Huckleberry Harvest (The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill Book 5)

by Jennifer Beckstrand

  “He went to take a nap,” Mandy said.

  The wrinkles around Anna’s mouth bunched together. “A nap? At seven in the morning? It wonders me if he isn’t coming down with something.” She laid her pinecones on the table and headed down the hall. “Come on, Sparky. Let’s go see what’s ailing Felty.”

  The fluffy white dog padded down the hall after Anna. Sparky hadn’t even waited for Noah to give her a pat. He might as well have been invisible, to both Sparky and Anna. That was what happened when you had a dat who shamed his family and the whole community. Nobody wanted you to marry their granddaughter.

  The glint in Mandy’s eye disappeared. “Is something wrong?”

  “Nae,” he said, adjusting his handy sunglasses. She wouldn’t be able to read the storm clouds in his eyes. “I should start on the roof.”

  “If I can do anything to help, let me know. Lunch is at noon.” She took the steak package from his hand. “I’ll keep this in the fridge until you’re ready to go home.”

  “Okay.”

  “Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

  He crafted a convincing smile on his face. “I’m wearing a fearsome pair of Englisch sunglasses. What could be wrong?”

  She relaxed her concerned expression. “Jah. You could scare small children away.”

  Small children and Amish mammis.

  Chapter Twelve

  How could she concentrate on knitting knowing Noah was mere feet above her hefting shingles and driving nails, and she wasn’t there to see it? All that muscle flexing going to waste while she was stuck in the great room knitting pink pot holders for boys she wasn’t interested in.

  How long had he been up there? It couldn’t have been more than an hour, could it? Still, he might be terribly thirsty yet. The weather was cool, but reroofing a house had to be backbreaking, throat-parching work. He was probably dying for a drink, and she would be selfish not to take him an ice-cold glass of water this very instant.

  She set down her needles and practically raced to the kitchen, where she popped some ice into a cup and filled it with water. It wouldn’t be easy climbing a ladder with a full glass in her hands, but Noah needed her. She’d do her best.

  Mammi stood at the counter studying her recipe book. “Have you ever eaten potstickers, Mandy?”

  Mandy hesitated, wondering which answer would make it more likely Mammi would try to make them. “I don’t think so.”

  “I haven’t either. Maybe we should try them for supper tonight.”

  Mandy glanced at the page in the recipe book. The picture didn’t look too bad. But in her experience, it was how the recipe turned out after Mammi got hold of it that was the problem. “Do you have all the ingredients?”

  “Not a one, except for brown sugar, oil, and eggs. I might have to try this later when I can get to that specialty store in Green Bay.”

  Mandy secretly hoped that a trip to the specialty store would take place after she went home to Charm. “Potstickers” sounded like a three-day stomachache.

  She carried her glass of water outside, patted Chester on the head when he ran up to greet her, and stepped carefully up the ladder that leaned against the side of the house. Standing on the second rung from the top, she would be visible to Noah from the waist up. Although she couldn’t see him, she could hear his nail gun spitting out nails on the other side of the roof. Somewhere amongst the trees, she heard a crow or some other such bird let out a mournful caw. Should she try to climb onto the roof? It might be next to impossible with a glass in her hand.

  “Noah,” she called. The nail gun didn’t break its steady rhythm. “Noah!”

  The rhythmic pop and swish of the nail gun stopped, and she heard his measured steps as he trudged up the steep pitch of the roof to the ridge. His frown seemed to be carved into his face until her saw her, and then his expression relaxed. Was he happy to see her? Dying of thirst? She couldn’t tell. He had those aggravating sunglasses on.

  The air caught in her throat when she made note of his muscular arms swaying back and forth with the movement of his muscular body and saw his strong fingers wrapped around his bulky air gun. She probably shouldn’t find him so attractive. He was sweating, for goodness’ sake.

  He stepped over a bundle of shingles as he made his way to her down the slant of the roof.

  “Mandy,” he said gently, almost as if seeing her made him sad. “You’re going to fall.”

