Their Surprise Amish Marriage

by Jocelyn McClay

  To his delight, his wife grinned back at him. “Maybe it was an intentional escape.” To his further delight, she shifted her basket to her outside hand. Her now free one brushed against his as they started under the tree canopy of large oaks that draped over the lane.

  “Hmm. I don’t know. Hopefully it doesn’t become the fugitives of the farmyard. What next? The cows?”

  Rachel giggled at his bad joke. Their hands brushed. And lingered together. Ben hooked his little finger around hers. His heart beat accelerated when she didn’t resist. Or let go. “Of course, that might not be something you get too upset about.”

  “Now, I disagree on that.”

  Ben’s grin faded at her serious tone.

  “I’d be highly upset if they came into my garden instead of heading down to the road,” she continued.

  “Can’t have them walking through the zucchini. I’ll check the gates. And if Sojy’s become an escape artist, maybe I better check the hitches around the community. She might choose to use one of the wooden posts for a toothpick.”

  * * *

  Rachel giggled again. When they’d walked out of the woods to find an empty clearing, she’d held her breath. She was prepared for what Aaron’s response might have been confronting the situation. It likely wouldn’t have been Ben’s comic banter and the two of them giggling together like children on an outing. What normally would’ve been undesirable circumstances was actually fun, because of the man beside her. Granted, her feet hurt and she was tired. But what had started out as something of a chore had turned into a joy. Rachel slanted a glance at her husband, her lips lifted at his engaging profile. Of their own seeming volition, the rest of her fingers eased into his until their clasped hands swung easily between them.

  Maybe when you worked at marriage, it didn’t seem like so much work after all.

  Fortunately, they hadn’t gone much more than half a mile when they saw Sojourner in the distance, halfway up an Englisch farmer’s lane, her head down as she grazed on the lush green lawn that lined it.

  “We’ve found the fugitive.”

  “Is her choice of farm going to give us any problem?” Rachel was apprehensive. Some Englischers weren’t fond of having Amish neighbors.

  “Nee. It’s gut. I know this farmer. He won’t have a problem. If he’s home, he’ll just probably tease me about our predicament.”

  “You don’t think she’s considering leaving the Plain life for the Englisch one, do you?” Rachel looked up at Ben, expecting him to joke back. She watched the amiable expression fade from his face at the same time he loosened his hand from hers to flex his fingers and let it swing at his side.

  “Nee. She’s got a good life with the Amish. Besides, her Pennsylvania Dutch is much better than her English.” He paused, before adding in a quiet murmur. “And she’d let me know if she had plans to leave.”

  Rachel’s brow furrowed at his abrupt change. Until she remembered who’d left for the Englisch life without telling anyone. Aaron. She stumbled, bumping into Ben before she recovered her balance. How could she have forgotten? His departure was what’d prompted the basis of her life now. She loved the man. Something she’d totally forgotten while basking in an unexpectedly delightful afternoon with her husband. But why was she feeling guilty? Shouldn’t she be forgetting Aaron? He couldn’t be a part of her future. But he’d been so much a part of her past. Years of it. And she’d forgotten because of the man beside her.

  She was trembling when she felt Ben’s strong grasp under her elbow. “Are you all right?”

  “Ja. Just...tired.” When Ben swung her up into his arms, she gasped. “You shouldn’t! I’m too heavy,” she protested.

  “I should’ve thought of this before.” Ben adjusted his grip to hand her his basket before shifting his arm back under her knees. “And you’re no heavier than some bales of hay I’ve thrown.”

  Rachel had to admit, it was a relief to be off her feet. “I feel like I’m shaped like one. I’m huge.” Her face was close to his shoulder. From his shirt, a whiff of the soap she used for laundry, warmed by the man wearing it, drifted to her. Blushing, she retained a grip on the basket handles in one hand, resting them over her rounded stomach as she looped her other arm around the back of his neck for support.

