A Plain Man (15 page)

Caleb peered down at his future brother-in-law, a man at least five inches shorter than him. “Sure, no problem.”

Adam removed his glasses and cleaned them with his hanky. His striking blue eyes were definitely his best feature. “Since every Troyer is here, we'll need the buggies to take my family home. But once I drop off
Mamm
and
Daed,
I'll have the rig for the rest of the night.” Anticipation turned his blue eyes very bright.

“Thanks for taking Rebekah too.” Caleb wanted to verify Adam's intentions for his other sister. If God was merciful tonight, he might have some time alone with Josie.

“No problem.” Adam replaced his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Your first singing in a long time, no?”

“
Jah,
I'm not sure why I'm going. I feel downright elderly next to Rebekah's friends.”

“Nonsense. I'll be there and I'm almost your age. Besides, it's still the best place to meet an eligible Amish girl. Good luck, Cal.” Adam slapped him on the back before heading toward the kitchen, no doubt to see what Sarah was doing.

Hopefully, some will be women and not girls
, Caleb thought grimly. What if Josie didn't show up? She barely said two sentences to him after preaching this morning. Josie treated him no differently from the man who delivered propane or the milk hauler from Walnut Creek. Of course, her mother and sisters had been present the entire time of socialization after the service.

Caleb waited another ten minutes before walking into the house. Blessedly, people were packing up pie carriers and salad bowls, gathering children and sewing baskets in preparation to depart. After twenty minutes of goodbyes as though it would be ages until the families saw each other again, the Troyers finally left. Caleb headed straight into the bathroom for another shower, a shave, and fresh clothes. All that exciting talk about Nathaniel's new thresher had made him sweat. Turning the shower taps to full blast, Caleb couldn't wait for the water to wash
away his anxiety. In the steamy mirror, he saw bags beneath his eyes, indicative of too much worry about his future...or the lack of one.

Suddenly, the sight of the name “Kristen” stopped him short. Caleb stared with horror at the colorful reminder of lost love and a drunken stupor. Funny how dressing and undressing in the dark, along with wearing long sleeves, had allowed him to forget his shame. Two ghastly serpents with long fangs writhed around a blood-red heart. His anticipation ran headlong into a brick wall. Some Christians considered vipers aligned with the devil. But he had played with garter snakes as a child and even kept one as a pet for a while. Snakes helped to keep the rat and mouse populations under control, so they were no more evil than rabbits or squirrels. But the Amish abhorred garish tattoos adorning a person's body. Not to mention how Josie might feel about seeing another woman's name on his arm. Would she be curious about his past or only repulsed by his actions? Stepping into the shower, Caleb let the water cascade over him until his sisters knocked on the door. Unfortunately, the twenty-minute shower did little to wash his sins away.

On the way to the Miller farm Sarah and Rebekah kept up a lively discussion about who might be there and who might ride home with whom. For Sarah, the conversation was merely to pass time because she would marry Adam in the fall. But Rebekah grew more boy-crazy each day and more obsessed with James in particular. At least their chatter distracted Caleb from his worries. Tonight, he would be fully Amish—no
Englischers
attended singings. They would speak and sing solely in
Deutsch.
This would be a major transition for him—one he would survive as long as
she
was there.

Josie Yoder strolled into the Miller barn ten minutes late. The songbooks had already been passed out. Young men and younger women sat on opposite sides of long tables in an almost spotless outbuilding. The deacon's son had been appointed song leader and was already calling the next page number when an ethereal angel glided into the room as though on air. Josie wore a dress of deep mauve with a crisp apron and starched
kapp.
She had tied her ribbons behind her
neck as though toiling in the garden. Her fresh face looked burnished from the sun while her emerald eyes sparkled and danced in the kerosene lantern light.

“Josie, we'll make room for you down here,” a girl called from the far end.

“Josie, I've got room for you next to me.” April Lapp half-stood and waved her hand.

But the object of Caleb's affection seemed not to hear them. Josie's eyes scanned the room until they landed on his sister, directly across from him and Adam Troyer. Unlike either of the women who'd summoned Josie, Sarah was wedged between people. But that didn't stop his
schwester.

“Scoot over a smidge,” said Sarah to those on both sides. Using her hip, she banged her way into compliance.

Josie's decision had already been made. “
Guder nachmittag
, Sarah, Caleb,” she greeted. Hastily, she slipped onto the bench as the leader began the next song.

Throughout two hours of singing, Caleb alternated between periods of contentment and anxiety during the age-old courting tradition. His
Deutsch
readily came back to him as the hymns oddly soothed his nerves. Singing about a God of infinite power and mercy made his earthly worries seem miniscule. As Scripture attested, nothing was beyond the healing power of God. Then Josie would turn her beautiful eyes his way, and he felt as helpless and out of place as a worm at a robin reunion.

How could someone as pretty as Josie be interested in him?

Sarah kicked him under the table each time he stopped singing. He could be in his buggy and on his way home before anybody recognized the streak of lightning as a human being. But cowardice had never done a man a bit of good, whether
Englisch
or Plain. At long last the leader closed his songbook and invited them to eat the snacks set up outdoors.

As though on a mission of mercy, the angel across the table looked him straight in the eye and announced, “I'm starving. Let's run for the desserts.” As tiny as she was, Josie had no trouble extricating herself from the tight fit on the girls' side.

Caleb, however, had to squash poor Adam Troyer to get out before their bench unloaded in an orderly fashion. He followed the scent of peaches and cream out of the Miller grain barn and into the cool night air.

Josie hadn't been joking about running. She sprinted across the lawn to the tables with trays of brownies, cookies, and pies that had been arranged under a hanging lantern. She picked up a paper plate as he reached the table. “Since I'm first, I can take one of everything.”