  “I know my way up and down a ladder.” She held out the glass to him, although at the moment, it seemed like a horribly lame excuse for bothering him when he was only trying to finish his work. “Nice sunglasses,” she said.

  He cracked a smile, sank to the surface of the roof, and sat cross-legged next to Mandy. “You know I have a water bottle, don’t you?”

  She bit her bottom lip and wished she didn’t feel the heat traveling up her neck. He’d have an easy time guessing her thoughts. “Oh . . . well . . . I didn’t know. I was afraid you might be thirsty.”

  He smiled an easy smile, as if he didn’t suspect any ulterior motives from her. “It’s very nice of you.” He took her offered glass and drained it in five swallows.

  That loud crow cawed again as Noah gave back the empty glass. His lips twitched slightly, but since his eyes were covered, she didn’t know if he was amused or annoyed. “I’m sorry to bother you,” she said.

  “To tell you the truth, it’s a welcome interruption.”

  She couldn’t see his eyes, but there was warmth behind his voice. The warmth was contagious. It moved into her chest and took up residence there.

  “I’m wondering if you could help me with something,” he said.

  “Of course. Anything. I’m gute with a hammer.”

  He gave her a half smile. “I’m sure you are. But I don’t want you getting on the roof. It’s too easy to fall.” He kept his face turned toward her but gestured to his right with his head. “I know how you like to fix things. I need you to take care of a bird problem.”

  She started to turn her head as she heard another birdcall coming from the thicket across the lane.

  “Don’t look,” he said. “It only encourages them.”

  Mandy nearly fell off the ladder. He reached out a hand to steady her. “What,” she hissed quietly. “Do you mean to tell me that Kristina is spying on you? At my house?”

  Noah exhaled slowly and nodded.

  Her utter disbelief was only matched by her indignation, but she was able to keep her voice low and her face relatively expressionless. “She’s my best friend. How could she?”

  He shrugged. “It’s what she does.”

  She wilted like a flower in the hot sun. “I suppose I should have recognized the birdcalls, but they sounded so real.”

  “Dori Rose is with her. Dori does a very good crow.”

  The expression on his face struck her funny bone. She nearly choked on her urge to giggle. “When I get my hands on her . . .”

  The laughter rumbled in his chest. “Remember you’ve taken a vow of nonviolence.”

  “But how could she come to my mammi’s house and spy on you? Why doesn’t she just knock on the front door?”

  “I have no idea what goes on inside a girl’s head.”

  Mandy glanced in the direction of the birdcall, her indignation foaming like water in a raging river. “I’ll take care of it. Where are they exactly?”

  “You know the path that leads to the other side of the hill?”

  “Where the huckleberries grow?”

  He nodded. “They’re behind the maple directly to the left of the path, unless they’ve moved in the last few minutes. They’ve been making an awful lot of noise. Like two bulls trampling the cornfields.”

  Mandy covered her smile with her hand. Noah’s description wasn’t very flattering even if it was accurate. Kristina wanted to be noticed. Of course she’d make as much noise as possible. “Can you keep their attention focused so I can sneak up on them?”

  He arched an eyebrow so it p
eeked over the top of his glasses. “How should I do that?”

  “I don’t know. Go stand on the ridgeline and flex your biceps or something.”

  “You like my muscles, don’t you?”

  Familiar heat crept into her cheeks. “I do not.”

  He swiped his hand across his mouth to wipe off his mischievous grin. “Okay. I’ll stand on the ridgeline and do a little dance. Do you think that will keep their eyes in this direction?”

  With his good looks, he could lie down and take a nap and still hold Kristina’s attention. “Whatever you do, don’t fall.”

  He propped his chin in his hand. “I could do a handstand.”

  She couldn’t keep the grin from taking over her face. “You are incorrigible. Now get up there.” She took a step down the ladder.

  “Be careful going down,” he said. “Next time you need me, stay on the ground and I’ll come to you. Your grandparents wouldn’t look kindly on me if you broke your neck.”

  “I don’t think they’d be mad at you.”

  “It’s my ladder.”

