Hannah's Journey. Anna Schmidt

cold cuts and side dishes. Levi was well aware that neither of the women had contributed to the limited conversation. It was going to be a long supper. He waited until everyone had been served then turned his attention to Hannah. “Tell me about your son,” he said.

      Again, the slightest frown of disapproval from the old man, but Hannah appeared not to notice—or perhaps chose to ignore it.

      “I have told you that his name is Caleb. He is eleven years old though tall for his age. He has blue eyes and his hair…” She paused as she appeared to notice Levi’s hair for the first time. “His hair is like corn silk,” she murmured and quickly averted her eyes to focus on her food.

      “Do you think he might have changed into clothing that is less conspicuous?”

      “Perhaps.”

      “Where would he get such clothing?” Pleasant asked and then immediately glanced at her father and lowered her eyes.

      Hannah shrugged. “I am only guessing. I mentioned the English hat. His Amish hat was still on its peg.” Her eyes glittered with tears that Levi guessed she would be far too proud to shed in his presence. They were tears of worry and exhaustion and he had to force himself not to cover her hand with his and assure her it would all turn out for the best. For after all, hadn’t it turned out that way for him after he’d run away to join the circus when he was only a few years older than Caleb was?

      “I’m sure that the boy will turn up,” Gunther said as he pushed the last of his potato salad onto his fork with the crust of his bread. “We thank you for your hospitality, sir.” He placed his napkin on the table and pushed back his chair.

      Levi knew that he should simply permit the supper to end so he could attend to the work he’d brought on board with him and yet he wanted more time. Why? Because of the lovely young widow? Or because he was for the first time seeing the effect that his running away must have had on his grandmother?

      “Now that you’ve told me of your bakery, Mr. Goodloe. I’d be curious to have your opinion of my cook’s key lime pie. Would you be so kind as to try it?”

      “My daughter is the baker, sir.”

      Pleasant’s cheeks flamed a ruddy brick red as Levi signaled Hans to clear and serve. “And you, Mrs. Goodloe? Do you also contribute to the wares available at your father-in-law’s bakery?”

      “My daughter-in-law handles the housework for our family,” Gunther replied before Hannah could open her mouth. “She is an excellent cook and has been a good influence on my younger daughters.”

      Levi noticed that Pleasant’s scowl deepened. “You have sisters then, Miss Goodloe?”

      “Half sisters,” she corrected, but said no more.

      “Pleasant’s mother died when Pleasant was just coming of age. After a time, I remarried so that she would have a mother.”

      “And these other daughters are the product of that marriage?”

      “Ja.”

      “So they have stayed at home with their mother?” Gathering information from these people was like organizing a menagerie into a parade.

      “Sadly, their mother died in childbirth.”

      “I am doubly sorry for your losses, sir,” Levi said.

      Gunther smiled at Hannah. “Our Hannah has become like a mother to my younger girls,” he said. “God has blessed us.”

      “I see.” Levi would hardly have called the loss of two wives and Hannah’s husband a blessing, but he knew better than to debate the point.

      “We have indeed been blessed. I only hope God sees fit to bless us yet again by leading us to Caleb,” Hannah said in a barely audible voice.

      Levi hadn’t realized that he had continued to study Hannah far beyond the casual glance her comment might have indicated until Gunther cleared his throat and made a show of tasting his first bite of the pie. The two women followed his lead and all three smiled at Levi as if they had just tasted the best key lime pie ever made.

      But Levi had turned his thoughts back to the situation at hand. Here was Gunther, an experienced entrepreneur in his own right, and while Levi did not hold with divine intervention, he had to admit that Gunther had come along at a time when he could use the opinion of a fellow businessman. He needed someone he could trust, someone who had no interest in his business, to review the ledgers for the past season. A fresh set of eyes. But he dismissed the idea as ludicrous. How would an unschooled, Amish baker possibly find what he had not been able to uncover himself?

      He looked up and realized that once again Gunther had laid his napkin aside and this time he was standing. The two women had followed suit. Levi scrambled to his feet. “Forgive me,” he said. “I’m afraid that at about this time of night my mind often goes to the business of the day past and that to come tomorrow.”

      “You are worried?” Gunther’s eyes narrowed in sympathy.

      Levi shrugged. “Always. A great many people rely on me, sir.”

      “And who do you rely on, Levi Harmon?”

      The older man’s pale blue eyes were kind and concerned. It struck Levi that if his father had lived, he would be about the same age as this man was now. He felt his throat tighten with the bile of loneliness that he had carried with him from the day his parents had died. Instead of responding to Gunther’s question, he motioned for Hans to join them.

      “Hans, I believe our guests are ready to retire for the night. Will you show Mr. Goodloe to your quarters?”

      “If you don’t mind,” Gunther added, directing his comment to Hans.

      “Not at all, sir. I took the liberty of moving your belongings to my cabin while you were enjoying your supper.”

      “Then we’ll say good night.” Gunther waited while the two women nodded to Levi and Hans and walked down the corridor to the guest room. Then he clasped Levi’s shoulder. “May God be with you, Levi Harmon.”

      And as he watched Hans lead the older man to the plainer quarters, Levi understood that Gunther had not missed the fact that Levi had avoided answering his question. The fact was Levi had no response, for since he’d been a boy, there had been no one to watch over him.

      Chapter Four

      Hannah found sleep impossible that night. Her mind reeled. Where was her son and had he indeed run off with the circus, or was she on some wild goose chase while Caleb was out there somewhere alone? Every clack of the wheels might be taking her farther from him.

      She sat on the edge of the upper berth that she’d insisted on taking. Below her, Pleasant’s even breathing seemed to have fallen into a rhythm that matched the rumble of the train. Outside the window, Hannah saw the silhouette of telephone poles standing like sentinels in the fields. As the train rounded a bend, the noise flushed a flock of large blackbirds and they scattered into the night sky. The window faced east and she could see the breaking of dawn on the horizon.

      “Please keep him safe until I can come for him,” she prayed as she watched the sky turn from black to charcoal and then pink. “He is my life,” she added and closed her eyes tight against the memory of the long, lonely years that had passed since her husband’s death. Years when her only solace had been Caleb.

      Perhaps that was it. Perhaps she and others had put so much pressure on him in the absence of his father. How often had she heard someone remind him that he was now the man of the family? How often had someone suggested that she needed his support and help more than ever because all she had was him? Perhaps his need for freedom wasn’t that at all. Perhaps it was more a need to be what he was—a boy. A child.

      Oh, how she wished she might talk to someone—a male who might understand the workings of a young boy’s mind. Perhaps Mr. Winters, she thought.

      Outside the cabin door