by Marta Perry
“Denke, Paula. That will be Saturday, I think. Isaiah and Libby have been helping, and Lovina says she’ll have Elijah bring some furniture over that day. And Nathan’s father also brought some things he doesn’t have room for since he moved in with his daughter. So they’ll all be helping on Saturday.”
“I wish it wasn’t such a busy day for the bakery, so that we could come and help, too,” Hannah said. She reached up to tuck a strand of brown hair back under her kapp. “We’ll stop out to see your place soon, though.” She hesitated. “Is there any furniture from…from your childhood that will be coming?”
She shook her head, her throat tight. “Daad has not been talking to me. I guess that’s better than being scolded all the time, but I wish…”
“I know.” Paula reached across the counter to clasp her hand, her normally cheerful face serious for a moment. “You don’t want to be on bad terms with your own daad. But you must give him time. He’ll come around.”
That was what she’d been praying, but she hadn’t seen any sign of it yet.
Paula put some leftover cookies and cupcakes into a bag. “You must take these to Joshua and Sadie tomorrow.” Her tone was brisk as ever. “They’ll like a treat.”
“Every child likes a treat,” she said. “And some grown-ups, too.” She put the cookies and cupcakes into the basket in which she’d carried the honey jars.
Hannah took off the extra apron she wore in the shop, smoothing down her dress as she prepared to go home. Her son, Jamie, who had been playing with blocks in the corner since the last customer left, came over to tug at her skirt.
Naomi smiled. “I think Jamie knows when it is time to go home.”
Jamie smiled back at her. He took his finger out of his mouth and said, “William.”
“Daadi,” Hannah corrected. “William is Daadi now.”
“Daadi,” Jamie said, seeming contented.
It was gut to see that the little boy was adjusting to William Brand as his daad. William was wonderful gut with children, of course, and Jamie had been too young even to remember his own father.
“What are you thinking?” Hannah asked. She had a gift for discerning when a person was holding something back. “Are you still concerned about raising someone else’s kinder?”
“Not exactly.” That opinion of hers seemed something long ago and far away now. “It’s not like caring for my brother’s young ones, where they’d always be turning to their mammi. Joshua and Sadie don’t have a woman in their lives all the time without their grossmammi.”
“They need you,” Hannah said. “But something is bothering you.”
She nodded. She could say things to Hannah and Paula that she couldn’t tell to her own family. “I’m afraid that people are going to talk. Nathan doesn’t seem worried about it, but I hate the thought.”
Paula planted her elbows on the counter. “Ja, well, there’s no doubt that folks do too much talking about their neighbors’ business. So long as you know you’re doing the right thing, you can only ignore them.”
“That’s not so easy,” Hannah said, echoing Naomi’s thoughts. She smiled slightly. “I know what it was like to be talked about when I started working with William on his stammering.”
Hannah, who had gone to college for speech therapy before she married, had helped William immeasurably.
“Well,” Naomi said, “if folks talked about you and William, you had the last laugh, because you fell in love. That’s not going to happen in my situation.”
Hannah’s eyebrows lifted. “How can you be sure? Once he is seeing you every day, Nathan may begin to have feelings for you. And you already do for him, don’t you?”
Flustered by the direct question, Naomi ducked her head, knowing her cheeks were flushing. “I don’t. And anyway, even if I did, it would be useless.” She stared right at the truth that stood in front of her like a barricade. “Nathan cannot love anyone else, because he is still in love with Ada.”
“I will be moving in, so I will be close to you every day. You don’t need to worry about who is taking care of you.”
Naomi might have been saying those words to the kinder, but at the moment she was addressing the bees. She was so used to talking to the bees when she worked around the hives that she seldom thought about how it must sound to anyone else. Now that the hives were here at Nathan’s, she might have to be a bit more careful in what she said, though.
