A Hand to Hold (13 page)

“I’m trying! Maggie! Whoa!” He jerked the reins, but with each pull the horse galloped faster. Zachariah turned his body to the side, his foot pressing against the inside of the buggy for leverage.

Ruth watched in terror as the landscape flew by. What if Zachariah lost control of the horse? She gripped the side of the buggy. “Zachariah!”

“Hang on!” He managed to steer the buggy onto a side road, getting them away from the cars, at least. That settled his horse a bit, but she still ran fast.

Maggie dashed into an abandoned field, Zach gripping the reins and Ruth clinging to the seat of the buggy so she wouldn’t be thrown out. The wind stung her eyes. She felt the wheels stutter and skid. Then the buggy jolted and tilted to the left, barely balancing on two wheels. She lost her grip and slid across the seat, smashing into Zachariah.

With every ounce of strength he had, Zach held fast to Maggie’s reins. He fought to keep control of his normally tame horse. She’d never been spooked before. But the crazy way those cars flew past them would have scared any animal, no matter how calm. He pulled on the reins as hard as he could, but she still refused to slow down. It was as if someone had put a torch to her hind end. All he could do was try to keep her from crashing the buggy until she wore herself out.

Maggie continued to flee across the field but then the buggy hit a huge bump. Zach’s body rose off the seat, and the buggy tilted onto two wheels. Ruth slid into him and screamed. He took his eyes off the horse for a split second to see if she was all right. She gripped his upper arm with both hands, squeezing hard. He really needed that arm to help control the horse, but right now Ruth needed it even more because she had nothing else to hold on to.

The buggy slammed back down onto four wheels, but Ruth continued to clutch his arm. He yanked on the reins harder. “Whoa, Maggie, whoa!” Finally the reins went slack in his hand. Almost as quickly as she had sped up, she slowed her gallop to a canter, then finally to a walk, then at last to a stop.

He fell back against the seat, gasping for breath. Only then did he notice that Ruth hadn’t let go of his arm. She stared straight ahead, her face whiter than the spot of hair between Maggie’s eyes. “Ruth?” When she didn’t say anything he asked again. “Ruth? Are you all right?”

She let out a small squeak.

He angled his body to the side, his heartbeat finally slowing. But he didn’t try to extract his arm from her grip. “Ruth, it’s okay. We’re all right. Even Maggie’s okay.”

“I . . .” She looked up at him with round, bluish gray eyes. “Wha?”

Something pulled at Zach, deep inside. Seeing Ruth this terrified worried him. He lowered his voice. “Ruth. You can let
geh
now. It’s okay.”

She wagged her head back and forth several times. “What if she takes off again?”

“Maggie won’t. Those cars spooked her bad. I don’t blame her; they were reckless.” He looked at his horse, her sides pumping back and forth as she fought for breath. He glanced back at Ruth. “I need to check on her. I’ll make sure she’s really calmed down before we try to go anywhere.”

She stared up at him again, intensifying the odd pull he felt toward her. He looked into her dark blue eyes, mesmerized by the mix of fear and total trust he found in them. She always seemed so guarded, but at that moment, her façade was gone. It was as if he was seeing the real Ruth, and it unnerved and attracted him at the same time.

Ruth slowly removed her hands from his arm. He jumped out of the buggy and went to Maggie. He patted her brown flanks, talked to her a bit, and made sure she was okay, but his focus wasn’t totally on his horse. As he pressed his hand against Maggie’s side, he realized his body was shaking. Sure, he was tired after working twenty-four hours straight, and he was rattled after Maggie’s fear-driven rampage off the road. But he also knew that he was shaking because of the spark of attraction he’d felt moments ago.

He snuck a glance at Ruth, making double sure she was all right. To his relief, the color was seeping back into her cheeks. And as it did, his senses seemed to return. He couldn’t possibly be attracted to Ruth Byler. She wasn’t anything near his type, especially her uptight personality. Whatever emotions he’d experienced had nothing to do with reality and everything to do with the fact that he needed sleep. And lots of it.

Satisfied that Maggie was okay, he took the opportunity to look around the field. Where were they? He didn’t know how far the horse had taken them off the road. Giving her one last pat, he went back to the buggy, where Ruth was tucking stray strands of her dishwater blonde hair behind her ears.

“Where are we?” The tremble in her voice was almost undetectable, her stoic mask back in place. This was the Ruth he was used to.

“Not sure.” He took off his hat and swiped his arm across his damp forehead.

“You mean you don’t know?”

Exhausted, her curt question suddenly irritated him. “I was a little busy, remember? I didn’t take time to notice where Maggie was dragging us.”

“So you have no idea where we are?”

“
Nee
, but I’m sure we’re not lost.”

“That’s the very definition of being lost.” She climbed out of the buggy, moving steadily and purposefully. Any trace of the terrified woman he’d witnessed moments ago had disappeared completely. She strode away from the buggy and started looking around. “Where’s the road?”

“From the buggy tracks, I think we came from that direction,” he said, pointing west.

She looked up at him, shading her eyes from the weakening sunlight. “I’m going to miss my meeting because of this.”

“Is that all you’re concerned about?” He walked over to her.

“My teachers’ meetings are important. It’s a chance for us to get together and exchange knowledge and strategies for educating our students.”

“Sounds scintillating.” The words were out before he could stop them. Why couldn’t she be more helpful instead of whining about missing her
dumm
meeting?

