“My family does a lot of business with the Englisch.”
“My parents are more old-fashioned in their beliefs than yours. They are already pressuring me to join the church. If and when I do, I will have to give up riding.”
“Are you considering not joining?” He should have seen that coming, but he hadn’t.
“Maybe. I don’t know. I’m not ready to make that decision.”
They were both on the fence about the most important decision young Amish adults had to make.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” he asked, genuinely wishing he could do something for her. He wanted to see her smile again.
Her eyes grew sad. “When you are a famous ballplayer and traveling to faraway cities, send me postcards so I can keep track of you.”
“Sure,” he answered quickly.
The only trouble was, he didn’t want to go far away from Fannie. He’d never had someone he could share everything with, the way he could with her. Their make-believe courtship had sparked a true and deep friendship, for him, at least. He wasn’t sure how she felt, but he hoped she felt the same.
Perhaps it was a foundation they could build into a real courtship one day.
If God wanted him to stay.
Chapter Ten
“You look like you have something serious on your mind, Fannie.”
Sometimes Connie was too observant. Fannie had been thinking about Noah and her growing feelings for him, ever since their outing two days ago, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to share them. “I was mentally preparing to start work with our new boarder. I have time before the group arrives for practice.”
They were seated in Connie’s office, a converted bedroom in her house, trying to make her income from riding classes cover the coming month’s feed bill. It wasn’t stretching. The expense of transporting eight horses and eight Amish girls to various fairs in the region had put a dent in their emergency funds. The rest was earmarked for the Expo.
Connie tipped her head to the side. “Is that all? Are you sure it isn’t Noah that has you looking glum?”
Maybe it would ease her mind to share her feelings. “You guessed it.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“Noah and I have gotten to be good friends. I’ve never said that about anyone but you. I think Noah understands me.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
Fannie shrugged. “Of course not, but how do I keep from liking him too much?”
“Are you saying you’re in love with Noah?”
“Maybe. Nee. I enjoy being around him. He’s great company when we aren’t fighting.”
“By fighting I hope you don’t mean he’s abusive.”
“Of course not. He’s kind and he’s funny. He teases me and makes me giggle.”
Connie leaned back in her chair and twirled her pencil between her fingers. “Giggle. So you are half in love with him.”
“Am I?” Was she?
“I’d say so.”
“What do I do about it?”
“Fannie, if you can’t commit to the relationship, you need to end it.”
That wasn’t what she wanted to hear. “Why should I give up being friends with him? He’s a wonderful man.”
“Because staying friends with him will be incredibly difficult. A woman’s heart is made for love. I’m not saying a friendship between a man and a woman is impossible. I’m saying it’s often the stepping-stone to love. How does Noah feel about you? Do you know? Has he told you?”
“He teases me like I’m his kid sister. I’m not sure how he feels, but it doesn’t matter. We don’t want the same things out of life. I won’t let us become more than friends, but I won’t give that up.”
“More power to you if you can make that happen. The heart has a way of overlooking even the most difficult problems and tumbling you into love before you know it.”
This wasn’t getting her anywhere. “I should get to work. Are you going to come watch me?”
“Oh, like I would miss it. Let’s go.”
Fannie walked into Connie’s arena ten minutes later with their new boarder on a lead rope. The black-and-white gelding kept his head high and flinched with every move she made toward him. Using the end of the rope, she swung it past him. He jerked away violently. She raised her hand quickly and got the same response. Anger made her press her lips together. The poor fellow had known unkindness, if not outright abuse, from someone.
Breathing deeply, she let go of her anger and concentrated on sending calm signals to the horse. She unsnapped the lead and let him loose. He took off at a run.
* * *
Noah entered the riding arena and saw Fannie with a tall paint gelding. The horse wore a halter, but Fannie didn’t have him on a line. She was simply standing in the center of the arena as he galloped around it. She held a coiled lead rope in one hand. Noah leaned on the rail to watch her. What was she up to?
Fannie caught sight of him and grinned, but she kept her attention on the animal traveling around her.
Connie came over and stood beside Noah. “Fannie is very taken with you.”
“I am taken with her myself.”
“I can tell that you love her.”
He drew back in surprise. He wasn’t in love with Fannie. He cared for her. Deeply. But that wasn’t love. Why did this woman think he was?
“We aren’t that serious, but we have become very good friends.” That much was the truth.
“I’m relieved to be wrong,” Connie said.
“Why is that?”
“Because I believe Fannie will never be happy in a traditional Amish marriage. She’s a woman who needs her freedom. She loves horses and she has a tremendous gift with them. She’s what we call a horse whisperer.”
“And what is that, exactly?”
“Someone who can communicate with horses on a level that few of us even understand. Plus, she is the best riding instructor I have ever met. Look at all she has done with her girls in such a short amount of time.”
