Free The Forbidden by Beverly Lewis Page A

slowed. Lo and behold, it came to a complete halt. Suddenly there he was—Caleb, leaping off the buggy! He paused momentarily, evidently searching the area.
    She stepped out into the clearing. Goodness, he is here . She placed her hand over her heart as it fluttered with joy. “Caleb,” she whispered.
    He let out a stifled whoop and began running through the snow, straight to her. “Nellie Mae!”
    Ach, Caleb . . . She struggled to keep her composure at the sight of her beau, her love.
    His arms opened for her and she fell into him, welcoming his crushing embrace. “Oh, I missed you so,” she whispered into his long woolen coat.
    He pressed his cheek against hers. “Oh, Nellie, honey . . . your face is like ice.” He leaned back to look into her eyes; then he happily hugged her again. He seemed reluctant to release her, but he reached for her hand and led her toward the buggy. “Come, let’s get you warmed up.”
    As they walked, he explained that he’d taken the extra time to go to a cousin’s and plead to borrow his new carriage. “I figured we’d be frozen sticks otherwise. There should be enough heavy lap robes to keep you cozy, love.”
    Love . . .
    Oh, the sound of his voice.
    The thought of warmth, after having been so very cold, as well as of having this private time with him, made Nellie hurry to match Caleb’s stride.
    “We’ve got ourselves a family buggy.” He chuckled.
    “Jah, I see that.”
    “It’s not for courtin’, but it’ll keep us much warmer.”
    She laughed as he literally lifted her into his cousin’s carriage.
    Oh joy!

C HAPTER 11
    Once settled in the buggy, Nellie realized just how chilled she was, especially her fingers and toes. As soon as the horse pulled forward onto the road, Caleb let go of the reins and began to warm her hands by rubbing each finger, one at a time, between his own hands, next kissing the tips of them.
    She laughed softly as he did so rather comically. “Oh, you silly,” she whispered, leaning against his arm.
    “No sillier than you.” He had taken great care to wrap her in the woolen lap robes. “My cousin’ll be glad we put these to good use.”
    “He’s got himself quite a nice buggy.” She eyed the dashboard.
    “Nice is right. Cousin Aaron purchased a dilapidated family buggy back when he first got married, so he’s needed a new one for a while. He wasn’t too keen on partin’ with this fine one, even for one night. I had to beg, which is why I took so long.”
    “Maybe he suspects what you wanted it for.”
    He smiled and picked up the reins. “Well, he had his share of forbidden loves, too.”
    “Ach, really?”
    Caleb explained that Aaron had never been of the Old Order Amish but rather one of the “team Mennonites,” who drove black buggies—close cousins to their way of life. “But Aaron dated some progressive Amish girls, I’m told, and sneaked around doin’ so.”
    Like us tonight.
    The carriage moved down the road with a gentle jostle, and Nellie wondered if Cousin Aaron might be one to betray Caleb, though she didn’t want to mention it.
    “How’ve you been, Nellie Mae?”
    “Oh, all right.”
    “No . . . really,” he urged. “Catch me up on what I’ve missed.”
    They’d never sat together so privately like this, sheltered from both the elements and observers. The carriage was a marked change from Caleb’s open courting buggy. The dimness of its interior felt strangely intimate, and Nellie felt self-conscious, although she would have welcomed Caleb’s presence in any circumstance.
    “Well, let’s see. I’ll start with Christmas. My brothers and their families all spent the day, and my nieces and nephews took turns stringing popcorn near the cookstove. Emma, Mamma’s favorite—no secret, I daresay—was awful cute, reciting a poem she’d learned from my brother Ephram’s oldest boy. I clapped when Emma finished, and Rhoda said I should quit teachin’ her to be vain.” As soon as Nellie uttered the