The Hearts of Middlefield Collection

by Kathleen Fuller

  “Umph!” He landed on his stomach, hard. Elisabeth hit the ground beside him, letting out a small cry. He flipped to his side and pulled her close to him, putting his hand over her mouth.

  “Shh,” he said, low into her ear. “They’ll hear you.”

  He couldn’t see her expression, but he could feel her heart pounding against his chest. He half expected her to bite down on his hand, but she didn’t. Instead she remained quiet. He removed his hand from her mouth, then felt the warmth of her breath on his cheek.

  He tried not to breathe in the clean scent of her hair or think about her beside him. Instead he focused on staying hidden, making sure neither one of them did anything to reveal where they were.

  They lay on the cold ground for a long time, not moving, the grass providing camouflage. Aaron strained to listen to the commotion across the street, his heart hammering in his chest. He could see the red and blue lights from the car reflecting in the sky. As long as the cops were still there, they didn’t dare move.

  “Aaron?” Elisabeth’s voice was barely audible.

  “What?”

  “How long do we have to stay here?”

  “’Til the cops leave.”

  “Do you think they’ll find us?”

  “Not as long as we keep quiet!”

  “Oh. Sorry.”

  Elisabeth moved closer to him, and she almost seemed to be snuggling against him. She lay on her back, leaning her head against his chest. The he realized why. Her body was shaking; she’d left her coat in the barn. Automatically his arm went around her shoulders. His pulse continued to race, but not just because he was afraid of getting caught by the police.

  Finally the lights disappeared, and Aaron heard the crunch of the police car’s tires as it traveled down the dirt road. Only one squad car had shown up, but that didn’t mean the police hadn’t alerted other officers to be on the lookout for drivers under the influence.

  Moments after the police left, and when the only noise he heard was the night music of crickets and frogs, he moved his arm away from Elisabeth.

  “Is it safe?” she whispered, her head still lying on his shoulder.

  “Let me check.” She moved, and he sat up slowly. The scent from the bonfire wafted toward them, but the lights in the Schrocks’ barn were out. He didn’t see or hear anyone else.

  “We can geh now.”

  “Gut, because I’m freezing.” She sat up, then rose to her feet.

  He jumped to his feet and stripped off his jacket. “Here.” He put it around her shoulders. She slipped her arms inside the sleeves. The coat dwarfed her slim body.

  He could see the remnants of the bonfire and headed in that direction, with Elisabeth trailing slightly behind him. His heartbeat finally slowed down as he realized he and Elisabeth were alone. He had no idea how many of the partygoers had been taken in by the police, if any. That the police hadn’t had any backup made him think only a few of the youth had been busted. He said a silent prayer of thanks he hadn’t been among them.

  Aaron heard Elisabeth stumble behind him, and he slowed down his pace. He took her hand and together they navigated the dark field and crossed the road to the Yoders’. Only when they reached his buggy did he release her hand.

  Aaron steered his horse to the road, then headed to Elisabeth’s house. When he was several yards away from the Schrocks’, he turned on the buggy lights and the small lamp inside. He snuck a look at Elisabeth. She sat on the other side of the seat, as far from him as she could, her arms hugging her body.

  He reached back behind the seat and pulled out an old, clean quilt and handed it to her. She took it, but instead of wrapping it around herself, she set it on the seat and stared straight ahead. He’d never known Elisabeth to be anything but a chatterbox, but she hadn’t spoken since they’d left the Schrocks’.

  After a few moments, her silence unnerved him so much he had to speak. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m fine, Aaron.” Her tone was flat and lifeless.

  “You don’t sound fine.” He gripped the reins, the leather digging into the palm of his hand. “Did something happen back there?”

  “Nee.” She shifted in her seat, angling her body away from him.

  “Because if somebody was messing with you—”

  “I said nothing happened.” She looked down on the floor. “Take me home, Aaron. I just want to go home.”