  The muscles of Ben’s neck stretched under her hand as he looked down. Rachel glanced up with a tremulous smile, expecting to share it with Ben. His pensive expression as he considered her midsection sent a chill through her. When his blue eyes met hers, they were troubled. He abruptly looked away. Startled by his reaction, Rachel remained quiet as they closed the distance to the lane.

  Fortunately, Sojourner didn’t wander farther as they approached. Ben situated Rachel in the buggy and they drove up to the house. The Englisch farmer wasn’t home. Rachel wished he had been. At least then it might have prompted a conversation during the quiet ride home when her husband’s eyes repeatedly flicked to her stomach.

  Chapter Seven

  A boppeli. Not his boppeli.

  Rachel’s words when she’d first told him of her condition that day in the maple grove were all Ben had been able to think about for the past week.

  He’d never thought about them before, realizing after what they’d done, the situation was possible. At her concern regarding her size last week when he’d picked her up, and after furtive glances since then at her profile, he did now. Was her pregnancy further along than he thought?

  If that was the case, it couldn’t be his child.

  It was Aaron’s.

  His wife was going to have his brother’s baby.

  Ben shifted his position so he could look over Gideon Schrock’s shoulder to watch Rachel, several yards away, as she, along with other women of the district, began removing the side dishes from the table after the picnic’s stragglers had gone through for their second or possibly third helping. His lips felt bloodless, compressed as they were in a line firm enough to build a barn upon.

  It wasn’t the surprise that hollowed him to the core. It was...disappointment? But what had he expected? He’d stolen his brother’s girl. Now he’d stolen his brother’s life. And whatever happened, that couldn’t change. Marriage was for life. Aaron, wherever he was, might be a father someday, but not to this one, his oldest child.

  Shifting his eyes toward Gideon, Ben noted that although his friend nodded in response to whatever the two men standing with them were saying, he was frowning in Ben’s direction. Lifting a hand to his mouth to cover it and rub his tight jaw, Ben nodded distractedly, as well.

  It was Aaron who should be experiencing the wonders of seeing his wife grow with their child. Who should be experiencing the joys and fears that come with pending fatherhood.

  But Ben would raise this child the best he could, no matter who the father was. Because he loved his brother. And loved the child’s mother.

  Ben couldn’t blame Rachel for what she’d done. With his brother gone, she’d been in a terrible situation. Even if she hadn’t told him, he’d have asked her to marry him as soon as he’d realized the circumstance. And she hadn’t lied to him. He’d been the one to jump to conclusions. After that initial shocking announcement, they really hadn’t talked much about the baby. There’d been so many other things to do.

  “Everything all right?”

  Ben blinked when Gideon placed a hand on his shoulder. Glancing about sheepishly, he realized the other two men who’d been with them had drifted away. He flushed under Gideon’s raised eyebrow regard.

  “It’s okay. We just figured you were a man with a pretty bride and a...pending life change.”

  “You could say that,” Ben murmured rueful agreement.

  Gideon’s eyes narrowed as he considered his friend. “You’re not happy?”

  Ben made sure he was smiling when he met his friend’s concerned gaze. “Ja. Just a lot to think about.”

&nb
sp; Gideon dropped his hand. “Ach. You have cause. Lot of changes within a few months. It even surprised me when you two married. You’d never mentioned Rachel once between the time Aaron left and the wedding was announced in church. Believe me, I would’ve remembered, because you never talked about any girl.”

  Ben’s smile was getting harder to keep in place. “Sometimes things just take us all by surprise.” He debated sharing his concerns with Gideon, a coworker who’d become a gut friend. This recent discovery was feeling like a heavy burden to bear. He needed to discuss it with someone. Whereas before—with everything except the topic of Rachel—on the rare occasions he felt moved to speak of what was bothering him, he’d talk with Aaron. It hadn’t been an option, for various reasons, on this topic.

  A quick glance around confirmed no one was within listening distance. Inhaling deeply, he opened his mouth to divulge his apprehensions, only to close it again as he watched his younger schweschder hurrying toward them with a disturbed look on her face.

