“Oh, God, could you at least shut the door so you don’t traumatize your brothers,” Sam said angrily, flinging the door wide open instead.
“Damn,” I muttered under my breath, disengaging from Rose’s arms and sprinting to the doorway. After watching Sam’s head disappear around the corner as he stomped down the stairs, I turned back to Rose, who was sitting up, lounging on her pillows with a seductive smirk on her lips.
“Sam’s right for once in his life—you should shut the door. Then we’d have more privacy,” she said in a soft drawl.
“That’s the last thing we need, Rose. You better be good while I put this screen in your window,” I said, refusing to look down at her while I crossed the room. I knew that if I did, I’d be a goner.
Somehow I managed to get the screen in, even though she continued to make stretching and yawning noises that I knew were meant to entice me back to the mattress. I held firm and ignored her. For her own good, of course.
Before leaving the room, I blew her a kiss from the doorway, not wanting to get too close to her for fear of my body going nuts again. She pouted back at me, clearly disappointed, making me laugh.
After the encounter in the bedroom, I saw very little of her the rest of the day. The one time I did stop outside her door hoping to say a few words, she was on the floor stretching her body over her legs. I stood mesmerized for a minute while I watched her reach down to her toes, her belly flat against her legs. The soft music coming from her radio and the sight of the unusual exercises that she was doing affected me like a punch to the chest. That glimpse into her strange world caused all the doubts to again rise within me and I walked away without her even knowing that I had been watching her.
It was well into the afternoon and she was still wearing the same flimsy sleeping clothes that she’d awoken in. I didn’t want Jacob and Matthew to see her dressed like that and I carried the anxiety around with me throughout the day.
Other thoughts crept in uninvited as I worked. Rose slept until an unreasonable hour and I wondered how she’d handle a more strict morning schedule at the farm. Probably not well. No matter how I tried, I couldn’t imagine her waking up at the crack of dawn to make breakfast, start the laundry and work in the garden. Not to mention the cleaning and taking care of the babies. She just didn’t seem to have the energy to do all those things.
But with each negative thought, my mind raced to fix it. I could break the rules a little in the house and help her out with her chores. After all, if she was sleepy in the morning because we’d been busy all night, that wasn’t a bad thing at all.
Oh, Lord. I needed to sit down and talk to Mother and Father soon about all this. It would be bad at first, but surely I could convince them how much I loved Rose and that we were meant to be together. Yes, I could admit it now—I was in love with the English girl, and after holding her in my arms, no other girl would ever do.
By the end of the workday, while we were driving home, an idea started to take shape in my mind. Something that would make Rose very happy, and I looked forward to making it happen.
* * *
“Are you sure it’ll be okay with Mr. Cameron?” Jacob asked, hooking the traces to the buggy.
Jacob didn’t know about the little affair Mr. Cameron’s children had discovered. But I did. I figured he’d be all too willing to give Rose anything she wanted at that point.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a problem, Jacob, and besides, you wanted to start getting rid of those puppies,” I said, heading over to the barn. I remembered the little female pup that Rose had been snuggling with the first night she’d come over for dinner, and that’s the one I picked. Holding it up, I said softly, “You’re going to have a very affectionate new owner, pup.” Tucking it under my arm, I walked quickly back to the carriage.
Of course, Jacob was coming with me. For a change, I didn’t really mind. Being alone with Rose had become a very dangerous ordeal. I needed some more time to prepare for our next encounter. For right now, though, I was just excitedly anticipating her reaction to the squirming, fuzzy little gift she was about to receive. Come to think on it, this would be my first official present for her. And even though it might appear that the puppy was for the entire family, Rose would know that it was meant for her.
The Cameron family came out the side door as Jacob parked the buggy beside the stone walkway. Justin ran ahead, followed by Sam walking more leisurely with his father. At the back was Rose, her arms crossed over her chest, a pouty look on her face.
“Hello, Dr. Cameron. I heard that you were in the market for a guard dog,” Jacob said humorously, reaching between us to pull the puppy from under the bench.
I didn’t take my eyes off Rose. Her face brightened instantly when she saw the puppy wriggling in Jacob’s hands.
Justin was the first one to the puppy. “Oh, man, how cool—one of the puppies!” He beamed, taking it from Jacob and hugging it with abandon. Sam and Rose crowded in next to Justin. Sam petted the pup’s head, while Rose controlled her enthusiasm. She patiently stood by, waiting to hold the puppy. She glanced up, smiling a secret smile meant only for me. I hoped to God Jacob hadn’t seen or he’d know for sure what was going on.
“Dad, can we keep her—please!” Justin exclaimed.
“Yeah, Dad, a puppy would be a nice…peace offering, for the whole…moving business.” I noticed that Sam’s words were dripping with hidden meaning. I watched Rose glance up at her father with her eyes narrowed, her jaw firmly set. The look made me realize that she could be formidable in an argument.
Dr. Cameron smoothed his hand through his hair, saying, “Why, I think it’s a marvelous idea to have a new puppy. What do you want to call her, Rose?”
