Temptation (A Temptation Novel) (20 page)

* * *

The rest of the week at the Camerons’ wasn’t nearly as interesting as Monday morning had been. Father shadowed my every move in the house, and since Rose didn’t even leave her room until noon, I’d only caught a few glimpses of her each day. I went home every night feeling disappointed.

I was starting to get paranoid. She seemed to be avoiding me altogether, and that left me confused and worried about our relationship. She was so moody. One minute she was all seductive with me, and the next she wouldn’t even spare a glance in my direction. Maybe she was just being careful with my father around. I tried to convince myself of that, but by Friday I still hadn’t spoken directly to her all week. Each evening I’d been too busy putting up hay or shoeing horses to make arrangements to meet her in the fields, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Late in the afternoon, while Father and the others were loading up the work truck, I took the opportunity to talk to Sam alone in the kitchen. He was making a ham-and-cheese sandwich that would’ve been big enough for two men. When he noticed me, he pushed the sandwich aside, looking at me curiously.

With cheerful sarcasm, he said, “What’s up, bro? Is my sister being too much of a handful for you?”

Something about the tone of his voice pricked me. Clearing my throat, I ignored his question. “Do you think you could bring Rose by for the benefit dinner at the schoolhouse tomorrow?”

He thought for a second and shrugged. “It’s pretty close. She could ride her bike. Or better yet, you could pick her up with your buggy.”

“No, no, she can’t come without you as a chaperone. It wouldn’t be proper.” After a big sigh I admitted, “There’s no way I can take her. My family still doesn’t know about our relationship and…it’ll be difficult to explain it to them.”

“What? Isn’t my sister good enough for you Amish?” He said it with a bit of a sneer. I found it fascinating how he could allow a man to make out with his sister in her own bed and do nothing about it, yet he was definitely upset with me right now, sticking up for her worthiness.

“It’s not that at all, Sam. Our men just don’t get together with English women normally. It’s unheard of, especially in this community. But I want you to know that I love Rose, and I’m going to find a way for us to be together. You have my word,” I tried to convince him.

“Why don’t you just become English? That would solve the problem,” he said straightforwardly, dropping a slice of cheese onto his monster sandwich.

“If it were only that easy.” Looking into his clear blue eyes, which, strangely, were similar to Rose’s, I tried to think quickly about what I could say that would make him understand my situation. “You see, when I get married, my parents will give me some acres. My community will help me build a house for my new wife and a barn for our livestock. I’ll be a partner in my father’s business, and we’ll have a church to embrace us. It wouldn’t make sense to leave all that and try to live an English life with Rose. I wouldn’t have the means to provide for her in your world.”

Shaking his head, he said, “It’s ridiculous for you to expect Rose to give up her freedom so she can be with you. Dude. It ain’t gonna work. I’m just warning you.”

I didn’t like what he said. I suddenly saw not only my family as an obstacle to a marriage with Rose but also her family, and especially her older brother. I had underestimated his interest in the matter. The beep of the horn alerted me that I had no more time to talk. “Please, just bring her, would you?” I said, hating to plead about anything, but here I was.

“Yeah, sure, I have nothing better to do on a Saturday night than hang out in a nineteenth-century schoolhouse babysitting my sister,” he said, bobbing his head.

Running out the door to the waiting truck, I wasn’t very confident that Sam would bring Rose to the schoolhouse. But while he’d been giving me a hard time about his sister, I had decided that this weekend I’d talk to my dad about Rose. I’d finally tell them whom I’d chosen to be with—then wait for the ax to fall.

11

Rose

The Art of Sneaking

LYING ON A
comfy mattress flipping through a
People
magazine wasn’t a horrible way to spend a Friday night, I tried to convince myself, rubbing Hope’s belly as she cuddled against me. After all, I’d spent quite a few weekends this same way. It never bothered me before. But that was pre-Noah. Now that I actually had a boyfriend, I’d rather be out doing something with him.

If he were English, we could go to the movies or just hang out together here and snuggle on the couch while we watched something on the satellite. I breathed an irritated sigh and stared at the dancing Georges wallpaper. Maybe I wouldn’t mind spending time in my room if I didn’t have to look at
that,
I growled to myself.

The clock radio was turned up loud and my favorite song came on. Still lying on the mattress, I swayed to the music, throwing my head back and forth to the refrain. I just couldn’t imagine living without music, and I wondered if Noah would mind if I played the radio if we lived together. I was confident I could talk him into it. I could barely suppress a grin from creeping to my lips thinking about the tactics I’d use, until I heard the knock at the door, immediately souring my mood.

“Who is it?” I asked harshly.

