Buch lesen: «Their Pretend Amish Courtship»

Chapter One

“You are going and I don’t want to hear another word about it, Fannie. Nor from you, Betsy. Do you hear me?”

When Fannie’s mother shook a wooden spoon at one or both of her daughters, the conversation was over.

“Ja, Mamm.” Betsy beat a quick retreat out of the kitchen.

Fannie glared after her. The little coward. Without her sister’s help, Fannie had no chance of changing her mother’s mind. Seated at the table in her family’s kitchen, Fannie crossed her arms on the red-checkered tablecloth and laid her head on her forearms. “Ja, Mamm, I hear you.”

There had to be a way. There just had to be.

“Now you are being sensible.” Belinda Erb turned back to the stove and continued stirring the strawberry jam she was getting ready to can. “I will write to my mamm and daed tomorrow. They insist on sending the money for your bus ticket. I expect you’ll be able to leave the middle of next week. It will be a relief to know one of us is helping Daed look after Mamm while she recovers from her broken ankle.”

“A week! That isn’t much time to get ready to go to Florida.” How was she going to come up with a plan to keep from going in a week?

“Nonsense. It’s plenty of time. You have two work dresses and a good Sunday dress. What else do you need?”

Fannie sat up and touched her head covering. “I need another kapp or two.”

Her mother turned around with a scowl on her face. “What happened to the last one I made you?”

“I lost it.”

“When you were out riding like some wild child, no doubt. It’s time you gave up your childish ways. Anna Bowman and I were just talking about this yesterday. We have been too lenient with our youngest kinder, and we are living to rue the day. She is putting her foot down with Noah, and I am doing the same with you. When you come back from Pinecraft at Thanksgiving, you will end your rumspringa and make your decision to be Amish or not.”

Fannie had heard about Anna’s plans to see Noah settled and she felt sorry for him, but she had her own problems.

Her mother turned back to the stove. “I have given up on seeing you wed, though it breaks my heart to say so.”

Here came the lecture about becoming an old maid. She wasn’t twenty-two yet, but she had been hearing this message since she turned nineteen. That was how old her mother had been when she married. Why did everyone believe the only thing a woman wanted was a husband? “Betsy isn’t married and she is two years older than I am.”

“Betsy is betrothed to Hiram. They will marry next fall.”

Fannie sat up straight. “When did this happen?”

Why hadn’t her sister mentioned it? Betsy and Hiram had been walking out together for ages. Fannie thought Hiram would never get up the courage to propose.

“Hiram came to tell your father and me last night.”

“Then why does Betsy want to go to Florida?”

Fannie’s mother took her time before answering. “She loves her grandparents and wishes to spend time with them while she can. As you should.”

After pulling the jam off the stove, Fannie’s mother came and sat beside her at the table. “Why are you so dead set against going?”

Fannie knew her mother wouldn’t approve of the promise she’d made. “I have made plans with my riding club for this summer.”

“Your horses and your club won’t take care of you when you are old. Mamm writes that there are plenty of young people in Pinecraft during the fall and winter. You may want to stay longer.”

“Young people but no horses.”

“Enough about horses!” Fannie’s mother rose to her feet. “You have chores to finish and I must get these jars of jam done. It’s a wedding gift for Timothy Bowman and his bride. Timothy’s mother told me they plan to leave on their wedding trip after the school frolic.”

Fannie clamped her lips together. Her mother wanted to change the subject. It wouldn’t do any good to argue; Fannie knew she’d only be wasting her breath. She left the room and found her sister gathering clothes off the line in the backyard. Fannie joined her, pulling down stiff wind-dried pants and dresses. “Mamm said you went and got engaged to Hiram.”

“It was time. I’m not getting any younger.”

“That’s a poor reason to marry.”

“It’s reason enough for us. We are content with each other. You are blessed to have this opportunity.” Betsy clutched a pillowcase to her chest. “I have always dreamed of seeing the ocean. I can’t imagine how big it must be. Hiram has no desire to see the sea.”

“Doesn’t he have a desire to please you?” That, in a nutshell, was what was wrong with getting married.

“It would be an expense we couldn’t afford. Perhaps someday.”

