Noah's Sweetheart (21 page)

“What am I going to do? Please, Lord, help me.” Then she heard a voice and thought she’d imagined it.

“Rachel!” Charlotte called excitedly. “Rachel, I’ve got something to tell you!” Her cousin entered the schoolhouse and froze as she saw Rachel. “Rachel!” She hurried to her side. “What’s wrong?”

“Terrible pain in my belly. Hurts bad.” Rachel tried to rise and then gasped and clutched her midsection. “Can you take me to the doctor?”

“Noah,” Charlotte said, “I should get Noah.”

“
Nay!
Please don’t worry him. You can tell him after I find out what’s wrong.”

“I don’t know,” Charlotte hedged. “He’ll want to help.”

“
Nay!
Please, Charlotte, promise me. I don’t want to upset him.” She didn’t want him to learn about her injuries in this way. She had tried to put what the doctors had said out of her mind, but now she was getting a painful reminder.

“I promise.” Charlotte helped Rachel to her feet. “Good thing I brought the buggy. But I’m not taking you to the doctor. You need a hospital.”

Hospital.
Rachel closed her eyes tightly. She had spent more time than she’d ever wanted in a hospital, but she knew her cousin was right. “How far is it?”

“I’m not sure. It must be four miles or more.” Charlotte studied her with concern. “How about
Dat?
Can I get him?”

“Nay.”
Rachel opened her eyes and swayed. “Just take me, please.” Tears slipped from beneath her lowered lids.

Charlotte helped Rachel into the buggy and then ran around the back of the vehicle to hop into the other side. “How is the pain?”

“It’s eased for a minute, but—” Rachel grimaced as the pain returned.

Charlotte clicked her tongue and guided the buggy onto the road in the direction of the local hospital near Lancaster. “We should stop and tell
Mam.
”

“
Please,
Charlotte.” She didn’t want everyone to know. She’d had to suffer the physical pain and the emotional hurt of knowing that the past buggy accident might have caused enough injury to cause her current pain and possible barrenness.

She loved Noah. She didn’t want to lose him. She shouldn’t have agreed to their courtship, but she wanted to be with him, and she had begun to believe the doctors had been wrong. Besides, they hadn’t actually said that she couldn’t have children. Only that it might be difficult for her to conceive and give birth.

The ride toward the hospital seemed to take forever. Rachel sat with her eyes closed, hunched over and praying through the pain. Soon, she felt the buggy shift and turn right. Rachel opened her eyes and saw the Peachy farm.

Her cousin faced her. “I’m getting Abram to help us.”

“Charlotte—”

“You’re feeling worse, Rachel. I’d feel better if Abram drove you to the hospital.”

A sharp pain made Rachel gasp and cry out. She wasn’t in any condition to object.

Charlotte pulled the buggy into Abram’s yard and then ran toward the house. “Abram! Abram!”

Within seconds, Rachel heard quick footsteps as someone approached. The buggy dipped as he climbed in. But it wasn’t Abram Peachy, as expected; it was Noah. Rachel looked at him and tried to smile but tears filled her eyes as the pain ripped through her abdomen. Despite her words to Charlotte earlier, she was glad to see him.

“I’m taking you to the hospital,” he said, and she jerked her head in a nod.

Abram and Charlotte came out of the house, hurrying toward the vehicle.

“I’m going to take her!” Noah called out. “No time to waste!”

“Go, Noah! Abram will take me home.
Mam
will want to know.” Charlotte shot Abram a glance.

“
Ja.
I will take her home. Go!” Abram put a comforting arm around Charlotte’s shoulders.

Noah guided the buggy around, and then with a loud
yah,
he flicked the leathers to spur the horse-drawn vehicle down the lane and onto the main road.

Flashing her a quick glance, Noah felt an awful burning in the pit of his stomach at the sight of Rachel’s tears. She was in terrible pain, and he felt helpless.
Dear Lord, please help me get her to the hospital safely.

Rachel sobbed quietly. She held her belly, her gaze focused on the road ahead. She looked pale and very ill.

“Noah,” she finally said, “I’m going to be sick.”

He pulled back on the leathers, and after the horse slowed, he guided the buggy to the side of the road, where he jumped down and raced around the vehicle to help Rachel. She made it only two steps before she vomited. Concerned, Noah eyed the buggy, thought about their distance to the hospital, and the realization terrified him.

