Gemma clutched Jesse’s arm as she strained to hear the plane returning. She prayed fervently for their rescue. “Surely they must see the smoke.”
He covered Gemma’s hands with his own. “Wait, I think I hear it again.”
She caught the sound then too. “Please, dear Lord, let them see us.”
Suddenly a small aircraft burst into view, barely skimming the tops of the trees. Gemma and Jesse began to shout and wave their arms. The plane circled back once, and it dipped its wing to acknowledge them.
“They saw us!” Gemma threw her arms around Jesse’s neck. His bear hug lifted her feet off the ground. She captured his face between her hands. “We’re going to be rescued.”
As she stared into his eyes, something changed. His pupils darkened as he gazed at her.
“I’m almost sorry we can’t stay a little longer,” he said softly.
“Why?” The word sounded breathless as it dissipated in the cold air.
“Because I was just beginning to get to know you.”
His revelation gave way to a warm comforting sensation followed by sharp loss. She was in his arms. Exactly where she had wanted to be so long ago, and he was still completely out of her reach. Now more than ever. She didn’t deserve this man’s affection.
Tears pricked the back of her eyes. She moved her hands to his shoulders and he slowly lowered her to the ground. He didn’t release her. She couldn’t look into his eyes. “And I have learned a lot about you. You enjoy eating bark. Who would’ve guessed that?”
“And you like to keep secrets,” he said, tipping his head to see her face better.
“At least we don’t have to do a lot of packing,” she said, trying to change the subject.
He seemed to take the hint. “It may be a while before they can get snowmobiles to us. I should get you back inside.”
She looked around for her crutch, but he simply swept her up in his arms and walked slowly toward the cabin. She relaxed in his arms. It would be the last time he held her. She wanted the moment to last forever. He stopped at the porch steps. “We’ve had quite an adventure, haven’t we?”
“We did. I imagine you’ll be glad to be rid of me.” She bit the corner of her lip as she waited for his answer.
“I think I’m going to miss your scolding but not your rose hip tea.”
“I wasn’t that hard to get along with, was I?”
“Not at all. Well, not most of the time.” He smiled slightly. She caught sight of his dimple again. Perhaps she would see it more often now that they had gotten to know each other better.
“At least we won’t have to eat bark for supper again tonight.”
He chuckled as he gazed into her eyes. “I can always bring some to your house. You should try it fried in a little oil. It’s a lot better that way. I think your daed might like it.”
She looked down. If only she could enjoy his company at home with her parents. She wasn’t sure how they would react to her news. She could be shunned. Until she figured out what she was going to do, she couldn’t make any plans. “I’m getting cold. You had better take me inside.”
“Oh, sure. The last thing you need is frostbitten toes on top of your other problem.”
Her gaze snapped to his. Had he put two and two together and come up with her pregnancy as the cause of her illness each morning. “What do you mean?”
“Your sprained ankle. What did you think I meant?” He walked up the steps and carried her through the door, and then he placed her gently on her bedding in front of the fire.
“It doesn’t matter. Can you help me get my shoe on?”
“Sure.” He knelt and tenderly slipped her walking shoe over her foot. He pulled the laces snug and tied a neat bow. “How does that feel?”
“Good enough to get home. I’m anxious to know what happened to Dale.”
He straightened, took a step back and thrust his hands in the pockets of his coat. “Me too. I sure hope he’s okay.”
“He must be, or they wouldn’t have known to look for us.” She glanced at their collection of broken pottery, plastic bottles and the sad skillet missing its handle. “I think I’m going to miss this place.”
“I’m ready for my own mattress and quilts.”
She smothered a smile. “I’m ready for my mother’s home cooking.”
It was several hours before their rescuers arrived. Two men on snowmobiles as Jesse had predicted. One snowmobile pulled a sled behind it. Jesse went out to speak with the men. After a few minutes, he brought them in to meet her. “These fellows are members of the Wilderness Search and Rescue Team. Bradley is a paramedic. He needs to check us out before they can transport us.”
Jesse and the other rescuer stepped back outside to wait. From Bradley’s pointed questions, Gemma knew Jesse had told him about her brief bouts of sickness. Satisfied with her blood pressure and pulse, he examined her foot. “Someone did a nice job of stabilizing it with duct tape.”
“Jesse thought of it.”
The paramedic cut off her stocking and the gray tape. After gentle probing, he looked her straight in the eye. “This will need an X-ray. You may have a broken bone.”
“I’ll see a doctor when I get home.”
“We will take you straight to the hospital from here. Did Jesse have any injuries that you know of?”
“You should check his hands. They were red with white patches of frostbite yesterday.”
The paramedic put his equipment away. “I will have the sled ready in a few minutes. We’ll have you both checked out at the hospital. It’s protocol.”
Jesse came in a few minutes later with a large orange blanket. “This should keep you warm on the ride.” He draped it around her and scooped her up again. He carried her out to the snowmobile. She was going to miss this easy familiarity. She knew he would behave very differently once they were back in New Covenant. “Did you ask about Dale?”
