Shelter in the Storm

by Laurel Blount

  So she had heard the name. He felt his cheeks burning in spite of the chilly air. “I’m not—I didn’t think . . .” He was stammering like a fool. “I was only looking for a quiet place to drive. I know you don’t like being on a road with cars, especially in the dark.”

  “It is a gut choice, Joseph. There’ll likely be no traffic on this little road tonight, and it’ll be real pretty with the snow falling down, ain’t so?”

  Naomi sounded so placid that Joseph’s own nervousness melted, like the snowflakes falling on Titus’s broad back. “I reckon we’ll see.”

  Naomi was easy for a fellow to be with. She always seemed content, so peaceful and calm. Spending time with her felt like slipping into the comfort of the house after working long hours outside in the cold. It warmed him all the way to his bones.

  They clopped along the quiet road in silence for a few seconds. Then he cleared his throat.

  “I’ve mailed off a letter to Melvin, Naomi. I did my best to make things clear to him. If he says anything else unkind to you, you must tell me, and I will deal with him.” With Melvin, it was more like when than if, and he wanted to be sure Naomi was prepared.

  Naomi turned from the snow swirling outside the buggy and looked at him. “You are planning to work for Melvin at his dairy when you go to Ohio, ain’t so?”

  “When we go to Ohio,” he corrected quietly.

  Naomi lowered her head so that her bonnet shadowed her face. “When we go,” she repeated, and he heard the hint of a smile in her voice.

  That made him happy.

  “Ja. I will be working for him. He can speak to me however he likes, but I’ll not have him speaking to you rudely. Nor Miriam, nor Emma, not in my presence anyhow.”

  “Is that really what you want to do, Joseph? Work for your onkel?”

  “It’ll suit. Dairying is all I know, and Melvin needs the help, so it makes gut sense.”

  “That is not what I asked, and dairying is not all you know. You know woodworking, too.”

  True enough, and he was less keen on spending his days working cows if it also meant working with Melvin. He knew his cantankerous uncle too well to feel any different, but he’d already thought this through.

  “Melvin’s community isn’t as friendly with the Englisch, and there’s not so much trade. It’s smaller, too, so not many customers among the Plain folks, either. I don’t think my woodworking will be much help to us. Oh, I’ll take my tools up and try to add some money to the household, but I don’t expect it’ll amount to anything. Don’t worry yourself. With the dairy work and the lease money from the farm, I should be able to provide for you all right, so long as we’re careful.”

  “I know you will provide for me, Joseph, but I also would like to see you happy.”

  They’d just driven onto the small bridge, and the horse’s hooves hit the wooden timbers with muffled beats. Naomi was looking out over Titus’s back, her profile hidden by the sides of her bonnet. When Joseph slowed the buggy to a stop, she glanced at him, the pale curves of her face barely visible in the dim light coming from the dash.

  “I would like to see you happy, too, Naomi.” He searched his mind for the gut words to say, the right words that always seemed to slip past him somehow. “As your husband, I will do my best to make you so.”

  “Denki, Joseph.” She answered him seriously, but her lips curved into a gentle smile. “As your wife, I will do the same for you.”

  As your wife. In just a few weeks, he and Naomi would be bound together before Gott for the rest of their lives. Maybe he should have felt some caution about that, some uncertainty, especially given the circumstances. Instead he felt only a sense of deep relief. He still couldn’t quite believe this sweet-hearted girl had agreed to marry him, Joseph Hochstedler, with his stumbling tongue and all his trials and troubles. His heart swelled with gratitude . . . and with something else, too, something deeper and surer.

  Naomi Schrock was the woman Gott had set aside for him, and he loved her with everything that was in him. He always would. He recognized that truth with the same joyful thump of sureness as when he chose just the right piece of wood for a project.

  This one right here. Only this one will suit.

  Swamped by a crazy swell of rising joy, Joseph stopped thinking altogether. He leaned forward, cupping Naomi’s chin gently with one hand, and he kissed her.

  Her lips were soft and warm under his, and when he drew back, her eyes were round with surprise.

