by Naomi King
“Ruthie wants me to come right over,” Beth Ann insisted. “She says her sisters and their friends are making plans to paint the Bontrager house next Saturday, and I think she feels left out—and worried about her dat being the new preacher.”
Rosemary’s emotions welled up at the thought of how many wonderful things their new neighbors were doing to welcome them. “No reason you girls can’t do your visiting,” she replied. “Abby will let you know about your surprise when she’s ready, and meanwhile you can share Ruthie’s concerns. She’s made you feel a lot better about leaving your friends, ain’t so?”
“Jah, she has.” Beth Ann glanced up as Ruthie rose from the table, waving across the crowd. “So, do you know what Abby’s got for me? Will you come to the house to see it?”
Rosemary smiled slyly. “Jah.”
Beth Ann blinked, expecting more of a response. “And you’re not going to tell me what it is?”
Rosemary spooned up a bite of butterscotch pie for her daughter. “Nope.”
With a playful swat on Rosemary’s shoulder, Beth Ann took off down the narrow aisle between the tables. Rosemary shifted to face Aunt Lois, who sat beside her. “It’s gut to see her laughing. She had a rough time on her last day of school in Queen City.”
“And how’re you doing, concerning the move to Cedar Creek, Rosemary? A while back I had the idea you weren’t real excited about coming.” Joe’s aunt leaned closer to smooth the loose wisps of Katie’s hair. “We all would’ve understood, had you decided to stay near your mamm and Malinda.”
Lois’s face was creased with crow’s-feet at her eyes and smile lines that framed her lips like parentheses. What a busy woman she was, putting in six mornings a week at her bakery while running Ezra’s household and tending the huge gardens around his pallet-making factory. And what a kind woman Joe’s aunt was, too, to express concern about how she and Beth Ann were handling such a major change. “I can’t explain it, exactly,” Rosemary replied, “but while I was quilting at Barbara’s the other day, I felt like I already fit in. And mostly I realized how long it’s been since I had fun.”
“Jah, we’ve got a fun bunch around here, for the most part.”
“And when Titus told me he’d found a buyer for his farm—and my land, should I care to sell it—you know what?” Rosemary tingled with the anticipation of sharing her decision. “With some of the money I get from that sale, I plan to order a really gut cookstove from Lehman’s, along with an extra oven for making pies! I’m going to start up my own business, helping you and whoever else will buy what I bake.”
Aunt Lois grabbed her in a hug, making Katie coo between them. “Oh, Rosemary, that’s such gut news! I can cut back on my hours and get off my feet more. And it’s just as well you’re already shoppin’, too,” she added, “on account of how the Bontragers loaded up their cookstove and the fridge and freezers and took them away with them. You’ll have to buy appliances one way or the other, so it might as well be you choosing them instead of Titus.”
Rosemary’s eyes widened. “They’ve moved out already? I can’t imagine how Salome got everything packed up—”
“We neighbor gals held a packin’ frolic there last week. You’re about to find out how everybody here pitches in on the hard work and has a gut time while they’re at it.” Lois hugged her again, laughing out loud. “Jah, Sam can order anything you want from Lehman’s through the mercantile and Jonny Ropp’s just the fella you want puttin’ those appliances together for you, too. I can’t tell you how wonderful-gut this makes me feel, Rosemary. Like a burden’s been lifted—off my poor old feet, mostly.”
Rosemary basked in the glow of Aunt Lois’s words. It felt good to share her dream with someone who understood it. And didn’t it brighten this solemn day with the promise of a new beginning for herself and a lighter load for Joe’s aunt? “Let’s hope Titus doesn’t feel like I’m overstepping by setting up the kitchen the way I want it,” she murmured.
“Puh! You leave Titus to Ezra and me. We’ll be sure he appreciates the fact that you’re still willing to keep house for him.”
Rosemary allowed herself a moment to enjoy the way another piece or two of her future had fallen into place. She wrapped her arm more securely around Katie and scooted her chair back. “I think I’ll see how Beth Ann’s doing at waiting for her present from Abby.”
