A Man For Honor (The Amish Matchmaker Book 6)

by Emma Miller

  He turned back to Tanner. Tanner was glued to the sled, cold water surging around his waist. Luke knew that time was against them. The water temperature could kill the children almost as quickly as drowning. He glanced at Justice. “Start crawling toward the shore,” he called. Justice was the lightest of them. He might just make it to shore without falling through. “Whatever you do, Justice, don’t let go of the ring!”

  The shrieks of the emergency vehicles became louder, but Luke was afraid that if Tanner went through the ice, they wouldn’t get there in time. “Keep moving!” he ordered Justice. Then he turned back to the older boy, “Hold on, Tanner, I’m coming to—”

  The ice cracked and parted, and Luke felt himself fall. Heard the splash. Water closed over his head, colder than anything he could imagine. His coat and boots filled with water and pulled him down, but he fought his way to the surface. His head broke the surface and he gasped for air. Both boys were screaming.

  Tanner had gone down into the water, but the sled was holding him up. Luke attempted to crawl back up onto the ice, but every time he moved forward, it shattered and he sank again. He went under again and came up. This time his fingers touched the edge of Tanner’s sled.

  The boy had suddenly stopped screaming and was staring at him. Tanner held out a hand and Luke grasped it. He looked around, saw what he thought was a thicker section of ice, and shoved the sled as hard as he could. The sled glided up and over the ice, taking Tanner with it.

  Luke’s teeth were chattering so hard that he couldn’t think. He was cold, so cold, and his boots were so heavy. Slowly, he used one foot to push off the right boot and then repeated the process with the left. His coat was next, but the zipper was almost more than he could manage.

  He heard voices. On a bullhorn. The Englisher firemen were there, but he couldn’t make out what they were trying to tell him. “Hold on,” he tried to say to Tanner, but the words were as frozen as the chunks of ice around him. Into Your hands, he prayed silently. In Your infinite mercy, spare these innocents...

  Luke kicked in the water, but he could feel himself sinking. He was suddenly tired, so tired. And then, the blackness closed over him and he didn’t feel the cold anymore.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Luke sat up and looked around the cubicle in the hospital emergency room. “No,” he repeated firmly to the nurse in scrubs adorned with multicolored cartoon characters. “I’m fine. I want to go home.” He hated hospitals. He hated the smells and the sounds of sick people, and he could imagine how much money every minute he remained was costing him. The Amish didn’t believe in medical insurance; the bill would be paid out of his own pocket. He’d certainly not have permitted anyone to take him to the hospital in an ambulance if he’d had his wits about him.

  Although it was all pretty hazy in his mind, Luke knew that the fire company volunteers had reached him in time to keep him from drowning or dying from hypothermia. How they’d gotten to him, he wasn’t so clear about. He’d coughed up a lot of water, and at one point he remembered an oxygen mask over his face, but he was all right now. He just wanted to get out of here.

  The middle-aged nurse shook her head and spoke louder and more distinctly, almost as one would to a slow child. “The doctor would prefer that you remained with us for a few hours, Mr. Weaver, for observation.”

  Luke looked down, embarrassed to see that he was clad only in a scanty cotton hospital gown. Quickly, he pulled the thin, white blanket up to his neck. “Where are my clothes?”

  She shook her head again. “I’m sorry, but the paramedics had to cut your things off when they treated you in the ambulance.” She smiled.

  “But the children are safe? Right? You said the children were fine.”

  She nodded. “Absolutely. I was told that the younger of the two didn’t even need medical attention. The older boy is here with his mother, but they are just waiting for his paperwork. Apparently, he was more frightened than injured.”

  Luke closed his eyes for a moment. He remembered repeatedly asking the fireman about Tanner and Justice, but he’d been confused during the ambulance ride. He was relieved that the boys were okay and he said a quick, silent prayer of gratitude.

  The nurse patted his hand. “Thanks to you, they were saved. That was very brave of you to go to their rescue. You nearly lost your own life in the effort. You’re quite the hero, Mr. Weaver.”