  “Oh!” The word rushed out on a quick, unsteady breath. Her eyes searched his, and Joseph knew that the next thing he said mattered more than anything he’d ever said before. He felt a twinge of panic.

  “I’m no gut at this,” he murmured, holding her gaze desperately with his. “The talking, I mean. I’ll likely make a muddle of it, same as always, but I want you to understand before we take this any further. You are a fine person, Naomi, and the sweetest woman I’ve ever met. I can’t offer you much, but you deserve the best of me, and you’ll have that, such as it is. With Gott’s help, I’ll give you the happiest life I can.”

  In the flickering light from the dash lamp, he watched her expression soften. She reached out a tentative hand, laying it lightly against his cheek. No other woman had ever touched him so, and he raised his own hand to press her chilled fingers more closely against the warmth of his skin.

  For a second, they simply sat there looking at each other, as snowflakes fluttered gently into the buggy, falling to melt on the blanket and her shawl. Then Titus snorted impatiently and shook his head, jingling the metal of his harness.

  Joseph was suddenly aware of the chill and the fact that Naomi’s hand was trembling under his touch. How schtupid of him. “You’re shaking with cold, and the snow’s picking up. We’d best get back.” He released her hand and shifted to reach for the reins.

  “Wait,” she whispered. “Please. Wait just a minute.”

  When he turned to look at her, she leaned quickly forward, and her mouth met his for the second time.

  Her lips had chilled, but they instantly warmed again, melting sweetly against his own. For a few heart-catching seconds, the snow-muffled world around them disappeared.

  When she drew back, the icy air hit his face like a dash of cold water. She straightened her bonnet, darting a self-conscious look at him as if waiting for him to speak.

  His heart was beating so hard, he was sure she could hear it. He didn’t know what to say. He desperately wanted to say the right words, the sweet words, the sort of words that fell from Caleb’s lips as easily as rain from the edges of the roof.

  Unfortunately, he wasn’t Caleb. He didn’t have any notion of what to say to a girl who’d just surprised him with such a kiss, and his befuddled brain seemed to have shut down operations.

  All he could think about at the moment was how badly he wanted to kiss her again.

  “Tuck up warm,” he said gruffly. “Wind’s getting up, and I can’t have you getting sick before the wedding.”

  Judging from her reaction, that wasn’t the right thing to say. Naomi drew back, her face falling into shadow, but she said nothing. Meticulously she readjusted the thick blanket over her lap and faced stiffly forward.

  He hesitated for an awkward minute, wishing, as he’d done a thousand times, that he could call the wrong words back and try again. He never could, though, so finally he snapped the reins on Titus’s back and started the buggy rolling.

  “I’m taking you to my house,” he told her. “It’s closer, and you can warm up well before driving home with Aaron and Katie.”

  “If that’s what you want, Joseph.”

  Her voice sounded so sad and unsteady that he yanked Titus to a sudden stop.

  She twisted on the seat to look at him, her brow creased with alarm. “Is something wrong?”

  “Taking you home is not what I want. What
I want, Naomi, what I really want, is to stay out here, alone with you, so I can kiss you again. The truth is, I want that so much that maybe it’s best if we’re not alone again in the dark until after we’re married.”

  “Oh!” Once again, the little word rode on a quick, broken breath of surprise, but when Naomi continued, a hidden smile added warmth to her voice. “Maybe we’d better get on back then, ja?”

  He flicked the reins on Titus’s back. As the horse started forward, Joseph felt an unaccustomed glow of satisfaction.

  Most likely he hadn’t used the best words. He never did. But for once, somehow, it seemed he’d managed to say the right thing.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Naomi sneaked a glance at the kitchen clock as she and Miriam cleared away the lunch dishes. It was nearly one o’clock, and she was supposed to call the cardiologist at two. Soon she’d have to excuse herself and start the walk over to the phone shack.

