This time it was not the nurse.
He looked up just as he heard her say, “You’re awake.”
She was more beautiful than he had remembered, her face soft with concern as she moved across the room toward him.
“You’re awake,” she repeated.
Her words stirred emotions from the past, memories from a day when the sun had been shining and he could walk on his own two feet, reach with both his hands toward her, touch her from his own strength, from the love he felt for this girl. “You’ve come,” he managed to say, not quite keeping the surprise out of his voice, struggling to lift his left hand weakly in her direction. “I was just thinking about you, and…”
She smiled and reached out for his hand, but he could only lift his left hand to hers.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. It was all he could think to say.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. She moved closer to the rail of his bed, her grip tightening on his left hand. “How are you? It’s so wonderful that you’re finally back. It was so long.”
He had to grin in spite of himself. “The food is terrible. Doesn’t even taste like food.”
“Poor fellow,” she said teasingly, drawing closer to him.
He knew what she was going to do and was in the process of turning his head away…when he stopped. Maybe it wasn’t right, but he wanted this to happen. His right hand awkwardly moved toward the other, rising to reach out for hers, as she gently kissed him.
“You’re wonderful,” he whispered. “How can you still love me after the way I suspected you?”
“Let’s not talk about it now.”
“My mind is foggy.” He let go of her hand, rubbing his forehead. “But something tells me I was—well, angry with you…that night at your house.”
“Yes,” she allowed, “but you had some reason for it.”
“No.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry it ever came up.”
“It’s okay,” she said, taking his hand again.
“I’ll never be worthy of you. And no more kissing. That has to wait.”
“Once won’t hurt,” she told him, a twinkle in her eye. “Special occasion. You are getting better now and will soon be home.”
“My right arm just moved,” he said, the realization of what he had done earlier dawning. “It must have been you.”
“I’m glad I’m of some good,” she said quietly. “Does your arm hurt?”
“A little,” he said. “The other didn’t hurt at all. No feeling. That was the problem.”
“Does the doctor know what will happen?”
He shook his head slightly. “They never say for certain. I think I will be better though. You are here now.”
“That can’t be everything,” she said with a smile.
“Most everything. You are beautiful.”
“You shouldn’t say things like that,” she told him.
“And you shouldn’t kiss me.”
“Do you want me to tell you about Atlee?” she asked abruptly.
“You don’t have to,” he said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” he insisted. “I don’t need to know.”
“We shouldn’t have secrets,” she replied, making a face. “It was like this. When I was a young girl in Milroy, I liked a boy named Atlee,” she said, glancing at him. “But his parents went Mennonite, and we, of course, were then in two different worlds. Before his family moved away, though, he asked me to promise something. We promised we would meet again when I was twenty-one. At the bridge. That we would wait for each other till then.”
“But you didn’t?” he asked.
“No, I met you.”
“Did he wait for you?”
“No.” She smiled gently.
“Do you wish he had?” he asked.
“No,” she said, bending over the bedrail, kissing him on the cheek this time. “I love you now, and the past is the past. I’m no longer a schoolgirl. My heart is larger, and you have filled it.”
“Even if I’m a cripple forever?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, a tear in her eye, “even then.”
“But I’m not going to be one,” he said confidently. “I’ll get better. You’ll see.”
“I know you will, John,” she told him. “And, yes, I did go back to the bridge when I was in Milroy. I had to see. To settle the matter.”
His eyes found hers. “He didn’t come back? Did he?”
She shook her head.
“Would you have gone with him if he had?”
“No,” she mouthed the words.
Tears stung his eyes as he whispered, “You really are too wonderful. I don’t deserve you. But I am going to get better. And I really was wrong. Very wrong to act like I did.”
“I should have told you sooner,” she said, as the door opened behind them and let in the nurse.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked.
“No, we’re finished,” Rebecca said, to which John nodded.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Rebecca left some twenty minutes later, wanting to get home before too late. Dr. Wine stopped by soon afterward for a final check on John, finding him still awake and quite cheerful.
“Well, I see you’re looking better,” he said not sounding surprised. “The visit with the young lady do you good?”
“That was my girlfriend,” John said, a silly grin on his face.
“The nurse mentioned it.” Dr. Wine was checking John’s chart and scribbling notes. “How are you feeling?”
John got an even bigger grin. “Both hands work now. At least better than before!”
