As they’d enjoyed the sweet fruit, warm from sitting in the morning sun, Leona had noticed that the tenuous bond that had formed between them had grown stronger. Conversation became easy and relaxed, then almost nonexistent as their awareness of one another became more apparent.
When Leona noticed Zack’s gaze stray to her lips, she had shivered.
And that was when she had known that she’d made the right decision. No matter what happened with Zack, she’d felt more for him than she ever had with Edmund. Proving that her instincts had been right. No matter how hard she might have tried, she would never have been able to make herself feel that way toward Edmund.
Now, as she watched the rear taillights of the big bus fade into the distance with Edmund safely in one of the seats, she knew without a doubt that their relationship was officially over.
To her dismay, she felt a little bit sad. She hated that she’d caused so much trouble. Hated that the dreams she’d held so tightly a year ago had all unraveled. And she felt guilty about Edmund. Sure, he wasn’t the right man for her, but he’d seemed to think that she was the right woman for him. She’d hurt him, and though she supposed there had been no choice, she still felt badly about it.
She was wondering how to deal with that guilt and when to try and smooth things over, when Effie approached.
“Hi, Effie.”
“Hiya, Leona. I was watching the bus leave over at the post office with my sister Violet when I saw you sitting here.”
“Where’s your sister now?” Though Effie was twelve, Leona still felt mildly protective of the girl.
She waved toward a group of eight women standing in a circle in front of the post office bulletin board. “Oh, she’s still over there, talking to some friends.”
“So you’re spending some time with her today?”
“Jah. Everyone in the family had a talk with Zack, you see. We all decided he was spending too much time looking after me.”
Leona couldn’t decide if Effie looked put out or was simply stating how things were. “He told me he likes to be with you,” she said.
“He told me that, too. But I’m growing up, you see.”
“I imagine you are. But at least you can now spend more time with your sister.”
Effie grinned, obviously happy that Leona understood. “Jah. I am glad about that.”
“Effie, I didn’t see you cross the street,” a dark-haired woman about Leona’s age called out as she walked over to join them. “You should have told me you were going over here. I got worried.”
“I did tell you, Vi.”
“If you did, I didn’t hear you.”
“I did. And I thought you heard me.”
“Uh-huh,” the woman said as she reached them. After giving Leona a brief, commiserating look, she said, “I guess this means you’re ready to be on your way?”
“Not exactly. I wanted you to meet Leona. Violet, this is Leona.”
Leona got to her feet. “Hi. I’m Leona Weaver. I met Effie at Yoder’s the other day.”
“She’s the woman I told you about. The woman Zack likes,” Effie whispered, but it wasn’t much of a whisper at all.
Violet gazed at her and smiled broadly. “Violet Kaufmann. Zack and Effie’s sister.”
“And Karl’s, too,” Effie said.
“Jah. And Karl’s, too.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” Then, feeling like she should add something more about herself, she added, “I’m here from Ohio.”
“Oh, I know all about you, I’m afraid.”
“Oh?” Leona had never been one to feel especially uncomfortable around new people, but she was beginning to think that there was a first time for everything. Violet’s steady gaze was direct and assessing.
As if she knew how she was behaving, Violet’s eyes lit up and she chuckled. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing bad. In fact, it’s all good.”
“I’m surprised anyone had much to say about me.”
“Zack did,” Effie chimed in. “Zack talks about you a lot. All the time, in fact.”
While Leona processed that, Violet said, “Have your ears been burning? You’ve been quite the topic of conversation in our family this week.”
Leona felt her neck turn red. “I hope not in a bad way.”
“Not at all.”
“We all think you’re great,” Effie said. “Well, I mean, me and Zack do. On account of we’re the only ones who had met you until now.” Looking pleased, she added, “Now Violet knows you, too.”
Leona smiled.
“You’ve gotten Zack to finally start thinking about himself, which is a blessing,” Violet added. “I’ve been after him for years to remember that he’s part of a family, instead of thinking that he is the family.”
“My bruder likes to be in charge. And to help. But he doesn’t like to ask for help.”
As Leona thought about how much of a change he’d spurred in her, just by being himself, she knew she had to be as honest as possible. “I’m not sure about how he is with his family, but he’s been a great friend to me. Again and again, he’s gone out of the way to spend time with me. I’m grateful.”
“I think there’s a mighty gut reason he’s been doing that,” Violet said.
Just as Leona felt her cheeks color, Mattie and Sara walked up. In the nick of time.
After introducing them to Violet and Effie, she knew it was time to move on. “It was nice to see you again, Effie, and to meet you, Violet, but we should probably be on our way now.”
But Violet stopped her with a hand to her arm. “Hey, we’re going to have some people over at the house this evening to play cards. Why don’t you all come over and join us?”
“Do you think Zack would want that? I don’t want to simply show up like an unwelcome surprise.”
Effie waved off her worries. “Don’t worry about that. Zack is gonna be real happy that you’re there. I know he’ll be.”
“But still. We don’t want to disrupt your plans.”
“You won’t. A bunch of his friends are coming over, too. So there will be a lot of people.”
