Never an Amish Bride

by Ophelia London

  Leah actually gasped. “Twenty?” She put a hand to her chest like she was feeling faint. “Twenty boxes.”

  A blond teenage boy wandered over. He seemed respectable enough; his hair was short, thankfully not hanging over his eyes like other boys his age. “Y’all live out near Honey Brook Creek?”

  Before Esther could even nod, Leah said, “Exactly. You’ve dropped me off there before. You can finish stocking the jams later, okay? Now get going.”

  The boy shrugged. “I’ll get my keys. Meet you out front.”

  “You sure he’s a safe driver, cousin?” Esther asked in a hushed voice as she watched him walk away. Why did their pants always sag at the waist like that? He needed a pair of good suspenders.

  “It’s less than two miles,” Leah said, which wasn’t the least bit comforting.

  “But today’s a busy trading day in town. There are buggies and bicycles on the streets. The Troyer family’s taken to Rollerblading. They swerve all over the roads.”

  Leah didn’t reply but was actually pushing Esther toward the exit.

  As they passed by her soap display, Esther noticed that, indeed, it was completely empty. “Gee, they sold so quickly. Tourists again?”

  “Mostly,” Leah replied. “But then—it was the craziest thing—you remember Lucas Brenneman?”

  All of a sudden, Esther felt like she was choking on nothing but air, while she sensed all of her blood draining from her face. “Wh-who?” She coughed, trying to breathe regularly.

  “Jacob’s older brother. How could you forget him? He was a dreamboat. I heard he’s a doctor at the medical clinic—”

  “Physician’s assistant,” Esther automatically corrected, then froze in place, feeling pinpricks in her cheeks.

  “What’s the difference?”

  It seemed like an eternity crawled by before Esther could defrost her tongue. “H-how should I know what he does for a living? I mean…I don’t.” She quickly dropped her gaze to the tile floor, concentrating on the tips of her black boots.

  “Um, anyway,” Leah said, “a few hours ago, he waltzes in, eyeballs the place like he’s looking for something specific, then goes and buys up all the rest of your soap, slides them right off the shelf into a basket. Course there were only a few left, but he completely cleaned me out.” When Esther finally looked up, Leah crossed her arms over her chest. “Now, why in the world would someone like Lucas Brenneman need pretty-smelling soap?”

  Esther hoped the blush on her cheeks would not cause her cousin to think she actually knew the answer to that. “I can’t imagine—”

  “Kinnahs!” Leah’s shout made her jump. “You don’t need to pay me for your sweets today; your sister and I have a deal.”

  The children exclaimed more animated hoots, then raced out the front door to Alex’s white truck parked at the curb. Leah opened the passenger side door to display a hidden back seat in the cab. The kids excitedly climbed in.

  “Act natural,” Leah whispered, grabbing Esther’s elbow. “There he is.”

  Esther didn’t bother asking who, because the moment she’d stepped outside, she caught a glimpse of Lucas in her peripheral vision. He sat on the bench in front of the clinic. Another man was with him—one of the doctors, maybe.

  Before her brain could complete the decision process, she was walking across the street, striding like she hadn’t a care in the world. She felt Leah try to take her hand to stop her, but she kept moving forward. When she’d gotten halfway, Lucas’s carefree expression warped to impressed interest, then shock.

  Immediately, he rose to his feet. “Afternoon,” he said, sounding unsure.

  “Hello.” Esther nodded, attempting to keep her expression neutral. “I heard you bought my soap from Yoder’s.”

  She watched Lucas swallow. “Yes, I did.”

  Like any other gracious businesswoman, she lifted a smile. “That was very generous of you.”

  For a moment, neither spoke. “Frank,” Lucas finally said to the man with him, “this is Esther Miller. She makes the most wonderfully scented soaps in her own kitchen.”

  The man was in his late fifties and had been at the clinic for as long as Esther could remember, though she’d never met him. “Pleasure to meet you,” he said. “Ya say you make soap?”

  She nodded. “My own recipes.”

