Amish Days: A Desperate Act: An Amish Romance Short Story (Hollybrook Amish Romance) by Brenda Maxfield

Author:Brenda Maxfield [Maxfield, Brenda]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: Tica House Publishing
Published: 2015-08-28T04:00:00+00:00

Four

It was Emmy’s naptime, and Josie sat on the porch of the daadi haus, embroidering a pillowcase for Mary. She’d been working on the set for weeks, wanting something special to give her friend to acknowledge her coming engagement. It wasn’t customary, but she wanted to do it nevertheless. Mary had been a good friend for years, and the thought that she might be moving away after marriage gnawed at Josie like a goat on a wooden post.

She took the tiniest of stitches around a bold sunflower pattern, weaving the light green thread in and out, forming the stem. Her concentration was such that when she finally looked up an hour later, she was surprised to note that the sun had nearly inched its way to the highest point in the sky. She set her embroidery hoop on her lap and stretched her arms above her head. Her back protested a bit and she wiggled her shoulders about, loosening her muscles.

The air was still. Too still. Emmy should have awakened by now and be hollering for her snack. Josie rose, smiling at the thought of Emmy’s cute protests of hunger. She inched open the screen door, not wanting to awaken her if indeed the baby was still asleep. She tiptoed quietly across the floor, her bare feet not making a sound. She pushed Emmy’s bedroom door open and peered inside the room.

The quilt was mussed and mounded into a hill in the middle of the bed and Josie was unable to see the little girl’s face. She crept over the wooden plank floor to the crib and stopped short.

Her heart lurched.

The crib was empty!

Josie stared at the bed, her mind frozen. She leaned forward, her brain not registering what she was seeing.

“Emmy?” she murmured. “Emmy?”

Her gaze jerked around the room. Emmy can’t climb out of her crib. Nevertheless, Josie fell to her knees and searched under the mattress, panic rising to her throat.

“Emmy!” she called. “Where are you?”

Had Mamm fetched her earlier? Had Josie been so caught up in her sewing that she hadn’t even noticed? She scrambled to her feet and ran through to John’s room. Was Emmy in there? Had she learned how to climb out of her crib that very day? His room stood empty, everything in place, no sign of the little girl. Josie raced outside, her feet pounding the earth as she fled to the big house.

“Mamm!” she cried, bursting through the side door. “Mamm, do you have Emmy?”

Mamm looked up from the stove. “Emmy? Nee. Isn’t she napping?”

“She’s gone, Mamm! Gone!” Josie’s throat nearly closed on the words. In a frenzy, she ran to the front room, searching every corner.

“Emmy!” she cried. “Emmy!”

Mamm caught at Josie, grabbing her shoulders. “Start from the beginning. What happened?” Her voice was strong and quick.

“I put her down, like I always do. I was sitting on the porch embroidering the pillow cases. I went in to check on her, and she was gone!”

Josie tore from her mother’s grip and ran back outside to the daadi haus.

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