The Trustworthy One

by Shelley Shepard Gray

  “I like your sign.”

  “My sister Maggie made it when she was twelve. To be honest, my mamm wasn’t real fond of having a chicken-shaped sign by the front door, but Maggie explained that she was tired of telling customers to go around back. So, it stayed.”

  “I don’t know whether to ask to see your house or these famous chickens first.”

  Nate shook his head. “We are not here to look at birds. If my father discovered you were interested, we’d be stuck walking around the henhouse for two hours.”

  “We?”

  “There’s no way I’d leave you alone with my father and his chickens. He’d talk your ear off.”

  “I wouldn’t mind.” Did he not realize how nice it was to have a father to be proud of?

  Just as he looked about ready to argue that point, his eyes lit up. “How about we come back here another day? I give my father a hard time, but he’s a gut mann. And he’ll love getting to know you.”

  “If you want.”

  “I do.”

  His invitation felt like so much more, though, like a promise that had nothing to do with tomatoes or chickens or his father. “What do you want to do here?”

  “Go to the barn, of course,” he replied.

  Just as they walked around the back of the house, she saw a lovely brown quarter horse attached to a courting buggy. When the gelding spied Nate, he whickered softly.

  “Hi there, Ten.” He patted the horse’s flank.

  “Ten?”

  “It’s short for Tennessee.”

  “Because you got him from there?”

  He smiled. “Nee. Because he’s a Tennessee walking horse.”

  “He’s handsome.”

  “Jah, he is, indeed.” Setting the quilt on the bench, he said, “Are you ready?”

  “Wait. We’re going on a buggy ride?”

  “We are. And a picnic.” He sounded delighted.

  “A picnic, too?”

  “We’ve got to eat, jah?”

  “You’re not going to get to eat much if you don’t go inside and get the basket, Nate,” Maggie called out as she approached. Smiling at Kendra, she said, “Hiya, Kendra. It’s been ages since our paths crossed.”

  “It has. I was in Columbus for a while.”

  “So I’ve heard. Good to see ya.”

  “And you, as well,” Kendra replied. “How have you been?”

  Maggie shrugged. “Gut enough, I suppose.” Crossing her arms over her green dress, her voice grew warmer. “Are you looking forward to your big date with Nate, Kendra?”

  Before Kendra could reply, Nate frowned. “Maggie, why don’t you go in and get the basket?”

  “Nope, you’re going to have to go inside and get it yourself. And before you start complaining, I think you know why, too.” She grinned as Nate’s expression turned resigned. “At least I ran out here to warn you.”

  “Fine. Kendra, it seems my parents want to say hello. Come on.”

  On another day or maybe even a week ago, Kendra would’ve been nervous to meet them. But between her conversation with her mother and brothers and all the sweet stories Nate had just shared about his father, she realized she didn’t have anything to fear anymore. “Don’t worry. I’m looking forward to meeting them.”

  He smiled softly and pressed a hand on the small of her back as he guided her into his house.

  The first thing she noticed was that it was very plain, especially for a New Order Amish home. Though she hadn’t expected any decorations, the interior was filled with fine wooden floors, ice cream–white walls, walnut-colored woodwork, and a few pieces of simple furniture. Nothing adorned the walls, and the only color came from a beautiful rag rug in the center of the living room and a large basket filled with knitting supplies.

  Before she was even aware she was doing it, Kendra walked to the basket and ran her hand over the yarn. It was silky soft and finely made.

  “Kendra, here are my parents, Peach and Atle Miller.”

  She turned abruptly. “I’m pleased to meet you, Atle and Peach.” She blushed as she stumbled on Mrs. Miller’s name. She’d never heard of such a thing.

  Peach Miller grinned. “I know. It’s an awful name, ain’t so? My real name is Mary, but it seems I loved peaches when I was a tiny boppli. My grandfather started calling me Peach, saying I was going to turn into one, and the name stuck.”

