Seeing her on the cold, hard floor, I felt my nervousness quickly disappear. A punch of anger flared within me. A girl shouldn’t have to sleep in this condition, I thought with indignation. My mother could have invited her to spend the night in our guest room—on a soft, comfortable mattress—until her family got her own bed set up.
Rose especially needed the help since she didn’t have a mother of her own to show her how to set up a new household. And as I gazed down at the sleeping angel, the fact that she didn’t have a mother opened my heart even more to her.
If my own mother had understood what Rose’s sleeping arrangements were going to be, she would have been more charitable—I was sure of it. But the abruptness of the dinner invitation the night before had her in a fluster and I couldn’t blame her for the lack of hospitality that she normally showed to those in need.
As I watched the soft rise and fall of the beautiful girl’s breathing, my mind began to change directions and I wondered how she could even sleep like that at all. A second of craziness touched me and I shrewdly looked around to be certain that I was still alone at the doorway.
What I really wanted to do was talk to Rose—so much so that I became brave and took one step into the room.
She was sleeping so soundly I doubted she’d wake up anytime soon, unless she was helped along a little with the process. Glancing back toward the door and seeing it clear, I debated for a fraction of a second and then dropped the box hard onto the floor, hoping, too late, that there wasn’t anything breakable in it.
Her reaction to the noise surprised me, as she yawned big and then mumbled without opening her eyes, “Go away, Justin, you little creep, and let me sleep.”
I had to smile at that. She had a temper even when she was sleeping. And at that moment of staring down at her, the feeling of complete familiarity washed over me, and I was abruptly filled with the desire to be closer to her. All rational thought must have left me, because I carefully crept down to her sleeping body and whispered loud enough for her to hear me, but hopefully not loud enough for anyone else to, “Rose—are you awake?”
Her eyes popped open wide, and she bolted upright with a confused look on her flushed face.
“What are you doing here—in my room—Noah?” she squealed, and I brought my finger to my lips, shushing her.
Whispering, I said, “I was helping unload the truck and…well…you just looked so uncomfortable.” I paused, finishing with, “I thought I was doing you a favor waking you up.”
The emotions playing on her face went from surprise to agitation, and finally, while I unconsciously held my breath, her plump pink lips broke into a wide smile.
“Oh, really, well, thank you so much for rescuing me from a deep and dangerous sleep.” Her voice was smooth, holding a hint of amusement, and I breathed in relief when I realized she was teasing me.
She pulled her legs up to her chin and clasped her hands around them. Looking at me boldly, she asked, “What are you doing today after everything is off the truck?”
At the same time I wanted to be closer to her, I also felt nervous kneeling on the floor only a foot away from her. I stood up and walked to the door again, peering out. When I was confident the coast was clear, I went back and sat down next to her.
At first I was afraid to look directly at her, an action I’d avoided doing with girls my entire life, so I simply stared at the ugly wallpaper. But that was unsatisfying, to say the least, so with all the confidence I could muster, I turned to look directly into her eyes. It was nice when she didn’t turn away.
“I have to go to work. We’re building a house up the road for a new Amish family who moved here from Indiana.”
“Oh,” she murmured softly, appearing to be lost in thought.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs brought me briskly to a standing position. I quickly crossed the room and was in the process of hurrying through the doorway when Sam walked in. He stopped, and after glancing from me to Rose, and seeing what I’m sure appeared to be a guilty look on my face, scrunched up his eyebrows and said in a menacing tone, “Hey, bro, what have you been doing in here with my sister?”
For a second there was dead silence, and I searched my mind for the safest way to respond without causing a scene that would bring Father up the stairs. I didn’t have to worry about it long though when the room was abruptly filled with the sound of Sam’s laughter. He reached out and punched me in the arm. It seemed like a friendly gesture, but damn, he had a solid swing, and I couldn’t help worrying that maybe he was feeling angry behind those laughing eyes.
Winking at me, he said, “Just kidding, Noah. But, man, the look on your face was classic. Come on, I need your help with the couch.”
Glancing over my shoulder as I followed Sam out of the room, I saw that Rose had a wide smile on her face. I couldn’t help shaking my head in wonder at their strange sense of humor.
The next time I saw Rose was in the kitchen about a half hour later. She was still wearing the same clothes and was perched on the only seat in the room, a tall stool. I was happy to see her thoroughly enjoying one of the cinnamon rolls Mother had sent over with us. When she looked up at me, she was licking the sugar off her lips. I wasn’t even sure if she knew what she was doing or how it was affecting me, but I paused for a second, staring at her with all kinds of mischief in my mind.
“This is…awesome,” she said, popping the last bite into her mouth and then reaching for another one. “You have to thank your mom for me, okay?”
“Of course” was all I could manage to say as I watched her begin eating another roll. How on earth she could fit two of those things into her little body was beyond me. She ate more like a boy than a girl. It must be the dancing and riding, I figured.
