The Protector

by Shelley Shepard Gray

  “Perhaps,” Graham allowed as he grabbed another piece and tossed.

  “Perhaps? This plastic floor is yellowed and curling. Wood flooring will be much better underfoot.”

  “Who are you getting to help you sand and stain and varnish? ’Cause it’s surely not going to be me.”

  Loyal had counted on that. He’d wanted to make sure he spent his money in a smart way. Instead of trying to refurbish the floors himself, he’d decided to hire professionals. “I’m hiring the Johnson Brothers from Middlefield. They said work was slow, so they can begin tomorrow. They’re going to let me help, too, so the labor costs won’t be too high.”

  Graham raised his brows. “At least they’ll get paid. All I’m getting is sweaty.”

  “A little hard work never hurt anyone.”

  “And now you sound like Calvin.”

  That caught Loyal off guard. Their brother was notoriously opinionated and bossy. But now that he was a home and a landowner himself, Loyal started thinking that maybe being bossy wasn’t a bad idea. With ownership came responsibilities.

  “Well, at least we’re all done now,” Loyal said as he got to his feet. “After I sweep everything up, it will be ready for the Johnsons to begin.”

  “I’ll start carrying this linoleum to the wagon. But I have to warn you, I’m leaving you at six o’clock this evening, whether you are ready for me or not.”

  “What are you doing that is so important?”

  “I’m taking Jenna Yoder out for a drive tonight,” Graham said with a somewhat secretive smile.

  “I had no idea you two were seeing each other. When did that come about?”

  “Only recently. I stopped by to see Jenna the other day and we got to talking. Then we agreed to go on this drive. She’s schee, don’t you think?”

  Loyal couldn’t help but think that his brother was being more than a little blasé about it all. And if he knew his brother—which he did—Loyal knew that Graham never did much without carefully weighing the pros and cons. “Yes, Jenna is very pretty. But I thought you had a special relationship with Mattie Lapp. What happened there?”

  “Nothing.” He sputtered. “Actually, I’m fairly surprised you asked that. Mattie and I are just friends, you know. There’s nothing special between us.”

  Loyal thought the complete opposite. Whenever Graham and Mattie were in the same room, sparks flew.

  But he surely wasn’t going to let Graham know that if he wasn’t ready to hear it. “I guess I didn’t realize you two were only friends. I thought the two of you would court one day.”

  “To be honest, one day I thought we might as well,” Graham said after a lengthy pause. “But Mattie has made it plain time and again that I’m only her friend and that’s all she ever wants me to be. It’s time to move on.”

  Despite wanting to push his brother on this decision, Loyal had learned from watching Calvin that it wasn’t possible to control one’s heart—or one’s future. The Lord liked to have a say in just about everything. And sometimes, it was best if you just let Him have his way. He had to trust God would turn things around if He wanted.

  “I hope you and Jenna have a good time,” he said simply. “I wish you both well.”

  Graham nodded his thanks, then paused as he was picking up the linoleum. “What about you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Aren’t you interested in any woman yet?”

  A sudden vision of Ella Hostetler appeared in his mind, but he shook it away. “Nee. But it’s just as well, you know. I’ve got a lot to do.”

  “We all are busy. But finding someone special is a good thing.”

  “Perhaps.”

  “And you know all the girls have always been by your side. More than one has said you’re the best looking of us three.”

  “Looks mean nothing.”

  “To some it does.”

  “If you have to leave me to go courting, we had better get to work,” Loyal said, suddenly eager to push the conversation away from him.

  “I’m working. I’m working. And sweating,” Graham grumbled as he picked up his load and walked outside again.

  As Loyal moved to the edge of the carpet and pulled, he thought of Ella once again. And wondered if she’d ever wanted to pull up all of this carpet and enjoy wood floor underneath.

  He wondered how her day had been at the library.

  And he thought about her smile when he dopily talked about donuts.

  More times during the day than he could count, he’d found himself thinking about Ella. And that made him a bit uncomfortable. How could he have known someone all his life, but suddenly start seeing her in a new way?

  It didn’t make sense. With relief, he saw their uncle’s truck approach. “Uncle John’s here. He said he’d bring in supplies from town. Come help me unload, wouldja?”

  “Sure,” Graham said, already striding forward to visit with John.

  Chapter 9

  “Mattie, I’m so glad you are feeling gut again,” Lucy said as they walked along the well-worn path between their two homes. “Now we can walk together as often as we’d like.”

  “As often as I’d like, maybe,” Mattie corrected. “I have a feeling if you had your way, we’d walk together every single day.”

  “Maybe. It is such a pleasure to be outside. And to have free time.”

  Mattie looked at her friend fondly. If she was making big improvements on the inside, it was Lucy, surely, who had made the biggest difference on the outside.

  To compare her appearance to the way she was last year was to compare night and day. Calvin Weaver’s love had changed so much. Where she used to be timid and unsure, now Lucy was more confident.

  Her cheeks were flushed and pink, her eyes were brighter, even her posture was different. While Lucy had always been a beauty, now she was certainly glowing.

