As soon as she'd opened the door, Liam grabbed her hand, laughing, and kicked the door shut with his foot. “Come on, Willow. We both want the same thing.” He walked toward her while he undid the buttons of his shirt.
Willow backed away from him. “Liam, what are you doing? Are you a fool? Stop! I thought we would have lunch and that’s all. You’ve got the wrong idea, Liam.” She stood her ground and spoke as firmly as she could. “Please go.”
Liam ignored her and lunged at her, reaching with both hands.
Willow screamed as loudly as she could.
At that moment, the front door was flung open and Samuel hurled himself through it. He looked at the two of them and pulled Liam outside the haus, grabbing him by his shirt. Once they were both on the front lawn, they stared at each other. Willow wondered whether they might fight.
“Get out of here, Liam Hostetler. And stay away from Willow.”
Samuel towered over Liam. Liam stared up at him and said, “She likes me, cousin, not you.”
“Nee, she doesn’t like you, not that way.” Samuel spoke as if he was sure of himself.
After a few seconds, Liam shook his head and walked back to his buggy.
Once Liam drove away, Samuel turned toward Willow. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“Jah, I’m okay. What are you doing here? I'm so thankful you came just now. How did you know to come here?”
“I’ve come to fetch you.”
“How did you know I was here?” She glanced around his tall frame to see if she could see his horse and buggy since she certainly had not heard it arrive.
“Your folks thought you’d be here.”
She missed her parents already, even though it had not even been twenty-four hours. How they must be worrying. “Denke for rescuing me.”
“That’s what friends are for, isn’t it?”
As she looked up into his handsome face, she finally had the feelings in her tummy that she had longed for. She was pleased that he knew that she would not have been appreciative of Liam’s clumsy advances.
“What was he doing here?”
“He stopped by to see if I was okay. And then he said he was going to take me for a bite to eat because he knew I was upset. My vadder told the Hostetlers I wasn’t coming back to work.”
“Why did you run away, Willow?”
“It’s a long story. My parents don’t trust me; that’s the main thing. And they were trying to force me to marry you, but that’s not the main reason.”
He lowered his head. “I know what you mean. It’s horrid and embarrassing to be pushed onto someone else.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You feel that too?”
He laughed.
“It certainly is funny when you think about it,” Willow said.
“I’ve always liked you, Willow, and that’s what I told my mudder once. I didn’t know she’d go behind my back to your parents and make such a fuss. I never wanted you to be put under pressure.”
“It wasn’t you putting me under pressure. It wasn’t you, it was my parents.”
“I’m sorry anyway.”
Maybe the two of them were a match. But their parents could not have been right, could they? “We used to talk, but then you became quiet,” Willow said.
“I was embarrassed at what you might think of me, but I am glad we’ve gotten to know each other better lately. Why don’t we both tell our parents that we will make our own choices?” He put out his large hand toward her. “Come back with me and we’ll sit down and talk to your parents, okay, Willow?”
Willow shook her head. “Sit down. There’s more to this.”
They sat down and Willow told him about the incident with the pill bottle.
Samuel laughed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t laugh. Couldn’t you explain that to your vadder? And all those things you just told me don’t add up to your mudder dying.”
“I could’ve explained to him, but he should trust me. Shouldn't he?”
“I think parents get fearful. That’s all. Come with me and we’ll explain everything. You can’t let misunderstandings ruin the relationship you have with your parents.”
Willow pouted and folded her arms. “I’m angry with them.”
“I know you are, and you have reason to be.”
“They made me lose my job and they have embarrassed me.”
“You need to forgive people. Put yourself in their position, and then you’ll know they were trying to protect you.”
“That’s a funny way to protect me.”
“We can’t judge. They might have been fearful, and doing what they did out of fear. Fear of losing you. Why don’t we go and sort this whole thing out?”
“Can I think about it?” Willow asked.
“Jah.”
“Dat won’t be home until tonight anyway.”
“Why don’t I come back later this afternoon?” Samuel suggested.
“I’d like that.”
Samuel rubbed his neck. “As long as Liam won’t be back.”
“I think you’ve scared him off good and proper.”
“I hope so. Keep the door bolted.”
“Don’t worry. I will.”
Chapter 13
Nerida was so upset she hurried to her sister’s house. She’d just gotten one daughter married and now the other had disappeared.
Without knocking, Nerida burst into the house. “Nancy, where are you?”
“In the kitchen.”
Nerida walked into the kitchen and saw Nancy sitting down drinking a cup of tea.
Nancy’s eyes grew wide and she jumped to her feet. “What’s wrong? You look dreadful.”
“Willow has run away from home.”
Nancy gasped. “Why? She was just at the wedding yesterday.”
Nerida said in a low voice. “Have your guests left?”
“Jah, first thing this morning.”
Nerida pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Calm down,” Nancy said. “I'll make you a cup of tea and then you can tell me what's upset you."
