A Simple Autumn: A Seasons of Lancaster Novel (41 page)

“Denki!” Leah clapped her hands together and gave Emma a hug.

Emma smiled, patting her back. “Don’t thank me! You would be making my job much easier.”

“Hey, up there?” Ruthie called. “I need your help. Betsy wants us to bring out the
other cookies.”

“We have to go!” Simon dashed for the stairs.

“Do you need my help?” Emma asked as she followed them down the narrow staircase.

“You’re a guest. You must go back to the wedding and celebrate,” Leah said merrily.
“Make sure you get a taste of the Nothings. And the Ranger Cookies; I helped bake
those.”

Now that the children had lifted her spirits, Emma felt ready to enjoy the festivities.
Rain was falling harder now, and she walked briskly.
Run between the raindrops
, Mamm used to say.

She was on her way back to the main house when a hand reached from the darkness and
pulled her out of the light of the porch lantern.

“What …?”

“I got you now.” Gabe gripped her hand and he was tugging her around the corner, to
the open nook used to split wood.

“Gabe?” She gasped, even as her heart leaped in her chest. Ya, she was happy to see
him—thrilled—but she couldn’t let him know that. She had to stay calm and in control.
“I can’t be alone with you here or … or anywhere.”

“Emma, the truth is, you can’t be without me.” He released her hand, but she still
felt the warmth of his touch on her palm. “And I don’t want to be without you. I’m
sorry. I … I was doing what boys do. But that’s no excuse. I hurt you. I didn’t honor
your vow. I won’t do that again.”

“You … you won’t?” Emma had to remind herself to breathe, but her chest felt so tight—a
fist of emotion—and she couldn’t look away from Gabe’s lovely amber eyes. “What about
the motorbikes?”

“I’m done with that. I liked the speed and power, but a motorcycle is nothing compared
to what my own horse can do. I’m giving up the bikes.”

Emma took a grateful breath. “I’m so happy to hear that.”

“And you don’t have to worry about me getting you into trouble with the school council.
I’ve been thinking on that, and an Amish schoolteacher deserves a good Amish beau.
So I’m getting baptized next fall. I’ll start the training in the spring.”

She could hardly believe what she was hearing. “Are you sure you’re ready, Gabe? This
is a big decision, you know. Don’t be taking a vow on my account.”

“This is my choice.” He looked away, and when his eyes returned to hers, she saw a
tenderness there that made her knees sink. “I’ve been thinking about my dat a lot … about
what he would have wanted me to do.”

She bit her lower lip. “I know it’s hard for you, not having him here.”

“Sometimes I still expect to see him tinkering beside the barn or walking in the back
fields.” He rubbed his knuckles over his jaw. “I knew he would have wanted me to step
up and take on responsibilities. I fooled myself thinking that riding a bike made
me a man. I was wrong. A real man finds peace in here.” He pressed a fist to his chest.
“That’s what my dat would say.”

Emma nodded. “Your father was wise.”

“He was.” Gabe caught her gaze, his amber eyes flickering with gentleness. “So, I’m
done with the bikes and the boom box. From now on, it’s just you and me, Emma. And
a gray stallion named Mercury.” He reached for her, and Emma felt likely to melt under
his touch.

“Gabe, I can’t do this here. Someone will see.…”

“Let them see. I’m going down the right path, and it’s time we let people know we’re
courting. I don’t want to keep it a secret anymore.” He turned and cast his arm out
toward the darkness. “Hello, out there! I’m courting Emma Lapp.”

She laughed and tugged him back into the shadows. “Gabe, quiet now! There’s a wedding
going on. We’ll tell people soon enough, but right now we need to get out of the rain.”

“The rain will dry, but the love I feel for you will never run dry.”

Her heart leaped at the mention of love … and in such a sweet way.

Like a poem.

And suddenly she didn’t care who saw them together here. Let
folks talk about Gabe and her. They were a couple now … officially courting.

Two young people in love.

“I’ve missed you.” Emma rose onto her toes and kissed him, so happy to be Gabe’s girl
once again.