Her brows knit together. “That’s quite a big word for you. Sure you know what that means, especially since you seem fuzzy on the definition of
lost
?”

His lips pressed together. Ordinarily he could appreciate skilled sarcasm, but not right now. “You might want to go easy on the charm,
fraulein
.”

Her mouth formed a tight O shape, but she didn’t reply. Instead she turned her back to him.

The horse whinnied behind Zach, and he walked over to her. He stroked her nose, relieved she was still calm and had finally caught her breath. It took him a few minutes to gather his composure. Flinging insults at each other wouldn’t get them home. Once his emotions settled down, he called out to Ruth over his shoulder. “We should get back in the buggy. At least if Maggie takes off again, I can grab the reins and control her.”

Ruth spun around and stared at him, her chin slightly lifted. And people told him he had a chip on his shoulder. “What if you can’t?” she asked.

“Can’t what?”

“Control her.”

Was that a glint of anxiety he saw in her eyes? He softened his stance. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Ruth. I promise.”

She glanced away for an instant, then looked back at him. “I’m not worried about me. I just wouldn’t want anything to happen to your horse. She’s a fine animal.”

Zach fought a smile. “So you’re worried about my horse?”

“Ya.”

Sure you are
. “C’mon, let’s
geh
. We need to take advantage of the daylight that’s left.”

Ruth hesitated, but she climbed into the buggy, sitting as far away from him as possible. He picked up the reins and looked at her. “Don’t fall out now.”

“I won’t.”

He gently urged Maggie forward, relieved when she started moving without complaint. He held the reins loose in his hand, not guiding her in either direction.

“Aren’t you going to steer?”

He shook his head. “Maggie knows the way home.”

“You’re putting an awful lot of confidence in your horse.”

“
Ya
. Horses always find their way back home.”

“You’re not worried she’ll
geh
the wrong way?”

“Nope. Haven’t you ever been lost with a horse before?”

“
Nee
. I’m very
gut
with directions and orientation.”

Figures she would be a human compass, although he didn’t quite understand what she meant by orientation, and he wasn’t up to figuring it out. All he wanted to do was go home.

He waited for her to say something else and was relieved when she didn’t. For the next fifteen minutes Maggie wandered the field. Zach started to yawn. He kept glancing at Ruth, waiting for her to tell him Maggie was going in the wrong direction. She sat straight in the seat, her lips thinned, her hand gripping the edge of the seat, but she remained silent.

Finally the road came into view. He glanced at Ruth again. Her posture had relaxed, but only a tiny bit. Zach gripped the reins and directed Maggie onto the road, his body tensing in case she balked. But she calmly stepped onto the asphalt and dragged the buggy behind her. Even the few cars that passed them didn’t affect her. He let out a deep breath, unaware he’d been holding it in.

It took Maggie twenty minutes to get to Ruth’s, and by that time the sun was almost down. When he stopped in the driveway, he expected her to jump out. Instead she turned to him. She looked as drained as he felt. “If need be, you can let Maggie have a drink before you
geh
home.”

Zach lifted a brow in surprise. That was the last thing he’d expected from her, an invitation to water his horse. “
Danki
, but she’ll be fine until I get home.”

She nodded, then moved to get out of the buggy.

“Wait.” When she turned around, he said, “Sorry you didn’t get a chance to
geh
to your meeting.”

She paused for a moment. “It’s okay. It was an adventure.”

He watched her climb out of the buggy, his lips forming a half-smile. The woman was an odd duck. Hard as glass, but just as fragile too. He didn’t know what to make of her. Worse yet, he didn’t know what to make of himself, his own temperament bouncing from irritation to attraction like a Ping-Pong ball. He never thought being around Ruth Byler would be this exhausting. Or interesting.

“You’re back already?” Emma set down her knitting. A frown appeared on her face. “
Gut
heavens, what happened to you this time?”

Ruth brushed away the loose strand of hair resting on her cheek. She knew she had to look a sight. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

Emma stood. “I’m sure I would. You look like you’ve been riding in one of those fancy convertible cars.” Her frown deepened. “Please tell me you weren’t doing that.”

“I wasn’t.” As she told her mother about Zachariah’s horse running scared, her expression mellowed.

“Then you never made it to your meeting.”

Ruth shook her head. “
Nee
. I didn’t.”

“Well, there’s always the next one. I’m just glad you’re okay. Where’s Zachariah now?”

“He went home.” He’d looked so tired when he left, and she couldn’t blame him. She felt a tiny stab of guilt for arguing with him over getting lost. She knew it hadn’t been his fault, and because of his quick thinking and strong arms, he’d saved them from serious injury, or worse. But she hadn’t been thinking about that at the time. She’d been terrified, then frustrated that she’d shown him that weakness. Then once the buggy had come to a stop, she couldn’t let go of his arm, partly out of fear, but partly because she didn’t want to. Even now, she could remember the calmness she felt being that close to him. It made her feel safe when only moments earlier she had felt anything but. But she had to be rational about what had happened. She’d been afraid, and her mixed-up feelings had been a result of that fear. Simple cause and effect.

If that was true, then why couldn’t she stop thinking about the way he’d looked at her before she’d let go of his arm? His green eyes had narrowed slightly and darkened to an almost emerald color, making her breath hitch.

“Ruth?” Emma moved closer to her. “Are you sure you’re all right?”