Her Amish Suitor's Secret Read online

  He regretted having nothing of importance to share with Ryan when he called him on Saturday evening at their agreed-upon time. Caleb lowered the picture window and closed the door so no one would hear him talking.

  “How was your first week?” Ryan’s question was casual, but his voice was tremulous.

  “Gut—I mean good. I’m beat, though. I always prided myself on staying in decent shape, but putting in an honest week of physical labor was tougher than I expected. Still, it was worth it. You should taste the produce here. Asparagus, broccoli, potatoes. And strawberries—oh, man, the strawberries!” Caleb rambled. “I can’t figure out what makes everything tastier than anything I’ve ever grown, if it’s the soil or fertilizer...”

  “You sound more like a farmer than a detective,” Ryan replied, cutting to the chase. “Have you turned up anything interesting in regard to the coins?”

  Caleb hesitated. “No, but I’ve eliminated the cabins as potential hiding places, so that’s a start. I think if the thief stowed anything on the property, it must be in the woods. Don’t worry, I’ll keep looking. How’s Liam?”

  “Great. Today he swam the length of the community pool without stopping,” Ryan said. “That’s one good thing about my suspension—I get to spend a lot more time with him. Surprisingly, Sheryl has agreed I can have him on Wednesdays, as well as on the weekends.”

  That was because she got together with her friends for scrapbooking on Wednesdays, Caleb thought, but he didn’t say it. Ryan had a tendency to interpret any small concession on Sheryl’s part as a signal she wanted to reconcile, and Caleb didn’t want to burst his bubble. Ryan needed to stay optimistic. “I wish I could take Liam swimming in Serenity Lake. It’s gorg—” Caleb was interrupted by a sharp rapping. “Uh-oh, gotta go,” he whispered and slipped the phone under his pillow before opening the door. Rose was standing on the step, holding a stack of linens. Sweat trickled down both sides of Caleb’s neck.

  “Is everything okay?” she inquired.

  Borrowing a line from her, he replied, “Jah, why do you ask?”

  “It’s awfully hot to have your cabin all sealed up. I thought maybe it meant you had the chills.”

  “Neh, I’m fine,” he stated without further explanation. “Are those linens for me?”

  “Jah, I forgot to ask Charity and Hope to remove your dirty sheets and make up your bed for you today when they changed the guests’ bedding. Muundaag is laundry day so I can strip the bed for you now if you want—”

  “Neh! I’ll do it myself,” Caleb exclaimed, thinking of his cell phone tucked beneath his pillow. “I’d prefer you meed not kumme inside my cabin.”

  * * *

  Rose was taken aback by Caleb’s vehement response. Did he think it was inappropriate for her to be alone with him in the cabin? That was why she was going to suggest he could take a walk—but he hadn’t let her finish talking. She sure hoped he didn’t think she was behaving coquettishly, the way Eleanor had been acting. “Okay, I’ll leave these with you and you can bring your dirty linens and clothes to the haus by Muundaag morning.”

  “Denki,” he said as Rose scurried away.

  There had been no mistaking the look of relief on his face when Rose had said she was leaving. She was abashed to remember that, after changing the sheets, she’d planned to invite him to join her on the porch of the main house for tea and dessert. Hope and Charity had gone out bowling, so this was the first real break Rose had taken all week. She was drained, but at least her jam-making efforts were paying off; of the forty-eight jars of jam she’d made that week, she had sold all but seventeen.

  A guest had bought a dozen jars to take home to her family and friends as souvenirs of her trip. However, the woman expressed disappointment there wasn’t a label on the jar indicating who’d made it. She told Rose, “I think if people knew the jam was homemade by an Amish woman, they’d realize I was giving them something special. Of course, once they taste it they’ll realize how special it is anyway, but, you know...”

  Rose did know. The woman was suggesting she could sell even more jam if she changed the packaging. And since increasing her sales was exactly what Rose wanted to do, she spent the rest of the evening sketching a design for the labels. She was so excited about her final logo that by Sunday morning she’d forgotten all about her awkward interaction with Caleb.