Caleb glanced at her slim figure. “You can, but I doubt you can eat that much.”

“You'd be surprised by my appetite.” Josie selected a Rice Krispie treat, a brownie, and two peanut butter cookies.

Because he was incapable of making logical decisions at the moment, Caleb duplicated her choices for himself. “Would you like a cup of lemonade or iced tea?” he asked as they stepped away from the food.

“Iced tea, please. You fetch our drinks while I find seats away from the crowd.” She disappeared into the shadows as though still in a hurry.

Caleb discovered his muscular legs would barely bend at the knee. Josie wanted to be alone with him? The paralysis soon spread upward into his chest, turning his breaths into short, desperate gasps. Hopefully by the time he returned with the drinks, his vocal cords wouldn't be locked in place. With shaky hands, Caleb carried two cups of iced tea to the dense canopy of a maple tree. Little illumination from the barn's solar floodlight reached into the gloom. “Who are you hiding from, Miss Yoder? I hope it's not me.” He set the cups down before they spilled.

Josie ate half her brownie before replying. “Your sister and my three sisters.” With a wink, she popped the other half into her mouth.

“Why would you hide from Sarah? She's your best friend.” Caleb picked up a Rice Krispie bar for something to do with his hand.

“Because she's constantly pointing out your attributes.
Doesn't Cal look handsome in a navy shirt? Don't you think that horrid
Englisch
haircut has grown out nicely? Did I mention that my brother saved enough to buy his own buggy and Standardbred horse?
Sarah has appointed herself your PR director.” She sipped her drink.

“Hopefully she won't send a bill for her services at month's end.” Caleb chewed some of the square nervously. The marshmallow
practically glued his dry mouth shut. “Don't you agree with Sarah's generous assessment of me?” He focused on the dark pasture instead of her.

“Sarah isn't known for telling lies, but I prefer to draw my own conclusions.” Josie began to nibble a cookie.

“Fair enough,” he said, downing his tea. “What about your
schwestern
? I would guess your reasons for avoidance aren't the same.”

Josie didn't bat a single long eyelash. “Quite the contrary.
Why are you hanging out with wild Caleb Beachy? Anyone separated from the fold that long will never commit. Why waste your time on a man who'll run back to Cleveland the moment he builds up his bank account?
”

Caleb dropped the rest of his dessert onto the plate. He couldn't have eaten another bite if someone put a gun to his temple. “I had no idea the other Yoders held me in such low esteem.”

“Rest assured each of my sisters spoke to me in private—not in front of my parents. They aren't ganging up on you.”

“I suppose I should be grateful for small blessings.”

Josie laughed as though she hadn't a care in the world. “
Jah
, we all should.”

“What about you? Do you hold the same opinion as Laura and Jessie?”

“If I did, would I be sitting with you now?” She consumed her Rice Krispie treat in three bites and then licked her fingertips. The stickiness apparently wasn't a problem for her vocal cords. “I told them the same thing I said to Sarah: Please let me make up my own mind.”

Caleb released his death-grip on the plastic cup before he destroyed it. “Another blessing—this one not so small.”

“You're not saving money to head back to the city, are you?”

Loud laughter and chatter carried on the breeze from the young people clustered around the barn, but Caleb heard her clear as a bell. “I certainly am not.”

“Are you planning to commit to the Amish faith?”

“I intend to take membership classes the next time they're offered.”

Josie finished the last dessert on her plate. “
Gut.
Then why don't you stop beating around the bush and ask me out on a real date?”

Caleb coughed as saliva slipped down his windpipe. “What would you like to do, Miss Yoder? Your wish is my command.”

“Funny that you should quote one of those storybook Prince Charmings. Since we're both still on
rumschpringe
for a couple more months, I want to go to the movies in Wooster to see one of those animated fairy tales on the big screen. Plus I want a tub of buttered popcorn. Then let's stop for a deluxe pizza in Shreve on the way home.”

“I won't even ask if you can eat all that.” Caleb grinned at her empty plate, relaxing for the first time that evening.

Josie scrambled up. “Let's get more sweets for the ride home.”

“Would you let
me
drive you home tonight?” He rose to his full height.

“Hmmm,” she murmured. “I guess so, as long as nobody better asks between here and the parking area.” She grasped his arm on their walk back to the snacks.

“I'll hold them off with a rake if need be.” At the table, Caleb loaded his plate with six Rice Krispie squares.

“Looks like you were hungry after all.”

He reached for a piece of foil. “These are for Sarah; they're her favorites. My PR director is about to get her Christmas bonus early this year.”

Josie stood at the front window watching for Caleb's buggy. She wanted to know the moment he pulled into their driveway to avoid any unpleasant scenes with her family. Her parents weren't happy about her dating Caleb, while her sisters were downright hostile. But since the Bible was full of stories about people getting second chances, they couldn't easily forbid them from seeing each other.

Caleb deserved a second chance. Since he'd returned from Cleveland he resembled an old hound, scolded once too often for jumping on the furniture. It couldn't be easy having Eli for both his employer and father. The bishop struck her as unyielding at best. Not a good match for someone as spirited as Caleb. At least, he used to be spirited. Now he just seemed sad. What was it like to not fit in anywhere?

Her oldest sister asked if she was courting Caleb out of pity. Josie had been stuck for a quick reply but had since thought carefully. Even though his situation seemed pitiful at times, she was dating him because of the way he treated her. If some men wore their hearts on a sleeve, Caleb used every stitch of clothing he owned. There was nothing quite as irresistible as somebody's adoration. No one had ever looked at her the way Caleb did.