  “Luke,” he corrected. “My name is Luke, and I’m not a hero. Their lives were in God’s hands. It is the Lord who deserves credit, not me.”

  “But a blessing that you came by when you did.” She fluffed up his pillow. “Now, if you’re feeling up to it, you have people waiting to see you.”

  “Ya. I mean, yes. And I want to see the doctor. I’m leaving as soon as I can get something decent to wear.”

  “I’ll speak to him as soon as I can. One of our docs is out today, and we’re all hard-pressed to care for everyone.” She pushed a tall pole with tubes and a clear plastic bag hanging from it back away from his bed. “There’s a gentleman in the waiting room, a Mr. Freeman. Perhaps he can help with your clothing. I am sorry that your things were ruined, but the hospital isn’t responsible.”

  “No, I didn’t think they were. Could you please send Freeman in?” He didn’t bother to explain that Freeman was the miller’s first name, not his last.

  “I’ll be glad to,” she replied. She produced another blanket and laid it on the end of his bed. “You just lie back and rest. If you aren’t warm enough, here’s a second blanket.”

  “Warm enough, thank you.”

  The nurse gave him a final reassuring smile. “Don’t be surprised if you make the front page of the State News,” she said. “And the News Journal. There’s a news crew parked outside. Everyone will want to know how you saved those children.” As she left, she pulled the curtain closed, shutting off his cubicle from the rest of the emergency room.

  Great, more newspapers, Luke thought. Just what he wasn’t hoping to hear.

  He didn’t have long to wait before a grinning Freeman pushed his way through the curtains. “You know how to have a good time,” he said. “Isn’t it a little early to be swimming?” He was carrying a white trash bag and a man’s straw hat in one hand. “Seems you have a problem hanging on to hats,” he said, handing over the hat. “It isn’t spring, but this was the best I could do. My uncle offered one of his wool ones, but I think his head’s smaller than yours.”

  “This will do fine,” Luke answered. He smoothed back his hair and settled the hat on his head. “And you’ve got clothes for me in there, I hope.”

  “I do.” Freeman grinned. “I got there in time to see one of the fireman cutting your trousers and shirt off. I brought shoes and socks, too. I don’t know what happened to your boots.”

  Luke shrugged. “Bottom of the pond.”

  Freeman grimaced. “A worthwhile price, I’d say. Are they going to release you soon? I think Tanner is about ready to go home. I promised Honor I’d see them safely to the house. If you can go home with us, great. If not, I’ll come back for you.”

  “I’ll be ready to go as soon as I get dressed.” Luke closed his eyes, then opened them. “But the boys are okay?” The memory of seeing Tanner break through the ice wouldn’t leave him.

  “Boys are fine.”

  “And the animals? I think I let the horse loose when—”

  “Horse and mule are in my paddock. I’ll have someone take them back to Honor’s first thing in the morning. She came in the ambulance with you and Tanner. I called a driver. Plenty of room for you to go home with us.” He held out his hand and Luke gripped it hard. “You did good,” Freeman said. “If she’d lost one or both of those boys...”

  “God preserved them,” Luke said sincerely. “And you did the most by having that life ring and rope handy. Without it, I don’t know what I would have done.”

&nbs
p; “Still, I’m pleased to call you my friend.” Freeman settled his hat further down on his head. “My mother was the one who came up with the idea for that ring. Insisted I buy it. It’s been hanging there for three or four years and we never needed it.”

  “Not until today,” Luke said. “I’d like to put these clothes on, and then we go.”

  “You go ahead. I’ll go tell Honor you’re going home with us. She wants to see you. She was just waiting until... She wanted to make certain that you were decent. No sense causing more trouble with the elders than we need to. They’re already a little nervous over the Mystery Cowboy stuff from that newspaper in Pennsylvania. The bus accident. Not many of our people getting their pictures on the English television.”

  “Right. It wasn’t by choice, I can tell you that.” Luke glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Give me five minutes to get dressed, and then she can come in. I told the nurse that I wanted to leave. If they don’t get back soon with my release papers, I’m going, anyway.”

