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“Oh, really, well, thank you so much for rescuing me from a deep and dangerous sleep.” Her voice was smooth, holding a hint of amusement, and I breathed in relief when I realized she was teasing me.
She pulled her legs up to her chin and clasped her hands around them. Looking at me boldly, she asked, “What are you doing today after everything is off the truck?”
At the same time I wanted to be closer to her, I also felt nervous kneeling on the floor only a foot away from her. I stood up and walked to the door again, peering out. When I was confident the coast was clear, I went back and sat down next to her.
At first I was afraid to look directly at her, an action I’d avoided doing with girls my entire life, so I simply stared at the ugly wallpaper. But that was unsatisfying, to say the least, so with all the confidence I could muster, I turned to look directly into her eyes. It was nice when she didn’t turn away.
“I have to go to work. We’re building a house up the road for a new Amish family who moved here from Indiana.”
“Oh,” she murmured softly, appearing to be lost in thought.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs brought me briskly to a standing position. I quickly crossed the room and was in the process of hurrying through the doorway when Sam walked in. He stopped, and after glancing from me to Rose, and seeing what I’m sure appeared to be a guilty look on my face, scrunched up his eyebrows and said in a menacing tone, “Hey, bro, what have you been doing in here with my sister?”
For a second there was dead silence, and I searched my mind for the safest way to respond without causing a scene that would bring Father up the stairs. I didn’t have to worry about it long though when the room was abruptly filled with the sound of Sam’s laughter. He reached out and punched me in the arm. It seemed like a friendly gesture, but damn, he had a solid swing, and I couldn’t help worrying that maybe he was feeling angry behind those laughing eyes.
Winking at me, he said, “Just kidding, Noah. But, man, the look on your face was classic. Come on, I need your help with the couch.”
Glancing over my shoulder as I followed Sam out of the room, I saw that Rose had a wide smile on her face. I couldn’t help shaking my head in wonder at their strange sense of humor.
The next time I saw Rose was in the kitchen about a half hour later. She was still wearing the same clothes and was perched on the only seat in the room, a tall stool. I was happy to see her thoroughly enjoying one of the cinnamon rolls Mother had sent over with us. When she looked up at me, she was licking the sugar off her lips. I wasn’t even sure if she knew what she was doing or how it was affecting me, but I paused for a second, staring at her with all kinds of mischief in my mind.
“This is…awesome,” she said, popping the last bite into her mouth and then reaching for another one. “You have to thank your mom for me, okay?”
“Of course” was all I could manage to say as I watched her begin eating another roll. How on earth she could fit two of those things into her little body was beyond me. She ate more like a boy than a girl. It must be the dancing and riding, I figured.
“So when does your horse arrive?” Finding an opening for conversation, I grasped it.
Her eyes lit up. “Any minute now. Jerry called me a little while ago and said he was almost here.” She went on, talking between bites. “I’m so excited. I’ve always boarded Lady. This’ll be the first time I really get to take care of her on my own. And I can just go out the door and ride her whenever I want.”
At her words, an idea began sprouting in my mind, but before I had the opportunity to say anything, Matt stumbled into the kitchen carrying a microwave. Rose jumped up and showed him where to put it on the counter. I could tell he was trying to be good and not gawk at Rose’s beauty, but he couldn’t help staring at her like a puppy dog.
His dumb-faced attraction to her caused a tightening in the pit of my stomach and I said more briskly than I wanted, “Rose, this is my friend Matthew.” And then to Matt I said, “Would you please wipe that silly look off your face.”
Matt didn’t get the chance because a horn beeped, causing Rose to slip by me. To my astonishment, and right in front of Matt, she did the most irrational, stupid and wonderful thing ever, grabbing my hand with her little one and tugging me along, saying, “Come on, it’s my horse!”
Matt’s mouth dropped open, and his eyes followed me as I was being pulled away by the English girl, who was half my size. Before Father or Jacob had the chance to see, I tugged my hand away from her. When she looked up, her eyes were wide and her cheeks were an attractive pink hue. I was astonished that she hadn’t realized that touching my hand in front of Matt, let alone Father or Jacob, could have gotten me into a mess of trouble.
