Text Order Bride (2 page)

be able to respond if he called or texted.

She was about a chapter into her book when her phone signaled another

text. She picked it up and read the screen. “Hi there. What are you up

to?”

Her thumbs tapped out her response. “Just reading a book. You?”

It wasn’t a full minute after she sent the message before her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“What book?” Jason asked.

She smiled. “It’s an Amish fiction book that was recommended by a

woman at my church.”

“Is it any good?”

“Yeah, so far. I’m only about a chapter into it.” She tried really hard to stay

still in the water so that he wouldn’t hear the splashes. She didn’t really

want him to know she was talking to him from the bathtub.

An hour later they were still talking. Not about anything important, just

chatting and getting to know one another better. Her water was so cold

she started to shiver. She needed to either add hot water or get out. She

decided to get out of the tub and hoped that he wouldn’t hear her. She

moved slowly to a standing position and toweled off before stepping out of

the water. He was talking about how he’d come to own his family’s farm,

so she knew she had a minute.

As she stepped out, he stopped talking. “Why do I hear water?” he asked.

Darn. She should have muted it before getting out. “Um…yeah.

Probably.”

“Are you washing dishes?”

“No.”

“Why did I hear water?”

She sighed. She wasn’t going to lie to him. “I was getting out of the

bathtub,” she admitted, her face flaming red.

He was silent for a moment. “You were in the tub the whole time we’ve

been talking?”

“Yeah.”

“Now why don’t we have video chat?”

She laughed softly. “Sorry. I should have told you right away and called

you back.”

He grinned. He could almost hear her blush. He couldn’t believe there

was a woman in her thirties left in this country who could blush. It was

refreshing to say the least. “I’m just teasing you. It’s fine.”

She pulled on a bathrobe and went into her bedroom to sit on the bed and

talk. She lived in the house she’d grown up in, and had taken over her

mother’s old bedroom when she died. Her father had died when she was a

small child.

“I don’t mind being teased as long as it’s not about how tall I am,” she told

him honestly.

He chuckled softly. “I’m the last one to tease you about your height. I think

it’s great.” He paused for a moment, and then said, “I really hope I get to

meet you.”

She smiled to herself. She was hoping for the same thing. Easter was

coming up in a couple of weeks. “I could fly up there and spend Easter

weekend with Stephanie,” she suggested. “She’s been inviting me for

years.”

He settled back on the couch and crossed his feet. He loved that idea.

“Seriously? You’d do that?”

She thought about it. “Yeah, I would. I could get a sub for the Thursday

before and fly up Wednesday night. That way we could have Thursday,

Friday and Saturday together. I’d have to fly home after Easter services on

Sunday.”

“I’ll pay for your ticket,” he offered.

She shook her head. “No way. I don’t want to feel like I’m indebted to you

in any way. I’ll buy the ticket and spend the weekend with my friend. We

can see if we hit it off in person as much as we do on the phone.”

“I’d like that a lot.”

She stood up and walked into the living room to search for flights on her

laptop. “What would be the best airport for me to fly into?”

“Madison. I could have my friend Steve do the milking that night, and meet

you myself.”

“And take me to Stephanie’s house?” she asked. She was more than

willing to meet him, but she wasn’t ready to stay in a house alone with a

man she’d never met in person.

“Absolutely.”

She typed in the information to fly from D/FW to Madison. She had several

friends who would have no problem driving her to the D/FW airport. She

found a non-stop and pulled out a credit card, booking it immediately. She

knew she should ask Stephanie first, but she could easily get a hotel if she

needed to. With no house payment, and a decent salary, she had a good

savings account.

“What’s your email address?” she asked. “I’ll email you the flight

information.”

“You already booked it?” he asked.

“I had to do it before I lost my nerve.”

He laughed softly. “I understand. I’m really excited that I’m going to get to

meet you.”

“Me too.” She smiled to herself, thinking about how excited she was about

it. “I’ll have to call Stephanie tomorrow and let her know I’m making a

surprise visit.”

He grinned. “I’ll let her know at church in the morning.”

“That sounds good to me.”

He glanced at the clock. “Wow. It’s getting late. We’ll talk again, but for

now, I need to go to bed so I can get up in the morning for milking.”

“Okay. It was nice talking to you.”

“You too. G’night.”

“Good night.”

Amanda looked around the Madison airport. Was he here? They’d been

chatting on Facebook as well as talking on the phone every evening, so

she was pretty sure she could recognize him. She felt her phone buzz in

her pocket and looked down to read the text. “I’m next to baggage claim.

Where are you?”

She had stepped away from baggage claim so walked back in that

direction. She wanted to spot him before he saw her, so she didn’t text him

back. There he was. A full head taller than almost everyone else, he was

easy to spot. She saw him looking out over the crowd trying to find her.

Finally, his eyes settled on her and he smiled. He took the three steps

toward her. “Amanda?” he asked.

She nodded, unable to find her voice. He spread his arms wide and she

dropped her suitcase and went into them hugging him happily. “It’s nice to

meet you,” she mumbled against his shoulder.

He picked up her bags and carried them toward the door. “It’s already

seven. Did they feed you on the plane?” he asked.

“No. Just a pack of pretzels. I’m starving!”

He led her out the door to his truck, putting the suitcases behind the seat.

