A Cousin's Promise (10 page)

The following day, Loraine decided to stop and see Ella on her way home from work. It had been awhile since they’d had a good chat, and she was certainly in need of one.

She found Ella in the kitchen, stirring a batter of yeasty-smelling dough.

“It’s good to see you.” Ella smiled. “Are you ready for some more friendship bread?”

“If you have some made, I could take a loaf, but I’d prefer not to take home any starter.”

Ella motioned to the stove. “There are a couple of loaves in the oven, and they should be done shortly, so I’d be glad to give you a loaf.” She glanced at the table. “If you’d like to have a seat, I’ll fix us some tea.”

“That sounds nice. I’m in need of a good visit.” Loraine pulled out a chair at the table and took a seat.

A few minutes later Ella placed a pot of tea on the table, along with two cups and a plate of ginger cookies. “Is there something specific you wanted to talk about?” she asked, seating herself in the chair beside Loraine.

Loraine nodded as she poured herself a cup of tea. “I’m really verhuddelt.”

“What are you confused about?”

“I had lunch with Jake the other day, and being with him conjured up some feelings I thought I’d forgotten.”

Ella gasped. “You’re not in love with him, I hope.”

“No, I’m not. It’s just that being with Jake makes me think about the past and how happy we used to be when we were dating.” Loraine took a sip of tea. “He’s easy to talk to and so full of life. Being with him takes my mind off my troubles, and he makes me laugh, which is something I really need right now.”

“Have you forgotten that he walked out on you so he could try out the English world and make lots of money?” Ella’s face contorted. “Have you forgotten that he quit writing after only a few letters and didn’t return home until he heard about the accident?”

“I haven’t forgotten any of that, but it’s not right to harbor resentment, and he did say he was sorry.” Loraine sighed deeply. “I think Jake and I can still be good friends, and we are moving on from the past.”

“I’m not saying you should harbor resentment. I’m reminding you not to get involved with Jake because he’ll only hurt you again.” Ella touched Loraine’s arm. “And what about Wayne? Are you just going to walk away from him now that Jake is back?”

“No, of course not.” Loraine frowned. “I went by to see Wayne after work yesterday. Would I do that if I planned to walk away?”

“I guess not.” Ella drank some tea, set the cup down, and fiddled with the handle of her spoon. It seemed like she always had to be doing something to keep her hands busy. “How’s Wayne doing? Is he still in a lot of pain?”

“He’s said his pain’s some better because of some new thing the chiropractor asked him to try, but I could tell that he’s still struggling with depression. He’s really upset because his daed leased out their land. That leaves Wayne no chance to farm even if he does get a prosthesis and learns to walk well with it.”

“Does he plan to get one?”

“I don’t know. He’s concerned about the cost, but I know it’ll be easier for him to adjust if he gets one soon.”

“Maybe after the benefit auction, he’ll have the money he needs.”

“I hope so, but remember, whatever money’s brought in will be divided among everyone who has hospital and doctor expenses due to the accident.”

Ella nodded. “We’ll need to pray that a lot of things will be auctioned off and that there will be plenty of money in the fund.”

When the back door swung open, Priscilla turned from peeling carrots to see who had entered her kitchen. “Oh, it’s you, Amos. I thought it might be Loraine.”

“She’s not home from work yet?” he asked, removing his stocking cap and hanging it on a wall peg near the door.

Priscilla shook her head. “Maybe she stopped off to see Wayne on her way home from work. She went by there yesterday, you know.”

He pulled out a chair at the table and took a seat. “Speaking of Wayne, I ran into his daed when I was Topeka earlier today.”

“What’d you go to Topeka for?”

“Went to the shoe and boot store. I told you I was going there, remember?”

“Guess I must have forgotten.” She reached for another carrot to peel. “Did you take time out to visit with Crist?”

“We talked for a few minutes.” Deep wrinkles formed across Amos’s forehead. “He said something kind of disturbing to me.”

“What was that?”

“Said his wife saw Loraine having lunch with Jake Beechy yesterday.” He grunted and slapped at the dirt on the sides of his trousers. “If she’s in love with Wayne and hopin’ to marry him someday, you wouldn’t think she’d be having lunch with another man.”

Priscilla leaned against the sink as she stared out the window. “Hmm...”

“Hmm, what?”

“Maybe Loraine and Jake will get back together. She was pretty smitten with him when she was a teenager, you know.”