She lowered her eyes and mumbled an apology before flinging the screen door open. She ran out to the driveway, where an extremely large, fancy aluminum horse trailer was parked behind an equally impressive shiny red pickup.
Even though we weren’t allowed to drive, that didn’t mean we didn’t appreciate nice vehicles when we saw them. For a minute I admired the truck, before being distracted by Rose excitedly hugging the man and woman who were getting out of the truck. She displayed her emotions so forcefully, whether she was snarling at one of her brothers, hugging her friends or just talking to me with her velvet voice. She did everything with such intense feeling that I imagined she must get exhausted from it. Like a flash of lightning, I understood why she’d grabbed my hand in the kitchen—she simply couldn’t control herself.
I continued to watch her as she went to the back of the trailer and disappeared for a minute, only to reappear leading a leggy dapple-gray mare who moved with an arched neck and raised tail. The horse had an exquisite head and I guessed she was an Arabian.
After another minute of enthusiastic chatter, the couple left to talk to Mr. Cameron, leaving Rose alone. I took the opportunity I was given and swiftly walked to her. Catching her arm for a second to stop her, I immediately let go, glancing around for spies. I was standing inappropriately close to her, so close that I could actually feel her without even touching her. It was as if there was a tingling substance in the air between us, and I breathed deeply, collecting myself before I spoke.
“You know, Rose, right across the road is a farm that we’re allowed to ride on. There are fields and woods.” Quickly I scanned the area again to make sure no one had noticed us. I rushed the words out, fearing I wouldn’t get another chance. “Do you want to meet me over there this evening and go for a ride together?”
I held my breath for her answer.
“That sounds great!” she replied with an impish smile.
By the exuberant way she answered, I realized that she didn’t understand that we needed to be very careful about what we were beginning to do. I mean, this was serious business—making plans for a secret meeting with an English girl. After another sweep of my eyes for an audience, I whispered, “We need to keep this a secret, Rose. My parents wouldn’t allow me to be out riding with you. You need to be extra careful that no one sees us together or guesses that we’ve become friends. No one in the community can be trusted about this—even Sarah. They wouldn’t understand. Okay?”
When she nodded her head surely, her eyes glinting with serious concentration, I knew she would keep her lips sealed on the matter. I continued, “You’ll see a green metal gate. Just go about sixty feet past it, up the hill, and you’ll find a break in the fence. There’s a worn hoof path in the trees at the opening. Once through it, follow the dirt lane straight. Don’t make any turns, and I’ll meet up with you around seven o’clock.”
“Noah, come on, we’re leaving,” Jacob’s voice called out from near the house. It was just dumb luck that he hadn’t looked back this way and seen me standing close enough to Rose to kiss her. That would not have been good, and I felt the unease of that realization spread through me as I took a step back from her. After a quick search of her eyes, I knew she’d do what I’d asked, so I gave her a smile and a nod, before I turned and leaped into a run toward the work truck.
As we were backing around, I shifted in the seat to look out the window. Rose was leading the frisky horse, which was prancing alongside her, back to the old barn behind the house.
If everything worked out as planned, I’d finally get the chance to be completely alone with Rose. Taking a deep breath, I stared out the window, my heart thumping in my chest as I felt the worry settle over me.
What had I gotten myself into?
5
Rose
Flame
THE DAY TRUDGED on, going nowhere, it seemed. And even though I had a million things to do to occupy my time, I continued to glance at my phone every few minutes, hoping that the magic time of six o’clock would suddenly appear—the time when I felt it would be reasonable to head out to the barn and get Lady ready for the ride.
The ride—just thinking about it stirred shivers of excitement through me. Still, a tingling doubt ran through my mind. Why was it such a secret anyway? We were just going riding together—not a big deal at all. Were Noah’s parents always so strict with him? And why would his community care about it? Maybe I’d get some answers this evening. Right now I would go with my instincts, which were telling me that I had to get to know my handsome neighbor better—even though the whole cloak-and-dagger thing was kind of weird.
After a minute of searching through the clothes in the box, I became impatient that I wasn’t finding what I was looking for and dumped the contents unceremoniously on the floor.
