Plain Admirer (4 page)

Normally, she released the fish if she was alone. Today, she would keep what she caught and the family would enjoy a fish fry for supper.

When everyone was spreading out along the lakeshore, she said, “I haven’t had much success fishing on this end of the lake. The east shore is a better place.”

“Looks
goot
to me.” Hebron threw in his line.

Joann shrugged and headed away from the lake on a narrow path that wound through the trees for a few hundred yards before it came out at the shore again near a small waterfall. This was where the fishing was the best.

Carefully, she unpacked her pole and assembled it. From her small tackle box, she selected a lure that she knew the walleye would find irresistible and began to cast her line. Within half an hour, she had five nice fish on her stringer.

She pulled the apple from her pocket and bit into the firm, sweet flesh. The sounds of her crunch and of the waterfall covered approaching footsteps. She didn’t know she wasn’t alone until her brother said, “Joann, I’ve been calling for you.”

Startled, she turned to face him. “I’m sorry, Hebron, I didn’t hear you. What do you need?”

“We’re getting ready to go. The fish aren’t biting today.”

“I’ve been catching lots of walleye. Have you tried a bottom-bouncing lure?” She set her apple beside her on a fallen tree trunk and opened her tackle box to find him a lure like the one she was using.

He waved aside her offering. “I’ve tried everything. What’s that you’re fishing with?”

“An orange hopper.”

“I meant the rod. Where did you get that?”

She extended her pole for him to see. “I ordered it from the sporting goods store in Millersburg.”

“Mighty fancy pole, sister.”

“It works wonderfully well. Try casting it, you’ll see. You’ll be wanting one next.”

“My old rod and reel are good enough.”

She turned back to the water. “Okay, but I’m the one catching fish.”

“Be careful of pride, sister. The
Englisch
world has many things to tempt us away from the true path.”

“I hardly think a new fishing pole will make my faith weaker.”

“May I see it?” he asked.

“Of course. You can cast twice as far with it as your old one. Give it a try.” She handed it over, delighted to show him how well-made it was and how nicely it worked. She picked up her apple and took a second bite.

Hebron turned her rod first one way and then another. “A flashy thing such as this has no place in your life, sister.”

“It does if I catch fish for you and your children to eat.”

“Are you saying I can’t provide for my family?”

“Of course not.” She dropped her gaze. Hebron was upset. She could tell by the steely tone creeping into his voice.

He balanced the rod in his hand, nodded and drew back his arm to cast.

Eagerly, she sought his opinion. “Isn’t it light? It really is better than any pole I’ve owned.”

He scowled at her, and then threw the rod with all his might. Her beautiful pole spun through the air and splashed into the lake.

“No!” she cried in dismay and took a step toward the water. The apple dropped from her hand.

“False pride goes before a fall, sister,” Hebron said. “I would be remiss in my duty if I allowed you to keep such a fancy
Englisch
toy. Already, I see how it has turned your mind from the humble ways an Amish woman should follow. Now, come. We are going home. I will carry your fish. It looks as if God has given us enough to feed everyone after all.” With her stringer of fish in his hand, he headed toward the wagon.

She stood for a moment watching the widening ripples where her rod had vanished. Now she had nothing to return and nothing to show for her hard-earned money. Like the chance to own a home, her beautiful rod was gone.

Tears pricked against the back of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

* * *

Late in the afternoon on Saturday, Roman took off his sling and began the stretching exercises he did every day, four times a day. His arm remained a dead lump, but he could feel an itching sensation near the ball of his shoulder that the doctors assured him was a good sign. As he rubbed the area, the uncomfortable sensation of needles and pins proved that the nerves were beginning to recover. He had been struck by a pickup truck while standing at the side of his buggy on a dark road just before Christmas. The impact sent him flying through the air and tore the nerves in his left shoulder, leaving him with almost complete paralysis in that arm.

Dr. White and Dr. Zook, the local physicians he saw, were hopeful that he would regain more use of his arm, but they cautioned him that the process would be slow. Unlike a broken bone that would mend in six or eight weeks, the torn nerves in his arm would take months to repair themselves. Even then, there was no guarantee that he would regain the full use of his extremity.

