The Heartbreaker (Amish Country Brides) Read online

  NINETEEN

  Michael would never doubt the power of prayer again. He was certain the night he spent praying at the motel had paved the way for Miri’s favorable response. It had gone far better than he could ever have hoped for. Not only had he discovered the adoption was an open one, but she was interested in contacting their baby’s adoptive family.

  And then…what had happened next was as close to a miracle as he’d ever seen. Miri had let him hold her in his arms. No, it hadn’t been long. But it had happened when he thought there was zero chance of it ever happening again. She’d barely agreed to the buggy ride. Ach, he’d been so tempted to feather a kiss across her brow, to dip his head slightly and indulge in the softness of her lips. But he’d refrained. He couldn’t scare her off again. He needed to learn patience—something he’d never possessed an abundance of.

  “Ach, I see you’ve finally come in.”

  He glanced up at his grossdawdi, drenched in sweat from head to toe. He needed a bath. “I have.”

  “You are finished mucking out all the stalls, cleaning the chicken coop, stacking the hay, fixing the harnesses, washing the carriage, and feeding all the animals?”

  “Yep. And I weeded the garden.”

  Dawdi chuckled. “My bones are gonna get lazy at this rate. By the look of things, I would think she let you kiss her.”

  “You would think so, wouldn’t you?” He couldn’t wipe the permanent smile off his face if he tried. “I can’t help it, Dawdi. I’ve never felt so optimistic in my life! I feel like I could run a marathon and still have energy to expend.”

  “Speaking of energy—”

  “Did the mail come?”

  “Ach, calm down, bu. It’s only been two days since you two sent off that letter. They have to receive it, read it, then write back. You may be waiting a while.”

  “I hope it doesn’t take too long. I’m about to burst.”

  “Remember, sohn, Der Herr’s timing is perfect.”

  “Jah, I’m trying to.”

  ~

  It almost seemed like she was the character inside a book, with herself and a couple of close confidants, harboring this deep dark secret that nobody could know about or it would spell the demise of their entire universe. Was she being overly dramatic? Probably.

  But the scenario was partly true. She did have a secret that she’d kept hidden from everyone until lately. The revealing of her secret wouldn’t necessarily cause her demise, but she’d most definitely be looked down upon. Thankfully, neither Sammy nor Michael had been condemning. Never in a million years had she ever dreamed of telling Michael her secret—now their secret.

  She released a noisy whoosh of air. Michael.

  He seemed…different somehow. Like he’d changed overnight. Nee, it wasn’t overnight. Now that she thought about it, it had been gradual. First, the motorcycle accident had knocked his world out of orbit. She guessed that spending his recovery time with his wise old grossdawdi wasn’t hurting him any. He’d been attending church regularly. And she’d spied a Bible on his nightstand.

  Had Der Herr been working in his heart? Or was this all just part of his act to get her into his good graces so he could take what he wanted and leave her high and dry? Again.

  Ach, she hoped the former was true. Because if it wasn’t, she didn’t think she’d ever be able to forgive Michael Eicher or herself again.

  They’d been talking, having real conversations. About God. About life. About their boppli. He wanted a relationship, one he claimed would be permanent. But…was anything permanent with Michael Eicher? Judging from his track record, she’d have to say no.

  However, she did recognize that Der Herr was all-powerful. He was the Potter who molded each vessel whichever way He wanted it. But sometimes the clay refused to yield under His skillful hands and ended up with divots and flaws. Then the Potter would have to begin all over again, and work the clay until it became a vessel He could use. Is that what He was doing with Michael? With her?

  ~

  Michael had promised to contact Miri the moment the letter arrived. But he hadn’t been expecting this. He stared down at the envelope in his hands and frowned. What could this mean?

  He quickly stuffed it into his vest pocket and rapped his knuckles on the Yoders’ door, hoping Miri would be the one to answer.

  Instead, her little brother stared back at him—this time with what looked like flour or powdered sugar covering his lips and part of his forehead—with an insuppressible grin on his face. “Miriam! Your boyfriend is here again!”

  “Nee, I’m not—” He’d attempt to prevent the boy from hollering out—again, but his efforts were futile—again. He hoped Miri wouldn’t be embarrassed, but he guessed she was likely used to her mischievous brother’s ways.

  Instead of closing the door, though, the boy stared up at him. “When are you going to marry mei schweschder?”

  A blast of heat zoomed up his neck when he spotted Miri behind her little brother.

  She appeared flustered as she scooted around him. “Benny, geh!”

  She quickly closed the door, but not before her brother started singing. “Miriam and Michael sittin’ in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g…”

  He’d only uttered the first line before the door was shut, but Michael recalled the lines well.

  First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes the baby in the baby carriage.

  As they walked toward his buggy, Michael wanted to say something. But it would have to wait until others were out of earshot. Miri had kept quiet, and he deduced she was probably having an internal conversation, as was he.

  Once they were on the road, he glanced her way. “I think we kind of went about that in the wrong order.”

  She turned to him and her brow shot up. “Huh?”

  “The song your bruder was singing. We did that in the wrong order.”

  “Jah.”

  “And I don’t think I ever kissed you in a tree,” he teased.

