“I think I’ll enjoy it a lot too,” Miriam said. “You have such wonderful country out here. Hannah took me riding on Saturday.”
“Oh, I love our mountains,” the girl said, with another look toward the door where more boys were leaving. “But then I grew up around here.”
“Well, I guess I’d better be going,” Miriam said, getting up. “Thanks for sitting with me at my first hymn sing in Montana.”
“So who’s taking you back to Hannah’s place?” the girl asked, glancing around the room. “Neither Betty nor Hannah are here. Do you need a ride? My brother Nelson and I have room in our buggy. We go right past Betty and Steve’s place.”
“Oh, I’ve got a ride,” Miriam said.
“I didn’t know you had any other relatives in the area,” the girl said, laughing nervously.
“I don’t,” Miriam whispered, trying to smile, heat rushing up to her face.
“Oh,” the girl said, realizing Miriam’s meaning. “I see. So you knew him before you visited here?”
Miriam shook her head and left. The girl would think what she wanted. She had meant no harm nor had she intended to steal another girl’s dreams, but the world was what it was. By tomorrow morning the whole community would know Dennis Riley had taken her home. Hopefully they wouldn’t say much else, unless Dennis had been playing with some poor girl’s heart. But surely he wasn’t that kind of boy.
Finding her bonnet by the light of the kerosene lamp, Miriam stepped outside into the night air. The sky was clear with the stars ablaze, twinkling with great vigor. Her eyes searched the darkness for signs of buggies. There was one out by the end of the walks, but it was a double surrey, and Dennis wouldn’t drive a double buggy.
Out by the barn two boys were still hitching up, but Dennis had left some time ago and should have been ready by this time. Should she wait or walk out toward the barn?
She would walk. That was easier than waiting like some lost puppy at the end of the walks.
Approaching the two buggies, she recognized Dennis’s broad back beside one of the horses. He was fastening the last tug when she cleared her throat behind him.
“Oh,” Dennis said, turning. “I’m sorry I’m late, but James and I got to talking in the barn, and I ran a little behind.”
“Howdy,” James called from the other buggy. “Take good care of Dennis there. He is as fragile as hot chimney glass.”
“He’s just kidding,” Dennis said, shrugging. “If you get into the buggy I’ll throw you the lines to hold. My horse is a little skittish starting out, and I don’t want you getting to my place alone instead of Jake and Hannah’s with me.”
“Maybe I should hold the bridle,” Miriam said, looking at the now rearing horse. “I don’t think I want to be dashing down these mountain roads by myself with a wild horse I don’t know.”
“You can hold him,” Dennis said, the faint buggy light playing off his face. “He’s got a tender mouth. All you have to do is pull back tightly on the lines.”
“Okay,” Miriam said, turning to wait until the horse stood still for a moment. She pulled herself up the buggy steps. Dennis tossed her the reins, all the while hanging on to the horse’s bridle. The animal lunged into the air again, and Dennis stood in front of him until the horse landed. He made a dash for the buggy.
Holding tightly onto the reins, Miriam watched the horse rear again. Dennis came up the buggy step in one clean jump, grabbing the lines from her hands, his arm brushing against hers as he pulled back.
“Whoa there, Molly,” he said, letting the lines out before the horse reared again. They dashed out the lane, swinging out to miss James’s buggy sitting at the end of the walks.
“Molly,” Miriam said, laughing nervously. “You call this wild horse Molly? Blitzen would be more like it. Is she always like this?”
“Yep. That’s the way she’s been since I’ve owned her, although someone else came up with the name.”
“You’ll have to get a calmer horse if you ever plan to settle down.”
He grunted, glancing sideways at her.
“I didn’t mean that the way it sounded,” Miriam said, feeling blood rushing to her face. Thankfully it was dark, and he couldn’t see too well in the dim buggy lights.
