Plain Return (The Plain Fame Series Book 4) (9 page)

“You are coming too,
ja
?” she asked.

He squeezed her and whispered a soft “But of course!” in her ear, his breath warm on her skin.

She shut her eyes and enjoyed his affection. Since their night out the previous week, she hadn’t seen much of Alejandro. She felt as if they were on two completely different time clocks. On more than one occasion, she had forced herself to stay in bed, despite having woken up early, just so she could enjoy the pressure of his chest against her back. And when he awoke and pulled her tightly against him, his hand slowly caressing her bare arm, she felt the all-too-familiar wave of flutters in her stomach and the light-headedness that always preceded his private tenderness.

Now was no different. She forced herself to ignore the fact that other people were near and, undoubtedly, watching. Receiving an unexpected five minutes of his time and attention was worth the cost of the public display of affection that she would have previously shunned. She reveled in his arms holding her, his words caressing her ears, and his heart beating against hers for those few minutes.

When he finally pulled away, he held her at arm’s length and stared at her, his glance darting over her shoulder for just a second, as someone must have distracted him. “I must get back to work, Princesa,” he said in a low voice. He then pulled her back to him, pressed his forehead against hers, and whispered, “I will see you later this evening,
sí
?”

“Sí,”
she whispered, her eyes shut. She savored the moment as if she were a starving person who was eating a last meal that was about to be taken from her. That was how she felt around Alejandro: starving. While she had known that he would be busy in Miami, the few moments they had together made her long for more. Now, knowing that she would have him all to herself for a few days in Lancaster, she began to count down the days until her fast was over.

“I must get back to my meeting.” He gently disentangled himself from her.

She walked beside him as he slowly headed toward the door, pausing to shake hands and give a few people bear hugs along the way. When they finally stood before the doorway, she turned to him. “You never did answer me, Alejandro. Why are you here?”

He laughed. “I own the building,
mi querida
. My offices and a small recording studio are on the top floor.”

Amanda’s mouth dropped open. The building was located on Biscayne Boulevard along a strip of commercial buildings. And while it wasn’t the largest one in the small industrial zone, it was far enough from downtown Miami that tourists didn’t know it existed . . . just as Amanda hadn’t known. “What else haven’t you told me?” she asked.

Laughing, he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “Finish up here, Princesa, and maybe I will tell you more surprises later tonight.”

More? Amanda stared after him as he left the room, the door slowly shutting behind him. For a moment, she didn’t move. While she didn’t know much about real estate or property values, she certainly knew enough to suspect that the building was expensive. Her Amish upbringing had taught her that money was not important; in fact, people could often begin to idolize not just money itself but also the act of acquiring it. While she didn’t care about money, she was beginning to wonder how much of it Alejandro truly had. She knew that he was a businessman and that he considered every opportunity to be a business opportunity. But she was beginning to wonder if he knew when enough would be enough.

Life was meant to be lived. That was God’s ultimate plan for everyone: live life and give thanks to the Lord. Too many Englische people sacrificed their health—physical, psychological, and spiritual—to chase after material things. But at the end of the day, whatever had been acquired seemed insignificant in light of their desires for more. The last thing that she wanted was for Alejandro to face God one day realizing that, despite being alive, he had never truly
lived
.

That thought lingered with her long after his departure.

Chapter Eight

“Amanda!”

No sooner had the driver stopped the car in the driveway of the Beilers’ house than the front door opened and Anna ran outside, a big smile on her face and her head covered by a navy-blue knit scarf. She wore no coat, despite the weather being cold. When Amanda saw Anna’s dark-blue dress and black apron were covered with flour, she knew that when they walked into the house, the familiar scent of fresh-baked bread would greet them. It was a smell that she had missed.

Amanda stood by the car, Alejandro at her side, as her sister embraced her. “It’s so
gut
to see you,” Amanda said, returning the warm hug. “I’ve missed you so!”

