Free A Simple Autumn: A Seasons of Lancaster Novel by Rosalind Lauer

they don’t.” She looked over at him. In the darkness she was barely able to see
     the bold features that she always studied by the light of lanterns at each singing
     or youth event. “And you know how careful I have to be.”
    She had explained her position a dozen times.
    “It’s so very important for me to set a good example for my scholars,” she said. “An
     Amish teacher must teach with her whole life, and I have to take care to stay on the
     right path.” A proper teacher had to be well-grounded in her faith and in her community.
    “Oh, you’re a straight arrow,” Gabe said. “No one could argue with that. You’re about
     as straight as they come.”
    She folded her arms. “And how did I end up with a crooked arrow like you?”
    “I’m not so crooked,” he said. “Just a touch wild.”
    “That’s for sure,” Emma teased, though in truth she thought Gabe was probably just
     an average teenaged boy. Wild, but most people didn’t know what he was up to because
     they were looking the other way during rumspringa.
    But she had known Gabe a long time, and he’d always had a wild streak. Stubborn, too.
     Once, when they were very little, Emma had cried when they were playing market and
     Gabe refused to sell her his corn because his cows needed it.
    Then there was that raft he and his cousin Ben built to fish down the river. That
     became quite an adventure when the raft started to fall apart and slipped under the
     covered bridge.
    A few summers ago when Emma had been visiting Sadie on a hot summer day, all the King
     boys stripped down to their underwear before her eyes and jumped into the pond. Gabe’s
     mamm had corralled the girls into the side porch for cookies and lemonade—but mostly
     to get them out of sight of the boys. The girls had giggled and whispered, but the
     boys—they hadn’t even cared!
    After school Gabe had always tried to organize baseball games in the spring or hockey
     games in the winter. He played hard, but he worked hard, too. Sadie said that no one
     knew their milk cows quite as well as Gabe.
    That wildness made her heart catch.
    She didn’t want to admit it, but it was a part of Gabe that made her pulse race. If
     only he could strike a balance between wild excitement and obedient Amish—then he’d
     be the perfect beau.
    He called out to Mercury to head down the lane, then turned to catch her staring up
     at him. “What’s on your mind, Miss Straight Arrow?”
    “I’m just wondering how a straight arrow like me and a wild one like you ever got
     together.”
    “Mmm. But we are together. And I say if we’re courting, we should be able to spend
     some time together.” Gabe steered the buggy onto the side of the road by her house.
     “You’re a schoolteacher, Emma. Not an angel.”
    “I’d like to be both,” she said defiantly.
    He reached for her, his hands circling her waist as he pulled her close. “A tiny waist.
     A back with a spine and muscles and shoulders under a dark sweater.”
    She smiled as he recited her features, as if taking inventory.
    “No, Emma, you’re no angel. Just a flesh-and-blood girl.”
    “You’re right about that.” Her blood was warmed by the closeness of him. She held
     her breath as he moved close to kiss her. Such a wondrous thing, Gabe’s kiss! Like
     a starburst on her lips.
    She ended the kiss and pressed her cheek to his chest, the broadcloth of his jacket,
     his Sunday clothes, so familiar now. They’d been courting for so long now. Like Gabe,
     she longed to share the news that they were a couple with all their friends and families.
    Whenever they were close like this, she wondered why she worried so much about what
     others would think about their courtship. They were a wonderful good match.
    But when they were apart, the truth bothered her like a hangnail. Gabe’s family had
     been through so much, and now with his older brother marrying an Englisher and his
     sister off on rumspringa …
    Oh, why did she