“So when does your horse arrive?” Finding an opening for conversation, I grasped it.
Her eyes lit up. “Any minute now. Jerry called me a little while ago and said he was almost here.” She went on, talking between bites. “I’m so excited. I’ve always boarded Lady. This’ll be the first time I really get to take care of her on my own. And I can just go out the door and ride her whenever I want.”
At her words, an idea began sprouting in my mind, but before I had the opportunity to say anything, Matt stumbled into the kitchen carrying a microwave. Rose jumped up and showed him where to put it on the counter. I could tell he was trying to be good and not gawk at Rose’s beauty, but he couldn’t help staring at her like a puppy dog.
His dumb-faced attraction to her caused a tightening in the pit of my stomach and I said more briskly than I wanted, “Rose, this is my friend Matthew.” And then to Matt I said, “Would you please wipe that silly look off your face.”
Matt didn’t get the chance because a horn beeped, causing Rose to slip by me. To my astonishment, and right in front of Matt, she did the most irrational, stupid and wonderful thing ever, grabbing my hand with her little one and tugging me along, saying, “Come on, it’s my horse!”
Matt’s mouth dropped open, and his eyes followed me as I was being pulled away by the English girl, who was half my size. Before Father or Jacob had the chance to see, I tugged my hand away from her. When she looked up, her eyes were wide and her cheeks were an attractive pink hue. I was astonished that she hadn’t realized that touching my hand in front of Matt, let alone Father or Jacob, could have gotten me into a mess of trouble.
She lowered her eyes and mumbled an apology before flinging the screen door open. She ran out to the driveway, where an extremely large, fancy aluminum horse trailer was parked behind an equally impressive shiny red pickup.
Even though we weren’t allowed to drive, that didn’t mean we didn’t appreciate nice vehicles when we saw them. For a minute I admired the truck, before being distracted by Rose excitedly hugging the man and woman who were getting out of the truck. She displayed her emotions so forcefully, whether she was snarling at one of her brothers, hugging her friends or just talking to me with her velvet voice. She did everyth
ing with such intense feeling that I imagined she must get exhausted from it. Like a flash of lightning, I understood why she’d grabbed my hand in the kitchen—she simply couldn’t control herself.
I continued to watch her as she went to the back of the trailer and disappeared for a minute, only to reappear leading a leggy dapple-gray mare who moved with an arched neck and raised tail. The horse had an exquisite head and I guessed she was an Arabian.
After another minute of enthusiastic chatter, the couple left to talk to Mr. Cameron, leaving Rose alone. I took the opportunity I was given and swiftly walked to her. Catching her arm for a second to stop her, I immediately let go, glancing around for spies. I was standing inappropriately close to her, so close that I could actually feel her without even touching her. It was as if there was a tingling substance in the air between us, and I breathed deeply, collecting myself before I spoke.
“You know, Rose, right across the road is a farm that we’re allowed to ride on. There are fields and woods.” Quickly I scanned the area again to make sure no one had noticed us. I rushed the words out, fearing I wouldn’t get another chance. “Do you want to meet me over there this evening and go for a ride together?”
I held my breath for her answer.
“That sounds great!” she replied with an impish smile.
By the exuberant way she answered, I realized that she didn’t understand that we needed to be very careful about what we were beginning to do. I mean, this was serious business—making plans for a secret meeting with an English girl. After another sweep of my eyes for an audience, I whispered, “We need to keep this a secret, Rose. My parents wouldn’t allow me to be out riding with you. You need to be extra careful that no one sees us together or guesses that we’ve become friends. No one in the community can be trusted about this—even Sarah. They wouldn’t understand. Okay?”
When she nodded her head surely, her eyes glinting with serious concentration, I knew she would keep her lips sealed on the matter. I continued, “You’ll see a green metal gate. Just go about sixty feet past it, up the hill, and you’ll find a break in the fence. There’s a worn hoof path in the trees at the opening. Once through it, follow the dirt lane straight. Don’t make any turns, and I’ll meet up with you around seven o’clock.”
“Noah, come on, we’re leaving,” Jacob’s voice called out from near the house. It was just dumb luck that he hadn’t looked back this way and seen me standing close enough to Rose to kiss her. That would not have been good, and I felt the unease of that realization spread through me as I took a step back from her. After a quick search of her eyes, I knew she’d do what I’d asked, so I gave her a smile and a nod, before I turned and leaped into a run toward the work truck.
As we were backing around, I shifted in the seat to look out the window. Rose was leading the frisky horse, which was prancing alongside her, back to the old barn behind the house.
If everything worked out as planned, I’d finally get the chance to be completely alone with Rose. Taking a deep breath, I stared out the window, my heart thumping in my chest as I felt the worry settle over me.
What had I gotten myself into?
