Plain Choice (The Plain Fame Series Book 5)

by Price, Sarah

  When Amanda lay down on the bed, the five-year-old crawled up next to her and snuggled against her body, one arm tossed around Amanda’s neck. To feel Isadora pressed against her, listening to the gentle sound of her stepdaughter’s soft breathing as sleep overtook the little girl, made Amanda feel as if she were home for the first time in weeks. Yet it was a bittersweet feeling for she realized she only had forty-eight hours to enjoy it.

  Holding her stepdaughter, Amanda shut her eyes and followed Isadora’s example, letting sleep overtake her for an early-evening nap.

  Two hours later, Amanda stirred, feeling as though someone were watching her. Her eyes fluttered open, and it took her a minute to place where, exactly, she was. The room felt familiar but it certainly was not a hotel. The peace and quiet was marked only by the sounds of birds singing outside the window as she realized she was not in London or Paris, or even Los Angeles. She was, instead, back in Lititz on her parents’ farm, the sun starting to set outside the window.

  When she finally realized where she was, she remembered that Isadora was with her. The child had rolled over and had one arm flung over the top of her head as she napped. Amanda smiled and reached for her, pulling her closer to her chest. She breathed in the lavender scent that lingered on Isadora’s hair, and she smiled.

  “Ay, Princesa,” Alejandro said in a soft voice. “You are so beautiful sleeping there with Isadora.”

  She turned her head, unaware that Alejandro had been leaning against the back wall, watching her. Careful to not disturb Isadora, Amanda quietly released her and moved off the bed. She gave him a lazy smile, wanting to stretch so that the lingering effects of her jet lag might dissipate, but she knew that would not be ladylike. Instead, she reached for his hand and let him pull her to her feet.

  She pressed her head against his shoulder and stood like that for a long minute. Finally, she pulled back and looked up at him. “Did you get everything finished that you needed to, then?”

  He nodded his head and, glancing over her shoulder at Isadora, motioned her toward the other room.

  Quietly, they walked into the living area, Amanda careful to shut the door behind them so that they wouldn’t disturb Isadora.

  “You feel better now, sí?” he asked when she turned around and faced him.

  Nodding her head, she smiled once again. “My family must think I’m terribly lazy, sleeping like that after just arriving.”

  “Ay, no.” He shook his head. “It’s the middle of the night for you, Princesa.” He glanced at his phone to check the time. “Almost two in the morning or so.”

  She frowned. “I never should have napped.” One thing that she had learned quickly: traveling through different time zones drained her of energy, but no amount of sleep changed that. Once the plane landed, it was better to continue on with the day and ignore the bone-tired weariness that plagued her body. While she had thought Dali via Charlotte was punishing her after her flight to London, in hindsight she recognized the wisdom they had bestowed upon her by having her leave the airport and immediately begin her day.

  “You will not sleep well tonight, I fear,” he admitted.

  “What time is it?”

  He glanced at his phone. “Almost eight.”

  “Oh! We’ve missed supper! You must be hungry.” She glanced back at the bedroom door. “And Izzie didn’t eat.”

  “You are so nurturing when you are here.” A soft smile crossed his lips. He walked toward her and ran his hand up her arm. “I like it.”

  She tried not to smile as he leaned down and nuzzled her neck, his lips soft against her skin. “You do?”

  “Sí, mi amor,” he breathed. “You are a good wife.”

  She noticed he did not say she was also a good mother, and a wave of guilt washed over her. She tried to shake off the feeling, but it clung to her. Legally, Isadora was as much her daughter as she was Alejandro’s.

  “Did you see Jonas?” she asked.

  “Sí, sí, I helped him with the milking,” Alejandro said.

  Surprised, she pulled away from him. “In your travel clothes? You should have changed. That’s so much work for the two of you.”

  Instead of answering, he sighed and changed the subject. “I suppose you heard about Harvey, sí?”

  Amanda pressed her lips together and said nothing.

