The Drifter (Amish Country Brides)

by J. E. B. Spredemann

  Josiah winced as he handed the documents over. “Really? I thought it was seventy-five through here.” Which technically would have still been speeding. His fine would be sky high.

  “Looks like you need to take some of that lead out of them shoes.” The officer chuckled.

  “Or get a different car,” he mumbled, watching the officer walk back to his patrol vehicle. While he loved his sportscar, it had too much power for his own good. He didn’t know how many times he’d been casually driving, then glanced down at the speedometer to discover he was doing close to a hundred. Thankfully this hadn’t been one of those times.

  Several minutes later, the officer returned and handed him back his documents. “Where you headed?”

  “Indiana.”

  “The Hoosier state.” The officer nodded. “This is your lucky day. I’m gonna let you off with a warning.”

  Really? “Thank you.” He swallowed his gratitude.

  “You got any kids?” the officer asked.

  “Yeah. A daughter.”

  “Take some of the money you just saved and buy her an ice cream cone.” He tilted his stiff hat slightly with his hand. “Drive safe.”

  Josiah glanced at his side mirror as the officer returned to his patrol vehicle.

  He stared out the windshield, blinking. He just dodged a ticket. A big one. “Woo hoo!” He turned over the ignition, then maneuvered back onto the road from the shoulder.

  After Michael merged onto the freeway, now driving the acceptable speed limit, the police car passed him.

  “Wow.”

  And now he owed his daughter ice cream. Would she even want it?

  If she was anything like her mother was back when he’d last heard from her, she’d likely take the cone and shove it down the front of his shirt. To say Kayla had been upset was an understatement. More like steaming mad, judging by the vehement words she’d composed in her short letter back to him.

  What had it been? Twelve years now?

  In all that time, had she been able to find it in her heart to forgive him? For her own sake, he hoped so.

  ~

  As Josiah lounged against just a few of the five hundred pillows on his motel room bed, he reached for his daughter’s letter. How many times had he read it since Jaden had handed it to him? His focus moved to the opening greeting.

  Hello, Dad.

  That was all he’d had to read before he’d lost it. It hit him squarely between the shoulder blades and had gone straight through, just like an arrow. He’d never been very emotional. But just seeing that one word—Dad—for the first time in reference to him. He. Was. A. Father.

  And yeah, he’d known it for quite some time now. But to see the words in ink, written by his own flesh and blood. It messed him up.

  He shoved away the blasted tears and continued reading the beautiful piece of his daughter’s heart.

  Is it okay if I call you “Dad”? Or would you rather I call you Josiah? Although, I think Josiah would feel weird to me.

  He stopped and chuckled. She obviously overthought things. Did she get that from her mother?

  As of right now, nobody knows that I found this letter in Mom’s hope chest. It was with pictures of you and Mom.

  He paused. The only pictures he remembered were the cute black and whites they’d taken in one of those three-minute photo booths in the boardwalk arcade. He smiled at the memory. Kayla had been gorgeous. Still was, last he saw her.

  Even dressed as an Amish woman. And married to his former best friend.

  That was still something he had a hard time getting over. Not that she’d married Silas, but the Amish part. Here, he had done everything he could to leave and become Englisch. Whereas she, an Englischer with all the freedom in the world, chose the constrictive Amish lifestyle. Of course, he knew she would have never chosen it if love hadn’t been involved. He sighed. Silas was a lucky man.

  He hoped that Bailey didn’t have any notions about him getting back together with her mother. Because that is something that would never happen, apart from a tragedy. And Silas and Kayla really were good for each other.

  I want to meet you. Is that possible? I don’t even know where you are, but you wrote in your letter to Mom that your brother knows how to get a hold of you. I figure you must have been writing about Uncle Jaden, taking into account when it was written.

  Anyway, I work in the store on Mom and Silas’s property. I’m usually there by myself on Thursday mornings. It’s usually pretty slow then. If you wanted to stop by one day, say between nine and eleven, that would be ideal.