  It took nearly forty-five minutes to get to her house. By the time they arrived, he figured it was close to midnight. All the lights were out at the Byler home when he pulled into the driveway. As soon as the horse came to a stop, Elisabeth opened the door and jumped out. She started to shut the door, then hesitated.

  “You were right. I shouldn’t have gone.” Then she shut the door and ran to the house.

  He considered following her, then thought better of it. He didn’t want to risk waking up her parents, which would surely happen if he followed her inside the house.

  It wasn’t until he’d made it almost home that he remembered Kacey. He hadn’t seen her since he’d gone to jail. She was the last person he thought he’d run into at this party. Two years since his arrest and she was still drinking and smoking. Her ultra-thin frame made him suspect she was still using drugs too. It saddened him to think that at twenty-one she was still hanging out with younger kids and getting high.

  Aaron shook his head and turned into his driveway. Despite his thoughts about Kacey, he couldn’t get Elisabeth out of his mind, or their narrow escape from the police. The memory of lying next to her ran through his mind, but he forced it away. He didn’t want to think about how good it felt to hold her for those brief moments.

  He pondered what had happened before he found Elisabeth coming from behind the haystack. Something went on, and he had no idea what, but he had a strong suspicion Chase was involved.

  “Elisabeth. Elisabeth!”

  Elisabeth opened her eyes at the muffled sound of her mother’s voice. She squinted against the sunlight that streamed through her bedroom window. A bitter, sour taste coated her mouth. She licked her dry lips and tried to wake up.

  A knock sounded at her door. “Elisabeth? Are you sick? It’s past seven.”

  She bolted upright out of bed. Seven? Normally she was up before five-thirty. “Just a minute.” She rose from her bed, walked to the door, and opened it.

  Emma Byler stood in the doorway, a puzzled look crossing her face. “Why are you wearing one of your brother’s coats?”

  Elisabeth glanced down at Aaron’s coat, surprised. She hadn’t realized she’d slept in it. After Aaron dropped her off she went straight upstairs and right to bed, trying to put the party behind her. But she tossed and turned most of the night, which probably explained why she’d overslept. “I’m cold,” she explained.

  “I’ve never known you to go to bed with a coat before. Or sleep in your kapp.” She peered at Elisabeth. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

  No, she wasn’t all right, but Elisabeth wasn’t about to admit that to her mother. Or explain that the coat she wore belonged to Aaron. “I don’t think I’m feeling so gut.”

  “Oh dear, I hope you haven’t caught Stephen’s cold. It took him two weeks to get over it. Well, there’s still some breakfast left over downstairs. Biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, and a few pancakes. I don’t think your brother ate them all.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  Emma frowned. “You must not be feeling well. You’ve never turned down breakfast.” She put the back of her hand to Elisabeth’s forehead. “You don’t feel warm.”

  “I think I’m mostly tired.”

  Emma gave her a pointed look. “Maybe you stayed up too late. How was your outing last night?”

  Elisabeth’s face flushed. “Fine,” she said quickly, then backed away from the door.

  “I’m glad you had a nice time. Oh, there’s some grass on your coat.” Her mother reached over an
d plucked two blades off her shoulder. “Some over here too. Where did it all come from?”

  “I, um, don’t know.”

  “There’s probably grass on your bed. Make sure you shake out your quilt. Don’t worry about the chores. Ruth can help me with them this morning. Why don’t you get some rest, and if you feel better, you can come downstairs later.”

  “Danki, Mami.”

  When her mother walked away, Elisabeth closed the door, then leaned against it, thankful she didn’t have to go downstairs, and even more thankful her mother hadn’t questioned her any further. What she told her mami wasn’t a complete lie—she really didn’t feel very good. But it had little to do with catching germs.

  Her eyes closed as the memories flooded back. Deborah leaving with a guy and abandoning her. Taking a sip of the drink Chase had spiked. And worst of all, him practically dragging her behind the haystack. Opening her eyes, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, as if she could erase the fact that he kissed her. She should have gone home the minute he had started talking to her.

