An Amish marriage of convenience

A new North Country Amish novel

Secretly pregnant and unwed, Gemma Lapp has a difficult choice—face her Amish community or raise her baby alone. But when a storm strands Gemma in the wilderness with her former crush, Jesse Crump, she knows her secret won’t be safe for long. Gemma can’t imagine trusting a man again...until Jesse proposes a marriage of convenience. Could their arrangement lead to love?

After thirty-five years as a nurse, PATRICIA DAVIDS hung up her stethoscope to become a full-time writer. She enjoys spending her free time visiting her grandchildren, doing some long-overdue yard work and traveling to research her story locations. She resides in Wichita, Kansas. Pat always enjoys hearing from her readers. You can visit her online at patriciadavids.com.

Also By Patricia Davids

North Country Amish

An Amish Wife for Christmas

Shelter from the Storm

The Amish Bachelors

An Amish Harvest

An Amish Noel

His Amish Teacher

Their Pretend Amish Courtship

Amish Christmas Twins

An Unexpected Amish Romance

His New Amish Family

The Amish of Cedar Grove

The Wish

Discover more at millsandboon.co.uk

Shelter from the Storm

Patricia Davids

www.millsandboon.co.uk

ISBN: 978-1-474-09729-1

SHELTER FROM THE STORM

© 2019 Patricia MacDonald

Published in Great Britain 2019

by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF

All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. This edition is published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, locations and incidents are purely fictional and bear no relationship to any real life individuals, living or dead, or to any actual places, business establishments, locations, events or incidents. Any resemblance is entirely coincidental.

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“What’s wrong, Gemma?” Jesse came around the fireplace.

She sat up and drew her knees up under her cloak. “Nothing. I’m fine.”

“You use that word far too often. How can you be fine?”

“You have a point. I would love a cup of hot tea and a cracker. Any chance that Dale left some in his toolbox?”

“I’ll check. Chamomile or Earl Grey?”

Her eyes widened with surprise. “Jesse Crump has a sense of humor.”

“Don’t look so amazed.” He stoked the fire.

“I noticed it was snowing again while I was on the porch. Heavily. No one will be able to follow our tracks, will they?”

“Nope.” At least she understood why help wouldn’t be coming.

“So, what do we do?”

“The hardest thing of all in a survival situation. Stay put.”

Her eyes grew wide. “When you say survival situation, are you telling me that we are in serious trouble?”

There was a long silence. “Ja. We are.”

Dear Reader,

I have once again taken you to Maine in the winter. I’m sorry. I promise a warmer time of the year to explore the beauty of New Covenant in my next book. Summer or spring? I haven’t decided yet. I hope you enjoyed visiting some of the characters from my previous North Country Amish series. I’m always happy to let people catch up on the characters they wanted to know more about. There will be eight books in all set in Maine. I should be able to populate a small Amish community by then. If not, I can always keep going. That’s the joy of my God-given gift. New ideas always pop into my head.

Blessings to you and yours,

Patricia Davids

For thou hast been a strength to the poor,

a strength to the needy in his distress,

a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the

heat, when the blast of the terrible ones

is as a storm against the wall.

—Isaiah 25:4

This book is dedicated to all the men and women who work in neonatal intensive care units across the country. You care for the least of God’s children. May you know abundant peace and joy in your work.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Author

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Note to Readers

Introduction

Dear Reader

Bible Verse

Dedication

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

Extract

About the Publisher

Chapter One

That couldn’t be Gemma Lapp.

Jesse Crump turned in his seat to get a better look at the Amish woman on the sidewalk waiting to cross the street. She was wearing a black Amish traveling bonnet and a long dark gray cloak. She was pulling a black wheeled suitcase behind her. He couldn’t get a good look at her face. His driver and coworker, Dale Kaufman, pulled ahead when the light changed, and Jesse lost sight of her. There was nothing outward to suggest it was Gemma other than the Amish clothing but something about her, perhaps her small stature, reminded him strongly of the woman he wished he could forget.

“What’s the matter?” Dale asked, noticing Jesse staring behind them. “Is something wrong with the load?” He slowed the pickup and trailer carrying two large garden sheds.

Jesse turned around to stare straight ahead. “I thought I saw someone I knew.”

“That Amish woman waiting to cross the street?”

Dale knew Gemma. Jesse hoped he had gotten a better look. “Ja, did you see who it was?”

“I saw she was Amish by her clothing, but I couldn’t see her face because of that big black bonnet. Who did you think it was?”

“Gemma Lapp.” He had been thinking about her lately. She was on his mind far too often. Perhaps that was why he imagined he saw her.

Dale glanced his way. “You mean Leroy Lapp’s daughter? I thought she was in Florida. Boy, that would be a great place to live during the winter, wouldn’t it? Have you ever been there?”

“Nee.” Jesse was sorry he’d said anything. Most of the three-hour drive had been made in silence, the way Jesse liked it, but only after Dale tired of Jesse’s one-word answers to his almost endless chatter.

Dale accelerated. The ancient truck’s gears grated when he shifted. “It could be that she’s on her way home for a visit. The bus station in Cleary is just down the block from that corner.”

“Maybe.”

Dale shook his head. “Nah. Leroy would’ve mentioned something if she was coming home. That girl is the apple of his eye. She was always easy on the eyes if you ask me. Too bad she got baptized before I had the chance to ask her out.”

Jesse scowled at Dale. The man wasn’t Amish, but he worked for an Amish bishop. “If you want to keep delivering sheds and supplies for Bishop Schultz, you’d better not let him hear such talk.” It was the longest comment Jesse had ever made to the man.

Dale’s stunned expression proved he got the point. “I meant no disrespect, Jesse. I like Gemma. You know how Leroy is always rattling on about her.”

Jesse leaned his head back and stared out the window at the homes and small businesses of Cleary, Maine, flashing past. He had eavesdropped on Leroy’s conversations about Gemma a few times. He knew about her job in Pinecrest at a pie shop, about the large number of friends she was making among the Englisch and Amish folks, and how much she loved the ocean, but he had never asked about her himself.

Bishop Elmer Schultz—like most of the men in their community, including Jesse—had a second occupation, in addition to being a potato farmer. The bishop owned a small business that made storage sheds in various sizes. Jesse had worked for him since coming to Maine three years ago when the community of New Covenant was first founded.

Starting a new Amish colony anywhere was filled with challenges, but the rugged country of northern Maine had its own unique trials. Here, more than anywhere, a man had to depend on the people around him in times of trouble. There was no certainty that the community founded by Elijah Troyer could survive. Elijah had passed away two years ago. Nine of the original ten families remained and more had come the past summer.

The move to New Covenant, Maine, may have been a difficult choice for some of the families in the community, but not for Jesse. He had jumped at the chance. In Maine he didn’t have to hang his head because he wasn’t as smart as some or because he was bigger than everyone else. In Ohio he’d been known as Jesse the Ox since his school days.

The child of a single mother, he’d been orphaned at thirteen. He quit school and became a hired man with no hope of owning his own land until he answered an ad in the Amish newspaper seeking hardy souls willing to settle in northern Maine and offering a small parcel of land as an incentive. The beautiful scenery of Maine and plenty of hard work soon overshadowed Jesse’s memories of his unhappy early years. Until Gemma Lapp managed to reopen those old wounds with her sharp tongue.

He could still see her standing with her arms crossed and her face flaming red as she sputtered, “Jesse Crump, you’re as big as an ox and dumber than a post.”

All because he had rebuffed her offer of marriage.

She had barely been twenty-one at the time, not old enough to know what love was, but she’d taken the notion that she was in love with him. He’d suffered through weeks of her attempts to gain his affection. She tried everything from fresh-baked pies delivered to him at work, letters full of her newfound love, even getting her father to hire him to do handiwork on their farm, where she was always close by, chatting about how wonderful it would be to marry and have children.

He was almost eight years her senior and not interested in settling down until he had enough land to support a family. Her proposal wouldn’t have been so bad if they had been alone, but they hadn’t been. A half dozen people overheard her offer, his pointed rejection and her scathing words in reply.

