by Pamela Bauer
She swallowed back the lump in her throat. “Of course. You’ll always be my brother.”
Later that afternoon, when Jacob brought the mail in from the box next to the road, there was an envelope addressed to her. It was from Megan.
Inside was a letter she’d written herself, printed in large block letters. It said, “Dear Faith. Next week is your birthday. Can me and Lori have a party for you? Love, Megan.”
In a week she would have her twenty-seventh birthday. The words of her mother echoed in her ears. “Follow your heart and let God do the judging.”
Faith went up to the room she’d had as a child and found her cell phone. She dialed the number she’d known the longest. When a man’s voice answered she said, “Dr. Carson, it’s Faith. I need to ask you a favor.”
WHEN LORI CALLED and invited Adam to a surprise birthday party, his first question had been to ask whose birthday it was. She’d told him that’s what the surprise was. Normally it was the guest of honor who was in the dark about the birthday celebration, but she wanted to do something different for a change and surprise the guests.
Adam suspected it was her way of setting him up with one of her eligible single friends. Greg had mentioned something about Lori wanting to set him up with a blind date to take his mind off Faith not coming back.
He would have refused to go to this party had it not been for Megan. Lori had roped her into helping her plan the thing and she was putting pressure on Adam to attend. When he’d asked his sister-in-law how old the guest of honor was and what type of present he should get, Lori had answered, “Oh, no presents. This is just a fun way of getting people together.”
She’d been just as evasive about the guest list, although he had heard from his grandfather that he would be there as well as several other Novak employees. As Adam dressed for the party, he tried not to think that he could be enjoying the weekend on the river had not his sister-in-law been playing Cupid.
As he and Megan were about to leave she said, “Wait here,” and ran into the kitchen. When she returned, she carried a bouquet of fresh-cut flowers. “I got these for the birthday girl,” she said with a grin.
“I thought we weren’t supposed to bring anything,” he protested.
“They can be from both of us.”
When he opened the door she tapped his arm. “You forgot my stuff.”
It was then he noticed her overnight bag and pillow.
“I’m staying at Lori’s tonight.”
“Any particular reason?” he asked as he picked up her things.
“You’ll see,” she said with a giggle.
He began to get nervous. It was one thing for Lori to set him up on a blind date, but what did she think he would want to do with this unseen person?
When they arrived at his brother’s house, everyone was in the backyard on the patio having a great time, judging by the sounds of laughter he heard. Chinese lanterns had been strung across the yard with pink paper streamers dangling everywhere.
“Oh, good, you’re here,” Lori said when she saw him. “Now we only have our surprise birthday girl.”
“I’ll get her!” Megan said excitedly.
As she disappeared inside the house, Adam chided Lori. “I really wish you wouldn’t involve my daughter in this.”
“In what?” she asked innocently.
He lifted one eyebrow. “You think I don’t know a blind date when I see one?”
She smiled and spread her hands. “You’re right. I plead guilty.” She looked down at the flowers still in his hand. “Oh, good, you remembered the flowers.”
Megan’s head poked out the door. “Are you ready?”
Lori began singing the birthday song, waving her hands for everyone to join in. Then Adam saw two familiar faces—Avery and Marie Carson—and he suddenly understood why Megan had been so excited.
Faith then came through the patio door, clutching his daughter’s hand. He knew there could only be one reason why she would have traded her long black dress for a pink sundress that left her shoulders bare. She’d come back to him and Megan. When her eyes met his, she smiled and he knew he wasn’t mistaken.
As the birthday song ended, everyone clapped. He watched as she slowly made her way over to him, greeting the guests with a smile and a hug as she accepted their good wishes with Megan at her side. They could have easily been mother and daughter, they looked so much alike. Her skin had a golden tan from hours spent working outdoors and her blond curtain of hair had grown so that it hung down to her shoulders.
When they reached him Megan said, “Fooled you, didn’t we, Daddy?”
“If the surprise is this nice, you can fool me anytime you want,” he said, gazing into Faith’s blue eyes. “Happy birthday,” he said, presenting her with the flowers and a hug. As he held her close he whispered in her ear, “I’ll give you a proper birthday greeting when there aren’t so many people around.”
He loved the tint of color that warmed her cheeks at the thought.
“Welcome back,” he said as he released her.
“It’s good to be back,” she answered. “It’s where I belong.”
“Faith is not going on vacation again for a long, long time,” Megan said, still clinging to her side.
“That’s good to hear,” Adam said, unable to take his eyes off Faith. “Is today really your birthday?”
“Yes. I can’t believe Lori or Megan didn’t tell you.”
“We wanted it to be a secret,” Megan announced gleefully. “You know what birthday means?”
“It’s the start of a brand-new year for me,” Faith answered her, but her smile was for Adam.
“And a great one it’s going to be,” Lori said as she passed by carrying a tray of glasses of champagne. As she handed one to Adam she said in a voice for his ears only, “Now aren’t you glad I had Megan pack her overnight bag?”
He most certainly was.