“I would gladly send you in my place, but I don’t imagine Hiram would be happy about...that...” Fannie’s words trailed away as an idea took shape in her mind. “That’s it. I need a Hiram.”

“What are you babbling about now?”

It was so simple. “Betsy, would you go to Florida if I couldn’t? What if Mamm decided you should go instead of me? Would Hiram understand?”

“He knows we must honor our elders. I would gladly take your place, but Mamm has her mind made up.”

“If she knew I was being courted, she would bend over backward to keep me here. She is desperate to see me wed.”

“She’s desperate to see you interested in any young man instead of your horses. Who is courting you? Why didn’t you tell me about him?”

“I have to go.” Fannie shoved the clothes in her arms at her sister. There was only one fellow who might help her.

* * *

“Noah, where are you? I need to speak to you.”

Working near the back of his father’s barn, Noah Bowman dropped the hoof of his buggy horse, Willy, took the last nail out of his mouth and stood upright to stare over his horse’s back. Fannie Erb, his neighbor’s youngest daughter, came hurrying down the wide center aisle, checking each stall as she passed. Her white kapp hung off the back of her head, dangling by a single bobby pin. Her curly red hair was still in a bun, but it was windblown and lopsided. No doubt it would be completely undone before she got home. Fannie was always in a rush.

“What’s up, karotte oben?” He picked up his horse’s hoof again, positioned it between his knees and drove in the last nail of the new shoe.

Fannie stopped outside the stall gate and fisted her hands on her hips. “You know I hate being called a carrottop.”

“Sorry.” Noah grinned as he caught the glare she leveled at him.

He wasn’t sorry a bit. He liked the way her unusual violet eyes darkened and flashed when she was annoyed. Annoying Fannie had been one of his favorite pastimes when they were schoolchildren.

She lived on the farm across the road where her family raised and trained Standardbred buggy horses. Noah had known her from the cradle, as their parents were good friends and often visited back and forth. Fannie had grown from the gangly girl he liked to tease at school into a comely woman, but her temper hadn’t cooled.

Framed in a rectangle of light cast by the early-morning sun shining through the open top of a Dutch door, dust motes danced around Fannie’s head like fireflies drawn to the fire in her hair. The summer sun had expanded the freckles on her upturned nose and given her skin a healthy glow, but Fannie didn’t tan the way most women did. Her skin always looked cool and creamy. As usual, she was wearing blue jeans and riding boots under her plain green dress and black apron.

He preferred wearing Englisch jeans himself. He liked having hip pockets to keep his cell phone in, something his homemade Amish pants didn’t have. His parents tolerated his use of a phone because he was still in his rumspringa. He knew Fannie used a cell phone, too. She had a solar-powered charger and allowed other Amish youth to use it if they didn’t have access to electricity.

“What do you need, Fannie? Did your hot temper spark a fire and you want me to put it out?” He chuckled at his own wit. He and his four brothers were volunteer members of the local fire department. Patting Willy’s sleek black neck, Noah reached to untie the horse’s halter.

“This isn’t a joke, Noah. I need to get engaged, and quickly. Will you help me?”

He spun around to stare at her in shocked disbelief. A marriage proposal was the last thing he’d expected from Fannie. “You had better explain that remark.”

“Mamm and Daed are sending me to live with my grandparents in Pinecraft, Florida, until Thanksgiving. I can’t go. I’ve told my folks that, but they insist. Having a steady beau is the only way to get them to send Betsy instead.”

At least Fannie wasn’t suffering from some unrequited love for him. He should have been relieved, but he was mildly annoyed instead.

He opened the bottom half of the Dutch door leading to the corral and let his horse out. Willy quickly trotted to where Fannie’s Haflinger mare stood on the other side of the fence. The black gelding put his head over the top rail to sniff noses with the golden-chestnut beauty.

Noah began picking up his tools. “I hear Florida is nice.”

Fannie grabbed the top of the gate. “Are you serious? My grandparents get around on three-wheeled bicycles down there. They don’t have horses. Can you imagine staying in a place with no horses?”

He couldn’t, but he didn’t think much of her crazy idea, either. “I’m not going to get hitched to you because you don’t want to go to Florida.”

Indignation sparked in her eyes. “What’s wrong with getting hitched to me? I’d make you a goot wife.”

