"Sure. Let me go get your tea and some food for myself."
Her mind on the surprise, she didn't see someone in front of her until she ran into him.
"Oh, sorry!"
"No problem," Jacob said, grinning. "I was just looking for you."
"I'm getting my mother something to drink," she told him.
His eyebrows went up. "She's here? I'll go say hello. Then maybe we can talk?" He turned, then glanced over his shoulder, and there was that look on his face—that look he'd been giving her—before he strode away.
Her face felt warm as she moved toward the kitchen.
The kitchen was crowded with women preparing the meal. Her cousin Naomi stood at the counter pouring glasses of iced tea.
"Can I get some iced tea for my mother?"
"Schur."
"Naomi!" A young man stuck his head in the doorway. "Let's go. Now."
"John! Say hello to Mary Katherine."
Looking reluctant, he moved closer. "Hello." He turned to Naomi. "Let's go."
"I'll be just a few more minutes," she said, handing Mary Katherine the glass of tea. "Why don't you wait on the porch?"
"Five minutes," he said and turned on his heel.
"He wants to take me to lunch in town," Naomi explained, shrugging. "Tell your mother I said hello. I'll stop by later this week to see her."
"Okay." Mary Katherine watched as Naomi hurried out of the kitchen.
After she fixed a plate of food, she picked up the glass of tea that Naomi had prepared but forgotten to give her. Anna hadn't particularly cared for John, and he certainly wasn't growing on Mary Katherine.
She found it hard to have a conversation with her mother when one person after another had to welcome her back after her absence, but it did Mary Katherine's heart good to see that her mother had been missed. Through the years, Miriam had been overshadowed by her husband's stronger personality; now, with him out of town on some errand, not being rushed off as was his habit to do after church, she clearly enjoyed the attention and knowledge that she'd been missed.
What Mary Katherine noticed was that few people asked Miriam about her husband's absence. Maybe it was because they knew the reason. Mary Katherine might not get along with her father, but she derived no pleasure in the fact that he didn't seem to get along all that well with others. It was sad, really.
"So you were talking really seriously with Jenny," her mother said when there was a lull in people stopping by to talk to her.
Mary Katherine found herself thinking about what Jenny had said.
Miriam cleared her throat. "That was a hint."
"Oh, sorry. We just chatted about this and that."
She was grateful when someone interrupted them and let her thoughts drift again. Maybe God hadn't talked directly to her. But maybe He'd put Jenny in her path today to talk to her instead. It was something to think about.
Her grandmother had once said that there was a reason why we weren't put on Earth by ourselves. We're supposed to learn something from other people, and they from us, she'd said.
She was in this community for a reason, she was coming to realize, even as it had caused a restlessness in her. This faith-filled community had shaped everything about her—given her stability, loving relationships—well, all but the one with her father. Here she'd grown up with a man who was a friend, then a best friend who understood her better than anyone she knew. A man who wanted a deeper relationship with her but was willing to set aside his own needs so that she could make her own decisions about faith and about their spending the rest of her life with him.
She relaxed and breathed in the peaceful atmosphere of after-church here in the house of one of her longtime friends, and when Jacob walked into the room and his eyes searched for her, she smiled and lifted her hand.
And felt the restlessness leaving her like the tide on a shore.
There were some things that couldn't be avoided. People, actually.
Apparently, the bishop was one of them.
He showed up again at the shop a few days later and was closeted with her grandmother in the back room for nearly half an hour. When he came out, he was frowning and her grandmother was smiling as she walked behind him.
Mary Katherine bit her lip so she wouldn't smile when the man turned and her grandmother quickly changed her expression.
"Think about what I said."
"Oh, I will," Leah told him pleasantly. "Thank you for stopping by."
Leah waited until he left, went to the store window to assure herself that he had walked out of sight, then turned back to her granddaughters, who were anxiously waiting to hear what had happened.
"He came in to grumble again about how he didn't think we were looking like we offered traditional Amish crafts and goods."
"My work, in other words. He means my work."
"Well, it doesn't matter whose things he's talking about," Leah said, smiling now. "He came in to grumble, but he can't do more. I'd heard he went to others in authority in the church, and they didn't agree with him. So we have nothing to worry about."
Mary Katherine breathed a sigh of relief. She'd been so upset when he came into the shop the first time and complained. She remembered what Jenny Bontrager said at church two weeks ago, about how she liked the last bishop better than this one, and had to agree.
Now she wondered if Jenny had heard about the bishop's visit and was trying to send her a subtle signal that things did change, even in their community.
Well, it didn't really matter. She felt easier about it all. Going to her loom, she sat and began working again.
"I think this calls for a celebration," Leah announced.
"Celebration?" Anna, Naomi, and Mary Katherine said at the same time.
"What kind of celebration? We close early?"
Leah chuckled. "No, Anna. We can't really do that. We wouldn't want to disappoint anyone who was visiting the area and intending to stop by here, would we?"
Anna pouted, but she shook her head.
"So then what do you have in mind, Grossmudder?" Naomi asked.
She smiled. "I think we should have supper out. In a restaurant. The four of us."
