Temptation

I must have been mistaken about his attraction for me. Feeling suddenly and completely disappointed, I inadvertently sighed too loud, squeezing Lady into a walk.

But before my emotions could play too much havoc with me, he stopped Rumor and waited for me to walk up alongside him. And again our legs were lightly brushing together—a truly wonderful feeling—and I was happy once more. Talk about mood swings.

“Do you have a boyfriend?” He stared straight at me with smoldering eyes, and his voice was low and serious.

That question meant I still had a chance with him, I assumed. I admitted in an equally low and serious voice, “No.”

Watching him closely, I noticed he breathed a little easier, but he still had something on his mind.

Not looking at me this time, he asked tentatively, “Have you ever had…a boyfriend?”

So he wasn’t just worried about a current guy in my life; he was going to obsess about any previous boyfriends, too. That was interesting. Was he the jealous type? I spied at him from the corner of my eye and saw that he was a statue of stone, hardly breathing at all, waiting for my answer.

“No—I’ve never had a boyfriend. You know, too busy with my horse and the dancing…” I trailed off, fidgeting with the laces on my saddle, feeling suddenly awkward explaining to this gorgeous guy why I was sixteen and always single.

The curiosity got to me, though, and I took a little gulp of air and bravely asked, “What about you—do you have a girlfriend?”

Instantly, he relaxed in his saddle and turned to me with a brilliant smile. “No, up until now I hadn’t met the right girl yet.”

My eyes must have bugged out, because he laughed at my expression. Was he insinuating that I was the right girl? His confidence was beginning to irritate me. What made him think that I was automatically available?

Somehow I managed to recover my composure enough to again change the subject to safer territory. “So how did you manage to get away tonight to go riding?” I asked in the calmest, most disinterested voice I could summon from my mouth.

It was so infuriating how a part of me wanted Noah’s lips pressed against mine and the other part was scared to death of what he was doing to my poor body. I kind of had a clue as to which of the battling sides would ultimately win when I glanced back at him, suddenly thinking of Mom’s favorite Western movie. He was sitting straight in the saddle but still relaxed, just like Captain Call from Lonesome Dove. At ease, but ready for a gunfight. There was something very cool about him. Unfortunately, I think he knew it, with the little bit of arrogance he carried around with him. He was looking at me now with a lazy curiosity that was so mesmerizing I couldn’t turn away.

“I try to go for an evening ride occasionally when my work schedule permits. So it wasn’t shocking to Father that I went out tonight.” He removed the flirty look from his face when he said it, but his eyes still seemed to be twinkling.

“Do you normally come out here by yourself?” I had a bunch of good reasons to ask that question, but I hoped he wouldn’t pick up on the main one—that I had turned into a jealous vamp the moment I laid eyes on him. Now I was wondering how many Amish girls he met out here in the cozy cornfields for his joyrides.

The amused smile erupted again on his lips and he made sure to hold my gaze with a steady stare while he answered. “Usually I’m very much alone, but occasionally—” his smile widened to keep me in suspense “—one of my little brothers comes riding with me,” he finished, flashing me his teeth.

I wondered at that second if my face and voice were so transparent that he’d understood why I’d asked that particular question. He certainly seemed to have a clue. The thought that he could read me that well was unsettling. So, even though his answer was a good one and gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling, I still felt insecure in his presence, worried that he’d already figured out that I had a major crush on him.

We rode along quietly for a minute or two, until we finally reached the end of the cornfields. In front of us rose a thick wood that the lane meandered into, disappearing within the dark shade of the trees. It was a fairy wood, full of secrets, and just then, as the sun dipped down in the western sky, a beautiful pinkish-red sunset spread out on the horizon, causing a magical creamy light to settle over the corn.

The air was turning chilly. I shivered once, looking deeper into the trees.

Noah must have seen my uncontrollable shake, and with a resolute voice of authority, he said, “I better get you home. It’s getting late, and it’ll be dark soon.”

I nodded, totally disappointed to be leaving the magical forest behind. We reined the horses around, entering the cornfields once again. And even more disappointing was that he didn’t seem to have any plans to kiss me that night. At least he certainly wasn’t taking advantage of being out here in the middle of nowhere, without a soul to see us. Maybe he’s being gentlemanly, I considered. Or maybe I should take the lead. But then, I’d never kissed anyone, and I’d probably mess it up.

