“Are you kidding? Regardless of the outcome, I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done. It means the world to me, although I understand why you might feel like you’ve wasted your summer.”
“No. This summer has been...” Caleb couldn’t say it had been the best summer of his life, knowing it had been the worst summer his brother had ever had. “Summer’s not over yet. I’m going to keep searching. And re-searching.”
“If you don’t find the coins, you don’t find them.” Ryan sounded uncharacteristically nonchalant. “Either way, it’s going to be okay.”
Is he in denial? Doesn’t he realize he could still go to prison and lose Liam? “How can you be so calm all of a sudden?”
“I guess because I’ve finally given the situation to God. He’s sovereign and I have to trust His plan for me in all of this.”
Caleb chuckled. “Rose often says something similar to that.”
“Too bad she’s Amish. A woman with faith like that is a treasure,” Ryan remarked offhandedly. “Anyway, I’d better get Liam ready for bed. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.”
“I will.” Just as soon as Rose and I get time alone together.
Because Nancy and the girls wouldn’t be back in time for the fish fry, a group of women, including Miriam, Jaala, Maria, Eleanor and Eleanor’s mother, agreed to help Rose organize the event. They were meeting at Miriam’s home, since it was centrally located, and Rose had left the camp in Eleanor’s buggy right after the women finished doing the supper dishes.
Since Miriam’s parents were visiting a sick relative in Unity, Miriam was left in charge of her five younger brothers. Rose offered to spend the night and help her take them to church in the morning. Caleb understood she was reciprocating the help Miriam and her mother had given her, but he still was disappointed. Riding to church with Rose was one of his favorite things to do and now he’d have to go alone. “Guess I better get used to it,” he muttered to himself.
* * *
As grateful as she was for her neighbors and friends’ help planning the fish fry menu and organizing the logistics during Nancy’s absence, Rose found herself wishing they’d stop talking about every last detail. She wanted to go to bed. Not that she imagined she’d get much sleep at Miriam’s house—her brothers had eaten such large servings of the spice cake Jaala brought they were bound to be awake for hours—but she wanted Sunday to arrive so she could go canoeing with Caleb. It was nearly nine o’clock when they finally wrapped up the meeting. It took the women an additional forty-five minutes to get out the door.
Which turned out to be fifteen minutes less than it took Rose and Miriam to get Miriam’s brothers out the door the following morning. Now I see why Miriam prefers to work in the dining hall over watching the buwe, Rose thought as the six of them raced across the lawn to take their seats before church began.
After tying a handkerchief into the shape of a rabbit to keep Miriam’s youngest brother occupied during the sermon, Rose scanned the room until she located Caleb. He was at the end of the row to her right, sandwiched between Eleanor and Henry. Rose smiled when she noticed he was fidgeting. Was that because he felt trapped, or because he was as anxious for church to end as she was? Rose immediately repented of her irreverent thoughts, but she still wished she could trade places with Eleanor.
After lunch, Rose sneaked away from the kitchen before all the dishes had been dried and put away. She skittered outside to where Caleb was chatting with Henry and Isaiah Gerhart beneath a maple tree. After greeting both men, Rose pointed to a sinister bank of clouds in the western sky. “Looks like a storm is coming. You know how nervous thunder makes the gaul, Caleb. We ought to get going.” In case Caleb didn’t get the hint Rose wanted to leave, she added, “I left all the windows in the dining hall open, too. If we hurry, I can close them before the rain comes in.”
“See? Rose agrees with me about the rain. You can’t go out on the lake now,” Henry said to Caleb. Then he explained to Rose, “I invited him to kumme play horseshoes with a group of us men but he said he’s going canoeing.”
“Ah, well, the rain hasn’t actually started yet,” Rose backpedaled. As if on cue, a crack of thunder echoed across the valley and raindrops spattered the maple leaves overhead.
“C’mon, Caleb. You can ride with me,” Henry offered. “Isaiah can bring the others.”
