“I’m sure she’s nervous about the job,” Emma said.
“Could be.” But he thought there was more to it than just nerves. “See you later, Emma. I’ll bring Laura back this afternoon.” He paused. “If she’ll let me.”
“I’m sure she will. Danki for giving her the job, Sawyer.
She’s barely left the house since the accident.”
“It wasn’t my doing. Lukas approved of it.”
“You came along at just the right time.” Emma looked at him. “God’s timing.”
Sawyer wasn’t so sure of that, but he nodded anyway. He hadn’t grown up attending church, and it had taken time for him to understand that this community attributed everything in their lives to the Lord. Their belief that God guided everything confused him. How could that be possible? That theory left so many things unexplained. Like his parents’ death.
He walked toward the truck. Laura waited by the passenger door. He left it unlocked. Why hadn’t she gotten inside?
Maybe she was waiting for him. When he opened the door, she lifted her brow but got in without a word.
The chance of her letting him take her home seemed increasingly remote. Didn’t matter. He’d try anyway. He jumped in the truck and turned the ignition on. His foot slipped and he revved the engine. “Sorry.”
She nodded and kept looking straight ahead.
He yanked the truck into reverse. This was going to be a long ride.
Laura was surprised that Sawyer opened the truck door for her.
And what were he and Emma talking about? She wanted to ask but forced herself not to.
“Fine morning, don’tcha think?”
“Ya.” He didn’t speak with the long Southern drawl she was used to. More nasally. But pleasant. Appealing.
Laura shifted in her seat. She folded her hands in her lap and turned her face toward the window. Big tall trees dotted the yards along the road. The last of autumn’s leaves hung from spindly branches. The landscape resembled winter in the south more than fall. It was colder here too.
“So what’s Tennessee like?” Sawyer asked.
She flinched, his voice jerking her out of her thoughts.
“Cold. Wait, no, it isn’t. I was just thinking that it’s cold here.
Colder here, I mean.” She bit her bottom lip. Stop rambling.
“Oh.” He turned left. “Different from Ohio, then?”
“Ya.”
“What’s different other than the weather?”
“Is it all right if we don’t talk right now?” She cringed at her own impoliteness. She never used to be curt. Now she had to work at not being downright rude.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t pry. I know what it’s like to be homesick.”
“I’m not homesick.” But she didn’t sound convincing, even to herself.
“I like living here,” he continued, “but when I first came, it took a long time to get used to a new place.” He pulled into a driveway next to a large white house with a simply landscaped lawn. The sign on the side of the building read Byler and Sons.
“We’re here.”
“Already?” Emma was wrong. It wouldn’t have been that far of a walk from the Shetlers’. The ride was unnecessary.
Emma must have known that. Surely Sawyer did too.
As soon as he turned off the ignition, she scrambled out of the truck and waited by the front door of the shop. He was close at her heels and opened the door.
The chemical scent of varnish hit her first, followed by strong undertones of different kinds of wood and sawdust. Her family ran a bakery, but her cousins worked construction, so the smell was familiar.
She glanced around the room. Two Amish men were hard at work. One on the stocky side, with dark brown hair and a long beard. The other man was tall and wiry. Curly sandy-blond hair poked out beneath his straw hat. His light brown beard was shorter, only a couple inches past his chin.
Sawyer motioned for Laura to follow him farther into the shop. They stopped near a table in the middle of the spacious workroom. He gestured to the shorter man. “My father, Lukas.
And that’s his brother, Tobias.”
They were brothers? They didn’t look anything alike.
“Gut mariye.” Lukas came toward her, his hand extended.
She shook it, feeling the calluses on his palm against her skin.
“Glad to have you here.”
“Ya,” Tobias said from the back of the shop. “Lukas’s head would have exploded if he had to do any more office work.”
Lukas shot his brother an annoyed look. “Don’t listen to him.”
Despite herself, Laura almost laughed. They might not look like brothers, but they sure acted like them. Seeing the family bond caused an ache inside. And she’d just told Sawyer she wasn’t homesick.
“Can you get her started? Tobias and I are finishing up that hutch. Got a customer from Cleveland coming out day after tomorrow.”
Sawyer nodded before glancing at Laura. “Let me show you the office.”
She trailed him to the back of the woodshop and into a small room that had a door with a window in the upper half so you could see through to the shop. Sawyer held the door open and stood aside to let her pass.
One quick scan of the room and she could see the office was already organized. Lukas might not have liked doing paperwork, but from what she could tell he had kept on top of it.
“Everything you need is in the desk. Pens, pencils, paper.
Order forms, invoices, all that stuff. There’s a solar calculator in the top right drawer.”
He walked to a three-drawer filing cabinet next to the desk.
“Files are in here. You can hang your jacket or coat on one of the pegs.” He gestured behind him to the row of wooden pegs nailed to the wall. Then he opened the middle top drawer and pulled out a spiral-bound notebook. “Everything you need to know is in that book. My Aunt Ruth put it together a few years ago. Still, if you have any questions, just ask any of us.”
She nodded, flipping through the book and taking in the neat handwriting. “Looks like organization runs in your familye.”
