Wearily, Rebecca looked from Simon to Mercy. “Someone needs to get those extra boxes out of Warehouse One. Jackson is going to have a fit when he comes in tomorrow and he can’t do inventory.”
Simon pointed to the phone. “Then I guess you better handle it.”
Jacob had heard enough. Though he was the new guy at Kinsinger’s, he’d had a lot of experience working on crews that played pass the buck. He certainly wasn’t going to let it play out in front of him at Rebecca’s expense.
Stepping forward, he said, “It’s five o’clock, Rebecca. Pack up your things, it’s time to go.”
She blinked at him owlishly. “What?”
“You heard me. You know we have plans. Don’t make us late.”
Simon narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me, uh, Jacob, but we’re in the middle of something here.”
“Oh?” Keeping his voice firm, he asked, “Do you have plans at five o’clock?”
Simon blinked. “Well, nee.”
“Gut, then you and Mercy can straighten it out. Rebecca is leaving.”
Mercy stepped forward, a look of panic in her eyes. “But she handles things like this all the time. Rebecca, can’t you—”
“She can’t. Plus, she shouldn’t have to. I don’t know which one of you made the mistake, but it sure wasn’t her. Fix it without her.”
“I hope wherever you’re going is important,” Simon said around a sigh.
To Jacob’s amusement, Rebecca was already standing up, purse in hand. “I’m sorry. It is. It’s terribly important.” Looking at both disgruntled parties, she frowned. “Danke for taking care of those nails. The invoice with all the phone numbers is right there.” Walking to Jacob’s side, she smiled. “Sorry to make you wait. I’m ready.”
Jacob rested his palm on her back and guided her out of the office. After they’d turned the corner, he couldn’t hide his grin. “You did a gut job getting out of there.”
“Any chance you want to tell me why I just lied to two of my coworkers? Where are we going?”
“Your favorite place.”
She stopped. “What place is that?”
“The pond. You, Rebecca Kinsinger, are going to take me to the pond, sit with me on the bank, and show me those turtles.”
“That’s why you pulled me out of there?”
“I pulled you away because they were taking advantage of you and I got tired of it.”
She bit her lip. “I hope Simon and Mercy never find out what we’re doing. They would be so mad.”
“You can’t take on everyone’s problems. Not at home or here at work.” When she still looked unsure, he gentled his voice. “Remember when you said that you’d like to start thinking more about yourself?”
“I remember,” she said softly. Pointing to a small street, she said, “Let’s go through here. It’s a shortcut.”
He slowed his pace and started asking her about the rest of her day. As they walked down the street, turned, then started across a field, she talked. Then she asked him about his day. And then she simply looked at ease.
When the pond was in view, she sighed in contentment. “Here we are.”
He reached for her hand. “It’s pretty.”
“You really think so? Levi always says it’s a pretty boring little pond.”
Jacob reckoned Levi was right. It was just a little body of water. It wasn’t terribly picturesque and neither were the trees that surrounded half of it, but what was mesmerizing was the look of, well, glee on Rebecca’s face as they got closer.
“Oh, Jake, look! They’re out!” She dropped his hand and rushed forward. Then, like a child, she flopped down on a thick log that someone years ago had rolled on its side and placed next to the water.
“Do you see them? Aren’t they adorable?”
Making himself turn away from her, he sat down on the log beside her and looked at the little line of green turtles on a fallen tree branch in the middle of the pond.
There had to be at least ten of them in a row. What was amazing was that they were all facing the same direction. Each one was facing Rebecca. Almost as if they’d been looking for her.
“Do they do this every time you come out?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“Line up and face you?” He held his breath, half waiting for her to chide him. Saying that they were simply sunning.
But instead, she nodded, her blue eyes still glowing like she was witnessing a miracle. “Pretty much.”
“I’m glad we came, then,” he said softly. Because he was.
He wouldn’t have missed this moment for the world.
