Kayla had seen Aaron’s flashlight before she’d recognized the man himself. By the time she did, she rushed to open the door and shuttle him inside. It was far too nasty an evening out for him to be visiting houses. “My stars! Aaron, come in and get warm!” She opened the door and ushered him in before thinking the better of it.
“Danke, Kayla. My fingers were starting to feel numb.”
It was only when he was inside that she became aware of how dark it was. Snow was starting to fall, and it was altogether inappropriate for them to be completely alone in her house. Gossips’ tongues would be wagging for sure.
She clasped her hands in front of her middle. “It’s late, Aaron. What brings you by?”
He looked as if he felt as awkward as she did. “I could say I just happened to be in the neighborhood…”
“Which would be a lie, of course.”
He nodded. “How about the truth, then? I didn’t like the way things stood between us after our conversation. I was worried about you.”
She sighed. “Oh, Aaron. Take off your coat and come stand in front of the fire.”
He immediately complied and stood so his back was facing the flames. After a minute, he smiled. “Thanks. It really is cold out.”
She noticed his boots were damp. “Do you want to take off your boots, too? Let them dry a bit?”
“Ah, no. I don’t think I’d better take off too much more. But, you can tell me what is going on with you.”
“I am fine.”
He rolled his eyes. “Not that again. You mentioned you were worried about keeping a roof over your head. What did you mean by that? And, come to think of it… Where is your father?”
Kayla was too tired—and they’d already said too much—to put up a front or make up a story. “My father is still in Pinecraft. I think.”
“You think?”
“Jah. He, uh, was supposed to come back several days ago, but he didn’t get on the Pioneer Trails bus.”
“I’m so sorry. Is he sick? Did something happen to him?”
That was the problem, wasn’t it? Part of her wished he was hurt or sick because then she could understand why he hadn’t come back when promised. “Nee. He just doesn’t want to come back.” Her lip trembled, but she tried to hide it.
Concern lit his expression. “Come here,” he murmured, reaching for her hand and leading her to the sofa.
She didn’t protest. Honestly, the last couple of days had taken such a toll that she appreciated someone taking charge of her, if only to make her sit down for a few minutes. Realizing just how alone she’d felt, tears pricked her eyes. Worried he was going to see her cry, she turned her face. But he reached out with one hand and directed her eyes toward him again.
“Kayla. Talk to me. What do you think is going on? Are… are you afraid something has happened to him?”
“I was worried at first, but the two times I met the bus, I talked to some acquaintances who had seen him in Pinecraft, alive and well.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
Looking at Aaron’s strong jaw, knowing how good he was, how much he tried, she realized that, of course, he didn’t understand her father’s way of thinking. He had no experience with such things. But, she reminded herself, Aaron was no stranger to pain. Tim’s departure and his parents’ shunning of him had been traumatic, indeed. It was obvious that Aaron still missed his brother and likely always would. If anyone would understand how hard it was to love someone but not necessarily agree with his actions, it was Aaron.
She pursed her lips, then decided that nothing good was going to come from hiding her father’s problems anymore. “Aaron, my daed is a good man, but he’s a selfish one, too. He’s also impulsive and doesn’t think of the repercussions of that. I fear that this is simply another time when he doesn’t want to think about his responsibilities.”
“Doesn’t he have a job?”
She appreciated that his tone was hesitant and not filled with accusations. “He does. My father works at an RV factory in Millersburg.” Thinking of how irritated the driver had seemed yesterday when he’d come over only to find out her father still hadn’t come home, she winced. “Well, he did.”
“Kayla, are you saying he lost his job?”
“I’m not positive, but I believe so. He’s been gone a week longer than anticipated and never told anyone, not me or his boss, Mr. Edmonds. The English driver who came over to pick him up said he would tell Mr. Edmonds about my father and that he wasn’t going to be pleased.”
Aaron winced. “Oh, Kayla. I’m sorry.”
