Chapter 14
Perry managed to tune out Daisy and Ferman as he drove to Birch Creek, but it wasn’t easy. They’d been continuously chatting
since she climbed into the back seat of his buggy. Last night after she left, he put away his tools and cleaned out his vehicle,
scrubbing down the seats. He didn’t want Daisy’s church clothes to get dirty. Oh, and Ferman’s either. The old man was wearing
one of Perry’s church outfits, and while it was a little baggy and long on him, he was presentable.
Ferman was spirited this morning, and from the moment they pulled out of the driveway, he had plied Daisy with questions.
Perry wasn’t exactly sure what they were talking about. He’d been distracted since he saw Daisy approach from the Hershberger
home wearing her navy dress, white apron, and matching sweater. Whoa.
He tried to ignore the sudden thumping sensation in his chest as she neared, stopping when she reached the buggy. And he couldn’t
stop staring when he should have jumped out and helped her inside. By the time he got a grip on his senses, she was already
in the buggy and sitting next to Ferman.
Perry rubbed his eyebrow, irritated with himself. Ever since last night when Daisy had asked if she was boring—she wasn’t, not even close—and followed that up with her unexpected question about the male psyche, he couldn’t think straight. He couldn’t sleep either. Not a single wink. He was no stranger to occasional insomnia, yet last night was different. Because it wasn’t just her innocent questions that had him counting sheep.
He couldn’t believe she thought she was boring. Even though she denied that anyone had said so, she’d somehow gotten that
wrong idea in her head, and he wondered if Maynard was involved. He was surprised she’d heard from him. Perry didn’t know
the guy, but for some reason Maynard bugged him.
Then she admitted her lack of knowledge and experience when it came to relationships. It wasn’t her admission that affected
him, it was the discouragement and shame in her eyes. She shouldn’t be so down on herself. The woman he knew wasn’t boring,
and she sure didn’t need to be ashamed of being naive. For a split second he wanted to comfort her, and not just with words.
He wanted to take her in his arms and soothe her. And that wasn’t a good thing.
He recalibrated his thoughts, needing to concentrate on worshiping the Lord and not on how Daisy had made him feel. Or was
making him feel. Wow, was he confused. When they were close to Birch Creek, Daisy’s and Ferman’s voices were distant as he
was finally able to somewhat prepare his mind and heart for the upcoming service.
That ended when he turned into his brother Mose’s driveway. His family was hosting the service in their barn, and he saw several of his brothers congregating outside the entrance. Reality hit him. Despite the fact that he and Daisy were just making an appearance, the thought that his family—all fifty-eight members of them—would see them together made his stomach spin. He reminded himself that they didn’t have to pretend to be anything but themselves, and they especially didn’t have to fake having feelings for each other.
Feelings... for Daisy...
“Hey!” Ferman hollered from the back seat. “Watch how you’re parking this thing!”
The high wood-slat fence bordering Mose’s yard to the left of the driveway came into view and he was nearly too close to it.
The horse sharply halted on his own and Perry blanched. His mind was so scattered, he wasn’t paying attention. “Sorry,” he
muttered, engaging the brake and giving himself a mental shake. When he turned around, Ferman was already halfway out of the
buggy.
“Wait!” he yelled and jumped out. All he needed was for Ferman to splat on the ground. He could hear the man’s long-suffering
sigh. No doubt the entire county did. Perry couldn’t stop a smile. Now that Ferman was feeling better, he was starting to
act like a drama queen. After Perry helped him out of the vehicle and made sure Ferman was steady on his feet, he turned to
see Daisy getting out of the buggy.
He froze. Should he help her down? She might not appreciate it, considering her feelings for Maynard. Maynard. Talk about a splash of cold water.
“Excuse me.” Daisy, already out of the buggy, slipped past him and went to Ferman’s side. The two of them headed for the barn
without him.
Hold up. Wasn’t the point of coming to Birch Creek for his family to see him with her? He secured his horse before catching
up to them, making sure he was walking next to Daisy.
“There’s Aden Troyer,” Ferman said, peeling off to hobble toward the community’s resident beekeeper. Aden’s family also owned
one of three small grocery stores in the area, Schrock Grocery.