Because, right at that moment, with ten tiny turtles looking on, he’d just fallen completely, unabashedly, head-over-heels in love.
Chapter 24
Thursday, September 24
It was only the middle of the afternoon, but Jacob and most of the men on his team had already been working for hours. A builder down in Cincinnati had placed a large order for shells, but needed the job rushed, on account of their better than expected sales.
Marcus, their team leader, had called them all together for an informal meeting two days ago. There, he’d offered a good-natured competition: The man who completed the most shells by the end of the week was going to get a bonus of two hundred dollars. It was a good sum, for sure. But Jacob knew that the amount had been chosen carefully. It was enough to be enticing, but not so grand that any of them would do something foolish in order to attain it.
As Marcus had no doubt anticipated, the tease of that bonus had been all the men needed to work even harder. Though they all talked about the extra money, it was soon apparent that the winner would have bragging rights, which trumped any extra cash in his pocket. The contest had also instigated a certain amount of trash-talk, which made the long hours and sore muscles easier to bear.
“What are ya going to do when I get the bonus, Jacob Yoder?” Samuel called out from his station. “Cry? Or resign yourself to feeling inadequate?”
“You should be asking yourself that,” Jacob countered.
“You sound awfully prideful for a man new on the job.”
“I may be new, but I’m no stranger to building shells quickly.” Looking at the five frames he’d completed since he’d arrived that morning, he gloated. “Maybe when I get the bonus, I’ll buy you a ticket to Pinecraft. You can hop on the Pioneer Trails bus.”
“You gonna send Sam on vacation?” another man called out.
“No way. I’m gonna send him down to my old crew leader. Justin will teach Samuel a thing or two, and all while the sun is shining on his shoulders and he’s sweating like the devil.”
Laughter rang out as Samuel said something just bad enough that the men were glad that no women were nearby to hear.
Jacob smiled to himself as he adjusted his protective glasses, turned on the saw, and focused on his work again. Though he missed his brother every day, it was moments like this when he was careful to give thanks to the Lord for creating his silver lining. He loved his new job. Loved it. Ever since he’d started at Kinsinger’s, he felt like he’d found a place where he belonged.
Actually, his entire life in Charm was gut.
Better than that, even. He was closer to his parents than he’d ever been. Though he’d worried that having supper with them every night might feel confining after years of living his bachelor lifestyle, he soon realized that nothing could be further from the truth. He liked his parents. He liked getting to know them as adults. And he couldn’t help enjoy being spoiled a bit. There was something to be said for having a home-cooked meal every evening.
Just as special to his heart was his relationship with Lilly. Watching her come out of her shell was a joy to behold. She smiled more, teased him often, and now hugged her grandparents all the time. He knew their love and patience had made a huge difference in her life, but her happiness at school had also. She loved the new challenges of her schoolwork and was also happy to finally be accepted for who she was.
Though Jacob had been taken aback by the idea of Lilly being so close to a boy when she was only thirteen, his parents had taken the development in stride. “Let her be, Jacob,” his mother had said. “Got placed this boy in her life when she needed someone to trust. Only He knows what will happen in their future, but for now, it is a blessing.”
It surely was.
Besides, Jacob knew he wasn’t one to talk. He was in his own romantic relationship, and her name was Rebecca. If he had his way, Jacob knew he’d think about her constantly. He couldn’t seem to help it. Actually, he didn’t even want to try not thinking about her.
Over the years, he’d been attracted to other women. He’d even been smitten with a couple of them. But he had never felt like he did now.
Now he knew what love felt like. He was smitten and captivated. Unsure and tentative, both at the same time. To feel so many emotions, all wrapped around a band of hope? It was a glorious thing.
Smiling to himself, he turned off the table saw and picked up the plank, tilting it right then left, eyeing it carefully. At last he discovered the flaw. One corner hadn’t been cut perfectly. It sloped, creating a noticeable bump in its line. The plane of the wood needed to be leveled and the corner adjusted.
