Joyful (16 page)

It took some effort, but she forced herself to only take stock of the Beilers' pantry and refrigerator and not imagine what she would buy for her kitchen if she had such a sum. Deciding to make a lasagna, broccoli, a layered salad, garlic bread, and two pies, she made a grocery list and mentally planned her day. After she cleaned the bathrooms, she would take their horse and buggy to the grocery, make her purchases, and then be home in time to work on the laundry.

She had made great progress and was in the middle of the baking aisle at the store when Levi ran up to her. He looked both flushed and flustered.

“Elizabeth, I'm so glad I found you.”

“What's wrong? Is it my grandmother?” Right away, she started imagining all sorts of things that could be wrong. Had her grandmother fallen?

“It's Randall.” After taking a moment to regain his composure, Levi said, “Elizabeth, I'm afraid there's been an accident.”

And just like that, her heart stopped.

Hardly aware of what she was doing, Elizabeth reached out and grabbed hold of Levi's arm. “What happened? Where is he? Is he all right?”

“He's all right,” he soothed in a way that made him seem far beyond his sixteen years.

“Sure?”

“I promise.” Because they were garnering the attention of the other shoppers, Levi directed the cart to the back of the aisle.

She was about to jump out of her skin. “Levi, tell me about Randall. Now.”

Levi took a deep breath and looked deeply into her eyes. “Randall is in the hospital getting checked out, but he's going to be okay. A couple of the men on the construction site took him right to the doctor as soon as he fell.”

“Fell? Levi, what happened?”

“Randall was up on top of the house, helping to set some trusses like he always does, when he slipped and fell. It was the strangest thing, to be sure.”

“I can't believe he fell.” She winced as she pictured such a scene. Randall was always so sure of himself on the job. He had never had any kind of accident, which was why he had been promoted to crew leader. While accidents could happen to anyone, she was shocked to hear about him falling on the job.

“Me, neither, if you want to know the truth. Usually, Randall scampers around the shells like he's a squirrel in September.”

“How badly is he hurt?”

“Last I heard, he's got some cuts and bruises, but his leg got the worst of it. They're pretty sure it's broken.”

“Poor Randall.”

“Yep.” Levi shook his head. “Our foreman said accidents happen, and it's usually no one's fault. But it sure surprised me. I kinda figured he could do anything. Randall's always been fairly nimble. It's a real shock.”

“Levi, you don't look shocked. You look mighty composed!”

He backed up a step. “We are in the store, you know.”

“I know, but I can't believe you're so calm.” She wanted to rush out to the street, flag down a passing car, and order it to run her to the hospital. “We need to get out of here.”

Levi nodded and grabbed the handle of the cart and started pushing. “If you want to know the truth, none of us was all that calm at first, but Randall's been at the hospital for two hours now and the doctors and nurses don't seem to be overly concerned. They think he's going to be okay.”

“He's already been there for two hours? Levi, his injuries must be really bad.”

Awkwardly, he patted her on her back. “Elizabeth, I'm sorry to say this, but I kind of think you need to settle down a bit. Like I said, Randall's banged up and stuff, but he's going to be all right. Right now you're looking like you're about to faint or something.”

“You promise it's not worse than you're saying?”

“I promise. We don't have anything to worry about. At least, not yet.”

“Not yet?”

“Well, when I left to come find you, they were takin' x-rays to see if he's going to need surgery.”

“Surgery?” Oh, but the news got worse and worse!

Just then she realized that so far Levi hadn't given her a word of explanation about why he'd tracked her down at the market. Surely if it was just to pass on the news about Randall's accident he could have waited until she got back to the house?

“Why did you come find me?” she asked. Hope filled her as she thought of what could be the only reason. “Has Randall been asking for me? Does he want me to come to the hospital to sit with him?”

“Oh, no.” A line formed between his brows. “Well, I mean, I sure don't think so. I came for a different reason. Because Micah asked me to.”

“Oh? What did Micah want you to do?”

He took a deep breath. “Elizabeth, we all hate to ask this of you, but could you stay over for a couple of nights?”

“Why would you need me at your
haus
?”

“If Randall does need surgery, we're all going to be wanting to be at the hospital. And if he comes home, well, it's obvious that we can hardly manage things when everything is going smoothly. I don't know how we'd manage it with this going on.”

“I see.”

“We're still kind of helpless, you see.” When she didn't smile at his joke, he awkwardly continued. “And then there's Kaylene. She's still going to need to go to school and get her meals and such. I would ask Junior and Miriam to help with her, but they already have plans to go away for the weekend. We've all been trying to convince them not to cancel, especially since she has a baby on the way.”

“I don't know, Levi. I mean, I have my grandmother. She can't see very well. And though she's spry, I can't let her stay home by herself.”

He slumped. “Oh, of course not. I'll let Micah and Neil know. I'm sure we could figure something else out.” Steeling his shoulders, he said, “Are you almost done with your shopping? If so, maybe I could ride back to the house with you. I ran over here from the hospital.”

She knew what she could do. She could take Levi back to his house, fix them all a good supper, then walk home. What happened to Randall was a shame, but it wasn't her problem. And though they'd asked her to help with Kaylene, the truth was that Levi or Micah or Neil could probably manage just fine. It wasn't like she was a baby.

But even though all of that sounded correct . . . she knew in her heart that it wasn't what she should do.

And that was to be there for Levi and his family. And yes, for Randall, too. Even though he might not love her anymore, she knew she'd never forgive herself if she ignored his needs. That wasn't who she was, and it wasn't who she wanted to be.

“Levi, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, would you mind if my
mommi
came over to stay at your house, too?”

His eyes widened. “You changed your mind?”

She shrugged. “I suppose I did. The truth is that I would be happy to help you all, as long as I can look after my grandmother, too.”

