Courting Emily (A Wells Landing Book 2) (18 page)

“Did you do that with food coloring?” Emily asked.

“
Nay
.” Becky smiled and handed the pot to Mary. “I found purple potatoes in the market. Awesome,
jah?
”

A chorus of
jah
s went up all around the table as everyone took their turn trying the purple treat.

He looked around at his family, so different today than it had been a couple of months ago, and all thanks to one person. He caught Emily’s gaze in his own. She smiled in that sweet way she had, and he was overcome with his love for her. She was so beautiful inside and out, so caring and lovely. He wanted nothing more than to marry her and make all of her days as happy as she made him and his family.

“What?” she asked, dropping her gaze to her plate then raising it back to his.

“
Nix,
” he replied. But it was more than nothing. So much more.

 

 

After supper, Emily and Mary helped the girls clean the kitchen while Joy and James went to the living room to play with the new presents. Emily couldn’t have been happier with the joy she had seen on James’s face at the purple gifts that had been exchanged. But there was one more gift still left to give. Her heart pounded in her chest at the mere thought of handing Elam the present she had brought for him. What if he hated it?

She dried her hands on the dish towel as the rest of the girls finished putting the dishes away.

Only one way to know how he would feel about it and that was to give it to him.

Mary caught her eye with a knowing smile.

“I need to, uh, find Elam.”

The girls all turned to her, all except Johanna who seemed oblivious to the relationship between Emily and her big brother. They smiled and nodded, their eyes twinkling with more than Christmas cheer.

“I think he’s in the barn,” Becky helpfully supplied.

And that was exactly where Emily found him. He had his back to her, as he tended one of the mules. He was bent low over the task, the beast’s right front hoof braced on Elam’s thigh as he worked.

“Hi,” she said, cautiously approaching.

Elam released the mule and turned to face her. “Hi.” He adjusted his hat where he had tipped it back to better see as he worked. Emily hated the gesture because she couldn’t see his eyes as well shaded by the brim as they were then.

She pulled the gift bag from behind her back and held it out to him. “I have something for you.”

He looked at it, then at her as if unable to say anything at the sight of the gift. Then he took the rag that had been tucked into the waistband of his pants and wiped the dirt from his fingers. “For me?”

Emily smiled at his childlike expression. “
Jah
. It’s not much, but . . .” She shrugged.

“I’m sure it is perfect.”

She hated the way her hand trembled as she held the sack toward him.

He tucked the rag away. His expression turned solemn—or was it thoughtful?—as he pulled the tissue-paper-wrapped present out.

“It’s the song,” she said while he studied the framed picture she had given him. “The one you sang to me after the school Christmas program.” The librarian had helped her type all the words to “Love Is Patient and Kind” into the computer, then Emily printed it on some pretty paper and framed it in a hand-painted frame. It had taken a lot of time, effort, and patience and now she wanted to jerk it away from him before he started laughing at her for being so silly. Her heart couldn’t take that.

“It’s
wunderbaar,
” he said, his voice thickened with something she couldn’t name. Was he happy? Laughing? Trying not to choke at her childishness?

If they had been eighteen and just starting to court, it might not have seemed so silly. But they weren’t eighteen. They were well past that.

“I—” she started, not really sure how she was going to complete the sentence. Thankfully she didn’t have to as Elam pulled her close and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

“It’s beautiful,” he said as he released her from his embrace. “So thoughtful.”

She flushed with pride and maybe a little bit of something else. Love perhaps? But she pushed the thought away. Loving Elam made things even more muddled than they already were, and she had enough confusion on her plate to last all the way through to next year.

“Come on back to the
haus
. I may have something for you.” He looped his arm through hers and steered her back toward the porch.

“You might?” She smiled up at him, loving the warmth of him beside her. Again she nudged the thought aside. Way too confusing, way too much to sort through on the Lord’s birthday.

“
Jah
. I might.”

He smiled all the way to the house. Emily knew this because she kept casting glances his way. He looked younger when he smiled, more than just happy. He looked content, as if God had somehow set his feet on a well-lit path.

He opened the door, and she stepped inside. Strangely enough, no one was in the living room when they came in. Emily was certain she had seen the shades on the front windows stir as they had walked up the porch steps, but there was not a soul around. Must have been a trick of her eyes.

She took off her coat and hung it by the door while Elam did the same.

“Wait right here,” he said, then he took the steps two at a time.

Suddenly uncomfortable, Emily smoothed her hands down the front of her dress. Where was her sister?

The only sounds that could be heard were the tick of the clock over the mantel and the fire still burning in the grate.

