Love Still Stands (47 page)

“What is it, Sheriff? I don’t want to leave Elijah right now.” She didn’t want to
be rude either. This man held a lot of power in New Hope. She wanted him on their
side. “We need the hot coffee from the thermos and your travel stove.”

“I’ll get right to that, ma’am. First, I wanted you to give a message to your brother.
Luke is your brother, right?”

“Brother-in-law.”

“Yeah, well, tell him I’m sorry.” The sheriff shifted from foot to foot, his boots
making squelching sounds on the tile. “Real sorry.”

“Sorry? You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”

“Sure I do. I never tried to make y’all feel welcome.” He wadded the stocking cap
into a ball and stuck it into the pocket of his enormous down jacket. “More than that,
I tried to run you off.”

“We don’t hold that against you. We figure it takes time to get used to new people.”

“It does, but there’s no call for ugliness. Not when y’all been nothing but pleasant.
You been nice to my boy, nicer than I have been, and your brother-in-law took it upon
himself to be good to the Doolittle boy and his friends.”

“You knew about that?”

“I’m the sheriff. I get paid to keep my ear to the ground. After everything the kids
around here have done to y’all, Luke showed them kindness. It takes a certain kind
of person to do that.”

“We believe in forgiveness.”

“That’s some serious forgiveness.” Wistfulness stole across his craggy, wind-whipped
face. “I’d like to get me some of that.”

“You mean from Shawn.”

“Yeah, Shawn.” He ducked his head. “And his mother.”

“He’s here now.” Sometimes what was right in front of a person’s face had to be seen
from another perspective. “He wants to talk to you. I know he does.”

“I don’t know. There’s a lot of water under the bridge. A lot of stupid words.”

“He’s not going anywhere. He can’t. Maybe this storm, this blizzard, happened for
a reason.” God’s plan. God’s hand moving over them. Not just Shawn and his father,
but Elijah and her. Could that be? She needed to get to Elijah. She needed to tell
him how she felt. “It’s a good time to back him in a corner and tell him what’s on
your mind.”

“You think?”

For everyone involved. “I do.”

“Bethel. Bethel!” Elijah’s hoarse groan startled them both. “Bethel!”

“I have to go.” Elijah needed her. He needed her. “Get the thermos, please.”

Her heart banging in her chest, she fumbled with her crutches with shaking hands.
One fell to the floor. The sheriff swooped down and grabbed it before she could. “Thank
you,” he said. “For being so forgiving.”

“That’s what we do. It’s the right thing to do.” She took the crutch and struggled
back to the door. “I have to go. Elijah, I’m right here. I’m right here.”

The group clustered at the foot of the cot parted so she could get through. She dropped
the crutches and knelt next to him. “I’m right here.”

His eyelids fluttered, then opened. “There you are. I thought I’d lost you.”

“I’m right here and I’m not leaving you. Not for anything. Not for anyone.” She tucked
his icy hand in hers and began to rub. “You found me. You don’t have to worry anymore.”

His fingers clutched at hers. “Marry me.”

Silence.

“Everybody out.” Doctor Jasmine stood and pointed to the door. “Everybody but Bethel.”

Bethel waited, mouth open, as the others filed from the room. Shawn gave her a diffident
smile as he went out the door, the last to leave. She tried to smile back, but her
lips were frozen.

Doctor Jasmine piled another blanket on Elijah. “I think there’s a pillow in Doctor
Karen’s office. She naps on her couch sometimes. I’ll be right back. Stay close to
him.”

No problem there. She would never let go of Elijah’s hand. Certain her face was as
red as the petals of the Christmas poinsettias on the break room table, Bethel managed
a nod.

She waited until Doctor Jasmine left the room. “Elijah? Can you hear me?”

“Will you marry me?”

“Open your eyes and look at me.”

One eyelid popped open. Then the other. His eyes were bloodshot, the blue bright against
the red. “You know, if I had a beard my chin would be a lot warmer.”

A giggle burbled up inside her. “You’re delirious.”

His body convulsed with shivers. “I can’t get warm.”

“I know. Jasmine says it will take a while for your body to warm up.”

