Chapter Twenty-Four
Jacob woke up and stretched. He realized that, for the first time in days, he felt like himself again. I wonder how long I have been asleep. He pushed himself out of bed and threw open the shutters. A brilliant blue sky greeted him. Jacob breathed deeply. It is so good to be up and alive.
He turned back to the dim interior of the cabin and felt an unexpected sense of loss. Everywhere he looked he saw signs of Greta. He could vaguely remember her sitting by the fire, or hovering by his bedside. He could still feel her cool hands against his hot, fevered skin. The cabin is so empty and still without her.
Jacob dressed quickly and went to check on the livestock. He smiled as he rounded the corner of the cabin. There she was, humming a tune and swinging a basket as she walked across the field. Jacob raised his hand in greeting, but Greta did not see. She was too intent on her errand.
He leaned against the side of the house and watched her cut through the wild grasses. The sun shone against her white prayer kappe and illuminated her rosy cheeks. Jacob’s heart swelled as his eyes followed her carefree movements and innocent expression. He watched as she picked her way down the hill to the edge of the creek and pause when she reached the water. Her head turned one way, then the other, as she studied the wild current rush past.
Jacob straightened up and frowned. She is not going to try to cross the creek, is she? Not after all the rain last night. He watched Greta take a careful step forward. The water lapped at her shoes. She hesitated and then stepped onto a stone as she waved her arms for balance.
“Greta. Don’t.” But Jacob knew that she could not hear him above the roaring current. He hurried down the hill. Doesn’t she know those rocks are slick with moss? Jacob cupped his hand around his mouth. “Greta! It is not safe!”
She did not turn around. Her eyes stayed on the water as she searched for a larger, more stable rock. She switched the basket to her left hand and hitched up her skirts with her right hand. Her head nodded, one, two, three, and Jacob could tell that she was counting. On three, she leapt for the larger rock. Jacob’s heart flew into his throat, but she stuck the landing.
Greta grinned, took another long leap, and landed safely on the far side. Jacob let out a long, shaky breath. Thank you, Lord. He watched her scramble up the muddy bank and into a patch of weeds. Jacob continued to make his way to the creek as he watched Greta stuff handfuls of yarrow into her basket. He grimaced as she turned back toward the water and scampered down the bank. “Wait! Let me help you!” But Greta did not hear his voice above the howl of the water. Her head stayed down as she studied the stepping-stones and she did not even realize that he was there. Jacob broke into a run. “Wait!”
The first stone sat far from the bank and Greta narrowed her eyes as she considered the distance. She clenched her jaw, whispered a prayer, and jumped for it. Her feet slid out from under her as soon as they hit the stone. Her arms spun like windmills as she tried to regain her balance, but she crashed into the water.
Jacob exploded into a sprint. “I am coming! Hold on!” He knew she could not hear him above the roaring current, but he called to her anyway. “You will be all right! I am almost there!” Please, Lord. Do not let her drown. Please, please do not let her drown. Every muscle burned with purpose as Jacob flew across the field and raced through the stand of trees to the edge of the bank. Greta was already gone.
Jacob stared into the churning river. Where is she? His stomach felt as tight as a fist as he watched for a sign of life. Seconds passed. And then Greta’s head popped up downstream. She coughed and sputtered. “Help me!” But the river had carried her too far for Jacob to reach her. Greta kicked and flailed as the water sucked her under again.
Jacob took off in her direction. He stared into the empty water as his feet pounded along the bank, but he saw only the reflection of trees and sun. He tried to calculate how far downstream she must be. Long, terrible seconds passed. Jacob could only hear the roar of the current and the beat of his heart.
Greta’s head appeared again, closer this time. Jacob’s stomach leapt into his chest and he pushed his body to run even faster. Greta saw him and opened her mouth to shout. But water rushed between her lips and she disappeared again.
Jacob leapt over a fallen log and crashed into the creek. He could see her just beneath the surface of the water. Her hair spread out like a fan, the chestnut curls rippling in the current.
* * *
Greta’s fingers clawed toward the surface, but her waterlogged skirts pulled her deeper. She could see the blue sky far above, rippling beyond the water. But she knew she could not reach it. The whitewater slapped and beat her down with cold, angry hands.
Her eyes blurred with water and her lungs burned. The creek wrapped around her like a blanket as it dragged her downward. She felt her body relax and give up. The light above the surface began to fade. As the cold dark encircled her, she knew that there was no way out. Her last thought was of Jacob. She wished with all of her strength that she had declared her love while there was still time.
As her eyes closed in defeat, Greta felt arms wrap around her waist with a ferocious intensity. Warm, living flesh burned against hers. She felt her body moving upward as strong hands pressed against the current. And then the world went black.
* * *
“It’s all right. I’ve got you now. It’s all right.” Jacob felt Greta collapse against his chest. Her slim body felt as limp as a doll. He threw his weight against the current and pushed toward the shallows, one arm wrapped around her body, the other braced against the force of the water. The river slapped and knocked him back, but he fought until his lungs and legs screamed with effort. Der Herr, give me strength. Adrenaline surged through Jacob’s body. He set his jaw, forged through the last few yards of water, and stumbled to the bank.
