At last, she nodded. “I think you might have a point. I could use another friend.”
“So, what do you say?”
“Okay, I will go with you to the Sugarcreek Inn.”
Feeling like he’d just won a long race, he grinned. “Great. Next week, when I pick up Kaylene from her reading lesson, I’ll come see when you want to go.”
“That would be fine.”
He smiled at her before he turned and walked out, feeling like he was ten feet tall.
He could hear her chuckling as he exited, and he wondered if she was laughing at his eagerness or if she felt happy and hopeful, too.
When he got back outside to the picnic table, his sister and Miriam were packing up Kaylene’s things. “You’re just in time,” Miriam said with a happy smile. “We just finished the first chapter.”
By her side, his little sister looked happier than he’d seen her in quite some time. “We’re reading Little Women, Junior. And guess what?”
“What?”
She lowered her voice. “I’m starting to be able to read some of it pretty good.”
“You can read a lot of it pretty good,” Miriam corrected. “All you needed was a little bit of practice, that’s all. I’m proud of you.”
Kaylene looked back at Miriam with stars in her eyes.
“You’ll come back next week and read with me again?”
“If you want me to, I will.”
“I want you to,” Kaylene said.
Miriam squeezed her hand. “Then we shall meet again next week.”
“Thank you again, Miriam,” he said. “You really are a life saver, in more ways than one.”
“That’s what friends are for, jah?” she asked right before she turned and gathered her tote bag.
When Kaylene went inside to say good-bye to Mary Kate, Junior noticed that Miriam had a thick bandage on her arm. Alarmed, he grasped it. “What happened?”
Miriam stiffened at his touch, then looked at her arm with something akin to disdain. “This? It’s nothing. Just a burn.”
A burn? Worry spread through him. “How did you get it?”
She chuckled. “In the kitchen, of course.” Giving him a look that pretty much said he knew nothing, she murmured, “It’s what happens when you cook for a living. One of the oven racks got me when I was pulling out a tray of biscuits.”
“That sounds serious. And painful. Did you see the doktah?”
“Of course not.” She gave him another strange look, then grinned. “Ah, now, here’s our girl!”
“Teacher said she was proud of me, too, Junior,” Kaylene said with a broad smile.
With effort, he forced his attention from Miriam and to his little sister. “That makes three of us then,” he said. “Ready to go home?”
“Uh-huh.” She gave Miriam a little wave. “Bye!”
“Good-bye to you both. See you soon.”
Junior gave a small wave before he picked up Kaylene’s tote and they started walking. Almost immediately, Kay started chattering like a June bug.
He didn’t say anything. Actually, he was kind of afraid to.
Because at the moment there was only one woman his mind kept returning to.
And it sure wasn’t Mary Katherine Hershberger.
chapter sixteen
A few mornings later, Claire walked out to the barn with a large mug filled with coffee in her hands. “Levi came home late again last night.”
“Gut matin to you, too,” Junior replied sarcastically, though he took the mug she offered with a grateful heart. After a fortifying sip, he said, “I’m guessing you want me to deal with him?”
“Yep.”
“Any reason you don’t want to?”
“Yep.” Claire raised her eyebrows. “I’m, ah, fairly sure our Levi was with a girl last night.”
“Who?” This was news to him. He hadn’t heard that Levi had his eye on any particular girl.
“Between you and me, I don’t think it was a special girl. Just an easy one.”
He groaned. Like he wanted to have a conversation this morning about that. “Claire—”
“You’re the oldest boy. Plus, you’ve already been through this with Randall, Micah, and Neil.” She smiled sweetly, obviously imagining that her smile took the sting out of her words.
What was unsaid was that Randall had always had his eye on one girl, Elizabeth Nolt, Micah seemed to care only about mathematical theories, and Neil truly preferred to spend time with his animals than to spend time with girls. “Where is Levi?”
“Struggling to get dressed and come help you in the barn.” She lowered her voice. “By the way, he’s lookin’ a bit green around the gills. I think he was drinking last night, too.”
Junior sighed. “I don’t think siblings should let other siblings have their rumspringa. This is the last thing I want to deal with right now.”
Claire’s voice gentled, though her words stayed sharp. “You know that we promised to stop complaining about our lot in life years ago.”
“I hear you.” He paused. “Save me a plate of breakfast, wouldja?”
“I already have.” Her voice brightened as they watched their sixteen-year-old brother open the kitchen door and start a very slow walk toward the barn. “Ah, here he is. Good luck.”
He grunted as he watched Levi pass Claire without a word, then attempt to pass him by in the same way. The moment Levi was within arm’s length, Junior snaked a hand out and grabbed his shoulder. “Not so fast, little bruder.”
“What?”
“We need to talk.”
“Why?” His voice turned belligerent. “What did Claire come out here to tell you?”
“Only that you came in late last night.”
Levi shrugged off his hand. “It weren’t all that late. Besides, I’m here now, aren’t I? Ready to do more chores.”
Junior bit back a dozen responses as he struggled for patience. At last he pointed to a rake. “Come with me, we’ve got to muck stalls.”