FAITH WANTED THE PARTY to be over. She knew Lori and Megan had worked hard to plan such a joyful occasion for her, but what she needed more than cake and ice cream was to be in Adam’s arms and to hear that everything was going to be all right. Lori had told her she had nothing to worry about, that Adam was as in love with her as he had been the day she left. Until she heard it for herself, she wasn’t going to take anything for granted.
They had been comfortable in their relationship before she’d learned that she was Amish. And they’d had a respect for one another, too.
But so much had happened since then. She’d learned so much about herself—things that he didn’t know. Things she needed to tell him. As he drove them to the marina on the St. Croix, they rode in silence, content to be together again. It was enough to simply enjoy each other’s company, casting sideways glances as they headed for their destination. It wasn’t until they were on the boat with the water beneath them and the stars overhead that he finally asked the question she knew had to be foremost in his mind.
“What made you come back?” he asked as he held her in his arms.
“I no longer fit in that world.”
“Because of me?”
She shook her head. “No, because of who I am. Remember when I told you about rumspringa?” When he nodded she continued. “It’s true that I chose to stay in the Amish community, but it was because my mother was ill.”
“Your brother mentioned something about you not being baptized.”
She nodded. “That’s the sign that you accept the teachings of the church and you make the commitment to the Amish way of life. I couldn’t do that because of my mother.”
He frowned. “I thought you just said you went back because of her.”
“I did. I loved her dearly. She taught me that women should never allow themselves to be doormats, that they deserve to be treated with consideration and genuine love by men, yet she lived her life in a society that appoints men as the head of the household and leaders of the church.”
“It’s a hard life for both women and men, isn’t it
?”
She nodded. “And it works for some people, but it’s not for me. When I left the Amish world I found a whole new one that included symphony music and art galleries and museums and libraries. I want to always be a part of that world.”
“Have you remembered all of your past?”
“There are still some blank spots, but I have a better understanding of my life before the accident. I was not happy being Plain.”
“But you said you had a good childhood.”
“Yes, I did. Just because I don’t fit in that world anymore doesn’t mean I regret having been raised Amish. Part of me will always be a country woman who enjoys watching the sun set off the back porch.”
“How about off the deck of a boat?”
She smiled and kissed him. “That, too.”
He lifted her hand and glanced at her wrist. “You’re wearing your bracelet again. Megan said you’d put it away in a special place.”
She nodded. “I’m not sure I’ll ever know where it came from, but I do know that my life from this day forward will be lived as Faith, the survivor.”
“You never found out what happened that night you left?”
She shook her head. “Not all of it. From what Levi has told me, and the bits and pieces I do remember, I have an idea as to what happened.” As best she could, she filled him in on the details she did know of her past, including her decision to leave home not once, but twice before today. He listened intently as she poured her heart out to him, revealing things she could only have told someone she loved and trusted. She finished by telling him the last memory she’d recalled.
“That night of my mother’s funeral I was in such an emotional state that I would have done anything to get out of there. Unfortunately, I went to the highway and hitchhiked. A young guy picked me up and told me he’d give me a ride to the cities.”
“Where were you going?”
“I had worked as a nanny for an English woman in Harmony.”
“Your parents allowed that?”
“Yes. Many Amish girls work for the English in town either as nannies or housekeepers. They have reputations of being honest, good with children and reliable.”
“I thought they wanted as little to do as possible with the outside world.”
“They do, but they often need the money such jobs bring in,” she explained. “The woman I worked for had friends from the Twin Cities who would come to visit. They had given me their address and told me I would always have a place to stay if I wanted to visit. That night I left they didn’t know I was coming to see them,” she explained, knowing he was wondering why they wouldn’t have reported her missing.
“Why didn’t you make it to the cities?”
“The man giving me the ride—the one I thought was a Good Samaritan—turned out he expected payment for his help. I asked him to pull over and let me out, but he refused, making all sorts of threats as to what he planned to do with me. When he wouldn’t stop, I jumped out of the moving truck. He’d put my suitcase in the back so all I had were the clothes on my back.”
Adam’s face darkened with anger. “Do you remember what he looked like? You need to go to the police and report this guy.”
She shook her head. “It’s over. I don’t even want to think about it. All that matters is that I survived. And I met some of the most wonderful people I’ve ever known.” She kissed him. “Maybe it’s the path I had to take to find the real me.”
“I want you to be a part of this world always,” he said, holding her close to him. “But what about your family? Will you be able to see them?”
“There will be restrictions about visiting them, but at least I’ll be able to write and hopefully we’ll keep in touch.”
He nodded. “They are good people.”
“Yes. And you and Megan and Lori and Greg and the Carsons are good people, too.”
“I’m so glad you came back to me.”
“Well, I had a slight push.”
“And what would that have been?”
“I discovered that when an Amish woman is past the age of twenty-four she’s considered an old maid and her chances of marrying are slim,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
“Ah, so you think you have a better chance of landing a husband with the English.”
“So I’ve been told.”
Her arms went around his neck and she pulled him closer. “Now, are you going to give me that proper birthday greeting you promised me?”
For an answer, he scooped her into his arms and took her into the cabin.
ISBN: 978-1-4592-2900-6
BACHELOR FATHER
Copyright © 2005 by Pamela Bauer.
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