When they pulled into the Nissleys’ place, Karen noticed several buggies parked near the barn, and then she spotted Leroy getting out of his buggy. Apparently Vonda had gotten up the nerve to invite him, because Karen hadn’t seen Leroy to extend an invitation to him.
“I’ll take the brownies I brought into the house and meet you by the bonfire,” she told Will after he’d helped her down from the buggy.
“Sounds good. By the time I get my horse taken care of, I’ll be more than ready to stand in front of a warm fire.”
Karen picked up the pan of brownies and headed for the house. She entered through the back door and found Vonda and her mother bustling around the kitchen.
“I brought these to go with whatever you’re planning to serve for dessert,” Karen said, placing the brownies on the counter.
Vonda smiled. “Danki.”
“Is there anything you need me to do in here?” Karen asked.
Vonda’s mother, Dorothy, motioned to the packages of hot dogs and buns sitting on the counter. “You can take those out to the fire if you like.”
“No problem.”
“I’ll be out with some condiments and a package of marsh-mallows,” Vonda called as Karen went out the door.
Soon ten young people were gathered around the bonfire, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.
“How’s that new horse of yours working out?” Norman Yutzy asked Will.
“Fine. Blazer’s a good, strong horse and very well-behaved.”
“Not like my horse,” David Graber put in. “That glotzkeppich critter has a mind of his own.”
“Why don’t you get rid of him and look for a new one if you think he’s so stubborn?” Leroy asked.
“I probably will when I have enough money saved up.”
“I got a good deal on my horse at the auction in Topeka, so maybe you—”
Will leaned closer to the fire as he tuned out Leroy and David’s discussion. It felt good to be here tonight with Karen and their friends. Visiting, eating, and sitting by the warm fire helped take his mind off his troubles.
Nathan jabbed Will’s arm, and he jumped. “Hey! What’d you do that for?”
“Aren’t you going to answer Harley’s question?”
Will turned to face Harley. “What’d you ask me?”
“I was wondering if Luanne and I could come by to see the puppies soon. Since you used our cocker, Rusty, for stud service, you said we could have the pick of the litter.”
“Come by anytime you like,” Will said. “But the pups won’t be ready to leave their mother until closer to Christmas.”
Luanne smiled. “That’s okay. A new puppy will make a nice Christmas present for my mamm. She’s been really depressed since my daed passed away three months ago. Harley and I decided to give her the puppy we have coming, and we’re hoping it will help make her feel better.”
“That’s a good idea,” Karen put in. “Having a pet can be a real comfort to someone who’s grieving.”
Will’s mind slipped back in time as he thought about the comfort his first dog had given him. Mama Regina and Papa Mark must have known how hard he was grieving after Pop left, because it wasn’t more than a few weeks later when they presented him with the copper-colored cocker he’d named Penny. Not only had the dog offered Will companionship, but she’d taught him how to be responsible. Penny had also taught Will about loyalty and trust—something Pop didn’t know the first thing about.
“How’d you like to be our song leader tonight?” Nathan asked, nudging Will’s arm again.
Will blinked and sat up straight. “Huh?”
“We’re gonna sing some songs, and you’ve been elected to be the leader.”
“Uh…no. Why don’t you get someone else? I’m not really in the mood for singing.”
“You have to be in the mood,” Norman insisted. “A bonfire isn’t nearly as much fun unless you sing some songs.”
Will shrugged. “Okay, I’ll sing along, but you’d better choose someone else to be the song leader.”
“I’ll lead.” Leroy looked over at Vonda, who sat to his left. “Do you have a favorite song you’d like us to start with?”
She smiled shyly and nodded. “How about ‘Somebody Bigger Than You and I’?”
“Sounds good to me.” Leroy led off, and everyone else joined in: “Who made the mountains? Who made the trees? Who made the rivers flow to the sea? And who hung the moon in the starry sky? Somebody bigger than you and I.”
Will looked at the bright full moon and twinkling stars above. He had no doubt that Somebody bigger and smarter than he had hung the moon, stars, and sun in the sky. He also knew that Somebody was God.
When the song ended, several more requests came in, and when the singing finally died down, Leroy leaned over to Vonda and said, “How’d you like to help me build a snowman?”
She giggled shyly and nodded. “That sounds like fun.”
Karen looked over at Will. “Why don’t we make a snowman, too?”
“Jah, sure,” Will said with a nod. “It might be fun to act like a couple of kinner again.”
“Let’s have a contest to see which couple can make the most original snowman,” Norman Yutzy suggested.
“That’s a great idea.” Nathan jumped up from the wooden bench where he’d been sitting and grabbed Mary Jane’s hand.
