Lizzie's Heart

Book 5: Amish of Southern Maryland

by Susan Lantz Simpson

Genres: Amish & Mennonite; Christian Romance; Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

Good-hearted and impulsive, twenty-year-old Lizzie Fisher has many chores—and secrets. She’s caring for kittens abandoned by their mother and practicing her drawing talent away from disapproving eyes. So the last thing she needs is someone like handsome Stephen Zimmerman constantly “helping” her out of trouble. But when she discovers they both have lovelorn siblings, she has an idea: why can’t she and Stephen bring his older brother and her older sister together? After all, how hard could matchmaking be? Even though he’s the youngest son of an Old Order Mennonite family, Stephen is used to looking out for everyone else. Yet somehow the romantic schemes he and Lizzie cook up keep going awry—in ways that hint they may suit each other. But their deepening bond is both delightful and complicated—for bridging their differences will take bravery, compromise, and faith in their hopes and dreams...

Release date: May 26, 2020

Publisher: Zebra Books

Print pages: 368

Sample

Lizzie Fisher practically ran down the blacktopped bike trail St. Mary’s County had constructed along the old rail line. Earlier the shriek of sirens had penetrated the crisp, fall air and left a ringing sound in her ears. The acrid smell of charred wood grew stronger, and the black cloud loomed larger as she hurried along at breakneck speed. Wisps of soot and ashes rained down around her. She could almost taste the smoke, and her eyes already stung. She begged her feet to travel faster so she could see what had happened. Mamm’s voice, in that admonishing tone Lizzie had heard so often in her twenty years on this earth, echoed in her ears: “You’re too nosy for your own gut, Dochder!”

She wasn’t really nosy. Lizzie preferred “curious” or “interested” or “concerned.” Those sounded like more fitting terms to describe a young Amish woman. Besides, she wasn’t a gossip. She didn’t go around spreading tales from the information she gleaned. She merely cared about what happened in the world around her.

Right now, she cared about what was on fire that had caused what surely must be every fire truck in the county to race toward it. She offered a quick prayer for all who were involved, be they victim or rescuer, and urged her lungs to keep up with her feet. Her breath came in gasps as she tried to bring smoke-tainted oxygen in through her nose. She halted abruptly at the sight of flashing red and white lights through the trees. Lizzie would have to step off the path and part the branches and brambles to get a clear view.

For some unknown reason, she glanced around her before entering the thicket. She nearly jumped out of her black athletic shoes when a radio blasted out a message. If the volume was at that level while the rescuers rode in the truck, it was a wonder they weren’t totally deaf. Lizzie reached around a prickly bush, carefully avoiding its thorns, to part the branches of several small pine trees. She squinted to peer through the little opening she’d made.

Straight in front of her sat a huge fire truck with lights flashing. Slightly to her right, she watched firefighters in full protective gear run toward the building that was barely out of her line of vision. She’d have to move just a bit . . .

“See anything interesting?”

Lizzie nearly swallowed her tongue. The prickly bush raked its teeth along her arm when she jumped at the sound of the deep voice. “Ahhh! Wh-who are you?” She patted her chest, where her heart galloped.

“You’re bleeding.”

Lizzie looked down at the rivulet of blood racing down her arm. She jerked her hand away from her chest to keep from staining her dress. She knew she hadn’t stuck any tissues that she could use to wipe off her arm in a pocket or up her sleeve. She cast a furtive glance in each direction to see if there were any large, non-prickly leaves nearby that could serve her purposes.

“Here.”

The man held out a clean-looking white handkerchief. Lizzie hadn’t yet raised her eyes to look directly at the stranger’s face, but from the shoes and trousers she could see with her downcast eyes, she surmised the man was Amish. “I-I can’t bleed all over your white handkerchief.”

“Do you want to use my shirtsleeve instead?”

Lizzie gasped. How dare he think she would want to be that close to him! She summoned up her courage, swallowed her mortification, and raised her eyes to meet the clearest, bluest eyes she’d ever seen. Even partially shaded by a straw hat, those eyes with the crinkly corners fairly sparkled.

“Here, take the handkerchief. It’s better than leaves.” He chuckled as he waved the handkerchief in front of her.

Was he laughing at her? Her face surely must be as red as the fire truck she’d glimpsed when she parted the bushes. If the hole in the big, old oak tree to her right had been large enough, she would have crawled inside it. When she didn’t make any move to take the handkerchief, the stranger took Lizzie’s arm and blotted the blood. She gasped again and jumped as if she’d been bitten by one of the copperheads she’d discovered under a pile of dried leaves last week. She attempted to squirm away, but he held fast. “Wh-what do you think you’re doing? And who are you?”

