Chapter 19
Only after Perry turned into his driveway and parked his buggy did he realize he should have taken Daisy home the proper way.
His mind had been so scrambled since their talk at the pasture fence, he was driving on autopilot. It was why he’d been silent
on the ride home. What had started out as a great day had now become strained, and he was to blame.
He never should have brought up Maynard, but his curiosity got the best of him, and in all honesty, it had been a diversion.
When she told him she was willing to cut short her good time for his sake, he couldn’t stop holding her gaze, and his feelings
of friendship flew out the window. He had to do something to chill the mood. Mentioning Maynard worked, only too well.
Now he needed to reset. He didn’t want to go back to feeling clumsy and awkward when they were together. He swiveled to face
her. “My advice about playing hard to get might have backfired,” he admitted. “I didn’t want you to pull away from Maynard
or be worried about talking to him. I’m not exactly an expert when it comes to relationships.”
“I’m sure you know more than me.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Then Grace was right?” Daisy flinched. “Oops. I shouldn’t have said that.”
He frowned. “Right about what?”
“You’ve never been on a date.”
His jaw dropped. “Why would she say that?”
Sheepish, she held up her hands. “Because you keep to yourself.”
“That’s a big leap to make,” he said, a little annoyed. “What else did she say?”
“That’s it. She did say she was being judgmental. I totally agreed.”
Daisy from Dover, his little white knight. He started to smile, then stopped. “Forget about Grace. I—”
“So you’ve been on a date before.” Daisy leaned forward, her eyes filled with interest.
At least the tension between them was gone. He relaxed a little. “ Ya .”
“With the same girl, or more than one?”
Before she thought he was some kind of womanizer, he said, “The same maedel . Her name was Ruby. We didn’t work out.”
“Why?”
“We thought we were compatible. Turns out we weren’t.” This was the first time he’d spoken about Ruby. Talking about this
wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be, probably because this was Daisy he was talking to.
“Did you love her?”
“I thought I did.” He hadn’t expected their discussion to turn into a confessional. “The point is that I don’t want my poor
counsel to cause problems between you and Maynard.”
“It’s not.” She scooted toward him a little. “Did you want to marry her?”
He hesitated. He should change the subject back to her and Maynard. They’d gone this far, though, so he ignored the inclination. “ Ya . I almost asked her to. But she couldn’t accept me for who I am. And after we broke up, I realized I didn’t accept her either.”
“Then why did you think you were in love?”
That was a good question—one he’d wrestled with after he and Ruby ended their relationship. The answer he landed on was the
truth, although he wasn’t proud of it. “I was infatuated with her. She was pretty, and I liked the attention she gave me when
we started dating. She made me feel special, I guess.”
Daisy glanced at her lap for a moment. When she looked up again, she said, “Did you kiss her?”
He stilled. Not in a million years had he anticipated that question, and it simultaneously made him feel hot and cold, excited
and uneasy. She was looking at him with earnest, innocent beguilement. “Daisy...”
She shrank back. “I’m sorry, Perry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I don’t think before I speak.”
Her sincere regret moved him. “We’re talking about romance, so it’s bound to come up.” Not really, but he wanted to make her
feel better. By her still gloomy expression, it didn’t work.
He moved closer to her. Yes, he was attracted to her, and he still thought Maynard was a dummkopf for not seeing what a great girl she was, but more importantly he wanted her to be comfortable around him, even if that meant
they talked about a less than comfortable subject. “We’re friends, ya ?”
She lifted her head and nodded.
“Then you can talk to me about anything.”
***
Daisy couldn’t break her gaze from Perry’s. She didn’t just feel attracted and excited. She felt cared for. He could have
scoffed at her for asking such a ridiculous and intrusive question. He could have gotten mad, and he would have been right
to do so. When it came to Perry Bontrager, she couldn’t stop from saying and asking embarrassing things.
Then he smiled. “What do you want to know?”
Her spine shivered, but she quickly regained her wits. This was a prime opportunity to gain some helpful intel. Because the
time would come, possibly in a month or so, that she and Maynard would kiss, and she didn’t want to disappoint him. “Did you...”
Great, now she was clamming up.
“Kiss Ruby? Ya , I did.”
Daisy wasn’t expecting the feeling of jealousy that hit her when she heard those words. “Did you like it?”
“At first, ya . But as time went on and the feelings stopped, the kisses meant nothing. I felt... nothing.” He rubbed his chin. “Now
that I think about it, that might be the real reason we broke up. Whatever feelings we had for each other disappeared, even
before she—”
“She what?”
“I showed her my butterfly room.” He sighed. “Let’s just say she wasn’t impressed.”
