“I grew up once.” Avery didn’t mean to say the words aloud.
“Sorry?”
“Nothing.”
“I heard you and Jack Welch broke up.”
“True.”
“I never liked him. He was just so . . . smarmy.”
Out of the mouths of babes
. As true as the statement was, it still stung. Avery felt the well of unwanted tears in her eyes.
“Oh, don’t cry. I’m sure you’ll find someone much better. Mother is always telling me that I don’t think before I speak, and—”
“No, no. You’re right. I will find someone better. I already have.”
Meredith looked around trying to spot someone new in the familiar crowd. “Is he here?”
“No.”
“Then where is he?”
“In Oklahoma.”
“If you love him, why are you here while he’s in another state?”
Why indeed?
“I’m not sure if he loves me back.”
“You know how to tell though.”
Avery shook her head.
“That song, silly. From the movie
Mermaid
. His kiss.” She sang the words just a little off key and brought a smile to Avery’s lips. “You know.”
She did, and those simple words brought back a wealth of memories—she and Gideon on their last picnic, the way his lips clung to hers as if he couldn’t help himself. She initiated the kiss, but he kissed her back. She had accused him of still being in love with Miriam, but now he was courting another woman. An Amish woman. When he should be with her.
“I also heard that you spent some time with the Amish.” Meredith said this as if it were some kind of state secret.
“I did.”
Her brown eyes grew wide. “Really? What was that like?”
“It was . . .” Avery hesitated. Not once since she had gotten back from Oklahoma had anyone asked her how it felt to be among the Amish. Never had she tried to sum up the experience with mere words. “It was slow. But in a good way,” she added. “Quiet, but that was good too.”
Meredith made a face. “Sounds boring.”
Avery shook her head. “It was wonderful, actually.”
“And they really live without electricity?”
“Yes.”
“Bet you missed that, huh?”
“No.” I
miss Gideon
.
“Who’s Gideon?”
Had she said his name aloud? “He was the man I stayed with while I was there. A farmer.” Those words sounded too mundane to describe Gideon, but none other seemed to fit either.
“He’s Amish?”
“
Jah
. I mean, yes.”
“And you miss him.”
“Yes,” she said quietly. And she missed Lizzie and Samuel, Ruth and Abram—even Gabriel and his scowl. She missed having the coffee she had made each morning and trying to get the dough right to make chicken pot pie. She missed the stories and the peaceful solitude. And Gideon, she so very much missed Gideon.
A cheesy old quote came to mind,
If you love something set it free
. He had set her free. What if she proved her love by returning?
Avery’s heart gave a sudden lurch, then pounded in her chest.
“Avery?”
“Huh?” She twisted in her seat to stare at Meredith, while a plan turned over and over in her mind.
“I asked if you wanted another drink.”
“No. I . . . I need a cab.”
“You haven’t had that much.”
“I know. I need a cab.”
“I haven’t seen you drink all night.”
“Your sister has, and she’s my ride.”
“You’re leaving? I thought the fun was just beginning.” She looked around at the couples dancing, her sister outside still kissing the half-clothed Carson Henry in the shallow end of the pool.
“I’ve got to go,” Avery said quietly. She had to get back to Gideon, to show him how much she cared. She might get there and he might turn her away, but she had to try. She loved him too much to just let everything they had go.
Meredith got a knowing light in her brown eyes. “You’re going back.”
Avery nodded.
Meredith plucked her cell phone from her tiny, sequined evening purse. “Baxter, please bring the car around. And hurry. I have a friend who needs to get home as soon as possible.”
A truer statement she had never heard.
Meredith walked her down to the front of the building and saw her safely to the Esteban’s limousine. Secretly Avery thought Meredith had fancied herself to be some sort of undercover matchmaker by helping her get back to Amish country. Avery supposed she kind of was. In fact, Meredith rode with Avery all the way out to her house where Maris was waiting with a small overnight bag and Louie all ready to go.
“Thank you, both,” Avery addressed the women, worlds apart yet they had united for her.