  If you don’t want to meet me, I will understand. If you decide you don’t want to, maybe you could just send a vague postcard or something? Write something like No Go, and I’ll get the message.

  But I hope you will. I’ll be waiting.

  Your daughter,

  Bailey

  “If I don’t want to see you?” He chuckled. “Of course I want to see you, kid.”

  He’d had a half dozen scenarios in his head about how this could potentially turn out. Since she said her folks didn’t know… He sighed.

  Yeah, that couldn’t be good. Both Silas and Kayla had been shocked when he’d shown up the first time when Bailey was…what? Five? Six? Which would make her right around seventeen now. About the age her mother probably was when he’d met her—when Bailey had been conceived.

  Which made him wonder. Did his daughter have a boyfriend? And if she did, was she thinking about joining the Amish church and marriage and settling down at such a young age? For whatever reason, that didn’t sit well with him. Not that he had any say-so in his daughter’s affairs. But she should have a chance to experience life first, before making a lifelong commitment she couldn’t get out of.

  Hmm… Maybe he could help her with that—let her get a taste of something other than what she’s always known. Not to show her anything immoral or anything like that, just that she has more than one choice. Because if she saw both sides, when she did finally decide which path to choose, she would do it with a clear conscience and have no regrets.

  No regrets? Is that what you’re telling yourself? He shook off his thoughts. No, he didn’t have any regrets about leaving the Amish. He regretted the way he’d left—the cowardly way. And he regretted not taking Kayla’s information with him. If he had…

  No, he wasn’t going to allow himself to go there. Not today. Not this time.

  SEVEN

  Bailey arranged the items on the baked goods shelf, then glanced up at the clock on the wall. Today was Wednesday, which meant tomorrow was Thursday—the day she’d told her father she’d be working alone in the store. Who knew if he had even received her letter, though. And if he did actually show up, would it be this week, next week, or some other date in the future?

  She hadn’t received a postcard saying he wouldn’t come, but that didn’t necessarily mean that he would.

  The bell jingled over the door and she startled. It’s only Wednesday, she reminded herself. She looked up to see Timothy.

  “Hiya, Bailey.”

  She felt warm all of a sudden. “Ach. Hello, Timothy.” She looked past him. “Did you…are you here alone?”

  “Jah, of course. I wanted to see you. I’ve missed you.” He stepped closer.

  “I’ve missed you too.” Probably not as much as she should have, though. She’d been too preoccupied with thoughts of her father and the possibility of a visit from him. She wished she could share everything with Timothy. But if her father wanted to conceal his identity, in order to keep his secret, it wouldn’t be a gut idea to be telling people about him. Ach, it was certainly a sticky situation.

  “What have you been up to?”

  Mostly daydreaming about my father. She shrugged. “Ach, this and that. Working in the store, mostly. How about you?” She continued arranging the items on the shelf.

  “Will you stop for a minute, please. I want…”

  “Sure.”

  He looked beyond her. �
��Is anyone else here?”

  “Nee, just us.”

  “Gut.” He stepped near and wrapped her in his strong embrace. To her delight, his lips met hers.

  But she hesitated and stepped back. “I thought we were…your folks…wouldn’t they be upset if they knew you were here?”

  “I don’t know if I can stay away from you, Bailey. I can’t stand not seeing you.”

  “What can we do?”

  “We can maybe still see each other in secret. I feel like who I court should be my choice, not my folks’.”

  “But you’d be defying them, Timothy. Is that a good idea?”

  “All I know is that it’s not a gut idea for us to be apart.”

  “They say absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

  He chuckled. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were siding with my folks.”

  “I’m not. I just…sometimes it’s hard to know what the right thing to do is, ain’t not? I mean, if we get caught, they might think that I was leading you to disobey them.”

  “If we get caught, I will accept full responsibility.”