Dr. Wine came over and ran his hand down John’s side, squeezing and seeming pleased when John winced. “Good progress already, I would say. You’re not quite where you need to be, but you’re well on your way. You might need some more visits from that young woman.”
To which John only smiled.
“Get some sleep then. Tomorrow you’re going home. Is that good news?”
“Very good news. Twice good now. All in one day,” John said.
“You’ve been through a lot,” Dr. Wine said. “I guess it’s time for things to turn around for you. You settle in now. Sleep can only do you good.”
After Dr. Wine left, John had no trouble falling asleep, and his first thought, when he awoke the next morning, was that of going home. Even breakfast was bearable with that on his mind. The egg, toast, and small bowl of oatmeal sat before him only momentarily before he started eating.
With breakfast done, John noticed his right leg alternating between stings of pain and a tingling sensation. When the nurse came in for the breakfast tray, he told her of the strange sensations in his leg, and she told him this could only be good news. That any feeling in the leg was good news.
Miriam came for him around eleven, having found a driver with a handicap accessible van from across the river in Maysville. John felt a little embarrassed, rolling out of the hospital in the wheelchair, but was happy to be going home.
Isaac walked in from the harness shop when he saw the van approaching, meeting them in the driveway. When Isaac rolled open the van door, John saw tears in his father’s eyes.
“You are home, son,” Isaac said, taking both of John’s hands in his. “It has been Da Hah’s will that we should see you this well again.”
“I’ll be better soon. All the way,” John said.
“You must accept what will be,” Isaac told him quickly, taking the handle of the wheelchair and gently rolling John down the ramp.
John nodded.
After making their way across the rough, graveled drive, Isaac wheeled John into the house, where John saw that the bed from his room had been moved downstairs to the sewing room.
“But your sewing things,” John said to his mother, alarm in his voice. “I don’t have to sleep down here.”
“You’ll be much more comfortable down here, where I can take care of you,” Miriam told him.
“And I sure was
n’t going to pull this chair up the stairs,” Isaac added.
“I’m getting better fast,” John said. “You shouldn’t have bothered.”
“Well, until you are better, you’re staying down here,” Isaac said firmly.
When Miriam served lunch, Isaac pushed John’s wheelchair up to the kitchen table. The sight of his mother’s sandwiches made him even more certain the restoration of his body would come quickly.
“Nothing like your cooking,” John told his mother, after they had paused for prayer. “The food at the hospital was awful.”
“I’m sure Rebecca’s food will be just as good,” Miriam said. “Did I tell you? She held up real well during this time.”
“She’s a very wonderful girl,” John said, meaning more than his parents would ever know.
“It’s good things turned out well,” Isaac said, satisfaction in his voice. “We learn and then we go on living. And always we must give thanks.”
“She would have stayed with me even as a cripple,” John said. “I don’t deserve that.”
“No man deserves a good wife,” Isaac told him. “It is Da Hah’s mercy on us men. That is all it is.”
“Well!” Miriam exclaimed. “It goes both ways. You are a good man, Isaac.”
“Sometimes,” Isaac allowed. “That also is mercy.”
His sandwich done, the excitement of the homecoming fading fast, tiredness creeping through his entire body, John said, “I think I’d better lie down.”
“Oh my!” Miriam said. “Here we are talking, and you’re still a recovering boy. Let’s get you settled in.”
“I won’t be recovering for long,” John muttered under his breath.
True to his intentions, John tried walking the next day. The steps were hesitant, the two he took, and he had to hold on to the side of the bed, but they were steps.
Mattie and Lester came to visit on Saturday night with Rebecca. By then John had already walked across the sewing room twice and that morning managed to make it to the kitchen table for breakfast on his own two feet. He had raised the question of when he would be moved upstairs, to which Miriam had informed him the time had not come yet.
With the three visitors there for the evening, popcorn was called for, and Isaac brought cider from the basement. While the older folks sat in the living room, Rebecca and John were served their popcorn and cider in the sewing room, where they talked at length about nothing in particular, simply enjoying the pleasure of being together.
Finally John suggested they join their parents in the living room. Miriam jumped up to get John’s chair ready when she saw him coming. He was still a little shaky on his feet but wanted the progress he had made to be on display for all to see.
With the gas lantern hissing above their heads, the three couples emptied the popcorn bowl and the gallon of cider, talking far into the night.
