Leah's Choice (20 page)

Leah came toward him in the soft darkness. Daniel took his cell phone out of his pants pocket, turned off the power and tossed it on the front seat of the truck.

“I didn’t bring a flashlight,” she said, “but I could go back and get it—”

“No need,” he said. “The moon is bright enough for us to find our way.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “It is, isn’t it?” She caught his hand and led the way around the barn. Lantern light spilled through a small window. “Miriam’s with Wilmer’s horse,” Leah said. “We think Wilmer drove him too hard and he fell on the road. His knees are a mess.”

“I hate to see any animal mistreated.”

“It just shows how sick Wilmer must be. He’s not even able to care for his animals. Johanna brought the baby turkeys here the day after she came. We have them in the little shed off the utility room. You have to have a heat lamp if the temperature drops too low.”

“Even in May?” He savored the feel of Leah’s fingers clasped around his.
If we marry,
he thought,
I can hold her hand whenever I want.
A surge of joy rose in his chest. If Leah would only accept his offer of marriage, they’d share so much. He’d never know loneliness again.

“It can get cool on May nights,” she said.

As they walked past the enclosed corral behind the barn, Daniel saw the white shapes of sheep. “I didn’t know you had sheep,” he said.

“Johanna’s. She bought the original breeding pair with her quilt money. Wilmer never liked them, and she knew he wouldn’t take care of them, so Uncle Reuben, Charley and Eli brought them here, too. A neighbor has been milking the cow for her.”

“A shame she lives so far away.”

“Yes, too far for Irwin to go back and forth to care for the animals twice a day. Last year, they rented a house at the end of our lane, the green farmhouse on the right. That was nice, to have her so close to all of us. But Wilmer’s never satisfied. He’s always looking for a better deal. They’ve moved four times since they were married.”

“That’s not a lot of moves,” he said with a chuckle. “I can’t tell you how many homes I’ve lived in.”

“I’ve never moved. I was born in this house.”

“My older brother and sister were born in Panama. I was born in Ohio. Matt in Oregon, and one of my younger sisters in Spain, the other one in South Dakota.”

She glanced at him. “You lived in South Dakota?”

“I’ve lived a lot of places.”

He’d thought that they would be talking about Johanna and her problems with Wilmer, but they didn’t. Instead, they found themselves pouring out their hearts to each other. He told her about a Sunday school play he’d been in when he was four.

He’d been assigned the role of a shepherd who’d followed the star to Bethlehem and found the baby in the manger. He’d wanted to be Joseph, but that was a speaking part, reserved for an older boy. His brother was one of the three kings and wore a shiny crown. Somehow, when the time came for the shepherds and kings to make their grand entrance, Daniel found himself wearing the tinfoil crown on top of his washcloth headdress. The audience had howled with laughter, sending him wailing off stage, which pretty much ended his acting career.

Leah laughed heartily and quickly followed with an incident in her own childhood that had caused her much embarrassment in her later years. Soon they were so engaged in each other’s stories that they were finishing each other’s sentences and so much at ease that it seemed the most natural thing in the world was to find a mossy spot near a peach tree, sit down, lean back and stare up at the stars.

There were no airplanes overhead, and the sky was exceptionally clear. The stars shone so brightly that they seemed like glistening diamonds against a velvet blue-black heaven. Somehow, Leah’s head was nestled against Daniel’s shoulder and his arm was draped around her shoulders. It felt so good…so right.

“There’s something I want to tell you,” she said softly.

“You can tell me anything.”

“Today, when Wilmer hit you and knocked you down, I was afraid for you, but more than that…” He heard her inhale deeply. “You were the strong one, Daniel. It’s what I thought. That you were kind and strong and good. He hurt you, but you didn’t get angry. You saw his pain and you just wanted to help him.”

He didn’t know what to say. It made him feel good that she thought he wasn’t afraid, that he’d held to his nonviolent principles. But he hadn’t had time to decide what to do. It was like that when he was treating someone with a medical emergency. He simply did what he had to and agonized over it later.