“You praise her highly.”
“She has earned it.”
“She thinks a lot of you, too.”
He had never looked at Fannie’s affection for horses as a gift. He had trained a number of them. He understood that it took patience and repetition to bring out the best in an animal. Connie clearly saw something more in what Fannie did.
Connie nodded toward the paint horse nervously pacing around the enclosure. “This is a horse I’m boarding. The owners brought him in yesterday. They recently purchased him for their daughter, but they say he’s a problem for them to handle. He’s head shy and difficult to catch.”
“They chose poorly for their daughter.”
“Not everyone who buys a horse is an expert. The previous owner should have alerted them to the issue. I suspect he wasn’t an honest fellow. They thought the horse was simply spirited.”
“Then they should get their money back.”
“After Fannie explained to them why the horse was acting up, they decided that returning him to his former owner was not an option for them.”
“I see. So they asked you to retrain the horse?”
“Fannie offered as soon as she saw what was wrong. See how the horse keeps moving? Their natural instinct is to fight or to flee. Their first choice is always flight.”
“What is she doing now? Why is she just standing there?”
“Fannie is becoming the herd leader. She is going to show by her body language that she is a safe place.”
When the horse came by she raised her arms and the horse moved away.
Perplexed, Noah said, “I thought she wanted him to come to her?”
“She hasn’t invited him to join her herd.”
; Fannie continued to drive the horse forward until he had made a dozen laps around the arena. Twice, she closed the distance between them and forced the horse to switch directions. It went on for fifteen minutes.
Connie leaned closer to Noah after the horse had made several more circles of the arena. “Watch the horse’s ears. See how he is keeping his inside ear toward Fannie. She is holding his attention while his other ear is listening to the rest of the building. When he starts slowing and moving his mouth, he’s relaxing.”
Fannie lowered her arms but kept moving more slowly. As she did, the horse began to close the distance between them as he circled her. When he was walking calmly, she turned her back to him and he approached within a few feet.
She took several steps away and the horse followed her. She turned left and he continued to follow close behind her. When she stopped to face him, he stretched his nose toward her and she rewarded him with a rub on the forehead.
“This is called joining. He has confidence now that she doesn’t mean him harm. She’s a safe place to be, and he’ll remember that. He’ll never forget the abuse someone gave him, but he can get past it now. Not all humans are bad.”
“I thought I knew horses pretty well, but I see I have more to learn.”
“If I can get this stable back in the black, Fannie is the one who can help me keep it that way. She has a job here for as long as she wants it. If she marries, she will have to give this up, won’t she?”
“If Fannie joins the church, she will take a vow to follow the rules of our congregation, the Ordnung. Working outside the home is rarely permitted for a woman unless she is helping with her family’s or her husband’s business when she marries. Once the children come, she must give her family her full attention.”
Connie gestured toward the middle of the arena. The horse that had been so fearful was resting his head on Fannie’s shoulder. “Do you think she can give that up? I couldn’t if I had her gift.”
Fannie started jogging and the horse followed her. She darted one way and then another as he followed her every move in a game of tag. Laughing, she stopped and put her arms around his neck. The horse didn’t flinch.
Noah realized he’d never seen Fannie so carefree. The half-formed idea that had been growing in his mind withered and died. If he didn’t get picked up by a scout, he had been considering courting Fannie in earnest. She had an amazing way of getting inside his defenses. Just as she had done with the horse she was training.
Watching her doing what she loved, he knew he couldn’t ask her to give it up. The most he could hope for was to continue their friendship. It was far better to accept that now. Before he made the mistake of falling in love with her. As she walked toward him, he was determined not to let his disappointment show.
Pasting a cheerful smile on his face, he opened the gate so she could come out and closed it before the horse came, too. The animal stood at the gate waiting for her to come back in.
Noah turned to Fannie. “Where did you learn to do that?”
“Do you remember me telling you about the fair I went to years ago?”
“Of course. The night your cousin died and Gott prompted Connie to step in and save you.”
“While Maddy and I were exploring the fairgrounds that afternoon, I saw a man give a demonstration on this technique. He was amazing. They brought in three horses he’d never seen before, all with different problems, and he gentled each one of them. One in less than fifteen minutes. I knew I had to learn to do it. Then, well, you know my cousin was killed and I came home. I tried to show my father how it was done, but he said the old ways were best. He’s not cruel to his horses, but he believes he has to show them he is in charge.”
“That must have been frustrating for you.”
“It was. Then I took this job working for Connie. After that, I was able to use what I knew and expand my education. Connie was as excited by the technique as I was. She purchased videos I could watch on her computer. We have even traveled to several events where—I don’t call it horse training, I call it people reeducation—it was taking place. I learned something new every time.”
“Will your friend react the same to me as he did to you?”