The snickers, taunts and jeers that had made his school years and young-adult life miserable were only in his head but in that moment, Gemma had unlocked feelings of inferiority he had lived with for years and worked hard to overcome. If she saw him that way, surely others did too.

He kept to himself after that day, hoping her remarks would be forgotten, but they stayed stuck in his head, even though no one else echoed them. He strove to avoid being anywhere near Gemma for the next six months. Big as an ox and dumber than a post. It wasn’t until she left New Covenant that he stopped hearing her words. In spite of her comment, he hadn’t disliked Gemma. She was loyal to her friends. She was a hard worker. She had a good sense of humor, but she was also headstrong and willful.

It had been nearly a year and a half since the embarrassing incident. He thought he’d put it out of his mind, but it seemed he hadn’t.

Gemma’s father, Leroy Lapp, worked with Jesse at the bishop’s business. Leroy had recently been chosen to become the community’s second minister. The influx of six new families in the spring had swelled the congregation, making it more than Bishop Schultz and his first minister, Samuel Yoder, could manage. Especially now that plans were underway to start their own Amish school.

“Maybe she’s making a surprise visit,” Dale said when the silence stretched too long to suit him.

“Maybe you could drive faster. It’s almost noon.”

“What’s your hurry? We’ve got all day.”

“I’ve got to get back before the bank closes. I need to get a cashier’s check for the earnest money the auction company requires I put up before I can bid on the property I’ve got my eye on. They want ten thousand dollars to prove I can afford the land.”

“Oh, right. The land auction. I almost forgot about that.” Dale shot Jesse a sheepish glance and focused his attention on the road.

The farm Jesse owned was small, but he had plans to expand. The money he’d made building sheds over the last few years would help pay for more land. He had his eye on eighty acres that bordered his property to the west. It was fertile land ready for planting in the spring. He couldn’t ask for a better piece of property. It was going up for auction the day after tomorrow. The auction company required earnest money in the form of a cashier’s check or cash before anyone was allowed to bid and Jesse wasn’t about to miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime.

He gazed out the passenger’s-side window at the farms that lined the highway, interspersed with heavy forests already covered with the first snow of winter. His thoughts drifted from the land he intended to purchase back to Gemma. If Gemma did come to visit her family in northern Maine, it wouldn’t be in the middle of November. Gemma didn’t like the snow. To hear her tell it, she didn’t like much of anything about Maine.

He was sure his name topped the list of things she disliked most about the North Country.

* * *

“There won’t be another bus going that way until the day after tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” Gemma stared at the agent behind the counter in stunned disbelief.

The tall thin man with thick glasses stopped writing in a logbook of some sort and peered at her over the top of his glasses. “Of course I’m sure. I work for the bus company.”

She held up the flyer she had picked up in Boston. “The schedule said there is a bus going to Caribou every day.”

“Look at the small print. There is, until the fifteenth of November. After that, bus service drops to every other day until the fifteenth of April. Today’s bus left two hours ago. Won’t be another one until the day after tomorrow. Next,” he called out, leaning to look around her.

Only one elderly man stood behind her. He held out a piece of white pipe. “Do you have a J-trap that will fit this size and PVC glue?”

“I sure do, but you’ll need cleaner, as well.” The agent came out from behind the counter and led the man to the plumbing section of the hardware store that doubled as a bus station in Cleary.

Gemma waited impatiently for him to come back. When he did, she clasped her hands together tightly, praying the tears that pricked the back of her eyes wouldn’t start flowing. She couldn’t afford a motel room for two nights. “I don’t have much money with me. Are there any Amish families in this area?”

The man behind the counter rubbed his chin. “Let me think.”

The Amish opened their homes to other members of their faith even if they had never met. She would be welcomed, fed and made to feel like one of the family. The command to care for one another was more than a saying. It was a personal commitment taken seriously by every Amish family, no matter how poor or how well-to-do they were. Many times, she had seen her mother stretch a meal for three into a meal for twice that many when Amish travelers appeared unexpectedly at their door. She waited hopefully for the clerk’s answer.

He shook his head. “Nope. Not that I’m aware of anyway.”

She sniffed as her vision blurred. “Thank—thank you.” She started to turn away, humiliated by her runaway emotions. They were one more unhappy part of her horrible situation.

“You might check with the sheriff,” the agent offered with a hint of sympathy in his tone. “He may know of some.”

She managed a half smile for him. “Where do I find the sheriff?”

“I’ll call him for you. He’s usually home for lunch at this time of day. You are welcome to wait here.” He gestured to a wooden bench sitting in front of a large plate-glass window.

She nodded, unable to speak for the lump in her throat, and wheeled her suitcase over to the bench. Sitting down with a sigh, she moved her suitcase in front of her, so she could prop up her swollen feet. She leaned her head back against the glass and closed her eyes. After two solid days on a bus, she was ready to lie down. Anywhere.

“Miss? Excuse me, miss.”

Gemma opened her eyes sometime later to see the agent standing in front of her. She blinked away the fog in her brain. “I’m sorry. I must have fallen asleep.”

“You’ve been snoozing for a couple of hours. The sheriff just got back to me. He’s been working an accident out on Wyman Road. He doesn’t know of any Amish in these parts. You’ve been here for quite a while. I thought you might like something to eat. You mentioned you were short on funds, so I brought you a burger from the café down the street.” He held out a white paper bag.

“Danki. Thank you. That’s very kind.” She sat up surprised by the unexpected gift. What did he hope to gain by it? She rubbed her stiff neck and waited to hear the catch. “It smells wunderbar.” She slowly took the bag from him.

“You’re welcome to use our phone to call someone. The store will be closing in an hour, but the diner down the street stays open all night.” He sent her an apologetic glance and walked away.

She bit her lower lip to stop it from quivering. She could place a call to the phone shanty her parents shared with their Amish neighbors to let them know she was returning and ask her father to send a car for her, but she would have to leave a message. It was unlikely that anyone would check the machine this late in the day.

Besides, any message she left would be overheard. She knew two women who checked the machine each morning for the sole purpose of keeping up with the local gossip. Unless she gave a reason for her abrupt return, speculation would spread quickly. If she gave the real reason, even Jesse Crump would know before she reached home. She couldn’t bear that, although she didn’t understand why his opinion mattered so much. His stoic face wouldn’t reveal his thoughts, but he was sure to gloat when he learned he’d been right about her. He had called her a spoiled baby looking for trouble and said that she would find it sooner or later. Well, she had found it all right. A thousand miles away from him in Florida.

No, she wouldn’t call. She didn’t want to make her parents the center of conjecture about her return or have them bear the expense of hiring a car to fetch her. What she had to say was better said face-to-face. She was cowardly enough to delay as long as possible. Her appetite gone, she put the burger bag on the bench beside her.

She didn’t know how she was going to find the courage to tell her mother and father that she was six months pregnant and Robert Fisher, the man who’d promised to marry her, was long gone.

* * *

Jesse and Dale delivered both sheds as promised, but the second customer wasn’t ready for them, despite having chosen the date and time for them to arrive. The two men spent an extra three hours helping the owner clear the area where he wanted it. They even leveled out a gravel pad for him before setting the building in place.

Jesse joined Dale in the cab of his ancient but prized pickup when they were done. Dale’s expression showed his annoyance. “I can’t believe we did all that work for him and then he claimed it was included in the price of the shed instead of paying us. What a rip-off. There are always a few dishonest folks who think they can stick it to the Amish and get away with it, because the Amish won’t come after them for the money.”

Jesse understood Dale’s frustration, but his faith required him to forgive those who would do him ill. “Give thanks that you are not like him. It is better to be a poor man than a dishonest one.”

“It’s a good thing I’m not Amish. I’m gonna get my money and I’ll get yours too. I have a brother-in-law who works for an attorney. I’m not afraid to go after someone who cheats me.” Dale turned the truck key but nothing happened. He tried again with the same result. He glanced sheepishly at Jesse. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this.”

He hopped out of the cab and reached behind his seat to pull out a large toolbox. “This old heap has taught me to never go anywhere without my tools.”

He raised the hood and propped it open, disappearing from Jesse’s view. A few seconds later, he looked around at Jesse. “Loose battery cable. Try it now.”

