An Unlikely Match

by Beth Wiseman

  “I saw an Amish woman pick you up earlier and drop you off a little while ago.” Veronica settled into a spot in the corner of the tan leather couch and set her drink on the table beside her. Jodi had retreated behind a closed door, presumably her bedroom. A flash of humor crossed her face. “Was that like a date?”

  “Maybe.” Jayce felt a flush creeping into his cheeks. He caught Veronica’s gaze. She seemed to be waiting for more, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to talk to her about Evelyn. He sat in a recliner across from her and crossed an ankle over his knee.

  Jayce was more age appropriate than his father when it came to dating Veronica, but their relationship had never been that way, even before she started sleeping with his father. They’d been friends, casual friends who didn’t know each other well. Then somewhere along the line, the relationship had grown and shifted. She was like a big sister. He recalled the sympathetic look she’d thrown his way at the cave.

  “Well, since you don’t want to share about your date, how are you and your dad getting along?” Veronica picked up her drink and took a sip. Jayce appreciated her not pushing the issue about Evelyn.

  “Same as always.” He shrugged. “They’re having some meeting in the dining room. I could hear him bellowing, so I decided to hide out here.” He forced a smile. “I’m sure it’s about how to fix the equipment that failed Friday.”

  The color drained from Veronica’s face. “Um, yeah. That didn’t go so well. I was at least twenty feet underwater, and something went wrong with the scuba gear. I couldn’t breathe.” Pausing, she took two gulps from her glass. “But I made it out okay.”

  “I hope my dad was sympathetic.” Jayce grunted. “Doubtful.”

  “Actually, I think he was terrified. When I eventually surfaced and Hal got me out of the scuba equipment, I couldn’t stop gasping for air.” Pausing, she looked somewhere over Jayce’s shoulder. “Your dad was so comforting. It made me remember all the reasons I fell in love with him.”

  Jayce knew that side of his father, but he rarely showed it. Unless he was scared, and that didn’t happen often.

  “But then he started yelling at everyone, more than they deserved . . .” She sank into the couch. “I remembered the horrible fights we had, the way he talked to me sometimes. I just couldn’t live like that, you know?”

  Jayce nodded. “You’re too good for him. You’ll find someone better.”

  She flashed her award-winning smile. “I think I already have.”

  He wasn’t surprised. “Anyone I know?”

  “No, he’s not in the industry. It’s still new. We’re keeping it pretty quiet for now.” She shivered. “And definitely until after this film wraps. Your dad would go nuts if he knew.”

  Jayce was happy for Veronica, but she was right. His dad would go off big-time if he knew she was dating another man. No one needed to rile him up any more than he already was. Jayce decided to shift the subject back to work.

  “You scared about Monday, about diving again?”

  Veronica shifted uncomfortably, then took another swig of her drink. “You know what they say.” She took another sip. “When you fall off the horse, you have to get back on.”

  Jayce knew what fear could do to a person, and he could see it in her eyes. “Can’t you get them to call in a stunt double?”

  “Probably.” She sat quietly. “But I want to do it myself, just to prove to myself that I can.” Her head snapped in his direction. “But, Jayce, that’s just me. I’m not saying you should do that. I’m sorry if it sounded like that.”

  Veronica had known about Jayce’s claustrophobia since he’d met her. His father made sure to let everyone know. “Oh, I know.” He waved a dismissive hand. “No problem.” Even though it was a problem for Jayce. He’d like nothing better than to get on that boat Monday, to show his father he could do it, but also for himself. So, ironically, he said, “Just don’t do it to prove anything to my dad.”

  She chuckled nervously. “Oh, I quit doing anything for your dad’s benefit a long time ago.” She slapped a hand gently to her leg. “Okay, I can’t stand it anymore. Tell me about the Amish woman. I don’t know much about these people.”

  “Apparently I don’t either,” he mumbled as he thought about his conversation with Evelyn. “But I’m not sure they’re quite so different from us.”

  Veronica raised both eyebrows. “I beg to differ. They live like pioneers—even dress like them. How did the world pass them by?”