“I didn’t know you knew someone in Birch Creek,” Perry said.
Ferman cast a look over his shoulder. “You didn’t ask.”
Daisy moved a little closer. “Should we let him geh by himself?”
Perry watched Ferman walk. His gait was fairly stable, more so than it had been day before yesterday. There was something
about being around people that seemed to give Ferman renewed energy. Aden was only a few steps away, and he reached him just
fine.
“Looks like we don’t need to,” she said, chuckling. It sounded sweet and light. Just like her. The tension on her face when he first picked her up had disappeared, and she seemed her normal self. That made him relax
a little too.
“Ferman’s quite the character,” he said as the old man pumped Aden’s hand.
“ Ya .” When she looked up at Perry, her grin dropped, and she seemed apprehensive again.
Their height difference forced him to bend a little so she could hear him. “Are you okay?” he said, lowering his voice. Glancing
around, he saw his relatives interspersed through the crowd of churchgoers, but his mother wasn’t in sight and his family
didn’t seem to notice he was there, much less with Daisy. “There’s still time to back out. I can get Ferman and take you home.”
Without hesitation she shook her head.
The fact that she was partly here for herself, but mostly for him wasn’t unappreciated. Would Ruby have helped him out like
this? He already knew the answer. A resounding no.
“Hi, Perry,” Margaret said.
He startled. His sister-in-law seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Or he hadn’t sensed her approach because he was so focused
on Daisy. Wow, he’d never been this unsettled. “Uh, hi.”
She looked at Daisy, a flicker of surprise in her eyes. “ Gute morgen . Nice to see you. I saw Ferman talking with Aden. I take it he’s feeling better?”
“Thanks to you,” Daisy said. “He’s followed all your directions, and he’s in a lot less pain.”
Margaret’s smile was soft. “That’s wonderful.”
“Daisy’s been taking gut care of him,” Perry added.
“We both have.” She touched his arm, only to quickly pull away.
Nearing forty, Margaret was still one of the prettiest women in Birch Creek. She arched a perfect eyebrow at him, not bothering
to hide her curiosity.
So it begins. Perry touched Daisy’s elbow. “We should get inside,” he said, nodding toward the barn.
“ Ya. ” Margaret’s gaze bounced from his to Daisy’s, then back again. “You don’t want to be late.”
Perry didn’t wait for Margaret to say anything else, and the three of them headed to the barn, his hand still on Daisy’s elbow.
When he and Ruby dated, they had mutually agreed to pretend not to know each other at church service. Being this showy went
against his grain. Besides, she touched him first, although by the way she drew back so quickly, he was almost positive she
hadn’t done it intentionally.
The only way for his and Daisy’s pact to work—and to end—would be for everyone to see them together, and being this close
to her might grab their collective attention. Thus far, only Margaret had noticed. Fifty-seven more to go.
“Would you like to sit with us, Daisy?” Margaret asked.
“That would be nice.” She left with Margaret to sit on the women’s side of the church.
Unable to stop himself, he watched her walk away.
“Hmm.”
Perry spun around to see Ferman sidle up to him. “What?”
“Oh, nothing. Time for church.” He strolled into Mose’s barn as if he owned the place.
Perry started to follow him, then stopped short. Did Ferman see him holding Daisy’s elbow? From the twinkle in the old man’s
eye, Perry was sure he did.
***
Daisy glanced at Ferman. His snores had filled Perry’s buggy for the last half hour on their trip back to Marigold. She glanced
at Perry, and he seemed tired too. It had been a long day for all of them.
She shifted on the seat and looked at the passing landscape. After a slightly chilly morning, the afternoon was warm. This
was her first trip in a buggy since she arrived in Marigold, and she was entranced by the rolling hills and thick green grass.
Ferman had been so chatty during the trip to Birch Creek this morning that she didn’t have a chance to fully enjoy the scenery.