That in itself was strange. There were eight people in the house not counting her and Elam, and no one was making a noise?

Once again his footsteps echoed on the stairs.

“It’s not a lot,” he started.

Emily loved the flush of red that had crept into his cheeks. She was certain he would blame it on the cold, but she had a feeling it had more to do with the large box he held in his hands.

“Elam, I—”

“Just open it,” he said.

Emily took the package from him and perched on the edge of the sofa. There was no wrapping paper, but someone had placed a large purple bow on top. It was a bit lopsided, and Emily was certain James and Johanna were responsible for the decoration.

The box was heavy, and she took her time opening it. Somehow she knew the contents were fragile. But in no time at all she had the present out of the box.

“Oh, Elam.”

She wasn’t sure what to say. Delicate white glass decorated with hand-painted purple violets, it was without a doubt the most beautiful lamp she had ever seen.

“It was my
grossmammi
’s,” he explained as he turned it over in her hands. “The batteries go in here—”

Emily shook her head. “I can’t accept this.” She started to put it back into the wrapping, back into the box, but Elam laid a hand on hers, stilling her motions.

“She would love knowing you have it.”

“But this is so valuable. It should stay in your family.”

He shrugged and gave her a small smile. “Once you accept my proposal, then it’ll be back in the family.”

Emily swallowed hard. Part of her wanted the beautiful gift. It was lovely, exquisite even. She would place it in her room and every time she saw it, she would think of Elam and James, Joy and the rest of the Riehl girls.

But to accept the gift, after he made such a statement . . . she was just so confused.

“Forgive me,” he murmured. “I promised not to put any pressure on you for an answer. Whatever you decide, the lamp is yours. It’s the least we can offer you after everything you have given us.”

“
Nay
.” She shook her head. “I didn’t give you anything.”

“You gave us hope.” He reached up and brushed the backs of his fingers against her cheek. It was a motion she had become familiar with. It was comforting, sweet, and exciting all at the same time.

Then the confusion was back.

“
Danki,
” she whispered.

“
Gern gschehne,
” he said in return.

The moment hung between them. For a minute, she thought he might kiss her.

Then Johanna bounded into the room.

“Emily, Emily, Emily!
Mamm
said we could have another piece of pie. Will you cut it? Please, please, please?”

Elam shot her an apologetic half smile as she allowed herself to be dragged into the kitchen.

An hour later Elam stood on his front porch and waved as Emily and Mary drove away.

It had been such an enjoyable day. He’d felt . . . blessed as he spent the day with his family and Emily. It made him wonder if today was how the rest of the holiday celebrations would be, once they got married.

He tried to keep his thoughts about Emily’s answer to his proposal on the positive side. He needed to believe that finally,
finally
she would be his.

The screen door slammed, and he turned to find Becky stepping out onto the porch.

He looked back to the street as Mary and Emily disappeared from view.

“Are you going to stand out here all night?” Becky asked. “
Mamm
was wondering if you wanted something else to eat.”

He shook his head. He’d eaten more today than he had all week.

He’d be lucky if his pants would fasten shut tomorrow.

Becky crossed her arms, bit her lower lip, and tilted her head to one side as if mulling over something of great importance. Then again, with Becky a body never knew if it was a grave matter or simply which color dress she should wear to the youth meeting.

When she didn’t speak right away, he turned back to face her. “Something on your mind, Becky?”

She shook her head, then seemed to change her mind. “
Jah,
” she said.

Elam propped one hip on the porch railing and eyed his
shveshtah
. “And?”

She hesitated for a moment longer then the words burst from her like water from a garden hose. “Jonah Miller told his brother Aaron who told Mary who told me that Luke Lambright is back.” She sucked in a big gulp of air.

“It is a sin to gossip,” Elam said, though the news stabbed his heart. He just needed a little more time to make Emily fall in love with him. Was that too much to ask?

“Mary said she even thinks Emily is sneaking out to see him.”

He wouldn’t allow himself to believe the words. He couldn’t. To believe that would mean to give up hope, all the hope he had built for himself over the last few weeks.

Emily and Luke had been a couple for a long time, and they had known each other even longer. There was no way her father—the bishop—would let a wayward soul like Luke swoop in and take her away from Elam.

Well, her father wouldn’t want Luke to hang around and show the youth of Wells Landing how to live a double life.

That was the thing about a
rumspringa
. It had to end. And when it didn’t, the person in question had to move on. It was too much of a distraction to let those wayward souls stay around and suggest to the youth that they could have all they wanted: the thrill of the outside world and the comfort of their Amish home.

