A VOW for ALWAYS Page 4

  Laurie giggled. “I think you’re just anxious to eat some of that good food the women from your church have prepared.”

  He gave his stomach a thump. “What can I say? I’m a hungry man.”

  “Are you coming, Meredith?” Laurie asked. Meredith nodded. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  As the newlyweds headed down the stairs to the fellowship hall, Meredith thought about how different from an Amish wedding their wedding service had been. Besides the fact that it had been held inside a church building, there would be just one meal following the service, not three, like in most traditional Amish weddings. That meant the festivities would be over much sooner.

  Meredith was about to head down the stairs, when she caught sight of Merle Raber, who often drove Jonah and his folks places when they couldn’t take their horse and buggy. He hurried toward Meredith with a grim expression. “Jonah asked me to come. He wanted me to tell you that he’s sorry he couldn’t make it to your sister’s wedding.”

  “What’s wrong?” Meredith asked, alarm welling up in her chest. “Did something happen to Jonah?”

  Merle shook his head. “His dad got pinned under a buggy they’d been working on, and he’s at the hospital getting checked over.”

  Meredith gasped. “That’s terrible. I hope he isn’t seriously hurt.”

  “I don’t think so,” Merle said, “but he was having a little trouble breathing, so they wanted to check him over real good.”

  “That makes sense,” Meredith said with a nod. “Thank you for letting me know. I hope and pray that Raymond’s okay.”

  Darby

  “Are you going to come outside and help us build a snowman?” Susan asked Anne after she and Luke returned from their shopping trip.

  Anne’s curls bounced around her face as she shook her head. “You two go ahead. I just got off work, and I’m gonna curl up in front of the fireplace and finish reading that book I started last week.”

  “Is it another Amish-themed novel?” Susan asked.

  Anne nodded. “I don’t know why, but I’m fascinated with the Amish way of life.”

  Susan smiled. “Maybe we should make another trip to Lancaster when the weather warms in the spring. We can stop at one of the farmers’ markets and see what else we might buy.”

  Anne bobbed her head. “Luke, maybe you’d like to go with us. We could go for a buggy ride, browse some of the shops, and eat shoofly pie.”

  Luke’s eyebrows furrowed, and he rubbed his forehead. “I think I may have had shoofly pie before, but I can’t remember where or what it tastes like.”

  “It has a molasses base,” Susan said. “They sell it at the farmers’ market in Philly. Maybe you had some there.”

  Luke shrugged. “Guess that could be. I’m just not sure. Fact is, I’m not sure about anything that took place before I woke up in the hospital and met you two.”

  Susan’s heart ached for Luke. She could see by his pinched expression that he was struggling hard to remember his past. Maybe what he needed was a distraction. She pointed out the kitchen window, where the snow was coming down harder. “Why don’t we head outside now and build that snowman before it gets too cold?”

  “Sounds good to me. Let’s go!” Luke grabbed Susan’s hand, and they headed out the back door.

  Once outside, they began rolling a snowball. Soon they had three good-sized balls and had formed a snowman. Then they put a carrot in for its nose, two matching rocks for the eyes, and placed Luke’s red baseball cap on the snowman’s head.

  “He looks pretty good, don’t you think?” Luke asked, standing back to admire their creation.

  Susan nodded. “Let’s make some snow angels now.”

  Luke chuckled when she dropped to the ground, spread her arms and legs, and moved them back and forth through the snow. When she hopped up, the place in the snow where she’d been flapping her arms looked like a pair of angel’s wings.

  Without warning, Susan scooped up a handful of snow and flung it at Luke. He shivered when it landed on his neck. “Hey!”

  Quickly, he leaned down and formed a snowball then tossed it at Susan. It landed on her right arm. “No fair, I wasn’t ready for that!” She whirled around, but before she could take a step, Luke threw another clump of snow. This one hit Susan’s shoulder.

  Soon, there were snowballs flying back and forth, along with peals of laughter. Luke was having such a great time, he forgot about his earlier frustrations. It felt good to run around like a kid, enjoying the fresh-fallen snow while chasing Susan.