As Claire mentioned, Levi looked a little green. “You haven’t already done them?”
“Nope.” Feeling more pleased about his brother’s discomfort than he probably should, he murmured, “I waited for you.”
Levi picked up the rake and entered the first empty stall. He wrinkled his nose. “It smells like—”
“Watch your mouth, Levi.”
His brother pursed his lips and slowly began to rake the straw on the ground. Junior leaned over the rail and watched for a good five minutes. Then, just as Levi was scooping up a good amount of soiled straw into the wheelbarrow, he seized his chance. “Were you drinking last night?”
“Jah.”
“What?”
“Just a couple of beers. It weren’t nothing.”
“You shouldn’t be drinking.”
“Everyone has a beer or two when they’re sixteen, Junior.”
He hadn’t. He’d been too busy trying to be a mother to all his younger siblings. He hadn’t had time to do much but work, clean, cook, and try to be a whole lot wiser and smarter than he was.
But there was no way he was going to put that guilt on his brother. It wasn’t Levi’s fault that Junior had had to raise him.
So he held his tongue.
Levi stepped out of the stall, gave him a long, steady look of resentment, then marched into the next stall. “Must be nice, standing around and watching me do all the work.”
“It’s great. Fantastic.”
“I bet.”
“So, who were you with last night?”
“You know. My friends.”
“Any girls?”
Levi leaned the rake next to the side of the stall. “What, exactly, did Claire tell you?”
“That she thought you were with a girl. I want to know who.”
For the first time, Levi flushed with embarrassment. “She’s no one you know.”
“Is she English?”
Levi stared at him, obviously deciding whether or not to gi
ve him a straight answer. At last, he shrugged. “Jah. Her name is Kendra.”
“Is she your girlfriend?”
“Nee.”
“Then what is she to you?”
“She’s just a girl, Junior.” Levi shrugged. “She’s nothing special. We just hung out together last night.”
“If you hung out, she probably expects that you like her.”
Levi sighed. “Junior, I’m not like you. I don’t want to always be here working.”
“I’m not always here working.” Though, he kind of always was.
“You surely aren’t courting.” With a glare, he said, “Why not? Why don’t you ever spend time with girls?”
“I have. But I’ve been kind of busy around here, you know.”
“Well, it sure doesn’t seem like you even care about girls.”
“I’ve been spending time with Mary Kate Hershberger.”
“That’s one girl.”
“I’ve been spending time with Miriam Zehr, too.”
Levi stilled. “Do you like Miriam?”
“We’re friends, nothing more,” he said, matter-of-fact.
“Do you like Mary Kate more than Miriam?”
Sure Levi was being a little snide, Junior sucked in a breath, ready to champion Miriam and give Levi a talking-to about respecting women . . . when he realized that Levi wasn’t being sarcastic at all. Rather, he was genuinely curious about Junior’s thoughts on love and romance. “I don’t know,” he replied, then immediately felt even more awkward. “Um, I guess I find Mary Kate attractive and intriguing. And I think she needs me.” And that was important because he liked being needed.
“You don’t feel any of that with Miriam?”
“I think of her as a friend. I mean, as a good friend.” Thinking about their conversation when he’d told her about Levi’s nightmares, he added, “The thing with Miriam is that she is easy to talk to. And she’s got a calm, practical way about her that always makes me think that everything is going to be okay.”
Levi didn’t look impressed. “But I thought those were things a man wanted to have in a relationship. You don’t?”
“Of course I do.”
“Is Mary Kate that way?”
“I’m not sure. I don’t know her all that well.” But he had a very good idea that calm and practical were not the best descriptors for her. Feeling a bit like he was the confused teenager, Junior added, “Mary Kate is really pretty.”
Levi scoffed. “Miriam has a real pretty smile.”
“You’ve noticed it?” When would he have noticed her smile?
Levi shrugged. “Well, sure. She smiles at us when we eat at the restaurant. And she smiled at me one morning at church when I couldn’t sit still ’cause it was so hot and I was getting sweaty.”
“She does have that way about her, doesn’t she?” Junior murmured. “She’s observant.”
“I guess.” Levi shrugged again. “I think it’s mainly that Miriam is nice, you know? Everyone likes her.”
“That is true.” Annoyed that he sounded a bit surprised by this revelation, he said, “Kaylene has grown real fond of her. Miriam has been helping Kay with her reading.”
“Kay told me.” He rolled his eyes. “Kay talks about Miriam all the time now.”
“I didn’t realize that.”
Levi gave him a look. “You’re not the only one who looks out for her, you know.” Before Junior could comment on that, Levi said, “Junior, you ought to let Miriam come over here to work with Kaylene.”
“You think?”
“Jah. Then Kaylene doesn’t have to sit in the school yard all afternoon. Kids will tease her, you know.”
“You know what? That’s a good idea. I’ll talk to Miriam next time I see her.”
“Gut.” Levi picked up the rake again. “So, am I in trouble?”
“You will be if you don’t settle down some. Stop drinking and remember to be respectful of the girls.”
