Amish Sweethearts

by Amy Clipston

  “Of course. Come in.” Craig gestured toward a chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”

  “Thank you.” Janie sank into the chair.

  “Well, what’s on your mind this fine Monday afternoon?” Craig leaned forward on his large wooden desk and steepled his fingers.

  “I want to tell you something about the accident.” Although her father’s warning not to get involved still echoed through her mind, she pushed on. “I was eating lunch at a picnic table near the entrance to the parking lot, so I saw everything. That’s when I ran into the store to get you.”

  Craig gasped, his eyes widening. “The police asked me for possible witnesses, and I completely forgot you were outside and might have seen the whole thing. Please tell me what you remember.”

  Janie paused and breathed in a deep, shuddering breath.

  “Take your time,” Craig said.

  “The accident wasn’t Jonathan’s fault,” she said, her heart pounding with anxiety. “Not only did Jonathan signal before he turned into the parking lot, but the driver of the car was distracted.”

  “What do you mean?” Craig asked.

  “He was looking down at something in his hand instead of watching the road. I think he was texting on his cell phone.” An invisible load lifted from Janie’s shoulders as she said the words aloud.

  “He was texting?” Craig asked, and she nodded. “Are you sure?”

  “It looked like a cell phone. But the point is, he was looking down, not at the road to see Jonathan’s signal. He didn’t brake until he looked up to see he was about to crash into the buggy.” Her words came in a rush now. “Craig, it has bothered me that Jonathan was blamed when the accident wasn’t his fault. Jonathan wasn’t reckless. He did nothing to endanger those passengers. I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you before. I was hoping someone else saw Jonathan signal too.”

  Craig blew out a puff of air. “I’m glad you told me now.” He raked his hands through his dark hair. “You have no idea what a relief this is. Would you be willing to talk to a police officer if he needs more information?”

  Janie nodded, but her father’s instructions to stay out of the investigation reverberated through her mind once again. She hoped she wouldn’t have to recount the story numerous times.

  “Thank you, Janie,” Craig said. “I appreciate your help.”

  “You’re welcome.” As Janie walked back into the store, she hoped she’d helped save Jonathan’s job.

  Jonathan’s boots crunched on dry leaves as he led Bucky toward the stable. He hummed to himself as he contemplated the conversation he’d shared with Janie at lunch. He cherished every moment he spent with her and tried not to think about how November was just around the corner.

  “Jonathan!” Craig called as he ambled from the store toward the stable. “I need to talk with you for a moment.”

  “Okay.” Jonathan stopped the horse and began rubbing his neck while waiting for Craig. “You’re a gut bu, Bucky,” he murmured to the horse. “Ya, you are.”

  “I’m glad I caught you before you left for the day,” Craig said as he walked over to him.

  “Is everything all right?”

  “Yes.” Craig smiled. “In fact, I have fantastic news. The driver of the car admitted fault.”

  “What?” Jonathan tried to process what Craig had said. “He admitted he caused the accident?”

  “That’s right.” Craig folded his arms across his chest. “I just spoke to my lawyer, and the driver admitted he was distracted because he was texting his girlfriend. You’re off the hook, and you can return to giving buggy rides tomorrow if you want. You’re completely cleared of any wrongdoing.”

  Craig held out his hand, and Jonathan shook it as questions swirled through his mind.

  “I’m still a little confused,” Jonathan said. “Why did he suddenly admit guilt? I thought he blamed me for the accident.”

  “Janie came to see me on Monday. She not only saw you signal, but she insisted she witnessed the driver looking down at what seemed to be a cell phone, probably texting. I called my lawyer right away, and he contacted the driver’s lawyer. Apparently the driver was caught in a lie. He said he wasn’t texting, but the police looked into his cell phone records and found the evidence. He sent a text just as the car hit the buggy, and his lawyer told him he had to admit fault. You can thank Janie. She got the process started.”

  “Janie did that for me?” Jonathan asked with surprise.