Roman tried to be optimistic. He would work for his uncle until his arm was better. When it was, he would return to working with his father in the sawmill as he had always planned. He held tight to that hope. He had to.

The outside door opened and his brother Andrew came in. He held a pair of fishing poles in one hand. “I’m meeting some of the fellows down at the river for some fishing and a campout. Do you want to come along?”

Roman put his sling back on. He didn’t like people seeing the way his arm hung useless at his side. “I don’t think so.”

“Come on. It will do you good. You used to like fishing.”

“I like hunting, I like baseball, I like splitting wood with an ax, but I can’t do any of those things. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve only got one good arm.” The bitterness he tried so hard to disguise leaked out in his voice.

“You don’t need to bite my head off.” Andrew turned away and started to leave.

“Wait. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

Andrew’s eyes brightened. “Then you’ll come? There’s no reason you can’t fish with one arm.”

“I’m not sure I can even cast a line. Besides, how would I reel in a fish? That takes two hands.”

“I’ve been thinking about that and I have an idea. It only takes one hand to crank a reel. What you need is a way to hold the rod while you crank. I think this might work.”

Andrew opened his coat to reveal a length of plastic pipe hooked to a wide belt and tied down with a strap around his leg.

Roman frowned. “What’s that?”

“A rod holder. You cast your line and then put the handle of your pole in this. The inside of the pipe is lined with foam to help hold the rod steady. This way it won’t twist while you’re cranking. See? I fixed it at an angle to keep the tip of the rod up. All you have to do is step forward or backward to keep tension on the line.”

Roman looked at the rig in amazement. “You thought of this yourself?”

It was a clever idea. It might look funny, but the length of pipe held the rod at the perfect angle. “It just might work, little brother,” Roman said.

“I know it will. With a little practice, you’ll be as good as ever. Come with us.” Andrew unbuckled his invention and held it out.

Roman took it, but then laid it on the counter. “Maybe next time.”

He didn’t want his first efforts to be in front of Andrew and his friends. A child could cast a fishing pole but Roman wasn’t sure he could.

Andrew nodded, clearly disappointed. “Yeah, next time,” he said.

He left Roman’s pole leaning in the corner and walked out. After his brother was gone, Roman stood staring at the rod holder. He picked up his brother’s invention. Surely, he could master a simple thing like fishing, even with one arm.

There was only one way to find out. After checking to make sure no one was about, he gathered his rod and left the house. Since he knew Andrew and his friends were going to the river, Roman set off across the cornfield. Beyond the edge of his father’s property lay a pasture belonging to Joseph Shetler. Wooly Joe, as he was called, was an elderly and reclusive Amish man who raised sheep.

It took Roman half an hour to reach his destination. As he approached the lake, he saw Carl King, Woolly Joe’s hired man, driving the sheep toward the barns. Roman knew Carl wasn’t a member of the Amish faith. Like his boss, he kept to himself. The two occasionally came to the mill for wood for fencing or shed repairs, but Roman didn’t know them well. When Carl was out of sight, Roman had the lake to himself.

He glanced around once more to make sure he was unobserved. In the fading twilight, he faced the glasslike water that reflected the gold and pink sunset. Lifting his rod, he depressed the button on the reel and cast it out. He hadn’t bothered adding bait. He wasn’t ready to land a fish and get it off the hook with one hand. Not yet.

He slipped the handle of his rod into the holder his brother had made. It was then he discovered that actually reeling it in wasn’t as difficult as he had feared. When he had all the line cranked in, he pulled the rod from the holder and flipped another cast.

This wasn’t so bad. Maybe he should have brought some bait. He’d only reeled in a few feet when he felt his hook snag and hang up. He yanked, and it moved a few feet but it wouldn’t come free. What was he snagged on?

Chapter Four

R
oman discovered just how hard it was to crank his rod with something on the other end. It wasn’t a fish, just deadweight. Suddenly, it gave a little more. He half hoped the line would break, but it held. Whatever snagged his hook was being pulled across the bottom of the lake. When he finally managed to wrestle it in, he stared at his prize in amazement. It was someone’s fishing pole.