Smiling, she breathed in the fresh air. Today had gone better than she thought. At first when Margaret introduced her to her
sisters-in-law—eight in all, plus Junia, who was a cousin-in-law and used to live in Marigold—she thought she might be in
over her head. They were all friendly. And curious, that was obvious. When she saw Miriam, who was sitting at the end of the
row leaning forward and giving Daisy an enthusiastic wave, she waved back but internally winced. There was no turning back
now.
But after the service, the Bontragers put her at ease, and she enjoyed getting to know them. She was concerned that she might have to field some questions about her and Perry, and she planned to insist they were just friends , making sure to emphasize it the way Perry had whenever he brought up the word.
She needn’t have worried. His family was more interested in hearing about her life in Dover. “Usually we vacation in Pinecraft,”
Miriam said. “Perhaps we should try Delaware next summer.”
“The beaches are a lot of fun, but Dover isn’t as pretty as it is here,” Daisy said over a meal of cold sandwiches, chips,
pickles, Chow Chow, and a variety of desserts. The lunch meat on the sandwiches was the best she’d ever tasted, and she discovered
that it was from Perry’s brother Nelson, who was a butcher in Marigold.
During lunch she couldn’t stop sneaking looks at Perry. He didn’t seem to be enjoying himself as much as Daisy was, and she
knew it was because of their pact. She wished she had never come up with this idea or made the agreement. Not for her sake,
but for his. He’d already had reservations with misrepresenting their relationship, and she noticed he stayed close to one
small group of men—his younger brothers, Mose, Mahlon, and Elam. She couldn’t tell the twins apart, and they looked very similar
to his older twin brothers, Zeb and Zeke. Elam was easy to spot—he was the tallest and the most outgoing of all the Bontrager
men. Perry was clearly the most introverted. And the handsomest.
She inwardly sighed. There she went again, noticing Perry’s looks when she should be thinking about Maynard. He was good-looking
too, in a different way. And when did she become so enthralled with outer appearances? Then again, Perry’s personality was
appealing too. And just because she noticed his attractiveness and fine character, it didn’t mean she wasn’t devoted to Maynard.
He was the one God wanted her to be with, not Perry. The tension eased from her shoulders.
When they reached Perry’s, she intended to exit the buggy and go straight to her aunt and uncle’s house. Ferman was managing fine, and he and Perry didn’t need her hovering for the rest of the day. Once she was at Grace’s, she would write Maynard another letter, then spend the rest of the afternoon cross-stitching.
The horse halted, and the lurching motion woke up Ferman. It also made him groan.
Oh nee. She hadn’t even thought about him overdoing it this morning. Now that he wasn’t in excruciating pain, she could see
how extroverted he was, talking and laughing with everyone. He hadn’t expressed any difficulty getting into the buggy when
it was time to leave Mose’s either.
“Are you okay?” Perry asked him, looking as concerned as Daisy felt.
“I’m fine.” He reached for his cane and winced. “All right, maybe not fine. I’m hurtin’, to tell the truth.”
Perry hopped out of the buggy and dashed to the opposite side to help Ferman out.
Frowning, Daisy followed the men into the house. Her personal plans could wait. She wasn’t about to leave now, not until she
knew Ferman was okay.
***
“Back in bed, once again,” Ferman muttered as he stared at Perry’s bedroom ceiling. His grousing didn’t hold its usual punch,
however. How could it when Margaret’s concoctions and the anti-inflammatory he’d taken made his pain subside? And he had to
admit, the boy had an awfully comfortable bed.
Closing his eyes, he relaxed underneath the soft sheets and quilt. He hadn’t expected to enjoy himself today as much as he had, figuring his hip would get in the way of having a good time. It was great to see Aden Troyer again, having met him through his honey-selling business a few years ago when Lovina was still alive. He also had a chance to meet new people, and the Bontragers seemed to be a quality bunch. Not surprising, since he’d always thought well of Nelson and Jesse. They weren’t perfect people—no one was. Lovina had come close. But even she had her flaws. Lord knows I have plenty of them.
He was discovering firsthand what an exceptional man Perry was, and Daisy already had a special place in his heart. Not that
he would reveal that tidbit to anyone. Or even out loud to himself. He respected her backbone, her refusal to let his stubborn
petulance get to her. But there sure was something going on with those two, and that had become fully obvious today.