All my friends had been initiated into the world of kissing as preteens, but I’d been different. At the age most girls were learning the dating secrets, I had been more interested in kissing my horse’s velvety nose than swapping spit with a boy. I was also cursed with an overly protective brother, who had regularly threatened to beat up any of the guys who showed an interest in me.

Noah said he hadn’t met the right girl yet. Did that mean he hadn’t kissed before either? For guys that statement could mean any number of things. I found it hard to believe that an eighteen-year-old guy as handsome as Noah hadn’t done a lot of kissing already. Maybe he wasn’t making out with girls in the fields, but he could be sneaking off somewhere else for that sort of thing. The thought bothered me a lot more than I cared to admit, and I was starting to think my brain’s unhealthy obsession with my neighbor was bordering on a fatal attraction.

“So, what are you going to do tonight?” he asked in an upbeat manner, giving the impression of a person without a care in the world.

“Well, my dad is at the hospital and my brothers are seeing a movie, so I’ll probably continue unpacking and organizing stuff,” I said sullenly, still thinking about him and a bunch of imaginary girls.

“Won’t you be afraid in that big old house all by yourself?” he asked playfully.

“No.” I hesitated, wondering how much of my inner soul I should share with him. Feeling an odd comfortableness with him, I decided to be honest and said, “Mom dying was the scariest thing I’ve ever faced. Staying alone in a spooky old house really pales in comparison to that.” I shifted in the saddle to smile ruefully at him.

There was really nothing he could have said to make me feel better. He seemed to know that, and instead he reached out instinctively and took my hand softly in his. His touch caused a warm feeling to spread through my body, leaving me perfectly content and totally shocked at the unexpected gesture.

He smiled at me triumphantly, making my heart melt into a puddle, and his thumb swirling in place on my hand sent goose bumps up my arm. This was a monumental achievement in my life—my first real hand-holding experience. Not trusting the feel of his hand over mine, I had to look down and see it with my eyes to make sure that I wasn’t having a hallucination. Nope—I wasn’t dreaming. I was really holding hands with this Greek god look-alike who wore suspenders and didn’t drive a car.

Maybe now that we’d gotten to this stage of the relationship, I could begin to relax a little, I reasoned with myself. But then the tugging of worry harassed me. What am I doing? There was little chance that Noah and I could work through the obstacles in our way. The fact that I didn’t wear dresses and a bonnet and that he probably had never heard of my favorite bands before, and even if he had, he wasn’t allowed to listen to them, were just the first things that had popped into my mind. There were so many issues we’d have to deal with. How could a relationship possibly work?

We continued to ride holding hands, in silence, with only the sound of birds calling to each other in the air around us as they settled in for the night. I could tell that Noah’s mind was filled with as many thoughts as my own by the way he stared out into the corn with his lips pressed tightly together. But the warm press of his hand calmed the voices in my head and I relaxed, savoring the moment—until my cell phone rang.

My rock-song ringtone raised his eyebrows, and he was suddenly alert, glancing around in quick movements. I assumed that he was checking to see if anyone had sneaked up on us or if the loud noise had given us away.

I pushed Noah’s startled look from my mind and glanced at the phone. It was Sam and I answered with irritation, “What do you want, Sam? Yeah, I’m fine—I’ll see you later. Bye.”

He looked at me questioningly while I shoved the phone back into my pocket. “Just my big brother checking up on me,” I told him, wondering if he’d try to hold hands again.

“Sam is very intuitive to be calling you.”

“Should he be worried?” I teased.

“Most definitely,” he said brightly, holding his hand back out.

Without hesitation, I quickly gave him my hand.

“So, what are you doing tomorrow?” I asked lightly.

“If Jacob can find a driver, we’re going to a horse sale in Sugar Creek. He wants to trade his older Belgians for a younger team.”

“Really, that sounds like fun.” Plans were already forming in my mind.

