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Joe tried to rise, then cried out and reached toward his left leg. Jacob immediately stopped him. “Nay. Don’t move. You could injure yourself more.”
Joe leaned back and closed his eyes. “Burns,” he whispered. “Feels like fire.”
“Hold on.” Jacob’s gaze met Annie’s. “An ambulance will be here soon,” he assured her.
Her blue eyes glistening with tears, she nodded. “I didn’t know what to do.”
“You did the right thing, leaving him be to get help.” Jacob felt a little catch as he studied her. He’d never seen her looking so vulnerable. He rose to his feet and offered her his hand. She appeared reluctant to take it and rose without help.
It seemed like forever, but it must have been only ten minutes till they heard the ambulance siren. Jacob managed a smile. “Help has come.”
“Thanks be to God,” she prayed. He could see that she was trying to pull herself together.
The ambulance drove closer, rumbling over the dirt lane toward the house. “It was just you and Horseshoe Joe home?” Jacob asked softly, using the nickname that Annie’s father went by in the community.
“Ja. Grossmudder and Grossdaddi wanted to visit family in New Wilmington. Mam, Barbara and Peter went with them.”
“And Josiah?”
Watching as the ambulance pulled into the yard and stopped, Annie hugged herself with her arms. “At the Kings. He left to see Nancy early this morning.”
“When Isaac comes, I’ll send him to tell your brother.” Jacob noted her shiver and studied her with a frown. “Are you cold?”
“Nay,” she whispered. “I’m fine.”
He could see that she wasn’t, but he kept silent. Jacob glanced downward and saw blood along the side of her left foot. “You’re hurt!” he exclaimed, upset for not noticing before.
“’Tis nothing,” she assured him.
The ambulance had stopped, and three men climbed out of the vehicle. Jacob approached to explain the situation to them and then took the men to Joe before he returned to Annie. “You should have someone look at your foot.”
“Nay—”
“Let me see it,” he said firmly. She seemed taken aback by his brusqueness, but she obeyed and raised her left foot. He hissed at what he saw. “Now the other one.” The right foot looked as bad as the left. The bottoms of both her feet were scratched and bleeding; the soles looked angry and sore. “What did you do to yourself?” he said gently. Running barefoot, she must have stepped on broken glass.
“Dat fell. I couldn’t worry about shoes!” she cried, almost angrily.
Jacob nodded. “I know. I would have done the same thing. But now that your father is getting help, you must take care of yourself. Your dat is going to need you. You don’t want to get an infection and be ill, do you?”
His words seemed to calm her. She sniffed as she met his gaze. “Nay.”
“I’ll run inside and get something for you to wear on your feet.” He turned to leave. “I’ll just speak with these men first to see if they can take a quick look—”
“Jacob!” Annie’s call stopped him in his strides.
He spun back. “Ja?”
“Don’t bother the men. They’re helping Dat. I can wait. You’ll find black socks in the laundry basket in my grosseldre’s kitchen. I did their laundry but haven’t put it away yet.” She gestured toward her grandparents’ cottage. “And my grossmudder’s old sneakers are by the back door. We wear the same size shoe. I can wear those.”
Jacob studied her, noting the anxiety playing on her lovely features, the look of fear in her glistening blue eyes. Tendrils of blond hair had escaped from beneath her white prayer kapp. She wore a full-length black apron over a lavender dress. Jacob noticed the way her bottom lip quivered, as if she was ready to break down and cry. But she didn’t. She remained strong.
“I’ll get you the socks,” he said softly. Inside the dawdi haus, he found the pair of socks right where she told him they would be. He grabbed them and the navy sneakers, brought them outside and handed them to her. “Your dat’s in gut hands, Annie. These men know what they’re doing.” She nodded. “They’ll get him to the hospital. You’ll need to go there, as well.”
“Ja,” she said, glancing toward where the men bent over her father. She held on to the socks he’d given her but made no effort to put them on.
“Do you need help?” he asked quietly.
“Nay. I can do it.” But she didn’t move. She watched the men working on her father.
“Annie,” he said. “Do you need help?” Without waiting for her answer, Jacob gently took the socks from her and hunkered down near her feet. “Hold on to my shoulder.”
He tried not to think about the fact that he was holding Annie’s bare foot as he carefully pulled on the first sock and then the second one. Within seconds, he felt satisfied that her injured feet would be protected. He rose and, without meeting her glance as she bent to put on the shoes, turned to watch the ambulance workers.
As two men lifted Joe onto a stretcher, the driver approached them. “Are you relatives?” he asked.
“I am,” Annie said as she straightened. “I’m his daughter.”
“We’ve secured his neck in a brace, and we’ve done what we could for him. It looks like he may have fractured his leg. We’ll be taking him to General Hospital. They’ll do X-rays and check for other injuries.” The dark-haired man wore a white shirt and pants and a white jacket embroidered with the red insignia of the ambulance company. “Do you want to ride with us?” he asked Annie.
She hesitated. “Ja.”