“Elam?” Becky’s words brought him ’round to the here and now.

“
Jah?
”

“I think she loves you.”

His heart jumped at the thought. More than anything in the world he wanted Emily’s love in return. But love was a fragile thing, so easily damaged, so hard to grow.

And then there was Luke Lambright standing between them. How was Elam supposed to win her heart if Luke was there to constantly distract her?

“I hope so,” he replied. “I surely do.”

 

 

Luke stirred the noodles on his plate and wondered where things had gone so wrong. All he had ever done in his life was exactly what he was supposed to. He’d plowed fields and gone to church. He prayed when he was told to, sang when it was expected of him, everything. He had done everything in line with the Amish way.

Then he turned sixteen and learned to drive a car.

The thrill of his fingers curled around the steering wheel, the rumble of the engine vibrating throughout his body. It was like no other feeling on earth. He’d been hooked since the first time he ever sat in a driver’s seat.

Now he had a chance to drive for a living, feel that buzz every day, get paid for it even. How could he let that go?

He stirred the chicken casserole around on his plate a bit more. He tried to pretend he was eating, when too many thoughts occupied his mind.

“Something wrong?” his
onkle
asked.

Something . . . everything . . . “
Nay,
” he lied.

It was so far from the truth,
Onkle
Joseph frowned at him. “You want to try that again?”

“Emily.” Her name brought a faster beat to his heart, a warmth to his blood, and a comfort to him like none other. He had loved her as long as he could remember.

His uncle nodded, understanding everything from the one word. “It is hard to balance two loves,” he said.

That was exactly what Luke had to do: balance the things he loved most in the world.

“Elam Riehl asked her to marry him.” Once he said the words out loud, they were even scarier than they had been inside his mind. If anyone outside the two of them knew how much he loved Emily, it was
Onkle
Joseph.

His
onkle
leaned back in his seat and narrowed his eyes. It was his thoughtful expression, though to an outsider it might have looked more like anger. “Did she tell him yes?”

“I asked her not to.”

Onkle
nodded. “Then there is still time.”

“Time?”

“To prove your love to her, to show her a life that Elam cannot give her.”

Luke nodded slowly. His life among the
Englisch
had been sparse at best. His living conditions other than electricity had been worse than they had when he lived with his uncle. But he had seen the magazines; the
Englisch
world was a beautiful place. One day it would all be his: fortune, fame, a big house, nice cars, and a big diamond ring for his Emily like the one the sponsor’s wife wore.

They just had to be patient.

He would do just as his uncle said and show Emily the life that would soon be hers. The freedoms she could have outside of Wells Landing, the fun and excitement. And he knew just how to do it.

 

 

The sound had become familiar to Emily. She threw back the covers and tiptoed over to the window. Tonight she didn’t raise the sash. She just nodded at Luke and crept down the stairs.

She wasn’t sure why, but going to him like this, in the middle of the night when everyone else was asleep, seemed wrong somehow. Very wrong. Yet she hadn’t done anything sinful. She had no plans to.

But with the confusion that raged in her heart, she had to know. Did she still love Luke? Or had he become like an old familiar blanket, warm and comfortable, easy? Was she willing to wait on him to return to the Amish life where they had grown up? Oh, she knew he said he wasn’t, but how long could he survive in the
Englisch
world driving cars in a circle?

She grabbed her coat and slipped it on, careful not to let the screen door slam behind her as she made her way outside.

Luke was nowhere to be seen, so she headed for the barn, sure he had gone in there for shelter from the cold.

“Luke?” She poked her head in first, then stepped inside as he turned on one of the battery-operated lights her father kept close to the door.

“Emily.” The light cast shadows onto his tired features. “I’ve missed you so much.” He set the lamp on a hay bale and pulled her close for a quick hug.

The thrill of being held in his arms didn’t zing through her like it used to. But maybe that was because the cold night air had frozen her legs to icicles. She should have pulled on some stockings before coming down to meet him. As it was, her flannel nightgown offered little warmth below the line where her coat ended.

Being held by Luke was much like hugging her sister Mary.

He released her and stepped back. If he noticed anything different about the embrace he didn’t say anything. Instead he fished into his jeans pocket and brought out a small box. “I have something for you.”

“For me?”

“It’s not much.”

She looked at the box and back to his face. She had been so busy getting everything ready for her sisters and the Riehls for Christmas, she had forgotten to get anything for Luke. “I don’t have anything for you,” she whispered, unable to take the box from him.

He held it closer to her. “That’s all right.”

She took the box and untied the red ribbon, careful not to let it fall to the barn floor. Inside was a piece of slick paper, the kind like she had seen in an
Englisch
magazine. This page had been folded up so it fit into the tiny box.

