Abandon the Dark. Marta Perry
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Stoltzfus, the oldest brother of Rebecca’s late husband, stood in front of three of his sons.
There was no doubt about who was in charge in that family—Zeb had always ruled his numerous progeny with an iron fist, and rumor had it that the bishop and ministers who shepherded the local Amish congregation had made more than one call on him. That usually meant the person visited had behaved in a manner that went counter to the Ordnung, the mutually agreed-upon rules by which the congregation lived. At the moment, Zeb looked like a man with a grievance, and Jake suspected he knew what that grievance was.
Lainey was bending over the hospital bed, drawing his attention. Her hair swung forward, hiding her face at the moment, but his thoughts were arrested by the tenderness in her movement as she took her great-aunt’s hand. She bent to kiss Rebecca’s cheek, murmuring something he couldn’t hear, and as she straightened he saw the tears that streaked her face. Jake had the uncomfortable feeling that all his preconceptions had just been upended.
He shook off the wave of empathy. Even if Lainey had genuine feeling for her aunt, that still didn’t mean that she was capable of making life-or-death decisions for her.
Zeb stalked over to him, his face set in a frown that would likely have even his grown sons quaking in their shoes. “Well? What are you going to do?”
Jake managed to keep from glaring back. It was no part of his duty to Rebecca to alienate her relatives if he could help it. “Lainey Colton is Rebecca’s choice to take change of her affairs.” He kept his voice even.
Zeb flung out a hand toward the women. “The Englisch woman is unsuitable. There is too much at stake.”
“She is Rebecca’s great-niece.” Jake’s jaw tightened. “And it’s Rebecca’s business, not yours.”
Obviously Lainey had heard him. She straightened with a toss of her head that sent her black hair flowing back over her shoulders.
“What is he talking about? What is at stake, and why am I unsuitable?”
Jake had hoped he’d be able to avoid an outright confrontation. Once again in this situation, he’d been wrong.
CHAPTER TWO
LAINEY FROWNED AT JAKE, waiting for an answer. When it didn’t come fast enough to suit her, she shifted her glare to the other man.
His narrow face was tight with an emotion she couldn’t immediately identify—disdain, maybe. Vague memory stirred. An Amish man talking to Aunt Rebecca, looking at the ten-year-old she’d been with just that expression.
“Well?” She wasn’t going to start off by letting herself be intimidated. “What did you mean?”
“I’m sure Zeb didn’t...” Jake began, but the older man’s voice cut across his.
“Chust what I say. You are not suitable to have charge of my brother’s wife. You are not Amish. Englischer.” He clamped his thin lips together on the word.
Katie intervened, coming quickly to join them. “Onkel Zeb, you must remember that this was Rebecca’s decision. It’s not Lainey’s fault.”
Not her fault, Lainey felt the words echo in her mind. Freely translated, that must be that Katie agreed with him but objected to his methods.
They couldn’t be any more convinced than she was that this entire situation was beyond her. Still, she wouldn’t give Zeb Stoltzfus the satisfaction of seeing her doubts. She remembered him faintly now—Uncle Isaac’s brother, and as sour as Isaac had been sweet, from what she remembered.
“Aunt Rebecca apparently thought I was capable enough.” She stated the obvious. “That’s why I’m here.”
Zeb seemed to be gritting his teeth. He turned to Jake, glowering. “You are responsible for this mess. I told Rebecca she didn’t need a lawyer to handle things for her, but she wouldn’t listen. And now see what has happened.”
“You can’t...” Lainey began, but Jake held up his hands to both of them. There was enough command in the gesture to enforce an uneasy silence in the room, broken only by the rhythmic hum of a machine by Aunt Rebecca’s bed.
“Enough.” Jake looked equally annoyed with both of them. “Rebecca’s hospital room is no place to have this discussion.”
“That’s right.” Katie tugged Lainey’s arm. “What would your aunt Rebecca think of this fratching? Komm. Sit.”
She wasn’t going to retire from the battle that easily, but Lainey let herself be maneuvered a couple of steps back. Jake, seeming satisfied that she wouldn’t interfere, turned to Zeb.
“Why don’t you and your boys go on home now?” he said. “I’ll stop by the farm this evening and answer any questions you have then. No point in hanging around here, is there?”
Zeb didn’t speak. He glared for another moment, then glanced at his sons and jerked his head toward the door. They filed out without a word.
Katie expelled a sigh of relief when the door swung slowly closed, and her round face creased in a smile. “There now.” She patted Lainey’s arm as if she needed soothing. “You mustn’t mind Zeb. He’s always been cross-grained, and I believe he’s getting worse the older he gets.”
“Aunt Rebecca said once that he was sour where Uncle Isaac was sweet.” Lainey smiled, remembering.
Katie chuckled. “Ja, that’s certain sure. Your gross-onkel was a kind man.”
“Yes, he was.” Like Aunt Rebecca, he had made her welcome in his home, although surely he must have had doubts about taking in a waif who’d been no relative of his at all.
“Komm.” Katie gestured to the chair next to the bed. “Sit and talk to Rebecca. Maybe she’ll hear your voice, even if she doesn’t speak.”
“I’ll be on my way....” Jake turned toward the door.
Lainey grabbed his arm before he could get away. “I’ll be right back,” she assured Katie, and led him out into the hall for a private word.
He came to a halt a few feet from the door, forcing her to stop as well. He was a bit too large for her to tug very far.
“You mind telling me what you’re doing?” His right eyebrow lifted.
“Stopping you. You’re not getting away before I understand what going on with Zeb Stoltzfus.”
“Later,” he said. “After you’ve had a chance to think about what Rebecca is asking.”
“Now.” Her fingers tightened on his sleeve. “I can’t make a decision without knowing all the facts. Surely an attorney can understand that.”
Jake detached her fingers from his sleeve. “Are you always this stubborn?” He sounded more interested than condemning.
“Yes.” Stubborn. And impulsive. Those two qualities had landed her in trouble more often than she cared to remember. Pain flickered at the thought of the events of the past couple of weeks.
“All right.” His rapid capitulation surprised her. He glanced around. “Come on. We can’t talk in the hallway where anyone might hear.”
Now it was his turn to grasp her arm and propel her down the hallway. His big hand enclosed her elbow, and she felt his warmth even through two layers of fabric.
Jake stopped at a door and peered through the narrow vertical window. “Good, it’s empty.” He shoved the door open and led the way inside. “We shouldn’t be disturbed in here for a few minutes.”
It was a chapel, she realized, carefully non-denominational as chapels usually were in places like hospitals. Light streamed through the abstract pattern of the stained glass window on the outer wall, laying a path of color across beige carpeting. Two short rows of pale wooden benches faced a table under the window, which held a vase of bronze-and-yellow