“He’s kidding, Mamm.”
Mamm went back to her cooking.
Samuel lowered his voice. “You didn’t tell?”
“I most certainly did. I made sure Catherine knew that I knew and that you knew what she’d said about me. That’s enough.”
“I appreciate your not saying more than that.”
Eli thudded down the stairs like a stiff old man. He rubbed his eyes. “We need rain, not just for the crops, but so I can get a day to sleep in.” He went to the refrigerator and poured a glass of orange juice before sitting next to Samuel.
The back door opened, and Jacob strolled into the room, looking as if he’d spent the evening in a brawl—and lost. His shirt was untucked and unbuttoned, bunched oddly around his suspenders.
Leah leaned toward her brothers. “Where’s he been?”
“My guess is he’s been staring at the summer kitchen.” Eli stifled a yawn. “That’s where I saw him late last night.”
At the summer kitchen? “Was he there all night?” Leah asked.
Eli shrugged.
Jacob got closer, and they hushed. He yawned while Mamm passed him a cup of coffee.
“What’s all the whispering for?” Jacob took a seat.
“I told Samuel that I have the answer.” Leah propped her elbows on the table.
“About the orchard?”
“Ya. Samuel, call Rhoda. Tell her I’m sick. The girl has a so-called cure for everything.”
“That’s right.” Samuel had forgotten about his conversation with Rhoda concerning Leah. “I talked to her about your symptoms, and she wanted to mix up some teas.”
“I seem to be the topic of a lot of conversations.” Leah brushed granules of sugar off the table. “Anyway, set a time, and let’s go visit her—you, Jacob, Eli, and me.”
Samuel considered his sister. “All of us?”
“Us four, ya.”
Without any doubt Leah didn’t want Catherine to be part of it. Well, neither did Samuel, not on this mission and not until she rethought some of her ways.
“Leah may be onto something.” Jacob stirred his coffee. “Rhoda has a short history with each of us, except Eli. And she has chemistry with each of us. I saw it.”
“Ya.” Leah arched her back, stretching it. “Everyone but Catherine.”
“Let it go, Leah.” Jacob stirred his coffee. “Samuel and Catherine have enough chemistry for everyone combined.”
“Yuck.” Leah faked a gag.
Samuel dipped two fingers into his coffee and flicked the liquid at her. “What does our chemistry with Rhoda have to do with the business deal?”
Leah wiped the drops off her face. “When people like you, they’re much more willing to do business with you.”
Jacob took a sip of his coffee. “Leah’s absolutely right. I saw that happen time and again when working away from the farm.”
Eli stretched. “Could we do this with a call, maybe use the speaker phone?”
Samuel set his mug on the table. “I thought of that idea when I woke, but we need a chance to break the ice, and a call may not do that. If Rhoda closes the door in our face one more time, we can’t approach her again.”
“But once we’re there,” Jacob said, “we ask nothing of her concerning Kings’ Orchard. Just let the visit be an icebreaker, ask for suggestions concerning Leah, and invite her to Friday night’s cookout again.”
Samuel looked down at the dark coffee in his cup. “She’s still likely to turn down working with us.”
“Maybe.” Leah pushed a string to her prayer Kapp behind her shoulder. “We’re not trying to make her do something she doesn’t want to do, are we?”
Jacob removed the mug from his lips. “Leah, don’t ask Samuel that question.”
“Jacob’s right,” Eli chuckled.
“You know, Leah, you should join the orchard crew for breakfast more often.” Samuel lifted his mug to toast her. “You’re good at thinking things through.”
“Good, I’ll be the brains of the outfit, and as long as no one needs any real work from me, we’ll get along fine.”
Jacob grinned. “That’s what Samuel says. All the time.”
“Great,” Samuel said. “Two jokesters to contend with. We’ll have to rename our orchard from Kings’ Orchard to, uh, something else.”
“That was brilliant, Samuel.” Jacob took a sip of his coffee.
“Somebody give me a break.” Samuel rubbed his face with both hands. “It’s been an exhausting few days, and no one has solved the issue of Rhoda needing a bigger kitchen to provide the kind of help we require.”
