Miriam and the Stranger (42 page)

“Did I say something wrong?” Tyler peered at Miriam.

“Nay,” Miriam gasped. “I just wish you wouldn’t say things like that.”

“So what am I supposed to say?” Tyler put on a puzzled look.

“I don’t know… just not that.”

Tyler laughed. “I can’t help myself. You’re just so lovely, you know.”

“Tyler… I’m going to scream if you don’t stop,” Miriam threatened.

Tyler glanced at her again and said, “I admit I have much to learn, but I’m enjoying every minute of it, especially when you’re the teacher.”

Miriam ignored the comment. “Let me get you something to eat.”

“Is that what comes next?” Tyler regarded Miriam with a tilt of his head.

“When it comes to food, there’s little difference between an
Englisha
man and an Amish man,” Miriam said over her shoulder.

Tyler chuckled at her feeble attempt at humor. Miriam entered the kitchen thinking how odd it was that she had just said something she would never have dared breathe in Mose’s presence.

Miriam’s hand shook as she lit another lamp in the kitchen. Even only a room apart, she could feel Tyler’s presence close to her. The pleasantness of it flooded her senses. This was too
wunderbah
to possibly continue—yet she hoped that it would. She so wanted this to work. This was a dream from which she hoped never to awaken.

With the lamp lit, Miriam found a plate of brownies and filled glasses with milk. She carried both back to the couch where Tyler had seated himself again. A look of expectation filled his face. “So what is this fancy food you serve?”

Miriam had to smile. “Nothing fancy at all. Just plain old brownies and milk. Can’t get simpler than that.”

Tyler grunted. “I like simple. That’s what you are. Uncomplicated, yet deep and mysterious.”

“Oh, stop it,” Miriam warned. Tyler grinned.

He took a brownie and sat back to sip his milk. “Ummm. Delicious. Did you make these?”

“
Yah
, of course.”

“How do you have time with your schoolteaching?” Tyler asked, regarding Miriam with skepticism.

“I don’t usually,” Miriam admitted. “Aunt Fannie does most of the cooking. But I knew you were coming, so I baked these myself yesterday.”

“Especially for me?”

“Well, the others ate some,” Miriam allowed. “Jonathon had to be told twice he could have only one, and I had to test them to make sure I wasn’t poisoning you.”

“But you put the rest of the family at risk first?” Tyler kept a straight face.

Miriam laughed. “You know what I mean.”

Tyler helped himself to another brownie. “I’m going to put on weight—that’s all I can say. You and Deacon Phillips’s wife make food to kill for.”

“So you’re back in the basement apartment?”

“No, I just stop in for meals sometimes. They invite me to talk about things. Deacon Phillips is quite helpful. I don’t think it’s for my sake, though. More like for yours. You’re quite respected and loved, Miriam—you know that.”

“Please.” Miriam looked away. “I said no more of that.”

“And you think I’m going to listen?” he teased. “I’m practicing how to be an Amish man and boss my wife around.”

“Tyler.” Miriam caught her breath. “I did try my best with Mose to obey. You know that.”

“Sorry.” He touched her arm. “I didn’t mean it that way. I know those are sacred things to you. I’m just not used to it—that’s all. I’ll learn in time.”

“Then you are serious about joining?”

“I plan to, if you continue to let me bring you home on Sunday nights.”

“Is that the only reason?”

He thought for a moment. “I’ll be honest. I don’t think I would join if it weren’t for you, Miriam. But I do also want to change my life. I don’t like the way I’ve been living. I was drawn to the life of the community from the first time I visited. I don’t say I’m a natural, but I was tired of where I was roaming. I wanted to settle down, but out there in the world it didn’t seem possible. Then I met you and the rest of the community. It made a difference. But it started with you. But I’m not going to lie about it. If you chased me off, I wouldn’t continue to live in the community.”

Miriam’s mind spun. “Does Deacon Phillips know this?”

“Yes, I have told him so from the start.” Tyler was matter-of-fact.
“He said there are many reasons for joining the community, and if a willing heart was involved, a woman like you could be one of those reasons.”

“He did not!” Miriam stifled her gasp.

“Yes, he did,” Tyler assured her. “And he said I should tell you when you asked—and he did not say
if
you asked but
when
you asked. It seems the deacon has you figured out. He said he wasn’t going to make things easy on me, and there would be no shortcuts. They would have to feel certain that I was serious and wouldn’t leave you afterward or lead you astray.”

Miriam took a deep breath. This she had not expected, but her heart certainly felt no disagreement.

“Let me put it to you this way,” Tyler continued. “You’ve told me some of your past experiences with Amish men, and I’ve learned more details from Deacon Phillips and your uncle. We don’t have to rehash all that, but am I a greater risk than any of the other men?”

“You make it sound like I’m a woman who lives on the edge.” She forced herself to look at him.

“Perhaps,” he said. “Now I have a question for you.”

“
Yah?
”

Tyler suddenly appeared nervous. “Miriam… do you… love me?”

Miriam didn’t look away. “You know the answer to that.”

“Even knowing I could lead you away from your faith?”

“You could never do that.” Miriam’s voice was hushed. “My faith is too strong. But I suppose you could someday leave me… and leave the faith.”

“Leave you?” His finger stroked her arm. “I don’t think I’m capable of that.”

“I don’t think so either,” Miriam allowed. “Of course, I love you.
I loved you even when I wasn’t supposed to. How then could I not love you more now that our love is permissible?”

