by Amy Lillard
“It doesn’t matter if Tillie’s here or not—we have to get this soup canned before the festival.”
“And we only have two weeks, I know.” Gracie sighed. “It still doesn’t feel right.”
But they had to go on. This year, Leah had gotten a booth at the upcoming Bodock Festival. She planned to use it for small sales and to help get the word out about her shop, but even more importantly, she was selling canned goods for the Amish. The bishop had never been one for his district actually participating in the festivities. He found it unnecessary, since the increased traffic into town also brought about an increased traffic to the Amish houses and the ministores that most had set up in their front yards. But somehow they had convinced him to allow them this experiment. Leah would work the booth and sell the goods. The future of their being able to participate again might well be resting in her hands.
“I still think we should make apple butter or something.”
“Next week,” Hannah said. “This week is soup.”
“Because anything we have left over, we can eat this winter.” Leah nodded. “We know.”
Hannah sniffed. “I thought it best to be practical. It’s hard to make a meal out of apple butter in the winter.”
Gracie grinned. “Maybe, but I’d like to try.”
They all laughed, even Hannah. Gracie had the biggest sweet tooth that Leah had ever seen. Even bigger than Brandon’s, with his love of pie.
“I was thinking about making a pie tonight,” Leah started. She chopped the ham to go in the soup while Gracie diced carrots and Hannah tackled the onions. The weather was still quite warm, and they had set up a table in the front yard, preferring to work outdoors instead of inside.
“A pie?” Hannah chuckled. “How long has it been since you made a pie?”
“Not so long ago that you should be laughing,” Leah grumbled.
“Why all this interest in cooking?” Gracie asked.
“Jah. You never liked to cook before.”
Leah shrugged. “Liking it and needing to feed myself—and your son—are two different things.”
“As are a pie and a casserole.”
“I wanted to do something nice for Brandon. He got an A on his last test.”
“That’s fantastic.” Hannah beamed like the proud mother she was. It was no wonder. Brandon had turned himself around these last couple of months. He had been struggling when they had moved back to Pontotoc. And now he was thriving. Leah couldn’t be prouder herself. And that was the truth.
“What class?” Gracie asked,
“Uh,” Leah faltered. “History . . . I think.”
“I thought he had a chemistry test last time.”
Leah snapped her fingers “That’s right.”
Hannah’s eyes narrowed. She moved closer to Leah so only she could hear. “Why do I get the feeling you’re not telling the truth?”
Leah started, surprised by her sister’s observation. “I don’t know.”
“Maybe because you’re not?” Hannah asked.
“Why would I lie about something like that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe Jamie Stoltzfus?”
Leah forced a laugh, not so loud that it drew Gracie’s attention. Just loud enough for Hannah to hear. “What does he have to do with it?”
“You tell me,” Hannah shot back. She straightened and turned to Gracie. “Gracie, could you go into the house and get us another couple of onions? I don’t think these will be enough.” Hannah gestured to the box of onions they still had to chop. Gracie, being Gracie, nodded without question and bustled into the house as requested.
“Spill it,” Hannah instructed.
“Spill what? There’s nothing to spill.”
“I don’t believe you,” Hannah said. “And here’s why. Last night all that talk about him and Gracie not being right for each other. Now you want to make a pie?”
“I told you. The pie’s for Brandon.”
“And you’re not trying to prove something to our good neighbor?”
“Why would I want to prove anything to him?” Leah scoffed.
“Because I think you like him.”
Leah nearly choked. “That’s,” she sputtered, “that’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. I don’t like Jamie; I despise him.”
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks,” Hannah quoted.
“Hush, it’s not becoming for an Amish woman to quote Shakespeare.”
“It’s equally unbecoming for one to tell stories to themselves and everyone around them.” Hannah smiled.
Leah didn’t have time to respond, as just then Gracie came out of the house toting a small bag of onions. “Eunice said this will have to do. These are all the onions she has.”
Hannah smiled. “That’ll do just fine.”
* * *
The last thing Leah wanted to think about was Jamie Stoltzfus, but he was on her mind all the time. Twenty-four-seven, as they say. Jamie, and Hannah’s words.
Leah didn’t like him. She absolutely didn’t like him. The first time she saw him, she thought about how good-looking he was, and then he opened his mouth and cut down her way of living. What was to like about that? Looks weren’t everything, and they surely couldn’t make up for the differences in their personalities. And their goals. And dreams. And lifestyles.
It was simply ridiculous.
She was avoiding going out to her parents’ house in fear that she would run into him. She wasn’t sure she could look him in the face knowing what Hannah thought about the two of them. What if Hannah had told him the same thing? What if he was going around thinking that she liked him? Or at the very least knowing that Hannah thought she liked him? The very idea was mortifying. How would she ever be able to look at him the same again?
“Aren’t we going out to Mammi’s today?” Brandon asked as she settled in for the afternoon. She had a lot of paperwork to catch up on, and she had devised a new way to track the shop’s inventory. “We usually go there after church.”
Leah nodded. “I thought we might do something different today. Since I’m going out there again Tuesday for another cousins’ day.”
