LITMIR.BIZ

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“What do you want, Sam? Yeah, I’m fine—I’ll see you later. Bye.”

      He looked at me questioningly while I shoved the phone back into my pocket. “Just my big brother checking up on me,” I told him, wondering if he’d try to hold hands again.

      “Sam is very intuitive to be calling you.”

      “Should he be worried?” I teased.

      “Most definitely,” he said brightly, holding his hand back out.

      Without hesitation, I quickly gave him my hand.

      “So, what are you doing tomorrow?” I asked lightly.

      “If Jacob can find a driver, we’re going to a horse sale in Sugar Creek. He wants to trade his older Belgians for a younger team.”

      “Really, that sounds like fun.” Plans were already forming in my mind.

      “Yeah, but our driver has a wedding to go to, so unless Jacob can find someone to pull our trailer for us, we won’t be going.” He was looking down at my hand when he said it, pulling Lady and myself even closer to him and Rumor, so that my leg was wedged in behind his—making my body go crazy all over again.

      But my mind was still working, and I suggested, “Maybe Sam could do it.” He looked up in surprise, and I continued hurriedly, “I mean, he has a big truck with a gooseneck hitch, and he’s hauled my horse to shows for me before. He’s actually better at pulling the trailer than my dad is. Jerry and Rita just hauled Lady here to save us a trip and to see the new place.”

      His face scrunched up in concentration, and slowly a smile spread onto it. “Maybe my father will allow it—but I don’t know if he’ll let me go.” He looked up suddenly and squeezed my hand. “Will you go with your brother?”

      “Of course. I wouldn’t miss a horse sale, but why wouldn’t your dad let you come with us?” I said, somewhat disgruntled. The whole reason I came up with the idea was to be with him.

      Sighing, he said, “Father will not allow me to go if you’re going. Boys and girls our age are not allowed to be around each other without an adult chaperone. But my uncle might be going along also, and then my father would consent,” he said, thinking.

      Glancing back at me with concentration lining his face, he said, “We’ll pay him well for the service, but are you sure your brother will do it?”

      “He has nothing else to do tomorrow, and if he can make a few bucks, I’m sure he’ll be up to it. I’ll ask him tonight. How will we get in contact—you don’t have a phone, right?”

      He laughed at that, shaking my hand with enthusiasm. “Yes, we have a phone—it’s not in our house, though. It’s in the shed.”

      “That’s not very convenient. How can you hear it when it rings?” I asked, thinking about all the calls they must miss.

      “It has a very loud ringer, so we can usually hear it from the house.” He said it as if it was obvious.

      Oh. I felt a bit stupid. But it was difficult to wrap my mind around the idea that some people chose to not have things like telephones conveniently located within their homes. Glancing again at Noah, I had to admit that other than the clothes and his extreme good looks, he seemed like any other guy at the moment. Maybe that’s what made me forget that he wasn’t ordinary at all.

      Reluctantly, I let go of his hand and pulled the phone from my pocket, handing it to him. “Go ahead and put your number in, and I’ll call you tonight after I talk to Sam.”

      He held the cell in his hand as if it was a hot grenade, staring down at it with extreme thought.

      Shoot, I did it again. He wouldn’t know how to work my smartphone. “Oh, sorry, I forgot. This is a little complicated if you aren’t used to one. So, what’s your number?” I said, taking the phone back as casually as possible.

      As he recited it, I entered the number and then put the phone away. Once my hand was free, he reached for it again.

      “It’s nice holding your hand,” he said. Then in a fluid motion he brought my hand to his lips and lightly kissed my palm, causing a tingling that spread from my hand upward. Anticipation filled me. This is it—he’s going to kiss me now. I wanted him to so badly at the moment it was hurting my insides, and I looked up with hooded eyes, waiting—waiting to get another first out of the way.

      He swayed closer to me, but then cussing “damn” under his breath, he lowered my hand and exhaled loudly.

      Exasperated, he said, “You’re going to drive me crazy, Rose.”

      I started to pull my hand away, but he held it firm, going on to explain, “Look, we’re almost to the road. Someone might see us—and that can’t happen.” He spoke harsher and looked grave as he continued, “If we want to spend time together, we have to be very careful about it, always looking out and thinking ahead. Do you understand?”

      I nodded.

      He sighed, saying, “And have your brother call tonight—not you. It’s not proper for Amish girls to call boys on the phone.”

      “But I’m not Amish,” I pointed out.

      “But I am, and if we’re going to be able to see each other, you’re going to have to start acting a little more like an Amish girl.” As an afterthought, he said, “Just pretend, Rose. Make it a game.”

      He said it as if he was talking to a small child, ticking me off a little bit. I couldn’t keep the huff from escaping my lips in agitation.

      Annoyingly, he just laughed and asked, “Want to race back to the road?”

      The irritation that had rippled through my insides slipped away, to be replaced with a sudden jolt to my heart. “You bet,” I answered, giving Lady a bump with my heels and grabbing her mane as she took off.

      I almost reached the road first, but every time I glanced back, it didn’t seem as though he was trying very hard. I was starting to think he was going to let me win, which wasn’t the way that I wanted to beat him at all. I began pulling on my reins at the same instant that Noah’s horse had a burst of speed. Doing a totally unsafe guy thing, he passed by me, swerving hard before he nearly hit the wire mesh that ran parallel to the tree line.

      “Crap!” I muttered as I pulled alongside him, our horses bumping each other again. I was starting to get the feeling that Lady had as much of a thing for Rumor as I had for his rider.

      “Gotcha!” He grinned, reaching out for my hand.

      Only this time I ignored it, trotting ahead of him. When I arrived at the gap in the fence, he wasn’t with me. Instead, he was standing behind a copse of trees about a hundred feet back.

      Darn, I didn’t mean to make him mad. I was just aggravated with his daredevil riding. Whirling Lady around, I squeezed her with my heels and quickly closed the distance back to him.

      “What’s up?” I asked, pulling up close to Rumor.

      “You have to go home first, Rose. That’s what I mean about being careful. We can’t just ride up the road together. Someone might see us, and that would be a disaster. Just please trust me on this,” he implored.

      “But how long are you going to wait, then?” The fact that there would be dire consequences if we were caught together or if I even called him on the phone was triggering little bells to go off in my head, but I chose to ignore them. My girlfriends back in Cincinnati would be locked up in jail for sure under these rules.

      “I’ll hang out here for about fifteen minutes and then head home. Now, Rose, you ride straight home, and if any cars slow down for you, just gallop that mare as fast as I know she’ll go until you reach your driveway. Hopefully, everything will work out and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

      The urgency in his voice finally got me moving, and I turned, cantering toward the gap. Once on the road, I trotted the rest

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