“No,” Dennis said, “you’re right. I do need to settle down someday, but it hasn’t seemed right so far. I know I’m a little older than most unmarrieds. My brother Will married young and has several children already.”
“That’s what Hannah told me. She’s good friends with Rebecca.”
“Will’s a good man,” Dennis said, pulling back on the lines as they made a fast turn in the road.
“Is he like you?” Miriam studied the outline of his face in the darkness.
“I don’t think so. Brothers usually aren’t alike, are they?”
Miriam shrugged, feeling her shoulder rubbing against his. Quickly she pulled away. “I have younger brothers, and they aren’t alike.”
“And I have no sisters. Are sisters alike?”
“I don’t think so.”
“I like that,” Dennis said, keeping his eyes on the horse, as they made another fast turn.
Miriam swallowed hard, “Your parents weren’t Amish, were they?”
“No, did Hannah tell you?”
“Jah.”
Dennis laughed. “I suppose she has told you a lot of things about me.”
“Oh, I think they like you,” Miriam said, feeling her face burning again.
“They’re both nice people, and the community has been very blessed by Jake’s ministry. I would say there’s not one person who would wish someone else had been ordained last year.”
“Did you think you would get it?”
“Now that’s a strange thing to say. No, but I thought Will might. Rebecca would also have made a good preacher’s wife.”
“I know. Hannah does too. And I suppose that was a strange question because…you don’t really look like a preacher.”
“Now what is that supposed to mean?”
“Just…well, I have a hard time imagining you walking around on Sunday morning with your head bowed.”
Dennis laughed. “Do you want me looking like that?”
“No, not for a minute.”
“Then I suppose it’s good I didn’t get it—or Will for that matter. He’s still talking about leaving the Amish.”
“Oh? How serious is he?”
“Fairly serious, I think.”
“How about you? You are his brother.”
“Do you always ask such serious questions on your first dates?”
“I haven’t had very many first dates.”
He smiled. “You expect me to believe that? A nice girl like you, charming, witty, in possession of herself. You probably have boys at home lined across the hymn-sing floor to ask you out.”
“Maybe I don’t want them.”
“Well, that would be an answer, I guess.”
“So how did you dare ask me on my first Sunday here? You didn’t know if I had a boyfriend or not.”
“There are ways of finding out.”
“Oh, Mr. Detective, are you? And how would you do that—and on such short notice?”
“I had Rebecca find out for me back when I first heard Hannah’s sister was coming to Montana. I thought an older sister of Hannah’s might be worth looking into. So you see, you’re not exactly a stranger to me.”
“What if I’m the wild one of the family?”
Dennis laughed, the sound rippling across the night air. “That might be what I want.”
“Well, I’m not wild, so I guess you’ll have to be disappointed. I’m a decent, ordinary…and even very common person.”
He chuckled.
“Don’t you believe me?”
“Who said I didn’t?”
“You did with your laugh.”
“Are you a laugh reader or a mind reader?”
“Would you stop that? It makes me nervous. And what about the gir
l back there at the singing—the one sitting beside me?”
“What about her?” Dennis turned his head slightly toward her. “You really know how to ask the questions.”
“Well, she was looking at you as if she hoped you’d pay her some attention.”
“We used to be engaged,” Dennis said, staring out into the night.
Miriam’s hands flew upward, one hitting the side of the buggy door, the other grabbing his hand and pulling back on the lines. “Dennis Riley, let me off this buggy this minute. I’m walking home on my own two feet.”
“It’s a long way home.”
“I don’t care!” Miriam felt the strength of his arm as she pulled back again, now using both hands. And then she felt the slight shaking in the darkness. “You’re laughing!” she shrieked. “How can you laugh about such an awful thing? And here I thought you were a decent man. Wait until I tell Hannah this.”
“Hush,” Dennis said. “Control yourself. I was only kidding.”
“You were what?” Miriam asked, holding completely still, her hands still on his arm.
“I was teasing. I’ve never taken any girl home since I moved here.”