When he stepped down to the water’s edge, he noticed a half-eaten apple bobbing at the shoreline. There were fresh footprints in the mud at the edge of the water, too. He’d stumbled upon someone’s fishing spot, and they hadn’t been gone more than an hour or two.

It was easy to tell that the pole hadn’t been in the water long, either. There wasn’t a speck of rust on the beautiful spinning reel. The rod and handle were smooth and free of slime.

Whoever had lost the nice tackle had done so recently. Had Carl been fishing before Roman showed up? Was this his pole? It wasn’t a run-of-the-mill fishing pole. This was an expensive piece of equipment. Far better than the one Roman owned.

He’d found it. Should he keep it?

He carried his prize to a fallen tree and sat down. It didn’t seem right to keep such a high-priced rod and reel. How had it come to be in the lake? Maybe the unfortunate angler had hooked a fish big enough to pull his unattended gear into the water. Whatever happened, Roman was sure the unknown fisherman regretted the loss. He certainly would.

He debated what to do. If he left it here, would the owner return to fish at this spot, or would another angler chance upon it?

He decided on a course of action. From his pocket, he pulled the pencil and small notebook he normally carried to jot down wood measurements. Keeping it handy was a habit.

He wrote:
Fished this nice pole from the lake. Take it if it’s yours or you know who owns it.

That should suffice. He left the pole leaning against the log and weighted his note down with a stone. If the owner returned, it would be here for him. He’d done the right thing. He would check back later in the week. If the rod was still here, then the good Lord wanted him to have it.

Gathering up his old pole, Roman tucked it under his arm and headed for home, content that he’d be able to enjoy an evening of fishing with his brother in the future without embarrassment. At least one thing in his life was looking up. Hopefully, his new job would be just as easy to master.

* * *

Joann followed her sister-in-law and her nieces into the home of Eli Imhoff on Sunday morning. She took her place among the unmarried women on the long wooden benches arranged in two rows down the length of the living room. Her cousin, Sally Yoder, sat down beside her.

Sally was a pretty girl with bright red hair, fair skin and a dusting of freckles across her nose. While many thought she was too forward and outspoken, Joann considered her a dear friend. She often wished she could be more like her outgoing cousin. Just behind Sally came Sarah and Levi with Levi’s younger sister, Grace. Sarah sat up front with the married women. Grace took a seat on the other side of Joann. Levi crossed the aisle to sit with the men.

Joann’s eyes were drawn to the benches near the back on the men’s side where the single men and boys sat. She didn’t see Roman.

“Are you looking for someone?” Grace asked.

Joann quickly faced the front of the room. “No one special.”

“Is Ben Lapp back there?” Sally asked with studied indifference. She picked up a songbook and opened it.

Joann wasn’t fooled. Sally was head over heels for the handsome young farmer. Ben was the only one who didn’t seem to know it.

Joann glanced back and saw where Ben was sitting just as Roman came in and took a seat. Their eyes met, and she quickly looked forward again. She whispered to Sally, “Ben is here.”

“Is he looking at me?”

“How should I know?”

“Check and see if he’s looking this way.”

Joann glanced back. Ben wasn’t looking their way, but Roman was. Joann quickly faced forward and opened her songbook.

Sally nudged her with her elbow. “Well? Is he?”

“No.”

“Oh.” Disappointed, Sally snapped her book closed. After a moment, she leaned close to Joann. “Is he looking now?”

“I’m not going to keep twisting my head around like a curious turkey. If he’s looking, he’s looking. If he isn’t, he isn’t.”

“Fine. What’s wrong with you today?”

“I’m sorry. I’m just upset because I may lose my job.”

“Why? What happened?” Grace asked.

“Otis wants his nephew to take over my position.”

Sally gave up trying to see what Ben was doing. “Which nephew?”

“Roman Weaver.”

Grace shot her a puzzled look. “What does Roman know about the printing business?”

“Whatever I can teach him in two weeks. After that, I go back to my old job at the bookstore. Oh, I’m the cleaning lady now, too.”