A sly little smile tugged at the corners of the stranger’s lips. What was that all about? Since she couldn’t jerk her arm free, she used the opportunity to study his face. It was a nice face. More than nice, actually. Heat seared her cheeks. She hoped mind reading wasn’t one of his talents. He certainly didn’t need to know his brown hair reminded her of rich, dark chocolate and his eyes were the exact color of the clear summer sky. “Ouch!”

“Sorry. I was only trying to stop the bleeding.”

Lizzie tried again to free her arm, but it was to no avail. This man was keeping her from discovering what was happening through the brambles. “You can let me go. I don’t think I’ll bleed to death.”

“I certainly hope not. I’ll accompany you to make sure you don’t have any more mishaps.”

“That isn’t necessary. Besides, I only had a mishap because you scared me, uh—what did you say your name was?”

“Ah! Gut try. I didn’t tell you my name.”

Lizzie’s eyes traveled up and up to meet those bluer-than-blue eyes that looked down at her. “And why might that be? Are you hiding something or hiding from someone?”

“You are a curious one, aren’t you?”

Lizzie shrugged. How was she going to shake free from this fellow towering over her? “I need to leave. Danki for your concern and for your handkerchief.” She finally slipped her arm from his grasp, leaving him holding only the soiled cloth. She studied the brambles, trying to decide where to part them to avoid another attack by thorns.

“You’re welcome, Lizzie Fisher. Are you going through the briars again or taking the trail?”

Lizzie sucked in a sharp breath and turned back to face the stranger. “H-how do you know my name? I don’t believe we’ve ever met.”

“I know lots of things.”

“I don’t care what else you know. I want to know how you know who I am when I don’t know you from a hill of beans.”

The man had the audacity to chuckle. At her! It wasn’t an unpleasant sound, but it irked her nonetheless. She didn’t have time for this distraction.

“Why do you look so annoyed? You are quite pretty when a frown isn’t wrinkling your brow.”

Lizzie fumed. How rude could he get? “Well, I’m certainly glad my looks didn’t frighten you.” Though maybe if they had, she wouldn’t be having this ridiculous exchange right now.

“Ach, Lizzie. Most girls would be flattered to hear that they are considered to be pretty and to find out a man knows who they are.”

“I am not most girls!”

“I can see that.” A smile played with his full, pink lips.

“And you’re a stranger who doesn’t have the manners to tell me your name even though I’ve asked.”

“Did you ask nicely?”

“Oooh! You are such a boor!” Lizzie knew the man wasn’t from around here. She hadn’t heard that anyone in her community had out-of-town visitors, either. And she would know. Everyone knew if someone else had visitors. That’s just the way things were. Well, she didn’t have to stay rooted to the spot struggling to endure this rude stranger any longer.

“I don’t mean to be.”

“Really?” Lizzie looked back at the bushes. Jah, she’d risk the thorns to make her escape from this fellow.

“Maybe you should keep the handkerchief if you’re going to plow through there.”

“I’ll be fine.” Lizzie plunged through the branches and bushes, ducking and swerving to avoid injury. She heard the deep chuckle behind her.

“See you, Lizzie Fisher!”

He didn’t know what had gotten into him. He really shouldn’t have teased Lizzie so much. And he should have told her his name, but that would give her something else to puzzle over. He chuckled again. This was truly the most fun he’d had in a while. He’d been quite wrong, though, to think that Lizzie Fisher was pretty only when she wasn’t frowning. She happened to be absolutely beautiful regardless of the expression that crossed her face. He gave a little shrug of his shoulders and carefully parted the brambles. He might as well follow and see what the ruckus was about. And keep an eye on Lizzie. He had a feeling she might need watching over.

Congratulating himself on acquiring only a few minor thorn scrapes, he exited the tangled underbrush and pushed his cockeyed straw hat aright. The scene that immediately greeted him nearly snatched the breath from his lungs. Fire shot from the windows of a sprawling, faded, once-white two-story house that looked like it had been abandoned a decade ago. He hoped it was abandoned—or that anyone who might have been holed up inside had long since escaped. Firefighters shouted at one another as they aimed hoses at the blazing house.

A different kind of movement caught his eye. Someone was running. Lizzie. What was she doing? Lizzie Fisher was running at top speed directly toward the inferno.