5
Rose
Flame
THE DAY TRUDGED on, going nowhere, it seemed. And even though I had a million things to do to occupy my time, I continued to glance at my phone every few minutes, hoping that the magic time of six o’clock would suddenly appear—the time when I felt it would be reasonable to head out to the barn and get Lady ready for the ride.
The ride—just thinking about it stirred shivers of excitement through me. Still, a tingling doubt ran through my mind. Why was it such a secret anyway? We were just going riding together—not a big deal at all. Were Noah’s parents always so strict with him? And why would his community care about it? Maybe I’d get some answers this evening. Right now I would go with my instincts, which were telling me that I had to get to know my handsome neighbor better—even though the whole cloak-and-dagger thing was kind of weird.
After a minute of searching through the clothes in the box, I became impatient that I wasn’t finding what I was looking for and dumped the contents unceremoniously on the floor.
Distracted for a split second, I contemplated turning over a new leaf regarding my clean-room policy, which was basically never having one. But then, surveying the clothes scattered around the floor, I decided I liked having my room like this. It was sort of homey, and it drew attention away from the eighty-year-old peeling wallpaper, with the faded pictures of George Washington look-alikes dancing and playing instruments. That was definitely a good thing.
I thought about just tearing the chaotic paper off the walls the way Justin had in the foyer, but then I’d have to clean it all up, and I didn’t want to deal with that at the moment. Again I looked at my cell, groaning that only a whopping two minutes had passed since I’d last checked.
Leaving the walls as is for the time being, I hopped over the piles of clothes to lean out the window. It was strange not having a screen in it. I was sure birds would be flying around my room in no time, but the alternative was closing the window and dying of heatstroke, which wasn’t really an option. I had to remember to add the window to Dad’s ever-growing list of repairs for Miller’s Construction. That made my mouth spread into a little smile, thinking that the longer the list, the more I’d be seeing Noah, which suited me just fine.
Closing my eyes, I held my face up to the sun, relishing the heat as it absorbed into my skin. The day had grown almost unbearably humid, but I was glad for the hot temperature. It gave me the opportunity to wear one of my cute summer tank tops this evening.
After several minutes I grew bored with the facial tanning and instead checked out the view from the bedroom window. I’d picked this room for two reasons. First, I could see the field Lady was in, and right now she was peacefully munching grass under a big oak tree. And second, I could see the Miller farm. I never would have told anyone about the second reason.
Spinning away from the window, I dropped to the mattress on the floor. Lying on my belly on top of the cozy comforter, I pressed my face into one of the mushy pillows that now adorned my temporary sleeping arrangements, all too happy that I’d have a soft place to sleep that night.
I still couldn’t believe that I’d woken to see Noah peering down at me with a look of extreme irritation on his face. What a shocker that was. Never in a million years had I expected to see him in my room. But what really got me was that he seemed genuinely concerned about me sleeping on the floor. I was used to guys paying attention to me, but this was the first time one actually gave a crap about me personally. His concern touched a deep place in me that had never been fooled with before.
Quite frankly, I was so exhausted by the time I went to sleep the night before that I was like a zombie and couldn’t have cared less where I slept, as long as I had the chance to close my eyes. When we’d returned after dinner, the water was down enough that an invigorated dad drove the ryder truck up to the house and Sam followed with his big dually truck, also fully loaded with boxes. After spending the following four hours unloading Sam’s truck and unpacking some basic necessities, I nearly passed out in the kitchen. That’s when Dad directed us all to find some clear floor space somewhere and go to sleep.
I had to admit that I was a little stiff this morning, and my lower back was tight, but hopefully my body would loosen up during the ride. Again I looked at my cell and was pleased to see that ten more minutes had passed since my last check.
Getting ever closer…
I rolled onto my back and frowned, remembering what Noah had said about his parents not being happy if he was with me. I wasn’t stunned at the revelation. I’d sensed that at dinner, but it still bugged me. Everyone always loved me—my friends’ parents, my teachers, my dance coaches. Noah’s family had no right to form opinions about me when they didn’t even know me. The idea that they would find him being with me offensive just wasn’t right, and it was going
to create a lot of problems. You could only sneak around for so long before something had to give, and I didn’t get the feeling that Amish people gave in much. I mean, after all, they lived their lives as if they were stuck in a rerun of Little House on the Prairie and they did it forever. Never doing so many things I automatically took for granted, like driving, going to movies or listening to music.
While we’d been unpacking, Sam, Justin and I attacked Dad with questions about our new neighbors, and although he admitted he was no expert, he did tell us a bunch of interesting things. I was looking forward to asking Noah more about his life tonight.
Sleepily I closed my eyes, listening to the shuffling and thuds of the guys moving furniture around downstairs. I hoped they all left me alone so I could take a little catnap. Within a few minutes I was drifting away, an image of a black buggy with Noah at the reins the last thing in my mind.
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Temptation (A Temptation Novel) Page 6