Her Amish Holiday Suitor (Amish Country Courtships Book 5)

by Carrie Lighte

  Tickled by her father’s delight in buying a gift for his wife, Lucy thought, I suppose it took being in love myself to appreciate it in others, as she waited in the buggy. Cars and buggies streamed in and out of the parking lot in front of the small cluster of Englisch specialty shops. Lucy was trying to imagine what kinds of gifts the drivers intended to purchase when she spotted an Amish man with red curls sticking out from beneath his hat hitching his horse to the post. How many young redheaded Amish men were there in Willow Creek? Lucy only knew two: Nick and Kevin. I must just have Nick on my mind, she thought, giggling to herself. But when the man turned sideways, Lucy recognized it was definitely him. Why was Nick there instead of transporting her to the soup kitchen? Lucy’s pulse ricocheted in her ears until she figured perhaps he had a special gift to pick up for his mamm. Or maybe even for me, she dared presume.

  Her momentary calm was shattered an instant later when he strode not toward the store, but toward a car, where a young Englisch woman with long blond hair got out. Katura said Jenny Nelson was blond; who else could it be? Standing face-to-face the pair appeared to speak briefly before Nick took Jenny’s hand. What Jenny did next sickened Lucy: she threw her arms around Nick in a big, delighted hug.

  Her stomach cramping with revulsion, Lucy couldn’t bear to watch any longer. She buried her face in her hands as her thoughts spiraled and her breath came in tight, short puffs. So she’d been right all along. Nick was engaged in a romantic relationship with Jenny Nelson. He must have sensed Lucy was on the brink of confronting him on Monday night. That’s why he’d kissed her; he felt he had to pull out all the stops to distract Lucy from pressing the matter and exposing his secret romance with an Englischer. She never felt so used and betrayed in her life, and at that moment the very act of breathing in and out was more laborious than when she’d been hospitalized with pneumonia.

  “Are you all right?” her father asked when he boarded the buggy. By then she was no longer gasping. Dropping her hands from her eyes, she looked up; Nick’s buggy was still there, but the Englisch car was gone. Wherever they went and whether they went together or alone, Lucy didn’t care as they were out of her sight and out of her life.

  * * *

  Nick was relieved. Having completed the final touches on the repairs and cleaned up the cabin on Tuesday night, he had just handed the key over to Jenny and he was home free. From now on, he could dedicate every evening he went out to actually being with Lucy. Whistling, he entered the china shop, which was located between the pottery shop and the cutlery store. His frequent sensation of being a bull in a china shop around Lucy had given him an idea about what to get her for Christmas, which was why, when Jenny checked in with him at the hardware store on Tuesday, he’d asked her to meet him at this particular location today.

  He searched the mirrored shelves in the store until at last he found exactly what he wanted: a white teacup and saucer decorated with a delicate, thin line of gold around the rims. The china was every bit as understatedly elegant as Lucy was to him. Assuring Nick the piece was sturdier than it looked, the clerk boxed it up in a nest of packing material. Nick stowed it beneath the seat of his buggy and then made haste to the soup kitchen.

  When he arrived, Lucy hardly looked up from where she was arranging cookies on platters. At first Nick assumed she didn’t see him, but when he said hello, she mumbled hello back and retreated to the kitchen without making eye contact. Was she miffed he hadn’t picked her up? Nick didn’t know, but he decided to follow her to find out.

  Just as he reached the kitchen door she emerged carrying a wreath, and Dan followed close behind with a stepladder. Nick stood motionless, watching from a distance as Dan climbed the stepladder and pounded a nail into the wall above the door frame. Then Lucy handed him the wreath, which he hung. Clearly she thought it was crooked, because she motioned for him to step down so she could climb up and adjust it. She had to stand on tiptoe, and when the bow was precisely aligned, Lucy began to wobble. Dan lunged forward dramatically, swooped her into his arms and set her upright on the floor.