  She’d kept pretty calm over the last few days, but this last bit of waiting was stretching her nerves to their limits. Her heart thumped as she scooped leftover beef casserole into a plastic storage container. When Miriam dropped a metal pot lid on the stove top, Naomi jerked, her elbow knocking over a half-empty glass of water.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Miriam hurried to dab the spill with a dishtowel. “I startled you.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Naomi protested with a shaky laugh. “I’m just jumpy today.”

  “You’ve been jumpy a lot lately,” Miriam pointed out with a smile. “’Specially around my brother, I notice.”

  “Oh!” Naomi’s cheeks burned as she fumbled for an answer.

  “Stop teasing Naomi, Miriam,” Joseph said mildly as he came down the steps. As he passed his sister, he gave her prayer kapp a tug, making it slip sideways on her head.

  “Shtobb sell, Joseph!” Miriam exclaimed in irritated dismay. She straightened the skewed kapp and tucked curling strands of hair back into place.

  “See? You don’t like being teased so well yourself.” Grinning, Joseph sidestepped Miriam’s swat.

  “I don’t like you mussing up my hair, that’s what I don’t like! It’s hard enough to keep this crazy stuff where it’s supposed to be without you jerking it sideways.” Miriam sighed deeply. “I wish I had hair like yours, Naomi, so nice and smooth. It always looks gut.”

  Naomi laughed, the upcoming call temporarily forgotten. It made her heart sing to hear these two squabbling good-naturedly back and forth like any ordinary brother and sister. “Well, I like the color of your hair best, Miriam. Such a warm brown, like the caramel inside a good chocolate candy. We must be satisfied with what Gott sees fit to give us, I reckon.”

  “I suppose.” Miriam shot a sisterly smirk in her brother’s direction. “Are you satisfied, Joseph? With what Gott has seen fit to give you?”

  Joseph studied Naomi with a gentle warmth in his eyes that made her curl her toes tightly in her small black shoes. “Ja. I am very well satisfied.”

  Her heartbeat sped up so suddenly that she had to grip the back of a nearby chair to steady herself. Fortunately, the two Hochstedlers were too busy needling each other to pay any attention.

  “Stop looking at Naomi all calf-eyed. I was talking about your hair, bruder.”

  “Maybe you were,” Joseph replied calmly, “but I wasn’t.” His mouth turned up in a smile so swift and bright that Naomi’s breath caught painfully someplace between her lungs and her lips. “Naomi, could I talk to you for a minute? Someplace away from my nosy little sister?”

  Naomi went hot and cold all at the same time. Ever since those kisses shared in the snowy buggy, she’d felt this way around Joseph—jittery and excited. More than anything in the world, she wanted to relax into the promise of a future together with this wonderful man, but the upcoming call to the cardiologist’s office had hung over her head like a sullen thundercloud at a picnic.

  Well, in just a little while, that part would be over. The storm would begin, or the sun would come back out. Either way, at least she’d know what she was facing.

  Miriam laughed as she carried the last plates over to the sink. “Go on with him, Naomi, and I’ll start on these dishes. That’ll save us both time. You might as well know from the start that Hochstedler men are all as stubborn as goats.” She threw her brother another narrow-eyed glance. “Not so much nicer to look at, either.”

  In response, Joseph gave the strings dangling over his sister’s shoulders another quick tug. As Miriam squealed and grabbed at her crooked kapp, Joseph headed for the back door. He opened it and gestured for Naomi to follow him onto the unheated back porch.

  The painted gray floorboards creaked under her weight as she walked out and stood by the humming water pump. Joseph closed the kitchen door carefully behind them, and Naomi’s heartbeat quickened.

  Was Joseph finally going to kiss her again? After what he’d said in the buggy, Naomi had confidently expected he would, but so far, nothing. In fact, he seemed to be spending even more time in his woodshop these past few days.

  That had been . . . disappointing, and he made no attempt to close the small gap between them now, either. Instead he lowered his voice and said quietly, “I want to thank you, Naomi, for helping Miriam. Just then, back in the kitchen, it felt like old times.”

  Naomi nodded, trying not to feel let down. “She is doing much better.” She hesitated, then added, “So long as she doesn’t go outside.”

