“Sure.” He pulled the wires of the fence apart for her to slip through. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Florence Baker.”
“See you tomorrow, Carter Braithwaite.” She walked back through the orchard with a song in her heart and music in every fiber of her being, as the fresh afternoon breeze tickled her cheeks.
The wind swept through the stray hairs flying free of her prayer kapp, and she realized today had been the best day of her life. He loved her and she loved him. What’s more, he wanted to marry her.
The only thing she wasn’t happy about was that she still hadn't asked Carter questions.
How could she leave the Amish for a man she knew nothing about just because he made her happy? She had to know what made him the man that he was—his history, his present, and what he desired for his future.
Tomorrow ... tomorrow, she had to ask him some serious questions and not be distracted by wanting to touch him and be in his arms.
She had to get those answers.
The closer she got to her house, the sadder she became. She was away from Carter and the secret world she’d built up in her mind—back to reality.
She was relieved when she saw no buggy. Mamm came out of the house to meet her.
“Ezekiel was very upset.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. Did he go into the haus?”
“Jah, and he said that you were flirting with the man next door.”
Florence’s mouth fell open. “I wasn’t.”
“He was so upset that he took the buggy, leaving Samuel and Ada here.”
“Oh no, really?”
“Jah. They’re hoping one of the girls will take them home later after dinner. I’ll have Joy do it.”
Florence nodded.
“Samuel saw how upset he was and told him he could take the buggy. I think it’s best to keep you away from Ezekiel for a while.”
“I didn’t mean to upset him, truly I didn’t. I don’t even know why he got so upset. All I was doing was talking to the man next door. I got snagged in the fence and they both came over to help me out and then I introduced the two of them.” Florence lifted up her apron to show her the small hole where it had gotten snagged.
“Is that all that happened?”
“That’s all.”
“You weren’t flirting with the man next door?”
“Mamm, I wouldn’t know how to flirt. I couldn’t do it if I tried.”
“That’s not good. Misunderstandings are so bad. Like the one you and I had over the letter. You should explain yourself to him.”
“Nee, Mamm. I don’t want Ezekiel as my husband.”
“This is the first time I’ve heard that.”
“I don’t think he’s treated me very well. He treated me like a child just now and embarrassed me in front of our neighbor and now he’s come back and told everyone things that aren’t true. Not to mention how he canceled my visit when I was trying to give him a chance. I haven’t forgotten about that, and he never apologized. He’ll never be my husband.”
Wilma put her arm around Florence’s waist. “Love is hard sometimes, but we must battle through it.”
“Well I’ll do that battling with somebody else, not with him.”
Mamm nodded. “Okay. I’ll tell Ada later.”
“Denke.”
“Don’t get upset.” She patted Florence on the arm.
“I’ll try not to.”
* * *
During dinner, it was evident that Florence had upset both Ada and Samuel. Samuel wouldn’t even look at her.
In the middle of dinner, Favor said, “Ezekiel said you were flirting, Florence.”
“Shush, Favor,” Joy said.
“Well that’s what I heard him say. I didn’t know it was a secret. Everyone knows.”
“Why talk about it, then?” Mamm glared at Favor.
“Because I have an idea. I hope you’ll like it. We send Florence to Aunt Dagmar and get Cherish back.”
Florence looked down into her food, embarrassed, while Hope dug Favor in the ribs. “Ow! That hurt.”
“Stop saying mean things.”
“I’m not. Everyone’s been quiet and everyone’s upset with Florence. Everyone is thinking, who is this man next door and why haven’t we met him?”
“Honor’s met him because he’s the one who drove all that way to bring her back … that time.” Florence didn’t want to remind everyone that Honor had run away with Jonathon.
“And that was a complete waste of time because they ended up getting married anyway—Honor and Jonathon. You should’ve just let them run away.”
Joy shook her head. “Nee. Now they’re in the community; if they’d stayed away, they wouldn’t have been, silly.”
“Now girls, let’s just have a nice quiet dinner, shall we?” Ada asked.
Florence noticed that Mamm was quiet and just looked sad. Was she looking that way because she missed Dat?
Chapter 29
When everyone had finished the dessert, Florence and some of the other girls cleared the table and suddenly Florence found herself alone in the kitchen with Ada.
“I hope you’re not upset with me, Ada.” Florence knew Ada was upset because she wasn’t doing a very good job of hiding it.
“I think you’ve made a big mistake about Ezekiel.”
“I tried. I did try.”
“I’m not sure you did. It seems like you’ve known that man next door for quite a while. Ezekiel never had a chance.”
Florence turned on the water for the dishes.
“Did he?” Ada persisted.
“He had a chance. I was giving him a chance.”
“I suppose you were in your own way. Tell me this, how much of your heart was in it?”
“Not much, if I’m honest. I just wasn’t feeling much for him. He was nice, but sort of like a friend.”
“You don’t make these decisions by feeling it.”
She turned around and stared at Ada. “You don’t?”