“Yeah, but our driver has a wedding to go to, so unless Jacob can find someone to pull our trailer for us, we won’t be going.” He was looking down at my hand when he said it, pulling Lady and myself even closer to him and Rumor, so that my leg was wedged in behind his—making my body go crazy all over again.

But my mind was still working, and I suggested, “Maybe Sam could do it.” He looked up in surprise, and I continued hurriedly, “I mean, he has a big truck with a gooseneck hitch, and he’s hauled my horse to shows for me before. He’s actually better at pulling the trailer than my dad is. Jerry and Rita just hauled Lady here to save us a trip and to see the new place.”

His face scrunched up in concentration, and slowly a smile spread onto it. “Maybe my father will allow it—but I don’t know if he’ll let me go.” He looked up suddenly and squeezed my hand. “Will you go with your brother?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss a horse sale, but why wouldn’t your dad let you come with us?” I said, somewhat disgruntled. The whole reason I came up with the idea was to be with him.

Sighing, he said, “Father will not allow me to go if you’re going. Boys and girls our age are not allowed to be around each other without an adult chaperone. But my uncle might be going along also, and then my father would consent,” he said, thinking.

Glancing back at me with concentration lining his face, he said, “We’ll pay him well for the service, but are you sure your brother will do it?”

“He has nothing else to do tomorrow, and if he can make a few bucks, I’m sure he’ll be up to it. I’ll ask him tonight. How will we get in contact—you don’t have a phone, right?”

He laughed at that, shaking my hand with enthusiasm. “Yes, we have a phone—it’s not in our house, though. It’s in the shed.”

“That’s not very convenient. How can you hear it when it rings?” I asked, thinking about all the calls they must miss.

“It has a very loud ringer, so we can usually hear it from the house.” He said it as if it was obvious.

Oh. I felt a bit stupid. But it was difficult to wrap my mind around the idea that some people chose to not have things like telephones conveniently located within their homes. Glancing again at Noah, I had to admit that other than the clothes and his extreme good looks, he seemed like any other guy at the moment. Maybe that’s what made me forget that he wasn’t ordinary at all.

Reluctantly, I let go of his hand and pulled the phone from my pocket, handing it to him. “Go ahead and put your number in, and I’ll call you tonight after I talk to Sam.”

He held the cell in his hand as if it was a hot grenade, staring down at it with extreme thought.

Shoot, I did it again. He wouldn’t know how to work my smartphone. “Oh, sorry, I forgot. This is a little complicated if you aren’t used to one. So, what’s your number?” I said, taking the phone back as casually as possible.

As he recited it, I entered the number and then put the phone away. Once my hand was free, he reached for it again.

“It’s nice holding your hand,” he said. Then in a fluid motion he brought my hand to his lips and lightly kissed my palm, causing a tingling that spread from my hand upward. Anticipation filled me. This is it—he’s going to kiss me now. I wanted him to so badly at the moment it was hurting my insides, and I looked up with hooded eyes, waiting—waiting to get another first out of the way.

He swayed closer to me, but then cussing “damn” under his breath, he lowered my hand and exhaled loudly.

Exasperated, he said, “You’re going to drive me crazy, Rose.”

I started to pull my hand away, but he held it firm, going on to explain, “Look, we’re almost to the road. Someone might see us—and that can’t happen.” He spoke harsher and looked grave as he continued, “If we want to spend time together, we have to be very careful about it, always looking out and thinking ahead. Do you understand?”

I nodded.

He sighed, saying, “And have your brother call tonight—not you. It’s not proper for Amish girls to call boys on the phone.”

“But I’m not Amish,” I pointed out.

“But I am, and if we’re going to be able to see each other, you’re going to have to start acting a little more like an Amish girl.” As an afterthought, he said, “Just pretend, Rose. Make it a game.”

He said it as if he was talking to a small child, ticking me off a little bit. I couldn’t keep the huff from escaping my lips in agitation.

Annoyingly, he just laughed and asked, “Want to race back to the road?”

The irritation that had rippled through my insides slipped away, to be replaced with a sudden jolt to my heart. “You bet,” I answered, giving Lady a bump with my heels and grabbing her mane as she took off.

