The Quilter's Son: Book Three: Nathan's Apprentice Read online

  Chapter 5

  Nathan wondered if Maddie was intending to sit with him the remainder of the trip, but he didn't ask her. Instead, he pulled out his iPhone and sent a quick text message Anna. He’d gotten her a cell phone recently, stating that she needed it if she wanted to work with him at the quilt shop.

  Mostly they didn't use the cell phones for anything other than texting each other. Right now he missed her more than anything, and all he wanted to do was smooth things over and mend the fight between them.

  If he couldn't settle things between them, it would be a distraction for the next week while he juggled campus tours, workshops, and marketing seminars, and he didn't need that right now. He was on his way to college—even if it was only for the next five days.

  As the farm scenery faded, so did Nathan's ties to his family. His dad had offered to drive him to the university, but he was too independent for that. He’d wanted to show his independence and ride on the bus with his classmates. Now he wished he had taken his dad up on his offer, for he was the loneliest he’d felt since his birth mother had died when he was younger.

  ****

  Nathan opened his eyes slowly as the bus came to a halt. He hadn't realized he’d dozed off on the last leg of the trip from Indianapolis to Bloomington. He’d been so anxious the night before that he hadn't gotten much sleep, and he wasn't surprised at dozing off on the way there. He was much like his Uncle Liam who could fall asleep anywhere anytime without a problem. Luckily, Maddie was no longer sitting beside him.

  ****

  The moment Nathan stepped off the bus onto the campus, the place he would call home until Friday, he felt instantly in his element. He worried that Anna hadn’t returned his text messages, but he tried to push it aside so he could enjoy his first taste of college life. Nathan knew that Anna would eventually forgive him, but he’d left after they argued, and she’d begged him to stay. His refusal to stay had hurt her, he knew, but he still stood by his decision that this was what was best for the two of them.

  What Nathan feared most was that the week would go by so slowly that it would give Anna too much time to stay angry at him. His heart already ached for Anna, and he could only imagine how she was feeling after he’d refused to stay. The look on her face as he’d left for the bus station would be etched in his memory far beyond the course of his trip. He would have to try to find a way to make amends until he could see her again.

  Nathan’s continued education through the public school had always been a source of animosity between him and Anna, as if she hadn’t taken him seriously until he followed through with it. She had made a few remarks about his education making her feel dumb around him, and she’d worried that it would be what separated them—much the same way it was now.

  His birth mother had always made sure he had everything that he needed, except the one thing he had not gotten until Lydia began to raise him. Lydia, his mamm, had raised him with the love and support of a nurturing family, and that had given him the confidence he needed to continue his education.

  His dad, whom he hadn’t met until he was seven years old, had also been one of the best things that could have ever happened to his life. His parents had both been very supportive, but Anna, he suddenly realized, had not.

  Chapter 6

  Being on a real college campus intrigued Nathan. It filled him with an insatiable hunger for a higher education than he’d already received. He’d always thought of college as unattainable, given his family situation, but here he was faced with the biggest possibility to make his dreams come true. His secret dream had been to go to college and get a degree, but his lifestyle didn't support the need for such a thing, and that saddened him. In his present situation, he had no reason to justify the need for college. He was raised Amish and was planning on marrying a Mennonite woman, so the highest he could justify his education would be what he was about to finish in the next few weeks at the high school, nothing more.

  As Nathan stood beside the bus waiting for his bag to be removed from the undercarriage, he studied his map of the campus. All around him happy couples held hands. There were no sad goodbyes here like the one he’d had a few hours ago with Anna. The kiss between them had been bittersweet, almost as if it would be their last. It was more than he’d expected from her since he knew she was angry with him. He wished he could share this with her, but the two of them suddenly seemed worlds apart.

  Nathan pushed thoughts of Anna and home out of his mind. He was excited that he was touring the campus and checking out the school he’d been accepted to attend, but it upset him more than he realized that he knew he would not be attending in the fall.

  He had not told his family or even Anna that he'd been accepted to the school, only that he was attending this week’s seminars about marketing and business. He had used the seminars as an excuse to come on the trip. None of his classmates were attending the seminars, only him.

  Using the map, he walked with the rest of his classmates over to the student housing buildings.

  Nathan used the key to open the dorm room where he would be staying for the next five days. The dorms were offered as an incentive to sign up for student housing, but Nathan hadn’t spent time alone since he’d been with his birth mother and couldn’t really remember what it was like. His much younger siblings had not afforded him much privacy or time to be alone over the years, and there had been times when he’d longed to be an only child again.

  Indiana University had been Nathan's goal for a few years now, but he knew it was out of his reach. It didn't matter that he'd been accepted into the business program thanks to his business and economics classes that he done so well in during his last two years of high school.

  Nathan entered the small bathroom to wash his face brush his teeth. Then he put away his belongings in the small bureau provided for him. It was still early, but they were expected to attend their first workshop in the auditorium at two o’clock. He wondered if he had enough time to check out Woodburn Hall, the business and economics center, before he was supposed to meet everyone for the financial aid workshop.

