Jaden waited on the porch a few minutes, but Martha seemed to be taking her sweet time. Restlessness took him hostage. He moseyed on over to the barn, wondering if her father and bruder were home. She’d mentioned in one of her letters that they sometimes worked on construction projects.
He spotted her bruder working in the haymow, sleeves rolled up exposing his muscled forearms, moving bales of hay. Jaden stood staring for several moments, lost in thought. He tended to do that now and again. He didn’t want to bother him, so he remained silent.
“Don’t look at me like that.” Nathaniel’s irritated voice pulled him from his trance.
“Like what?”
“You know.” Nathaniel stood, staring down at him with his fists on his hips. “I’ve seen your kind before.”
“No, I don’t know.” But he did. He would never admit it to Nathaniel, though.
“Whatever.” Nathaniel gestured toward him and shook his head. “Just don’t. Don’t you ever.”
Jaden felt like hollering, but he wouldn’t. What would Martha think? Ach.
Casting down imaginations…You have to help me, Gott!
“You ready?” Martha’s voice called from behind.
He spun around and hurried toward her. “Jah, let’s walk.”
He needed to get as far away from Martha’s bruder as possible. If Nathaniel called him out in front of his sister, Jaden would flat out deny it. Jah, he’d be lying. But Martha couldn’t know. She could never know.
“Let’s go down by the pond?” he suggested.
“Okay.”
They made their way beyond their wooded area until they came to the pond. “Let’s sit on the grass.”
She stared down at the grassy area and worried her lip. “I should have brought a blanket out.”
“We could just stand, then. Or…” He lifted his eyes from Martha long enough to see their surroundings. “Hey, I didn’t know there was a boat out here.”
“Dat or Nathaniel must have brought it out.”
He tapped the side of the boat, eyeing it cautiously. “Is it sturdy? Do you think it would hold us?”
“Jah. Probably.”
“Let’s sit in the boat then.” He grinned. “Want to take a ride? I know how to row.”
She shrugged. “Sure.”
“Does your dat plan to build a dock?”
“I’m not sure.” She stepped into the boat while he held it steady.
He gave the boat a little shove from the shore, then hopped in. He used the oars to push away from the bottom of the pond until they were far enough away to actually float on the water without touching the sediment underneath.
He lifted his face to soak in the rays of sunshine. “This is nice, ain’t not?”
“It is.” She released a breath. “Did you want to talk now?”
“Jah. I think you already know how I feel.”
“I do.”
“And?”
“I think you know how I feel.”
“Okay, we can’t do this. We’re not getting anywhere.” Jaden rubbed his forehead. “What do you want from me? Do you want me to just turn a blind eye when some other man is trying to steal my girl? I’m sorry, but that’s not going to happen.”
“He was just doing a kind deed.”
“Stop defending him. That’s not what he was doing. He’s trying to win your affections.”
“Jaden, I don’t like this. I don’t like that you feel that you can’t trust me.”
“I trust you.” The words rushed out.
“Then step back and let me handle Titus. Okay?”
He forced his lips together. He didn’t want to agree. But he also didn’t want to make Martha upset with him. “Fine. You take care of it.”
“In my own time.”
Ach. He wanted to protest so badly. Instead, he nodded in silence.
“Another thing. I can’t have you trying to control my every move. I’m a teacher. I’m going to talk to men once in a while. I can’t have you getting jealous every time that happens.” She covered his hand with hers. “Do you understand?”
He nodded again, not trusting himself to speak.
“I’m sure that once you start teaching, you will be talking to many women. And not just the mamms, older schweschdern too. I’d be a mess if I freaked out every time you talked to one. So let’s just decide we’re going to trust each other. Can we do that?”
“Okay, I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I ask.”
“But…” He clamped his mouth shut. He wouldn’t say another word about Titus. He’d just ignore the fact that he was pursuing Martha. But she was right. He needed to trust her to do the right thing. Just like she was trusting him to do the right thing. Even though she knew nothing about his real struggles.
“Should we row this boat back to the shore? I should probably help Mamm and mei schweschdern with supper. Maybe you can help Dat and Nathaniel outside. Or you could start correcting papers.”
“I’ll correct papers.” Because he was quite certain Nathaniel didn’t want to be around him. Hopefully, her bruder would keep his suspicions to himself.
TWENTY
The week helping out in Martha’s classroom had flown by way too fast for Jaden’s liking. He found himself wishing he could stay there full time, but he knew his obligations were elsewhere.
He’d soon begin his real internship with the teacher in Detweiler’s district. And honestly, he wasn’t really looking forward to it. Hopefully, his attitude would change on Monday. He guessed it was probably just nerves making him second guess himself. He had enjoyed teaching this week.
“I know the kinner are going to miss having you helping out in the classroom. Especially Silas’s and Paul’s kinner.” Martha smiled. “Daniel asked if he could call you Onkel Jaden. I think he must’ve suspected we were courting.”
“Ach, really?” Jaden’s smile widened as he picked up the last of the reading books and placed them back on the shelves. “I like your family. A lot.”
