The Bishop's Daughter (38 page)

“Jimmy, are you okay? Can you hear me?”

Jimmy opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times as Leona’s pretty face came into focus. “I think I just had the wind knocked out of me.”

“Don’t sit up! You may have something broken.” The fear Jimmy saw in Leona’s eyes and the panic edging her voice made him wonder if she might have strong feelings for him—the way he did for her.

“I’m fine, really.” He rolled onto his side with a labored grunt and allowed her to help him to his feet. “Nothing’s hurt except my pride.”

Leona slipped her arm around his waist, and they made their way off the ice and over to the crackling fire.

Jimmy eased himself onto a log and gratefully accepted the cup of hot chocolate one of the girls offered him. He sniffed the sweet smell of marshmallows and smiled. “Thanks, this is exactly what I need.”

“Are you sure you’re all right?” Leona dropped down beside him and wrapped the edges of her long dress tightly around her legs. “You took a nasty spill on that ice.”

“I’m fine. Just don’t know how to ice-skate very well, that’s all.”

“It takes practice,” Harley Fisher said.

Emanuel drew his dark eyebrows together. “Maybe you fell ’cause my skates were too tight.”

Jimmy shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault.”

“My brother, Abner, likes to go ice fishing,” Emanuel said. “That
might be somethin’ you could try instead.”

“I’ll give it some thought.” Jimmy took a sip of hot chocolate and licked his lips.

“Before his accident, my daed used to go ice fishing with Abraham,” Leona said. “Since Papa’s not up to something like that right now, maybe you and Abraham could go together.”

Jimmy stared at the frozen ground beneath his feet. “I doubt that will ever happen.”

“How come?”

He looked up and nodded at the children, who seemed to be hanging on his every word—especially Abraham’s twin boys.

“Stella, why don’t you and the other girls go to my buggy and get the hot dogs and buns? The boys can look for some roasting sticks,” Leona said, motioning with her hand.

The children scampered off, and Leona turned to face Jimmy. “What did you mean when you said going ice fishing with Abraham wasn’t likely to happen?”

Jimmy grimaced. “I don’t think he likes me.”

Leona’s forehead wrinkled. “What makes you say that?”

“He said something once about his need to protect you, and—”

“Protect me? Does Abraham think I need protecting from you?” Leona stared at Jimmy with wide eyes.

He nodded. “I think that is what he meant.”

“Maybe he’s leery of you because you’re English.”

“He doesn’t like the English?”

“I wouldn’t say that he doesn’t like them.” Leona leaned closer to Jimmy, and her voice lowered. “What I’m about to tell you happened when I was a little girl, so I don’t actually remember it. But from what I’ve heard, an English man came to the Fishers’ one day for some—”

“Here’s the hot dogs,” Stella announced as she and the other girls bounded into the clearing, interrupting Leona’s story.

She shrugged. “Guess it’s time to eat. Maybe we can finish this discussion some other time.”

“I wish we didn’t have to work so many Saturdays,” Ed complained to
Jim as his crew set up the staging on the inside of the new discount store they’d recently been contracted to paint.

“Working on the weekends isn’t my idea of fun, either, but this is a big job we need to get done by the end of next week.”

Ed reached under his paint hat and scratched his head. “Is everything all right?”

“Sure. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“You seem kind of moody today.”

“I’m not moody.”

Ed grunted. “You were irritable for several weeks after Jimmy headed back East, but after you went on a date with that health nut, you seemed to calm down some.”

“Holly’s not a health nut.” Jim felt his defenses rise. “She runs a health food store and knows a lot about nutrition.” He jabbed Ed’s paunchy stomach with his finger. “That’s something we all could benefit from, don’t you think?”

Ed merely shrugged in reply.

Jim wasn’t about to admit to Ed that since he’d finally worked up the courage and asked Holly for a date they had gone out several more times. Besides attending AA meetings together, they’d taken in a couple of movies and had gone to dinner twice more. Jim had managed to remain sober during that time, and he gave the credit to Holly, who seemed to be his only support right now. Jimmy sure wasn’t there for him anymore. He’d only spoken to him twice in the last few months, and those had been times when Jim had initiated the call. Jimmy always seemed distant and managed to make up some excuse to get off the phone.

I think I’ve changed in many ways since I met Holly
, Jim thought.
But am I ready to tell her that I kidnapped Jimmy? Would she understand the reason I took him, or would she condemn me—the way he has?

He grabbed a gallon of paint and moved toward the staging that had been set in place. “We haven’t got all day, fellows, so let’s get to work!”

I
appreciate you bringing in a hot lunch for the scholars today.” Leona ushered Naomi and Abby into the schoolhouse. They each carried a cardboard box.

“Since today’s Valentine’s Day, we thought it would be a nice treat for you and the kinner.” Naomi set her box on one end of Leona’s desk, and Abby placed hers on the other end. “Besides, I wanted the chance to tell you thanks for helping Millie. She’s reading better these days, and it’s because you took the time to learn about her problem and work with her.”

Leona’s cheeks warmed. She didn’t need any thanks for what she’d done. It was part of her job as a teacher, and she was glad that, despite her lack of continued education, she’d been able to find a way to reach Millie.

