Shelter From The Storm. Patricia Davids
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homesick.”
As soon as she said the words, she realized they were true. She missed her parents and her friends, even if they didn’t miss her.
Bethany, Gemma’s closest friend, had married last winter and all she talked about was how happy she and Michael were and how blessed she was to have found the man God had intended to be her husband. Gemma’s first cousin Anna Miller was the same way. She and her new husband, Tobias, had arrived in New Covenant a few weeks after Bethany’s wedding. The two women had nothing on their minds except setting up house and starting a family. Two more young married couples moved to New Covenant at the same time. The women all enjoyed one another’s company and often visited between houses. Gemma was the only single woman among them.
Gemma had been happy for her friends, but it hadn’t taken long to realize she’d become a third wheel. The sad odd person out with no one of her own. Without the prospect of marriage and the memory of making a fool of herself over Jesse popping up each time she saw him, Gemma decided to escape to the Amish settlement in sunny Pinecrest, Florida, to find her own soul mate. What a mistake that had turned out to be. A shudder coursed through her at the memory of her betrayal by the man she had met down there who claimed to love her.
“Are you back for good?” Jesse asked. Was there a hopeful note in his voice? She glanced at his face. His grim expression said she must have been mistaken.
She looked down and shrugged. “I haven’t decided.”
Her lower lip quivered. The council of her mother was what she wanted and needed, even as she dreaded revealing her condition. She had no idea what she was going to do about the baby.
Jesse stood as if waiting for something else. She glanced at his face again and caught a look of tenderness before it disappeared. His usual blank expression took its place. Underneath his brawny build and his reclusive nature, Jesse had a soft heart. While he avoided the company of most people, he was known for taking in wounded creatures and strays. Was that how he saw her now? If so, he was more astute than she gave him credit for. She glanced down to make sure her full cloak hid her figure. “Thank you again for your kindness.”
“The bishop would expect it of me. Gemma, is something wrong?”
She couldn’t look at him. “I’m tired, that’s all.”
“Then I’ll say good-night.”
Unable to reply, she went inside, dropped her cold supper in the trash and closed the door, shutting out his overwhelming presence and her irrational desire to bury her face against his chest and give in to her tears.
* * *
It was still dark when Gemma left the motel room a few minutes before six o’clock the next morning, pulling her suitcase behind her. She could see her breath in the chilly air. Snowflakes drifted gently down from the overcast sky. Winter was tightening its grip on the countryside. The contrast between the sandy beach and ocean waves where she had been three days ago caused her to shiver. Had she been foolish to come back? Maybe.
She had her emotions well under control for the moment. A good night’s sleep had erased the ravages of the tears she’d cried into her pillow after Jesse left her. Washing her face with cold water had removed the last bit of puffiness from around her eyes. She was ready to face a few hours in Jesse’s company.
He was standing beside Dale’s battered yellow pickup waiting for her. Without a word, he took her bag and stowed it in the bed of the truck and held the door open for her. She got in. He climbed in after her, taking up more than his share of the bench seat. She scooted farther away.
Dale got in and handed her two white paper bags identical to the one the bus agent had given her. “I got some breakfast burritos for us to eat on the road.” The aroma of toasted tortillas, sausage, grilled peppers and onions filled the air in the small cab, making her stomach rumble ominously. Her morning sickness was more like any-time-of-the-day sickness. It struck without warning. She handed one of the bags to Jesse and swallowed hard, hoping she wouldn’t get sick.
Dale kept up a steady line of chatter as he drove northward on the highway. Jesse ate his meal in silence. He took a swig from a bottle of water, recapped it and put it back in the bag. “Aren’t you going to eat yours?” Jesse nodded toward the paper sack on her lap.
“I’m not hungry. You are welcome to it.”
“Danki.” He took the offered bag and finished off her burrito.
Dale chuckled. “He’s a big man with a big appetite. It must cost a fortune to keep him fed. No wonder he hasn’t found a wife. The poor woman would never get out of the kitchen.”
The heat of a blush rose up her neck and across her cheeks. She cast a covert glance at Jesse. He was staring straight ahead. A muscle twitched in his clenched jaw. He hadn’t forgotten their last conversation.
After weeks of dropping hints about her feelings for Jesse and her desire to get married, she had finally confronted him point-blank and proposed marriage with disastrous consequences. He’d laughed at her and told her to go home. She had countered by confessing her love and throwing herself into his arms. He’d abruptly put her aside. The scowl on his face and his words still echoed in her mind.
You’re not in love with me. You’re a foolish, spoiled baby looking for trouble. One day you will find it unless you learn humility.
She wasn’t proud of her reaction. She said things she hadn’t meant, but she was sure Jesse had meant what he said. He’d walked away, shaking his head, leaving her crushed and fuming. Her humiliation had been complete when she learned some of her friends had overheard their conversation. Her parents had been appalled as the gossip quickly spread. Rather than face it down, after a few months she had packed up and moved to Florida to start a new life.
The sad part was that she really had liked Jesse. It was knowing that he had been disgusted by her behavior that hurt the most.
She dared a glance at him, but his attention was focused out the passenger’s side window. She clutched the front of her cloak and sat quietly beside him as Dale chatted away about his ex-wife and her poor cooking.
About thirty minutes into their trip, it began snowing heavily. Fat flakes smashed themselves against the windshield and were swept away by the wipers. As the snow became thicker, Dale grew quieter and concentrated on his driving.
Ahead of them were several semi–tractor trailers. Dale hung back to keep out of their spray. Suddenly the last truck in line went into a skid on the bridge ahead. The rig jackknifed and clipped the rear end of the truck in front of it as it tipped over. The sound of screeching metal reached her as both trucks hit the sides of the bridge. Dale maneuvered his pickup off to the side of the road. Both men got out. Gemma saw the flickering of flames through the windshield that was being quickly covered with snow.
Jesse paused to look at her. “Stay put.” He slammed the door shut and jogged away with Dale into the snow.
Gemma had no idea how long she sat in the truck. She prayed silently for all the people involved. The sirens of rescue vehicles announced their arrival before they pulled up alongside her. With police and firefighters on the scene, Dale and Jesse finally returned to the vehicle.
“Is everyone all right?” she asked Jesse as he opened his door.
“Both drivers survived.”
Dale knocked the snow off his boots before climbing in behind the wheel. “That is a mess. The bridge will be closed for hours yet. You should’ve seen Jesse pull the door open on that tipped-over cab and lift that fellow out. If it weren’t for him, that guy would be toast.”
Jesse stared straight at her. “Sometimes it pays to be as big as an ox.”
She didn’t know how to reply. He continued to stare at her for a few more seconds, then he looked away. She was left with the feeling that her long-ago comment had hurt his feelings. Had it? She’d only been concerned about her own humiliation at the time.
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