turned to Jacob. “I’ll let you know how he is as soon as I can. I don’t want to keep you.”
Jacob smiled. Amusement flashed in his golden eyes. “You’re not keeping me from anything. I’ll wait for you.”
“I won’t be long,” she said as she turned away.
“Annie,” Josiah interrupted, “we have to go now, or we’ll miss our chance to see Dat.”
She hurried to join her brother, and they headed into the emergency room for a brief visit with their father.
* * *
Jacob waited with Annie and Josiah while Horseshoe Joe was in surgery. He could tell that Annie was anxious. Josiah was quiet and didn’t have much to say. Within the hour, Nancy King arrived, greeted them and then sat next to Josiah. Annie’s brother’s expression brightened; he was obviously glad to see her.
Jacob glanced at the couple, then averted his gaze. Nancy had been his sweetheart, if only for a short time. They had parted ways after she’d gone with her grandparents to visit relatives in North Carolina. On her return, something was changed between them. It was almost as if they’d never spent time together. And then Nancy had begun walking out with Josiah.
He’d felt hurt at the time, but later when he’d thought about it, he realized that he hadn’t been too upset by the breakup. God had helped him understand that Nancy King wasn’t the woman he was intended to marry. If he’d loved Nancy as much as Noah loved Rachel or Jed loved Sarah, he might have tried to win Nancy’s affection again. But he hadn’t; he’d simply accepted that their relationship was over.
Thinking about marriage, Jacob knew that he had nothing to offer a wife. If Nancy hadn’t gone away, he might have married her, but he didn’t know how he would have provided for her, or for any woman he courted with the intention of marrying. He was getting older now and had to think about his future.
“Jacob?” Annie interrupted his thoughts. “Dr. Moss warned us that this would be a long surgery. It will be another hour, at least, until Dat is in recovery.”
“I’ll wait,” he said. She hadn’t always been a prickly thing. Her breakup with his eldest brother Jedidiah must have changed her.
Annie stood, and he followed suit.
“Restless?” he asked her.
She nodded. “It’s going to be a long while yet.”
“Let’s go downstairs for coffee,” he said, expecting her to refuse. She surprised him when she agreed.
“Josiah, we are going down to the cafeteria for coffee,” Annie said. “Would you like to come?”
“Nay. I’ll stay,” her brother said, and Nancy edged closer to him. His expression softened. “If we hear anything,” he told his sister, “we’ll let you know.” He had taken off his hat and he held it between his knees, twirling the brim.
Jacob saw that Josiah was more upset than he’d originally let on. “This is an awful thing, but the Lord will help your vadder.”
Josiah stared at him a second and then gave a nod. “Ja. When you are done,” he asked, “would you bring up coffee for us?”
“Ja,” Jacob said with a slight smile. “We won’t be long.” He knew Annie would want to return as soon as they’d entered the cafeteria. She wouldn’t be able to help it; he could tell she was terrified that something awful would happen to her father during surgery.
He followed her into the elevator, pushed the button and stood silently, studying her as he waited for them to reach the bottom floor. She didn’t look at him once during the entire ride. It didn’t bode well for their having coffee together. He would just have to somehow put her at ease.
Jacob studied Annie across the table as she sipped from her cup of coffee, set the mug down and stared into its contents. The hospital cafeteria was quiet. The long institutional-type tables were empty except for Annie and him and two female nurses and a male hospital worker, who occupied another table on the other side of the room. It was too late for breakfast and too early for lunch. “How’s the coffee?” he asked softly.
She lifted her gaze from the steaming mug. “Gut.” He could see the sheen from the rising moisture on her forehead. She looked at him a moment, her blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears, then glanced away. He could see how the events of the morning had taken a toll on her. “Jacob, I appreciate your help with Dat,” she said, almost reluctantly.
“I didn’t do much—”
“I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t stopped to help,” she admitted.
“I wouldn’t have left you,” he assured her. “I knew something was wrong the minute I saw you.” He frowned. “How are your feet?”
She blushed as she shifted briefly to glance beneath the table at her grandmother’s navy sneakers, worn over her grandfather’s black socks. “They are fine. They barely hurt.”
“Must have been broken glass alongside the road.”
“I was so scared, I just ran,” she admitted. “I didn’t take time to look down.” Her blond hair was a beautiful shade of gold beneath her white head covering. After the blush of embarrassment left her, she looked pale, too pale.
“May I get you something to eat?” he asked. She looked lovely and vulnerable; he wished he could do more for her.
Annie shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”
“We’ve been here for over two hours and the only thing you’ve had is that coffee. Once your vadder is out of surgery, you may not have another opportunity to eat. How about a sandwich?” When she declined, he said, “A cookie? A piece of cake?”
She didn’t answer. He heard her sniff. “Annie.” Jacob hated to see her troubled, but he understood. “Annie.”
She looked up, started to rise. “We should get back.”
He stood. “I’ll get the coffee for Josiah and Nancy. You can go ahead if you’d like.”
She shook her head. “Nay I’ll wait for you,” she said, surprising him. “You may need help with the coffee.”
Jacob paid for the drinks for Josiah and Nancy, and on impulse, he purchased two large chocolate-chip cookies. He tucked them under the coffee fixings in the center of the cardboard cup holder. He was back with Annie in less than a minute. There’d been no one in line at the register. “I grabbed sugar and cream for the coffee,” he told her. She inclined her head.
He silently rode with her on the elevator up to the surgical floor. The doors opened and Jacob waited for Annie to precede him. To his surprise, she suddenly stopped and turned to him. “What are we going to do, Jacob? How will we make do, when Dat can’t work?”
Jacob considered the woman before