  He had his garments on in two minutes. His chest burned, and his throat was sore. He had a little headache and water in one ear, but other than that, he didn’t feel terrible, certainly not like a man who’d gone swimming in February. The pants and shirt had to be Freeman’s, he judged. The shirt was a good fit, but the pants were long. Quickly, he adjusted the suspenders and slipped into the socks and shoes. He was just tying the last one when someone cleared her throat in the hall outside the curtain.

  “Luke? Can I come in?”

  It was Honor, and honestly, at that moment, he wasn’t certain if he wanted to see her yet. Now that he was on his feet, he felt a little disoriented. And tired. So tired he could have lain down on the hospital bed and taken a nap. He took a deep breath, coughed and called, “Ya. Come in.”

  She stepped through the curtain and threw her arms around him, nearly knocking him back onto the bed. “Luke!” Her face was pale, her eyes red and swollen as if she’d been weeping, worry lines crinkling her flawless complexion. “I was so frightened,” she said, switching from English to Deitsch.

  Awkwardly, he hugged her back. He knew that this wasn’t the time or place, but he was angry, and he couldn’t hide it. Gently, he pushed her away. “Not here,” he said. “We don’t want the Englishers talking about our behavior.”

  “I don’t care what they think. I love you. I have every right to hug you. Especially after what you did. You saved my babies. You—”

  “They shouldn’t have been there,” he said. His voice came out gruff and rasping. “They had no business at the pond alone. Or on the ice at all.”

  “Ne, I know that.” She swallowed, looking small and vulnerable beneath her bonnet, tugging at his heart.

  But he would have his say. He couldn’t let this be, couldn’t hide his feelings. He’d done it long enough. He loved her and loving someone meant being honest with her. He truly believed that. “They could have died, Honor,” he said. “Both of them. We could have lost them today.”

  Swirls of hurt glistened in her big brown eyes. Tears gathered and threatened to fall. “You think I don’t know that? It was a terrible accident—could have been a terrible accident. But, by the grace of God and your courage and quick thinking, you saved them. You rescued my babies.”

  “Ne, Honor. It wasn’t an accident.”

  “What do you mean?” She blinked, and the tears fell.

  He felt as if a fist had stuck him full in the stomach, but he would do her no favors by holding back. “It wasn’t an accident,” he repeated. “It was carelessness.”

  “You’re saying it’s my fault? That I was careless with my sons?”

  “You’ve let them run wild, Honor. You have allowed them to think they could do as they pleased, without consequences for disobedience. And your soft heart has nearly brought them and your family to ruin.”

  Her lower lip quivered, but she stiffened. “I thought it was our family. How can you say such a thing? I told them that they were never to go near a pond without an adult. They’re children. They disobey sometimes. It’s what children do.” She wiped at her eyes with the back of her hands, trying to stop the tears. “That’s a cruel thing to say, Luke. To blame me.”

  She began to sob, and his resolve crumbled.

  He took her in his arms. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that, at least not here. Not today. I know how you love them.” She was weeping against his chest. “Shh, shh,” he soothed. “I’m an idiot. I was so scared. I didn’t think I could get to them in time. I’m sorry. But I’ve remained silent too often these last months, when I should have spoken. This is a serious matter, Honor, one we must settle before we marry.”

  She sniffed and looked up at him. “What do you mean?”

  “You’ve made it clear that you don’t want me to discipline the children. How do you expect me to be a father to them if I have no authority?”

  “They are my children. It is my place to make them mind me.”

  “Ne, Honor, it can’t be that way. When we marry, they’ll be my children, as if born of my flesh. Either I’ll be a father and a husband to you and your family, or this will never work between us.”

  “So, are you telling me that you’ve having second thoughts? You’re talking about backing out of our wedding again?”

  “Where would you get that idea?” He crushed her against him. “I’m never letting you go. You and the children are a package. I want to be your husband and their father, but this is something we have to face. Something must be done about their willfulness. We’ve got to set rules and there must be consequences for disobedience, even for the small ones. That’s how you keep children from breaking the more serious rules.”