“Turning thirteen, is she?” Aunt Lois shook her head. “Couldn’t hardly believe how the time’s been passin’ when Barbara mentioned Beth Ann’s birthday while we were sewin’ up that quilt. It turned out especially pretty, too.”
As Lois wiggled her fingers to get Katie to wave back, Rosemary passed sideways between the backs of peoples’ chairs. She chuckled when Katie kept right on waving at several of the gals she recognized from her previous visits. As Rosemary stepped out of James’s shop into the fresh air, she felt happy all over—so good, she simply stood for a moment with her eyes closed and her face raised to the sun. It seemed that so many opportunities were presenting themselves now that she’d decided to take her future in hand. She could even envision herself in new dresses of various colors…
Katie began to wiggle and laugh, a sure sign someone was approaching.
“It’s gut to see you looking so pleased and peaceful, Rosemary,” Matt said as his footsteps crunched in the gravel behind her. “Wish I felt that way myself right now.”
“Puppies! Play with the puppies!”
Rosemary hugged her squirming toddler, saying a quick prayer that she would respond to Matt with words that moved them both forward, where God would have them go. She turned to greet him—and then released Katie as she leaped into his open arms. “You hit the nail on the head, far as how things are going for me,” she said. “All of a sudden, Cedar Creek feels like my new home. I’ll be baking for Aunt Lois and…”
The hopeful, joyful expression on Matt’s face warned her to tread carefully. He looked delighted to be holding Katie, who clapped her hands on both sides of his face and then kissed his nose, a sight that tugged at Rosemary’s heart. But she couldn’t let the emotions of the moment determine her future. “Maybe I overreacted to that car giving us such a scare the other—”
“That was careless of me to forget about the lights,” he insisted, holding Katie aside so he could focus on Rosemary. “And I’m sorry if calling you so many times made Titus grouchy with you. I—I was just hoping I hadn’t lost my chance to see you again, Rosemary. To court you.”
She felt lighter now that they’d both apologized. But she had more to say, and she couldn’t allow Matt’s dazzling smile to divert her. “I know a lot of changes are coming for your family now, Matt. Just as they are for mine,” she said. “I hope you’ll understand that I want to be myself for a while. Not a man’s widow and not another fellow’s wife.”
“Ah. So that’s to be the way of it, then?” Matt closed his eyes to think while Katie toyed with his shirt collar.
“Maybe that sounds odd to you,” Rosemary continued. “But today, for the first time since Joe died, I feel…like me again. Open to new opportunities. Ready to see this move as an adventure rather than a problem to be overcome.”
His lips twitched. “Maybe I should look at Dat’s new job the same way,” he remarked. “Could be that an adventurous woman will help us all see our new challenges in a fresh light.”
Rosemary considered this as she headed toward the road and the tall white farmhouse on Lambright Lane. It pleased her that Matt hadn’t dismissed her need for more time to adjust. “Do you suppose we could take a look inside the Bontrager house after I see if Beth Ann’s opened her birthday present? It would help me think about what to bring from Titus’s house, or what I might try to talk him into selling off. He and his wife tended to stick stuff away—”
“And now’s the perfect time to unload some earthly possessions, ain’t so? Especially since they’re not your possessions.”
Rosemary laughed as Matt fell into step beside her. “That’s a wonderful-
gut way to put it. With all due respect to Alma—”
“She had her ways, and they’re not your ways. Just like Titus isn’t your husband.” Matt swung Katie up over his head, shaking her to make her laugh out loud. “And while Titus has gotten used to you running his house, it won’t be that way forever. Ain’t so?”
There was no missing his meaning as he looked at her. “True enough. But meanwhile I’m going to set up my business in his kitchen,” she reiterated as they strolled up the lane to Matt’s home. “So if you convince Titus to go along with these ideas when you’re talking to him, the move will be easier for all of us. Even though the kitchen’s not his territory, he’ll be more inclined to listen to you, as another man.”
“And then you, as a woman, would be more inclined to listen to me.”
Oh, but this fellow had a smooth tongue in his head! And yet, as they stepped onto the Lambrights’ front porch, Rosemary realized that Matt’s attention felt totally different from the way Joe had treated her. Her husband had loved her and provided well for her, but he’d kept his thoughts to himself, mostly. Joe hadn’t been one to discuss her dreams and ideas, while Matt seemed to be taking them in stride—even if it meant putting his own hopes on hold.