Except for Nathaniel. Up till now, her bruder hadn’t said anything more, but Jaden didn’t trust the man. And Nathaniel made no qualms about letting Jaden know his disdain for him. Jaden tried to avoid him like the plague.
“Two more weeks for the mission trip, ain’t not?” He’d be glad to have her brother gone, so he’d have some breathing room. As it was, Jaden felt like Nathaniel watched him like a bird of prey staring down at him from a tree just waiting for his demise so he could swoop in and… Jaden shook his head. He really shouldn’t be having uncharitable thoughts toward someone he barely knew.
“Jah. Susan’s really excited. It’s all she talks about.” She swept between the desks.
His brow quirked. “And your bruder?” He held the dustpan to scoop up the debris she’d swept.
“Nathaniel, not so much. Seems like he’s had something on his mind lately.”
Jaden rubbed his forehead. He needed to have a chat with her bruder whether either of them liked it or not. For crying out loud, he’d looked at the guy a little too long. That was it. Sometimes he thought it might be better if he could just pluck his eyes out.
God, I can’t do this on my own. I need You.
At least tomorrow was Saturday. They’d have their men’s fellowship and he’d be able to talk with Sammy again. He supposed he could stop by any time he pleased, and maybe he should, given the circumstances. He needed someone in his court, and he felt like Sammy was that person. The one person who seemed to understand and didn’t judge him for his shortcomings and failures.
“I’m going shopping tonight to look for a few things for the classroom. I’m sure Mamm will want me to get groceries too, while I’m there. Do you want to come with me?” Martha’s words pulled him from his musings.
He finally dumped the contents of the dustpan into the trash can. He’d empty it on their way out.
“Jah. That sounds gut.” Spending time with his girl always sounded gut.
“Why don’t we
go as soon as we get home, then we can be back for supper? Does that sound fine?”
“Jah. Or we can eat out. I wouldn’t mind taking mei schatzi to a restaurant.” He raised his eyebrows twice.
“That might be nice.”
“Well, I don’t know the area at all, so I would have no idea where to go.”
“There’s a Chinese buffet that’s popular, if you’re really hungry. They have all kinds of food, not just Chinese.”
He smiled. “A buffet? Sounds gut to me.” Of course, there was rarely a time when food in general didn’t appeal to him.
“Great. Let’s go.”
~
“So, what are we looking for again?” Jaden perused the children’s books.
“Just something fun for the little ones. Maybe books about cats or dogs or horses. Nothing too fancy, though.”
“Not like this?” He teased, showing her a book with an unrealistic looking animal with eyes half the size of its large head and a tiny body.
She shook her head. “Strange, ain’t not?”
He chuckled. “Someone must buy them or they wouldn’t be here, I reckon.”
Jaden turned the corner into the next aisle of the small book section. Unwittingly, he allowed a bodybuilding magazine to catch his eye. He looked away, attempting to denounce the attraction he felt to the handsome man featured on the front. Next to it, there was a magazine with a man waving a rainbow flag. He’d known all about the symbol, thanks to his “friends.” He never understood how a rainbow could stand for something Der Herr was against, when He was the one who created it in the first place.
Nee, Gott had said it was a sign of His promise to never flood the entire earth again. But it wasn’t only a symbol of that, it was a grave warning against sin and wickedness. A reminder of why the earth had been overcome by a flood in the first place.
“Ach, did you find something over there?” Martha rounded the corner.
“Uh.” He quickly grabbed the woodworking magazine not far from the one he’d been gazing at with the bodybuilding image. He showed her the cover with a children’s playset on it. “Been thinking of trying out some projects.”
Liar.
“Ach, really? I didn’t know you were interested in building things.”
He caught the amazement in her voice. If only he could be the man she thought he was.
“Just thinking about it, is all.” He shrugged.
“Have you ever built anything like that?”
“Nee.” He chastised himself.
“Should we go now? We don’t want the ice cream to melt.” She stared at him. “Are you going to buy that?”
“Uh, jah.” He quickly stuck the magazine in the shopping cart. “Let’s go home.”
~
Aside from the unwelcome looks he’d received from Nathaniel, the evening had gone wunderbaar. He hated bidding Martha farewell, not knowing when he’d see her again. No doubt, they’d both be really busy this next week, so he likely wouldn’t see her till the following week. If he could stand to wait that long.
Martha had walked out to the phone shanty with him to call his driver. He hung up the phone, then pulled her into his arms.
“I’m going to miss you like crazy next week.” He bent down and met her lips.
“It will go by fast.” She closed her eyes and leaned in to his chest.
He held her tight and sighed deeply. “I hope so.”
A knock on the phone shanty door forced him to release her and put proper distance between them. Not that it was an easy feat inside a small phone booth.
He yanked the door open.
“Nathaniel? What are you doing out here?” Martha frowned at her bruder.
“I need to talk to Jaden before he leaves.”
Jaden groaned inwardly.
“Okay,” Martha said.
“Go on back to the house, Martha,” her bruder commanded. “It’s him I want to talk to.”
Martha eyed him, a frown etched on her face.
Jaden swallowed. “It’s okay, Martha. We won’t be long.” He angled his head toward the house.
