An Unexpected Match

by Gayle Roper

Johnny glared at Rachel and she knew he was angry she hadn’t kept quiet. She glared back. They were going to tell about the envelope and its contents. If she had to force him into talking, so be it. He was afraid of what might happen to him for having the false papers. She understood that. Still, right was right.

  He cleared his throat. “I-I may have some evidence against Mr. Sherman.”

  “May?” The officer looked both interested and skeptical.

  “Why don’t you show him, Johnny?” Rachel knew she was pushing, but quite honestly she was afraid Johnny and the envelope would be on their way to California before tomorrow morning if she didn’t. “I’m sure the officer will drive you to my house and the barn so you can get that evidence.”

  With a final if-looks-could-kill scowl in her direction, Johnny limped after the officer to his car.

  “What other thing?” Rob asked as they watched the car drive slowly to Rachel’s house and turn into the drive.

  “Johnny was a courier for Mr. Sherman.”

  Rob sighed. “How deep is he in?”

  “He only did it once. At least that’s what he said. It started because he owed him money and couldn’t pay up.”

  “Blood from a turnip, I imagine,” Rob said.

  She nodded. “Remember the beating?”

  “To scare him into paying. And he couldn’t because he had nothing.”

  “Well, Mr. Sherman then threatened Ruthie, Sally, and me.” She explained the whole sad story to Rob. “The passports and birth certificates are in Rusty’s stall, hidden under the straw.”

  Rob took her hand. “You thought he wouldn’t report what happened, so you forced the issue.”

  “I think he’d run first. I love him, but he—” She wasn’t sure how to explain Johnny.

  “He should be Amish,” Rob said. “Or go back to being Amish.”

  Rachel looked at him in surprise.

  “Think about it. Living under that structure would be good for him. It’d keep him from running off the rails. It’d help the good qualities lurking in him to have a chance to come out instead of his weaknesses, like being a follower and a guy who gives in to his impulses.”

  She looked at Levi, who wanted to be an Amish farmer, and at her father, who was such a fine man. She thought of Aaron. Those three were what she thought an Amish man should be. Then she thought of Johnny.

  “You shouldn’t be Amish to hide from life, Rob. That’s all it would be for Johnny. Amish life is hard. It’s got just as many problems as Englisch life, just different. Johnny’s got to grow up before he can be anything, Amish or Englisch. In the meantime, he’s just Johnny.”

  “And you love him.” He kissed the top of her head.

  Rachel flushed and looked at her parents. They were both watching her and Rob; Datt with a stern expression, Mom with a thoughtful one.

  They were all distracted as one of the ambulances drove slowly away with Mr. Sherman inside. They watched it until it turned out of sight, then looked at the other ambulance.

  Thomas was being slid through the rear doors, his bitten shoulder covered, a cold pack resting on it. He still looked queasy, but that might have been due to the handcuff that held his uninjured arm to the gurney and the large policeman who climbed in after him.

  Max walked over to Mom, and Rachel heard her say, “It’s just like live TV.” Mom looked unimpressed. Datt stood silently beside them, watching everything carefully, evaluating the Englisch world and finding it wanting. In a peaceful Amish world, such terrible things would not happen.

  Everyone close to her was here: Her family, appalled by the violence, but thankful she and her brother were all right. Rob, her hero who roared to the rescue. Johnny, who showed unexpected bravery even if he did trip over his own feet and revert to character in the end. Max, who called the police and made certain the bad guys got caught. Amy, wide-eyed at it all, unhappy she’d missed the excitement. Even Bagel, who probably saved Johnny’s life with the timely leap and bite. He got little more than a mouthful of jeans, but it was enough for the shot to go wild.

  As Rachel looked around, something Max had said one day in her kitchen struck her. For you there are three worlds. And all three were here.

  Her family was her old world, her secure, ordered Amish world that had cared for her and nurtured her. It was a world she loved and appreciated.

  Thomas and Mr. Sherman represented the evil world, the world that was a threat to all who came near it. Just ask Johnny.

  These were the two worlds she’d always known existed. But Max was right when she said there was that third world, the world populated with people like Rob and Max and Amy—even Johnny with his flawed but caring heart.

  All three worlds were options for her, but she had chosen the third world.

  She would miss the love and acceptance she’d known in her first world. It broke her heart that she had disappointed her family by choosing as she had. She could only hope they believed her when she told them she loved them just as fiercely as always.

  That second world, the evil one, had never been attractive to her. It went against everything the Bible taught and she was committed to being a Christian who followed the Bible. She had been her whole life. The second world also seemed very illogical to her. Aside from the fact that it didn’t seem wise to choose against God, it seem foolish to choose a life that was an inevitable downward spiral. A choice for a small evil led to a choice for a larger evil.

  Between these two extremes was the third world, now her world. She knew that everyone in this third world didn’t love God, but they did make choices to limit their wrong actions.

  She thought for a moment. Maybe there were four worlds. The Amish one. The evil one. The regular-people one where people didn’t particularly pay attention to God. And the regular-people one where serving God and getting to know Him better were the driving forces of life. She had chosen for this world.