Maybe Rose and Caleb couldn’t go canoeing, but they could play a board game or do a jigsaw puzzle on the porch. Feeling as if she and Henry were in a tug-of-war over Caleb, Rose smiled victoriously and asked, “You do know that people get just as wet playing horseshoes in the rain as they do canoeing in the rain, don’t you, Henry?”
“Jah. True,” Henry said thoughtfully. “But if it’s raining, schmaert people will play horseshoes in the barn. Only a dummkopf would try to paddle a canoe in one.”
Isaiah cracked up and, to Rose’s chagrin, Caleb’s lips twitched, too. “Suit yourselves,” she said, her cheeks hot. As she turned on her heel to leave, Caleb frowned and mouthed the words I’m sorry. It was a small consolation, but at least it showed he regretted not being able to spend the afternoon with her.
On the way home she considered stopping at the phone shanty to call her parents, but she decided against it. Rose was already sad about going home in a few weeks. If her mother tried to push a courtship with Baker on her again, Rose didn’t know if she’d be able to hold her tongue—or fight back her tears.
By the time she unhitched the horse and put the buggy in the barn, the squall had already blown over. She wiped rainwater from the dining hall windowsills, and then returned to the main house and slumped into the armchair in the gathering room. Maybe if I take a nap, when I open my eyes again it will be to see Caleb coming around the side of the haus.
What she woke to was the sound of the window shade flapping against the panes. Rose glanced at the clock on the bookshelf; it was already four twenty! Caleb must be home by now, she thought as a rumble shook the house. Half a minute later, a torrential downpour pelted the roof and trees and ground. No, it was hail Rose saw bouncing off the porch steps. A sequence of flashes lit the air, followed instantly by a deafening crack. I guess it’s a gut thing we didn’t go canoeing after all, she admitted to herself.
That didn’t mean she wanted to be stuck alone in the house for the rest of the evening. So when the precipitation turned back to rain, and the lightning and thunder subsided, Rose dashed to the cabin to see if Caleb had returned yet. The door was closed, but he didn’t answer it when she knocked. Rose noticed rain was blowing sideways through the screen of the big picture window, so she stepped inside to close it. Once she’d unhooked the glass frame from the overhead beams, she swung it carefully forward on its hinge and clicked it shut. Then she retrieved a towel from the bathroom.
While she was mopping up the puddle, Rose noticed a couple of papers the wind must have blown to the floor. She picked them up carefully and as she laid them flat on the dresser to dry, she couldn’t help glancing at them. One was a photo of a little boy in Englisch clothing and the other was a child’s drawing of two figures in a car. They were labeled Me and Uncle Caleb. Caleb was the one driving.
Rose staggered backward and collapsed into the armchair. There must be a logical explanation for this. There has to be. She was breathing in tight, rapid gasps, and her heart thrummed audibly. No, that wasn’t her heart. Rose listened closer and realized the dresser drawer was vibrating. She opened it and pushed aside a pair of socks to locate Caleb’s phone. Rose didn’t think twice about reading the text from Ryan, which said: Forgot to tell u last nite u got more mail from univ. Should I send it 2U ASAP? Hope u r taking a Sabbath from yr research. Talk 2U soon. Rose slammed the dresser shut.
Her ears were ringing so hard she didn’t know Caleb had come through the door until he asked, “What are you doing in here?”
Rose seized the photo from the dresser top and waved it i
n front of Caleb’s face. “Who is this?” she screeched.
* * *
“That’s my nephew, Liam. I’ve told you about him,” Caleb replied matter-of-factly. Gently, he took the picture from her fingers and set it on the dresser before slowly turning to face her again. He needed a moment to think of what to say next, but Rose fired another question at him.
“Is he Englisch?”
Caleb nodded dumbly. He’d never seen Rose’s eyes blaze like that before.
“Are you?”
Caleb sucked in his breath and his eyes welled. He couldn’t buy any more time. It was over. He was going to have to say it, the one word that would change everything between them. “Jah.”