  “They sell out before she can even stock them,” Lucas inserted, then lifted a crooked grin. “They make my pathetic bachelor pad smell like an actual home.”

  “That so?” Esther couldn’t help saying. “I’m glad you like them.”

  Before she could get too carried away, Frank said, “Maybe I’ll send my wife your way. She loves sweet-smelling things.”

  “That would be nice.”

  Frank lifted a big grin. “Well, better get back to work. Pleasure to meet you, young lady.”

  “Pleasure was mine,” Esther replied genuinely.

  The next moment, they were alone, Esther sensing all the weight of a dozen eyes on her.

  “What are you doing out here?” she asked.

  “Waiting for test results.”

  “For a patient? Anything wrong? I mean, sorry, I know something is wrong. Is it bad?”

  There was a pause before he answered. “Maybe. Which is why I’m so glad I ran into you.” He smiled at her, eyes twinkling. “Seeing you takes my mind off worrying.”

  It was impossible for her to not feel his sweet words all the way down to the tips of her toes, inside her heart. “Lucas…” she said, not sure how to continue.

  He exhaled a quiet laugh through his nose.

  “I can’t stay anyway,” she finally added, feeling Leah’s eyes boring into the back of her head like hot July sunshine.

  “I know,” Lucas said, leaning against a brick pillar. “But when I saw you, I couldn’t help myself. I really needed the distraction.”

  “Always teasing.” She exhaled a little laugh, feeling both silly and warm at the same time. “You don’t scare me, Lucas—which is why I left my family over there to talk to you. I can’t imagine what they’re thinking.”

  “I suppose we’ll both have some explaining to do. Before you go, there’s something I want to correct.” He leaned toward her. “I didn’t buy your soap to make my house smell nice.”

  “Why did you, then?”

  “I want my house to smell like you.”

  Esther heard her own gasp of shock right before she covered her mouth, then moved her hand down to her breastbone. Openly flirting with her like that was not appropriate, yet when she was ready to chide him over it, the tingle in her chest wouldn’t allow her to utter a single word.

  “I have more things to tell you,” Lucas said, a corner of his mouth pulling into a smile, his light brown eyes looking round and eager.

  There he was again, the teasing, curly-haired Gilbert Blythe, that handsome young man with the mischievous, addictive grin…who’d held Esther’s youthful heart in his hands. Suddenly, her head felt light, like if she wasn’t careful, she might just sink to the floor.

  Right then and there, if she’d been of sound mind, she would’ve told Lucas Brenneman to keep all the imprudent attention and flattering words to himself. Also, if she’d been of sound mind, she would have remembered that accepting his attention—any man’s attention—was surely disloyal to Jacob’s memory.

  But for some reason, she couldn’t even picture Jacob’s face.

  “Oh yeah?” she said, hyperaware of how close to each other they were standing.

  Lucas nodded, smiling like a little boy with a secret.

  “Aren’t you going to tell me?”

  “Later.” He lifted his chin to look up at the blue sky. “There’s so much, I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

  “Good things, I suspect.”

  Another nod of silence. “I won’t keep
you, but I also wanted you to know that I might be away from town for a while.”

  “When will you be back?” Esther blurted, her spine going stiff as a board. It was irrational, but her first thought was that he was leaving town for good like when he was sixteen. “How long will you be gone?”

  “Hopefully just a few days. I didn’t want you to think I’d…” He ran a hand through his brown hair, then dropped his voice to a whisper. “I didn’t want you to think I’d just leave again.”

  She was relieved he wouldn’t be gone long, more relieved than she would’ve expected over a friend she’d known for really only a few weeks.

  Had her feelings suddenly changed?

  The idea made her inwardly cringe, for even if it were so, there was nothing to be done about it. She wanted to stay Amish—and it had been Lucas who’d reminded her of that. In fact, the more time they spent together, the more her faith increased. Which meant Lucas—Jacob’s brother—had no place in her life.

  “Go,” he whispered, pulling open one glass door. “I’ll see you the very day I’m back.”

