A Simple Autumn: A Seasons of Lancaster Novel (21 page)

“You’ve trained her well,” Gabe said.

Simon nodded. “She’s a smart horse.”

As Gabe got on his own horse, he hid a smile. Sometimes Simon echoed things their
dat used to say. He looked over at his brother. “Do you want to race?”

A mischievous look crossed Simon’s face. “I’m just warning you, Shadow is fast.”

Gabe nodded. “We’ll see who gets to the barn first. Are you ready?”

Simon counted down, and they were off. At once they urged their horses ahead, pressing
them to gallop over the damp grasses. The world sped past him below as Gabe’s senses
became alert to the pounding of Mercury’s hooves, the rush of cool air on his skin,
and the beating of his own heart. Gabe laughed out loud. He hadn’t done this with
his brothers for years!

His horse was ahead, but when he rose over the last hill and caught sight of the barn
and the smaller outbuildings, he slowed Mercury, just in case someone was watching.

At that moment, Shadow pounded past him in a thundering blast. Gabe groaned, hating
to lose, though he didn’t mind giving Simon the sweet taste of victory.

His younger brother was waiting outside the barn. He had jumped down from the horse,
and he stood beside Shadow, casually leaning against her withers and talking quietly.
Simon looked up at him and grinned. “What took you so long?”

Gabe laughed. “You won, fair and square. But next time, I will show you what my horse
can do when I let her.”

“That was fun,” Simon said as they led their horses into the barn. “I love galloping
fast.”

Gabe recognized the look in his younger brother’s eyes.
The need for speed
. “Galloping can be exciting,” he told Simon. “But it’s nothing compared to racing
motorbikes.”

“Motorbikes?” Simon pushed his hat back on his head. “I’ve never done that.”

“I have, and I can tell you, a motorbike is ten times more exciting than a horse.”

Simon’s eyes opened wide in an expression of wonder. “Where did you get the motorbike?”
He turned toward the barn. “Is it here, in the shed?”

Gabe explained that he had only borrowed a bike from an English friend who had many.

Staring at him in awe, Simon rattled off a dozen questions. “Does it steer like a
horse? Does it start with a key, like a car? Do you put gasoline into it? Is it hard
to balance?”

As they unsaddled their horses, Gabe answered Simon’s questions, glad to be talking
about motorbikes with someone who understood the thrill.

“Can I come along and ride a motorbike, too?” Simon asked.

“No. It’s too dangerous.”

“But you’re doing it.”

“I’m older, and bigger, too. Your feet probably wouldn’t reach the pedals.”

“Folks said I was too small to ride a horse, but Dat let me do it,” Simon pointed
out.

“Simon, you can’t do it now. You’re too young, and it’s forbidden by the Ordnung.
Adam would never allow it, and he’s in charge now.”

Simon was quiet a moment. “But you’re doing it,” he said slowly.

“I’m older, and I’m in rumspringa. When you get to be my age, then you can ride a
motorbike.”

Simon frowned. “Okay. But can we still race horses?”

“Ya, we can race. But don’t tell anyone about that—or about the motorbikes. If the
bishop hears about it, he’ll ride right over to give me a talking-to, just like the
ministers did with Sadie.”

Gabe still remembered how the ministers had come to their house to scold their sister
Sadie, who had been caught singing in bars. The bishop had told her to stop being
of this world and return to the Plain ways, but no amount of scolding could fix the
unzufriede, the discontent she felt in her heart. That was probably why she was now
many miles away, living among the Englishers.

“I miss Sadie. Are you going to go away and live with the Englishers, too?” Simon
asked as he brushed down his horse.

“No.” That was one thing Gabe was sure of. He didn’t want a life away from the land
and the animals he loved. Living on an Amish farm kept a body going. From what he’d
seen of cars and televisions, he liked them just fine, but they took a person away
from the important chores of life. He knew he would get antsy sitting in front of
a picture screen all day long, just watching other people live. Englisher life wasn’t
for him.

Gabe knew that someday he would choose to get baptized. Amish was the only way he
knew to live, and it suited him just fine. But he wasn’t ready for that yet. And right
now he couldn’t change who he was. He was in rumspringa, and he’d found an adventure
right here at home—a sport that challenged his balance and skills.

