An Honest Love (19 page)

“You sure we won’t fall through?” Elisabeth peered at the cloudy ice from the safety of the bank.

“Positive. I already tested it.” He finished tying his black skates and stood up. “You ready?”

She had her skates on, a pair of white ones borrowed from one of her friends. Suddenly she wasn’t all that eager to step out onto the pond.

“What’s the matter, Elisabeth?”

Looking at the ice again, she said, “I don’t know about this.”

“Are you scared?”

She looked at him. His voice and expression weren’t taunting. Glad that he wasn’t making fun of her, she said, “
Ya
. I think I am.”

“You think?”

“I’m indecisive sometimes. I can’t help it.”

He held out his hand, which was covered in a thick woolen glove. “Trust me. Nothing’s going to happen.”

Her gaze landed on his hand, which was steady and sure. Slipping her gloved hand in his, she let him lead her out on the ice.

Still holding her hand, he turned to face her, then grasped her other hand. Skating backward, he pulled her toward him. “See? It’s solid.”

Pushing one wobbly leg forward, she tried to match his strides but soon gave up and let him drag her around the pond. It wasn’t long before he noticed.

“You’re not skating.”

“I’m not? I thought I was.”

“Standing still doesn’t equal skating.” His nose and cheeks glowed red from the cold.

“I beg to differ. I’m moving.”

“Because I’m pulling you.” He released her hands and skated away from her.

“Aaron, what are you doing?” Her arms flailed as she tried to regain her balance. She couldn’t do this without holding on to him.

“Teaching you to skate.” He glided up beside her and put his hand at her waist, then took her right hand in his.

“How about you teach me how to stop first.”

“I thought you said you’d been skating before.” He guided her slowly around the perimeter of the pond.

“Once. When I was five.”

“Then you have some catching up to do.”

She cast him a sidelong glance. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

He flashed his rare and still gorgeous smile. “Very much.”

“I’m glad I can entertain you.” Her left foot shot out in front of her, and for a moment she thought for sure she’d land right on her backside. But Aaron caught her, saving her from disgrace.

“I think we need to start with the basics,” he said.

The next hour passed quickly as she tried to get the hang of moving around on thin blades. She spent most of the time staring at her feet, which seemed to have a mind of their own. After a few spins around the pond, the ice became grooved and pocked, and she had trouble balancing. Still, she wasn’t about to pack it in, not until she could at least let go of Aaron’s arm.

When she was finally able to skate a few steps by herself, Aaron took off and circled the pond at an amazing rate of speed. He flew around her once, then skidded to a stop about ten feet from her, sending shards of ice flying from his blades.

“I’m impressed.” She tilted forward for a minute, then managed to right herself without falling. Maybe she’d get the hang of this after all. “Where did you learn to skate like that?”

“Older brothers and their friends. We’d play broom hockey out here all the time when I was a
kinn
. At first they told me I couldn’t play until I learned how to skate, so I’d spend hours on the ice until I could. Then they got mad because I skated better than they did. But they always wanted me on their team.”

“I don’t think I could ever skate that well.”

“Just takes practice. Lots of practice.”

“And some skates that fit. My feet hurt.”

“You want to stop?”

She nodded. She was also freezing. Skating was fun, but now it was just painful.

“Okay.”

They moved off the ice and to the wooden bench on the edge of the pond. She sat down and lifted up her feet, glad to be off the ice.

He bent down and started untying his skates. He had them off and his boots on before she could finish untangling the laces of even one of her skates. Then she realized they were in a knot. After she fumbled with them for a moment, she heard Aaron say, “Here. Let me try.”

She looked at him, then held up her foot, rearranging her skirt for modesty. He scooted closer to her, balanced her skate on his knee, and took off his gloves.

A few minutes later he gave up. “This is some knot.” He looked at her. “I can’t undo it.”

That wasn’t good. “I can’t walk around wearing one ice skate for the rest of my life.”

“That would be a sight to see.”

“Not funny, Aaron.”

“I know, I know. Here, let me see if I can pull it off.” He put one hand on her ankle, then grasped the blade and pulled.

“Yow! Not so hard. I want to keep my foot.”

“Sorry.” He pushed back the brim of his hat, his brows furrowing. “Let me try something different.” He cupped the heel of the skate and started to tug on it, then wiggled it back and forth. He did that several times until her foot started to slip. “Okay, now I think I can pull it out.” Gripping the blade, he gave it a hard yank, sending the skate and him flying backward off the bench and into the snow.

“Are you all right?” She moved to the edge of the bench and looked at him lying flat on his back.

“
Ya
.” He sat up, then burst into laughter.

She couldn’t help but laugh too. When she caught her breath she asked, “Where’s my skate?”

“Over there.” He smiled and pointed to the skate, sticking blade up in the snow. Grabbing his hat off the ground, he shook the snow from it and put it back on his head, then scrambled up and retrieved her skate. “Here you go. Tell me you can get the other one off by yourself ?”

She giggled. “I think I can manage.” And she did, since she hadn’t tied a knot in the laces.

He sat down beside her as she slipped on her snow boots. When she looked at him, he was still smiling. His happiness warmed her heart.

“You know,” he said after a long moment, “I haven’t had this much fun in a long time.”

“Then it was worth embarrassing myself on the ice.”

“You didn’t embarrass yourself.” His expression grew serious. “Some
maed
wouldn’t have gotten out there, not unless they could skate perfectly.”

“
Perfection
isn’t a word I’m familiar with.” She checked to see if her black bonnet was still tied beneath her chin, glad to discover it had remained in place.

