The Amish Millers Get Married BOXED SET Books 1-3 (Amish Romance Book Bundle: The Way Home, The Way Forward, The Narrow Way) (Boxed Set: Amish Millers Get Married) (17 page)

Ecclesiastes 12:14.
For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.

Chapter 17
.

Jacob was distraught. Esther was acting weird, and he didn't know what to make of it. She said she wasn't interested in any other
mann
, and he knew that Esther wouldn't lie to him, but something was badly wrong. Esther had also been crying. Jacob felt helpless; he had no idea would he could do.

Jacob walked over to the workshop, and was greeted by the kindly Mr. Miller.

"
Hullo
, Jacob, you're looking for Noah?"

"
Jah
, I need his wisdom."

Mr. Miller waved a marking gauge in the direction of the door. "He finished up early today; you've just missed him. He'd be at his
haus
by now, working on a piece for me in his little workshop."

"
Denki
, Mr. Hostetler."

Jacob went to leave, but Mr. Miller called him back. "Jacob, Martha brought us some cookies over before, and told us that Esther had been crying."

"Do you know why?"

Mr. Miller put the marking gauge down and took a step closer to him. "
Jah
. Well, not the precise reason, but Martha told us that Jessie Yoder had said something that made Esther cry," he said in lowered tones, although there was no one around to hear.

Jacob frowned.

"I saw Jessie Yoder over here earlier," Mr. Miller added, "talking to Esther when she was in the garden."

Jacob's chin was set hard. "Did she now!
Denki
, Mr. Miller,
denki
so much."

Jacob walked back outside. He debated whether to go to Esther now and tell her that he knew Jessie had said something to upset her, but Esther might not want to talk about it. As much as he wanted to pull Esther into his arms and soothe away whatever had upset her, he had better not act rashly. Noah would know what to do. Noah always knew what to do.

It was only a short drive to Noah and Hannah's
haus
, but it seemed to take forever. Jacob had to resist the urge to push his horse faster. When he arrived, he hurried through the open door into the garage that Noah had converted into a little workshop. Noah's horse neighed to Jacob's horse in greeting.

Noah looked up. "
Hiya
, Jacob. Is something wrong?" he added, taking in Jacob's appearance.

"
Jah
, a lot's wrong."

Noah looked Jacob up and down. "I can see that; you've gone as white as a ghost. Why don't you tell me about it?"

Jacob sat on the edge of the workbench and poured out the whole story, from Esther suggesting that they pretend to be dating, right up to the day's events, including the fact that Esther was crying after a visit from Jessie Yoder, while Noah listened patiently.

"So, what do you make of all that?" he asked Noah urgently when he finished.

Noah rubbed his newly growing beard. "Well, there's only one logical explanation," he said slowly.

Jacob held his breath, anxiously waiting to hear Noah's words. Right then Hannah's tan and white beagle puppy, Annie, bounced up and seized him by the trouser leg. "Ouch," he yelled. "She bit me."

Noah did his best not to laugh. "She's just being a puppy."

"
Jah
, but it hurts just the same." Jacob removed his trousers from the razor sharp teeth of the enthusiastic puppy. "So, what were you going to say?" Jacob looked around for something to put in the puppy's mouth. He found a pink, plush elephant and stuck it in Annie's mouth. That did the trick, as Annie happily sat down and crunched on the toy.

Squeak
,
squeak
,
squeak
. Jacob had no idea that the pink elephant was a squeak toy. He shook his head. This just wasn't his day.

"Jessie's doing her best to break up you and Esther, right?" Noah said the words loudly to be heard over the squeaks, which were coming one on top of the other.

Jacob nodded furiously. "
Jah
, but we're only pretending that we're dating."

"That doesn't matter. Jessie knows how you feel about Esther. Esther is in love with you, and -"

Jacob interrupted. "I wish that were the case, Noah, but she isn't."

Noah wagged his finger at him. "I think you'll find, little
bruder
, that she is. Why else would she be so upset? What do you think Jessie said to her that upset her so much? And more of a clue, what did Jessie say to her that made Esther tell you, right after that, that you didn't have to pretend to date her anymore? It's obvious. Esther's in love with you."

Jacob put his hand to his mouth. "Do you really think so? I mean, I hope so, but I don't think she was before."

Noah chuckled. "I think she always was, Jacob, but perhaps she's just now realized it."

