by Mindy Steele
“Where is she?”
Nelly looked about to burst. “How did you know?” Adam shrugged. “She’s hiding in the storeroom. She won’t come out. I was about to call Mica and leave a message on their machine,” Nelly whispered. “I wanted to try to talk to her, but customers have been like flies on buttermilk and I haven’t even left the counter. Abner showed up and insisted on taking her home and she panicked.” Nelly sniffled. “I should have run him out of the store, but customers started pouring in and Lynn Christner was giving her that look. You know the one.” Adam did. The woman could scald the wool off sheep with her deep-set frowns and piercing glares.
“It’s all right. She knows you would have helped if you were able. I came to take her home,” Adam said.
“She won’t come out. Not with him here.” Nelly looked over his shoulder toward Abner still lingering in the arched opening in the back. “Mica usually handles these matters,” Nelly said.
“Then I need to get him out of the way first,” he said matter-of-factly. “I will be taking her home to her family.” He scanned the store. “Is there another way out of the storeroom? She will be embarrassed coming out if you get another rush of customers.” The bell overhead jingled again, proving he was right to worry.
“Nee, but the shipping room has a back door. What have you got in mind?” Nelly asked, seemingly impressed Adam had no plans of leaving without Belinda.
“Run him off and simply take her home,” he said, as if it were going to be as easy as that. Nelly’s eyes went wide at his bold statement.
“I see why she won’t give Abner the time of day now.” Nelly grinned, lifting his spirits. “I think she feels the same, in case you want to know.” Nelly winked. His heart lifted, grounding him deeper in his pursuit.
With purposeful strides, Adam marched through an aisle of canned goods to the back of the store.
“Hello, Abner,” Adam greeted him.
“Adam Hostetler.” Abner offered a hand. “Heard about the accident. You look to be getting around well enough.”
“Jah, just a few bruises left. I think Mamm’s soup and Belinda’s special lemonade was all I needed.” Abner bristled at the mention of Belinda’s name, and Adam redirected the conversation. “How long have you been back in Havenlee?” He already knew the answer, but thought a more cordial approach would save him a few bruises. Adam was never a fan of taking the low road. He suspected Abner felt much the same. It was not their way, being physical and quarrelsome. But if it came to that, he would do whatever was necessary. One way or another, Adam was taking Belinda home.
“A few weeks now.” Abner shifted his body toward the back room. “I’m opening a shop. Just about got everything ready. I was hoping to work on getting the rest of my plans in order.” The man clearly wasn’t leaving easily. “I wasn’t aware you and Belinda were...friends.”
“More than friends,” Adam put in.
“I was told by a few that she wasn’t dating.” Abner lifted a thick, challenging brow. “I would think you too busy caring for your family to have time for...friends. Are you throwing your hat into the ring?” he said between clenched teeth.
“I don’t need to. My hat is the only hat in it.” Abner took one step forward to object, but Adam held up a hand to keep him at bay. “Courting is private.” It wasn’t a lie. “And I won’t step aside. My mind is set on it.” Adam lifted his chin and smiled.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The door flew open and Belinda jumped up from the box she had been perched on. There stood Adam, a set of keys dangling in his hands, and a sheepish smile spread across his handsome face. She was horrified, him seeing her in such an embarrassing position. How could she prove herself worthy if she couldn’t handle a quick trip into town without needing assistance?
He cleared his throat and slipped inside the little room, closing the door behind him. “Thought I might find you here,” he said. He looked red-faced and sweaty. He shouldn’t be here, not in his condition. Why wasn’t he home resting?
“How?” she managed, trying not to cry again.
“Oh, well, ya know.” He shrugged and leaned against the door. Books hadn’t prepared her for how the damsel felt when the hero came to her rescue. Despite her embarrassment, she immediately felt calm, safe. Adam was near; all was well.
“Did he say something to cause this?” He leaned forward, winced, and then brushed a tear from her cheek.
