Neighbors Of Lancaster County: Amish Weddings Part 5

He stood barefoot, wearing shorts and an Army T-s.h.i.+rt.

Rose's face grew warm. "I was looking for Shani."

"She's not here."

"Oh." Rose felt foolish for coming over. Of course she'd stay at the hospital to be with Lila. "I'll leave a message on her cell phone," Rose said. Maybe Shani would take her up to the hospital that evening.

Trevor yawned and stretched his arms.

Rose's face grew even warmer.

"Do you want a ride up to the hospital?" he asked.

"I was hoping I could catch one with Shani, but I could call a driver." She wasn't sure why she said that except to be on her way as soon as possible.

He stepped out onto the porch. "Driver?"

"Jah," she said. "We hire Englischers to drive us around."

"Englischers?"

Her face was hot now. She nodded.

He took a step forward. "Like me?"

She nodded again, feeling even more self-conscious. "I need to get going. Thank you." It unnerved her to be alone with a half-dressed man. She hurried down the last step.

"I can give you a ride," he said.

"Oh, no. That's too much," she responded, catching her foot on a flagstone on the walkway. She tripped a little but caught herself.

"It's no problem," Trevor said. "I'm going that way anyway." He glanced down at his s.h.i.+rt. "I just need to get a shower."

Surely it wouldn't hurt to get a ride with him. Hopefully Dat would understand, under the circ.u.mstances.

She turned back around. "Could you stop by and pick me up on your way?"

He nodded. "Give me twenty minutes."

"See you then," she said. His car must have been in the shed or parked over by the barn or maybe even by the little house. She hurried back down the lane, put away the breakfast dishes that had dried in the rack, left a note for Dat in case their paths didn't cross, and grabbed her purse.

She had no idea what she'd cook for supper that night, but she'd figure it out. She took her lip balm out of her purse, ran it over her lips, and then headed to the back door, locking it behind her with her key. By the time she reached the driveway, Trevor's car was coming toward her. She squinted into the morning sun, shading her eyes as she walked toward it.

By the time she met the car, Trevor had stopped and opened the pa.s.senger door from the inside. She climbed in and fumbled for the seat belt as he turned the car around. He wore some sort of fragrance, aftershave probably, and his hair was still wet.

His car was a little messy inside. She'd noticed some paper bags in the back seat when she'd turned to fasten her seat belt. And there was a pile of receipts in the cubby under the stereo. She'd expected that a soldier would keep things tidier.

"I'm glad you stopped by," Trevor said. "I wanted to get up to the hospital today too."

"Thank you," she said as he turned sharply onto the lane. "I appreciate the ride."

"No problem," he answered, s.h.i.+fting gears as he did. She pulled her legs to the side, close to her door, away from his hand. The interior of the car was all black except for the panel of instruments. It looked pretty fancy. So did the radio.

"Poor Zane. Must be a b.u.mmer to be planning to get married in a month and then have this happen." Trevor frowned. "I think that sounded wrong. Poor Lila. She's the one going through all the pain."

Rose smiled a little. "I know what you mean. Besides, Zane is your friend-of course you'd be sympathetic toward him."

Trevor smiled again. "Thanks," he said. "For giving me a pa.s.s."

She didn't respond. What he'd said hadn't been that big of a deal. He seemed to be a thoughtful person.

Once they were on the highway, he s.h.i.+fted again and the vehicle practically flew. A field of sunflowers zoomed by in a yellow blur. She leaned back against the seat, sure Trevor was speeding.

She steadied her voice. "You must have grown up in a small town to have worked in a dairy."

"That's right. We don't have any Amish though." He flashed her a grin.

Rose smiled back instead of saying that there were Amish in Delaware. She couldn't remember exactly where though. "Did you join the Army right out of school?"

"No," he answered. "I took cla.s.ses at the local community college, although I didn't do very well." He chuckled. "And worked in the dairy. Then I joined the Army."

"So you were in Afghanistan with Zane?"

Trevor nodded and said, "Yep." There was no hint of the emotions he had displayed on Sunday, but still she gathered he had deep feelings about the topic. She couldn't help but feel concerned for him.

Ahead was a buggy with the morning sun reflecting off the orange triangle on the back. At first she wondered if Trevor was going to slow down, but then he did.

"I can't get over how beautiful the horses around here are," he said. "And I really like the sound of the hooves on the pavement." Trevor s.h.i.+fted again and then glanced toward her. "I like it here."

Rose wasn't sure how to respond. She'd never been anywhere besides Lancaster County. Not even to Maryland or Ohio, like some of her friends had. Not even to the next county, truth be told.

The highway turned into four lanes and Trevor accelerated. Rose sank back against the seat, feeling like a child. She really hadn't done much of anything in her life. Courting Reuben was the most exciting thing that had happened, and truth be doubly told, it hadn't been all that exciting. At least not yet. And the way things were progressing, it wasn't going to be for a while.

When they reached the outskirts of Lancaster, Trevor s.h.i.+fted down again. This time Rose didn't move her legs and his hand b.u.mped against her knee. Instead of apologizing, he smiled at her.

She smiled back and then kept her eyes straight ahead. She'd only been into town a few times. She loved watching the big brick houses with their expansive lawns on the outside of town. Soon the large houses gave way to rows of houses with just a sidewalk out front. A few older people were shuffling along, and several stood outside a small store. The neighborhood, so close to home but so different than anything she knew, fascinated her.