  “I didn’t want to worry you, Amanda.”

  “Did he leave on his own or . . . ?”

  Alejandro contemplated his answer. “I did not encourage him to stay, Amanda, but I did not ask him to leave, no,” he said.

  “Then why did he leave?”

  “The tabloids, Amanda,” Alejandro admitted. “There were questions raised at his church, and he felt it best to leave the job.”

  She shut her eyes and inhaled deeply. Amanda knew all too well the pain inflicted by the tabloids and their vicious stories, which frequently were not true. But she also recognized that the tabloids served a purpose. The stories published therein kept the public demanding more by keeping the actors’ and singers’ names in front of the public. In fact, Amanda realized that without the tabloids, she would not have heard from Alejandro again after he left Lancaster last summer. After all, it was the paparazzi that drove him back to fetch her.

  “He was collateral damage, Amanda, and I am truly sorry for that,” Alejandro said.

  She understood what Alejandro meant; she just didn’t like hearing it. Had she not stood up to the paparazzi, she, too, would have been collateral damage—her life ruined just so that people could see a photo of her in the papers. “What now, Alejandro?”

  “Jonas told me that it is too hard to get someone to work here.”

  “Oh, Alejandro!” That was bad news indeed. How could Jonas manage the entire farm by himself? With Lizzie tending to Elias and Anna tending to Isadora, there was no one else to help him. And when Anna had her baby, Lizzie would have to help out with the newborn as well as with Elias’s care so that Anna could help her husband with the farmwork. “All because of the paparazzi?”

  “There is also a tour that comes by the farm now,” Alejandro commented slowly. “A bus tour.”

  “No!”

  He nodded emotionlessly. “You are not just royalty in Europe, it appears, Princesa.”

  “A bus tour . . .” She shook her head. Why would people pay money to simply ride past her parents’ farm? “That’s so silly!”

  “Not to the tourists,” he said in a solemn tone. “To them, you are a true princess, Amanda. They want to catch a glimpse of your life. Why do you think the record label wanted you so much? You do not sing, Princesa. But Viper and Princesa are a package deal now. The fans are coming now for you just as much as for me.”

  She gasped. “That’s not true!”

  “Sí, Amanda. It is,” he responded. “And that’s all right. There is no cause for alarm, Amanda. It is good.”

  But it wasn’t good and she knew that. A woman was supposed to support her husband: wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. No man would want a woman who usurped his authority. She had never wanted fame. All she wanted was Alejandro. From the moment he had visited her in the hospital last summer, serving her lobster for the first time, she had known that he was the most remarkable of men. When he returned to Lancaster with her, she fell in love with him while dancing in his arms in this very room. Now, just a year later, he was sharing the spotlight with her, both onstage and off.

  How was it possible for so much to have happened in just one year? she wondered in amazement.

  “What will we do for the farm?” she asked, changing the subject back to what was most important.

  He shrugged. “I do not know, Amanda.”

  That scared her because Alejandro always seemed to have an answer for all situations, no matter how big or small. “Jonas cannot run this farm without help.”

  “Sí, sí, I understand that.”

  “If only the church district would help,” she mumbled. While the bishop h
ad eased up tremendously on her, he had not gone out of his way to help the family. Nor did he push the community to assist the Beilers during their time of need.

  “I would not worry too much, Amanda. Not yet. Jonas is young, and he will do fine for a while. I will find another farmhand for them.”

  How could she explain to him that it wasn’t that easy? Other Amish and Mennonite men would not want to subject themselves to the barrage of paparazzi that continued lingering around the farm. As for Englischers, there weren’t many young men in the area who had experience farming, unless they already worked on their parents’ farm. “It’s just not that easy.”

  Alejandro took a deep breath and sighed. “Then, if need be, I will help them financially.”

  She shook her head. “Nee, Alejandro. You’ve helped enough by hiring Harvey. Besides, Jonas and Anna will never accept financial help. Not while they can work. They barely took any money to care for Izzie when I offered it. Besides, they pay into Amish Aid. The community should be helping them.”