“Do you think she would come? You don't think she'd fuss about leaving your place?”

There was such hope in his eyes she almost laughed. “Actually, I think she'd enjoy it. She gets tired of sitting home by herself.”

“That would be terrific.” He brushed a stray chunk of hair away from his face. “Elizabeth, how about we go by your
haus
on our way back?”

“I think that sounds like a
gut
idea.” Looking into the cart, she added hesitantly, “Do you think your brothers will mind if we eat your food, too?”

His brows raised. “I think they'd mind if you didn't eat with us. Come on, let's get your shopping done and pick up Miss Anna Mae. We're all going to have our hands full as soon as Randall gets home.”

Elizabeth giggled. “Levi, sometimes I think the Lord made a mistake when he made you one of the youngest in your family. You have a true gift for organizing.”

“I've thought that a time or two myself,” he said around a grin.

With Levi's help, Elizabeth finished her shopping trip in record time. And, thanks to her careful planning, she only used a little more than sixty dollars.

Putting the change in an envelope, she said, “Would you like to keep this, Levi?”

“What are you talking about? That's your grocery money. Randall left it for you.”

“But don't you think it would be better held by someone in your family? I don't want you to have to worry about what I'm doing with it.”

“Don't talk like that, Elizabeth. You know we trust you,” he said as they deposited the groceries in the small area behind the buggy's bench seat.

Then, after letting Levi take the reins, they hurried over to her house. To her pleasure, her grandmother agreed wholeheartedly to go to the Beilers' house.

Levi had volunteered to stay outside with the horse so Elizabeth could talk to her grandmother in private. After she ran out and said that her grandmother would definitely be coming, she ran back inside and gathered some clothes, face soap, and her toothbrush as quickly as she could.

The moment she opened the front door, he rushed up the walkway to greet them. “Hiya, Miss Anna Mae. I'm glad you're coming over for a spell.”

“I wouldn't miss it for the world.”

They continued chatting the whole way back, Levi and her grandmother catching up like fast friends who had been apart for too long.

When they arrived at the Beiler farm, Beverly and Joe were there to greet them. “Elizabeth, it feels like old times, seeing you here,” Beverly said.

“I'm glad I could help out,” she said simply, not wanting to dwell on how things used to be.

After getting her grandmother settled inside, a hospital van drove up. She stood on the porch and barely stifled a gasp when she recognized Aden Reese as he opened the side door. Then she remembered that he worked in the hospital as an orderly. Competently, Aden helped Micah lift Randall out of the backseat.

Randall's left leg was in a temporary cast. There were bandages on his face and a particularly large one on his left palm. “My poor brother,” Beverly whispered. “He looks even worse than I imagined.”

“Didn't they think he should stay at the hospital a bit longer?”

Beverly nodded. “He's such a big guy, it surely would have been easier on his brothers. But you know Randall. Once they cleared him to leave, he wanted to get back home as soon as possible.” Pointing to the cast, she added, “Especially since there's still a possibility that he might need surgery. They're waiting for the swelling to go down before they make a final decision.”

It did look as if his brothers had their hands full as they attempted to guide Randall up the stairs. By the time they helped him hop up two steps, everyone looked exhausted.

She tried to stay out of the way while Beverly paid the driver and Joe gathered up what looked to be Randall's tool belt. As they helped him through the front door, Randall walked by where she was trying to hide and their eyes met. For an instant, his gaze softened, and she imagined that they exchanged a wealth of words that were better left unsaid.

Before she knew it, Neil had sidled up next to her. “Glad you're here, Elizabeth,” Neil said as Aden, Joe, and Levi helped Randall into the house. “And did I hear right that Anna Mae came, too?”

“I didn't want her to be home alone. I hope you don't mind?” she asked as she tried to keep from staring at Randall. It wouldn't do for everyone in his family to see her gazing at him like she was. She knew right at this moment that she couldn't keep her heart out of her eyes.

“We don't mind. We're glad you're here. As you know, we need all the help we can get,” he said as he glanced toward the procession as it made its way into the house. “Oops, I think I better go help. Randall is kind of listing to the left.”

When she walked back inside, her grandmother smiled. “Soon, all the Beilers are going to wonder how they ever survived without you.”

Elizabeth groaned. “Mommi, you never fail to put a positive spin on things.”

“That's why we need each other, dear. You tend to overthink things. I promise, the Lord looks out for us. He always does.”

“I know you're right.” Looking at the door to the master bedroom—Randall's room—she said, “Mommi, I'm going to go see if Randall needs anything.”

“You do that. I'm going to get started on these piecrusts.”

“Are you sure you're not trying to do too much?” She couldn't forget that they were there for her to work, not her grandmother.

“My hands might not work too well, but I've been making crusts longer than you've been alive, dear. Go now.”

“Wish me luck.”

“I'll wish you the Lord's blessings,” she said primly. “Just as I always do.”

Her grandmother had caught her again. She'd said time and again that she didn't believe in luck or coincidence. Instead, she was sure that everything came from the Lord.

So she closed her eyes and prayed for strength, and for the Lord's will to be done. But as she thought about how topsy-turvy everything was with Randall, she quietly asked for a little bit of luck, too.

At this point, she was going to take anything she could get!

Unable to wait another second to see Randall, Elizabeth hurried down the hall to his room. When it was obvious that his room was already full to bursting with his siblings, she paused, thinking to give them a moment or two of privacy.

Actually, she was about to turn around when she heard Beverly repeating the doctor's instructions about the medicine he prescribed, and Neil ordering Levi about. Thinking that was pretty important to hear, she stepped a little closer. If she heard the instructions now she wouldn't need to pester any of them about what to do later on.

“So you do understand that you are to stay in this bed unless you have to go to the bathroom?” Beverly said sternly.