"Really?" Anna's voice rose in a squeak.
"Really. My treat."
Anna glanced at the clock. "It's four o'clock."
"Too early to close," Leah said with a smile as she walked behind the counter and took out the day's receipts to add.
"But we could get the early bird special," Anna said persuasively. "Save you some money."
Leah laughed and shook her head. "It's so kind of you to think of my pocketbook. We'll close at 4:30."
Anna pumped a fist in the air. "Yes!"
Naomi looked at Mary Katherine. "Thank goodness the bishop isn't here to see that. He'd faint."
Without being asked, the cousins straightened displays, swept the floor, and emptied wastepaper baskets. When their grandmother emerged from the back room with her coat over her arm, her purse and the day's deposit in her hand, her eyebrows shot up.
"Well, perhaps I should treat us to supper more often."
"You should," Anna told her with an impish smile. Then a shadow fell over the door. "Oh, no, a customer!" she cried. "Quick, lock the door, and we'll go out the back way!"
"Don't be silly," Naomi told her. "It's a man. He won't stay long. Probably just here to pick up thread for his wife."
The door opened, and in strolled Daniel. "Hello, ladies!"
"Daniel! I thought you went back to Florida?"
"Came back for a visit. Are you closing?"
"We're going out for supper," Leah told him. "Would you like to join us?"
He brightened and nodded. "That would be wonderful."
They walked to a nearby restaurant that was frequented by locals and tourists alike. Maybe Mary Katherine was imagining it, but Daniel seemed to maneuver things so that he sat near her.
She wondered about that. The last time she'd seen him— when he'd been here to sell his p
arents' property—he'd acted as though he was interested in her.
Leah asked him about his mother, and he passed along a message from her. Naomi asked if he'd met a friend of hers who was vacationing in Pinecraft. And Anna wanted to know if the ocean was warm enough to swim in.
Daniel had questions of his own. "So, I hear you and Jacob are dating," he said quietly while the others gave their orders to a waitress.
Mary Katherine stared at him, surprised. "Who did you hear this from?"
"I hear things."
"All the way down in Pinecraft?"
He shrugged. "Been back for a few days."
"What are you having tonight, sir?"
Daniel picked up his menu. "You order, Mary Katherine."
When it was his turn, he flashed the waitress a charming grin. "Sorry, I was too busy talking to look at the menu. I'll have the baked chicken special."
"S'okay," the waitress said, smiling as she took his menu.
He turned back to talk to Mary Katherine, but Anna— always inquisitive—had questions for him. Florida sounded so exotic to her, she said. She wanted to know more and asked him endless questions about Pinecraft.
She wasn't the only one. Naomi was asking her own questions, Mary Katherine noticed. Glancing at her grandmother, Mary Katherine wondered if she should switch seats with her sister so that they could talk.
Daniel glanced at her, and she thought he looked a little frustrated. Dessert was ordered—no one passed up dessert here—and when the time came for the check to be presented, Mary Katherine looked up from talking to Anna and discovered Daniel gone.
"Ready to go?" he asked when he returned.
"We're waiting for our check," she explained.
"It's taken care of."
"But Grossmudder was treating us," Anna said.
"It's my treat. My parents gave me a nice little present for taking care of selling their property," he said.
"Well, danki, Daniel," Leah said. "That is very nice of you."
"Does this mean we get another dinner to celebrate?" Anna asked as she followed them out of the restaurant.
"You were celebrating?" Daniel held the door open. "Is it somebody's birthday? It's not Mary Katherine's."
"The bishop decided not to give us any problems—" Anna began.
"Anna!"
She covered her mouth. "Sorry."
Daniel glanced at Mary Katherine, but she shook her head. Her grandmother didn't have to remind her that such things weren't to be discussed.
They walked back to the shop, arriving a few minutes before their driver was scheduled to arrive.
Daniel put a hand on her arm and drew her aside. "Could I see you tomorrow?"
"I'm working."
"Lunch," he said, his eyes direct on hers. "Everyone has to eat lunch."
Their ride pulled up to the curb.
His fingers tightened on her arm. "Please?"
"Why do you want to talk to me?"
"Just let me take you to lunch and talk?"
"Mary Katherine, are you coming?" Anna called.
"Be right there!" She looked at Daniel. "Fine. I'll meet you at noon at the place we just ate at."
Anna rested her chin on Mary Katherine's shoulder as she sat before her loom. "So, what does Daniel want?"
"To talk. That's all."
"Talk? About what?"
"I have no idea. I guess I'll find out when I talk to him."
Anna moved to throw herself into a nearby chair. It took only a minute before she was reaching for her ever-present knitting. "I think he's still interested in you."
Mary Katherine worked on a couple of rows, sliding the shuttle in and out.
"Mary Katherine!"
"What?"
Exasperated, Anna stared at her. "Say something!"
"I know you love a romance, but he could be here just to talk about something with me."
"Uh-huh."
Mary Katherine glanced at the clock. "Time to go."
"I want to hear everything when you come back!" Anna called after her.
"Me, too," said Naomi as she opened the door for her.
"You, too?"