  “Their choice. They choose to live like this.” He shrugged. “I think it’s kinda cool.”

  Scrunching up her face, she said, “I couldn’t do it.”

  Jayce was sure of that. Veronica was sweet as she could be, but he couldn’t begin to imagine her without her cocktails, often starting at noon, her hair and makeup person nearby at all times, and her tendency to bask in the spotlight she’d earned.

  She twirled a strand of her long blonde hair between her fingers and grinned. “Do you like her? You went out Friday night too.”

  “She’s interesting.” Evelyn was much more than that, and Jayce liked everything about her. But he was sure Veronica wouldn’t understand.

  “Hmm . . .” She ran her finger around the rim of her glass. Usually her nails were long and painted a bright color. Now they were trimmed short and plain, presumably for her role in the movie. “‘Interesting,’ huh?”

  Jayce rested his elbows on his knees and perched his chin atop his hands. “Yeah, she’s deep, likes to talk about things.” He sat back in the chair and ran a hand through his hair. “So I guess that makes her interesting.”

  “I can’t imagine the two of you having anything in common.” Veronica twisted her hair into a knot on the top of her head, then picked up a clip from the table beside her and secured the long tresses.

  “You’d be surprised.” Memories of the movie, popcorn, and lemonade rose to the surface of his mind.

  “Well, well . . .” Veronica’s mouth twitched with amusement. “I think you have a crush on this girl.”

  He laughed. “A crush? Isn’t that some eighties word? I said she’s interesting.”

  “That’s how it starts.” She picked up her drink and chugged the last of it. “Although, to fit into your world she’d have to ditch those frumpy clothes and the horse and buggy.”

  “She’d never fit into our world.” Jayce couldn’t tell Veronica how much he longed for the lifestyle Evelyn lived. “Besides, I don’t even know her. Not really.”

  Then why did it feel like he’d known her a lot longer than a few days?

  Veronica lifted herself from the couch and strolled straight to the vodka bottle on the kitchen counter. She was unscrewing the lid but paused to look out the window. “Hey, I think your girl is back.”

  Jayce peered out the window.

  “Is that her in that buggy pulling in?”

  He waited a few seconds to be sure. “Yeah, that’s her.”

  Veronica grinned before walking back to her glass. “Better go see what she wants.”

  Jayce had no idea. She’d been rather cold when she dropped him off. Maybe she was here to see Lizzie or Esther.

  Only one way to find out.

  “Yeah, I guess so.” He scratched his cheek as he walked to the door, but before he opened it, he turned to Veronica. “Hey. Don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with on Monday—during the dive. They can get someone else to do it.”

  She shrugged but didn’t look at him as she filled the glass with vodka. “It’ll be fine,” she said as she added a splash of cranberry juice.

  “Okay.” Jayce stared at her for a minute, but she didn’t look up. “I’ll see you around tomorrow, or for sure on Monday.”

  He left the motor home and strode to Evelyn’s buggy. She was just sitting there, making no attempt to get out.

  When he got to the buggy, he took in her olive skin, her high cheekbones, and the way her green eyes twinkled. She was gorgeous in all the ways Veronica wasn’t. It was a weir
d comparison, but Jayce had seen Veronica without makeup. This girl didn’t have a smidgen of anything on her face. She was just naturally radiant.

  “You here to see me?” He felt a flutter in his stomach.

  “Ya, as a matter of fact I am.” She reached down and lifted Jayce’s sunglasses from the seat beside her, then pushed them toward him. “You left these. I didn’t know if you had another pair.”

  He had several, but he took the sunglasses. “Thanks.” Pausing, she sat with a curious expression on her face. “You wanna come in?” He nodded over his shoulder at the inn. “Although, my dad and his group are having a meeting in there that you might find offensive. Their language isn’t always the best.”

  She shook her head. “Nee, I’m not staying. But I am offended about something.”

  Her eyes changed color right before him, slowly losing the twinkle and darkening as her lips thinned. Jayce wasn’t good at reading women, but there was no mistaking Evelyn’s expression. She was mad.

  “Uh-oh,” he said, cringing. “What did I do?”

