A Season of Change Read online

  She tried to force the thoughts aside. It had been a long time since a man kissed her, and each time it had represented goodbye. Maybe she shouldn’t hope for the kiss.

  Her thoughts were all over the place. And no matter what happened at the end of the date, she couldn’t wait to tell Esther and Lizzie how well it had gone. They would understand her excitement and be happy for her. Over time, she’d try to contain herself a bit more around Esther and Lizzie, but not tonight. She was going to burst if she didn’t get to air the things on her mind. For now, she continued to wonder how the date would end, her mind whirling with possibilities.

  “Here we are.” Benjamin pulled back on the reins, bringing the horse and buggy to a stop at the inn.

  Rose fought the wave of apprehension that swept through her. It was thrilling and frightening at the same time. She couldn’t recall feeling this nervous at the end of other dates.

  He turned to her, smiled a little, then got out of the buggy and walked around to open her door. Rose briefly tried to analyze his expression. Had a vaguely sensual light passed between them in that brief couple of seconds? Or was it just a glimmer of hope on Rose’s end?

  They stayed side by side across the yard and up the porch steps. He was tall. Rose liked that.

  Her heart pounded as he stared into her eyes, but not before his gaze landed on her lips and stayed there for much too long. He is going to kiss me. She shouldn’t let him, but the thrill outweighed the impropriety.

  “Danki for supper.” She fought the urge to lift up on her toes as excitement bubbled to the surface. She also staved off telling him about everything she’d enjoyed about the night—how the banana pudding wasn’t as good as her own, how his horse was beautiful, how she had recently learned to knit, and every other thought that was swimming aimlessly around in her mind. Still, it was all overshadowed by the kiss that was coming.

  When Benjamin King’s lips met with hers, it was pure magic. For a man who had little to say, his kiss was like beautiful poetry he’d written just for her. Rose felt like they were truly speaking to each other for the first time. She was sure she’d never fit so perfectly with a man before. She wished this heady sensation could last forever, but he slowly drew away. As they gazed into each other’s eyes, it seemed there was more to be said through the one way they had learned to communicate. He must have felt it, too, since he kissed her again, with twice the tenderness and passion as before.

  She’d broken her own rule—no kissing on the first date. But she couldn’t come up with a single regret. Benjamin is the one.

  He stared at her for a while before he whispered, “Goodbye, Rose.”

  She searched for any hint of regret in his voice and couldn’t find it. Rose wanted to say “See you soon,” but instead softly said, “Goodbye, and danki again for supper.”

  He nodded before turning and walking to his buggy. As he backed up the horse, she waved from the porch, eager to tell Lizzie and Esther that they had succeeded in finding her someone special. She wondered if the sisters had seen the kisses through the window.

  Rose opened the door, took in a deep breath, and was happy to find Esther and Lizzie in the living room near the window.

  * * *

  Benjamin wasn’t feeling very good about himself. It was a horrible thing to do, to lead a woman on like that by kissing her so passionately, and on a first date no less. It would be their last date, but Benjamin had taken advantage of a situation. He’d prayed Rose would open her mouth to talk, but lips did more than form words, and Benjamin hadn’t been able to take his eyes from her mouth all night. He was incredibly attracted to the woman, and even though he wouldn’t be going out with her again, he’d had a strong desire to kiss her. He hadn’t been able to harness it, and before he had time to think about it, his lips had met hers, and the world seemed to stop spinning for a moment. The stars shone a little brighter, and Benjamin could have sworn he’d found his life mate through two long and passionate kisses. He drifted on a cloud all the way home as he thought about the intense connection he’d felt with her in his arms. How could that be?

  After a while, he forced himself to recall the rest of the evening. Goodbye had meant just that. They’d likely see each other at worship service and around town, but Benjamin wouldn’t be asking her out again.

  By the time he got home, anger had crept into his emotions. He was mad at himself for kissing her. Not only was it inappropriate, but now it was all he could think about. And he didn’t want to think about Rose, someone so completely not right for him.

  His mother was on the couch, but she quickly jumped up when he walked into the living room shaking his head.

