“Naomi?” He licked his lips. “You all right?”
What an absurd question. Of course, she was all right. She frowned and wondered what he was getting at.
“Marcy’s leaving.”
“What?” Relief roared through her.
“Marcy’s leaving.”
“Why are you the one telling me?”
“She asked me to.”
“So she’s not even staying the night?”
“Nee.”
The relief multiplied and expanded and filled her every cell. If Marcy was leaving, didn’t that mean… Zach stepped back from the door and pushed his straw hat back onto his head. He gave her a curt nod and turned away.
“Wait,” she burst out.
He stopped but didn’t look back at her.
“Are you all right?”
He didn’t answer. He raised his hand in a backward wave and tromped down the steps and back toward the field. Naomi’s eyebrows rose. What had happened between him and Marcy?
Within minutes, Daisy and John came around the house, lugging their bags. Daisy dropped hers with a thud and opened the trunk. They both threw their bags inside, but Daisy wasn’t tall enough to grab it shut again. Naomi went down the steps toward them.
“Need some help?”
“I can’t reach it. You just gotta slam it.”
Naomi easily reached the trunk and slammed it shut. She shook her head, realizing it was the first time in her life that she’d shut the trunk of a car. Whenever she rode in a van, the driver handled such things. Vans didn’t have trunks, anyway. Considering the emotion of the moment, Naomi marveled that she could be pondering such mundane things as car trunks.
Marcy walked toward the van, and Naomi could see her eyes were red and swollen. Even after a crying jag, the girl looked beautiful. A tinge of jealousy threaded through Naomi. She hurried toward Marcy and took her bag from her.
“Let me,” she said.
Marcy blew out her breath. “I’m sorry for the change of plans.”
“That’s fine.”
“I can pay you for the time we were here.”
Naomi shook her head. “Don’t be silly. It was nothing. Can I get you a snack for your journey? Would the children like some cookies?”
John jumped out of the backseat. “Can we, Mom?”
Daisy planted herself in the passenger seat in front and folded her arms across her chest. Her lips pressed into a tight pucker, and she didn’t look willing to budge.
“I suppose so,” Marcy said, her voice trailing. Then she looked at John. “I’ll go get them. You get back in the car.”
Naomi handed Marcy’s bag to John. Then she took Marcy into the house. She heard her sniffing behind her as they entered the kitchen. Naomi got out a paper bag and a couple paper napkins. She lined the sack and then began placing cookies inside. By then, Marcy had begun to weep, and Naomi couldn’t simply pretend that she wasn’t. She set the sack on the counter and led Marcy to her kitchen bench.
“Sit down for a minute,” she said. “Would you like some water? Or tea?”
Marcy shook her head and put her hands to her face. “I’m sorry,” she muttered through her fingers. “I’m a mess.”
Naomi sat beside her.
“Zach said…” A fresh bout of tears began. “Zach said that he…” Marcy couldn’t continue. She merely sobbed into her hands.
Naomi waited, feeling awful for her pain.
After a minute or two, Marcy got ahold of herself. “I’m sorry.” She removed her hands from her face. Naomi handed her a napkin, and Marcy dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose. “I left the Amish.” She gazed at Naomi with wide eyes.
Naomi nodded. “I know.”
“I don’t really regret it.” She looked at Naomi as if gauging her reaction. “Too many rules for me. No freedom at all.”
Naomi bristled at her words but chose to let it go.
“I was a wild teen. Didn’t want to listen to anyone. Least of all my parents or the bishop. Heaven forbid that I listen to him!” She gave a wry laugh. “I was insufferable. Finally, in total humiliation, my parents left the area, and I went with them. Sort of. I ran around a lot.” She dropped her hands to her lap and got a faraway look in her eyes.
“Zach was my beau. He loved me.” She glanced at Naomi. “He loved me with his whole heart. He tried to talk sense into me, but I wouldn’t listen to him either. Even though I knew how much he loved me, I just couldn’t do it. I couldn’t be the proper little Amish girl. I’d tasted my freedom by then, and oh, how sweet it was.”
