Her Amish Christmas Sweetheart. Rebecca Kertz

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      “Four hours,” her father said.

      Meg was alarmed. “Four hours!”

      “You needed the rest,” her mother murmured soothingly.

      Her injuries had kept her family from their beds, and she felt guilty. “Please go home. I’ll be fine. You all need to sleep.” She captured her father’s gaze. “Please, Dat?”

      “We’ll go, but we’ll be back to visit this evening,” her father said.

      “Tomorrow is soon enough,” Meg insisted. “You can’t be traveling back and forth. ’Tis too much.” She bit her lip then winced. “Is every part of me bruised?”

      “Nay,” Mam said too quickly.

      Meg offered a lopsided smile. “I bet I have a black eye.” She saw the truth in her father’s gaze. Things could have been much worse, she realized. She recalled her last time in the hospital, when a ruptured appendix had nearly caused her death. Some bruises and a broken bone would heal.

      “You don’t look bad,” Nell said.

      Meg snorted. “It doesn’t matter how awful I look when there is nothing I can do about it.” She studied her family, recognizing the exhaustion caused by their night of worry and fear. “I love you all, but go home. I’ll be fine.” She held up the nurse-call button. “I have everything I need.”

      Reuben came into the room, but stopped abruptly when he saw her family.

      Dat glanced at the young man. “We should leave.”

      “Please don’t leave on my account,” he said.

      “They’re leaving because of me,” Meg explained, her lips curving. “I told them to go.” She looked at her father. “They haven’t slept.”

      Reuben approached the end of her bed. He froze when her father placed a hand on his shoulder. “Danki for saving her,” Dat said.

      To her amazement, Reuben blushed and looked slightly uncomfortable. “I...I’m sorry about the accident.”

      “It wasn’t your fault.” Her father met her gaze. “We’ll see you again soon, dochter.” He moved to leave, and her family followed.

      “Be careful going home,” she called out.

      Each member of her family murmured quietly to Reuben as they passed him.

      “Won’t you sit a minute?” she asked softly, as she wondered what they’d said.

      Reuben moved quickly then, as if eager to please, and took the seat her father had vacated. “You oll recht?”

      “I’m fine. No serious injuries.” She saw relief settle on his features. She studied him and immediately noted huge bruises on his left cheek and forehead. “Your face... Doesn’t it hurt?”

      His mouth curved crookedly. “A little. And yours?”

      She shrugged, and winced with the simple movement. “I’m achy but I’ll survive.” She grinned to reassure him.

      He studied her with concern. “Meg, I’m sorry—”

      She saw regret flicker in his blue eyes. “Nay! Dat’s right. It wasn’t your fault. The car hit us.”

      He sighed. “I’m afraid I’m a little foggy about what happened.”

      Meg was concerned. “You don’t remember anything?”

      “I recall a blinding light.”

      “The car’s headlights.”

      He nodded. “The car hit my buggy.”

      Meg regarded him with amusement. “Ja, it was traveling too fast around a curve and struck us. Your horse reared up and bolted off the road and then...”

      “The buggy rolled,” Reuben said hoarsely. “I remember that, but what happened afterward?”

      “You must have whacked your head hard.”

      “Ja.” He stood and gently took hold of her hand. “You must have, too.” He studied her with troubled blue eyes. “Meg, I’d never do anything to hurt you intentionally.”

      The man was sweet, and she was grateful that he’d saved her life. She felt a wave of warm gratitude toward him. “I know.”

      He didn’t move. He simply held her hand and gazed at her with affection that made her feel increasingly uncomfortable. He smiled and toyed with her fingers until Meg closed her eyes and silently prayed that he’d leave.

      * * *

      Peter couldn’t get Meg out of his mind. Which was why he drove the two hours to the hospital to make sure she was all right. He parked his buggy near a hitching post, tied up his horse, then hurried inside to the information desk. “Can you tell me where to find Meg Stoltzfus? She’s a patient.”

      The woman behind the counter searched the computer on her desk. “Room 202,” she said. “The stairs are to the right. The elevator is farther down the hall.”

      “Thank you.” Peter ran up the stairs to the second floor and followed the signs that led him to Meg’s room. His heart started to beat rapidly as he heard voices. He hesitated at the door, then peeked inside—and froze when he saw Reuben Miller at Meg’s bedside. The man’s face was bruised, but he was smiling affectionately at Meg as he held her hand.

      Peter quietly backed away from the room and headed downstairs, his heart aching at the sight of them together. His first instinct was to go home, but then he thought better of it. He had come all this way to make sure Meg was all right. He refused to leave without talking with her. She wouldn’t be glad to see him, but he couldn’t care less. He needed to know if he’d caused her serious injury when he’d pulled her from the water.

      It was well past noon, and he was hungry. He hadn’t eaten since an early breakfast. He’d grab something from the hospital cafeteria before he returned to Meg’s. If Reuben was still there, he’d go ahead and visit her, anyway. But he preferred to see Meg alone.

      After lunch, he took the elevator back to her room. He paused before entering. Meg lay in bed, staring out the window as if lost in thought. She was alone. He stepped inside, and as if sensing him, she turned.

      “Peter.”

      “Hallo, Meg.” He approached, noting a myriad of expressions crossing her face. He sucked in his breath as he studied her. There were bruises on her forehead and left cheek, and around her left eye. Had he done that to her? “How are you feeling?”

      Her lips twisted in a lopsided smile. “I’ve been better.”

      He nodded, taking in every inch of her features. Even battered and bruised, she was still the prettiest girl he’d ever known. “I... How bad are your injuries?”

      “Is your family here?”

      “Nay, СКАЧАТЬ