  The smile on Joseph’s face dimmed. “Ja, that is still a problem. She can’t set a foot in the yard without fear. I’m praying she’ll start making improvements there soon. If she can’t even walk to the chicken coop, I’m not sure how we’ll manage the move to Ohio.”

  “We will have to trust Gott and do our best to help her,” Naomi said. “Miriam will have to do her best, too. It won’t be easy, but one way or another, we’ll get there, I reckon.”

  “You’re right.” Joseph agreed. “We will. Having you along will be a big help to her, I know. She’s so happy about the wedding. In fact, I’m hoping maybe she’ll want bad enough to come to Katie’s to see us married that she’ll find the courage to go outside. That could happen, don’t you think?”

  “It could, maybe.” Naomi managed a bright smile in spite of the niggling frustration she was feeling.

  She might not know much about engagements, but she suspected most fellows would rather kiss their girls than stand around talking about their sisters. If Joseph had been engaged to Rhoda, maybe he’d be doing less talking right now.

  The bubble of secret joy that had been buoying Naomi up since their buggy ride deflated a bit. Maybe that sweet, breath-stealing time together hadn’t meant quite so much as she’d thought.

  If you can’t have what you want, Naomi, make the best of what you do have, her mother’s oft-repeated advice whispered in her memory.

  She was being foolish and ungrateful. Joseph was kind, and he was good, and it was blessing enough to be his second choice.

  “Didn’t you need to walk to the phone shack?” Joseph was saying. “Will you check the messages while you’re there? I’m hoping Emma will have called with news about a house for us.”

  “I’ll check, ja.”

  “I’d like to walk with you, but I’d best get back out to the woodshop. I’ve some orders to fill yet, and time’s getting by. Still”—Joseph pulled a simple watch out of his pants pocket and studied its scratched face—“if you’d rather I come along, I can probably—”

  “I’ll be fine to go on my own,” Naomi interrupted quickly. “Miriam doesn’t mind staying in the house by herself, but she wouldn’t like being all alone on the farm. Anyhow, I’ve only one call to make. I won’t be gone long.”

  “All right. When you get back, will you come out to the shop for a minute?” Joseph paused at the back door to smile at her, and her silly heart hammered its usual frantic response. �
��I’ve something to show you. Besides, maybe you’ll have gut news to share.”

  Oh, she hoped so. “Ja, I will come to the shop.”

  Naomi watched him walk across the yard, her eyes lingering on the broad set of his shoulders beneath the old black chore coat he wore. When he’d disappeared into the barn, the breath she hadn’t known she was holding whooshed from her lungs.

  “Gott, please,” she murmured desperately, “let there be good news.” Then she ducked back into the warmth of the kitchen to retrieve her bonnet and her own coat and shawl.

  The phone shack was only a mile away, but the shortest walk to it lay across bumpy, winter-hard fields. It was rough going, and Naomi had to stop twice to catch her breath before she got there.

  She was relieved to see that the tiny wooden building was empty. She’d dealt with cardiologists often enough to know that if she wanted to speak to the busy doctor, she’d best call at the exact moment she’d been assigned. Anybody using the phone would certainly have gotten off it for a medical call to be made, but the news would’ve been all over Johns Mill before the sun had set. She didn’t want that to happen.

  She wasn’t the only person who needed to make calls at a specific time. Such calls were common enough that an inexpensive battery-operated clock ticked beside the phone. She had five minutes to spare, so she decided to go ahead and check the messages.

  There was no new message from Emma, but sandwiched between various messages for the neighboring families, there was one for the Hochstedlers. Mona, the real estate agent, needed Joseph to come in to discuss the lease arrangement for the farm.

  Naomi jotted the message on the notepad kept on the rough wooden shelf and folded the paper so it would fit in the pocket behind her apron. Then she pulled out the card from the cardiologist’s office, lifted the receiver, and carefully punched in the number.

  She was promptly put on hold by the receptionist, and seconds ticked by slowly. She prayed silently as she waited, but even so, by the time the doctor picked up, the phone receiver was slick with sweat from her hand.