by Tricia Goyer
The woman’s head jerked up. Her mouth circled into an O and her eyes widened. She had a heart-shaped face with dark brows and even darker brown eyes. Pretty lashes blinked once, and then twice, as if she was uncertain if she’d heard him correctly.
“You don’t need pay?” The banker cleared his throat. “Did I hear that correctly?”
“Well, I won’t work for free, but I do a lot of salvage work.” He walked over to some old barstools. They had red-painted seats, and the paint was chipped. “Items like this might be good in your bakery, but there’s a lot of things around here I’m sure you won’t need.”
“It’s a pie shop, not a bakery,” she said. Yet she wasn’t upset. “A whole shop with pies, and pie pans decorating the walls.” She pointed to a wall by the door. “I can even picture a cabinet there holding cookbooks.”
The banker strode forward. There was a hint of excitement on his face too.
Noah extended his hand to the woman. “Ma’am, I’d love to help you. I even have three teens—uh, employees—who can help me.”
Her eyebrows lifted, and she looked skeptical.
“And you’d do it in exchange for the items you can salvage around this place?”
Noah paused before answering, studying the woman’s face. Then he glanced around. There were some great items to be certain, but there was something else too.
His heart had warmed when he’d seen her standing in this room. She was petite in stature, and her dark brown hair was tucked under her kapp, but the way she held herself was different from most Amish women. She stood with her shoulders back, wearing confidence like a cloak. A gentle confidence that made her beautiful. An underdog shouldn’t have confidence like that, and he wondered if she could explain it to him. Oh, Lord, let me have a chance.
“Yes, ma’am,” he said with a firm set of his chin. “My crew will do the work in exchange for the items we can salvage. Unless, of course, there’s a way we can use the items around here. I’ll make sure to put your needs first.”
She turned from Noah to the banker. “Jason, did you hear that? Surely you don’t have any concerns now.”
“Noah Yoder. Wasn’t that what you said your name was?” Remembrance flickered in the man’s eyes. Then his gaze narrowed on Noah, as if he was just realizing who he was.
Noah sighed. Had his reputation marred this man’s opinion too?
“Yes, sir. I’m from Arcola, Illinois.” He placed his hat back on his head. “And I’m willing to answer any questions you have about me.” The hope that buoyed his heart a moment before disappeared, and suddenly the room seemed stuffy.
“I’m not sure that’s needed yet.” The man’s voice softened, and he turned to the woman. “It’s a nice idea, Lovina, but let’s not put the buggy before the horse. Let’s worry about your funding first, shall we? We know where Mr. Yoder lives. Once the money’s secure and the deal is settled we can talk to him then.”
The woman nodded. Noah wanted to state his case and clear his name, but instead he remained silent. He’d tried to prove himself again and again in this community. Why did he think things would change now? Maybe he should just find one more job that would be enough to provide them with fares back to Arcola, and let that be that.
Finally, Noah offered the man a slight smile. “Yes, of course.” He didn’t have the heart to look at the woman, to see the accusations in her gaze too. “Well, like you said, you know where I live.”
He strode out across the creaky floor. The muggy heat hit his face as soon as he opened the door, but it didn’t compare to the burden that weighed down on his shoulders. He took long strides toward the backyard of his uncle’s place. The teens’ laughter carried out through the door, causing his stomach to tighten down in knots.
Noah paused at the door, balling his fists and placing them against the wood. Maybe God should have called another follower to try to help these guys…someone with better credentials. Obviously, he wasn’t going to get anywhere. Not with his past trailing behind him, carrying with it a wake of loss and broken dreams.
Florida Key Lime Pie
½ cup fresh lime juice
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
1½ – 2 cups whipped topping
1 baked pastry pie crust
additional whipped topping
Beat lime juice and milk together. Fold in whipped topping and pour into pie shell. Top with additional whipped topping. Refrigerate before serving.
Six
Experience tells you what to do. Confidence allows you to do it.