“I’ve been thinking about that too.” Leah looked from Samuel to the others. “It’d mean asking favors and owing money we’re not sure we can pay back, but, hey, what is family for?”
Samuel shook his head. “No. We’re not going to tax Uncle Mervin’s construction business by asking him to do us a favor. This economy has them struggling too.”
“Let’s take this one step at a time.” Jacob set his mug on the table.
Leah nodded. “If Rhoda agrees to partner with us, we’ll figure out everything else.”
Samuel didn’t know what had changed Leah of late, but he liked what he saw. Over the years he’d worked with his grandfather, Daed, and brothers to operate the family business, but with Leah joining in the efforts, she made them feel like a team.
Now if they could get Rhoda on board, they’d become a powerful alliance.
TWENTY-NINE
From inside her cellar, Rhoda heard a car door slam shut. It couldn’t be Landon at ten o’clock in the morning. She let the blueberries in her hand fall back into the sink of cool, clear water. After grabbing a hand towel, she went outside, pausing on the concrete pad at the foot of the cellar stairs. The early-morning downpour that had chased her inside had turned to a gentle mist.
She went to the top of the steps. An unfamiliar driver remained in his extended-cab truck, and Samuel King was standing on her driveway, looking at her garden. Two passenger doors on the vehicle were open, but she could only see who was on this side: Jacob and Leah.
Both of them were studying her fruit patch.
Thoughts and emotions swirled. She wanted to be left alone, sort of, but she couldn’t deny that she hungered for a new adventure. Besides, how long had it been since her peers did anything but avoid her?
When she’d ridden through the apple orchard, she’d felt like a kite sailing high on a March wind. But she’d had a crash landing, although even now she wasn’t sure what had caused it. One moment a steady wind kept her soaring, and the next she was plummeting. She knew one reason was based on a solid business fact: she and her cellar kitchen were no match for what the Kings needed. And then there was the discovery that Samuel had a girlfriend. On one hand, that was no more than a simple disappointment. On the other, it was ridiculous that he hadn’t given any hint he had someone. And she didn’t like the idea of working with someone who manipulated his girlfriend so she’d be gone for the day.
Samuel went to the gate and peered inside, trying to see past the trellises hanging thick with raspberry vines. “Rhoda?”
She drew a breath. “Over here.”
The four of them turned from the garden toward her home.
“Hi.” Samuel crossed the driveway. “I started to call first, but then, well … I hope you don’t mind.”
“To what do I owe this surprise?”
“Our driver ran out of gas.” Jacob grinned.
They were so welcoming, and being pursued by successful business owners stirred something within her. Something new.
A sense of camaraderie between peers.
She held up her index finger and thumb, indicating an inch of space. “That story would hold a tiny bit more clout if your driver hadn’t left his engine running.”
“Your dog ate my homework.” Jacob looked at his siblings, all of who were blank faced and yet somewhat amused. “Ya, that’s it.”
Rhoda put the tow
el on her shoulder. “I don’t own a dog.”
Jacob nodded at Samuel. “He has one I’ll pay you to take.”
Rhoda broke into laughter, and some of her disappointment from Friday faded. She liked Jacob’s sense of humor.
Samuel stepped forward. “We were hoping, among other things, you’d have some advice or maybe something on hand to help with Leah’s stomach ailments.”
“I put a box of licorice tea bags in the mail to her Saturday morning, along with instructions. They’ll probably arrive today. I also ordered licorice root when I got home on Friday. I expect it to arrive tomorrow or Thursday. Even so, it’ll take me a few days to turn it into something she can steep and drink. The fresher the ingredients and the more natural state they’re in when I begin grinding them, the better they’ll be for her. I have a few tea bags on hand if she’d like me to fix her a cup now.”
“You don’t waste any time when you set your mind to something,” Samuel said.
Jacob removed his hat and slapped Samuel in the chest with it. “What he meant to say was, that was very thoughtful, and we appreciate that you went out of your way like that. As a punishment for Samuel’s poor people skills, I think you should take his dog. I’ll help by bringing her to you.”