Jesse scooted across the bench seat until he was behind the wheel. He turned the key and the truck roared to life. Dale dropped the hood, pushed his toolbox behind the seat again and got in as Jesse moved back to his side of the seat. “Are we heading back, or do you want to get a motel room tonight and start fresh in the morning?”

A glance at Dale’s face told Jesse his coworker was worn-out. “We’ll get a room.”

As eager as Jesse was to get back, making the long drive this late wasn’t practical. Tomorrow afternoon would be soon enough to have the bank issue him a cashier’s check as earnest money for the auction the following day. He needed the land to expand his farm. It could be years before another piece of farm ground so close to his own came up for sale.

Dale grinned. “Good. Let’s get something to eat too.”

“Sure.” Jesse was getting hungry. The sandwich he’d packed for his lunch was long gone.

“I know this great little burger place just off the highway downtown. Our crew used to eat there every chance we got.”

“Crew?” As soon as he asked the question, Jesse knew it was a mistake.

“I worked two summers for a logging company up the way. Didn’t I ever tell you that? The pay was good, but the hours were long and the work was dangerous. The first week I was on the job, a tree fell within inches of my head. Inches. That was just the start of it.”

Jesse was sure he was about to hear everything that had happened to Dale during those two years. He settled himself in resignation. Hopefully dinner would put a halt to Dale’s storytelling.

As they drove back into town, Jesse searched for the Amish woman, hoping to see her face and prove it wasn’t Gemma. The streets and sidewalks were almost empty. He didn’t spy anyone in Amish clothing. Dale pulled the pickup and empty trailer into a parking lot off the main street. When he opened the door, Jesse got a whiff of mouthwatering fried onions and burgers. If the fare was anything like the aroma, they were in for some good food. His stomach growled in anticipation.

He followed Dale inside the small diner, ducking slightly to keep from knocking his black hat off against the doorjamb. Several people were seated at tables and at a counter. They all turned to look. He should have been used to the stares, but he never got over the feeling that he was an oddity. An Amish giant. At six foot four, he towered over Dale, who was five foot eight at the most. Jesse’s hat added another two inches to his height, and his bulky black coat made him look even bigger.

He happily took a seat in a booth where his size was less noticeable. His friend Michael Shetler once told him he needed to hang out with bigger friends. Good advice, but the problem was there wasn’t anyone his size in their Amish community.

A waitress came over and pulled a pencil from her dark curly hair. “What can I get you?”

“Two of your lumberjack burgers, two orders of fries and I’ll have a soda. What do you want to drink, Jesse?”

“Water.”

Dale winked at the waitress and grinned. “The Amish like to keep things simple.”

She ignored Dale and focused on Jesse. “Are you with the Amish lady waiting at the bus station? Oscar, the bus station attendant came over a little while ago and bought a burger for her. He said she had missed her bus and didn’t have enough money for a motel. She was hoping to find another Amish family in the area. He asked me if I knew any and I don’t.”

“We aren’t from around here,” Dale said.

Jesse hesitated a few seconds, then stood up. “Which way is the bus depot?”

She pointed her pencil up the street. “It’s not really a depot. The bus line just has a desk in the hardware store.”

He touched his hat. “Thank you. Go ahead and eat, Dale.” He couldn’t leave without offering aid to another member of his faith. He would pay for her motel room and make sure she had money to use for food if she needed help.

He walked out the door and up the sidewalk to the hardware store. A bell tingled as he walked in. A quick glance around showed him a woman in Amish clothing sitting on a bench near the other end of the store. She sat huddled in her seat with her head down and her hands gripping her handbag as if someone might tear it from her grasp.

He stopped a few feet away, searching for something to say, to ask if she was okay, if he could help and he finally settled for a simple “good evening” in the native language of the Amish, Pennsylvania Deitsh. “Guder nacth, frau.”

The woman looked up. He stared at her familiar face in astonishment. “Gemma?”

Her eyes widened. “Jesse?”

The color left her cheeks. She pressed a hand to her lips and burst into tears, leaving him with no idea what to do.

Chapter Two

What was Jesse doing here?

Gemma struggled to control her sobs. He couldn’t have looked more stunned if he tried. His expression would have been comical if she could have found anything funny in her humiliating situation. How much worse could this day get?

The bus agent hurried over. He knelt beside her and offered her a box of tissues while glaring at Jesse. “What did you say to her?”

Jesse’s face became expressionless. “I said good-evening.”

The agent’s scowl deepened. “That’s not enough to make a woman cry.”

“I reckon it is when I say it.”

“It’s—it’s okay,” Gemma managed to reassure the helpful man between hiccuping sobs.

She reined in her distress and raised her chin to meet Jesse’s gaze. The surprise of seeing him had caught her off guard. His size, as he towered over her, made her feel small and insignificant. Like always. “Hello, Jesse. What—what are you doing here?”

“Delivering sheds. And you?”

She looked away. “Going home. I missed my bus.”

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat. “Dale Kaufman and I are returning to New Covenant in the morning. You are welcome to ride along with us. I’ll get you a room for tonight. Dale’s truck is down in front of the café. If you would rather not ride with...us, I’ll pay for your room as long as you need one.”

He turned and left the building without waiting for her answer. She drew a deep breath and blew it out in a huff. She wanted to get home, but she didn’t want to spend hours sitting next to Jesse. Nor did she want to be beholden to him. He had only offered to pay for her room because they were both Amish. He hadn’t done it because he cared about her.

Once she had imagined herself in love with Jesse. Was it only a year ago? It seemed like a lifetime had passed. She’d done everything within her power to make him notice her. What he had seen was a pesky child not a woman. Her declaration of love and marriage proposal didn’t win her the kiss she’d been hoping for. Jesse had laughed at her and called her a spoiled baby. She’d been humiliated, brokenhearted and furious. She had said some cruel things she didn’t mean. As it turned out he’d been right.

She picked up her sandwich bag and lifted the handle of her suitcase. She tried to hand the box of tissues back to the agent.

Her kind protector shook his head. “Keep it. You might need it. You don’t have to go with that fellow if you’re afraid of him.”

That made her smile. “Jesse Crumb might break a foolish young girl’s heart, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Pulling her suitcase behind her, she left the building and walked toward the café. The autumn wind was cold where it struck her face. It carried the promise of snow. Why people had chosen to settle this land was beyond her. The Florida coast was so much nicer.

Dale Kaufman came out of the building as she approached the vehicle. Jesse was nowhere in sight. Dale grinned. “I sure am surprised to see you, Miss Lapp, and in Cleary of all places. How did you end up here?”

“Cleary is the northern end of the major bus line. I was supposed to take a local bus up to Caribou, but they only run every other day in the winter. One more thing about this state that makes life difficult.” She pulled her cloak tightly around her shoulders, making sure to keep the material gathered loosely in front so her pregnancy didn’t show.

“So why come back?” Jesse asked as he walked up behind her.

“That’s none of your business.” She made her tone as sharp as possible. The last thing she wanted him to think was that she still had a crush on him. She’d gotten over him a long time ago. Well before she met her baby’s father, she had realized her infatuation with Jesse had been more about being the last single woman in her group of friends than finding her soul mate. There had been only two single Amish fellows in their community back then. In her opinion, Jesse had been the better choice.

He arched one eyebrow but didn’t say anything. That was Jesse’s biggest problem. He never had much to say. Especially to her. How could she ever have considered him attractive? Sure, he was tall with broad shoulders, curly black hair and the most beautiful sky blue eyes fringed with thick dark lashes, but looks weren’t everything. An attractive man needed an attractive personality. Jesse had the personality of a fence post.

No, she was being childish again. Just because he hadn’t been blinded by her charms last year was no reason for unkind thoughts about him. Jesse was a quiet man and there wasn’t anything wrong with that. He was about the only man she knew who didn’t have a hidden motive.

Robert Fisher, her former boyfriend had been a handsome smooth-talking flirt. She had been a naive, easy target for him. His attentions soothed her wounded pride and made her feel beautiful and loved. Except it was all a lie. He seduced her and left town the day after she told him she was pregnant. Like a fool, she had waited for him to return. It took months for her to accept that he wasn’t coming back. It was a lesson she took to heart. He was the last man she would trust unconditionally.