  Gideon turned when Sarah joined them. She glanced briefly at the blond man before giving Ben a look that indicated she needed to speak with him. Alone. As it was out of character for the young woman, Ben furrowed his brow in her direction but didn’t hesitate.

  “Gideon, be glad you don’t have schweschder here to nag you. I’m sure it’s some task she wants me to do. I don’t know why my younger brieder can’t address whatever needs to be done, but as she’s come to me, I’ll assume it’s because I’m the one who’ll have to take care of it.”

  “That’s all right. Actually, I wouldn’t mind having my schweschder move up from Ohio. They haven’t said anything, but I’m beginning to feel like a third wheel with Samuel and Gail, when they’re more interested in a two-seater cart. With a place for Lily, of course. And I’m thinking, if they’re wanting an extra mouth to feed soon, it’s not me they have in mind. If Miriam came, maybe we could find a place together.”

  Sarah rolled her eyes at his friend’s words. “You just want her to take care of the house and cook for you.”

  Gideon grinned. “Well, that did come to mind first.”

  Sarah turned her back on him to look meaningfully again at Ben. He’d been glad of their banter. It’d helped him relax. But he took her hint. “Seems this is a private discussion. I’ll catch up with you later.”

  Gideon tipped his head in farewell. Ben watched him saunter off to join another group of men before turning his attention to his sister. “What’s so important it couldn’t wait nor have an audience?”

  “I assumed you’d want to know that Lydia is telling all who will listen, and loud enough that those of us who don’t want to will hear it anyway, that Rachel—” Sarah paused. Her eyes dropped as color rose in her cheeks.

  Tension seeped into Ben. He straightened from his previously casual stance. “That Rachel?” he prompted.

  “That Rachel...” She faltered again, her head still bowed. Drawing her shoulders back with a deep breath, she lifted her head. Her blue eyes were fierce when she met Ben’s troubled gaze. “That it’s Aaron’s.”

  Ben felt like when he’d accidentally bumped up against an Englisch neighbor’s electric fence. He blew out a steadying breath. It was one thing for him to speculate, to know, about his and his wife’s situation. To even think about sharing it privately with a close friend. It was quite another for someone, whose business it wasn’t, to be sharing it about the community.

  “Did Rachel hear?”

  Sarah shook her head. “I don’t think so. She wasn’t in the area, at least not when I was around.”

  Ben discovered his fists were clenched. He carefully extended his tightly curled fingers. “Where is Lydia?”

  Sarah’s worried glance moved from his face to his hands.

  “It’ll be fine. Where is she?”

  “Before I left to find you, I heard her say something about taking dishes to her buggy.”

  He nodded. “Denki for telling me. You did the right thing,” he reassured her. Knowing she was troubled about the situation, Ben reached over and awkwardly patted her shoulder. Sarah was the next oldest behind him and Aaron. The three of them had once been close. Maybe instead of talking with Gideon, he should be talking with her. But, his mouth settled into a grim line, right now, he needed to be talking with someone else.

  With one last pat on Sarah’s shoulder, he pivoted and strode toward the field where the buggies were parked.

  He caught up with Lydia between the rows of black buggies as she was heading back toward the picnic area. To his relief, she was alone. Although, with as much as she’d apparently been talking, what he was going to discuss with her wouldn’t be news to anyone. Still, he’d rather have his say in private.

  The look on Lydia’s face when she saw him revealed the red-haired woman had no idea what was on his mind. Ben didn’t understand. Had she no shame, greeting him with an eager smile when she’d just been gossiping about his wife and bruder? Didn’t she know he would take care of his family? With a few quick glances, she apparently noted their solitude and her smile shifted, giving Ben a look that implied she wanted him to forget the vows he’d made before Gott to his wife.

  Ben was left a little breathless with shock. He’d never betray Rachel that way. He knew Lydia was a flirt. There’d been ample evidence over the years of her rumspringa. But he’d never thought she would extend her activities to that level. He stopped behind one of the buggies in the long rows that stretched across the field. The triangular orange and red sign hanging on the buggy’s back reminded him to go slow, be cautious, as he watched the young woman sashay closer.

