Huckleberry Summer (Huckleberry Hill)

by Jennifer Beckstrand

“Yep.”

  Lily didn’t look so cheerful. “I must face my fater tomorrow too.”

  “You won’t have to say a word,” Aden insisted. “I’ll do all the explaining.”

  “I’m the one who should talk to Lily’s dat,” Tyler said.

  “Nae. She will be my wife. I will face her fater like a man, and he will come to respect me, Lord willing.”

  Lily reached across Tyler and placed a hand on Aden’s knee. “I won’t allow either of you to shield me from my fater’s anger.”

  Aden felt such tenderness for her that he thought he might melt. She had nothing to fear from her fater. Aden would protect her with everything he had in him.

  Tyler sighed and stood up. “Come on, Aden. It’s not getting any warmer or any earlier. Felty, can we take your horse?”

  Aden and Lily rose from the sofa. “Where are we going?” Aden asked.

  Tyler grabbed his coat where he had draped it over one of the kitchen chairs. “You’ve got to clear this mess with the bishop, and the bishop will no doubt like to hear from the ex-groom who happens to be his son.” Tyler zipped his coat. “And you’re sleeping at my house.”

  “I can bed down in the barn. I don’t mind.”

  “It would be bad for the groom to freeze the night before his wedding. We’re filled to the rafters with people, but we’ll be able to find you a place to sleep.”

  Aden couldn’t hope to repay Tyler’s kindness in a thousand lifetimes. “I can’t believe you’re helping us like this.”

  Tyler opened the door and let in a wave of chilly air. “Neither can I. I should see a doctor.”

  Aden gave Lily one last kiss. “If there is any problem with Tyler’s dat, I will come back. Otherwise, ride the sleigh to your house in the morning, and I will see you at the wedding.”

  Her lips quirked in amusement. “I’ll be there. Don’t chicken out.”

  Aden looked at Tyler. “What time is my wedding tomorrow?”

  Tyler growled in exasperation. “Eleven.”

  “Don’t be late,” Mammi said. “You want to make a good impression on your new in-laws.”

  Aden laughed. “I would hate to start off on the wrong foot. Stay here, Pilot,” he said before he followed Tyler out and shut the door behind him.

  He and Tyler crunched through the snow. Aden saddled Dawdi’s horse while Tyler unhitched Lily’s horse from the sleigh and stabled her. Aden led the horse from the barn and motioned for Tyler to mount first. “You really are a good man, Tyler. I’d feel a whole lot better if you beat the tar out of me.”

  Tyler formed his lips into a wry grin. “Don’t tempt me. It’s been a long night.”

  “I really don’t understand what is going on here,” the bishop said.

  Tyler shoved his fingers through his hair. “It’s pretty simple, Dat. Aden and I are making a swap. He wants to marry Lily tomorrow, and I don’t.”

  The bishop shook his head. “I really don’t understand what is going on here.”

  Near midnight, Aden, Tyler, and the bishop sat in a circle of milking stools in the cold, musty barn. Relatives crammed every room of Yoder’s house, and the barn proved the only place that afforded any privacy, unless the cows that moved quietly in the dark shadows were listening in.

  “Lily doesn’t love me, Dat. She wants to marry Aden instead.”

  The bishop eyed Aden suspiciously. “So he stole Lily from you? I can’t approve of that. It is a serious offense to court another man’s fiancée.”

  Tyler patted his fater’s leg. “Aden didn’t do anything wrong, Dat. Lily’s fater preferred me.”

  “But she encouraged you. She agreed to marry you. What kind of a girl would do that to a young man?”

  Tyler stood and paced out his agitation. “I won’t deny she made mistakes, especially since both Aden and I had to suffer for them. But, Dat, she set all to rights before it was truly too late.”

  The bishop stood and placed his hands on Tyler’s shoulders. “This surely must hurt you.”

  A spark of sadness ignited on Tyler’s face. “I feel rotten, Dat. But I want to be loved by my fiancée, not just my fiancée’s fater.”

  In resignation, the bishop sat and scratched the beard at his chin. “Your mother will not be happy.”

  Tyler glanced at Aden. “Keep her away from Aden until after the wedding.”