The look on Rose’s face could have curdled milk. “Don’t you dare speak Deitsch to me,” she snarled and started for the door. Caleb stepped sideways, blocking her path.
“Rose, please. You don’t understand,” he implored.
“I understand perfectly. You’re not the man I thought you were.” She held her stomach and stared off to the side as if the sight of him was making her sick. “I expect you to pack your bags and leave by tomorrow morning or I’ll have Abram over here faster than you can take off your hut,” she threatened, and he didn’t doubt she would. He still didn’t budge.
“Please, Rose, just give me a chance—”
“No,” she refused in Englisch, shoving past him.
He reached over her shoulder to press his palm against the door, holding it shut. Yes, he’d deceived Rose, which was undeniable, but she’d forgiven Baker. She’d forgiven Oliver. Yet she wouldn’t demonstrate even a smidgen of grace toward Caleb, despite all he’d done for her. Despite everything they’d shared. “If you don’t let me explain, then you’re not the woman I thought you were,” he said.
“Let me out of here. Now,” she demanded, so he dropped his hand. As she stepped through the door, she sneered, “Goodbye, Caleb—or whoever you are.”
Which made Caleb so furious if he’d had a pie right then he would have smashed it against the wall.
Chapter Eleven
Rose stomped up to the house, but instead of going inside she paced the porch, nearly as angry with herself as she was with Caleb. That big deceitful liar had been using her the whole time! This was just like what Baker had done. No. It was worse than what Baker had done because Baker only lied about money; Caleb lied about who he was.
Rose should have seen the evidence that had been right beneath her nose. Caleb’s peculiar mannerisms and accent. The way he avoided certain questions and topics. His extensive knowledge of Englisch ways. He must have thought he was so clever, tricking her—tricking all the Amish people in Serenity Ridge—into believing he was Amish. They’d welcomed him into their homes and church. Into their lives. Had he no conscience whatsoever? What was it he hoped to gain by “researching” their community—a promotion at a university? Caleb hadn’t struck Rose as someone who was motivated by wealth or prestige, the way some Englischers seemed to be. But then, she’d gotten everything else about him wrong, too.
The rain was letting up, but Rose’s fury wasn’t, so she strode down the driveway, thinking she should have shoved Caleb into the water when she’d had the opportunity at Relaxation Rock. She reached the end of the dirt road and turned onto the country highway, walking until her dress was soaked through with mist and sweat. Stickier, hotter and angrier than when she started out, she returned to the house and flopped onto the sofa in the gathering room. Rose would have preferred to sit on the porch, but she didn’t want to risk seeing Caleb or him seeing her.
I won’t have to worry about that after tomorrow, she thought. A new worry took root. What was she going to say when people asked where he was? Despite her threat to go to the deacon if Caleb didn’t leave, Rose had no intention of telling the leit he was an Englischer. She couldn’t bear the humiliation of admitting she’d been fooled, and she wanted to spare their feelings, too. She’d have to say he left because of a personal crisis, and leave it at that.
And what would she do for a groundskeeper until Labor Day? Even if Rose had the skill to manage the basic upkeep and make urgent repairs to the cabins, she didn’t have the time. She was more determined now than ever to meet her financial goal, and every spare second would be devoted to baking pies and making jam. I’m not going to let Caleb’s behavior destroy my business the way Baker’s did. She decided she’d ask Abram if he’d put out the word she needed help.
As Rose went into the kitchen to make a sandwich, she thought she saw a flash of blue outside the window, but when she looked again nothing was there. That’s Caleb’s influence on me. She snickered. Turns out he was the only intruder who’d ever been prowling around the property!
* * *
Too steamed to stay cooped up in the little cabin, Caleb figured that, since it was his last day at the camp, he’d search the trails at Paradise Point, for what little good it would do. He’d come to believe the note was a complete ruse, but at least hiking would give him something to do besides stare out his window, stewing. As he climbed the steep incline, he remembered the day he’d suggested racing blindfolded and Rose had gotten so upset when the canoe cracked. He also recalled how peaceful he’d felt watching the fireworks display with her on the Fourth of July. Now she was infuriated with him again. It was as if their relationship had come full circle. He couldn’t wait to get out of the loop and go home!
