Plain Pursuit (15 page)

He placed Chloe’s water bowl next to her food bowl on the back porch and made note of the weather. God couldn’t have blessed the event with a better day. The clear sky, sunshine, and wispy breeze left Noah feeling hopeful about the reunion with his kinfolk. And about seeing Carley again.

An hour later, Noah pulled into a parking spot near the Penryn Firehouse, thankful that he wouldn’t have to take a shuttle bus from the church down the street. He walked toward the field and listened as the auctioneer accepted bids on a tractor—one of the many pieces of equipment to be sold. He continued across the dry pasture and lost himself in the crowd, thankful the sale wasn’t living up to its name.

There was a fair mix of
Englisch
and Amish attendees. Amish men were running the outside auction. He knew the women would be inside readying the firehouse for the sale of quilts and housewares. The event was just how he remembered it. He drew in a deep breath in an effort to calm his rapid pulse.

He wondered, with guarded optimism, how his siblings would react to him after all these years. Time healed. It had been a long time. Would his mother embrace him as the prodigal son he was, or continue to shun him?

He felt despair at the possibility that Esther Stoltzfus might turn her back on him after all these years. That thought cast doubt that he should even be there, but he was resolved to make the attempt. It was all he could do.

Samuel, however, was his primary concern. He had to talk to Samuel whether or not he patched things up with the rest of them. He’d tackle Samuel to the ground if he had to. The situation with David had taken on a new sense of urgency following his conversation with Ken.

A soft voice—one he thought he recognized—interrupted his thoughts. “Noah, is that you?”

Mary Ellen.
Her hair was pulled taut beneath her prayer covering and, of course, she didn’t have a stitch of makeup on. Tiny freckles still spotted her cheeks like they did when she was a young girl. For a moment, Noah found himself back at the farm, scurrying around and playing hide-and-seek with Mary Ellen and the others, as if no time had passed.

Mary Ellen was lovelier than he remembered. He leaned in to hug his sister and tenderly wrapped his arms around her. “Oh, Mary Ellen. It’s wonderful to see you.”

Mary Ellen backed out of the hug almost instantly, void of the warmth he had hoped for. But it would have to be enough for now. Her eyes darted in every direction.

“Are these your children?” Noah asked. He motioned to a young girl on her left and two younger boys to her right. He extended his hand to the taller boy. “Hi, I’m—”

“Children,” she snapped before Noah could say his name, “go inside and find your
daed
.”

The two boys skipped away, but the older girl stayed put.

“Linda, go inside,” Mary Ellen repeated sharply. “I will be inside soon.”

Noah’s heart ached with a vengeance.

“I want to stay,
Mamm
.” The girl smiled at Noah.

“Go now!” Mary Ellen ordered.

After her daughter reluctantly walked away, Mary Ellen glanced to her left, then to her right. She forced a half smile. “Noah, it was
gut
to see you. I must go.”

Noah called after her, but Mary Ellen never looked back.

Carley couldn’t understand why she hadn’t heard from Noah. Maybe he had gotten her messages and decided to just be done with all of them.

Lillian toted Anna and the diaper bag while Carley, Samuel, and David each carried a box of wares. Lillian wasn’t too happy about being late. Anna wasn’t happy in general. She’d fussed during most of the trip and continued to do so as they made the four-block trek from the car to the event.

“What if we missed the small housewares part of the auction?” Lillian zoomed ahead of the three of them. “We’ll have to cart all these things back home again.”

“They will auction some house goods early on, and then they will auction the quilts,” Samuel said. “After that, they will go back to auctioning everything else. It will all be mighty fine, Lillian.”

Samuel turned toward Carley and grinned. “It is the first time she’s brought some of her things to be sold. And it’s her first time to be headin’ up the quilt auction.”

“And I hate to be late,” Lillian sputtered. “I really do.”

Carley enjoyed seeing Samuel smile. His mood had been lighter since everything got squared away the night of the meeting. She knew that would change if they ran into Noah.

“Hurry inside,” Lillian instructed. “Everyone has worked so hard. Those quilts should each bring at least five hundred dollars, and some will bring as much as two thousand. Linda and Rachel, along with the other young girls, are so excited.”

Samuel chuckled. “
Who
is excited, Lillian?” He turned toward Carley. “I believe
mei fraa
is the most excited.”

“Oh no! Hurry!” Lillian groaned, pushing past the vendors selling hot dogs, pickles, and various snacks. “They’re starting!” Samuel good-heartedly shook his head as they followed Lillian into the firehouse.

Carley wondered if Noah was hidden somewhere in the crowd. The room was packed with several hundred people. In addition to the rows of occupied chairs in the middle of the room, people were standing along the walls. Around a hundred potential bidders were fortunate enough to have nabbed seats. Carley and her crew weren’t so lucky.

“I’m going to head outside,” Samuel said. “I think there is a plow with my name on it.”

Lillian didn’t respond. She was
busy giving instructions to three young girls.

The auctioneer and his helpers took center stage. Two intricate quilts were stretched to capacity and hung from a contraption that was suspended from the ceiling. About a dozen young Amish girls stood nearby, ready to swap out the quilts after each one was auctioned.

“Do you want me to take Anna?” Carley offered. The baby was less agitated, but Lillian had plenty to handle without Anna in her arms.

“No, no,” Lillian said. “Go get you an auction number and a list of quilts with their corresponding numbers. Find the one you said you wanted and bid on it. I bet you can get it for about six hundred dollars.”