She lifted her chin in a weak effort not to seem quite so pitiful. “I am, too. But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that nothing gets better if I sit around and feel sorry for myself.”
“But is everything okay?”
“I hope so. I’m trying to figure out how to pay our rent and the rest of our bills.”
“I can help with that. How much do you need?” He stood up before she could say a word, started fishing through his trouser pockets. “I have some extra money here.”
“Nee, Aaron. I don’t want your money.”
“Kayla, I want to help you.” He sat back down but kept his wallet in his hand. “You’re not alone, you know.”
But that was the problem. In many ways, she was. Besides, what would she do if she allowed herself to depend on Aaron and then he changed his mind about her? Gathering her wits, she said, “I appreciate you saying that, but there’s nothing you need to do. I’ll be all right.”
After studying her for a moment, Aaron stood up and walked to the kitchen. “It just occurred to me that it’s getting dark out. What are you having for supper?”
“Aaron! Come sit down.”
He opened up the refrigerator and stared inside. She knew what he was seeing, of course. Fairly bare shelves. There were some condiments, a couple of eggs, a quart of milk, and a lone pair of oranges inside. After looking his fill, he closed the door and turned to her again. “Kayla, be honest with me. Have you eaten supper already?”
“Nee.”
“What were you going to eat?”
She shrugged. “Some scrambled eggs, I guess.”
His voice hardened. “What about tomorrow?”
“I’ll figure that out then.”
“Kayla, you know I can’t handle hearing that.”
Hurt, she folded her arms across her chest. “I don’t know what you expect me to say, Aaron. You don’t want me to lie and you don’t want to hear the truth.”
“I want you to say you’ll come home with me tonight.”
She couldn’t have been more shocked if he’d asked her to start doing jumping jacks right there in the kitchen. “What? Of course not.”
“Don’t say no. Listen, I’m not asking you to do anything inappropriate. There’s tons of room in my house.” He waved a hand. “You can share a room with Tiny, or I’ll sleep on the couch and you can have my bed. You can eat supper with us, and breakfast, too. If there’s anything we have a lot of, it’s food.” He laughed. “Well, food and noise.”
Aaron was making it sound like her problems were so easily taken care of that she almost started laughing. “I cannot go over just like that, Aaron.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m twenty-six years old. I’m a grown woman and I don’t need to have a sleepover.” And certainly not in his bed! “I’ll be fine.”
“If you’re worried about what my family will say, they’ll be glad to have you.”
“It’s not that. It’s that I need to be here. For me.”
“So you won’t take money and you won’t come home with me. You’d rather sit here and eat eggs.”
“You make it sound like that’s a bad thing. It’s not. Eggs are perfectly healthy.”
Aaron raised his brows. “Next, I suppose you’re going to tell me that oranges are a good breakfast?”
She was about to say that, so she switched gears. “Nee, Aaron. What I was going to tell you
is that while I appreciate your concern, my diet is none of your business.”
“Will you do me a favor, then?”
“What?”
“When you do decide that my concern for you is my business, let me know. You need help, Kayla, and I want to be here for you.”
“I don’t think you know what you’re saying.”
He stepped closer. “That’s where you’re completely wrong. Kayla, I know exactly what I’m saying. I want to be a part of your life. I want to be around you all the time. I want there to be something so special between us that you don’t hesitate to come to me first with your problems.”
“But that sounds…” Her voice drifted off. She was too afraid to say what it sounded like.
Aaron didn’t seem to have that worry, though. Reaching for her hands, he gripped them lightly. “I know what it sounds like. It sounds like I like you.” He lowered his voice. “It sounds like I’m serious about the two of us, Kayla.”
She might have been older. She might have been more experienced in many things, but she still gaped at him.
And then Aaron, looking oh-so-smug, reached down, kissed her lightly on the lips, and then walked outside. “Don’t forget to lock the door, Kayla. Good night.”