“Lizzie!” Her name burst from his lips. He sprinted, thankful for the long legs that gave him speed. What on earth was she thinking? Sparks could sail out to scorch her. The entire structure looked as if it would collapse at any second. Debris could rain down on her like a cloudburst on an April afternoon. He pushed himself to run faster. His heart hammered in his ears louder than the rumble of the nearby fire trucks. He would yell her name again, but he needed every gasping breath to drag oxygen into his lungs. Surely one of the firefighters would stop her. Didn’t they see her so near the blazing building? He watched her hesitate only briefly.

He had to try to call out again. “Lizzie!” Pitiful. It sounded more like a loud whisper than a yell. With an earsplitting crash, part of the roof caved in, drawing every eye. The distraction gave her the opportunity she’d apparently been waiting for. She dashed behind the house. He spurred himself on. He must not be the fine physical specimen he had thought he was if he couldn’t keep up with this little wisp of a girl who sprinted effortlessly right into danger.

Either Lizzie couldn’t hear him holler above the cacophony around them or she chose to completely ignore him and instead dive headfirst into a fiery furnace. He hoped it was the former, because if it was the latter, that meant she was totally insane. He prayed that wasn’t the case. She had seemed rather normal during their encounter a few minutes ago. He also prayed for a bit more strength, since it looked like he was going to have to tackle her to keep her from being burned beyond all recognition.

Was he the only one who saw this madwoman in a purple dress and white kapp dashing toward the burning house? Who was in charge here? Who was supposed to keep civilians away from danger? It looked like the job was his. “Stop, Lizzie!” Somehow he managed to yell the two words in between gulps of oxygen. The thick smoke threatened to cut off his supply of that precious commodity at any moment. How was Lizzie breathing? He saw her hesitate. Maybe she had heard his call after all.

To his horror, Lizzie opened her mouth as if biting off a chunk of air and then dashed onward. What was wrong with her? Did she have a death wish? That might very well be granted shortly if he couldn’t force his legs to pump faster.

With a final, long-legged leap, he sailed through space and grabbed Lizzie’s shoulders. She crashed to the ground with a whump. He hadn’t meant to tackle her and bury her nose in the dirt, and he hadn’t meant to collapse on top of her and crush her ribs. But at least he had kept her from burning to a crisp. An elbow to his own ribs sent him rolling on the ground. How had she managed to do that? Somehow he still had hold of one of her arms.

“Get off of me!” The words spewed out with a breathless grunt. She tugged her arm free. “Let go of me!” She scrambled to her feet and prepared to resume her mad dash.

He leaped up behind her, ignoring the pain in his scraped elbow. “Are you crazy? You’ll die if you go much closer.”

“They will die if I don’t.”

“Who? Do you mean to tell me someone is inside that house? We’ve got to tell the firemen.” He raised his arms to wave at the emergency responders.

“Nee!” Lizzie grabbed one of his arms and tugged it down.

“What?”

“Shhh! There aren’t any people inside. The place has been abandoned for years. I can take care of this.” She took off faster than a deer during hunting season and disappeared around a corner of the crackling house.

As he took up the chase again, he questioned his own sanity. Why was he running toward an inferno instead of away from it? And if the place had been empty for a long time, why was she willing to risk a fiery death? His feet slipped, and he momentarily staggered before getting his footing. If Lizzie Fisher planned to sacrifice herself in a fire, what was it to him? Nee. He really didn’t feel that way. Someone had to save this beautiful but crazy girl, and it looked like he had been elected for that job. Maybe the Lord Gott had put him on that bike path today for just this purpose.

The smoke stung his eyes, making them water so much his vision blurred. He could barely see a hazy purple shape right ahead of him. Was he going to have to tackle her again? How was she even breathing in this air as thick as his mamm’s navy bean soup?

“Lizzie!” He tried to call her but choked on the word. He might as well save his precious breath. She probably wouldn’t acknowledge him even if he dropped out of the sky right in front of her. How did the firemen and gawkers not notice her dashing headlong into a burning house? Maybe this was all some crazy, mixed-up nightmare. If it was, though, his bedroom was on fire, and he was about to die from smoke inhalation.

He raised an arm to cover his nose and mouth with his shirtsleeve. He forced his heaving lungs and throbbing legs to press on. What a miserable rescuer he was! He couldn’t even seem to catch this tiny girl with the caramel-colored hair and violet eyes. She could probably outrun his big black horse, and Blaze was the fastest horse in his community, if he did say so himself.

Why was this man chasing her? She did not need an audience or a witness. She could handle this matter all by herself. She heard him cough behind her. He must have inhaled a lungful of smoke when he hollered out to her—exactly why she kept her own mouth closed. She prayed she wasn’t too late. How long could they last in the heat and smoke? Since most of the damage looked to be at the opposite end of the house, maybe they had a chance.