Returning home was hard. She had already been baptized into the Amish faith. She would be shunned when the bishop learned of her condition, but that wasn’t as frightening as having a baby alone. She wouldn’t be able to eat at the same table as her parents and they wouldn’t be able to accept anything from her hand. She wouldn’t be included in church activities for as long as her shunning went on. She was prepared for that. She fully intended to confess and ask forgiveness and pray the bishop chose a short period of shunning for her to endure.

Jesse held out a motel key. “I got you a room. Number eight. I’ll take your suitcase.” One arched eyebrow dared her to reject his offer.

“Danki,” she murmured.

Dale glanced between the two of them. “Have you eaten, miss?”

She raised the white paper bag. “I have my supper.”

“Goot.” Jesse walked toward the motel, carrying her suitcase as easily as if it were empty instead of packed full of all she owned.

She nodded to Dale. “I’m grateful for the lift home.”

“My pleasure. It’s a long trip, and I sure will enjoy having someone to talk to for a change. Jesse don’t say much.”

“I know.” She followed Jesse to the room at the very end of a motel that had seen better days. The Gray Goose Inn’s paint was peeling in multiple spots and the windows were dingy. The sidewalk along the front was cracked and lifted while the neon light on the sign out front flickered dimly.

He held open the door and set her suitcase inside. “We’ll leave at six.”

“I’ll be ready.” She swallowed her false pride and stared at her fingers clenched around her purse handle. “Danki, Jesse. This is generous of you. I will repay you, I promise.”

“It’s nothing. Why come back? Your daed says you like it in Florida.”

Had Jesse asked about her? She found that hard to believe. “I do, but I got homesick.”

As soon as she said the words, she realized they were true. She missed her parents and her friends, even if they didn’t miss her.

Bethany, Gemma’s closest friend, had married last winter and all she talked about was how happy she and Michael were and how blessed she was to have found the man God had intended to be her husband. Gemma’s first cousin Anna Miller was the same way. She and her new husband, Tobias, had arrived in New Covenant a few weeks after Bethany’s wedding. The two women had nothing on their minds except setting up house and starting a family. Two more young married couples moved to New Covenant at the same time. The women all enjoyed one another’s company and often visited between houses. Gemma was the only single woman among them.

Gemma had been happy for her friends, but it hadn’t taken long to realize she’d become a third wheel. The sad odd person out with no one of her own. Without the prospect of marriage and the memory of making a fool of herself over Jesse popping up each time she saw him, Gemma decided to escape to the Amish settlement in sunny Pinecrest, Florida, to find her own soul mate. What a mistake that had turned out to be. A shudder coursed through her at the memory of her betrayal by the man she had met down there who claimed to love her.

“Are you back for good?” Jesse asked. Was there a hopeful note in his voice? She glanced at his face. His grim expression said she must have been mistaken.

She looked down and shrugged. “I haven’t decided.”

Her lower lip quivered. The council of her mother was what she wanted and needed, even as she dreaded revealing her condition. She had no idea what she was going to do about the baby.

Jesse stood as if waiting for something else. She glanced at his face again and caught a look of tenderness before it disappeared. His usual blank expression took its place. Underneath his brawny build and his reclusive nature, Jesse had a soft heart. While he avoided the company of most people, he was known for taking in wounded creatures and strays. Was that how he saw her now? If so, he was more astute than she gave him credit for. She glanced down to make sure her full cloak hid her figure. “Thank you again for your kindness.”

“The bishop would expect it of me. Gemma, is something wrong?”

She couldn’t look at him. “I’m tired, that’s all.”

“Then I’ll say good-night.”

Unable to reply, she went inside, dropped her cold supper in the trash and closed the door, shutting out his overwhelming presence and her irrational desire to bury her face against his chest and give in to her tears.

* * *

It was still dark when Gemma left the motel room a few minutes before six o’clock the next morning, pulling her suitcase behind her. She could see her breath in the chilly air. Snowflakes drifted gently down from the overcast sky. Winter was tightening its grip on the countryside. The contrast between the sandy beach and ocean waves where she had been three days ago caused her to shiver. Had she been foolish to come back? Maybe.

She had her emotions well under control for the moment. A good night’s sleep had erased the ravages of the tears she’d cried into her pillow after Jesse left her. Washing her face with cold water had removed the last bit of puffiness from around her eyes. She was ready to face a few hours in Jesse’s company.

He was standing beside Dale’s battered yellow pickup waiting for her. Without a word, he took her bag and stowed it in the bed of the truck and held the door open for her. She got in. He climbed in after her, taking up more than his share of the bench seat. She scooted farther away.

Dale got in and handed her two white paper bags identical to the one the bus agent had given her. “I got some breakfast burritos for us to eat on the road.” The aroma of toasted tortillas, sausage, grilled peppers and onions filled the air in the small cab, making her stomach rumble ominously. Her morning sickness was more like any-time-of-the-day sickness. It struck without warning. She handed one of the bags to Jesse and swallowed hard, hoping she wouldn’t get sick.

Dale kept up a steady line of chatter as he drove northward on the highway. Jesse ate his meal in silence. He took a swig from a bottle of water, recapped it and put it back in the bag. “Aren’t you going to eat yours?” Jesse nodded toward the paper sack on her lap.

“I’m not hungry. You are welcome to it.”

“Danki.” He took the offered bag and finished off her burrito.

Dale chuckled. “He’s a big man with a big appetite. It must cost a fortune to keep him fed. No wonder he hasn’t found a wife. The poor woman would never get out of the kitchen.”

The heat of a blush rose up her neck and across her cheeks. She cast a covert glance at Jesse. He was staring straight ahead. A muscle twitched in his clenched jaw. He hadn’t forgotten their last conversation.

After weeks of dropping hints about her feelings for Jesse and her desire to get married, she had finally confronted him point-blank and proposed marriage with disastrous consequences. He’d laughed at her and told her to go home. She had countered by confessing her love and throwing herself into his arms. He’d abruptly put her aside. The scowl on his face and his words still echoed in her mind.

You’re not in love with me. You’re a foolish, spoiled baby looking for trouble. One day you will find it unless you learn humility.

She wasn’t proud of her reaction. She said things she hadn’t meant, but she was sure Jesse had meant what he said. He’d walked away, shaking his head, leaving her crushed and fuming. Her humiliation had been complete when she learned some of her friends had overheard their conversation. Her parents had been appalled as the gossip quickly spread. Rather than face it down, after a few months she had packed up and moved to Florida to start a new life.

The sad part was that she really had liked Jesse. It was knowing that he had been disgusted by her behavior that hurt the most.

She dared a glance at him, but his attention was focused out the passenger’s side window. She clutched the front of her cloak and sat quietly beside him as Dale chatted away about his ex-wife and her poor cooking.

About thirty minutes into their trip, it began snowing heavily. Fat flakes smashed themselves against the windshield and were swept away by the wipers. As the snow became thicker, Dale grew quieter and concentrated on his driving.

Ahead of them were several semi–tractor trailers. Dale hung back to keep out of their spray. Suddenly the last truck in line went into a skid on the bridge ahead. The rig jackknifed and clipped the rear end of the truck in front of it as it tipped over. The sound of screeching metal reached her as both trucks hit the sides of the bridge. Dale maneuvered his pickup off to the side of the road. Both men got out. Gemma saw the flickering of flames through the windshield that was being quickly covered with snow.

Jesse paused to look at her. “Stay put.” He slammed the door shut and jogged away with Dale into the snow.

Gemma had no idea how long she sat in the truck. She prayed silently for all the people involved. The sirens of rescue vehicles announced their arrival before they pulled up alongside her. With police and firefighters on the scene, Dale and Jesse finally returned to the vehicle.

“Is everyone all right?” she asked Jesse as he opened his door.

“Both drivers survived.”

Dale knocked the snow off his boots before climbing in behind the wheel. “That is a mess. The bridge will be closed for hours yet. You should’ve seen Jesse pull the door open on that tipped-over cab and lift that fellow out. If it weren’t for him, that guy would be toast.”

Jesse stared straight at her. “Sometimes it pays to be as big as an ox.”