Still, no one was around right now. Libby had kindly come over to watch the children while Naomi wrapped the hives for the winter, since Naomi knew Nathan wouldn’t want them coming out here with her. And the men were off taking care of a broken fence in one of the pastures, she thought.
She unrolled the black coverings that went around the hives to provide some needed insulation for the cold weather. The pieces were already cut to fit, and they just had to be stapled in place. Normally Isaiah helped her with this job, but she’d determined to do it herself. No need for Nathan to think that both Esch family members he employed were off doing something other than their work.
Not that Nathan would care, but still, she felt as if she ought to be a bit cautious as they all figured out their places now that Naomi was here for good.
Naomi picked up the first piece of insulation, trying to hold it in place with one hand while she got the stapler out with the other. “Now, don’t be alarmed at the sound of the staple,” she said. “I will be finished soon, and you will like having the hive a bit warmer, ain’t so?”
“I’m sure they will.” The voice spoke behind her, and she jerked, losing her grasp on the insulation, which promptly rolled up around her arm.
“Ach, look what you have made me do,” she scolded, trying to hide her blush. “Nathan, you must not creep up on someone who is working with bees.”
“I wasn’t creeping.” His voice was mild as he unwrapped the insulation from her sleeve. “You were so busy talking to the bees that you didn’t hear me.”
She looked up at him, smiling a bit ruefully. “True enough. I was just telling myself that I should be more careful in what I say to the bees, just in case anyone was around. I wouldn’t want you to think I’m crazy.”
“I could never think that of you.” Nathan returned her smile. The cold had made his cheeks rosy, and she could see the laughter lurking in his eyes.
Ach, well, she didn’t mind Nathan laughing at her if it brought him a little pleasure.
“It looks as if you need a bit of help.” He held up the strip of insulation. “Do you want me to hold or staple?”
“Neither, denke. I can manage this myself.” She tried to take the strip from him, but he held on easily.
“Naomi, I am certain-sure you can manage anything you set out to, but it will be faster and easier to do this job with two people instead of one.”
Perhaps she needed a little lesson in humility about now. “You are right. Denke, Nathan. Suppose I hold and you staple, since I know how the pieces fit on the hives.”
He nodded, picking up the stapler she had dropped. “I have seen the hives with their black coverings in the winter, but I never looked very closely. Do you just wrap the insulation around them?”
“Ja, that’s it.”
Moving quickly because her hands were getting cold, she wrapped the insulation around the first hive, and was relieved to see that it fit perfectly with no torn edges. Sometimes the winter was hard on the insulation, or it ripped when she took it off.
She overlapped the edges and held them. “Now you can staple it along the seam.”
“I’ll try not to get your fingers.” He bent over to run a neat row of staples down the edges.
That didn’t surprise her. No matter what he was doing, Nathan seemed to work both neatly and quickly. Like most farmers, he could turn his hand to almost any job of carpentry or mending. She liked the way he understood what had to be done without any fuss or needless explanations.
“Will you hold this at the bottom? It’s slipping a bit.”
/> She stooped down, their arms entangling as she tried to hold the insulation at such an awkward angle. Her breath caught, and she was suddenly aware of Nathan’s cheek next to hers, of the ruddiness of his skin and the fine wrinkles around his eyes.
She had to say something before Nathan realized she wasn’t breathing. “Is that okay?” She managed to make the question sound fairly normal, she thought.
“Ja, that’s it.” Nathan straightened. Was it her imagination, or was his breathing a bit out of rhythm as well?
Banishing the thought, she bent to pick up the next piece of insulation. Unfortunately, he did the same, and they cracked heads. Since hers was protected by her bonnet, she feared he’d gotten the worst of it.
“Ach, Nathan, I’m so sorry.”
“No problem.” He straightened, chuckling a little, his eyes warming as he looked at her. “I was just trying to save you a bit of work. Never mind. We’ll soon get into the rhythm of working together, ja?”
“Ja, of course.” She had to keep smiling, had to treat the moment as lightly as he did.