“I did. He hit his head much harder than we thought. He made it down to the highway, but he passed out at the side of the road. Someone found him and got him to the hospital. He didn’t wake up until the next day. The weather was too bad to look for us then.”
Their second rescuer was a teenage boy. “Mr. Kaufman gave us directions to his truck. When we discovered it was empty, we started an air and ground search for the two of you.”
“We are certainly grateful for your help,” Jesse said as he settled her onto the sled and tucked the blanket around her.
Gemma bit her lip. Had he noticed her rounded tummy? If he had, his expression hadn’t changed. The men then covered her with another blanket and strapped her in. It was an odd sensation to be lying flat while the men prepared to get underway. It was even more so once they were moving.
Her view consisted of the blue sky overhead and the tops of the tall pines that bordered the trail. It wasn’t long before the speed of the trees zipping past made her queasy. She closed her eyes for the remainder of the trip. When they finally stopped, she opened them to see more men in uniforms waiting for them beside an ambulance.
She was transferred from the sled to a gurney in the ambulance. Jesse was allowed to ride beside her. She was grateful for his solid, calm presence.
Once they reached the hospital, they were taken to separate rooms in the emergency department. The nurse who took her vital signs and asked all manner of questions was extremely kind and curious about her adventure. She gave Gemma a gown to change into and stepped out of the room. Gemma was waiting to be seen by a doctor when Jesse spoke on the other side of the curtain. “May I come in?”
Although the hospital gown she wore was perfectly modest, she drew the sheet up to her chin and turned on her side to hide her growing waistline. “Come in, Jesse.”
The concern in his eyes warmed her heart. “How are you? And don’t say fine.”
“I am wonderfully warm, but this bed isn’t the most comfortable. How are you?”
He held out his left hand. He had a bandage wrapped around it. “They say I am in perfect health, except for some small patches of skin on my hand that may slough off. They gave me some cream to use.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. The cattail roots were not worth it.”
He grinned. “I thought they were pretty good. You just weren’t hungry enough to appreciate them. Maybe a little bird like you could live on rose hips, but a man my size needed something more substantial. As soon as they let us out of here, we are going to get some burgers and fries.”
“That sounds wunderbar.”
A young man wearing a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck stepped into the room. He held a clipboard in his hand. The nurse who had questioned Gemma earlier came in and stood behind him. He read silently for a minute or two and then looked up with a smile. “Miss Lapp? I’m Dr. Johnson. It sounds like you have had a tough time of it lately.”
Jesse tipped his head toward the door. “I’ll be out in the waiting room. I want to call the bishop and explain what happened to us. I’m sure he is concerned.”
The nurse nodded. “I’ll come get you when we’re finished. You might want to go by the registration desk. They have questions about insurance.”
Jesse stopped at the doorway. “We Amish don’t carry insurance. Our church will cover what is owed if it is more than we can pay. I’ll take care of your bill, Gemma.”
“Danki, Jesse. My father will repay you.”
“I know. I’m not worried about that.”
Once Jesse was out of the room, Gemma took a deep breath. “There is something you should know doctor. I’m pregnant.”
“Congratulations. We’ll make sure to shield your baby while we x-ray your foot.”
She managed to thank him. He had no way of knowing this wasn’t a happy event for her, and she didn’t share that part of her history. He gave her a thorough examination. His friendly smile changed to a look of concern as he listened for the baby’s heartbeat.
Gemma started to worry. “Is everything okay?”
“Your little one seems to be hiding from me. Have you noticed any changes? Has there been a decrease in movement?”
“Nee.” Her hands clenched the sheet tightly.
“Let’s make sure everything is all right with the baby. We’ll do a sonogram while we have you down in X-ray.”
Jesse placed a call to the community phone booth, expecting to leave a message for the bishop and Gemma’s family. On the second ring, someone answered. “Elmer Schultz speaking.”
“Bishop Schultz, this is Jesse Crump.”
“Jesse, we have been wondering what happened to you. Dale left a message saying you and Gemma Lapp were lost in the wilderness.”
Jesse went on to explain the detour, the accident and admitted he was responsible for getting them lost in the woods. He assured the bishop that their injuries were only minor ones.
“I praise Gott it was not worse. What can I do to aid you?” the bishop asked.
“If you could arrange for our transportation home that would be great. And let Gemma’s family know she is okay.”
“I will as soon as I finish speaking with you.”
Jesse hung up the phone. He eyed the vending machine in the corner. He strolled to it and noticed a package of beef jerky among the candy bars. He inserted the correct amount of change and enjoyed the snack even while he felt guilty that Gemma hadn’t had anything to eat yet. For all his praise of pine bark, it hadn’t satisfied his appetite.
He saw the nurse who had been with Gemma motion to him and he hurried to her side. “How is she?”
“I haven’t heard a report on her X-ray yet. She’s on her way back. You can wait in her room if you’d like.”
“Danki, thank you,” he said, forgetting for a moment that she wouldn’t understand his Pennsylvania Deitsh language. The room was still empty when he stepped inside. He took a seat in one of the chairs pushed back against the wall.