“The parts I can feel hurt.” He gasped. The shivering intensified. “Why can’t I feel
my fingers and my feet? That’s bad, isn’t it?”

“Jasmine says we caught it in time. The feeling will come back. We need to keep you
warm and put your feet in tepid water. It’ll prickle for a while, but you’ll mend.”
She wanted more than anything to wrap her arms around him, to warm him. She didn’t
have that right, not yet. “I’m sorry this happened. You should’ve stayed at the farm.”

“I couldn’t stand the thought of you…” He closed his eyes. His breathing grew more
ragged. “This could’ve been you.”

“And Ida.”

He coughed. “And Ida. Do you think she’s all right? I couldn’t get to her either.”
He struggled to sit up. “We need to look for her.”

“Ida didn’t come for me because she knew better. She stayed where she was. You don’t
give the women in your life enough credit.” She pushed him back on the cot. “You need
to rest.”

“I want an answer to my question first.”

It hadn’t been a question. It had been a command. Born of disorientation and delirium.
“You’re delirious.”

“With love.”

“That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard you say.” And there had been plenty in
the last several months. She tried her best to make light of it. Her heart needed
to stop beating so quickly. It might burst from her chest otherwise. “An Englischer
I might expect that from, but a Plain man?”

“I love you and I want you to marry me.” He paused, his breathing harsh. “Silas is
giving me seventy-five acres on the other side of the creek. I’ve already picked the
spot where we’ll build our house.”

The words rained down on her, washing away doubts and fears and uncertainties. He
wanted to build a house with her. He wanted to build a life with her. She ached to
say yes. Still, she had to make sure he understood what he was getting. Was he willing
to risk being tied to a woman in her condition? “I don’t think I’m getting any better.
I can stand, but I can’t walk. Even after months of therapy. And I know you want children.”

His eyes stayed open this time. His gaze fastened on her face as his hand clutched
hers. “Take it on faith. Take it all on faith. That’s what I plan to do.”

He was willing to risk it all. How could she not do the same? “I will marry you.”

A whoop went up in the hallway. Clapping rang out, along with pounding on the wall.
“Wahoo! Yeah!” Her friends’ voices joined in a chorus that filled the room.

They had an audience, it seemed—one that didn’t mind letting them know the entire
conversation had been heard.

“Eavesdroppers!” Bethel smiled down at Elijah. “Hush up out there!”

Elijah tugged her toward him. “I want to make sure you don’t change your mind.”

She leaned down until their noses nearly touched. His eyes were so blue and so intent.
They closed and he tugged her down until the gap closed. Their lips touched, and this
time he didn’t pull away. His lips were cold. She touched his cheeks with her hands,
trying to warm him. His fingers covered hers. The kiss deepened, full of promise.
When she finally pulled away, he smiled up at her. “I’m feeling warmer. How about
you?”

“Elijah!”

“I hear the patient is feeling better.” Doctor Jasmine marched into the room, a pillow
tucked under one arm. Behind her, Crystal’s head bobbed around the corner. “The guys
want to know if they can come in for a second. They want to congratulate you.”

“Yes.”

Bethel started to remove her hand from Elijah’s, but his grip tightened, refusing
to let her go.

A Coleman stove in her lap, Crystal led the procession. Elaine brought up the rear,
Ed leaning on her arm.

“We just wanted to say congrats.” Crystal set the stove on the table. “We’ll throw
you a shower and invite the whole town. Everyone in New Hope will want to come. You’re
the best, Bethel. You’re so nice to us, even when we weren’t nice to you. So congrats
and all.”

“Yeah, what she said.” Mark chimed in. “Way to go. We want to come to the wedding.”

“Yeah, can we come to the wedding?”

They had no idea what they were asking. Bethel warmed at their enthusiasm and their
kindness. “You might not want to sit through three hours of German, but for sure,
you’re invited to the food and fun afterwards.”

“Cool,” Crystal and Mark chorused.

“Congratulations,” Elaine said, her tone prim, after the raucous noise of her fellow
patients died down. She held out a thermos. “Sheriff McCormack asked me to give it
to you.”