Once Nerida had a cup of tea in front of her, she took a quick sip, and then continued, "Willow has run away."
"Run away from home?"
"Jah, John thinks she is doing drugs."
"That doesn't sound like Willow."
"At the wedding, John caught her in our room and she had a bottle of pills in her hand."
"What pills?" Nancy asked.
"Just pills I take to settle my stomach."
Nancy frowned at her sister. "You didn't tell me there was something wrong with your stomach."
"It's just heartburn. If there was something serious wrong with me I would've told you. Anyway, John said he thought she was on drugs and was trying to get high. That's what young people do, you know."
"I think John has drastically jumped to conclusions. Willow was worried that you were sick and possibly even dying. She was around here a couple of weeks ago asking me questions about your health. She was worried about you. I think that's the connection with the pills. She was trying to find out what was wrong with you. That sounds reasonable to me."
"She was worried about me?"
"Jah. She thinks that you were trying to force her to marry Samuel so both your daughters would be happily married before you died."
Nerida shook her head. "Where would she get such a crazy notion from?"
"She did mention a couple of other things that either you or John said which made her think you were ill, and you were sleeping in the afternoon almost every day."
"Well sometimes I'm tired and sometimes I just feel like getting away by myself and I tell the girls I'm having a rest."
Nancy giggled. "I can relate to that."
"So you don't think Willow is on drugs?"
"Of course not! I've never heard of anything so ridiculous."
Nerida relaxed into the chair. "That's good. Now I have to find her."
"She's most likely gone to a friend's house. Don't worry, I'
m sure she'll be back."
Placing her fingers over her mouth, Nerida said, "Oh dear."
"What is it?"
"John went to the lumber yard and told them that Willow could no longer work there."
"Why would he do that? She loved that job."
"He thought that's where she was associating with bad people who told her about drugs."
Nancy shook her head. "Poor Willow."
"I think we have treated her unfairly," Nerida said.
"I have to agree with you."
"We think she's a little immature for her age and we could see her getting into trouble and that's why John and I thought if she married early that would force her to grow up."
"I don't see Willow as being an immature girl at all. She's always seemed very sensible to me."
"I feel like I have failed as a parent." Nerida wiped the tears as they flowed out of her eyes.
"You're a wonderful parent," said Nancy.
"Not as good as you. You've done everything perfectly and all your kinner have made perfect marriages."
"And so will Willow. You just have to give her a bit of space and let her finish growing up by herself."
"I don't like the way she runs around and has to know everybody's business."
"She's outgoing."
"John and I think she should keep to herself more."
"She's got her own personality, and she likes to be around other people more so than you and John do, and there's nothing wrong with that. It would be a boring world if we were all the same."
"John said he had an aunt who was a gossiper and she didn't come to a good end. No one liked her in the end."
"If Willow is gossiping like you suspect, she'll have to learn those lessons for herself. But I think you two are wrong about that."
"That makes sense. Oh, I do hope she's all right."
"She'll be fine."
Nerida stood up. "I should go home. She might be home now and nobody will be there."
"Okay. I'll stop by later today if you'd like?"
"I'd like that very much."
* * *
Valerie came home a few hours later with pizzas, and Willow told Valerie everything that had happened.
"That's dreadful. I never thought Liam would do such a thing."
Willow swallowed her mouthful of pizza. "Well, he did."
"It was just as well Samuel came along when he did."
"I know. Gott sent him just then. Samuel wants me to go back with him tonight to talk to my parents."
"I think that would be a very good idea. You need to sort things out with them. And it will probably help if Samuel is there with you, since he's part of the issue. And part of the solution, it seems. I told your parents today that you were with me."
"What did they say?"
"They were relieved to know where you were."
Willow slumped further into her chair. "I didn't think they would care."
"Of course they care, Willow."
"They don't seem to trust me for some reason. And I've never given them any reason not to trust me."
"Things will work out, you'll see."
"I hope so."
"These pizzas are good."
"They sure are, aren't they?" Willow agreed.
"Denke for weeding the garden. It was getting a little bit ahead of me. The plants don't grow in this weather but the weeds seem to grow no matter what the weather."
"I had to do something here all day."
When they both heard a buggy, Valerie said, "That might be Samuel now."
Willow jumped up and looked out the window. "That's him. Oh, Valerie, I borrowed your dress. I hope you don't mind."
Valerie giggled. "I don't mind. I've got plenty. The color suits you. It brings out your eyes."
“I hope things go well tonight and if they don't, would you mind if I come back to stay here tonight?"
"Jah. You're always welcome here."
"I'll let you know what happens.” Willow leaned down and gave Valerie a hug before she hurried outside to Samuel, who was just turning the buggy around.
"How are you feeling now?" he asked as she climbed up next to him.
"I'm still a bit shaken over what happened with Liam. I never thought he would do such a thing."