  Peach was only a little over five feet. She was rather plump and had brown eyes and light brown hair that was fading to gray. Dressed in her pale orange dress and black tights and shoes, and treating them to a bright smile, Kendra thought the name was perfect. “I like it, Mrs. Miller. It’s gut to meet you. And you as well, Mr. Miller,” Kendra said, turning to Nate’s daed, who had a shock of blond hair just like Nate’s.

  Mr. Miller, dressed in worn pants, black suspenders, and a white shirt that had been washed so many times it was rather gray, smiled at her, too. “Hello, Kendra. I hear you’re keeping our boy in line.”

  Thinking about how he’d managed to surprise her with this outing, she shook her head. “Not so much, I’m afraid.”

  He chuckled. “You’ll just have to try harder then, jah? Our Nate’s a wily one.”

  Kendra laughed as Nate’s cheeks turned red.

  “Daed, we need to go. We only came inside to get the picnic basket.”

  Suddenly realizing that in order for Nate to take her on a picnic, someone had to make the food first, Kendra turned to Nate. “Who made the food?”

  “I did, dear,” Mrs. Miller said.

  “Oh! Danke.”

  “It’s nothing fancy. Roast beef sandwiches, pickles, potato salad, and frosted oatmeal cookies.”

  It sounded delicious, especially since she hadn’t made any of it. “It sounds wunderbaar.”

  “It was my pleasure. I hear you’re a good cook, Kendra. I hope you’ll find my cookies to be acceptable.”

  “I’m sure they’ll be delicious,” she said, thinking there was only one person from whom Mrs. Miller would have heard about her cooking skills—Nate.

  “Daed, Kendra here is interested in your chickens, so she’ll be back another time. But now we’re off. Ten’s waiting.”

  “Have a good time,” Atle said. “And don’t worry, Kendra, I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”

  Kendra smiled at Nate’s parents, but her insides felt like she’d swallowed a handful of bumblebees. She tried to tell herself that it was her fear of surprises making her body feel that way, but she had a feeling it was something else entirely… the sweet, foreign feeling of anticipation.

  TWENTY–TWO

  “ ‘Don’t ever tell my mom that I know how to work this, okay,’ Andy said. ‘As far as she’s concerned, I’m the laziest boy she knows.’

  “ ‘I won’t tell anyone,’ I replied, as if I were making a promise about something that was actually important.”

  TUESDAY

  Kendra would’ve said it was almost overwhelming, the effort that Nate had made to make their date perfect, but it had passed “almost” about the time he’d told her about his father’s chickens.

  There’d been something about that story that had touched her heart in a way that little had in a long time. It wasn’t just that Nate had a good relationship with a kind father, either. No, for her, it was the fond way he talked about his parents’ businesses, never finding fault with their choices, and instead, simply deciding their paths weren’t the ones he wanted to go down, and so he’d made his own.

  It was… well, it was sweet.

  “I never knew you were such a romantic,” Kendra said as they clip-clopped down the road, Ten looking very proud as he led the way.

  “I’m not.”

  “You don’t see this courting-buggy-picnic as romantic?”

  Nate chuckled. “I do, but that’s not who I am. I mean, I’m usually not this way,” he corrected, the words tumbling over each other. “I mean, I don’t do things like this.”

  If he didn’t… wh
y did he do it for her? “Well, for someone who doesn’t do things like this, I think you’re doing a gut job. I’m going to give you an A plus.”

  “That high a score?”

  “Oh, jah. I’m impressed.”

  “Kendra, you are impressed too easily.” Nate did look pleased with her praise, though.

  Watching him guide Ten to a stop at an intersection, Kendra noticed him smile. “You are a good driver, Nate. Though I must say I don’t recall you driving a horse and buggy much.”

  “That’s probably because I don’t care for it.” His face went slack. “I mean, I like this, a ride in a courting buggy, with nothing to do but enjoy the evening and such. This, I like. But hitching it up to run errands or get to church? Guiding Ten along the highway in the traffic? It’s not my favorite thing to do at all.”

