B Is for Bonnet (Amish ABCs #2)

PROLOGUE

June Cleveland, Ohio

D r. Mason’s office was decorated in shades of gray. Dove gray walls. Black-and-white artsy-looking photographs and charcoal prints surrounded by silver frames. The flooring was some kind of fake wood done in a muted mushroom color, and the furniture was constructed of chrome, glass, and gray suede.

Jonny Schrock guessed some fancy interior designer believed the monochromatic template made patients feel more at ease.

It had the opposite effect on him. With each passing minute, his dark mood intensified. He couldn’t wait to get out of there.

“Jonny Schrock?”

“Yeah. That’s me,” he said, jumping to his feet.

“Hi. I’m Danielle,” she said when he reached the doorway. “I’m so sorry, but Dr. Mason had an emergency this morning. He’s running late.”

“I understand.” Feeling like he was a convict just granted an early parole, he tried not to smile. “I’ll call to reschedule later.”

“Oh, there’s no need for that. He’ll be here, but it’s probably going to be another fifteen minutes. We just didn’t want you to have to wait in that room any longer,” she explained with a smile. “Come with me.”

And just like that, his spirits took a nosedive again. Following her down the narrow hallway, he entered the examination room.

“Have a seat. And here,” she added, moving to a small cabinet that hid a tiny refrigerator, “have some water. It’s warm out.”

“Thanks.”

When the door closed, he opened the bottle of water, drank half and then kicked out his feet. Now he figured he could play on his phone or just sit and stew.

For some unknown reason, he chose to do the latter. No matter how much he usually enjoyed scanning social media pages or texting his friends, his mind wasn’t on anything but the reason he was there. Three days ago, Dr. Mason’s assistant had called. It seemed the doctor had looked over his test results, found a problem, and wanted to speak to him in person.

He was twenty-two years old. As far as he was concerned, he was in his prime. He was well-built, not anywhere close to being overweight, and had never had a serious problem beyond breaking his arm when he slid into second base during an intense baseball playoff game in high school.

Honestly, he had no idea how a routine checkup had come to this.

“You’re freaking out for no reason,” he muttered as he leaned back in his chair. “It’s probably nothing.”

Crossing his feet in front of him, he pretended to believe that, but it was a hard sell. From everything he could tell, Dr. Mason was a busy man. He wasn’t going to ask a guy to come to his office to discuss test results if there was nothing to talk about.

The door opening brought him to his feet.

When he saw that it was Dr. Mason and not Danielle, his already rapid pulse sped up.

“Sorry about the wait, Jonny,” Dr. Mason said as he strode forward to shake hands. “It couldn’t be helped.”

“I didn’t mind waiting.”

“Since we’ve had more than a couple of patients coming in with either the flu or strep, I thought you might be more comfortable in here.” He smiled slightly. “I don’t want you to leave here feeling worse than when you came in.”

“I appreciate that.”

Dr. Mason motioned to the chair Jonny had just vacated. “Have a seat,” he said as he sat down on the other side of the desk. He put on a pair of glasses as he opened the folder.

Then he looked Jonny in the eye.

“Jonny, when we asked for blood work, I expected some relatively good numbers. You seem to be in good health, you exercise, and your weight is good. Unfortunately, your cholesterol is through the roof.”

It took a moment for the doctor’s words to sink in. But when they did, Jonny breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, boy. I was afraid it was something really bad, like you thought I had cancer or something.”

Dr. Mason didn’t crack a smile. “We didn’t see any signs of cancer, but what we did find isn’t good, son. Everything you complained about—feeling worn down, thirsty, and blurry vision—those are all signs that you’re prediabetic. You’re going to have to make some changes.”

Jonny still wasn’t sure why the doctor looked so worried. The “pre” part of his diagnosis meant that nothing bad had actually happened. “Don’t I just have to stop eating cheeseburgers or something?”

“You do need to stop that. But your numbers are so high, I’m worried that something else could be going on.” Looking up from the chart, he asked, “Do you have a history of heart disease in your family?”

“I don’t think so. My parents are fine.”

“What about your grandparents? Any idea about their health?”

“Both sets of my grandparents are Amish.” Didn’t that mean that they were healthy?

Dr. Mason’s expression still didn’t ease. “That doesn’t mean you aren’t at risk.”

“I guess not. But, um, I haven’t heard about anything.”

“Let’s focus on your parents. How are their cholesterol levels?”

“I’m not sure.” Especially because he’d barely talked to either of them ever since he and his siblings had decided to think about becoming Amish.

“I suggest you call your parents and talk to them about that.”

Yeah, like that would break the thick wall of ice that had formed between them. “I will. No problem.”

Dr. Mason’s eyes narrowed. “Son, I’m serious. You could have a heart attack.”

Jonny chuckled. “I’m only twenty-two.”

“Twenty-two-year-olds can have heart attacks. It’s rare but not unheard of. This is serious.”

“I understand.”

“No, I don’t think you do. Your cholesterol is 267. It should be around 180.”

“That’s almost a hundred points higher.”

“Exactly.” Dr. Mason started spouting off numbers about LDL and HDL and triglycerides. And then he handed Jonny the report and a packet of papers. “You have two months to get your numbers down. Read this and follow the guidelines, Jonny.”

“Can’t I just take a pill or something?”