He slowly reached over and planted a gentle kiss on her lips. Miriam dropped her gaze to the living room floor. Tyler kept his eyes on her. Then, after several silent moments, he said, “I think I’d better go now. I’m not used to driving horses after dark, and I won’t have you along to help.”

Alarm filled Miriam’s face. “That’s true. You have to be careful. You don’t know how the
Englisha
are with their cars.”

They both laughed at the irony, and Miriam followed him to the front door.

“Can we do this again next Sunday evening?” he asked.

Miriam hung on to the door edge and nodded. Her smile was answer enough. Never had she opened her heart to a man as she had with Tyler, an
Englisha
man—or rather a former
Englisha
man.

Tyler grinned and leaned in for another kiss. Miriam let go of the doorframe to lift her face toward his, and they clung to each other for a long time.

He turned to leave, and Miriam stepped outside on the porch to watch him climb into the borrowed buggy and drive off. As he rode into the dark, Tyler turned to wave. She watched until his buggy lights had vanished, and even then she remained still. She didn’t want this moment to end. She wanted the memory of his kisses to linger in her heart forever. When she stepped back into the house, Aunt Fannie was standing there in her nightdress, her voice atwitter. “I couldn’t wait until morning to find out how it went. I do declare, I’m as dizzy with excitement as if I had been on a date myself!”

“Did you see us…” Miriam stopped as streaks of heat rushed into her face.

Aunt Fannie giggled. “No! I wouldn’t stoop so low as to spy
on your moments together. But does that mean…” Aunt Fannie’s face glowed.

Miriam tried to collect herself. “He’s coming back again next Sunday,” she finally said.

“You are a match made in heaven,” Aunt Fannie said.

“I know,” Miriam whispered. “Tyler brings all the pieces of my heart together.”

Chapter Forty-Two

M
iriam ran out of Aunt’s Fannie front door with one hand on her
kapp
as the wind whipped past her face. The early morning squall had cleared, but the wind was still blustery. An hour ago she had stood by the living room window wringing her hands in frustration. What if the rain didn’t quit in time for the Saturday outing Tyler had planned? Tyler hadn’t said where they were going, but she had gotten the impression
gut
weather was needed.

“You’ll still enjoy the ride,” Aunt Fannie had called cheerfully from the kitchen.

Miriam had forced a smile, but now the wait was over and the clouds had cleared. Out of breath, Miriam arrived at Tyler’s buggy just after he managed to turn it around in the driveway. Tyler had a new horse and buggy of his own, but he was still a little unsure of himself.

Tyler leaned out of the buggy door to exclaim, “That’s what I like to see—a woman eager to see her man!”

“What woman wouldn’t want to see her man… if that man was you?” Miriam teased back as a deep blush spread over her face. Tyler laughed. “Hop in, and we’ll be off. I like a woman who is all rosy-cheeked on a windy Saturday morning.”

Miriam ignored the comment as she climbed up. “You’re doing right
gut
with the horse and buggy, and you look like a real Amish man in your new suspenders and pants. Did Katie make those for you?”

Tyler chuckled. “I’ve tried not to impose more on Deacon Phillips’s household than necessary. I ordered my pants from an Amish seamstress who advertises in
The Budget
.”

I could make them for you
, Miriam almost said, but she held back the words. She was already forward enough with her expressions of love for Tyler. The time to sew his clothes hadn’t yet arrived. An Amish woman should be hesitant to sew a man’s clothes until after their wedding day. Miriam looked away as her blush deepened.

“So how are plans coming for the last day of school?” Tyler asked once he was safely out on Highway 48.

“I’m working on it—the program that is. The eighth graders are having some problems with their long memory work and are begging me for something… well… less lengthy, but I haven’t found anything suitable yet.”

Tyler grinned from ear to ear. “I’ll have to come over and watch you practice someday.”

“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” Miriam shot back. “You’ll have me a blubbering mess, and I’ll lose all the respect the children have for me. I’ll be unable to control the program from then on. Now, would you like that?”

Tyler laughed. “I doubt I’d have quite that effect, but that does sound interesting.”

“You won’t come,” Miriam told him, nestling against his
shoulder, more to hide her face than anything. The steady beat of his horse’s hooves on the pavement filled the air as Tyler drove north on Highway 48.

“Don’t you want to know where we’re going?” Tyler finally asked.

“You’re not going to tell me, so I’m going to act very disinterested.”

Tyler’s laughter filled the buggy.

“You’re enjoying yourself way too much this morning,” Miriam said, looking up at his face.

He reached with his free hand to touch her face and whisper, “You’ve brought me great joy, Miriam. I’m not ashamed of that.”

Miriam didn’t answer and leaned tighter against Tyler’s shoulder.

“I think I had better tell you where we’re going,” Tyler finally said. “Because we’re almost there.”

Miriam sat up straight in the buggy seat.

“See that farm over there?” Tyler pulled back on the reins to point as a car passed them. “I want to buy it. That’s my real estate agent now. We have an appointment.”

Miriam stared as vague memories filled her mind. Wayne had brought her north of the community several times during their engagement to look at… could it have been this very place? It looked familiar… but how could it be? She must be mistaken. Their plans had never gotten far before Wayne passed.

“Is something wrong?” Tyler looked over at Miriam.

“Nay.” Miriam took a long breath. “It’s a cattle ranch, isn’t it?”