Turning onto the road, I was amazed at how fast we were going. I worriedly glanced around for cars or—trucks. Noah saw what I was doing, and he smiled reassuringly, placing the reins into one hand. He took my hand into his free one and for the first time in a while, he did the swirly thing with his thumb. Once again, all was right in the world.
Yeah, I still had a nagging feeling, way deep down, that I was not doing the right thing, but I rationalized to myself that nothing is set in stone. I could still go back home if things didn’t work out. And maybe this sojourn would give me the time to change Noah’s mind about becoming English. There was no way I was saying anything to him about my backup plan, though. I was just going to have to keep my thoughts to myself for the time being. Perhaps I’d like being Amish. I certainly wouldn’t know till I gave it a try.
That’s what I was going to do—try.
Seeing the bright sun shining down on the passing hay fields, and feeling the warm air whip through the open buggy windows, I convinced myself I could do this. As long as Noah was beside me, I could do anything.
And I was determined to be with him, no matter which world we ended up living in.
* * * * *
Is love enough to keep Rose and Noah together?
Turn the page for a sneak peek
at the next novel in
the Temptation series
Sam
DAMN. IT REALLY sucked playing the spy for Dad. I tried to keep my eyes locked on the red minivan as I maneuvered through traffic on the increasingly slippery road. The blue pickup that passed in front of me momentarily broke my eye contact with the van. Shit. I couldn’t lose it now. I sped up and managed to get enough speed to inch past the car. Not really enough room for my dually to politely get back in front of it in the heavy traffic, but hell, I was on a mission.
Gunning the engine, I made it back into a spot where I could see the white bonnets bobbing around in the van. Good. I was still with ’em. The rain mix that had been falling all day had picked now to turn to snow, and the large puffy shapes were dotting the windshield in ever-increasing intensity.
It was just dumb luck that I’d spotted the minivan filled with Amish women drive by as I was pulling out of the school parking lot. A little Mario Andretti driving and I managed to catch up to ’em. I knew the chances of one of those goofy caps being on my sister’s head were pretty slim, but I’d take the gamble. It was worth it. I guess.
The minivan got into the right turning lane and I backed off a bit, not wanting to be noticed by Rose if she was in the vehicle. I followed it into the Walmart parking lot.
“What are you doing, Sam? We’re supposed to be at Jason’s house in about twenty minutes,” Hunter asked with an edge to his voice.
I glanced over at him briefly. Even though it had been several months, I was still pissed off about his overly aggressive moves on Rose. Hell, if he’d been a little more charming, I wouldn’t be here stalking my little sister like a maniac.
“Quiet. I’m trying to think,” I shot back at him, ignoring his aggravated grunt.
From what I could see, the lady driving the minivan was, oh, probably in her forties with short reddish hair. I’d seen the woman driving the Amish around town in her van but hadn’t taken much notice of her before now. She didn’t work too hard for a parking spot close to the store, instead pulling the van into the first space she came to at the back of the lot. I found a space in the next row, about four cars away. I positioned my truck facing the back of the van, but not in an obvious location where I’d be seen. Hey, I’m pretty good at this secret-agent crap, I decided as I cut the engine and waited for the occupants of the van to file out.
No. The first two weren’t her. But it was damn near impossible to tell with them all dressed the same. And now they were all sporting larger black caps that seemed to be fitted over the white ones, which made seeing their faces even more difficult. The only difference I could register in my head were the varying shades of blue skirts the girls wore, whipping out in the wind below their black coats. That was it. I still couldn’t believe that Rose would be dressing like that—and all for a guy.
I couldn’t help chuckling when I got a good look at the last girl slipping out of the van. It was Rose—must be my lucky day. I patiently waited, watching the small group head for the store’s entrance. Funny, she actually moved differently than the other three girls and two older women she was with. Rose had a more confident stride, her back straight, looking around the parking lot as if she was purposely searching for someone. Hmm, maybe this chance encounter was serendipitous after all.
“Are you following Rose?” Hunter asked quietly, as if it was a big secret.
When I swiveled around, I could see that he was doing the same thing as me; staring at the Amish women as they made their way to the store.
“Yeah, got a problem with it?”
“Heck, no, I’ve been dying to see her again,” Hunter said, still stalking my sister with his eyes.
I could only breathe out my disgust and ignore his comment. After all, who was I to detour the guy from liking a pretty girl. And there was still a chance that he could woo Rose away from Mr. Suspenders.
“Look, I’ve got to talk to my sister, but we have to be careful about this. I don’t want to freak her out or anything.” Then as an afterthought, I added, “Or get her into trouble with those Amish people.”
“Hey, maybe if they got mad at her, they’d kick her out of their club. Then she’d have to come back to the real world and get on with her life,” Hunter suggested.