Pulling back but leaving her hands on Amanda’s shoulders, Anna stared at her and shook her head, the smile still on her lips. “Look at you now! So Englische and worldly!”

Instinctively, Amanda glanced over her shoulder at Alejandro. He stood by the open car door in his black slacks and white shirt, his dark leather jacket unzipped, his hands behind his back, as he observed Anna’s greeting, a pleased look upon his face. He didn’t appear offended by her comment about the Englische.

“Oh, I’m not so certain about the worldly part,” Amanda said, returning her attention to her sister. While she knew that her appearance was different—for certainly she no longer appeared plain—she also knew that she was anything but Englische.

And that was the main problem.

In Alejandro’s world, she straddled the fence between plain and worldly. There were some things she refused to change, such as how she wore her hair or avoiding slacks. She had tried once but hated the feeling of the fabric against her legs. And even though Alejandro loved to see her with her long brown hair at nighttime, during the day she always wore it pulled back and in a tight bun at the nape of her neck. After all, Amish decorum dictated that only a woman’s husband should ever see her hair loose.

She knew that since her dancing lessons had begun, she had lost weight, something that concerned her, especially after Jeremy began to take in the clothes that he had purchased for her. Her face was gaunt, with more defined cheekbones, and her chin jutted out after hours of Stedman yelling at her about her posture.

But Amanda knew that she would never truly relinquish the part of her that was plain. Just standing in her parents’ driveway, the pungent odor of the dairy mixing with the fresh breeze that blew from the north, reminded Amanda that there was more to life than Miami and Los Angeles. As she glanced toward the porch and saw her mother at the door, Amanda fought back the urge to release her emotions.

Four days had seemed like such a gift. Now, four days seemed nowhere near enough, like one bottle of water in a desert; the joy of drinking it was almost ruined by the anticipation of the inevitable dry spell that would follow.

“Kum, kum,”
Anna said, tugging at Amanda’s arm. She walked backward toward the house as she pulled her younger sister with her. “We’ve much catching up to do,
ja
? And just enough time to do it before supper.”

Inside, Amanda greeted her mother with a shy embrace. “Missed you, Mamm,” she said. “
Danke
for your letters.”

Her mother gave her a quick once-over and clicked her tongue. “You’ve lost weight, Amanda! You aren’t eating enough, I reckon!”

Amanda gave a little laugh. “Oh, Mamm, I’m eating just fine.” Still, when her eyes fell on Anna and her stout waistline, Amanda felt disappointment all over again. Without being told, Amanda knew that her sister was pregnant. And while she was happy for Anna, she felt a deep longing to bear her own child.

Her father sat in his wheelchair by the sofa, his eyes following her and the right side of his mouth lifting into a smile. Amanda hurried over to him and gave him a quick hug, letting her hand linger atop his. She glanced around the room, comforted by its familiarity, despite the realization that her memory of the house and kitchen must have changed; for now, as she stood there and looked around, everything seemed smaller than she remembered. How long have I been gone, anyway? she wondered. And why didn’t I feel this way when I returned home to help care for my father after his stroke?

“Everyone is doing well,
ja
?” The question sounded as awkward as she felt. Amanda simply did not know how to break through the layer of nervousness that lingered in the room.

Anna motioned toward the sofa. “Sit, Amanda,” she said. “You must be awful tired after such a long travel day.”

“Oh, it wasn’t so long.” Amanda didn’t want to sound prideful, so she neglected to mention that they’d flown into Philadelphia on a private jet.

Of course, the truth was that she hadn’t slept the previous night and she
was
tired. Alejandro had returned late after wrapping up some last-minute business, and she had been far too excited to fall asleep. When he walked into their bedroom, tugging at his black tie with one hand and carrying his jacket with the other, he had looked surprised to see Amanda waiting up for him. With her legs tucked underneath her body, she had curled up in one of the chairs by the bedroom window overlooking the pool. She’d held a book in her hands but wasn’t reading. Instead, she’d been staring out the window, watching the ripples in the water and thinking.