Rachel was too sick to feel more than only slightly embarrassed. The cramping had made her nauseous and the ride in the racing buggy hadn’t helped.

When she was done, she turned to find Noah flagging down a car.

“Please,” he told the driver who finally stopped to help. It was the Englisher who had helped to put out Abram’s barn fire. “Rachel is ill. We need to get to the hospital. Can you take us?”

“Of course,” Tom Drulis said. “Get in.” The gray-haired man had a kind face. He gestured toward a nearby house. “Can you move the buggy over there? I know the Beckers. I’ll tell them someone will come back for it later.”

Noah was grateful, and after seeing Rachel safely into the backseat of the car, he quickly moved the buggy to a hitching post in the Beckers’ barnyard. Kyle Becker came out of the house, and Tom spoke with him. The farmer assured Noah that he would water and take good care of the horse.

Soon, Noah joined Rachel in the backseat of Tom Drulis’s car, speeding toward the hospital. Noah put his arm around Rachel and held her as she cried through her pain. They arrived in less than ten minutes. It would have taken Noah a good half hour or more to reach the hospital in the buggy, and the Kings’ horse would have suffered.

Noah thanked Tom Drulis profusely as he helped Rachel out of the man’s car. Tom promised to return later to see if he could help.

As they entered the building, Noah noted the hospital’s strange medicinal smell. He eased Rachel carefully into a chair and then hurried to speak with the triage nurse.

“See the girl there?” Noah said anxiously. “Her name is Rachel Hostetler. She has had sharp pains in her lower belly for some time. She got sick on the way over. I think there is something terribly wrong!”

The nurse looked up with a bored expression until she met Noah’s gaze. She frowned and then glanced toward Rachel. Rachel sat in the chair, hunched over, sobbing. Noah saw the quick change on the woman’s face as she came out from behind her desk and approached. She gently asked Rachel about the pain. She helped Rachel over to the triage area and took her vitals. Noah followed closely. “She has a fever,” the woman said with a frown. “Someone is coming to take her back now.”

Rachel barely heard what was being said, she hurt so much. She thought someone said something about being taken back, and then she thought that the woman asked Noah to wait outside in the waiting room.

“Nay!”
Rachel said. “Can’t he come with me? Just for a little while?”

“Until the doctor comes in to examine you,” the nurse said.

They moved Rachel into a curtained area in the emergency room. Noah was barely there two minutes when he was asked to leave.

Holding her gaze, Noah clasped her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be here when you need me,” he said before he left as ordered.

The doctor who came in to see Rachel was a woman. Dr. Moss introduced herself and asked if she could examine Rachel. Rachel lay back on the examining table, and when Dr. Moss pressed on her abdomen, she flinched and then cried out as the woman probed a specific area.

“Any nausea or vomiting?” she asked Rachel.

“Ja,”
Rachel whispered miserably. She told Dr. Moss about getting sick and then about the buggy accident and severe abdominal injury she’d suffered. “They said I might have trouble with it again.”

Dr. Moss frowned. “I’d like to run some tests, including a blood draw. You’re running a fever. I think I know what’s wrong, but I want to make sure before we proceed.”

Rachel felt her throat tighten as her tears overflowed. She knew what the doctor was going to tell her—that the internal injury she’d suffered had become infected.
Please, Lord, help me to be strong.

* * *

Noah was pacing the waiting area when Abram, Charlotte, Mae and Amos arrived. Tom Drulis had stopped by the Kings’ to inform the family and had offered to drive them into town. Upon seeing Noah, Mae rushed over.

“How is she?” she asked. Noah saw Mae’s concern.

“She’s still inside. The doctor hasn’t come out yet.” He felt sick with worry. Rachel meant so much to him; he didn’t want anything to happen to her. He hated seeing her in pain.

It seemed like a long wait before the doctor came out with news.

“How is Rachel?” Noah asked anxiously.

“Rachel is going to need emergency surgery,” Dr. Moss said. “She has acute appendicitis and they are prepping her for the O.R. now.”

“Will she be all right?” Mae asked.

“As long as we get to the appendix before it ruptures. She’s in a lot of pain, so we need to get her to the OR now.”

Noah rubbed his forehead beneath the brim of his hat. “May I see her?”

Dr. Moss looked to Mae. “You are her relative, and there is only time for one quick visit.”