Ya, when he was on a speeding bike he felt like a man.

And he wished Emma could understand that. The last few days he had missed her. He
wanted to court her, but she was the one who had broken it off.

All over a motorbike.

He would have galloped into a fire to save her, but with this demand she wanted too
much from him. Right now, riding bikes was the one thing that made him feel powerful
and independent. There was no way he would give this sport up for a girl.

S
aturday morning, as soon as the milking was done, Jonah and Adam went to the barn
to have a look. Working together, the two men pulled open one of the wide red doors
and stepped into the shadowed space.

“We’ll move most of the animals out,” Adam said. “The children will sweep up. Uncle
Nate is bringing the church wagon, and Abe and Ben will cart over the propane heater
in case the weather turns.”

So far the day had dawned sunny and cool, but dark clouds over the hills were headed
their way. Jonah hoped they could get the benches loaded into the barn before the
rain started.

“Mary has had the girls cleaning house for days already. And somebody’s got to mow
that lawn out front.” Adam pushed his jacket back and put his hands on his hips, looking
solid and strong. “What do you think?” he asked Jonah.

“I think we’d better eat a big breakfast,” Jonah teased, “because we have a big chore
ahead of us.”

Adam clapped a hand on his shoulder as they headed toward the house. “A big chore,
but we do it every year.”

“And deep inside, I like it,” Jonah admitted. “But don’t tell anyone. They’ll think
I’m verhuddelt.”

Jonah didn’t mind when it was their turn to host. The duty fell on each family in
the district every year or so, and Jonah always enjoyed the days of preparation. The
house got a scrubbing from top to bottom. Windows were washed till they gleamed. Walls
and floors were washed. The yard would be clipped and trimmed, and the women had already
started cooking and baking enough to feed lunch to the entire district.

It was a mountainous task, but every year it brought the family together. That was
the part Jonah liked most—everyone in the family pitching in.

Inside the kitchen, Remy stood at the counter slicing apples while Mary placed a platter
of eggs on the table.

Adam sneaked up behind Remy. “If you’re here for your baptism, you’ve come a day too
early,” he said.

She flinched, then swung toward him, a challenge in her green eyes. “You should know
better, Adam King. Never sneak up on a woman with a knife in her hands.”

Adam put a hand on her shoulder. “Especially an English woman who has watched horror
movies.”

“I’m not an English woman anymore,” Remy said. “Or at least, after tomorrow I won’t
be. And I won’t miss horror flicks either.”

“So you’ve come to help us set up?” Jonah asked her.

“Of course! I want to know the inside skinny, all the dos and don’ts. I need to learn
this stuff, right? We’ll be doing the same thing next year.” She sprinkled sugary
crumbles over the apple slices, then popped the dish into the oven. “I can help until
lunchtime, then I have to go into town for a meeting with
Deacon Moses. It’s our last class—the wrap-up session before baptism.”

Jonah remembered that last class.
This is your last chance to turn back
, the deacon had warned. The ministers made it clear that it was better to back out
than to make a vow and later break it.

Jonah hung his hat on a hook, washed his hands, then took a seat at the far end of
the table as the family assembled for breakfast. Susie helped Katie into a chair.
Adam had stored the high chair in the shed ever since two-year-old Katie started climbing
out of it on her own.

Remy took her place at Adam’s right hand. From the far end of the table, Jonah observed
the look that passed between Adam and his fiancée—a solid, steady love. Not the quick
flame of attraction two people might feel at a singing, when people were cleaned up
and having a good time. This was the kind of bond that would make it through hot summer
days and long winter nights, through sorrow and joy.

Adam and Remy were a good match. He felt sure that they would be sitting together
at that end of the table for the rest of their lives.

And where would Jonah be?

He knew he would always be welcome at this table, in this house, but a good Amish
man was expected to find a wife and start a home of his own.

As everyone bowed their heads for a silent prayer of thanks before the meal, Jonah
closed his eyes and tried to open his heart to Gott’s plan for him. In these past
weeks he had believed he was getting closer to Annie, but he’d been wrong. What would
it take for him to simply accept that it wasn’t his time?