She turned her attention to the puppy, pulling it away from Justin. Searching its face for a minute, she looked up at Sam and said, “What do you think about Hope?”
“That’s a good name,” Sam agreed.
“Hope it is, then,” Dr. Cameron said, reaching out to stroke the puppy’s head. Rose snatched the puppy away from her father’s hand, giving it to Sam, who rolled his eyes at his sister’s action.
Dr. Cameron recovered nimbly from the rebuke and asked, “You boys want to stay for dinner?”
Rose’s head shot up, her eyes looking expectantly at me.
“Thanks for the invitation, but our mother has dinner about ready at home. So we’ll be going now,” Jacob answered.
“Oh, what do I owe you for the puppy?” Dr. Cameron said, reaching for his wallet.
“No, really, it’s a gift. But we’ll be by first thing in the morning. We’ve probably got four more days of work here,” Jacob answered before clucking to his horse, Strider, turning the buggy in a wide loop.
“Thank you, boys. See you in the morning.” Dr. Cameron waved.
As we drove down the driveway, I glanced back once to see Rose take the puppy back from Sam. Walking slowly toward the house, she held the puppy up close to her face.
“One down, nine to go,” Jacob said enthusiastically as he slapped me on the back.
I didn’t feel the same enthusiasm as Jacob, though. When I faced forward, the chill of loneliness crept through me. I hated to be so near to her and not be able to speak to her. The smile Rose had given me was as if someone had turned on a bright light, chasing away all the shadows of doubt I felt about what I was doing. It was insane. And yet, I would do just about anything to have her grace me with such happiness again—and my mind was already imagining our next meeting.
* * *
The rest of the week at the Camerons’ wasn’t nearly as interesting as Monday morning had been. Father shadowed my every move in the house, and since Rose didn’t even leave her room until noon, I’d only caught a few glimpses of her each day. I went home every night feeling disappointed.
I was starting to get paranoid. She seemed to be avoiding me altogether, and that left me confused and worried about our relationship. She was so moody. One minute she was all seductiv
e with me, and the next she wouldn’t even spare a glance in my direction. Maybe she was just being careful with my father around. I tried to convince myself of that, but by Friday I still hadn’t spoken directly to her all week. Each evening I’d been too busy putting up hay or shoeing horses to make arrangements to meet her in the fields, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.
Late in the afternoon, while Father and the others were loading up the work truck, I took the opportunity to talk to Sam alone in the kitchen. He was making a ham-and-cheese sandwich that would’ve been big enough for two men. When he noticed me, he pushed the sandwich aside, looking at me curiously.
With cheerful sarcasm, he said, “What’s up, bro? Is my sister being too much of a handful for you?”
Something about the tone of his voice pricked me. Clearing my throat, I ignored his question. “Do you think you could bring Rose by for the benefit dinner at the schoolhouse tomorrow?”
He thought for a second and shrugged. “It’s pretty close. She could ride her bike. Or better yet, you could pick her up with your buggy.”
“No, no, she can’t come without you as a chaperone. It wouldn’t be proper.” After a big sigh I admitted, “There’s no way I can take her. My family still doesn’t know about our relationship and…it’ll be difficult to explain it to them.”
“What? Isn’t my sister good enough for you Amish?” He said it with a bit of a sneer. I found it fascinating how he could allow a man to make out with his sister in her own bed and do nothing about it, yet he was definitely upset with me right now, sticking up for her worthiness.
“It’s not that at all, Sam. Our men just don’t get together with English women normally. It’s unheard of, especially in this community. But I want you to know that I love Rose, and I’m going to find a way for us to be together. You have my word,” I tried to convince him.
“Why don’t you just become English? That would solve the problem,” he said straightforwardly, dropping a slice of cheese onto his monster sandwich.
“If it were only that easy.” Looking into his clear blue eyes, which, strangely, were similar to Rose’s, I tried to think quickly about what I could say that would make him understand my situation. “You see, when I get married, my parents will give me some acres. My community will help me build a house for my new wife and a barn for our livestock. I’ll be a partner in my father’s business, and we’ll have a church to embrace us. It wouldn’t make sense to leave all that and try to live an English life with Rose. I wouldn’t have the means to provide for her in your world.”
Shaking his head, he said, “It’s ridiculous for you to expect Rose to give up her freedom so she can be with you. Dude. It ain’t gonna work. I’m just warning you.”
I didn’t like what he said. I suddenly saw not only my family as an obstacle to a marriage with Rose but also her family, and especially her older brother. I had underestimated his interest in the matter. The beep of the horn alerted me that I had no more time to talk. “Please, just bring her, would you?” I said, hating to plead about anything, but here I was.
“Yeah, sure, I have nothing better to do on a Saturday night than hang out in a nineteenth-century schoolhouse babysitting my sister,” he said, bobbing his head.