“Neither am I.”

“Right, because none of us is perfect. Thank goodness we have a heavenly Father who doesn’t care and is very forgiving.”

He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees, staring at the pond. “Something I’ve experienced firsthand.”

“Then why do you keep punishing yourself ?”

He sat up and looked at her. “I’m not doing that.”

“
Ya
, you are. You had fun today, Aaron. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“I never said there was.”

“But you act like there is.”

He frowned. “Because I’m not smiling and laughing every moment of the day?”

She shook her head. “Because you cut yourself off from people.”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment, just stared at the snow covering the tops of his boots. “There’s a reason for that, Elisabeth. Having fun and hanging out with friends was all I ever cared about. I lived for the next party, the next high. Then it all came crashing down.” He turned to her, his breath frosty in the cold air. “Life is serious now. I learned there are more important things than having a
gut
time.”

“I know that. But don’t you think there should be a balance? Why does it have to be one way or another?”

“I don’t know. I guess I haven’t figured that out yet.” He looked out at the pond again. “How did you?”

“Oh, I don’t have anything figured out.”

“You seem to.”

His response surprised her, because she felt just as lost as ever. “I don’t, Aaron.” She sighed. “Half the time I don’t know what I’m doing, or what God wants me to do.”

He let out a flat chuckle. “Join the club.”

“At least you can ice skate.”

He smiled. “A few more times out there and you will too.”

“Maybe, but not today because I’m still freezing. Let’s
geh
inside.”

As they walked toward the Detweiler’s house, Aaron took Elisabeth’s skates from her and carried both pairs to the house. By the time they got to the back porch, she was cold and craving some hot chocolate.

Aaron’s mother met them at the back door. “Elisabeth, someone’s here for you.”

“For me?”

“
Ya
. She said her name is Deborah. She said she had to talk to you right away. I was going to send her to the pond, but then I saw you coming back. She’s in the living room.” Sarah leaned forward, lowering her voice. “She seems
sehr
upset.”

Elisabeth looked at Aaron and shrugged. “I don’t know what’s going on.”

“
Geh
and talk to her,” he said.

As she walked into Aaron’s living room, she saw Deborah in front of the big picture window, looking outside.

“Deborah?”

When her friend turned around, the first thing Elisabeth noticed were her red-rimmed eyes. Alarmed, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, Elisabeth.” Deborah went to her and grabbed her hands. “I’m in trouble. Big trouble.” Tears pooled in her eyes. “I think I’m pregnant.”

Chapter 12

A
aron, will you get me the cocoa powder from that cabinet?”

Aaron followed his mother’s instructions and handed her the cocoa as she stirred milk in a pot over the stove. He moved to sit at the kitchen table, wondering what Deborah was doing here. She’d probably stopped by Elisabeth’s house and found out she was here. But what could be so important that she couldn’t wait to talk to Elisabeth later?

“Do you know Deborah?”

He looked at his mother, who was adding cocoa to the milk. “
Nee
. We only met once.” He doubted Deborah remembered that encounter.

Sarah adjusted the gas flame underneath the pot. “I hope that poor
maedel
will be all right. She was distraught when she got here.”

Aaron tapped his fingers against the table, wondering the same thing. He also thought back to his conversation with Elisabeth at the pond. He’d been surprised to learn that she felt she was mixed up too. He would have never guessed that about her. Yes, she could be impulsive and at times forgetful, and her inclination for poking her nose where it didn’t belong could be annoying. But there were so many other things about her he found fascinating. Her optimism. Her sheer joy for life. Her ability to laugh off her failings and press on no matter what. Those were qualities he wished he possessed, qualities he found extremely appealing. It didn’t hurt that her terrific personality was wrapped up in a pretty package either.

He stilled his hand, realizing that wasn’t the first time he’d been thinking about how attractive he thought she was. He’d been thinking about that a lot, since Christmas when she’d given him the scarf. A month later and he was still touched by her thoughtfulness. He’d wracked his brain trying to think of something suitable to get her in return, but he didn’t think she’d want a pair of horseshoes or a handmade sconce. It just drove the point home that he had little to offer her.

“The cocoa’s almost done.” His mother glanced at him over her shoulder. “I wonder if I should take some to them or let them speak privately?”

“I’ll take it.” Aaron took two of the mugs his mother had filled and left the kitchen, heading down the hallway. As he neared the living room, he could hear them talking, but he couldn’t make out who was speaking or even exactly what they were saying, their voices were so low. A few words jumped out at him.
Trouble. Parents. Help
.

He practically stomped into the room, warning them of his arrival. “Anyone thirsty?”

Both girls looked at him, and he could see why his mother had been concerned. Tears streaked down Deborah’s face, and Elisabeth looked like she wanted to throw up.

Elisabeth went to him. “
Nee
, Aaron. Tell your
mami danki
, but Deborah and I have to
geh
.”

“All right, let me get my coat and I’ll drive you home.”

“Deborah brought her buggy. I’ll go with her.” She motioned for her friend to follow her. “I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” They rushed out of the front door.

Through the window, Aaron watched them leave in the buggy, the horse trotting at a swift pace. He frowned, genuinely worried now, and headed back to the kitchen. He set the mugs of cocoa on the table.

His mother looked at the still-full mugs. “They didn’t want any hot chocolate?”

“They left.”

“Already?”

He nodded.

“That’s strange, isn’t it?”

“
Ya
,” he said, glancing at his mother. “Very strange.” So strange, he didn’t know what to think.