Jacob ran his hands though his hair. "What do you think Jessie said to her?"

"She likely said that she was dating you, or that you were interested in some other girl, but knowing Jessie, she probably said that you and she were dating."

Jacob tried to take it all in. It had been such an eventful day, and his head was reeling from the events. "What should I do now, Noah?"

"You need to go to Esther and tell her that you're not dating Jessie, and ask Esther to marry you."

Jacob sucked in a deep breath. "But that will be embarrassing if she doesn't want me after all."

Noah laughed. "I think you're on safe ground; trust me, Jacob." When Jacob didn't look convinced, he added, "What's the alternative? You really don't have a choice."

Jacob shrugged his shoulders. "You're right. I really do need to have a talk with Jessie Yoder, though. I need to tell her that I'm in love with Esther and that I won't tolerate any more of her troublemaking."

"Tell her you'll go to the bishop if she causes any more trouble."

Jacob nodded. "
Gut
idea. That's likely the only thing that'll stop her."

* * *

Jacob drove to the Yoder's
haus
, nervous about speaking to Jessie Yoder, but happy that he at least had a plan. He hoped he would be able to speak to Jessie alone, and that her
mudder
would not be nearby.

Jessie must have seen him coming, as she was waiting for him on the road outside her
haus
. Jacob hopped out of the buggy and tied his horse. His first thought was that Jessie looked worried.

"She's told you, hasn't she?" she snapped.

"Esther?"

"
Jah
, of course. She told you what I said to her." Jessie's fists were clenched and she looked furious.

I'll play along with her
, Jacob thought.
I might get more out of her that way, if she thinks I already know
. "
Jah
, she did, and I'm not happy about it," he said.

Jessie's face formed into a pout. "She said she wouldn't tell you."

"Why did you say it, Jessie?" Jacob hoped he was asking the right questions to get Jessie to reveal what she'd said to Esther.

Jessie looked at Jacob though narrowed eyes. "Well, I overheard what the two of you said in the barn."

Aha, so she was there after all
, Jacob thought. "What did we say?"

Jessie jutted out her chin. "You said you were pretending to be dating, so if you were only
pretending
that you were dating, I thought it wouldn't do any harm."

"What wouldn't do any harm, Jessie?" Jacob's patience was running out.

"I told Esther that you told me that you two were pretending to be dating."

"And that's not all, is it Jessie?" Jacob wasn't sure, but he wanted to know if there was more.

Jessie couldn't meet his eyes. "Well, I might have told Esther that you and I were secretly dating."

Jacob couldn't believe it. He was annoyed at Jessie, and sad that she had upset Esther, yet it was clear to him now that Esther must have feelings for him. Why else would she have cried after being told that he was dating Jessie?

"She promised she wouldn't tell," Jessie snapped. "She's a liar."

"You will
not
speak about Esther that way, Jessie Yoder," Jacob said firmly. "And Esther didn't tell me; I'd heard she was upset and so I came here to find out."

"Oh but you said…" Jessie broke off, and then continued. "Oh, you tricked me."

"
Jah
."

"And you didn't speak to Esther?"

"
Nee
. Now Jessie, there will be no more troublemaking, do you understand?"

Jessie pulled a sulky face.

"Jessie, if you do one more thing to cause trouble between me and Esther, if you turn up uninvited at my
haus
one more time, or if you speak to Esther, I'll go to the bishop."

Jessie gasped. "You wouldn't."

"
Jah
, I would."

Jacob saw a calculating look pass across Jessie's face. "I'll make you a deal. I have to be at the freight depot just before nine tomorrow morning to pick up a chicken coop.
Datt
has to be somewhere else, and my
bruder
David's away on
rumspringa
, so
Datt
told me to go and ask someone to come with me to help me, but I forgot, and I'll be in trouble. If you come with me, I promise to be
gut
from now on."

Jacob thought it over. Surely Jessie was still up to something, but he couldn't see what harm there would be in accompanying her to a freight depot. "All right, I will agree on one condition; you won't ever again ask me for any help."

Jessie shrugged, "Sure."

"I mean it, Jessie." Jacob made his voice as stern as he could. "I mean it. Even if you break your leg, I will not be the one to drive you to the
doktor
. Do you understand?"

"Sure," Jessie said with a smirk.

Proverbs 25:9.
Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another's secret.

Chapter 18
.

