Amish Redemption

She blushed and looked down. “I have been blessed to meet you, too, and I shall always count you among my friends.”

“I need to get going. My folks are expecting me home in a day or two. When they hear about this storm they’ll worry.” He took a step back.

Mary’s eyes grew round as she looked past him. “Oh, no.”

“What?” He turned and saw the barn hadn’t been spared. Half of it was missing and the rest was leaning precariously in hay-covered tatters. He’d been so shaken to see the sheriff that he had forgotten about his horse. He started toward what was left of the building at a run.

* * *

Mary was tempted to follow Joshua, but she knew he might need more help than she could provide. Instead, she ran after Nick. She caught up with him and quickly explained the situation.

Nick said, “I’ll help him. Let Miriam drive you and Hannah home and then she can come back for me.”

“Absolutely not,” Miriam said before Mary could answer. “I’m not leaving until you and that young man are both safe.”

He kissed her cheek. “That’s why I love you. You never do what I tell you. Call headquarters and let them know what’s going on. I don’t want them to think I’ve gone on vacation.”

“I will. Be careful.”

As Nick jogged toward the barn, Mary said, “I’m going to see what I can do.”

“No, the men can manage.”

“More hands will lighten the load.” Mary raced after Nick. When she reached the teetering edge of the barn, she hesitated. She couldn’t see what was holding it up as she slowly made her way inside the tangled beams and splintered wood. Everything was covered with hay that had spilled down from the loft. It could be hiding any number of hazards.

Once she reached the interior, she no longer had to scramble over broken wood, so the going was easier. She saw the flattened remains of Joshua’s buggy beneath a large beam. Ominous creaking came from overhead. Joshua and Nick were pulling debris away from one of the nearby stalls. A section of the hayloft had collapsed like a trapdoor, blocking their way. She reached Joshua’s side and joined him as he pulled at a stubbornly lodged board.

He stopped what he was doing and scowled at her. “Get out of here right now.”

“You don’t get to tell me what to do.” She yanked on the board and it came free. She tossed it behind her.

Joshua turned to Nick. “Tell her it isn’t safe.”

“It isn’t safe, Mary,” Nick said.

“It is safe enough for you two to be in here.” She lifted another piece of wood and threw it aside.

“See what I have to put up with, Joshua? None of the women in my family listen to me.”

Mary heard a soft whinny from inside the stall. “Your horse is still alive, Joshua.”

He said, “We’re coming, Oscar. Be calm, big fella.”

They all renewed their efforts and soon had a small opening cleared. The gap was only wide enough for Mary to slip through. Joshua’s horse limped toward her. He had a large cut across his rump and down his hip.

“Oh, you poor thing.” Mary stroked his face. He nuzzled her gently.

“How is he?” Joshua asked.

“He has a bad gash on his left hip, but the bleeding has stopped. How are we going to get him out of here?”

Nick said, “Even if we free him from the stall, he can’t climb over the debris to get out the way we came in.”

“Can you cut through the outside wall?” To her, it looked like the fastest way out.

“The silo came down on that side and left a few tons of bricks in the way.”

Looking around from inside the stall, Mary saw only one other likely path. “If you can get into the next stalls and pull down the walls between them and this one, we could lead him through to the outside door at the far end of the building.”

“It’s worth a look,” Nick said.

He and Joshua headed in that direction. She heard Joshua call to her. “Mary, if the upper level starts shifting, I want you to leave the horse and get out as fast as you can.”

“I will,” she called back. She patted Oscar’s dusty brown neck and said softly, “Don’t worry. We’ll get out of this together.”

The sound of her father’s ax smashing into wood told her they were starting. She looked up, ready to scurry through the gap if she had to.

She hadn’t been waiting long when the chopping stopped. She heard voices but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Oscar whinnied. From outside, more horses answered. The sound of a chain saw sent her spirits soaring. Someone had joined Nick and Joshua.

It took less than five minutes before she saw her new rescuer cutting through the adjoining stall. It was Ethan Gingerich, a local Amish logger. Oscar began shifting uneasily. She realized he was frightened by the sound and smell of the chain saw. He tried to rear in the small space with her. She barely had room to avoid his hooves.

“Ethan, wait! He’s too fearful.”

Ethan killed the saw’s engine. Oscar quieted, but he was still trembling. Mary patted his neck to reassure him and spoke soothingly.

“Use this to cover his eyes.” Ethan, a bear of a man, unbuttoned the dark vest he wore over his blue shirt, slipped it off and handed it to Joshua. Joshua climbed over the half wall with ease and quickly tucked the vest into Oscar’s halter, making sure the horse couldn’t see any light. Although the horse continued to tremble, he didn’t move. Without the roar of the saw, Mary could hear creaking and groaning from the remains of the hayloft.

Joshua kept his hold on Oscar and gave Mary a tired smile. “I’ve got him now. Thanks for your help. You would be doing me a great favor if you went outside.”

His shirt was soaked with sweat and covered with sawdust and bits of straw. He’d been working to the point of exhaustion to get to her, not just to his horse. She nodded and watched relief fill his eyes. “I reckon I can do that.”

He moved closer to the half wall and bent his knee. She stepped up and swung her leg over the wide boards. Nick caught her around the waist and lifted her down. She brushed off her skirt, straightened her kapp and went down the length of the barn through the openings they had cut. Behind her, she heard the chain saw roar to life again. She was tempted to stop and make sure all the men got out safely, but she knew they didn’t need her.

Outside, she saw Miriam standing a few yards away beside the team of huge draft horses that belonged to Ethan. She had Hannah by the hand. When Hannah saw her, she dropped Miriam’s hand and raced forward. “Mamm, Bella chased a rabbit into the field and she won’t come back. I called her and called her.”

“That naughty dog.” She swung Hannah up into her arms.

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