“Samuel,”—Rhoda removed the towel from her shoulder—“I’d guard that dog if I were you.”
“Ya,” Jacob said, “because there is no way that mutt will guard you.”
Rhoda chuckled. “Leah, would you like some tea right now to see if it’ll help?”
“If it’s not too much bother.”
“It’s not. The last of the tea bags are in my cellar, and you’re all welcome to come, but it’ll be a tight squeeze.”
“I’ll wait out here”—Eli pointed to the vehicle—“with the driver.”
The rest of them went into Rhoda’s cellar. She put a kettle of water on the gas stove to boil.
Jacob glanced around. “This is where you do all your canning?”
“It’s not much to look at, but it’s functional.”
“It is that, I suppose.” Jacob peered into the pot that Landon described as looking like a cauldron as it hovered over the fire. “I guess that makes it much more functional than an Amish girl behind the wheel of a truck with her foot on the brake while two men try to push it.”
“Just what are you saying about my driving skills, Jacob King?”
He grinned. “All I’m going to.”
She suppressed a smile. He was far more charming than she was comfortable with.
Her cellar was primitive, to say the least, and it still surprised her that Samuel believed she could be of help to him and his family’s business.
The tea bag needed to steep fifteen minutes, and between Jacob’s wit, Samuel’s keen interest in her business, and Leah’s gratitude, the time flew. By the time Leah took one sip of her tea, most of the awkwardness between them had melted.
Leah rubbed her stomach. “It sort of numbs it, doesn’t it?”
“Licorice is one of the most versatile herbs in the world.” Rhoda got a washrag off the sink and wiped down the work station. “It has an emollient effect, soothing mucous membranes, such as the throat and stom—” Oh dear. She was prattling. When she looked up, every pair of eyes was on her. “Sorry. It’s my passion.”
“Why don’t you grow it yourself?” Samuel leaned against a counter.
“As far as I know, licorice can’t be grown in the US, although if I had a greenhouse, I’d be tempted to give it and lots of other herbs a try.”
“Didn’t you once have herbs?” Leah set the mug on the work station in front of her. “Lots of them in raised beds? I was sure I saw them several times when I was at a neighbor’s place.”
Rhoda went to the sink and grabbed two handfuls of blueberries from the water. “I did until last May, actually.” She dropped the berries into a colander. “Which reminds me, if word gets out that I’ve given Leah herbal anything, I’ll get in trouble.”
Leah frowned. “Why?”
Rhoda’s eyes locked on Samuel’s. He understood plenty. She hadn’t explained her whole life story while they were on the phone discussing his invite to Kings’ Orchard, but she’d shared enough. And he’d been kind about it.
“It doesn’t matter.” Samuel straightened. “And what you’re doing for Leah won’t be mentioned. But if you’d like a place to grow herbs, one that won’t be seen by passersby or questioned by anyone, we can provide that for you.”
Jacob pulled his billfold out of his pocket. “How much do we owe you for what you’ve ordered and anything else?”
Rhoda shooed him away. “Put your money up.”
Samuel got a jar of fruit off a shelf. “If you’re going to treat us like friends, would you let us do the same by coming Friday night?”
“That’s nice, but it’s for family, and I’m not family.”
“These harvest kickoffs aren’t a youth function,” Leah said. “And they aren’t open to everyone, just like Mamm said, but to family and invited friends.”
Rhoda looked at Jacob. “You’re very quiet. Why’s that?”
His green eyes were focused on her. “Du duh net verschteh.” He repeated the first line she’d ever spoken to him. You do not understand.
She could see that he wasn’t joking around, not even a little. What didn’t she understand? It was obvious to her that she couldn’t provide the kind of help Kings’ Orchard needed, but apparently this group did not feel the same way or they wouldn’t be here, would they?
“Rueben,” Lydia called to someone outside. “Can I help you?”
“Rueben?” Rhoda turned and ran out of the cellar and up the stairs. She heard the others following her. Rueben stood beside Eli, leaning against the driver’s truck, so involved in a conversation that he hadn’t even heard Lydia. Either that or he was ignoring her.