“Maybe so, but she promised to marry Wayne.”

“True, but he doesn’t want to marry her now, and I think it might be for the best.”

His eyebrows shot up. “How can you say that, Priscilla? I thought you liked Wayne as much as I do.”

She pursed her lips. “He’s a nice enough fellow, but he’s become awful moody since the accident. Besides, I think dealing with his handicap would be hard on Loraine.”

“Loraine’s a strong woman. I’m sure she could deal with most anything if she wanted to badly enough.”

She shrugged. “Jah, well, between you and me, I felt a sense of relief when Wayne broke things off with her.”

“I think you’re wrong, and it would be best if you kept quiet about this and let our daughter make her own decisions.” Amos pushed away from the table. “I’ll be out in the barn. Ring the dinner bell when supper’s ready.”

“Despite what you think, I do know what’s best for our daughter,” Priscilla mumbled as he rushed out of the room.

“This is sure not my favorite thing to do,” Jake grumbled as he laid out some horse shoeing supplies. “I’d rather be breaking horses than shoeing ’em.”

Jake knew he shouldn’t complain. For as long as he chose to live at home, he’d need to work and contribute to the family’s income. He just hadn’t expected Dad to come down with the flu this morning, leaving him stuck shoeing all the horses lined up for the day. Charlie Albright, Dad’s hired driver, would be here in a few hours to take him to several farms out of the area where horses needed to be shod. In the meantime, he had to shoe a couple of buggy horses that had been brought here to his dad’s place. Their closest neighbor, Melvin Smucker, had dropped off his son’s horse, as well as one of his own, while he ran some errands in Goshen. If Charlie arrived before Melvin got back, Jake would leave Melvin’s horses in the corral.

As Jake removed the old shoes from the first horse, he allowed his thoughts to wander. He’d enjoyed his lunch with Loraine the other day and looked forward to seeing her at church on Sunday. He’d like to have another lunch date with her or maybe take her for a ride in his buggy.

When I think the time is right and I’ve worked up my nerve,
he decided,
I am going to ask her out for a real date.

Years of regret tugged at Jake’s heart. He’d been a fool to leave her the way he had. Jake gritted his teeth.
By staying away so long, and not keeping in touch, I opened the door for my best friend to swoop in and take my girlfriend away. Loraine’s even prettier now than she was two years ago.
Jake frowned.
I wonder if it’s really over between her and Wayne.

He slapped the side of his head.
I’ve gotta quit thinking about this or I won’t be able to concentrate on the job at hand.

He set right to work on cleaning the horse’s hoof and had just picked up the nippers to trim it, when the horse backed up and stepped right on his foot. Despite the fact that Jake wore boots, it hurt like crazy.

“Yeow!” Jake dropped the nippers and crumpled to the ground as searing pain shot from the top of his foot all the way up his leg.

He tried to stand, but the pain was so intense he just couldn’t. Since his folks were in the house, and he was clear on the other side of the barn, he figured there’d be no point in hollering for help. Besides, Dad was sick in bed, and Mom sure couldn’t carry him up to the house by herself.

There’s only one thing I can do,
he decided.
I’ll have to stay on the grass and roll my way back to the house. I just hope I can get there before I pass out from the pain.

By the time Jake made it up to the house, he was so exhausted he had to drag himself onto the porch.

Bam! Bam! Bam!
Unable to stand, he reached up and pounded on the door with his fists.

Finally, the door swung open. “Jake! Why are you lying on the porch like that?” Mom asked.

“Stupid horse stepped on me when I was trying to clean his hooves.” Jake moaned. “My foot hurts so bad I had to roll my way up to the house.”

“Ach! Let’s get you inside so I can take a look at your foot. It might be broken.”

Jake shook his head as he gritted his teeth. “I think it’s just a bad bruise.”

“You’re gonna have to help me now,” Mom said, bending down and slipping her hands under Jake’s arms.

Using every ounce of strength he could muster, Jake grabbed the edge of the chair near the door and pulled himself up. Then, using Mom as a support, he hopped into the house on one foot.

“Take a seat at the table,” Mom instructed. “I’ll get your boot off and see what I think.”

Jake did as she asked and groaned when she tugged on the boot. “Not so hard, Mom! It hurts so bad I feel like I might pass out.”

“Put your head between your knees,” she instructed. “And take in a couple of deep breaths.”

Jake complied, then winced when she pulled off the boot.