  With empty glass in hand, Mandy stepped slowly down the ladder. She turned her back on the house, and with all the bearing of someone who had somewhere very important to go, she marched into the barn. After closing the door behind her, she walked out the back opening, around the small orchard of peach trees, and tiptoed into the thicket, making a wide arc so as to be able to approach Kristina and Dori Rose from behind.

  It didn’t take long to circle around behind them. There they were, pressing against the thick trunk of a sugar maple, peeking out from behind the tree and breaking into giggling fits whenever they caught a glimpse of Noah.

  Holding her skirts so they wouldn’t swish against the bushes and undergrowth, Mandy quietly stepped up behind the two girls, but they were laughing so hard, it wouldn’t have mattered if she had tromped right up to the tree singing “Life’s Railway to Heaven.” They wouldn’t have heard a team of horses.

  “Oh, Dori Rose, look at those muscles,” Kristina sighed.

  They leaned their heads out from behind the tree to look.

  Partially hidden by an unruly bush, Mandy shifted her gaze to the roof. Noah balanced on the ridgeline with one hand propped on his hip. He flexed his arms as he took a slow drink from his water bottle. Mandy smirked. He knew exactly what he was doing. Could he blame any girl for wanting to spy?

  She ripped her gaze from the rooftop. No matter how attractive Noah might be, Kristina should not stoop to this. It was absurd and immature and made Noah extremely uncomfortable.

  She stepped out from behind the bush and folded her arms. “Enjoying the view?”

  Kristina squealed and jumped as if she’d been stuck with a pin. Dori Rose sucked in her breath and clutched her hand to her heart.

  “Mandy,” Kristina squeaked. “You gave me a heart attack.”

  Mandy’s eyes traveled from Kristina to Dori Rose and back again. “Why are you spying on Noah?” she said, as if she were speaking to two very naughty little girls. “Krissy, you should be ashamed.”

  Kristina’s prayer covering sat askew on top of her head. She straightened it, pursed her lips, and looked positively mulish. “It’s no shame to look.”

  Dori Rose pressed a wide, uncomfortable smile onto her face. “We like to look.”

  Mandy frowned, making sure they knew she was not amused. “You’re not eight years old anymore. If you want to develop a relationship with a boy, you have a conversation with him. Bake him a pie. Meet him at a gathering.”

  Kristina put on her best pouty face and leaned against the tree. “You’re no fun anymore, Mandy.”

  Fun? Mandy didn’t remember ever having this kind of “fun” with Kristina. “Just . . . Krissy . . . please don’t spy on him anymore.” And please leave him alone.

  Mandy’s chest tightened. Was it fair to her friend, who was madly in love with Noah, to spend so much time with Noah herself? And to enjoy it?

  It didn’t matter. It wasn’t as if she and Noah were courting or anything. She’d be gone in two weeks. Her spending time with Noah didn’t hurt Kristina at all. Besides, he was fixing the roof. They inevitably spent a lot of time together. If Kristina loved him so much, she should convince her dat to hire Noah to fix her roof.

  Mandy swallowed the bitter taste in her mouth. She didn’t want Noah to fix anybody’s roof but hers.

  “He won’t text me,” Kristina said. “How can I have a conversation?”

  Dori Rose nodded vigorously. “He won’t answer her calls.”

  Mandy tried to soften her tone. “Why spend all your energy on a boy who isn’t interested?”

  Tears puddled in Kristina’s eyes. “Why are you defending him? I’m the one who got my heart broken. Don’t you care about your best friend’s feelings? You should be helping me get him back like Dori Rose is doing.”

  “By making birdcalls and watching him from behind a tree?”

  Kristina wiped her eyes. “You could let me bring him the water. I’m as good at smiling at him as you are.”

  Mandy’s stomach sank. What had Kristina seen in her smiles? “I was being nice. He’s fixing Mammi and Dawdi’s roof.”

  “You should have invited me over when you knew he was going to be here. It seems like you’re trying to keep him all to yourself.”

  “He’s fixing the roof.”

  “Then you should invite me over every day.”