She didn’t know how to reply. He continued to stare at her for a few more seconds, then he looked away. She was left with the feeling that her long-ago comment had hurt his feelings. Had it? She’d only been concerned about her own humiliation at the time.

Not that it mattered. Once news of her condition got out, he would be eternally grateful he had avoided her bumbling advances.

* * *

Jesse stared straight ahead. He had given Gemma the opportunity to apologize for her painful comments about him. Either she still believed he was big and dumb or she didn’t care about his feelings. She once claimed to love him. If she still harbored tender feelings for him, she was hiding it well. His Amish faith demanded that he forgive anyone who had wounded him. He thought he had done so, but having her so close beside him proved some of his resentment remained.

He had been taunted and ridiculed about his size since his school days. He wasn’t the smartest kid in the class, and he knew it. That only made him try harder. He endured the teasing until one day in the fourth grade he hit his antagonist in the face. Wayne Beachy had ended up with a broken jaw. Filled with remorse, Jesse never allowed his temper to take control again. Enduring teasing was far less traumatic than seeing the results of what his fists could do.

That was why his continued resentment of Gemma Lapp troubled him and why she was never far from his thoughts. He didn’t understand his reaction. He only knew she made him uncomfortably aware of his size and his lack of intelligence. Gemma was tiny compared to him. Her sharp wit had made her a favorite among the young people in New Covenant. It was only after her best friend, Bethany, married Michael Shetler that her wit took on a cutting edge.

He should’ve been glad when she decided to move to Florida, but he hadn’t been. For some unknown reason, he had missed her.

She looked at Dale. “What now? Do we wait here, or do we go back to Cleary?”

“I might have a third option.”

“What?” Jesse asked. He had to get to his bank before the close of business today.

Dale half turned in his seat to face them. “You remember that I told you I used to work for a logging company in this area?”

Jesse nodded. “I remember.”

“About two miles back, there is a logging road that cuts off this highway and goes about twenty miles back into the hills. It comes out on this same highway about twenty-five miles up ahead. I figure it’ll be rough in places, but we’ll lose less than two hours of time, which will be better than sitting here waiting for the bridge to be cleared. What do you think?”

“What about the weather?” Jesse asked.

“The snow is letting up. We’ll stay ahead of it.”

“I say go for it,” Gemma said. Clearly the last thing she wanted to do was spend more time than necessary with him.

“What do you say, Jesse?” Dale asked.

“I’ve got to get home by this afternoon.”

Dale grinned and turned the pickup around. “All right, folks. We are about to see some fabulous Maine backcountry wilderness.”

* * *

Dale had been right. Not about the weather, the snow continued, but about the beautiful scenery and the road being rough. It was more of a trail than an actual road. As they bounced along the narrow track through towering pine trees, Jesse and Gemma were constantly tossed against each other. He had been in many uncomfortable situations in his life but none as uncomfortable as trying to remain indifferent to the little woman continually apologizing for jamming her elbow or her shoulder into his side.

She wasn’t doing it on purpose, but that didn’t make it any more comfortable. He was tempted to slip his arm around her and pull her tight against him, but he didn’t. She might think he was trying to take advantage of the situation.

They reached a more open area, and Dale picked up speed. Suddenly, a bull moose galloped out into the road directly in front of them. Dale swerved. Jesse threw his arm across Gemma as he braced for the impact. The moose sprang forward at the last second. Dale missed him but lost control of the pickup and careened into the trees. The front wheels hit a large fallen log and stopped abruptly, throwing them all forward. Gemma slipped from under Jesse’s arm and cried out as she hit the floorboard.

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Jesse pushed himself away from the dash and back onto the seat. “Gemma, are you hurt?”

She had ended up in a crumpled heap on the floor. Dale was slumped behind the steering wheel.

Gemma looked up at Jesse with pain-filled eyes. “Something’s wrong with my ankle. I think it may be broken.” She tried to lever herself up. He stopped her with a hand to her shoulder.

“Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“Give me a minute.” She flexed her neck, shrugged her shoulders, then opened and closed her hands. She shut her eyes and pressed a hand to her midsection.

“What is it?” he asked, concerned by her stillness.

Sighing, she held out a hand. “It’s just my left foot. Help me up.”

“How bad is it?” He lifted her gently to the seat. The movement caused her to grit her teeth as a deep frown creased her brow.

“Bad enough, but I think I’ll live. Are you okay?”

“A few bumps and bruises.” His right arm hurt where he had braced it against the dashboard, but it was likely a strain and nothing more. He was a little surprised she had asked.

Turning to the driver, Gemma touched his shoulder. “Dale? Dale, are you okay?”

He moaned and sat back, raising a shaky hand to his head. “I’ll get back to you on that. What happened?”

Jesse rubbed his shoulder. “The good news is you missed the moose. The bad news is that you struck something else.” The front end of the truck was tilted up at a fifteen-degree angle.

“Anybody hurt?” Dale blinked rapidly as he tried to focus.

“Gemma thinks her foot is broken. I’m fine. How about you?”

“Other than an aching noggin, I think I’m okay.” He pushed open his door and looked down. “Wow. This is not good.”

Chapter Three

Dale turned off the vehicle, got out and squatted to look under it. His expression told Jesse he wasn’t happy with what he saw. Jesse had to force open his door to get out by hitting it with his aching shoulder several times. Gemma stayed put. Her foot had twisted under her awkwardly when she was thrown to the floor. Jesse’s arm had kept her face from smashing into the dashboard.

Jesse and Dale conferred outside. Dale took out his cell phone and held it up, turning from side to side. He slipped it back into his pocket and came to the open driver’s-side door. “Do you think you can walk, Gemma?”

She shook her head, turned sideways and lifted her legs onto the seat. Her right ankle was twice as big as her left one. She peeled down her stocking and hissed at the pain. Her ankle was already turning black-and-blue. “I doubt I can stand on it, let alone walk.”

Dale scooped up a handful of snow and held it against the bump on his head. “This truck isn’t going anywhere. The front tire has busted loose, and the body is high centered on a boulder. It’s going to take a tow truck to lift it off. The problem is, I don’t have phone service in this spot.”

“What are we going to do?” Gemma looked around them at the thick forest.

“We’re gonna have to hoof it to where I can get cell service and call for a tow truck. Maybe we can fix a crutch for you.”

She shook her head. “I’ll wait here. Even hobbling, I’d only slow you down.”

Jesse glanced from Dale to Gemma and back to Dale. “I don’t think we should leave her by herself. I could go, and you could stay here.”

Her eyes widened, and she gave a tiny shake of her head. “I’ll be fine alone for a few hours.” Her smile was half-hearted at best.

He pulled a large blue handkerchief from his pocket, packed it full of snow and handed it to her. “Put this on your ankle. It will help the pain and swelling.”

“Danki.” She took the compress from him and placed it around her lower leg.

Jesse turned to Dale. “I’ll stay with her. Are you sure you are up to the hike?”

Dale managed a lopsided grin. “Fortunately, I have a hard head and my legs are fine.” He blinked hard as he stared at his watch. “It’s only a little after nine. I don’t think we drove much more than ten miles, do you?”

“If that far.”

“Even if I have to walk all the way to the highway to get service, which I know I won’t have to do, I should still get back with some help before two o’clock.”

“We’ll be fine.” Jesse tried to decide which would be more uncomfortable, waiting in the cold for Dale’s return or sitting beside Gemma in the truck for an unknown number of hours.

Dale reached under the seat and pulled out a moth-eaten green army surplus blanket. “This should help keep you a little warmer.” He shook it out and handed it to Gemma. She spread it over her legs. Her thin socks and low-cut walking shoes were suited for winter in Florida, not for winter in Maine.

Jesse looked up at the sky. “At least the snow has stopped.”

“For now,” Dale said. The men exchanged worried glances. They had watched the local forecast on the TV before leaving the motel. They were calling for more snow and the possibility of a blizzard in the coming days.

“Is it safe for you to walk? What if you get lost?” Gemma asked and nibbled at the corner of her lip.

Dale winked. “I’ll be fine. All I have to do is follow the tire tracks back the way we came.”

