Inexplicably, he paused. She felt her heart start to pound. “Jah, Danny?”
“Well, what would you think . . .” His voice drifted off and he looked around. Then swallowed. “I mean. Do you think your parents would mind if I . . .” When he paused again, it was because he was looking at someone just behind her. “Uh-oh. Get ready.”
Feeling like she’d just had a glass of cold water tossed on her face, she tried to keep up. “What’s the matter?”
But then she saw them. Four kids from their school. Evan, Callie, Karl, and Mary Jane. They’d all been a year or two older than she was. But even though they were so close in age, she hadn’t known them well. They’d been some of the most popular kids in their school. They’d also been some of Danny’s best friends.
They weren’t mean kids, not really. They were really nice to Amanda and Anton. But it was like none of them knew what to do with her, so they’d chosen to ignore her. It had been hard. Sometimes she’d felt invisible next to them.
She didn’t really mind their differences, now that they were out of school and she hardly ever saw them. As she looked at what they were wearing she realized why. They seemed to be really enjoying their rumspringa. All four of them were dressed like Englischers and were conspicuously holding cell phones.
From the way they were acting, they might as well have been complete strangers.
If Molly were at the library she would have turned her wheelchair and sped out of sight. For a moment she wondered if Danny would invite them to hang out with them, making her feel awkward all over again.
That would be horrible, given the way she was stuck where she was.
On the heels of those doubts came a reminder that Danny wasn’t like that. He’d invited her to hang out with him. She needed to stay. Plus, all of her siblings would get really mad at her if she took off, and then would probably refuse to take her anywhere ever again.
Therefore, she did the only thing she could. She sat there, watched them approach, and hoped and prayed that they would ignore her.
Which they did.
“Danny! Look at you. Working on a Saturday night.”
After glancing at her quickly, Danny stood up and stepped forward. “Hey, guys. I didn’t know you were coming out here tonight.”
Evan shrugged. “It wasn’t like there was a lot else to do.”
“How’s it going? Are you so bored?” Callie asked. “I would be.”
“Nah. I’ve just been hanging out with Molly here.” He placed a hand on the back of her chair.
Mary Jane glanced down at her. “Oh. Hey, Molly.”
“Hi, Mary Jane,” Molly said tightly. Because there wasn’t really a choice, she smiled and raised a hand at all of them. “Gut to see you all,” she lied.
Callie, who had always seemed to be the nicest of them all, smiled back. “It’s gut to see you, too. It’s been ages. What have you been doing since you graduated?”
Just as Molly was about to say she’d been working at the library, Karl nudged Callie. “Hey. Be nice.”
“I was being nice. What’s up with you?”
“Only that it’s obvious that she can’t do much.”
Huh. It seemed Callie wasn’t nice anymore, either.
Just as Danny looked like he was going to come to her defense, Molly spoke up. “Actually, I can do quite a bit. For instance, I work at the Walnut Creek Library.”
“Oh. Well, I don’t really read,” Karl said. “I guess that’s why I haven’t seen ya.”
“Probably.”
Mary Jane laughed like she was embarrassed. “Sorry. We can’t take Karl anywhere.” When neither Danny nor Molly said anything, she giggled again. “Danny, when do you get off tonight?”
“Not for a couple of hours,” he replied as he sat back down.
“Are you sure you can’t just leave?” Evan asked, turning so it was obvious he was ignoring Molly. “My brother bought some beer. A whole case. We’re going over to my barn to hang out. It’s bound to be a lot better than walking around this place.”
“Even Sam said he wanted to stop by,” Karl said.
Danny’s mouth tightened. “Sam is only fourteen. He shouldn’t be drinking.”
Karl continued. “Hey, he approached us. What could I say?”
“You should’ve said no.” Looking like he was ready to punch Karl, Danny said, “I better not find out you’ve been hanging out with my little brother.”
“Settle down, Danny,” Evan said. “I have no desire to hang out with your little broodah. Karl just likes needling ya.”
Mary Jane sighed. “I’m bored. Danny, are you sure you don’t want to go with us? Or, you could meet us later?”
“Jah. I’m sure. I’m staying here until Mr. Newman closes for the night.”
“Poor you,” Mary Jane said.
To Molly’s surprise, Danny moved his hand to her shoulder and squeezed gently. “Not poor me. It’s been a gut night.” His voice cooled. “Most of it, anyway.”
Karl grunted. “If you change your mind, let us know.” He held up his cell phone. “You want my number?”
“I won’t need it,” Danny replied, his voice still cold. “Look, there’s some people coming, so sorry, you all need to either buy tickets and go in the maze or move on.”
Evan’s eyebrows rose as he turned to his friends. “Anyone want to spend money to go walk around the cornstalks?”
Karl shook his head. “Mei daed makes sure I do that plenty at home. Let’s go.”
“See you, Molly. Maybe I’ll stop by the library soon,” Callie said softly before Karl grabbed her hand and tugged her back toward the tents.
