An Unlikely Match

by Beth Wiseman

  “You know, you kids don’t know a thing about raising kids. There ain’t no handbook.” Gus’s jowls jiggled when the old truck hit a pothole. “Maybe you oughta give your dad a break and quit acting like a little punk.”

  “Watch it, old man.” Jayce felt a familiar rage bubbling to the surface, but he would never hit an elderly person, not even someone as obnoxious as Gus. “Don’t act like you know me or my father. You don’t know him.” He huffed. “Trust me. You don’t know him.”

  “Maybe you don’t know him either.”

  It seemed a strange thing to say, but Jayce recalled Gus saying he had a daughter who hated him. “Does your daughter know you? You said she hated you.”

  Gus rattled off a string of curse words, ending with, “You’re just a punk kid.”

  They turned onto the driveway at the inn. “And you’re a grumpy old man who treats people like dirt. But you did save Veronica’s life, and for that . . . I am very grateful.”

  Jayce got out of the truck and headed for the main house. He was ready to spend a quiet evening watching the sunset with Evelyn.

  When he opened the door and stepped into the living room, the aroma he’d begun looking forward to didn’t waft up his nostrils. Instead, something smelled burnt. He rushed toward the kitchen.

  Esther had the stove open and was using a dustpan to fan smoke toward the open window. Lizzie’s head covering was falling off her head as she knelt on the floor picking up what appeared to be charred loaves of bread. An Amish woman Jayce hadn’t seen before paced the kitchen, crying.

  Instinctively, Jayce went to the woman crying. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He glanced at Esther and Lizzie, but neither one looked up, only stayed busy with their tasks.

  “Ya, ya. I’m fine. Except I almost burned the haus down on mei first day of work.” The woman covered her face with her hands. “Lizzie and Esther went to take a nap. The timer was set for the bread. All I had to do was take it out of the oven when the buzzer went off. But it didn’t go off!” She uncovered her face. “So I waited a while. But then I needed to use the facilities, so I did. Then I remembered I needed to collect the towels from the guest rooms upstairs. I saw all the pretty clothes on the racks, and I was just looking at them as I gathered the towels. I guess I stayed up there too long.” She drew in a breath before swiping at her tears. “By the time I came back downstairs, I was winded and decided to rest. All I did was sit on the couch and lay mei head back. Mei mamm calls them power naps. You sleep for five minutes and wake up feeling refreshed. I must have slept longer than five minutes. Maybe I was tired from my trip.” She lifted her shoulders and raised her palms. “And the bread burned.”

  Jayce was speechless.

  Esther finally closed the oven, and Lizzie threw the charred bread in the trash can. “Everything is fine,” Esther said. “Jayce, this is Rose, our new employee. Today is her first day, and she’s just having first-day jitters.”

  “You two go out on the porch.” Lizzie motioned toward the living room.

  “Rose, gather yourself, dear. Everything will be all right. Jayce, where’s everyone else? I didn’t hear them come in.” Esther coughed. How smoky had it been? A strong stench still lingered.

  “Actually, they stopped at a restaurant. I was riding with Gus, and he didn’t want to stop.” Jayce cringed. “Do you need me to do anything in here to help?”

  “Nee. Just take her outside.” Lizzie waved to shoo them away again. Jayce saw her roll her eyes and did as she asked.

  * * *

  Esther held her head in her hands and sighed.

  “I don’t want to hear it. You told me to find someone to help us, and I did.” At least Lizzie’s teeth were back in her mouth. “I don’t know what to do about her.”

  Esther was more exhausted than she’d been before Rose joined them earlier in the day. “Can we train her not to talk so much? I’m sure she’s a sweet maedel and all, but . . .”

  “Well, thank the Lord the others stopped to eat somewhere and didn’t walk in on this.” Lizzie lifted her apron and wiped her face with it, a habit she’d formed as a child. Only now there was no one to reprimand her about it except Esther, and she’d tired of saying anything a long time ago.

