He put the soap down and quickly rinsed his hands. He dried them on a soft white towel hanging from a rod on the end of the counter. It didn’t feel right using her things.
When he turned around, Sarah was staring at him. She asked, “You do understand, don’t you?”
He hadn’t been listening. “What?”
“Why I told the twins they couldn’t eat here.”
“Sure.”
She waited, as if she expected him to say something else. Nothing occurred to him. He slipped his hands in the front pockets of his pants. Could he feel more awkward? Not likely.
Nodding, she said, “Goot. Sit.”
She indicated the chair at the head of the table. Jonas’s place. Okay, that was going to feel more awkward.
Levi pulled his hands from his pockets and took a seat. Sarah moved around the kitchen, gathering plates and silverware. He rubbed his hands on the tops of his thighs. He was hungry, but he hadn’t realized how intimate it would feel eating alone with Sarah. They weren’t doing anything wrong. He knew that, but being this close to her set his nerve endings buzzing like angry bees.
Even sitting in this chair felt wrong. It was Jonas’s chair. It didn’t matter that Jonas was gone. It didn’t seem right to take the place that was once his. Memories of their last hours together poured into Levi’s mind.
He could hear Jonas’s hoarse whisper as plainly as if they were back in the upstairs bedroom before his death.
“Watch over Sarah when I’m gone, Levi. Promise me you’ll watch over her until she decides to remarry.”
“You’ll get better.”
“Nee, my time is up, my friend. God calls me home. I want Sarah to find happiness with someone again, though I pray she doesn’t remarry in haste. I know women who have and regretted their decision.”
“Sarah was wise enough to choose you in the first place. She’ll be fine.”
“You know my Sarah well. I’d rest easier knowing she loved someone strong, from a good family, with a fine farm or business. Promise me you’ll watch over her until she meets him, Levi. Promise me this. It’s all I ask of you.”
Sarah set a glass of fresh milk on the table, jarring Levi’s mind out of the past. He picked up the glass and took a long drink. Her gaze remained focused on his arm.
He stopped drinking. “What?”
“I can mend that rip in your sleeve right quick if you’ll slip your shirt off.”
He turned his arm trying to see what she was talking about and splashed milk out of his glass in the process. Embarrassed, he looked for something to clean it up with. She was quicker, placing a kitchen towel over the puddle and trying hard not to laugh. Why was he so clumsy when she was around?
“Sorry,” he muttered.
“Don’t worry about it. Accidents happen. Shall I fix your sleeve?”
He didn’t care if his entire arm was hanging out of his clothes. He wasn’t about to take his shirt off in front of her. He muttered, “Grace will fix it later.”
“All right.” Sarah then carried a steaming black kettle to the table and placed it in front of him. She returned a few seconds later with a plate of freshly sliced home-baked bread and a tub of butter, setting them within his reach. She took her seat and bowed her head.
Levi did the same and silently said the prayers he dutifully prayed before every meal. When he was finished, he looked up and waited. Sarah kept her eyes closed, her hands clasped. He cleared his throat. She took it as the sign the prayer was finished. Looking up, she smiled at him and began ladling steaming pieces of chicken and vegetables into his bowl.
She was so pretty when she smiled. It did funny things to his insides.
She said, “I hope you like this. It was one of Jonas’s favorites. The recipe belonged to his mother.”
Levi suddenly found his appetite had fled. He laid his spoon down
Sarah’s eyes filled with concern. “Is something wrong?”
“This is Jonas’s place, his chair. I shouldn’t be here.”
“Levi,” Sarah said gently, “I miss him, too, but his place is with God in heaven. You are free to sit in any chair in this home. You were Jonas’s friend, and I hope you are my friend, too. He would welcome your company as I do. I know you were very fond of him.”
He had been more than fond of Jonas. He had loved Jonas like a brother. When Jonas gave him a job, Levi had no idea what a great friend and mentor Jonas would become. All these things ran through his mind, but he had no idea how to tell Sarah what Jonas meant to him.
She patted his arm. “It’s okay. He was fond of you, too. He would like it that you have come to eat at his table. He would be upset that I haven’t invited you sooner. Now eat, or your food will get cold.”
Levi nodded. He was here for a meal and nothing more. He wasn’t here to try and replace Jonas. He could never fill those shoes.
After eating in silence for a few minutes, he said, “You should give Grace this recipe. It’s a whole lot better than her chicken stew.”
Sarah laughed. Levi felt his face grow red. Had he said something stupid? Once again she touched his arm. It was as if touching came easily to her. It wasn’t that way with him. He felt the warmth of her hand even through the sleeve of his shirt. It spread to the center of his chest and pooled there.
She chuckled and said, “I have given this recipe to Grace. She has assured me that everyone in the family enjoyed it. Maybe what she needs is a few cooking lessons.”
She wasn’t laughing at him. Levi was able to smile, too. “She needs more than a few. Her biscuits are as heavy as stones.”
He fell silent again.
Sarah said, “I hope you’ve saved room for some peach pie. I made it last night.”
“Peach is my favorite.”
“Mine, too.” She smiled warmly at him.