“Why don’t Luanne and I act as judges?” Harley suggested. “Since she’s going to have a boppli in a few months, I don’t think it would be good for her to be huffing and puffing while she tries to push a big snowball around the yard.”
“Sounds good to me,” Will said. “I’m sure you and Luanne will be very fair in picking out the best snowman.”
Harley and Luanne remained in their seats by the fire, and everyone else raced into the yard.
Whoosh!—Leroy threw a snowball that hit Karen’s arm. Her shoulders shook with laughter as she grabbed a wad of snow and threw it right back. Leroy ducked and scooped up another wad of snow. This one he threw at Will.
“No snowball fights,” Harley called. “You’re supposed to be building snowmen!”
Each couple hurried to get the body of their snowman made, and Karen shivered as the blowing snow tickled her face. “Whew, this is hard work, and it sure is cold,” she said, slapping her hands together to remove the snow from her gloves.
“If you’re cold, why don’t you go back to the fire?” Will suggested. “I can finish our snowman on my own.”
“No way! We started this together, and we’ll finish it together.”
“Aren’t you the determined one tonight?”
Karen grinned. “I can be very determined when I want to be.” She jerked the zipple cap from Will’s head and plunked it on top of the snowman. “There now, that makes our snowman complete!”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Sure it does.”
“Nope. Our snowman is married, so he needs a beard.” Will slipped and slid across the yard and disappeared into the barn. A few minutes later, he returned with a handful of straw. He handed half to Karen. “If we poke some of this in our snowman’s chin, he’ll have a nice long beard.”
She smiled. “What a clever man I’m engaged to marry.”
“I hope when we’ve been married fifty years that you’ll still think I’m clever.”
“I’m sure I will.”
They finished up their snowman and moved back to where the others stood warming their hands by the fire. Harley and Luanne wandered back and forth across the yard, studying each snowman and trying to decide which one was the best. Finally they returned to the fire, and Harley announced, “The winners of our snowman contest are Will and Karen, whose bearded snowman is the most original.”
Everyone clapped, and Will squeezed Karen’s fingers. “I told you our snowman needed that beard.”
Karen smiled. “You’re the schmaert one, all right.”
“Now that the judging is done, I’ll go inside and get some hot chocolate, c
ookies, and the brownies you brought,” Vonda said to Karen.
“Would you like some help?”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“I’ll be back soon,” Karen said to Will.
He smiled. “I can’t wait to taste some of those brownies you made. I’ll bet they’re almost as sweet as you.”
The heat of embarrassment spread across Karen’s cheeks. She was pleased to see Will in such a good mood. She’d been worried about him and the resentment he felt toward his father. Maybe on the ride home she would try talking to him about it again.
CHAPTER 27
As Karen entered the house with Vonda, she noticed how red Vonda’s cheeks had become. She had a hunch it wasn’t from the cold November wind. Vonda’s flushed cheeks probably had more to do with Leroy.
“It was nice of your folks to host this get-together,” Karen said as she lifted the lid from her pan of brownies. “Everyone seems to be having a good time.”
Vonda nodded. “I’m glad Leroy could make it.”
“You like him a lot, don’t you?”
“Jah.”
“Don’t tell him I said this, but he likes you, too.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Karen nodded. “I wasn’t supposed to say anything, but I think you need to know that Leroy has wanted to ask you out for some time.”
“Then why hasn’t he?”
“He’s been afraid you would say no.”
“Why would I say no? I just told you, I like Leroy.” Vonda picked up the container of popcorn her mother had made while they’d been outside and turned to face Karen. “There’s just one problem.”
“What’s that?”
“I feel so shy whenever I’m around Leroy that I can get all tongue-tied and don’t know what to say.”
“You could start by asking him some questions.”
“What kind of questions?”
“You might ask about the things he likes to do, places he likes to visit, or ask for details about his blacksmith shop. Just get him talking. I’m sure he’ll take it from there.” Karen gave Vonda’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “You may even discover that you and Leroy have several things in common.”
“You really think so?”
“Jah.”
Vonda picked up the pot of hot chocolate from the stove and poured it into two large thermoses. “When we were building our snowman out there, Leroy asked if I’d like to go out to supper with him sometime.”
“What’d you say?”
“I said I’d have to check with my folks and let him know.”
Karen clicked her tongue. “Vonda Nissley, how old are you?”
“Twenty-two—you know that.”
“So do you really think you need your parents’ permission to have supper with Leroy?”
Vonda dropped her gaze to the floor. “I—I guess not.”