  This time her stomach splatted onto the ground. She should be ashamed of herself, but she’d rather eat Mammi’s cooking for the rest of her life than invite Kristina over while Noah worked on the roof. She would have liked to say that it was for Kristina’s own good, that she was only protecting her friend from inevitable heartache. She could even have justified to herself that she wanted to shield Noah from her overbearing friend.

  But she knew her motives went deeper than that. She wanted to be the one to give Noah steaks and marshmallows and unnecessary glasses of water. She wanted to be the girl who petted his dog and appreciated his muscles and drove his buggy home after a night at the bar—the only one he roasted marshmallows and carried tomatoes for.

  Guilt grabbed her by the throat this time.

  Oh sis yuscht!

  What kind of girl wanted her best friend’s boyfriend all to herself?

  She pressed her lips together. Noah wasn’t Kristina’s boyfriend and never had been. But Kristina wouldn’t see it that way.

  Not so sure of herself, she put an arm around Kristina’s shoulder. “You could have your pick of any other boy in Bonduel.”

  “Nae, Mandy. You can have your pick of any boy in Bonduel. They’re all talking about how pretty you are.”

  Mandy narrowed her eyes. “They are not.”

  Dori Rose made a face. “Jah, they are. I heard them at gmay. We call them the Pot Holder Club because they carry pot holders in their pockets.”

  The three of them giggled and any tension among them dissipated like fog from the lake on a warm day.

  Mandy took a deep breath. What would it hurt to invite Kristina and Dori Rose into the house? Noah would be on the roof. Neither girl would be able to get a good look at his eye. No harm done.

  Of course she’d have to deliver his lunch to him on the roof. He wouldn’t be eager to set foot in the house while Kristina was over, especially with the black eye. Lord willing, Kristina and Dori Rose would grow tired of sitting in the house while Noah worked on top of it. Kristina’s attention span wasn’t that long. Mandy might have Noah all to herself by midafternoon.

  A thread of guilt crawled up her spine again, but she pushed it down by telling herself that she was only here for two more weeks. How could she help her best friend win Noah’s heart in two short weeks? It was impossible. She wouldn’t even try.

  In the meantime, she would enjoy Noah’s company and eat his s’mores and try to fix his life, and Kristina would be none the wiser.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The pan sizzled as Noah cracked s
ix eggs into it. He scrambled the eggs with a fork and added a hearty amount of cheese, a spoonful of mayonnaise, and a few drops of milk. He probably made scrambled eggs for dinner three or four nights a week. They were nutritious, fast, and easy. Dat seldom complained. Since he didn’t do any of the cooking, he usually ate what Noah put in front of him. Thanks to Mandy, they’d eaten steak on Tuesday night. Scrambled eggs did get old after a while.

  He had been tempted to accept Anna’s invitation to dinner tonight, even though she was making something called couscous, but if he weren’t home to feed Dat, Dat wouldn’t eat. No matter how much Noah wanted to sit at the table next to Mandy and stare at her cute freckles, his most important job was taking care of Dat.

  Noah pressed his fingers into the ridge where his neck met his shoulder. Three full days of hammering shingles had left his neck stiff as a board. He smiled to himself. The pain didn’t bother him. Mandy lived under that roof, and just thinking about her in the house doing laundry or washing dishes or knitting pot holders made the labor seem effortless.

  Today, she had spent the entire afternoon outside hanging laundry within view of his perch on the roof. Her movements mesmerized him as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. He had even stopped hammering at one point just to stare at her while she pinned laundry with those graceful fingers and tugged the line to send the wet clothes higher into the air. The lack of hammering from the roof must have caught her attention, because she had looked up at him and waved, gifting him with a smile that put the shine of a new circular saw blade to shame.

  During his long days on the roof, he found himself wishing that he hadn’t told Mandy about his water bottle. Her visit with the glass of water had been the best part of his week. She’d even taken care of his Kristina problem. Maybe she liked him just a little bit.

  He pressed his lips into a rigid line. Who was he kidding? Mandy was nice to everybody. He’d be a fool to think she was giving him any special attention.