Chasing Fireflies: Book Five (Jacob's Daughter, an Amish, Christian Romance)

by Samantha Jillian Bayarr

  “I hope he does,” Rose whispered.

  Katie furrowed her brow. “What do you mean, you hope he does? You seem so sure of your own feelings. Why aren’t you so sure of his?”

  Rose was confused over Katie’s sudden change of attitude toward her relationship with Jessup. It almost seemed she was being supportive of it.

  “I really don’t feel like discussing this anymore. Can we work on sewing the dresses for your wedding, and just forget about this other stuff?”

  “No, Rose. It’s obvious you’re upset. I only want to help you.”

  Rose grabbed the wedding attendant dress from the peg in the corner of the room and headed back downstairs.

  “Rose please let me help you,” Katie said as she followed her schweschder down the steps.

  Rose turned on her heels so quickly that Katie ran into her. “If you really want to help me, you’ll drop it and forget I ever said anything.”

  Their conversation had gotten so out of control that Rose, herself, was becoming confused by it all. She no longer thought it amusing that Katie had mistaken her love for Noah and transferred it to her suspicion over Jessup. Truth be told, she was heartbroken at the moment, and she didn’t know how to make it right. Only seeing Noah and being in his arms would make things right, and she didn’t see that happening.

  “How am I supposed to forget that my schweschder is in lieb with Jessup King?”

  Rose fought tears, and turned her back to Katie so she could get control of her emotions. She busied herself at the sink making a fresh pot of kaffi even though it was much too warm to drink it. She needed something to keep her hands busy and her mind off of Noah long enough to figure a way out this new mess she’d brought on herself.

  Rose suddenly turned toward Katie, who’d sat at the kitchen table and had begun to pin the hem of her blue wedding dress.

  “It no longer matters because I don’t think he returns my feelings.”

  “Why would he propose if he didn’t love you?”

  Rose bit her lower lip. “He proposed to you when he didn’t love you.”

  Katie stood up and walked over to the sink and placed her arm around Rose. “That was different because I didn’t love him either.”

  Rose couldn’t hold in her emotions any longer. With her schweschder’s arms wrapped tightly around her, she began to weep softly. “Why do menner think it’s alright to ask a woman to marry them when they don’t really mean it? After he proposed, he practically took it back. He said he didn’t mean for it to come out. That he had only said it because he was so caught up in our kiss that he hadn’t thought it out.”

  Katie pushed Rose from her arms so she could look her in the eye. “He kissed you on the mouth?”

  Rose remembered her kisses with Noah with a far-off look in her eyes. “Jah. And it was wunderbaar.”

  Katie shook. Not once during her engagement to Jessup had he kissed her on the mouth.

  Chapter 26

  “I have something I have to tell you!” Katie was nearly out of breath when she ran out to meet Caleb after he pulled his buggy into the yard.

  “I have something I have to tell you too, and it can’t wait.”

  Katie climbed into the buggy and settled in next to Caleb. “My news first, please. I don’t think I can wait another second to tell you.”

  “Jessup is back in town and I saw him at the diner with Rose,” Caleb blurted out.

  Katie’s eyes grew wide. “Then it’s true!”

  Caleb dropped the reins. “What is true?”

  Katie held back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. “He proposed marriage to her.”

  “Jessup King proposed marriage to your schweschder, Rose?”

  Katie let loose the tears. “Jah, and he broke her heart. As soon as he proposed, he took it back. She really loves him.”

  “What do you mean he took back his proposal?”

  “That’s what she told me. She said that he proposed to her right after kissing her full on the mouth. He never once kissed me on the mouth. This is serious.”

  Caleb raised an eyebrow. “He never kissed you on the mouth? Really?”

  Katie scowled. “Why do you say that like you’re surprised?”

  “I’m not as surprised as I am happy about it. It means I was your first real kiss, jah?”

  “Jah, you were.”

  “Das gut.”

  Katie wiped her tears and smiled at her betrothed. “Let’s put our concentration back on my dear schweschder. What are we going to do about this?”