Wow. Six hundred dollars might be a good deal, but it was a lot of money for Carley. She’d have to see about that. But she had no chance of owning any of the quilts without a bidding number.

“Okay.” She eased her way around Lillian and toward the office on the far side of the building. It was a good opportunity to look for Noah. If he was there, she needed to warn him that his family was not going to welcome him with open arms.
I should
have never suggested he come here.

There wasn’t a line to get a number. Presumably, serious bidders had already been assigned one and were in place. Carley had never bid on anything in her life. She accepted her paddle with the number 468, rounded the corner, and began fighting her way through the crowd.

And—of all things—right into Noah’s arms.

“Noah!”

“I’ve been looking for you. I lost my cell phone. Yes, stupid, I know.” He shook his head, still holding her as people pushed their way past them. “Anyway, I ran into Mary Ellen.”

“Oh no.” Carley sighed. She suspected that couldn’t have been good.

“What—has something happened?”

“Noah, there was a big meeting going on when I got home the other day. Bishop Ebersol was there, and he told everyone that your shunning must be upheld and that none of them are to visit your clinic.” She searched his eyes for a reaction that wasn’t coming. Then went on. “I’m so sorry, Noah.”

Noah looked toward the ceiling and rubbed his chin. “I knew something was up when I saw Mary Ellen. She didn’t even want me to meet her children.”

“I’m sorry, Noah,” she repeated, “but we knew this might happen.”

“I suppose they’re all going to go along with this?”

“Yes.” She paused. “There’s more . . . They are insisting that I not spend any more time with you while I’m here, Noah.” She felt uncomfortable the minute she said it. Maybe it was presumptuous of her to assume he would even want to spend time with her. Perhaps she had exhausted her usefulness.

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

She waited for him to argue, to show remorse at not being able to see her. Something. He just stood there, staring at her.

“Well, I guess I’d better get back to Lillian before the auction starts.”

“Wait,” he said when she turned to leave.

He studied her face. She felt the blood creep into her cheeks. “What is it?”

“Carley”—the slow, steady way he said her name coaxed her eyes to his—“have dinner with me tonight.”

A strange sense of relief that he wanted to see her again mixed with regret. “I can’t, Noah. I told you, I’m not to see you. I’m sorry, but I’m a guest in their home. I tried to help you, and it didn’t work. I sincerely hope things go well for you, but I think it’s time we say good-bye.” She started to turn away from him, but he gently grabbed her arm.

“Hold up a minute. Just like that? I’ll never see you again?” She was flattered by the intensity of his response, but she shook her head. “I can’t go against Lillian’s wishes while I’m here, Noah. It wouldn’t be right.”

“Okay, don’t run off just yet. Carley . . .” He hesitated, moving closer. “I want to see you again.” When she didn’t respond, he went on. “I’ll figure all this out, but first I have to find Samuel. It’s very important that I talk to him.”

“He doesn’t want to see you, Noah. Give things some time. Maybe Samuel will come around. I don’t think today is the day, though. This place is crowded, and there’s a lot going on. Wait for a better time.”

“It’s important that I talk to Samuel today, Carley. What I have to say, he needs to hear from me. David is a very sick kid. I confirmed David’s test results with Dr. Bolton. He wants David in his office tomorrow.”

“On a Sunday?”

Noah nodded.

Carley’s heart was already aching for both Lillian and Samuel. “This is a big day for them. Can you wait until after the auction is over to talk with them?”

“Yeah. Just make sure they don’t get away before I find them.”

“Where’ve you been?” Lillian asked when Carley returned. “It took you forever.”

“Noah’s here.”

Carley watched Lillian’s face twist into a scowl. “Oh dear.” She motioned to a girl up front. The auctioneer was starting the bidding on the first quilt.

“He said he must talk to Samuel today, Lillian.”

Lillian let out a heavy sigh. “Did you tell him this is a bad time?”

“It’s about David, Lillian.”

Lillian turned toward her. “Did you tell him I made an appointment with Dr. Bolton?”

“Yes, but he said two weeks is too long to wait. Noah talked to Dr. Bolton, and he said he has to talk to you and Samuel immediately.”

“David seems fine. If it was anything serious, don’t you think he would be showing some symptoms?”

“He’s awfully pale, Lillian.”

Lillian folded her arms. “Samuel thinks Noah is exaggerating whatever might be wrong with David as a way to get close to the family.”

“I don’t think so, Lillian.”

Lillian’s expression grew solemn. “I’ll make sure we talk to Noah today.”

“Where’s Anna?”

“Samuel’s mother, Esther, is holding her. She’s outside. Said it’s too crowded in here for her.” Lillian pointed toward the front of the room. “Look, they’re starting.”

“One hundred, one hundred, do I hear one hundred?” the auctioneer began.

“One hundred!” Carley turned her attention to the bidder in the third row. A woman in a red blouse held up her paddle.

“Do I hear one fifty? One fifty?”

Carley was standing to the side of those seated. She glanced up front toward Linda, who was beaming from ear to ear. She was holding on to the chain that would lower the quilt when it sold, with another quilt ready to heave upward. Carley waved at her. Linda’s smile widened as she waved back. She quickly returned her hand to her side and attempted to stay composed, but her enthusiasm was hard to squelch.

“I’ve got one fifty. Do I hear two hundred? Do I hear two hundred?”

Carley glanced at the people who were sitting down. They all had pads of paper, pens, calculators, the list with the quilt names and numbers, and the same expressions of concentration on their
faces.