Daisy straightened her shoulders, offended on Perry’s behalf. “She’s just ridiculous then.”
He laughed. “Agreed.” Then he said, “Daisy, don’t worry about kissing. When it’s right, you’ll know.”
“But what if I’m a disappointment? What if—”
“You won’t be. I can promise you that.”
She grinned, and suddenly everything between her and Perry was back to normal after a short stint of tension. No, better than normal. He wasn’t just a friend. He’s a good friend.
The buggy jerked a little as his horse pawed at the ground with one hoof. “I should get him to the barn. He’s ready to turn
in for the night.”
Only then did she realize it was almost completely dark, and when she looked at Perry’s house, she didn’t see any lights on.
“Ferman must be at my onkel ’s,” she said.
He took the reins. “I’ll give him a ride,” he said, maneuvering the buggy out of the driveway and over to her aunt and uncle’s
house. “That will save Howard the trouble.”
Daisy nodded. There was no way Ferman would, or should, be walking over to Perry’s at the end of the day. He hadn’t recovered
that much.
Perry parked the buggy and got out, Daisy joining him on the driver’s side.
“Wait,” she said. This time when she put her hand on his arm, she didn’t pull away.
Turning, he faced her, and she could barely see his facial features in the dark. Aenti Rosella and Onkel Howard’s house was set back from the road, and the light from the streetlamp didn’t quite reach all the way.
“ Danki ,” she said, taking a step closer to him.
“For what?”
“Being my friend.” She stood on tiptoe and wrapped her arms around his neck, closing her eyes when he drew her close.
“Ditto,” he whispered in her ear.
She stepped out of his embrace and walked away, feeling lighter than she had after Maynard’s phone call, and even a little
positive about talking to him later. She spun around and grinned, making a sweeping, overly dramatic gesture with her arms.
“Ferman awaits!”
***
Perry was thankful it was dark and that the streetlight’s bulb was on its last leg, because he didn’t want Daisy to unexpectedly
turn around and see his still outstretched arms. He quickly dropped them and forced a nonchalance he didn’t feel as he walked
to the Hershbergers’ porch to get Ferman. Up until she hugged him, he was fine. Hunky-dory, even. Talking with Daisy and seeing
her smile had felt good, in a platonic way. Getting his thoughts about Ruby off his chest was cathartic too. Until now he
had thought their relationship bit the dust because of the butterfly room incident. The truth was that, once the strong desire
of infatuation faded, there was nothing substantial between them.
He watched the sensor-powered light turn on when Daisy hit the top of the porch and went inside. His shoulders slumped. He
thought he was firmly in friendship territory with her until he had her in his arms, and that all changed. He tried his usual
mantra—Daisy was taken, and he was committed to singlehood. Then another thought hit him. Maybe if the circumstances were different...
Perry groaned and trudged up the porch steps. Circumstances were what they were, and nothing would change them. So whatever
attraction and longing he had for her, he had to let it go. He got over his desire for Ruby. He could get over his... his...
The door opened, nearly crashing into him. “My apologies, Perry,” Howard said, Ferman right behind him. “Didn’t realize you
were standing there.”
Perry acknowledged the apology with a wave of his hand. “C’mon, Ferman,” he said, eager to get back home where he could hopefully
think more coherently.
“I’m comin’, I’m comin’,” Ferman groused like a little kid who was being made to leave his friend’s house. “You know I move slow.”
Perry stood at the ready to help the old man down the steps. Ferman managed to make it down them and limped toward the buggy.
“He’s had a full day,” Howard said when Ferman was out of earshot. “We hit all the Marigold hot spots.”
Perry drudged up a half chuckle. “I’m sure that didn’t take long.”
“It wouldn’t have, but you know Ferman. Never met a stranger. ’Night, Perry. Danki for bringing Daisy home.”
Perry almost said “anytime” but caught himself. He walked to his buggy, his emotions in a freefall. There was absolutely no
way he was falling for Daisy Hershberger. Impossible. Inconceivable. Never mind that he’d never experienced this intensity
of feeling for Ruby, or anyone else.
She was taken. She saw him as a friend. And he saw her as...
A wonderful, amazing, beautiful woman.
Dear Lord ... I’m in trouble.
***
Ferman sat in the chair after Perry dropped him off at the front door and went to put up his horse. The bu had been gone for a long while, longer than it took to settle a horse in for the night. Ferman could tell he was highly agitated,
and there had to be only one reason why—Daisy Hershberger. Thus, he waited patiently for Perry to finish his business so he
could have a talk with him.