  “Uh-oh. You’re home early.” She flinched. “I’m guessing the date didn’t go well?”

  Benjamin sighed, took off his hat, and placed it on the rack by the door. “I don’t know what you and your friend Lizzie were thinking.”

  “Lizzie said she’s very pretty and pleasantly chatty.” His mother was in her robe with her hair pinned up on her head as she blinked in bewilderment.

  “Ach, she’s pretty.” Benjamin paused as he recalled the kisses. “Actually, she is gorgeous—one of the prettiest women I’ve ever met.” He narrowed his eyebrows at his mother. “But bubbly or chatty? Uh, nee. She barely spoke, and when she did, it was one-word answers or short sentences. There were a lot of long periods of awkward silence.” He gave her a stern look. “No more blind dates. Period.”

  His mother tucked her chin. Benjamin kissed her on the cheek. “I lieb you, Mamm, but dating is exhausting for me. I had high hopes for this woman, too, especially when I saw her. But she’s not for me. So no more fix-ups.”

  “Ya, okay.”

  His mother sounded so defeated, and Benjamin wished it had worked out, even if just for his mom’s sake. But as he trudged up the stairs and couldn’t shake the feel of Rose’s lips against his, he realized that he wished it had worked out also.

  Chapter 3

  Esther’s heart warmed as she listened to Rose give details about her date. Even though Esther was surprised that there was kissing involved, she was thrilled everything had gone so well for Rose.

  “I probably shouldn’t have told you about the kisses. Since you were near the window, I assumed you might have seen what happened.” Rose beamed as she spoke. “I know it was inappropriate to allow that, but just the fact that he wanted to kiss me . . .” She bounced up on her toes like a young girl. “I’m sure he’ll ask me out again.” She drew in a deep breath, the way she often did before she went on to another subject. “I ate three desserts at supper. Pecan pie, cookies, and banana pudding, which wasn’t near as gut as what Jayce taught me to make.”

  It was nice to see Rose so happy and optimistic about this new man she’d met. Esther was happier than ever that Jayce had taken the time to teach Rose some special cooking techniques while he’d stayed with them.

  “He’s a very handsome fellow, and I’m so glad the date went well.” Esther placed a hand over her mouth as she yawned. It wasn’t very late, but she agreed with Lizzie. The heat took a toll on them, a little more with every passing year.

  Esther glanced at Lizzie since she hadn’t said anything. Her sister’s eyes and expression screamed, I told you so. And for once, Esther had to agree. Lizzie might have actually chosen the perfect person for Rose.

  “I’m off to bed.” Rose kissed Lizzie on the cheek, then Esther. “Danki so much for thinking Benjamin would be a gut match for me. I feel so hopeful.” With a bounce in her step, Rose dashed up the stairs.

  After she was gone, Lizzie blew on her fingernails, rubbed them against her chest, and smiled broadly. “I told you so. I knew this man would be perfect for Rose. When his mother told me he was shy with women and found conversations difficult, I was sure Rose was his gal.”

  “It’s nice to see her so happy.” Esther yawned again as she stood up. “I’m torn about whether to have a slice of pie or go straight to bed.” She reached into her pocket and too
k out the card, reading it again. Then she chuckled. “Perhaps I need to watch mei figure now that I have an admirer.”

  Lizzie rose from the couch and shuffled to the front door. She locked it, then turned to Esther. “There is everything to lieb about you, but we still can’t rule out the fact that a man we don’t know sent you flowers, and that’s a bit creepy.” Lizzie scrunched her face up until every wrinkle seemed to connect with the others.

  Esther frowned. “Since when do you use words such as creepy?” She tried again to understand why Gus and Lizzie couldn’t accept the possibility that a nice man in their community might have taken a fancy to Esther. It was the most excitement Esther had experienced in years. Maybe decades, all the way back to when her husband began courting her. “There is no reason for anyone to stalk us, so the gesture isn’t creepy.”