  Seething, Nick dug his fingernails into his palms. He’d witnessed Lucy’s rock-solid balance as she stood in his buggy at full speed, and he’d watched her glide on one foot across the rink at Wheeler’s Pond without wavering. Her fall from the stepladder was contrived, undoubtedly to capture Dan’s attention. Maybe that was why she was so indifferent to Nick’s presence; maybe she liked Dan. But then why had she allowed Nick to kiss her only two days ago? Why had she agreed to accept him as her suitor? Nick recalled suddenly that Dan had seen Nick and Lucy’s fake kiss at the singing. Nick remembered he had suspected Lucy was trying to make Dan jealous way back then. His mind was racing. Maybe accepting Nick as her suitor for real allowed Lucy to continue her ploy to win Dan over. Perhaps she felt that once her phony courtship with Nick ended, she wouldn’t have any leverage to make Dan more interested in her.

  Livid, Nick stalked across the room and cupped Lucy’s elbow. “I need to speak with you, now,” he said, escorting her down the hallway before she had a chance to protest. He directed her to an empty room that must have been used as a nursery because there were animals painted on the walls and three cribs lined up in the far corner. Nick could practically feel steam escaping his nostrils as he fumed, “Just what is going on, Lucy?”

  She yanked her arm free of his grasp and shoved her hands on her hips. “You tell me!”

  Once again, Nick didn’t know what she was talking about and it infuriated him. Instead of addressing any potential wrongdoing on his part, he said, “From what I can tell, you’re flirting with Dan. Which is entirely your business, but if he’s the one you’re interested in, you should have had the decency to turn down my offer of courtship!”

  “You want to talk about decency?” Lucy challenged, her voice rising. “Then tell me why you lied about being interested in Jenny Nelson! And don’t deny it. I saw you holding her hand and hugging her in the parking lot at Buckland Corner today.”

  How dare Lucy imply he was romantically involved with Jenny, especially after Nick had demonstrated in no uncertain terms how he felt about Lucy! Did she still really have that low of an opinion of him?

  “I can’t believe you’d think I’m interested in her, but you don’t have any idea what you’re talking about. And quite frankly it disgusts me that you’d think I’d do anything so revolting as kiss one woman while I’m secretly courting another.” Nick nearly choked on the words. “If you weren’t so judgmental, you’d realize things aren’t always as they seem to be, Lucy.”

  “Neh? Because what it seems like to me is you went to great lengths to keep it a secret that your Nelson friend was a woman. For all I know, you fabricated the entire situation with her cabin so you could use me as a cover for seeing her!”

  “That’s lecherich and you know it.” Frustrated by Lucy’s reasoning, Nick pounded a fist into his open palm as he snarled, “You saw me making the repairs yourself!”

  Momentarily quiet, Lucy blinked repeatedly. It seemed she was backing down, but then she said, “Okay, Nick. I could be wrong. If you can look me in the eye and tell me you honestly were solely repairing the Nelsons’ cabin out of the goodness of your heart... If you can tell me you simply wanted to give them a joyful Grischtdaag and that’s all there is to it, I’ll believe you. I’ll apologize for ever doubting whether you’ve been completely truthful with me.”

  Nick swallowed, his head thrumming. He couldn’t confirm what Lucy wanted him to confirm because it wasn’t entirely true. But neither could he explain because then she’d be angry he hadn’t been honest with her from the beginning. When his silence lengthened, Lucy threw her hands in the air and then slapped them against her sides. “Exactly as I thought.” She spun on her heel and was gone before he could utter another syllable.

  Suddenly, he didn’t want to explain because he had nothing more to say to her. He didn’t care if he never saw her again
. He’d prefer it that way. Nick was so heated he didn’t remember making his way to the buggy, and when Penny accelerated to a rapid canter on the way home, Nick derived no pleasure from the animal’s agility or relief from the frigid air against his stinging cheeks.

  By the next afternoon, Nick’s anger had fizzled to a sullen numbness, and he went through the motions of waiting on customers and wishing them holiday cheer although the words rung hollow. His ire was briefly ignited again when Betty Knepp entered the store and inquired after his mother’s whereabouts.

  “She’s staying put at the house today. Grischtdaag baking and all that,” Nick’s father told her as Nick dallied within earshot in the fasteners aisle. “You should call on her. She’d wilkom an opportunity to take a break and have a cup of tea with you.”