“That’s fine,” Jacob said. “We’ll make sure Josiah gets to the hospital.”
A car rumbled down the dirt drive and stopped near the main farmhouse. As Jacob approached the vehicle, the door on the driver’s side opened and Bob Whittier stepped out. “Isaac called from the store,” he said. “Rick Martin was there. Your brother told us what happened.” He paused, studied the scene. “Do you need a lift to the hospital?”
Jacob shot Annie a quick glance. “Annie’s going in the ambulance with Joe. I’ll take the ride.” The kind Englisher nodded and Jacob returned to Annie’s side. “I’m going to follow behind the ambulance with Bob.”
Annie didn’t seem pleased. “You don’t have to come.”
“Ja, I do. You shouldn’t be alone.” He paused. “I’ll stay until your brother gets there.” He watched as the EMTs carefully shifted Joe onto a stretcher. “Looks like they’re getting ready to move him.”
“I need to get my purse,” she said.
“Where’s Isaac?” Jacob asked Bob as Annie hurried toward the farmhouse.
“Rick is taking him to the Kings to tell Josiah what happened. As soon as he can, Rick will bring them to the hospital.”
Annie returned with purse in hand, and Jacob stood beside her and Bob as the EMTs placed Joe carefully into the back of the vehicle. He heard Annie’s sharp little inhalation, and he felt the strongest desire to comfort her, tell her that Joe would be all right and she had no reason to worry, except that he didn’t know the extent of her father’s injuries. He settled a hand on her shoulder and felt her jerk as if startled. He drew his fingers away.
One of the ambulance workers approached. “We’re ready to go.”
“I’m coming,” she said.
Jacob couldn’t help himself from reaching for her hand, just for a moment, to give it a reassuring squeeze. She broke away and hurried toward the ambulance. The memory of her shocked look stayed with him as he climbed into the front seat of Bob’s car and buckled his seat belt. They were nearly at the hospital when he heard the light toot of a car horn behind them. He glanced back to see Rick’s car. He was glad that the Englisher was able to bring Josiah so quickly.
He could tell Bob to turn around and take him back. Annie didn’t want him at the hospital. But she would just have to tolerate his presence. He wasn’t about to go home without learning if Joe was all right. It was the correct thing to do.
* * *
“Your father needs surgery. He has a displaced fracture of the tibia and fibula in his left leg, the two bones that make up the shin. He hit his head when he fell, but I don’t think that injury is severe. Looks like the leg suffered the worst of it. We’ll do a CT scan to be certain. He’ll need surgery to repair the damage.”
Annie nodded. “Will he be all right?” Her fear rose with each revelation the doctor made.
“There are no guarantees, but his prognosis looks good. We’re running tests to make sure an underlying condition didn’t cause his fall, but from what your father told me, I don’t believe that’s the case.”
“When can we see him?” Josiah asked.
Annie glanced at her brother, who was frowning. He looked impatient, agitated.
In direct contrast, Dr. Moss looked confident and competent in her white lab coat. “You can see him for a few minutes before we take him up to surgery,” she said. A nurse approached with a clipboard. “Excuse me.” Dr. Moss studied the chart and nodded. She spoke privately with the young woman before she returned her attention to Josiah and Annie. “I’ll need one of you to sign a consent form.”
While her brother waited for the form, Annie flashed Jacob a glance. She was keenly aware of his presence. When their gazes caught, she looked away. Why had he come? He said that he’d stay only until her brother arrived, but Josiah had arrived the same time as Jacob. She wanted him to leave. But how could she make him go after the way he’d helped with Dat? He cared about her father and she had to respect his feelings. She recalled the image of young twelve-year-old Jacob hanging on to her father’s every word as her dat taught him about blacksmithing.
Disturbed by the memory, she tried to focus on Josiah, now bent over a clipboard with pen in hand. But she remained acutely aware of the man behind her. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She was relieved to see him deep in conversation with his brother Isaac, Bob Whittier and Rick Martin.
Tall, with dark hair like his eldest brother Jacob wore a royal blue shirt with suspenders holding up his triblend denim pants. He held his black-banded straw hat in his hands. She dared to examine his face. His features were a beautiful combination of his mam and dat—Katie and Samuel Lapp. Annie scowled and Jacob turned, caught her gaze. She gasped, looked away. How embarrassing to be caught staring. To her dismay, she sensed his approach.
“Are you all right?” Jacob asked softly.
She shook her head. “I will be once I know my father is all right.”
“He spoke to us,” he said. “That’s a gut sign.” He offered her an encouraging smile. “I’m praying for his quick recovery.”
Tears sprang to Annie’s eyes. “I appreciate that.” It was a kind thing for him to say, but then Jacob had been kind to her from the first moment he’d jumped out of his buggy and offered his help. And she’d been anything but kind to him.
A nurse appeared from behind them. “You may see your father now but only for a few minutes. We’ll be taking him up to surgery shortly. Only immediate family may see him.”