  She raised her chin slightly, but her bottom lip trembled. “I-I feel like you judged me. And you don’t know me well enough to judge me.”

  He stuffed his hands in his pockets, his emotions flitting about in an unusual way. “That’s funny, because I felt like you were judging me.”

  “I wasn’t judging you.” Her lip stopped trembling, but her eyes retained their green color, void of twinkle. “Only Gott can judge us.”

  “I think we both agree on that.” He rocked back and forth in his flip-flops, hands still in his pockets. “I think we’re bothered about the same thing. I know you got me thinking about things. Sometimes a healthy debate or conversation can be good.”

  Her eyes softened a little. Jayce waited for a response.

  * * *

  Evelyn recalled what her mother had said in the kitchen. Jayce was proposing the exact thing her mother said to avoid—more conversation about God and relationships. Now that she was confronting Jayce, going as far as to say he had offended her, she couldn’t find the words to back up her statement.

  “Look . . .” He ran a hand through his gorgeous long hair. “The last thing I want to do is offend you or hurt your feelings.”

  “Jayce! We need you in here.”

  They turned toward the porch.

  “Be there in a minute.” Jayce held up a finger, then turned back to Evelyn. “I have to go.”

  “That’s fine. I said all I came to say”—she nodded to the sunglasses he’d tucked into the collar of his T-shirt—“and to bring your shades.”

  “No. It’s not fine. I want to talk about this some more.” He spoke with such a sense of urgency, it touched her. “I know tomorrow is church for you, and I have to work on Monday. Can we talk Monday night?”

  Everything logical in Evelyn’s mind told her to say no. “Okay.”

  Jayce’s eyes brimmed with eagerness, and Evelyn knew she was in dangerous territory.

  He nodded past the inn. “There’s a pond down there. Watch the sunset?”

  It sounded too romantic to pass up, and the fact that she’d thought about romance should have prodded her to say no.

  But again she said, “Okay.”

  Ten

  Monday morning brought a flurry of activity to The Peony Inn, and Esther hoped a nap would come early for her and Lizzie. Not only were Mr. Clarkson, Jayce, Hal, Jesse, and Giovanni present for breakfast, but other members of their group came in and out. Each time Esther went into the dining room, platters and bowls were empty. Some of them carried toast, eating as they passed from the dining room through the living room. Others stood around sharing plates, as if that were proper protocol.

  “This is craziness,” Lizzie said when Esther walked back into the kitchen for the third time. She was cracking more eggs into a bowl.

  “They are like wild animals in there.” Esther pulled a stack of extra plates from the cabinet. “Might as well give them all something to eat off of.”

  She carried the plates back into the room, handing them out to those standing and apologizing that there wasn’t enough seating. It was hard not to stare at some of the people, especially the women—young ladies in their twenties, made up with far too much makeup, but still so striking that their looks drew her in. Men were a minority in this crowd. She shuffled back to the kitchen.

  “Craziness,” Lizzie said again as she stirred eggs over a flame that was much too high. Esther sure hoped her sister didn’t burn the eggs, but they were completely out and needed to get more on the table. Lizzie was making sure she cooked them as fast as possible. Can you even burn eggs?

  Esther took out two more jars of jam, strawberry and apple butter. “They’ll be gone soon enough.” Pausing to rest, she sighed. “Then we can take a nap.”

  “You can. I can’t.” Lizzie turned to her and lifted up on her toes. “I found us some help, and I’m going to pick her up as soon as everyone leaves.”

  Esther held the jars to her chest and looked up. “Praise God.” She turned back to her sister. “Who?”

  “Her name is Rose Petersheim, and she just moved here from Ohio. She’s kin to Big Roy and Katie Marie.” Lizzie turned up the heat another notch until smoke was rising from the skillet of eggs. Seconds later, she dumped them in the empty bowl.

  Esther carried the bowl into the chaotic dining room, many of the guests talking over one another. Jayce stood quietly in a corner eating. With a mouthful, he nodded at Esther, then winked. She supposed that was a signal that the food was good. Although at the moment, it was more about quantity than quality.

  “Why did the girl move here?” Esther asked Lizzie when she returned to the kitchen. “Why would she leave her family?”