“It’s fine. Let Noah see her. She’ll want to see him.” Mae turned toward Noah. “Tell her that we’ll be here for whatever she needs.”

“I will.” Noah met Mae’s gaze. “I appreciate this. I know how worried you are about her.”

“Go, Noah. Cheer her up.”

“If you want to see her, you must go quickly,” Dr. Moss said.

Noah was taken into the emergency room, to the curtained area where Rachel lay. She wore a hospital gown and was covered modestly with a blanket. She still wore her
kapp;
the rest of her clothing had been put elsewhere for safekeeping.

“Rachel,” he whispered as he hurried to her side. “I’m sorry.” She looked pale and vulnerable. She was hooked up to an IV and a machine monitored her heartbeat. He felt helpless that he couldn’t do more for her.

Rachel managed a small smile. “Why are ya sorry, Noah? It’s not your fault that I have appendicitis. You got me here quickly.”

As she spoke, medical workers came to take her to the operating room.

“Your aunt Mae and Charlotte are outside. Aunt Mae wanted me to tell you that they will be here for whatever you need.” He gently took hold of her hand. “I’ll be here for you, Rachel. Always.”

“You’re a
gut
man, Noah Lapp,” Rachel said and then she grimaced and closed her eyes, clearly in pain.

“Time to go,” the nurse said.

She opened her eyes and met Noah’s gaze. “I’ll be all right,” she said, and then she was taken from the area and Noah was led outside, back into the waiting room.

The Lapps arrived, all seven of Noah’s siblings along with his
mam
and
dat.
Carrying her daughter, Hannah, Katie rushed up to her son. “How is Rachel?”

“She has appendicitis,” Noah said.

“Mae told me, but
how is she?
”

Noah’s mouth curved slightly upward. “She says she will be fine. She is in a lot of pain. I wish I could do something to help her.”

“You already did,” Mae said, joining the two of them. “You had the good sense to have someone drive her in a car and God blessed us in that it belonged to Tom Drulis.” Mae touched his cheek. “Take heart, Noah. I have faith that Rachel will be well soon.”

Noah nodded, but then bowed his head and said a silent prayer. After a time, other members of their church community filled the waiting room, coming in support of Rachel, Noah and the Kings. A hospital worker entered the room and told them they couldn’t stay. “There isn’t enough room for all of you,” the woman said.

The Zooks, the Masts and the Hershbergers took their leave, asking Mae to keep them informed about Rachel’s recovery.

“See that she rests,” Alta Hershberger instructed Mae.

Noah saw Mae control a small smile. “I will,” Mae assured her.

After a few moments of silent prayer, most of the church community members left. Only Mae, Charlotte, Noah, Katie and baby Hannah remained.

Two hours later, the emergency-clinic door opened and Dr. Moss came out, still in surgical scrubs. “Rachel did well,” she told them. “If we’d been much longer, the appendix would have ruptured. She will be sore when she wakes up, but fine.”

“May we see her?” Noah asked, anxious to be with her again. He needed to see for himself that she was better.

“I’m afraid not,” the doctor said. “She’s in the recovery room. We don’t expect her to be ready for visitors until tomorrow morning. She’s likely to sleep the rest of the afternoon and night.” She glanced about the waiting room, and seemed to take note of those who had stayed for news of Rachel. “You should go home and get some rest. Rachel won’t even know you have gone. You’ll be able to see her first thing tomorrow. Is there some way I can reach you if needed?”

“Whittier’s Store near us has a telephone,” Noah said. “They often take messages for us.” He waited while the doctor retrieved pen and paper from a worker’s desk before he gave her the number. “Mention my name, and Mr. Whittier will make sure I get the message.”

Dr. Moss jotted down the information. “Go home,” she urged again. “You can see Rachel in the morning.”

After the doctor left, Noah sat down. “I don’t think I should leave her.”

“Noah,” Katie said softly. She gently touched her son’s cheek. “You’ve been through a lot. Rachel will want to see you tomorrow. You should rest today so that you are at your best for her in the morning.”

Noah met his mother’s loving gaze and felt overwhelmed by the events of the day. He
was
exhausted…tired, worried and frightened for the woman he loved. What
Mam
said made sense. He needed a good night’s sleep.

He stood. “I’ll go home…for Rachel. I need to fetch Amos’s buggy. I left it at a neighbor of Tom Drulis’s when Tom drove us here.”