  “Nee.” She seemed unusually quiet.

  “You all right?”

  She shrugged. “Just thinking.”

  “Want to expound on that?”

  “Nee.”

  “Okay.” He fished the envelope out of his vest and handed it to her.

  She took it, then frowned up at him. “This is our letter. Return to Sender?”

  “Jah.”

  “Maybe this is a sign that we aren’t supposed to contact them. Do you think?”

  He shook his head. “Nee. It’s just an obstacle the devil is putting in our path. Nothing Der Herr can’t help us get around. They probably moved and it’s been too long to forward it.” At least, he hoped that’s what it was.

  “I don’t have another address for them.” Worry manifested in her tone. “How will we find out what it is?”

  “We can go to the library and search on the computer. We’ll find their new address that way.” He could have said “I” instead of “we,” but he wanted Miri to be involved in every step of this process. Every moment spent with her was a gift from God. One he vowed to never take for granted again.

  “But what if they moved far away?”

  He reached over and squeezed her hand. “We’ll do what it takes.”

  “Jah, we will.” A determined lilt gracing her voice was music to his ears.

  They would eventually find their son. They would accomplish this goal. And they would do it together.

  TWENTY

  Michael stared blankly at the library’s computer screen. Concentrating on the task at hand proved difficult with Miri hovering close by in the seat next to him. Her thigh accidentally brushed his more than once, setting his nerves on fire with each occurrence. The fruity-floral fragrance of her shampoo tantalized his nostrils. His senses were on overload with her nearness.

  She pulled out the slip of paper, although she hadn’t needed to. “Here are the names.” Her whisper tickled his ear, teasing him, taunting him. Did she have any idea the effect she had on him?

>   He glanced at her, seeing that her eyes were trained on the screen. Nee, she had no idea. He cleared his throat. “Uh, jah. Milton and Sarah James.” He quickly typed in the names.

  As he scrolled down the screen, he clicked on a link touting personal records. “This looks like a good one.”

  Miri nodded, tucking in her lips when he hovered over a name.

  “Do you know how old they were?”

  She shrugged. “Maybe in their forties?”

  “Okay. This might be him.” He clicked on a Milton James. He glanced at Miri. “There’s a death date here.”

  “Oh, no. Do you think…?” Her words trailed off.

  “I’ll see if there’s an obituary. If there is, it may have a photo.” He clicked back to one of the previous screens, scrolled down, then clicked on a link. “Here it is. Does that look like him?”

  Her hand flew to her mouth and she nodded. “Ach, jah. That’s him.”

  Michael quickly scanned the article. “Survived by wife, Sarah, and son, Michael.”

  Her mouth dropped open and she stared at him in wonder. “Michael? They named him Michael?”

  “Did you…did you tell them my name?”

  “The lawyers knew, so maybe they said something to them? But, no. I didn’t mention you at all.”

  They stared at each other for several seconds before he spoke. “I can’t believe this!” Mirth spilled from his lips. “I cannot believe this.”

  “Me neither.”

  “What are the chances? Oh, wow. Oh, Miri…” He couldn’t stop the tears from surfacing in his eyes. If this wasn’t a miracle, he didn’t know what was. Out of all the names they could have chosen…

  She reached under the table and took his hand, their fingers interlacing.

  This had to be one of the best days of his life.

  She gestured to the screen with her chin. “Do you think that’s why they moved? Because he died?”

  He shrugged. “Could be. I think Sarah James might be a little more difficult to locate, though. Probably more Sarahs than Miltons.” He frowned.

  “Jah.”

  He gestured to the screen. “It looks like there are some Sarah Jameses on Facebook.”

  “I guess it’s worth a shot.”

  “Jah, you can look at the photos to see if any of them look familiar.” He clicked on the social media website, typed “Sarah James” into the search engine, and scrolled down the list of profiles. “Do any of these people look familiar?”

  “Nee.” She studied each profile picture carefully. “Wait. That one. Right there. That’s her.” She pointed excitedly to the screen.

  He clicked on the profile, and his eyes roamed each photo.

  The second he saw the picture, he knew it was his young son staring back at him. He had no doubt. He opened his mouth to speak, but emotion clogged his throat.

  “That’s our son.” She squeezed his hand. “He looks just like you.”

  He nodded in silence, unable to tear his gaze away from the screen. “And you, too. Ach, he’s the most beautiful child I’ve ever seen.”

  Miriam’s chin quivered and she nodded.

  “I’m going to make a printout of this. I don’t know how well it will turn out, though.” He closed his eyes. “Denki, Gott.”

  Miri sighed deeply and closed her eyes.

  “We don’t have an address yet, though. And we can’t access her personal details unless we’re friends on Facebook.”

  She eyed him carefully. “Do you have a Facebook thing?”

  “You mean, an account? No. And even if I did, the chances of her accepting a friend request from a complete stranger, and a man at that, is pretty much nil.” He studied the profile, but his eyes kept straying back to the photo of their son. He could hardly peel his gaze away. But he needed to. They had to find this woman, to see if they could communicate with her somehow. “It doesn’t look like she’s posted anything lately, unless we can’t see that info. It might only be available to her friends.”

