Huckleberry Summer (Huckleberry Hill)

by Jennifer Beckstrand

  Aden shook his head.

  “I’d sell you all the manure you want.”

  Aden kept shaking his head. Even if it were the best plot of land in Bonduel, he couldn’t settle down here. He wasn’t strong enough to be reminded of his loss every time he and Lily crossed paths.

  Tyler’s offer only served to make him feel worse, another painful reminder of how deserving Tyler was and how unworthy Aden remained.

  Pilot finally made an appearance. He bounded out of the thicket, romped to Aden’s side, and planted his paws on Aden’s chest. Aden ruffled Pilot’s ears and nudged him back to the ground. He took a step in the direction of the trail, signaling the end of the conversation. “So when do you think they’ll actually do it?”

  “The bann? Tomorrow, like as not.”

  “Then you have less than twenty-four hours to be my friend.”

  “I will always be your friend.”

  Aden shrugged off Tyler’s declaration. “Come have supper. I’m sure Mammi won’t mind.”

  He and Tyler couldn’t be friends ever again. Tyler planned to marry Aden’s girl. It kind of put a damper on things.

  It was a good possibility that Estee’s displeasure had something to do with the announcement of Aden’s shunning at church today.

  Estee didn’t utter a word all the way home. She ignored Lily’s pointed questions as if she were deaf and turned her face away from Lily as if she were invisible. Tension between them crackled, making the buggy seem small and cramped. Lily rejoiced when Dat finally pulled into the driveway.

  The four of them trudged into the house, and Estee wasted no time in marching up the stairs and slamming the bedroom door behind her.

  But why was Estee so upset? Lily was the one who’d been arrested. Lily was the one who’d been humiliated and embarrassed by Aden Helmuth’s recklessness. She had forced herself to go to gmay today even though it meant being in Aden’s presence while he stared pitifully at her from across the room. Did Estee have no sympathy for what Lily had gone through?

  She followed her sister up the stairs, if only to be certain that Estee bore her no ill will. Of course Estee liked Aden, but her first duty should be toward her own flesh and blood.

  Lily tiptoed into her room, in case any extra noise would further provoke Estee. Estee stood at the window, looking out at the cows in the pasture. She didn’t even turn her head when Lily entered.

  “You are extra quiet today,” Lily said, sitting on her bed and smoothing the quilt with a casual brush of her hand.

  Estee pursed her lips and stared faithfully out the window.

  “Floyd had a new hat,” Lily persisted. “What happened to his old one?”

  Estee remained steadfast, like a scholar with her attention riveted to the teacher.

  Lily swallowed hard. She had suffered enough. Couldn’t Estee show her a little kindness? “I truly enjoyed the sermon today,” she said, unable to think of anything else to draw Estee out and ready to give up trying.

  Estee snapped her head around to glare at Lily. “I didn’t hear a word of it. The hypocrisy in the room shouted so loudly, I couldn’t hear the preacher.”

  “What hypocrisy?”

  “You’re oozing with it, Lily.”

  Lily’s mouth dropped open. “You don’t think I should have been shunned, do you? It’s not my fault I got arrested. Aden lured me in.”

  “How very convenient to lay all the blame at Aden’s feet so Dat wouldn’t be cross with you.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Did you make it clear to Dat that you demanded that Aden take you with him that night? Aden has been so kind to us, but he got Dat’s wrath because you were too chicken to own up to it. It’s pathetic, Lily.”

  Lily fiercely blinked back the tears. “I didn’t know the police would come.”

  “Yes,” said Estee, throwing up her hands. “You are innocent of all wrongdoing, and Aden is so wicked.”

  “You weren’t there, Estee. You have no idea what it’s like to see your companions attacked, knowing you might be next. Or to escape from the house with nowhere to escape to. There is nothing more terrifying than being yanked into a pair of handcuffs and shoved into a police car.” She couldn’t keep her voice from shaking. “How dare you judge me?”

  Softening her gaze, Estee sat next to Lily on the bed and slowly slid an arm around her shoulders. “It must have been horrible for both of you.”