The next morning, Esther arrived in her buggy to collect Hannah from Mrs. Hostetler's store. They were headed to the outskirts of town to pick up a delivery of fabric supplies from the freight depot. The local carrier charged far too much to deliver directly to the quilt store. Hannah and Esther did this regularly, on one Wednesday morning a month, arriving at the depot at precisely nine.

Hannah and Esther were walking to Esther's buggy, and as they arrived there, John Graber pulled his horse in next to them and waved to them. "
Hiya
, Hannah and Esther."

"
Hiya
, John," they both said.

John walked over to them. "You work for Mrs. Hostetler, don't you Hannah?"

Hannah nodded, and Esther said, "Yes, we're just on the way to the freight depot for her now. We're in a bit of a rush as we have to be there at nine." Esther knew that the kindly John would talk for hours if given the opportunity.

John laughed. "She won't mind if you're late, just this one time, what with Jacob about to be married."

Esther heard Hannah gasp. "What? What did you say?" Esther stammered.

John flushed red. "Oh, I thought Mrs. Hostetler would've already told you. Me and my big mouth. Don't tell anyone, will you? I saw Jacob buying an engagement gift for Jessie Yoder. He wouldn't want me to say."

"Are you sure?" Hannah asked.

"Oh yes, of course he wouldn't want me to say. You know how these things are always kept secret." John's hand flew to his mouth. "Oh silly me. I mean yes, he was buying engagement gifts for Jessie Yoder. He bought her a clock and a teapot. I'd better be going. Please don't tell anyone, will you." John looked shame-faced, and departed in a hurry.

Esther felt numb. She climbed in the buggy and took up the reins.

Hannah turned to her. "
Nee
, Esther, John's mixed up; that can't be right."

Tears rolled down Esther's cheeks, and Hannah didn't speak again for a while. Soon they were driving along though rolling hills dotted with wildflowers of blue, white, and yellow. A truck went past, a little too fast and close for comfort, but this was not a busy road, and they met no other traffic. Esther was heartbroken over the news that Jessie was engaged to Jacob,
her
Jacob. She had cried herself to sleep the night before, and her eyes were sore. She thought things were bad last night, but now they were infinitely worse. How could this be? Jessie and Jacob, engaged?

Esther mulled over whether to tell Hannah but thought she had best not, given that Hannah was married to Jacob's
bruder
. Jessie had asked her not to tell anyone, after all, and Hannah was likely to tell her husband Noah, who no doubt would tell his
bruder
, Jacob. Silence was clearly the best policy here, she considered.

As they approached the freight depot, they could see a buggy approaching them in the distance. "Who could that be?" Hannah wondered aloud.

Esther squinted against the sun's rays. "We'll soon know."

As the two buggies drew closer to each other, Esther's mouth ran dry. It was Jacob's buggy, and there sitting next to him, was Jessie. Hannah said, "Stop, Esther," when Esther made no move to, but Esther pushed the horse on faster. Esther had time to register the surprise on Jacob's face when she didn't stop, but trotted on. Jacob had been in the process of stopping his buggy.

Esther saw a wide smile from Jessie, but she simply waved to them and then looked straight ahead. If Esther harbored any doubt before, she did not now. The evidence was right there, in front of her nose, and there was no escaping it any longer - Jacob and Jessie were clearly engaged. For one thing, no one else but Hannah knew of their planned pretence, and secondly, Jacob and Jessie were on a buggy ride together. Plus John Graber had seen Jacob buying engagement gifts for Jessie. Esther had tried to be in denial and not face facts, but that was no longer possible.

Hannah looked over at Esther. "What's going on, Esther? Why didn't you stop for Jacob?"

"I didn't want to disturb Jacob and Jessie."

"Why ever not?"

Esther just shrugged and hoped Hannah wouldn't pursue this line of questioning. Fortunately, they had arrived at the freight depot so Hannah was kept busy with Mrs. Hostetler's order.

When the fabric was safely loaded, the girls headed back to town. Yet no sooner than Esther had taken up the reins, than Hannah turned to her. "Now, tell me. What's going on? Why didn't you want to speak to Jacob?"

Esther sighed. "I can't really say."

"Why not? Look, Esther, what's this all about? You're being awfully mysterious."

Esther hadn't planned to tell Hannah, but the words just came tumbling out. "Oh, Hannah, I'm so upset. I wanted to tell you, but she made me promise not to tell anyone. And you can't keep a secret from Noah, so you'll tell Noah, and he can't keep a secret from his
bruder
, so he'll tell Jacob. And I don't want Jacob to know." With that, Esther burst into a flood of tears.