“Jah. See you,” she said quietly, but she doubted anyone heard her. Mary Jane and Evan were whispering something to Danny and then laughed as they turned around and took off.
Molly watched them go, her insides a knot of emotions as she watched them blend in with the crowd. She was proud of standing up for herself but dismayed that they were all drinking and encouraging Danny to do the same, and irritated that those boys hadn’t gotten any nicer.
“Four tickets.” A customer speaking to Danny brought her out of her reverie.
She turned to see who it was, then was surprised to realize that she knew this group of people, too. “Oh! Hi.”
“Hey, Molly,” Will Kurtz said with a warm smile. “It’s gut to see you here.”
“Danke.” She smiled at John’s friend . . . and the three little girls in bright dresses and white kapps holding hands behind him. “Looks like you’ve got your hands full tonight.”
“I do. I rode here with John and Marie but when I saw that my sister was interested in staying for the judging at the bake-off, I told my three favorite nieces that we could do something fun.”
“I’m sure your sister is grateful. As are these girls.” She smiled at the little ones. “Hiya.”
“Hi,” one little girl in a bright pink dress said.
“We’re your only nieces, Uncle Will,” one of them said.
“And thank heavens, too, seeing that there are three of ya.”
“Have a good time,” Danny said after he took Will’s money.
“We will. Send in a search party if we don’t come out in three hours.”
“Onkle Will, we can’t be in that long,” one of the little girls in a dark pink dress whined. “I’ll get hungry.”
“Then you better lead the way, Violet,” Will said as they disappeared from view.
Molly chuckled. “I’ve only seen Will’s nieces from a distance. They’re mighty cute, but I bet a handful, too.”
Danny smiled. “Triplets! They would make me lose my mind.”
“Maybe not.” She chuckled again, feeling grateful that they’d shown up. If they hadn’t, she didn’t know what she would have done while Karl and Mary Jane and the others had been standing there.
He knelt down on one knee so they could see each other eye to eye. “Hey, are you okay? Karl and the others can be pretty rude.”
“What? No. I meant what I said. I’m here to work.”
“Oh. Yes. Of course.”
“But it’s more than that, too, Molly. I like hanging out with you.”
It took everything she had not to make a big deal out of what he’d just said. “Do you think they’ll really be drinking beer tonight?”
“Probably. They’re into that right now.”
She wanted to ask if he was, too, but she decided she didn’t want to know. She wasn’t naive, she had four older siblings, all of whom had experimented with different things during their running-around years. James had given their parents many a headache before abruptly changing his ways and wanting to be baptized.
Anton and Amanda did a few things but only because it was expected rather than because of some interest or need.
John was on the other side of the spectrum. He always said he never had any desire to drink, smoke, or even drive a vehicle because he was so close to his group of Eight. He said he’d always felt blessed that their parents allowed him to have such a broad range of close friends. Because of that, he had no worries or questions about what Englischers did.
Ironically, however, he didn’t seem in any hurry to become baptized. Molly had even heard their grandparents tell their mother that they didn’t think he would actually ever profess his faith.
Realizing she’d been quiet for too long, she smiled up at him. “I’m not much of a drinker myself.”
Pure warmth lit those light blue eyes she liked so much. “Me neither, Molly.”
When she giggled, he laughed too, and stretched out his legs beside her. He now looked completely at ease. As relaxed as she felt, now that they were completely alone again. “Tell me about your brother and that woman.”
“Marie? Well, she’s one of his best friends. See, John developed a close association with a group of kids when he was about seven or eight. They all aren’t Amish. Marie was one of them.”
“They looked like they were more than just friends to me.”
Remembering the proprietary way her brother had been standing next to Marie, she nodded. “I would never tell John this, but I think you’re right.”
He smiled as the sun continued to drift down over the horizon and the many lights that were strung from tent to tent came on, looking much like fireflies in the middle of July and mirroring the way she was feeling. Those lights had always been there, but now that they had been illuminated, they were twinkling happily.
Much like how she was feeling, too.
THIRTEEN
“Will, being Will, said we needed to go right to his parents and tell them what we found. That was the right thing to do. We probably would’ve done that very thing . . . if it hadn’t started raining really hard.”
Marie and John had been holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes in the middle of the corn maze for at least fifteen minutes. Maybe even longer.
Long enough for a family of four to go running past them and disappear from sight.
Long enough for the sun to almost set and some twinkling lights to burst to life in the distance.
Long enough for two teenagers to glance their way, smirk, and then walk in the other direction.
No doubt, she and John were something of a sight to see.
For her part, Marie could not have cared less. She felt like she’d waited half her life for this moment. Maybe she had. She would be perfectly okay with standing with him for another hour, just drinking in the sight of him holding her hands. Of knowing that they might finally be done playing games with each other. But John worried more about appearances than she did.
She cleared her throat in a weak attempt to lighten the tension between them. “You know, I could be wrong, but I believe the point of stepping into these corn mazes is to try to find the way out. Unless we want to go back to the entrance, we should probably start moving.”