“Here.” Luke took the paper and unfolded it, smoothing it against his thigh before handing it back. “That’s what I’m going to get you someday. Soon,” he added.

Emily stared at the picture. An
Englisch
ring lay on top of a bed of ivory rose petals. She knew enough to know the square stone set in the middle of a band of smaller stones was a diamond and considered very valuable. But the Amish didn’t wear jewelry.

She frowned. “I don’t understand.”

“I . . .” Luke faltered. “I don’t have the money to get you that now, but one day . . . one day I will. You’ll see.”

“But—” It was her turn to stutter. “When you come back, I . . .”

“I’ve almost got a sponsor, Em. I got this guy, Gus Hardin’s his name. He wants to sign me.”

“But you haven’t signed?”

“Not yet, though it’s just a matter of time before everything goes through. He likes my story—Amish kid learns to drive, makes good on the dirt tracks. That sort of thing.”

“What does this mean exactly?” she asked.

“That I’ll have money for a car, for races, for things like this.” He tapped the paper she held in her hands. The picture of the expensive
Englisch
ring.

“I don’t want a diamond.”

“You may not now, but trust me, one day you will.”

“Luke,” she started, but wasn’t able to finish as he clasped her hands in his own, crumpling the paper a bit as he squeezed her fingers. “Come with me tomorrow night. There’s a party at a friend of mine’s house.”

“Who?”

Luke shrugged. “You don’t know him.”

“Luke, I—”

“Just promise you’ll come with me.”

“I don’t know.” Emily bit her lip. “I’ll have to sneak out.” Her father would not let her go anywhere with Luke Lambright, that much was certain. But since everyone in her family went to bed early, leaving the house after everyone was asleep would still leave them plenty of time to be together.

“So?” He shrugged again. “You’re twenty-one years old, Emily. The
Englisch
believe that’s old enough to make up your own mind about things.”

I’m not Englisch
popped to the tip of her tongue, but she bit back the words.

“I’ll be by at ten to get you.”

“You’ll come here?”

“Only to the stop sign at the end of the lane. Can you walk down there and meet me?”

It was a quarter of a mile to the stop sign, but Emily nodded. “I’ll be there.”

She felt like she was in her
rumspringa
again, though never had she done anything like sneak out in the middle of the night. The worst she had done was listen to pop music on a friend’s music player.

But Luke was right. She was twenty-one years old. Most Amish women her age were married and having babies. If a person her age could be trusted with an infant, surely she could be trusted to spend the evening with a friend.

“Hang on to that picture,” Luke said, releasing her hands so he could refold it. “That’s going to be yours someday.” He pressed the small square of paper into her palm as he landed a chaste kiss to her cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

And then he was gone.

 

 

“What are you doing?”

At the urgent whisper, Emily stopped midmotion, one arm up in the air as she pulled on her heavy black coat. She turned, then wilted with relief at the sight of her sister. “Mary,” she whispered in return. “You scared me half to death.”

Mary braced her hands on her hips and pursed her lips. The action was so like their mother, Emily had to stifle a giggle. “That did not answer my question.”

“I’m going out.” Emily finished putting on her coat and reached for her black bonnet.

“That’s obvious. It’s the where to that I’m worried about.”

“Quit frowning like that. You’ll be more wrinkled than Maddie Kauffman if you keep that up.”

Mary shook her head, but smoothed her forehead all the same. “I’m worried about you,
shveshtah
.”

“Why ever for?” Emily tied the bonnet strings under her chin and reached for her scarf. The minute her fingers touched the soft yarn, memories of Elam surfaced. Becky had crocheted the scarf for her. The purple hue was the deep dark shade of an eggplant, nearly black. Perhaps that was the only reason why her father let her wear it, but having it in her hands . . .

She pushed the thoughts away. She would never be able to figure out her mind if she kept avoiding the issue. She had to go tonight with Luke, work through whatever feelings she had left for him. Elam was waiting for an answer from her. He was a
gut
man, but he wouldn’t wait forever, just as it was unfair to ask him to do so.

Still Luke’s gift from the night before confused her. She didn’t want a ring. She didn’t want to leave the Amish. And if she was truly being honest with herself, she didn’t want to go to this party. She felt adrift, jumbled, and confused.

“You’re going to meet Luke, aren’t you?”

“Mary . . .” She wasn’t sure what to say to her sister. “Surely you understand. You’ve been in love with Aaron all these years.”

“
Jah,
” Mary said, frowning again.

“And I have loved Luke.”