  She and the twins met him outside the barn, where he’d already hitched the horse and buggy and was standing beside the carriage waiting for them to go to church together. A rivulet of perspiration ran from his temples along his hairline even though the day had dawned cool and dry. He asked if Rose wanted to take the reins.

  “Jah,” she answered. The girls climbed into the back of the buggy, and she and Caleb sat up front. “Are you sure you’re not feverish? You look a little peaked.”

  “I—I guess I’m a little nervous about attending worship services,” he admitted as he donned his hat, which Rose noticed was the same straw hat he’d worn all week. “I’m not sure you’ll do things at kurrich the same way we do them in Wisconsin and I don’t want to offend anyone.”

  She assured him, “There’s only one big difference here in Maine—we meet in a building instead of in each other’s homes. But otherwise, I think you’ll find kurrich here is very similar to Old Order services in Wisconsin. The leit are very freindlich but you’re wilkom to sit with us so you won’t feel awkward about not knowing anyone yet.”

  Ordinarily, the twins sat with a group of their female friends, while Nancy, Sol and Rose sat together as a family, but Rose had already privately requested Charity and Hope sit with her and Caleb today. Since she wasn’t related to him, she would have felt uncomfortable sitting with him alone, something not even courting couples did. As it turned out, though, the deacon’s sermon on God’s sovereignty was so thought provoking it wouldn’t have mattered where Rose was seated; she was entirely absorbed in what he was saying and she completely lost track of her surroundings.

  The worship services were followed by a light lunch during which time the men ate with men and, after serving the men and children, the women ate with women. As she brought a pitcher of water to the men’s table, Rose noticed they were including Caleb in their lively conversation and when she caught his eye, he nodded at her as if to confirm she’d been right about how friendly everyone was. Maybe now he’d relax a little, she hoped, realizing she’d be nervous, too, if she went to Wisconsin or someplace where she didn’t have any friends or family.

  After they’d eaten, Charity and Hope hurried off to spend the afternoon playing volleyball with their friends. Caleb and Rose decided they’d leave, too, and they were heading toward Sol and Nancy’s buggy when Eleanor traipsed across the lawn with her brother at her side.

  “Caleb! Rose!” she beckoned. After introducing Caleb to Henry, she raved, “Isn’t it pleasant out? Not too humid, not too breezy. My bruder and I were just saying we think it’s a great day to go canoeing.”

  “Jah,” Caleb agreed. “It sure is.”

  “Terrific!” Eleanor exclaimed. “Henry and I will go home and change, then we’ll meet you and Rose down by the dock.”

  Inwardly Rose groaned. If Eleanor and Caleb wanted to spend time together that was fine with her, but Rose had no intention of being stuck with Henry all afternoon. “I’m kind of tired so I just planned to laze around on the porch and soak in the sunshine. You three will have to navigate the lake without me.”

  “I’m kind of tired, too,” Henry said. “I’ll hang out with you instead, Rose.”

  This situation had just gone from bad to worse and it was all Caleb’s fault!

  Later, when she was alone with him in the buggy, she accusingly asked why he’d do such a thing.

  “Do what?”

  “Invite Eleanor and Henry canoeing? If you wanted to go off alone with Eleanor, be my guest, but don’t expect me to entertain Henry al
l afternoon.”

  “Wait a second! For one thing, I didn’t invite them canoeing. I only agreed it was a pleasant day. For another thing, I’d like to explore the lake, jah, but not because I want to go off alone with Eleanor,” he said. “And as far as Henry goes, if you don’t want him around, why don’t you just tell him that outright? You don’t seem to have any problem letting me know when you don’t want me around.”

  Rose’s mouth dropped open. She was aware she’d had a few uncharitable thoughts about Caleb, but had she actually come across as that intolerant of his presence? Ashamed, she admitted, “You’re right. It’s not your fault they’re coming over. Eleanor would have contrived a way to kumme even if it was raining cats and dogs. And I haven’t meant to make you feel unwelcome. I think I’ve been so caught up in... Well, it doesn’t matter, there’s no excuse. I’m very sorry.”