“Where did he go?” Bethel tilted her head, trying to see around Elaine. “Where’s Shawn?”

“In the group therapy room.” Mark shot a fist in the air and pumped it like the winner
of a race. “He and his dad are talking. His dad pushed his chair right into the room
and shut the door.”

“Hallelujah!” Doctor Jasmine trotted over to give Mark a fist bump. “Best news ever,
second to the pending nuptials here.”

“Best news ever,” Bethel repeated. Shawn would get his new start too. She squeezed
Elijah’s hand. “All in God’s time.”

“Amen.” He squeezed back. His hand began to warm in hers. “Amen.”

Epilogue

B
ethel clasped her hands in her lap and waited. She didn’t look to her left, knowing
that Elijah sat on the other side of the Shiracks’ front room, flanked by his brothers.
If she looked at him, she might not be able to contain the desire to struggle to her
feet and tell Luke to hurry up. She wanted to be married to Elijah now. Despite the
crush of people squeezed into Luke and Leah’s house, she felt no nerves, only a sort
of breathless anticipation. Her wedding day had dawned clear and cold, the air crisp
and light and full of promise. Someone had opened a window to allow the cool air to
dissipate the warmth of so many people crammed into the house. The aroma of roasted
chicken and stuffing and gravy mingled with the cakes and breads that awaited them
after the service. The smells reminded her of the many, many weddings she attended
over the years, always thinking her day would come. When it hadn’t, she had struggled
to accept Gott’s will for her. Now, to her utter surprise, the day had arrived.

Her wedding day. The thought still confounded her, delighted her, and raised her up.

The decision to allow Elijah and her to marry in February had been met with delight
by their families. Loads of folks from Bliss Creek had arrived the previous day. Her
parents, Mattie and Abel, her brothers and their fraas, Annie and Isaac, Helen and
Gabriel, Josiah and Miriam and all the others. They would have to eat in shifts. With
no fields to plant or gardens to tend in the dead of winter, Luke, Thomas, and Silas
had seen no reason to make them wait almost an entire year until the more traditional
wedding season. No new snow had followed in the last few weeks so the roads were clear.
The visit that had been curtailed at Thanksgiving would be recouped now, in February.

For all this, she was deeply grateful. Elijah didn’t want to wait and neither did
she. She wanted to begin her life as Elijah’s fraa before another day passed. As husband
and wife, they would build their new home together in the spring. The promise of this
new beginning made it hard for her to sit still. She wanted to run to it now. Though
still burdened by her crutches, she would run. Embrace it now. Embrace him now. She
breathed and tried to focus on Luke’s sermon, on pace to last a good two and a half
hours.

Unable to contain herself, she sneaked a glance at Leah, who sat next to her, Jebediah
on her lap. She looked the picture of the happy mother and wife. The sessions with
the doctor in Jefferson City were helping. Each day a little rounder with the baby
she carried, Leah didn’t talk about her illness or the treatment, but she looked like
a woman at peace. She smiled at Bethel and leaned closer. “Nervous?” She kept her
voice a whisper.

“Nee.” Bethel put a hand to her mouth to shield the whispered words from the others
around them. “Not as nervous as Luke was about conducting his first wedding.”

They exchanged smiles. Luke had paced the floor for hours the previous evening, deep
in thought, but this morning the delivery of the long sermon based on the first verses
of Genesis had been made without faltering.

“Elijah and Bethel, come forward.”

Despite herself, she started at the sound of her name. Leah stood and handed Jebediah
to Mattie. Bethel was relieved to have her older sister as her witness. It made the
walk to the front of the room easier knowing Leah followed. Her legs trembled now,
when they had been sure and steady when she’d walked into the room hours earlier.
Her mouth felt dry and her throat closed, making it hard to swallow. All gazes were
on her as she pulled herself forward on her loathsome crutches. How she longed to
throw them away and march to her destiny with a firm, determined stride. Instead her
legs dragged behind as they always did. In seconds she would vow to be Elijah’s wife,
to care for him and cherish him and nevermore depart from him. Would he do the same
for her? Should he be yoked with her until God separated them?