They finished the rest of the meal in companionable silence. When he was done, Sarah rose and began gathering up the dishes. “I’ll bring the rest of the stew to your house this evening. I’m sure the twins will be even hungrier by supper time.”
He pushed back the chair and stood. “The meal was ser goot, but I must get back to work.”
“I will be over as soon as I finish these dishes. Is there anything special you need me to do?”
He shook his head, but then changed his mind. “If customers come in, I would appreciate your help finding out what they want so I don’t have to stop work each time.”
“I can do that. I’ll keep watch out the window while I finish up here. If I see anyone I’ll come right over.”
Levi nodded his thanks and walked out the door.
* * *
Sarah watched him go with a strange sense of loss. There hadn’t been a man at the head of her table since Jonas’s passing. While it felt odd, it also seemed right that Jonas’s best friend should have been the one sitting in his place. He’d been like a little brother to her husband. Levi grieved for Jonas as strongly as she did.
Since Jonas’s passing, she often felt that Levi was avoiding her. Maybe it wasn’t because he disapproved of her. Maybe it was simply that she reminded him too much of his loss.
Sarah shook off the sadness that threatened to bring tears to her eyes and instead concentrated on a plan to see which one of her single friends might be right for Levi, and most important, how to get them together.
It wasn’t like Levi was going to attend the singings or gathering that were held on Saturday and Sunday evenings so the young people of the community could mingle and met potential mates. He was past that age and so were the women she had in mind for him.
Levi rarely left his work place, so if Levi wouldn’t come out, she needed to find a way to get the women to come in.
The meal today gave her an idea. She would invite her friends, one at a time of
course, to join her for a meal when Levi was present. She would have to include the twins and Grace, too, when she returned, but that couldn’t be helped. It would look odd if she only asked Levi to come to dinner. People would say that she was running after him herself. That wouldn’t do.
Perhaps having him and his family over to eat wasn’t such a good idea. Who knew how many times she’d have to invite them before he found someone he liked? The twins could put away a lot of food.
Maybe she could ask her friends to help with inventory. That would be logical excuse to have them spend the day where Levi was working. She might even convince some of them to come in and look over the used buggies that Levi had for sale or buy a new one. If she remembered right, Leah Belier’s buggy was old and worn. Sarah could drop a few hints about a good price and then leave Levi to show the teacher what was available. That might work.
Satisfied that she had a few plausible reasons to get Levi to spend time with some eligible women, Sarah closed the door and began to clean up the kitchen. While she might be new at matchmaking, she had been around her aunt Emma enough to know how it was done. If all went well, Levi would find a woman to take care of him and Grace would be free to marry.
Sarah placed the glass Levi had used in the soapy water. His shirtsleeves were threadbare, and his shoes had holes in them. He did need someone to look after him.
So why did the idea of Levi getting married suddenly cause an ache in her heart?
* * *
The twins were seated inside Levi’s office when he returned to the shop. “Was it a fine meal?” Moses asked.
“Fine enough.”
“Better than our church spread sandwiches, I reckon,” Atlee grumped.
Levi loved the peanut butter and marshmallow crème spread served for Sunday lunches after the prayer service. “About that good, I guess. Did you finish the wheel we’re fixing for Gideon Troyer?”
“Not yet, but we got the fire going good outside,” Atlee said in a rush.
“And we finished the upholstery on the front seat for the Hershberger buggy,” Moses added. The boys exchanged a lively glance. It was rare that they did work Levi hadn’t asked them to do. Perhaps Sarah’s scolding had paid off.
“Danki. We’d best finish the wheel, though. Gideon will be by to pick it up this afternoon.”
“I don’t get him.” Atlee shook his head.
“Me neither,” Moses added.
Levi looked at his little brothers. “What do you mean?”
Atlee said, “He traded in flying airplanes to go back to driving a horse and buggy. Why?”
Levi understood their confusion. Very few of the young men who left the Amish came back and were content to do so after being out in the English world for as long as Gideon had.
From the doorway, a man said, “The outside world held many things that drew me away, but I discovered God’s will for me was to return to my Amish roots.”
Levi turned to see Gideon walking toward him. He liked the man that had married their cousin Rebecca and not only because he’d helped her regain her sight after years of blindness. He was a likeable fellow in his own right.
Atlee said, “You came back because of a woman.”
Gideon gave a sharp bark of laughter. “God’s ways are wondrous to behold, as I’m sure you will discover when you are older. Your cousin Rebecca’s love was the prize I won for following God’s will rather than my own.”
Levi looked down at his feet. “Your wheel’s not done.”
“Mind if I hang around while you finish it?”
“Nee. It won’t take long.” Levi moved toward the side of the building where he assembled the finished wheels. The steel rim Gideon was waiting on had been welded together but it needed to be placed around the wooden rim.
Levi carried the steel ring along with a pair of tongs and a large mallet outside where the twins had build a fire in the pit they used for heating the metal. The flames had died down to a bed of coals that glowed bright red. Levi could barely stand the heat on his face as he laid the steel circle on it. Stepping back, he waited for the fire to do its work and expand the metal.
