The EMTs talked quietly in the living room area, but George was bellowing again, so Elsie couldn’t hear what they said. The bishop slowly pushed to his feet and approached the dining room table right as the outside door in the mudroom blew open with a crash. The puppy yipped, and Elsie glanced in there as Levi set the pup down.
“Grab her and hold on until I get the door shut. I need to dry her feet and underbelly,” Levi said.
Elsie stepped into the room and knelt, her hands full of wriggling puppy covered in snow and icy water while Levi shoved the door shut against the wind.
“That redhead is in the mudroom!” George yelled from wherever he was. “Bishop Nathan, I tell you that you need to keep a close eye on them two. My walking stick is somewhere if they didn’t steal it! Spare the rod and spoil the child!”
Someone chuckled. Elsie couldn’t see who because it was somewhere behind and because she was busy with the wriggling, sopping-wet puppy that needed to calm down before she made another puddle inside.
“Since that boy has no father, it’s up to us,” George shouted.
Levi swallowed hard enough that a muscle jumped in his throat, and he scowled, but pain filled his eyes. “That explains why my own walking stick was employed against me,” he said quietly. He slipped off his black gloves and laid them on the washer.
“You’re hardly a child.” Elsie peeked up at him.
His mouth opened, but a shadow appeared in Elsie’s peripheral vision, and he shut it.
Elsie turned her head and looked up at Bishop Nathan. His eyes twinkled. “You just can’t stay out of the mudroom, can you?”
“What can I say? It’s a happening place,” Levi quipped. His coat joined the gloves. “I’ll take care of the dog now.” He bent to take her from Elsie.
His rough and calloused fingers grazed the back of her hands as he grabbed the pup, sending delicious tingles up her arms. She pulled away, not wanting the bishop to witness them flirting. “I’ll get the table set.” Her voice might have been strangled.
“I ate at home, so if you give me a chore, I’ll get busy. I notice you brought in a boxful of some type of woodworking project. Let me help. I used to enjoy that kind of work back in the day. After the prayer, explain what you’re doing and how I can help.” Bishop Nathan started to turn away, then stopped. “Working together is the best time to hold conversations, I’ve found.”
Except, Elsie and Levi wouldn’t be alone for a private conversation. She sighed as she entered the kitchen and met Noah’s eyes. He snickered. “Sneaking off to be with ‘that boy’ again, ain’t so?”
“She’s going to marry that boy someday,” Abigail sighed with a smile.
If only. But no. He couldn’t marry, and she was going to leave the Amish to move to Chicago with her oldest brother.
“Careful, now,” George shouted as an EMT parked the stretcher next to him. “I’m an old man. Don’t want to break my back—Whoa!”
The two EMTs had George secured on the stretcher as Elsie watched. They covered him with a blanket as she rushed to grab his coat and hat.
She laid them on his lap. George grasped her hand with his free one that wasn’t clutching the carved cat. “Danki for asking me to chaperone. Best fun I had in ages. I’ll do it anytime.”
Tears burned Elsie’s eyes and she gulped, giving George a quick hug. “You’ve been a chaperone like none other.”
George beamed, but that was the truth.
“I’ll call your wife,” she said.
George hissed. “Don’t bother her. I don’t want her out in this weather, and someone needs to stay with my cats.”
But still, his wife needed to know.
“What about the walking stick?” She pointed to it.
“Borrowed it from Levi. I have more canes at home and the hospital lets me ride in a wheelchair. Great fun. Especially when they leave me unattended and I can race. Besides, the bishop might need the walking stick to whomp that boy with.”
Okay, then.
She stepped back and the EMTs rolled the stretcher—and George, clutching the carved cat—out.
Despite the wind howling outside, the crackle of the fire, and Levi’s low crooning to the pup in the mudroom, the house instantly seemed silent. Elsie took a deep breath and let the quiet seep in. The tension level dropped at least ten degrees even though the bishop was still there.
Then Abigail burst into tears.