N
ear the end of the wedding, Lovina came up to the eck and leaned between Annie and
Jonah.

“Your dat is all tuckered out.” She covered Annie’s hand with hers. “Do you mind if
we go home now?”

“That’s fine.” Jonah stood up. “I’ll go get the carriage.”

While Annie went to check on her father, Jonah found Mary and told her that he was
leaving to take Aaron home.

She nodded. “So, big brother, you seem to like the one I paired you off with.”

“Who?” he teased. “Oh, you mean Annie.”

“Ya, Annie. It looks like you two talked.”

“We’ve been doing a lot of that.”

Mary could no longer restrain her grin. “So the ice is broken?”

He nodded. “Broken and melted. We’re courting now.”

She pressed a palm to her mouth. “Two of the people I love so dearly, together. Maybe
I should do some more matchmaking.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” He didn’t want to admit that everything
had really come together over the birth of Buttercup’s calf. For now, it was nice
for Mary to think that she’d had a hand in bringing Annie and him together; in a way,
she had.

A quick look through the room revealed that Remy and Adam were standing near the other
eck, talking with Remy’s father. He went over and clapped Adam on the back.

“Time for me to get Aaron back. It was a wonderful day.”

Adam’s smile caused little creases at the outer corners of his eyes—just like Dat’s.
“It was a fine day.” He opened his arms and the two men embraced. “Denki for all your
help … for everything.”

Jonah hugged his brother hard. For him, all the hectic chores of the past few days
had been a true labor of love. At last, Mary was able to wed the man she had loved
for years. And beyond all expectations, Adam’s girl, an Englisher, had changed her
life to become Amish. Remy was a quick learner, and she had plenty of love for the
younger children, who still needed a mamm.

“I think you found a very good wife,” Jonah said.

Adam leaned back and looked over at his bride. “She’s the only woman for me. I thank
Gott every day for her.”

Remy glanced up as if she sensed that they were talking about her. “Jonah, did you
meet my father, Herb?”

“We did meet,” Herb said. “Jonah’s the farming/mechanical expert of the operation,
right? I think I’ve got this figured out.”

Jonah nodded. “Usually we all pitch in, but I would like to be called a mechanical
expert. It sounds very important.” He turned to Remy. “I’m sorry I can’t stay to help
clean up. I need to see Aaron home.”

“How kind of you to take care of Aaron.” Remy hugged Jonah, then stepped back to Adam’s
side. “There’ll be plenty of time to clean up tomorrow.”

As Jonah turned away, an image of Mamm and Dat came to him,
taking him by surprise. They would have been happy to see their oldest son and daughter
marrying today. It was a very good day.

When Jonah pulled the carriage up in front of the path to the house, he could tell
that something was wrong from the pinched expression on Annie’s face.

“What is it?” he asked.

She shook her head, nodding toward her father, who was making his way down the path
on Lovina’s arm. Drops of water fell from the corner of the porch roof as Jonah stood
beside Annie, waiting until her parents were out of hearing range.

“One of the Englisher guests just told me the bad news. The covered bridge collapsed.
The river crested and came up over the platform. It will be unusable until it’s repaired.”

Jonah frowned. “Sad news. Was anyone hurt?”

“No, thank Gott. But no one can get across.”

“Mmm. From now on we’ll have to take the main road into Paradise. Some of the folks
here will have to detour to get home tonight.”

She nodded. “And we’ll need to hire a car to get Dat to his doctor visits. That would
just be too long in the carriage.”

He touched her arm. “We’ll figure it out. It’s bad news about the bridge, but eventually
this rain will stop and the river will go down, and I’ll help rebuild the bridge myself
if the highway folk will let me.”

She took a deep breath, nodding. “You’re right. It’s just sad to think of the old
thing falling apart after all these years. If that bridge could talk, it would have
so many stories to tell!”

He slid a hand over her shoulder and pulled her close. Annie could
give a personality to a bridge or a voice to a newborn calf. It was one thing he loved
about her. Down the path, Lovina and Aaron had just reached his carriage. “We’d better
go help.”