  “Just the same, we’re locking the doors.” Lizzie pointed a crooked finger at Esther. “And tomorrow, we are going to do some investigating around town to see if we can figure out who your stalker”—she rolled her eyes—“I mean, admirer is.”

  Esther shook her head and walked toward her bedroom. “We don’t have a stalker,” she said one more time before she closed the door behind her.

  * * *

  Rose ran a brush through her hair following her bath. Once she was tucked into bed, she had time to revisit her thoughts about the date. It took everything she had not to focus on the kisses, assuredly an indicator of more dates to come.

  When she began to pick apart the evening, she couldn’t overlook the fact that they hadn’t really talked. There had been nothing more than polite comments throughout the evening. Maybe she should have spoken more, at least a little bit. Why didn’t he have more to say? She didn’t know anything about him, and vice versa. Perhaps she would ease her way into more conversation—slowly. Rose didn’t think she could live the rest of her life with all her thoughts bundled inside her mind like trapped prisoners struggling to escape. But she could live the rest of her life kissing Benjamin.

  She laid her head back and positioned her battery-operated fan to blow on her face, mingling with the breeze coming through the screen. She sighed. Physical attraction wasn’t enough to make a relationship. Even Rose couldn’t settle for that. But for tonight, she was going to dream of the possibilities.

  * * *

  Esther woke up suddenly when she heard a noise coming from the front porch. After she glanced at her clock, she eased out of bed and tiptoed to Lizzie’s room. Her heart pounded in her chest as she put her hand on the doorknob. Could Lizzie have been right? Could someone with bad intentions have sent the flowers and note?

  “Lizzie, wake up.” Esther made her way over to the bed and put a hand on her sister’s shoulder, gently shaking her. “Wake up.”

  Lizzie bolted upright and knocked heads with Esther. After both women rubbed their foreheads, Esther clicked on the flashlight she’d grabbed from her nightstand and shone it on the floor.

  “I heard a noise coming from the porch.” Esther flinched, wondering if Lizzie’s forehead ached as much as hers. “It’s probably a raccoon or some other critter, but . . .” She had to admit that all the talk about a stalker was making her nervous.

  “I knew it.” Lizzie reached for her teeth but knocked them on the floor. She waved a hand in the air and didn’t look for her dentures. “I don’t need mei teeth. It’s not like I’m going to bite the intruder.” She took something else from under her bed.

  Esther felt like a giant as she cowered behind her tiny sister. Passiveness and nonviolence were what they’d been taught and believed. But Esther would let Lizzie guide the way since she’d been known to break both those rules. Mostly she’d kicked Gus in the shin from time to time, but Lizzie had also chased a solicitor with a baseball bat she kept under her bed. The same bat she was holding now.

  They both looked out the living room window but didn’t see anything. Lizzie slowly unlocked and opened the front door, then she bolted onto the porch with the bat in a ready position, jumping up and down and almost growling.

  Esther gasped when she saw movement at the far end of the porch, but surely any intruder would be scared silly of Lizzie’s wild behavior.

  In the darkness, Esther could see the form of a person sitting on the edge of the porch, someone so startled they actually fell off the porch and into the yard.

  Lizzie ran in that direction with her bat, and Esther followed, shining the flashlight.

  When Esther saw who it was, her pulse began to slow down. But Lizzie held the bat as if she might actually strike Gus.

  Their renter hoisted himself up, then blocked himself with one arm across his face. “Esther, get that flashlight out of my eyes, and tell your crazy sister that if she hits me with that bat, I’m going to string her up in a tree upside down and leave her there.”

  Esther took the bat from Lizzie as she lowered the flashlight to her feet. “Gus, what are you doing out here?”

  Lizzie hissed like an angry cat. “It’s you. You wrote the letter because you love Esther, and now you’re stalking her. You’re both—the note writer and the stalker!”

  Esther didn’t think either scenario was true, but she did want to know why Gus was sitting on their porch. “Lizzie, hush now.” She turned to Gus, his face barely visible in the darkness. “Gus, is something wrong?”