  “She cooked the hens, right? She said she knew how to stuff them.” Esther opened the refrigerator and breathed a sigh of relief. “Ach, gut. There are six hens in here. And I see she made a salad. And the potatoes are peeled, cut, and ready to be boiled and mashed.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “She’s prepared supper, and it will still be gut if our guests want lunch tomorrow, or we can make more side dishes and reheat the hens. The four of us can dine on one tonight, assuming Jayce plans to eat.” She grinned. “And I haven’t seen that boy turn down a meal.”

  She heard horse hooves crunching against the gravel driveway and walked to the window. “Is that Evelyn Schrock?”

  Lizzie joined her. “Ya, sure is. I knew there was a spark between her and Jayce. I think they’re sweet on each other.”

  Esther recognized the dreamy way Lizzie spoke. As much as she would love to nurture a budding romance, this wasn’t one to encourage. “Whether they are or not, Jayce leaves in a few weeks. You’ve already caused them to almost vomit by overwhelming them with vanilla in your buggy.”

  Lizzie pushed her bottom lip out. “I made a mistake.” She pointed to the small house the couple lived in. “Amos didn’t live here when he became smitten with Naomi. And now they are married and expecting twins.”

  Esther put her hands on her hips and sighed. “Lizzie, Amos was Amish, even if he was from somewhere else. Jayce isn’t just from somewhere else. He might as well be from another planet.” She shook her head. “They are too different for us to intervene in any way. Encouraging a romance would only end with one or both of them hurt. We’ve already talked about this.”

  “Maybe.” Lizzie continued staring out the window. “Stranger things have happened.” She leaned closer to the glass, craning her neck to see Jayce and Rose sitting on the porch. “And speaking of stranger . . .” She lifted her eyes to Esther’s. “I hope that girl settles down, because she’ll put me in an early grave if she talks that much all the time.” She tapped a finger to her head. “And I’m wondering if maybe a few marbles are missing. I know I set that timer for the bread.”

  “In her defense we’ve both burned bread before. It’s her first day, so we will see how it goes.”

  Lizzie huffed. “Here’s how it’s gonna go. She’s going to quit talking so much, or I’m going to lose mei mind.” She ambled barefoot toward the living room. “Your shift. I’m taking a nap.”

  Esther watched Evelyn tether her horse and walk toward the house. Some days, when her arthritis was bothering her or her stomach ulcer flared up, or even when she was just exhausted, she longed for youth. But age brings wisdom, and when she thought about it carefully, she realized she’d never want to go back to those early years.

  Yes, she’d fallen in love and gotten married, but a person in his or her twenties was still finding their way. Esther prayed that the three young people on the porch would make wise choices. Especially Evelyn and Jayce. She had no idea what to think about Rose. She also prayed that she and Lizzie hadn’t worsened their already stressful situation with this new hire.

  * * *

  Evelyn slowly approached the porch since Jayce had made no effort to come to her. Instead, he sat on the porch swing beside a crying woman, his hand on her arm. It looked intimate enough that Evelyn had been tempted not to get out of the buggy but to just head back home.

  “Should I leave?” she whispered as she stood at the bottom of the porch steps. “I don’t want to interrupt.”

  “Nee, nee,” the woman said as she swiped at tears and stood up. “I’m Rose, Lizzie and Esther’s new employee. I’ve been hired to cook, clean, and help them run the inn. I’ve made a horrible mess of mei first day.” She held her arms stiff at her sides as she winced. “I wanted to make a gut impression. I think
I’m overexcited. I just arrived here from Ohio. I don’t know anyone, and I just . . .” She covered her face with her hands, and Evelyn walked up the steps to her.

  “Please don’t cry. Lizzie and Esther are wonderful people and very understanding. They know you’ll need time to adjust.” Evelyn touched the girl’s arm. Jayce slouched on the porch swing, one hand to his forehead.

  Rose sniffled. “Are you here to see Lizzie or Esther?” She glanced over her shoulder. “Should I go get them?”

  “Um . . .” She glanced at Jayce, who stood up.

  “She’s here to see me,” he said before he yawned.

  “If you’re tired, we can reschedule.” Evelyn didn’t mean for the comment to sound snappy when it left her mouth.

  “Nope. Let’s go.” Jayce turned to Rose. “Everything is going to be okay. Don’t worry.”

  Rose nodded. “I’ll just go inside and try to make amends with Lizzie and Esther.”

