A Sister's Wish (3 page)

“Don't call him yet.”

“Amelia, I bet he could get here before the ambulance leaves. Besides, he ain't going to be happy to be kept in the dark.”

She shook her head again. “
Nee
. If you call the mill, it's going to send Luke and Rebecca into a dither. They'll run home and take charge.” Sounding weary, she said, “I'm not ready for that right now.”

Everything inside of him disagreed with her. “They love you, Amelia. You keeping them away ain't right.”

“I know. But can't you contact them after we get to the hospital? That's not too long to wait.”

Though he still didn't feel right about it, he didn't argue. She was in pain and she was also his weakness. He hated to refuse her anything. “The ambulance will be here soon. What do you need from the house?”

Relief filled her blue eyes. “
Danke,
Simon. All I need is my purse. It's on the kitchen counter.”

“I'll be right back. You sit tight.” Then he went to put a pouting Princess in one of the empty horse stalls and guided Oscar back to the house.

Inside, unable to help himself, Simon wrote Lukas and Rebecca a brief note. He'd just finished it when he heard the sirens.

After grabbing her purse, he rushed back to her side. When she gazed up at him, her pretty eyes shining with unshed tears, he attempted to smile. “The ambulance is almost here. They'll take you to the hospital and give you something for your pain.”

She still looked agitated. “Simon, I'm afraid,” she admitted. Looking ashamed, she whispered, “The hospital brings back many bad memories.”

“I know it does.” He'd been seated by her side both times she'd discovered one of her parents had died. That hospital waiting room, with its worn carpet floor, vinyl chairs, and faint bleachy smell would always trigger bad memories.

“Would you go with me?”

“Of course. I'm not going to leave your side, Amelia. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried.”

Her bottom lip trembled as she attempted to smile.
“Danke.”

“Never thank me for something like this. I don't want to be anywhere else.”

She smiled as she pushed back some stray strands of her white-blond hair. Only Amelia could look beautiful at a time like this.

He smiled at her again before walking out the barn door and waving to the approaching ambulance.

“She's in here!” he called out when a man and woman opened the doors to the vehicle.

As he watched them get out a stretcher, Simon realized that he had now made his choice regarding Amelia. He was done thinking of other people. He was done biding his time.

“Are you a relative?” the man asked.

“Boyfriend,” he replied, not caring that it wasn't technically the truth.

As far as he was concerned, she would be his girl soon enough.

Chapter 2

M
ost of the time, Lukas Kinsinger was able to take his many responsibilities in stride. He liked being the oldest and he liked being needed.

Usually, he was the first one awake in the house. While it was still dark outside, he quietly got up and got dressed, taking care not to disturb Darla. Then he went out to the barn. There, he fed their three horses and two dairy cows, gave Princess some attention and made sure she had fresh water. Then, while the animals were contentedly eating, he would head back to the house just as the sun was peeking over the edge of the horizon.

While the coffee finished brewing, he would organize his papers and pack his lunch for work. Finally, he would creep upstairs to kiss his wife goodbye just as her alarm clock went off.

By then, his sister Amelia would have made him a breakfast sandwich. He'd take it with him and eat while he walked the short distance to work.

By the time he walked through the front door of Kinsinger Lumber every morning, he was more than ready to face the myriad of responsibilities that awaited him as the head of the
lumber mill. He worked hard, he solved problems, he kept his cool, and he didn't stop.

Several times a week he headed home as close to five o'clock as possible. This was for the sole purpose of helping his little sister, Amelia.

And that was how he always thought of her: little. She might be twenty-two. She might run their household and be extremely capable in a number of ways, but in his mind, she was still the adorable nine-year-old with white-blond hair, earnest blue eyes, and a heart and soul that was sweeter than most anyone he knew.

The fact was that he adored Amelia. She was special to him and had always been that way.

He hated the fact that she currently spent the majority of each day alone at their farm, caring for their animals and garden and home and life without a word of complaint. So, even though Rebecca still stopped by often, and Darla was around a lot, too, he tried to spend time with her each day.

He didn't care that she'd never asked him to do that. It didn't matter that there was usually little to do besides keep Amelia company while she cooked supper.

No matter what, she would always be his little sister.

But the moment he strode into the barn, it was obvious something was wrong. Stormy looked agitated and Princess was bleating mournfully. She wasn't even in the right stall. A lump formed in his throat as panic overtook him—that same feeling of panic that had engulfed him months earlier when he'd realized the back warehouse of the lumber mill was on fire and not everyone had gotten out.

Now, fearing the worst, he rushed to the house. It was in dis
array. Two of the cupboards were open, dishes were in the sink, jars of soup and half an onion rested on the counter.