  “That’s right. I’m not sure what made her tell me now, but it’s a good thing. Our lawyer said the driver and some passengers were going to sue, and he was pressuring us to fire you, Jonathan. And that’s the last thing we wanted to do.

  “So do you want to go back to giving tours tomorrow?” Craig asked, rubbing his hands together.

  “I’d love to,” Jonathan said. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Craig patted Jonathan’s back. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Jonathan silently marveled at the great news as he led Bucky into the stable. He was astonished Janie had gone out on a limb to make things right for him, and he hoped she wasn’t in any trouble for it. The Amish didn’t like to get involved in legal matters. Had she suspected he really might lose his job if she didn’t step forward? She was a truly special maedel. He had to thank her. But a question lingered in his mind—why hadn’t she told him she’d spoken to Craig on Monday?

  Jonathan finished his chores in the stable and then stepped out into the parking lot. When he spotted Janie walking toward the white van idling nearby, he took off running.

  “Janie!” he called. “Janie, wait!”

  Janie spun toward him, her eyes wide with question. “Jonathan?”

  “Janie,” he said, trying to catch his breath. “I need to talk to you.”

  “What’s wrong?” Her eyes searched his.

  “Nothing is wrong. In fact, everything is right.”

  “I don’t understand.” Janie tipped her head in question, and she looked even more adorable than usual.

  “I need to thank you,” he said, taking a step closer to her and breathing in the sweet apple scent of her shampoo. “I know you said you saw me signal, but danki for telling Craig not only that, but that the driver wasn’t paying attention.”

  “Oh.” She waved off the words. “It wasn’t anything.”

  “It was something,” he insisted. “Because of you, the driver admitted he caused the accident, and I’m cleared of any wrongdoing. And I got my driving job back.”

  “Oh, that’s fantastic!” Janie gasped. “I’m so froh for you!” She dropped her tote bag and threw her arms around him, pulling him into a warm hug.

  Stunned, Jonathan held her in his arms, and he felt something spark between them. A small flame ignited inside of him and then settled deep in his soul.

  I love her.

  The feeling was so intense that his pulse accelerated. Janie had somehow broken through the wall he’d built around his heart after Grace left him. He closed his eyes and longed to freeze this moment in time. He wanted to hold her close to him forever.

  “Oh.” Janie suddenly stepped away from him. She smoothed her hands down her sweater, and her cheeks were the color of a Red Delicious apple. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be so—”

  “It’s fine.” Jonathan touched her cheek. “And danki again.”

  Janie nodded, her cheeks still flaming. “Gern gschehne.” She glanced back at the van and then turned toward him again. “I need to go, but I will see you tomorrow.”

  “Gut nacht,” he said.

  “Gut nacht,” she repeated before climbing into the van.

  As the van drove away, Jonathan said a silent prayer, thanking God for sending him to Bird-in-Hand to meet Janie.

  “Jonathan was cleared of all wrongdoing today,” Janie finally blurted as she cut up her piece of pork later that evening. “The driver of the car admitted he was distracted and was texting when he hit the buggy.”

  “R
eally?” Marie asked, her brown eyes wide with interest. “That’s wunderbaar.”

  “Ya, I’m so froh for him,” Janie said, hoping her cheeks wouldn’t burn with embarrassment as she remembered how she’d hugged Jonathan earlier. What had possessed her to be so forward? She had never done anything that forward or impulsive before. Why did she feel so comfortable with him? It felt natural to hug him.

  Janie suddenly realized her family was studying her. Had she missed part of the conversation?

  “I asked you a question,” Dat said.

  “Oh, I’m sorry.” Janie did her best not to look guilty even though she knew her parents would have been furious if they’d seen her behavior earlier. “What did you say, Dat?”

  “I asked you why the driver suddenly confessed,” Dat said, placing his glass of water on the table. “Did you hear what made him change his mind and tell the truth?”

  With her father’s brown eyes watching her, Janie realized she’d shared too much. Now she had to admit she went against her parents’ wishes. But maybe her father would go easy on her when he realized she helped Jonathan keep his job.