Running out the door to the waiting truck, I wasn’t very confident that Sam would bring Rose to the schoolhouse. But while he’d been giving me a hard time about his sister, I had decided that this weekend I’d talk to my dad about Rose. I’d finally tell them whom I’d chosen to be with—then wait for the ax to fall.
11
Rose
The Art of Sneaking
LYING ON A comfy mattress flipping through a People magazine wasn’t a horrible way to spend a Friday night, I tried to convince myself, rubbing Hope’s belly as she cuddled against me. After all, I’d spent quite a few weekends this same way. It never bothered me before. But that was pre-Noah. Now that I actually had a boyfriend, I’d rather be out doing something with him.
If he were English, we could go to the movies or just hang out together here and snuggle on the couch while we watched something on the satellite. I breathed an irritated sigh and stared at the dancing Georges wallpaper. Maybe I wouldn’t mind spending time in my room if I didn’t have to look at that, I growled to myself.
The clock radio was turned up loud and my favorite song came on. Still lying on the mattress, I swayed to the music, throwing my head back and forth to the refrain. I just couldn’t imagine living without music, and I wondered if Noah would mind if I played the radio if we lived together. I was confident I could talk him into it. I could barely suppress a grin from creeping to my lips thinking about the tactics I’d use, until I heard the knock at the door, immediately souring my mood.
“Who is it?” I asked harshly.
“Sam—I have to talk to you.”
“Come in,” I grumbled.
He lazily moved through the room, sitting at the edge of the mattress. He stole the magazine from me, browsing idly through it. The jerk totally ignored my dropped jaw.
“What do you want, Sam?” Why was he invading my self-induced purgatory?
“Your boyfriend wants me to bring you to some schoolhouse benefit tomorrow night,” he said nonchalantly.
Hearing what he said, I bounced up into a sitting position and smacked him on the shoulder playfully. “No way!”
“Unfortunately, I’m not making this stuff up,” he said, staring at a photo of Angelina Jolie and not paying much attention to me at all.
“Why do you sound so bummed out, Sam?” I asked suspiciously.
“The catch is that you can’t be there alone. You’ll need a chaperone or at least someone to give the impression of keeping an eye on you. That means, since Dad will be at the hospital, I have to spend part of my Saturday evening in Amish land.” He glanced up, sighing dramatically.
“You’ll do it, right? Sam, please?” I drew out the please and made my cutest little-sister face. I almost thought it was working until the bozo shook his head.
“I’ll take you, Rose…on one condition.”
Uh-oh, this could be bad. I replied, “Sure, anything.”
“Really—anything?” Sam’s mouth pinched together obnoxiously, making me very nervous.
“Well, within reason. What do you want?” I hissed, losing patience with him.
“It’s nothing bad, Rose. I just think that you need to meet some normal people here. We’ll be going to a new high school in about a month, and it would be nice if you had a couple of friends by then,” he said pleasantly.
“So what does that have to do with going to the Amish schoolhouse?” I asked with growing annoyance. What the heck was I missing?
“One of the guys I got to know from football camp this week invited me to a party he’s going to. It’s tomorrow night.”
“Sooo…?” I still wasn’t making the connection.
“The deal is that I’ll stay with you at the thing tomorrow so you can see your earthy boyfriend, if you’ll come to the party with me afterward,” he said slyly, turning the page.
“Why do you care if I go to a dumb party with you, Sam? Do you need backup or something?” I was beginning to think he was losing it, when he got right to the point.
“I think you’re spending too much time with these people, Rose. It’s not healthy for you. You know that this thing with Noah can’t go anywhere,” he said, sounding very sure of himself.
“Maybe he’ll convert,” I volunteered wistfully.
“I talked to him about that today, and I don’t think there’s a chance in hell he’ll do it. He’s hoping you’ll turn Amish, I think.” Sam tossed the magazine on the floor and looked me square in the eyes, waiting for my reaction. Uh-oh.
“What exactly did he say?” The idea that Noah and Sam were talking about me was unnerving.
“Something about if he stayed Amish, his folks would give him some land, and his community would build his house, and he’d have a job.” He took a breath and
continued, “It makes sense for him, I guess—as long as he marries an Amish girl and not my sister.”
I couldn’t help it. I grabbed the nearest pillow and whacked him with it. “Gee, Sam, I didn’t know you cared so much.”
Smiling, Sam asked, “Do we have a deal, then?”
“Yeah, fine, I’ll go to the party with you.” I sighed, hating to lose an argument with him.
He seemed happy with himself and finally left me alone. But I suddenly felt that agreeing to go to the party with him might not have been a good idea after all.
* * *
This time I didn’t worry too much about what I wore. I felt fairly confident that Noah would like me in anything. I picked out a pale blue stretch shirt and faded jeans. I was careful to choose jeans without holes in them, but since I was going out afterward with normal people, I put on a little makeup: some mascara, shiny bronze eye shadow and a tad of blush. I didn’t think Noah would even notice, I applied it so lightly. I took extra time brushing my teeth, hoping that I might get a chance to sneak a kiss in sometime that night.
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