped back when she heard a loud crash. She was glad she hadn’t gone into the
basement when she’d first heard the noise. Whoever was down there must be putting
up a fight.

“You okay, Sheriff?” Earl yelled.

“Yeah. Just tripped over some boxes and fell on the floor. Sure wish there was a light
I could turn on down here. Can’t see much with just our flashlights.”

“Did ya trap him, Sheriff?”

“Nope. He got away from me again. Oops…there he is now…Open the basement door and
we’ll see if we can chase him out.”

Meredith wasn’t sure whether the sheriff was referring to the outside basement door
or the one that led to the kitchen. But the next thing she knew, Earl let out a yelp,
and the inside basement door swung open. A few seconds later, a fat little raccoon
darted into the kitchen, with Earl right behind it.

“What are you doin’ in here?” he shouted, nearly bumping into Meredith. “Thought the
sheriff told ya to wait outside.”

Meredith answered the deputy’s question, but her voice was drowned out when Fritz
started yapping and chasing after the raccoon. Round and round the room they went,
bumping into the table, the cupboards, and even the stove. The animal with the masklike
eyes skirted past Fritz and jumped on the countertop, knocking over a canister of
flour. Talk about Fritz being in the wrong place at the wrong time! The flour not
only spilled onto the countertop but cascaded down onto the dog’s head and body, just
as he ran under the falling powdery white stuff.

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