Huckleberry Harvest (The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill Book 5)

by Jennifer Beckstrand

  “Nae, Mammi. Adam isn’t the one. I don’t think anybody in Bonduel . . .”

  Mammi consulted her clipboard. “He does have very nice teeth. He never took swimming lessons, but most of die youngie have never taken lessons. A lot of them swim just fine.” She put a little checkmark by Adam’s name. “I liked the way he lifted that hay bale. Did you notice his muscles?”

  Mandy didn’t know what to say. How could she tell her Mammi that she was trying not to notice anything about any of the boys? “Um, he lifted it all the way over his head.”

  “Jah, but not with the arms extended. That could be a point against him.”

  Nae, Mammi. Please don’t keep score.

  “Oh dear,” Mammi said. “We forgot to give him some lemonade. Do you think his feelings were hurt?”

  Titus came back into the barn.

  “Titus,” Mammi said. “Where is the next boy?”

  “He’s coming. But I need a pitchfork. Do you have a pitchfork?”

  Mammi gave Titus an exasperated huff. “There is one over there by Dawdi’s workbench and two more in the toolshed, and what do you need a pitchfork for?”

  Titus found the pitchfork and practically raced out the door. “Denki, Mammi,” he said as he closed the door behind him.

  Mammi propped a hand on her hip. “Just what do you think that was about?”

  Moments later, the next boy entered the barn. Well, maybe “boy” was not an accurate description. He looked to be well on the downhill side of thirty with a potbelly and a shiny bald head. He shuffled his feet and kept his eyes down, acting as timid as a church mouse. “I hear you’re looking for someone to do some work.”

  “We have a job, yes,” Mammi said. “I’ve never met you. How did you hear about this job?”

  “Davy Burkholder called me. I have a wood shop this side of Wausau. I could use something extra on the side to help me start a goat business.” He fiddled with the brim of his hat. “My name is Aaron Stutzman.”

  Mammi rolled her eyes. “Aaron? Doesn’t Titus know what alphabetical order means?”

  Aaron kept shuffling, as if standing in the barn talking to Mammi was the most uncomfortable thing he’d ever done in his life. “I don’t know. He told me to come in, so I came in. Did I do it wrong?”

  Mammi flashed him a smile that would have put a skittish horse at ease. “Of course not, Aaron. You’re doing just fine.”

  Mandy nearly put a stop to the test before Mammi went any further. Aaron, who didn’t look to be in any sort of good physical condition, might truly hurt himself if he tried to lift a hay bale over his head.

  Mammi looked down at her clipboard. “Aaron, do you know how to swim?”

  “Jah.”

  “And what is the condition of your teeth?”

  Aaron raised his eyebrows and stretched his mouth across his face as if Mammi had said something slightly inappropriate. “I had two pulled three years ago and lost one last summer.”

  Mammi furiously made notes, as if Aaron had given a stirring speech and she didn’t want to forget one word. After an awkward minute of Aaron shuffling and fiddling and Mandy trying to look anywhere but at him, Mammi tapped her pencil on the clipboard. “Denki, Aaron. That is all. We will let you know if we want you to do the job for us. Have a cup of lemonade on your way out.”

  Aaron rolled the brim of his hat in his fingers. “I am a gute worker, and I could ride the bus up here two or three days a week. I want to raise goats and sell milk.”

  Mammi handed Aaron a cup of lemonade. “That’s a wonderful-gute occupation. Lord willing, you’ll have a big herd.”

  Aaron took the cup from Mammi and slowly backed away, nodding and attempting to smile on his way out.

  Half his lemonade spilled in the dirt as he shut the barn door behind him.

  Mandy sighed. “No muscle test?”

  “I’d rather not have to call an ambulance this morning.”

  Mammi’s eyes twinkled. “I guessed that it would be a waste of time, unless you prefer older men.”

  “Um, nae. I prefer men from Charm.”

  She patted Mandy on the knee. “That’s only because you haven’t seen all that Bonduel has to offer yet.”

  The next boy strode into the barn as if he owned it. He wasn’t tall, of medium build, with a shock of golden curly hair on top of his head. He truly couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old.

  Mammi leaned close to whisper in Mandy’s ear. “I don’t expect you to marry this one, but he’s Adam’s little brother. I couldn’t very well invite Adam without inviting Zeb.”