  “So be it, then.” His response seemed out of character for him. “Remember that Jonas and Anna are both here, Amanda. When you came home to take care of the farm, it was only you until Harvey showed up. They will struggle, but at the end of the day, they will be fine.” He reached his arm out toward her, motioning with his hand that she come closer to him. “Now, as for you and I,” he said when she stepped into his arms, “we, too, will be fine. A good night’s sleep with my wife beside me is all I want.”

  “And your daughter, too?”

  He glanced toward the bedroom door and sighed, his hands rubbing her back as he held her. “With Isadora? That wasn’t exactly what I originally had in mind.”

  She blushed. “You are insatiable.”

  “And you make me deliciously ravenous!” He stroked the back of her neck with his thumb. “But if you want Isadora to sleep with you, then I will not say no.” She started to say something, but he held up his finger. “On one condition!”

  She tried not to smile.

  “No questions, Princesa,” he said, placing his finger against her lips. “Just follow me.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  When Amanda awoke, the bed was empty. Neither Isadora nor Alejandro were beside her. For a long moment, she stared at the ceiling, taking deep breaths as she tried to shake sleep from her body and mind.

  She remembered the previous night and smiled to herself, shutting her eyes as she remembered Alejandro’s gentle lovemaking to her in the upstairs guest room. Later, when they quietly stole back downstairs, Amanda had slipped into bed and wrapped her arms around Isadora, holding her tight to her chest while the little girl slept. When Alejandro joined her, he casually tossed his arm over both of them, and the small family slept that way without interruption.

  Until now.

  From the other side of the closed bedroom door, Amanda could hear the faint sound of voices. Curious, she slid out from beneath the sheet and padded across the floor. Carefully, she cracked the door just enough so that she could peer outside. Alejandro stood by the stove wearing black gym pants and a white sleeveless shirt. Beside him on the counter sat Isadora, her legs dangling over the edge and swinging as she watched him.

  “Now, your aunt might make the best pancakes, but I make the best scrambled eggs,” Alejandro said as he used a spatula to move the eggs in the pan. “The secret is in the wrist, sí? You have to beat them just right before you cook them.”

  “Mammi ’Manda makes the best pancakes,” Isadora corrected him. “It’s Mammi Anna who makes the best scrambled eggs.”

  Alejandro glanced at her. “I see. I got it backwards. Well, we shall see about that, Isadora. Just wait until you taste these eggs.”

  Isadora didn’t look convinced. “And don’t forget the toast. It’s not breakfast without toast. That’s what Jonas says.”

  “Oh, does he?” Alejandro looked around the room. “I don’t see a toaster.”

  She pointed to the oven.

  “Ah.”

  Amanda shut the door, pressing her hand against the doorframe, and smiled. She had hoped and prayed for this moment—the moment when Isadora and Alejandro might find a connection, a way to break down the icy barrier that time and distance had created. This morning, God had answered her prayers.

  She changed out of her nightgown and put on a plain, simple dress. It felt refreshing to not worry about makeup or what outfit to wear. She hadn’t felt so free in months. The constant scrutiny of the public and the media forced her to consult with fashion designers and stylists on an almost daily basis. To say she hated those meetings would be putting it mildly.

  After she pinned back her hair into a loose bun, she opened the door. Both Alejandro and Isadora looked up and greeted her with big smiles.

  “Princesa!” Alejandro called out.

  “Mammi ’Manda!” Isadora jumped down from the counter while Alejandro reached out to grab her arm so that she didn’t fall. After steadying herself, Isadora ran across the room and hugged Amanda.

  “What a greeting!” she said cheerfully to Isadora. “And what a sight!” She directed this last comment to Alejandro. “Why, I don’t recall ever seeing you cook before!”

  He carried the plates to the table and set them down. “There are many things you do not know about me, Princesa,” he said with a wink. “The fun part of the journey is discovering them. Like last night, sí?”