  Nick’s stomach flipped; he could guess why Betty Knepp would wish to call on his mother. Two days ago he wouldn’t have dreamed Lucy would squeal on him, but two days might as well have been another lifetime. Everything had changed since then. Or everything had stayed the same: Lucy Knepp was still the same stuck-up, finger-pointing Goody Two-shoes she’d been as a child. Nick had no doubt he was going to get an earful from his parents that evening.

  Indeed, after Nick closed shop and returned home, his parents were waiting for him in the parlor. He’d barely removed his boots and taken a seat by the fire when his mother bluntly inquired whether he was romantically involved with an Englischer.

  Until that moment, he’d been holding out hope Lucy hadn’t done exactly what he feared she’d done. Even when his mother questioned him, he still couldn’t quite believe his ears. “Who told you that?” he asked, knowing full well it was Lucy.

  “That’s not important,” his mother replied. “What’s important is if it’s true.”

  Nick looked directly into his mother’s eyes. “Neh, I absolutely am not romantically involved with an Englischer, and anyone who told you that is sorely mistaken,” Nick asserted.

  His mother’s expression softened. “We believe you,” she replied, and his father seconded her sentiment, nodding. “We know you’ve had a—er, a difficult time finding someone who was a gut match for you, but we doubted you’d ever court an Englischer. Especially while you were courting Lucy. The idea was unthinkable to us, but out of a sense of fairness, we wanted to confirm the truth with you before setting the wom—the person who started the rumor straight.”

  Nick couldn’t let them do that. As immaturely as Lucy had behaved by tattling to her stepmother about him, Nick wasn’t going to respond like a child himself by letting his parents defend him. This was something he had to handle directly. “Please don’t do that, Mamm and Daed.”

  “Why not?” his mother protested. “I shouldn’t have to hold my tongue when someone is spreading an unfounded rumor like that about my suh! I actually wish I would have trusted my intuition and said as much when I first heard it.”

  “If Nick doesn’t want us to say anything, we shouldn’t say anything,” his father intervened. “He’s a man now and I trust his judgment. Let’s go to bed, dear.”

  Nick’s mother furrowed her brow, but instead of arguing she stood, walked over to Nick and planted a kiss on his forehead before saying good-night. Nick shot his father a look of gratitude as he led Nick’s mother from the room. After disappointing his parents so often during his rumspringa, Nick should have been more pleased to hear his father say he trusted Nick’s judgment. But all Nick could think was, Some gut judgment I have—I trusted Lucy more than I’ve ever trusted any woman, and look what happened.

  The more he seethed, the more impatient he became to tell Lucy exactly what he thought of her vengeful, juvenile behavior. The thought ate at him until he finally decided it wasn’t too late to pay her a visit. He crept out of the house and made it to Lucy’s as swiftly as Penny could carry him. It was after nine o’clock, but a light shone in the window, and a few moments after Nick knocked, Lucy opened the door.

  She’d barely stepped outside before he hurled his accusation at her. “It’s one thing if you’re so inherently suspicious you’d make up stories about me and an Englischer, but it’s another thing to be so vindictive that you’d tell my parents I was courting Jenny Nelson. I thought you were different, I really did.”

  Lucy’s arms were folded like a shield across her chest. “What are you going on about?”

  “Don’t give me that wide-eyed innocent look. You’re not fooling me. You told Betty I was dating Jenny Nelson—you thought I was dating Jenny Nelson—knowing full well she’d run right over and blab about it to my mamm. If you wanted to ruin my Grischtdaag, you failed. You might not know me very well, but my parents do and they don’t believe a word you said.”

  “I didn’t tell anyone about you and Jenny Nelson, but I wish I had,” Lucy exclaimed. “I wish someone would finally expose how irresponsible, immature and self-centered you are. You haven’t changed a bit since you were Naughty Nick Burkholder. It wasn’t cute when you were a kind and it isn’t cute now.”

  “Talk about not changing! You’re the same uptight, self-righteous tattletale you’ve always been!” Nick jeered. “Keep it up, Lucy, and a pretend courtship is all you’ll ever have!”

  Nick turned and jumped down the stairs two at a time. He worked Penny into such a hard run that when they came to a quick stop before turning onto a side road, the box containing the teacup he’d gotten Lucy slid out from beneath the seat. He stomped on it, repeatedly and hard, as if he were putting out a fire.