  “At least we know she probably still lives in Indiana. Maybe we can search her name along with Indiana.”

  “Good idea.” He opened up a different tab, not quite ready to close the Facebook page. “Just a sec. I’m going to talk to somebody about printing out that picture. You wanna scroll down and see if you can find something?”

  “Sure.”

  Michael glanced back at Miri as he walked to the library help desk. “Could you help us print something, please? Neither one of us are all that experienced with the computer.” He asked the female attendant.

  “Sure.” She rounded the desk and followed him back to where Miri sat.

  Miri looked up. “Do you need me to move?”

  “No, that’s okay.” The woman glanced at Michael. “What did you want to print?”

  He reached down and clicked on the web page. “This photo.”

  “Sure. Did you save it yet?”

  “No, how do I do that?”

  “Just right click, then Save Picture As. You can just save it to the desktop. It will erase off there when you log off.” She showed them how to do what she’d just explained. “Then, just right click on the photo on the desktop, and click on Print. You want color, correct?”

  Michael nodded. “Can we get two copies?” He winked at Miri and the corner of her lips curled up.

  “Sure.”

  “Great.” Michael smiled.

  “Thank you,” Miri said to the woman.

  “It’s printing now. You can pay at the front desk. It’s fifteen cents for each color copy.” She studied Michael. “Do you need anything else?”

  “No, that’s it. Thank you.” He glanced toward the printer. “I can get them now?”

  “Yes, they should be ready if you’d like to follow me to the front desk.”

  He fished thirty cents out of his pocket when she handed him the papers. “Thanks again.”

  A moment later, he was back at Miri’s side. He grinned. “We have a picture of our son.” He spoke the words quietly.

  She nodded, but worry danced in her eyes. “Will you…keep mine at Sammy’s for me?”

  “Of course.” But he knew it was only a matter of time before their community discovered they’d had a child together. He wouldn’t kindle more angst for Miri by mentioning it, though.

  She gestured toward the screen. “I think I may have found an address. It’s different than the one we have.”

  “Great. Let’s write it down and see if we can find any others. Then we can send out a letter to see if it’s her.”

  “Jah.”

  “This is taking longer than I’d hoped.”

  She studied him. “Did you have other plans today?”

  “No, not today. I mean, finding this lady.”

  “Well, at least we have a picture now.”

  “Yes, I’m very happy about that. I can’t wait to show Dawdi.”

  She shook her head. “I don’t see any other addresses. Just this one.”

  “That must be it, then. Let’s go?”

  “Jah.”

  His gaze traveled her face. “Would you…like to stop and grab and milkshake or a bite to eat? My treat.”

  She nodded, although he sensed timidity in the gesture.

  If she considered this a date, and she’d just agreed to it, he would be over the moon. But he refused to assume anything. At this point in time, they were just friends. He’d have to be content with that. For now.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Miriam glanced over at Michael as he held the buggy reins in his hand. Something between them had shifted. And she liked it. Not that she fully trusted him now. But they were making forward progress. She’d only seen glimpses of this side of Michael when they’d dated several years ago. It was the part she’d fallen in love with.

  But now? Ach, he seemed like a totally different person. Kind. Considerate. Even a little emotional. She hardly recognized him from the Michael who’d shown up in their community three months ago.

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nbsp; “Thanks for coming with me today.” His eyes briefly met hers.

  It hadn’t lasted long enough for her liking. “I…I had a gut time.”

  “I’m glad.” He looked as if he smiled to himself, like he harbored a secret only he was privy to.

  “Do you think the post office will send out our letters today?” She clasped her hands in her lap.

  “Might not be until Monday. But they were still open, so you never know.”

  “Denki, Michael.”

  His forehead creased. “For what?”

  “For taking me along. For agreeing to go to the post office today. For buying me lunch.”

  “It was my pleasure. I loved every minute of it. I kind of hate to drop you off already.”

  Was he asking her to ride with him longer? Anticipation tickled her stomach. “We…we don’t have to yet.”

  “You’re sure? You want to ride longer?” He flicked an uncertain glance her way.

  She nodded once.

  His smile broadened and he turned off on the next country road. He gestured beyond them with his head. “Wanna go down to the creek?”

  “Sure.”

  He pulled onto a smaller unpaved dirt road. “I sometimes go fishing here. Have you ever been?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  “It’s a nice spot.” He maneuvered the horse under a tree, then hopped down to secure the reins to a low-hanging branch.

  She heard rushing water prior to stepping down from the buggy.

  He held out his hand for her to grasp. “It’s a little rugged.”

  She assented by taking his hand and followed him down the trail. “Do you come here often?”

  “Only been twice since I’ve been back. The first time, with Dawdi, wasn’t so gut because my casts were still on.”

  She carefully moved down the rocky embankment. Her eyes widened. “You walked down this? With a cast?”

  “With Dawdi’s help.” He chuckled. “I was bored out of my mind and wanted something exciting to do. I’d been cooped up in that house too long. I think I was driving Dawdi crazy. He finally found an adventure for me.”

  “I can’t imagine. But you always were a risk-taker.”