  “Hello, Anna,” Zeb said, grinning as if he were completely confident of winning whatever contest Mammi asked him to compete in.

  Mammi picked up her clipboard, wrote his name, and huffed out a quick breath. “It wonders me if Titus ever learned his alphabet. Aren’t there any F’s, G’s, or H’s out there?”

  Zeb’s self-assurance seemed to wilt a bit. “Is this a reading test? I’m not gute with my letters.”

  Mammi waved her hand around. “Oh, it doesn’t matter. We’re glad you’re here, Zeb—spelled with a Z.”

  “Titus told me you need some heavy lifting done.”

  Mammi pursed her lips. “Titus doesn’t follow instructions very well. Sometimes that boy . . .” She didn’t finish her thought.

  Mandy had a pretty good idea where it was going.

  Mammi regained her smile. Titus might have been a little thick in the head, but he was her grandson. No mammi could love a boy more. “Well, now, Zeb. Here is the test. Can you lift this hay bale over your head?”

  Zeb gazed at the bale at his feet. “Sure. Where do you want me to put it?”

  “Just lift it and put it down again.”

  Zeb bent over and hefted the hay bale to the level of his knees. Then with a grunt, he swung it so hard that it sailed over his head and catapulted him backward. He let go before it took him to the ground, but he had to take several steps back to regain his balance. He glanced at Mandy and grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. It kind of got away from me.”

  “No need to apologize,” Mammi assured him. “Would you like some lemonade?”

  “Okay,” Zeb said.

  Mandy picked up a cup and filled it for Zeb. He flashed a bright smile when she handed it to him. Zeb Wengerd had very nice teeth, just like his brother. “Times like these, I wish I was just a little older,” he said.

  “Zeb, do you know how to swim?” Mammi asked.

  “Jah, of course. Doesn’t everybody?”

  Mammi made her notes on the clipboard, even though she’d already told Mandy that Zeb was not a candidate. Mandy supposed she wanted to be fair. “Denki for coming, Zeb. You did a gute job with the hay. Would you ask Titus to send the next boy in?”

  Zeb nodded, finished off his lemonade, and handed the cup back to Mandy. She gave him a wan smile, dreading the parade of prospective suitors standing in line outside the barn for their chance. Couldn’t they just be done with it? Maybe she should fib to Mammi and tell her that she had settled on Adam Wengerd. Or perhaps she should fake a headache. At this point, with her face the temperature of a cup of coffee and the pounding right behind her eyes, she wouldn’t have to fake very much.

  Nae. Illness would only postpone the inevitable. Sure as rain, Mammi would invite them all up another day to pull the buggy around the yard or pluck tree stumps from the ground with their bare hands. Better to get it over with now and limit the embarrassment to another hour or so.

  Mammi looked as if she could barely contain her delight. “Isn’t this fun? Just wait until you lay eyes on Luke Miller. He’s got seven sisters. His family grows chrysanthemums to sell at the produce auction every year. And he only has nine toes.”

  Mandy tried for that smile again. How often did she get to meet a nine-toed man? It would be a day to remember.

  They sat for nearly five minutes before the next boy made his entrance. It was Paul Zook, whom Mandy had met last week when he came to help move t
he stove. He looked as if he’d been playing in the dirt. A dark smudge ran down the side of his cheek and his navy-blue shirt was dusted with a fine gray powder.

  “Paul, denki for coming today,” Mammi said. “I’m sorry you had to wait so long.”

  Paul brushed off his arms and sent a cloud of dust into the air. “We’re making gute use of the time out there,” he said.

  Even though Paul made a very valiant attempt to get the hay bale over his head, he managed to pull it up to his chest but no farther. Mammi asked him about swimming and hunting, and she even requested that he tilt his head back and open his mouth so she could inspect his teeth. Mandy wondered if he felt like a horse up for auction. A horse with a nice set of braces.

  Another dozen boys paraded through the barn, and Mammi added a question or a task with each one. Maybe she sensed Mandy’s resistance and felt she needed to get more information.