“That’s not fair,” Sally declared. “You do a wonderful job for the paper. My mother says the
Family Hour
magazine has been much more interesting since you started working for Otis.”

Joann sighed. “I love the job, but what can I do?”

“Quit,” Sally stated as if that solved everything. “Tell Otis he can train his own help and clean his own floors.”

“You know I can’t do that. I need whatever work I can get.”

Esta Bowman came in with her family. Grace nodded slightly to acknowledge her. Esta moved forward to sit on a bench several rows in front of Sally. The two women had been cool toward each other for months.

According to gossip, Esta had tried to come between Grace and her come-calling friend, Henry Zook. Happily, she had failed. Grace confided to Sally that she and Henry would marry in the fall. Although Amish betrothals were normally kept secret, Sally shared the news with Sarah and Joann. Joann hadn’t told anyone else.

Grace whispered to her. “Esta has been at it again. Everyone knows she’s walking out with Roman Weaver, but according to her sister, she’s just doing it to make Faron Martin jealous. Two weeks ago, Henry saw her kissing Ben Lapp.”

“Ben wouldn’t do that,” Sally snapped.

Grace waved aside Sally’s objection. “I think she was only trying to make Faron notice her. Anyway, it worked. She left the barn party last Saturday with Faron, and I saw them kissing. I noticed he drove his courting buggy today. Mark my words, she’ll ride home with him this evening and not with Roman.”

Joann discovered she wanted to hear more about Roman’s romantic attachment, but she knew church wasn’t the place to engage in gossip. She softly reminded Grace of that fact. Grace rolled her eyes but fell silent.

Joann resisted the urge to look back and see if Roman’s gaze rested tenderly on Esta. It was none of her business if he was about to be dumped by a fickle woman.

Joann turned her heart and mind toward listening to God’s word.

After the church service, the families gathered for the noon meal and clustered together in groups to catch up on the latest news. There were two new babies to admire and newlyweds to tease. Then Moses and Atlee Beachy got up a game of volleyball for the young people that kept everyone entertained. It was pleasant to visit with the friends she didn’t see often. Joann was sorry when it came time to leave. She found herself searching for Roman in the groups of men still clustered near the barn but didn’t see him. Nor did she see Esta among the women.

Hebron walked up to her, a scowl on his face. “Have you seen the girls?”

She looked around for her nieces. “I think they were playing hide-and-seek in the barn with some of the other children.”

“See if you can find them. I’m ready to go.”

Joann walked into the barn in search of her nieces. It wouldn’t be the first time the girls had stayed hidden to keep from having to go home when they were having fun. They often played this game. After calling them several times, Joann accepted that she would have to join the game and find them herself. She climbed the ladder to the hayloft. A quick check around convinced her they weren’t hiding there. So where were they?

Joann returned to the ground level and began checking in each of the stalls. She didn’t believe the girls would be hiding with any of the horses, but she didn’t know where else to look. One stall was empty. A rustling sound from within caught Joann’s attention. She stepped inside but her search only turned up a cat with a litter of kittens curled up in a pile of straw in the far corner. She took a moment to reassure the new mother. Stepping closer, she stooped to pet the cat and admire the five small balls of black-and-white fur curled together at her side. It was then she heard Roman’s voice. “Esta, I wish to speak to you alone.”

“You sound so serious, Roman. What’s the matter?”

“May I speak frankly?” Something in his voice held Joann rooted to the spot.

“Of course. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

“I hope that we have become more than friends. That’s what I wish to talk about.”

“Why, Roman, I’m not sure I know what you mean.” Esta’s coy reply sent Joann’s heart to her feet. She needed to let them know she was present, but she dreaded facing Roman. Maybe if she stayed quiet, they would leave and she wouldn’t be discovered. She held her breath and prayed. To her dismay, they stopped right outside the stall where she crouched beside the kittens.

“Can I take you home tonight?” Roman asked.

“Did you bring your courting buggy? I thought you came with your family.”

“I did come with my family, but it would make me very happy if you would walk out with me this evening.”

“I’ve already told Faron Martin that he could take me home. He brought his courting buggy.”