“Is that what you want to do, Marie? Are you ready to start walking and get on out of here?”
No. It was definitely not what she was ready to do. But it wasn’t like she could say that she would much rather be wrapped in his arms and kissing him.
As the seconds passed and he simply stood there, waiting for her answer, she became flustered. It was a new feeling. She rarely got flustered about much.
How honest should she be? How honest was she willing to be?
Right away the answer came to her. She was willing to be completely honest, because being patient and quiet had gotten her only years of pining for him.
It was time to make a move. And if it was the wrong move? Then so be it. With that in mind, she stepped a little closer to him. Close enough to notice the scruff on his cheeks. Close enough to notice the way the muscles bunched under the thin fabric of his shirt, reminding her of just how strong he was—and how different his body was from the handful of men she’d dated in Cleveland.
“I’m fine with whatever you want to do, John,” she said at last. As she heard the words, she inwardly groaned. That sounded like something out of a bad TV movie.
His body seemed to tighten. “Is that right, Marie?”
He’d almost whispered that.
Okay, she was starting to feel a little tingly and it had nothing to do with the faint chill in the air. Hating and loving that he was making her lead the conversation, she swung their linked hands a bit. “You know I came here to spend time with you, John. Not to walk around cornstalks.”
“Is that all you wanted?”
With any other man, she would be sure that was a suggestive comment. But with John? She just wasn’t sure. Suddenly, all of her grand plans of finally making a move toward him crashed and burned. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to answer that. Why don’t you tell me what you want to do?”
He was looking at her intently now. Like if he turned his head he was worried she might disappear. “If I tell you the truth, I’m a little afraid of how you might take it.”
“You won’t know until you ask me.”
His expression turned pained, but it wasn’t serious. She didn’t know how to describe it, except that she’d never seen it on his face outside of her dreams. “John B., just tell me.”
“First, don’t call me that anymore.”
“What?”
“John B. The only reason Harley and Will started calling me that was because there were three other Johns in our school.”
“I know that we talked about this months ago, but it’s just a habit. Don’t you think you’re making too much of it?”
He shook his head. “I don’t want you to think about another John but me.”
In that moment, she wasn’t sure if she could name any other man named John in her life. “I don’t ever think about any other Johns. Just you.”
“That’s good. Because I never think of another Marie. Only you.”
There it was. Further evidence of how he was brave enough to say all the words she was afraid to admit. “John.”
“Should I be completely honest?” Before she could even nod, he murmured, “I haven’t thought of another woman for months now.”
Her breath didn’t catch, but she felt like she was slowly losing oxygen. Still too wary to share that she’d been feeling the same way, she stepped closer. Now her arms were pressed against his far larger ones and his fingers were brushing against the sides of her jeans. Tilting up her head, she licked her bottom lip. “So you’re saying that I’m special to you?”
He exhaled. Then leaned down. Pressed his lips to her temple. Leaned a little closer. Then whispered, “What I’m trying to get up the nerve to tell ya is that I don’t want to simply wander among the corn rows, Marie. I want to pull you close enough for me to wrap my arms around you.”
“And then?”
He smiled. “And kiss you again.”
The tingling she’d felt along every nerve ending dissolved into a great warm puddle of happiness and need in h
er middle. “Do you think that’s wise?”
“I don’t know. I don’t even care.”
Oh, John smelled so good. She knew being in his arms again would feel so good. Maybe she should stop worrying about what all of their friends were going to say or what kind of future they might have.
Maybe she should simply enjoy the moment, too.
“I might not be a naive Amish girl but I’m still used to the man making the first move, John. Are you going to kiss me or not?”
Maybe she shouldn’t have phrased it quite like that. Because less than two seconds passed before he did, indeed, pull her against him, wrap his arms around her back, and kiss her at last.
And then she couldn’t really think of anything at all, because John B.—now only John to her forevermore—had parted his lips and was practically consuming her like she was his last meal.
She held on.
For the record, this kiss wasn’t sweet and innocent. It wasn’t tentative or even especially gentle.
Instead, it was a kiss of two people who had known each other for most of their lives and had each secretly dreamed of it happening for years. And now that they were in their midtwenties, they had experience and knew what they wanted.
It was lovely and passionate and everything she’d ever wanted. This kiss, this embrace made every other kiss she’d ever had seem forced and fake and wrong.
And while she had no idea what was going to happen next, she knew that it didn’t really matter. Even if they didn’t share another kiss for two months, everything between them had changed.
He wasn’t just John to her now. He was simply everything.
FOURTEEN
“Next thing I knew, Andy was passing out baby kittens like it was Christmas Day, warning us all to tuck them under our clothes to keep them warm.”
After John had kissed Marie until he was on the verge of losing control, he held her close and whispered to her about how perfect and special he thought she was, and she’d relaxed against him.
The feel of her in his arms had been so sweet. She’d been so trusting and responsive. She’d made him realize that every dream and every idea of how it would feel to finally have her in his arms had been completely inadequate.
The Patient One Page 9