Martha’s gaze ping-ponged between the two men. She shrugged. “Fine.”
Both men watched her until she had entered the house.
TWENTY-ONE
“You are going to break up with mei schweschder.” Nathaniel’s words hadn’t been a request, but a command. Nee, a demand.
“No, I’m not.”
“Fine. Have it your way.” Nathaniel turned and began walking toward the house.
“What are you doing?” Jaden hollered after him.
“I’m going to march back into the house and tell everyone the truth about who you are.”
Ach, he really did not like this guy.
“Wait!” Jaden grabbed hold of Nathaniel’s arm.
“Get your hand off my body!”
Jaden muted the curse word interlaced with Nathaniel’s speech, then released his grip. “Don’t say anything. Please.” Ach, he hated the desperation in his voice.
“There is only one way you will get me to keep my mouth closed. There will be no negotiation.” Nathaniel insisted. “Walk away from my schweschder and from my family.”
Even more than the anger that surged through Jaden’s veins, sorrow clenched his heart as he considered Nathaniel’s words. Life would feel so empty without his beloved Martha in it. “I don’t know if I can do that.”
“You can and you will.”
Jaden squeezed his eyes shut.
An Englisch vehicle pulled in, and Jaden waved to the driver.
“It’s simple. Get in that car and don’t come back. Don’t call mei schweschder or write her any letters. You need to disappear from her life entirely.”
“But she would be devastated.” He would be devastated.
“More than finding out the truth? Trust me, she’ll move on without you. She’ll get over it.” Nathaniel smirked. “I hear Titus Troyer already has his eye on her.”
Ach. Jaden swallowed. His heart felt like it might stop. He had no choice but to agree to Nathaniel’s demands. But the more he thought about it, the more he agreed with Martha’s bruder. She was better off without him.
“Fine.” Jaden swirled around and headed straight to the car.
He never deserved Martha anyhow.
As his driver headed toward Josiah’s place, Jaden kept his face toward the passenger side window. He wouldn’t let him see the tears that trailed his cheeks. He wouldn’t allow this Englisch stranger to be privy to his sanctuary of grief.
~
Martha frowned when Nathaniel returned to the house alone. “Where’s Jaden?”
“Ach.” Nathaniel shrugged. “He had to go. His driver showed up.”
“He isn’t even going to say goodbye?” She hurried to look out the window, only to see a vehicle’s taillights heading down the road.
“Guess not.”
She watched her bruder take the stairs two at a time.
Martha puzzled over Jaden’s actions. He’d never left the house without saying goodbye. Had something gone wrong?
TWENTY-TWO
Martha stared at the school calendar. It was Friday already. The last day of the scholars’ school year. The week had gone smoothly, but she’d been surprised Jaden hadn’t called. She’d thought about him all week and wondered how his new job was going. How had he adjusted to the new school? Did he get along with the teacher? Did the scholars like him?
She supposed he was probably busy. Had he thought about her during the week? Wondered how she was doing? It was a strange thing to spend every day of one week with someone, then not hear so much as a peep from them the week after. Especially when those two someones were in love.
She would stop at the shanty and give him a call as soon as she returned home. She could leave a message, then ask him to call back at a certain time.
~
“Jaden, there was a message for you at the phone shanty.” Josiah stuck his hat on the hall tree just ins
ide the house.
“Who was it from? What did it say?”
“Martha Miller. She asked for you to call her back at seven tonight.”
Jaden grunted.
“What’s wrong? I thought you were courting her.”
“Nee.”
“What?”
“Not anymore.”
“She broke up with you? Is that why you didn’t join the men’s fellowship last week?”
That, and he seemed to be failing at everything in life. “Something like that.”
“You know, I find the times I try to skip out on fellowship are the times that I need it most.”
Jaden knew his brother was right.
“Sammy asked how you were doing. I said you were fine. But I’m not sure that was the most accurate answer.” Josiah studied him. “Are you coming tomorrow?”
Jaden shrugged.
“What is going on with you?”
“I’m thinking of moving back to Pennsylvania.”
“What? Why? What about your teaching job? I put in a good word for you.”
He covered his face with his hand. “I know.” He moaned.
“Are you running away from something? Someone? It isn’t like you to not keep your word.”
“Do you ever feel like life would be easier if you just went away? Disappeared and went somewhere else where nobody knew you?”
“Jaden. Hello. It’s me you’re talking to. Your brother, Josiah, who did exactly that.”
Jaden frowned.
“Look where I am today. Yeah, I’m fine now. But I missed out on being a part of most of my daughter’s life. I missed out on almost two decades with our family. Those are years I can never get back again. So, do I regret it? You bet I do. If I had the chance to go back, would I do it again? No, I would not. But God dug me out of the mess I’d made and helped me to salvage those relationships, then blessed me with new ones.”
“I don’t know how to fix the messes I’ve made.”
Josiah squeezed his shoulder. “Then let go, and let God.”
Jaden pondered the wisdom of his bruder’s words.
Josiah chuckled. “I’ve always wanted to use that cliché. But seriously. Pray about it and ask God to direct your path. He will.”
The Teacher (Amish Country Brides) Page 10