Naomi watched the emotions play over her face. She watched her delicate brow furrow, her rosy lips part. She saw Marcy as Zach might have seen her, and she understood his broken heart.
“Things in my life lately … uh, things have been difficult.” Her eyes teared up again. “My parents are both gone, and I wanted a family again.” She bit her lips. “I stupidly thought I might be able to come home to Hollybrook. But I couldn’t. I thought that Zach—”
She stopped abruptly and gasped, grabbing Naomi’s hand. Her eyes grew huge as she stared at Naomi. “Oh! I’m so blind!” She shook her head, and her lips parted. “I’m such a fool, sitting here going on and on about Zach and me. I didn’t even think. I didn’t realize…”
Naomi felt Marcy’s grip on her hand tighten. She wanted to pull away from this beautiful girl. She wasn’t accustomed to such familiarity with a stranger. But she didn’t know how to extricate herself without causing a scene.
Marcy stared at her. “It’s you, isn’t it?”
Naomi blanched. “Me? I’m sorry. I don’t know what—”
“He’s fallen for you!”
Naomi did pull her hand away then. She got up and went back to the cookies, putting two more into the sack with shaking hands. “You’re cookies are ready,” she said, turning and offering the bag to Marcy.
Marcy shook her head. “I get it. I was Amish for years. These things aren’t spoken about. Well, I’m Englisch now. A fancy girl. So I can speak as I wish. Zach would hardly listen to me. Oh, he stood there all right, and I saw the pain in his eyes. He’s still not over me, but he won’t take me back. Lord! I was even willing to play Amish with him.” She shook her head and reached out to take the bag of cookies. “Letting him go is the one regret I have. But at the time, I couldn’t have Zach and my new freedom. I tried more than once. You know, coming back, going to Sunday meeting. It about killed me.”
She got up and stepped close to Naomi, staring deeply into her eyes. “You’re a good woman. I can see that. I wish you well.”
Without a further word, she turned on her heel and left, her hips gently swaying in her snug jeans. Naomi watched her go, emotions tumbling through her heart.
Despite the girl’s frankness, despite her brazenness, Naomi liked her. Marcy Blackenship had an appeal, a careless magnetism that drew a person. Naomi peered through the kitchen window and saw her car disappear down the drive. She wished her well, too.
Somehow, she knew Marcy would land on her feet.
Six
If Naomi thought that once Marcy left, Zach would make a move in their relationship, she was dead wrong. During the next day and a half, she didn’t see him. She wasn’t even sure he came to work in the fields. She was too busy in the house, packing and sorting.
“Did Zach King give you an answer yet?” Marvin asked her on the third day. “I’ve spoken with some realtors, but until we have an answer from Zach, I don’t feel right about listing it.”
“Listing it?”
“The farm. With the realtors. I think it only fair that Zach get first chance.”
“He hasn’t answered me.” Naomi hated to admit it, but she was hurt. Zach hadn’t even come around to ask how the packing was going. Nor had he come around to check on Ben and how he was faring with the prospect of moving, and the two of them were close. “You can ask Zach yourself, Marvin.”
“Perhaps he’s been getting the finances he needs to buy the p
lace.” Marvin looked down at the box Naomi was filling with knickknacks from the front room. “You taking that stuff?”
Naomi paused, her hands falling to her sides. “You don’t think I should?”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t look too important to me.”
Inwardly, Naomi balked. Since he was forcing this move on her, the least he could do was be more supportive. He must have noticed her reaction. “Ah, don’t listen to me, Naomi. If Ruth was here, she’d scold me for being cold-hearted.”
Naomi smiled. She liked her sister-in-law. In truth, it would be nice to see her again. “Ruth would be right.”
Marvin laughed. “Is Zach out in the fields today?”
“I haven’t seen him.”
“Well, if you do, tell him I need to talk with him.”
So do I, she thought. But since Marcy’s leaving, Zach had seemed to disappear right along with her.