Dale sent a speaking glance to Jesse and jerked his head toward the rear of the vehicle. The men walked to the back of the truck to converse out of earshot. Dale pulled his gloves from his pocket and put them on. “It’s going to get real cold for her just sitting. Use the heater for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time. The truck has enough gas to run all day if you don’t waste it.”

“Right. I’ll take care of her.”

Dale patted Jesse on the shoulder. “I know you will. What I’m saying is, get her talking. That way she’ll have less time to worry about her situation. Women need more reassurance when things go wrong.”

That hadn’t been Jesse’s experience. The women he knew handled the unexpected as well if not better than most men. “I’ll do my best.”

“Make sure to keep the muffler clear of snow when you run the truck. I don’t want to come back and find you passed out from carbon monoxide poisoning or, worse yet, dead.”

“I know what to do.”

“Okay, see you soon.” Dale staggered a few steps before Jesse caught up and steadied him.

“Maybe I should be the one to go.”

“I’m fine. You know as well as I do that the bishop and her father would much rather a fine, upstanding Amish fellow stayed with her instead of a not-so-upstanding non-Amish guy like me.”

He was right, but Jesse hated to admit it. “Okay, go.”

Jesse watched Dale as he walked off until he was out of sight, then he returned to the pickup, praying Dale could make good time in getting them help.

* * *

Gemma pulled her cloak tightly around her shoulders. It was growing colder. She studied Jesse’s face as he got in the truck beside her. “You look concerned. Are you worried about Dale?”

“I’m sure he will be fine. Gott is watching over him.” He tried to make his words sound encouraging, but he missed the mark.

It was clear he was concerned for his friend. She could only offer him small comfort. “You’re right. I can pray for him, even if I can’t do much else.”

Jesse nodded to her foot. “How is the ankle?”

“It hurts, but I will be fine here. If you hurry, you can catch up with Dale. I know you’d rather go with him.”

“Can you turn on the heater?”

She lifted her chin. “Of course I can.”

“Do it.”

She stared at the unfamiliar array of gages and knobs until she found the word heat. She pushed the slide over, but nothing happened. She glanced at him sheepishly. “Okay, how does it work?”

“The truck has to be running.”

“That means turn the key, right?”

He nodded. She grimaced as she scooted behind the wheel and turned the key. Nothing happened. “What am I doing wrong?”

“Probably a loose battery wire.” Getting out, he moved to the front of the vehicle and lifted the hood.

“I’d like to know how he expected me to figure that out,” she muttered. How often did battery cables come loose?

After a few minutes, he stepped to the side. “Try it now,” he called out.

She did, and the engine roared to life, startling her. She pushed the slide over to High. The air came blasting out of the vents. Jesse walked up to the open passenger’s-side door. She turned the knob the other way and the flow of air died down. She looked at him, knowing he was testing her, and she was failing miserably. “It’s just blowing cold air.”

“The engine has to warm up.”

Annoyed that she was looking foolish at every turn, she glared at him. “You could’ve told me that.”

“You could have admitted that you don’t know anything about running a truck. Did you realize that you have to keep the exhaust pipe free of snow or you will die of carbon monoxide poisoning inside the cab?”

“I didn’t. You just love rubbing my face in my ignorance, don’t you?”

“That’s not true. Can you say the same?” He slammed the door shut and walked to the rear of the vehicle.

Gemma’s irritation quickly gave way to guilt. She was in the wrong. She would have to apologize. She shouldn’t have snapped at him. Nothing was simple anymore. Every step she took pushed him away, when that wasn’t what she wanted. She moved until she was sitting with her back against the driver’s-side door and stretched her legs across the seat. In the side mirror, she saw Jesse kick a clump of snow away from the rear tire. He was angry with her.

Why was it that they couldn’t have a civil conversation? They were going to be alone together for hours. She watched him pace across the trail behind them with his arms crossed over his chest. She could see his breath rising in white puffs. The snow had started falling again. She couldn’t expect him to stay out in the cold while she enjoyed the warmth of the truck. It was clear she was going to have to make the first move. She folded her hands across her abdomen.

She had abysmal judgment where men were concerned. Robert was a prime example. He’d spoken about love and marriage, but he’d used her and cast her aside as soon as she gave in. She betrayed the vows she had made at her baptism and lost her self-respect for nothing.

Love and marriage were out of the picture now. She was about to become an unwed mother. Someone to be pitied. To be talked about in hushed tones, pointed out as an example of what could happen to girls should they stray. She wanted to bury her face in her hands and cry. Tears slipped down her cheeks, but she scrubbed them away. They solved nothing, but she couldn’t stem the rising tide of her remorse.

* * *

When Jesse had his anger under control, he glanced at the truck. Gemma’s head was bowed and her shoulders were shaking. Was she laughing at him? He’d been the brunt of her teasing before. He’d give a lot to know what she found funny in their current situation. As he walked past the truck bed, he caught the smell of gasoline. Leaning down, he checked under the truck but couldn’t see anything wrong. The undercarriage was resting on a snowdrift but the smell of gas was stronger. He wished he knew more about trucks, but he knew enough to be sure it was dangerous to run the vehicle if the gas tank was leaking.

He pulled open the cab door. Gemma wasn’t laughing. She was weeping. His anger evaporated. “I’m sorry, Gemma. Don’t cry.”

“I can—can cry if I—I want to.” She wouldn’t look at him as she sniffed and wiped her nose with a tissue from the box on the dash.

“We need to turn the truck off. It’s leaking gas.”

Her eyes widened. She quickly turned the key and the engine died. “Is it dangerous?”

“Not unless something sparks. We’ll have to get by without the heater. I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. Please forgive me.”

“I’m crying because my ankle hurts.”

He sighed heavily. “Then I’m sorry I made your ankle hurt worse.”

“Go away,” she snapped and sniffed again. He took a step back. She looked up and held out her hand. “I didn’t mean that, Jesse. Don’t go. Get in here where it’s warm. You’ll catch your death out there.”

“I’m pretty tough. A day in the cold is nothing new for me.”

“Please?”

He got in the truck, gently lifted her injured leg and placed her foot on his thigh. “You should keep it elevated. Is the snow pack helping? Am I forgiven?”

She bent her other knee and scooted forward an inch to make her position more comfortable. “It’s hard to be upset with someone who is being kind.” She rubbed both eyes with her hands.

“I will make it a point to be kind more often. I think we should get your shoe off, but that is up to you.”

She bit her bottom lip and nodded. “I’m already crying. I guess now is as good a time as any.”

She braced herself, but he was incredibly gentle as he pulled her shoe off her swollen foot. It immediately relieved some of her pain. He placed her shoe and sock on the dash and settled her foot on his leg again. “It needs to be taped up.”

“With what?”

He opened the glove compartment and pulled out a roll of duct tape he had noticed yesterday. “This might work. I’ll need to put your sock back on. I don’t want to plaster this to your skin.”

After a few minutes, he had fashioned a crude brace for her foot. “How is that?”

“Okay. Better I think.”

“Warm enough?”

“The blanket helps.”

“I don’t know how. It has more holes in it than a cheese grater.” He reached over, tucked it tightly around her shoulders.

“How long do you think it will take Dale to get help?”

“It’s hard to say. Four hours, maybe less.”

She leaned her head back against the glass and untied the ribbons of her bonnet. “Then we won’t be rescued anytime soon.”

“You might as well try to get some rest.”

Far from sleepy, Gemma closed her eyes anyway, but she could feel his gaze on her face. She endured it as long as she could. She opened one eye. “What are you staring at?”

“I was trying to figure out what is different about you.”

“I’ve got a suntan. The sun actually shines during the winter in Florida, unlike this place, which is dreary from late September until May.”

“You think these beautiful snow-covered pines are dreary?”

“I do.”

She could see he was disappointed with her answer. If he thought the snow-covered woods and gray skies were beautiful, then he was odder than she had imagined. She waited for his next comment. She had never had this much of a conversation with him before. When he didn’t say anything else, she closed her eyes but her throbbing foot allowed her to sleep only fitfully. Sometime later, the cold roused her. She raised her head and found Jesse rubbing the frost off a spot to see out.

“Are they here?” she asked hopefully.