“But you sounded serious.”
“And here I thought you were a mind reader.”
“You are an awful creature, do you know that?” Miriam responded, jerking her hands back to her lap.
“And I think you’re pretty sweet…once a person gets past that temper of yours.”
“I don’t have a temper!” Miriam stated, staring out the buggy front as Dennis turned into Jake and Hannah’s lane.
“That’s okay,” Dennis said, stroking her arm gently. “I should have let you know me better, I guess, before I started making jokes.”
“Tell me,” Miriam said, pulling away from him. “And I want to know the truth. Are you planning to leave the Amish with your brother?”
“My, my. You are a firebrand.”
“Are you?”
“What if I am?”
“Don’t tease me, Dennis. I want the truth.”
“No,” he said. “I have no plans to leave. Does that answer the question well enough?”
“I don’t know. I think I’ll have to keep my eyes on you.”
“And I look forward to that. So do you think we can go inside and talk for awhile without waking up Jake and Hannah?”
“I think so,” Miriam said, as Dennis brought the buggy to a stop.
Molly tossed her head, and her sides were heaving.
Nineteen
The next morning Hannah brought two cups of tea into the living ¦ room and carefully set them on holders. Miriam sat on the couch staring dreamily out the front window at the bright Monday morning sunlight.
“Surely it wasn’t that bad,” Hannah said with a short laugh. “I’ve never seen you like this before.”
“That’s because I’ve never met someone like Dennis Riley. And to think that he was right here sitting on this couch with me last night.”
“Did he ask to come back?”
“I’ve been waiting for you to ask that,” Miriam said, turning around to face Hannah.
“I didn’t want to embarrass you in front of Jake just in case he didn’t.”
“You had doubts?”
“Nee,” Hannah said. “I really didn’t. When are you going to tell Mom?”
“Maybe I won’t and we’ll keep this a secret between us until I return home this fall.”
“With Betty around?” Hannah replied, laughing. “She’s probably writing Mom all about her concerns right now.”
“Betty doesn’t write letters. Not unless she really has to.”
“This may be a has to,” Hannah said, handing a cup of tea to Miriam.
Miriam sipped carefully, a sober look on her face.
“So did you ask him if he’d consider leaving the Amish?”
“Yes, I asked him soon after I got into his buggy.”
“You don’t waste any time, do you. And?”
“He said that he has no plans to leave, but Will does.”
“Will does,” Hannah repeated the words as she sat bolt upright, her tea spilling across her dress.
“Oh no,” Miriam said, jumping up. “I’ll get a washcloth.”
“Don’t bother,” Hannah said, wiping the wetness with the back of her hand. “It’s just an old dress.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t have told you about Will. And maybe Will will change his mind. Or maybe Dennis is wrong,” Miriam said, sitting down again.
“No, he’s probably right. He’s Will’s brother, so he should know. But this is exactly what Jake’s afraid of. Bishop John wants Jake to support an excommunication against Ben and Sylvia Stoll because of the tent meetings Ben is heading up.”
“I don’t think you should be telling me about church problems,” Miriam said. “You’re a minister’s wife, so of course you should know these things. But I’m not. And, besides, I don’t want to know.”
“You’re my older sister, so it shouldn’t do any harm to tell you. And whether you want to know or not isn’t important. You need to know these things if Dennis is going to get serious about you.”
“Oh Hannah, the Amish always have some sort of church problem going on. Can’t you just think of me as your older sister who has been missing out on some of the most wonderful, sweet things in life that I now can have for myself? Why can’t I be in love with Dennis without having to worry about church problems?”
“Because life is more than just being in love. You need to grow up a bit and learn that.”
“Not yet, I don’t. I want to enjoy this feeling while I can. Why didn’t you tell me what being in love feels like? This woozy feeling, this brightness of the soul, this fascination with even the smallest change in a man’s face, this leap of my heart when he even looks at me. No one told me Hannah, or I would have fallen in love a long time ago.”