  Luke watched slyly when Susan scooted behind a pine tree in one corner of the Baileys’ yard. What is she up to now? he wondered. The white pine’s soft needles were covered with snow, and several pinecones still clung to a few of the branches.

  Luke glanced up and noticed a low-hanging limb right above where Susan stood behind the tree. I’ll get her now. Luke smirked and whipped around to the other side of the tree. On impulse, he jumped up and shook the tree limb.

  “Yikes!” Susan squealed as a wall of snow fell on her head. “I’ll get you for that!” she warned, spitting snow from her mouth.

  Before she could get the snow wiped from her face, Luke turned in the other direction, hoping to get out of the line of fire.

  “You can’t get away from me,” Susan yelled with excitement in her voice.

  Whap! Another snowball made its mark, sending icy cold fragments of snow down Luke’s neck. He whirled around and raced after Susan, quickly grabbing her around the waist.

  Panting and laughing, they fell to the ground in a heap of cold snow. As Luke lay there beside her, huffing and puffing, his gaze went to her rosy-red lips. Seeing the merriment in Susan’s eyes, he leaned closer as the urge to kiss her became strong. His lips were mere inches from hers, when the back door opened and Anne shouted, “Hey, you two! Why don’t you come inside and warm up with a cup of hot chocolate and some of Grandma’s melt-in-your-mouth banana bread?”

  Luke looked at Susan to get her reaction. Was that a look of disappointment on her face? Had she been hoping he would kiss her? Did she want it as much as he did?

  Maybe it’s best that we were interrupted, he thought. Since I haven’t put the pieces of my past together yet, I really can’t commit to Susan right now.

  Luke’s growing attraction to her made him even more anxious to know his past. If he could just find the key to unlock the memories hidden away in his head, he might feel free to express his feelings.

  CHAPTER 5

  Ronks

  I’m glad your daed wasn’t seriously hurt,” Meredith told Jonah as they sat on the sofa together in her parents’ living room.

  He nodded solemnly. “It about scared me to death when I found him pinned under the buggy like that. Fortunately the only injuries involved some bruising.”

  “God was watching over him,” Meredith said.

  Jonah nodded. “I would say so.”

  “When you didn’t show up for Laurie and Kevin’s wedding yesterday, I was worried—especially after seeing the snow come down as hard as it did.”

  “Well, it wasn’t because of the weather, but we did feel bad about missing the wedding.” He glanced around. “Where is everyone this evening? I expected to see your sisters and brothers running around like they usually do when I drop by.”

  “They’re upstairs in their rooms,” Meredith replied. “Dad thought it would be nice if we had some time alone, without the little ones climbing all over you.”

  Jonah chuckled. “They do seem to like me for some reason.”

  “That’s because you’re such a nice man, and they like those twisty animal balloons you make for them.” Meredith smiled. “You’re good with Levi, too. He lights up whenever you’re in the room.”

  “He’s a special little guy. I have a fondness for him, just like I do his mamm.”

  Meredith’s cheeks warmed. “I have a fondness for you, too, Jonah.”

  “Enough to marry me in the spring?” he blurted u
nexpectedly.

  She flinched and sucked in her breath, unsure of how to respond.

  Jonah took her hand and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry for blurting that out. I’d planned to wait till you’d been widowed a year before I said anything about marriage, but the words just popped out of my mouth. Did I speak out of turn?” he asked.

  She shook her head. “It’s not that. I just need some time to think about it. Can you wait until Christmas for my answer?”

  Slowly, he nodded.

  Darby

  “Where’s Luke?” Susan asked when she entered the kitchen and found her grandmother fixing lunch.

  “He and your grandpa are outside, shoveling snow off the driveway so you and Anne can get your cars out of the garage. It’s a good thing you both have afternoon shifts, because the roads should be cleared by then.”

  Susan smiled. “Luke’s thoughtful, isn’t he, Grandma?”

  Grandma nodded and reached for the loaf of bread sitting on the counter. “I heard him tell your grandpa the other day that he feels like he’s imposing on us.”