“His friends?” Mattie asked.
“Jah. Daniel and Jeremy for sure. And maybe Abel and Jay.”
To Leona’s amusement, Mattie brightened right up. “If you truly would like us there, I think it sounds like fun.”
“We really would love for you to join us. Really. Right, Vi?”
“For sure. Plus, our parents will be around, so they’ll be happy to meet you.”
“Karl will, too,” added Effie.
After glancing at her friends and seeing that they looked just as eager to go to the party as she was, Leona nodded. “Danke. It sounds like fun. Thank you.”
Violet opened her purse and wrote down their address. “Come over around seven, after supper. We’ll have some cookies and kaffi. Maybe some pop, too. It’s nothing fancy.”
“We’ll see you then,” Leona promised before they all said goodbye. Then, walking toward the inn, and once they were about a block away, Leona glanced at Sara and Mattie. “Are you sure that you both are all right with this?”
Sara nodded. “After spending so much time with Edmund, I think all of us are up for some fun. Besides, what could go wrong? We’ll go over, eat a cookie, play some cards, and if it feels awkward, we’ll leave.”
“That’s true.” Leona nodded, but as they walked along the street, smiling at some of the Amish ladies and men who passed them, or were riding by on their bicycles, Leona had a feeling that this trip to Sarasota was becoming suspiciously like a lesson in Murphy’s Law.
Whatever could happen, would happen.
And some of it might not be too good, either.
Chapter 22
Once word got around that the Kaufmanns were having some friends over, and that three girls from Walnut Creek—one of whom Zack had shown a particular interest in—were going to be there, everyone and their brother decided to join them. Zack had tried to take this news in stride. Havin
g a lot of people over wasn’t anything new. His family was social. Both of his parents had a wide circle of friends whom they liked to get together with often.
In addition, they’d made friends with other folks who visited Sarasota: snowbirds—the folks who regularly came south to spend the whole winter in the Florida sun—vacationers, relatives, neighbors, and chance acquaintances. Everyone and anyone eventually became known to one of the six Kaufmanns. Zach had always regarded that as a good thing; it meant their house was often filled with laughter and guests.
But this particular party? It was rapidly becoming more than a little out of hand. The number of people in their yard and house and patio had to be over fifty or sixty. It was truly something to behold, even for a family used to hosting events.
Zack hadn’t known whether to hug his two sisters or give them a lecture when they’d come home four hours earlier, all smiles.
He’d been sitting on the back porch with his mother. She’d been writing letters and he’d been counting playing cards when Effie and Violet had burst in, full of news.
The first and most important piece had been that they’d seen Leona’s former fiancé get on the Pioneer Trails bus and that Leona had most definitely not seen him off. The second piece of news was that Effie had introduced Violet to Leona and her girlfriends. Zack had been surprised about that, but not displeased.
But when he’d learned that Vi and Effie had extended invitations to their house—without asking him—and had coaxed Leona and her girlfriends into accepting . . . that had been more than a bit high-handed.
“Really, Violet?” he’d asked, giving his older sister a meaningful look.
“This is nothing to fuss about, Zachary.”
“I think it is.”
“Are you upset that Leona wants to come over and spend time with you and our family and friends? If you are, I would have to say that I am pretty surprised. I thought you liked her.”
“I like her.”
“Then you should stop acting so bothered, bruder,” she replied with her trademark candor.
But the way she avoided his eyes told him everything he needed to know. She knew she’d been a bit overzealous, and that she would have had a fit if he had ever done such a thing.
Now that he knew they were both on the same page, at the very least, he kept his mouth shut. Effie was simply Effie. She was guileless when it came to navigating how close or how far to push people. But Violet—and himself, for that matter—bordered on being experts.
“I must say that I’m surprised you aren’t happier about this,” his mamm said once she’d heard enough of their conversation.
“Do you not like Leona anymore?” Effie asked.
“Oh, I like her.” He wasn’t going to lie about that. When he’d shared those strawberries with Leona, he’d hardly been able to do much besides remind himself of the dozen reasons why kissing her was a bad idea, starting with the fact that she had just broken an engagement and ending with the fact that she was boarding a bus to Ohio in a couple of days.
“She seemed happy for the invitation,” Effie added.
“That’s gut. Danke.”
His mother stared at him. “So, if you do like Leona, what’s the problem?”
“I don’t have a problem with Leona.” His irritation stemmed from having to discuss his feelings with not one but three women, one of whom was twelve and another of whom was his mother.
“But you are glaring at Violet.”
“I don’t mean to glare.”
Violet took a seat next to him and gave him a little jab with her shoulder. “Sure you do. Something’s bothering you. What is it?”
Of course she would say something like that. Violet loved being blunt, she always had. “I simply don’t appreciate my sister setting up dates for me.”
Violet waved off his concern. “Oh, stop. This isn’t a date. It’s just a bunch of people over playing cards. Plus, her girlfriends looked happy about the idea, too.”
“They did?” Maybe things were going smoother for Leona with Mattie and Sara.