AMISH PROVERB
Lovina waited until Jason had strode around the corner, toward the bank, to approach Noah Yoder’s front door. She’d met Roy Yoder at church a few months ago, and he’d mentioned back then that his nephew was coming to town. The older man had a twinkle in his eyes at the time, which often meant he was planning to do some matchmaking. And matchmaking was the last thing she needed. Not when her dream of opening a pie shop was at stake. Because of that she’d steered clear of Mr. Yoder.
Once, when she’d heard Dat mentioning that Roy’s nephew Noah was coming to put in a bid to fix the roof, she’d made sure she was out of the house. Dat had ended up hiring someone else to do the work on the roof, and now Lovina wondered why. Noah seemed kind and helpful. He seemed eager to work. And he was also different from most of the young men Lovina knew. Thinking of that made her smile, and she shuffled her feet on the doormat, getting up the nerve to knock.
Noah Yoder had seen a vision for her bakery. Her heartbeat quickened even now just thinking about it. Jason had been her greatest advocate for the bakery up until now, but he hadn’t caught her vision for the warehouse. After Noah left, she and Jason had talked. He was still willing to help her get a loan, but Jason was also worried that she’d bite off more than she could chew.
As they parted, she and Jason had agreed to meet again once she had a chance to talk to her father about cosigning the loan. That worried her. That’s why she had to talk to Noah before talking to Dat. What Jason didn’t realize was that her dat was a dreamer too. But she needed Noah’s help to capture the dream in a way Dat could understand. Even now she pictured Dat’s notebooks and sketches lying around their old farmhouse. He was always thinking up something he could do around their property. Dat hadn’t been one to sit still for long, until his illness made him do so.
They’d had the most beautiful farm in Walnut Creek. There’d been a pond with a bridge and a tall white windmill that pumped well water through pipes in the cellar to keep it cool. Dat had built a small roadside stand on their property where Hope sold produce from the garden, where Joy sold quilted aprons, and where of course Lovina had sold pies. Lovina smiled wistfully thinking of it now.
Faith, the artist of the group, had drawn Amish scenes. And Grace, who was always the businesswoman, had worked with a local print shop to make postcards.
Of course supply and demand became a problem at times, especially when Faith was working at whatever local restaurant had the most handsome Amish bachelors as customers. Or Grace wasn’t putting in her share of work because she was at the library reading business books hidden behind cookbooks.
At least Hope was committed to providing the best produce available, and Joy had more than enough quilted items to contribute. Then again, if Mem had her way, the garden or the sewing machine—or the kitchen in Lovina’s case—would take up far less of her daughters’ attention. Then again, Faith’s interest in every handsome bachelor who crossed her path hadn’t helped her much, had it?
Yet while their mother’s dreams of each of them getting married and starting a family hadn’t happened, their father’s dreams had become their own—each in their own way. He always listened to their dreams and even shared some of his own. Still, a pie shop was bigger than anything she’d yet to try for. And Lovina knew that she’d need Noah’s help for her father to see that her dreams could be accomplished.
She lifted her hand and knocked three times. A knoc
k on the other side of the door startled her, and she jumped back. Then laughter erupted. It sounded like teen boys messing around. Lovina took another step back and the door swung open. Three young men stood there with wide smiles. They were the teens she’d seen fishing at Phillippi Creek earlier, goofing off. She’d seen them around town too, and they always reminded her of active pups who’d just figured out how to get out of the barn and romp around the farm, getting into all types of mischief.
One of the young men swung his head, moving his long bangs out of his face, and he lifted his eyebrows. “We were wondering how long it was going to take you to knock.” He turned to the smallest of the three teens, who still had his Amish haircut. “And Mose here didn’t think you were going to knock at all.”
“I—I was thinking.” Heat rose to her cheeks and she wondered if this was the work crew Noah had talked about. At the thought, some of the excitement that buoyed in her heart faded.
The third boy, whose hair stood straight up, nodded. “I do that sometimes too.” He smirked.