  She widened her eyes and gave him a fierce look, which only made him laugh.

  Isadora sat down and waited for her parents to join her. Then she folded her hands and lowered her head in silent prayer. Alejandro glanced across the table at Amanda, lifting his eyebrow in an unspoken question. He had not been happy that Isadora so rapidly adopted the Amish way of life. Now, as she prayed with her hands folded before her, it appeared that she was adopting the Amish religion, too.

  After they prayed over their breakfast, Isadora picked up her fork and scooped up some scrambled eggs. She ate them and seemed to consider how they tasted. Amanda watched her reaction and did her best not to smile.

  “What do you think, Isadora?” Alejandro asked.

  “I reckon they are gut, but they are not the best,” she said, which caused Amanda to laugh.

  Alejandro tried to not laugh with her. “¿Sí? Just gut? Not the best?”

  Isadora shook her head. “You need cheese,” she said in a matter-of-fact tone.

  At that, Alejandro could no longer contain himself and started laughing with Amanda. “Cheese, sí? I shall remember that for next time,” he said in a solemn voice.

  Satisfied, Isadora continued eating her breakfast and hummed a soft tune, one that Amanda recognized from her youth. She watched Isadora and thought back to her own childhood, sitting at the table with her sister and brother, the small family enjoying each other’s company as they talked, sang, or simply prayed.

  The realization dawned on her that moments like this would be the exception, not the rule, in her future. Breakfast was usually a cup of coffee and a pastry before the meetings began. Lunch was almost always on the run, eaten at a restaurant. And dinner? They tended to eat late at night—either room service at the hotel or late-night meals out, which Alejandro’s assistants arranged for them.

  There was very little home cooking and even less family time.

  “Izzie has a cookie frolic tomorrow,” Amanda said to break the silence. She wanted to enjoy the moment of normalcy as long as she could.

  “¿Sí?” Alejandro looked at Isadora. “That will be fun.”

  Isadora nodded her head and then asked Amanda, “You come, too?”

  Amanda shook her head. “Nee, Izzie. I have to leave with your papi.”

  Alejandro remained silent. He took another bite of his eggs before pushing the plate away from him and leaning back. “I will help Jonas today, Amanda. I suppose you will spend the day with your family.”

  The perfect day, she thought. She knew that Alejandro didn’t mind laboring in the fields
or helping with the dairy. He enjoyed manual labor, finding it a refreshing change from the hustle and bustle of his day-to-day life. As for Amanda, she looked forward to working with Isadora in the garden and helping to bake bread with her sister. She also wanted to visit with her father and perhaps get him outside for some fresh air. They would have supper with the rest of the family before leaving in the morning on Wednesday. The lingering reminder of them leaving so soon was the only black spot in her day.

  In the early afternoon, Amanda worked with Isadora in the garden. The plants grew well, despite the lack of rain, but so did the weeds. Amanda gave Isadora the task of filling a bucket with as many weeds as she could. “Whoever gets the most can choose what type of cookies we bake later today, ja?”

  “Oh!” Isadora’s face lit up. “Sugar cookies!”

  “Chocolate chip cookies!” Amanda retorted.

  “Sugar! I win.”

  Amanda laughed at Isadora’s confidence. “We’ll see about that.”

  They worked in silence, Isadora determined to win and Amanda determined to enjoy the feeling of dirt on her hands and the sun on her face. The heat from the sun didn’t bother her, even when she felt beads of perspiration on the back of her neck. She pushed herself, working as hard as she could so that she felt full of each moment. Once they left for New York City in the morning, she would not be able to garden again. Not for a long while, anyway. They would continue their tour of Europe and visit Miami for a brief stay before returning to the road for more summer concerts in the United States.

  Then the cycle would continue.

  She heard the door of the house open and shut. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Anna walking across the grass, carrying a pitcher of lemonade and several plastic glasses.

  “Oh my!” Anna said as she approached them. “Why, look how much you’ve weeded, Isadora!”