Jacob laid Greta’s slack body on the wet green grass. She did not move. He felt a fresh rush of panic. “Greta.” He ran the back of his hand across her cheek. Her pale skin felt as cold as frost. “Greta.” He shook her gently. “Greta!” He could feel his world collapse and spin out of control in a horrible, unstoppable motion. “Please, Greta. Please!”
He rolled Greta onto her side and patted her back. “Come on, Greta. Breathe!” He felt her twitch. “That’s it, Greta. Come on! Please!” A terrible cough erupted from her lungs. Her body shook. “That’s it! Come on, Greta!” She coughed again. Jacob patted her back harder. “Greta. It is going to be all right. That’s it. Get it all out.”
Her eyelids fluttered open.
“Greta! Greta, darling! You are going to be all right. You are going to be all right!”
“Jacob. You came for me.”
“Of course I did. Of course I came for you.” He buried his face in her hair and breathed her in as he hid tears of relief. “I thought I lost you, Greta.” He closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against hers. “I thought I lost you.” He held her close as the warmth returned to her body, and he wished that he never had to let her go.
“I see now.” He kept his arms locked around her.
“What do you see?”
“How wrong I was.”
Greta smiled. “Wrong about what?”
“I was wrong to think that there could ever be anyone but you.”
“Oh, Jacob!” She squeezed him more tightly and felt a deep, happy ache in her throat.
“Greta. Dear, sweet Greta. I have known it since the day I met you.”
“When Rose trampled your garden?”
“Yes!” He laughed and held her even tighter. “I knew from the time I first laid eyes on you, when you landed on your backside in the dirt and tried to look dignified. I love you, Greta Scholtz. I have always loved you.”
“Oh, Jacob! I have always loved you!” Greta felt so full of joy and relief that she thought she might burst. Jacob covered her face and hair in kisses, then pulled her to her feet, picked her up, and spun her around. Greta shrieked with delight as he held her aloft. He grinned and spun her around again. “You weigh no more than a feather.”
Jacob set her back on her feet and pulled her to him. “Ever since the day I carried you home, I have wanted to pick you up again.” Greta laughed into his chest as she stood wrapped in his arms. She could feel the warmth of his skin through his homespun shirt. “Why did we wait so long to admit how we truly feel?”
Jacob sighed and ran his fingers through her long, wet hair, his eyes deep with longing. “I was afraid to love you.” He shook his head. “After all that I had lost, I could not accept that we were meant to be together. I had to push you away.” He laid his cheek across the crown of her head and closed his eyes. “Forgive me.”
“And I am sorry for my pride. Ruth warned me that it would be my downfall. I almost lost you because of it. I did not want you to know that I loved you.”
He let out a long, hard sigh. “Ja. You had me fooled. I never would have given Catrina a second thought if I had known how you really felt. I thought that you wanted nothing to do with me.”
“And I thought that I was no match for Catrina.”
Jacob pulled back from their embrace to look Greta in the eye. “That is why you started ignoring me?”
“I knew that I could not compete with her.”
“No one can compare to you, Greta Scholtz.”
“Catrina is very beautiful. And everything about her seems perfect.” Greta tightened her grip on Jacob’s arm. “I thought that you were in love with her.”
“Never.” He shook his head and pulled her close again. “I have never met a woman like you before. So full of life. So determined . . .” He grinned and shook his head again, overwhelmed that this strong, capable woman was really his.
They stood in silence for a long, wonderful moment, until Greta shivered with cold. Jacob caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. “We need to get you warmed up. No more standing outside in those wet clothes.”
Greta gazed into his dark, smoldering eyes. “I do not want this moment to end.” Jacob smiled and kissed her forehead, then took her hand and led her up the embankment. “I have to take you home before you catch cold.” He stayed close by her side as they walked. He could feel the heat of her body and hear the soft rhythm of her breath. “I cannot bear the thought that I almost lost you. What were you doing trying to cross the creek, anyway?”
“I was going for more yarrow. It grows on the far side of the creek.”
Jacob frowned. “It was too great a risk.”
Greta shrugged. “Catrina has a terrible fever. I did not feel that I had a choice. I had to do what I could to help.”
Jacob raised Greta’s hand to his mouth and kissed it. “You have a heart of gold.”
She shook her head. “Anyone would do the same.”
A troubled expression passed over Jacob’s face. “I do not think that Catrina would have done the same for you. The more time that I spent with her, the more I realized that she is not Plain in her heart.” He sighed. “I wonder if she will ever belong here.”
Greta nodded. “I just do not know.”
Jacob squeezed her hand. “Der Herr does. He will make a clear path for her.”
“She is going to take this hard. I am sorry that our love will bring her pain.”
Jacob shrugged. “I think it might be what she needs. Sometimes der Herr allows us to be taken down a peg to teach us how to be better people. She needs to learn that beauty is not as valuable as character. A man should choose character over beauty every time.”
Greta glanced at Jacob with a twinkle in her eye. “Are you saying that I am not beautiful, Jacob Miller?”
Jacob gazed back into her eyes. His expression turned serious. “You are the most beautiful woman in the world, Greta Scholtz.”