  “It is such a blessing that you found love with Calvin. Now that you live so close, it’s almost like we’re sisters.”

  “I can’t believe our good fortune,” Lucy agreed. “I do love living near you.”

  “And you love Calvin, still?”

  “Oh, yes!” When Mattie started laughing, Lucy’s cheeks turned bright pink. “I mean, Calvin is certainly a blessing to me.”

  Though she ached to tease Lucy some more, Mattie didn’t. Lucy was finally so happy, there was no way Mattie was ever going to do a thing to disrupt that happiness. “I’m sure he is a blessing.”

  Lucy looked her way, and then laughed again. “I know I sound just like a teenager after her first date. But I can’t help it, you see. Calvin is so different than Paul.”

  “I would hope so!”

  “No, I mean, he is always sweet and gentle. And so patient, too.” Her eyes clouded. “Some nights I still have bad dreams about my life with Paul. I wake up with my pulse racing and my body sweating.” She shook her head in wonder. “Yet Calvin never complains. He just holds me close.”

  A momentary twinge of jealousy rose up, strong and fierce. With all her will, Mattie pushed it aside. It didn’t matter that she didn’t have someone like that in her life.

  And it was just as well, too. The last thing she needed was to have someone to love who she would surely lose when the cancer came back.

  No, it was simply better to get used to living on her own. And being grateful for her blessings. She’d survived cancer. That should be enough for anyone.

  To ask to be happy too, well, that would be too much to ask.

  John Weaver soon found out that locating a chocolate pie in Middlefield hadn’t been all that difficult. He’d ended up asking Amos where to go. And though the man was as crusty as a piece of day-old bread, he knew his food.

  “Go to Holtzman’s,” he said without hesitation. “They make a silk chocolate pie that will make a person’s toes curl, it’s so
good.”

  Well, that reaction sounded a little extreme, but John figured he’d give it a try. After all, Jayne had seemed like she put a lot of emphasis on that particular dessert.

  At five minutes after seven, he rang her doorbell. Immediately, he heard the frantic barking of a tiny dachshund.

  Jayne opened the door with a harried smile. “John. You’re here!”

  He held up his box. “I brought pie.”

  Her eyes lit up. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. I wanted to have everything perfect for you, but I left work late. Now we know dessert, at least, will be good.”

  Those words were enough to set his pulse beating a little quicker. Right that minute, John could care less about steaks. All he needed was Jayne to keep saying things like that.

  With effort, he forced himself to act cool and collected. “I don’t need perfect. How can I help?”

  With a grateful smile, she handed him a lighter. “Could you go to my porch and start the grill? I’m just finishing up the salad.”

  “Sure.” After following her to her kitchen, stepping over a barking Minnie the whole time, John placed his box on the counter, took the lighter, and went out to her grill. To his dismay, the little dog followed at his heels, barking and baring her teeth, circling him like a shark.

  “Dog, don’t you do something foolish,” he warned as he stepped over it, turned on the gas, and lit the grill. “I can’t say I’d be all that understanding if you bit my ankle.”

  “John, have a seat. I’ll be right out,” Jayne said through the screened window.

  “All right,” he called back, trying not to notice that the dog’s barks were becoming fiercer.

  With one more glare at the little red-haired wiener dog, he walked right past it and took a seat at the black wrought-iron dining set.

  Minutes later, Jayne came out with a tray of iced tea. The minute she appeared, Minnie lay down next to them and fell silent.

  Glad for the reprieve, John stood up to help Jayne, taking the tray from her in an easy movement. In the handoff, his fingers brushed hers.

  Jayne stilled, looked at him in wide-eyed wonder for a moment.

  John swallowed and tried to think of something sweet to say that didn’t sound too forward.

  As the dog bit his ankle.

  “Ach!” he said with a jerk, toppling the plastic glasses on the tray. “Jayne, hey, I’m sorry—” he began as the dog growled and circled again.

  He jerked away, sending the glasses to the ground. Tea sprayed out. The little dog whimpered and ran away.

  “Oh!” Jayne said again, grabbing the tray from him and plopping it on the table. “Oh, John. That dog!” She bit her lip. “I don’t know what could be wrong with her. She’s usually such a sweetie . . .”

  He glared at the dachshund’s retreating back end. “Except when she’s biting people.”

  She pulled him to a chair. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. She didn’t break the skin,” he said. “Well, hardly,” he corrected, seeing the tiny bite mark. Well, that’s what he got for wearing flip-flops with his jeans. If he’d had on boots, no damage would have been done.

  Jayne bit her lip again, her eyes tearing up.

  Now he felt terrible. It wasn’t like it was her fault the little wiener dog was a menace!

  Without thinking, he reached for her hand. “Jayne? I’m sorry. Did I break all your glasses?”

  “It’s not that. They’re plastic. Oh, John. I’m so sorry.”

  Linking his fingers through hers, he eyed her again, then couldn’t help but chuckle. “Jayne, I spilled the tea all over your shirt.”

  She looked down at her floral blouse in dismay. Then, to his surprise and pleasure, she started giggling. “I look horrible. And Minnie bit you. What a terrible first date.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said. “I was nervous and now, well, I think it’s all uphill from here.”