Distracted for a split second, I contemplated turning over a new leaf regarding my clean-room policy, which was basically never having one. But then, surveying the clothes scattered around the floor, I decided I liked having my room like this. It was sort of homey, and it drew attention away from the eighty-year-old peeling wallpaper, with the faded pictures of George Washington look-alikes dancing and playing instruments. That was definitely a good thing.
I thought about just tearing the chaotic paper off the walls the way Justin had in the foyer, but then I’d have to clean it all up, and I didn’t want to deal with that at the moment. Again I looked at my cell, groaning that only a whopping two minutes had passed since I’d last checked.
Leaving the walls as is for the time being, I hopped over the piles of clothes to lean out the window. It was strange not having a screen in it. I was sure birds would be flying around my room in no time, but the alternative was closing the window and dying of heatstroke, which wasn’t really an option. I had to remember to add the window to Dad’s ever-growing list of repairs for Miller’s Construction. That made my mouth spread into a little smile, thinking that the longer the list, the more I’d be seeing Noah, which suited me just fine.
Closing my eyes, I held my face up to the sun, relishing the heat as it absorbed into my skin. The day had grown almost unbearably humid, but I was glad for the hot temperature. It gave me the opportunity to wear one of my cute summer tank tops this evening.
After several minutes I grew bored with the facial tanning and instead checked out the view from the bedroom window. I’d picked this room for two reasons. First, I could see the field Lady was in, and right now she was peacefully munching grass under a big oak tree. And second, I could see the Miller farm. I never would have told anyone about the second reason.
Spinning away from the window, I dropped to the mattress on the floor. Lying on my belly on top of the cozy comforter, I pressed my face into one of the mushy pillows that now adorned my temporary sleeping arrangements, all too happy that I’d have a soft place to sleep that night.
I still couldn’t believe that I’d woken to see Noah peering down at me with a look of extreme irritation on his face. What a shocker that was. Never in a million years had I expected to see him in my room. But what really got me was that he seemed genuinely concerned about me sleeping on the floor. I was used to guys paying attention to me, but this was the first time one actually gave a crap about me personally. His concern touched a deep place in me that had never been fooled with before.
Quite frankly, I was so exhausted by the time I went to sleep the night before that I was like a zombie and couldn’t have cared less where I slept, as long as I had the chance to close my eyes. When we’d returned after dinner, the water was down enough that an invigorated dad drove the ryder truck up to the house and Sam followed with his big dually truck, also fully loaded with boxes. After spending the following four hours unloading Sam’s truck and unpacking some basic necessities, I nearly passed out in the kitchen. That’s when Dad directed us all to find some clear floor space somewhere and go to sleep.
I had to admit that I was a little stiff this morning, and my lower back was tight, but hopefully my body would loosen up during the ride. Again I looked at my cell and was pleased to see that ten more minutes had passed since my last check.
Getting ever closer…
I rolled onto my back and frowned, remembering what Noah had said about his parents not being happy if he was with me. I wasn’t stunned at the revelation. I’d sensed that at dinner, but it still bugged me. Everyone always loved me—my friends’ parents, my teachers, my dance coaches. Noah’s family had no right to form opinions about me when they didn’t even know me. The idea that they would find him being with me offensive just wasn’t right, and it was going to create a lot of problems. You could only sneak around for so long before something had to give, and I didn’t get the feeling that Amish people gave in much. I mean, after all, they lived their lives as if they were stuck in a rerun of Little House on the Prairie and they did it forever. Never doing so many things I automatically took for granted, like driving, going to movies or listening to music.
While we’d been unpacking, Sam, Justin and I attacked Dad with questions about our new neighbors, and although he admitted he was no expert, he did tell us a bunch of interesting things. I was looking forward to asking Noah more about his life tonight.
Sleepily I closed my eyes, listening to the shuffling and thuds of the guys moving furniture around downstairs. I hoped they all left me alone so I could take a little catnap. Within a few minutes I was drifting away, an image of a black buggy with Noah at the reins the last thing in my mind.
* * *
“Rose, wake up. Rose. Rose!” I heard Justin but ignored him, all too warm and comfortable curled up in the plushy comforter. The afternoon sunlight was down far enough to leave the room in a dull, dreamlike haze and I burrowed deeper into the softness, close to falling back asleep. Then the little twerp had the nerve to grasp my shoulders and start shaking me violently. That woke me up.