Maris smiled and pressed her keys into her hand. “I’ll tell your father you’ll call him in a day or two.”
Avery nodded. Her father was smart. He’d understand why she had to go. Okay, maybe understand was too strong of a word. But one day he’d realize that she did it all for love. She just hoped Gideon understood too.
She couldn’t let herself consider the fact that he could send her away a second time. She had faith, hope, and love. Wasn’t the greatest love? Surely that would carry more weight than the life differences they faced.
Avery kissed Maris on the cheek, hugged Meredith, and loaded Louie V. into the pearly-white Mercedes. She started the car and waved good-bye before heading down the driveway and through the gates that led out into the city.
“All right, Lou. Let’s go home.”
16
T
he sound of an engine roared from the road, but Gideon didn’t look up from the fence gate. He had done so much this spring, but the fences were still in bad need of work as May was coming to an end. It had to be done soon. His alpacas should be arriving today. Excitement buzzed around him. He never thought he’d feel this way about hairy animals that could spit thirty yards, but this was a new day. His new beginning.
He and Rachael had begun their courtin’, but were taking it slow.
Jah
, she needed a few things done around the house, and he could do those odd jobs for her. Until they actually got married, Gabriel’s oldest boys had signed on to help her. They would bring in this year’s crops, and Mary Elizabeth was helping her can relish and chowchow to sell in the market.
He wouldn’t let himself think about Annie and what she might be doin’ now. He couldn’t start over by lookin’ back. But at night, when everything was quiet, she snuck into this thoughts.
Gideon pushed and pulled at the fence post, testing its stability. Satisfied with the results, he hooked the latch and peeled off his gloves. It would do for now. Hopefully soon, he would be able to upgrade the fencing. The orange tabby that had come up a couple of days before wound her scrawny body in between his legs, then rubbed her face against the new post.
The property looked so different than when he first bought it. At the time, he had wanted to escape, but now he enjoyed the seclusion. Not many traveled this far from town without a purpose.
He heard a truck door slam. He’d finished just in time. His alpacas were here. Wouldn’t Annie be surprised to learn he had followed her advice? Mary Elizabeth had written Annie at least one letter, but he refused to let himself ask what it said and whether his niece had heard back from their
Englisch
friend. Asking one question would only lead to more—and he couldn’t afford to keep dwelling on what could never be.
As much as he told himself it was for the best, he could never forget the wounded look in her eyes when she knew he was sending her home. He hadn’t wanted to. He missed her something terrible. But it was better to lose her now than when she owned even more of his heart.
A familiar voice called out behind him. “Thank you!”
It was worse than he thought. Now he was hearing her voice.
He shaded his eyes and searched the line of trees next to the road, hoping to spot the delivery truck full of alpacas. But instead he saw . . .
“Annie?” The word came out as a whisper. He feared that if he spoke any louder she might disappear. Surely he had imagined her. He closed his eyes. Counted to three, couldn’t stand it any longer, and opened them again.
Annie!
She waved to the driver of the car that had dropped her off, her too-short black dress flashing in the sunlight. Then she bent, took off her shoes, and started toward the house.
He held his breath. He couldn’t afford to be prideful, but what reason would she have for coming back now, if not for him? He watched her walk slowly up the lane toward him. Well, it
seemed
like she walked slowly. She didn’t run, and she didn’t hurry to his side.
Louie made it to him first, then Annie. His sweet, sweet Annie.
She stopped a little more than an arm’s length away. “Hi.”
“Guder mariye.”
The Oklahoma wind feathered through her hair. He would have brushed it back had she been even a few inches closer. Instead, he scratched the pooch behind the ears.
“I came back.” Her words were breathless as if she’d run the whole way from Dallas.
“I can see that.”
She looked at him, her violet eyes steady, but uncertain. “I have three things I need to ask you.”
He nodded. “
Jah
?”
She took a deep, shaky breath. “You told me once that you still loved your wife.”
“
Jah
.”
“Do you love me?”
“
Jah
,” he said without hesitation. “I do.”