  After he was gone, Esther closed her eyes, needing a moment to sift through the contradictory sensations filling her body. While also wanting to remember the words he’d said—how he wouldn’t just leave…he couldn’t help himself…that he had good things to tell her.

  “Esther!”

  She snapped awake at Leah’s shrill shout. After one more quick breath, she hustled back to Alex’s truck. “Let’s go.”

  Leah was staring. “What was that about?”

  Esther climbed into the truck. “I was thanking him for buying the soap. Mighty nice of him—for a man—don’t you think?”

  Leah lifted her shoulders and let them fall. “We’re not supposed to talk to him, though. He’s been shunned.”

  Esther made sure to meet her cousin’s eyes. “No, he’s not. You can’t be shunned until after you’ve been baptized. He was practically a child when he left home.” She ran her hands across her lap. “Also, it was the Christian thing to do. I was being gracious. Can we go now?” She turned to Alex. “You’ll need to bring my boxes back right away.”

  “Right. Yes,” said Leah. “Don’t speed—isn’t that big of a hurry. And remember,” she said to Alex, “always yield to the buggies—always! Folks are out walking and biking. Watch where you’re going.”

  “I will,” the teen said. Esther closed her door, and the truck pulled away from the curb. The kinnahs giggled and whooped, totally preoccupied with their sweets and the adventure. Riding in vehicles was still a treat for them, but Esther’s thoughts wandered. Her sensible, obedient mind knew the difference between proper and improper, though for some reason, her heart was slow to catch on today.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  “Call on line one.” The voice came through the speakerphone on Lucas’s desk.

  “Thanks, Stephanie.” He grabbed the receiver. “Greg, what have you got?” He listened a few seconds, made a note on a piece of paper, then said goodbye.

  After sending a quick text, he took off his lab coat, grabbed his keys, and left the office.

  “Let us know how it goes!” Stephanie called from behind the reception desk as Lucas rushed past.

  “Will do.”

  If a thing like this had to happen, it was good that it was happening fast.

  That morning, a young man named Tanner had come into the clinic complaining of sore muscles, lethargy, and chills. He was Amish, but Lucas didn’t recognize his surname. The boy’s father had explained that he’d already taken his son to see two of their community’s medical experts.

  Unless it was a Mennonite who had professional, credentialed medical training, Lucas had thought at the time, there is no such thing as an Amish medical expert. But there darn well should be.

  “You’ve got a fever,” Lucas had told Tanner. “Have you been taking anything for it?”

  The boy had shaken his head.

  “Aspirin,” his father had said.

  “I’ll give you some ibuprofen,” Lucas had said while checking Tanner’s pulse. “It will help with the body aches, too.”

  Lucas didn’t like how thin Tanner was. He’d said he was fourteen—so he should’ve been more filled out.

  Fourteen… Lucas had thought. The same age Jacob was. That had sent up the first red flag.

  “How’s your appetite?”

  The boy shrugged. “Not that hungry, I guess. Eating makes me feel…” He touched his belly.

  “Upset stomach? Diarrhea?”

  He’d nodded and looked at the floor.

  “You didn’t tell me that,” his father had said.

  “Can I touch the sides of your throat?” Lucas asked.

  David, the boy’s father, nodded, his eyes wide and anxious.

  His lymph nodes were swollen and tender. When he’d pressed on them, Tanner had winced. “Are you bruising more easily than normal?”

  The boy nodded.

  “Any headaches?”

  “About every other day.”

  “Tanner,” his father had said. “Why didn’t you say anything?” He looked at Lucas. “I thought he might have the flu. The schoolhouse needs a deep cleaning.”

  “It could be the flu,” Lucas had told him, even as a familiar cold dread slithered up his spine. “But I’d like to do a blood test. Right now. We’ve got a lab in the back, if that’s okay.”

  “Papa?” Tanner had said, sounding very young and scared as he’d leaned into his father’s side.

  David had put an arm around him. “It’s okay, buddy. We’ll figure it out and you’ll be fine.”