With all my weight I hurled myself onto him, knocking him off the mattress. Satisfaction filled me as I observed Justin lying on his back on the floor. But the feeling was short-lived, replaced with a panic attack when it suddenly occurred to me how late it was. Swiftly I slid across the mattress, frantically searching for the phone.
Once my hand grasped it under the sheet, I said a silent prayer and peeked at it. Yes! I danced in my head when I saw that it was five o’clock, early enough to leisurely start getting ready, but late enough to be almost ready to go. Perfect. I bounced up, grabbing the clothes I’d set aside for the occasion.
“Gee, Rose, you didn’t have to do that,” Justin said, rubbing his head.
I figured I had five seconds to spare, so I rounded on him and hissed, “What do you want?”
“I was going to invite you to go with Sam and me to the movies in town tonight. Dad went to the hospital to get his office in order, so we thought we’d eat dinner out and go see the Transformers movie.”
“You’ve already seen it twice. Isn’t there something else playing?” I suggested impatiently.
“We like that movie. It has everything—robots, explosions and a hot babe.” Justin smiled slyly.
“You’re too young to be interested in hot babes,” I informed him with my nose wrinkled in disgust. “But I’m not going, so I don’t really care what you guys waste your money on. Now get out of my room so I can change.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked keenly. Maybe he was growing a brain.
That would be dangerous.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but if it gets you out of my room faster, I’m going for a ride.”
With that I pushed Justin out the door and locked it behind him. A few minutes later I was dressed, and hearing Sam’s truck engine revving up, I leaned out the window to watch him drive away—perfect timing again.
Turning to the big round mirror attached to my retro-style dresser, I studied my reflection. I left my long, wavy hair down, with a few stray curls around my face. I decided to put a little blush on my cheeks and some gloss over my lips. Less was definitely more with Amish guys, I determined. Besides, I didn’t wear much makeup anyway.
Standing back, I admired myself in the mirror. I looked pretty good. Hmm, except the top. Maybe it was just a bit too formfitting. Turning sideways, I was impressed to see how I was filling the shirt out this year. I certainly didn’t remember looking so…developed in it last year. Yeah, probably the wrong shirt for a guy who was used to seeing women dressed in smocklike dresses. I took it off and rummaged through the closest pile on the floor.
I finally decided on a cute light blue top that had a little lace along the collar. His family seemed to like blue, and it hugged my chest just enough, without being trampy. And the lace made it feminine—just right.
Stopping in the kitchen briefly, I spread mayonnaise on two slices of bread and stuck a thick piece of cheese between them, proceeding to eat quickly. Justin’s comment about my cooking popped into my head, and I was doubly glad I had body slammed him. I was in too good of a mood to dwell on it, though, and let my obnoxious brother slip from my mind, to be replaced with thoughts of Noah.
Catching, grooming and saddling Lady didn’t take much time, and when I did the final time check, it was six-thirty. The exact time I wanted to be heading up the road.
Easily, I found the opening Noah had told me about, and once on the other side, I was delighted to see the fields went on as far as I could see. There were pockets of woods dappling the scenery, separating one hay field or crop from another. The picture was breathtaking enough to have been plucked from an art-gallery wall. And the property was isolated by a thick row of trees along the road, making it a superb place for a secret meeting. The lane was wide and level, spotted intermittently with grass and dirt. After a few minutes of getting used to the new surroundings, I squeezed Lady into a canter, reveling in the exhilaration of her muscles moving beneath me as we sped up, the wind whipping my hair back.
I was so into the joy of the ride that I failed to hear another horse moving up behind me fast. Almost too late, I caught sight of Noah from the corner of my eye, just in time to urge Lady faster before he passed us.
Glancing sideways, I saw him grin wickedly at me, and I knew the game was on. Leaning lower over my horse, I moved with her, pushing with my lower legs, asking for still more speed. We were going so fast tears were developing at the corners of my eyes—still I urged her on.
He was right alongside us, and if Lady swayed at all in his direction, we’d brush legs hard. I didn’t care, though. I wanted to win. I saw the challenge in his eyes, and I knew Lady was fast. Faster than the tall bay buggy horse he was riding. And even if she wasn’t, I was sure my Arabian could keep the race close.