“Tell him you’ve changed your mind.”

“But I haven’t.”

“Esta, don’t do this to me.”

“Don’t do what? I want to ride in Faron’s buggy. He’s got a radio in it, and his horse is a mighty flashy stepper. Almost as pretty as your horse, but of course, you can’t drive him anymore, can you?”

Joann heard the teasing in Esta’s voice. She was toying with Roman. Did she care who took her home as long as they had a tricked-out buggy? Joann wanted to shake her. How could a woman be so fickle?

“Esta, I’m ready to settle down. Aren’t you?”

“Are you serious?”

“Very serious.”

Joann wished she was anywhere else but eavesdropping on a private conversation. She shouldn’t be listening. She covered her ears with her hands and took a step back. She didn’t know the mother cat had moved behind her until she stepped on her paw.

The cat yowled and sank her teeth into Joann’s leg. She shrieked and shook the cat loose as she stumbled backward. She lost her balance and hit the stall door. The unlatched gate flew open and Joann found herself sprawled on her backside at Roman’s feet.

Esta began laughing, but there was no mirth on Roman’s face.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he demanded.

“I’m sorry,” she sputtered, struggling to her feet.

Esta crossed her arms. “She’s making a fool of herself, as usual.”

“I was looking for my nieces, if you must know.” Joann said as she dusted off her skirt and straightened her
kapp.

A smug smile curved Esta’s lips. “She’s just eavesdropping on us because she can’t get a boyfriend of her own.”

Joann’s chin came up. “At least I don’t go around kissing everyone who walks out with me.”

Shock replaced Esta’s grin. “How dare you.”

Growing bolder, Joann took a step closer. “Which one is a better kisser? Ben Lapp or Faron Martin?”

“Oh!” Esta’s face grew beet red. She covered her cheeks with her hands and fled.

It was Joann’s turn to sport a smug grin. It died the second she caught sight of Roman’s face. The thunderous expression she dreaded was back.

“What have I ever done to you?” he asked in a voice that was dead calm.

She looked down, unable to meet his gaze. “Nothing.”

“Then why your spiteful behavior?”

“You call the truth spiteful?” She glanced up, trying to judge his reaction.

“What truth is that?”

“Esta Barkman is a flirt, and she’s using you.”

“I won’t listen to you speak ill of her.”

“Suit yourself.” She swept past him, wishing that she had kept her mouth closed. What did she care if Esta was leading him on? It was none of her business what woman he cared for. Joann only hoped she had opened his eyes to Esta’s less-than-sterling behavior even if it cost his good opinion of her.

* * *

On Monday morning, a faint hope still flickered in Joann’s heart as she walked up to the front door of the publishing office. She didn’t see Roman’s buggy on the street. Perhaps he wouldn’t come, and she could continue with her job as if nothing had happened. Oh, how she prayed that was God’s will.

She paused with her hand on the doorknob. “Please, Lord, don’t make me work with that man,” she whispered.

She pushed open the door and came face-to-face with the object of her prayers. Roman Weaver stood behind the front counter. He scowled at her and glanced over his shoulder at the clock on the wall. It showed five minutes past nine. Looking back at her, he said, “You’re late.”

Great. Just great. He was here in spite of her prayers. This was going to be a long day.

Joann hung her bag on the row of pegs beside the door as she struggled to hide her disappointment. “I’m not late. That clock is ten minutes fast. I’ve been meaning to reset it. Welcome to Miller Press. We publish a monthly correspondent magazine with reports from scribes in a number of Amish settlements, plus other news and stories. We also publish a weekly paper that has sections on weddings, births, deaths, accidents and other special columns. Besides those two, we also do custom print jobs.”

Two straw hats hung on the pegs. That meant only Otis and Roman had come in. Gerald Troyer and Leonard Jenks would be in anytime now. Hopefully they would come quickly. She was running out of things to say.

The thought no sooner crossed her mind than the outside door opened and Gerald walked in. A tall and lanky young man, his short, fuzzy red-brown beard proclaimed him a newlywed. “Morning, Joann. Did you have a nice weekend?”