  “I don’t know her story, and I don’t care.” Lizzie dabbed at the sweat beads on her forehead with a napkin. “She can cook and clean, so she’s hired.”

  Esther nodded in agreement. She and Lizzie could not keep up this pace. “Do you want me to go with you to pick her up? Will she live here like Naomi did?”

  “Ya. Big Roy and Katie Marie don’t have room. And no, you don’t need to go. Get a nap in. One of us should.” Lizzie spat her dentures into her hand, surprising Esther. Her sister rarely complained about them anymore. “Stupid teeth are giving me fits again.”

  It had taken Lizzie a long time to get used to the dentures. Not wearing them or spitting them out in front of people had been a common occurrence. Esther hoped this problem was temporary.

  “We don’t have room right now either.” Esther pressed a hand to her forehead, which was also sweating. “All of our rooms are full.”

  “I figure you and me can bunk together. She can have mei room until this rowdy crew is gone.” Lizzie frowned before wrestling the dentures back into her mouth.

  Esther thought about Lizzie’s snoring, but it was the only option. “Be sure to take out all those romance books you read and hide under the mattress.” Lizzie’s jaw dropped. “Ya, I know about them. Naomi too. She changed the sheets and, on occasion, so did I.”

  Lizzie raised her chin. “There is nothing wrong with reading about love between two people.”

  Esther tucked her chin and scowled at her sister. “I hope they are clean books and not filled with things you shouldn’t be reading.”

  Lizzie huffed, then walked into the dining room. Esther chose not to follow in case her sister acted in character and told them all to hurry it up or keep the noise down, or something similarly inappropriate.

  Esther set to making an apple pie since those seemed to go the quickest. These guests were midnight scavengers. By morning all kinds of food had been eaten. But at least it was being consumed and not going to waste.

  * * *

  Jayce crossed the front yard toward the two waiting limos. Everyone was packed in, and even though the drive wasn’t very far, he hoped he could choose the car without his father in it. Unfortunately, there was no way to know with the tinted windows.

/>   Then he saw the grumpy old man, Gus, climbing into a rusty black pickup truck. He stopped and took a few moments to decide on the lesser of the two evils. He turned to Gus’s truck. He’d heard the cranky neighbor would be joining the crew. Apparently, Jayce’s father had promised him a part in the movie so the guy would stop complaining about the generators. A promise Jayce doubted his father would make good on.

  “You ain’t riding with me,” Gus bellowed when Jayce opened the passenger door. The crazy man flicked his arm at him, almost catching the side of his face. “You go with your people in their fancy cars. They already said they only have enough room for one more, so I’d have to take my truck. I’m guessing you’re the one more.” He scrunched up his face until his gray eyebrows almost touched in the middle of his forehead. “So get out.”

  “You go ride with them, and I’ll drive your truck.” Jayce pushed his hair out of his face and grinned. “You’ve probably never been in a limo anyway.”

  “As a matter of fact, you snot-nosed kid, I have been in plenty of limousines. And you got yourself a deal.” He pushed open the rusted door, causing it to squeak and whine.

  “Oh, wait.” Jayce eyed the stick shift on the floor. “I don’t know how to drive a standard.”

  Gus pulled the door closed, glowering at Jayce, his jowls moving back and forth as he shook his head. “Well, ain’t it my unlucky day.” He waited. “Get out. Go with your people.”

  “Look, man. You’ve got on enough Old Spice to suffocate a small child, but I’d rather hitch a ride with you than ride with my dad, and I’m not sure which car he’s in. I’m sure someone saw me get in your truck, so they’ll know I’m not left behind. But oh, how nice it would be to avoid this whole charade and not go at all.”

  Gus stared at him long and hard. “Your pop seems like a fine fellow to me. And you strike me as an ungrateful brat.”

  “Whatever. You don’t know him.” Jayce got in and leaned his head back against the seat, wishing the conversation with this man would just end.

  Gus finally started the truck, grinding the gears as he shifted, and followed the limos. Jayce did his best to breathe as little as possible. Luckily both windows were down.