Living in Harmony (38 page)

“
Candidate
?” Amy spat out the word like tainted food. “You weren't a name on an
Englischer
's election ballot. You were the man I'd fallen in love with. I didn't search for Aunt Prudence for relationship advice. I sought her for the comfort of family around me.” Her eyes grew moist and shiny. “You have Thomas and Sally—and even Elam, for that matter. As fond of them as I am, I still yearned for loved ones from home. Prudence was no threat to you. I certainly wouldn't want to emulate her sorrowful life.”

“I realize that now and can only beg your forgiveness, Amy. I will regret what I've done till my dying day.” He raised his head but the moment their eyes met, he knew his answer. There would be no mercy for his shameful behavior.

There would be no future for them.

She lifted her chin, creating a sharp, angular profile as she turned toward the fence. A black crow had perched on the top rail not far from where they stood. Superstitious people thought those birds carried spirits to the afterlife or were the harbingers of bad news. John thought this time those
Englischers
might be right.

“I may be able to forgive you, John,” she said, “but that's as far as it goes. I have no faith that you won't do such things down the road. And I won't marry a man I cannot trust.”

Her words rang a death knell for his future. The crow issued an
irritated
caw, caw,
took flight, and disappeared into the mist and fog. “You don't love me anymore?” he asked. With shaking fingers, he caressed her cheek with his thumb. The bold act wasn't born from hope, only from the desire to touch her sweet face one last time.

Amy brushed away his hand as though a mosquito on a warm summer day. “I won't marry you, and love has nothing to do with it.” With that she walked away from him, down the slope, and out of his life.

John didn't try to stop her or change her mind. He knew it was hopeless.

“Pride has ruined the lives of many good men
.
”
The words of his long-dead father rang in his ears as though spoken yesterday. John had heard the warning many times but had never understood its meaning. After a horrible buggy accident took his parents away, he'd never been able to ask for an explanation.

Now he understood. Although he would be hard-pressed to call himself “a good man.”

Nora had a bad feeling when she awoke that morning, coming on the heels of one bad dream after another.
Ah-choo!
The sneeze brought her upright along with a full recollection of the previous night's events.
Ah-choo!
She reached for a tissue from her nightstand. She shouldn't have snapped at Amy when she tried to wake her earlier. The woman wanted to talk—a normal reaction after taking her side during the argument with John. How could Amy have known she had followed Elam Detweiler through rain, cold, and muddy fields on his late night escapade?

But it was worth catching a cold for it. She'd discovered Elam's secret and formed a special bond with him.

Nora washed her face, pinned up her hair, and donned the
plainest, drabbest dress she owned. She would need to wear sackcloth and ashes around John to make up for coming between him and his beloved Amy. Though it hadn't been her intention, that had been the final result.

Halfway down the stairs she heard Aden let out a wail. Nora hurried back to his room and found him still prisoner in his crib with both rails up. Many times the boy climbed over the side, but today he stood there crying. “I'll set you free.” Nora lifted him up and out, setting his bare feet on the floor.

“Norrah,” he said, hugging her around the knees. Then he padded out of the bedroom in search of his mother.

“Hold up there, young man,” she called in
Deutsch
, to no avail. Nora grabbed socks from his bureau drawer and followed after him. On her way to the kitchen, she heard Jeremiah crying in the living room portable crib. That sound meant a hungry
boppli
. She was no help there. Nora expected to run into Sally scurrying to her child. Instead, she found her staring out the window with her face pressed to the glass.

“
Guder mariye
,” greeted Nora, heading straight to the coffeepot. “I believe Jeremiah wishes for his breakfast.”

Sally glanced over her shoulder. “What? Oh,
jah
, of course.” But she took one more look at the backyard before leaving the window.

Her strange behavior sent a frisson of anxiety up Nora's spine. Sally never was reluctant to tend her
kinner
. “What's wrong? What has happened?”

In the doorway, Sally wrung her hands like an elderly woman. “Amy ran out of here furious with John. Then he took off after her. From what I can tell, they won't be kissing and making up, as the
Englischers
say.” Sally shivered as though outdoors without a coat.

Nora felt her hunger pangs vanish. “Is this my doing? Is this because I forgot to cook supper? I thought Amy decided to smooth things over with him.”

Jeremiah's wails grew more insistent. Sally looked torn between two pressing needs. “She came downstairs this morning aiming to do exactly that. But then…” Sally's voice trailed off as she hurried from the room to her baby.

Nora set down her mug to follow her. She waited until Sally had Jeremiah nursing comfortably in the rocking chair and Aden playing with blocks at her feet. As Nora knelt to put on his little socks, she demanded, “What happened? Tell me the whole story.”

Sally closed her eyes and rocked. “I told Amy that I'd witnessed John burning Prudence's letters in the stove when he thought no one was around. Amy was furious. I think she'll break up with him now. The marriage will be canceled, and it's my fault.”

“John burned Aunt Prudence's letters?” Nora pressed her knuckles to her lips. “If she does break their engagement, it will be John's doing, not yours.” Nora realized she took no pleasure from the possibility.