She closed the door, bolted it, and then said to the empty room, “Gut naught.”
And just for a second, she imagined saying that to Aaron when he was sleeping on the other side of her bed.
thirty-one
• RULE #31 •
Remember you serve whole families. Make sure to have something available for everyone.
Tiny was in the living room with the rest of the family, attempting to finish up the thousand-piece puzzle they’d gotten for Christmas, when Aaron burst inside with a blast of cold air.
“I need everyone’s help,” he called out.
Tiny shared a confused look with Jack as their father asked, “With what? And close that door, son. The wind just blew a puzzle piece on the floor.”
“Fine. It’s closed,” he said as he strode forward. “Now, everyone, you need to listen. Kayla needs help.”
Practically as one, the whole family turned to stare at him.
“Kayla needs help from all of us?” Jack asked. “Aaron, what did you do?”
Daed stood up. “And while you’re talking, you can share where you’ve been. It’s almost eight o’clock, son.”
“I had to stay late at work and then I decided to visit Kayla.”
Mamm stood up, too. “At her house?”
“Obviously. And, just so we all remember, I’m twenty-one years old. You’re talking to me like I’m a teenager.”
“There’s no need to speak so snippily. I promise, I haven’t forgotten your age,” Mamm said. “Now, go take off your coat and get some supper. We’ll talk after that.”
Aaron took off his coat but stayed in the middle of the living room. “My supper is part of what is wrong.”
“You are being as clear as mud, son,” Daed said. “What, exactly, has gotten you so spun up?”
“Kayla’s father is missing, and she doesn’t have any food in her house.”
Well, that brought every one of them up short. Even Becca stopped playing with her blocks and stared up at Aaron in wonder.
Tiny walked over to his side. “Aaron, I’m sorry, but you are going to need to back up a few paces. Why did you feel the need to visit Kayla tonight, and what do you mean her father is missing?”
“Do we need to go over there now?” Jack asked. “The snow’s gotten bad, but we could make it.”
“Again, let’s take things one step at a time,” Daed said. “Aaron, your mother has left food out for you to eat. Go hang up your coat, take off the wet boots, and come to the table. We can sit with you while you eat.”
“Fine.” They all relocated to the dining room as Aaron did as their father asked. After briefly closing his eyes in prayer, he said, “I think I need to backtrack a bit so you all can understand why I went over to see Kayla tonight.”
“Then start at the beginning, dear,” Mamm murmured.
“Okay. It all started when Sarah Anne Miller and Jane Shultz came into the store after hours.”
Jack grunted. “One would have thought our favorite librarian would be picking better women to be hanging out with.”
“That’s awfully harsh, Jack,” Tiny said.
He looked at Tiny and Aaron. “What? I’m sure you were thinking the same thing. That woman has a bad reputation. We all know that.”
“Jack, we’ll have none of that talk,” their mother chided. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Sorry,” he said, looking Tiny’s way.
She knew Jack was on her side, but she also felt like they were being too hard on Jane. “Why were they there so late?”
“It turns out that Jane has MS. You know, multiple sclerosis. Did any of you know that?” Aaron asked as he started motioning for everyone to pass plates around so he could get his fill.
“I knew she had some health problems, but I didn’t know what, exactly,” Tiny admitted as she passed him the steamed broccoli. “Is she all right?”
“I think so… up to a point. She has to use braces to get around. Sarah Anne drove her to the shop in the hopes that I would help them after hours. It seems big crowds upset Jane, and she gets worried about being jostled.”
“What does this have to do with you visiting Kayla?”
“Well, it made me realize that Jane’s had a pretty big secret that she’s been reluctant to share, which of course made me think of mine.”
Their father picked up a spare roll then passed the breadbasket to Aaron. “What is this secret, son?”
“It’s a pretty big one, I’m afraid,” he hedged. “I don’t think you’re going to like it.”
Jack looked at him intently. “And it has to do with Kayla?”
“Jah.”