Disappointment had darkened his mood for a while, but when he woke up this morning
he’d cast it away like a snake in the grass. If he clung to bitterness, he would only
become a bitter man, and that wouldn’t do anyone any good.

To everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven
. Autumn was not going to be his season to win over Annie’s love. Apparently winter,
spring, and summer hadn’t worked that way either, but he couldn’t complain. He would
trust in Gott the Father … trust and pray that he wouldn’t end up at this table in
thirty years, old man Jonah who’d never found a wife.

As soon as the prayer ended, Adam began assigning tasks for the day. Ruthie and Simon
would sweep the barn while Gabe moved the animals outside. All the men would meet
Uncle Nate when he arrived with the bench wagon, and they would load the benches into
the barn before setting up tables in the house. Susie and Leah would help Mary clean
the walls and floors, then attend to the windows.

“Ben said that most of their family is coming to help,” Gabe reminded Adam. “And Ruben
Zook said they’d be here, too.”

In past years, the Zook family, their closest Amish neighbors, had come around to
help prepare the house for church.

“This is going to be a very special church service because
you’re
getting baptized, Remy,” Ruthie said.

“And then you’ll be Amish?” Simon asked.

“She’ll be a member of our community,” Adam said.

“And Teacher Emma,” Ruthie said brightly. “She’s getting baptized, too.”

And Hannah Stoltzfus
, Jonah thought. Annie must have reminded him of that at least thirty times in the
past week. He knew the hidden meaning: Hannah, or any girl who got baptized, became
an adult member of the community. That meant she would be ready to marry and start
a family. Only a man with a brain of wood could miss Annie’s hint.

“What about your dress?” Susie asked Remy. “Is it ready for tomorrow?”

Remy nodded. “It’s hanging on a hook in my room.” She smiled across the table. “Denki
for letting me borrow it, Mary.”

“We’ll keep it in the family,” Mary said. “I’m not sure Sadie will be using it, but
it should fit the other girls when the time comes.”

“And if Susie and I get baptized in the same year?” Leah asked. “Who gets to wear
the black dress?”

“You’ll each get half of it.” Mary cocked one eyebrow, but she didn’t crack a smile.
“Which half would you like, Leah? The front or back?”

Leah and Susie looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

“When the time comes, we’ll have to make another dress, Mary,” Susie said. “Half a
dress would be very drafty.”

The family joined in their laughter. All breakfasts weren’t so spirited, but everyone
seemed to share the excitement of tomorrow’s big event. At least, everyone but Gabe.
He had been distant lately, more quiet than usual, and Jonah had noticed that his
brother did not look him in the eye. Something was going on with Gabe, and Jonah suspected
it involved a girl. Jonah wasn’t able to help his brother on that one; that was one
skill he didn’t carry in his toolbox.

As Jonah helped himself to a second baked egg, he was grateful for the banter that
went on during the King family meals. If he did end up lingering at this table as
an old man, at least he could look forward to lively conversation.

Jonah was finishing his second helping when the sound of a horse and carriage came
from the lane. Simon popped up from the table and ran to the window.

“The church wagon is here!” he exclaimed. “And Ruthie and I haven’t swept the barn
yet!”

“All in good time,” Jonah said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “It will all get done.”

Adam gestured Simon to come back to the table. “Sit. Say a prayer of thanks, and then
you can run and greet Uncle Nate.”

Outside, Nate was backing the church wagon up to the open barn doors with a precision
born of practice and a well-trained horse. Sam
was jumping up and down with excitement, and Katie copied her older brother, matching
him jump for jump. A grin tugged at one corner of Jonah’s lips. It was good to see
these young children enjoying life again.

A gray carriage had arrived behind Nate, and the rest of his family climbed out. Betsy
and her daughters Rachel and Rose carried baked goods straight to the kitchen, while
Ben and Abe came around to flank their father.

“What have we here?” Hands on hips, Nate looked down at the children. “All this hopping
around, I thought I was looking at popping corn.”