“I might agree, except that you haven’t met my Aunt Elisabeth. Organization is not her thing.” He chuckled. “I’m sure you’ll meet everyone soon. They all drop by here from time to time. We’re pretty close.”
She heard the touch of satisfaction in his voice and buried her gaze in the notebook. She didn’t want to know about his family, only about the job.
“I’ll let you get to it.” He stopped in the doorway and looked over his shoulder. “Let me know if you need anything.”
Laura nodded but didn’t look at him. She pulled out the chair, pretending to be consumed by the contents of the notebook.
The door shut with a click. She breathed out and rubbed her fingers across her forehead. The job would be easy. Ignoring the homesickness wouldn’t. The same held true for Sawyer and his daed and onkel. All three seemed genuine. Kind. She hadn’t thought there were any kind men left in the world.
“Think she’s going to work out?” Lukas asked as Sawyer walked back into the workroom.
Sawyer nodded. “She seems sharp. Eager to do the job.” She also seemed eager for him to leave. That socked his ego a bit.
Lukas ran a brush thick with clear lacquer along the side of the hutch. “I wonder how long she’s going to stay.”
“What do you mean?”
“Has she moved in with the Shetlers permanently?”
Sawyer shrugged. “I’m not sure. I didn’t ask her.” He probably should have, before he hired her. But she’d seemed so eager to have the job he didn’t want to tell her no.
“If she has plans to geh back home, we should find out.” He paused. “Then again, as long as God sees fit for her to stay here, we’ll appreciate her work. If she does a good job.”
Sawyer shot a glance toward the office door. Through the glass he could see Laura already at work. “I think she will.”
Laura glanced at the clock on the desk. Like everything else in the office, it was plain and unadorned. Nearly five. The day had passed quickly. She rose from the chair and stretched. Straightened the ribbons of her kapp. Picked her dark blue coat off the peg and slipped it over her shoulders. When she opened the door, she nearly slammed into Sawyer.
“I’m sorry.” She glanced up. She hadn’t been this close to him before, hadn’t noticed he was almost a head taller than she was. Her gaze flicked away. “You startled me.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to.” Sawyer took a step backward.
“Ready to head home?”
“I was just fixing to go.” She tried to move past him, but he blocked the doorway.
“I’ll go with you to the truck.”
She held up her hand. “I can walk.”
“It’s getting dark outside. Not to mention cold.”
“I’ve got a coat. And a flashlight.”
Sawyer stayed in place. “It’s no problem to take you home.”
“I’ve been sitting in this chair all day. I need the exercise.”
Sawyer grinned. “Sounds like an excuse to me.”
“Call it what you want.” She looked at him straight on.
“Can you let me by?”
“You’d rather walk half an hour in the dark and cold than for me to give you a ride?”
He sounded petulant. Had he never been turned down before? Maybe his nice-boy act was just that, an act. Like Mark’s had been. She nodded, not letting her gaze drift from his.
He stepped to one side. “By all means. Walk home.”
She recognized that tone. Irritation? Maybe some hurt pride? She took another look at him before she walked away.
Wait, that wasn’t it. She knew when a man was irritated. She’d experienced enough of that when Mark didn’t get what he wanted. Sawyer wasn’t irritated. He didn’t even seem upset.
He seemed disappointed.
It didn’t make sense. Why should he care if she walked home or not?
Outside, darkness was falling, and the wind pierced through her thin coat. The air was cold, much colder than it had been that morning. Maybe near freezing Laura flicked on her flashlight and looked up and down the dark road. Had Sawyer turned right or left into the Bylers’ driveway? Why hadn’t she paid more attention?
She rubbed her forehead with the tips of her cold fingers and turned right, hoping she’d made the right choice.
Sawyer shook his head. He noticed her rubbing her forehead again. She seemed to do that a lot. Maybe it was her way of getting her brain in gear. It didn’t work; she took the wrong turn out of the driveway.
He strode to his truck and opened the door. Let her get down the road a little ways. Maybe she’d figure out she’d turned wrong. Next time when he offered her a ride, she’d take it.
He felt a twinge of guilt. He should have given her directions. Then again, she hadn’t asked for any. She hadn’t asked him for anything, except this job.
He turned on the ignition and waited for the truck to warm up. It was a cold night. Clear sky, but no moon. He had never paid much attention to moonlight until he’d run away. Then it was the only light he had at night, and he counted on it. Without it, he was in complete darkness.
Except for that one time, when out of desperation he stole Mary Beth’s flashlight. Guilt had plagued him right after, and he’d returned it.
He shook his head, forcing the memories away. Thinking about that time brought his birth parents alive in his mind. And despite years of being content with the Bylers, the pain would sometimes return, sharp as a saw blade.
He shifted the truck into reverse and backed out of the driveway. He could see Laura’s flashlight bobbing along as she continued to walk the wrong way home. He rolled down the passenger window and slowed, letting the truck propel itself along.
“Sure you don’t want a ride?” he asked.
Her body jerked. She turned to him. He could barely see her face in the darkness. “Positive.”