  “Janie?” Dat’s voice was laced with irritation. “Why are you acting so strangely tonight? Are you not feeling well?”

  “I’m fine,” Janie said softly, placing her fork and knife on her plate.

  “Then what is it?” Dat demanded. “You’ve been distracted all evening.”

  Janie took a deep breath. It was time for her to tell the truth. “I’m the reason the driver admitted the truth. I told Craig I saw the driver texting. Craig spoke to his lawyer, and then—”

  “You disobeyed me?” Dat’s voice boomed throughout the kitchen.

  Janie nodded as tears stung her eyes. “I did, but I only wanted to help Jonathan. I found out he was going to be fired because some of the passengers in the buggy and the driver were going to sue Craig—”

  Dat’s face turned bright red as he wagged a finger at her. “I told you to stay out of it, Janie Lynn. The last thing I want is for you to be dragged into court as a witness. The Englishers love to sue each other, and it’s against our beliefs to get involved in that.” He fisted his hands. “You are not to see Jonathan any longer. I don’t want you to have any contact with him.”

  “Why?” Janie asked. “This isn’t Jonathan’s fault. It was my choice to talk to Craig. Jonathan didn’t know anything about it.”

  “I don’t care,” Dat continued, his voice full of anger. “You are not to see him at all. I don’t want you to eat lunch with him or talk to him. You don’t make logical decisions when he’s around. Steer clear of him. He’ll be back in Maryland in a month, and then we can forget all about this mess.”

  “But, Dat,” Janie began, her voice trembling with both grief and regret. “I care about him. I can’t pretend I don’t know him.”

  “You can and you will,” Dat ordered. He turned his attention to his plate and speared a piece of his pork.

  Janie looked at her mother for help, but Mamm merely shook her head and frowned. Janie knew her mother would never go against her father, but she’d hoped somehow her mother could help. Janie looked at Marie, who seemed nearly as upset as she was.

  Janie trained her eyes on her plate and willed herself not to cry. She’d prayed she and Jonathan could make their relationship work, but in a matter of a few minutes, all her hopes and dreams had dissolved. All she had left was a hole in her heart.

  Jonathan sipped his cup of coffee and looked across the table at his grandmother. “I still can’t believe Janie came forward for me,” he said after explaining what had happened that afternoon. “I’ve never known a maedel like her.”

  Mammi gave him a knowing smile. “She’s special to you.”

  “She is.” Jonathan took a deep breath. “I think I’m in love with her.”

  Mammi patted his hand. “Oh, Jonathan, I’m so froh to hear you say that. I know Grace hurt you deeply.”

  “Grace did,” Jonathan admitted as he cradled the warm cup in his hands. “But I don’t think I felt this way about Grace. It’s different this time. I’ve been thinking all evening that I want to stay here in Lancaster. I think I want to sell mei haus back in Maryland and move here. I’ll find a job and—”

  “Oh, that’s wunderbaar!” Mammi clapped her hands. “We’d love to have you, right, Omar?”

  “Absolutely,” Daadi said. “You can stay with us until you build a haus. You can get a job working for your onkel or one of your cousins.”

  “That would be great.” Jonathan’s heart raced with the possibility of starting a new life in Pennsylvania, a new life with the beautiful Janie Lantz. He couldn’t wait to tell her.

  Chapter Seven

  Jonathan hurried into the souvenir shop the following morning. He was bursting with excitement. He couldn’t wait to see Janie and tell her he loved her. He couldn’t wait to start their future together.

  He entered the store, and when he saw her standing in front of the cash register, he stopped in his tracks. Janie was ringing up T-shirts for a customer, but Jonathan could tell her smile wasn’t genuine. Her eyes were dull, and he could see purple circles under them. Alarm surged through him. Where was the happy maedel who had hugged him last night?

  He padded up toward the counter and stood close-by until she handed the customer her change and told her to have a nice day.

  “Janie?” he asked. “How are you?”