Marvin wandered off, and Naomi stood up. She straightened to her full height and decided that she was going to get an answer from Zach once and for all. He either wanted the farm or he didn’t. This silly business of ignoring her question had gone too far.
She tossed down her apron and marched out to the barn to hitch up the pony cart. She’d go to Zach’s home herself. Granted, it wasn’t the normal course of action for an Amish woman. In fact, Mary would scold her heartily if she knew what Naomi was doing. But right then, Naomi didn’t care. She’d be leaving the district soon, anyway, so what did it matter now?
She hollered to Marvin to please watch the children, and she didn’t wait until he had a chance to question her. Marvin would have a fit, too, if he knew what she was planning to do. She quickly got about the business of hitching up Myrtle. The faster she got the horse hitched up, the faster she could leave.
Since Isaac’s passing, Naomi had gotten a lot of practice with hitching up a horse, and it did her in good stead right then. Within minutes, Myrtle was secure to the pony cart, and she was trotting down the drive and out to the road. Naomi ignored her misgivings about her mission. She knew Zach lived with his folks, and she prayed that they wouldn’t be the ones to answer the door.
Within fifteen minutes, she’d arrived. She’d never been to the King farm before, and she wasn’t sure whether Zach lived in the main house or the daadi haus. Her bravado had completely faded, and she suddenly felt foolish and just plain wrong to be approaching either one of the houses. Then she spotted an outbuilding whose door was open. Perhaps if she wondered that direction, she’d meet Zach without having to go to the front door at all.
She slipped down from the cart and cautiously approached the open door. Inside was a wood-working shed. Piles of sawdust lay on the floor, and she heard the scraping sounds of what she thought might be a chisel or a planer. She peeked further inside and saw Zach bent over a board, his hair hanging in tendrils over his forehead and a look of complete concentration on his face. She stood a moment and watched him. Admiration for him burned in her chest. He was such a fine person. She hated that he’d been hurt again with Marcy’s return, for she knew without asking that it had hurt him. But he’d rejected Marcy. And that had to have been a victory for him, no matter how painful.
She leaned her head against the wooden doorframe and watched the muscles in his arms ripple as he hammered the chisel into the wood. What was he making, anyway? She couldn’t see it clearly from her vantage point.
Zach must have felt her presence for he abruptly looked up. When he saw her, he dropped both the chisel and the hammer. He stared at her.
She flushed. “Zach. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
He stepped quickly in front of what he was working on, as if to hide it. “What are you doing here?”
She winced at his curt tone. Wasn’t he happy to see her at all? “I-I, well, I need an answer from you.”
“About the purchase?”
“Jah.” She held her breath. Her heart raced as she stared at his dark expression. Was he angry?
He didn’t move.
“U-uh,” she stuttered. “You haven’t been around the last couple days. I was worried.”
He nodded, a small almost imperceptible movement. “No need to worry.”
She took one step forward. “Still. I did worry.”
His eyes clung to hers, analyzing her, assessing her. She squirmed under his gaze, wondering what he was thinking. What he was hiding on the work table behind him.
She took another step closer. Couldn’t he see the love she had for him? Couldn’t he sense her longing for him? For his touch, however brief?
Still, he didn’t move.
“What are you working on?” she asked. Somehow, she knew that whatever was hidden behind his back was somehow vital to her. And to him.
Another step. His eyes searched her face, reaching into her thoughts.
“Can I see?” she asked, tilting her head toward the space behind him.
Without taking his eyes from hers, he moved aside.
There on the table was a sign. A beautiful, carved sign. She immediately saw the words Bed and Breakfast in bold thick letters. But the spot where the word Byler’s had been carved was sanded over. She moved closer, bending over the wood. Byler’s was mostly gone, and in its place the word King’s appeared. It wasn’t finished, and right then, it looked a bit of a mess, but she could clearly see what he was doing.
She jolted back, as if she’d been punched. He was going to take over her Bed and Breakfast! He planned not only to buy her farm but to take her business? She clasped her heart and nearly doubled over from the realization. He could hardly wait till she was gone before he swooped in and took it all.