“He will if you are interesting enough.”
Noah pretended indignation. “What’s that mean? You don’t think I’m an interesting fellow? What kind of thing is that to say to your beau?”
He opened the gate and stepped in with the horse, watching for any signs of agitation. He saw none. Instead of reaching for the horse, Noah walked a little way into the arena. The horse followed him after a brief hesitation.
Turning, Noah faced the animal, which still wasn’t displaying any signs of agitation. He had his ears forward, his head was slightly lowered and his posture was relaxed. Noah held out his hand. The horse came forward to sniff him. After rubbing the animal’s forehead, Noah took hold of his halter and led him back to Fannie. “He doesn’t seem head shy to me.”
“He was, wasn’t he, Connie?” Fannie grinned at her friend.
“He jerked George off his feet when George took hold of his lead rope.”
Connie came through the gate and clipped a lead to the horse’s halter. The animal submitted meekly. “With a little extra people training for his owners, he should make a good family horse.”
She led the paint away, leaving Noah and Fannie alone. Noah slipped his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. He was still in awe of what he’d seen. Fannie’s famous temper was totally absent. “Timothy should be here soon. He wanted to be here before the girls began to arrive.”
“I’m so thankful he has agreed to be our chaperone.”
“He prefers the term manager.”
“Manager it is.”
“I have to say I’m really impressed with your gift, Fannie. I had no idea.”
“Does it rank up there with your fastball?”
“Hmm, let me think. Nope.”
“Oh! You are conceited, Noah Bowman.”
“Ah, now you are the one looking for a compliment. Not very plain behavior, if you ask me.”
“I didn’t ask you. Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
“Are you two quarreling again?” The question came from Timothy, who was watching them both with mirth brimming in his eyes.
Noah winked at Fannie. “Not at all, bruder. Teasing is how we show our affection for each other, isn’t it, dear?”
“Sure. And pigs have learned how to fly,” she snapped back.
Noah chuckled. “I believe Hiram mentioned that.”
Fannie closed her eyes and shook her head. “I have to go get Trinket. My team is arriving. Timothy, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you are doing.”
“It’s all in the name of education. Mine, most of all.”
Noah noticed George come in the far door, but at the sight of both brothers, he turned and walked out. Hopefully he understood the message. He wasn’t to bother the girls again.
It didn’t take long for the excited group of girls to offer Timothy their collective thanks and ready their mounts. When they were lined up by twos, Fannie called for the music to start and they rode out.
“I don’t know much about this sport. I see the concept, but what are the challenges?” Timothy asked Connie, who had come back in to stand beside them.
“Stay in line is the first rule of a drill team. No matter what, the riders need to keep their positioning even and stay straight. It doesn’t matter if the horse is trotting, pacing or cantering, the audience will only notice the spacing and unity of the group. The riders have to be ready to shift up or down to maintain the line. Riders on the inside of a turn have a smaller radius and need to hold back, while the horse and rider on the outside of the turn has to hustle. Notice how Abbie is lagging behind the group during turns.”<
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“Abbie, keep up,” Fannie called out.
“I’m trying.”
“She’s going to have to push her horse harder to make up that extra step,” Connie said.
“Maybe not. Fannie, hold up a moment.” Noah moved out into the ring. He drew a line in the dirt with his boot and walked off a dozen paces before drawing a second line.
Fannie rode over with a scowl on her face. “What are you doing?”
“Measuring strides. Pamela, Abbie, I want you to trot your horses across the first line all the way to the second one at the same speed.”
After the girls did as he asked, Timothy joined Noah to examine the hoofprints. Fannie swung out of the saddle. “I don’t see what you’re trying to prove. Abbie needs to push her mount harder to keep up.”
Noah shook his head. “Misty needs to be the second horse on the inside of the pinwheel.”
“We have the girls arranged according to their height. Having Pamela on the inside won’t work.”
“Then they need to trade horses. Is there a reason they can’t?” He looked at the girls. They looked at each other and shook their heads.
“I’m not sure trading horses in the middle of the season is a good idea. Connie and I paired these girls with these horses for a reason. They have grown used to each other.”
“Come look,” he said. “Count the number of strides Misty took compared to Comet. See? Misty’s stride is a good four inches shorter than Comet’s. If we switch their places in the pattern, Abbie won’t have to try so hard to keep up with the group.”
“I see what you are saying.” She didn’t sound happy about it.
“If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t, and you go back to what you were doing.”
She sighed heavily. “We can give it a try. Switch horses, girls. Zoe, start the music again. From the beginning, ladies.”
The group went through the entire program without pausing. Abbie was able to keep pace in the pinwheel and she was grinning from ear to ear when they finished. She patted her new mount’s neck. “That was easier.”
Their Pretend Amish Courtship Page 12