Her legs screamed at her, and her arm still oozed a trickle of blood. There wasn’t time to worry about either right now. She had to find them and get out—unseen of course, unless she counted the fellow gasping ever closer behind her. And she didn’t want to count him, that was for sure and for certain, even though he did have eyes the color of the robin’s eggs she’d climbed the oak tree to peek at a few weeks ago. It was a gut thing Mamm hadn’t seen that!

Kumm on, legs. Kumm on, lungs. Just a little more. Lizzie gave a cursory glance in each direction before yanking on the basement door that should have been open a crack. She wondered if the pressure change in the house had sucked the door closed and if the heat from the fire had caused it to stick. Otherwise, she couldn’t imagine how it had gotten shut completely or how she was going to coax it open now. She grunted and pulled with all her might. The metal handle had absorbed enough heat to scorch her hand. She couldn’t worry about that right now, either. She grunted and yanked so hard she slammed into a wall behind her. She gasped. What was back there?

“Let me try.” The deep voice spoke directly into her ear. His breath tickled the little hairs on her neck.

Lizzie didn’t want to, but she didn’t have a choice. She dropped her hand from the door handle and shifted over to allow this persistent, meddling man access to the door, since she was obviously not having any success getting the thing to budge on her own.

He grabbed the handle, flinched briefly when he first touched it, and then jerked the door open with a grunt. Lizzie couldn’t help but notice the muscles in his arm ripple at the effort. Okay, so he was strong. So what? She had to get past him and get inside before it was too late. “What’s in here that’s worth risking our lives for?”

“I didn’t ask you to follow me.”

“Who would pull you out of here if I didn’t?”

“I plan to exit under my own steam.” She elbowed him none too gently. He was using up precious time. “Let me get by.”

“Please.”

“What?”

“Let me get by, please.”

“Oooh!” Lizzie pushed her way past the exasperating man, but he reached out and snagged her arm with one of his big hands. She stopped abruptly and bumped into him again.

“Tell me what’s so important that you’ll risk singeing your eyelashes off for and I’ll get it while you wait here.”

Lizzie tried to jerk her arm away. Hadn’t they been in this predicament before? “Ow!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Ordinarily that wouldn’t have hurt.” She looked down at the spot where a trickle of blood ran from her reopened wound.

“Ach! Your hurt arm. That really was a pretty deep scratch. You probably need some medicine on it.”

“Right now I need you to let go of me.” The old house crackled, and Lizzie felt sure it shuddered. “Now! I have to go right now!” She shook his hand off her arm and slithered through the slim opening of the door before he could latch onto her arm again. If he’d made her too late, she’d . . . she didn’t know what she would do. She couldn’t be too late. That’s all there was to it.

Smoke had filtered all the way down to the basement, creating a thick, gray cloud. A crack overhead made her jump almost out of her skin. She waved a hand in front of her as if doing so would give her a breath of fresh air or clearer vision. It did neither. Despite her attempt to hold it back, a cough erupted. Her eyes stung and watered.

“Lizzie, wait! What are you after?”

She didn’t waste a breath to answer. She stumbled along with one hand out in front of her to prevent running headfirst into one of the wooden posts sprinkled sporadically throughout the basement. Lizzie assumed they were supports to hold the house up. She feared they would be hard-pressed to perform that function today—or ever again, for that matter.

The basement of the old, abandoned house, with only slits of windows to admit any daylight, was always dark. It was even darker today with all the swirling smoke. She must be almost to the far corner. If only she could move faster.

“Lizzie, we have to get out of here.”

She wished he would be quiet. “Go!” she croaked. Her throat already felt raw. Where was the back wall? She waved her hand around and inched forward. Ah, there it was. The concrete was the only slightly cool thing around, she was sure. Please Lord, let them be okay. She strained to hear any slight sound over the roar of the fire and the splashes of water from the fire hoses. Was that it? Such a tiny sound. She dropped to her knees and crawled along the wall.

“Lizzie!”

He should save his breath. She wasn’t going back when she was this close to accomplishing her mission. She had almost reached the corner. What if after all this they weren’t there, or they were . . . Nee. She wouldn’t even think that way. Gott would surely take care of them, ain’t so? “Miriam, Moses, Aaron, where are you?” Her throat was as dry as dirt in an August drought. Her heart skipped every third beat in fear—not fear for herself but fear for them.