  Caleb thought about it for a minute. “I think I need to have a talk with the Bishop again, but I’d like to give Jessup a chance to explain his side of the story.”

  “He has nothing to explain. He has gone and done what he threatened to do. I can’t believe we thought he’d changed. He hasn’t changed. He was biding his time until he could lure my schweschder into his plan of revenge. He gave us his word he would not pursue her, and he broke that promise. And now he’s broken Rose’s heart along with that promise. He’s a horrible mann, and you need to tell the Bishop of his actions right away.”

  Caleb put his arm around Katie to calm her.

  “Is it possible that Rose misunderstood him?”

  “You didn’t see how upset she was. Rose has always been very level-headed. We’ve seen first-hand what Jessup King is capable of.”

  Caleb rubbed his hand across his smooth chin. “It doesn’t make any sense to me. When I saw them at the diner earlier, they looked happy. Rose was laughing; Jessup was laughing. They were having a gut time. I don’t understand what could have happened in the last hour to make him change his mind about her.”

  Katie sniffled. “He didn’t change his mind about her. He never cared about her in the first place, just like with me. The only difference between the two is that I didn’t fall in lieb with him, but Rose did. And he took advantage of her vulnerability. He should never have kissed her on the mouth. That sort of kiss should be saved for the mann you are to be married to. He has taken that special first-kiss from her and she can never get that back. He should suffer excommunication for his behavior.”

  Caleb was trying to see this from Katie’s point of view, but there was still something that was nagging him about this. “That seems a little harsh, don’t you think? Perhaps we should hear him out first. We talked to him last time, and his remorse seemed genuine.”

  Katie leered at Caleb. “An evil mann will let honey drip from his tongue.”

  “I don’t think we should assume he’s become evil until I have a talk with him first so we can get to the bottom of this. There has to be a logical explanation, and we owe it to Rose and to Jessup to find out what that is before we jump to conclusions.”

  Katie wiped her face on her apron. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go find out why he did this to Rose.”

  Caleb pulled Katie’s hands into his own and looked her in the eye. “I think you should stay here with Rose. She needs you. I’m going to go over and get Noah to help me. I don’t want to approach Jessup alone, and I think Noah would be a gut person to take with me. He’s always been very level-headed. I think it’s best if I have another mann with me when I defend your schweschder’s honor.”

  Katie sighed. “But Noah doesn’t even know Rose or Jessup. How can he help if he doesn’t know who he’s up against?”

  Caleb kissed Katie’s hands. “I think it is better that Noah doesn’t know either Rose or Jessup. That way he can be neutral in case I get a little too heated.”

  Katie cuddled him. “I think that’s wise.”

  Caleb kissed Katie on the forehead, and then hugged her. “It’s getting dark. I’m going to stop by Noah’s place on the way home and fill him in on what’s going on. We will probably go over to the B&B first thing in the morning and talk to Jessup. I’ll come over after and let you know how it went. In the meantime, go spend some time with Rose.”

  “Danki. I don’t know how I would have managed this without
your help. I know I only met Noah briefly at the meal after church before he disappeared, but thank him for me. I appreciate whatever the two of you can do to fix this.”

  Katie waved to Caleb as he pulled the buggy out of the yard, and then she went in the haus to comfort Rose. She called out to her, searching the upstairs, the yard and even the barn, but Rose was gone.

  Chapter 27

  Rose stood in the grass at the end of the dock and watched mindlessly as fireflies swarmed around her. The night air was humid and warm, only a slight breeze bringing relief as the draft floated up her dress. Every minute that ticked by was another minute that Noah was not with her. She didn’t hold out much hope that he would show up, but it remained in the back of her mind, tucked away where she refused to acknowledge it.

  Not feeling up to catching fireflies, Rose walked to the end of the dock and lowered herself into the spot in which Noah usually waited for her while she took a boat ride. She hadn’t been out on the boat in nearly a week, and she found that she lacked the desire to do so even now. Sadly, it only held amusement as long as she knew Noah was sitting in this very spot waiting for her. Without him, everything paled in comparison.