  Her eyes widened. “You were nervous, too?”

  “Jayne, it took me two weeks to ask you to dinner.”

  “I didn’t think you were ever going to ask!”

  Slowly, he pulled back his hand. He could have held it all night, but John thought it was probably best to let her put on a fresh shirt. “How about you change and I’ll put the steaks on?”

  “That sounds perfect,” she said with a sigh. “Thanks. I’ll be right back. And I’ll lock up Minnie in my room.”

  “I think that sounds like a fantastic idea.”

  He smiled at her as she walked away. For the life of him, he couldn’t ever recall having a better laugh with a woman.

  The rest of the evening passed in a blur of easy conversation and flirty glances. They talked about their pasts, and about their futures, and even about little Katie Weaver.

  The pie was as good as Amos had proclaimed.

  When it came time for him to leave, John kissed her on the cheek, though he instinctively knew that if he’d moved his lips to the left just a few inches, she would have welcomed them just fine.

  Just after 10:30, he reversed his truck down her driveway and realized that, if he didn’t put the car windows down, he would be able to continue inhaling the faint scent of gardenias lingering on his clothes.

  He was still thinking about those eyes of hers, and the way they’d sparkled in amusement while sharing a story about Katie bossing him around, when he happened to see an Amish woman walking on the sidewalk beside a tall, lanky teenaged boy. The boy had a youthful swagger in his stride—obviously he didn’t care to be seen walking by his mother’s side.

  The mother’s hands were primly clasped in front of her. Her posture was erect, her chin up. But her expression was so sad, John did a double take through his rearview mirror.

  Then he felt a lump in his throat.

  The woman was Mary. For a second, he thought about pulling over. Seeing if they wanted a ride. But of course that would have been too pushy. He hardly knew them, and it was obvious Mary was in no mood for conversation.

  John found himself worrying about Mary and her boy all night.

  Chapter 10

  Ella’s favorite time of the day was the morning. It had always been that way. Each morning, she’d wake with the sunrise and start a pot of coffee brewing. Then she’d take out whatever devotional she was reading and spend her first half hour with the Lord.

  She’d sit in her rocking chair, the one her grandfather had built for her mother, and rock while reading and praying. As the sky grew brighter, her whole being would fill with joy and happiness.

  Only then would she sip her first cup of coffee and get dressed.

  On the farm, she’d have a great many things to do after that. She’d tend to the animals and the garden, clean up the kitchen. And attend to her mother, of course.

  But now Ella had only her one plate and one cup to wash after her breakfast of toast and fruit. It took no time to make her bed and set her little home to rights. And since she didn’t start work until nine in the morning, she had time on her hands.

  When she’d sat on the bench with Corrine during the auction, just imagining such emptiness brought her to tears. But, actually, the opposite was becoming true. Having extra time was an unexpected pleasure.

  For the first time in her twenty-two years, she was enjoying the gift of rest and relaxation. So much so, that some days her mind spun with ideas for all the possibilities.

  In the winter, she planned to sew and quilt. But now, in the middle of summer, she couldn’t resist tending to the three pots of flowers she’d set on the edge of her small back porch. And, of course, reading one of the many books she checked out at the library.

  At the moment, she was knee deep in a series by Karen Kingsbury. She’d just finished a chapter and looked at her kitchen clock, mentally weighing the pros and cons o
f reading a second chapter, when there was a knock at her door.

  Stifling a groan, she went to answer it. Dorothy had taken to checking up on her day and night. Ella knew she was going to have to find a way to gently tell her that she was used to being alone a bit more.

  Perhaps today was the day to do that.

  As she twisted the knob, she mentally prepared herself to give Dorothy the news.

  “Hi,” Loyal Weaver said.

  “Loyal? What are you doing here?”

  Flashing a grin, he said the obvious. “Visiting you?”

  Still trying to wrap her brain around his appearance, she looked him up and down. “Is anything the matter?”

  “No.” He shifted. “May I come in? I was over at the donut shop, but I didn’t see you walk by this morning.”

  “No. I don’t have to be at work until nine-thirty today.” She stepped backward to allow him access.

  Loyal didn’t even hesitate.

  After she closed the door, she leaned back against it, staring at him. Staring at him right there in her house. Here, in her living room, Ella felt dwarfed by his presence. He really was tall, and so terribly handsome. And the way he looked at her—just like there was more to her than she’d ever thought—it made her heart beat a little bit faster.

  He took off his straw hat and shook his hair. She couldn’t look away, his blond hair was so striking against his tan skin.

  “I have some coffee, if you’d like?”

  “No. Listen, I was wondering if you’d like to come out to the farm this evening. When you’re done with work.”

  She was stunned. “Why?”

  “Well, I thought you might want to see your horse. And, I thought you might like to see what I’ve been doing to your house. I pulled out the old linoleum and carpet. And today, some workers came and sanded and stained. It looks nice.”

  She noticed he kept referring to the things as hers—obviously he was trying hard to not overstep. “I bet it does. I . . . I always would have preferred to feel smooth wood planks under my feet, but we could never afford to do that project.”