  “Don’t you care how I feel?”

  Estee sighed. “I care. You’re my sister. I love you.”

  “More than you love Aden?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then why do you defend him and attack me?”

  “I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings, Lily. I always say what I think, and Aden doesn’t deserve to be shunned. If you had made everything clear to Dat, things wouldn’t have gone this far.”

  “I did make everything clear to Dat. Besides, it was the elders’ decision to shun him, not Dat’s. They saw enough to justify the bann.”

  Estee slumped her shoulders. “I suppose they did.”

  Lily’s voice cracked into a hundred pieces. “Don’t be cross with me, Estee. With everything that’s happened, I don’t think I can bear your contempt.”

  Estee wrapped her arms all the way around Lily and patted her back as if she were calming a crying baby. “Don’t cry, Lily. What’s done is done. I’ll not trouble you again by mentioning it. You are still the kindest girl I know and my favorite sister.”

  “I’m your only sister.”

  “Dry your eyes, and we’ll play Scrabble. You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

  Estee must have really felt remorseful for what she had said. She hated Scrabble. Dear Estee. She wouldn’t stay mad for long. She was too sensible to hold a grudge.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Lily carefully tied the strings of her bonnet under her chin before sliding on her coat and stuffing a handkerchief into her pocket. She didn’t know why she felt so dull today. She loved auctions. This time, a quilt that she had helped stitch would be up for sale. It would be fun to see how much it sold for.

  Really, really fun.

  So why did she feel as stale as a loaf of day-old bread?

  It could be the change of seasons. She had hoped to avoid an autumn sickness, but maybe she was coming down with something. She cleared her throat to see if she sensed a cold coming on. No symptoms that she could tell. She went to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen just in case. It never hurt to take a vitamin C.

  Maybe she needed to go to a gathering. Embarrassed by her arrest, she hadn’t been to one in more than three weeks. But Tyler took her driving almost every day or kept her company at home by playing Scrabble or Life on the Farm.

  Dat sat at the table reading the paper while Mama made him a sandwich.

  “Are you coming to the auction?” Lily asked as she popped a vitamin C into her mouth.

  Dat lowered his paper. “Jah, later.”

  “Do you want us to save you a seat?”

  “Nae. We will find a spot.” Dat seemed to lose interest in reading. “Tell Tyler thank you for the steaks. They were delicious.”

  “I will. He’ll be happy to know you liked them.”

  Dat folded his paper and laid it on the table. “You know, Lily, your mama planted plenty of celery this year.”

  Mama handed Dat his sandwich. “Jah, I did. For Estee, of course, but if there are two weddings, we can buy as much as we need.”

  Dat nodded. “I know you and Tyler have only been dating for a short while, but we would not object if you wanted to marry on the same day as your sister.”

  That knot formed in the pit of Lily’s stomach where it always did when she thought about getting married. But why should it? She was old enough, and Tyler had a gute income. It would please her parents to see her so happily settled. They wouldn’t have to worry about her, and it would save them the trouble of a second wedding a year later. It sounded like a reasonable plan. />
  She stole a chip from Dat’s plate. “The family would like that. They’d only have to come once instead of twice. And the work would certainly be lessened.”

  “A much better plan than those young people who only think of their own convenience when planning a wedding.”

  Lily shrank at the thought. She didn’t want to be one of those selfish girls who demanded the wedding be her way without regard to anybody else’s feelings.

  “There is only one problem with your idea, Dat. The boy must do the asking, and he will only do the asking when he is ready.” Perhaps Tyler didn’t want to get married for another year. Perhaps he didn’t want to marry her at all. This thought cheered her considerably.

  Maybe she wasn’t ready to marry. Maybe thoughts of Aden Helmuth were too fresh in her mind. Maybe she still longed for Babylon and wasn’t ready to contemplate marriage to the kind of boy who would be good for her instead of to the kind of boy she shouldn’t want.