  “You’re sure and certain they won’t despise me?”

  “No one could despise you, my beautiful Bailey.” His thumb traced her jaw before his lips lowered to hers.

  Ach, she hadn’t realized just how much she missed her sweetheart until now. If only the two of them could marry and start their life together within the next year or two. It would be so wunderbaar! What would it take? How could they make this work? Obviously, they’d both need to be baptized into the church. But if they voiced their intentions, the deacon would go to their folks for approval. And if his parents were against them, against her…she just didn’t see how they’d be able to pull this off.

  “Uh, Bailey?”

  They broke apart at the sound of the masculine voice. Silas.

  Not just her face, but her entire being must be on fire. They’d never kissed in front of anyone. “Silas, uh, Dat?”

  He frowned. Was it because she’d called him Silas and not Dat right away? Or was it because she and Timothy had been found in a lip lock? Or because she was supposed to be working? Either way, she was likely in deep trouble.

  “Uh, Silas.” Timothy took a step further away from her. “I apologize. It’s my fault. I just missed Bailey and…”

  Silas held up a hand. His eyes shot to Bailey. “You’re supposed to be working. What if someone else had come in? It wouldn’t look gut, you two like that.”

  Bailey swallowed. “Jah, I know.”

  He turned to Timothy. “Bailey mentioned that your folks weren’t happy about you courting her.”

  “Jah.”

  “I can’t condone you two going against your folks’ wishes. Kayla and I have nothing against you and Bailey dating, but this will not put either of you in their good graces. It would probably only strengthen their position against Bailey.”

  “But it’s not fair,” Bailey protested. “We love each other. Shouldn’t we be able to decide whether we want to court each other?”

  “I know what you’re saying, Bailey. And that’s why your mamm and I wouldn’t interfere unless we thought you were in danger or making a very poor decision.” Silas rubbed his beard. “But it’s best if you respect Timothy’s folks and obey their wishes. They are Timothy’s authority that Der Herr has placed over him. Pray about it and let Gott work it out for you. Long suffering and patience are virtues we all must learn.”

  Timothy and Bailey frowned at each other.

  Silas continued, “I know it’s not easy, but following God’s way is best. Trust me.”

  Timothy sighed. “He’s right, Bailey. I shouldn’t have come.”

  “Der Herr’s timing is perfect,” Silas said. He moved to the door to exit, then turned back. “The reason I came out is to tell you Mamm wanted you to bring back some noodles along with the leftover baked goods when you close up later.”

  “Okay.”

  Silas waved to them as he stepped out the door.

  “Ach, I didn’t expect your vatter to show up.”

  Bailey almost blurted out that Silas wasn’t her father, but caught herself. “Me neither.”

  “I thought for sure he’d say something about me kissing you. I’m glad he didn’t.”

  “I’m pretty sure he and my mamm kiss a lot. I’ve caught them a few times.” She vaguely remembered the first time she discovered them in the kitchen, back when she and Mamm turned in to seek shelter from a scary storm. It was the first time they’d been in an Amish community. And Silas was the first Amish person she’d ever met. But back then, she hadn’t known there was a difference between Amish and Englisch.

  “I guess this has to be goodbye, then. At least, for a while?”

  Bailey shook her head, her tears threatened. “I don’t want to say goodbye. Again.”

  “It’s just temporary. I promise you we will get back together. You can hold me to that.”

  “I will.”

  He swiped one of her tears away as he pressed his lips to her forehead. And then he turned and walked out the door.

  EIGHT

  Josiah drove slowly down the country road, his tires spewing dust as he went. Maybe washing his sportscar before the trip hadn’t been such a wise idea. He slowed each time he passed a mailbox. Didn’t anybody put their name and address on their mailboxes anymore? How on earth did the mailman know who lived where?