Hannah laughed. “You do have it bad.”
“Not only bad, but I have it good. Why, Dennis can even turn my insides into mush. No man should have that much control over me, but there it is. He does and I can’t help it.”
“Miriam, you only met him a few days ago.”
“That doesn’t matter. All that matters is that I’ve fallen in love. It needs no more explanation than that. I told you it would happen, and I’ve known it would ever since Mom agreed to let me come out here.”
“And how does Dennis feel about this. Does he return your love?”
“I think he knew ahead of time it would happen too. When he heard your sister was coming, he asked Rebecca to look into whether I had a boyfriend. That must mean something.”
“So that’s why Rebecca asked about you. I totally missed that one.”
“Well, he did,” Miriam said, finishing her tea. “Now, aren’t you going to tell me we should stop talking about love and get some work done around here? Betty doesn’t want to open the riding stable until next week, so until then I want to be useful.”
“Well, there’s the garden,” Hannah said. “I haven’t even touched the weeding in days, and there are cherries I need to can. But those could wait.”
“No, let’s get to it,” Miriam said, rising to her feet. “Just show me where the tools are.”
“In the barn,” Hannah said, taking the teacups to the kitchen. “I’ll be out in a minute.”
Rinsing the teacups under the faucet, she set them in the sink to drain, and went out to join Miriam in the barn. Miriam already had the door open and came out with two hoes over her shoulders.
“I found them,” Miriam said, heading toward the garden, almost skipping in her haste.
Hannah followed with a knowing smile. Love did change people, but rarely was the transformation so rapid. Miriam was changing in front of her eyes from a skeptical, questioning girl to a woman glowing with love and acceptance.
“I think you should slow down a little,” Hannah said, as they moved up the rows of vegetables, carefully taking out the multitude of
tiny, sprouting weeds.
“I’m just excited this morning, and actually I’m hoeing as slowly as I can.”
“I don’t mean the hoeing. I mean Dennis Riley.”
“I’m not young anymore,” Miriam said, pausing to look at Hannah. “Look at you. Married for a few years already, and with a husband who is a minister. No bobli yet, but surely that will change before long.”
Hannah hoed silently while Miriam studied her face.
“Hannah, something seems different about you,” Miriam said. “You’re not…”
Hannah hesitated, pausing with her hoe. “I wasn’t going to tell you this until later, when you would see for yourself, but I won’t be able to keep it a secret much longer. Besides, I have a doctor’s appointment soon, so you’d find out anyway. But don’t tell Betty yet…if you can avoid it.”
“Oh!” Miriam squealed, rushing over to give Hannah a hug. “You’re pregnant! That’s wonderful. When is the baby due?”
“In November.”
Miriam gasped. “Mom knows, of course. That’s what all the secrecy was—about me staying till this fall. I suspected Mom was up to something, but I couldn’t figure out what. Why didn’t I think of this?”
“It’s going to be a boy, I just know it,” Hannah said dreamily.
“Oh, and Jake…he must be busting all over with happiness.”
“He is,” Hannah said.
“And I’ll be an aunt,” Miriam said. “And Mom and Dad will be grandparents for the first time.”
“I still have to reach full term, but I so believe Da Hah will grant us the grace for a safe delivery this time.”
“You know, this really isn’t fair—not in the least bit. I’m the oldest, and I wanted to be the one to give Mom and Dad their first grandchild.”
“It’s a little late to think about that now. And you were the one who wouldn’t date boys.”
“But I’m catching up fast,” Miriam said, a smile crossing her face. She hoed vigorously up a row of vegetables. “Dennis and I will have a whole cabin full of sons, with a few daughters mixed in for good taste.”
Hannah laughed. “You sure go from cold to hot really fast.”
“That’s because I have never met a boy like Dennis before. Just think what would have happened if I had compromised my high standards and dated some other boy before Dennis. I would have missed all this happiness.”
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