Elsie took one look at her and decided they were happy tears, since she was smiling. But all three men stopped what they were doing, turned toward her, and stared.
“Should I start screaming like George?” Noah teased.
Abigail sniffled. “I’m just so happy! We have food, heat, and the people I love most are here with me. And not only that, but Elsie and I get to start cleaning.”
Levi snorted. “Jah, I can see where that’d make you cry.”
Elsie glanced at the mess the drunk and the puppy had left in the main living area. It was a disaster, but it would be ever so satisfying to get it whipped back into shape for Levi and Abigail. And it could be done quickly with both of them working together.
Just in time for the woodworking the men were going to do on Levi’s train project and for all the Christmas baking Abigail wanted to do. But the baking wouldn’t be done today or tomorrow, since that would be Sunday.
And she and Noah might be home by then anyway.
She wasn’t ready to leave.
“How long is the blizzard supposed to last anyway?” she blurted.
The bishop frowned. “Word is late tonight, but there’s another one close on this one’s tail. I told my wife that I might be gone several days since the windchill is supposed to reach dangerously low levels between storms. However, if you’re anxious to get home, you could listen for the blizzard to end tonight and then start out.”
Elsie glanced at Noah. He hesitated a moment before he shook his head. “If Levi doesn’t mind, I’d like to stay here and help with his project.”
Everyone turned to Levi. He looked down. “But…I’d miss peppermint.”
Elsie’s face heated.
Abigail giggled.
Levi blushed. “I mean, I’m…I don’t know what to say. Or why I said that.” He buried his red face in the puppy’s fur.
“How about jah?” Abigail asked. “If I make sure peppermint is included.”
“If peppermint’s included, then…” Levi raised his eyes and gazed at Elsie with an undecipherable expression. It might have included acute longing. “Jah.”
Elsie’s whole body warmed. Would she and Levi be able to arrange any bishop-free alone time?
Did she want to, with only passion and no commitment?
* * *
Levi was pretty certain he needed either a cold shower or about five minutes outside without a coat to control the sudden heat that burned his entire body, both from the desire he felt for Elsie and from shame for blurting that out in front of witnesses. And judging from the low chuckles from Noah and Bishop Nathan and Abigail’s giggle, everybody there was very aware of what those words had implied.
Implied? Ha! He might as well have shouted it. He wanted Elsie Miller. Even now, with a cream-colored shawl over her green dress helping to conceal her assets.
He gulped. If he were able to marry, he’d beg Bishop Nathan to approve a quick wedding—and he’d cite how long they’d courted before they broke up as a reason. Not to mention that he and Elsie still loved each other.
But if Noah eventually married Abigail and if Levi wasn’t granted permission to marry, then he was destined to be alone forever. He wore the “mark of Cain,” invisible though it might be. Not only did he kill his brother—two of them—he also killed a sister, his parents, and his grossdaadi. George’s best friend.
Which was probably why George called him “that boy”—he was named after his daadi—and also why George took too much pleasure in whacking him with a walking stick.
Levi had earned every bruise. And
then some.
His throat burned and his appetite fled.
But not eating wasn’t an option. It would hurt Abigail and cause questions from the bishop. And speaking of whom, would they be able to find privacy for their conversation, or should Levi prepare for a public confession, in front of the bishop, his sister, and the two Millers?
There was time enough to think about that later. First, he had to appear natural with the meal the women had prepared. He motioned Bishop Nathan toward the head of the table and took his position at the foot. Noah still sat beside Abigail, his bandaged hands resting on the table. Elsie slipped into the seat Noah had used that morning as the bishop bowed his head. “Let’s pray.”
Levi bowed his head, but words wouldn’t come. Instead, the pending confession weighed heavy on his mind. He dreaded it, but at the same time he wanted it over and done with so he could move on with what remained of his life. Would he be shunned? Forgiveness was too much to hope for.
Oh, Gott. Oh, Gott, he groaned again, hopefully not out loud, right as the bishop murmured, “Amen.”