“What sounds good for dinner?”

She climbed into the passenger side. She was glad she’d worn jeans. It

would have been tough climbing into the cab in the slim skirt she’d had on

for work that day. “I don’t know what there is to eat here. Why don’t you

take me some place you enjoy?”

He thought about that for a minute. His favorite place to eat was a Mexican

restaurant, but he was sure she ate a lot of Mexican in Texas. “Hmm…how

about pizza?”

“Sounds good. Anything sounds good right about now.”

He drove along the highway and pulled into a small pizza place that he’d

been to many times with his parents over the years. They went in and sat

in a booth. He took her hand in his as they looked at the menu. Once

they’d decided on a pizza with the works, he sat back and just looked at

her. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

She smiled. “Me, too. Although, I have to admit, I was really nervous

about meeting you.”

He laughed. “No reason to be nervous around me. I’m just a country boy.”

How could she help but be nervous though? She’d never had a boyfriend

in her life, and his big brown eyes were making her heart melt. Would he

find her attractive? Or would he get bored with her once he’d realized that

in person she was so shy she could barely speak? Could she even force

herself to speak?

“So are you going to show me your farm sometime this weekend?” she

asked.

“Stephanie is planning on bringing you out to my place on Friday morning.

She wants to spend tomorrow with you while the two older kids will be in

school.”

“That sounds good. I’d like to see your home.”

“Well, don’t expect anything fancy. It’s just a farmhouse. It’s been in my

family forever.” His thumb caressed her hand while they talked.

Amanda was nervous with him, yes, but found herself extremely attracted

to him. She was surprised she could be so turned on by the touch of a

man’s hand on hers. What would it be like to kiss him? She found herself

staring at his mouth. Would she have the courage to kiss him? Or would

she turn and run?

The waitress came by then with their drinks.

He watched her face as she sipped her soft drink. What was it about her

that was so attractive to him? Sure, she was tall, and he loved tall women,

but what else? She certainly wasn’t the prettiest girl he’d ever met. He

loved her intelligence and her sense of humor. He’d enjoyed their

conversations together. He loved that she seemed so completely innocent.

“It’s a three hour drive back to Stratford. We probably won’t make it to

Stephanie’s until around eleven or so.”

“She’s expecting me to be late,” she told him with a grin. “She said she’d

be waiting up in her pajamas and we’d pretend we were roommates again.”

He laughed. “How long have you two been friends?”

“Fourteen years. We were roommates all through college, and became

best friends. I hate it that it’s been ten years since we’ve seen each other.

We keep up through email and Facebook, of course, but it’s just not the

same. I’m really excited about seeing her and Bob and meeting the kids.”

“She was bouncing off the walls when we talked at church on Sunday.

She’s really excited that you’re visiting.”

Amanda smiled. “We talked for a minute or two last night, and she

sounded like she was going insane.”

Their waitress dropped the pizza at the table and went off to get refills for

each of them. Jason let go of her hand so they could eat. She was

surprised by how easily she was talking to him.

After he’d paid for their meal, they went back out to the truck. Instead of

starting it immediately, he turned to her. “All the while we were eating, all I

could think about was one thing,” he whispered staring at her lips.

She turned to face him on the seat. “What’s that?”

“Kissing you,” he whispered slowly lowering his head toward hers. He gave

her plenty of time to back away if she didn’t want this kiss.

She turned her face up toward his and met his lips with her own. The kiss

was quick and chaste, barely a brush of their mouths together. He pulled

back and smiled at her. “I had to get that out of the way. All I could think

about was how you’d taste.”

She blushed. She’d never even been kissed before. She was certain

she’d done it all wrong, but wasn’t certain how to ask. “And?”

“Well, a lot like pizza,” he answered with a grin.

She laughed. “That would make sense.”

He started the truck and they headed north toward Stratford. His hand met

hers on the seat between them squeezing it tightly.

It was a few minutes after eleven when he pulled into Stephanie’s

driveway. He had just turned to kiss her goodnight, when the front door

flew open and Stephanie came running out in her pajamas, bathrobe and

slippers.

Amanda gave him a quick grin and opened the door, running to her friend.

They hugged tightly. Stephanie had put on some weight over the years

after giving birth to four children. Amanda was as slim as ever. Stephanie

was a full foot shorter than Amanda and as dark as Amanda was fair. In

college they’d joked that by putting pieces of the two of them together, any

man could make his ideal woman.

Jason watched the women hug and removed her suitcases. “Where do

you want these?” he asked.

Stephanie pulled away from Amanda with tears in her eyes. She led them

both inside. “The boys are sleeping on the floor in the living room while

you’re here. They think it’s a great adventure. I thought you’d be more

comfortable in their room.”

“That sounds good. Thanks.”

They walked around sleeping bodies to the hallway. “Right through here,”

she said.

Jason carried the bags in and set them down. “Stephanie’s not sharing you

tomorrow, so I’ll see you Friday morning,” he said with a wink.

Amanda blushed and nodded. “I’m looking forward to it.”

He didn’t try to kiss her in front of Stephanie and for that she was grateful.

“G’night.”

“Thanks for picking me up at the airport,” she said.

“My pleasure.”

He walked toward the front door and Stephanie hurried after him and

locked the door. She went back to Amanda and sat on one of the boy’s