“Sam—I have to talk to you.”

“Come in,” I grumbled.

He lazily moved through the room, sitting at the edge of the mattress. He stole the magazine from me, browsing idly through it. The jerk totally ignored my dropped jaw.

“What do you want, Sam?” Why was he invading my self-induced purgatory?

“Your boyfriend wants me to bring you to some schoolhouse benefit tomorrow night,” he said nonchalantly.

Hearing what he said, I bounced up into a sitting position and smacked him on the shoulder playfully. “No way!”

“Unfortunately, I’m not making this stuff up,” he said, staring at a photo of Angelina Jolie and not paying much attention to me at all.

“Why do you sound so bummed out, Sam?” I asked suspiciously.

“The catch is that you can’t be there alone. You’ll need a chaperone or at least someone to give the impression of keeping an eye on you. That means, since Dad will be at the hospital, I have to spend part of my Saturday evening in Amish land.” He glanced up, sighing dramatically.

“You’ll do it, right? Sam,
please?
” I drew out the
please
and made my cutest little-sister face. I almost thought it was working until the bozo shook his head.

“I’ll take you, Rose…on one condition.”

Uh-oh, this could be bad. I replied, “Sure, anything.”

“Really—anything?” Sam’s mouth pinched together obnoxiously, making me very nervous.

“Well, within reason. What do you want?” I hissed, losing patience with him.

“It’s nothing bad, Rose. I just think that you need to meet some normal people here. We’ll be going to a new high school in about a month, and it would be nice if you had a couple of friends by then,” he said pleasantly.

“So what does that have to do with going to the Amish schoolhouse?” I asked with growing annoyance. What the heck was I missing?

“One of the guys I got to know from football camp this week invited me to a party he’s going to. It’s tomorrow night.”

“Sooo…?” I still wasn’t making the connection.

“The deal is that I’ll stay with you at the thing tomorrow so you can see your earthy boyfriend, if you’ll come to the party with me afterward,” he said slyly, turning the page.

“Why do you care if I go to a dumb party with you, Sam? Do you need backup or something?” I was beginning to think he was losing it, when he got right to the point.

“I think you’re spending too much time with these people, Rose. It’s not healthy for you. You know that this thing with Noah can’t go anywhere,” he said, sounding very sure of himself.

“Maybe he’ll convert,” I volunteered wistfully.

“I talked to him about that today, and I don’t think there’s a chance in hell he’ll do it. He’s hoping you’ll turn Amish, I think.” Sam tossed the magazine on the floor and looked me square in the eyes, waiting for my reaction.
Uh-oh.

“What exactly did he say?” The idea that Noah and Sam were talking about me was unnerving.

“Something about if he stayed Amish, his folks would give him some land, and his community would build his house, and he’d have a job.” He took a breath and continued, “It makes sense for him, I guess—as long as he marries an Amish girl and not my sister.”

I couldn’t help it. I grabbed the nearest pillow and whacked him with it. “Gee, Sam, I didn’t know you cared so much.”

Smiling, Sam asked, “Do we have a deal, then?”

“Yeah, fine, I’ll go to the party with you.” I sighed, hating to lose an argument with him.

He seemed happy with himself and finally left me alone. But I suddenly felt that agreeing to go to the party with him might not have been a good idea after all.

* * *

This time I didn’t worry too much about what I wore. I felt fairly confident that Noah would like me in anything. I picked out a pale blue stretch shirt and faded jeans. I was careful to choose jeans without holes in them, but since I was going out afterward with
normal
people, I put on a little makeup: some mascara, shiny bronze eye shadow and a tad of blush. I didn’t think Noah would even notice, I applied it so lightly. I took extra time brushing my teeth, hoping that I might get a chance to sneak a kiss in sometime that night.

The school was less than a mile away, and when we arrived, I was surprised. It didn’t look much like the cute little schoolhouse I had been anticipating. Actually, it more resembled a giant garage than a school. It was just a rectangular white building situated a little ways off the road in a grassy field, with some large windows on one end and two big sliding doors on the other. The open doorway was where all the action was. There was a bunch of people there meandering about. Most of them were Amish, but quite a few English people were also mingling in the crowd.

There were so many long-bearded men that I suddenly felt a little awkward with my hair down, thinking about the whole “cover the hair” conversation I’d had with Noah. Self-consciously, I smoothed my hair down the best I could with my hands to make it less noticeable as I got out of the truck, but Mother Nature had been generous to me in that department. I don’t think my attempt helped much.