  “I don’t think it’s anyone’s favorite thing.” There were far too many obstacles out of their control when driving a horse on a busy road.

  “I reckon you’re right.” After a pause, he said, “I don’t recall your parents driving a horse and buggy when we were younger.”

  “That’s because they didn’t. We couldn’t afford to keep a horse. The feed and upkeep was too expensive, let alone the cost of a buggy. We walked everywhere.” She still had never driven a buggy.

  “My parents like to take the buggy, but I’ve been more of a bicycle man myself.”

  She leaned against the hard back of the bench seat, liking the feel of him next to her. “I guess this evening is a bit of a novelty for both of us, then.”

  “I think so. I’m glad for it, too. It puts us on more even ground.”

  Though she was trying hard not to be sensitive, the comment stung. “Because you have so much and I don’t?”

  “What?” His hazel eyes widened. “Nee.” He shook his head. “Honestly, Kendra. First of all, even if I thought it, I would never say such a thing. I hope one day you’ll learn to think better of me.” He turned his head to meet her eyes. “But I don’t, okay? I was meaning the opposite.”

  “Okay…” She didn’t want to fish for compliments, but she couldn’t see what he was referring to.

  “Look at all you’ve accomplished on your own! You got schooling. You are taking care of your sister. You are starting your own business. You were even able to buy a house.”

  “Well, the bank helped with that. But thank you. I… I guess I’ve been so intent on reaching my goals and simply existing that I hadn’t ever thought to look at my life through another person’s eyes. You made me feel good.”

  “I’m glad, but you are far too hard on yourself. I guess I’ll need to make it my job to remind you how special you are,” he murmured as he directed Ten to the edge of a meadow. There was a pond nearby and a couple of trees that were bright with fall foliage.

  “This place is shay—so beautiful. I can’t believe I’ve lived here all my life and never knew such a place existed.”

  “That’s likely because it’s private property. It’s my uncle’s land.”

  “The hardware store uncle?”

  “None other. Anyone in the family can use it. My mother told me once that Uncle Marvin saved the land, hoping he would have kinner who would want to live here one day. But he and Aunt Josie were never blessed with children.”

  “That’s sad.”

  He nodded. “I’ve always thought so, too. But today, his loss is our gain, because it’s a mighty nice place to have a picnic. Ain’t so?”

  “I couldn’t think of anyplace better.”

  Nate parked the buggy under an old maple tree. After they got out, he handed her the quilt he’d asked her to bring. “Go find us a gut spot while I take care of Ten.”

  “Do you have a favorite place where you like to sit?”

  He scanned the area. “I like off to the side myself. But I ain’t picky. If there’s a spot that suits your fancy, just let me know.”

  Walking toward a patch of oak trees, Kendra looked down at the hem of her dress. It was gliding along the tops of the grass. Underneath, her flats peeked out. Sometimes the grass would tickle the tops of her feet, making her smile. Such a little thing, but it lifted her spirits even higher. She knew that days, even weeks, from now she would remember the feel of the cool grass brushing her skin as she walked toward the edge of the field to have a picnic with Nate.

  Perhaps years from today, she would remember it as the first of many picnics together.

  * * *

  This spur-of-the-moment date was going well. Nate knew it, from the way Kendra was smiling to the way she had arranged their food on the blanket to the way he’d noticed her blush when he’d given her a compliment. Kendra was enjoying their first “real” date very much.

  Now, all they had to do was keep things nice and easy. He needed to avoid her past and any mention of her parents. And no matter what, he had to stop thinking about kissing her.

  He wasn’t even sure where that notion had come from. Though he was no saint, he wasn’t exactly the type of man who went around kissing women. Actually, he’d only kissed two other women, and one of them had been eight years old to his nine. That kiss had been filled with giggles and a sense of danger, and as soon as they’d kinda sorta pressed their lips together for all of two seconds, they’d run back to their friends.

