Looking for a Miracle (14 page)

“I’m sorry to be so late,” Daniel apologized as he hobbled into the Hiltys’ barn on his crutches. “I hope you didn’t think I wasn’t comin’.”

Rebekah, who sat in her wheelchair near the door, stared up at him. “I wasn’t sure. I thought maybe your leg might be hurting, so you had decided not to come to the singing.”

“I told you I’d be here, and I wasn’t about to stay home because of my leg.” Daniel glanced around the room. “Have I missed much?”

She shook her head. “Not really. Just some songs and a few games. We haven’t had anything to eat yet, but some of the men started the bonfire awhile ago, so we should be having the hot-dog roast soon, I expect.”

“Now that is good news because I’m a hungry man.” Daniel propped his crutches against the wall and lowered himself to a bale of straw near Rebekah’s wheelchair.

Rebekah smiled. Daniel made her feel so lighthearted. The sense of peace she felt while sitting with him made her wish the feeling could last forever. But she knew she needed to prepare herself for the day when Daniel would meet someone, fall in love, and get married. Then Rebekah and Daniel’s special friendship would be over.

“How’s the Christmas cactus doing?” she asked. “Is it still thriving?”

He nodded. “Haven’t killed it yet, and it sure is pretty. Makes me think of you every time I look at it.”

Rebekah’s face heated up. Surely Daniel hadn’t meant that he thought she was pretty. He probably had meant that seeing the cactus made him think of her because they both liked flowers and plants.

“Would you like to go out by the fire?” Daniel asked. “Maybe if some of us wander out that way, the Hiltys will get the hint and set out the food.”

Rebekah nodded. “You could be right.”

Daniel stood and grabbed his crutches. Then, following Rebekah in her wheelchair, they left the barn and headed across the yard to the bonfire.

The cool night air was chilly, and Rebekah suppressed a shiver.

“Are ya cold?” he asked in a tone of concern. “We can move closer to the fire, or I could get a quilt from my buggy.”

She shook her head. “I’m fine. I think my shawl will be enough.” She pulled the heavy woolen cloak a bit tighter around her shoulders.

“Rebekah, there’s something I’d like to ask you,” Daniel said in a most serious tone.

She looked up at him expectantly. “Oh? What’s that?”

“Well, I was wondering—”

Daniel’s words were chopped off when a group of young people rushed out of the barn, laughing and hollering like a bunch of schoolchildren. Karen Sharp along with several other young women began setting food on a nearby table. Then someone yelled, “God is good, and it’s time to eat!”

Rebekah glanced over at Daniel and smiled. “I guess this is what we’ve been waiting for.”

He nodded. “Would you like me to get you a hot dog and a stick for roasting?”

“Don’t bother. I can get it.”

“It’s no bother.” Daniel hobbled off and returned a few minutes later with two long sticks and a couple of hot dogs. “Would you like me to roast yours for you?”

“Roasting a hot dog is one of the few things I can manage to do for myself.” Rebekah knew her words had sounded harsh, and she quickly apologized. “Sorry. I—I didn’t mean to sound so ungrateful.”

He handed her one stick and a hot dog. “It’s all right. Since my accident, I’ve come to understand a little better how you must feel about not being able to do many things.”

“It is hard to rely on others so much of the time.” Rebekah rolled her wheelchair closer to the fire so she could reach the stick into the sizzling coals. Her stomach rumbled as she thought about eating some of the delicious food that awaited them. Besides the hot dogs and buns, there was potato salad, coleslaw, potato chips, sweet pickles, baked beans, chocolate cake, and, of course, plenty of marshmallows for roasting.

Since Rebekah had two free hands, and a lap to hold a plate, she dished up some food for Daniel and handed it to him after he’d found a seat on a bale of straw. Then she went back to the food table and filled her own plate. She had just returned to the spot where Daniel sat when Simon sauntered up to her.

“Rebekah, I need to talk to you,” he whispered.

“What? I can hardly hear you, Simon.”

“I need to talk to you!”

“What do you want?”

“I’ve asked Karen Sharp if I can give her a ride home in my buggy.”

“That was nice of you. I’m sure we can make room for her.”

Simon shook his head. “I don’t think you understand. I want to take her home—alone. So I was wondering if you might be able to find another ride.”