When Daisy climbed into the buggy, the tension was thicker than a brick wall. He’d tried to diffuse the unease by talking
to her, and that had helped somewhat, although he noticed that as soon as they pulled into Mose’s driveway the awkwardness
returned.
Then there was that business of the two of them acting so cozy before church, only for the chumminess to disappear on the
way home. Ferman had already been surprised that she had joined them for church. It was almost as if Perry and Daisy wanted
everyone in Birch Creek to think they were a couple, only to drop the facade as soon as they left.
Ferman’s inquiring mind came to the fore. What kind of game were they playing? Even when they had helped him to the house
and fussed over him, plying him with medicine and making sure he was tucked into bed like an overgrown baby—he was starting
not to mind all that much—he hadn’t sensed there was anything between them. No connection, and definitely not a spark of attraction.
The two of them had it all backward for some reason. Typically, Amish couples kept their relationship a secret from the rest of the community, even their own families, until they were ready to announce their engagement. Sometimes the lovebirds weren’t so covert, like Grace and Kyle. He and Lovina had been in the middle—when they were dating, they didn’t exactly shout it from the barn roof, but they also weren’t concerned if folks figured it out. Many of them had been aware they were together by the time they made their announcement in church. And they had spent plenty of private, enjoyable moments with each other out of sight of everyone else.
Not Daisy and Perry, though. When they weren’t close to each other, like during the service, preparing for lunch, or separately
visiting with others, he had seen them exchange ardent looks. And Ferman spotted Perry putting his palm on the back of Daisy’s
waist as he assisted her in the buggy. But after that? Nix . Almost like they were barely acquaintances.
So very, very strange.
“Mind your own business, you old coot.” Lovina’s firm but loving warning went through his mind. If he were smart, he would heed those words. He needed to focus on
getting better, not wondering about his caretakers. He needed to go back home.
To an empty house. To memories, both happy and sad. To manage a household and yard by himself. That’s what I want, right?
He didn’t understand his hesitation. He usually didn’t like being fussed over, not even by Lovina. But he hadn’t realized
how much he’d missed living with other people. The intense arguments he had with Junior before he and Polly Ann moved away
were fading in his mind a little bit, and the knowledge that she always resented him didn’t hurt as much. It was slightly
possible that he may or may not have always been easy to live with.
There had been times when he and Junior had gotten along. Like those cold winter nights the three of them would be in the living room, the fireplace cloaking them in a cozy blanket of warmth, he and Junior playing checkers and drinking apple cider while Polly Ann played with her yarn—although she called it knitting. It wasn’t as congenial as it had been when it had been only him, Lovina, and Junior, but it had been pleasant. Homey. Maybe even... loving.
He turned over onto his healthy hip. That was something else he hadn’t done in a long time—lie on his good side. Margaret’s
fine doctoring was to thank for that. Their brief conversation right after church service came to mind.
“You should really consider taking your doctor’s advice,” she had said after he told her he was on the mend. “The medicine and rest are only temporary fixes. They aren’t going to solve your problem.”
“Out of the question,” he responded, then wished he hadn’t sounded so defiant. She was only trying to help. Like Perry, Daisy, and his doctor.
“Then you’ll need to permanently retire from work. I’m glad to see you’re using a cane, but you still might fall if you don’t
get your hip tended to. Do you have family you could move in with?”
Ferman had hidden his frown, but he didn’t have to in the privacy of Perry’s bedroom. Moving in with Junior was also out of
the question. He didn’t want to go back to fighting with him or dealing with Polly’s mercurial moods. He suspected those were
worse now that she was expecting.
But what if he was part of the problem ? Or the whole problem. Now that he wasn’t hurting, maybe his perpetual state of pain was a contributing factor to the rift in his family.
His eyes fluttered shut, the herbal tea he’d drunk a little while ago taking effect. Even if his attitude was better and he would be less of a grump to live with, he wasn’t going to be a burden to anyone. Not his son, or Perry and Daisy. He needed to get well and go back home.
Even if deep, deep down, a part of him didn’t want to.