“Nee. I’m such a baby.” She dropped her head into her hands again and the flood resumed. “Tabitha said I had to go and then Nelly said Abner wants to court me and that I could be proposed to by the end of the week, and I thought I was getting sick right then but then Lynn gave me that scary look and Abner persisted so I ran in here and hid.”
She looked up to him and saw him watching her as if his heart would break. When she blinked back the tears, he spoke. “But you don’t want to be here, do you?”
“Nee. I don’t want to be here.” She bit her lip.
He lowered his head, fidgeted with the keys in his hand.
“I want to go home. Even the hot greenhouse has more air than this little room.” She tried for a grin, but failed.
Adam reached out for her hand. “Bee, my queen,” he smiled gently. “Come with me.” She was awestruck and relieved. “My horse is behind the store. Let’s slip out of here and I can drive you home. Nelly and Caleb will see your buggy is returned.” He had come for her. She couldn’t hide what that did to her.
“What if someone sees us?”
“Are you embarrassed to be seen with me, Belinda Graber?” he teased, as she wiped her face with her sleeve.
“You should be more worried that I will embarrass you. No one wants to be seen with a crybaby.”
“I’ll risk it.” He laughed, and she couldn’t help but feel herself yield to his overwhelming charms.
“All that matters is what you want. If you want to stay in this smelly supply room all night, I’ll walk out right now. Or,” his thumb made a small circle over her hand, “you can let me sneak you out of here and drive you home. It could be quite an adventure. Bee, the queen of masterful escapes.” An unexpected laugh escaped her. Not only had he come for her, but Adam wasn’t about to let her hide herself in a closet.
“I don’t know how I put up with you, or how you put up with me,” she said, after taking in a shaky breath.
“We are quite the pair, aren’t we?” He gave her hand a kiss and reached for the door handle. He always knew how to distract her. It wasn’t fair, the effect he had on her. He had made it clear, time and time again, he had no interest beyond friendship. Still, despite the future heartbreak that seemed certain, she knew she would follow him anywhere.
No one saw them sneak out the back. Belinda sat in the buggy seat beside him, hands primly on her lap. “I feel bad. Abner said he would wait.” Belinda nibbled at her lip.
“He left. He knew I was taking you home. But if you want to go back...” Adam began.
“I don’t,” she quickly shot back. “And how does he know that I’m with you?” She glanced over and watched his lips curve up in a smile. His hair had grown a lot and he was in need of another cut. She had never known a man who could grow hair faster than grass in summer. Belinda focused on one curl at the nape of his neck.
“Because I told him,” Adam said and smiled at her, locking gazes until he pulled away to focus on the road.
“You must think me a coward too. What kind of person can’t even walk or ride in a buggy with another without wanting to cry? Tabitha will be upset with me. She’s going to tell Mudder and I will never hear the end of it.” She blew out an exasperated breath.
“Tabitha is upset with herself. She told me where you were. She knew you didn’t want to go, and felt bad for letting Abner know you would be shopping today.”
“She did that?” Belinda’s voice hitched in surpr
ise. Though it shouldn’t surprise her how far her sister would go.
“She meant well,” Adam said, “but I also made her promise me it won’t happen again.” Her mouth opened, then closed again. “Bee, there is nothing wrong with being timid. In fact, some people enjoy your quiet nature. And I think you are brave.”
“I am not,” she puffed out.
“How many people would willingly surround themselves with thousands of bees without a suit? I watched you scoop them up like grain in a bucket. You own your own business and help with two others—both mine and your family’s.” She hadn’t thought about that. “And you are riding in a buggy, with a man, at nightfall as stars are about to come out, without your sister.”
“I am, aren’t I?” Her shoulders lifted. She looked at him and smiled, her heart galloping in her chest. Belinda was riding with a man, and she couldn’t imagine doing so with any other. She loved him—his patience, his fortitude, his dedication to those he cared for. He cared enough for her to seek her out, sensing her fear from miles away. Could she be brave enough to tell him how she felt?