His words and the implication of their meaning finally registered, and Rebekah grimaced. The last thing she wanted to do was beg someone for a ride home.

“I can give Rebekah a ride,” Daniel said before Rebekah had time to think of a reply.

“I’d sure appreciate that.” Simon grinned and thumped Daniel on the back. Then he walked away quickly before Rebekah could say a word.

Her heart sank. Little brother was growing up—about to begin his own courting days. It wouldn’t be fair to hold him back. It wasn’t right to hold Daniel back, either. She studied him as he sat perched on the bale of straw, with his broken leg extended in front of him. She wondered how he must be feeling right now, having been put on the spot by her brother like that. She had hoped Daniel might ask to take her home tonight but not because he felt forced to do it.

“You’re not obligated to see that I get home, Daniel. If you’d planned to ask someone else, then it’s—”

Daniel held up a hand as he swiveled around to face her. “I didn’t agree to take you home as a favor to your brother, Rebekah. I was plannin’ to ask you anyways.”

Rebekah blinked a couple of times. “You ... you were?” “I was.” He smiled at her so sweetly she thought her heart might burst wide open. “So how about it? Will you accept a ride home in my courting buggy?”

Rebekah’s common sense said she should probably say no, but the desire deep in her heart won out. “Jah, Daniel,” she said with a nod. “I would like a ride home in your buggy tonight.”

“Your horse is so
gross,
” Rebekah commented once she and Daniel were settled inside his open buggy.

Daniel chuckled. “Toby’s a big one, all right. He handles well, though, and we get along just fine.”

“Your buggy’s real nice, too.”

“Danki. I was pretty excited about getting it when I turned sixteen. I’ve had this buggy over four years now, and I still think it looks pretty good.”

“I can see that you take great care with it,” she said, letting her hand travel over the black leather seat, so smooth and shiny.

Daniel answered with a smile and a nod as he took up the reins and moved the horse forward.

They rode in silence for a while, with the only sounds being the steady
clip-clop, clip-clop
of the horse’s hooves and the rhythmic rumble of the carriage wheels bumping against the pavement.

Rebekah felt such joy being in Daniel’s courting buggy on this beautiful, star-studded night.
It’s almost like a real date,
she thought wistfully. But then she reminded herself that it was merely one friend giving another friend a ride home from the singing. There was no meaning attached, and she didn’t dare to hope that there was, either.

“Do you ever drive any of your daed’s buggies?”

Daniel’s sudden question pushed her thoughts aside. “Dad’s taught me how, but he never allows me to take the horse and buggy out alone,” she answered. “He says it would be taking too much of a chance because something unexpected might occur.”

“Some unpleasant things have been known to happen, all right. Why, just the other day a buggy was run off the road by a bunch of rowdy teenagers speeding down Highway 6 in their fancy sports car.” Daniel shook his head and grunted. “I guess some of those English fellows don’t care about our slow-moving buggies. They probably think we’re just a nuisance who like to get in their way.”

“It does seem so,” Rebekah agreed.

“We need to be especially careful when we’re out at night. Even with our battery-operated lights and reflective tape, cars don’t always see us so clearly.”

“I remember once my aunt Mim got caught in a snowstorm and lost control of the buggy, causing it to flip over. She was trapped inside for some time until Uncle Amos came along and rescued her.”

“Those two stories are reason enough for your daed not to let you drive alone,” Daniel said with a note of conviction. “None of us would want anything to happen to you; that’s for certain sure.”

Rebekah’s heart did a flip-flop at Daniel’s thoughtful words. Did “none of us” include him? Was he trying to tell her that he would care if something bad happened because he had romantic feelings for her? She shoved the thought aside, sternly reminding herself that Daniel was only a friend, nothing more.

The ride to Rebekah’s house was over much too soon. She’d been having such a good time that she wished it could go on forever.

When they pulled up near the house, Daniel climbed down from the buggy, using the aide of his crutches. “I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?”

“To ask for some help in getting you down.”

Rebekah watched as Daniel hobbled up to the steps. Just as he was about to knock on the door, her father stepped onto the porch.

“I spotted your buggy pulling in,” she heard Dad say. “Do you need some help gettin’ my daughter out of your buggy?”

