A Man of His Word (34 page)

Tobias had never been jealous a day in his life. But when he saw Rachel run up to Christian, he turned green.

“Christian!” she exclaimed, going to him, but stopping short of throwing herself in his arms. Instead she put her hands on her hips. “You have a lot of nerve showing up here after all this time.”

Christian, to his credit, appeared contrite. “Rachel, I’m so sorry. I wanted to come back earlier, but my uncle’s injury was very serious. He came close to breaking his back, so they needed me to stay there until he could heal.”

“And you couldn’t tell me this in a letter?”

Tobias hid a grin. For once someone else was on the receiving end of her ire. And with good reason. Christian should have never been away from her for this long without giving her more of an explanation.

“I’m not much of a letter writer. To be honest, I was exhausted. I know I should have called and written more, but I kept thinking he would recover and I could come home soon. But it took longer than we all thought. He’s still not a hundred percent, but I couldn’t be away from home any longer.”

“Oh, Christian, I’m so sorry.” She took her hands off her hips and walked toward him.

Tobias’s good humor disintegrated. He didn’t like the soft way Rachel was talking to Christian, or the moony expression on Christian’s face. Tobias cleared his throat and they broke apart, Rachel turning around and giving him an annoyed look.

Christian peeked past her shoulder. “Hello, Tobias. Nice to see you.” He strode toward him and held out his hand. “It’s
gut
to be back home.”

“I’m sure it is.” He shook Christian’s hand, guilt striking him. He had no right to be jealous. Christian and Rachel had been courting long before Tobias had understood his true feelings for Rachel. Christian was his friend, and he had been so close to betraying that friendship by telling Rachel how he felt. He’d already let it slip that he liked her, and she seemed shocked by the revelation. He could only imagine how she would react if he told her how much he really cared about her.

Christian leaned forward, lowering his voice. “Hey, do mind if I have a few moments alone with my girl?”

Another wave of jealousy rose within Tobias, but he shoved it down. “Sure.” He shrugged in the most nonchalant way he could muster, then looked at Rachel. “I promised Carol Mullet I’d sit beside her during the singing anyway.”

Pain flashed in her eyes, and for the second time in five minutes, he wanted to kick himself. He’d made no such promise, even though he knew that Carol had liked him for a long time and probably wouldn’t mind one bit if he sat next to her. He’d lashed out from his own envy and had hurt Rachel in the process, all because he couldn’t handle how she made him feel—irritated, excited, interested, and most of all, confused.

Pulling down the brim of his straw hat, he headed inside the barn, needing to get away from both of them. He stood in the doorway and immediately saw Carol standing next to the refreshment table. She gave him a small wave and then smiled, her gray eyes shining behind her wire-rimmed glasses. Carol was a nice enough girl. Maybe he would sit with her after all. Perhaps she could help him forget about Rachel, who was now off limits since Christian had returned. He walked over to her and gave her his most charming grin.

“I missed you so much, Rachel.”

Rachel pulled her gaze from Tobias’s retreating form. “What?”

“I missed you.” Christian smiled, more animated than she’d ever seen him. “I hated being apart from you for so long.”

“Me too,” she said absently. Why had Tobias promised to sit with Carol Mullet? Did he like her? If he did, then what kind of game was he playing, telling Rachel he liked her when he really liked someone else? Or did he just enjoy teasing them both?

“Rachel? Are you listening to me?”

She blinked and looked at Christian’s face. “
Ya
, I’m listening to you.” Irritation sparked her voice. “I’m standing right here, aren’t I?”

Christian’s smile faded. “I know you’re mad at me, and you have every right to be. I should have called more, written more.” He took a step toward her. “I promise, I’ll make it up to you.”

The sound of hymn-singing wafted over to them. Glancing around, she saw that the teens playing volleyball had already gone inside the barn. She and Christian were alone.

“I did a lot of thinking while I was gone,” Christian said. He reached out and took Rachel’s hand.

She jumped, surprised at the gesture. “Christian, what are you—”

“Shhh.” He put his finger on her lips, and her eyes widened. “We need to talk.”

Moving her mouth from his hand, she said, “I don’t really think this is a
gut
ti—”

“I think we should get married this November.”

“What?”

“Get married. I’ve thought about you every day while I was gone. It was like a part of me was missing without you. I believe God was telling me that we were meant to be together. Forever.”

“But, Christian, doesn’t this seem sudden?”

“I know it does, but I’ve been doing a lot of thinking while I was gone. When my uncle got hurt, it took a toll on my aunt. She thought she’d lost him. You should have seen how she took care of him while he was laid up.”

Rachel couldn’t believe his words. “You want to get married so I can take care of you?”

“
Nee
, it’s not just that. I also heard about Levi.” His expression sobered. “Life’s too short, Rachel. And I don’t see any reason why we should wait any longer to get married. You never know what might happen.”

“But, Christian, you just got back. I need some time.”

He took a step back, disappointment darkening his features. “Are you saying you don’t want to marry me, Rachel?”