No mistaking her tone. Curt. Decisive. Yet not harsh enough to stop him. “You know you’re going the wrong way, ya?”
She took a step. Stopped. He thought he heard her sigh. She spun around and headed in the opposite direction.
He quickly pulled the truck over and put it in park. He left it running as he jumped out and hurried to her. “You don’t know your way home.”
“I reckon I’ll figure it out.”
“Figure it out in the daylight. Not now.” He stepped in front of her, losing patience with the silly game she insisted on playing. “Get into the truck.”
She froze at his words. Raised her flashlight until the light hit his eyes. “Nee.”
The force of that one word took him aback, almost more than the piercing flash of light. Spots danced before his eyes, and he blinked. By the time his eyes adjusted, she had walked away.
Fine. If she wanted to spend the night wandering around Middlefield, that was her business. He followed her, keeping his distance.
“Laura, this is stupid.”
“I agree,” she called out, not turning around. “You followin’ me is stupid.’Specially since your truck is still runnin’.”
Despite his exasperation, Sawyer smiled in the darkness at the sound of her soft Southern accent. “Why are you being so stubborn?”
“Why won’t you leave me alone?”
Answering a question with a question. He couldn’t stand that. “You’re fired.”
That stopped her. She whirled around and flashed the light at him. This time he was ready. He put his hand up and shielded his eyes.
“What did you say?”
“You’re fired?” He had her attention, but caught it in an underhanded way. He had no intention of firing her. He didn’t think he even had the authority.
“You’re firin’ me because I won’t ride home with you?” She stomped toward him. “That’s coercion.”
Nice vocabulary. His Aunt Ruth would be impressed. A former schoolteacher, she was always throwing around big words that sometimes made her husband, Zach, scratch his head. But Sawyer knew exactly what Laura meant. And she was right.
“Okay, I’m sorry. You’re not fired. “ “I don’t appreciate being manipulated.”
“I understand.” He took a step toward her. “How about if I ask nicely?”
The flashlight lowered a few inches.
“Please let me take you home. I promise I’ll pick you up in the morning and show you the way to the shop—in the daylight.” He paused. “Then if you don’t want to ride with me again, you don’t have to.”
After a moment she spoke. “All right.”
He waited for her to reach him. Then they both walked back to the truck. She got in. As he slid into his seat, he could sense her body shaking. She turned off the flashlight as he shut the door.
“Here.” He turned a knob on the dashboard. Hot air blew through the vents. “Better?”
“Ya. Danki.”
“You’re welcome.”
He eased the truck onto the road. “Sorry about what happened back there.”
Silence. “It’s okay. I—” She sighed. “I should have taken you up on the offer in the first place. I would have gotten lost.”
Sawyer stopped himself from nodding. No need to throw salt on a bit of wounded pride. He’d learned that the Amish try to ignore pride. Humility was stressed almost above all else.
But everyone had it, no matter how hard they tried to keep it in check.
He suddenly thought about the conversation with Lukas earlier that day. “How long are you planning to stay in Middlefield?”
She didn’t respond right away. “I’m not sure.”
“Can you give me an estimate?”
“Why do you need to know?”
The bite was back in her voice. Touchy. He reminded himself about the fire. The wounds she’d sustained. Considering that, she was doing very well. He’d have to draw on his patie
nce.
Or learn to grow some.
“Lukas was asking. We’ve had a revolving door when it comes to that job. He wants someone who will be around for a while.”
“I will.” A pause. “You can count on that.”
A few moments later he pulled into her driveway. “I’ll be here in the morning.”
She opened the door. The interior light of the truck switched on. In the dim light her scars were still noticeable. Yet they didn’t detract from her delicate features.
“I’ll be ready.”
He watched until she went inside, the headlights of his truck illuminating her in the darkness. Petite. Pretty. That quivery feeling in his belly appeared again. No wonder Mark King had pursued her. Who wouldn’t?
But obviously the jerk had underestimated Laura Stutzman.
Beneath that slight exterior lay an unyielding strength. One that King couldn’t break. Even though it was obvious he had tried, and not just by harming her physically.
Sawyer gritted his teeth as he drove away. Laura didn’t deserve what had happened to her. No one did. But for some reason the accident and her injuries dug deep at Sawyer.
It was a good thing Mark King had left town. Sawyer didn’t know what he’d do if they ever crossed paths.
Whatever it might be, his family and the Amish community wouldn’t approve. Of that he was absolutely sure.
CHAPTER 8
Emma pulled two loaves of steaming meatloaf out of the oven. They nearly fell out of her unsteady hands. “Great,” she muttered. The last thing she needed was to ruin the main part of tonight’s supper.
“Relax, lieb.” Leona shuffled up behind her. “It’s just the Ottos coming for supper.”
Exactly. Her grandmother didn’t know how important—and nerve wracking—tonight was. Not only did she want the food to be perfect, she wanted to break the ice that had formed around the families’ relationship. Carol remained distant, and Norman almost never came over anymore to check on her and Leona, even though it was his duty as a deacon. Maybe the problem wasn’t just between Carol and Norman. Emma had yet to voice those suspicions to Adam, however. He was keyed up enough about his parents.
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