Walking into the building with Sam and Justin, I quickly scanned the room for Noah. He wasn’t anywhere to be seen and I sighed in disappointment. All the girls from the youth service were there, though. They were serving food from behind a long counter overflowing with pots and casserole dishes. The inside of the building was larger than I expected, and the same torture benches were set up in rows facing a raised deck where all the items to be auctioned off were on display.

My eyes wandered briefly over the beautiful quilts in a rainbow of colors hanging on the walls. They were the bright spot in the otherwise boring interior. There were also crates full of jarred preserves, wooden furniture of all kinds and even a few cages that appeared to contain doves.

I searched the room for Noah again. No luck. But Sarah saw me this time. With a big smile, she waved across the room. I waved back at her, and then at Suzanna when she spotted me, from a little farther down the work line.

I noticed that men and women were mixed into the line together. What was that about? Maybe since this wasn’t a purely Amish event, they let up a bit on the rules. They were trying to raise money for their school after all.

My stomach was hungry as usual, and my heart skipped a beat in sheer joy that I wouldn’t have to wait for all the manly people to get their food first. Grabbing Sam’s arm, I pulled him through the crowd to the beginning of the line, happy as a duck on a rainy day. Seeing the donation barrel, I poked Sam’s arm and made the money sign with my fingers, pointing at it. He rolled his eyes but stuck a twenty-dollar bill into it anyway.

I thought I was in heaven. Everything was breakfast food. Eggs, biscuits, pancakes, sausage and the same cinnamon rolls that Noah’s mom had sent over. This was my favorite kind of meal. And I let the world know it when the girls filled my doubled plastic plate with as much food as could fit onto it while I worked my way down the line. I was surprised at the warm greetings from everyone. Suzanna even said she’d come join me when the line thinned out.

Well, everyone except Ella, who glared at me the same way she did the last time I’d had the misfortune of seeing her. She was dishing out the sausage patties, and I couldn’t resist holding my plate out for extra helpings just to bug her. It worked pretty well if the huffing sound she made was any indication.

Just as I started to slide down the table away from Ella, I heard her mumble something under her breath that sounded like “Hure.” I just
knew
that wasn’t a compliment. When I faced her again, her eyes were squinted at me and her mouth held a smug smile. If I’d been a nicer person, I probably would have felt sorry for her. After all, she had it as bad for Noah as I did. The difference was that he wanted me and not her. Even though it tickled my insides, I took the high road and walked away, suppressing the wicked urge to stick my tongue out at her.

I followed Sam and Justin through the mass of long beards, dresses and caps. We worked our way around all the little groups gathered and conversing, until we finally broke free, entering the big canopy set up outside the school. It was filled from end to end with tables and benches—most of which were already taken. I continued to look around for Noah, and as my eyes roamed the tent, I got the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Once the feeling stuck, it only took an instant to find the source.

A redheaded boy with black eyes was staring rudely at me. And I knew he was being rude because when my eyes found him, he didn’t look away, instead eyeing me up and down as if I was a pole dancer. I didn’t like the looks of him at all. I gave him my meanest face before I sat down next to Sam. Justin abandoned us to go sit with the little rebel boys, which suited me just fine. It was nice that he’d made friends.

I was tripping a little bit from the encounter with the redheaded guy, though. There was something disturbing about the way he had looked at me. And it wasn’t just that he was checking me out either. His smile had been sinister. I shuddered, remembering it while I poured maple syrup over my pancakes from the jug on the table.

“This food is awesome. Amish women do know how to cook. Hey, Rose, maybe if you went Amish it wouldn’t be so bad after all,” Sam joked, winking at me.
Creep.

The food was delicious, but I was having a difficult time enjoying it. Where the heck was Noah? After all, he’s the one who invited me, and now he’s nowhere to be seen. I sat tensely, just picking at my food while I peered around the tent for him.

As if I had summoned him by sheer will, he suddenly appeared on the other side of the table, sitting down across from Sam. The boy who hit the volleyball into my chest sat on the other side of him. Noah didn’t even glance in my direction, but still my belly was abruptly full of the familiar little flutters. My heart sped up, beating erratically. I did my best to ignore him and swirled the food around on my plate, occasionally taking a bite. I was gloomily in my own little world, hardly even aware of all the activity around me, when Sam jabbed me in the ribs.

“Sorry again about the ball.” I wouldn’t even have known the boy was talking to me, except for Sam’s well-placed elbow.

After a little yelp from the pain in my side, I looked up to see the boy had the same apologetic expression he’d worn the last time he’d been begging for my forgiveness. I didn’t even know his name.

“Really, it wasn’t a big deal at all. I’m great.” When my eyes met his, he quickly glanced away, proving that my theory about the carrottop creep was accurate. He was being rude not only by English standards, but by Amish standards, too.