“All right, boys, mind your manners now.” A voice sounded from behind them, and like Moses walking through the Red Sea, Noah approached and the young men parted.
“Sorry about that.” Noah ran his hand through his hair. “All of them haven’t had an older sister around in a while to tease. I think they decided you’d fit the bill.”
She liked Noah’s easy manner. Liked the way he smiled at her. Liked that he didn’t seem surprised to see her there—he seemed excited even.
A sweet, buttery aroma filled her nostrils. She sniffed the air, wondering if that was caramel popcorn she smelled. Her stomach rumbled, and she realized she hadn’t eaten anything since that slice of toast and the strawberries at breakfast, and now it was past lunch.
“Um, I just wanted to thank you for doing what you did.” She tried to ignore the teens, the delicious smell, and instead just focus on Noah.
“You want to thank me for intruding on your, uh, meeting? I should have waited.”
Lovina crossed her arms over her chest. “No, I want to thank you for getting excited about the pie shop.” She opened her mouth to say more. To talk about her ideas for the warehouse, but then she changed her mind. She decided to focus on the most important part. She needed Noah’s help.
“I was wondering if we could talk. I could tell you had some ideas for the warehouse.” She decided to just be honest, and continued. “I’m going to need my dat’s financial help, and it’s hard to explain my ideas…”
Noah rubbed his jaw and his smile grew. “Would it be easier if I drew up some plans? You’d tell me what your thoughts were, of course.”
Oh heavens, why did Mr. Yoder have to look at her like that? His eyes were warm and kind. The soft smile on his lips made her heart leap within. Instead she squared her shoulders and told herself to concentrate on the task at hand. Noah was offering a great gift—his faith in her and help. He wasn’t asking her out on a date, and she needed to remind her heart of that, no matter how it was dancing in her chest.
“Plans? You can do that?” She clasped her hands together and tucked them under her chin. “That would be wonderful.” Wonderful didn’t quite sum it up, but how could she ever explain how much this meant?
The teens seemed bored by the conversation, and they wandered back into the living room where a gaming system was hooked up to a television. She tried not to smile seeing that. What happens in Pinecraft, stays in Pinecraft, she’d always heard.
“Do you have some time—this afternoon maybe—for me to ask you a few questions?” Noah asked. One of the teens on the couch turned, as if suddenly interested again. Lovina couldn’t help but smile.
Even though they pretended to be playing their video games the teens were listening to their every word as they munched on something from large bowls. It had to be caramel popcorn. Homemade. Had one of their mems given them the recipe or had a local friend made it for them?
“Ja, I can do that.” She turned her attention back to Noah, trying to ignore the aroma of her favorite snack—besides pie, of course.
She couldn’t think of anything else that she needed to do that afternoon. She wouldn’t be able to concentrate on anything else anyway. She’d given up the idea of baking pies hours ago. Of course she’d want to meet with Noah.
Outside, the air was already heating up. She thought about inviting Noah to her parents’ house, but she didn’t want her parents to overhear. And she wanted to think through her plans before sharing them.
But from the attention she and Noah were still getting from the teens, they’d never be able to talk freely here either.
Noah must have read her thoughts. “How about we meet at Big Olaf’s to talk? A warm day like this is always a good day for ice cream.”
“I love Big Olaf’s.” The words came out too hurried, and heat rose to Lovina’s cheeks. “I have a few things to do around home yet.” She didn’t really have much to do, but she needed some space to regroup and clear her head. Noah’s gaze had a way of pulling her in.
“In an hour then? I have to get these guys working on a deconstruction project.” His eyebrows lifted in hopeful anticipation, and warm eyes peered down on her. A moan sounded from the guys behind him at the mention of work, but that only caused Noah’s smile to brighten even more.
His face was tan and handsome. His eyes were a light bluish green, like the color of the ocean at dawn. He smiled, and she quickly looked away. He no doubt was used to getting attention from Amish women—Englischers too.
