Forever. Karen Hopkins Ann

the slightly raised pitch of his voice, I glanced back and met his green-eyed stare.

      Lowering my voice, I said, “You really must stop this.”

      “Why?”

      “We’ve already gone over it. It’s better if we don’t talk anymore, because of the situation brewing between our families.”

      “You didn’t pay any attention to Edwin during volleyball. What does that mean, then?”

      I sighed. Micah was so different from Edwin. If I didn’t make eyes with Edwin or start up a quick exchange of words, he was too shy to approach me. I had to do all the work or nothing would ever get done with the boy. Micah was the opposite. He was forward to the point of rattling my nerves.

      “Again, it’s none of your business what happens between me and him. I wish you’d just leave it be.”

      “I caught you looking at me several times during the service.”

      My face reddened with the heat that suddenly flamed my cheeks.

      “I only turned your way because you were so rudely staring at me. I’m surprised the entire community didn’t notice.”

      “It wouldn’t be so bad if they did.”

      “You’re being silly. Please excuse me while I take the horse to the buggy.”

      Shocking me, Micah blocked the back of the stall. If I continued to nudge Juniper in that direction, he’d get trampled.

      “Why isn’t Noah assisting you? Where is he, anyway?”

      I wasn’t supposed to know where Noah was, but deep down I had my own suspicion why he’d hurried off to take Mother home, completely forgetting about me and Rachel. After listening from behind closed doors several times this week, I was fairly certain Rose was involved.

      Part of me was happy for him, knowing in my heart all along that she was the girl for him—even though she was born English. But I also feared the trouble that would be stirred when it came to pass.

      “Since my father must attend the meeting called by yours, Noah took Mother home. Now if you’ll kindly step aside, I’ll be on my way, too.”

      He stepped out of the way and motioned widely with his arm. I ignored the frown on his face as my heart raced. I wanted nothing more than to talk to him longer, even if it wasn’t the most pleasant kind of talk. As much as I tried to push Micah away, I felt myself growing closer to him each time we came together.

      “Thank you,” I muttered, not looking up as I passed by him.

      Before I cleared the doorway, he raced up behind me and tapped my shoulder. His touch made me catch my breath, but I stopped and glanced back, anyway.

      “Wait. There’s something I want to give you. It isn’t much—I made it the other day when I had a little free time.”

      He handed me a soft, tan strip of leather. When I turned it over, I gasped as I read the engraving of my name.

      “It’s a bookmark,” he said quietly.

      I looked up and met his gaze. When he smiled and shrugged, my heart melted, and I knew that I was lost to him. All the anxiety I’d carried before vanished. As if my eyes were opened for the first time, I saw the young man before me...and I knew he was mine. The contentment that filled me was sweeter than honey, and I returned his smile.

      “Sarah, what are you doing?” Jacob’s voice boomed from the barn opening. I quickly tucked the leather beneath my apron and tugged on Juniper’s reins. Micah moved swiftly by without looking at me or my oldest brother and left the barn.

      “What was that all about?” Jacob said as he stepped in front of me. His eyes flashed accusingly, and I was suddenly angry.

      “Only me getting Juniper ready to harness—there was no need to startle me so.”

      “I’m not blind. I saw that you were talking to Micah.”

      “And what if I was? It isn’t against the rules to say hello to someone passing by in the barn, is it?”

      Jacob smoothed the small amount of hair on his chin down in a movement very much like Father before he said softly, “I’m not giving you a hard time, Sarah. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

      “Whatever makes you think that I’ll get hurt?”

      “Elijah Schwartz will never allow one of his sons to become involved with a Miller. Not after what Noah did to his daughter. There are too many other eligible young men for you to court around here. Don’t go after something that is only going to cause you grief. Take the lesson learned from Noah and his disastrous choices.”

      From somewhere deep within me, defiance grew, and I met Jacob’s stern gaze. “My situation is nothing like Noah’s. There is no reason that our heavenly father would work to keep Micah and I apart if we chose to be together. We share the same faith, beliefs and community. Elijah Schwartz has no right to interfere.”

      The smile that rose on Jacob’s face was unexpected. “You looked a whole lot like Father when you said that.” Chuckling, he took the reins from me and turned to take Juniper to the buggy. As he walked away, he said over his shoulder, “I reckon Elijah might have met his match.”

      How did I go from not wanting anything to do with Micah Schwartz to defending a relationship that hadn’t even begun with him to my oldest brother, and all in the matter of some minutes?

      I didn’t know the answer, but for the first time I was the one in the family having some excitement.

      And, I liked the feeling a whole lot.

      8

      Sam

      I set the bowl of ice cream down to answer the door. Who the hell would be knocking at this late hour? I wondered. When I looked out the window and saw that it was Hunter, I relaxed and opened the door. With Rose’s situation, I was always ready for the worst.

      “Hey, bro, what’s going on?” I asked Hunter as he slid past me to stand in the foyer.

      “Is Rose home?”

      I ran my fingers roughly through my hair while I quickly thought of an answer. I certainly wasn’t going to tell him that she’d been knocked up by Mr. Suspenders and was off on some sneaky liaison with him that Summer had hatched. No, the less Hunter knew, the better, but I was still majorly bummed that things hadn’t worked out between him and my sister. Hunter was a good guy, especially now that he’d quit drinking.

      “She’s out with Summer, doing some girl thing.”

      “Do you mind if I hang around for a while and wait for her?”

      He didn’t exactly sound like he was begging, but his eyes were for sure. Damn, under the current circumstances, having Hunter in the house when Rose returned could be a national disaster in the making.

      “Uh, man, I don’t think that’s such a good idea. She just got home last night and she’s still settling in. You know how temperamental she is.”

      Hunter smiled. “Yeah, I do, but I don’t mind if she has a meltdown. I need to talk to her.”

      Part of me was becoming aggravated that the guy wasn’t listening to me, but the other part had to respect his persistence. It was just a shame that he didn’t have a chance now.

      “Look, it’s your skin that’s going to get chewed up and spit out if she comes home in a mood.”

      Hunter followed me into the family room, and we’d barely sat down in front of the TV when Summer and Rose came through the door.

      Summer shot me a look that gave me the heads-up that she was upset with me, but Rose didn’t even take the time to look my way before she began her barrage.

      “What’s he doing here?