“Constance and her family have been so kind to me, taking me in when they didn’t even know me. I could never thank you enough.” Adriana patted Constance’s arm, which was resting on her own.
They took me in, and they trust me, even though I’ve been lying to them, Adriana thought. Will they really not be angry with me after this is over?
“Well, I see the way Dominic looks at you,” Marsha said, smiling ruefully. “Is there anything going on with the two of you?”
“Uh…” Feeling as though she was treading water and slipping under the waves, Adriana fought for breath. “We are friends. He did rescue me, but I am very grateful to the entire family.”
“I see.” Debbie clicked her tongue, and the three women gave each other mischievous looks.
“As she said, ladies, they are just friends. Nothing is going on there. Well, we need to get the food ready, Snow. Will you help me?” Constance said, and before Adriana could answer, Constance turned her away from the woman and led her to the door.
“Nice to meet you!” Adriana called over her shoulder. What was going on with Constance?
Did she know something? Had Dominic told her?
“Sorry to pull you away like that,” Constance said once they were out of ear shot. “I got nervous. I don’t want them getting the wrong idea.”
“Nervous? Why?” Adriana asked.
“I do want my son to be happy, especially after all he’s been through,” Constance explained. “Did you know he’d be shunned if he left?”
“Yes, I know. I don’t want him to get in trouble. Did you know he told me he loves me?”
“Yes, I did, and I was happy to hear it,” Constance said. Adriana expected worry to be in Constance’s eyes, but her eyes were filled with hope. “You make my son happier than he has been in years, Snow. I see how he looks at you. To be honest, I would be happy to see you together, no matter where you choose to live. I do hope you’d consider joining the Amish, but I understand that’s unlikely. I don’t want to lose him again, but it is his choice. I just want you to know what could happen if things go wrong.”
“I understand. Thank you for telling me.”
“Also… You wouldn’t lead him on, right?” Constance asked, wringing her hands.
“No, of course not. I love Dominic,” Adriana said in a rush, feeling uneasy. Did Constance really think she’d lead Dominic on?
“I’m sorry. I don’t want to seem too forward,” Constance said, then smiled. “Of course, you wouldn’t do that. You have brought joy into our home again, Snow, and I am grateful for that. Now, let’s go get the food ready.”
Constance took Adriana’s arm again, and they made their way to the food table, where Adriana helped Constance set out a large sandwich platter with meats, cheeses, bread, and toppings.
“I must have left the mustard in the buggy,” Constance said. “I’ll be right back.”
As Adriana continued to work, she looked up when she heard whispering.
“You know, someone is trying to kill that woman. Why is she here?”
“You’re right. She’s putting us all in danger. She shouldn’t be here.”
“What if the amnesia is all an act? Maybe she really does remember and she is lying to everyone.”
With each word she heard, Adriana’s heart plunged deeper into depths of dread. Did they know the truth about her?
Unable to listen to another word, she hurried through the crowd of people and bolted out the door, feeling as though she was suffocating.
Were people seeing right through her lies? What if they figured out who was after her and led Henry right to her?
Maybe it was time to leave.
As she watched the dancing tree branches in the air, she heard approaching footsteps, and she turned around.
“Snow?” an elderly Amish man with a kind smile asked as he approached. “I heard you were doing better. I’m glad to see you up and walking around. Praise the Lord you survived that crash. I’m Sid Hoffman. I was in the buggy ahead of you when your car crashed. I helped Dominic look for you, but he is the one who found you.”
She wanted to tell him how she remembered what had happened right before the crash, how she’d been trying to avoid hitting his buggy and the other car. Instead, she said, “Oh, yes. I don’t remember, but I am glad you were not hurt. Thank you for helping Dominic look for me.”
“Well, I am just glad to see you well. Have a nice day.” He put on his hat and ambled toward his buggy.
What a nice man. Adriana smiled, glad he hadn’t been hurt.
Someone else walked toward her. It was the young woman Dominic had introduced to her as Margaret.
Adriana tried to put on a happy face. "Hello," she said, but Margaret gave her a once over again and crossed her arms.
"I am just here to tell you something for your own good,” Margaret spat out. “It would never work out between you and Dominic. You’re not Amish. You should stay away from him so you don’t end up hurting him, if you care about him at all. He wouldn’t leave his family and community for you. He could never love you enough to leave."
"Yesterday he told me he loves me and would leave to be with me if he had to, even if he was shunned. Constance just told me she would be happy to see us together."
Margaret kept staring at Adriana, but Adriana didn’t miss the suppressed look of surprise on her face. “You would be selfish enough to take him away from his family if you have to leave here? You know this has happened to him before, right?”
Adriana squinted in confusion. “What?”
“Oh, you don’t know? Dominic didn’t tell you?”
No, he didn’t, Adriana thought in dismay.
“I guess he doesn’t know you well enough to tell you about it, yet. Anyway, when that didn’t work out, it destroyed him, and he came back. He joined the church and vowed to never leave the Amish again. You want to make him break his vows and crush his mother and siblings?” Margaret took a step closer with every sentence she spoke, and as Adriana’s confidence weakened, she found herself taking defensive steps backwards. Margaret’s biting words cut into Adriana, breaking her resolve.
Maybe he doesn’t know me well enough yet to tell me about his past, she thought. Maybe she’s right.
Adriana shook her head, trying to calm the storm of questions raging in her mind. Why hadn’t Dominic told her about this when he’d professed his love to her?
Right now, she couldn’t worry about that. She’d ask Dominic about it later.
As Adriana’s mind wandered even farther, she noticed Margaret staring at her with a sickening glare.
Adriana spun around to walk toward the frosted fields. She already had enough stress and did not need a jealous woman thrown into the mix. Margaret huffed and stalked off.
"Hello, there!" It was Dominic’s sing-song voice this time. He caught up to Adriana and took her hand in his. "Are you okay? I saw you walk out. What were you talking to Margaret about?"
"I’m fine." Adriana looked away from his searching eyes. She didn’t exactly want to tell him about how the other women had been talking about her.
“Something is bothering you. I can tell,” he pressed. “What did she say to you?”