  If she was willing to tempt him, a married man, did that indicate she might have no qualms as a married woman forsaking her own vows? Lowering his brow, Ben frowned. He’d never taken Lydia’s attentions seriously, as he’d always had his eye on Rachel. But some of the other targets of her flirtations were his friends. Although his own marriage was far from ideal, he didn’t want to think of his friends being trapped in a relationship like one with Lydia might be.

  “Ben, what a pleasure to see you,” she cooed, stopping a few feet away.

  “You might not think so after our discussion.”

  “Oh, I doubt that.” Stepping closer, she placed a hand on his shirt.

  Ben jolted in surprise. He knew, unless someone else was out in the field, the buggies blocked anyone seeing them from the picnic area. But still, he was dismayed by her boldness. Encircling her wrist with careful fingers, he pulled it from his chest. “Stop gossiping about my wife.”

  Lydia batted her eyelashes and dropped her jaw in attempted innocence. “Has she been complaining? If folks are discussing her...hasty romances, it has nothing to do with me.”

  Releasing her wrist, Ben wiped his hand on his sleeve like he’d touched something unpleasant in the barnyard. “You’re right. It has nothing to do with you. So that’s enough. And if anything more is said, I’ll know where it came from.”

  To his relief, she dropped the guile. “Why are you defending her? From the looks of it, it’s not even your own boppeli.” Her lips twisted into a sarcastic smile. “I forgot. Just like always, Ben comes along to fix what his older bruder left undone. Don’t you ever get tired of it?”

  A fireball of suppressed emotions erupted within Ben. Guilt, shame, fear, protection—he felt the sting of them all. Knowing she’d notice and gloat if he showed any reaction, he kept his expression neutral and hands loose. Catching his tongue between his teeth, he inhaled and released a quiet breath. “I get tired of worrying that my friends or younger brieder would be fool enough to walk out with you. Makes me think I’ll have a little discussion with them. Remind them that just because the fish are practically leaping out of the pond to bite, it doesn’t mean anything you snag is worth keeping.”

  The smile faded from her face.

  It was an improvement, but not enough.
“Almost wish I were still going to Sunday night singings, just to see everyone be too wise to give you a ride home at the end of the evening.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “I’ll tell my bruder.”

  Ben worked with Jacob Troyer at Schrock Brothers Furniture. Although not close friends, he respected the man. “Go ahead. I’ll tell him what you’ve been saying about my family.” Ben was slightly embarrassed about the sharkish smile that lifted his lips. “And what some of my friends have been saying about how eager you are for the rides home.”

  Along with being surprised that she still could, he felt a little bad when her face flushed. The comment had been a reach—his friends weren’t ones to kiss and tell—but either Lydia didn’t know that, or had done more than he knew with them, and others. He figured the latter. “No more talk about my wife. Or my bruder.”

  At her stiff nod, he pivoted and headed with relief toward the gathering. Ben made the walk back at a slower pace than when he’d come out. He was grateful it was a bit of a distance, as he had much to think about. He still didn’t know what he was going to do about his marriage. Or the rumors he believed had truth to them. But at least now, they’d hopefully just be his and Rachel’s business to deal with, and no one else’s.

  The rest of the afternoon, until he noticed subtle signs that Rachel was getting tired and needed to get off her feet, he kept a wary eye on where Lydia was and what she was doing. The redheaded woman kept her mouth mainly closed. Her gaze slanted to him a few times, more in the manner she was aware he was watching than that she was saying something she shouldn’t.

  When Rachel idly asked where he’d gone during their ride home, Ben just shook his head. “Had some...bad apples that needed addressing.”

  The ribbons of Rachel’s kapp danced about her chin as she cocked her head to consider him. “At the picnic? That’s odd. But always good to sort them out as soon as possible, I guess. They can spoil quite a few surrounding ones if you wait too long.”