Promised to Another (19 page)

“Relax. Just do what I do,” he whispered against her mouth. His lips moved against hers, coaxing a response. Her first kisses ever, not counting the time Luke tried and missed, planting a peck on her cheek, instead. She attempted to mimic Joshua’s moves. Was she doing it right? She released his suspenders, slid her arms up to his shoulders, and allowed herself to get lost in the moment, responding as he deepened the kiss.

What could have been hours later, but was probably only seconds, he stepped back, his hands falling away. He glanced over his shoulder toward the kitchen. As she tried to focus on breathing, sounds of the family in the next room seeped back into her consciousness.

“Joshua!” she whispered. “What was that for?” Did she sound as breathless as she felt? She wanted to ask if she’d done okay.

He met her gaze. “For courage. For good luck. And because I figured either Luke Schwartz or I would be kissing you, and I wanted to make sure it was me.”

Annie mulled over his words for a few moments. Maybe too long. Shame washed over her. How could she have allowed him such liberties? They weren’t even courting. Plus, even though she’d kissed him back, she didn’t know if she’d done it right. He might compare her against others he’d kissed and find her wanting. That would make it worse. Her face heated. How many other girls had he taught to kiss? She moved out of reach and tried to find a frown. “Don’t ever do that again, Joshua Esh.”

Her warning didn’t seem to faze him. She didn’t see an ounce of repentance in his eyes. He just smiled. Shrugged. “Fine. The next time I kiss you, it’ll be because you asked me to.”

The next time? Pretty presumptuous, wasn’t he?

He turned and walked out of the room, whistling one of the tunes that was popular at singings. And leaving her standing there, still feeling his kisses, torn between begging for more, right then and there, and calling after him that he shouldn’t expect her to ask for any more, ever again.

***

Joshua surveyed the farmyard of the home where David Lapp was staying as he maneuvered the buggy, pulled by Annie’s horse, Penny, onto the property. Almost a dozen other buggies were parked around the driveway. How long would he be able to hold out before they forced him to go buy his own?

He glanced at Annie, sitting stiffly beside him in the front seat, as if afraid to relax, in case accidentally touching him would cause her to lose all self-control. Or, maybe she simply didn’t trust him. He looked over his shoulder at Cathy, minding her own business in the backseat. At least she’d finally stopped glowering at him. Maybe the prospect of seeing David Lapp had brightened her attitude.

He stopped the buggy in front of the porch and set the brakes. Then, he glanced at Annie again, his eyes darting to her soft lips. He wanted another kiss for courage. He hadn’t expected her to be inexperienced with kissing, especially considering she’d been promised to Luke, but it pleased him. He’d been her first. He couldn’t keep from grinning. He wanted to reach out to her, touch her, even if only her hand.

Instead, he vaulted out of the buggy and reached up to help Cathy. She ignored his offer and scrambled out on her own, while Annie climbed down on the other side, opting not to wait for him.

The front door of the haus opened, and David Lapp stepped out onto the porch with a wide smile. “Cathy Beiler. What brings you by? Kum on in. We were about to have some shoofly pie.” He nodded at Annie. And his smile faltered and seemed to freeze as his gaze came to rest on Joshua.

Lord, give me the words to speak.
Joshua
slowly approached the porch. “David. Can we talk a
moment?”

David studied him, and then his dark brown eyes darted to Cathy, his eyebrows arching. She shook her head.

He looked back at Joshua. “For a minute, jah. In private?”

“Jah, if you don’t mind.” Joshua wanted Annie by his side, but he would manage. It was probably better if neither she nor Cathy overheard their
discussion.

David hesitated for a moment. “Jah.” He turned away. “Cathy, Annie, go on in. Make yourselves at home.”

The door opened again, and David’s host mamm peeked out. Joshua couldn’t remember her name, though he’d met her once. The Beilers lived in a different district, so the two families didn’t attend the same church services. She held the door open wide. “Kum in, kum in.”

David waved. “Jah, Joshua and I will be right in. Give us a moment.”

Joshua stood by the buggy, waiting for David to join him.

He approached, stopping a good three feet away from Joshua. “What’s on your mind?”

“I have a past wrong to make right.”

David raised his eyebrows.

“Years ago, when I stole your bullfrog, Daed made me apologize. I feel I need to do so again, for real this time. And I never should have made fun of you afterwards. Please forgive me?” Joshua took off his straw hat and wiped the moisture off of his brow with his sleeve.

There was a very long silence. Joshua put his hat back on and shifted his weight uncomfortably.

Finally, David nodded. “Forgive as the Lord has forgiven.” He paused for a moment. “But why now?”

“Because it’s time we laid the past to rest. I’d like us to be friends. Especially since….” Joshua looked toward the haus.

David’s eyes widened as Joshua’s unspoken meaning became clear. “Since they’re sisters?” he finished the sentence for him. “Jah, we should mend fences, then.”

Since David had forgiven him so readily, Joshua figured that Cathy must have exaggerated the seriousness of their feud. That David hadn’t been behind the spicy omelet, after all. That Cathy had lied. Should he warn David about his girl’s devious ways?

Maybe later. Joshua grinned. “Gut. That’s settled, then. Would you like to kum fishing with us? We have enough gear in the back of the buggy.”

“Jah, that sounds gut. West Wildcat Creek isn’t too far away. Just across the highway. I’ve caught white catfish and smallmouth bass there.”

Joshua nodded. “Or, we could go to one of the stocked ponds around here. The Stoltzfuses won’t mind if we fish at their place.”

“We could, though I prefer fly-fishing in streams and rivers to stocked ponds,” David said.

“I didn’t bring a fly-fishing reel, just normal spinning reels.” Joshua shrugged. “But that’s fine. You can fish your way, and I’ll fish mine. Do you make your own flies?”