"Me, too." Naomi grinned. "Have a nice lunch."
Daniel was waiting for her at the restaurant. He rose to seat her, and she saw that ice water and a menu were already at her place at the table. He wasn't wasting any time.
So she wouldn't, either.
"What is it you want to talk about?"
"Are you or are you not dating Jacob?"
She rolled her eyes. "You know it's no one's business if I am."
"It's mine."
The waitress came with her order pad, and then left them alone.
"How do you figure it's your business?" she asked him.
He reached over and took her hand. "You know I'm interested in you."
"But I told you before you left that I wasn't interested," she said, trying to be gentle.
"While I'm here I thought I'd see what's going on with you." He looked up when he was served a soft drink. "What was Anna talking about last night? About the bishop?"
"It's not really something I can discuss." She twirled her straw in her glass of iced tea.
"Likely poking his nose in things he doesn't need to. I know about him the same way I know about you and Jacob." He leaned forward. "Why don't you come to Florida for a visit? See what it's like where I live? You might want to stay."
She rested her chin on her hand, her elbow on the table, and stared out the window of the restaurant. "You know, the last time you were here I was feeling pretty restless. Actually, up until recently that was true. I didn't know if I even belonged here. But I'm not feeling that way anymore."
"What changed?"
"I think I was still hurting over the way my father was," she told him.
Her food was served, and she thanked the waitress but didn't immediately begin eating. "I didn't think God had listened to me. I was so mixed up I didn't even see what was in front of me. Who was in front of me."
"Jacob," he said heavily.
Even though dating was considered very personal, something that wasn't shared as she knew it was in the Englisch world, she felt he deserved to know. She saw his look of disappointment and felt bad, but didn't know what to say. Finally, she nodded.
"A lot of people come to my town for a break from the winter weather," he said. "But then they leave. I'm starting to wonder if I'll ever find a wife."
She reached across to take his hand. "I'm sorry. But you know, God's set aside a woman for you. He'll bring the two of you together when it's time."
He squeezed her hand. "You're a sweet woman, Mary Katherine. I kept thinking about you and decided to come back and see if you and Jacob were engaged."
Someone appeared at the side of the table. They looked up and saw Hilda, the mother of a schoolmate of theirs.
"Why, Daniel, I thought you'd gone back to Florida!" she exclaimed.
"I did. Just making a quick visit back," he told her. "How's Lizzie?"
Mary Katherine quietly withdrew her hand, but the woman saw and a speculative expression crossed her face.
"Married and has two kinner already," she told him.
"That's nice," he said, but there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm in his voice. "Tell her I said hello."
"I'll do that."
She left them, and Mary Katherine picked up her fork and tried her chicken salad. It was excellent, as usual. She glanced over at Daniel, who was picking up his hamburger.
Evidently, he wasn't so lovesick for her that he couldn't eat, she thought, trying not to smile. Not that she'd wanted him to be.
Well, maybe she did. But just for a few minutes. She couldn't help feeling flattered that two men were interested in her. She was only human, after all.
Very human.
15
Jacob watched Hilda drive away in her buggy and wondered if she knew just how devastating what she'd said had been to him.
He knew she didn't ha
ve a mean bone in her body, that she hadn't come to deliberately upset him. But she'd felt he should know. Daniel was back in town, and she'd seen him holding hands with Mary Katherine in a restaurant at lunch.
There had to be some explanation. She'd called him and said that she was going out to supper with her grandmother and her cousins and so couldn't go for a drive with him. She promised to stop by later in the week, and he had looked forward to it ever since.
He walked to a rough wooden bench at the edge of the field and sat down. Taking off his hat, he wiped his forehead with a bandanna, then tucked the bandanna back into his pocket. He watched Ben walking toward him carrying an insulated jug and two plastic cups.
A flock of birds flew overhead. "Guess they're hoping we'll drop some seed," Ben said.
He passed Jacob the cups and poured their water. "So what did Hilda want? I'm guessing it wasn't good. You don't look happy."
"She said I deserved to know."
"Nope. Doesn't sound good." He gestured for Jacob to move over and sat beside him.
"Said Daniel was back in town and she saw him holding Mary Katherine's hand."
"Hilda loves to gossip. Always has."
Jacob glanced at him. "But she wouldn't tell an untruth."
"Well, there has to be an explanation. You're going to ask Mary Katherine about it, right?"
Jacob glanced at him and nodded. "Of course. And we're not engaged. She can see whoever she wishes."
He felt Ben pat his back awkwardly.
"I'm sorry. But you need to ask Mary Katherine about it. Wait until you talk to her."
His throat was dry, and it hurt to swallow. "It's all my fault."
"How do you figure that?"
Jacob looked at him. "I knew Daniel was interested in her the last time he came to town. It made me realize she meant more to me than I thought. So I decided to pursue her. She said at first she only wanted to be friends, but lately . . ."
"Lately she feels more for you. I've seen it."
"You have?" Jacob looked at him. "You're not just saying that because you think I want to hear it?"
Ben drew back and looked affronted. "I wouldn't do that."
Jacob sighed. "No, you wouldn't."
Her Restless Heart Page 19