“Not yet.”

“Oh.” She leaned back and pulled the blanket up around her shoulders. “Can we have the heat on for a while?”

“I don’t think we should risk it.”

“Not even for ten minutes?”

He shook his head. “I checked the gas gauge a half hour ago and the tank is almost empty. I know Dale filled up this morning before we left the motel. If the gasoline has pooled under the truck, we could start a fire. Or worse.”

“Worse?”

“An explosion.”

That would be worse, she conceded silently. He knew more about vehicles that she did. She was cold, but she trusted his judgment and didn’t push the issue. “It’s snowing again.”

It wasn’t a question. The windshield was covered. He moved her foot off his lap and opened his door. “I’m going to check the trail for any sign of them.”

“That seems silly. You can’t see much outside and you’ll only get colder.”

“Moving around will help me warm up.”

“Oh, okay. That makes sense. I wish I could join you.”

A gust of wind blew in the snow as he got out. It settled on her blanket and sparkled in the dome light. He closed the door and she shivered. She might not be able to walk but she could still move. She spent the next few minutes swinging her arms as she bent and straightened her good leg. It helped a little.

Relief surged through her when Jesse opened the door again. She hadn’t realized how safe his presence made her feel. “Anything?”

“Nothing.”

“They should be here soon, shouldn’t they?” She waited for his reassurance.

“The snow will slow them down. The wind is picking up out there too. Parts of the road could be drifted over by now.”

A chill slid over her skin that had nothing to do with the temperature. “They will still be able to reach us, right?”

Chapter Four

Dale should’ve been back by now. Something must have gone wrong.

Jesse didn’t say that to Gemma. He had scanned the trail behind them for any sign of movement or the sound of another vehicle approaching. There was nothing but the wind in the trees and the snow flurries that continued to worsen.

It was past two o’clock and the temperature was dropping. He had to make a decision and soon. The first rule when stranded in the wilderness was to stay put, but he had to get back to New Covenant tonight or lose his chance to purchase the land he wanted. The bank would open at eight in the morning. The auction was set to begin at nine o’clock. He could still turn over the earnest money before the bidding started as long as he made it home tonight and got to the bank as soon as it opened.

“Any number of things could have slowed Dale down. We might have to head back soon,” he said.

Without gas, he couldn’t run the truck’s heater. While the cab gave them protection from the wind and snow, without heat, it would be like staying inside a cold tin can. The forecast that morning had called for temperatures to drop to near ten degrees. It was going to get very cold tonight.

“What do you mean by heading back?”

“What I said. Don’t worry about it.”

“You need to work on your communication skills.” She scowled at him but fell silent, and he was grateful. He got out before she could grill him.

Another ten minutes passed. The visibility dropped to fifty yards as the snow moved in. He would have to go now while he still had a trail to follow. If Dale had reached help and someone was coming, they would meet each other on the road. If for some reason he hadn’t made it, Jesse could still get Gemma back to civilization before dark and get to New Covenant before morning.

She was a small woman, but he doubted he could carry her all the way to the highway. He needed a sled and he saw only one option. Dale wasn’t going to like it.

Jesse walked to the truck and opened the driver’s side door. Even huddled in the blanket, he saw Gemma shiver. She looked at him hopefully. “Is Dale back?”

“Nee.”

“What are you doing?”

“Taking us out of here.” He closed the door.

He was amazed at the number of tools Dale had crammed into his battered metal toolbox. There was even a short-handled ax, which had dozens of uses in the wilderness. He quickly removed the bolts that secured the hood to the vehicle. With it free, he tipped the curved hood onto the snow and pushed it back and forth. The rounded edges at the front made it a perfect sled. He fashioned a harness from the tie-down straps to go over each shoulder.

Gemma had rolled down the window and was watching him. She wore a wary expression. “Let me rephrase my question. What are you making?”

“A sled.”

“For me to ride on?”

“That’s right.”

“Will you fetch my suitcase for me?”

He shook his head. They were running out of time. “I’d rather we left it here. That way I don’t have to pull unneeded weight.”

“I understand, but there are some things I need from it before we go.”

He shrugged and grabbed it out of the back. She opened the door and took it from him. “Danki.”

He stood for a few minutes trying to decide the best way to cushion Gemma’s ride. Sitting directly on the cold metal would quickly make her uncomfortable. What he needed was a couple of quilts. Lacking those, he decided a cushion of pine boughs might do the trick. Taking Dale’s ax, he walked into the woods looking for a young white pine. Their needles were soft and flexible. He found what he was looking for and brought back an armload. He dumped it onto the overturned truck hood. It was about the best he could do for her.

He stepped up to the truck door. “We should get going. I want to reach the highway before dark.”

“I’m almost ready.”

She had her back to him. She had taken off her cloak and put on two more dresses over the one she wore. She looked as plump as the bishop’s wife. She put a second kapp over the one she was wearing and then tied her traveling bonnet over both. “Without warmer clothes, layering is the next best thing. I’m afraid I’m wearing most of the extra weight you were concerned about pulling.”

“Don’t worry about that. It’s a goot idea.” He was surprised she’d thought of it. “Do you have any gloves or mittens?”

She lifted a pair of socks from the seat beside her. “These will work as mittens.”

“Okay. Are you ready?”

She nodded. “As soon as I put on my cloak. We should take the water bottles with us.” She grabbed the plastic containers from the dash. One bottle was half-empty. The other one was full. She scooted across the seat toward him and gathered the wadded blanket to her chest.

He rubbed his gloved hands on his trouser legs. He was going to have to pick her up and carry her due to her injured ankle. He knew she understood that without him saying anything because her cheeks were already bright red. He could tell his face was a similar color. He had never held a woman in his arms. That Gemma was the first one made him doubly uncomfortable.

He slipped an arm under her knees and around her back. She curved one arm around his neck as she held the water bottles and blanket with her other hand. He lifted her out of the truck and held her against his chest. She barely weighed anything. He never imagined holding her would feel so amazing, so comfortable.

Speechless, he stood gazing at her face framed by her dark bonnet. Freckles he had never noticed before dotted her nose and cheeks. Had the Florida sunshine made them more noticeable? Her eyes remained downcast. She smelled fresh, like sun-dried linen and faintly of flowers and coconut. It had to be the shampoo she used because Amish women did not wear perfume of any kind. He wanted her to look at him. To know what she was thinking. His feet refused to move.

A gust of wind made her turn her face into his shoulder to avoid the driving snow. The desire to hold her closer and protect her from anything that threatened her surprised him.

“Are you sure this is a goot idea?” she asked.

“Maybe, maybe not.”

He quickly realized holding her in his arms for any reason wasn’t a good one for him. Emotions he’d worked hard to keep hidden were stirring just below the surface. Gemma was not the sort of woman he could care for seriously. She was flighty, and she rattled his thinking.

The wind dropped away. She raised her face to gaze at him. Her luminous green eyes, fringed with thick dark lashes, were as trusting as a child’s. “I will try not to be a burden to you.”

“You weigh about as much as a bird. You are not a burden.”

“I meant I won’t be whiny and childish.”

“You are hurt, and this isn’t going to be a fun-filled sleigh ride, shpatchen.” The name fitted her. It meant “little sparrow.” A tiny creature bold enough to attack a cat that came too close to the nest.

Her lips curved in a soft half smile. “My grandmother used to call me that when I was a child.”

It warmed his heart to see her smiling. “Don’t worry, Gemma. Everything will be fine.”

* * *

Despite her throbbing ankle and the biting cold, Gemma relaxed in Jesse’s arms. He must not think too badly of her if he could call her by a childish nickname. She didn’t remember the last time she’d felt so safe. Especially around a man.

Until this minute, she had believed any chance of friendship between them had been ruined by her impulsive actions last year. Nothing she could say would undo his opinion except to behave in a manner he expected of a humble Amish maiden. Though he didn’t care much for her, she had no doubt he would do his best to protect her and make the journey back to the highway as quickly and safely as possible.

He settled her on his pile of pine branches on the overturned hood. She scooted around until nothing was poking her unbearably and nodded. He took the blanket from her and draped it around her shoulders, pulling it tight beneath her chin. “Ready?”

