A Cousin's Challenge

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  ***

  When they entered the schoolhouse, Jolene gasped at the stark emotion she saw in Lonnie’s eyes. Her heart pounded with sudden hope. Maybe he cared about her as much she cared for him. If he did, he’d sure been keeping it to himself. Ever since Christmas, he’d only come around when he needed a lesson, and he never said much to her of a personal nature. The day he’d given her the bird feeder as a Christmas present, she’d hoped he might ask her out. Instead, soon after Jake had shown up, Lonnie had rushed out the door.

  Maybe it’s a good thing I’m not going out with anyone, she told herself. Men are hard to figure out, and I’ve got enough to deal with just teaching school.

  “If your leg’s hurting too much, maybe we should forget about my lesson today,” Lonnie signed, pulling Jolene’s thoughts back to the present.

  She shook her head. “I’ll be fine. I don’t think I should try to tackle the stairs, though. If you don’t mind, we’ll have our lesson down here in Fern’s classroom.”

  “I don’t mind.” Lonnie pulled out the chair at Fern’s desk, and Jolene took a seat. “Should I go upstairs and get the hand mirror?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “How about some ice to put on your knee?”

  “That’d be good. There’s an ice pack in my lunch box.”

  Lonnie hesitated a few seconds; then when she waved him on, he hurried from the room. He returned a few minutes later with the mirror and Jolene’s lunch box. When he handed it to her, the gentle, caring expression on his face was almost her undoing.

  She fought the urge to tell him how much she’d come to care for him, but that would be too bold. Unless he made the first move, she would keep the feelings she felt for him locked away in her heart.

  ***

  When Jake stepped into the taxidermy shop, Crist turned from the job he was working on and offered him a friendly smile. “Afternoon, Jake. If you came to check on your fish, I’m afraid it’s not ready yet.”

  “No, I didn’t think it would be done this soon. Came to see Wayne and find out whether Loraine had her boppli.”

  Crist nodded enthusiastically. “She had a baby boy two days ago. She and the little guy are doin’ real well.” He glanced out the window. “Wayne’s probably working in his shop, but Loraine, Ada, Priscilla, and the boppli are up at the house if you’d like to stop in and say hello.”

  “Maybe some other time. I just stopped by to find out if she’d given birth, and I wanted to know if everything went okay. I’m sure my mamm will expect a full report when I get home.”

  Crist chuckled. “Most women are like that, all right. I know my Ada sure is. Nothing much goes on in this community without her knowing it.”

  “Speaking of Ada,” Jake said, “when I was here the other day Wayne said she was having trouble with her back. Is she feeling better?”

  “Jah, the chiropractor fixed her right up.”

  “That’s good. Well, guess I’d best be on my way. I have one more stop to make before I head for home.” Jake turned toward the door. “Tell Wayne I said congratulations on becoming a daed.”

  “I will.”

  ***

  Ella had just put the Closed sign in her bakeshop window when the door swung open, nearly knocking her off her feet. Her heart pounded when she saw that it was Jake.

  “I’m just closing. But if you really need something, I can stay open a few more minutes and get it for you.”

  “I don’t need anything this time.” Jake shifted his weight from one foot to the other then leaned against the display counter as he stared inside.

  “Are you sure you don’t want something? Chocolate chip cookies are on sale this week.”

  “Sounds good, but I’d better not.” Jake patted his stomach. “Can’t afford to get fat if I’m gonna have the energy to keep training horses.” He cleared his throat a couple of times. “Actually, the reason I stopped by is to say—”

  “I’m sorry,” Ella blurted out.

  Jake tipped his head. “What was that?”

  “I said, ‘I’m sorry.’”

  A funny little grin spread over Jake’s face. “That’s exactly what I was going to say.” He stepped closer to Ella. So close that she could feel his warm breath on her face. “What is it that you’re sorry for?”