“When I first met Samuel, I didn’t like him at all.”
Florence giggled and wondered if she was exaggerating. “That’s hard to believe you get on so well together.”
“Only because of the hard years of marriage behind us. My mudder thought he would be good for me and she was right. She was the one who pushed us together. Her and Samuel’s dear mudder, bless her heart.”
“I’m sure that’s not the case for everybody. I’m sure people have made the same decisions and things didn’t end up well for them.”
“Florence, look how old you are; you’re not going to get many more opportunities. There aren’t many single men around your age or close to it. All the widowers are a lot older than you.”
Florence nodded. “I’m not worried about it at all.”
“If you want to get married, you should be worried. You should be praying.”
“Maybe I don’t want to get married.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“I have everything I want right here. Why would I need to change anything?” It wasn’t true. She did want true love and companionship.
“You think your life’s so good here?”
Florence nodded. “I’m not complaining.”
“What if Wilma wanted to get married again?”
The idea didn’t sit well with Florence, unless that meant she’d get to live alone in the house. “There’s nothing stopping her from doing so. She can do what she wants.”
“I think there is. What if you were standing in her way?”
“I’d never—”
Joy walked into the kitchen. “Excuse me, but Isaac and I have an announcement to make.”
Ada smiled “I hope it’s what I think it might be.”
“Take a seat and find out.”
Florence wiped her hands on the hand towel and followed Ada out of the kitchen. Joy pulled her aside. “Don’t worry, Florence. I knew Ezekiel wasn’t for you. He was nice and everything, but you need someone extra special.”
“Denke, Joy.”
“You deserve to be happy.”
“Denke.”
Florence sat on the couch next to Mamm, and then Joy and Isaac stood in the middle of the room. They exchanged beaming smiles, and then Isaac looked around at everyone as he cleared his throat. He took hold of Joy’s hand. “We’re getting married.”
Wilma let out a squeal and hurried over to hug them. Everyone was delighted. Joy laughed. “I didn’t know he was going to blurt it out like that.”
Ada didn’t seem surprised. “Have you spoken to the bishop about when this wedding will be?”
“Not for a while,” Joy said once her mother let her go.
“We’ve decided on a long engagement to give us time to save up a little,” Isaac told them.
Joy said, “I don’t want to move into Mark and Christina’s haus.”
“It’s so small it would be a little crowded,” Isaac added.
Wilma nodded. “That’s right it would.”
“You sat there all throughout dinner keeping this to yourselves?” Samuel asked, grinning.
“That’s right. We weren’t sure when to tell everyone. Then we thought it was the right time.” Isaac looked at Joy for approval and she gave a nod.
“When did he ask you to marry him, Joy?” Favor asked.
Joy glanced at Isaac. “Only very recently.” She smiled at Isaac. No one needed to know that she was the one who had asked him. He would’ve asked her in time.
Meanwhile, Florence was pleased that the focus was off her. “Congratulations to both of you." She hugged Isaac and then Joy.
“I made some chocolate cake earlier,” Favor said. “Why don’t we have some of that now?”
“Good idea,” said Hope. “I’ll help you get it.”
Samuel still didn’t have much to say to Florence and she didn’t know why he was so upset. He didn’t even seem pleased for Joy and Isaac. Perhaps it was because Ada was upset with her and he was being supportive of his wife.
Ada and Samuel didn’t stay long after that. After all, Ezekiel was staying at their house and they had to get back to him. Isaac drove them home before he went back to Mark and Christina's place.
Florence went to bed that night pleased that Joy had chosen that moment to make her announcement. After she had, no one mentioned the man next door again or her supposed flirting.
She moved to the window and sat on the floor looking up into the night sky. Carter was only a few hundred yards away.
What would her life be like if she left it all behind for him? Would she marry him and live in his house and still run the orchard?
Just as she was thinking of all the possibilities, a bright star streaked across the sky. It was a shooting star—a promise of hope. Even more so because this was the first she’d ever seen.
Chapter 30
After breakfast the next morning, Florence just plain had to see Carter. She told everyone she was going for a walk and then left the house before anyone could say anything.
With the wind rushing against her face, she strode determinedly along the rows of apple trees until his house came into view.
It didn’t take long before he rushed out to meet her. She hadn’t even reached the fence. “You came back.”
Florence put her fingers on the top row of barbed wire along the fence line. “I said I would.”
“I’m pleased.” He helped her through the fence by stretching apart the wires.
Then she faced him squarely and had to get her answers. “Who are you, why did you buy the place here, and what do you do for a living?”
His face drained of color. “Are you sure you haven’t left anything out?”
“I have. Are you any relation to Gerald Braithwaite?”
He blew out a deep breath. “Come inside and sit down. I’ll answer all your questions.” He gestured toward the house and she started walking, glad she was finally going to learn his secrets.
The house was still relatively bare, she noticed, as she made her way to one of the two couches. She sat on one and expected him to sit on the one opposite. He sat beside her.
