Ethan was already there, it would beharder for her mother and Neil to say no. “Look, Ethan, let me worry about my family.”
“I don’t know, Leah.” His brow puckered.
She suddenly remembered Neil’s barn full of antique autos. Perhaps Ethan could help Neil maintain them. “Neil can’t handle even simple chores around the house anymore. Maybe you could help out. There’s lots of stuff for you to do.”
Ethan nodded slowly. “Yes. I would have to help somehow.”
“I’ll be in school all day. And once you get a job, you’ll be working, so it’s not like we’d be in each other’s way or anything. We’ll be apart but still together.” Leah shot him a broad smile.
“And if we cannot find Eli?”
“Don’t give up before we even start,” Leah chided.
Ethan leaned back in his chair, hooking his hands behind his head. He stared out the window for a long time. Leah’s heart thudded. She knew he did nothing in haste. But the more she considered her plan, the more sense it made. They could search forEli without the frustration of distance between them. And she could have Ethan in her world. She had lived among the Amish. Now it was Ethan’s turn to live among the English.
“When would we leave?” Ethan asked quietly.
Leah licked her dry lips. “The sooner, the better, I think. I have to start school the day after New Year’s, and you need to get settled in. You know, adjusted.” She didn’t add that she really wanted to get home before her mom and Neil returned from Detroit. If Ethan was already moved in by the time they returned, it would be harder to throw him out. It was urgent that she get to her mother first thing, before she had time to blow a fuse.
“I want to go with you, Leah.”
Ethan’s simple acceptance startled her. She had expected more resistance. “Well. Okay then. You’ll drive home with me. If we leave tomorrow, we can spend New Year’s Eve at the house. We can watch the ball drop on TV.”
He looked puzzled. “What ball?”
While she was growing up, Leah hadsometimes stayed up until midnight to watch the Times Square crowds in New York welcome in the New Year. Of course, Ethan didn’t know about the yearly ritual. “I’ll tell you about it on the drive home.”
Ethan stood. “Come.”
“Where to?”
“To go tell my parents.”
Leah felt a jolt as reality hit. “Ethan, I don’t know if you should tell them.”
“I cannot just sneak away.”
“But they may get angry and try to stop you. Maybe you could just write them after you get home with me.”
“I cannot. I must tell them to their faces. And you must go with me.”
She swallowed hard. “I could wait in the car. Keep the motor running.”
He gave her a little smile. “No, Leah. You must be by my side. And you must tell them of your offer of a place to stay.”
“But not about Eli?”
“No. That will be our secret.”
Nervously Leah stood. “Are you sure you want to go tell them right now?”
“They are together tonight. It is best to go now.”
With her heart thudding like thunder in her ears, Leah followed Ethan out into the cold, dark night.
Leah fought an intense internal battle as she and Ethan drove out to the farm. Now that she was about to get her way, she was scared. Was she being selfish? Would Tillie hate her? She’d come into Ethan’s tidy little world and turned it on its edge. She was English, everything the Amish held in low regard. Now she was luring Ethan away from his family and the only way of life he’d known.
By the time they arrived at the farmhouse, Leah felt sick to her stomach. But she couldn’t turn back now. She’d made Ethan promises, and she had to keep them.
They found his parents alone in their kitchen beside the woodstove. Jacob Longacre had the big German Bible open on his lap, and Tillie was sitting in an old rocker doing cross-stitch by the light of an oil lamp. Startled by Ethan and Leah’s appearance, Jacob asked, “Has something
“I don’t know, Leah.” His brow puckered.
She suddenly remembered Neil’s barn full of antique autos. Perhaps Ethan could help Neil maintain them. “Neil can’t handle even simple chores around the house anymore. Maybe you could help out. There’s lots of stuff for you to do.”
Ethan nodded slowly. “Yes. I would have to help somehow.”
“I’ll be in school all day. And once you get a job, you’ll be working, so it’s not like we’d be in each other’s way or anything. We’ll be apart but still together.” Leah shot him a broad smile.
“And if we cannot find Eli?”
“Don’t give up before we even start,” Leah chided.
Ethan leaned back in his chair, hooking his hands behind his head. He stared out the window for a long time. Leah’s heart thudded. She knew he did nothing in haste. But the more she considered her plan, the more sense it made. They could search forEli without the frustration of distance between them. And she could have Ethan in her world. She had lived among the Amish. Now it was Ethan’s turn to live among the English.
“When would we leave?” Ethan asked quietly.
Leah licked her dry lips. “The sooner, the better, I think. I have to start school the day after New Year’s, and you need to get settled in. You know, adjusted.” She didn’t add that she really wanted to get home before her mom and Neil returned from Detroit. If Ethan was already moved in by the time they returned, it would be harder to throw him out. It was urgent that she get to her mother first thing, before she had time to blow a fuse.
“I want to go with you, Leah.”
Ethan’s simple acceptance startled her. She had expected more resistance. “Well. Okay then. You’ll drive home with me. If we leave tomorrow, we can spend New Year’s Eve at the house. We can watch the ball drop on TV.”
He looked puzzled. “What ball?”
While she was growing up, Leah hadsometimes stayed up until midnight to watch the Times Square crowds in New York welcome in the New Year. Of course, Ethan didn’t know about the yearly ritual. “I’ll tell you about it on the drive home.”
Ethan stood. “Come.”
“Where to?”
“To go tell my parents.”
Leah felt a jolt as reality hit. “Ethan, I don’t know if you should tell them.”
“I cannot just sneak away.”
“But they may get angry and try to stop you. Maybe you could just write them after you get home with me.”
“I cannot. I must tell them to their faces. And you must go with me.”
She swallowed hard. “I could wait in the car. Keep the motor running.”
He gave her a little smile. “No, Leah. You must be by my side. And you must tell them of your offer of a place to stay.”
“But not about Eli?”
“No. That will be our secret.”
Nervously Leah stood. “Are you sure you want to go tell them right now?”
“They are together tonight. It is best to go now.”
With her heart thudding like thunder in her ears, Leah followed Ethan out into the cold, dark night.
Leah fought an intense internal battle as she and Ethan drove out to the farm. Now that she was about to get her way, she was scared. Was she being selfish? Would Tillie hate her? She’d come into Ethan’s tidy little world and turned it on its edge. She was English, everything the Amish held in low regard. Now she was luring Ethan away from his family and the only way of life he’d known.
By the time they arrived at the farmhouse, Leah felt sick to her stomach. But she couldn’t turn back now. She’d made Ethan promises, and she had to keep them.
They found his parents alone in their kitchen beside the woodstove. Jacob Longacre had the big German Bible open on his lap, and Tillie was sitting in an old rocker doing cross-stitch by the light of an oil lamp. Startled by Ethan and Leah’s appearance, Jacob asked, “Has something
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