“I heard Him when you did that,” Leah said. “Just as you told me that you hear Him. The Lord. Not with words in my ears, but in my heart. A feeling that it is right between us, that you have always been intended for me. And…” She hesitated and went on shyly. “And I realized then that I want you to court me, Daniel. I don’t care what other people think—not even my family. I want to
walk out
with you, not to hide anymore, but to have everyone see us together. If you still want me?”

“I do,” he said, tightening his arm around her. “I want it more than anything.”

“Other than keeping your promise,” she reminded him. “To God.”

“Yes,” he said. “But it seems to me that we can keep that promise together.”

“I think so.” She rose to her feet and took a few steps away from him. “We should get back,” she said.

He got up and crossed the distance between them. She stood there, her heart-shaped face beautiful in the moonlight. As she took his hand, he couldn’t help himself. He lowered his head and brushed her lips with his. For just an instant, she returned his kiss, and her lips were warm and soft and sweet.

“Oh, Daniel.” She backed away from him. “That was nice.”

“Yes,” he said. “Better than nice.”

“I think that means it’s official,” she said. “But you’re supposed to ask me again.”

“Ask you?” His stomach turned over. And his heart hammered in his chest.

She laughed, a joyous sound in the hushed darkness of the peach orchard. “To marry you, Daniel. You’re supposed to ask me again.”

“Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife, Leah Yoder?”

Laughing, she turned and darted away, her bonnet strings streaming behind her. “I’m thinking about it,” she flung back over her shoulder.

He raced after her. For a few minutes, he was certain he’d catch her, but Leah was faster on her feet than he’d expected. And as he reached his pickup, she clattered up the back steps to the kitchen door. “Tomorrow,” she called.

“I love you!” he shouted, not caring who heard. “I love you!”

With another peal of laughter, she flung open the door and went inside. Upstairs, a window opened and Susanna stuck her head out. She was giggling. “I love you, too!” Susanna shouted.

Red-faced and sweating but so happy that he was about to burst out of his skin, Daniel climbed into his truck. He turned around in the yard, stopped long enough to stare at the dark windows on the second floor, and finally drove away, whistling.

* * *

His aunt met him at the back door of her house. “Daniel! We’ve been trying to reach you. You’ve had a call from Pastor Bennett, from the committee. He wants you to contact him right away.”

“He called
tonight?
” Daniel looked at his wrist to check the time before remembering that he’d forgotten to put his watch on that morning. It was probably still lying on top of the dresser in his bedroom along with his wallet. “Is it too late to return his call?”

“No. John was adamant. He wants you to call him, no matter the time.” She hugged him. “They’ve found a place for you! Wait until you hear where it is.”

“He told you? Where is it? Do they want me to go back to Spain?” Usually, volunteers had several months to tie up their affairs in the States before going overseas. Unless the new post was in the United States. There’d been talk about an Indian reservation in New Mexico that might need help in their tribal clinic. Would his next assignment be in the Southwest? “Did Pastor Bennett say when I had to report to the mission? Will I be working in an established clinic?”

His aunt laughed and hugged him again. “I’m not telling. All I can say is that your uncle is very pleased. So am I, Daniel. We’ll miss you terribly, but this will be such an adventure for you—a real chance to make a difference.”

Uncle Allan was sitting at the kitchen table. “All things come to he who waits.” He handed Daniel the wall phone. “Go ahead. Call Pastor Bennett.”

Daniel was too nervous to sit. He found the number, punched the buttons and held his breath as he heard the faint ring on the other end of the line. The pastor answered on the third ring. As pleasantries were exchanged, Daniel walked outside, onto the porch, to have a little privacy.

“We’ve had a bit of a scramble here,” Pastor Bennett said in his deep, husky voice. “If you feel called to accept this responsibility, you’re going to make a lot of people happy. Another family was scheduled to take the post. The wife was a nurse-practitioner, but one of their children was just diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, and they had to refuse the assignment since this is such a remote location.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Daniel said.

“As we all are. But you should know that two committee members submitted your name, Daniel. You’re young, but we feel you’re the right one to head up this mission.”

“Head it up?” Daniel was certain he’d heard wrong. “I’m sorry, Pastor Bennett. Would you repeat that?”