Karen lifted Vonda’s chin with her thumb. “I think the two of us should take these refreshments out to our friends, and then I want you to tell Leroy that you’ll be glad to have supper with him one night next week.”
Vonda blinked a couple of times before a slow smile spread across her face. “You’re sure schmaert, you know that? No wonder Will’s so anxious to marry you.”
Karen chuckled. “I don’t know how smart I am, but one thing I do know is that I’m just as eager to marry Will as he is to marry me.”
“Are you about ready to go home?” Will asked Karen as things began to wind down.
“I’m ready whenever you are.”
“Okay. If you’d like to wait here by the fire, I’ll get Blazer hitched to my buggy.”
“That’s fine with me. It’s turned into such a cold night, I’ll be happy to stand here and enjoy the warmth of the fire awhile longer.”
“I’ll pull the buggy over this way when I’m ready to go.” Will said good-bye to Vonda and the others who were still huddled around the fire; then he sprinted across the yard.
When he guided his horse and buggy up the driveway close to where the bonfire was, he discovered Karen standing off to one side talking to Leroy. Usually seeing the two of them together would have upset him, but not tonight. After observing the way Leroy had hovered around Vonda all evening, Will figured he could put his fears to rest. He had a hunch it wouldn’t be long until Leroy and Vonda started officially courting, and that thought made him quite happy.
As soon as Will’s rig came to a stop, Karen left Leroy and hurried toward the buggy.
“It’s been a fun evening,” she said as Will helped her into the passenger’s side. “But I’m glad we’re going home, because I’m tired and cold.”
“Me, too, but it might not be much warmer in my buggy.” He leaned over and lifted the buggy robe from the floor. “We can drape this over our laps, and it should help some.”
“At least we’ll be out of the wind. I think that’s what’s making it seem so cold.” Karen snuggled under the robe and leaned her head on Will’s shoulder. “I hope it’s not this cold on our wedding day.”
“Won’t matter if it is,” he said, guiding his horse onto the main road. “We’ll be indoors most of the day where it’ll be nice and warm.”
“That’s true, but if the weather is bad, it may keep some of our guests away.”
“I don’t think we’ll have to worry about that. Unless we have a blizzard, I’m sure everyone will make it.”
“You’re probably right. I think I must be turning into an old worrywart.”
He chuckled. “At least I know for sure that you’re my worrywart.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“After seeing the way Leroy hovered around Vonda all evening, I’ve got a hunch that he’s got his eye on her.”
“You’re right; he does. I’ve known for some time about Leroy’s interest in Vonda. Since she’s so shy, he didn’t know how to approach her, so he’s asked me several times for some suggestions.”
“Are you saying that’s the reason Leroy’s been hanging around you so much—because he wanted your advice on how to make Vonda take an interest in him?”
“That’s mostly it, but as I’ve told you before, Leroy and I have been friends since we were bopplin, so sometimes he just likes to gab with me about things.”
“When I saw you with Leroy at Das Dutchman, were you talking about Vonda?”
She nodded. “The reason I didn’t tell you before this is because Leroy asked me not to say anything.”
“Guess I’ve been worried all this time for no reason at all.”
She needled him in the ribs. “I’ve been trying to tell you that nothing’s been going on between me and Leroy.”
He needled her right back and chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“Here I was trying to get Leroy and Vonda together, and the whole time, he already had an interest in her.”
“That’s right, and even though Vonda’s been too shy to let on until tonight, she’s had an interest in Leroy, too.”
Will groaned as he shook his head. “What a dummkopp I’ve been. When things didn’t go as I’d planned with Leroy and Vonda, I tried to get Mary Jane to take an interest in him, but she had her eye on Nathan.” He reached across the seat and took Karen’s hand. “I’m glad everything’s settled between us.”
“It always feels good to get things settled,” she agreed.
They rode in silence as Will kept his focus on the road and made sure he had good control of his horse. He didn’t want to slip on the ice or end up stuck in the snow.
“You’re really cold,” Will said when he noticed Karen shivering. “We’re almost to my folks’ place, so I think I’ll stop in and get another blanket.”
“I’ll be okay. We’re not too far from my house now.”
“Even so, I think I’ll stop for a blanket.” He squeezed her fingers gently. “I won’t have my bride-to-be freezing to death.”
Karen snickered. “I’m glad to see you’re in such good spirits. That
must mean you had a good time tonight.”
“Jah, it was good to set my worries aside and have a fun evening with you and our friends.”
“I wonder how the young people are faring in this cold weather,” Mark said as he and Regina sat on the sofa enjoying the warmth that spilled from the fireplace and filled the room with a woodsy aroma.
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