“Oh, jah. There’s only so much you can do on your own here in Pinecraft, you know. The best part is socializing with everyone.”
“I suppose you’re right.”
“I know I am.”
His mother’s lips twitched as she shared a smile with Zack. Obviously, Violet’s headstrong, bossy nature was still alive and well.
Effie turned to Zack. “Are you mad at us?”
“Never,” he said quickly. “I’m glad to have the opportunity to see the girls again. And having everyone over is sure to be fun.”
And though he’d said all that in order to diffuse the situation, Zack had realized that everything he’d told Effie had been true. He was looking forward to seeing Leona again, and he did think his family threw some of the best parties in Pinecraft.
Effie relaxed and they all started chatting some more. But within an hour, their mother started getting that look about her. The one that signaled she was about to clean the house, prepare more food, organize guests, and start weeding her garden. And since she’d never been one to work while her kinner lazed about, Zack knew that they were about to be run ragged with her feverish plans.
And sure enough, within the half hour, all of them had been given rooms to clean. She’d even gotten on the phone with their father and asked him to bring home plastic cups, napkins, and some apple cider after work. Then she commandeered Violet and started baking up a storm.
After Zack had straightened up the living room, he’d walked down to Danny’s house to tell his family about the impromptu party and to borrow some card tables and chairs.
That, of course, set more people in motion. Danny’s siblings told other people and his parents decided they’d stop by, too, which meant that Danny’s mother also decided to bake a pie. And Danny thought they should go tell a couple of their friends he’d just seen at the park.
An hour after that, it felt like half of Pinecraft was planning to come to the Kaufmann house around seven that night.
By a quarter after six, Zack was hopping into the shower, and by a quarter to seven, he was setting up tables. Then Karl showed up, saying he’d told the manager he had a family function to attend that he couldn’t get out of.
Zack was so pleased at the opportunity to hang out with his brother, he almost didn’t care about the reason. “It’s been forever since you’ve been home for a neighborhood get-together.”
“Nee, it’s been never that I’ve been home to see a girl that you are courting.” He smirked.
“I’m definitely not courting Leona.”
“Are you sure about that? Because that’s not what everyone’s saying.”
“People like to gossip too much.”
Karl waved a hand in dismissal. “People are interested. That’s all.”
“I don’t want everyone staring at her or asking her too many questions.”
“Oh, they will. You can be sure of that.” Seeing their daed approach, Karl gave Zack a light slap on the back before walking over to join him. Almost immediately, they started talking shop.
And then the front door opened. Danny and his family came inside, bringing with them two of their neighbors, two pies, and a basket of plastic forks.
On their heels were more family friends, and on their heels were the two girls Effie had introduced him to at Yoder’s.
As Zack watched Effie shyly greet them, then walk them over to the kitchen to have sodas, he relaxed. Seeing Effie with friends made everything they were going through worth it.
Then, when he saw Leona, Mattie, and Sara enter the house and Leona waved to him from across the room, he knew for sure that he’d been absolutely wrong about doubting the get-together.
This party was, indeed, a fantastic idea. Maybe the best idea his sisters had ever had in their lives. Because of them, he was going to get to spend the next couple of hours with Leona.
He didn’t even try to hold back a wide smile when h
e walked over to greet them.
Chapter 23
Leona’s pulse started beating double time the moment Zack turned around, spied her, and smiled broadly. Though she was a little aware that his attention on her had caught the attention of several other people, she didn’t care in the slightest.
No one, not even Edmund when he’d proposed to her, had ever looked at her the way Zack was looking.
As if no one in the world mattered to him as much as she did.
Beside her, Mattie sighed rather dreamily. “Leona, he really likes you,” she whispered.
Leona felt that way, too, but she hated to jinx herself. “Maybe. I mean, I hope he does.”
Mattie shook her head. “I’m not just making conversation. I think this Zachary Kaufmann really likes you. I realized that at the beach. Whenever he wasn’t by your side, he eyed you as if you were on the other end of his fishing pole.”
“Fishing pole?”
“Jah. Like he couldn’t wait to reel you closer to him.”
Leona giggled at the image. “Danke. I think.”
Then Sara clutched her arm. “I have to admit that I didn’t understand any of what you’ve been doing, Le. But now that I’ve observed how both Edmund and Zack treat you, and was able to compare them on the same day, I’ve got to admit that you’ve made the right choice.”
Sara’s words meant the world. Thinking that she’d disappointed her friends had really bothered her. But Sara’s words also reminded Leona of how the Lord had actually been the one to orchestrate what had been happening between herself and Zack.
“I don’t know if I actually made a choice,” she pointed out. All she’d done was come to the conclusion that Edmund was not right for her. And she’d done that far too late. Then she hadn’t been able to resist Zack’s smiles. And that, without a doubt, had been rather foolish. “All I did was follow my heart, and I’m not even sure if my heart knows what it is doing.”
“I think it might,” Sara said.
“Really?”
But before Sara could explain herself—though she really didn’t need to—Zack was right there.
“You came,” he said, his gaze warm.
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