He had a point. Sometimes I forgot that Hunter was a pretty smart guy. He took all the same accelerated classes I took and got mostly A’s. The dumb-jock thing with him was just a facade. He actually had a brain in that pro-athlete body.
As I grasped the door handle, I said, “Yeah, and you’ll be waiting for her in the real world, right?”
“Maybe” was all Hunter said as he jumped out of the truck and met me on my side, waiting.
I didn’t like the nervous feeling spreading through my body like a grass fire. I was going to talk to my sister, not face a firing squad, I reasoned to myself. The flakes of snow were changing back to rain again, splashing my face and head as they came down with more force. What a miserable day. The weather had definitely soured my mood, and having to deal with Rose’s bizarre act of rebellion was putting a hard edge on my emotions as I walked through the automated doors alongside Hunter. I tried to soften my face a bit so I wouldn’t scare the old lady greeting the customers in the doorway. When she looked my way, I rewarded her with a big smile. The way she smiled back, warmly, like a proud grandma, I knew I’d won her over.
Now on to business, I hesitated only a second before heading toward the grocery aisles. Hunter slunk along beside me silently. Maybe he was nervous about the encounter, too? He hadn’t been around Rose since the night of the wreck. Serve him right if he had nails rolling around in his stomach.
Glancing down the rows from left to right, I spotted a few of the Amish women pushing a cart down the bread aisle. Nope. Rose wasn’t with ’em. I continued my search, hoping I’d catch her alone.
After several minutes and exhausting the grocery section, Hunter and I headed over to the beauty stuff. Hunter suggested it, and it was a good bet she’d be there. When I finally found her, she was staring at some bottles of lotion, looking pretty bored, too. The Amish girl standing with her looked like Noah’s sister. Couldn’t remember her name, but I think she was the older one.
“Hey, sis, did they allow you out of the house today?” From the look on her face, it was probably not the best thing to have said to her straight off. Her eyes threw daggers at me.
She breathed in deep and when she exhaled, a growling sound came with it.
“I see you’re still a jerk, huh, Sam?” Her voice was colder than the weather outside.
Hunter almost laughed but swallowed the sound, a little too late, because now Rose’s icy glare was directed at h
im.
Clearing his throat, Hunter said, “Hey, Rose. It’s good to see you.”
“Sorry, I can’t say the same,” she replied rudely.
Man, she was in a fouler mood than I was. Before it got into a shouting match, I altered my voice and said as nicely as I could manage, “I just want to talk to you, Rose, just for minute.”
The Amish girl then piped up, “Rose, I think we better get going.”
Now Rose shot her friend an irritated look, and after chewing on her lip for a few seconds, she glanced from me back to the Amish chick.
“Sarah, I want to talk to Sam alone. Okay?” Her voice was amicable to an untrained ear. But to me, I knew what she was really saying was You better get the heck out of my way and let me do what I want.
Sarah stepped closer to Rose and whispered just loud enough that I could hear, “Are you sure?”
“Yep, I’ll catch up with you at the van,” Rose said smoothly, with no room for an argument.
Sarah sighed but did what Rose said, walking away; smart girl.
Rose then glanced around with nervous energy. “We need to go somewhere more private, Sam.”
Her voice carried a kind of vulnerable twang to it. A sound I hadn’t heard coming from her mouth since she was ten. Shucks. That brotherly protectiveness began invading my senses.
“Let’s go to my truck,” I suggested.
She shook her head. “No. I can’t do that.” After another birdlike look around, she said, “Just follow me.”
Before Hunter had the chance to shift his weight, Rose held her hand out, narrowing her eyes at him. “Not you.”
It was hard to believe, but for a brief second, a look of hurt flickered across Hunter’s face. I almost felt sorry for the guy.
“Go on to the truck, Hunter. I’ll be there in a few,” I told him.
Hunter started to turn, hesitated and moved toward Rose in a blur. He got pretty damn close to her, and even though I could tell she wanted to step back, she held her ground, only swaying her upper body back a bit.
“Look, Rose, I’m really sorry about everything that happened that night.” He paused, with a deeply drawn breath. “I hope whenever your life gets straightened out, we can be friends.” Hunter waited for her to respond, but when it was obvious she wasn’t going to saying anything, he left us, moving briskly away.
“That was kind of harsh.”
“Why? I didn’t say any of the things I was thinking,” she mumbled as she headed toward the back of the store.
She was just clueless. “Sometimes not saying anything is even worse than chewing someone out,” I informed her.
“Oh, are you a relationship counselor now?” she asked sarcastically, turning right past the shoes and then left along the aisle at the back of the store. I had to hustle to keep up with her feverish stride. She finally stopped by an end cap filled with green bags of cat food. Dozens of faces of smiling tabbies stared at me.
She turned to face me after another quick search around her. “What do you want, Sam?”
Okay, now what do I say? I’d had my little speech memorized in my head for weeks, but now, seeing my sister in the flesh, dressed in the ridiculous clothes, I could only laugh at her. That didn’t go over well. Wham. She smacked me across the chest.