  He pointed to Lizzie. “Yeah, her. She’s the something wrong. Acting all crazy. I’m lucky I didn’t break any bones.” He cleared his throat and turned back to Esther. “I thought I saw someone walking around in your front yard, so I came over to investigate.”

  Gus stayed up late at night, sometimes until the early morning hours. She’d awoken several times to go to the bathroom or get a late-night snack and there was a faint glow coming from Gus’s cottage.

  “Are you sure you saw someone?” Esther’s chest tightened.

  “No!” Gus bellowed. “I’m not sure. But I thought I better come have a look, so I’ve just been sitting here awhile.”

  “So you didn’t see anyone?” Esther was surprised Lizzie had calmed down and wasn’t speaking.

  “I don’t know what I saw, if anything.” Gus pushed back gray hair from his face. It was rare to see him without his ponytail. He looked older with his scraggly hair tossed in every direction. Gus was seventy-six, a couple of years older than Esther. Right now he was catching his breath and struggling to breathe.

  “Gus, are you all right?” Esther inched toward him where he was standing below them in the grass.

  “Do I look all right, Esther?” Gus attempted to tuck in his red checkered shirt unsuccessfully, then blew more hair from his face. Esther shone the flashlight closer to him, careful not to aim it in his eyes. He had grass in his hair.

  “I come over here to offer my services, to make sure you and Rose were okay, then she”—he pointed to Lizzie, who was scowling at him, pinching her thin lips together, minus her teeth—“she comes jumping and screaming out of the house like a wild banshee!”

  Lizzie took a step closer to Gus, and Esther put an arm in front of her, blocking her.

  “I don’t need this.” Gus brushed grass from his shirt, unaware it was in his hair.

  Esther felt a knot building in her throat. All this talk about an intruder or stalker was starting to scare her. Did Gus really see someone? “You scared us, Gus.” Esther heard the shakiness in her voice. “All this talk about a stalker, and then I heard movement on the porch and woke up Lizzie.” She glanced at her sister, who had held her expression so long that Esther wondered if Lizzie was even breathing. “We’re sorry we startled you and caused you to fall.”

  “Ya, some protector you are,” Lizzie said as she inched closer to him.

  Gus tucked his hair behind his ears as he glared at Lizzie. “I really don’t care if a pack of wolves comes to carry you off, crazy lady. But I figure Esther and Rose Petal don’t deserve no harm.”

  “Rose. Remember, Gus. We don’t call her Rose Petal.” Esther took a deep br
eath, then let it out slowly. She was glad Rose couldn’t hear them. The girl had confided in Esther that she could hear Lizzie’s snoring from her upstairs bedroom, so she wore earplugs.

  “Why don’t you come inside, and I’ll get you a slice of pie,” Esther said.

  “I don’t want any pie.” He started across the yard, and Esther thought he was limping. It was the first time he’d ever turned down pie. “You and wild thing go back to bed. Don’t worry about me. I won’t be coming back to check on things.”

  “Gut!” Lizzie spat as she snatched the bat back and left to return to the house. “Come on, Esther,” she said softly as she opened the door.

  Esther followed. Lizzie didn’t sound like herself. She sounded . . . scared.

  * * *

  The next morning, Esther and Lizzie agreed not to say anything to Rose about what happened. Even the possibility that Gus had seen someone would surely be unsettling for her. No need to have another person worrying. Esther was thinking more and more that her note hadn’t come from an admirer.

  After church, they spent Sunday resting. Esther loved to worship the Lord, but it had been a hot day for church. By Monday, they still didn’t have any guests booked at the inn, so it was a good day to follow up with Lizzie’s suggestion—to take a ride through town to see if they could figure out who sent the flowers. Esther didn’t have high hopes, but their first stop would be the local florist.

  “Rose, Lizzie and I are going into town to run some errands.” Esther wiped her mouth with her napkin. She hadn’t eaten much breakfast, but enough for Rose to know she appreciated the meal. Her stomach was jittery. “Is there anything you need while we’re out?” Esther held her breath and waited for a long response, potentially full of all kinds of conversation that had nothing to do with the subject at hand.