grinned. “Good. Let’s get something to eat too.”
“Sure.” Jesse was getting hungry. The sandwich he’d packed for his lunch was long gone.
“I know this great little burger place just off the highway downtown. Our crew used to eat there every chance we got.”
“Crew?” As soon as he asked the question, Jesse knew it was a mistake.
“I worked two summers for a logging company up the way. Didn’t I ever tell you that? The pay was good, but the hours were long and the work was dangerous. The first week I was on the job, a tree fell within inches of my head. Inches. That was just the start of it.”
Jesse was sure he was about to hear everything that had happened to Dale during those two years. He settled himself in resignation. Hopefully dinner would put a halt to Dale’s storytelling.
As they drove back into town, Jesse searched for the Amish woman, hoping to see her face and prove it wasn’t Gemma. The streets and sidewalks were almost empty. He didn’t spy anyone in Amish clothing. Dale pulled the pickup and empty trailer into a parking lot off the main street. When he opened the door, Jesse got a whiff of mouthwatering fried onions and burgers. If the fare was anything like the aroma, they were in for some good food. His stomach growled in anticipation.
He followed Dale inside the small diner, ducking slightly to keep from knocking his black hat off against the doorjamb. Several people were seated at tables and at a counter. They all turned to look. He should have been used to the stares, but he never got over the feeling that he was an oddity. An Amish giant. At six foot four, he towered over Dale, who was five foot eight at the most. Jesse’s hat added another two inches to his height, and his bulky black coat made him look even bigger.
He happily took a seat in a booth where his size was less noticeable. His friend Michael Shetler once told him he needed to hang out with bigger friends. Good advice, but the problem was there wasn’t anyone his size in their Amish community.
A waitress came over and pulled a pencil from her dark curly hair. “What can I get you?”
“Two of your lumberjack burgers, two orders of fries and I’ll have a soda. What do you want to drink, Jesse?”
“Water.”
Dale winked at the waitress and grinned. “The Amish like to keep things simple.”
She ignored Dale and focused on Jesse. “Are you with the Amish lady waiting at the bus station? Oscar, the bus station attendant came over a little while ago and bought a burger for her. He said she had missed her bus and didn’t have enough money for a motel. She was hoping to find another Amish family in the area. He asked me if I knew any and I don’t.”
“We aren’t from around here,” Dale said.
Jesse hesitated a few seconds, then stood up. “Which way is the bus depot?”
She pointed her pencil up the street. “It’s not really a depot. The bus line just has a desk in the hardware store.”
He touched his hat. “Thank you. Go ahead and eat, Dale.” He couldn’t leave without offering aid to another member of his faith. He would pay for her motel room and make sure she had money to use for food if she needed help.
He walked out the door and up the sidewalk to the hardware store. A bell tingled as he walked in. A quick glance around showed him a woman in Amish clothing sitting on a bench near the other end of the store. She sat huddled in her seat with her head down and her hands gripping her handbag as if someone might tear it from her grasp.
He stopped a few feet away, searching for something to say, to ask if she was okay, if he could help and he finally settled for a simple “good evening” in the native language of the Amish, Pennsylvania Deitsh. “Guder nacth, frau.”
The woman looked up. He stared at her familiar face in astonishment. “Gemma?”
Her eyes widened. “Jesse?”
The color left her cheeks. She pressed a hand to her lips and burst into tears, leaving him with no idea what to do.
What was Jesse doing here?
Gemma struggled to control her sobs. He couldn’t have looked more stunned if he tried. His expression would have been comical if she could have found anything funny in her humiliating situation. How much worse could this day get?
The bus agent hurried over. He knelt beside her and offered her a box of tissues while glaring at Jesse. “What did you say to her?”
Jesse’s face became expressionless. “I said good-evening.”
The agent’s scowl deepened. “That’s not enough to make a woman cry.”
“I reckon it is when I say it.”
“It’s—it’s okay,” Gemma managed to reassure the helpful man between hiccuping sobs.
She reined in her distress and raised her chin to meet Jesse’s gaze. The surprise of seeing him had caught her off guard. His size, as he towered over her, made her feel small and insignificant. Like always. “Hello, Jesse. What—what are you doing here?”
“Delivering sheds. And you?”
She looked away. “Going home. I missed my bus.”
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat. “Dale Kaufman and I are returning to New Covenant in the morning. You are welcome to ride along with us. I’ll get you a room for tonight. Dale’s truck is down in front of the café. If you would rather not ride with...us, I’ll pay for your room as long as you need one.”
He turned and left the building without waiting for her answer. She drew a deep breath and blew it out in a huff. She wanted to get home, but she didn’t want to spend hours sitting next to Jesse. Nor did she want to be beholden to him. He had only offered to pay for her room because they were both Amish. He hadn’t done it because he cared about her.
Once she had imagined herself in love with Jesse. Was it only a year ago? It seemed like a lifetime had passed. She’d done everything within her power to make him notice her. What he had seen was a pesky child not a woman. Her declaration of love and marriage proposal didn’t win her the kiss she’d been hoping for. Jesse had laughed at her and called her a spoiled baby. She’d been humiliated, brokenhearted and furious. She had said some cruel things she didn’t mean. As it turned out he’d been right.
She picked up her sandwich bag and lifted the handle of her suitcase. She tried to hand the box of tissues back to the agent.
Her kind protector shook his head. “Keep it. You might need it. You don’t have to go with that fellow if you’re afraid of him.”
That made her smile. “Jesse Crumb might break a foolish young girl’s heart, but he wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
Pulling her suitcase behind her, she left the building and walked toward the café. The autumn wind was cold where it struck her face. It