Elsie slid the casserole dish a smidgen closer to him, and just to be polite, he took the equivalent of a couple of forkfuls and passed it to Noah as Elsie popped out of her chair. “I forgot. Abigail made coffee. Who wants some?”
“I could use a cup while Levi explains the details of his project. Rumors have him building a train so he can leave town.” Bishop Nathan chuckled.
Levi supposed George might’ve been the one who started that one. He had said almost the same thing when he came to “fix” Levi’s buggy.
“It’s amazing, that’s all,” Noah said. “I was seriously wowed when I saw his workshop and heard the details.”
“Details I’m still waiting on.” The bishop accepted a mug of black coffee from Elsie. He smiled at her. “Danki.”
Levi swallowed a mouthful of pasta and tuna, then quickly explained the circus train he’d spent months laboring over and the impossible deadline for two more that’d landed in his lap almost a week ago on Tuesday. “So now I have about a week and a half to two weeks to finish two trains, depending on when Christmas Eve is.” He hadn’t actually looked at the calendar to see. Ignorance was bliss. “Though Noah and I got a lot done this morning before the intruder came.”
And that bothered him more than a little. Why was that man driving the back roads of an Amish community during a blizzard? Was he lost? Was he looking for trouble? Or…His gaze slid to Elsie as she set a mug of coffee in front of him. Or had he vaguely remembered the hot “babe” he’d seen in town Monday and gone looking for her? Levi would probably never know.
“I can’t wait to see. I did notice the carved ‘cat’ that George had. Amazing craftsmanship. If the rest is as high quality, then no wonder you’ve got orders for two more.” He paused a beat. “And I’m curious about our conversation you mentioned. Is it private”—Bishop Nathan looked toward Elsie and raised his eyebrows—“or is it a family affair?”
Levi clenched his hands. If only he were asking permission to marry Elsie, or setting the date with the minister. But no. That would be never. He drew in a deep breath. “I need to settle my fate and confess something. It’d be easier for me to do it all at once so I don’t have to explain my sin and the punishment multiple times, but either way will be hard on Abigail and Elsie.”
“We’ll hear it all at once.” Abigail put her fork down. “After we eat.” She frowned at Levi as if daring him to ruin the meal. “You guys can work and talk and Elsie and I will work and listen.”
Elsie opened her mouth, then shut it, apparently remembering her position as paid “elf.” Abigail was her boss. To a lesser degree, so was Levi. But as Elsie’s eyes filled with tears and her trembling hand lightly touched his shoulder in unspoken support, he vowed to find some way to let her say her piece.
Chapter 23
Elsie pushed a noodle around on her plate as she struggled to appear quiet and docile in front of the bishop. Everyone else knew she was opinionated…Well, truthfully, Bishop Nathan probably knew it, too, but she didn’t want to get scolded in front of everyone. Not when she wanted—no, needed—answers. She just wanted them privately so she could argue her point and maybe, Gott willing, get her way.
Daed would tell her she struggled with faith, that she could trust Gott to know what was best for her. And he was right. She did struggle with faith. What if Gott’s plan and hers didn’t mesh?
That was why she had a backup plan. Chicago with Sam. Though they’d made their decision to go before she reconnected with the Wyses, so maybe Levi was the backup plan.
On the other hand, did she truly want Levi if he was all wrong for her? What if they ended up hating each other? Although she couldn’t see that happening. Not on her side. Levi was just plain nice. Quiet. Easygoing. She was the one who tended to rush in where angels feared to tread.
She pushed away from the table, noting that most of their meal was untouched. She hadn’t been hungry—too much excitement, maybe. Only Noah had cleaned his plate—nobody else had really done justice to Abigail’s tuna casserole, and between that and the bean soup they’d made for George, they had enough food prepared for several days.
“I’ll do dishes and clean the kitchen while you start cleaning the living room.” Abigail pointed to the room in question. Its mostly open floor plan layout allowed her to get around with ease and see from one room to another without a wall getting in the way.