  Even Caleb’s profile was handsome, especially when he smiled. “It’s okay. I think I have a solution that will help us both out of this predicament.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “You and I will go together in one canoe and they can go in the other. I’ll do all the paddling, so you can sit back and relax.”

  Rose giggled. She liked the way Caleb thought, but he was underestimating how persistent Eleanor and Henry could be. “Those two will never agree to this.”

  “They won’t have a choice if we get to the lake and claim our canoe first.”

  Grinning, Rose flicked the horse’s reins. “Giddyap,” she urged.

  Chapter Three

  “What are you doing out there, Rose? I thought you were tired!” Eleanor wailed. Rose and Caleb waved to her and Henry from where they were idly rocking in the water, some thirty-five feet from shore.

  “Why do you think I’m letting Caleb paddle by himself?” Rose answered back.

  Caleb smiled. He got the sense Rose didn’t relinquish the oars, the reins, the kitchen or any other kind of control very easily. She must really not have wanted to spend time alone with Henry if she was willing to let Caleb take charge.

  Henry unlaced his boots swiftly and took off his socks as Eleanor sullenly dragged her feet across the sand, her arms crossed against her chest. When she finally climbed into the bow of the canoe and Henry pushed them off from shore, she scolded, “Careful! You’re going to tip us over!”

  “Which way first?” Caleb asked as the brother and sister neared him and Rose.

  Henry pointed to the right. “We’ll work our way around the lake counterclockwise.”

  As Caleb paddled, Rose explained that her aunt and uncle had bought their camp from a wealthy, eccentric Englischer who owned all of the land surrounding the one-hundred-and-fifty-acre lake. Mrs. Hallowell also owned a summer mansion on the opposite side of the water, but in the past, whenever her children and grandchildren had come to visit, they’d preferred to rough it together as a large group at “the camp,” which Mrs. Hallowell’s parents had built for her and her siblings when they were youngsters. Eventually, the brood stopped vacationing there when her children’s offspring began attending college. Although Mrs. Hallowell had received countless offers on the property, she’d refused to sell it because she feared developers would turn the land into one giant parking lot and ruin the “rustic charm” of the little structures by building a resort.

  According to Rose, Sol had first met the owner when he’d answered an advertisement looking for a farmer and groundskeeper the final summer Mrs. Hallowell’s family got together there. They’d struck up such a good rapport that a year or two later she sold the camp to him and Nancy, knowing the Amish wouldn’t even install electricity in the cabins, much less build up the property or allow motorboats on the lake. Granted, Mrs. Hallowell still owned virtually all of the property surrounding the lake, but Nancy and Sol had acquired the camp and the acreage near the main road.

  Observing the tall pines and rocky inclines bordering the water, Caleb grew overwhelmed—how would he ever search it all? “Does Mrs. Hallowell allow you and your guests to go ashore on her property?”

  “Jah, but only in designated areas.” Rose explained they were welcome to disembark at either of the lake’s two small islands, a clearing near a rock the Amish referred to as Relaxation Rock, and at a smaller area leading to a trail up a ridge called Paradise Point.

  “What would happen if someone went ashore where they weren’t supposed to?” Caleb asked.

  “No one is going to shoot you, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Rose said with a laugh. “But when Mrs. Hallowell comes to stay, she does allow her dogs to roam freely near her home and supposedly they’re pretty fierce. Plus, she installed surveillance cameras in the woods and at her mansion. It’s a common practice among the Englisch here. If owners aren’t year-round residents they feel they need to make sure no one is breaking into their homes or vandalizing the area while they’re away. Mrs. Hallowell told my ant and onkel about the cameras because she knows how the Amish feel about photography. But it’s not an issue because we don’t trespass on her land, and out of respect for our beliefs, she disabled the cameras in the places we’re allowed to disembark.”

