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As she passed the woodshop where her brothers, Jacob and Abram, spent their mornings, she paused to gaze through the windows. She spotted them moving about the shop but shrank away from an encounter with them. After being shut out by Sarah and her own daat, she couldn’t bear the thought of another cold rejection.
No one called out her name, and no one came running after her as she headed for the cornfield. It took a few minutes to reach the rocks where she’d hidden her bag. Luckily it hadn’t rained. She peeked inside, inspecting the contents. A hairbrush, a skein of her favorite yarn, several crochet hooks, a small sewing kit, a pen, a set of correspondence cards, her birth certificate, an apron, and two dark blue dresses identical to the one she had on. No food. No water. No money. Nothing of any real value. Yet Hanna wasn’t worried. Not much, anyway.
She had a plan.
As she exited the field and made for the forest path she knew well, the rising sun chased the shadows out of the tall trees and underbrush. Hanna walked slowly, keeping her attention on the narrow trail. A blacksnake had bitten her in the forest last year while she was picking berries, and she had no desire to repeat that painful experience, even though none of the local snakes were venomous. Eli had taught her all about snakes and bears and bobcats—the only real threat posed by nature near the farm. The best way to keep safe when alone was to make noise, so she hummed the tune to “In the Still Isolation,” her favorite childhood song.
The path ahead led to the Hartzlers’ farm, but Hanna didn’t intend to stop there. If she stayed in the woods and traveled a bit farther, she would happen upon Ben Foster’s property. Mr. Foster lived in the middle of the forest and rarely left his home. He was kind and trustworthy though, and he had helped Eli when he’d left home years ago.
She smiled as she recalled the one and only letter Eli had sent to the farm. She’d intercepted it and tossed it into the fire before her daat could find it. It had been a simple note addressed to her. Eli had been brief and vague, only telling her that he’d spent time living with and working for Mr. Foster, but that he’d eventually traveled across the country and met a nice woman in Oregon, where he planned to settle down. He’d assured her Mr. Foster was a decent man she could trust, and she would be able to visit his home and write Eli letters without their daat finding out. And so, she’d been sneaking away to Mr. Foster’s cabin for the last three years.
The forest grew thicker, and Hanna recognized her surroundings enough to know she was halfway there. Only two more miles to go. Mr. Foster claimed it was a four-mile walk to his house from her farm.
Her insides softened as her anticipation over seeing Mr. Foster grew. She hadn’t stopped by in a few weeks, and she’d missed seeing him something fierce.
The last time she’d visited him, she’d come upon him shirtless while he was chopping wood, though he’d quickly donned a t-shirt once he’d noticed her standing there staring at him. At the time, she’d been shocked by his nudity, but also mesmerized by his gleaming chest and sculpted muscles, not to mention his powerful biceps which had flexed impressively as he’d lifted the axe before bringing it down to split the wood.
She waved a hand in front of her face, suddenly hot and needing to fan herself.
It struck her as strange as she continued, ducking under branches and brushing away cobwebs, that she was thinking so hard about Mr. Foster, imagining the smile he would greet her with, and wondering whether or not he would be clean-shaven or showing a few days of dark stubble.
Shouldn’t she be despairing over never seeing her family again? She blinked a few times, testing her eyes as she thought of never seeing her daat again.
Nothing. No burning sensation in her eyes or her throat.
Vaguely, she wondered if she could learn to cry again. She hadn’t cried since she was a small child and her father had broken her of the habit. He hadn’t permitted crying, not even when someone died, like her mother. Not even when the brother you cared for most left for good. She’d wanted to cry an ocean of tears for Eli, but she’d had to swallow her grief and pretend nothing had happened.
“Eli,” she said, lifting her chin to the trees. “Eli, Eli, Eli!” She shouted his name at the sky.
As she came into a small clearing in the woods, she stopped to gather her thoughts.
The memories of her first visit to Mr. Foster’s home rushed back. He’d been expecting her, and he’d gone out of his way to make her feel welcome and comfortable that first time. She’d never met him, never known about him until reading Eli’s letter. Had she known Eli was only a few miles away, she would’ve run off to visit him as much as possible.
Mr. Foster, however, had helped her understand Eli’s reasons for keeping silent for years—her brother had thought her too young to safely sneak away, and he’d worried about the ramifications if their daat ever found out.
Hanna took a few more steps and eyed the cabin with a wraparound porch. Ben Foster’s residence. Would he assist her in her quest for independence, just as he’d helped her brother years before?
Only one way to find out.
She smoothed her hands over her skirt and stepped into the clearing.
CHAPTER2
Lady jumpedfrom her spot on the rug and bounded to the front door to bark at nothing. Or maybe it was something. Ben rubbed his eyes and traipsed out of the kitchen, wondering if a herd of deer were passing by. Whatever Lady was making a fuss about, it likely wasn’t another man. Ben didn’t even have a real driveway leading to the main road a few miles away. Just a dirt path, covered with grass and weeds, with a mailbox situated along the road. He doubted anyone in their right mind would venture on this path that wound through the trees to his cabin. Exactly the reason he’d built on this land.
Guaranteed privacy.
“Calm down, Lady. You’ve had your breakfast. You don’t need to go chasing after any deer.” He stroked his trusted dog’s head. Her barking ceased, replaced by a whimper as she sat impatiently, her tail wagging.
All the thick curtains were drawn, and the small glass pane in the front door didn’t reveal anything nearby. Ben moved to the living room window to pull the fabric aside.
“Oh, damn,” he muttered when a small Amish girl appeared on the edge of the forest. He watched as she stopped and stared at his cabin. A small bag hung over her shoulder. When she finally began to walk again, Ben looked down at Lady. “It’s only Hanna. Why don’t you go say hello?”
Ben slid aside the two metal deadbolts, unlocked the knob, and flung the door wide open for Lady. The energetic German Shepherd barreled outside. Ben couldn’t help smiling. While Hanna’s visits made him uneasy, he’d also found himself anticipating them more and more.
When a few weeks passed without her dropping by, he spent way too much time glancing out the windows, wondering when she would appear in the clearing. She tended to visit in the afternoons, and for this reason she never failed to pass through his thoughts each day after lunch.
The heat of the day hit him hard as he jogged down the porch steps. Hanna was crouched on the ground, rubbing Lady’s stomach while the dog licked her face. Lady would’ve ripped anyone else’s throat out who stepped foot on his property, except for Hanna. Well, Eli too. But he was long gone and sent letters in his stead.