I almost reached the road first, but every time I glanced back, it didn’t seem as though he was trying very hard. I was starting to think he was going to let me win, which wasn’t the way that I wanted to beat him at all. I began pulling on my reins at the same instant that Noah’s horse had a burst of speed. Doing a totally unsafe guy thing, he passed by me, swerving hard before he nearly hit the wire mesh that ran parallel to the tree line.

“Crap!” I muttered as I pulled alongside him, our horses bumping each other again. I was starting to get the feeling that Lady had as much of a thing for Rumor as I had for his rider.

“Gotcha!” He grinned, reaching out for my hand.

Only this time I ignored it, trotting ahead of him. When I arrived at the gap in the fence, he wasn’t with me. Instead, he was standing behind a copse of trees about a hundred feet back.

Darn, I didn’t mean to make him mad. I was just aggravated with his daredevil riding. Whirling Lady around, I squeezed her with my heels and quickly closed the distance back to him.

“What’s up?” I asked, pulling up close to Rumor.

“You have to go home first, Rose. That’s what I mean about being careful. We can’t just ride up the road together. Someone might see us, and that would be a disaster. Just please trust me on this,” he implored.

“But how long are you going to wait, then?” The fact that there would be dire consequences if we were caught together or if I even called him on the phone was triggering little bells to go off in my head, but I chose to ignore them. My girlfriends back in Cincinnati would be locked up in jail for sure under these rules.

“I’ll hang out here for about fifteen minutes and then head home. Now, Rose, you ride straight home, and if any cars slow down for you, just gallop that mare as fast as I know she’ll go until you reach your driveway. Hopefully, everything will work out and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The urgency in his voice finally got me moving, and I turned, cantering toward the gap. Once on the road, I trotted the rest of the way home, the darkness quickly descending around me. Goose bumps spread up my arms when the light vanished and I squeezed Lady back into a canter once I reached the driveway.

I couldn’t deny the way Noah made my body feel, that was for sure, but my mind was still struggling with the whole Amish thing. Where on earth could this relationship go?

But then, I didn’t care what the answer was. I just wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.

6

Noah

Walking the Amish Line

IT WAS GOING to be difficult to get away with it, I thought as I passed through the gap in the fence and rode onto the road. Rose was absolutely naive about what we were up against. And she certainly didn’t hide her emotions well either.

Whenever she looked at me with those lovely eyes, there was no doubt about her feelings. She wanted me as badly as I wanted her. And as much as I liked having those eyes directed at me in that way, she’d have to learn to control them or she’d get us in a whole heap of trouble. Secretly meeting up with an English girl was the type of thing that could get me sent off to a community in Pennsylvania. And I wouldn’t be able to come home until the bishop there felt I was truly rehabilitated.

Nathaniel Yoder barely missed making the trip out of state when his father caught him with a cell phone last year. Lucky for him, the worst punishment he received was being forced to smash the phone with a hammer.

Of course, I didn’t think Rose even worried about getting in trouble. It seemed she was allowed to do pretty much anything she wanted, and even if she did break a rule in her house, she’d probably be able to talk her way out of it with her father. She was very compelling. I certainly hadn’t planned to touch her hand, but when she talked about her mother and then looked at me with her sad eyes, I just couldn’t resist. And her hand had fit perfectly into mine. I really wanted to kiss her there in the cornfield, and had almost done just that, except somehow I’d been able to rein myself in before I got carried away.

It was just too soon for that. We weren’t even courting, and although I realized that the chance of doing so was slim at best, I still needed to try to make it happen. Somehow, in just a few short hours, I had developed feelings for Rose—strong feelings. And the thought of her being mine was intoxicating.

I’d never reacted to a girl this way before. My body was on fire when I was around Rose, and when I wasn’t with her, all I did was think about her. Today had been the longest day of my life, dragging on forever until it was finally time to go meet her in the field.

I was planning to sneak up on her, but when I saw her start to canter ahead of me, I was impressed by what a good rider she was, and impulsively kicked Rumor into a gallop to race her. If the field had been a little longer, she would have definitely whipped me. Rumor was carrying a lot more weight and beginning to labor. I was happy that we were even able to stay with the gray horse for as long as we did.