  “What’d Grandpa say in response?”

  “He told Luke in no uncertain terms that it’s been a blessing to us having him here, and he should quit worrying so much.”

  “I hope Luke listened to him,” Susan said. “I wouldn’t want him to leave and go out on the streets.”

  Grandma tipped her head. “What makes you think he used to live on the streets?”

  “I’m not sure if he did or not, but if he were to leave here, I’d be concerned about where he would go.”

  Grandma gave Susan’s shoulder a squeeze. “Don’t worry, honey, we won’t let him leave. At least not until he gets his memory fully back and we find out where he came from.”

  Susan swallowed around the lump in her throat. “I’ll miss him when that happens.”

  “You’ve fallen in love with Luke, haven’t you, dear?”

  Susan nodded slowly, her eyes filling with tears. She turned and looked out the window toward the pine tree in the far end of the yard. The tracks in the snow were still there, where she had hid from Luke when they’d played around in the snow. She smiled, despite her tears, remembering the cold bath she’d gotten when Luke snuck up from behind and knocked all the snow off the branch above her head. “Last night, when Luke and I were romping in the snow, I think he was on the verge of kissing me,” she said.

  “Why didn’t he?” Grandma questioned.

  “Anne came out and called us in for hot chocolate.” Susan sniffed, hoping to keep her tears from spilling over. “Maybe it’s a good thing we were interrupted. If Luke had kissed me, it would have strengthened our relationship even more, and I really don’t want that right now. At least not until I know more about him.”

  “Is it because you fear he might already have a girlfriend, or maybe a wife?”

  “Yeah. If I allow myself to think about a future between me and Luke, and then he remembers his life before and it includes someone else, I’d be devastated.”

  Grandma slipped her arm around Susan’s waist and gave her a hug. “Just pray about it, honey. God will work it all out.”

  Ronks

  Meredith yawned. She was more tired than usual as she got ready for bed. With the Christmas holiday approaching, she’d been getting more requests for prayer coverings to be made for the store where she’d been taking them. She would have to buckle down during the next couple of days and try to make a few extra. That, and Laurie’s wedding with all of its preparations, plus Thanksgiving, had kept her on the go.

  On top of that, worrying over where Jonah and his family had been when they didn’t show up at the wedding, and then Jonah suddenly asking her to marry him had only added to her fatigue.

  “No wonder I’m exhausted,” she mused, looking at Fritz lying in his usual spot on the floor by the foot of her bed.

  The dog looked up at her, with all four legs stretched out to one side. From the way he was lying, his short tail was just long enough to make little thumping sounds as he wagged it against the floor.

  “You look tired, too, pup,” Meredith said.

  Fritz offered a whiney groan before he laid his head down, looking toward the door. Ever since they’d moved back in with her parents, Fritz had been getting more exercise each day, playing with Freckles, the Kings’ new family pet. Meredith was glad the dogs got along well; it was one less thing for her to worry about.

  As tired as she was, Meredith could tell she wouldn’t be falling asleep any time soon. Lying down with her hands behind her head on the fluffy, down-filled pillow, she pondered Jonah’s speedy proposal. Truthfully speaking, it wasn’t really such a surprise that Jonah had proposed. Meredith had been expecting it, just not this evening. She’d figured he would wait until she’d been widowed at least a full year.

  “Am I ready for this?” Meredith spoke out loud into the darkness of her room. Listening to her son’s even breathing coming from the crib across the room, and to Fritz’s contented snoring from the floor by her bed, Meredith was glad she hadn’t awakened either of them. “Wish I could be asleep like the two of you are right now,” she whispered.

  Meredith couldn’t help being excited about the upcoming holidays. She and Jonah had several things planned besides the usual family gatherings that she was anxious to partake in. Meredith sighed, pulling the quilt up and tucking it under her chin. Christmas was the last holiday she’d spent with Luke before he’d been killed. After that, she hadn’t thought she’d enjoy another Christmas. Nor much else, for that matter. But Jonah had proven her wrong.