Elsie nodded, but Abigail’s plan put her farther away from the men. If they talked quietly as Levi tended to do, Elsie wouldn’t be able to hear. But maybe that was Abigail’s motive.
Levi spread old newspapers over the table, while Noah and Bishop Nathan emptied the box of small paintbrushes, paints, glue, and other things Elsie couldn’t see as she retreated to the mudroom for a broom and dustpan.
“Abigail gave us special permission to work in the house.” Levi nodded toward his sister as Elsie made the return trip. “She doesn’t like the mess or the stench in here.”
“Understandable. Not many women would.” Bishop Nathan picked up a carved elephant. “I just can’t get over the quality of your work. This is amazing.”
“You should see his workshop. It’s no wonder the Englischers call him Santa.” Noah flexed his hands and winced. “I’m not going to be much help, but I’ll do what I can. I can paint maybe. Bright colors?”
“For the train. The animals should be true to life.” Levi pulled the tall kitchen trash can over to the table. At least that gave her a valid reason to approach the table where the men worked.
“A friend of mine said she’d set up a website for Levi,” Elsie blurted.
Conversation paused. Attention swung to her. Levi and the bishop wore matching frowns.
Oh. Oops. She sort of forgot to tell Levi so he could get permission.
“Elsie.” Abigail pointed to the living room and the mess.
Elsie tried not to huff as she reached the living room. Why couldn’t they start by talking about what she wanted to eavesdrop on instead of only talking shop? Although a website would be considered shoptalk.
She leaned the broom and dustpan against the wall, then bent to set up the end table, which the intruder had knocked over. It wasn’t broken, but there might be a few additional nicks on the edges. Levi’s Bible had fallen, too. It’d landed open, the pages bent and a little torn from being stepped on. That saddened her. She picked up the Bible, smoothed the pages as best as she could, and carried it up the ladder steps to the loft office. Levi had a tape dispenser on his desk.
Carefully, she patched the tiny tears, trying not to catch wrinkles in the tape. She ran her fingers over the small print of Proverbs 3:5–6: Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
She wasn’t very good at any of that. Shame filled her. She didn’t trust in the Lord with all her heart. She leaned heavily on her own understanding. She
didn’t acknowledge Him in all her ways…
No wonder her path was so confusing and filled with false starts and failed dreams.
She glanced toward the loft entrance to make sure no one was coming before dropping to her knees.
Lord Gott, I want You to direct my paths. Please help me to trust You. Help me not to rely on my own understanding and to acknowledge You always.
The unrest that’d filled her settled into a strange sort of peace that she wouldn’t have been able to explain. Just that whatever happened, Gott had this. He had Levi and whatever his confession involved. Gott had her and Sam and Sammy.
Oh. Instantly the unrest and fear stirred to life—for both Levi and her plans to join the Englisch.
Surrendering her paths to the Lord had to be a constant decision.
“Gott has this,” she whispered. “Trust Him.”
She put those thoughts on repeat in her head and went downstairs. Without the Bible. But she could get it later.
The men were talking quietly as she grabbed the broom and tried to sweep up all the glass. It was hard to do with everything soaked in kerosene. She’d need to mop it at least once before she could get more glass up. No wonder Abigail assigned Elsie to clean the living room. Abigail wouldn’t have been able to do this job easily. It wasn’t personal; it was common sense.
The stench burned her eyes and nose and clung to her clothes to the point she wanted to open a window to air out the house, but it was way too cold.
The bishop said something Elsie couldn’t hear.
Levi answered, a low rumble.
Trust in the Lord…
Elsie picked up the dustpan full of broken glass and carried it over to the trash can. Levi sat with the trash can between his legs and used a knife of some sort to cut pieces from a chunk of wood.
Abigail scraped table scraps into a dish for the pup.
Levi glanced up at Elsie with a tortured expression. His hands shook and as Elsie dumped the glass into the trash, Levi placed the knife and the wood on the table, then snagged her free hand with both of his.
The Amish Christmas Gift Page 20