Moses carried the wooden wheel out and laid it on a scarred slab of wood near the pit. He looked at Gideon. “Tell us what it was like to fly in a plane. Were you scared to be so high?”
Gideon cocked his head to the side as he regarded the boy. “Why would I be scared?”
“Because you might fall out of the sky,” Atlee answered.
Gideon grinned. “Falling out of the sky doesn’t hurt you.”
“It doesn’t?” Atlee and Moses looked at each other in disbelief.
“No. Not a bit. It’s that sudden stop when you hit the ground that hurts.” Gideon winked at Levi as the twins groaned at his joke.
Levi chuckled. “That’s a goot one.”
As the boy begged Gideon for stories about flying, Levi concentrated on watching the fire. He knew the rim was ready when it began to glow red. He motioned to Atlee. He and the boy thrust the tongs into the hot coals from opposite sides and together they lifted the rim from the fire. They carried it to the waiting wheel. Because the heat had expanded the metal, Levi and Atlee were able to slip it over the wooden rim. Levi laid his tongs aside and hammered the steel into place.
Quickly, as the wheel started to catch fire, Moses came with several buckets of water and began dousing it. The hot metal hissed. Steam rose up in a thick fog. After a few minutes, Levi lifted the wheel by the rungs and set it in a water trough. He turned the wheel rapidly to make sure it cooled evenly.
A friend of the twins called to them from the street and they both ran out to talk to him, leaving Levi to finish the work alone. Again.
After a few minutes, he pulled the wheel out of the water and checked the fit over the wooden fellows. It looked good. No gaps, his weld was solid. He was pleased with it. It would last many years. He rolled the wheel to Gideon who inspected it carefully, as well. Levi looked up to see Sarah had come out of the shop.
Gideon spied her at the same moment. “Sarah, how nice to see you.”
She gave him a warm smile. Too warm, Levi thought as a frown formed on his face.
“Gideon, you’re just happy to see me somewhere besides the shop where your wife spends all your hard-earned cash on fabric for her quilts.”
“You have that right. What are you doing here?”
“Helping Levi for a few weeks while Grace is out of town. The fabric shop is closed for the winter, if you didn’t know.” She moved to stand close beside Levi. He caught a whiff of her lavender soap and drew in a deep breath of it. His heart began racing.
Gideon said, “We heard about the closing. Rebecca was bemoaning the fact that she will have to go all the way to Sugarcreek for her quilt backing. I reckon she’ll wear out a couple more buggy wheels this winter traveling over there. Because, according to her, a woman can never have too much fabric.”
“I’m sure my boss would agree with her.”
Looking at Levi, Gideon said, “You’re a lucky man to have such a pretty helper, for even a few weeks. How much do I owe you?”
Levi said, “Sarah will write up your ticket.”
Sarah blushed. Rising on tiptoe, she leaned close and whispered in his ear. “I don’t know how much to charge him.”
Her warm breath caressed the side of Levi’s neck and sent every nerve ending in his body into high alert. He hugged his mallet to his chest and struggled to find his voice. “On the counter.”
She leaned closer. “On the counter, what?”
“Paper...with prices.”
“Danki. I’ll go find it, and I’ll fix that shirt later.” She gave him a bright smile and hurried toward the shop’s back door.
He closed his eyes; thankful and sorry all at the same time that she was
gone. He reached for his tongs.
Gideon grabbed his wrist. Levi looked at him in surprise and then glanced down at his hand. Comprehension dawned. Levi had been about to grab the end that was still smoking hot. Gideon had saved him from a nasty burn.
He nodded his thanks. “Danki.”
Gideon glanced from Levi’s face to Sarah’s retreating form. He chuckled and let go of Levi’s wrist. “It’s like that, is it?”
Levi frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I was the same way when I realized I was falling for Rebecca. I fell, literally, at her feet on an icy street. Love makes it hard for a man to concentrate.”
“Me? Falling for Sarah? Nee, it is not so.” Levi shook his head violently.
Gideon laughed. “Whatever you say, my friend. Many men with two good eyes are blind to the desires of their hearts.”
Chapter Five
As Gideon walked away, Levi sought to dismiss the man’s disturbing words. Gideon had seen something that didn’t exist. Levi refused to think about his feelings for Sarah because he didn’t have any past his responsibility to her. Her behavior that day at the creek, not to mention her marriage to his best friend, had put an end to his infatuation.
No, Gideon was wrong. Levi was not in love with Sarah, and she clearly was not love with him. Only a fool would think she would consider Levi Beachy as a replacement for Jonas Wyse, the finest man Levi had ever met.
He carried his tools inside to put them away, determined to think no more about it. The problem he was determined to ignore was seated at the counter with her chin propped on her hands. She smiled sweetly at him, and his foolish heart skipped a beat.
She said, “I found the price list. I don’t know why I never noticed it before.”
He swallowed hard and nodded, not sure he trusted his voice to answer her.
Sitting up straighter, she said, “Of course, I haven’t been in here in the last few years, so perhaps it is understandable. I’ll try to learn where everything is so that I don’t have to interrupt you with a lot of questions.”
A Hope Springs Christmas Page 5