She gulped hard, and tears flooded her eyes. “You-you—” she choked out, but couldn’t continue.
“Naomi?” He moved to her and reached out for her arm. “Naomi?”
She jerked back, harder. “You’re taking my Bed and Breakfast?” She stared at him with raging accusation in her eyes. She didn’t even know why she was so upset. She was leaving. She’d offered him the farm. What difference did it make if he continued with the Bed and Breakfast, too?
She turned and fled from the shop. Blindly, she clambered into the pony cart and snapped the reins.
“Naomi!” he cried behind her.
Wildly, she hollered at Myrtle to get going. They hadn’t gone more than a yard or two, when Zach caught up and reached into the cart, grabbing the reins from her hands and yanking back. Myrtle snorted and stopped short.
“Naomi? What are you doing?”
“Getting out of here! Getting away from you!”
Through her tears, she saw the shock and pain on his face. He shook his head, his mouth open and his face flushed. “Naomi?”
“Quit saying my name! You want it all, don’t you! My farm and my business!”
She was mortified at herself. She was not making a lick of sense. He wasn’t taking anything from her. She had offered the farm to him, and she was leaving.
“Nee. Nee.” He shook his head and desperation was on his face. “You don’t understand!”
“I understand just fine!” she cried. “You don’t even care that I’m leaving!”
He dropped the reins then and grabbed her face with his calloused hands. Without any hesitation at all, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. His kiss sent the pit of her stomach into a wild shocked swirl. Stunned, she pushed back, gasping. “What are you doing?”
“Don’t you understand? Haven’t I made myself clear?”
“What?” she cried. “Made yourself clear? All you’ve made clear is that you don’t care a fig that I’m leaving! All you’ve made clear is that you’re angry at me for some reason!” She took a great heaving breath and glared holes through him.
He shook his head. “Naomi, Naomi.”
“Quit saying my name!” The man was stark raving mad.
“I won’t quit saying your name. I won’t.” He touched her cheek, brushing the back of his hand against it in a gesture so t
ender, so sweetly gentle, that Naomi burst into tears.
“Ah, Naomi,” he whispered. “I want you to marry me. Don’t you see? The Bed and Breakfast would become King’s Bed and Breakfast. I wanted to surprise you.” His eyes filled with tears. “Please say you will. Please, Naomi. Say you’ll marry me.”
She blinked rapidly and let his words settle into her brain, into her heart. Her mouth dropped open. “You want to marry me?” she uttered.
“I love you.” He stood stiffly, as if afraid she would disappear. “I have for a long time now.”
“Zach!”
He grinned at her, and it was as if all the world’s light broke forth on his face. “Quit saying my name.”
She laughed then, a joyous sound enveloping both of them. “Never,” she teased. “I will never stop saying your name. Zach.” Naomi’s voice had gone breathless. “I love you, too.”
He put his arms around her and lifted her from the cart, setting her feet gently on the grass. She lay against him, snuggling her head beneath his chin. He kissed the top of her kapp and let out a sigh of obvious relief.
But Naomi couldn’t stay still. She pulled away. “But all this time, all this time, I didn’t think you cared about me at all. You never said a thing.”
Zach cast his eyes to the ground and went quiet. Then he looked at her. “I didn’t think you cared about me. You were still reeling from Isaac’s death.” His eyes misted over. “And then, just as I thought you were healing, Justin Moore came into the picture.”
Naomi flushed at his reference to the handsome Englischer. “I’m sorry. I was a fool. Like you said, I was still reeling, and I was hurting. I wasn’t thinking straight.”
He took both of her shoulders in his firm grasp. “I know you were hurting. And I was, well, I didn’t handle Justin’s appearance at the Bed and Breakfast well.”
“If I’d known how you felt…”
He shook his head. “Nee, Naomi. It wouldn’t have made a difference.”
She looked into his eyes, and she’d never been so certain of anything in her life. “But it would have. I wouldn’t have accepted Justin’s sign, nor would I have welcomed him to stay again at the Bed and Breakfast. It would have made a great deal of difference. A great deal.”
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