"Oh, Esther, please don't cry; please tell me what's going on. I don't understand anything you just said."

Esther fought to control her tears, and blew her nose loudly into a tissue. "It was Jessie; she made me promise not to tell." Her voice came out between sobs.

"Jessie Yoder? I don't understand; you'd better start from the beginning."

Esther took a deep breath. "Well you know how I asked Jacob to pretend we were dating, so
Mamm
wouldn't push me onto Amos?"

Hannah nodded. "
Jah
, and how did that go?"

"It went well, but Jacob was only doing it to help me out, but he's secretly been dating Jessie Yoder."

"
Nee
, that's not right."

"I was shocked too, Hannah," Esther said, "but it's true. You didn't tell anyone that Jacob and I were pretending to date, did you?"

"
Nee
, of course not."

"Well, Jessie came to our
haus
the other day. She said that Jacob told her that we were only pretending to be dating, and that he wanted to help me because I'm his oldest friend. Hannah, don't you see? It must be true, or how else would Jessie know that we were only pretending?"

Hannah was silent for a moment. "I don't know how she knew, but I'm sure that Jacob didn't tell her."

Esther allowed herself a small glimmer of hope before she pushed it away. "Jessie also said that she and Jacob have been secretly courting."

"
Nee
,
nee
," Hannah said. "I'm sure that's not right. Noah would know if they were."

"Hannah, she said
secretly
."

Hannah shook her head strongly. "
Nee
, Noah and Jacob are close. I'm sure this isn't right, Esther. Jessie has always had her heart set on Jacob, but he's always…" Hannah stopped speaking, and then continued. "I truly don't believe what she said to you. It was just her way of trying to chase you away from Jacob. Now, I know what John Graber said, but I'm sure it's just a big misunderstanding. Jessie could've even told him that."

Esther's heart soared. Could Hannah be right? Was this all a plot of Jessie's to drive a wedge between her and Jacob? Esther didn't want to get her hopes up, in case Hannah was wrong.

"Now tell me this, Esther. Why were you so upset when you thought that Jessie and Jacob were dating? Have you finally realized how you feel about Jacob?"

Esther's hand flew to her throat. "What do you mean, Hannah? How did you know?"

Hannah laughed. "Everyone knew but you, Esther. I always knew you'd marry Jacob. You just had to come to terms with your feelings for him."

Esther sighed. "I think I've ruined everything, Hannah."

Hannah looked over at Esther and smiled. "You know what the ministers always say, 'Let go and let
Gott
.' When we think our paths are impossible, or at least horribly difficult, that's when
Gott's
light shines on our paths.
Gott
makes a way where there is no way. You'll see, Esther; if it's
Gott's
will for you and Jacob to be together, it will happen. But you can't carry this burden; give it to
Gott
and be still and accept His will."

Esther sighed. "I hope you're right."

* * *

Jacob's heart caught in his mouth when he saw Esther's buggy coming.
So this is why Jessie insisted I take her to the freight depot at precisely a quarter to nine in the morning, so Esther would see us
, he thought.
I knew something was wrong when the freight depot said that the chicken coop wasn't expected until next week
. He looked over at Jessie and she was smiling, looking very pleased with herself. Jacob slowed his horse, fully intending to tell Esther that Jessie had asked him to drive her to the depot to lift the heavy framework for the Yoders' new chicken coop, but Esther did not stop the buggy.

Jacob was furious. Once again he had fallen foul of Jessie's plots. He clicked his horse on to go faster. Fifteen minutes later, they reached a bed and breakfast on the outskirts of town. Jacob handed Jessie some money.

She looked up at him, puzzled. "What's this for, Jacob?"

"It's for you to go into that Bed and Breakfast and call a taxi to take you home. Jessie, I
am
going to the bishop about your behavior." He held up his hand as she made to speak. "Don't say a word; you'll make matters worse. I
am
going to marry Esther, and nothing you can do will stop that. I suggest you keep well out of my way in future. Get out of the buggy now."

Jessie's jaw dropped open. Jacob suspected that no one had ever spoken to her in such a way before. She glared at Jacob but got out of the buggy. Jacob turned the buggy around and clicked up his horse in the direction of the Miller
haus
.