  She’d have to run her new idea past Rob and Max to see if they agreed, but she thought she was on to something.

  Believers who lived in the world but held strong against the culture and for God, not believers who lived protected in their own private world. In this everyday world she could love God, live for Him, and be free to be who she was, not who she was told to be or expected to be. Knowledge that this world was where she belonged fizzed through her. She’d made the right choice.

  A police officer got behind the wheel of Mr. Sherman’s car and drove it away. Levi climbed into her buggy with Davy. They drove Rusty toward the farm lane and out of her life. Datt took Mom by the arm and led her to their buggy. With a quick glance back as if reassuring herself Rachel was all right, Mom climbed in. Datt followed, and they were gone.

  The policeman who had driven Johnny to the barn was back and held the envelope in his hand. He looked at Johnny long and hard. “Tomorrow, nine a.m. Don’t prove me wrong in giving you the evening to nurse your ankle. You try any tricks, and I will find you.”

  Johnny paled and nodded. He let out a great sigh of relief when the man drove away. “He’s scary, that one.”

  “Just so you show,” Rachel said.

  “I wouldn’t dare not.”

  Rob’s stomach growled.

  Rachel grinned at him. “Bad news. Johnny ate the meat loaf.”

  Rob looked pained.

  “I’ve got meat loaf,” Max said. “Lots of it. I was going to a dinner at church this evening but—” She spread her hands and grinned. “I got distracted. Come help me eat it.”

  “I’ve got lots of leftover macaroni and cheese from the singles dinner,” Amy said. “Three of us brought the same thing.”

  “I love mac and cheese.” Johnny smiled brightly at Amy, who smiled at him with less enthusiasm.

  Rachel thought quickly. “I’ve got homemade applesauce and a chocolate cake in the freezer if Johnny didn’t eat it.”

  “I didn’t touch it,” he said self-righteously.

  “You didn’t find it, you mean.”

 
They all laughed at Rachel’s comment, and it felt good after the tension of the afternoon.

  “Sunday dinner in fifteen,” Max said. “My house. And Johnny, let me get my car for you. You mustn’t walk on that ankle.”

  Johnny threw his arm over Amy’s slight shoulders. “I’m sure Amy can help me.”

  “Hurry, Max,” Amy said. “He’s getting delirious.”

  Laughing, Rachel and Rob went to Rachel’s house to get her contributions. Once the door closed behind them, Rob spun Rachel to him and kissed her thoroughly.

  “Scared doesn’t begin to describe it,” he said as he held her close.

  “I know exactly what you mean. After this afternoon I’m more a believer in nonviolence than ever.”

  He laughed. “Only another sign of your intelligence.”

  She pulled the freezer open and took out the chocolate cake. She passed it to Rob and retrieved the bowl of applesauce from the fridge. She found a basket with a handle and put the food inside. Rob picked it up.

  Holding hands they walked down the street and into their new life.

  Epilogue

  Rachel looked at herself in the mirror in Max’s guest bedroom. Her dress was a simple white floor-length affair, dressier than she had planned. More expensive than she had planned. She should have known better than to take Amy shopping with her.

  “You look beautiful,” Max assured her.

  “You do.” Amy reached out and adjusted Rachel’s veil.

  Max kissed Rachel’s cheek. “I can’t tell you how honored I am that you’re having your wedding here.”

  Rachel shrugged. “It all started here.”

  Besides a big church wedding was scary. She was used to the form of an Amish wedding. The one Englisch wedding she’d attended had overwhelmed her with all the glitz and glamour. A few friends gathering in Max’s backyard was just right for her, and Rob liked the simplicity of it too.

  Max kissed Rachel’s cheek. “I’ll see you outside.” She left the two friends.

  Rachel blinked against tears as she looked at her first and best Englisch friend. “I’m going to miss you. Having you and Bagel live with me has been wonderful.”

  Amy handed her a tissue. “I’ve loved it too, but you aren’t going to miss us. You’ll be too busy enjoying your husband.”

  Rachel grinned. “You’re right.” She couldn’t wait to be Rob’s wife. “You look so pretty in that rose dress.”

  Amy spun in a circle. “I know. Let’s go wow the troops.” She picked up a bouquet of gerbera daisies in shades of pink and white and handed it to Rachel. She picked up her own of pinks and reds.

  Rachel’s stomach swirled with excitement. She and Amy walked through Max’s house to the back door where Rob waited for her. He stepped inside to join them.

  Since her father wasn’t here to walk her down the aisle, Rob was going to walk with her rather than her walking alone.

  “Since I plan to walk by your side for the rest of our lives, I’m just starting a few steps early,” he said when he’d suggested this arrangement to her.

  If she hadn’t loved him before, that comment would have stolen her heart.

  When he saw her in her bridal gown, his eyes lit. “You look beautiful.”

  She turned in a circle for him, much as Amy had spun in the bedroom minutes earlier.

  He smiled approval. “I’m glad you’re wearing your hair long since it’s what drew me to you originally.” He reached out to grab a handful.