“I must stop eavesdropping and spying on people. No good can come from that.” Sally's vehemence echoed off the polished wood floors.

“This has been a week for bad behavior,” mused Nora. She wandered from the room to give Sally privacy and took up her post at the kitchen window. As expected, Nora spotted the unhappy couple by the fence. Amy stood with her arms tightly crossed. That posture never boded well for the other person.

Backing away from the window, Nora reached for her cloak from a peg. She slipped out the side door and headed in the opposite direction from Amy and John, preferring to avoid either of them for the next several hours. Unfortunately, only selfish thoughts crept into her mind:
If Amy and John part ways, Amy will return to Lancaster. And that means I must return with her.
That was something she'd pledged never to do. For the past few weeks, she had worried about Thomas or John sending her back to
grossmammi
's because her adjustment had been less than sufficient.
Never in a million years had the idea of both King sisters boarding the train with their tails between their legs crossed her mind.

She had to think of something. There had to be a way—
Ah-choo!
An explosive sneeze caught her unaware and sent birds fleeing from overhead branches.

“God bless you,” called a voice. “Are you all right? A sneeze like that could burst a blood vessel.” Smirking, Elam stuck his head out from around the outdoor stall wall.

“I truly hope He does, because I can use all the blessings I can get today.” Nora walked to where her sole friend groomed his sleek stallion. “You know this nasty cold is your fault.” She dabbed her nose with a tissue.

His smirk broadened into a wide ear to ear grin. “Don't dump this on me, my lovely Miss King. I didn't tell you to tail me in the dead of night in the cold rain—without your galoshes, no less.” He added an aged, scratchy inflection to his last words. “Spies have only themselves to blame when plans go awry.” Elam patted the horse's flank affectionately.

My lovely Miss King?
Nora peered up into his dark eyes. “I suppose you're right, but suffering a cold is preferable to dying of boredom on the Detweiler farm.”

His raucous laughter caused the horse to prance against the cross-ties. “Don't get too close, Nora,” he warned. “There's no telling what this feisty boy will do.” Wiping his hands on a rag, Elam stepped out of the stall. “Did chronic boredom send you searching for me two days in a row?” He shook his long hair from his eyes.

“Not exactly. John and Amy are fighting. I thought it best to stay out of their way, especially as I'm partially to blame for their disagreement.”

“I'm sorry to hear that. Your sister seems very nice. My brother will never do better than her for a wife.” Elam leaned a shoulder against the barn wall.

“But Amy and John are only part of the reason I came outside.”
Nora inhaled a breath of clean, cold air. “I was curious about something you said last night.”

“About my getting a driver's license?”

“No, I understand why a man would want to learn to drive. I'm interested why you're leaving.”

“For the same reason you followed me last night. Harmony is a tad too quiet for my taste. Besides, Thomas hasn't given me much choice.” Elam pulled a half-smoked cigarette from his pocket to relight.

“What do you mean?” She inclined her head toward him.

Elam struck a match on the rough-sawn wood. “I have until Christmas to make up my mind—either join the Amish church or mosey on my way. I don't think it'll take me long to decide.” He exhaled the smoke in a series of tiny rings. “There are no jobs around, not until the spring anyway. I don't relish another winter spent in Sally's basement twiddling my thumbs. It's time for me to move on. And I plan to pick someplace warmer.”

Nora tried not to reveal her excitement from his announcement. “
Jah
, that cellar must get depressing in cold weather. Tell me, Elam, where will you go?”

“I've tweaked your interest, no?” His dimples deepened as he smiled. “I'm going to Missouri where some relatives live—a couple of aunts and a whole bunch of cousins. It's an Old Order community like this one, but, according to Sally, a lot less conservative than here.”

“Sally told you about her
rumschpringe
days in Missouri?” Nora couldn't hide her surprise. “I thought she wasn't very fond of you.”

“
Jah
, she actually liked me when I first moved in with them a couple of years ago. Now she's bound and determined to become the perfect preacher's wife, so I've become nothing but bad news.” He shrugged with nonchalance.

Nora scratched her chin. “She has been trying hard to live down her past.”

“And I'm eager to
start
living my future.” A gust of wind buffeted them from the south, and a hard rain began to fall. Elam turned his focus toward the sky. “You'd better head for the house, even if the squabble between Amy and John isn't over. We're in for a storm. This might turn to snow. After all, we are in Maine.” He winked an expressive brown eye.

Butterflies took flight in Nora's belly from his flirtation. “One more question before I go,” she said. “What's the name of that town in Missouri where Sally is from? She mentioned it once, but I don't recall.”

Elam resumed grooming his horse with long, gentle strokes. “In Missouri, even the names of towns sound appealing. I'm headed for Paradise, sweet Nora. One of these days, you'll wake up and I will be gone.” This voice had taken a dreamy, faraway sound.

“Just for the record, I'm not that sweet.” Nora flashed her prettiest smile before stepping from the barn's protection into the rain. But she neither ran, nor even walked fast toward the house, despite the downpour. She was too busy plotting how to win the heart of Elam Detweiler before it was too late.