Temptation (A Temptation Novel) (24 page)

I realized right then that I hadn’t even gotten a real glimpse of her world, and instantly wanted to know more. “What are your friends like?”

“Amanda and Britney are my best friends. They’re both a year older than me, in Sam’s grade. But since I’ve always tagged along with his friends, it was just natural for them to take me in. I’m like their little mascot.”

“Do they have boyfriends?”

“Amanda and Heath have been hot and heavy for two years now, and I think they might actually get married someday, but Britney plays the field.” She paused, laughing. “I think she’s dated just about every cute guy in her class and mine.”

“And your friends…do they sleep with their boyfriends?’

She glanced shyly at me before answering. “Yeah, Amanda and Heath are quite the item. Britney doesn’t sleep around or anything like that, but she isn’t a virgin either.”

The word
virgin
coming out of a girl’s mouth so readily heated my face. I took a long minute to think about what she had said while we ambled through the cornfields, her hand curled safely in mine.

“So, what kind of things do you do with your friends, then?” I asked carefully.

“During the summer we go to King’s Island and the ‘Beach’—that’s a big water park. We also go to all the open-air rock concerts, the movies and out to eat at the cheaper restaurants. But sometimes we just hang out at the mall and shop.”

“It must be pretty boring for you here in Meadow View,” I observed, with fear creeping through my bones that she could ever get used to living a Plain lifestyle.

“I gotta say, it hasn’t been at all boring since I’ve moved here. You’ve managed to keep me very entertained,” she said, clearly working to contain her laughter as tremors touched her mouth.

Unease began pounding away at my mind, forcing my heart to beat faster. This was important and I had to find out more. I asked quietly, “How would you feel if you couldn’t do all those things anymore?”

She didn’t even hesitate, surprising me. “It would depend on if you could keep me busy,” she said in her velvety voice. Her eyes were laughing, and I knew she was teasing me. She was not taking the question as seriously as she should be. A gust of wind traveled through the cornstalks, bending them down deep, erasing our natural cover. The sound of the brushing stalks against each other was a constant scratchy drone now, and Rose’s horse began to prance nervously, affected by the cool temperature and the swaying corn around us. The mare looked as if she might bolt, and I let go of Rose’s hand to grasp her one rein, holding her horse while she side passed along the narrow path with extra spring to her stride.

I was pleased that Rose let me lead her horse; I had expected an argument from her, but she had relented placidly enough. The horse was a lot to handle, even on a calm day. Today, the mare was close to coming unhinged. I decided if Rose wouldn’t let me hold the rein of her frisky horse, I’d ask her to switch horses with me. Since she relented, I didn’t have to resort to doing that, thankfully.

Sooner than I wished, we reached the forest. I began to guide the horses around, when Rose asked disappointedly, “Aren’t we going in there?”

I held my smile in and sighed, not wanting to disappoint her. Especially since that was exactly where I wanted to take her. “No, Rose, I don’t think it would be a good idea for us to go back in there today.”

“Why?” she asked like a girl used to getting her way. But I had to be firm with her. I said pointedly, “I find it very difficult to do the right thing when we’re alone together in a situation like that. And I don’t want to take advantage of your willingness.”

“I’m okay with it, though,” she offered, trying to convince me with her alluring eyes fluttering like Samson’s Delilah.

“But I’m not. You aren’t going to be like your English friends. As horribly difficult as it’s going to be—I want to wait until we truly belong to each other before we cross that line,” I said sternly, trying not to look at her eyes, fearing I’d be turning the horses around and leading her back into the woods myself.

“Can’t we at least kiss a little?” she pleaded with an undeniable pout on her honeyed lips. I became frustratingly aware that she could make me do anything she wanted with that look. I was doomed to be her slave for the rest of my life. That thought both bothered me and made me happy at the same time.

“With you, it never seems to be a little,” I teased halfheartedly. But unable to resist her any longer, I stopped the horses, and holding the reins in one hand, I put my other hand around her lower back, giving her the kiss she wanted.

Her mouth was soft and willing against mine, and for a few seconds the fields disappeared, and the push of the cold wind against my coat couldn’t be felt. It was only me and Rose, alone in the entire world. Nothing else mattered except the feel of her breath against my skin and the tangle of her hair around my face.

There are those moments in your life when you suddenly realize you’ve made a mistake, and that second of clarity, when it becomes all too clear that something is going to happen, whether it’s mildly irritating or downright bad, you brace yourself and accept the inevitabile. That’s what happened right then while I was enjoying Rose’s warm mouth on my own.

The air-splitting whistle made me separate instantly from her. I swiveled in the saddle to the direction of the sound. How foolishly stupid I’d been. I should have anticipated that some of the Amish kids might cut through the fields to go over to the ball game. And with no time to gallop away or hide in the trees, I saw coming from the forest edge the ghostly face of Levi Zook. A few strides back was his sidekick, Nathaniel Yoder.

By the unrestrained glee shining off Levi, I knew he’d seen me kissing Rose. I released my hold on Lady’s rein and consciously moved Rumor in front of Rose, waiting. She was being uncharacteristically quiet behind me, but strangely I could sense her presence, even though she was making no sound at all. It was as if our bodies were connected by an invisible string—a very strong one. In the distance, a threatening rumble of thunder rolled toward us, and an oppressive stillness settled in the cornfield when the wind suddenly died down.