"Me either. I'm going to have a talk to him about it later."
"Don't get into a fight with him."
"I won’t, but he can't go around doing things like that. I hope he'll listen to sense so I don't have to go to his vadder."
"Have you figured out what we are going to say to my parents?"
"Nee, I haven't. We'll just say what's on our minds and on our hearts. You will have to tell your parents the true reason that you had the pills in your hands at the wedding."
Willow nodded. “I suppose I should."
"Because if your mudder is ill, the last thing she needs is you having a disagreement with her."
"That's very true. That makes me feel bad."
"We’ll make sure that we put things right tonight, Willow. And we will tell them that we don't want anyone to force us to be together. I think they already know that and have given up on it, but we'll tell them that anyway. I've already told my parents."
Willow nodded and was pleased that she had such a good friend as Samuel.
* * *
Half an hour later, Willow and Samuel sat before her parents. Willow could see how pleased her mother was that she was home, whereas her father didn't look very happy at all.
"Willow has something to tell you both about the pill bottle," Samuel said.
"We’re listening," Willow's father said.
It was hard for Willow to begin; she didn't know where to start and it took her a couple of moments to get her thoughts arranged in her head. "I don't know if it's true or not, but Violet and I thought that you were very sick, Mamm."
"Me?"
Willow nodded. "There was the man driving away from the house in the black car. He looked like a doctor."
"He was.”
Mamm and Dat exchanged glances.
“What’s wrong?” Willow asked.
“We’ll talk about this later, Willow. This is not the right time.”
Willow guessed whatever it was they had to tell her, they didn’t want to say it in front of Samuel.
"Are you okay?" Willow asked.
"Jah, I’m fine."
Willow felt tears falling and couldn’t stop them. "Violet and I thought you were dying and wouldn't last very long and that's why you were so steadfast on me marrying Samuel. Then there was the doctor coming away from the house and Dat kept saying to help you more and then you've been having those afternoon sleeps."
Willow sobbed and Samuel sat there with his hands in his lap, looking empathetic but calm while Willow's mother rushed to sit next to her and put her arm around her shoulder.
"Oh, you poor girl! There's nothing serious wrong with me! I'm perfectly fine."
Willow hugged her mother.
Samuel added, "Willow told me that she didn't want to ask you if you were terminally ill, so she got the idea to have a look in your room during the wedding and that's when she found the pill bottle."
"I took the bottle out of the room and asked someone who said it was for stomach problems. I was putting the pills back when you found me, Dat. I'm not a drug taker. I wouldn’t think of it and I wouldn't even know what to do with drugs."
Her father lowered his head. "I'm so sorry, Willow. I had no idea you were going through so much torment about your mudder. You should've said something."
Samuel said, “Willow didn't want to say anything because she said if you wanted her to know her mother was ill, you would've told her."
"That's right," Willow managed to say between sobs.
"Your vadder and I feel dreadful, Willow. We’re so sorry we misjudged you. Will you accept our apology?"
Willow wiped the tears from her face. “I forgive you. As long as you trust me from now on."
“
We will, and I'm sorry about your job, Willow," her father said.
Willow knew she wouldn't want to go back anywhere near where Liam was, so she was no longer too worried about losing her job. "That's okay, Dat. I'll get another one. I'm sure Mr. Hostetler will give me a good reference."
"And there's another matter that Willow and I would like to raise while we’re here."
"What's that?" John asked.
"Willow and I don't want to be forced into marrying each other, or anyone else. I think it's only normal and natural that Willow and I find our own people to marry." He chuckled. "I haven't said that very well, but I think you know what I mean."
John nodded. "And I think that's fair enough."
“Shall we move to the kitchen and have a cup of hot tea?" Nerida said.
"That's a good idea. It's a lot brighter and happier in the kitchen," John said.
After the tea, Willow walked Samuel to the front door.
"Denke for coming with me tonight, Samuel. It made so much difference. They listen to you."
"I'm glad I could help. Bye, Willow."
He walked away and she was a little disappointed that he didn't ask to see her again. Was this the end of it, after all they’d been through? She felt her heart sinking.
He paused at the bottom of the porch stairs, turned around, and then hurried back to her.
"Willow, would tomorrow night be too soon to see you again?"
Willow couldn't help but smile as her heart soared, even though she was trying to keep her face straight. "That would be lovely."
"Really? Even though we told your parents what we just told them?" he said with his wicked, funny smile.
"We only told them that we didn't want them to force us together. So what we do after that is our business."
"That's what I hoped you were going to say. Can I pick you up at seven?"
Willow nodded and closed the door, smiling all the while.
Chapter 14
Willow woke the next morning deeply pleased that she was back at home and had mended fences with her parents. She leaped out of bed and changed into her clothes, hoping to talk with her father before he left for work. When she walked into the kitchen, however, she found only her mother there.
Amish Willow Page 9