“Want to make it a double adventure? Add ice cream to our adventurous evening?”
“You want to take me for ice cream?” Like a date? He smiled, his green-blue gaze tenderly observing her, cautiously waiting for her to say yes. How strange to be wanted, by him. Nothing in life would ever be the same after this moment, and she knew it.
“I do hear it’s the best cure for sadness,” he continued, trying to tempt her. She was no longer sad, but didn’t want to go home, end this time together. She had been craving more of it, praying for opportunities, and here Adam was, beside her in the buggy seat, smiling at her.
“As much as ice cream with you sounds wunderbaar, I don’t think I can eat a thing with my stomach in knots. But I’m in no hurry to get home. We could take our time.” She smiled bashfully.
“I have all the time in the world, for you.” Adam felt his pulse rise as she sat beside him on the buggy seat, smiling timidly at him. The paint Adam had purchased was still in his room. How he wished he had brought it. It would have cheered her up considerably.
Havenlee had many back roads, all slithering into the next, weaving in and out chaotically. Adam veered down Buchannan Road. Traffic was light here and the new bridge was just at the other end. After showing Belinda the bridge, he went down Penny Patch, where most homes were Amish and farms stretched as far as the eye could see.
“The Planks have more than a dozen baby goats running around in the field. We can drive by there, and if you’re feeling like real adventure, we can watch the fireflies on the lake. And you don’t have to say a word if you don’t want to.”
“I haven’t been to the lake in over a year. Let’s do that,” Belinda said giddily. She looked as eager as a child, wanting more, hanging on his every word. Adam had never held someone’s attention so fully, had never wanted it so strongly. Since May, that moment he cornered her in her garden, needing her help, he had been captivated by her. He knew then, despite railing against it, that she was more than the shy quiet girl of his childhood. He looked over, studied her profile. Like a flower in a harsh summer wind, she seemed fragile, but Belinda was far from weak. Her roots were as strong as her will to grow, and he wanted to grow with her, feed her curiosities, and embrace her insecurities. There was still the need of her, working together to build on what they both loved, but above and beyond all practical concerns, Adam wanted her—as his wife, his life’s partner, his future. She was first, above all.
She was as beautiful in evening light as she was in the morning. The little mark, the reason she had held herself back for so long, tiptoed through life, now held his attention. That blessed mark she hated had become her most beautiful feature.
After stopping along the road to pet a dozen dairy goats, Adam pulled up beside the lake. They sat in the buggy, watching fireflies dance over fields, flicker between trees, and encase the water’s edge with their twinkle. “So you want to tell me what happened back at the store, or would you rather we just sit here in the quiet and not say anything?”
There was a pause as she collected her thoughts. And then, she spoke. “I don’t want to be made to do things I’m not comfortable with. I don’t see why I can’t just be me. I don’t like the attention my face gives me. People still stare.” She looked up to him. “And you’re staring at me now. I just want to hide under my pillow and never come out.” Belinda reached up to hide her mark.
Adam shifted to face her. Slowly he pulled her hand free and held it. It fit so perfectly there, belonging in his. How could he tell her he loved her, had loved her all their lives, and not scare her? How could he not?
He brushed a finger over her mark, watched her eyes widen into large blue orbs. “We all stare because this quiet woman, who barely says three words to anyone, has walked into our lives with her sunshine and her kindness and has left us all wondering where she has been all our lives. You have the biggest heart I know and there is nothing you wouldn’t do to help others. You don’t gossip or put things on others that you can do yourself. And don’t think I don’t know about what you said to Susanne months ago.” He laughed. She opened her mouth, but he placed a finger against her lips to hush her. “You are the most amazing person I have ever known, and I will never even be worthy of being your friend.” Though friendship was the furthest thing from his thoughts now.
“Why are you saying all of this?” She stared down to where their fingers linked. As his thumb traced her hand, Adam turned it over, grazed from her palm to her dainty wrist, felt her pulse. Her easy acceptance of his touch did all kinds of things to him. She wasn’t afraid, not of him—never of him. He’d known that from day one. But her pulse was quickening, and her nearness made him respond in turn.