“So what have we got here, Nathaniel—did I just see what I thought I saw? Was Noah Miller, the most popular bachelor in the community, son of the minister Amos Miller, making out with an
English
girl—in a field?” He exaggerated every word, his high-pitched voice thick with malice. I already knew that I wouldn’t be able to negotiate with him, but now I realized with sudden clarity that he’d attempt to destroy me with what he’d stumbled upon. A sense of dread washed over me.

“This is none of your concern, Levi,” I warned him.

Levi’s pale face tilted and he shifted his attention to Rose, stretching to look past me at her with his snake eyes. Those eyes were hungry and he openly appraised her, with a nasty smile forming on his thin lips.

The rage that had been building in me spilled over. “Don’t look at her,” I demanded, repositioning Rumor again to hide Rose from his evil leer.

He laughed. The sound of it was unnatural in this quiet place that had become a haven for Rose and me.

After glancing over at Nathaniel, who was also openly smirking, Levi fixed his eyes on me and mocked, “Poor Noah, you’re going to get into so much trouble for this little incident.” He paused with a dramatic sigh, then went on, “But…you know, Nathaniel and I
might
be willing to forget what we saw…if you’ll share your little girl with us.”

Every fiber within my body screamed out for me to jump from Rumor’s back and sprint over to him, drag him off his horse and hurt him with my bare hands. And I calculated the distance to him, on the verge of doing it. But I knew that was what he wanted, an evil deed he could report to the church about Noah Miller. That was, if he survived my attack. And even though Levi was probably sick enough to actually mean what he said, I needed to control myself or I’d make it worse for me and Rose.

“You can go to hell, Levi Zook. And you, too, Nathaniel Yoder,” I said in a barely controlled voice.

Watching Levi’s expression change from wicked enjoyment to disappointment made me think that maybe he really believed I would offer Rose over to him to avoid getting into trouble. The thought sickened me, and I backed Rumor up right into Lady to be even closer to Rose. To keep her safe from Levi’s and Nathaniel’s disgusting desire for her.

Upon doing that, Rose reached out and touched my arm. The feel of her hand sent a powerful kick to my senses, suddenly filling the darkening, stormy sky with a warm light.

When Levi saw Rose touch me, his eyes narrowed with unhidden jealousy. He kicked his chestnut horse, galloping right at us, only to swerve before full impact. His horse bumped hard into Rumor’s side, catching my leg, too, before he passed by us down the path toward the road. “You’re going to regret the day you ever saw that girl, Noah!” he shouted back to me over his shoulder. Nathaniel went with him and within seconds they were out of sight, the sound of their pounding hooves fading away.

At that instant a dazzling claw of lightning streaked across the sky. The trees in the woods seemed to leap forward in the brilliance of the flash. Immediately after the light blinked out came the tearing noise of thunder right above us.

I turned to Rose, seeing her face ashen-white, masked with shocked worry. Every muscle in Lady’s body was as taut as a bowstring and she pranced in place, but Rose deftly held her in check. Grabbing Lady’s reins, I pulled Rose into my arms. Her breathing was hectic and her heart was pumping so hard I could feel it through her chest. Gently I rubbed her back and hair, holding my face against hers.

Her voice came out in a hoarse whisper. “What will happen now, Noah?”

She sounded terrified, and I kissed the side of her mouth before drawing a long breath and answering honestly, “I don’t know, Rose. But at least we’ll get it all out in the open.”

Her face twisted with emotion when she said, “But I don’t want you to get sent far away. I wouldn’t survive if I lost you.” Her lips quivered. “I can’t go through it again, Noah. I can’t lose you, too.”

Her wet eyes were glinting and I knew she was talking about her mother. I was ready at that moment to run away with her, take her anywhere that we could be together without the prying eyes and rules that were working so hard to keep us apart. But I still held out hope that I could do it the right way and keep my oath to the church. If I left with Rose now, the church would forever shun me, and the English world was foreign and harsh. I’d heard the stories and seen with my own eyes how most of them lived. Besides Mr. Denton, the other drivers talked of getting drunk on the weekends and playing around with many women. The men divorced easily, forgetting their vows to their wives and the responsibility of their children to seek freedom and dishonorable experiences. Even Dr. Cameron had taken up with another woman without the bond of marriage. And then there was the fact that I didn’t even have a high-school education. How would I support Rose and our children in her world?

Having her close to my chest evoked the determination in me to fight for her within the church. It could still work out for us. I couldn’t give up on it now, without even trying. Surely Father and Mother would understand if they knew how much I loved Rose. How we were perfect for each other.

I moved my hands to her face, wiping away the tears spilling down her cheeks with my thumbs. I leaned in close enough to feel her warm breaths.

“It’s going to be okay, Rose. Really, I’ll take care of everything. We may have to lay low for a while, but we’ll be together in the end. No matter what happens, trust me, I’ll make it work.” She sniffed and wiped her face on my shirt, giving me a reason to smile even as the insanity was crashing down upon us.

Then the rain came. It started with a few large splatters attacking us from the sky, as if the trouble we were dealing with on the ground wasn’t enough. Within a few breaths, it was a waterfall, causing the world to become fuzzy and indistinct.

Trying to blink the rain out of my eyes, I wondered what God was trying to tell me at that moment. Was the angry deluge because I had fallen in love with an English girl…or possibly was it that I was about to be separated from her?

Letting go of her hand, I urged, “Come on, we need to get out of here before we get struck by lightning!”