She stepped back as he opened the stall gate. “Fannie, you would knock me on the head with a skillet the first chance you got. You have a bad temper.”

“Oh!” She stomped her foot, and then sighed heavily. “I do have a temper, but I wouldn’t do you physical harm.”

“Small consolation considering how sharp your tongue is. Ouch! Ow!” He jumped away from several imaginary jabs.

Her eyes narrowed. “Stop teasing. I don’t want to actually marry you, dummkopf. I said engaged, not married, but I guess it doesn’t have to be that serious. Walking out with me might do. If not, we can get engaged later. Anyway, we will call it off long before the banns are announced and go our merry ways.”

He didn’t like being called a dumbhead, but he overlooked her comment to point out the biggest flaw in her plan. “You and I have never acted like a loving couple. Your parents would smell a rat.”

“Maybe, but maybe not. Mamm has been telling me for ages that it’s time I started looking around for a husband.”

He closed the stall gate and latched it. “Better go farther afield for that search. The boys around here all know you too well.”

She wasn’t the kind of woman he’d marry. He might enjoy teasing that quick temper, but he wouldn’t want to live with it.

Her defiant expression crumpled. She hurried to keep up with him as he went outside. “Don’t be mean, Noah. I need help. I can’t go to Florida. My daed has two mares due to foal this month.”

“They will foal without you, and your father can certainly handle it.”

She walked to her mare standing patiently beside the corral. “Trinket will miss me. I can’t go months without seeing her.”

Fannie loved horses, he knew that, but he sensed she wasn’t telling him the whole story behind this scheme. “Trinket will survive without you. What’s the real reason you don’t want to go?”

She sighed heavily and folded her arms tightly across her chest. “You may have heard I took a job working for Connie Stroud on her horse farm.”

“Mamm mentioned it.” His mother kept up on all the local news. How she was able to learn so much about the community without the use of a forbidden telephone was a mystery to him.

“Connie raises and trains Haflingers. Trinket was one of her foals. Connie’s father passed away two years ago and she is having a hard time making a go of the place. She gives riding lessons and boards horses, but she needs to sell more of her Haflingers for a better price than she can get around here if she is going to make ends meet.”

“If she can’t sell a horse without you in the state, she’s a poor businesswoman.”

He walked over to two more horses tied to the fence. One was his niece Hannah’s black pony, Hank. The other was Ginger, a bay mare that belonged to his mother. Speaking softly to Hank, Noah ran his hand down the pony’s neck and lifted his front foot. He found the shoe was loose and too worn to save. He checked the pony’s back foot, expecting to find it in the same condition.

Fannie walked over to Hank and began to rub him behind his ears. The pony closed his eyes in bliss and leaned into her fingers. “I’m deeply beholden to Connie. I need to help her save her stable.”

Noah glanced at Fannie’s face and was surprised by the determination in her eyes. Fannie might be hotheaded and stubbornly independent, but she was clearly loyal to this friend. “How does pretending to be engaged help her?”

“It keeps me here. Not a lot of people know what amazing horses Haflingers are. I came up with the great idea of an equine drill team using Connie’s Haflingers plus my Trinket. We are going to give exhibitions at some of the county fairs and then at the Ohio State Equine Expo. I have seven Amish girls from my riding club who have already joined us.”

“Your parents are permitting this?” It was an unusual undertaking for an Amish woman.

She looked away from him. “We haven’t been told we can’t do it. You know how crazy the Englisch are for anything Amish. If we can generate some interest, show what Connie’s horses can do, I know it will help her sell more of them. Besides, everyone in the group is depending on me to teach them—and the horses—the routines. Our first show is in a week.”

Fannie had a way with horses that was unique. He’d always admired that about her. “I’m sure your parents will come around if you make them see how much you want to stay.”

“Mamm won’t. She has her mind made up. She says Betsy is more help to her than I am because I’m always out in the barn. Betsy likes to cook, sew, mend and clean, while I don’t. I’ll die down there if I have to give up my horse.” Fannie sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

Noah put Hank’s hoof down to stare at Fannie. He considered putting his arm around her shoulders to comfort her, but thought better of it. “Would it help if I talked to your folks?”