Their mother looked worried. “Uh-oh. Maybe you should discuss this with just Daed and me. In private.”
“No way,” Jack said. “Tiny and I are invested now.”
Tiny couldn’t disagree. She nodded.
A whole parade of emotions crossed Aaron’s face before he put his fork down and spoke again. “I’ve been secretly studying for the GED.”
Knots formed in Tiny’s stomach as she waited for her parents to explode. Instead, it was like the whole room took a collective sigh.
“That’s it?” Jack asked.
“Well, yeah. I’ve been paying Kayla to tutor me.”
“Because?” Daed asked.
Tiny noticed that their father was holding his tongue, but barely.
Aaron must have noticed, too. Quickly, he blurted, “Before any of you gets worried, I don’t want to leave our faith.”
“Are you sure, Aaron?” Mamm asked.
He nodded. “I wanted to take the GED because I wanted to get a promotion at work. And to prove to myself I could do it.”
“Didn’t Kayla take it years ago?” Mamm asked. “I seem to remember hearing something about that.”
“She did. She passed it easily about four years ago.”
“Why did she take it?” Jack asked.
“It’s not my place to say,” Aaron murmured.
Tiny studied her older brother. His expression was carefully blank, and it was obvious that he, like she, had grown up a lot during the last couple of weeks.
“Well, tell us how your sessions are progressing, son,” Daed said. “Are you finding it difficult?”
“And do tell us when you plan to take the test,” Mamm added. “Is it soon? If so, I’ll make a cake to celebrate.”
Aaron looked so puzzled that Tiny covered her mouth with her hand so she wouldn’t burst into laughter. “If you could see your expression, Aaron. It’s priceless.”
“It’s also justified. I’m amazed at how well all of you are taking the news. I thought everyone was going to be shocked.”
“Well, I am surprised, of course. But… not that sho
cked,” Mamm said. “I have noticed that some of the books you’ve been reading had to do with science and math.”
“I’m surprised, but now that I think about it, I guess it makes sense,” Daed said. “I figured something had to be going on with you and Kayla. She went from being a stranger to someone you seem to be spending all your time with. Your friendship seemed to spring up out of nowhere.”
“She is my tutor,” Aaron said. “But we’re more than that now.” He shook his head. “Sorry, I’m still trying to come to terms with all of you taking my news so calmly.”
“What they’re trying to say is that Kayla being in a family way would be a lot more shocking,” Jack said with a wink in Tiny’s direction.
Tiny covered her mouth again. This family was goofy. And what was Jack doing, speaking about Kayla being in a “family way”? None of them were that prudish. “Jack, honestly. Just say what you mean. You thought Aaron and Kayla had been fooling around.”
“Fine. Aaron, if you and Kayla had been doing more than k-i-s-s-i-n-g, we’d all be a lot more shocked.”
“Sorry, but I’m feeling kind of shocked right now. I’m trying to tell you all about something serious, and you are making jokes.”
Becca giggled.
“Jack,” Daed warned. “Enough of that.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”
Tiny turned to Aaron. “Anyway…”
He sat up straighter. “Anyway, earlier today I’d told Kayla about how I wasn’t going to take the test anymore because Mr. Zeiset had already hinted that I was going to get a promotion. But for some reason she looked sad about that.”
“Because she was going to miss spending time with you?”
“That’s what I thought. But now I realize it was because she needed the money. Her father isn’t very responsible. He’s on vacation in Pinecraft now, and she’s trying to pay their rent. I think she’s hungry, too.”
“My word.”
Tiny looked around the long, sturdy oak table that her grandfather had built for her grandmother. It was imperfect, full of flaws and nicks, but it was a thing of beauty. It was also still holding enough food for another three people, at the very least. “Maybe we should bring her some of our supper?” she suggested. “I’m with Jack. It’s snowy, but we could walk over there without a problem. We’ve got lots of flashlights.”
A Perfect Amish Romance Page 19