Dropping his jacket on the edge of the bed, he walked toward her. “You can’t sleep, Princesa?” he had asked.

“Nee.”
As he had approached her, she lifted her hand and reached for one end of his tie that now hung against his white shirt. She tugged at it, and when he responded with a slight smile, she pulled it free. “I don’t know what I’m more excited for,” she said, unfolding her legs and sitting up straight. “Spending time with you or seeing my family.”

He knelt before her and rested his head in her lap, one arm wrapped around her waist. “Be excited for your family, Princesa, for I will always be with you, no?”

For several long minutes, they had remained like that, Amanda stroking his hair and Alejandro holding her waist. For Amanda, it had been one of those moments that she hoped she’d never forget. Her heart simply could not love Alejandro any more than at that moment.

Now, as Amanda sat on the sofa and tried to figure out how to fit back into the life of her family, she realized that Alejandro was not in the house. Immediately, she sat up straight and looked around the room, a moment of panic overtaking her. “Hasn’t Alejandro come in, then?”

“Nee,
Amanda
,”
her mother said, leaning forward to glance out the kitchen window. “Appears he’s on his phone by the barn.”

Amanda noticed the way her mother emphasized the word
phone,
as if it left a bad taste on her tongue. Understanding her mother’s contempt for the intrusive device was easy. Amanda remembered that when she had first met Alejandro, she, too, had questioned his constant use of his cell phone. Eight months later, while she still disliked the endless interruptions, she recognized the importance of his accessibility. Although he had planned this trip to Lancaster so that she could visit with her family, that didn’t mean there weren’t things that required his attention. With the South American leg of the tour just two weeks away, the demands on Alejandro’s time would only increase with each passing day. And while she would have preferred that he sit by her side, helping her transition from Viper’s wife to Amish daughter, she knew whatever phone call had temporarily separated them must have been important.

“So tell me,” Amanda said, shifting her attention back to her sister. Just seeing Anna hurry to the rocking chair and sit down, her eyes glowing as she leaned forward and stared intently at her sister, made Amanda feel better. It seemed like years had passed since they had last visited, especially since her previous trip home had not been under ideal circumstances. “I want to hear everything I have missed since Christmas!”

Anna wasted no time filling her in on the details from the past two months. Even the poor winter weather couldn’t stop the Amish grapevine from spreading. It didn’t take long for Amanda to learn that her friend, Katie Miller, had slipped on some ice during the winter and broken her arm; that Jeremiah Smucker, the butcher, had accidentally cut off the tip of his finger, and that their neighbors, the Zooks, had lost one of their draft horses to colic.

“Oh help!” Amanda shook her head at the news. “Hasn’t anything good happened since I left?”

Lizzie clicked her tongue. “Sure does seem that bad news accompanies winter,” she said.

Anna glanced over her shoulder. “Well now, that ain’t entirely so,” she said, contradicting her mother. “Daed’s been doing better.”

Amanda brightened at this news. “That is right
gut
news, indeed! Tell me more, Anna!”

Anna began updating her about their father’s condition. As Anna spoke, Amanda glanced at her father and reached out to touch his knee. She learned that while his speech was still poor, he was now able to move his arms and, with the help of the physical therapist he saw three times a week, had managed to walk a few steps.

“Why, that’s just
wunderbar
!” Amanda gushed, turning to her father. “I’m so glad that you are feeling better, Daed!”

He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders and tried to motion with his hand. “Better . . .” he said slowly. “What is better?”

Anna laughed, and there was a lightness about her as she playfully said, “Oh, Daed! You know the deal. Keep working hard with your therapist, and Jonas will get you outside to help with the fieldwork.” She looked at Amanda and lowered her voice a little, although they both knew Elias could still hear her. “He says he’ll only be better when he can farm again.”

The two women enjoyed the moment, teasing their father as they had so long ago, when their younger brother, Aaron, was still alive. For the first time since his death, Amanda felt an aura of happiness about the house. Had it been almost four years since Aaron’s untimely death? Had it truly taken that long for life to regain some semblance of normalcy?