A tiny mewling sound rewarded her effort and allayed at least a few of her worries. Relief flooded her. Now she had to determine how to get everything out of here. Quick. “Is everyone here?” She reached out a hand to pat three tiny heads. All bobbed under her touch, so she knew all three were alive, at least for the moment.

Now, not only was her throat dry, but her esophagus and windpipe felt glued together. Lizzie quickly wrapped the big fleece blanket around all three little bodies and scooped the bundle into her arms. She tried to juggle her load in one arm so she could snatch the metal case off the floor with her stinging hand, which suddenly reminded her how hot every metal object in the vicinity had become. She bent to retrieve a much smaller blanket from the floor. If she wrapped that around the handle, she should be able to lift the case. She hadn’t yet figured out how she’d carry everything and still use a hand to feel her way through the thick fog. She lifted the case.

Oomph! Something banged into her, almost toppling her over. “Hey!”

“What in the world are you doing?”

The voice came out raspy. He must be experiencing the same suffocating feeling she was. “Get that case on the floor, but use this.” She thrust the small blanket into his hand. She had again not said “please,” but he didn’t scold her this time. She could barely see him lift the case and tuck it under his arm. He grabbed her free hand and pulled her along with him. She hoped he knew the way to the door. She was too intent on balancing her bundle to blaze a trail.

He thought his lungs would burst into flame any second if he didn’t get some fresh air into them. Where was the door? He had a keen sense of direction—usually. It had better not fail him now, or he and this crazy girl and whatever she held in her arms would not make it out of this house before they succumbed to smoke inhalation or the whole crackling inferno collapsed on them.

Thank you, Lord Gott. His toe hit the edge of the door. With the little daylight streaming in through the crack, he could see the swirls of smoke dancing around them. Too bad he couldn’t yank the old door open more than a few inches. They would have to slither out the same way they had squeezed in. He pulled Lizzie in front of him, let go of her hand, and pushed her toward the opening. “Go!”

She wobbled a little as she tried to redistribute the weight of her burden. “Aren’t you kumming?” She tried to nudge him.

Nee, I thought I’d sacrifice myself in this blaze. He nodded but then remembered she probably couldn’t see him. “Jah. Go first.” His parched throat wouldn’t let him get any other words out.

Lizzie managed to get herself and that heap she was carrying out the door faster than he would have thought possible. He sure hoped he hadn’t just risked life and limb to rescue a pile of blankets that would smell like smoke forever, regardless of how many washings they got and a utility box full of tools. He elbowed his way through the narrow opening.

He blinked to get his eyes to adjust and gulped in air. Lizzie stood right there by the door. “Run! Are you waiting for the building to fall on you?” His words came out with little gasps between them.

“I was making sure you got out.” Lizzie’s words emerged punctuated with gasps as well.

That was sweet of her, he supposed, but he hadn’t survived that fiery furnace only to perish when the whole structure rained down on top of them. He grabbed her arm and half ran, half dragged her toward the woods. Since they were now on the opposite side from where they had started, they’d have to figure out how to get back to the trail unseen by the firemen who would surely have a passel of questions after they’d recovered a bit. More than likely, Lizzie knew a shortcut to the cleared trail. She lived around here, after all.

Totally spent and needing huge gulps of oxygen, he sank to the ground, pulling Lizzie with him. The metal case clunked when he dropped it.

“Hey! Careful!” Her bundle wobbled as she dropped down beside him, and she clutched it tighter to herself.

“Please tell me . . .” He couldn’t get a breath big enough to complete the entire sentence at once. “Tell me I didn’t nearly get killed . . .” He paused to gasp again. “To rescue your grossmammi’s ancient quilts.” He reached a hand out to peel back layers of her bundle.

She promptly smacked his hand away. “I didn’t ask you to kumm with me.”

How had she recovered her breath so quickly? His lungs were still screaming at him. “The least you can do is let me see what I rescued.”

Lizzie shifted a little so the pile of quilts or blankets or whatever she was clutching was a little farther away from him. He almost laughed. She looked like a little girl trying to keep her toys to herself when asked to share. A dirty little girl with traces of soot on her cheeks and even on the kapp strings hanging over her shoulders. Well, two could play this game. He pulled the metal case closer and fumbled with the latch, which hadn’t cooled off a whole lot yet.

“Wait!” Lizzie shifted her bundle and reached out to grab his hand. “That’s mine!”

“Finders keepers.”

“You didn’t find it. I told you to grab it, remember? Now I’m telling you to leave it alone.”

What a spitfire! Here this girl, who looked about fifteen, stood as high as his shoulders. . .