The doctor came in and held open the door for the people moving Gemma. The doctor caught sight of him. “Mr. Lapp, you will be happy to know that your wife and baby are both doing fine. Her ankle is sprained but there are no broken bones.”
“Bobbli?” Stunned, Jesse looked from the doctor to Gemma for an explanation. He spoke to her in Pennsylvania Deitsh, so the man wouldn’t understand what they were saying. “Gemma, what is he talking about?”
She covered her face with her hands. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell you. I am so ashamed,” she replied in the same language.
“Then this is true. You’re with child? You were baptized. You made a vow before the church and before God.”
The doctor looked puzzled and concerned. “I don’t understand what you are saying. The baby is fine now. As I told your wife, the condition she has will require a cesarean section, but with good prenatal care, both she and the child should come through with flying colors.” He laid a hand on Gemma’s shoulder. “Don’t cry. You are worrying your husband.”
Gemma turned her face to the wall.
Jesse found his voice. “I’m not her husband.” He got up and walked out of the room.
In the hall, he stopped as a nurse pushed an elderly woman past him in a wheelchair. He raked a hand through his hair.
Gemma was pregnant. Who was the father?
Had she gotten married in Florida and left her husband? Or had she broken her vows to the church? Sadly, the latter was the most likely explanation. She wouldn’t have needed to keep it a secret otherwise.
A cold sensation settled in the pit of his stomach. If that were the case, he knew exactly what lay in store for her and her baby. He was the child of an unwed mother.
Gemma kept her face averted through the first hour of the ride home. Jesse sat silently beside her. Dale had been released too. He sat up front with the driver, a woman the bishop had sent to pick them up. They would be home in another few hours.
“What are your plans?” Jesse asked quietly in Deitsh in case they should be overheard.
She glanced at him, but he was still staring out the window at the snow-covered landscape. At least he was speaking to her. Shame almost kept her silent, but she clutched at the olive branch he offered.
“I don’t know,” she replied quietly in their Amish language.
He turned to stare at her. “You must have some idea.”
She kept her voice low, although she didn’t think Dale or the driver understood what was being said. “Before the accident, I thought I could put the baby up for adoption. I have family in Pennsylvania that I could stay with. I’m sure there must be an Amish couple who would love to adopt a child in the area.”
“And after the accident?”
She gripped her fingers tightly together. “I was worried that something might happen to him or her. For the first time, I started thinking that my mistake was actually my baby.”
“The child is not to blame.”
She cupped her hands over her abdomen. “I know that.”
“Have you told the father?”
“I did.”
“Did he offer to marry you?”
“Nee. His name was Robert Fisher. He left town the next day without telling me where he was going. I waited months for him to return. He never did. I have no idea how to contact him. I finally decided to come home.”
“I would judge him to be a coward, but it is wrong to judge any man. Only God can know what is in the heart of the person.”
There was nothing she could say about Robert that wouldn’t make her sound bitter. Jesse looked out the window again. “Do you love him?”
She swallowed hard. “I thought so. He said he loved me. I believed him. I was very naive.”
“Life gives the test first and then the lesson is learned.”
She had failed the test miserably and couldn’t offer anything in her own defense. She had wanted to be loved, but she had been tricked into believing Robert’s love was real.
“When this becomes known in the community, you will be shunned unless you make a public confession to the church.”
“I know.” She dreaded telling her parents more than she dreaded telling everyone else.
“What did the doctor mean when he said you had a complication that would require a cesarean section?”
“He called it a placenta previa. It means the blood supply for the baby will tear open when labor starts.” Please, Lord, protect this child. I didn’t want to be pregnant, but I would never wish harm to befall a baby. My baby. Have mercy, I beg You.
“That is dangerous for the child and for you?”
She found it hard to speak past the lump in her throat. “He said it was. The nurse gave me a pamphlet to read about it.”
“May I see it?”
Gemma frowned. Why would he want to read such a thing? She withdrew it from her pocket and laid it on the seat between them rather than handing it to him. A baptized member of the faith was forbidden to accept anything from the hand of a shunned person, to eat at the same table or to do business with them. Jesse knew that.
He picked it up. “You aren’t shunned yet, Gemma Lapp. That is for the church to decide.”
He remained quiet for the next few minutes and then handed it back to her. “Danki. Will you be able to face the entire congregation and admit your mistakes?”
“I will have to, won’t I? If I wish to remain in New Covenant as a member of the Amish faith.”
“You could accept the shunning and live apart from the community or become English.”
Gemma was surprised by his comment. “To face the shame I have brought to my family won’t be easy for me or for them. I won’t give up my faith, but it might be better if I moved away.”
“You should consider what is best for the child, not only for you and your family.”
“I don’t know what’s best, but I think I want to keep my baby, even if I have to raise him or her by myself. I hope my parents will understand and allow us to stay with them.”
He nodded, but his eyes held a faraway look. “A fatherless child faces many hardships, as does a mother without a husband.”
There was something in his voice that made her look at him closely. It wasn’t a random comment, she was sure of it. “It sounds like you know someone in that position.”
He fixed his gaze on her. “I do. My mother was never married.”