When Perry told him this morning that he and Daisy were going to a family event and Ferman would be hanging out with Howard Hershberger, he was confused. Not about Howard. He liked the man, and they’d had a great day running around Marigold visiting various businesses and people. They even stopped by Wagler’s, and Ferman conversed with Micah for a while. The men were extremely busy, though, and he was grateful he wasn’t working there anymore. Even if his hip hadn’t gone sideways, he wouldn’t have been able to keep up.
What he didn’t understand was why Perry and Daisy had gone to the Bontragers if there was nothing going on between them. Sure,
they could have gone as friends, but he couldn’t wrap his mind around the two of them being completely platonic. There was
too much chemistry between them, and eventually one or both would realize it. Maybe that’s what happened tonight. Ferman was
dying to find out.
Yes, he was a nosy old coot who couldn’t stop meddling. At least I’m acknowledging it.
It wasn’t long before his patience grew thin, and he got up from the chair to peek out the window. No sign of him yet—wait.
A shadowy figure was heading this way. Like the Hershbergers, Perry had a porch lamp that was triggered by movement, and he
was almost at the front door when the light came on. Only then did Ferman realize he’d left his cane by his chair. Bother.
He zoomed back to the chair—more like a hasty, inept hobble—and plopped down on the seat just as the door opened. Whew, that
sudden movement took a little wind out of him. He folded his hands on his lap, attempting to appear casual and in control
of his respiratory function.
Perry shut the door and turned to him. Then he tilted his head. “You okay?”
Ferman fought for breath. “Yep,” he said with a strangled gasp.
Perry put his straw hat on the rack by the door. “I’ll be in the back.”
“I need a moment of your time.”
Perry hesitated, and Ferman wondered if he was going to refuse his request and head into the room . Then he sat down on the couch, his posture uptight and his expression just as stiff.
Ferman had never seen Perry so out of sorts. Stoic, yes. Reserved, absolutely. But worked up? Nope. Hold up. He had seen him
in this state once before—last Sunday afternoon when he and Daisy had been working on that letter. Something serious must
have happened between them. “Everything geh all right today?”
“ Ya . Just swell.”
Sarcasm didn’t suit Perry, that was for sure. “Doesn’t sound like it.”
“I’m not in the mood, Ferman. If you have something to say, just say it.”
“All right.” The boy had opened the door, and he was more than prepared to walk through. “You and Daisy—”
“There is no me and Daisy.”
“You’re wrong,” Ferman said. He held up his hand when Perry tried to interrupt again. “I’ve been around the pasture a time
or three and I know what I see. You have feelings for that maedel , don’t you?”
Perry hung his head and nodded.
“That’s nothing to be ashamed about.”
“I’m not ashamed. I’m frustrated. She’s in love with someone else.”
“I don’t think so—”
“His name is Maynard,” Perry said. “Today I asked her if she was in love with him and she said yes.”
Ferman almost fell out of his chair. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“None of this makes sense.” He slumped against the couch back. “I promised myself I wouldn’t be in this position again. I
would never fall in—”
“In love?”
“I can’t be in love with her. I’ve only known her a little more than a week.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Ferman chuckled. “Me and Lovina? It was love at first sight. I saw her across the church pews—”
“Got it.” Perry rolled his eyes.
Ferman would have been offended if he didn’t know the situation was dire. “Are you sure she’s in love with this Maynard fellow? It’s possible she only thinks she loves him.”
“That’s not the case.”
But Ferman saw the doubt in his eyes. Doubt and more than a little hope. “Maybe you should show her she’s in love with someone
else.”
“Me?” Perry’s laugh was full of bitterness. “Trust me, in her mind, we’re only friends.”
“What if you told her how you felt—”
“I can’t do that.” He shot up from the couch. “I won’t. Not again... Never mind.” He stalked to the back of the house and
slammed the door to the room shut.
The house had never sounded so silent. Ferman winced. That’s a man who’s had his heart broken. Ferman had been fortunate enough not to go through that experience. Lovina was his first and his one and only. He could see
why Perry was blind to his own feelings. What he didn’t know was why Daisy was.
There was only one way to find out.
Tonight he had fully intended on telling Perry he was going home after church tomorrow. More than once this past week, he’d caught Daisy and Perry giving him strange looks whenever he faked the intensity of his pain or started to walk fairly normally. He was sure they suspected he wasn’t being honest. But how could he leave when there was important, unfinished business here? And while he’d vowed to step back, stay out of the way, and let God do his thing when it came to Daisy and Perry, he had to wonder if maybe he was still here for a reason. Perhaps he was a part of God’s plan. “Is that true, Lord?”
He rose from the chair, grabbed his cane, and headed for Perry’s bedroom. Ferman Eash was about to engage in some long, intense
prayer with his God.