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The Trespasser (Amish Country Brides)

By Jennifer Spredemann

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CHAPTER ONE

Kayla Johnson squinted to see through the windshield as her wipers attempted to keep up with the torrential downpour assaulting her vehicle. But even with the wipers at full speed, that proved to be a challenge. She wasn’t even sure where she and Bailey were exactly, but they’d crossed the state line from Kentucky into Indiana about an hour ago, or so it seemed. She distinctly remembered the ‘Welcome to Indiana’ sign just as they’d crossed the bridge over the gigantic Ohio River.
Perhaps she should pull over somewhere and wait out the storm. She couldn’t tell if she was even going the right way, since her GPS had lost its signal several miles back. She figured it was due to the storm raging outside. How long would this last? Now she understood when people mentioned the storms in the Midwest. This was downright terrifying.
As if on cue, a streak of lightning touched down just off to the left. Not even five seconds later, thunder shook her car. A shiver raced up her spine.
“I’m scared, Mommy,” Bailey whimpered from her booster seat in the backseat.
Me too. “It’s okay, baby. Mommy’s going to pull off up here.” She’d hoped to find a motel or a fast food restaurant, but who knew how far she was from one. The last town had several, but she’d spotted them before the sky began dumping buckets of water. She hadn’t expected this. If she’d known this was coming, she would have reserved a hotel room in the last town, and she and her five-year-old daughter would be safe and sound, curled up under the covers watching a family-friendly movie.
She flipped on her signal and maneuvered onto the next street. Great, no lines to even mark the road? She must be out in the middle of nowhere. The vehicle crawled at a snail’s pace as she struggled to see the road ahead of her. It seemed to be at least a couple of inches deep in water. They really needed to get out of this. Was that a little store up ahead? She couldn’t be sure since there were no lights on, but they were probably closed. ‘Yoder’s Country Market’ the sign on the small white building read. Yoder. Wasn’t that an Amish name? As she pulled into the drive, she discovered a chain-link fence surrounding the parking lot. Definitely closed.
She sighed.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” Bailey whined.
“Okay. I think there might be a house down this driveway. We’ll stop and ask to use their restroom.” She drove along what appeared to be a fenced pasture. Or was it a small pond? It was difficult to tell with all the water everywhere.
Her cell phone began vibrating. No doubt another storm warning. She briefly glanced at it. Flash flood warning. Great. Perhaps the residents would allow her and Bailey to stay a while. She hoped so, because being out in this weather set her nerves on edge.
She pulled up to a large white two-story house. Should she just stop in front, or find a place to park out of the rain? She opted for the latter when she noticed a couple of structures independent of the house. A barn and another outbuilding of some sort. She slowly crept up to the smaller structure, hoping there was an empty spot large enough to house her vehicle.
Thunder rumbled overhead once again.
“Please, Mommy! I gotta go!”
“Okay, baby.” As soon as she pulled under the outbuilding’s roof, she could see clearly enough to park. She spotted a hitching post. This must be where they park the buggies. Except, there were no buggies present. Perhaps they were in the massive barn. Hopefully, the owners wouldn’t mind her parking her car there.
Kayla opened the door, then went to release Bailey from her booster seat. “Do you think you can wait for Mommy to find the umbrella? It’s just in my suitcase.”
“I think so. But please hurry!” Bailey slid out of the car, then bounced up and down.
“I will.” She quickly popped the trunk open and rifled through her clothing. She grabbed a comfortable change of clothes for each of them, just in case they were allowed to stay a while. “Okay. You ready to make a run for the door?”
“Yep.”
“One. Two. Three.” With the clothing tucked under her arm, she held the umbrella in one hand and Bailey’s hand in the other, then made a mad dash for the front door.
“Whew!” She glanced down at her jeans near her ankles. They were completely soaked. It was a good thing she’d thought to grab extra outfits for the two of them. It would take a while for her tennis shoes to dry, however.
She knocked on the door loudly so it would be heard over the pounding rain. Didn’t it ever let up? It seemed not.
No answer. She knocked again, harder this time.
“Mommy!” Bailey bounced.
“Okay, okay. I don’t think anyone’s home. I don’t feel right just going inside.”
“Maybe no one lives here anymore or they’re on vacation like us.” Bailey turned the knob, and the door opened. She rushed inside before Kayla could stop her.
“Bailey!”
“I have to go potty!”
Kayla gingerly stepped into the house and looked around the dark room. Indeed, it appeared empty. “Hello? Is anybody home?”
No answer.
“My daughter needs to use the restroom,” she called out, stepping further inside. “Hello!”
Silence answered back. No one was home.
“Okay, we’ll quickly find the bathroom, then we’ll leave.” She felt for a light switch but found none. Oh, yeah. Amish. No electricity.
A flash of lightning illuminated what appeared to be the living area, revealing sparse furniture covered in white sheets. It was as though the occupants had moved. But why would they leave the door unlocked?
“Where will we go?” Bailey’s frightened voice commanded her attention once again.
“I don’t know, baby. Maybe…let’s just find the bathroom so you don’t pee your pants.” She released a sigh of relief. If nobody was home, if the house was unoccupied, perhaps hunkering down here for an evening might be an option. But still, it wasn’t her home. And how would she feel if a stranger occupied her place of residence in her absence? Not that she currently had a place of residence.
She walked through the darkened home. Thankfully, it wasn’t pitch black. There should be a lantern somewhere, shouldn’t there be? Perhaps not, if the owners no longer occupied the place. She scolded herself for not thinking to grab the flashlight out of the glove compartment. Of course, she hadn’t expected to find a dark empty house. She’d run back out to get it if buckets of water weren’t dumping from the sky.
She felt her way into the main living area until her eyes adjusted. Another flash of lightning revealed a kitchen off to one side. As she walked further inside the home, a quick perusal indicated a bedroom stood off to the other side, along a short hallway that led to stairs. Perhaps the bathroom adjoined the bedroom. She peered inside the empty room. No, it didn’t appear to.
“I found it!” Bailey hollered.
A door slammed shut. Whew! At least now she didn’t have to worry about Bailey having an accident.
Once her eyes adjusted a little more, she spotted a lone lantern on a small table. Oh, good, a book of matches sat next to it. She quickly removed the hurricane glass, turned up the wick, then swiped a match to light it. A soft glow dispelled the darkness.
Fortunately, she’d come from a family of campers, so she was familiar with lighting lanterns, setting up tents, chopping wood, kindling a campfire, and other outdoor skills. Sadness filled her as she thought of Mom and Dad and all the wonderful times they’d spent camping. They’d passed away much too early. Did anyone survive cancer these days? It seemed not.
She briefly toured the lower level of the home with the lantern in hand, noting a few bedrooms. Two of them had lone beds in them, one covered by a quilt and the other with a plain comforter. Would the owners mind if she and Bailey occupied the rooms for a night? Since there seemed to be no one around to ask, she’d have to take a chance. What other choice did they have?
Thunder roared outside once again along with pounding rain. It appeared they wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Not with all the flash flood warnings and lightning strikes. It just wasn’t safe. Or smart.
Had Someone up above provided this shelter from the storm? It was possible, she supposed, but definitely not probable. The Man Upstairs didn’t care about her or Bailey, she’d been certain of that since she first discovered her pregnancy. And then she’d lost both parents.
No, it certainly wasn’t God. Finding this place had been pure luck, plain and simple.

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