An Amish Cookie Club Courtship

by Sarah Price

  Suddenly, it dawned on Edna—it wasn’t just that Ella Mae wasn’t there and Rachel felt lonely. While that was most likely part of the problem, Edna suspected Rachel was disappointed because, working both Friday and Saturday, she wouldn’t be able to attend MayFest.

  “Silly me,” Edna muttered to herself. How could she have been so thoughtless?

  “Excuse me?”

  Edna looked up and, seeing Rachel staring at her, shook her head. “Never mind me, Rachel. I was just thinking aloud.”

  Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed that Jonas was busy entertaining the women. Whatever he was saying was making them laugh, their faces wearing expressions of delight. While they were enthralled with his stories, Edna decided to take advantage of being alone with Rachel.

  “I suspect you wanted to go to MayFest,” Edna began. “But with Ella Mae feeling poorly, you probably have no one to go with.”

  In one quick gesture, Rachel turned off the faucet and then quickly spun around. “Oh, but I—”

  “So I thought to ask Jonas to take you,” Edna continued, talking over Rachel’s protest. No doubt the young woman was reluctant to leave early and without the dishes washed. Both of the Schwartz sisters had turned out to be unexpected assets, really rising to the occasion for the past two weeks. Edna would not allow Rachel to miss out on MayFest just because of some dirty dishes. “Besides, it would be a great help to me. You could drop off some more cookies—I have a box packed already.” She pointed to the box on the counter near the door. “Afterward, you could both walk around a spell. You’ve worked hard these past two weeks, and you deserve some fun, don’t you think?”

  Rachel flushed, the color in her cheeks in stark contrast to the paleness of the rest of her face. “But—”

  “No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You can’t go alone, so after dessert, I’ll clean up and off the two of you go.” She gave Rachel a warm smile. “A young woman can’t just work, work, work, can she now?”

  “What’s this about work, work, work?” Jonas sauntered into the kitchen area, holding three empty platters stacked in his hands. He set them on the counter, an inquisitive expression on his face as he looked first at his mother and then at Rachel. “Is this about me? How I’ve been working so hard on the new building?” In a mock showing of humility, he pressed his hand against his chest and fluttered his eyes. “I’m so pleased that you’ve noticed.”

  Rachel rolled her eyes.

  “Oh, Jonas.” Edna tossed the kitchen towel at him, which he promptly caught in midair. “I was talking about Rachel.”

  Laying the towel on the kitchen table, he glanced at Rachel. “What’s this about Rachel then?” Edna noticed the concern in her son’s voice. “Are you unwell, too? Too much work?”

  “Exactly!” Edna clapped her hands together, a sound that clearly startled both Rachel and Jonas. “She’s been working so hard, and today is the second day of MayFest. I told her I will clean up after dessert and that you’d hitch the horse and buggy to take her. You can also drop off some more cookies at the Amish Aid table.”

  If the idea bothered Jonas, it certainly did not show. In fact, his face lit up and he grinned. “Well, that’s a right gut idea, Maem. I wasn’t able to go last year.” He turned his attention to Rachel. “The year before that, I was in the arm-wrestling competition.”

  Rachel made a scoffing noise and rolled her eyes.

  Edna laughed. “Didn’t that Ben fellow beat you in one of the last rounds?”

  Now it was Jonas’s turn to roll his eyes.

  Edna shook her head. “Rachel, if I tell you Jonas sulked for an entire week, I’m probably downplaying it.”

  At this, she raised an eyebrow. “Sore loser?”

  “The sorest,” Edna said, still smiling. “So don’t enter any competitions.”

  “Trust me, I won’t,” Rachel said in a flat voice.

  “You two go on, now. I can handle serving dessert by myself. I’ve done it plenty of times before in the past.” She placed her hand on Rachel’s shoulder and gently began guiding her to the door. Jonas didn’t need to be told twice to follow. “And you have a wunderbarr time. You’ve both earned it, that’s for sure and certain.”

  RACHEL

  CHAPTER 29

  “Slow down, Jonas! You’re driving too fast!”