  Rose kicked at the water, sending ripples across the pond. It reminded her of how much Noah liked to skip stones across it. Would everything she did remind her of Noah, or would she eventually forget him just as he seemed to have forgotten her?

  Perhaps it’s time to go back home to Nappanee.

  ****

  Noah was just getting ready to head out to the dock at the B&B when his cousin, Caleb, drove his buggy up the drive to his haus. He’d planned to clear the air with Rose and tell her he loved her enough to marry her. Unsure of what he’d seen earlier in the diner, he decided to give her a chance to explain why she was with the older mann. Perhaps there was a logical explanation, and he was a relative. Either way, he loved her, and he was ready to commit if she would have him. Now he would have to postpone that meeting, depending on how long his cousin planned to stay.

  Caleb jumped down from the buggy and held a hand out to his cousin. “Wie gehts, Noah.”

  Noah took his hand. “What brings you out here this time of night? Shouldn’t you be taking a buggy ride with your betrothed?”

  Caleb chuckled. “I wish I was. Even going home and cleaning the horse-stalls would be more fun than what I have on my plate right now.”

  Noah gave his cousin a concerned pat on the back. “What could be troubling you so much? You are engaged; you should be happy all the time.”

  “I’m very happy with Katie. It’s her schweschder, Rose, that is causing concern.”

  At the mention of Rose, Noah’s heart fluttered.

  “What did she do that has you so concerned?”

  Caleb leaned up against the porch railing. “It’s not so much what she did as what Jessup King did to upset her.”

  The thought of someone hurting Rose sent anger through Noah. He was almost afraid to ask the question he knew he needed to. “What did he do to her?”

  Caleb shot a look of concern to his cousin. He’d never known him to talk through gritted teeth before. It was almost as though Noah had a vested interest in Rose’s well-being, but that would be impossible since he didn’t even know her.

  “It seems he asked her to marry him and then took it back.”

  Noah collapsed against the porch-rail, and caught himself so he wouldn’t fall back. “He asked her to marry him? When?”

  Caleb looked at his cousin with concern. “Are you able to handle news of the community, Noah? Maybe I shouldn’t have relied on you so soon.”

  Noah shook his head. “I lost my footing is all. Is this Jessup an older fellow?”

  “Jah. How did you know?”

  Noah clenched his jaw. “I saw them in the diner today. They looked happy to me.”

  Caleb did a double-take toward Noah. “How do you know what Rose looks like?”

  Clearing his throat, Noah chose his words carefully. “I spoke to her after church on Sunday.”

  It wasn’t a lie. But it wasn’t the entire truth either.

  Caleb ran his hand through his hair and replaced his hat. “I’m not sure when everything happened, but I saw them in the diner this afternoon too. They did look like they were having a pleasant conversation. So I suppose it happened between then and an hour ago. Either way, he took back his proposal, and it seems he broke her heart.”

  That statement hit Noah too close to home. He’d been the one to propose and retrieve it. Had he broken Rose’s heart? Or had she been counting on the proposal from Jessup too? Did he even propose? Noah certainly was eager to find out.

  “I came over here to see if you would go with me to talk with Jessup tomorrow so we could get some answers. I want to know what he’s up to with Rose. He’d warned Katie and me a while back that he intended on pursuing Rose out of spite, and I want to know if that’s what he’s up to.”

  Noah wanted answers more than Caleb could possibly understand. He loved Rose, and he thought she loved him too. But after seeing her in the diner with Jessup, and now hearing he may have proposed to her, Noah was worried he may have misjudged her character. Was it possible that Caleb’s visit tonight had spared him from going to Rose at the pond and making a fool of himself?

  “Jah, I will go with you. Do you think there’s much truth to this proposal from Jessup?”

  Caleb shrugged. “I have no idea. But I hope not for her sake. What baffles me the most is why Rose would allow herself to get involved with him to the point he could break her heart. I don’t understand how or when she could have fallen in love with the mann.”