  As she lay staring at the ceiling, Meredith realized that her relationship with Jonah had become more comfortable. She was at ease when he was around. Levi also seemed to gravitate toward Jonah. Meredith’s family had accepted him as if he were already part of the family. Even Luke’s parents seemed adjusted to the idea of Jonah courting their daughter-in-law. But would the family’s acceptance be enough?

  As the stillness of the night enveloped the house, Meredith wondered, Oh, Luke, what should I do?

  CHAPTER 6

  Ronks

  It was kind of Jonah’s folks to invite us to their house for Christmas dinner,” Meredith’s mother said as they put their fresh-baked pumpkin and apple pies into boxes.

  Meredith smiled. “Jah, it’ll be a nice afternoon out, and you won’t have to cook for a change.”

  “I don’t mind cooking. Never have—not even when I was a maedel.”

  “How old were you when Grandma taught you to cook?” Meredith asked, closing the lid on the box of pies.

  “Let’s see now…for as long as I can remember I enjoyed being in the kitchen, helping my mamm with whatever she would allow me to do.”

  “That’s right,” Grandma Smucker spoke up from across the room, where she’d been cutting apples, pears, and bananas for a fruit salad she’d be taking to the Millers.’ “By the time Luann was born, her sisters were already in school. So she pretty much followed me everywhere around the house. And since I spent a good deal of time in the kitchen, she was there, too, always asking to help.” Grandma smiled. “By the time your mamm was six years old, she was baking cookies.”

  While Mom and Grandma continued to reminisce about old times, Meredith walked into the living room and looked out the window. Squinting at the bright sunlight hitting the sparkly white snow, she gazed at the beautiful, almost magical scene.

  Christmas made her feel more spirited and full of life, and a snowfall close to the holiday made her seem even more energized. It was fun to watch Arlene, Katie, and Owen, her youngest siblings, romping in the snow. It was like someone flipped a switch on their energy level, taking it up a notch. Any other time, their liveliness would have gotten on Meredith’s nerves, but she had to admit, she was feeling their excitement as well.

  All week, Meredith had heard Mom and Grandma Smucker humming as they baked. Even Dad and her brother Stanley didn’t seem to mind the cold as they tended t
he animals and worked in the barn. To free Mom up for her extra baking, Kendra and Nina had pitched in to help mind the kids and keep the house nice and tidy. Meredith didn’t let the idea of her sister Laurie moving away soon get in the way of the joy she felt.

  Meredith had promised to give Jonah an answer to his proposal later today, and as the time drew closer for them to load up their buggies and head for the Millers’, she found herself feeling anxious to get there. She’d lain awake for several hours last night, praying and trying to decide what her answer should be. In the wee hours of the morning, Meredith’s answer finally came, and she felt a sense of peace.

  Bird-in-Hand

  “Would everyone like dessert now, or should we let our meal settle a bit?” Jonah’s mother, Sarah, asked after everyone had finishing eating.

  “I can’t speak for anyone else,” Meredith’s dad said, pushing back his chair, “but right now I couldn’t eat another bite.”

  “Me neither,” Jonah agreed. “In fact, I was thinking of taking Meredith on a sleigh ride.” He glanced at Meredith and smiled. “How about it? Would you care to join me?”

  Meredith hesitated. If she took a ride with Jonah, it would give her the chance to give him her answer about marrying him. However, as much as Meredith wanted to go, she didn’t feel right about leaving the other women to do the dishes. She was about to say so and start clearing the table, when Sarah scooped up several plates and said, “Don’t concern yourself with that, Meredith. There are enough of us here to get the dishes done, so feel free to join Jonah outside and take advantage of that fresh air. Who knows how long this snow will stick around or when the next snowfall might be?”

  “Don’t worry about Levi, either,” Meredith’s sixteen-year-old sister, Kendra, was quick to say. “If he wakes up from his nap, I’ll keep him occupied.”

  “And if she doesn’t, I will,” Dad added with a wink. “I never mind holding my grandson.”

  “Everyone in our family enjoys holding Levi,” Grandma Smucker added. “He’s such a sweet boppli.”