“I don’t have time for your comedy show, Sam.” She looked behind her and then over my shoulder, before saying in a frustrated hiss, “I don’t have much time at all, so if you have something to say, out with it already.”
I got myself under control, but damn, it was going to be difficult to have a serious conversation with her dressed like that. “Okay. Okay. I’m sorry. You’ve got to understand, you just look strange to me.” Rose folded her arms across her chest, popping one hip up while she waited for me to continue. She was still not happy with me. And she didn’t seem to understand at all.
“You know, Dad and Justin, Aunt Debbie, they were all really upset that you didn’t come see us for your birthday.” That was the number-one thing off my chest.
She sniffed. Avoiding my eyes, she said, “Yeah, I’m sure they were.”
“Well, what about it? Aren’t you allowed to be around your family anymore?”
Rose shifted uneasily, not answering me. Her being without words told me something was definitely up.
“Come on, Rose. What’s going on in your little Amish world?” Seeing her lips tighten, I surged on with my interrogation. “Are you happy with all the rules? Are you enjoying the fact that you have no freedom at all?” Still there was no response from her. “Is Noah really worth it?”
That got her. She locked her blue eyes on me and whispered, “Yes, he’s worth it.” She sighed, then leaned back against the cat food and blew out hard, angrily. “But it’s been more difficult than I ever imagined.”
“Have they been mean to you?”
She shook her head. “No…not really, they are just very controlling. You wouldn’t believe the half of it.” She stopped to check the vicinity again, then she rolled on, “I can’t even wear my lace-up boots when I ride.” She said it as if it was the worst thing in the world.
I shrugged. “Why not?”
She said fiercely, “Because the elders think they’re too flashy. Can you imagine, my old, dingy brown boots flashy? And that’s just the beginning of it, Sam. I can’t even wear a watch!” she nearly shrieked, although quietly.
“Then why don’t you get out of there?”
“I love Noah, that’s why.”
“So you’re going to live this way, miserable, for the rest of your life?”
“Well, it’s not all bad. The Millers and the Hershbergers are so nice to me. And I’ve made friends.”
“You didn’t answer my question. Are you going to continue with this craziness, or what?” I was becoming irritated with her, and it probably showed in my voice, although I was really trying to sound amicable.
She pushed away from the bags and invaded my personal space. When she was close enough that she must have felt that no one sneaking up on her would hear, she breathed out, “I think Noah might go English.”
I couldn’t help feeling exasperated with her. “Oh, come on, Rose, we’ve been through this before.” When I saw her hopeful eyes, I asked, “Why, has something changed with him?”
“No, not exactly, but I think he might be coming around to my side.” She said it a little sheepishly, and I suddenly felt sorry for nature boy.
“So, your plans all along were to convert Noah—and not really stay Amish yourself? Is that it?”
“No, Sam. I’ll stay Amish if that’s what it takes to be with Noah.” She looked dramatically horrified at my question.
“You’re not convincing me. And besides, how much time are you going to waste on this endeavor? The holidays are in a couple of weeks. Are you planning to shun your family for Christmas?” Number-two thing was now off my chest. I leveled a hard look at her, but I thought that I was being pretty mild. She needed some sense shaken into her.
“Oh, I don’t know. I really want to see you all for the holidays, but Ruth and James have so much family to visit. And there is so much work that needs to be done.”
Then she rambled on for a few minutes, something about Mrs. Hershberger’s daughter having twins and having to do her laundry for her, scrubbing a fence by hand and making two hundred Whoopee Pies for some event. I tuned it all out. None of it mattered in the least. Really, my sis was losing her freak’n mind.
I interrupted her. “Look, Dad wants to see you for Christmas, and that’s the end of it. So you better work it out.”
“Yeah, I’ll do the best I can,” she murmured, staring off into space like a zombie.
“We’re all going to Cincinnati to stay at Aunt Debbie’s for the holidays. Just think about it, Rose—you can hang out with Amanda and Britney, and go shopping at the mall with Aunt Debbie for the last-minute sales. You’d have a blast, and it would be really good for you.”
“Oh, I don’t think I’ll be allowed
to go away for that long.”
“Why don’t you just bring Noah with you.”
I thought it was the perfect solution, but when she rolled her eyes and spat, “No way will they let him do that. He’d have to have an Amish adult chaperone along, and that would be just terrible—as if his folks would even let him leave town during Christmastime anyway,” she said, pouting.
Before I had a chance to respond, a couple of Amish women appeared at the end of the aisle. At that moment, they reminded me of a pair of harpies that just found lunch.
“Rose. Come with us now. We must go,” the older, gray-haired lady said. I figured she was the infamous Mrs. Hershberger. She was a little chubby, still managing to be sharp-faced. Other than that, there wasn’t anything really distinguishable about her.