  She stepped back, out of reach of this man who made her heart sing. “Not until after the ceremony. I worked too hard to get it to cooperate to have you mess it up.”

  He smiled a very private smile. “I can’t wait.”

  “Oh, brother,” Amy said. “Stop embarrassing me!”

  The three of them watched through the kitchen windows as Win walked Rob’s mother down the little aisle between the white folding chairs rented for the day.

  “She looks lovely in that pale pink dress,” Amy said. “It’s too young for her and too red-carpet for the occasion, but somehow it’s just right for her.”

  Rachel looked at what everyone said was the bride’s side of the seating area. Johnny sat there. She sighed. Choices.

  Win walked back up the aisle looking handsome in his gray pinstriped suit, his tie a rosy pink that matched Amy’s gown.

  “We spent hours looking for that tie.” Amy gave Win a finger wave as he took up his place at the head of the aisle as if he expected multitudes of guests to escort. He grinned at her. She sighed. “He’ll never wear it again.”

  “I’m surprised you got him to wear it today,” Rob said.

  Rachel wasn’t. The budding romance between the two might have been a death knell for Johnny’s dreams, but it seemed a good pairing to Rachel. Amy grew stronger every day in her adjustment to life and decisions made on her own, and Win was doing well in his college courses and was now daytime manager at the Star. He’d started going to church with Amy, and Rachel knew he was asking Rob lots of questions about what being a Christian looked like. Soon, if she was any judge, he’d make a choice of his own to believe.

  It was time for the keyboardist to begin the music that would cue Amy’s walk down the aisle. Rachel looked at her friend and grinned. Amy had moved out two weeks ago, and so far no one had complained about Bagel.

  Rob squeezed Rachel’s hand. “Look, sweetheart!”

  She turned back to the window to see her parents walk into the yard. Her eyes filled with tears as she squeezed his hand back. They’d come!

  She forgot all wedding protocol and raced out the door. “Mom! Datt!” She threw her arms around them and hugged them. With typical Amish stoicism, Datt didn’t quite know how to respond, but Mom returned her hug.

  “Thank you for coming! Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me.” She knew she was gushing, but she couldn’t help it.

  Rob stood beside her. “Thank you, sir.” He stuck out his hand. Datt shook it solemnly.

  “You are our daughter, Rachel,” Datt said. “Nothing can ever change that. Nothing.”

  Ruthie appeared beside Rachel, eyeing her gown. “Mom, can I have a dress like Rachel’s when I get married?”

  Datt gave her his patented look and Ruthie tried to look repentant.

  “Mrs. Miller,” Win said. “May I escort you to your seat?” He held out his arm.

  Mom looked a bit taken aback, but she slid her arm in Win’s.

  “Just follow me, sir,” Win said.

  Frowning, Datt followed Mom down the aisle.

  Rachel bit back a smile as she looked at Ruthie. In a culture where men led, this was probably the first time Mom had walked into any kind of service ahead of Datt. Soon Rachel’s family sat waiting for their daughter and sister to marry, even Levi and David, shirts tucked neatly into their broadfall pants, hats firmly on their heads. All but Jonah and Miriam.

  “You know he can’t come,” Sally whispered just before she and Eban took their seats. “Miriam sends her love.”

  The music began for Amy to make her entrance. She looked adorable as she floated down the aisle, her eyes fixed on Win, the best man, waiting for his brother beside the pastor.

  Then “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” began and Max stood. Everyone followed her example and turned to watch the bridal couple.

  Rob offered Rachel his arm.

  Heart filled with love, she walked beside Rob into her future.

  Discussion Questions

  1. Rachel takes a huge risk to ease her heart’s longing for an education. Have you ever had to take a risk or make a choice your family wouldn’t understand? Explain.

  2. What things does Rachel stand to lose? Why does she take that risk (more than for an education)?

  3. Rachel and Amy share some similarities as well as some significant differences. Discuss.

  4. The four members of the Lanier family handled the fallout from Eugene’s jail sentence differently. What are they? Are any healthy?

/>   5. Rob suggests Johnny should go back to being Amish. Rachel disagrees. What do you think?

  6. Max helps Rachel in her journey toward being English. Is she right to do so? What things draw Rachel and Max to each other?

  7. Was Rachel a good wife? Will she be one?

  8. Discuss Rob’s philosophy of war and Rachel’s philosophy of peace. Which is right?

  9. Datt and Jonah both react to Rachel’s choices. Discuss.

  10. Breaking vows is very serious business. What beyond loving Rob finally allows Rachel to break hers?

  About Gayle Roper

  Gayle Roper is the award-winning author of more than 40 books and has been a Christy finalist three times. She has won both the RITA Award and the Carol Award as well as the Inspirational Reader’s Choice twice. Gayle enjoys speaking at women’s events across the nation and loves sharing the powerful truths of Scripture with humor and practicality. She lives in southeastern Pennsylvania where she enjoys reading, gardening, and her family.

  About the Publisher

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  To learn more about books by Gayle Roper or other excellent Harvest House fiction authors or to read sample chapters, visit our website:

  www.harvesthousepublishers.com

  HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

  EUGENE, OREGON

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