He shook his head. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“Start by telling me why you bought this place.”
He nodded. “Recently, my mother died.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
“Thank you. It wasn’t that recently. It was about four years ago. It just seems like last week. Her name was Iris Braithwaite.”
A cold shiver ran through Florence’s entire body. Two names she knew well. Iris and Braithwaite. Iris was her stepmother’s estranged sister’s name. “Iris?”
“Yes. Your stepmother’s sister.”
She covered her mouth as she tried to put the pieces of the puzzle together in her head.
“My mother died heartbroken about her sister’s rejection. She even talked about it on the day she died.”
“Oh, that’s so sad. Your mother was Iris, Wilma’s sister, yes?”
He nodded.
“I just can’t believe it. She married Gerald Braithwaite, the man who wrote that letter?”
“She did.”
“I thought that letter was written to ….” She’d thought that letter from Gerald had been written to her mother before she’d married her father. “You’re Gerald’s son?”
“I am.”
She stared at the man in disbelief. “I’m glad I’m sitting down.” Now she knew she didn’t have the whole truth from Wilma. “Please tell me about Iris and Gerald.” She knew Carter would tell her what was what.
“You mentioned that Gerald wrote your mother a letter—”
“I know. I found out later, that letter was written to Iris.”
He nodded. “Yes, I thought you had things wrong.”
“There was no name mentioned on the letter and it was among my mother’s things so I assumed the letter was hers.” She was pleased the letter hadn’t been to her mother. In her heart, she wanted to keep the romantic view of her parents’ relationship. “What happened to Gerald?”
“He died when I was ten.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
He slowly nodded. “It’s been tough without him. He was everything to me. We were so close.”
“When did Iris and Gerald marry?”
“The whole story, as she told me, went like this: she was supposed to marry some Amish man and she wasn’t in love with him, she was in love with Gerald. They’d been having a secret relationship for six months before she left the Amish to be with him. The thing was, my father wasn’t yet divorced from his first wife—separated but not divorced.”
“Oh.”
“It gets worse. Dad hadn’t told her that he was still married and my mother wasn’t happy. She found out just weeks after she left the community. He’d promised her marriage and then she expected it right away. He told her why there had to be a delay.”
“Oh, she wouldn’t have liked that.”
“You’re right. She didn’t. They had a huge fight and split up. My mother found out she was pregnant soon after the break-up and didn’t tell him. He went up north and she battled on for a while by herself and had the child—me. When I was around six months old, she called him in desperate need for money just to feed me. She told him about me and by that time he was divorced, and they got back together.”
“That’s good. Finally. Were they happy together?”
He smiled. “Very.”
She placed both hands over her chest. “I’m so pleased for them. Wilma said Iris came to the door one day and she turned her away. Wilma regretted it ever since.”
“Mom went through some hard times. I know that much.”
“Why did you buy the farm here? You must’ve known at the time that Wilma was right there, next door.”
He ran his hand over his cropped dark hair. “I knew. You might not understand this, so I’ll just say it the best I can. It feels a little bit like I’m home knowing my mother’s sister is next door, and the
re’s a certain comfort in knowing I’m in the same vicinity where my mother was raised.”
It made perfect sense. He wasn’t that different from her. That was why she loved the orchard so much; it reminded her of her parents and she felt close to them and comforted.
“I know it’s silly, but it’s the truth.”
“I believe you.” She stared at him trying to see a family resemblance. “You don’t look much like my stepmother.”
He laughed. “She’s my aunt. I can tell you that I was relieved when I learned you were Wilma’s step-daughter, otherwise we would’ve been cousins.”
She rubbed her forehead. It all felt like a weird dream. Also, she wasn’t sure the timeline of Wilma’s story matched. She was certain Wilma told her she turned her sister away when Mercy was a baby. The truth would come out eventually. “What are your plans? Will you tell Wilma?”
“I don’t think so. It’s best to leave the past in the past.”
“Yes, but you’re here now. You’re in the present and she’d be so pleased to know you.”
“I don’t know about that.” He reached out and took hold of her hand. “Now that you know everything, where do we go from here?”
She was so tempted to say she’d go to the end of the world with him and back again. Still, there were so many things she didn’t know. “What do you do for work?”
“I have a company that designs games.”
“What kind of games?”
“Ones that you’d use on a phone, or a computer. My chess app for instance is one of my games.”
“I kind of understand. That gives you a living?”
His lips turned upward just slightly. “I manage okay.”
“That’s good. Now that I know everything, I don’t know why you didn’t just tell me.” She held her head.
“What do you think now that you know? Does it make a difference to how you feel about me?”
“It shows me how far apart we are in everything that we believe.”
He placed his other hand over the top of hers. “That’ll make life interesting.”
“Or tear us apart.”
“Never. I’ll respect you enough to know you'll have your own opinion on things and I’ll never try to change you.”
Amish Joy (The Amish Bonnet Sisters Book 4) Page 11