You’re not in love with me. You’re a foolish, spoiled baby looking for trouble. One day you will find it unless you learn humility.
She wasn’t proud of her reaction. She said things she hadn’t meant, but she was sure Jesse had meant what he said. He’d walked away, shaking his head, leaving her crushed and fuming. Her humiliation had been complete when she learned some of her friends had overheard their conversation. Her parents had been appalled as the gossip quickly spread. Rather than face it down, after a few months she had packed up and moved to Florida to start a new life.
The sad part was that she really had liked Jesse. It was knowing that he had been disgusted by her behavior that hurt the most.
She dared a glance at him, but his attention was focused out the passenger’s side window. She clutched the front of her cloak and sat quietly beside him as Dale chatted away about his ex-wife and her poor cooking.
About thirty minutes into their trip, it began snowing heavily. Fat flakes smashed themselves against the windshield and were swept away by the wipers. As the snow became thicker, Dale grew quieter and concentrated on his driving.
Ahead of them were several semi–tractor trailers. Dale hung back to keep out of their spray. Suddenly the last truck in line went into a skid on the bridge ahead. The rig jackknifed and clipped the rear end of the truck in front of it as it tipped over. The sound of screeching metal reached her as both trucks hit the sides of the bridge. Dale maneuvered his pickup off to the side of the road. Both men got out. Gemma saw the flickering of flames through the windshield that was being quickly covered with snow.
Jesse paused to look at her. “Stay put.” He slammed the door shut and jogged away with Dale into the snow.
Gemma had no idea how long she sat in the truck. She prayed silently for all the people involved. The sirens of rescue vehicles announced their arrival before they pulled up alongside her. With police and firefighters on the scene, Dale and Jesse finally returned to the vehicle.
“Is everyone all right?” she asked Jesse as he opened his door.
“Both drivers survived.”
Dale knocked the snow off his boots before climbing in behind the wheel. “That is a mess. The bridge will be closed for hours yet. You should’ve seen Jesse pull the door open on that tipped-over cab and lift that fellow out. If it weren’t for him, that guy would be toast.”
Jesse stared straight at her. “Sometimes it pays to be as big as an ox.”
She didn’t know how to reply. He continued to stare at her for a few more seconds, then he looked away. She was left with the feeling that her long-ago comment had hurt his feelings. Had it? She’d only been concerned about her own humiliation at the time.
Not that it mattered. Once news of her condition got out, he would be eternally grateful he had avoided her bumbling advances.
* * *
Jesse stared straight ahead. He had given Gemma the opportunity to apologize for her painful comments about him. Either she still believed he was big and dumb or she didn’t care about his feelings. She once claimed to love him. If she still harbored tender feelings for him, she was hiding it well. His Amish faith demanded that he forgive anyone who had wounded him. He thought he had done so, but having her so close beside him proved some of his resentment remained.
He had been taunted and ridiculed about his size since his school days. He wasn’t the smartest kid in the class, and he knew it. That only made him try harder. He endured the teasing until one day in the fourth grade he hit his antagonist in the face. Wayne Beachy had ended up with a broken jaw. Filled with remorse, Jesse never allowed his temper to take control again. Enduring teasing was far less traumatic than seeing the results of what his fists could do.
That was why his continued resentment of Gemma Lapp troubled him and why she was never far from his thoughts. He didn’t understand his reaction. He only knew she made him uncomfortably aware of his size and his lack of intelligence. Gemma was tiny compared to him. Her sharp wit had made her a favorite among the young people in New Covenant. It was only after her best friend, Bethany, married Michael Shetler that her wit took on a cutting edge.
He should’ve been glad when she decided to move to Florida, but he hadn’t been. For some unknown reason, he had missed her.
She looked at Dale. “What now? Do we wait here, or do we go back to Cleary?”
“I might have a third option.”
“What?” Jesse asked. He had to get to his bank before the close of business today.
Dale half turned in his seat to face them. “You remember that I told you I used to work for a logging company in this area?”
Jesse nodded. “I remember.”
“About two miles back, there is a logging road that cuts off this highway and goes about twenty miles back into the hills. It comes out on this same highway about twenty-five miles up ahead. I figure it’ll be rough in places, but we’ll lose less than two hours of time, which will be better than sitting here waiting for the bridge to be cleared. What do you think?”
“What about the weather?” Jesse asked.
“The snow is letting up. We’ll stay ahead of it.”
“I say go for it,” Gemma said. Clearly the last thing she wanted to do was spend more time than necessary with him.
“What do you say, Jesse?” Dale asked.
“I’ve got to get home by this afternoon.”
Dale grinned and turned the pickup around. “All right, folks. We are about to see some fabulous Maine backcountry wilderness.”
* * *
Dale had been right. Not about the weather, the snow continued, but about the beautiful scenery and the road being rough. It was more of a trail than an actual road. As they bounced along the narrow track through towering pine trees, Jesse and Gemma were constantly tossed against each other. He had been in many uncomfortable situations in his life but none as uncomfortable as trying to remain indifferent to the little woman continually apologizing for jamming her elbow or her shoulder into his side.
She wasn’t doing it on purpose, but that didn’t make it any more comfortable. He was tempted to slip his arm around her and pull her tight against him, but he didn’t. She might think he was trying to take advantage of the situation.
They reached a more open area, and Dale picked up speed. Suddenly, a bull moose galloped out into the road directly in front of them. Dale swerved. Jesse threw his arm across Gemma as he braced for the impact. The moose sprang forward at the last second. Dale missed him but lost control of the pickup and careened into the trees. The front wheels hit a large fallen log and stopped abruptly, throwing them all forward. Gemma slipped from under Jesse’s arm and cried out as she hit the floorboard.
After a few seconds of stunned silence, Jesse pushed himself away from the dash and back onto the seat. “Gemma, are you hurt?”
She had ended up in a crumpled heap on the floor. Dale was slumped behind the steering wheel.
Gemma looked up at Jesse with pain-filled eyes. “Something’s wrong with my ankle. I think it may be broken.” She tried to lever herself up. He stopped her with a hand to her shoulder.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“Give me a minute.” She flexed her neck, shrugged her shoulders, then opened and closed her hands. She shut her eyes and pressed a hand to her midsection.
“What is it?” he asked, concerned by her stillness.
Sighing, she held out a hand. “It’s just my left foot. Help me up.”
“How bad is it?” He lifted her gently to the seat. The movement caused her to grit her teeth as a deep frown creased her brow.
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