  His second kiss had been when he was far older. He thought he was in love and had been filled with all the nervous energy a teenager could have. He’d second-guessed everything, from his sweaty palms to his fear of bumping her nose to worrying about bad breath. Kissing Sally had been sweet, but it had also been apparent that there wasn’t a spark between them. They’d broken up soon after.

  But now? Well, all he could think of was holding Kendra close and showing her how much he liked her. However, if he did that, Nate was fairly sure Kendra would either push him away or be offended.

  “What’s got you thinking so hard? You look like you’re trying to solve all the world’s problems,” she murmured.

  Kendra was lying on her side. Her head was propped up on her hand, a position he always thought looked comfortable but never actually seemed to be.

  “I was just thinking about the way you’re lying down.”

  “Oh?” Immediately, she moved to sit up.

  “No, don’t do that. I like seeing you that way.”

  “You do? Why?”

  Because she looked especially pretty like that. “I was just thinking what an uncomfortable position that is for me.”

  Her brow wrinkled. “So you like seeing me in an uncomfortable position?”

  “That’s not exactly what I was thinking.” He cleared his throat. “But it’s part of it.”

  “Nate, what are you trying to say?”

  “I don’t think you want to know.” He hoped she kept it at that. He was a miserable liar.

  “I think I do.” She sat up slowly and circled her arms protectively around her knees, like she was shielding herself from more hurtful words from him.

  He paused, hating to make himself so vulnerable, but then the expression on her face, so wary, made him decide that pride was overrated. “All right. The truth is that I was thinking just now that you looked really pretty and that I wanted to kiss you.”

  “That is what you were afraid to mention?”

  He couldn’t tell if she was amused or offended. “Jah. Don’t be bays.”

  She didn’t look mad. Actually, her brown eyes shined with humor. “Why didn’t you want to tell me that you wanted to kiss me?” she whispered.

  This was turning into one of the most humiliating conversations of his life. “I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t want you to think my intentions toward you weren’t pure.”

  “Ah.” She looked away.

  Which told him nothing. “I don’t know what you’re thinking now.”

  When she met his gaze again, her expression was light and, perhaps, carefully controlled? “This time, I think you’re the one who needs to be kept in the dark.”
/>   “And I think I really need to know, because I’m afraid I’ve just gone and ruined everything.”

  “Nate, you planned a picnic, arranged for the food, took me out in a courting buggy, and have been nothing but kind and amusing. It’s been one of the nicest evenings of my life. You couldn’t ruin a thing about it.” After a pause, she smiled. “Not even if you went and kissed me.”

  His stomach dropped. He might have been nervous, but he was old enough to know a shy invitation when it was given. He scooted closer. “In that case…” He leaned close and carefully brushed his lips against hers.

  To his surprise, she raised a hand to his shoulder and kissed him back.

  He sat back and smiled at her. No, grinned.

  Kendra raised her eyebrows. “What is that for?”

  “I, well, I was just thinking that this went a whole lot better than when I was nine and sixteen.”

  Kendra pressed a hand to her face and giggled softly. “Well, you are older. I believe that experience does make some things better.”

  “Indeed it does.” He held up a hand. “Look at this. Why, mei hannt is not sweaty at all. By the time I’m thirty, I might even get real good at this kissing thing.”

  “I reckon you might be a pro well before you get that old.”

  “Do you really think so?” He raised a brow.

  “Oh, jah. I’m not an expert by any means, but I think it only takes practice, you know?”

  Looking pleased, he grinned. “I reckon so.” He figured that was all the encouragement he needed to lean closer and kiss her again.

  TWENTY–THREE

  “Next thing I knew, I was sitting outside in the sun, drinking pop, eating an enormous BLT, and listening to Andy talk about you.”

  TUESDAY EVENING

  Naomi thought everything about the cozy restaurant was perfect. She liked the beautiful pink and green tablecloths adorning each table. Liked how one wall was completely made up of books. Liked how the servers were wearing simple blue T-shirts and jeans with white aprons. Really liked the big bowl of broccoli cheese soup she’d ordered. But what she liked the most was that she was with her brother Chris. He always had a hug and supportive words for her.