But before either of us won, we ran out of running space as the path narrowed and I could see a sharp turn ahead leading into a stand of trees. Noah held out his hand, indicating for me to slow down, and I responded in unison with him and his horse, reining down to a walk right before the turn.
Sitting up and patting Lady vigorously on the neck, I exclaimed, “That was awesome! I would have beaten you if we’d had more room.” I exhaled loudly, still filled with the powerful adrenaline rush.
“Your horse is really fast,” Noah commented, catching his breath. He studied her for a moment and then brought his eyes up to me with the same admiring look on his face.
Blushing, I glanced away, feeling butterflies spreading out in my stomach. It was a strange feeling, being both pleasant in one way and totally unsatisfying in another. When I got the nerve to turn back to him, he was still silently watching me, this time with an unreadable expression.
“Wow,” I breathed. “Do you do that often?”
“No. That’s the first real race I’ve run in several years,” he answered thoughtfully.
“Why?” I asked him, relaxing in the saddle, swaying with the movement of the horse.
Pausing to answer, he said, “Well, since I’ve been done with school and working full-time, I just don’t have much time for joyrides. Then when I do, it’s difficult to make plans with my friends. There’s always so much to do around the farm.” He scowled and I suddenly felt sorry for him. He was too young to have to work all the time.
I was miffed and without thinking I blurted out, “Do you like being Amish?”
He sighed, scanning the trail ahead, brooding over my question for an amount of time that I was becoming uncomfortable with, when he finally answered, “Yes, I like being Amish—for the most part.” He glanced over at me with a slight tilt to his mouth and then continued, “I enjoy the simple way of life we have, the sense of community and the closeness of our families.”
After considering what he said for a minute, I asked with astonishment, “But don’t you want to be able to drive a car or watch TV?”
He laughed at that, shooting me a look of amusement. “Do you think those things are so important?” His grin spread into a full-blown smile. “I can get to most places I want to go in my buggy, and if I need to go farther away, I hire a driver. And you know…there are more enjoyable things to do at night besides watch TV.”
He eyed me speculatively. When comprehension dawned on me, my eyes widened and a blush heated my face, causing him to chuckle.
Okay, I wasn’t even going there, so instead I swallowed my embarrassment and asked him, “What’s your horse’s name.”
He laughed again, obviously entertained by my squirming discomfort at the last topic of conversation. While his tanned face attempted to be serious, he patted the horse’s neck and said, “This is Rumor.”
“That’s a cool name,” I said, looking closer at the gelding beside me, glad for the distraction.
“You’re probably right. I don’t think Rumor could have beaten your horse,” he said complacently, as if the fact didn’t bother him in the least.
“Yeah, but I bet Rumor’s got a lot more sense than Lady here,” I pointed out as I ran my fingers through her long mane.
“Why do you say that?” he asked with curious eyes.
“Well, she’s usually pretty spooky about things. You know, freaking out at mailboxes, the wind, even birds.”
After running his eyes over her again, he commented, “She’s doing fine now.”
“Probably because she has a big, strong gelding like Rumor to protect her,” I joked with a little laugh.
Noah just nodded his head, a whisper of a smile playing on his lips.
The path narrowed. Really more suited for single-file riding, but we continued side by side, with our knees now rubbing, and with each touch a jolt of hot energy coursed through me. I wondered if he was feeling it, too. I glanced over at him and he was looking straight ahead, focused on some imaginary object in the distance.
We were moving between two fields of corn, and the stalks were beginning to press in on us, being as tall as the horses. I became aware that we were very much alone, sheltered and hidden from the rest of the world. And that realization sent my heart thumping unnaturally hard. Loud enough that I feared he’d be able to hear it. He was definitely close enough to hear it, at a proximity that I was sure his parents wouldn’t have approved of. Close enough to kiss even—with a little stretching. I dismissed that thought quickly and twisted in the saddle to stare at the corn plants, feeling the still, warm air that was emitting from them.
After a few minutes of silence, the only sound coming from the horses’ breathing and hooves touching the ground, out of the blue he asked, “Do you really like to dance?” His voice was different, raspier than before. That was random. Turning back to him, I saw conflict on his face.