“If we can’t get a handle on it, that’s an option. But the root of the matter is your lifestyle. You are going to need to make some big changes and follow the recommended diet.”

“I’ll do my best.”

But instead of appearing pleased, Dr. Mason appeared even more concerned. “Jonny, I want to see you two months from today. We’re going to do a blood draw again and see what we find out. If your lab results aren’t better, then we’ll need to do an EKG just to make sure you’re not at an immediate risk.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Have that conversation with your parents, son. Talk to Martin, and your sisters, too. I wouldn’t have brought you in here if I wasn’t concerned.”

“I will, but no one’s ever mentioned anything.”

“Let’s hope that the next time we meet it will be a better conversation.”

“I hope so, too.”

Dr. Mason stood up. “Make sure to book your next appointment before you leave.” When Jonny hesitated, he lowered his voice. “I’ll be asking my assistant to give you a call in two weeks to see how you’re doing.”

“In two weeks?” What could they possibly need to know so soon?

“She’ll be asking what changes you’ve made, son. I expect to hear that you’ve made quite a few.”

“Yes, sir.”

Three hours later, Jonny was sitting in his apartment and feeling like the bottom had just dropped out of his life. After a brief phone call with his mom, who’d said that she always had low cholesterol, he’d called up his dad.

And gotten the surprise of his life.

“Dad, are you sure your brother had a heart attack at thirty?” And died?

“I’m afraid so.”

“I don’t remember you speaking about that.”

“Probably because it happened when you were little, Jonny. Just a toddler. And, to tell you the truth, thinking about my brother not being around still makes me sad.”

He vaguely remembered once overhearing his grandparents talking about Hank. “I bet it was devastating for them.”

“It was. It was hard on all of us. Hank was a good guy,” his father murmured, emotion thick in his voice. “It’s good you got checked and asked your mom and me about our health histories.”

“I’ll let the doctor know about Hank.”

“Good. That’s important. Don’t worry about doing whatever he needs you to do, son. If he wants you to get some more tests, don’t hesitate, okay? You’re still on my health insurance, and it’s top of the line. That’s what it’s there for.”

Health insurance. He hadn’t even thought about it.

Or the consequences of not having it.

“Thanks, Dad,” he muttered, his mouth suddenly feeling like it was full of cotton.

“No need to thank me. I’m your father.”

“But still . . . I appreciate it.”

“Are you still entertaining this Amish nonsense?”

And just like that, all of the good feelings he’d been experiencing vanished in a heartbeat. “It’s not nonsense.”

“I know Kelsey fell in love and became Amish, but that doesn’t mean that all four of you need to do the same. I know you and I have had our differences, but we can work them out, right?”

“Dad, me wanting to be Amish doesn’t have anything to do with you and me. There’s something about living more simply in Walden that appeals to me. I want a change of life.”

“Living without electricity or a car isn’t as idyllic as you might think. Are you still going to live there for the next couple of months?”

“I am. I found a job at a bicycle shop.” Though he hadn’t thought about his health when he’d interviewed, he figured getting more exercise could only help his cholesterol levels.

“You know I’d rather you go back to college, Jon.”

They’d already had this conversation. Several times. “I know, but I don’t want to enroll in another semester until I’m sure about my future.” Jonny clenched his fists and reminded himself that his father was simply concerned.

“I guess not.” His father sounded frustrated.

“Dad, I appreciate your help, but I’m not going to change my mind. If you can’t accept it, you need to let me know.”

“I’m trying, son.”

“Do you want me to handle all this on my own?”

“No. Of course not.” He sighed. “I know things have been hard ever since Mom and I decided to divorce. But I still want a relationship with you, son.”

“I want that, too.”

“Well, maybe this diagnosis from Dr. Mason is the Lord’s way of forcing you and me to start talking.”

Jonny thought that was a pretty far-fetched notion, but he didn’t completely disagree. “Maybe so.”

“When are you moving?”

“In one month.” After his next blood draw.

“I’d like to see you before you leave. We can have lunch or something.”

The invitation sounded awkward. Almost as awkward as accepting it was. “Okay.”

“I love you, Jonny. Don’t forget that, okay?”

“I love you, too, Dad.”

“Follow the doctor’s directions.”

“I will.”

“Good.”

After they hung up, Jonny realized that his world really had just turned on its side. Now he was tied to their father in a way that Martin, Beth, and Kelsey weren’t. And, if he didn’t get better, he would need to be on insurance for the rest of his life. No way did he want to chance having a heart attack without being completely covered.

And that meant that he couldn’t follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and farm.

He didn’t know what to do.

But as he thought about calling Martin or Beth and sharing everything, he frowned. Martin and Beth were older and sometimes shrugged off his concerns. It didn’t matter if it was him worrying about being a freshman in high school, going to take his driver’s test, or when Courtney Bellerman broke up with him and broke his heart. They’d always acted as if he was exaggerating things or worrying too much.

They weren’t always wrong, either. Sometimes he actually was guilty of making a mountain out of a molehill.

Then there was everyone’s attitude toward their parents. Jonny knew all of them liked being a united front. The last thing he wanted to do was risk one of them saying that he shouldn’t take their father’s insurance.

It was probably a lot better to keep things to himself. At least until he had something to worry about.

What would probably happen was that he’d try to eat a little better, his cholesterol numbers would go back to where they were supposed to be, and all of this would be in the past.

Exactly where it needed to stay.