“Jah, I learned how to tie up in Pennsylvania. I took up fly-tying to cut the costs of all the flies I left in bushes and trees everywhere I went. Discovered they sell pretty well, too. I’ll get Cathy and Annie. Did you happen to think of a picnic lunch?”

“Cathy and Annie put one together.” Joshua would pass on any parts Cathy had prepared, just in case she’d decided to give him another dose of jalapeño.

David went inside to summon the girls, and, before long, they were headed toward the creek David had mentioned. Annie sat beside Joshua, just as tense as before, perched almost on the edge of the seat. David and Cathy sat together in back, shoulder to shoulder. Joshua wished he could pull Annie closer. If only she’d relax. Trust him. For now, he would have to be patient. Though she must have realized how he felt about her when they’d kissed. Surely, she wouldn’t think he went around kissing all the girls. With his reputation, though, she just might assume as much. He’d have to correct that impression. She hadn’t been his first kiss, but she had been the first in Missouri. And he hoped she would be his last.

Joshua glanced over his shoulder at the couple in the back. He was glad that mending fences with David hadn’t been so hard, after all. He should have done it a long time ago. Maybe a new friendship with David would go a long way toward patching up his relationship with Cathy. It’d be nice to have a good rapport with his potential future sister-in-law, even if they wouldn’t cross paths too often, with David and Cathy in Missouri and he and Annie in Pennsylvania.

They reached the traffic light along the highway just as it turned red. Joshua braked to a stop. A pickup cut in front of an oncoming eighteen-wheeler. It blared its air horn, startling Penny. She reared and then bolted, right into the path of the semi.

Annie woke up to mayhem. A horse screamed. Sirens wailed. People shouted. She ached all over. She opened her eyes, disoriented, and found herself face-to-face with a stranger. She struggled to sit up, even though the man tried to restrain her movements. He wore a uniform, but he didn’t look like a police officer. Dizziness washed over her, and she grabbed her left wrist with her right hand. All of her pain seemed to be radiating from there. The stranger said something—she saw his mouth move—but she could hardly comprehend one word.

“Cathy? Joshua? Are they…okay?” She looked around, trying to get her bearings, but everything was blurry. “What happened?”

The man muttered more sounds she couldn’t interpret, but they were quickly drowned out by a deafening siren. Annie twisted her head and spotted an ambulance, lights flashing, on the other side of the highway. What was she doing in the middle of the road?

A horse kept on screaming. Penny? She attempted to struggle to her feet, but the man pressed her back down again, gently yet firmly. The grave look he gave her deterred any further attempts to move, though she still couldn’t make out his words.

A shot rang out, and she jumped, pain shooting through her afresh. The screaming had stopped. “M-my horse?” Tears filled her eyes. “What happened?” she asked, even though she knew the answer.

“Shh, shh.” The man frowned with concern. “The horse was just put down. An act of mercy, really, as bad as it was hurt. It’s a miracle you’re alive. The buggy was destroyed.” This time, she understood him. Maybe because it was quieter, calmer. Or possibly because he’d raised his voice.

Penny, dead? What about Cathy? Joshua? David? Tears flowed down her cheeks. She blinked them back and craned her neck to see the ambulance. To try to identify who the other people in uniform were tending to. “My sister…? My friends…?”

She was shushed again. “Everything will be okay. You’ll be fine.”

Maybe so, but what about the others? Her arm ached when she tried to move, but she struggled to get up again. He held her down. “Let me go. I have to know.”

“I’ll find out.” The man got up, turned to someone else, and spoke, too quietly for Annie to hear. The other person walked off.

“What’s your name?” the man asked.

Annie stared at him. Who cared what her name was? She certainly didn’t see how that mattered. “My sister? Joshua? David? How are they? I need to know.” Her stomach churned.

“They’re checking. But you were knocked unconscious. I need to know if your memory is functioning. What’s your name?”

She sighed. “My memory is just fine. I’m Annie May Beiler. Do you want my birthday? Do you want to see some ID? Perhaps you’d like to hear me recite the alphabet? A, B, C, D….”

The man smiled. “A feisty one, eh? No, that won’t be necessary. Your memory appears to be fine.”

Annie looked around again, but she couldn’t see through the crowd of people, the traffic backup, the semi, to tell what was happening.

Someone must have been loaded into the ambulance, because it rolled away, lights flashing, siren screaming. Seconds later, another ambulance pulled into the same space. Another man, this one wearing an EMT badge, came to check on her. Evidently, her injuries weren’t life-threatening, so she was left to await another ambulance. Meanwhile, the second ambulance pulled away as urgently as the first.

Time seemed to roll by in decades rather than minutes or seconds. No one came to tell her about Cathy or Joshua or David. But, if they’d been dead, surely they wouldn’t have been taken away first, right? Live victims would get the top priority, she was sure. That was her only consolation.

She stared up at the sky, still sunny and blue. Not a cloud in sight. Ill-fitting weather for the tension that permeated the air. It should have been overcast, maybe drizzling.

A third ambulance arrived and then left a short time later. How would she get word of the accident to Daed? Tears again streamed down her face and dripped off her chin. Part of her didn’t want him to find out. After what had happened to Mamm, how would he bear it?

***

Joshua was lucky to be alive. At least, that’s what everyone kept telling him. He ached with what a nurse had called a bad case of road rash, but he hadn’t broken any bones, miraculously. He racked his brain, trying to recall what had happened. The horse had bolted, and he’d managed to shove Annie out of the buggy just before vaulting out of it, himself. He must have hit his head, because the next thing he remembered was waking up in the emergency room. His nurse had told him that they’d decided to keep him overnight in the hospital for observation after the series of tests they’d performed on him, all because he’d been unconscious when the ambulance had brought him there.