But the truth was that her heart seemed to be taking a beating in the past few minutes. Maybe it needed insulation more than the beehives did.
Nathan double-checked the row of wooden pegs in the bedroom of the grossdaadi house, making sure they were level. The past few days had been hectic, but he was determined that the place would be ready for Naomi to move into on Saturday.
And once in, she would stay. That was the heart of the matter for him. Naomi needed to be so satisfied with this situation that she wouldn’t think of leaving. So whatever he needed to do to make that happen, he would.
Daad crossed the small landing at the top of the stairs from the other bedroom. “Almost finished here?”
“Almost. Will you hold this steady while I screw it in?”
Nodding, Daad put his hands on the strip of wooden molding that held the pegs for clothing. “Your great-aunt never used this small bedroom much, that I remember. Are you thinking Naomi will have folks to stay?”
“She might.” Nathan checked the level again and began putting in the final screws. “Her nieces and nephews maybe, or her sisters when they are here visiting.” He voiced the thought that had been in his mind. “If Naomi feels this is her home, she’ll want to stay.”
Daad eyed him. “You think the house will make the dif-ference?”
“Maybe not. But it is something I can make sure is right.” He glanced at his father. What was in Daad’s mind?
Daad caught the look. His weathered face creased in a smile. “Ach, Nathan, you were always the same. Deciding on doing something and then going after it with all your strength. Maybe that comes of being the oldest and the only boy in the family.”
“Maybe it comes of the gut example my daad set for me.”
They exchanged places, and he began setting the screws on the opposite end.
“Maybe,” Daad said, but there was a trace of doubt in his voice. “It is a gut quality, to be persistent when you want something. But…”
“But what?” Nathan’s shoulders tensed. Surely Daad didn’t think he was wrong to want Naomi to care for the children.
“But we are only human. We can’t always control how things turn out.”
His throat tightened. He knew that better than most people. He’d wanted Ada, he’d wanted a family, and he’d wanted a gut life for them. But he hadn’t been able to control the lightning that hit the barn, or the fact that in his absence Ada had been the one to go into the barn to try to save the horses.
“Having the right woman to care for the kinder is too important to Joshua and Sadie to leave to chance,” he said, turning the screwdriver so hard that it was a wonder the board didn’t split.
“I know. But are you sure this is the way to go about it?”
Nathan dropped the screwdriver into his toolbox and faced his father. “Naomi is the best person for the job. Don’t you agree?”
“Ach, ja.” Daad ran his hand along the molding. “But there is more to it, ain’t so? What if someday you want to marry? What happens to Naomi then? It would be like this business with her daad all over again.”
The prospect startled Nathan so that for a moment he was speechless. Then he found his tongue. “I will never remarry.” His tone was flat and final. He could not share his life with another woman.
Daad’s gaze was intent on his face. “We don’t know what the future holds. But what about Naomi, then? What if she should want to marry? Would you deny her that happiness?”
The depth of his surprise at the thought showed Nathan that he had accepted the attitude of Naomi’s family, their calm assumption that marriage wasn’t for her.
He would sacrifice a great deal for his children, but Naomi’s future wasn’t his to sacrifice.
“If that should happen, I wouldn’t stand in Naomi’s way.” He knew he sounded stiff, unnatural even. “Are you thinking that I am being selfish?”
“Not selfish, no.” Daad patted his shoulder. “Just very focused on your own needs.”
He opened his mouth to say that it was the children’s needs, not his own, but he could hear footsteps on the stairs and picked up his toolbox and held his peace.
“Here you are.” Isaiah poked his head into the room and glanced around. “Looks gut. Libby wants to know can she start putting some things in the kitchen cupboards. Some of the sisters have brought dishes and such.”
“Ja, I think the shelves are all cleared out. There’s one latch that’s not working right.”
“Just needs some oil,” Daad said. “I’ll go and do it.”
Isaiah stepped aside to let Daad by. The house was small enough that two men more than filled the tiny landing.