  The gentleness in Jake’s voice surprised Ella. She swallowed a couple of times and wiped her damp hands on the sides of her apron. “I’m ... uh ... sorry for the way I acted when you told me you’d caught our plecostomus.”

  His grin grew wider. “You were pretty mad about that.”

  She clenched her fingers against her sides. Was he trying to goad her into another argument? “What are you sorry for, Jake?”

  “I’m not sorry for catching the fish because it wasn’t my fault that the critter took hold of my bait.” He took another step toward Ella. “But I am sorry that I didn’t take the fish off my line and put him back in the pond.”

  She shrugged. “What’s done is done. Let’s just forget about it, shall we?”

  “I can’t really forget about it because I took that old sucker catfish over to the taxidermy shop to have it stuffed. When it’s done, I thought I’d bring it over here so you can hang it on your wall.” Jake looked quite pleased with himself. Did he really think he’d done a good thing?

  “What are you trying to do, Jake, rub salt in my wounds?”

  “’Course not. I just thought...”

  “Oh, I know, you expect me to put in on my wall so that every time I look at it I’ll remember how you killed our fish!”

  Jake’s eyebrows furrowed. “Are you saying you don’t want the fish?”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying!”

  He took two steps closer ... so close, they were almost touching noses. “Fine then, I’ll take the fish and hang it on my bedroom wall!”

  “That’s a good idea; you do that, Jake!”

  “I will!”

  Jake continued to stare at Ella; then, in a surprise gesture, he reached out and tipped her chin up with his thumb.

  Ella was surprised by the wild flutter of her pulse when he touched her. She stood motionless, caught up in the moment. Her heart thumped so hard she could barely breathe.

  Slowly, Jake lowered his head and captured her lips in a kiss so tender and sweet that it stole her breath away. As the kiss continued, Ella wrapped her arms around Jake’s neck.

  Suddenly Ella pulled away, heat flooding her face.

  “S – sorry about that,” Jake stammered. “I-I’d better go.” He stared at her a moment longer, as though trying to memorize her face, then turned and rushed out the door.

  Ella flopped onto the stool behind the counter and closed her eyes. Dear Lord, please make me strong. Help me not to lose my heart to Jake all over again.

  CHAPTER 38

  Ella tied her horse to a post on the back porch, prepared to give it a bath. She was planning to visit Loraine today, because she hadn’t seen the baby yet. But her silly horse had decided to roll in the mud in the corral.

  For some reason, the horse acted more fidgety than usual, and it made her think about Jake and how easily he handled horses. She found herself wishing that Jake was here right now. Two days had passed since their unexpected kiss, and Ella still hadn’t shaken off the feelings it had brought on. For the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why she’d allowed Jake to kiss her. Or for that matter, what had possessed him to do it. It wasn’t like they were a courting couple. Since they mostly argued when they were together, it made no sense that he’d want to kiss her.

  Ella let her mind wander back to the past ... back to when she’d had a schoolgirl crush on Jake and had waited anxiously at the end of their driveway for him to show up and walk her to school every day. She knew now that what she’d felt for Jake back then wasn’t love, but she sure had liked him a lot. Ella had often wondered how things might have gone if Jake had taken her for a ride in his buggy when he’d turned sixteen. Would they have started going
out? Would she have become his steady girl? Even if they had started dating, Jake might have left for Montana. It could have been her instead of Loraine left pining for Jake and hoping for a letter.

  I’m not that little girl with a crush on Jake anymore, Ella told herself. I’m a grown woman who should know better than to let herself fall for Jake again.

  A horsefly buzzed nearby, and Ella’s horse whinnied and jerked its head. “Hold still, Pet,” Ella mumbled. “You know you’re only making things worse!”

  Pet continued to thrash her head and snap at the fly, while Ella tried to steady the animal with one hand and hold onto the hose with the other hand.

  Whoosh!—Pet jerked again, flicking the hose with her tail. That, in turn, caused the water to squirt Ella right in the face.