Jacob picked up a favorite old tool of his—a narrow blade that he kept deadly sharp. It could cut through the hardest strip of wood like butter. Carefully, he made one minuscule stroke with the hand saw. After the offending portion fell to the floor, he smoothed the plank. Running his hand along the grain, he nodded, then noticed another imperfection. Lifting the blade, he positioned it carefully. With one sharp motion, he began the cut.
Suddenly a loud cry pierced the air. His hand jumped, and right then and there, the blade jumped, too. Instead of slicing through the piece of pine, the sharp blade neatly sliced his forearm.
He dropped the blade with a curse.
Holding up his arm, he stared at it with an increasing sense of detachment. It was a good long cut and bleeding heavily. Drops of blood were staining his skin, soaking into his shirt. It was a real mess. He was going to need stitches. Quite a few of them.
The moment that reality hit him, sharp, stinging pain erupted across his arm. It felt like it was on fire. As the wound continued to bleed, it occurred to him that he should call for help. But when he turned to do that, he suddenly realized that there was another person in the room whose condition was far worse than his own.
Reaching for a rag, Jacob hastily wrapped it around his arm and hurried out of his station, anxious to see how he could be of help. But when he got closer, he drew up short. His pain was forgotten as his mind came to grips with what he was seeing.
Amos was on the ground. He was one of the senior men on their team, though no one he knew would call him old. Jacob reckoned he was around fifty.
Peering through the crowd of men, Jacob noticed that Amos was lying motionless and that the skin around his lips was turning blue.
A few steps away, Marcus was talking into his cell phone. His expression was intense and he kept glancing at Amos, then speaking into the receiver. It was obvious that he was talking to the emergency first responders.
“What happened?” Jacob asked Samuel.
“Not sure.”
The door to the warehouse opened and both Lukas and Rebecca Kinsinger came running inside. Right behind them was none other than Peter, whose eyes were fastened on Lukas. It was obvious the boy was completely focused on his boss and ready to assist in any way he could.
“Talk to me, Marcus,” Lukas called out.
Marcus passed the phone to Frank, his second-in-command. “That was a dispatcher. Ambulance is on the way.” More loudly, he said, “We think Amos suffered a heart attack.”
Lukas turned to Peter. “Two things. Go stand outside and direct the ambulance workers to this entrance. Then, as soon as they get here, go to Roman Schrock. Do you remember where he is?”
“Warehouse Two.”
“That’s right. Go to Roman, ask him to get a driver, then hurry to Amos’s farm. Amos’s frau, Beverly, will need to be brought to the hospital. You understand?”
Peter nodded.
“Gut. Now go.” Lukas knelt beside Amos.
Jacob noticed most of the other men were like him, trying to see what was going on but staying out of the way. He’d just closed his eyes to say a prayer for Amos when he heard his name being called.
“Jacob! What happened to you?” Rebecca called out.
His eyes popped open. “Hmm?”
She was at his side. “Your arm! Jacob, you’re bleeding something awful.”
With some bit of shock, he looked down and realized that the rag he’d wrapped around his arm had a sizable red stain on it. “Huh,” he said. “I’d forgotten about this.”
“Jacob, sit down, man,” Samuel said, pressing his shoulders.
Aware that he was about to stumble, Jake did as he was told.
Suddenly feeling a bit foggy, he heard Marcus talking on the phone again. “Looks like we’re gonna need another ambulance,” he said. “Jah,” he continued, his voice turning more weary. “Jah. Same place. We got a man with a good cut on his arm. It don’t look life threatening, but he might need surgery.”
Surgery? Jacob groaned. This was the last thing his parents and Lilly needed to deal with.
When she heard his groan, Rebecca reached out and pressed a hand to his cheek. “Oh, Jacob, I hope you’ll be all right.”
He was fine. Well, kind of. “I don’t need no ambulance.”