  The bishop nodded. “For four or five years after the wedding.”

  Aden didn’t laugh. The bishop was not joking. Aden thought of his own mother. She would be quite annoyed at missing Aden’s wedding. He might have to stay away from her for four or five years.

  The bishop sat down and slapped his hands on his thighs. “Okay, Aden. Let’s talk about your wedding.”

  “First,” Aden said, “can I use your phone?”

  “Jah,” Tyler said.

  The Yoders, like many Amish families with businesses, had a telephone in their barn. Aden quickly stepped into the small office and dialed his favorite phone number. “Hello? Jamal . . . Yes, I know what time it is, but I saved your life once, and I need your help.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Lily decided to try the front door first. If she couldn’t get in that way, she’d go to the back and try to get Estee’s attention by throwing pebbles at her window.

  Dread wrestled with complete joy inside her. Most likely, Dat would order her off his property and leave her no choice but to sneak into her own wedding with the rest of the guests. But there was also a chance that he would take pity on her and at least let her warm herself by the wood stove before she made her vows.

  Her vows. Today she would marry Aden Helmuth. She could not even form the words in her mind to describe her utter happiness. This was how a bride should feel on her wedding day, as if she were the only person in the whole world who ever loved. It was impossible that Estee could love Floyd anywhere near as much as Lily loved Aden.

  Three unhitched buggies stood side by side in the lane in front of Lily’s house. Many of the relatives would have arrived early to help in the food preparation; some were close enough to come in buggies, others would have been dropped off by drivers.

  Sandy pulled the sleigh to the barn where Lily unhitched it and repositioned the tarp. Had anyone noticed it was missing?

  She ambled to the porch and didn’t know whether to walk into the house as if she belonged or knock like a visitor. She felt like a stranger to her former life.

  Her knock was barely a tap, but then she remembered that she determined to be brave. She gave five sharp raps on the door, loudly enough for all the relatives inside to hear. Her heart echoed the beat.

  Dat opened the door as if he had been waiting for her. He furrowed his brow, a mixture of anger and concern flickering in his eyes.

  She must look a sight. Her cheeks were surely bright red from the sleigh ride. She hadn’t slept a wink last night, and the dark circles under her eyes might evoke some sympathy. But she also knew that her affection for Aden would glow through her very skin and make her eyes seem extra lively. What would Dat see?

  He didn’t invite her in to her own house. “Do you know how worried we were? I never thought my Lily would do such a thing.” The lines on his face had deepened overnight. She felt sorry for him. Of course he would have worried when she hadn’t come back last night.

  “I’m sorry, Dat, but I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “Did you think on your sins?”

  “Jah.” She had thought on her sins, but not the ones Dat wanted her to think on. She had hurt both Tyler and Aden badly. Those sins she would not soon forget.

  “And are you getting married today or not?”

  Lily took a deep breath. Her answer would no doubt get her kicked out of the house forever. “Jah, Dat, I am.”

  Dat’s smile knocked the wind out of her, especially since she was about to deflate all his hopes.

  “But—”

  Estee bounded down the steps like a herd of sheep. “Lily,” she squealed, catapulting h
erself into Lily’s arms. “You’re back!”

  Lily gave her sister a cursory hug and nudged her away. “Dat, I must tell you—”

  Estee pulled her into the house and practically dragged her up the stairs. “Plenty of time for that. It’s only two hours until the service starts, and we’ve got to wash your hair.”

  Dat looked ten years younger than he had a minute ago. “Go, Lily. We will talk later.”

  Despite the guilt that niggled at the edge of her thoughts, Lily let Estee pull her upstairs without another word. She hadn’t actually lied to Fater, and she really did want a bath.

  Estee yanked her into their room and shut the door. Her smile disappeared as if it had only been there for Dat’s benefit. “What is going on? Dat told me you’d gone to sleep over at the cousins’, but I heard every word of that fight last night.” She frowned. “I’m sorry about being so nasty yesterday. If that fight was my fault . . .”

  Lily hugged Estee and held on for dear life. “Oh, Estee, I’m so happy. I feel like I’m going to burst into laughter every moment.”

  “Where did you go last night?”

