A Cowboy at Heart (37 page)

“It was a close thing. She seemed favorable to Matthew at first, but when I explained how you have been pining after her for weeks, and if she refused she would be accountable for your death when you wasted away from sorrow, she changed her mind.”

For one horrified moment Jonas thought his friend was serious. Then he caught sight of Melvin’s grin.

“I merely explained that you had gone to pains to borrow the buggy and stow quilts inside to protect against the chill.” He lowered his head and speared Jonas with a look. “You have quilts?”

Jonas nodded. “
Ja
.”

“
Das gut
.” Melvin leaned forward and spoke with a smile. “I believe she favors you, my friend.”

Jonas risked another glance. Caroline caught his eye. At her smile, his head went light.

“Are you warm enough?” Jonas kept his head facing forward, pleased that his voice betrayed none of the nervousness that caused his insides to tremble.

“Plenty warm.” From the corner of his eye he watched her run a hand over the quilt that covered her lap. “’Tis a beauteous work. Your
mader
’s?”

“
Ja
.”

“I like quilting. I find my mind is peaceful when my fingers are busy.” Still stroking the fabric, she fell silent.

The moon illuminated the packed-dirt road they followed with a steady white light, a million stars lending their glow to overcome the blackness of the sky. The air held a touch of chill left over from the winter just past, turning their breath into puffs of cloud that dissipated almost instantly.

Jonas cast about in his mind for something to say. Long had he hoped for time alone with Caroline, but now that he was here with her, his tongue felt awkward.

The silence threatened to become uncomfortable. He burst out with the first thing his mind grasped on. “I begin the classes next week.”

He had made the decision over the winter to complete the training that would prepare him for baptism into the Amish church. The classes would be held on church Sundays over the next four and a half months. By fall he would be ready to make the commitment to a peaceful and Plain life as dictated by the teachings of Christ and the
Ordnung
.

Caroline shifted on the bench to turn a smile on him. “I begin the classes next week as well. Come fall, we will be baptized together, Jonas.”

A pleasant thought, and especially because it seemed to please her. Jonas sat a little taller.

“What will you do after?” she asked. “Will you continue to help Mr. Byler on his farm?”

“
Neh
,” Jonas said quickly, unwilling to have her think he had no ambition to be more than a farmhand. He smiled to soften the hastiness of his reply. “I have plans for a farm of my own. I’m
gut
with the land and with livestock as well.” He snapped his mouth shut. Did his words sound boastful?

“I know you are, Jonas.”

She spoke in a soft, almost admiring tone that set his pulse to racing. He risked a sideways glance at her. The look she fixed on him held a hint of the warmth he’d hoped for. Her gaze stirred courage in him, and he made a decision. Before he could change his mind, he pulled on the reins and brought the buggy to a halt. Surprise showed on her face, but she didn’t object.

Jonas turned so that he could face her fully. “May I tell you of my plans, Caroline?”

“I would like to hear them,” came her soft reply.

“One day I will leave Ohio.” When her eyebrows arched in surprise, he hurried to continue. “Last fall an
Englisch
man on his way home to Boston stayed with us overnight. He told us of a law that will someday be made where farms in the West will be free for the claiming.”

“Free?” Doubt colored her words.

Jonas nodded. “Truly. The West is vast, miles and miles long. Many
Englisch
men have already gone, and there have been fights over the boundaries.” Her eyebrows crept upward, and Jonas shrugged. “It is their way. But the
Englisch
government wants to put an end to the disputes by regulating the way land is claimed. They will make a law that allows a man to build a home and farm first, and then pay afterward when the land becomes profitable.”

“And you believe this
Englischer
’s words?”

“I hope his words are true. I pray they are so.”

Though doubt creased her forehead, Jonas glimpsed a spark of excitement in her eyes. Encouraged, he leaned forward. “Imagine, Caroline. A new Amish district could be established. We could own the farm that lies farthest to the west of any in the whole country.”

“We?”

Jonas looked away, heat flooding his face. Did he say “we”? The word had slipped out unguarded on a wave of enthusiasm. He fumbled for a quick explanation. “The…the new community, I mean.”

While he willed the chilly night air to cool his burning cheeks, her fingers plucked at a loose stitch on the quilt covering her lap. “On occasion I have thought of leaving Ohio myself,” she said in an offhand voice.

He widened his eyes. “You?”

“
Ja
.” Her lips twitched with almost a smile. “My plans are not so lofty as yours. I thought of joining my
mader
’s family in Pennsylvania, perhaps. My Aunt Emma has written that I am welcome.”

Something in her manner, in the way an appealing dimple hovered in one smooth cheek, caused a tickle to start in Jonas’s stomach. “Pennsylvania is a
gut
place, I hear.”

Her eyes held his for a moment before sliding sideways shyly. “But already crowded with Amish. Or so my Aunt Emma writes.”

He leaped on that. “New farms may be harder to come by, and not so big. Whereas in the West…”

“The West does have a lot to offer,” she conceded. White teeth appeared to nibble at her lower lip. “Especially if you go there, Jonas.”

Were his ears betraying him? Had Caroline Hersberger, the prettiest girl in all of Ohio, just expressed an interested in
him
?
Daring greatly, he reached out and took the hand that rested on the quilt. When she entwined her fingers in his, the tickle in Jonas’s stomach expanded to his chest.

“It would not be an easy life. The challenges will be many, and the work hard.”

Her head tilted sideways as she considered. “My
grossmudder
has a saying. Silver only shines with hard work.” Soft lips twitched again with humor. “Nobody wants dull silver.”

His thoughts whirling, Jonas could hardly believe his good fortune. Though he had never known Caroline to be coy, surely she was toying with him now. He had to be sure, had to hear the words spoken from her lips. “Are you saying…Do you mean you would consider…” He cleared his throat. “You will help me start a farm in the West?”

A soft chuckle, and then she answered in a playful tone. “Is that a proposal of marriage or an offer of employment?”

Emboldened by her teasing manner, Jonas squared his shoulders. From childhood had he loved Caroline. There would never be another woman for him, not ever. Though he had not planned to voice his intentions tonight, his heart was full to the bursting point. With a certainty that could not be doubted, he knew this moment had been created by
Gott
alone.

He enfolded her hand in a warm cocoon between both of his. “Caroline Hersberger, it would be the honor of my life if you will agree to be my wife.”

Above him the stars seemed to burn brighter in the sky and cast their twinkling light to reflect in Caroline’s eyes. Eyes that softened as they gazed at him. “
Ja
, Jonas Switzer. I will.”

Joy broke over him, and he could not stop a smile from stretching across his face. “You will not be sorry.” He made his words a
vow. “The life we build together will be
gut
. I promise it will be a
gut
life! We will have sons—many strong strapping sons to work the land and build their heritage.”

“And perhaps daughters?”

“
Ja
—perhaps,” he agreed. “But sons for certain!”

She raised a hand and placed it against his clean-shaven cheek. After they married he would grow a beard in the tradition of the Amish, but for now he reveled in the soft touch of her fingers on his skin. “I will raise your sons and daughters and make you a happy home, Jonas.” Her grin broke free, and she turned the full force of it upon him. “A home in the West.”

With slow, deliberate movements, Jonas leaned toward her. How often had he dreamed of this moment, when he could take Caroline in his arms and declare his love? Delicate eyelids closed as she lifted her face to his. Their lips touched, and a prayer of thanksgiving welled up from his overflowing heart.

Danki, Gott. Danki
for my Caroline
.

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