  Jayce cleared his throat. “Maybe just let them rest for now. Having so many guests is wearing them out.”

  She nodded, then Jayce motioned for Evelyn to follow him.

  “Nice to meet you, Rose.” Evelyn waved before she got in step with Jayce.

  “Oh wow,” he said once they were far enough away from the main house. He shook his head. “That is one sweet girl, but . . .” He turned to Evelyn. “She’s nuts.”

  Evelyn playfully slapped Jayce’s arm. “That’s a terrible thing to say.” Oddly, a surge of relief coursed through her. At first glance Jayce had looked cozy with Rose.

  “Yeah, you’re right. Nuts is a bad word to use.” Jayce shook his head. “But she talks a lot.” He raised both eyebrows. “I mean, a whole lot.”

  Another wave of relief washed over her. Then she saw a bench ahead facing the pond, and her stomach swirled with anticipation. Fear and excitement combined to form an emotion she didn’t know how to process. All she knew was that she’d been looking forward to spending time with Jayce.

  “Hopefully everything will work out for Rose. Lizzie and Esther don’t usually have this many guests at one time, so I’m sure things are somewhat disorderly right now.”

  Jayce sat on the bench and Evelyn took a seat beside him.

  “I don’t bite,” he said, grinning.

  She noticed the large space she’d put between them and scooted over a little.

  “In case you get the urge to kiss me again, I don’t want you to strain your neck.” A big smile spread across his face.

  Evelyn chewed her bottom lip, partly from nerves, but also so she didn’t start laughing.

  “Go ahead and laugh.” Jayce pressed his lips firmly together as he shook his head. “But you’re a very aggressive Amish woman.”

  Evelyn burst out laughing. “Don’t say that. I don’t even know why that happened.” In part, that was true. But it happened because she was attracted to him and had been nervous at the time.

  “Do you want to kiss me?” His dark eyes held her gaze, as if searching her face for permission.

  “No,” she said softly.

  “Really?” He spoke with a heavy dose of sarcasm, back to his playful self.

  “That’s right. I no longer succumb to such urges.” She raised her chin and attempted a serious expression.

  Jayce lowered his head. “Well, that’s a bummer.”

  Evelyn was smiling broadly when he finally looked up. “Maybe we just see how it goes.”

  He grinned. “I can live with that.”

  “You have got to be kidding me!” A loud voice came from behind them, causing them both to jerk their heads around.

  “Hey, hero.” Jayce waved at Gus.

  “Oh no,” Evelyn whispered. The grumpiest man on Earth was walking toward them, toting a tackle box and a fishing pole slung over his shoulder.

  “First it was Naomi and Amos coming down here to paint their pictures and smooch.” He lowered the fishing pole to his side. “Now I’ve got to deal with you two? Is this Lovers’ Lane or what? And do you have to do your canoodling during the best fishing time of the day?”

  Evelyn could feel her face turning red.

  “Gus was a hero today.” Jayce looked back and forth between her and Gus. “He saved our star actress from drowning.”

  Evelyn didn’t have to feign shock. Her dropped jaw happened naturally as she tried to picture Gus as a hero. She’d only known him to be obnoxious and rude. “Really?” she managed to say.

  “Oh, whatever.” Gus growled. “How long you two going to be down here?”

  Jayce shrugged. “I don’t know. The canoodling hasn’t officially started, so it could be a while.”

  Evelyn elbowed him as she put a hand over her mouth, horrified and amused.

  “She’s Amish, ya know. She ain’t used to your type.” Gus threw the words at Jayce like big rocks.

  “You’d be surprised,” Jayce said, grinning.

  Evelyn laughed. She couldn’t hold it any longer.

  Gus let out a heavy sigh. “This day is getting stranger and stranger.” He did an about-face and stomped off.

  “Bye, Gus!” Jayce yelled, but the man kept going.

  When Jayce’s eyes locked with hers, she reminded herself not to let her gaze travel to his lips. “I don’t canoodle,” she whispered as the sun settled close to the horizon.

  “I know.” His expression was serious. “And I’d never do anything to disrespect you. You know I was teasing, right?”