  Being a business student had been his dream for some time. Unfortunately, the decision rested on the fact that he was the son of a construction worker/farmer and the son of a quilter, and that's what he expected to be for the rest of his life.

  His parents didn’t have the money to send him to school, and financial aid would not cover all his expenses. He had discussed the situation in great length with his high school guidance counselor, and she’d suggested student loans to supplement his education expenses. Unfortunately, borrowing money was not something the Amish did. And though he wasn’t Amish by blood, he was by association, and for that, he wouldn’t even consider it as an option.

  He didn't mind being the son of a quilter since his birth mother and grandmother had been the ones to teach him to quilt, but he had no intention of becoming a farmer had no interest in building houses with his dad and Uncle Liam.

  He wasn't handy like his dad; he was clumsy, and feared falling from rooftops. His smarts and ideas were what made him who he was, and education made him feel less clumsy.

  Knowing he had very little time before he was supposed to meet his classmates for the first real tour of the campus with a workshop to follow, he hurried down the steps of the student housing, checking his map to be sure he was heading toward Woodburn Hall.

  As Nathan stepped out onto the sidewalk headed toward Woodburn Hall, Maddie rushed up behind him and tapped him on the arm.

  "Where are you headed off to so quickly?"

  "I'm just looking around a little bit. I wanted to take a little tour on my own before the actual tour started."

  Maddie linked her arm in his and matched his walking pace.

  Was Maddie going to be his permanent shadow this entire trip? He tried gently to pull his arm away from hers, but she had quite a hold onto his arm. He didn’t want to be rude or make a scene, but he didn’t like her forward behavior. He supposed it was
just her way, but he didn’t want her to misunderstand his position. He was betrothed, even if Maddie wasn’t aware of it.

  Chapter 7

  The sunny day helped to bring Anna out of the clouds in which she’d been feeling ever since Nathan had left. It had only been half a day that he’d been gone, but it had already seemed like an eternity. How would she ever get through five whole days without him? She didn’t want to be another minute without him, for her heart had begun to break and felt empty within the first five minutes. If being bored and unhappy was what she could expect to feel until Nathan’s return on Friday, then she wanted no part of it.

  Before he’d left, Nathan had promised her that they wouldn't want for anything when he returned, but she had no idea what she was signing up for when she’d reluctantly agreed to his plan. While all of her friends were busy planning their weddings, Anna's life was seemingly on hold until Nathan could make his life a success.

  It made her angry that she had to wait for her life to begin until after Nathan fulfilled his dream of a higher education by graduating from high school. But now he’d put another condition upon their future, and that involved him turning the quilt shop into an online business. She didn’t want the Englisch ways to invade their lives, but Nathan was determined.

  Even though his graduation was just around the corner, it seemed like she had waited forever for that day to arrive. She almost felt stupid and inferior around him since she hadn’t gone past the eighth grade. She didn't begrudge Nathan his dreams, but at the point where they affected her dreams for her future, she wasn't sure she had the strength to bear it. If she protested his plan in any way, she feared that she stood the chance of losing him forever to the outside Englisch world of which she wanted no part.

  Though he was fully Englisch, his Amish upbringing had had no bearing on his plans for the future. He was still undecided if he intended to live among the Amish once he graduated. Anna, being Mennonite, fully intended to remain in the community amongst the cousins and family where she felt safe and secure. In the back of her mind she worried Nathan would never return from his trip, but that was the chance she took in trusting him that his plan was what was best for both of them.

  Chapter 8

  Nathan wondered if Maddie was forward all the time, or if it was just his suit causing her to cling so closely. Anna had warned him it had had the same effect on her. Maddie had never paid him any mind before, so why now? If she was going to hang around him the entire time and be his shadow for the next five days, it was going to be tough to keep his concentration. He was here for a reason, and that was to soak up all he could about the campus so he could get it out of his system and go back to Anna as planned. With Maddie hanging around, he feared she would pick up on the true reason for his trip. He suddenly wished he hadn't agreed to teach her how to quilt.

  Nathan didn't need Maddie as a distraction right now. He had things that he had to do while he was here, and that did not include making a quilt with Maddie. Unfortunately for him, he was not the type who could just blurt out his concerns and tell her to go away. Nathan was well aware of who she was: the popular cheerleader who was in all the clubs and loved by everyone. He hadn't thought she even knew he existed. It had bothered him ever since she’d asked him to teach her, and he wondered how she knew about the butterfly quilt.

  Looking at her, he decided he should just come right out and ask her.

  "How did you know about the butterfly quilt?" he asked.

  Maddie stopped walking and turned to him and smiled. "One day I was walking through downtown and I saw this Amish boy who looked just like you. He walked into a quilt shop, so I followed him. When I looked through the window of the shop and saw him take off that straw hat, I knew it was you. I saw you talking to that pretty Amish girl and I knew I had to find out exactly what you were all about. So the next day, I ditched school, and went into the quilt shop, and had quite a long talk with Anna, your girlfriend."

  "She isn't my girlfriend. She is my betrothed."