“This room is nice,” Isaiah said, glancing around the small bedroom with its sloping ceiling. “Are you thinking we’ll put the pair of twin beds in here?”
Nathan nodded. “We should have that finished before folks come to help with the moving in tomorrow.” He hesitated, Daad’s words still hovering in his mind. Maybe he hadn’t been thinking enough about Naomi. “Your family—will they be coming?”
Isaiah looked down at the toes of his work shoes, his fair skin flushing a little. Not even the beard kept him from looking like the boy he’d been. “I don’t know. I’m not sure.”
Nathan’s conscience gave him a kick. “I didn’t want to come between Naomi and her family.”
“Ach, well, they’ll get over it.” Isaiah shrugged. “There’s talk, I guess, over why Naomi is willing to take on your kinder when she didn’t want to move in with Lige and Lovina and do the same.” He used the childhood nickname that annoyed Elijah for some reason. “I told them that she’d probably rather be working for someone else and going to her own house at night.” He grinned. “Lige didn’t like that very much, but Lovina said she could understand.”
“Is Naomi upset about the way they are acting?”
Isaiah shrugged again. “You know Naomi. If she is, she doesn’t show it. Anyway, I think if Lovina has her way, they’ll be here tomorrow. And Lovina usually does, my Libby says.”
Nathan nodded. The women probably understood each other more easily than a man could. “What about your daad?”
“Well, we can’t count on him being here. You know how stubborn he is. Anyway, I wouldn’t worry about it.” Isaiah stepped back onto the landing. “I’d best go help Libby bring the dishes over.”
Nathan nodded, following him down the stairs. He’d been determined to make Naomi so settled here that she wouldn’t think of anything else. Had he let his own needs blind him to what was best for her?
CHAPTER TWELVE
The small grossdaadi house seemed full to bursting on Saturday with the people who kept streaming in to help. Naomi’s heart swelled with gratitude at the sight of Leah Glick and several other friends from their running-around group arriving early, all of them laden down with baskets and bags. She hurried to the door to greet them.
“Leah
, Rachel, it is wonderful gut of you to be here. And Mary Ann and Elizabeth, as well.” All of them were married now, of course. All of them had families except for her, but that didn’t make a difference today.
“We have brought some kitchen things,” Leah said. “And some groceries, too. I know you’ll be cooking over at the farmhouse, but you’ll still want your own kitchen and pantry to be well-stocked.”
“That’s for sure.” Rachel carried a box filled with what looked to be canned food. “Point me to the pantry, and I will start organizing these things.”
“Right over here.” Naomi showed her into the small pantry that adjoined the kitchen, its shelves freshly painted. One section was already filled with her own jars of honey and the few things she’d brought from Daad’s house. “But you didn’t need to bring so much.”
Rachel set down the bag and gave Naomi a quick hug. “Everyone wants to make you feel happy in your new home.”
“It is ser gut of you.” This was almost like setting up a house for a newlywed couple. Maybe it was a different sort of announcement. Perhaps they felt her move was declaring her singleness.
She chased that thought away. Her friends were being kind, that was all, just as they would for anyone moving into a new house.
She went quickly back into the kitchen, leaving Rachel happily organizing the pantry. There she found Leah arranging dishes in the cabinets.
“Where did the others go?” She started unpacking glasses, removing their newspaper wrapping.
“Putting linens away,” Leah said. “And indulging their curiosity, I think. They wanted to see the rest of the house.”
“It’s a nice little place, isn’t it?” Naomi glanced around the kitchen, already beginning to feel as if it were hers. “Just two rooms down, plus the pantry and the laundry. And two bedrooms and bath upstairs. Plenty of space for me.”
Leah nodded. “I can vaguely remember, I think, when Nathan’s great-aunt lived here. He’s kept it in gut shape since then.”
“Ja, for sure.” She began putting glasses in the cabinet to the right of the sink.