  The strange surge of disappointment ran the length of her spine this time. “I know.” She forced herself to smile.

  “This has been a weird day.” He shook his head and then told her what happened at the caverns, how Gus really did save Veronica’s life.

  “That doesn’t sound like Gus.” Evelyn thought about all the times she’d avoided the man. “Especially since there were so many others who could have jumped in to help.”

  Jayce twisted slightly, rested his arm on the back of the bench, then propped up his chin and stared into her eyes. “Back home, I used to be a master at faking the person my father wanted me to be. It was exhausting. When I quit trying to be that person, that’s when all the problems started.” He paused for a while. “I’ve been trying to find myself ever since. Maybe Gus isn’t really the horrible person he tries to be. Maybe he’s just unhappy with his life, and his offensive behavior is a defensive move to protect him from getting hurt.”

  Evelyn cringed. “I don’t know about that. I’ve seen him show a few kindnesses over the years, but mostly . . . he’s been terrible to folks.” She paused. “But it’s interesting that you think that. You must be someone who tries to find the good in everyone.” She smiled. “And that’s nice.”

  “Maybe it’s because I want people to see the good in me. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. But God forgave me. I think I’m still searching for the good in myself, the person I want to be.”

  Evelyn stared into his eyes for a long while. “I see that good in you, Jayce.”

  He smiled a little. “Do you?”

  She nodded. She’d never wanted anyone to kiss her more in her life than she did in this moment. But Jayce turned to face the pond as the sun became one with the water, glazing the surface with orange hues, descending faster than Evelyn wanted it to.

  Twelve

  Esther made the trek to Gus’s cottage much later than she’d meant to. It was well past dark, so she held a flashlight in one hand and carried a pie tote in the other. Her knees had given her fits all day, which usually meant bad weather was coming.

  “What do you want?” he asked when he opened the door.

  Esther hung her head, willed her blood pressure to stay within range, then looked back at him. “Gus, why is it that you must address a guest like that right when you open the door? Here.” She pushed the chocolate pie at him. He took it. “I heard you did a good deed today, and I thought you would enjoy this pie.”

  “Yeah, you don’t bring me pie as often as you used to.” Gus scratched the top
of his head. He looked freshly showered and shaved, his hair pulled back neatly in its ponytail. Beyond his broad shoulders she could see the squalor he still lived in. Whiskers, his cat, was stretched out on the couch, seemingly unbothered by the clutter. His only attempt to better his conditions was the time his daughter had come to visit, and that hadn’t gone well for either of them.

  But he was right about the pie. At one point Esther had promised to bring him pie for the rest of his life. The more she’d thought about it, the more unreasonable it seemed, especially since he’d bullied her into it. The man was already guaranteed life in the cottage, and for minimal rent. So Esther had broken her promise and asked God to forgive her.

  “I don’t know why everyone is making such a big deal about today.” He spat the words before he lowered his arm to his side. “That woman . . .” He pointed toward the larger of the motor homes. “She brought me a huge box of chocolates, said it didn’t seem like nearly enough, and then she hugged me for the second time today. I don’t need all that, Esther, but I reckon I’ll be traveling with them on their other shoots. People ain’t safe otherwise, because Brandon’s got a bunch of idiots working for him.”

  Esther thought Gus could use hugs. “Saving a life is a big deal.” She turned to leave, too tired to carry on any more conversation with him. She was also afraid she might slip about Mr. Clarkson having no intention of actually including Gus in his movie. It was a dishonorable thing the film producer was doing, but Esther was going to stay out of it. Maybe it was best that Gus was on-site with the crew. It did sound like danger had found them twice already. “Good night, Gus.”

  “Wait. We need to talk about something else.” Gus set the pie on the chair on the porch and took a few steps toward her.

  She hadn’t even made it to the bottom of the stairs. Looking up, she whispered, “Gott, give me strength.” This had been an exhausting day.

  “I don’t know what kind of place you’re running over there . . .” He waved his hand toward the main house. “But it seems like another couple has taken to my fishing spot. First it was Naomi and Amos playing all smoochy-smooch on my bench. Now you got Brandon’s kid and Evelyn Schrock down there playing kissy-face.”