Rhoda went over to him, and he looked up. Rhoda’s Mamm and both sisters-in-law were outside now, ready to defend Rhoda if need be since all the menfolk were at work. No one in her family trusted Rueben Glick.
Rueben said good-bye to Eli, tipped his hat to Rhoda, and left.
Rhoda looked from one person to another. “What was that about?”
“What, with Rueben?” Eli pushed away from the truck. “He was out for a walk, and when he saw me, he stopped to chat. I probably haven’t seen him in two years. Didn’t realize he lived near here.” Eli turned to Samuel. “He’s the guy who hits a homer nearly every time he’s up at bat during the annual auction to support the schools. It’s a shame we see him only once a year.”
Rhoda glanced at the women in her family, but they didn’t say anything. If Eli wanted to believe Rueben was a superstar of some sort, they wouldn’t say otherwise.
Lydia put her hand on her lower back, making her protruding stomach look even larger.
Mamm stepped closer. “You have company, Rhoda?”
“Mamm, you remember Samuel? And these are three of his siblings.” After she made the introductions, her Mamm invited them to go inside for a drink and fresh fruit.
Surprisingly, Samuel accepted. Did he not have any work to do today? Rhoda lagged behind, letting them go in ahead of her.
Jacob dropped back too. “I hope this isn’t a sore subject with you, but I enjoyed your visit last week.”
Rhoda nodded. “Denki. It was thrilling to see the orchard, to ride among the trees and feel swept away in its splendor.” People ate every day, and oftentimes they didn’t pause when standing in the fresh produce section of the grocery store to realize the magnitude of God’s earth that feeds them. Her reaction was just the opposite. Every seed and bud and piece of fruit she saw made pleasure sprout anew within her.
Had she been too hasty in turning down their proposition?
“About this Friday.” Jacob seemed relaxed and confident as he interacted with her. “Our driver will pick us up at our house and take us to Lancaster right before he gets off for the weekend. We’ll help set up whatever the
women need, and later we’ll drive a rig here and pick you up, say around seven?”
She wasn’t one to attend a gathering, and accepting might make them believe they stood a chance of her saying yes to their business offer. If she felt a little more sure about at least canning for them this fall, she’d accept.
The sound of a vehicle drew her attention. Landon pulled his truck in behind the other one. What was he doing here this time of day? When he got out of the truck, he looked as if he’d been sucker-punched. She knew that look. He’d been given more bad news about his job; maybe he’d been let go or they’d given him notice which day would be his last.
Rhoda turned back to Jacob. “I’ll be ready and waiting.”
THIRTY
Rhoda lifted the rack of Mason jars out of the steaming water in the bath canner, but her mind was on the Kings and their visit here two days ago. She needed confirmation to help her decide what to do—a gut feeling or a sign of some kind. Something. But all she felt was what she’d felt the day Samuel first asked her: that things would end badly.
After placing the rack on the counter, she used a thick cloth to lift and set each jar on a shelf to cool for the next twenty-four hours. She hurried out of the cellar and into her house. Late for dinner again.
Her family had begun eating without her. Daed sat at the head of the ten-foot table. He stopped eating and folded his hands as he watched her. Five adults and five children followed suit. Rhoda hurried to the table. Four of her nieces and nephews were in their highchairs. Her eldest nephew, Enos, sat in a booster chair.
“Sorry I’m late.” Rhoda took her regular seat near her Daed. “Lydia came to me and said dinner would be ready in an hour, and I needed to find a stopping point and come upstairs. Then I totally forgot until John came to the cellar and yelled.”
Her brother John sat stone faced, irritated. “We said our prayers and began without you.”
That was obvious, but apparently he needed to vent. Daed winked at her before he bowed his head. It was a second prayer, and the other adults tried to keep the children hushed during it.
Rhoda closed her eyes. The aroma of fresh baked bread and chicken spaghetti filled her nose and mind, reminding her of all she had to be grateful for.
A Season for Tending: Book One in the Amish Vines and Orchards Series Page 22