  Rachel clutched the handle near the buggy’s door as Jonas raced his horse along the road. The door was slid back and she was afraid she’d fly out the opening as he galloped the horse around a corner. While she always enjoyed driving fast, Jonas was pushing the limit with his horse, and she feared the buggy would tip over.

  “What on earth is the matter with you?” she snapped when he slowed down for a stop sign.

  He looked at her and laughed, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Oh, come now, Rachel. You can’t tell me that wasn’t fun.”

  “I can and I will!” She glared at him. “It wasn’t fun.”

  “Just a little?” he asked, pinching his thumb and finger together as if measuring something very small.

  “Not even a smidgen!”

  Jonas sighed. “All right then.” He clucked his tongue and urged the horse to walk forward. “I won’t do it again.” The buggy moved slowly, the wheels no longer screaming against the macadam but rumbling in a more comfortable way. “Better?”

  “Much.”

  “I thought you liked driving fast?” he asked.

  “Well, I do like driving fast, just not recklessly. I’d like to arrive in one piece, Jonas!”

  “Or mayhaps you just want me to slow down so you can spend more time with me,” he said, a light tone to his voice.

  Rachel’s mouth opened and she stared at him, stunned by what he had said. “You? You think I want you to drive slower just to spend more time with you?”

  His shoulders lifted and fell in a casual shrug. “Of course.”

  She exhaled loudly and crossed her arms over her chest. “No wonder Ella Mae finds you absolutely infuriating.”

  Suddenly Jonas lit up. “Did she say that? That I infuriate her?”

  “Would that make you happy?”

  “Well, it’s something.” He reached up and scratched the back of his neck. “She hasn’t exactly been speaking to me as of late,” he admitted.

  Hadn’t she? Rachel had not been paying any attention to Ella Mae’s exchanges—or lack thereof—with Jonas. She’d been too wrapped up in her own worries about Jeremiah. After all, it wasn’t as if Jeremiah was avoiding her, but nor had he been actively seeking out her company. There had been plenty of opportunities for him to exchange a word or two with her over the past two days. The previous day, Rachel had hoped to talk with Jeremiah. Unfortunately, Edna had sent him to drop off the extra cookies at the Amish Aid table—with Ella Mae, of all people. When Rachel had been sent to bring some lemonade to Jonas, she’d walked slow enough in the hopes that he’d catch sight of her. But he hadn’t.

  And that morning, Rachel had arrived extra early, leaving long before Ella Mae. Jeremiah had been finishing his coffee when she entered the kitchen, but rather than stay and chat with her, he merely excused himself and left.

  Unfortunately, Edna had done everything in her power to put Rachel and Jonas together. Her attempts at matchmaking were increasingly obvious, leaving Rachel in quite a quandary. She didn’t want to hurt Edna’s feelings, but nor did she want to be foisted upon her youngest son.

  “She’s just shy, I reckon.”

  Jonas made a face. “Shy?” Scoffing, he shook his head as if such a statement was completely unimaginable. “That’s the last word I’d use to describe her.” He glanced at Rachel. “Or you, either, for that matter.”

  Something about his tone amused Rachel. Uncrossing her arms, she faced him. “Really? You think you know us so well after what—oh?—two weeks? How would you describe us?”

  His expression softened and the hint of a smile played on his lips. Clearly, he liked her question. “Well, let’s see . . .” His eyes rolled u
pward as if deep in thought. “Outgoing and confident,” he started. “Not many Amish women are.”

  “That’s not true.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “It is from where I sit. I can see how an Amish man might like a quiet, timid gal, but”—he shrugged—“seems like not much fun. I like verbally sparring with you.”

  She almost smiled. “Go on.”

  He hesitated, stealing another quick glance at her. “Okay then.” Staring straight ahead, he sobered, all hints of jest vanishing from his manner. “I think you are both constantly compared to each other or thought of as one individual with two names. And because you are both clumped together so much, it’s hard for either of you to truly know who you are or what you want.”

  Rachel caught her breath. His remarks were much deeper and more meaningful than what she’d expected him to say. It almost sounded as if he had given much thought to this, long before she’d asked the question.