  Then, his anger temporarily extinguished, Nick guided Penny wearily the rest of the way home.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lucy had no desire to get out of bed on Friday morning. The party at the soup kitchen—which Nick had completely ruined for her—was over. She’d delivered her donation to the organizer of the festival auction on Thursday morning. And her fake courtship with Nick had ended. Not even the thought of Bridget coming was enough to motivate Lucy to leave her cozy nest of quilts. Depleted of holiday gladness, Lucy wished she could skip Christmas altogether this year. Or she at least wished she could mark the occasion with individual prayer and Bible study instead of celebrating with anyone else, even her family members.

  “What’s wrong?” Katura asked, brushing her hair as she sat on the edge of Lucy’s bed. “You’re usually the first one up. I actually made breakfast this morning.”

  Despite Katura’s recent change of attitude, Lucy didn’t quite know if she could trust her enough to confide in her. But tears spilled down her cheeks, leaving her little choice.

  “Nick and I...” she blubbered, unable to continue. She’d been preparing to say they’d broken up ever since they began their phony courtship, but now that it had happened for real, she couldn’t speak the words. “It’s over.”

  “Oh, Lucy,” Katura clucked empathetically. “Are you sure? Maybe it’s just a disagreement. Maybe it will pass.”

  “Neh, there’s no getting past this,” Lucy said, sniffing. Then, putting on a facade of resilience, she added, “I’m okay. You should go now. You’re going to be late for work.”

  Katura secured her kapp with a pin and stood up. “Why don’t you kumme caroling with us tonight? Grischtdaag music always makes you happy, and there’s a big party afterward at one of the Englischers’ apartments.”

  “Neh, that wouldn’t be fair. I didn’t attend any of the rehearsals. I didn’t participate in them, anyway.”

  “That’s okay, you have such a pretty voice you don’t need practice. You love caroling. Please kumme.”

  Lucy sighed, aware her stepsister hadn’t changed her crafty ways overnight. Katura preferred to ride with Frederick, but she knew Betty wouldn’t let Mildred go out on her own. Lucy couldn’t blame Katura for wanting to spend time alone with her suitor, so, in the spirit of Christmas, she figured she could summon enough goodwill to help Katura enjoy an evening out with Frederick. What’s more, Lucy
was suddenly filled with a stubborn resolve not to allow her “breakup” with Nick to ruin any more of her pre-Grischtdaag festivities. “Okay, I’ll go,” she agreed.

  But when Mildred told Betty their plans for the evening, Betty objected. “I don’t like the idea of you going to a party at an Englischer’s home, Mildred. And Lucy probably wants to go out with Nick tonight, don’t you, Lucy?”

  “Nick’s...working late tonight,” Lucy guessed, glad Katura wasn’t in the room to mention their breakup. “I really don’t mind accompanying Mildred.”

  “Maybe not, but you’re still as pale as can be. It doesn’t seem wise for you to be traipsing around outdoors in this weather.”

  Seeing the disappointment in Mildred’s eyes, Lucy countered, “The fresh air will put a little color in my cheeks.”

  “Please, Mamm,” pleaded Mildred. “If we promise to be home by midnight, can we go?”

  “Eleven o’clock,” Betty compromised. She set down the dishcloth and pointed her finger at the girls. “Not a moment later. And I want the two of you to stick together, do you hear me?”

  “Jah, Mamm,” Mildred promised. To Lucy she said, “This is going to be a blast! Denki for going with me, Lucy.”

  But as they journeyed to the central meeting place, the parking lot behind the mercantile, Lucy regretted her decision. For one thing, Betty was right about the bitterly cold weather. For another, the first person she saw when she arrived was Dan, who gave her an enthusiastic wave, causing her to feel even worse. Nick had been partly right; she’d put on a big act, falling into Dan’s arms on Wednesday night at the soup kitchen. It wasn’t because she liked Dan; it was because she hoped her theatrics would make Nick realize other young men cared about her, too. She doubted Dan thought twice about it, but seeing him brought unpleasant associations of Nick to mind.