  She requested Freeman Kiem’s complete dental record plus inquired into whether he’d gotten a tetanus shot. She asked Davy Burkholder’s opinion on the deer hunt before directing him to wiggle his ears the way he did when he wanted to entertain his younger siblings. La Wayne Burkholder, Davy’s cousin, did that trick where he crossed his eyes and curled his tongue both ways.

  Luke Miller, the nine-toed boy, lifted the hay bale clear over his head before dropping it with a satisfying thud. Then he snorted air in through his nose and spat out the contents of his throat onto the ground next to Mandy’s foot. Shuddering slightly, she quickly kicked some loose dirt over his spit with the toe of her shoe, followed by a handful of hay and then a napkin. She’d take a broom and scrub brush to it later. She tried not to think about it. After all, lots of nasty things lived on the barn floor.

  Mammi gave Luke some lemonade. “Will you send the next boy in?”

  The nine-toed spitter ambled out the door. “I’m the last one,” he said.

  Mammi glanced up from her clipboard as Luke shut the barn door. “He was strong. Maybe you could cure him of that little spitting habit.”

  “Maybe,” Mandy said.

  Mammi exhaled slowly. “That was an interesting experience. Titus never did get them in alphabetical order.”

  “Perhaps he was going for tallest to shortest.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Nae. Luke is six-foot-two.” Mammi leafed through her seven pages of notes. “I liked John Shirk’s answer about the Confession of Faith, but Melvin Lambright seems to the know the Bible better yet. LaWayne has had his appendix out. I wonder if that’s something you’ll wish he had later in life.” She laid her clipboard and pencil beside her. Eagerness was written all over her face. “Well, what do you think, Mandy? You’ve seen some very promising prospects today. Very promising.”

  Mandy didn’t want to be mean. She really didn’t. One word from her would dash all of Mammi’s hopes, but she didn’t have the slightest interest in one of those boys. As much as she hated to disappoint Mammi, she felt she needed to be truthful. “I’m sorry, Mammi. I know I told Davy I’d try to find his litter of kittens a new home and I promised to help Luke Miller’s sister with her piecrust, but I really don’t want any of these boys for a husband. I’m here to visit you and Dawdi and Kristina. Dating a boy is not in my plan.”

  The corners of Mammi’s lips drooped, but she didn’t lose the sparkle in her eyes. Mandy had forgotten the most important thing. Mammi never gave up hope.

  “You’re going to the gathering with Adam on Friday. And there’s a couple of boys from Cashton we haven’t spoken with yet. There’s still time.”

  Mandy didn’t even let her shoulders sag. “I’ll only be here for two more weeks.”

  “Three weeks, dear. You know I’ve got my heart set on five weeks.”

  “We’ll see, Mammi. We’ll see.”

  The door creaked open, and Titus stuck his head into the barn. He looked like a ragamuffin, with smudges of dirt on his face and shirt. “How did it go?”

  “Wonderful gute,” Mammi said, putting her arm around Mandy and pulling her close. “We’ve had so much fun.”

  Mandy felt obligated to agree for Mammi’s sake. “Jah, they lifted a lot of hay.”

  Titus shifted the toothpick to the other side of his mouth and walked farther into the barn. His trousers were covered with dust. “Is there any lemonade left?”

  Mandy shot to her feet, ready to put this traumatic and unpleasant experience behind her. “Plenty. I’ll get you a cupful.”

  “What have you been up to, Titus?” Mammi asked. “You look as if you’ve been through an avalanche.”

  Noah marched into the barn, looking as filthy as someone would be expected to look after working on the roof all morning. Mandy could see where beads of sweat had made tracks through the dirt down his face.

  For some reason, she could tell he was trying to avoid looking at her. She didn’t like his avoidance at all.

  Noah took Mammi’s hand and helped her from the hay bale. “How did it go? Did you find a husband for Mandy?”

  A playful grin should have accompanied that question, but he seemed way too serious. Maybe scraping off shingles had worn him out.

  Mammi patted Noah on the arm. “You are very kind to be so concerned. I’m getting a little concerned myself, but Mandy says she’s not interested. Not even in Luke Miller. Nine toes just isn’t exciting enough.”

  Noah nodded thoughtfully, but Mandy thought she might have seen his lip twitch upward. “Mandy has an exciting life. Maybe Bonduel is too small a town to find what she’s looking for.”

  “Who else can I try, Noah? I’m at my wit’s end.”