And then he saw the note.

Lukas was so horrified, he had to read it several times for the full meaning to register. Amelia had been both bitten by a snake and kicked by her goat. She'd sat by herself for over an hour, injured and in pain. Helpless.

Until Simon had arrived.

Then she'd been rushed by ambulance to the hospital—all while Lukas had been worrying about shipments from Michigan and needy customers in Columbus.

Simon had found his little sister. Simon had been the person to take care of her and see to her needs. Not Rebecca. Not him.

Pulling out his work cell phone, he contacted Jeff, one of his English managers at the mill. Luckily, he answered on the first ring.

“Hey, Lukas,” Jeff said. “Are you calling about the Emerson account? Because if you are, I gotta—”

“It's not that,” he interrupted. “It's . . .” Gathering himself, he blurted, “Jeff, I need a favor.”

“Name it,” Jeff replied immediately, making Lukas realize he probably sounded as panicked as he felt.

“Amelia's been hurt and is on her way to the hospital. I need you to go tell Rebecca, then drive her here and pick me up, too. We've got to get to the hospital as soon as possible.”

“Of course. Is . . . is Amelia okay?”

“I don't know,” he said slowly. Though the question had been innocent enough, hearing it hurt. He forced himself to continue. “I don't know anything.” Except for what he had read in Simon's blasted note.

“I'm walking to the front reception area right now. Expect me there in fifteen minutes, tops.”

“Danke.”
Thinking of Rebecca's new husband, he blurted, “Oh, you better go tell Jacob Yoder, too. Rebecca's going to need him.”

“Of course. I'll be there as soon as possible.”

Lukas clicked off his phone and stared at the note again. There was no doubt that Rebecca was going to have a lot to say about Simon's visit. She had been fairly vocal about the fact that she didn't want Simon to court Amelia.

Lukas had agreed. On principle, at least. Amelia was special and sweet and innocent. His best friend in the world was none of those things. Actually, he was more jaded and world-weary than most Englishers. He'd had a difficult
rumspringa,
much of which he refused to talk about.

However, there was no way Simon could escape his history. After he left home at fifteen, he'd engaged in all sorts of illegal activities. Several years later, his poor choices caught up with him. He was with some men who stole a car. When they were arrested, Simon had been high on some kind of drugs.

He'd been sentenced to eighteen months in jail and served nine months of it. When he'd gotten out, he'd worked a number of odd jobs and struggled. Those struggles had eventually driven him to contact Lukas's
daed
.

From what Lukas had heard, his father had invited Simon to come to his office. They'd talked for hours. His father had even offered Simon a job at the mill. Lukas was also fairly sure that his father had given him money so he could get a place to live, too.

Neither his father nor Simon had ever talked about that.

As the months passed, Lukas's best friend had slowly returned to him. Simon was hardworking and punctual. Slowly, he started smiling again. Sometimes he joked.

But he never, ever, talked about his time on the streets or his months in a prison cell.

As Simon's best friend, Lukas had honored that request. Men needed to have their privacy, and everyone made their fair share of mistakes. Lukas knew Simon Hochstetler was a good man. An honorable one.

But a beau for Amelia? Lukas didn't think so. His sister had already been through way too much to be saddled with a man with a disreputable past. She deserved someone without a mass of skeletons in his closet.

As he rushed around the house, then out to the barn to check on the animals before Jeff arrived, Lukas tried not to imagine the worst. Amelia had been kicked by a goat and bitten by a snake. Those were bad things, but not necessarily life-threatening. He wasn't going back to the hospital to wait for someone to die again. Amelia was going to be just fine.

The Lord couldn't take one more person away from him.

He would never be so cruel.

T
HE STAFF AT
the hospital couldn't have been nicer to Amelia. Someone had even brought her a glass of cranberry juice and a small bowl of orange sherbet. But that didn't mean Amelia wanted to sit in an uncomfortable hospital bed for even one more minute.

“Simon, can't you get me out of here?” Amelia pleaded. “This is an awful place.” She hated hospitals. Hated them with every fiber of her being. The smell, the faint sounds, the feel of the scratchy cotton sheets—all of it made her skin crawl.

Simon was sitting in a vinyl chair next to her, his elbows resting on his knees. He had been watching her with a combination of amusement and concern on his face for the last two hours.

From the time the ambulance pulled onto her property with sirens blaring and lights flashing, he was true to his word. Unless Amelia was getting tests or X-rays, Simon stayed close to her side.

His lips quirked, as if he was trying to fend off a smile. “You know I'd help you if I could. But I can't, Amelia. The doctors said that you need to be observed until tomorrow morning.”

“But that means that I'll be poked and prodded all night long.”