  He just hoped he was on the right road. His GPS had lost its signal shortly after he turned off the main road and onto a dirt road. The area was beautiful with the canopy of trees covering the rural road. He wondered what kind of wildlife inhabited the woods. A couple of deer had crossed his path about a mile back. Where was civilization? He could be in Timbuktu for all he knew.

  “Well, I’ll be.” He spotted an Amish woman walking up ahead. Finally, someone he could ask. But would she talk to a strange Englisch man? He didn’t wish to frighten her. Perhaps he should employ his Pennsylvania Dutch.

  He pulled up beside her and inched forward as she walked. “Excuse me, I’m lost. You wouldn’t happen to know where Mike Eicher lives, would you?”

  “Michael Eicher?” Her eyes livened, and he was drawn to them immediately.

  “Yes, that’s right.” He nodded.

  “I’m headed to Michael and Miriam’s right now.”

  “You are? This must be my lucky day. Is it far?”

  “Just another mile or so.” She’d said it as if it were no big deal.

  “A mile?” He stared straight ahead. “How about if I give you a lift and you can show me where they live?”

  “Uh…” She hesitated.

  “It’s no problem, really. I’m staying with them for a little bit. Michael and I grew up in the same district together.”

  “You were Amish?”

  “Yes.”

  She nodded. That seemed to put her mind at ease. “Alright.”

  He stopped the car, put it in park, then rushed around to open the door for her. “I’m Joe, by the way. Joe Beachy.”

  She shook his proffered hand. “I’m Elnora. Elnora Schwartz.”

  “Nice to meet you. So, do you live around here?”

  She nodded and pointed in the direction she’d come from. “Just up the road a ways.”

  He shut her door, then ran around to the driver’s side. “Have you known Mike long?”

  “His wife and I are friends.”

  “And have you lived here your whole life?”

  “Jah. Pretty much.”

  She turned to him and he marveled at her high cheek bones, which he hadn’t noticed before. She was a very nice-looking woman, he acknowledged.

  “You said you and Michael grew up together. That was in Pennsylvania, right?”

  He shook off his thoughts. He was not here to examine beautiful Amish women. “Yes. We both left in rumspringa, I believe. I know Mike came out here to live with his grandfather. I think his parents lived here for a while too, but they e
nded up moving back to Pennsylvania, is what I heard.”

  “Something like that. He’s been back here several years now.”

  “Yeah. I was a little surprised when my brother told me Mike had gone back and joined the Amish here in Indiana.”

  “So, you still have contact with your family in Pennsylvania, then?”

  “Just my brother.” He grimaced. This ship was beginning to sail in deep waters. But, for whatever reason, he felt comfortable talking with Elnora. Not that he would divulge his secrets to her.

  “Are you in the Bann? I mean, I’m sorry if that was a nosy question.” She shook her head.

  “No, I’m not.” It wasn’t a lie. “I left before I was baptized.”

  “But you’re not in contact with your parents? Are they still living?”

  “They are. And no, I’m not in contact with them.” He attempted to keep his answers as concise as possible. Nobody needed to know his family believed him to be dead.

  “Your family must miss you. I couldn’t imagine not having contact with my folks.”

  “Our situation is complicated.”

  “Jah, there seems to be a lot of those situations among the Amish.”

  If she only knew. His was certainly one of the worst.

  “Are you visiting Michael long?”

  “I’m not sure yet.”

  “Are you visiting for any specific reason, or are you on a holiday?”

  This woman was certainly a curious one! But he liked it. It meant she was probably pretty smart. After all, asking questions was how one learned. “Honestly, yes, I’m here for a reason. But I haven’t really figured everything out myself yet.”

  “That sounds…mysterious.” She laughed.

  “Are you visiting Michael’s family for a particular reason?” He turned the question around on her with a smile.

  “As a matter of fact, Miriam is watching my kinner.”

  “So, you have children?” He briefly eyed her figure. “I never would have guessed.”

  She laughed. “These dresses hide a lot.”