  An unbidden memory sprang to her mind even as she tried to push it down. She thought of Aden’s strong arms around her the day she fell into the pond. He had pulled her out of the water and fussed over her until he was satisfied that she would be all right. She had never felt safer than when he had brushed her cheek with his rough fingers and sent sparks traveling through her entire body.

  Lily drove those thoughts out of her head by balling her hands into fists and biting her lower lip. She’d certainly been hoodwinked, hadn’t she? That dog of his was a health hazard all by himself, not to mention that one time she got arrested. Aden certainly hadn’t protected her then.

  What would life be like married to such a man? Would she lie awake at night, wondering if her husband sat in jail or had drowned in the river? Would he talk her into chaining herself to a tree while her children went hungry?

  No, thank you.

  Tyler Yoder was a more-than-satisfactory replacement for Aden Helmuth. She couldn’t be happier. And if Dat wanted a wedding this winter, then he would get a wedding. Tyler just needed a little encouragement.

  “Tell Tyler to get on the stick,” Dat said. “I’m not getting any younger, you know. I want grandchildren.”

  Lily forced a smile and zipped her coat. “You’ll get grandchildren, Dat.”

  She ambled out the door and stepped onto the porch. A stiff breeze greeted her as she walked across the yard to Tyler’s waiting buggy. Good thing the auction took place indoors. They’d all have frostbite if they had to battle the wind. The first week of October, and it was already shaping up to be a chilly winter.

  With Tyler’s reserved smile greeting her, she climbed into the buggy and snapped the door shut. It did little to block the chill of the breeze.

  She remembered Dat’s encouragement to get a proposal. “Dat says thanks for the steaks. They were delicious.”

  Tyler looked satisfied in his serious way. “I am glad you liked them. I will bring more next week. Maybe I will learn how to make cheese and bring your dat some.”

  “You are smart enough to do anything you set your mind to,” she said.

  “Denki. I am happy that you think so.” They rode without saying much until Tyler took his gaze off the road and lowered his eyes to stare at Lily’s hand resting between them on the bench.

  Lily saw where he looked and didn’t dare move a muscle.

  Tyler inched his hand closer until his fingers touched hers. Still she didn’t move. Would he gather the courage to actually hold her hand?

  Aden seemed to have an abundance of courage when it came to such things. He thought it no trouble to wrap his arms around her and kiss her to heaven. Tenderness and gratitude washed through her. Aden wasn’t afraid to risk everything for a kiss. He liked her that much.

  Tyler finally wrapped his fingers around hers. She communicated her acceptance by lightly squeezing his hand. His lips curled, and he turned his attention back to the road. Lily sat still as a statue, trying to take pleasure in the feel of his hand. She knit her brows together. There didn’t seem to be much of a thrill between them, as when Aden graced her with the slightest touch.

  But Tyler’s regard was a more steady, predictable kind of thing. Aden was like a flash of lightning. He left her breathless with his very presence.

  Lightning was extremely dangerous.

  They sat in awkward silence until they finally arrived at the warehouse where the auction would take place, and by the time he released her hand, her palm was clammy with sweat and her arm felt heavy.

  A blush tinted Tyler’s cheeks as he helped her down from the buggy. “I liked that,” he said.

  Lily merely smiled, the only response he seemed to require.

  The auctioneer’s forceful voice echoed off the high tin ceiling as Tyler and Lily found two empty chairs at the end of a row. “Shall we sit here?” Tyler asked.

  Lily nodded, then sat and folded her arms—not that she feared Tyler would try to hold her hand again, because Tyler would never do anything like that in public. But it never hurt to be cautious.

  The auction was almost exclusively for quilts. Buyers came from all over the state to purchase quilts for gift shops or fabric stores. One buyer Lily knew of sold quilts on the Internet. The bidding proved exciting, especially when two eager ladies drove up the price for a king-sized Double Wedding Ring quilt. Lily loved seeing how much money the auctions brought in.