"How much older are you than Lila?" Trevor stopped at a traffic light.

"Pardon?" Rose asked.

"Your little sister. How old is she?"

Her face grew warm again. "I'm younger than Lila."

"Oh, really," Trevor said. "I thought you were the older sister. So how young are you?" he teased.

She squared her shoulders. "Eighteen."

"Which makes Lila how old?"

"Twenty-two."

"So a year younger than Zane?"

Rose nodded. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-three also."

Three years younger than Reuben. Five years older than she was.

The light turned green, and Trevor turned right. A few minutes later they pa.s.sed the main entrance of the hospital and then turned into a parking garage. All these years Rose had imagined the hospital-the one where her mother had died. Where Simon had gone when he was kicked in the head by the horse. Where Shani worked.

She opened the door and climbed out.

"Which way do we go?"

"I'm not sure," Rose said. "I've never been here."

"Really?" Before she could answer, Trevor said, "Well, that's not a bad thing, right? It means you and your family haven't had to come here."

She shook her head. "Others have."

"Like who?" he asked, leading the way around to the entrance.

"My mother."

"Oh," he said, seeming a little confused. "I didn't see her yesterday, right?"

Rose shook her head. "She pa.s.sed away a little over eleven years ago."

Trevor stopped and turned toward her, looking down. "I'm sorry."

She blinked. "It was a long time ago. It's fine."

The double doors opened and Trevor stepped aside, letting Rose pa.s.s through first. He took the lead though and headed toward the lobby desk. Rose stayed back, feeling self-conscious about being with an Englisch man.

The woman at the desk said something and then pointed toward a hallway. Trevor thanked her and then said to Rose, "Lila's in critical care. Let's go up to the waiting room and see if we can find Zane."

She followed him to the elevator as several other people stepped onto it. An Englisch man. A doctor, she thought. And a woman wearing a skirt and jacket. Trevor motioned for Rose to go first and she found a spot on the side. No one spoke as the elevator ascended. Rose held onto the railing on the side, until she noticed no one else was. She let go and leaned against the wall.

When the elevator stopped, Trevor nodded toward the door and she followed him into a hallway. He paused for a moment and then pointed to the right. Zane wasn't in the waiting room. "Stay here," Trevor said. "I'll ask someone to find him."

Rose sank down onto a sofa, grateful Trevor was with her. She picked up a magazine with a group of children on the front and leafed through it as she waited. The articles were about activities to do with kids in the Lancaster area. Museums and petting zoos. The train out in Strasburg, near their farm. A pumpkin patch to go to. She put the magazine down as Trevor approached.

"He'll be right out." Trevor sat down beside her.

Wanting to make conversation, she asked, "What was it like serving in Afghanistan with Zane?"

Trevor leaned forward, his hands on his knees. "It's not like I hung out with him that much or even really noticed him at first, but he was always a good guy. Really decent. Then he got shot, which was scary. Of course I noticed him a little more when he came back." He turned his head toward Rose and smiled a little. "I was driving the MRAPs by then, and he probably saved my life." Trevor's gaze s.h.i.+fted to the windows, where sunlight streamed through. "I got a Purple Heart-Zane got his earlier, when he was almost killed."

Rose didn't know what a Purple Heart was, but it sounded important and she guessed it was some sort of Army award. She'd never heard Zane mention it.

"Out of all of us-besides Casey, who's still in the Army . . ."

Rose nodded.

"That's right. She's dating one of your brothers, correct?"

Rose nodded again.

"Anyway," Trevor said, "my point is that Zane's doing better than most of us. Grant got out and moved to Michigan, but he's not doing too hot. His wife is a saint. She pretty much does everything as far as their two kids. Wade is still in the Army and in Texas but seems kind of messed up. Parties a lot. Can't seem to commit to one girl. Most of the other guys who got out haven't found decent jobs yet."

"How about you?" Rose asked.

He looked at her blankly.

"Do you have a girlfriend?"

A frown crept across his face. "It seems I may have more in common with Wade than I thought, as far as committing."

Rose wasn't sure what to say, but once again she felt sad for Trevor.

"That's why I came here," he said. "I thought maybe Zane could help me-the whole 'never leave a fallen soldier' thing. But he obviously . . ." Zane came through the doors and Trevor's voice trailed off.

"Hey," Zane said.

"How's she doing?" Trevor asked.

"A little better. The surgeon still needs to operate on her pelvis but wants to wait until some of the swelling goes down from the other injuries and from the surgery yesterday." Zane turned to Rose. "Would you like to see her?"

"Jah, very much." Rose did want to see Lila, but she suddenly felt hesitant.

Zane must have sensed her hesitation. "I'll go with you," he said.

"All right." Rose stood.

"I'll wait here," Trevor said.

Zane nodded. "We'll have time to talk soon."

Rose asked if her Dat was with Lila as she followed Zane down the hall. "No, he's filling out paper work. My mom's with him."

"Oh? I thought she had a meeting this morning."

"She did, but it's been over for a while."

"Oh." As Rose followed Zane through a door, she began to feel a little sick to her stomach. She looked up to see Lila propped up a little in a bed. Her face was cut and starting to bruise, and her blond hair was braided and draped over one shoulder. She wasn't wearing a Kapp or a scarf. A tube ran under the skin of her arm, and something poked into her finger. Rose felt a little light-headed.