Daniel nodded. “If it weren’t for my bum leg, I’m sure I could manage fine on my own, but under the circumstances, I will need your help.”

“No problem.” Dad stepped off the porch and hurried out to the buggy. He removed Rebekah’s wheelchair first, then lifted her down with ease and placed her in the chair as though she weighed no more than a child.

“I appreciate the ride home,” Rebekah said to Daniel as Dad pushed her wheelchair up the ramp and onto the porch.

Daniel smiled and leaned against the porch railing as if he was in no hurry to leave. “I’m glad I could do it.”

Rebekah felt relief when Dad grabbed hold of the doorknob and said, “I’m sure you two would probably like to visit awhile, so I’ll just go inside now and see what your mamm’s up to.” He gave Rebekah a sly grin, opened the door, and stepped into the house.

As soon as the door shut behind Rebekah’s father, Daniel moved to the front of her wheelchair and leaned over so his face was close to hers. The full moon sent a shaft of light shimmering down from the starry sky, and Daniel’s mahogany-colored eyes seemed to dance in the glow of it. “Rebekah, I was wondering something.”

“What’s that?”

“Well—could I maybe come calling on you one night soon?”

Daniel’s whispered words made Rebekah’s head feel kind of woozy. Was he asking if he could court her? Oh, surely not. He must mean—“Rebekah, did you hear what I said?”

Her chin quivered slightly. “What was it, Daniel?”

“We have so much in common, what with our love for flowers and all, and I want to court you.”

The rhythm of Rebekah’s heartbeat picked up. She hadn’t misunderstood him after all. He really did want to court her. It was almost too much to comprehend. “Daniel, I’m honored that you would ask such a thing, but I don’t—”

He looked away, and his shoulders slumped. “You don’t care for me? Is that it?”

Rebekah felt the sting of hot tears at the back of her eyes, and she blinked a couple of times. “That’s not the problem. I ... well, aren’t you in love with Mary Ellen?”

“Mary Ellen?” he sputtered.

She only nodded in reply.

“But Mary Ellen’s a married woman, for goodness’ sake!”

Rebekah gritted her teeth. What was wrong with Daniel? Did he think she was verhuddelt? “I know my cousin’s married, but before she and Johnny started courting, it seemed as though you were quite smitten with her.”

“Now why would you think that? What have I ever done to make you believe such a thing?”

“You were always hanging around her.”

He chuckled. “And you didn’t know why?”

Rebekah didn’t see what was so funny. It irked her that he would laugh about such a serious matter as this. “I—I thought you, like so many other fellows, had your eye on my cute, outgoing cousin.”

“The only thing my eyes have ever wanted to look at is you, Rebekah Stoltzfus. I only hung around Mary Ellen because you were usually with her. I wanted to be near you, but I never had the courage to say so before.”

Rebekah swallowed against the lump in her throat, and despite her best effort, several tears dribbled onto her cheeks. “Oh, Daniel, I’m flattered by your words, but I—I can’t agree to let you court me.”

“Why not?” His poker face couldn’t hide his obvious surprise at her response. “I think I’ve made it clear that I’m not in love with Mary Ellen, so there shouldn’t be a thing wrong with us courting—unless you don’t care for me.”

Rebekah’s eyelids fluttered. “That isn’t the problem, Daniel.”

“What is the problem?”

“Courting for us would be pointless.”

“Pointless? What could be pointless about two people who enjoy each other’s company and have so much in common agreeing to court?”

Rebekah drew in a deep breath and reached up to swipe at another set of tears. “For most couples, courting often leads to a more permanent commitment.”

“What’s wrong with that? Love and marriage go well together, you know,” he said with an impish smile.

Rebekah smiled, too, in spite of her tears. Daniel was everything a woman could want. He was all she wanted; that was for sure. She felt certain that any normal girl would never have considered turning down his offer.

However, that was the problem. Rebekah was not any normal girl. She was crippled and always would be. To her way of thinking, her handicap didn’t make her a good candidate as a wife. There were many things she couldn’t do without the use of two good legs. And children—she wanted to be a mother so badly. Daniel probably wanted to be a father, too. But it was unlikely that she would ever conceive, and even if by some miracle she could get pregnant, how would a mother in a wheelchair or walking stiff-legged with cumbersome crutches ever care for a baby?