  "Your betrothed? That is quite the old-fashioned word, don't you think, Amish Boy?"

  Nathan yanked his arm out from around hers. "Don’t call me Amish Boy."

  Maddie smiled wryly. "That's what you are, Amish Boy.” She turned her lip into a mock frown. “I'm guessing you don't want anyone at school to know your little secret. Otherwise you wouldn't be dressed in a suit today. I've never seen you wear that Amish get-up to school, so you must be trying to hide it. But why?"

  Nathan turned and walked away from her, but called over his shoulder. "I don't owe you or anyone else an explanation."

  Maddie ran after him. "Wait a minute. I really want to know why you're hiding this from everyone at school. Surely you don't want everyone to know, and there's a reason for that. Maybe we can help each other out."

  Nathan whipped this head around to look at her. "How can you help me?"

  Maddie smiled again, and this time it wasn't a sweet smile. "You help me with my quilt, my butterfly quilt, and I will keep your little secret for you."

  Anger rose up in him. "Are you blackmailing me?"

  Maddie giggled nervously. "I didn't know an Amish boy would know what the word blackmail means."

  "You think I'm stupid because I was brought up Amish? I got accepted into this college just like you did; only I got in on an academic scholarship. How did you get here? Cheerleading? It seems to me that it doesn't take a whole lot of brains to be a cheerleader, but I'm here for a serious reason. My only goal is to check out the college, and that doesn't include spending time being blackmailed by you. Just because I was brought up Amish does not make me uneducated."

  He knew he was being rude to her, but part of him felt a little exhilarated for giving her nastiness right back to her.

  “From what I hear, the Amish are pretty ignorant and backward."

  "Only an ignorant person would make such a comment. If you knew anything about the Amish, you wouldn't make a remark like that. They are the most gentle and humble people I know. Leave me alone."

  Maddie grabbed his arm. “Before you go, do we have a deal?"

  Nathan gritted his teeth, not enjoying being blackmailed, but he had no other choice. He was not ready for his classmates to find out his secret. He wasn't ashamed, but he wasn't so sure he was convinced of that himself.

  "We have a deal. And that's all it is—nothing more."

  Maddie chuckled knowing that she had won this round.

  Chapter 9

  Maddie tucked herself into the chair beside Nathan in the auditorium and nudged him with her elbow. "Where's your suspenders Amish Boy?"

  Nathan slighted his eyes to the left and to the right, making sure that no one had heard her comment. His heart pounded with anger and worry, and he didn't like the position she was putting him in. "I thought I told you to leave me alone."

  "And I thought we had a deal. As soon as this assembly is over, you and I have some shopping to do."

  Suddenly, the thrill of shopping at a fabric outlet had lost its appeal to Nathan.

  "I said I would teach you how to quilt and that doesn't mean that you have to be my shadow this entire trip. I am here for a reason, and I have seminars to go to this afternoon."

  "Then we can go after your seminar," Maddie insisted.

  "It will be too late by then," Nathan snapped.

  Maddie smiled. "Indianapolis is nothing like Goshen. The city doesn't shut down every night it dusk. We can take a taxi into the city and go to the outlets."

  "I'm already exhausted from the bus trip here, and I have a full schedule ahead of me for the next several hours. I'm not going to feel much like going shopping today if you don't mind."

  "Oh but I do mind. And if you don't go with me, I'll tell everyone right here and now you're an Amish boy."

  Nathan had no idea Maddie could be so cruel. But he’d heard similar things about the cheerleaders and how mean they were to others. Now he was experiencing that first hand.

  Nathan felt
defeated and bullied.

  "I’ll see how I feel when I get out of my seminar."

  Nathan stood up and moved over a row of seats to get away from Maddie. He was here to learn about the school and to concentrate on the decision that lay before him, and he had no room for distractions. Maddie stood up and moved toward him and he knew he was in for a long week of this. Was she really going to sit with him during every assembly?

  Nathan tried his best to ignore her as he listened to the instructor at the front of the auditorium. There were at least one hundred other students in the auditorium from schools in other counties. He felt lucky to be among them, but Maddie's presence was enough to set his teeth on edge.

  After a brief slideshow, the students were asked to assemble outside the auditorium to prepare for the campus tour. Maddie slipped her arm in his once again, making it difficult to concentrate on the tour and enjoy the many points of interest on the campus.

  They toured the student center with its Olympic-sized swimming pool and indoor running track. In the center of the fine arts Plaza was the Showalter fountain. It was a warm day, and Nathan couldn't help but think about how many students had probably taken a dip in the fountain. According to their tour guide, students had put a dozen carp in the fountain pool as a prank in the 1970s.

  Temporarily mesmerized by the brass fish sculptures surrounding Venus in the fountain, spurting crystal clear water from their mouths, and the coins that glistened at the bottom of the pool, he thought about Anna and wished he could share all of this with her. He was certain Anna would not approve of Maddie being so clingy toward him. There would be no explanation for it, especially since he would never tell Anna that Maddie was blackmailing him.