  “First I went to Tyler’s.”

  Estee’s face fell even further. “You’ve decided to go through with it?”

  “I couldn’t do it, Estee. I don’t love him.”

  Estee pulled away, her eyes popping with astonishment. “You’re not going to marry Tyler?”

  Lily nodded. Thinking of Tyler brought a lump to her throat.

  “Oh, poor Tyler. What did he say?”

  “You know Tyler. He doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”

  Estee sank to the bed, unable to bear all this information standing on her feet. “It’s a gute thing I am getting married today, or Dat would have had to send all the relatives home without a wedding.”

  Lily’s heart sped up. “Not quite.”

  “Not quite?”

  “Aden asked me to marry him, and it seemed practical to do it when all the family would be here.”

  Could Estee’s eyes get any wider? “You’re marrying Aden today?”

  Lily couldn’t contain her widest smile. “Jah.”

  Estee leaped from the bed and screamed loudly enough to wake sleepers in China. She clapped her arms around Lily, and they jumped up and down together, squealing and giggling.

  Mama came flying into the room. “Is everything all right?”

  Lily and Estee stopped the racket. Mama clicked her tongue and tugged Lily into a warm embrace. “We didn’t think you’d be gone so long. Dat never would have thrown you out if he thought for one minute that you wouldn’t return immediately.”

  “It’s okay, Mama. I have never been better.”

  Mama patted Lily’s cheek. “Oh, my dear girl, Dat told me. You won’t regret your decision. Such a fine young man.” She patted Estee’s cheek with her other hand. “Two weddings today. My cup runneth over.”

  Lily enfolded her mama in a solid embrace and savored the smell of her hair and skin against her cheek. After today, her mamm might not want to see her.

  “You two had better get ready. I still have two salads to make.”

  Lily swallowed hard. She would have to break the news to her parents soon, before the service. She pictured Aden’s face in her mind and tried to muster more courage. Thinking of Aden sent little pulses of delight surging through her body. It was all so sudden, so reckless, but she had never felt more sure of anything. Oh, she would burst!

  Mama closed the door behind her.

  “Oh no,” Estee said quietly.

  “I know.” Lily reached for the doorknob. “I really should go tell them now. They’re so happy.”

  “No, wait. We need to wash your hair, and it’s got to have time to dry. Aden deserves a freshly scrubbed bride.” Their eyes met, and Estee squeaked in delight. “Oh, Lily, he is so good-looking.” She raised her hand as if to stop all protest. “I know that appearance doesn’t matter. It certainly doesn’t matter to me, but it can’t hurt to have a husband who’s pleasant to look at. And Aden is as gute as he is handsome. Maybe more so. After me, you are the most blessed girl alive.”

  “Oh, Estee. I’m so happy.”

  Once again, the door burst open. Floyd stood at the threshold with his hat in his hand and a frantic look in his eyes. “I’m sorry to bother you. David said I could come up here even though I didn’t want to come up here. I mean, I wanted to see you but didn’t know if I should see you before the wedding. I don’t mean to interrupt.” He strode quickly into the room and took both of Estee’s hands. “Your wedding present is gone.”

  “What do you mean?” Estee asked.

  “Disappeared. I hid it in the barn, and this morning I came to fetch it and it was gone.”

  Lily grimaced. “I stole it last night.”

  Floyd looked as if he hadn’t even noticed Lily in the room before. “You stole it?”

  “I’m sorry, Floyd. It was an emergency.”

  Floyd couldn’t quite grasp what she told him. “You shouldn’t steal other people’s things.”

  “I brought it back. It’s in the barn, safe and sound.”

  Floyd thought about that for a minute before jerking to attention and rushing out the door. Estee lifted an eyebrow in puzzlement and stared at Lily. Floyd ran back into the room. “You look very pretty today, Estee,” he said, before disappearing once again.

  “You’re really going to like your present,” Lily said.

  They laughed until Estee wiped the smile off her face and propped her hands on her hips. “If we don’t wash your hair immediately, you will make your vows in a soggy kapp.”

  “I’m all yours,” Lily said.