“But I’m not going then,” Brandon reminded her. “Someone’s got to stay here and mind the store.”
“It’s a church Sunday.”
“That never stopped us before.”
Leah sighed. She wanted to give him a good reason why they couldn’t go to her mother’s house today, but the truth was, she didn’t have one. And the real reason she didn’t want to go lived just up the lane.
“Fine,” she said. “But we have to wait until this afternoon when they’re home from church.”
“Of course.”
Until then, she had work to do. Too much work to give Jamie Stoltzfus another thought.
Chapter Eight
Brandon chatted all the way to Mamm’s house. He talked about Shelly, the sermon at church, working on Tuesday so Leah could have a day off. And all Leah could think about was Jamie. Maybe he would be off visiting this afternoon. Maybe he wouldn’t even be around.
It was a nice thought, but she knew it wasn’t going to happen that way. He had made up his mind to court Gracie, and there was no reason for him to go back on it. Why would he? Gracie was smart, sweet, and funny. She was helpful and kind, and she could cook. A lot better than Leah, who seemed to have forgotten every kitchen lesson she had learned while growing up. She had cooked every night this week. Well, she had tried to cook something every night. Mostly she had made a mess of things. And Brandon, bless his heart, had paid the price for it. Maybe that was why he had wanted to come out to Mamm’s so badly today. The poor kid needed something decent to eat.
“I hope Jamie and Peter are here,” Brandon continued.
Of course he was wishing for the very thing she was trying to avoid. How could her life be any other way?
“Oh, yeah?” she asked.
“I like Peter,” Brandon said with a nod.
That was
something Leah could relate to. She liked Peter as well. But she knew Brandon and Peter had the connection of loss binding them together. Though she couldn’t imagine how Peter felt, losing his entire family in one terrible accident. Was it any wonder the boy refused to talk?
Leah parked her car to one side of the barn and got out, Brandon close behind. Neither Jamie nor Peter was anywhere around, but she wasn’t counting her chickens just yet. The way her luck was going lately . . .
“We thought you weren’t coming,” Mamm called from the doorway.
Leah waved. “You know I wouldn’t miss Sunday afternoon at home.”
Mamm beamed a smile that shone even through the rusty screen door. “Well, come on in. We’re just about to have some sandwiches. Are you hungry?”
“Yes,” Brandon exclaimed.
Mamm laughed. “Come on in, hungry boy.” She opened the door and stepped back for Brandon to enter.
“Hey, sis,” Hannah greeted Leah as she came into the house.
Leah did her best to look around for signs that Jamie might be there, all the while trying not to look like she was looking. No hat hung by the door, which meant her father was out in the barn. Dave was most likely with him. Was Jamie out there as well?
“Is he here?” The question finally got away from her. She tried not to ask, but there it was all the same.
“Did you come to see us or Jamie?” Hannah asked where no one else could hear.
“Hush, that,” Leah admonished. “Is he here or not?”
Hannah grinned. “So you do care.”
“How can I avoid him if I don’t know where he is?” Leah asked.
“Why do you want to avoid him?” Hannah’s tone was pure innocence, but she wasn’t fooling Leah one bit.
“He’s seeing our cousin. Or have you forgotten?”
“You said yourself that they aren’t suited for each other.”
Leah rolled her eyes. “When did you start listening to me?”
Hannah glanced back over her shoulder, then looped her arm through Leah’s. “Walk with me,” she urged and started toward the front door, Leah in tow.
“It’s been a busy week,” Leah fussed. “What if I don’t want to walk?”
Hannah simply smiled.
“Kidnapping is illegal,” Leah reminded her.
Hannah dropped her arm, as if she knew that Leah would follow.
Heaven help her, she did.
“Are you going to tell me what it is, or are we going to walk until we can’t take another step?” They were just over the rise from the pond behind Jim and Anna’s house. Leah had heard Mamm say that the family had gone visiting and wouldn’t be back until later in the week. They’d gone to Ethridge to see Anna’s family there. Which meant no one was down there fishing. No one was throwing a ball around in this end of the pasture. She and Hannah could talk freely.
“There’s something between you and Jamie,” Hannah said.
Leah shook her head. There couldn’t be anything between her and Jamie, for a variety of reasons, starting with the fact that he was seeing her cousin, even if they were ill-suited. And he didn’t like Leah. She didn’t like him, no matter how handsome he was, or how good with Peter. He was too conservative. And Amish. She was Mennonite. They might as well be oil and water. “There can’t be anything between us.”
“Sometimes love has other ideas.”
“Love?” Leah scoffed. “This is about as far from love as two people can get.” So why did her heart beat a little faster in her chest when she thought of him?
“I know love when I see it.”
“Sure you do.”
“Don’t be sarcastic. Who was it that said Benuel King liked you?”
“He liked me so much he’s getting married in a few weeks. To someone else.”
“That’s only because you left.”
“And this is his second marriage.”
“He’d be married if we hadn’t left.”
“Are we still on for Tuesday? You know, apple butter?”
“Yes, and stop trying to change the subject.”
“It’s a dumb topic.”
“I happen to take your happiness very seriously,” Hannah said.