“You looked for solutions even after I refused to accept the fact that my daughter might have a learning disability.” Naomi’s forehead wrinkled. “When I blamed myself for not taking enough time with Millie, Caleb reminded me that I tend to be too hard on myself, and I guess he’s right. Ever since my brother was kidnapped, I’ve struggled with guilt and tried to do everything perfect, which is why I didn’t deal well with Millie’s problem. I felt that I had failed her somehow.”

“Many parents feel that way when their kinner have any kind of trouble,” Abby interjected. “We just need to remember that no one but God is perfect and do the best we can.”

“Papa admitted to me the other day that he’s not perfect, and he apologized for giving me the cold shoulder after he discovered Zach’s quilt in my linen closet,” Naomi said.

Abby smiled. “I’m so glad to hear that. I’ve been concerned because things weren’t right between you and Abraham, and so has my mamm.”

Leona nodded and squeezed Naomi’s hand. Then she motioned to the front door. “I let the kinner go outside for a while, so when they come in, we can serve the hot meal.”

“As we were pulling in, I noticed several of them building a snowman,” Abby commented. “That brought back memories of when I was a girl growing up in Ohio. One of my favorite things to do during the wintertime was to make a huge snowman.”

Naomi shook her head. “Not me. I always preferred to be inside where it was warm and I was safe from the icy snowballs being thrown around the school yard.”

Leona leaned on her desk and visited with Naomi and Abby a few more minutes. Then she finally excused herself to ring the school bell. She had just stepped onto the porch when Nate Hoffmeir bounded up the steps. “Teacher, my cousin John couldn’t make it to the outhouse in time, and he threw up in the bushes.” He pointed across the yard.

Leona felt immediate concern. John had complained of a stomachache earlier this morning, but she hadn’t thought much of it because he’d seemed well enough to go outside and play with the others. “Run inside and tell your mamm and Abby to set the lunch out for the others while I see about John,” she said to Nate.

The boy raced into the building, and Leona, wishing she’d thought to put on a coat, tromped through the snow to check on the ailing child. She found John hunched over a clump of bushes, groaning and holding his stomach. “I’ve got a bellyache, and it hurts real bad,” he said, looking up at her with tears in his eyes.

Leona patted him on the back “I’m sorry you aren’t feeling well. It’s probably the flu. Let’s go inside, and I’ll ask your aunt Naomi to take you home.”

A short time later, they had John loaded into Naomi’s buggy, and Abby, who had come in her own rig, agreed to stay and help Leona serve lunch to the children.

The rest of the afternoon passed swiftly, and Leona’s pupils headed for home carrying the valentines they’d received, as well as the bag of candy Leona had given each of them.

“I should have thought to send John’s candy and valentines with him,” Leona said as Abby gathered her children together.

“I’ll be going past Norman and Ruth’s house on my way home, so
I’d be happy to drop John’s things off to him.” Abby grimaced. “I hope this isn’t the beginning of another round of achy-bones flu. My kinner have already been out once with it this winter.”

“I hope not, either.” Leona closed the door behind Abby and her children. Then she set to work cleaning the sticky spots from spilled punch off the floor. She was nearly finished when she heard the nicker of a horse. She hurried to the window and looked out, wondering if one of the scholars had forgotten something.

As soon as the driver of the buggy stepped down from his rig, Leona realized it was Abner, so she opened the door to see what he wanted.

“I brought a valentine,” he said as he started up the steps.

“What? Oh, I see.” Gathering her wits about her, Leona motioned him into the schoolhouse.

Abner reached into his jacket pocket and handed her an envelope. She was about to open it when she noticed the words on the front. To: M
ARY
A
NN
.

“Oh no,” Leona moaned.

“What’s wrong?” Abner asked with raised brows. “Did I spell her name wrong?”

She shook her head. “I feel terrible about this, Abner, but I’ve been so busy I forgot to speak with Mary Ann on your behalf.”

His lips drooped as wrinkles appeared on his forehead. “Maybe I’d best take the card back then, since I don’t know how Mary Ann will respond.”

She contemplated his suggestion for a moment but then came up with one of her own. “How would it be if I delivered the card to Mary Ann? That will open the door for me to speak to her about you.”

He nodded, but his frown remained in place. “What if she doesn’t accept the valentine? What if she’s not interested in me at all?”

Then you’ll deal with it—same as I’ve had to deal with Ezra’s untimely death
, Leona thought. “It’s better to know now, don’t you think?”

His only reply was a hasty shrug.

Feeling the need to offer Abner a ray of hope, Leona quickly added, “Many Amish women Mary Ann’s age are already married and starting their families, but I know for a fact that she’s been waiting for the right man.” She paused, searching for the right words. “I’m surprised Mary Ann hasn’t realized you could be that man.”

Abner averted his gaze to the floor. “Even though I’ve admired Mary Ann for some time, I’ve never had the nerve to say much to her, so there’s no way she’d know what kind of man I am. Besides,” he added with a grunt, “there ain’t nothin’ special about me.”