“It’s already swollen,” Mom said after she’d removed Jake’s sock. “I think you need to go the hospital and have it x-rayed.”

“It’ll be fine,” Jake argued. “I just need to put some ice on it and rest awhile.”

Mom shook her head. “Resting it isn’t good enough, son. You need to have it looked at.”

Jake leaned over and stared at his purple, swollen foot. “I’m lookin’ at it now, and I say it’s not broken.”

Mom gave him a light tap on the arm. “No funning around. If it’s broken, it will need to be set and put in a cast.”

Jake sighed. “Okay, okay. If it’s not feeling better by the time Charlie gets here, I’ll ask him to give me a ride to the hospital in Goshen.”

Loraine smiled when she saw Crist Lambright pushing Wayne’s wheelchair across the grass. It was good to see Wayne attending church again. He needed to be in fellowship with his friends.

She was tempted to rush over but held herself in check, not wishing to appear overanxious or pushy. When Wayne looked her way and made eye contact, she offered him a smile and a friendly wave.

He lifted one hand and gave a quick nod. Then, grasping the wheels on his chair, he pushed himself up the path leading to the Lehmans’ barn where several other men had gone.

Loraine headed for a group of women standing near the front porch but had only taken a few steps when she spotted Jake hobbling across the lawn.

“What happened to you?” she asked.

“I was getting ready to shoe a horse the other day, and the stupid critter stepped on my foot.”

“That must have hurt.”

“It sure did. It hurt so bad I couldn’t even stand up or put any weight on my foot. I ended up having to roll my way to the house.” He chuckled and gave his chin dimple a couple of taps. “Had to stop every few rolls in order to rest up for the rest of the trip.”

Loraine could almost picture Jake lying on the ground, rolling across the grass. It brought a smile to her lips, even though she knew he must have been in a lot of pain.

“The whole episode is kind of funny now,” Jake said, “but at the time, it sure wasn’t. Thought for a while it was broken, but it turned out to only be a bad bruise.”

“How do you know? Did you have it looked at right away?”

“Sure did. I looked at it every chance I got,” Jake said with a wink.

She poked his arm. “You’re such a tease. Seriously, did you have it x-rayed?”

“Jah, Charlie, my driver, was scheduled to give me a ride to shoe several horses. When he got to our house and took one look at my big foot, he said, ‘Jake Beechy, you’re going to the hospital to get that x-rayed, whether you like it or not!’”

Jake thumped his chin a couple of times. “I had it x-rayed and checked over real good, but the doctor said it was just a bad bruise and that a couple of blood vessels had busted.” He tipped his head and gave Loraine a crooked grin. “Don’t think I would have liked being laid up in a cast. It would’ve slowed me down too much.”

Loraine’s thoughts went to Wayne.
I can only imagine how he must feel being confined to a wheelchair. I’m sure he’d give just about anything to be in Jake’s place right now.

Jake nudged Loraine’s arm and pointed to the Lehmans’ house. “Guess you’d better go; your cousin’s calling you.”

Loraine turned her gaze in that direction and saw Ella on the porch, motioning for her to come.

“You’re right; Ella does seem to want me. See you later, Jake.”

As Jake limped into the barn, he thought about Loraine and how pleasant she’d been to him. It seemed like each time they were together the barrier came down a little more. Maybe she was beginning to trust him again. Maybe he had reason to hope that they might get back together. He thought about asking her out right now but knew it wouldn’t be the proper time. Oh, how pretty she looked this morning. It was enough to take a man’s breath away.

“How come you’re limping?” Wayne asked when Jake entered the barn and found him sitting off by himself.

Jake quickly related the story of how the horse had stepped on his foot and ended it by saying, “I’m just glad there was nothing broken. I can’t afford to be laid up right now.”

Wayne winced as though in pain, and Jake could have kicked himself. He didn’t know what he’d do if he were in Wayne’s place.

“So how are you doing?” Jake asked. “Are things going any better for you?”

Wayne shrugged. “My doctor talked me into getting a prosthesis, but now I’m having second thoughts.”

“How come?” Jake asked as he lowered himself to a bale of hay. “I’ve already gone through so much physical therapy and pain, and I’m not sure I want to go through any more.”

“Guess I can understand that,” Jake said. “As much as my foot hurts, I can’t even imagine what all you’ve been through.”