  “You’re right.” She glanced up at him. “They do get into trouble. And I am too softhearted to punish them as I should. But...if you’d... If you’ll help me...” She started to cry again.

  He looked around the small enclosure, saw a tiny box of tissues and retrieved them. He gave a handful to Honor and she blew her nose. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said.

  “I know that you’re right. I’ve worried about the same thing. It’s just that Silas was so... He could be so stern with them. Once, he threatened Tanner with a belt.”

  “Did he beat him?”

  She shook her head. “He tried to. I wouldn’t let him. I told him that if he laid a hand on Tanner in anger, I would take the children and leave him. He was so angry with me. He didn’t speak to me for two days. He never did strike them, but he sent them to bed without supper and spoke to them so harshly when they misbehaved. I suppose, I think, I just tried to make up for his behavior by being too easy with them.”

  Luke hugged her again, just for a brief second. “We have to sit down and decide how we will handle misbehavior,” he said quietly. “There should be small punishments for the small disobediences and larger ones for the more serious. What’s important, I think, is that we both always react the same way. We act as a team, and then the children will know where we stand. And that they can’t run from one to the other and expect to get away with mischief.” He kissed the top of her forehead. “One thing I can promise you is that I will never raise a hand to our children. My father never did, either. He would talk to me quietly and make me understand what I had done wrong and why. His words pushed me to never make the same mistake again.”

  “I think that’s a good plan,” she said and reached for some more tissues. “I’ve let them get away with bad behavior, and I promise to try to do better.” She took a step back. “I’d best get back to Tanner. Freeman is with him, but—”

  Abruptly, the curtain pulled back and Luke heard the whirl of a digital camera. “There he is!” a young blonde woman in high heels and a tweed jacket exclaimed. “It’s him! The cowboy hero. What do you do? Just ride around the country, looking for drowning people to rescue?” She stepped aside and a red
-haired man with a camera on his shoulder moved forward to begin filming.

  “No pictures,” Luke said. He snatched off the hat Freeman had brought him and used it to cover his and Honor’s faces. “We don’t believe in having our image captured. Go away, please.”

  “Who is this woman?” the blonde demanded. “Is she the mother of the children? Can you tell us their names and ages?”

  “We’re saying nothing.” Luke stepped in front of Honor, turning his back to the camera, still shielding their faces with the hat. “We are private people.”

  “Just a few questions,” the persistent woman reporter insisted. “How does it feel to be a hero?”

  The nurse with the silly cartoon scrubs swept in. “How did you get in here?” she said to the reporter and her companion. “Leave. Now, or I’ll call security and...”

  But Luke didn’t hear the rest of her comment. He’d taken Honor by the arm and used the distraction to make his escape. The two of them slipped past the nurse and the newspaper people, and hurried down the hallway. He heard the sound of Tanner’s voice and quickly located the curtain cubicle it was coming from. They stepped inside and he pulled the curtain shut behind them. Freeman sat on the side of the bed, showing Tanner a small, wooden marble game. If you placed a marble at the top of the tower, it would roll down, flipping switches. Tanner, red cheeked and hale, was laughing so hard that tears were running down his cheeks.

  Tanner looked up when the two of them entered the room. Luke put his finger to his lips, and they all waited in silence while the nurse escorted the newspeople out of the emergency room, still fussing with them.

  “Ready to go home?” Luke asked Tanner.

  The boy nodded.

  “Me, too,” Luke said.

  “And me.” Honor reached over and squeezed Luke’s hand. “Together.”

  He nodded. “Together.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Take your time. Look around, and if you have any questions, I’ll find the answers. My husband and his uncle aren’t here today.” Ruth Lapp waved toward the display area. “I don’t usually help out at the chair shop because the children keep me busy at home, but our office girl had a dental appointment this afternoon. Fortunately, my sister Miriam offered to take my older children, so we didn’t have to close.”