“Because, the morning of my accident, a good friend reminded me of something very important. He asked me if I wanted you to be part of my life.” She looked up at him, met his eyes. So striking, those violet blues.
“I am. We are business partners, and friends.” Adam chuckled at her innocence, or was there a soft hint of flirtation in there too? God, he loved this woman. He struggled for control, to keep a clear head. Not kissing her right then was harder than he thought it would be. But he knew she deserved the proper time, the right moment.
She also deserved a better man than the one sitting beside her now, but he wasn’t going to let that deter him.
“He also asked me how I would feel if you weren’t in my life.” He swallowed, battling nerves.
“And?” There she was, the woman who captured bees barehanded, faced her fears, and still preferred a simple, quiet life. She was a walking contradiction. A life with her would never be dull. Adam lifted a hand, brushed his thumb along her raised brow. He was done. Lowering his hand, he cradled her face, felt her give. Nothing in life would ever be this rewarding, he thought. She loved him too. He knew it without the confession, without the words. It was there in her compliance, her trust. Trust he had earned.
He leaned forward, smiled as her eyes roamed his lips. Joy filled his heart. Belinda was his and he was hers.
“Bee, I’m going to kiss you now.”
She exhaled, then smiled. “Okay,” she whispered.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Just as Tabitha turned off the burner, Ivan attempted to snatch a strip of bacon from the plate beside her. Tabitha gave his knuckles a good rap with the gravy spoon. “Ouch.”
“You’re big enough to eat hay, Ivan Shetler. Get outside and tell Mica breakfast is ready, instead of hoovering like a starved hund.” Tabitha waved a spoon to direct him to the door.
Belinda giggled and continued pouring herself a cup of kaffi. She hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep all night thinking about the first kiss Adam had given her, or the second. Who knew such a simple thing could burn the flesh and muddy the mind? Who knew someone so handsome, strong, and devoted would wan
t to kiss her? She sipped her coffee and smiled to herself, holding on to her exhilaration.
“If you weren’t Mica’s sister...” Ivan’s threat was weak. His eyes narrowed and his lips tweaked into a mischievous smile. Belinda wondered just how long the two were going to keep ignoring their feelings for each other. She hoped it wouldn’t be for much longer. For if it was one thing she knew for sure and for certain, guarding your heart out of fear made for a wasted existence. Some risks were worth taking.
“You would still be outside. No woman will put up with a bacon thief,” Tabitha quickly shot back. Now that she had a better understanding of love, years of her sister’s harsh words toward men, especially this one, made a lot more sense. It seemed to her that Tabitha was even more afraid than she had been. Or was it that her sister only had eyes for Ivan? Belinda giggled again, making a mental note to share her thoughts with Mammi soon. It was no wonder every maedel Ivan courted didn’t last beyond a month. It was a clear as rainwater the two were perfect for each other.
Ivan shoved his hat back on his head, but the look of affection remained as he tipped his hat to each lady. “You two have a good day.” He reached for the door handle, pulled, and then turned back. “You should wear green more often,” he said simply to Tabitha, before slipping back outside.
“You two are funny,” Belinda couldn’t help but say, though she’d said it before.
“The man is a pest. No better than a barn full of gnats and muck,” Tabitha said sharply, wrapping a dishcloth around the cast iron pan of gravy and removing it from the stove. She still looked flushed and it was clear to Belinda that the heat of the warm August morning kitchen had nothing to do with it.
“If Mamm was here, Ivan wouldn’t be snooping around in the kitchen.” Tabitha blew out an agitated breath. “I wish they were home, but I know Dawdi needs them more.”
Belinda had missed her parents too. “Mamm said he sleeps a lot now,” Belinda sighed. “She says we shouldn’t worry, that he is comfortable. I guess I should be grateful for that.”