“I’m ready. Should we leave a note telling Dale where we have gone in case we miss each other?”

“The road is narrow. I don’t see how we could miss each other.” He walked to the front and slipped his arms through the loops he had made from the tie-downs. He started forward and Gemma grimaced with pain at the jolt. She grabbed at the branches under her with both hands. He looked back.

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” she said quickly.

“You don’t look fine. What will make it less painful for you? I don’t know how long this walk will take, so think about that before you say fine again.”

He was right. There was no need to suffer more than she had to simply to impress him. “Maybe if I had something higher to sit on and a way to keep my foot propped up a little.”

“Will the toolbox be high enough to sit on?”

It was about a foot tall and just as wide. “I think so.”

She scooted to one side. He placed the toolbox toward the back of the hood and rearranged the pine insulation on it. Taking the ax, he cut another armful of branches and arranged them as a padded rest for her injured leg. He helped her settle onto them. “How is that?”

“Better. Now all I need is something to hang on to if the terrain gets rougher.”

“It will get rougher.” He cut another piece of webbing, fashioned it into a big loop and attached it to the front of the hood. He gave her the webbing to hang on to the way she would hold the reins of a horse.

He slipped into his harness and started walking. The seat and padding for her foot made it better but it was a far cry from comfortable. Knowing there was nothing she could do to help Jesse, Gemma gritted her teeth and held on, determined not to complain.

The snow flurries grew heavier. A layer of white soon covered her blanket and the pine needles around her. The wind sent the fresh snow snaking across the trail where breaks in the trees offered access. Jesse’s makeshift sled moved easily over the snow, but he couldn’t avoid the dips and hollows that jolted her.

They’d gone several miles before her fingers grew numb despite the socks she was using as mittens. She tucked one hand inside her cloak until her fingers stopped stinging, then switched hands to warm the other one. While it helped some, she was soon switching them every few minutes. She tried warming them both at the same time, but the sled hit a drift and she toppled over backward. Jesse was beside her before she managed to right herself.

“Are you okay?”

She sat up and repositioned her aching ankle. “I’m fine.”

“What happened?”

“I wasn’t hanging on because I was trying to warm my hands inside my cape. I’m sorry.”

“Sorry for what? Giving me a break? It’s not such a bad idea.” He looked around and spotted a place where he could sit on a toppled tree. A group of thick cedars behind it provided a windbreak. He maneuvered the sled up beside them. He knelt at Gemma’s side and pulled off his gloves. “Give me your hands.”

He peeled off the socks she was using and sandwiched her icy fingers between his warm palms.

Her hands disappeared between his large ones as he gently rubbed the circulation back into them.

* * *

Gemma’s hands were small and amazingly delicate. They were also ice-cold. His determination to keep her safe grew tenfold. “It shouldn’t be much longer. I think we’ve come at least eight miles. I can’t believe we have more than two or three miles left to go.”

“I don’t see how you can follow the truck’s tracks in this snow.”

The tire tracks had been obliterated by the blowing snow miles back. “I can’t, but I’m sticking to the road.” The wider opening between the trees had been his only guide for the past hour.

He realized the socks Gemma had been using for mittens were wet. Putting them back on wouldn’t do her any good. He needed a way to keep her upright without having her hang on to anything.

He cut free the webbing she had been holding on to. “What are you doing?” she asked.

“You’ll need to keep your hands inside your cloak.”

“If your intent is to dump me out in the snow, just say so.”

“That’s a ridiculous thing to say.” He set about making a smaller loop on one end.

“And removing my only way of hanging on isn’t silly?”

“You can’t put the wet socks back on.”

“They will work for a couple more miles,” she insisted.

“Nope.”

“Fine. Leave me here and go get help.”

“Don’t be absurd. I’m not leaving you. Raise your arms.”

“Why.”

“Because I asked you to.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Not until you explain to me what you’re doing.”

Even cold and miserable, she could be obstinate. He sighed heavily. “I’m making a smaller loop to go around your body. I’m going to fasten the other end of the strap to the front of the hood and pull it tight. That will keep you from falling over backward in the rough places.”

“That’s all you had to say.” She held out her hand. He gave the loop to her. She slipped it over her head and settled it under her arms.

“How is that?” he asked.

She pulled her hands inside her cloak and leaned back several times to test the strength and tension. “It’s fine.”

“Fine enough to last a few more hours?”

“It’s getting dark already.”

He held his arms wide. “Want to spend the night here?”

“Of course not. Are you worried that we haven’t met up with Dale yet?” Giving voice to her concern made the situation seem even more dire.

“I have enough to worry about getting you to safety.” He pulled on his gloves, slipped into his harness and started trudging forward again.

Although Gemma had always been impressed and intimidated by Jesse’s size, she had never considered how strong he actually was. Walking through the knee-deep snow and pulling the sled had to be exhausting and yet the only break he had taken was to ensure her comfort. His determination was amazing as he struggled through deeper and deeper snowdrifts. He fell to his knees once but got up and kept going. As darkness fell, Gemma shivered in the increasing cold. The snow finally let up. The clouds overhead thinned out and the thin sickle of the moon cast the landscape in harsh shadows of black on white. She huddled over as low as she could get but the wind still found her and sucked away any warmth from beneath her blanket. When she had reached the end of her endurance, she heard Jesse as he muttered something that sounded like “Finally.”

She raised her face to see a break in the trees ahead. She was ready to cheer if her teeth would stop chattering long enough. Her elation died a quick death as Jesse pulled her sled into the open. There wasn’t a highway in front of them. Only the remains of some kind of building in a small clearing. A cabin maybe. A chimney jutted above part of the roof that hadn’t fallen in. She didn’t remember seeing a place like this on their way this morning. Could they have passed by and she just hadn’t noticed the building? She listened but didn’t hear the sounds of traffic. Nor did she see any lights.

Jesse dropped to his knees and bowed his head. Fear sent a surge of adrenaline through her aching body. “Jesse, are you okay? Where are we?”

He looked back at her, but his face was in the shadows and she couldn’t read his expression. “We’re lost.”

Chapter Five

Jesse couldn’t believe what lay in front of him. Not safety but desolation. The ruins of a second building were nothing more than odd blackened timbers sticking upright through the snow. A pond sat frozen and silent at the bottom of the clearing. A dead cedar tree stood between the house and the pond. There were no signs of life anywhere. He didn’t bother calling out.

Somehow, he had made a horrible mistake. He had no idea where he had taken a wrong turn. It was his fault and his alone. He’d been in such a hurry to get back to New Covenant that he’d left his good sense behind. They should have stayed with the truck. They might have been rescued by now.

He wouldn’t be at the auction in the morning. The land he’d hoped to buy would go to someone else. Now he was lost in the wilderness and, worst of all, he’d brought Gemma with him into this dangerous situation. He sank to his heels as the magnitude of what he had done overwhelmed him and bowed his head.

Please, Lord, give me the strength to overcome this disaster. Help me keep Gemma safe.

He repeated the phrase over and over in his mind, searching for the solace he needed. “Jesse, you have to get up.”

It wasn’t the voice of his heavenly Father, but rather the voice of the little sparrow on the sled. If she had once thought him as dense as a post, he had certainly proved her right. His bold assertion that he could get them back to the highway was nothing but an empty promise.

He looked at her over his shoulder. Would she forgive him for putting her life in danger? “I’m sorry, Gemma. I don’t know where I went wrong.”

“That doesn’t matter, Jesse. We need shelter. We need a fire.” She could barely talk because her teeth were chattering so badly.

She was right. Now wasn’t the time for remorse and self-pity. He struggled to his feet and pulled the sled toward the cabin. The snow had drifted as high as the front porch. The structure blocked the wind from the north. He stepped onto the floorboards carefully. They seemed solid enough. He slipped out of his harness and pulled open the front door. It scraped along the floor but opened wide enough for him to get inside.

It was too dark to see much. The smell of charred wood filled his nostrils, but the ceiling seemed intact and the interior was free of snow. As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, he saw a stone fireplace dominated the center of the space. It was a double-sided type open to two separate rooms. The cabin would provide the shelter they needed if he could get a fire going.

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