  She stiffened as she caught site of Aden walking through the crowds that stood to the left and right of the auction block. He stopped to talk to an Englischer Lily didn’t recognize. They shook hands, and Aden’s whole face glowed with happiness as if the Englischer had offered him a free pond aerator.

  It had been three weeks since she had laid eyes on him except at church. Such a long time. The sight of those brilliant green eyes set against his tan face was like seeing her first rainbow. Oh, my, he looked good and so vital, as if life and happiness and love came from him and him alone. Her heart pulled apart as if someone had snatched it like a piece of paper and ripped it over and over until it turned to dust.

  She clamped her eyes shut and took a deep breath. She didn’t want to doubt her fater when he told her that she didn’t love Aden. But if this feeling was an unhealthy fascination with the wrong boy, why did she long for him so? Why could she think on nothing or nobody else?

  Hmm, that did sound unhealthy. Staying up late into the night and being too preoccupied to eat were certainly detrimental to her wellness. She would try to discipline her feelings.

  Not daring to turn her head for a better look, she studied Aden in her peripheral vision as he ambled to the third row of folding chairs and sat down. The two Amish men near him looked doubtfully at each other, stood up, and found seats two rows back. Lily wanted to cry.

  Was this what it meant to shun someone?

  Of course, that was what it meant to Lily’s dat. He refused to even utter Aden’s name. But was this what it meant to the entire district?

  Three Sundays ago, the bishop had made it very clear that the shunning proceeded out of love for the sinner, and that Aden should be treated “carefully” but with kindness. But what did “carefully” mean? Did it mean to refuse to talk to Aden at all? To make him feel isolated from the group while at the same time hoping he would come back?

  It didn’t make sense. Lily had known only one other person in the district who had been shunned several years ago, and he had immediately left the area so they didn’t have to figure out how to treat him.

  Every bit of Lily’s attention focused on that spot in the warehouse where Aden Helmuth sat, all by himself, watching the auction in isolation as if he were a leper. To her knowledge, Tyler hadn’t noticed him.

  Two girls behind her giggled and whispered to each other. They weren’t very good at keeping their voices down. “Oy anyhow, he is so handsome. He said hi to me every Sunday at gmay.”

  “And so nice too. He helped my brother milk his cows when my dat got so sick.”

  “Too bad we can’t talk to him now.”r />
  “We can talk, Elsie. We just can’t go for a ride in his buggy.”

  “I’d go with him if he asked, even with the bann on him.” More giggling.

  “Only three more weeks of shunning, and Mandy says he’s taking instruction classes with the bishop.”

  “Could I make him a cake? I could still shun him and make him a cake, couldn’t I?”

  “Jah, but he only eats vegetables.”

  “Is rhubarb a vegetable? I could make him a rhubarb pie.”

  The incessant giggling almost drove Lily to slap her hands over her ears. Resisting the urge, she attempted to focus on the lovely Hole in the Barn Door quilt held up for auction. Or better yet, she should focus on Tyler. She was supposed to be trying to get a proposal from him.

  Words failed her as she turned to him. With all this talk of vegetarians and shunnings jumbling her brain, her heart wasn’t in it.

  Tyler caught her looking and smiled. He placed his hands on his legs, to be in near proximity to her hands if she decided to unfold them. She didn’t.

  Another quilt sold. Six hundred dollars. Tyler leaned close to her ear. “Do you see your quilt?”

  “It’s not really my quilt. I just helped with it.”

  An hour later, every last quilt had sold. Lily’s arms were stiff from keeping them folded for so long, and her neck ached with the strain of keeping an eye on Aden without looking at him. Why had he come? He had sat all by himself and hadn’t bid on one thing, and the looks and whispers he got from his neighbors would have sent even the most thick-skinned person running for the exit. Of course, Aden wasn’t afraid of anything. He probably hadn’t even noticed how people were looking at him.

  Tyler and Lily stood as men began to put up the chairs, and Lily caught a glimpse of Anna and Felty Helmuth marching purposefully toward her. She hadn’t so much as written a note to them since the disaster at the puppy mill. What must they think of her?