The squeaking of the mudroom door, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps, caused Amanda to look up. Jonas walked through the doorway on the other side of the room near the kitchen area, his brown work pants dirty after a day spent in the dairy barn. Behind him came Alejandro, a sharp contrast to the Amish man. When she saw the two together, Amanda fought the urge to catch her breath. Her husband was much taller than her brother-in-law, and his presence emanated a sophistication that she couldn’t help but notice. Would the others see it, too? she wondered.

In typical Amish fashion, Jonas greeted her with a simple wave of his hand and an impish smile. Shyness around newcomers was not a behavior that was limited to the children.

Alejandro, however, wasted no time in approaching Amanda’s mother; he greeted her with a warm embrace that was not necessarily returned. He either didn’t mind or didn’t notice for as soon as he had greeted her, he crossed the floor to do the same to Anna. Finally, he stood respectfully before Elias and extended his hand. To Amanda’s surprise, her father slowly lifted his arm. Alejandro waited patiently while Elias struggled to find the strength to shake his hand.

When he sat beside her at last, he took a moment to pinch the crease of his slacks so that they wouldn’t wrinkle. Amanda turned to him. “Is everything all right?”

“
Sí, sí
. Just fine, Princesa.”

She suspected the call had been from his new manager, Geoffrey. Unlike Alejandro’s previous manager, Mike, Geoffrey was of Hispanic descent and, given his extensive background in music and marketing, was able to connect better with Alejandro. The few times that Amanda had met Geoffrey, she’d found him to be much more respectful and well mannered toward her than Mike had been. Not to mention his reverence for God and his Catholic faith. She had liked him immediately.

“You have some big travels ahead of you,
ja
?” Anna asked. “Sounds exciting.”

Alejandro winked at Amanda. “You must ask Amanda afterward if she found it exciting,” he said. “So many countries in such a short period of time is tiring. I look forward to having a few days to relax in Argentina, to reenergize our batteries.”

Anna caught her breath when he mentioned Argentina. “Oh my! That’s clear on the bottom of the world!”

“That it is,” Alejandro agreed. “When it is winter here, it is summer there. So to spend a few days at the beach will be a perfect respite, no?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t know about those things,” Anna responded lightly. She looked over her shoulder at Jonas. “Have you been to the beach, Jonas?”

He shook his head. “
Nee,
can’t say that I have.” Then, after a short pause, he added, “Now hold on there. That’s not quite true.”

Amanda loved his accent: a different type of singsong manner of speaking than that practiced by the Amish in Lititz. She had forgotten that the Ohio Amish emphasized their words differently and elongated their vowels.

“I did go to a
lake beach
one time,” he continued, crossing his feet at the ankles, his once-white socks now gray from too many wearings and washings, as he leaned against the counter. “Was for a youth gathering one year.” His eyes found Anna’s. “Summer before last, I recall. Water sure was cold. I remember that much.”

Alejandro laughed.

“Jonas,” Anna said as she turned around. “You still going to that horse auction with Edwards tomorrow?”

“
Ja
, I sure am.”

Amanda frowned. “Edwards?”

“Jake Edwards,” Anna said. She looked at Alejandro. “You met him last summer, ain’t so? His
fraa
, Sylvia, talked about meeting you.”

To Amanda’s surprise, Alejandro responded with an eager “
¡Sí, sí!
I remember Jake. He has a good sense of humor, as I recall. Elias took me there to see his horses. Magnificent creatures.”

Considering all of the people who Alejandro met on a daily basis—the fans and the media representatives, as well as the other celebrities and management people—Amanda could hardly believe that he remembered not only meeting Jake Edwards but also the circumstances surrounding their encounter. Since the Edwards family lived in another church district, they were not people with whom Amanda had frequently interacted, especially since Jake had joined the Amish church only after marrying his wife.