“My happiness? I’m happy. What makes you think I’m not happy? I am happy, you know.”
“I know you think you’re happy, but why else would you look at Jamie the way you do?”
“Pbftft.” Leah let out a derisive noise and flicked one hand. “I don’t look at Jamie any differently than I look at Aaron or . . . or the bishop.”
Hannah just smiled.
“I don’t.” She didn’t. How could she? Jamie was all wrong for her, and she for him. And he was trying to get to know her cousin better. Never mind that they would make a terrible couple. Both were of age and had joined the church. If they wanted to ask for the bishop’s permission to wed, who was she to say otherwise?
“Just don’t close your mind to the idea, okay?”
Leah made a movement with her head, half-nod and half-shake. “Whatever.”
“No. Not ‘whatever.’ How can you accept God’s plans for you if you close your mind off to the possibilities?”
“You think this is God’s plan for me?”
Hannah smiled and looped her arm through Leah’s once more. “I know it is.”
* * *
He could feel someone watching him. It was a creepy sensation.
Jamie looked around and could see no one, but this was a large Amish household. There was always someone around.
Still the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He raised one hand to smooth them down.
He had come down to Eunice and Abner’s to visit, on the insistence of Hannah. Yet he had been surprised when he arrived. He’d figured it was a good time to get to know Gracie better. He needed a wife and a mother for Peter, but he wanted to at least like the woman he married. And he couldn’t like her if he didn’t get to know her. And he couldn’t get to know her if she wasn’t there.
Now he was sitting on the porch swing, rocking back and forth, just enjoying the afternoon. Everyone else was inside playing some sort of homemade Bible trivia game while Brandon had taken Peter down to the pond to fish. Maybe he should have gone with them. He could have tossed a line into the water and lain back against the fallen tree and taken a quick nap. If it weren’t for Peter, he’d have headed home a long time ago.
“Can I talk to you for a second?”
Jamie turned as Leah Gingerich approached.
She was another surprise. Well, she shouldn’t have been. He should have realized that she would be at her parents’ house on a Sunday afternoon.
“Jah. Sure.” He stopped the swing so she could sit next to him. She hesitated. “I don’t bite, you know.”
She let out an uncomfortable laugh and eased down beside him. So much for trying to take the awkwardness out of the situation. She was sitting as far away from him as she possibly could and still be on the swing with him.
“Brandon and Peter still down at the pond?”
“Jah.” He gave her a sideways look. “But I don’t think that’s why you came out here.”
She shook her head and twisted her fingers in her lap.
He waited patiently as she chewed on her lip and gathered her thoughts.
“Have you talked to Hannah?” She stilled her hands and met his gaze straight on.
“Uh . . . jah,” he faltered. “I guess. About what?”
She sucked in a deep breath. He wasn’t aware anyone needed that much air. “About us.”
“Us?” he frowned.
“Me and you.” She gave a small nod.
“Why would I talk to Hannah about us?”
She shook her head and popped to her feet. “Never mind.”
He caught her arm as she tried to escape. “What are you talking about?”
“Nothing.” She tried to tug from his grasp, but he only tightened his hold. He wasn’t ready to let her go yet. Nor was he ready to let
this matter drop.
“Sit down.”
To his surprise, she actually did as he asked.
“Now tell me why I would talk to Hannah about me and you?”
She looked toward the door. The main door was open, leaving only the screen door to separate them from the folks in the house. From inside, he could hear them laughing at their game, just one big family enjoying a Sunday afternoon.
“Let’s walk.” She started toward the porch steps, leaving him no choice but to follow her if he wanted to know why she was acting so strange.
She started toward Jim and Anna’s house, then stopped. “Can’t go to the pond. Brandon and Peter are there.” She turned and started up the lane toward his cabin.
Jamie followed behind. “Where are we going?”
She shook her head. “Just . . . up here.” She didn’t stop until she reached his porch. He wasn’t sure if she was running from her thoughts or trying to make sure that the two of them were out in the open, but still alone. She stood facing the house. Just standing.
He stopped next to her, wondering how long he was going to have to wait before she told him whatever was on her mind.
She whirled toward him. “Hannah thinks I like you.”
He blinked. “I would hope—”
“Not that kind of like.” She shook her head impatiently. “Like-like.”
He wasn’t a hundred percent sure he understood. “You mean, romantically?” He almost hated to say the word out loud. It hung in the air between them, just hovering there waiting to be noticed.
She nodded.
“What did you say to her?”
“I told her that she was being ridiculous. But she kept on. I felt I should warn you. She’ll probably start in on you next.”
“Probably not. I mean, you two are sisters and everything.”
Leah crossed her arms, her lower lip protruding just a little. “Did you ever talk to your sister about something like this?”
“Of course not.”
“Your brother, then.”
He shook his head.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to dig up painful memories.”
“It’s all right.” But he knew the look on his face wasn’t from her mention of Joseph, but something more. Hannah thought Leah liked him? She seemed to hate him. She never let him get a word in; every time they were together she picked a fight with him. She disagreed with how he was raising Peter and his Amish way of life.