“Thank you,” Annie said. She turned to Jacob. “I’ll let you know how he is as soon as I can. I don’t want to keep you.”
Jacob smiled. Amusement flashed in his golden eyes. “You’re not keeping me from anything. I’ll wait for you.”
“I won’t be long,” she said as she turned away.
“Annie,” Josiah interrupted, “we have to go now, or we’ll miss our chance to see Dat.”
She hurried to join her brother, and they headed into the emergency room for a brief visit with their father.
* * *
Jacob waited with Annie and Josiah while Horseshoe Joe was in surgery. He could tell that Annie was anxious. Josiah was quiet and didn’t have much to say. Within the hour, Nancy King arrived, greeted them and then sat next to Josiah. Annie’s brother’s expression brightened; he was obviously glad to see her.
Jacob glanced at the couple, then averted his gaze. Nancy had been his sweetheart, if only for a short time. They had parted ways after she’d gone with her grandparents to visit relatives in North Carolina. On her return, something was changed between them. It was almost as if they’d never spent time together. And then Nancy had begun walking out with Josiah.
He’d felt hurt at the time, but later when he’d thought about it, he realized that he hadn’t been too upset by the breakup. God had helped him understand that Nancy King wasn’t the woman he was intended to marry. If he’d loved Nancy as much as Noah loved Rachel or Jed loved Sarah, he might have tried to win Nancy’s affection again. But he hadn’t; he’d simply accepted that their relationship was over.
Thinking about marriage, Jacob knew that he had nothing to offer a wife. If Nancy hadn’t gone away, he might have married her, but he didn’t know how he would have provided for her, or for any woman he courted with the intention of marrying. He was getting older now and had to think about his future.
“Jacob?” Annie interrupted his thoughts. “Dr. Moss warned us that this would be a long surgery. It will be another hour, at least, until Dat is in recovery.”
“I’ll wait,” he said. She hadn’t always been a prickly thing. Her breakup with his eldest brother Jedidiah must have changed her.
Annie stood, and he followed suit.
“Restless?” he asked her.
She nodded. “It’s going to be a long while yet.”
“Let’s go downstairs for coffee,” he said, expecting her to refuse. She surprised him when she agreed.
“Josiah, we are going down to the cafeteria for coffee,” Annie said. “Would you like to come?”
“Nay. I’ll stay,” her brother said, and Nancy edged closer to him. His expression softened. “If we hear anything,” he told his sister, “we’ll let you know.” He had taken off his hat and he held it between his knees, twirling the brim.
Jacob saw that Josiah was more upset than he’d originally let on. “This is an awful thing, but the Lord will help your vadder.”
Josiah stared at him a second and then gave a nod. “Ja. When you are done,” he asked, “would you bring up coffee for us?”
“Ja,” Jacob said with a slight smile. “We won’t be long.” He knew Annie would want to return as soon as they’d entered the cafeteria. She wouldn’t be able to help it; he could tell she was terrified that something awful would happen to her father during surgery.
He followed her into the elevator, pushed the button and stood silently, studying her as he waited for them to reach the bottom floor. She didn’t look at him once during the entire ride. It didn’t bode well for their having coffee together. He would just have to somehow put her at ease.
Chapter Two (#ulink_4472957b-7b71-583a-b54c-9c84385d723a)
Jacob studied Annie across the table as she sipped from her cup of coffee, set the mug down and stared into its contents. The hospital cafeteria was quiet. The long institutional-type tables were empty except for Annie and him and two female nurses and a male hospital worker, who occupied another table on the other side of the room. It was too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. “How’s the coffee?” he asked softly.
She lifted her gaze from the steaming mug. “Gut.” He could see the sheen from the rising moisture on her forehead. She looked at him a moment, her blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears, then glanced away. He could see how the events of the morning had taken a toll on her. “Jacob, I appreciate your help with Dat,” she said, almost reluctantly.
“I didn’t do much—”
“I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t stopped to help,” she admitted.
“I wouldn’t have left you,” he assured her. “I knew something was wrong the minute I saw you.” He frowned. “How are your feet?”
She blushed as she shifted briefly to glance beneath the table at her grandmother’s navy sneakers, worn over her grandfather’s black socks. “They are fine. They barely hurt.”
“Must have been broken glass alongside the road.”
“I was so scared, I just ran,” she admitted. “I didn’t take time to look down.” Her blond hair was a beautiful shade of gold beneath her white head covering. After the blush of embarrassment left her, she looked pale, too pale.
“May I get you something to eat?” he asked. She looked lovely and vulnerable; he wished he could do more for her.
Annie shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”
“We’ve been here for over two hours and the only thing you’ve had is that coffee. Once your vadder is out of surgery, you may not have another opportunity to eat. How about a sandwich?” When she declined, he said, “A cookie? A piece of cake?”
She didn’t answer. He heard her sniff. “Annie.” Jacob hated to see her troubled, but he understood. “Annie.”
She looked up, started to rise. “We should get back.”