But as he stood at the crest of Paradise Point surveying the wet, green hills and lush valley below, Caleb reflected on the community he’d found in Serenity Ridge. Rose wasn’t the only person he’d grown fond of here. What right did she have to push him out? Caleb had an obligation to Sol, and he wasn’t going to let Rose stop him from fulfilling it. Not without a fight. So, when he returned to the cabin, instead of packing he decided to take a shower.
He was taking clean clothes from the drawer when he noticed his cell phone was on top of his socks instead of beneath them. It didn’t take much to figure out Rose must have read his texts, including the new one from Ryan that said, Hope u r taking a Sabbath from yr research. Caleb plunked himself into the armchair. Rose probably thinks I’m here to conduct an anthropology experiment, he brooded. It was one more reason he wanted the chance to explain.
After a few minutes of ruminating, he called his brother and asked him to read aloud the letter from the university. As Caleb suspected, it was a reminder to return his teaching contract or risk losing his fall course load. “Yeah, I guess I’d better take care of that,” Caleb admitted.
“Before you go, I have to tell you about something Sheryl and I decided,” Ryan said. “We’ve been praying a lot, and this afternoon we talked to our pastor and officially decided to stop the divorce proceedings.”
Caleb was floored. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah. We finally realized it’s time to stop fighting with each other and start fighting for our marriage.” Ryan told him how they’d been going to counseling. They were still working on some issues, but he was moving home the following weekend. “Liam’s overjoyed, of course.”
Caleb expressed his happiness about the news, too, but after hanging up, he felt so low he crawled into bed even though it was barely dusk. Instead of water against the shore, all he could hear were the sounds of happy families laughing and chatting as they returned from wherever they’d spent the afternoon together. And because it reminded him of what he’d never had, he pulled a pillow over his head and turned toward the wall.
In the morning, Caleb rose extra early to milk the cow and complete his other chores as usual. He brought the milk to the house and knocked on the door, but Rose wouldn’t open it until he left, so he set the pail down and went to the dining hall to wait for her inside the kitchen.
She flinched when she saw him leaning against the sink, but as she twirled to exit the room, he announced, “I have something to say, and I’ll follow you around all
day if I have to until you listen to me.”
Rose stopped in her tracks; instead of facing him, she pulled a bowl from the cupboard. “Go ahead, but you’re wasting your breath.”
Caleb plunged ahead. “I admit I lied to you about who I was. I lied to everyone here. And on one hand, I’m very, very sorry.”
“One hand?” Rose mocked, cracking an egg into a mixing bowl.
“Jah—yes, I’m sorry because it was ungodly and deceptive, and I can’t even imagine how hurt and angry you must be, but...” Caleb poured out his whole story, speaking as quickly as he could. He expected Rose to meet his eyes or ask him a question or to otherwise show some sign she was listening, but her profile was impassive as she continued baking. By the time he was done, he’d confessed every lie, fib and evasive answer he’d ever told her. He ended by saying, “I know it’s asking a lot for you to forgive me, Rose, but I’m begging you to try to understand. You have to believe me when I say I didn’t do it to hurt you—I did it to help my brother. And my nephew.”
“I understand perfectly.” She picked up a wooden spoon and dipped it in the bowl. “Now, please leave the camp.”
Rose’s abrupt response hurt, but Caleb was prepared for it. “Neh.”
Rose stopped stirring. “If you leave now, I won’t tell anyone about your...identity. If you don’t leave, I’ll go straight to Abram. Everyone in the community will find out. You might not care what the leit think of you, but eventually gossip will spread to the Englischers. The police will find out you’re an impostor, and that won’t reflect well on your brother.”
Her Amish Suitor's Secret (Amish 0f Serenity Ridge Book 3) Page 17