Of course, that wasn't what she really cared about. She wasn't afraid of needles and didn't really care if nurses came to check on her regularly. But being in the hospital until sometime tomorrow? Every memory and fear that she'd carefully tamped down was bubbling to the surface and threatening to ruin the last of her remaining composure.

“I'm afraid so. But you'll be all right,” he said with complete confidence.

Embarrassed that she had sounded so ungrateful and childish, she nodded. “
Jah
. You are right. I will be just fine.” No matter how painful the memories were, it was time to stop complaining and fretting. “
Danke
for taking care of me and for staying by my side. If you would like to leave now, you can go ahead.”

He smiled. “I would
not
like that.”

“I'll be all right. You said you called Lukas.”

“By the time I called, Mercy was manning the reception desk. She told me that Lukas had already read the note I left and had called someone to pick him and Rebecca up. They'll be here any minute, I reckon.”

That's what she was afraid of. She didn't want to repay Simon's kindness by subjecting him to a bunch of questions from Rebecca and Lukas. “If they're on their way, I'll be fine.”

“I'm not leaving you alone, Amy.”

His words were so firm, so sure, she melted. For most of her life, she'd loved Simon. It wasn't a crush; it was meaningful and true. Steadfast. Even better, she was pretty sure Simon felt the same way, especially since she'd heard him tell the ambulance workers that he was her boyfriend. She knew that they were meant to be together. And maybe one day they would be.

If her siblings would ever allow such a thing.

Now Amelia just had to remind everyone that she was tougher than they realized. She would survive this episode just like she'd survived everything else in life.

“Are you in much pain?”

She pointed to the IV in her hand. “Not so much. They've been putting some pain medicine in it.”

Staring at her leg, Simon frowned. “I fear you are going to hurt worse pretty soon. It was a pretty good break.”

“
Jah
. Have I told you how glad I am that you found me?”

A shadow filled his gaze. “I am glad I was there, too. I don't know what I would have done if you had been sitting there for longer than you already were.”

She giggled softly. “What
you
would have done?”

He leaned back and propped one foot on his opposite knee. “Of course! We need to talk about how
I
would be dealing with
your
injury,” he teased. “This crisis is all about me. Ain't so?”

She sighed dramatically. “Of course, Simon.” What he didn't realize was that he
was
all she wanted to think about. He was so handsome with his light-brown hair, stark cheekbones, and
hazel eyes. He even looked slightly dangerous. It was disconcerting and appealing, all at the same time.

“Seriously, I'm going to stay as long as I can, but the nurse has already let me know that I shouldn't have been here in the first place.”

“I don't know about that.” After a pause, she added, “Family and boyfriends can visit,
jah
?”

“Uh-oh. You heard that?”

She noticed he didn't look especially embarrassed. “I couldn't help but hear it, you were pretty loud. And adamant.”

He looked down at his knees. “I'm sorry. But I was prepared to say anything that would allow me to stay by your side. At least until Lukas or Rebecca came.”

It sounded as if he was forcing himself to say the last part, almost like he would prefer to have her to himself for as long as possible. And because he was being so honest, she decided to be honest, too. “I don't want them here.”

“They're going to be upset that I didn't call them the minute I found you.”

“You would have, but I asked you not to.”

For the first time, he looked unsure. “I bowed to your wishes, but I don't think that was the right thing to do.”

“It was. The minute they arrive, they're going to overreact and badger me with questions that I don't want to answer.”

His hazel eyes gleamed, silently signaling his agreement. “Don't be unkind. You know they love you.”

“I love them. But that doesn't mean I want them to make a difficult situation even worse.”

“Don't worry. I won't let them misbehave or upset you.”

“Simon, your words are sweet, but we're talking about Lukas
and Rebecca here. They're going to say what's on their minds. And loudly, too.”

He shook his head. “Not this time.”

Usually, Amelia would simply leave a statement like that alone. Simon sounded so sure. Adamant. However, she also knew her brother and sister. “How do you intend to keep them in line?”

“Don't you worry about that. All you need to do is rest and be assured that I won't let them cause a scene or bully you. I've had enough of them treating you as if you are a little girl.”

“Simon—”

Her door flew open as Rebecca, Lukas, Darla, and Jacob charged in. They sounded like a herd of cattle, talking too loudly, rushing to her side as they exclaimed over her cast and the bandage on her hand.

Amelia braced herself. Then blinked when she realized that Simon had gotten to his feet and was standing next to her.

“That's enough, everyone,” he said calmly. “All of you need to settle down. Now.”

Just like that, the whole room turned silent as her siblings and their spouses each turned to stare at Simon. Tension filled the air.