  “Thanks a lot,” Ella mumbled. “You’re the one who needs a bath, not me.” She grasped the hose and sprayed some water on Pet’s legs.

  The fly buzzed again, and Pet tossed her head and stamped her front hooves. Ella shot a spray of water at the fly but hit the horse’s head instead. Pet reared up, knocking the hose out of Ella’s hand and breaking the rope that had secured her to the post. The hose flipped this way and that, shooting water in all directions. By the time Ella was able to grasp it, her clothes were soaking wet. She looked around and spotted the horse’s hind end as it disappeared into the barn.

  “I don’t need this today,” Ella grumbled.

  She was about to turn off the hose, when a horse and buggy pulled into the yard. It stopped in front of the hitching rail, and Jake got out. “Are we having a bit of trouble?” he asked when he joined her. “You look like a cat caught in a rainstorm.”

  Ella wrinkled her nose. “Very funny.”

  Jake chuckled. “If you’re trying to give yourself a shower with the hose, then maybe you’d better go inside and get a bar of soap.”

  “For your information, I was trying to give my horse a bath, but she got upset when a horsefly kept buzzing her. Then she broke free from the porch post where she was tied, and the hose got knocked out of my hand and shot water all over me.”

  “What made you tie the horse to the post on the porch?”

  “Well, I...”

  “Probably would have been better if you’d tied her to the corral fence or the hitching rail.”

  “I wanted to be close to the hose, so I thought—”

  “Horses are very powerful animals, Ella. You never know what they’re going to do.”

  “I realize that, but—”

  “You’ve got to let the horse know who’s boss right away, or it’ll take advantage of you.”

  “Are you saying I know nothing about my horse?”

  “No, I’m just saying that you need to be in control.”

  Ella’s temper flared, and she opened her mouth to defend herself but stopped when she felt a nudge at her heart. Angry words didn’t solve a thing. Like Mama had mentioned the other day, the Bible taught that she should treat others the way she would want them to treat her.

  “I’d like to continue this discussion,” Ella said, “but I need to get inside and change into some dry clothes so I can go see Loraine and Wayne’s new boppli.”

  “Would you like me to get your horse and hitch it to the buggy while you change clothes?” Jake offered.

  Ella almost said she could do it herself but changed her mind. “Jah, sure, I’d appreciate that.” She started up the stairs but turned back around. “Pet’s in the barn.”

  “I kinda figured that, since I didn’t see her out here.” Jake sprinted for the barn, and Ella entered the house.

  When she stepped outside a short time later, carrying the gift she’d bought for Loraine’s baby, she saw Jake standing beside her horse, shaking his head.

  “What’s wrong? How come Pet’s not hitched to my buggy?” Ella asked.

  He pointed to the horse’s right front foot. “She’s missing a shoe.”

  Ella grimaced. “That’s just great! Guess I won’t be going over to see Loraine’s boppli after all, because Charlene and Mama had some errands to run in town, and they took our other driving horse.”

  “I’d shoe the horse for you right now,” Jake said, “but I don’t have any of my tools with me.”

  “That’s okay. I can go over to Loraine’s some other time.” She flopped onto the porch step with a weary sigh.

  Jake put Pet in the corral then joined Ella on the porch. “Why don’t I drive you over to Loraine’s and we can both see the baby? After that, I’ll stop by my place, pick up my tools, and shoe your horse when I bring you home.”

  Ella hesitated but finally nodded.

  They headed for Jake’s buggy, and when Jake reached for Ella’s hand to help her up, she felt an unexpected tingle. It must be my imagination.

  As they turned onto the road, tension wound around them. Ella figured she needed to say something to help herself relax, so she pointed across the road and said, “Looks like there are plenty of trees being tapped for maple syrup this spring.”

  “Yep. Sure looks that way.”

  Ella searched for something else to talk about. Anything to keep from thinking about the kiss that she and Jake had shared the last time they were together. “Do you enjoy working with horses and training them to pull buggies more than you do shoeing them?”