Wayne motioned to the men who’d begun heading into the buggy shed where their church service would be held. “Looks like church is about to begin, so I guess we’d better get in there.”

Jake nodded and followed Wayne out of the barn.

Ella grabbed Loraine’s arm and pulled her close to her side. “What were you doing with Jake over there?”

“Don’t look so worried; we were just talking.”

“Humph!” Ella crossed her arms. “I thought you had better sense than to get involved with him again.”

“We’re not involved. I was just asking why he was limping.”

“And why is that?”

“He got stepped on by a horse, but lucky for him, he only suffered a bad bruise.” Loraine’s eyebrows drew together. “It could have been much worse. It could have been broken or mangled like Wayne’s sheep.”

“What sheep is that?” Ella asked.

Loraine was about to reply when Ella’s sister stepped between them and said, “Church is about to start. The men are heading for the buggy shed.”

“Guess we’d better get in there, then.” Ella led the way and quickly found a seat on one of the backless wooden benches on the women’s side of the room.

During the service, Ella had a hard time concentrating. It was hard not to watch Jake as he kept looking over at Loraine.

Looks like I’d better have another talk with that fellow,
she fumed.
He seems determined to get Loraine back.

Ella’s thoughts shifted gears when she noticed a little girl sitting on her mother’s lap, holding a blanket while sucking her thumb.

A fly buzzed around the room, and some of the babies were getting fussy. A couple of the younger boys were bent over at the waist; it looked as though they might have fallen asleep.

Then Ella noticed her mother lift a shaky hand as she wiped her forehead with a handkerchief. Had the words from the song they were singing struck a nerve?

Ella glanced down at the
Ausbund
hymn book in her lap and figured the words from Song 76 had probably touched Mama’s heart.
“Where shall I turn to, I the least of the brethren? Alone to God my Lord, Who will be my helper. In all my needs, I trust in you, O God! You will not forsake me; And will stand by me until death.”

Ella hoped her mother had decided to give God all of her needs and to trust only in Him. Mama would always miss Raymond, but with God’s help, she could carry on.

When church was over and everyone had eaten their common meal, Wayne decided to maneuver his wheelchair across the grass and find a spot near the pasture to look at the horses. It was nice to attend church service again, but ever since the accident, he’d had a difficult time socializing, so he preferred to be off by himself for a while.

He closed his eyes and lifted his face to the sky. It might be a bit chilly, but at least the sun was out.

“Are you sleeping?”

Wayne’s eyes snapped open, and he turned at the sound of Loraine’s voice.

“Uh ... no ... I was just sitting here, thinking.”

She smiled. “I’m glad you felt up to coming to church today. You’ve been missed.” Her expression was so intense it made his stomach lurch with nervous anticipation. Every nerve in his body tingled.

As Wayne turned back around, tension knotted his shoulders. He could almost feel her staring at him.

“You seem so tense.” Loraine placed her hands on his taut shoulders. Fire flared up his arms as she made little circles along his shoulder blades. He feared if he didn’t move away soon he might die from longing to hold her. Loraine’s presence made Wayne feel like one of the old martyrs of Germany who had led the Amish to flee to America so many years ago.

“I ... uh ... have decided to go ahead and get a prosthesis,” he mumbled, needing to get his mind on something else.

“Oh, that’s good to hear.” She continued to lightly massage his shoulders.

“I’ve got another doctor’s appointment later this week, but I’m not looking forward to going.”

“Would you like me to go with you?” she asked.

“That’s not a good idea! Besides, my folks will be going with me.”

“Oh.” She stopped rubbing his shoulders and moved to stand near the fence. As she did so, an empty coldness swept over Wayne.

The silence settled around them, broken only by the whinny of the horses in the corral. As much as Wayne’s heart cried out for Loraine to stay, he was anxious for her to leave him alone.

“I saw you talking to Jake before church started.”

She fiddled with the strings on her head covering
.
“There was nothing to it; Jake and I are only friends.”

He shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

“It’s true, Wayne. We—”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re better off with Jake than you would be with me. Now if you don’t mind, I’d really like to be alone.”

She blinked a couple of times, and then with a smile that appeared to be forced, she lifted her hand and bid him good-bye.

A lump formed in Wayne’s throat as he watched her walk away. Even though he knew she’d be better off without him, it pained him to think of her being with Jake.

With fingertips pressed against his lips, he closed his eyes and relived the first kiss he and Loraine had ever shared.