Where Shadows Meet(15)

After the girl brought their meals, he bolted his down. “Let’s go.”

She left her spoon in the half-eaten bowl of homemade chicken-noodle soup and followed him out to the truck. For the whole ride home, she drooped against the door and stared out the window. When the truck zoomed around a buggy, she tensed and stared at the occupants.

“Riding in a buggy is different from riding in a vehicle,” she said.

“Yeah, the truck’s faster.” The last thing he wanted was to talk about the Amish. He didn’t want her longing for her old life. He’d given up everything for her.

“You’re not insulated in a buggy. You’re part of the community. We would call to friends out the open windows, smell the flowers, feel the breeze.”

“Do you always have to disagree with me, Hannah?” His hands gripped the steering wheel. There wasn’t an ounce of gratitude in her. After all he’d done for her, she still longed for her family. It wasn’t right.

They drove in silence until the truck got out of Shipshewana. She fiddled with her seat belt, adjusting it across her stomach in a weird way he’d never seen. He was about to tell her to quit it when she folded her hands in her lap and tipped her head to look at him.

“Reece, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“I’m pregnant.”

His foot came up and jammed on the brakes. He steered the truck to the side of the road, and a car zipped around him, blaring its horn. The male occupant thrust out his middle finger and shouted something as he flew past. On another day, Reece might have gunned the truck after him and tailgated him, but he was too shaken to react.

He turned to stare her in the face. “What did you say?” Maybe he’d misheard. His pulse was thumping in his ears, and he could hardly draw in a lungful of air.

She shrank away from him with her hand up for protection. “We’re going to have a baby, Reece.” Her smile was too bright. “Don’t you think it’s time? We’ve been married over four years.”

“No, it’s not time. I’ll take you to a clinic for an abortion.” He clenched his fists but had the self-restraint not to hit her. Maybe it was an accident. If it wasn’t, she’d have to be taught a lesson for her own good.

“I’m not having an abortion.” Her chin jutted out. “I’m not, Reece. You can’t make me. I—I’ll leave you first.” Her voice trembled just a little.

He couldn’t believe he was hearing those words from her mouth. “You think your family would take you back in? After leaving your husband? You know they won’t.”

She grabbed his arm with both hands. “Don’t make me choose between you and the baby. You think I’ll ignore you for the baby, but I won’t, I promise. I love you.”

“You’ve already chosen the brat over me.” He couldn’t believe it— couldn’t comprehend that she’d defy him so completely. The unfamiliar emotion shaking him was fear. Fear of losing her love, fear of their perfect life changing.

She squeezed his hand. “No, I haven’t. I can balance things. Give me a chance, Reece. Give us a chance.”

Staring into her pleading face, he weakened. Maybe she was right. She was too soft to do what had to be done. “Okay, but you have to have your priorities right. I’m the man of the house and I expect you to pay me the respect I deserve. Understood?”

“Understood.” She threw her arms around him and rained kisses on his face.

Which was just the way it should be.



HANNAH YODELED A tune under her breath as she cut the thread on the last curtain panel. The baby’s room would be finished as soon as she hung the curtains. With difficulty, she rose from the chair and carried the panels from the sewing room into the small room off the hall. Everything was in place. The tiny sleepers and Onesies lay folded in the dresser drawers, and she’d finished the last pair of knitted booties. The hand-stitched quilt she’d made lay folded at the foot of the crib. Soon her little one would be safe in her arms.

The sunlight streaming through the window lit the yellow walls with even more color. A crib mobile swung in the breeze above the bed. It was all perfect, or rather, it would be in two weeks when the baby arrived. Hannah put her hand on her swollen belly and felt the child kick against her hand. “Soon, little one.”

Reece had chosen for them not to learn the baby’s gender, but she felt in her heart it was a girl. Her smile faded. She’d never imagined marriage could be like walking through a field of buried explosives. Reece had a lot of pain inside, pain she’d failed to soothe. If inflicting pain on her soothed his, maybe it was her lot in life. A lot she deserved, after what she’d done.

Moving carefully, she climbed onto a chair and hung the curtains. The soft color looked perfect against the walls. It was only when she glanced at her watch that she caught her breath. It was nearly six, and she hadn’t even started dinner. Reece would be furious. As if on cue, his whistle sounded on the stairs outside the apartment door, and she heard Reece call her name. She should have had dinner ready. He was always angrier when he was hungry.

Holding the back of the chair, she managed to get down in one piece. She knew she looked as big as a beached whale. Reece hated her cumbersome size. A sharp cramp struck, and she bit back a groan so he wouldn’t hear. He hated complainers. Could this be labor?