  Regret filled her. She’d always wondered what her first kiss would be like and had always imagined it would be with the man she loved, the man she would marry. Instead it had been at a party with a slobbery, drunk Yankee. And she could never take it back.

  Taking off Aaron’s coat, she shook it out, a few more blades of grass floating to the floor. Then she walked over to her bed and plopped down, ignoring her mother’s advice about shaking out the quilt. She hugged Aaron’s coat to her body. Why hadn’t she listened to him? She knew the answer to that. Because her desire to prove him wrong had overridden her common sense.

  A tingling sensation traveled through her body as she thought of their narrow escape from the police. She’d probably be sitting in the pokey if he hadn’t shown up. Why had he come anyway? Certainly not to attend the party. Maybe he wanted to rub her mistake in her face. But if that was his reason, then why didn’t he? He’d had the opportunity on the ride home. Instead he gave her his coat, handed her a quilt in case she was cold, and asked her what was wrong with genuine concern. More important, he didn’t press her when she didn’t want to talk about what had happened. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought he actually cared.

  Then there were the tense moments waiting for the police to arrive, when she was in the cradle of his embrace. She’d never been that close to a man, save for Chase, and he didn’t count. But lying there, holding her breath as she waited to see if they would be discovered, the weirdest thing happened—she found herself enjoying their closeness. She liked the feel of his arm around her, the scent of his clean shirt, the thump of his heartbeat in her ear as she rested her cheek on his chest.

  Not that it mattered how she felt. Aaron had been protecting them both from the cops. She doubted he would give the episode— or her—much thought. That was Aaron’s way. But she knew she wouldn’t stop thinking about it for a long time.

  Elisabeth pulled her bobby pins and kapp off and laid them on the small nightstand. Then she lay down on the bed and pulled her legs to her chest, her head resting on the coarse fabric of Aaron’s coat. The sunbeams soon faded, replaced with dark clouds. Droplets plinked against her windowpane. Within moments she had fallen asleep, still thinking about Aaron.

  When she awoke a couple of hours later, she felt physically better but no less troubled inside. Still, she had to put everything behind her and face the rest of the day. According to her growling stomach, her appetite had returned.

  She walked to her bureau and adjusted the angle of her small mirror. Looking at her reflection, she scowled. No wonder her mother didn’t question her when she said she didn’t feel good. She brushed out her long hair, pinned it up, then put on her kapp. After changing into a fresh dress, she felt better. But before going downstairs, she brushed the grass off her quilt, running her palm over the blue and white basket design. Later she’d bring a broom upstairs and sweep the floor, but right now she wanted to eat.

  Crossing the room, she went to the door and opened it, only to see Ruth standing there, her fist poised to knock.

  Elisabeth’s hand went to her chest. “Don’t do that, Ruth. You startled me.”

  “How was I supposed to know you were going to open the door?” Ruth tilted her head to the side, her dishwater-blonde eyebrows raised. She peered over the rims of her glasses. “You don’t look sick to me.”

  “I’m not sick.” Elisabeth stumbled over her words. “I . . . wasn’t feeling well. But now I’m better.”

  “Just as we finished all the chores, naturally.”

  Elisabeth rolled her eyes. “What do you need, Ruth?”

  Ruth cleared her throat. Out of all Elisabeth’s siblings, Ruth was the most serious, with Lukas taking a close second. Stephen was contemplative and quiet, but Ruth took the prize when it came to having a staid demeanor. It was as if she’d been born a miniature adult. “Aaron Detweiler came to see you.”

  Elisabeth stood still. Aaron had been here? Probably to pick up his coat. That he hadn’t had it on a cold day added another layer of guilt. “When was he here?”

  “A couple hours ago. I told him you were sleeping, and he said not to wake you. He did want me to give you this, though.” She held out a small folded piece of paper.

  Elisabeth took it from her. “Is that all he said?”

  “Ya. Then he left.” Ruth took a step back from her. “You really need to brush your teeth.”