  “I definitely prefer to train ’em.” Jake looked over at her and smiled. “Once I get my own business going, I probably won’t do any shoeing.”

  His own business? Did that mean Jake was planning to stay in Indiana? Did Ella dare to ask?

  “Of course, training horses isn’t all fun and games,” Jake continued. “Some horses can be real stubborn, and some are just plain high strung. I once had a horse that kept throwing his head back, so I had to come up with a way to make him stop.”

  “What’d you do?”

  “I took a plastic bag and filled it with warm water. Then I got a split piece of leather, and whenever the horse threw his head back, I smacked the leather strap in the air so it made a loud crack. At the same time, I broke the bag of water between the horse’s ears.”

  Ella’s interest was piqued. “What did that accomplish?”

  “The noise and the warm water made the horse think he must have been hurt and was bleeding. Believe it or not, it settled him right down.”

  “Hmm ... That’s interesting. Are there some specific things that might make a horse spook or act up?”

  “Yep. When a horse is going down the road pulling a buggy it can get spooked by several things. Mailboxes; flower beds; people walking; cows or horses running in an open field. Oh, and a horse can get pretty upset when a loud semitruck roars past.” Jake’s nose crinkled. “Some horses like to rear up and take off, and I have to be ready for that. Of course, some horses are so temperamental that they can never be trained to pull a buggy.”

  “Where do you buy the horses you train?” Ella questioned.

  “From horse dealers, who get them from the race track. When I get the horses, they’re already harness trained but not trained to pull a buggy. So That’s my job. I always start by getting them to pull a cart, and then we progress to the buggy.”

  “I know how important it is to have a dependable horse,” Ella said. “We have enough buggy accidents caused by other vehicles on the road. We don’t need unruly horses causing more accidents.”

  “That’s for sure. Buggies aren’t cheap, and when one’s destroyed because of an accident, the Amish man who owns the rig is out a lot of money.” Jake let go of the reins, lifted one hand, and turned it palm up. “Since an Amish man doesn’t have insurance to replace the buggy, the way most Englishers have with their cars, it’s not always easy to get a new rig right away.”

  “That’s true.”

  They rode in silence awhile; then to Ella’s surprise, Jake draped his arm over the back of the seat, so his hand touched her shoulder. “Would you like to go out to supper with me one night next week?”

  Ella’s spine tingle
d and she sat up straight. “I ... uh ... don’t think That’s a good idea, Jake.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because we’d probably end up arguing the whole evening.”

  “That’s what we do, Ella.” Jake’s eyes sparkled with laughter, and Ella found herself smiling in response.

  “I’m not sure why we argue so much,” she said in a near whisper.

  “Maybe it’s because we’re so much alike.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think so. We’re about as different as the sun and the moon.”

  “So are you saying that you won’t go out with me because I’m not like you?”

  “That’s not what I meant.” Ella thought about the kiss they’d shared the other day. She had a feeling Jake had been as shocked by it as she’d been. She also thought about the promise she’d made to herself, not to let herself get involved with Jake.

  What happened between us was nothing more than a fleeting attraction, she decided. Jake and I have nothing in common, and I’m sure that I’d never be able to trust him again.

  Jake bumped Ella’s arm. “Answer me, Ella. Is the reason you won’t go out to supper with me because I’m not like you?”

  “No, not really. It’s just that I don’t think we should start something we can’t finish.” Ella steeled her heart against Jake’s lopsided grin and looked away.

  Jake reached over and tucked a wayward strand of hair under Ella’s head covering, and then he let his fingers glide down the length of her face. His gentle touch was almost her undoing.

  ***

  Jake moistened his lips and fought the urge to kiss Ella. Ever since he’d tasted her lips the other day, he’d wanted to kiss her again. What’s wrong with me? he wondered. Why would I want to kiss someone who clearly doesn’t like me? It just has to be because I see Ella as a spirited challenge—like one of my unruly horses.