Standing over him now, Lukas shook his head. “Don’t argue. We don’t take chances around here. Not anymore.”
Knowing the history, Jacob didn’t protest. He merely sat still until sirens were heard and a team of four EMTs arrived with a stretcher, a pack of supplies, and a portable defibrillator.
All the workers watched in respectful silence as they knelt around Amos, who was barely conscious.
Ten minutes later, they were carrying him out. Lukas followed. His voice was clipped and sure as he told the EMTs Amos’s full name and age.
Rebecca grabbed Jacob’s good hand. “I’m so sorry you got hurt,” she whispered as she pressed a fresh cloth someone had handed her to his cut.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.” He attempted to smile and reassure her.
Sirens rang through the air again. Moments later, another team ran in. Immediately, Marcus escorted them to Jacob’s side. After motioning Rebecca to move, two men knelt next to him. “What happened?”
“Saw got the best of me. I’ll be all right.”
“Can you stand up or do you want a stretcher?”
“My arm’s hurt, not my feet. I can walk.”
Rebecca pressed a hand to his good arm. “Jacob, are you sure?”
There were some things a man had to do. And one of them was walk when he could. Another was not to look weak in front of the woman he loved.
“Don’t worry,” he said as he climbed to his feet. “Like I said, I’m fine.” Feeling more than a little light-headed, he took some time to reassure her. “It’s just a cut. I’ll be better after a doctor patches me up.”
“Grab his arm,” one of the EMTs said. “He looks like he’s about to go over.”
“I’m fine,” he said. But the room kept spinning.
Marcus got under his other arm. “If you faint, we’re never gonna let you forget it,” he said. “Focus.”
“I’ll follow you to the hospital, Jacob,” Rebecca said. Leaning close, she whispered, “Please listen to the doctors. I love you.”
Rebecca loved him?
Jacob jerked his head to meet her gaze, realized the motion was too fast, and then slowly came to the conclusion that he was going to get ribbed about his weakness for years. Then he didn’t care anymore, because the whole room went black.
Chapter 25
/> Jacob was the one who had just gotten carried off in an ambulance, but it was Rebecca who couldn’t breathe. She was frozen in the warehouse’s doorway, gripping the frame like it was the only thing keeping her upright.
Maybe it was.
“Rebecca? Rebecca, listen to me.”
She knew she should answer but couldn’t seem to find any words. Instead, she kept her eyes fastened on the EMTs as they loaded Jacob’s gurney into the ambulance.
“Rebecca!”
“What?” she blurted, finally realizing that two strong hands were gripping her shoulders hard. “Lukas, that hurts.”
Instead of removing his hands, he turned her to face him. His icy blue eyes—the ones he shared with Amelia—looked at her intently. “Becky, get ahold of yourself. We got no time for female dramatics in here.”
His tone was less than kind. And, she supposed, completely warranted.
Though she yearned to watch Jacob’s ambulance disappear from the property’s back entrance, Rebecca forced herself to inhale deeply and then exhale slowly. Her brother was right. She also claimed the Kinsinger name and she wasn’t about to put it to shame.
“Sorry, Luke.”
“No need for apologies.” His tone was far softer now. Far more gentle. Bending so he could stare into her eyes, he said, “Are you better now or do you feel faint? If you’re dizzy, grab hold of me. I don’t think the men can take the sight of one more person falling to the ground.”
He wasn’t joking. He really was worried that she was going to collapse on him.
That was all she needed to get her attitude back. “I’m fine now. I promise, I’m not going to faint on you.”
Exhaling in relief, he let go of her shoulders at last. “Gut. I need you too much for that.”
His admission felt good. This was why she’d come back to work. She wanted to be needed. She wanted to feel as much a part of the family business as her brother was. “Are you going to be all right?” she whispered.
“Of course.”
Of course. Lukas would say that even if he had been the one with a sliced arm. He simply didn’t let himself show weakness to anyone but, she suspected, his wife.
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