* * *
If you enjoyed Rebecca’s Return, you’ll enjoy the first book in the Adams County Trilogy, Rebecca’s Promise.
* * *
Rebecca Keim has just declared her love to John Miller and agreed to become his wife. But she’s haunted by her schoolgirl memories of a long-ago love—and a promise made and a ring given. Is that memory just a fantasy come back to destroy the beautiful present…or was it real?
When Rebecca’s mother sends her back to the old home community in Milroy to help Aunt Leona with the birth and care of her eighth child, Rebecca determines to find answers that will resolve her conflicted feelings. Faith, love, and tradition all play a part in Rebecca’s divine destiny.
Available at your favorite bookseller now.
And, coming January 2010, Rebecca’s Choice…
Rebecca Keim faces the hardest decision of her life: If she follows her heart, it may mean a life of hardship and sacrifice. But if she chooses the easier path, she may enjoy a life of ease and independence, just as Emma, her mentor, had done. To further complicate her decision, she hears that the boy she once loved has broken his engagement and wants to see her again. And how will Rebecca’s decision affect Rachel Byler, who has bitterly clung to her dream of worldly riches?
About Jerry Eicher…
As a boy, Jerry Eicher spent eight years in Honduras where his grandfather helped found an Amish community out-reach. As an adult, Jerry has taught in Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois, has been involved in church renewal, and has conducted in-depth Bible study workshops. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina, and their four children in Virginia.
* * *
To learn more about books by Jerry Eicher or to read sample chapters, log on to our website: www.harvesthousepublishers.com
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
* * *
* * *
Other fine fiction from Harvest House Publishers
* * *
Rachel’s Secret by BJ Hoff
Bestselling author BJ Hoff promises to delight you with her compelling new series, The Riverhaven Years. With the first book, Rachel’s Secret, Hoff introduces a new community of unforgettable characters and adds the elements you have come to expect from her novels: a tender love story, the faith journeys of people we grow to know and love, and enough suspense to keep the pages turning quickly.
When the wounded Irish American riverboat captain, Jeremiah Gant, bursts into the rural Amish setting of Riverhaven, he brings chaos and conflict to the community—especially for young widow, Rachel Brenneman. The unwelcome “outsider” needs a safe place to recuperate before continuing his secret role as an Underground Railroad conductor. Neither he nor Rachel is prepared for the forbidden love that threatens to endanger a man’s mission, a woman’s heart, and a way of life for an entire people.
Shadows of Lancaster County by Mindy Starns Clark
Following up on her extremely popular Gothic thriller, Whispers of the Bayou, Mindy Starns Clark offers another suspenseful stand-alone mystery, one that’s full of Amish simplicity, dark shadows, and the light of God’s amazing grace.
Anna thought she left the tragedies of the past behind when she moved from Pennsylvania to California, but when her brother vanishes from the genetics lab where he works, Anna has no choice but to head back home. Using skills well-honed in Silicon Valley, she follows the high-tech trail her brother left behind, a trail that leads from the simple world of Amish farming to the cutting edge of DNA research and gene mapping.
Anna knows she must depend on her instincts, her faith in God, and the help of the Amish community to find her brother. She also must finally face her own shadows—and pray that she’s stronger than the grief that threatens to overwhelm them all.
Before the Season Ends by Linore Rose Burkard
In her debut novel of what she calls “spirited romance for the Jane Austen soul,” author Linore Rose Burkard tells the intriguing story of Miss Ariana Forsythe, a young woman caught between her love for a man who doesn’t share her faith and her resolution to marry only a fellow believer in Christ.
Trouble at home sends the young woman to her aunt’s town-home in the fashionable Mayfair district of London. There she finds worse troubles than those that prompted her flight from home. Ariana is soon neck–deep in high society and at odds with Mr. Phillip Mornay, London’s current darling rogue. Then a scandal changes Ariana forever. Her heart, her faith, and her future are all at stake in an unexpected adventure that gains even the Prince Regent’s attention.
Will Ariana’s faith survive this test? And what about her heart? For it’s Ariana’s heart that most threatens to betray the truths she has always believed in. When she finds herself backed against a wall, betrothed to the wrong young man, how can it ever turn out right?
Jane Austen readers and fans of Regency romances everywhere will love Before the Season Ends.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
About Jerry Eicher…
Other fine fiction from Harvest House Publishers
Rebecca's Return (The Adams County Trilogy 2) Page 25