Holly And Mistletoe. Susan Mallery

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      “Ja,” she said, glancing toward where the men bent over her father. She held on to the socks he’d given her but made no effort to put them on.

      “Do you need help?” he asked quietly.

      “Nay. I can do it.” But she didn’t move. She watched the men working on her father.

      “Annie,” he said. “Do you need help?” Without waiting for her answer, Jacob gently took the socks from her and hunkered down near her feet. “Hold on to my shoulder.”

      He tried not to think about the fact that he was holding Annie’s bare foot as he carefully pulled on the first sock and then the second one. Within seconds, he felt satisfied that her injured feet would be protected. He rose and, without meeting her glance as she bent to put on the shoes, turned to watch the ambulance workers.

      As two men lifted Joe onto a stretcher, the driver approached them. “Are you relatives?” he asked.

      “I am,” Annie said as she straightened. “I’m his daughter.”

      “We’ve secured his neck in a brace, and we’ve done what we could for him. It looks like he may have fractured his leg. We’ll be taking him to General Hospital. They’ll do X-rays and check for other injuries.” The dark-haired man wore a white shirt and pants and a white jacket embroidered with the red insignia of the ambulance company. “Do you want to ride with us?” he asked Annie.

      She hesitated. “Ja.”

      “That’s fine,” Jacob said. “We’ll make sure Josiah gets to the hospital.”

      A car rumbled down the dirt drive and stopped near the main farmhouse. As Jacob approached the vehicle, the door on the driver’s side opened and Bob Whittier stepped out. “Isaac called from the store,” he said. “Rick Martin was there. Your brother told us what happened.” He paused, studied the scene. “Do you need a lift to the hospital?”

      Jacob shot Annie a quick glance. “Annie’s going in the ambulance with Joe. I’ll take the ride.” The kind Englisher nodded and Jacob returned to Annie’s side. “I’m going to follow behind the ambulance with Bob.”

      Annie didn’t seem pleased. “You don’t have to come.”

      “Ja, I do. You shouldn’t be alone.” He paused. “I’ll stay until your brother gets there.” He watched as the EMTs carefully shifted Joe onto a stretcher. “Looks like they’re getting ready to move him.”

      “I need to get my purse,” she said.

      “Where’s Isaac?” Jacob asked Bob as Annie hurried toward the farmhouse.

      “Rick is taking him to the Kings to tell Josiah what happened. As soon as he can, Rick will bring them to the hospital.”

      Annie returned with purse in hand, and Jacob stood beside her and Bob as the EMTs placed Joe carefully into the back of the vehicle. He heard Annie’s sharp little inhalation, and he felt the strongest desire to comfort her, tell her that Joe would be all right and she had no reason to worry, except that he didn’t know the extent of her father’s injuries. He settled a hand on her shoulder and felt her jerk as if startled. He drew his fingers away.

      One of the ambulance workers approached. “We’re ready to go.”

      “I’m coming,” she said.

      Jacob couldn’t help himself from reaching for her hand, just for a moment, to give it a reassuring squeeze. She broke away and hurried toward the ambulance. The memory of her shocked look stayed with him as he climbed into the front seat of Bob’s car and buckled his seat belt. They were nearly at the hospital when he heard the light toot of a car horn behind them. He glanced back to see Rick’s car. He was glad that the Englisher was able to bring Josiah so quickly.

      He could tell Bob to turn around and take him back. Annie didn’t want him at the hospital. But she would just have to tolerate his presence. He wasn’t about to go home without learning if Joe was all right. It was the correct thing to do.

      * * *

      “Your father needs surgery. He has a displaced fracture of the tibia and fibula in his left leg, the two bones that make up the shin. He hit his head when he fell, but I don’t think that injury is severe. Looks like the leg suffered the worst of it. We’ll do a CT scan to be certain. He’ll need surgery to repair the damage.”

      Annie nodded. “Will he be all right?” Her fear rose with each revelation the doctor made.

      “There are no guarantees, but his prognosis looks good. We’re running tests to make sure an underlying condition didn’t cause his fall, but from what your father told me, I don’t believe that’s the case.”

      “When can we see him?” Josiah asked.

      Annie glanced at her brother, who was frowning. He looked impatient, agitated.

      In direct contrast, Dr. Moss looked confident and competent in her white lab coat. “You can see him for a few minutes before we take him up to surgery,” she said. A nurse approached with a clipboard. “Excuse me.” Dr. Moss studied the chart and nodded. She spoke privately with the young woman before she returned her attention to Josiah and Annie. “I’ll need one of you to sign a consent form.”

      While her brother waited for the form, Annie flashed Jacob a glance. She was keenly aware of his presence. When their gazes caught, she looked away. Why had he come? He said that he’d stay only until her brother arrived, but Josiah had arrived the same time as Jacob. She wanted him to leave. But how could she make him go after the way he’d helped with Dat? He cared about her father and she had to respect his feelings. She recalled the image of young twelve-year-old Jacob hanging on to her father’s every word as her dat taught him about blacksmithing.

      Disturbed by the memory, she tried to focus on Josiah, now bent over a clipboard with pen in hand. But she remained acutely aware of the man behind her. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She was relieved to see him deep in conversation with his brother Isaac, Bob Whittier and Rick Martin.

      Tall, with dark hair like his eldest brother Jacob wore a royal blue shirt with suspenders holding up his triblend denim pants. He held his black-banded straw hat in his hands. She dared to examine his face. His features were a beautiful combination of his mam and dat—Katie and Samuel Lapp. Annie scowled and Jacob turned, caught her gaze. She gasped, looked away. How embarrassing to be caught staring. To her dismay, she sensed his approach.

      “Are you all right?” Jacob asked softly.

      She shook her head. “I will be once I know my father is all right.”

      “He spoke to us,” he said. “That’s a gut sign.” He offered her an encouraging smile. “I’m praying for his quick recovery.”

      Tears sprang to Annie’s eyes. “I appreciate that.” It was a kind thing for him to say, but then Jacob had been kind to her from the first moment he’d jumped out of his buggy and offered his help. And she’d been anything but kind to him.

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