As Matt held the door open, Rosemary paused so her words would be for him alone. “Thank you for understanding what I need,” she murmured.
He set Katie on the kitchen floor, and as she toddled toward where Beth Ann, Ruthie, and Abby sat at the table, he placed his hands lightly on Rosemary’s shoulders. “You, Rosemary, are exactly what I need,” he whispered. He looked ready to kiss her, but then nodded toward the ladies at the table, silently promising her his affection when they could be alone.
Girlish laughter filled the kitchen. “Shall we go to another room?” Ruthie teased. “Easy to see what you’ve got on your mind, Matt!”
“Isn’t that what courting buggies are for?” Beth Ann piped up, but then her face flushed. “I mean, we’re having an early birthday party here, and you two are welcome to join us!”
Rosemary raised an eyebrow, as her mother had done when she and Malinda had smarted off. “Someone here is sounding very—thirteen,” she teased as she approached a table littered with wrapping paper. She winked at Abby. “But then, some days the rest of us wouldn’t mind being that age again. What have you got here, young lady?”
Beth Ann sprang from her chair and grabbed the corner of a twin-sized quilt while Ruthie took hold of the opposite side. “Isn’t this the most wonderful-gut comforter you ever saw, Rosemary?” she gushed, gesturing at the crisp, fresh Friendship Star design. “And look at these colors! I can’t wait to move into my new room—and Abby was just saying that, as gut as I can sew, she wants me to help with some of her Stitch in Time orders so she can spend more time managing the mercantile.”
Abby nodded, her face alight. “Best idea I’ve had for a long time, too. Gail and Phoebe have already agreed to work at the store now instead of in Lois’s bakery. They’re experienced at shelf stocking and they’ve helped with the ordering, so the place will be in a lot of gut hands when Sam can’t be there.”
“And what do you know about that?” Rosemary felt a rush of goose bumps, a sure sign that everything was working out in a marvelous, mysterious way none of them could have planned. “I just told Aunt Lois I’m buying a new cookstove and a new oven so I can help with her baking. So everybody’s jobs are covered—”
“Because it was meant to be!” Ruthie crowed. “I knew it from the moment I first met Beth Ann at Zanna’s wedding. Life is a mighty happy place, you know it?”
Rosemary felt caught up in the gladness that filled this kitchen. She hoped the girls’ happy attitude would carry over. Once the rest of the Lambrights returned from visiting over at the Grabers’, the realities of Sam’s new preaching responsibilities would sink in. She glanced at Matt and was momentarily stunned by the intensity of his smile.
“Couldn’t have said that any better myself, Ruthie,” he remarked. “Anybody want to join me for a look inside the new Yutzy homeplace?”
Chapter 23
Matt matched his stride to Katie’s as she toddled between him and her mamm. Was it his imagination, or did the grass shine with a brighter green now? Did his ewes look fluffier, clustered out there with their lambs in the pasture? And wasn’t it a fine sensation, crossing the road and feeling like a family? His pulse thrummed as he held the tiny hand of the little blonde in braids, who beamed up at him with such trust—such love—that for a moment he couldn’t speak.
Beth Ann and Ruthie raced ahead toward the house the Bontragers had vacated. Matt knew that any words he might speak to Rosemary as they explored their new home wouldn’t remain private in rooms that echoed with the emptiness of bare hardwood floors.
“Rosemary, look! The paint’s here, along with the rollers and ladders,” Beth Ann called out. She opened her arms. “Katie, come see your new house! Help me pick out my room.”
Katie hurried toward her aunt and then the three girls disappeared inside. Matt held the door for Rosemary, watching her reactions so he could gauge the details that didn’t suit her. While this was Titus’s house, and he would have the final say on who would have which rooms, Matt intended to influence his new partner’s thinking. Titus was much better at raising sheep than he was at housekeeping; he would choose options that seemed easiest for him rather than asking Rosemary for her opinions.