  “Jonathan,” she said, her smile gone, her voice flat and devoid of emotion. “Wie geht’s?”

  Jonathan’s heart splintered over the sadness in her eyes. What had happened to her? He glanced around the store and saw only a few customers. He reached for her arm and then stopped himself.

  “May I speak with you for a moment?” he asked.

  She hesitated, but then gave a curt nod. “Let me go find Eva.”

  Worry washed over him as she hustled to the back of the store. She whispered something to Eva, who looked over at Jonathan and smiled. Then Janie gestured for Jonathan to follow her into the Employees Only area. They entered the break room, and Janie closed the door behind them.

  She fingered the hem on her black apron and studied her shoes, seeming to avert her eyes on purpose. Anticipation and worry were eating away at his soul.

  “Was iss letz?” he finally asked. “Janie, I can’t take this silence between us.”

  When Janie looked up, her eyes glistened with tears. “I can’t be your freind anymore.” Her voice trembled with raw emotion as tears trickled down her pink cheeks.

  “What?” He took a step toward her, the grief on her face stabbing at his heart. “I don’t understand. Is it your parents?”

  “It’s mei dat.” She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “He instructed me not to get involved with the accident, but then I admitted to telling Craig what I saw. He was furious I disobeyed him. I tried to explain I only did it so you wouldn’t get fired, but he still wouldn’t listen to me.”

  “You thought I was going to get fired?”

  Janie nodded. “Eva overheard Bianca and Craig talking. Some of the passengers and the other driver were going to sue, so they were going to have to fire you to help save their business. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  Jonathan was speechless.

  “So now I have to steer clear of you, and I can’t even have lunch with you anymore.” She sniffed as more tears escaped her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

  “No, Janie,” he said. “I’m sorry this happened to you.” He longed to touch her arm and hug her the way she’d hugged him last night, but he couldn’t disobey her father. He didn’t want to make things more difficult for her, but the thought of not having her in his life was so painful it stole his breath.

  “I have to go,” she said, her voice hitching on the last word.

  Before he could respond, Janie rushed out of the break room and into the staff restroom, the door lock clicking behind her.

  Jonathan leaned his back against the wall and squeezed
his eyes shut. His life had changed dramatically within the past twelve hours. He’d gone from realizing he was in love and wanting to start a new life in Pennsylvania to losing that love before he even had a chance to share his feelings with her. Disappointment, anger, and guilt warred within him. If only he could convince her father that he loved her.

  Pushing off the wall, he ambled through the store and tried to think of a way to convince Janie’s father his feelings for her were pure and that he would love Janie and take care of her for the rest of his life.

  Janie sat alone in the break room and tried to eat her lunch. Her turkey sandwich tasted like sand as she slowly chewed it. She wasn’t hungry even though she couldn’t stomach her breakfast either. Last night, she’d tossed and turned all night long and cried until she was convinced she had no tears left to shed. The thought of losing Jonathan’s friendship had cut her to the core, and the anguish on his face when she told him the news had jammed the knife even further into her heart.

  Janie had tried to talk to her mother last night, begging her to convince Dat to change his mind about Jonathan. Despite Janie’s best efforts, Mamm had refused, explaining she couldn’t go against his decisions. Janie knew she was out of options. There was nothing she could do except try to avoid Jonathan and pray her heart would someday heal.

  The door opened, and Eva entered the break room. She tilted her head in question.

  “What are you doing in here?” Eva asked as she crossed the room and opened the refrigerator. “Is it too cold to eat outside?”

  “I decided to eat in here.”

  “Where’s Jonathan?” Eva retrieved her lunch bag and sat down across from Janie. “Don’t you two eat together every day? Is he out on a buggy run?”

  “No.” Janie studied her half-eaten sandwich. “I can’t eat with him anymore.”

  “You can’t eat with him?” Eva pulled out her sandwich. “I don’t understand.”

  Janie met her friend’s curious eyes and shared her father’s reaction to the news that she had told Craig the truth about the other driver.