  An hour later, Lily descended the stairs with a damp bun ready to be kicked out of the house once again. She wore the royal blue dress she had sewn for her wedding and a crisp white apron. The kitchen teemed with aunts and cousins slicing bread and frosting cakes and cutting vegetables.

  Aunt Lisa looked up from where she sat at the table counting paper plates. “What a beautiful bride you are.”

  Lily forced a smile and barely paid heed to the compliments and good wishes of her relatives. She must find Dat this minute.

  Mama supervised the whipping cream for the pies with Aunt Arie. “Mama, where is Dat?”

  Mama licked a dollop of whipped cream off her finger. “It needs more sugar, Arie.”

  “Mama, I need to talk to Dat.”

  Mama’s eyes sparkled merrily. Lily hoped it would still be a happy day for her, even if only one of her daughters married an acceptable young man. “Tyler is here. He asked to speak to your father. They went to the toolshed where they could have a little privacy.”

  Lily didn’t know whether to be irritated or grateful. She had told Tyler she would be brave enough to talk to Dat herself, but the way her knees shook, it might be nice to have an ally.

  She weaved around the cooks, threw on her coat, and slipped out the back door. The toolshed sat to the side of the house, set off from the road with its back against the pasture. Lily breathed a sigh of relief when she burst out of the house and saw Dat and Tyler ambling toward the shed. She wasn’t too late.

  Tyler carried himself solemnly, as if attending a funeral. Dat would not have been able to guess that anything was amiss by the expression on Tyler’s face.

  Lily caught up with them. “I need to talk to you, Dat,” she said breathlessly. Tyler barely looked at her, and her heart ached. She hadn’t expected an affectionate greeting, but it pained her to see how deeply Tyler grieved.

  Or maybe something else had gone wrong. Had the bishop refused to give his permission for a substitute wedding?

  Dat narrowed his eyes but tried to keep up the pretense of cheerfulness. The last thing he would want to do was alarm Tyler. “Lily, go back inside,” he said through his clenched, but smiling, teeth.

  Tyler pressed his lips together, took Lily’s hand, and pulled her toward the shed door. “Come in with us, Lily.”

  Dat
couldn’t very well protest. He opened the door and stopped short. Aden stood inside the shed, hat in hand, shoulders pulled back, ramrod straight. The top of his head nearly touched the low ceiling. His expression spoke of his steely determination, as it had on the day he ran into the woods after that bear. Lily had never seen a more breathtaking sight in her life.

  His eyes darted toward Lily before he returned his gaze to her father. “Tyler,” he said, “I’ll not have Lily hear something that might distress her.”

  “I wanted to come,” Lily said, never taking her eyes from Aden’s face. She stood like a starving woman looking at a banquet. How had she ever convinced herself that she was indifferent to Aden Helmuth?

  He turned to her now, and his expression flooded with tenderness. Warmth spread through her like a mug of hot chocolate. With marshmallows.

  Dat scowled. “What is he doing here?”

  Aden stood taller, if that were possible. “I’ve come to ask permission to marry your daughter.”

  Sucking in his breath, Dat’s head snapped in Lily’s direction. “What have you done?”

  Lily managed to withstand his scowl, even though her hands shook. “Please, Dat. I want you to understand. I love Aden.” She glanced at Tyler. He didn’t even wince.

  Dat softened his expression slightly. “I am disappointed in you, Lily. You have always been a sensible girl, but in the last few months, I don’t recognize you.” He pointed to Aden. “This is his doing.”

  Lily lowered her gaze to the floor. She couldn’t bear the look of sorrow in her dat’s eyes. “It breaks my heart to disappoint you.”

  Dat turned all his attention to her. “When you were just a teeny girl, you were my buddy. Remember how you milked the cows with me while Estee helped Mama in the kitchen? I always protected you, kept you from muddy puddles and busy streets. I’ve never stopped trying to keep you safe.”

  “I know, Dat.”

  “You have those scars on your arm because of disobedience. Have you learned nothing? Can you trust me now when I tell you to turn your back on this boy no matter how much it hurts or how much you think you love him?”

  Lily glanced at Aden. He studied her face with intense concern, as if she might dissolve if he didn’t keep an eye on her. Did he worry that Dat might be able to sway her? Did he expect her to be weak?