“Yes, that will work. See you then.”
Lovina hurried down the sidewalk and hurriedly walked down the road to her house. She crossed her arms over her chest, chiding herself for just lying to Noah. Why had she told him she had something to do at home? It was the way he looked at her, for starters. It was almost as if he could peer into her soul. And that smile. She blew out a big breath just thinking about it. Surely someone like Noah Yoder already had a girl he was courting.
“Lovina!” He called her name, and she turned. Instead of standing in the doorway Noah was walking toward her, pushing her bike. “You forgot something!”
She placed a hand on her cheeks, knowing for certain she’d lost her mind. She turned completely around and then watched in surprise as Noah jumped onto her bike and pedaled toward her.
The sight of the tall, muscular man riding the light blue bicycle with the white basket in front tickled her funny bone. Laughter poured from her lips, and Noah sat straighter, taking on a serious look, as if he was offended by her laughter.
He pulled up beside her and climbed off. He nodded toward the seat. “There, I warmed it up for you.”
“Oh my heavens, I would have given anything for a photographer to have snapped a shot of that. It would have made the cover of an Amish calendar for certain.”
“Anything to see you smile again,” Noah said, and then his smile fell. “I’m sorry Lovina, that wasn’t a very businesslike thing to say.”
“No, but it was a friendly thing to say.” Lovina took the handle bars from him, and then sat on the seat, resting her toes on the asphalt. “Thank you so much for reminding me that I rode today. Like my mother always says, I have my head in the clouds most of the time.”
“Or in the pie shop,” he said with all seriousness.
“Yes, that is exactly right.”
“See you in an hour then!” He turned and headed back to his house, and as she rode away she wondered what she could find to do at home so she wouldn’t be lying to him. Maybe if Grace was around she could also get her opinion about Noah’s offer. She was the one with the most business sense. Even as a young girl Grace had organized the local children to deliver farm-fresh eggs to neighbors on the way to school—with their parents’ blessing. The neighbors had fresh eggs every morning, and Grace’s friends had a little bit of spending money, which was usually unheard of in Amish homes.
“Lovina!”
Noah’s voice called out to her. She
stopped pedaling and paused her bike, looking back over her shoulder. Noah rode toward her on a bike of his own. She paused and waited for him, and he rode up and stopped next to her.
He took a deep breath, winded from trying to catch up. “Whew, I just wanted to tell you that if you have any pictures of what you’d like, make sure to bring them.”
“You chased me down to tell me that?” She searched his handsome face, wondering why she’d been dodging him all these months. Glad that she no longer was. Glad he was chasing her down.
He nodded. “Ja.”
“Danke,” she returned. “I will.” Then she rode off, feeling his eyes upon her as she did, and not minding one bit.
Lovina thought of her notebook she kept hidden away. In the four years she’d been clipping photos from magazines and gluing them into the notebook she’d never shared it with a soul—not even her sisters. It felt intimate, in a way, thinking of sharing the notebook with Noah. Would he think her ideas too fancy? Would he really be able to bring her ideas to life…or was there some catch?
From the look on his face a moment before it didn’t seem that he had any self-interest at all, that he was just wanting to help her. Of course she knew he’d make money from the things in her warehouse, maybe more than she could guess, but even then it didn’t seem as if that was his first intention. Noah didn’t seem the type of person to be weighed down by the worries of money. Besides, it delighted her that her warehouse could benefit them both.
A bird called from overhead, and Lovina chuckled to herself. Listen to her. She was already calling it her warehouse. She was far from making that happen. But for some reason the fact that Noah believed in her dream made Lovina believe it herself.
And as she parked her bicycle in the carport Lovina made a decision. She would share her notebook with Noah. She would offer that piece of her heart. In a strange way she trusted him to protect it.
The warm breeze blew, and she felt a gentle peace inside that she hadn’t felt in a while. Could this be why she’d felt such urgency this morning? Was it in God’s plan for her to find the warehouse and meet Noah?