  “She said she was in love with him?”

  Caleb nodded.

  Noah shuddered. If Rose was in love with Jessup, then why had she kissed him the way she had when they were together?

  Chapter 28

  Noah shuffled to the kitchen for some kaffi. After such a restless night, he needed something to perk him up. Because nothing could make him forget that the woman he loved had been proposed to by another mann, he wished Caleb had never told him.

  After several hours of tossing about trying to sleep, Noah had all but convinced himself it had been a mistake to re-enter the community. He felt he’d been better off staying hidden in the shadows of the community where nothing could hurt him. But he couldn’t regret meeting Rose, or she might be dead and gone, consumed by Goose Pond just as Emma had been.

  Striking a match, Noah lit the pilot light of the gas stove, turned on the burner and set the percolator over the flame. He leaned against the sink wondering how things had gotten so out of control in his life. Life was supposed to be simple for Amish, wasn’t it? How then, was his life beginning to feel so tangled and complicated? At the end of the week, his daed was expecting him for dinner. Was he even ready for that? He’d realized he may not have been ready to fall in love with Rose either. Everything was happening so fast all of a sudden that his mind had not had the proper amount of time to process it all.

  The clip-clop of a horse and the sound of turning buggy wheels brought Noah’s gaze toward the small window above the sink. Caleb had arrived early. He could only assume he was eager to get some answers, but Noah was no longer certain he wanted to know.

  Sometimes what you don’t know can’t hurt you.

  Caleb gave a quick warning knock at the back door, and then entered. “I know it’s early, but I wanted to get this over with. If I know Jessup King, he’ll slip out of town and we will miss the chance to confront him about Rose.”

  The mere mention of her name sent prickles of agony coursing down his spine. Bubbles of dark kaffi pushed up into the clear, glass percolator at the top of the tall pot on the stove. Noah turned off the burner, not caring that he’d be drinking weak brew. He was too tired to worry about steeping his morning beverage to perfection. He wanted to get this over with more than his cousin could ever know. His stomach roiled as he took his first sip. Would he be able to face Jessup without
a physical confrontation? Right now he wasn’t so sure about it.

  Noah gulped the last of the still-hot kaffi, not caring that it burned his tongue. “Let’s go,” he growled.

  Caleb held the door for his cousin. “Why are you in such a bad mood this morning?”

  Noah waved him off. “Nothing. Just didn’t get much sleep last night. I have a lot on my mind.”

  Caleb turned before climbing into the buggy.

  “I’m sorry. If you’re not up to this, I can go alone.”

  Noah looked at him sternly. “Nee. I want to go. Why don’t we walk over? We can go through the back, around the pond.”

  Caleb agreed it would be quicker to avoid the traffic on the main road just to get to what seemed like was just around the curve from Noah’s place.

  They walked in silence the short distance to the back of the B&B. Noah eyed the dock as they approached. His heart sank at the thought of the kisses he’d shared with Rose, the kisses that had meant everything to him.

  As they neared the back door, Caleb spotted a taxi-cab coming up the side road toward the B&B.

  Caleb sped up his walk. “Jessup must be leaving. We need to hurry and catch him.”

  They entered through the back door and made their way to the parlor. Caleb stopped in his tracks when he saw that Jessup’s arms were wrapped tightly around a woman who was clearly not Rose. He was passionately kissing her full on the mouth.

  A strangled gasp escaped Caleb’s lips.

  Startled, the couple broke apart, the faces of each of them turning bright red. But more shocking than the kiss was the fact that the woman he’d been passionately kissing was Aenti Bess.

  Noah reacted before Caleb could process what he’d seen. Noah charged toward Jessup, pushing him against the wall near the front door.

  Caleb watched it all as though in slow motion. His brain told him he’d seen Jessup kissing Aenti Bess—on the mouth—passionately. Had he imagined it? Watching Noah confronting Jessup, and hearing his aenti rushing to the mann’s defense told him he hadn’t imagined it at all.