An Unlikely Match

Jayce’s encounter with Evelyn. If Lizzie was giddy over the handsome English man young enoughto be her grandson, what must Evelyn have thought about him?
“It was nice of you to help Evelyn with her horse.” Esther tried to sound casual but kept her eyes on Jayce to catch any reaction.
He finished chewing a bite of ham. “It wasn’t a big deal. I’m usually pretty good with animals.” He set his fork down. Estherwas sure he wasn’t done eating, but his expression started to mirror Lizzie’s, dreamy and dazed. “She’s beautiful.”
“The horse or Evelyn?” Esther asked playfully. She hoped he said the horse, even though she knew he was talking about Evelyn Schrock. Every single man in their community had courted—or attempted to court—her. She’d even gotten a little serious with one or two. But she always broke it off in the end, saying no matter how wonderful the man was, he just wasn’t the one.
The young woman was probably drawn in by Jayce’s charming personality and natural good looks. Esther and Lizzie had both livedbeautiful love stories, despite their inability to have children. They loved seeing young people find each other and starta life together and had even been known to play matchmaker, but Jayce wasn’t a consideration for Evelyn. They were too manyworlds apart.
Jayce picked up his fork, stabbed at a piece of ham, and grinned back at her. “Evelyn, of course. We’re going to dinner andto see a movie tomorrow night.” He took a bite and swallowed. “Can you believe she’s never seen a movie before?”
Lizzie was quieter than she’d been in decades as she watched the handsome young man talk. Alarms were ringing in Esther’shead.
“We don’t go to movie theaters, but young people are often allowed to during their rumschpringe. It’s a time when—”
“Yeah, she told me. She gets to do her own thing before she gets baptized.” He excused himself to go into the dining roomfor seconds, returning with more food than he’d started with.
How much time had the boy spent with Evelyn? What would her parents think about her going out with an English man? Jayce hadnearly perfect features, long hair, and ink peeking from beneath his short-sleeved shirt. That was more than enough to sendJonas Schrock into a tizzy. Looks shouldn’t matter, but first impressions stayed with a person, wanted or not.
“Will you be taking her to Washington to see a movie?” Esther knew where the theater was, even though she’d never been inside. “That would be the nearest town to see a movie, and you can get there by buggy.”
Jayce finished chewing, then swallowed. Esther remained in awe at the amount of food the lad could eat. “I want to do thingsthe right way and pick her up. Billy can take us. He’s one of our drivers. Or I can probably take one of the cars and pickher up.”
Esther glanced at Lizzie, whose gaze had shifted from dreamy to concerned. For once they were on the same page. If Jayce showedup in a limousine, Jonas might forbid Evelyn to go in such luxury. Even though Evelyn was nineteen and not yet baptized, shestill lived under her parents’ roof and must abide by their rules. Given the circumstances, it might be best that Evelyn andJayce not get too chummy.
“Nee, nee, nee.” Lizzie pushed back her chair, folded her arms across her chest, and grunted. “You can’t pick up Evelyn in that fancy blackcar. Her daed wouldn’t let her out of the haus.” Lizzie waved a hand in the air. “Take one of our buggies.”
Esther’s eyes widened. “Lizzie, he doesn’t know how to drive a horse and buggy.” She glanced at Jayce, who had stopped chewing,his eyes ping-ponging back and forth between them.
“If he can drive a car, he can drive a horse and buggy. We’ll give him Poppy. That old horse isn’t going to kick up and causehim any trouble.”
“Lizzie, you don’t know that. Poppy is old, but she can be unpredictable.” Esther glanced at Jayce. The boy finally swallowedthe food in his mouth.
“Uh . . .” He scratched his head. “Would her parents really not let her go if I show up in a limo? Because those are the only cars we brought.”
Esther was tempted to implore Jayce to cancel the date. This had disaster written all over it. “I’ve known Jonas and Mae,Evelyn’s parents, for a long time. They are fine people, but . . .” Esther sighed. “Lizzie is right. Jonas might not let thegirl out of the haus.”
Jayce stared at his plate, then picked up a slice of bread and grinned. “Then the horse and buggy it is. I don’t want to takeany chances that her parents won’t let her go.”
Esther tried to smile. They didn’t even know this young man. But when she looked at Lizzie, her sister winked. Esther wouldhave a talk with her in private later and explain the obvious—this was not a situation to be encouraged.

Four
Jayce carried as much scuba equipment as he could under one arm and pulled a wagon behind him with the rest as he descendedfour hundred feet into the cavern. With the sun still at his back, his chest tightened as he neared the underground river.He slowed behind the others when they reached the platform, reminding himself that daylight and the ramp leading out of thecave were just around the corner.
To the right four boats were docked. Jayce’s heart raced at the thought of getting in one of the narrow aluminum vessels and going into the cave with no means of escape. The boats reminded him of his grandfather’s fishing boat, except these had been outfitted to hold tourists with two rows of seating running down the middle. On the few occasions Jayce had visited his grandfather, they’d fished on the pond on his property. Jayce’s father grew up on a farm in west Texas. More than once, he’d told Jayce how he couldn’t get out of the Podunk town fast enough. Jayce loved the rural area, the slowness of