“Nee, it won’t do any good. Mamm will know I put you up to it.”

“I’m sorry, Fannie, but don’t you think your idea is a bit dishonest?”

She shook her head. “If you ask to court me today, actually ask me, then it won’t be a lie. I can tell Mamm we are walking out with a straight face and a clear conscience.”

“I don’t see how, when you concocted the whole thing.”

“You have to help me, Noah. I don’t know what else to do. Betsy would love to spend a few months with our grandparents and see the ocean. You don’t have to tell anyone you are dating me. All you have to do is take me home after the singing on Sunday and I’ll do the rest. Please?”

Why did she have to sound so desperate?

* * *

Fannie wasn’t making enough headway in swaying Noah. She took a deep breath and pulled out her last tool of persuasion. “What are your plans for this summer?”

He looked suspicious at her abrupt change of topic. “We are putting up hay this week. We’ll start cultivating the corn after that if the rain holds off.”

“I didn’t mean farmwork. Are you playing ball again this summer?” She flicked the brim of the blue ball cap he wore instead of the traditional Amish straw hat. Once he chose baptism, he would have to give up his worldly dress.

He ducked away from her hand. “I’m in the league again with the fellas from the fire department. I’m their pitcher. If we keep winning like we have been, we have a shot at getting into the state invitational tournament.”

She twined her fingers in Hank’s mane. “You must practice a lot.”

“Twice a week with games every Saturday. In fact, we have a makeup game tonight with the Berlin team, as we were rained out last weekend.”

“You wouldn’t mind missing a few of your practices or even a game for a family picnic or party, would you?”

“What are you getting at, Fannie?”

“I’m not the only one you’ll be helping if you go out with me. Your mother has been shopping around for a wife for you. Did you know that?”

His expression hardened. “You’re narrisch. Up until this minute I was starting to feel sorry for you.”

She almost wavered, but she couldn’t let Connie down. “I’m not crazy. With all your brothers married, you are the last chick in the nest.”

“So?”

“So she’s worried that you are still running around instead of settling down. She has asked a number of her friends to invite their nieces and granddaughters to visit this summer with the express notion of finding you a wife among them. They’ll be here for picnics and dinners and singings all summer long, so you can size them up.”

“Mamm wouldn’t do that.” Amish parents rarely meddled in their children’s courtships.

“Well, she has.”

“My mother isn’t the meddling sort. At least, not very often.”

Fannie shrugged. “Mothers are funny that way. They don’t believe we can be happy unless we are married, when you and I both know we are perfectly happy being single. Are you ready to spend the summer dodging a string of desperate-to-be-wed maidens?”

“Nee, and that includes you and your far-fetched scheme. No one will believe I’m dating you of my own free will.”

She felt the heat rush to her face. “You kissed me once.”

He arched one eyebrow. “As I remember, you weren’t happy about it.”

“I was embarrassed that your brother Luke saw us. I regretted my behavior afterward, and I have told you I was sorry.”

“Not half as sorry as I was,” he snapped back. “That glass of punch you poured on me was cold.”

She was sorry that evening ended so badly. It had been a nice kiss. Her first.

She and Noah had slipped outside for a breath of fresh air near the end of a Christmas cookie exchange at his parent’s house the winter before last. She had been curious to find out what it would be like to be kissed by him. Things had been going well in his mother’s garden until Luke came by. When Noah tried for a second kiss after his brother walked away, she had been so flustered that she upended a glass of cold strawberry punch in his lap.

“That was ages ago. Are you going to berate me again or are you going to help me?” Fannie demanded.

He leaned over the pony’s back, his expression dead serious. “Find some other gullible fellow.”

Her temper flared and she didn’t try to quell it. “Oh! You’re just plain mean. See if I ever help you out of a jam. You were my last hope, Noah Bowman. If I wasn’t Amish I might actually hate you for this, but I have to say I forgive you. Have fun meeting all your prospective brides this summer.” She spun on her heel and mounted her horse.

“If I’m your last hope, Fannie Erb, that says more about you than it does about me,” he called out as she turned Trinket around.

She nudged her mare into a gallop and blinked back tears. She didn’t want him to see how deeply disappointed she was.

Now what was she going to do?