“You heard me correctly, son. We’re badly in need of an experienced RN with leadership qualities.”

“I’m honored, but…” Suddenly he felt as if he couldn’t get enough air in his lungs. He couldn’t get his head around what John Bennett had said. “I’m not ordained. I can’t be in charge of the mission.”

“Not necessary. We have three other families going. For one young couple, this will be their first mission. The other two families are old hands at this. We have several teachers, a farmer, a carpenter and an excellent pastor with twenty years of mission experience. We spoke with him, and he agreed that you would be a wonderful addition. And you should know that the committee voted unanimously to have you take charge.”

“I’m speechless. I never expected…”

“You’ll be setting up your own clinic. There isn’t a medical facility for a hundred miles, and the population desperately needs your skills.”

“My own clinic?”

“We have the funds for a small but fully supplied station. The post used to be a cattle ranch, but the jungle has reclaimed much of the pastureland. We’ve purchased some land on a navigable river to set up a school, a store and a self-sustaining farm. We also have a private donation to build a lovely church.”

“Jungle? Did you say jungle? Pastor, where is this post?”

“Oh.” Pastor Bennett laughed. “I thought your uncle and aunt would have told you. It’s in the Amazon, Daniel. Brazil. Extremely remote. Your only electricity will be generator enabled, and the only practical way in or out is by boat or a float plane.”

“But they speak Portuguese,” Daniel reminded him. “I’m fluent in Spanish, not Portuguese.”

“Not that important. Most of your patients will speak only one of a myriad of tribal dialects so interpreters who also speak Portuguese will be available. With a solid background in Spanish and your skill with languages, you’ll soon make the switch to Portuguese. There is a locally trained woman with basic nursing skills who will act as your assistant. It’s my understanding that she speaks both Portuguese and English.”

Daniel tried to organize his thoughts. The Amazon? The area had always fascinated him. When he was a boy, he’d read every book he could find on the subject. “Would this be a two-year post?”

“Afraid not. The position is longer than usual because of the unique nature of this project. Starting from scratch, as it were. Your assignment will be for seven years.”

Daniel felt light-headed. “Seven years?”

“Yes, but there’re always opportunities to come back to the States on leave during that time.”

Seven years? How could he ask Leah to leave her home and family for seven years?
Daniel dropped into the porch swing.

“So what do you say? Do you feel up to this?”

Daniel was about to say
no
, that this had to be some mistake, that he wasn’t qualified to take on such a challenge. But as he opened his mouth to refuse the post, he found himself thinking of the possibilities that stretched out in front of him. “I’d like to have a few days to consider…to pray for guidance,” he said. “And there’s…there’s a young woman. I’ve asked her to be my wife. We just became engaged tonight, and she…” He trailed off.

“Good, good. Excellent. The only real issue is that the committee is hesitant to send a single man to head this project, especially one as young as yourself. But your engagement is the best news you could have given me. Tell your young woman that you’re going to have to marry at once.”

“And if I said yes…if she agreed, how long before we would leave?”

“We’d want you on location in thirty days, Daniel, so I’ll need your answer within the week. A bit of a stretch, on both counts, I know, but we have faith you’ll think this over and realize that when the Lord calls, sometimes we have to run to catch up with Him.”

Chapter Sixteen

“T
he Amazon jungle? For seven years?” Leah stared at Daniel in disbelief as she tried to grasp what he was saying. “How is that possible?” A cold sensation coiled in the pit of her stomach and for a second, she felt light-headed.

Daniel had come back to the farm the following day, as he’d said he would, and she’d taken him down to the willows by the pond where they could be alone. When he’d gotten out of the truck, she’d sensed that something was wrong. His normally ruddy cheeks were pale, and his expression strained. She’d been afraid that he was coming down with something, or that he’d changed his mind about courting her, but she’d never expected to hear this.

“I didn’t accept,” Daniel said quickly. “I have a week to make my decision. Saying
yes
would mean that we’d have to marry within the next few weeks. The board can help with getting you a passport, but I have to go to Ohio to meet with the rest of mission group.” He took her hand and squeezed it. “I’m as shocked as you are,” he told her. “This isn’t what I expected at all.”