Not being able to keep the smile from stretching my mouth, I decided that the evening had been the most fun I’d had in a very long time—maybe ever. She was the perfect girl for me, I reckoned—except for not being Amish. But I didn’t care that she was English. My ideas about the people of the outside world had changed overnight—at least about one of them anyway. I knew that my feelings weren’t rational and that my behavior was dangerous, but I wasn’t willing to walk away at this point. I was driven now to see it through.

Cantering up the driveway, I quickly unsaddled Rumor and put him out in the pasture. I finished cleaning the stalls and then hurried to the house. The sky was coal-black by the time I entered the mudroom and pulled my boots off.

Seeing Jacob and Father sitting at the kitchen table under the dim light of the gas lamp with a pile of papers strewn out around them, I wasted no time asking, “Jacob, have you found a driver for tomorrow yet?”

Without raising his head, he replied, “No, I called several people, but they’re all busy.”

His voice held a hint of disappointment, and I seized the opportunity. “I found a driver for you.” Both Father and Jacob looked up at me speculatively and I continued, “While I was out riding, I met Sam on the road and he was in a dually truck with an extended cab.” I took a second to breathe. “I asked him if he would be interested in driving us to a horse sale tomorrow with our trailer, and he said he would—but he’d have to check with his father first.”

It was strange how easily the lie came to me. I was willing to do just about anything to see Rose again. Obviously the time spent with the beautiful girl was already corrupting me.

Studying their expressions, I saw Jacob’s face brighten at the news and Father purse his lips, thinking for a few seconds before answering. “That sounds like a possibility. This is the biggest sale of the season, and I’d hate to miss the chance to trade those two horses in for the quality of team you could find there, Jacob.” He paused, meeting my eyes directly before asking, “Will the girl be going?”

“I don’t know, Father.” I said it with no emotion, hoping my face showed none either.

Father thought for a minute or so longer, absently scratching his beard, before saying, “Well, I suppose it will be all right. After all, your uncle Reuben will be going with you boys. But…” He paused to look at me, unsmiling. “If the girl does go, I’ll not have you talking to her at all, Noah. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Father, I do,” I said tonelessly, but inwardly my heart was beginning to race. I’d say anything you want me to say, Father.

The phone in the shed rang at that moment and I knew it was Sam. “That’s probably Sam. Do you want me to go talk to him?”

“Yes, you can make the arrangements. I think I’ll be turning in now—morning will be here before we know it.”

I put my hand on his shoulder as I passed by him and said, “Good night, Father.”

Stepping out into the cool night air, I knew that sleep would be a long time coming for me. I was so stirred up with the knowledge that I’d be spending the entire day with Rose that I’d probably be up all night.

* * *

When I saw Sam’s truck coming up the driveway, all feelings of sleepiness left me. I could make out that Rose was in the passenger seat, and my heart skipped a beat. I quickly turned away and continued currying old Buttercup’s tawny fur, being careful not to let my eyes stray back to the truck.

I finished Buttercup and moved over to Sally. Starting on her, I could hear Sam backing up to the trailer behind me. I was nervous that Rose would walk over and begin talking to me. She was so forward that it wouldn’t surprise me at all if she ignored my warnings.

Instead, when I spied over my shoulder with a glance, she was standing behind the truck, directing her brother to the hitch. Not something a girl would usually be doing, but at least she wasn’t talking to me, and that was a good thing at the moment.

Resuming Sally’s brushing, I registered that Rose’s long hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she was wearing faded blue jeans and a blue T-shirt. She looked good in blue. It matched her eyes. I had thought the same thing the night before, but that shirt had been different than this one, prettier in a way. Then again, she was beautiful in anything.

Once the trailer was hitched up, Jacob and I loaded the horses and climbed into the backseat of the truck. Jacob explained to Sam that we were picking Uncle Reuben up on the way.

As Sam pulled carefully out of the driveway, I couldn’t help wondering what Rose was thinking at that moment. She had been silent, not even a nod in my direction. I was beginning to think either she was a very good actor or she didn’t like me anymore. How irrational to think that. She was doing exactly what I had told her to do, but now I was aggravated with how well she was doing it. It made no sense at all, but then, all my common sense went out the window when I was around her.