  “When the two of you are apart,” Jonas continued deliberately, “I find you to be rather good company. And”—he turned to look at her—“very different people indeed.”

  She studied him. This was a new side to Jonas that she’d never experienced before. He’d always been so quick to tease and pester, constantly joking around and laughing. But here, seated beside her, was a serious Jonas, one who clearly reflected upon things that intrigued him.

  “Different?” she repeated. “How so?”

  Returning his eyes to the road, he moistened his lips and tightened his grip on the reins. “Well, Rachel, to be quite truthful, while you both have a way of lighting up a room when you walk in—your mere presence is enough to catch the attention of any young man—it’s entirely possible to have a conversation with you when your schwester is not around. And, in interacting with you—one-on-one, you see—I can tell that you are curious, conscientious, and kind.”

  In her head, she repeated those three words. “I reckon you could say that about anyone, Jonas.”

  He chuckled. “Let’s start with curious. I watched you listening to the conversation of those Englische women today, when they were talking about how excited they were that they’d been able to get tickets to the playhouse. You know, where they have that Amish play called Belle? One woman was upset because she hadn’t been able to get a ticket. It was sold out when she tried to buy a ticket. Why, you were hanging onto their every word, curious as to why the one woman was so upset.”

  Rachel gasped. “You saw that?”

  “Indeed I did.”

  How closely had he been watching her?

  “And conscientious. When you were idle—which wasn’t very often, I admit—you stood in the doorway and kept scanning the room, looking to see if any of Maem’s guests needed more water or iced tea. And when that one woman dropped her spoon on the floor, you hurried right over with a clean one. No one had to ask.”

  Apparently very closely indeed!

  “And kind?” she asked softly, finding herself getting lost in this new side of Jonas.

  At this question, his smile widened and his eyes softened. “Kind enough not to scold my maem for trying to matchmake her sons with you and your schwester.”

  It took Rachel a second to digest what Jonas had just said, and then, when it dawned on her that she’d heard him accurately, she burst out laughing.

  He joined her.

  “I didn’t know if anyone else noticed!” Rachel admitted when she’d managed to sober.

  “I don’t know about anyone else, but I sure did.” He leaned over, just a little, and let his shoulder knock against hers. “And I suspected that you did, too.”

  The intimate gesture didn’t bother her. Instead, she felt relaxed in his presence for the very first time. “You know her better than I do, that’s for sure and certain, but I was wondering . . .”

  “Wonder no more!” he exclaimed, the joviality returned to his voice. “You are far more observant than you give yourself credit for. Why! She’ll be right disappointed if I return home before nightfall.” He lowered his voice and adopted a conspiratorial tone. “She’s sent us to MayFest to get to know one another as part of her fiendish scheme.”

  Rachel laughed again.

  “So I have an idea. If you are willing, that is.”

  “And what’s that?”

  He slowed the horse down at another stop sign and, after looking both ways, crossed the intersection. “Why not walk around MayFest anyway? We’re here. We can drop off the cookies and then go see what’s happening in town. I haven’t time to attend later, and it’s no fun walking around alone.”

  On the one hand, Rachel would have liked nothing more than to explore MayFest. She hadn’t thought she’d be able to attend this year. However, she didn’t want to give Jonas any false ideas.

  As if reading her mind, he held up his hand. “As friends, Rachel. Just friends.”

  “And to teach your muder a lesson?” she asked.

  This time, Jonas laughed. “Oh ja, to make her think her little ploy is working. Why! I’ll skip supper altogether.”

  Rachel clapped her hands together. “Me, too!”

  “Truly?”

  She nodded. “I reckon my own maem is well aware of this scheme.” Rachel settled back into the seat and stared straight ahead. Realizing that her mother most likely knew Edna’s intentions did not sit well with Rachel. After all, her mother had already been sworn to secrecy about Jeremiah. It would teach her mother a lesson about having encouraged Edna.