  Surveillance cameras? Surely the FBI would have obtained the footage from Mrs. Hallowell, right? Since they hadn’t found any evidence, Caleb figured he could likely rule out searching the grounds near her mansion and focus on scoping out the areas where there were no cameras. “But how do your guests know where they’re allowed to go and where they aren’t?”

  “There are no-trespassing signs. And information about where they can go is included in the guests’ wilkom pamphlet.”

  “Wilkom pamphlet?” Caleb repeated. That might provide other helpful information...

  “Jah. We didn’t give you one because you’re not a guest, but don’t worry. We’ll show you where you can go without getting in trouble,” Rose teased him over her shoulder.

  “There it is, Relaxation Rock,” Eleanor announced from behind them. “Let’s stop and get out.”

  Once they pulled their canoes ashore, the foursome went around to the opposite side of the boulder, where its numerous cracks and rounded shape allowed them to scale it easily, even without footwear. The rock had a flat top, which Henry claimed made it an ideal location for picnicking or napping, although more adventurous Amish teenagers—those who could swim—preferred to use the level surface as a platform for plunging into the water ten feet below.

  “That path you see over there leads to a dirt road and the dirt road takes you to the main highway,” he explained, pointing to an opening through the woods. “Cars are prohibited on the dirt road, but Mrs. Hallowell lets us hitch our buggies at the other end of the path. The district keeps a cart there so the leit can wheel in rowboats and canoes when they kumme fishing.”

  Eleanor added, “The last Saturday in August before Labor Day weekend, the camp hosts a fish fry and canoe race for our settlement. Sometimes people kumme from Unity, too. Relaxation Rock is where the race begins.”

  “Sounds like schpass. I wonder if I’ll be around for it,” Caleb commented before he realized what he was saying.

  “Why wouldn’t you be? Didn’t Nancy and Sol tell you the camp is still open then?” Eleanor asked but she didn’t wait for an answer. “See, once the guests depart on that Saturday—I think it’s August 27 this year—the next guests aren’t allowed in until the following Monday so we have the camp completely to ourselves. Everyone has a wunderbaar time.”

  “Gut. I’ll look forward to it,” Caleb said.

  Henry smacked an insect against his arm. “The blackflies are eating me alive. Let’s go.” He scooted to the edge of the rock and slid down the way they’d come up. Eleanor and Caleb followed, and Rose was last. As Henry pushed his canoe into the shallows, Eleanor scampered over to Caleb’s canoe and planted herself on the seat in the front.

  “C’mon, Caleb,” she wheedled sweetly, handing him t
he paddle. “I want to show you where Kissing Cove is.”

  * * *

  Rose had no choice but to join Henry in his canoe. She was glad he didn’t paddle as quickly as Caleb because from this distance she couldn’t hear Eleanor flirting. For some reason, it really grated on her nerves. Realizing she legitimately was a bit weary, Rose exhaled heavily and rode in silence with her eyelids lowered until they arrived at so-called Kissing Cove, fittingly named by the Amish youth who found the secluded area perfect for a little romantic privacy.

  “It’s too rocky to paddle any closer to shore,” Henry warned. “How about if we race to Paradise Point?”

  Always up for a challenge, Rose taunted, “Jah, last team there is pair of pungent pickerel!”

  Henry and Rose hadn’t journeyed as far into the cove as Caleb and Eleanor, and they had a head start on their way out. Henry must have been saving his strength because suddenly they glided through the water, agile as a loon. Caleb, however, was even more vigorous, and within a few minutes he and Eleanor pulled alongside them. Rose scooped handfuls of water sideways, causing Eleanor to squeal. Caleb used his paddle to splash back at Rose, and in the process he somehow managed to knock off his own hat and had to reverse in order to pluck it from where it floated on the water’s surface.

  “What took you so long?” Rose jeered impishly when the couple eventually joined her and Henry onshore near the trail marker for Paradise Point. “You’re all wet. Did you fall in?”