“
Nee
, I’m not saying that—” Before she could finish, he bent toward her and kissed her lightly on the mouth.

“You’ve made me so happy, Rachel. I know you’ll be a
wun-derbaar
frau
.”

Wife? Had she somehow agreed to marriage and didn’t realize it? She didn’t recognize the man in front of her. She’d never seen him so excited, so exuberant. It was as if he was a completely different person. And now she was going to marry him?

She didn’t even know him anymore.

“Let’s go inside,” he said, putting his hand on the back of her waist as if he already possessed her. “The singing’s started.”

In a daze she walked with him to the barn. Thirty or so young people were sitting on wooden chairs, some in groups, some in pairs, surrounded by bales of fresh hay. When they stepped inside she expected him to drop his hand, but he didn’t. Her cheeks turned red as she realized he’d all but shouted to their friends that she and Christian were more than just courting. Her gaze landed on the floor, wishing she could turn around and tell Christian that she needed to think about his proposal. When she looked up, she spied Tobias.

He was sitting next to Carol Mullet. Very close to her. She looked as if she would pop with glee. Glancing up from the hymnal, his gaze caught hers for a split moment, then he looked at Carol and smiled.

So that was it. The feelings she had for him were definitely one-sided. Good thing she found out now, before she had
really
started liking him. She should have known better anyway. Tobias Byler was only interested in himself. Soon Carol would realize that, just as Rachel had. Her initial analysis had been right—Christian was far superior than Tobias could ever hope to be. He wouldn’t toy with her emotions, wouldn’t make her feel like a fool. She didn’t need to think about Christian’s proposal any more. She had already made up her mind.

“Ready?” Christian whispered in her ear as he led her into the barn.

She turned to Christian and smiled. At least she tried to, but the burning lump in her throat made it difficult. Fortunately he didn’t seem to notice. “
Ya
. I’m ready.”

“Moriah, I think it’s clean enough.”

From her position on the kitchen floor, Moriah looked up at her mother. Emma crossed her arms, a stern expression on her face. Moriah turned her attention back to the spot she was scrubbing with a soapy rag. Sweat dripped from her brow onto the floor. “I just need to get this spot up,” she said.

Emma crouched down and took the rag out of her daughter’s hand. “I said, it’s clean enough.”

Unwilling to argue with her mother, Moriah moved to rise from the floor. The baby had grown quite a bit in the past month, swelling her belly and making her feel off balance. Emma reached out and helped her to her feet.

“You have no business scrubbing the floor,” Emma chided. “Not when I can do it. Or Elisabeth and Ruth.”

“You have enough work to do,” Moriah said, wiping her slick forehead. August heat filtered through the house. “I’m only trying to do my share.”

“You’re doing more than your share. Sit down, Moriah.” Emma gestured toward the kitchen table. “I’ll bring you something to drink.”

“
Nee
, I can get it.”

“I said sit down. No arguments.”

Moriah dutifully sat. Her mother returned with a cold glass of water, filled with ice cubes from the outside gas freezer. “Drink this. It will help cool you off.”

The water felt refreshing sliding down her parched throat. She hadn’t realized how thirsty she was. She had been so focused on getting the stain up from the floor, scrubbing and scrubbing until her hand ached. But it was no use. The stain had set in. Just as sorrow and loneliness had settled into her soul.

“I’m worried about you, Moriah. Your
daed
is too.” Emma sat down, her own face rosy from the heat of the day. “You’re working even harder at your chores than before, and you’ve been so quiet the past few weeks. You haven’t even wanted to stay for dinner after the church services.” She laid her hand on Moriah’s forearm. “Please,
dochder
, tell me what’s going on.”

Moriah looked away. She didn’t want to talk about her tumultuous feelings, not when she’d been trying so hard to cast them away. Levi’s affair haunted her while Gabriel’s declaration of love confused her. He had said he would take care of her for the rest of his life. That Levi asked him to do so. But she hadn’t been good enough for Levi. What if she wasn’t enough for Gabriel? What if she would never be enough for any man? She didn’t want to find out. She couldn’t go through this pain again.

“Moriah, honey, please. Talk to me. Is this about Gabriel?”

She jerked her head. “What makes you say that?”

“He used to visit all the time. I notice he hasn’t been here in a while.”

“He’s busy.”

Emma sighed. “I’m sure he is, but he always found time for you before.”

“He must have realized I wasn’t worth it.”

“Now where is that coming from?”

Moriah rose from her chair. The truth was, Gabriel had come around, several times, but she had sent him away. She hadn’t seen him for nearly three weeks now, except at church, where she avoided him. Evading him was easier than seeing the yearning in his eyes. “I’m going to take a nap,
Mami
.” Without waiting for her mother to respond, she left the kitchen and went upstairs, glad that Elisabeth was at her babysitting job so she could have their room to herself.

She lay down on her side and stared at the wall on the opposite side of the room. The bedroom was sweltering hot, but she didn’t care. Her baby moved, and she put her hand over her belly. The babe’s active movements were the only thing that brought her joy anymore. But even that was tempered by the knowledge that the baby would never know his or her father.