Rosemary gazed around the front room. “Jah, now that I’m standing in it, this front room’s bigger than what we’ve had…Titus’s couch and recliner would fit on this side, and we could put the table his dat made there by the picture window,” she remarked in a faraway voice. As she looked at the paint Owen Coblentz had brought, rapid footsteps thundered above them. “Looks like we’ve got antique ivory, some white enamel, and a can or two of pale butter,” she said. “Beth Ann will want that yellow for her room, no doubt. It would look nice in the kitchen, too. Who do we pay for this paint, by the way?”
“Rosemary.”
She straightened to look directly at Matt. The sparkle in her green eyes told him she’d been stalling…fully aware that with the girls upstairs, they had a few moments alone.
“Matt.” She clasped her hands in front of her. Even in her black dress and apron, Rosemary had a new radiance about her today.
He closed the space between them, his pulse thundering. Did he dare kiss her a third time? With his hands on either side of her face, Matt lowered his lips to hers. She accepted his kiss, tentatively at first, and then with a sweetness that made the concerns of the day melt away. He savored the pleasure of having Rosemary all to himself, focused on giving and receiving affection. While his parents obviously loved each other, he’d never witnessed more than the occasional squeeze of a shoulder or the way they sat close together on the porch swing…so he relied on instinct. As Matt kissed her again, he hoped Rosemary would find him as desirable as Joe—
No, better than Joe! She’s with me now.
She eased away. “Got quiet upstairs,” she whispered.
Matt nodded, clearing his throat. “Like I’ve told Titus, I’ll help you folks bring the sheep and furniture over here whenever you’re ready,” he said in a loud, purposeful voice. “So what’ve you got in mind for your kitchen? What with getting a new stove plus an oven, we might need to ask Amos to make a few adjustments.”
“Did the Bontragers have gas? Or did Salome cook with wood?” Rosemary asked as she preceded him into the kitchen.
Matt was no expert, but this room looked the worse for wear…dingy compared to his mamm’s kitchen. “Well—there’s a gas pipe where the fridge would’ve been and another one here for the cookstove. So if all you need’s a hookup for an oven, it would be pretty easy for Jonny Ropp to run you a new line.”
“Jah, Aunt Lois said he was the man for this job. I’ll check my Lehman’s catalog and call my order in to Sam tomorrow.” Rosemary’s eyes glimmered. “Do you know how nice it’ll be to have all ne
w appliances, Matt? And with a fresh coat of white enamel, these old cabinets will sparkle!”
His heart skipped in his chest. If Rosemary was happy, he was, too. Above them, his sister’s giggles rang out and Beth Ann’s joined in as their footsteps clattered in the hallway. While he’d grown up with three younger girls in the house, Phoebe and Gail were out of school and worked most days—and they were beyond the giggling stage now—so Ruthie led a pretty quiet life when she got home from school. It was good to hear her laughing. This house felt homier already, just having the girls spreading their sunshine upstairs.
And Rosemary—she makes it feel like a home, too. What man wouldn’t want her in his kitchen…in his life? Matt had a quick vision of a long table where he sat at the head with Rosemary at his left while kids of various ages filled the chairs along each side. He could almost smell ham and redeye gravy served up with fresh biscuits…
But this wasn’t his house. It belonged to Titus Yutzy.
Matt caught Rosemary watching him. Had she guessed at the pictures in his mind? Did he dare ask his dat if he could build a home down the blacktop a ways, on their property? Most young couples lived with the bride’s parents until they could afford a house, but with Rosemary’s mamm living in Queen City that would hardly be his case.
Since Rosemary had been married before, maybe she didn’t want to live with his family until he could have a place built. He wasn’t too keen on it himself. What with his grandmother staying in the dawdi haus and his parents and three sisters sleeping down the hall from his room, all of them sharing the one large bathroom, he and his new wife would have no privacy whatsoever.
“What’re you thinking about, the way you’re frowning, Matt?”
He stuffed his thumbs under his suspenders. Would Rosemary think he was jumping the gun if he asked her preferences in a house? Or, if he had Amos Coblentz draw up some floor plans, would she think he was a good provider, a man who planned ahead for his family? “Truth be told, I—”