  “How is the roof coming?” Mandy blurted out. She’d die of embarrassment if she had to stand there and listen to Noah and Mammi discuss her prospects.

  Noah finally looked at her. His smile was so bright, she could have counted all his nice, straight, white teeth. Did a smile really have the power to knock a girl off her feet? “The shingles are off.”

  “All of them? So fast?” Mandy said. How had he managed?

  “It was Titus’s idea,” Noah said.

  “It wasn’t really my idea,” Titus said, removing the toothpick from his lips. “They was getting bored out there, so we decided as a group to help Noah strip the roof. It seemed kind of silly for everybody to be standing around on the ground while Noah was up there slaving away. We used the pitchforks plus three hoes. Some of us scraped shingles while others picked them up and dumped them in the wagon.”

  Noah swiped his forearm across his brow. “Then they helped me get the felt underlayment laid down so there won’t be any leaks if it rains before all the shingles are laid.”

  “Noah’s got a wonderful-gute stapler with a hammer tacker. It didn’t take any time at all to tack everything down.”

  “Titus,” Mammi said, planting a kiss on his grimy cheek, “you’re a gute boy.”

  Titus blushed and wriggled away from Mammi as best he could. “Now, Mammi, don’t get mushy. I’m a grown man.”

  Mammi nodded. “I know, dear. Even if you are a little shaky with your ABC’s.”

  Noah rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth to stifle a smile. “There’s nobody better with a shingle fork.”

  “Besides you,” Titus said.

  “Once we finished with the felt paper, nobody knew if they should stick around to hear if they got the job,” Noah said. “I hope it was okay. I sent them all home.”

  “Just as well,” Mammi said. “Mandy won’t have any of them.”

  Noah’s gaze lingered on Mandy’s face even as he spoke to Mammi. “Everybody’s gone now, except for Freeman. He’s playing with Chester and Sparky.” He pulled his work gloves from his back pocket. “Adam says you need some hay moved.”

  Mandy glanced behind her at the substantial stack of hay bales sitting against the wall. “Nae. We weren’t—”

  “Should I heft it into the haymow, Anna?”

  Mammi thought for a minute. “I suppose that’s where Felty would like it. We had it del
ivered on Wednesday, and we haven’t really talked about it.”

  “Titus, can you help?” Noah said, gazing upward at the haymow. He lifted a bale by the twine.

  “I’m not very good at lifting,” Titus said.

  Waiting for Titus, Noah swung the bale back and forth like the pendulum on the grandfather clock. “Climb up, and I’ll throw them to you.”

  Titus tossed his toothpick on the ground and climbed the ladder. Muscles she didn’t know Noah possessed looked to be carved into his arms as he lifted the hay bale over his head and tossed it.

  Oh my.

  She averted her eyes and bent over the lemonade jug as if doing something supremely important with the lid, willing her heart to stop fluttering like a meadow full of butterflies.

  With his arms over his head like that, the bale had about two feet to travel upward. It landed on the floor of the loft, where Titus grabbed it and stacked it in the corner of the haymow. Noah wasted no time. Mandy tried to move out of his way as he hefted another bale and threw it to Titus. At this rate, he’d have the stack moved in a matter of minutes.

  Mammi picked up her clipboard and pencil. “Denki, Noah. Felty will be so pleased the hay is put away.”

  Breathing heavily, Noah tossed another bale and then glanced at Mammi. “I’ll carry the jug back into the house when I’m done here.”

  “No need,” Mammi said, lifting the jug with one hand. “It’s all gone.”

  Ach. They hadn’t saved any for Noah, and Dawdi had reminded her twice. Yet again, Mandy wanted to kick herself.

  Mammi shuffled to the door of the barn. “Noah got the roof stripped, and we can now cross several boys off our list. It’s been a very productive morning.”

  Mandy watched Mammi leave with the empty jug. “I’m sorry we didn’t save you any lemonade, Noah. You’re the most deserving one.”

  “What about me?” Titus called. “It wasn’t easy organizing everybody into typographical order.”

  Noah stopped throwing bales with all those muscles of his and curled his lips into a very attractive smile. “It’s all right. I’m glad there was enough for your future husband, whoever he may be.”

  Mandy groaned. “Believe me, my future husband did not drink lemonade today.”