Her lips trembled, then she pressed them together, the only sign that what he’d said had affected her at all.
“And are you still planning on courting another woman?”
“It was what the bishop wanted.”
“And now?”
He shrugged, unable to say the words, hesitant to be too hopeful. Rachael was a fine Amish woman and would make any man a
gut
wife. But nothing he would ever feel for her could compare to how Avery set his heart to soarin’. Plain livin’ could be difficult for those born into it. It was next to impossible for those wantin’ to join up.
She took another deep breath, this one steadying, and her eyes darkened. “How does the bishop feel about outsiders living in his district?”
Gideon swallowed hard. His heart hammered in his chest. “That’d probably depend on who wanted to come live here.”
“Me,” she said. “What about me?”
He cleared his throat, pushing down the hope rising within him. He was as nervous as she, and he wanted to take her hands into his own and tell her everything would work out just fine. But that wasn’t something he knew for sure and for certain. “I think he’d be
allrecht
with that. Once he gets to know you.”
“And what about you?”
“That’s more’n three questions.” Then he took the first step that brought them closer together and pulled her into his arms.
She was warm, melting into his embrace. Gideon buried his face in the curve of her neck and breathed in the lavender scent that was all Annie.
“Why’d you make me go?” Her voice came out raw and scratchy, but she kept her arms locked firmly around his neck in a tight, loving grip.
“I thought it best.”
“You were wrong.”
“I was wrong.”
She pulled away just enough to look into his eyes. “All my life I’ve been searching for something. I found it right here.”
“God?” he asked.
Annie smiled through her tears. “God. Love.
You
.” She paused. “Please don’t make me leave again.”
Those words brought it all home. Reluctantly, he set her away from him and kept her at an arm’s distance. “It’s not goin’ to be easy.”
He was stone-cold serious, but still she smiled. “The things worth having usually aren’t.”
“You’ll be givin’ up a lot.”
“Nothing worth having.”
“There’s a lot more than cars and clothes that’d have to be left behind.”
She flashed him her dimples even as the tears continued to spill from her amazing violet-colored eyes. “I love you more than electricity.”
“That’s good to know.” His heart pounded once again. She loved him! He wanted to dip his head right there on the spot and kiss her breathless. Kiss her like he had wanted to that day down by the creek. But the rumble of a truck followed by the blare of a horn kept him in line.
“They’re here.”
“Who’s here?” She turned, and he pulled her back against him and wrapped his arms around her middle as a truck rolled to a stop at the end of the lane.
He was sure they made quite a pair, a Plain man and a beautiful
Englischer
in a shining
frack
. But he didn’t care. Annie was back. His Annie had come home.
A man hopped out of the truck and approached them. “You G. Fisher?”
“I am.”
“I’ve got sixteen alpacas here for you.”
He heard the intake of her breath. “Alpacas?”
“That’s right,” the driver said.
Gideon smiled into her hair. “Let’s get ’em in this pasture.” He released Annie. For now. He moved away from her toward the back of the truck and its waiting animals.
Now that he had her, he hated to let her go. It was probably for the best. Otherwise he’d go on holding her, maybe even kissing her until he got his fill. They’d shock the whole district and that would never do.
Avery gathered Louie into her arms and without a care for the cost of her dress, climbed onto the top rung of the fence as Gideon and the truck driver unloaded the alpacas. The first one out of the trailer was a soft, beige female with thick, wooly fur. They were everything she had read about and more. Long eyelashes like a camel, velvety soft noses. They were indeed docile in nature for they ambled out of the trailer without so much as a fuss, then gladly moseyed into the pasture, poking around at the unfamiliar ground and nudging at each other.
She tamped down her worry and tried just to enjoy the sight of all these beautiful creatures. Gideon’s fresh start on life. She hoped she could be a part of it. He hadn’t asked her to leave, but he hadn’t said she could stay either. He’d seemed so happy when she had arrived. That had to be a good sign.
She just hoped she hadn’t been too hasty in leaving her car at the General Store with a big For Sale sign on it.