  ELLA MAE

  CHAPTER 30

  To say that she was bored was an understatement. Thanks to her mother, Ella Mae had not only missed a day of work, but she’d been sitting around the house all day. Alone. Her mother had gone to MayFest, and because Verna and Mary would be there, too, Ella Mae couldn’t tag along. She certainly didn’t want her mother’s friends knowing that she’d told a little fib. Surely they would inquire as to why, and explaining that would expose Rachel’s secret.

  Long after she’d cleaned the house—even hand-washing the kitchen floor!—she wandered over to the garden patch. They’d already prepped the ground, and the seeds were sprouting in little pots inside the house, waiting until the danger of a late frost passed to be planted. Truth be told, she’d never been one who cared much for gardening. Not as a child or youth, anyway. Whenever her mother had told her and Rachel to go weed the garden or tie up the tomato plants, Ella Mae had groaned. With heavy feet, she’d trudge to the garden.

  As an adult, however, she found it was rather nice to work in the garden. It was especially nice when she could garden without Rachel by her side.

  She kicked off her sneakers and socks—she loved the feeling of the soil on her bare feet—and walked through the garden, looking for any weeds that had cropped up since they’d spread the fertilizer and tilled the soil.

  She found herself envious of Edna’s large garden. Just yesterday, she’d noticed Bethany working outside. She’d been hoeing the ground, breaking up clumps of dirt in preparation for planting. With the white picket fence around the plot, it was a beautiful place to grow vegetables for the family.

  Perhaps it was because they lived so close to town that the Schwartz family only had a small garden. Sure, they grew their own herbs and tomatoes, but they certainly couldn’t grow corn or zucchini. Those vegetables would have to be purchased from the Amish farmer who had a stand just half a mile down the road.

  “Well, hullo!”

  Startled, Ella Mae looked up and saw Jeremiah walking toward her. He reached up and removed his straw hat, wiping his forehead with the back of his arm. His blond curls clung to the sides of his head, and he loosened them with his fingers.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “Thought I’d stop by.” He leaned against the side of the garden shed. “See how Miss Sickly is doing today.”

  “Ha ha,” she mocked. “Very funny.” She slapped her hands together, loosening the dirt. “Thanks to my mother, I’ve been trapped all day at home.
”

  “How so?”

  She exhaled and rolled her eyes. “Because your mother gave me the day off—”

  “—because your maem said you were feeling poorly—”

  “—because my maem said I was feeling poorly,” she affirmed. “Obviously I couldn’t go to MayFest today or I’d risk exposing my maem as a fibber. And then someone might wonder why . . .” She let her voice trail off, realizing that she had said too much. If Jeremiah inquired further, she’d have to make a decision: confess about Rachel’s feelings toward him or tell a lie. She didn’t want to do either, so she prayed he questioned her no further.

  “I see.” He gave her a strange look but, as if an answer to her prayers, said nothing more. Instead, he glanced around as if looking for something. Or, she thought, someone.

  Rachel.

  For the briefest of moments, she had thought he’d come to see her. That thought had filled her with more joy than she would have expected. But the reminder of Rachel sobered her. Her joy turned to disappointment for a multitude of reasons. The fact that she had felt happy to see him as well as the fact that she knew she shouldn’t were the two biggest contributors to the sinking feeling in her chest.

  “Rachel’s not home yet,” she said slowly, “if that’s who you came to see.”

  Slowly, Jeremiah turned his head and caught her gaze. His eyes held hers for a long moment. She felt strange, being studied by him. It almost felt as if he weren’t looking at her but through her. She shifted her weight, her bare feet burrowing into the freshly tilled soil.

  Finally, with a little tremor in his voice, he said, “Actually, Ella Mae, I came by to see you.” He paused.

  “You said that—”

  “Just you,” he interrupted.

  She caught her breath. “Oh,” she whispered, feeling her mouth go suddenly dry. Averting her eyes, she tried to think of something to say, to counter what he’d just confessed. But she came up empty, devoid of any words to speak. She couldn’t honestly tell him that she minded. After all, she’d found his company rather enjoyable the past week. But she also knew that her sister fancied Jeremiah.