“Respectful?” He grinned.
To his embarrassment, Junior felt his neck heat. “You know what I’m talking about, Levi,” he muttered. “Don’t do anything stupid. Or anything that would have made our mother be ashamed of you.”
He sighed. “I’ll settle down, I promise—if you tell Claire not to be sticking her nose into my business. Tell her we already talked, wouldja?”
“I’ll tell her to leave you alone. But if you mess up again? I’m going to make you muck stalls with her next time.” After sharing a smile with his brother, he pushed away from the stall. “I’m going to go eat breakfast.”
“Hey, I’m hungry, too. Do I have to finish this stall before I go in?”
“Yep.”
“Because?”
“Because you’re sixteen and I am not,” he called out over his shoulder as he left the shadows of the barn and entered the morning sunshine.
chapter seventeen
He was still thinking about Levi’s idea of Miriam coming to the house to help Kaylene when he, Beverly, Claire, and Joe went to the Sugarcreek Inn for lunch.
They’d all been in town for various reasons. Beverly and Claire had needed to get some canning supplies at the Graber Country Store. Joe had come along because he’d wanted to spend some time with Beverly.
Junior was shopping on a Wednesday because he needed to pick up some medicines at the vet. And, well, he wanted to keep an eye on Joe and Beverly, too. He didn’t mind that Joe and Beverly were now spending almost every moment they could together. Everyone in the family knew Joe’s intentions were honorable, and Junior was even looking forward to the day when he could refer to Joe as his brother.
But that didn’t mean he thought his sister and best friend didn’t need a little supervision.
When they’d met at the restaurant, the other three had wasted no time in filling him in on some of the news around town. Some, like the fact that the bank was closing, was old news. Other news, like the rumor that Judith Knox had just suffered a miscarriage, was whispered in hushed voices. All of them vowed to stop by the store sometime in the next few days, just to see if there was any way they could help out the family.
After Marla came by and took their orders for soup and sandwiches, the conversation had led to a variety of other subjects—mainly discussed by Beverly and Joe. Though Claire seemed perfectly content to listen to their prattling, Junior’s attention drifted. He might be happy that the two were falling in love, but he sure didn’t intend to talk about their relationship while he ate!
Instead of listening to their chatter, Junior located Miriam. She was dressed today in a raspberry-colored dress and matching apron. A bandage still decorated her forearm, but it didn’t seem to be bothering her.
Relieved about that, he watched her work. She was as busy as a bee, bringing out freshly baked pies for the bakery counter, greeting customers, and taking orders from two sets of tables at the back of the restaurant.
It looked to him like she was single-handedly doing about four jobs at the same time.
And then there was that moment when she stopped to chat with an elderly couple near the window. The couple was obviously a little hard of hearing, and to his amusement, Miriam had to repeat herself again and again every time she answered their questions.
But through it all, she never looked irritated. No, if anything, she looked, well, happy. And, to his surprise, kind of pretty. There had been that one instance when she was standing in the path of a beam of light shining from one of the sparkling windows. For a split second, it illuminated her smile. Highlighted how smooth her skin was. Her quiet blush.
And then she laughed and he couldn’t look away.
In spite of his best efforts to remain detached, he found himself being just as charmed by her as the couple she was chatting with was.
He was still staring at her, thinking about what Levi had said about her, and about how a girl he’d known forever could suddenly be a person he couldn’t seem to stop staring at, when Joe nudged him in the ribs. Hard.
“I had to do something to get your attention.”
“I was paying attention. Sort of.”
Claire’s lips curved upward. “Junior, are you ever going to join the conversation . . . or do you intend to only sit and stare at Miriam Zehr?”
That brought him up short. “I haven’t been staring at her.”
Beverly smirked. “Oh, yes you have.”
“What’s going on?” Joe asked. “You’re going to her house, talking with her at church, and watching her work. I’m starting to think you don’t just want her help catching Mary Kate’s attention.”
His collar was beginning to feel a little snug.
Irritated that he was the focus of their humor, he mentally rolled his eyes. Why had the four of them even decided to go out for lunch, anyway? It wasn’t like he had much time for it. He had more than enough work to do on the farm. He should have just eaten a plate of leftovers instead of letting himself be talked into a meal of fresh soup.
“You sure seem pretty closemouthed. Cat got your tongue, bruder?” Claire teased.
Sipping his water, he was just about to firmly put their antics behind him when the three of them exchanged glances and chuckled again.
Then he lost his patience. “What, exactly, is so amusing?”
Joe and Beverly looked away. But Claire, being Claire, met his gaze head-on.
“You are.” She held up a hand. “And don’t be so touchy. I simply find it amusing that after all these years, you’ve suddenly become aware of someone who has been right under your nose all along.”
Beverly’s eyes twinkled with what could only be described as sisterly glee. “It’s sweet.”
“I don’t do anything ‘sweet.’ ”
“I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with you suddenly developing an affection for Miriam. I think it would be wonderful,” Claire murmured, looking as full of herself as ever. “She’s a wonderful person. She would also fit in very well with our family. I approve.”
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