“Ya. Just don’t tell Dat. I don’t want anything worrying him right now.”

He nodded. “You know me—the Quiet One.”

The carriage was quiet on the trip back to the Stoltzfus farm. Jonah suspected that
Aaron was tired, and rightly so. The wedding ceremony was long, and the celebration
afterward had been a boisterous, social event, chock-full of food, laughter, and song.

Looking back on the day, Jonah felt as if he’d grown taller and wiser through seeing
his brother and sister off into married life. The next few years would bring many
changes, with babies and baptisms and more weddings.

This time next year, Gott willing, he and Annie would take their vows. They had a
whole year to be sure of their commitment, but he knew his heart was steady and true.

Annie had always been the girl for him. Now that he knew her better, it only confirmed
his love.

They were about a mile from the Stoltzfus farm when Jonah heard rustling in the back
of the carriage. Lovina and Aaron were speaking in hushed tones that held a whisper
of anxiety.

“Jonah.” Lovina’s voice held alarm. “Don’t turn in at the farm. Just keep going into
Paradise. We need to get Aaron to Dr. Trueherz’s clinic.”

“What?” Annie turned around. “What’s going on?”

“He’s not feeling well,” Lovina said. “It’s been going on awhile … through dinner.”

“At first I thought it was indigestion from the coleslaw,” Aaron admitted in a scratchy
voice. “But this is no simple bellyache. My chest feels like a horse is trampling
it.”

“Dat, why didn’t you say something to Dr. Trueherz?” Annie asked.

“He wasn’t at the reception, and I felt okay during the wedding.”

But Jonah’s mind was caught up thinking what to do next.
Immediate medical attention
. That was what the doctor had ordered at the first glimmer of pain or discomfort.
Jonah frowned, wishing that Aaron and Lovina had said something earlier. Back at the
wedding, there had been a few Englishers with cars who could have driven them to the
hospital in Lancaster.

“A heart attack?” Annie’s whisper was laced with fear as she turned to Jonah. “What
are we going to do?”

“Just keep going,” Lovina said. “The doctor will know how to help him.”

“Mamm, we can’t.” Annie’s cheeks flashed pink. “We can’t get to Paradise that way.
The rain took out the covered bridge this morning.”

“Oh, what a terrible time for this to happen …,” Lovina agonized.

“We’ll have to take the main road.” Annie’s voice cracked as she tried to contain
her panic.

“But that will take too long,” Lovina said as Aaron let out a moan of pain. “Even
if we push the horse, it will be an hour at least. Your dat can’t take that.”

“What choice do we have?” Annie asked.

“Go to the phone shanty,” Lovina said. “We’ll call for an ambulance. Or better yet,
an airlift. I’ve seen them take patients off in helicopters from fields around here.”

“I’ve seen that, too,” Jonah said, weighing in for the first time, “but in this storm,
they won’t be able to get here. It’s not safe to fly.”

“Aaron, dear one, lean this way. I think your head is supposed to be higher than your
heart,” Lovina said. “We’ve got to get you
there.… Jonah, the phone shanty it is. I know it could take half an hour for an ambulance
to get here, but what choice do we have?”

As Aaron sighed in the back, Jonah tried to picture the river in his mind. They had
to get across.

“What about the pass?” he asked. It was a narrow part of the river where the riverbed
was naturally higher than the rest of the river. In the summer, the water was so shallow
at the pass that it cascaded down the sides, like a trickling waterfall. Needless
to say, horses and vehicles sometimes used it as a crossing.

“But the river is so high,” Annie said. “Do you think it will be safe?”

“We can only go and give it a try … if it’s all right with you, Lovina.”

“Ya, go,” agreed Lovina. “It’s a good idea, and that’s what we’re in need of right
now. That or a miracle.”

Jonah urged Jigsaw to a faster trot in that direction. The horse was fast, but still
his pace was maddeningly slow in light of the crisis. As they passed a car for sale
along the roadside, Jonah looked on with a sigh. It was Zed Miller’s old four-by-four
Jeep, put up for sale by his father. He wished Zed were here now to drive them into
town.