  There was no way Lucas could not picture Jacob. How would their own father have reacted if he’d taken Jacob to an actual hospital or even this medical clinic? Lucas didn’t have time to dwell on the matter—besides, it would only make his anger flare up.

  Less than five minutes later, Tanner’s blood was running through the machine. Lucas had told the boy and his father to stick around town, maybe go out to lunch, because Lucas would want to discuss the results with them as soon as possible. This had not brought smiles to either party, but they’d promised to come back in an hour.

  While waiting for the results, he’d gone outside to discuss the case with Frank, the administrator of the clinic. That was when he’d seen Esther coming out of Yoder’s. He’d been so wound up that simply seeing her across the way had lifted his spirits. They’d exchanged smiles, a few whispers, and he’d told her he had more things to say.

  Of course, she could never guess that he’d spent most of the previous day with Jeremiah and his family. How they’d welcomed him in with barely a sideways glance. Not only had he worked the farm with his brother, but while inside the house, he’d checked Lizzy’s vital signs, agreeing that yes, she needed to take it easy until the bobbeil came.

  Also while he’d been there, Jerry’s oldest son had fallen from a tree and sprained his wrist. It felt wonderful to help him, to assess that the bone wasn’t broken, to show Jerry how to make a sling, and to advise the boy how he must allow his arm to rest so it could heal. All without having to visit their community’s “medical expert,” Eliza Fisher. Who knew what she would’ve suggested?

  Lucas had also told Esther that he might be away for a day of two—not knowing yet if Tanner would need further treatment or even a trip to the hospital. After saying goodbye to her, he’d walked with heavy steps back inside the clinic to check the results.

  The platelets had been low. Abnormal levels of white and red blood cells. Anemic.

  All the readings Lucas had been dreading.

  After running a second blood test, Lucas asked his colleagues to double-check the results, each of them taking turns looking at the blood through a microscope.

  “I’d like your son to have a bone marrow biopsy.” He told this to David out in t
he hallway, away from Tanner’s ears.

  David scratched his chin, looking worried. “What does that mean? What is it?”

  “We need to see if your son’s bone marrow is healthy and producing the normal amounts of blood cells for his body. The blast count is abnormal—test results show that his levels are low.”

  The father shifted his stance. “And that’s bad.”

  Lucas wasn’t sure how to answer. “It could be a symptom of something dangerous. That’s why I’d like him to have the test.”

  “Can you do it here? Now?”

  Relief was Lucas’s dominant emotion. He was so grateful that David was open and willing to do whatever his son needed.

  Unlike Papa. Lucas couldn’t help making the comparison.

  “Not here,” he replied. “But I have a very good friend who heads the oncology department at the hospital in Hershey. We’ve already spoken, and he can see Tanner this afternoon.”

  The man grabbed Lucas’s arm and spoke in a low voice. “You think my son has cancer?”

  “I don’t know anything yet. But in someone his age, early detection is very important. Please let me help him.”

  While waiting for the answer, Lucas held his breath, imagining how his own father had refused treatment for Jacob when he’d shown the very same symptoms.

  Please, Lord, Lucas silently prayed, the words coming to him almost effortlessly now, let this man be open to modern medicine. Let him see there is another way besides relying only on faith and prayer. Please help him want to do anything and everything to save his son’s life.

  David’s answer came a second later. “Of course. What do we do?”

  Oh, danke, Gott. Amen. “If I drive, are you able to go into Hershey now?”

  The man nodded immediately. “I’ll call my boss; he’s very understanding. But please, tell me how your friend will test the bone marrow. I’ll need to explain it to Tanner in my own way.”

  “Well…” Lucas rubbed his chin, needing to think plain. “He’ll collect your son’s marrow through a very long needle.”

  “Where?”

  “From inside his hip. Because of the angle of the bone, it’s the best place to get a large sample. Some hospitals allow the area to be numbed beforehand—for the pain.” They both looked through the small window into the exam room where Tanner sat on the table.