  Elisabeth scowled. Ruth was nothing if not blunt. “Danki for the hygiene tip.”

  Ruth headed down the hall. “Are you coming downstairs?”

  “Ya. In a minute.”

  “Hmph. If I’d known that, I would have left the bathroom for you to do.”

  Elisabeth closed her door and ran her tongue across her teeth. Ugh. Her sister was right, she did need to brush them. A few swigs of mouthwash were probably in order too.

  She unfolded the scrap of paper, noticing that it was a receipt for a candy bar from the local pharmacy in Middlefield. A few words were scribbled on the back.

  Stopped by to see if you’re okay. Aaron.

  Wow. Now this was unexpected. He’d probably used up his lunch hour to get to her house. He didn’t have to do that, or even leave a note. Maybe he did care, at least a little. Folding the slip of paper into a small square, she put it under her pillow and smiled.

  Chapter 10

  Early Monday morning, Aaron inserted his key into the lock at the blacksmith shop. But when he twisted the key, he realized it was already unlocked. The light in the main shop was off, but he saw a faint glow coming from the office. He set his blue lunch cooler on one of the work tables and crossed the room. Peeking through the small window on the door, he saw Elisabeth sitting at her desk, a stack of invoices in front of her as she wrote in the account ledger. What time had she come in? It was just past six thirty in the morning, but she looked like she had been there for a while.

  Aaron knocked lightly on the door. She jumped, then motioned for him to come inside.

  “Sorry.” He stepped inside the room. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  “It’s okay. I wasn’t expecting anyone here until seven.”

  “I wanted to get a head start on the day. Saturday was really busy, and I still have a few things to catch up on.” He leaned back against the door and thrust his hands into his coat pockets. “We did have a break midday, and I stopped by your house.”

  “I know. Ruth told me.” She turned and removed his coat from the back of her chair. “Here. Danki for letting me wear it. I’m sorry you had to go without a coat over the weekend.”

  He took it from her. “No problem. My daed has several coats and jackets he’s collected over the years.” He touched his chest. “He won’t even miss this one.”

  “Still, I should have given it back to you when you dropped me off.”

  “I think you needed it more than I did.” He started to hang his coat on the rack of pegs on the wall, but she
intervened.

  “Let me do that—”

  “It’s okay—”

  Both of them held the coat, and he looked down at her, touched by the vulnerability and uncertainty in her eyes. It was as if at any moment she expected him to tear into her or give her a lecture about what happened. But he would never do that. He gently took the coat from her and hung it on the peg. “Are you okay?” It was a safe question, vague enough for her to answer but not so invasive that she would clam up.

  “Nee.” She looked down at her feet.

  Unlike her disarrayed appearance the night they were escaping the police, this morning she was perfectly pulled together, her light blonde hair neatly combed and parted, her kapp pinned on straight, the white ribbons tucked into the front of her dress. After a moment, she glanced up. “I feel really stupid.”

  “You shouldn’t.”

  “I can’t help it. You tried to warn me. You told me what would happen and I didn’t believe you. I owe you an apology.”

  “Elisabeth.” He took a step toward her, an unexpected urge to comfort her entering his thoughts. “This is me you’re talking to. Aaron Detweiler, former jailbird. The mann with a record, remember?” The lights went on in the shop.

  “Gabe’s here, so I need to get to work. I’ll talk to you later.” He turned to leave.

  “Aaron, you don’t have to do this.”

  He faced her. “Do what?”

  “Make me feel better.”

  His lips lifted in a partial smile. “I know. But I want to try.”

  Business had finally picked up at Esh’s Amish Goods during the Christmas season. The shop was doing so well that Anna had hired Ruth, who was on vacation from school, to help with the holiday rush. Christmas was in less than a week, and Anna had been spending extra time at the store in the evenings, straightening merchandise and restocking shelves. She prayed the success would continue, and she was already planning ways to keep customers returning after the holidays. Things were also busy at home, as her mother had decided to invite a couple of families to the house Christmas evening.