“Standing outside.”
“I can see that. I was wondering why you’re still here.”
His expression remained emotionless. “I want to make sure you’re all right.”
Huh. She hadn’t expected that from him. No one else had come out to check on her. Not Martha or Selah. Not even Seth. Not that she’d expected him to, but it would have been nice if he had. She frowned. “I don’t need a babysitter.” Then she bit her lip. “Sorry. That was rude of me.”
“No offense taken.”
He was so predictable. “At least you didn’t say ‘apology accepted.’“
“Why? Is there something wrong with the phrase I chose to use?”
“Nee, just . . . Oh, never mind. Mei point still stands, though. You don’t have to stay out here with me.”
He didn’t say anything, and she glanced at him. He was looking at his shoes and made no move to go inside. He wiped the palms of his hands down the sides of his broadfall pants.
Understanding dawned, and she remembered the book he’d been reading. “Is the reason you were reading that book here tonight?”
His brow lifted, but he remained silent, which was the same as if he’d answered her.
She clasped her hands together. “You like Martha, don’t you?”
“Like is a strong word.”
“Nee it isn’t. Love is a strong word. Like is a little above neutral.”
His right brow arched higher. “I don’t like her, per se. I don’t really know her well enough to ascertain how I feel.”
“But you’d like to get to know her.” Now that she had her mind off her own ineptitude, she could smile. She leaned against the white wood siding of the house.
He paused again as his brow lowered. He looked out at the cornstalks that lined up on the Yoders’ land. They’d been harvested already, leaving behind drying stubble. “Yes.” He nodded. “Yes. I would like to get to know Martha better.”
She moved to stand in front of him. “That’s not going to happen if you’re standing out here with me.”
“I realize that.” But he still didn’t make a move toward the Yoders’ house.
She hiccupped softly. The hiccups weren’t completely gone, but at this point she could at least carry on a conversation. “I don’t know her well either, but she’s very nice and friendly. Just go inside and talk to her.”
He peered down at her. “And shall I yell at her the way you yelled at Seth and Zeb?”
Her cheeks heated again. “I wasn’t yelling.”
“I’m sure you were heard all the way to the next district.”
“I didn’t realize there was another district nearby,” she said, frowning.
He turned to her. “There isn’t.”
She faced him, putting her hands on her hips. “Are you always this direct?”
“I don’t see any reason not to be.”
“Well, here’s lesson number one. Learn some tact.”
“I fail to see what tact has to do with anything since I haven’t offended you.” He tilted his head and scrutinized her. Then he said, “However, if I have offended you, I apologize.”
She sighed and shook her head. “You didn’t offend me.”
He rubbed his forehead. “But you just stated that I did.”
“You were being blunt, not offensive.” He was also accurate, which didn’t offend her as much as annoy her. She did tend to raise her voice when she was nervous. The hiccups hadn’t helped matters much.
He scowled, which was the first show of emotion she’d seen from him. “This is why I don’t understand women. One of many reasons.”
“We’re really not that difficult.”
Chris turned his head and lifted his brow again.
“Nee one likes their flaws pointed out to them,” she said, letting go of some of her annoyance. “Even when it’s the truth.”
His brow lowered, and his face relaxed, but only slightly. He did have nice eyebrows, she had to admit. And they conveyed quite a bit of what he was thinking, even while the rest of his face was blank. She thought about explaining tact to him a little further, but decided to let what she told him sink in.
They both faced the sunset, not saying anything. The muffled sound of singing reached her ears, the men’s voices drowning out Martha and Selah’s. If Selah was even participating. Ruby suspected she wasn’t. “The singing’s started,” she said. “We should probably go inside.”
“Yes.” He continued to stare at the setting sun. “We should.”
But neither of them made a move to leave. Ruby fiddled with the ribbon of her kapp, while Chris stood there, his arms straight by his sides, staring at the cornfield and dusky sky above it.
Finally, he spoke. “I’m not all that enamored of singing,” he said in a low voice.
She nodded. “Me neither.”
He turned to her. “Then why did you come?”
She couldn’t exactly admit she was scouting out potential husbands. But she could tell him part of the truth. “I came to meet people. I’m new here, and I want to make some friends.”
“I thought you were friends with Selah and Martha already, since you were talking with them after church.”
“True,” she said, pressing her toe against the short, green grass.
“And if you wanted to cultivate those friendships, you could easily visit one of them, or invite them to visit you.”
Why was he choosing to play detective now? “Ya, but I want to get to know some other people in the community too—”
“Usually one of the intentions of attending a singing is to sing. But you don’t like singing.”
She turned and put her hand on the doorknob of the basement door. “Chris, we should really geh inside—”
“The other intention is to . . .” His brow lifted again.
She met his gaze directly with one of her own. If he wanted her to admit she was here for romantic purposes, he could forget it. Even though he was right—again. No one likes a know-it-all either. She steeled herself for further questioning. Or teasing, although so far Chris hadn’t shown any ability to tease. He would be more apt to point out his correct assumptions.
To her surprise, he turned from her and stared at the field again. After a pause, he said, “I noticed some apple cider on the table next to the snacks.”
She resisted the urge to sigh with relief. No need to show him how tense she was. “I do like apple cider.”
“It is delicious.” He looked at her again as the song ended. “Shall we go inside?”
Ruby nodded and opened the door. Apple cider did sound yummy. Once inside, she went straight to a jug of cider to pour herself a cup, only to stop when she realized everyone was staring at her and Chris.
He was standing close behind her, and while she knew he wasn’t doing it on purpose, she imagined it looked purposeful to the rest of the group. Martha’s mouth dropped open. Ruby thought she saw a flash of surprise on Selah’s face before it changed into a smirk. The boys’ expressions ran from mild curiosity to disinterest.
“Uh, hi,” Ruby said, giving the group a self-conscious wave. “Chris and I just stepped outside for some fresh air.”
Martha’s smile widened. Selah was still smirking. The rest of the group had already lost interest and was huddling around the snack table again.
Ruby glanced at Chris, who was rubbing his ear like it had frostbite.
“How about you sing another song?” Freemont said, shooing the young men away from the table. “I enjoyed the first one. Ruby, you and Chris can join in.”
No one was going to defy the bishop. Chris joined the boys, who had moved away from the table and stood near a sofa and chair set that looked like it had seen better days, and Ruby joined Martha and Selah. As the song started, Martha leaned next to her and whispered, “I want details later.”
“Details?”
“About you and Chris.”
“There are nee details,” she hissed. “He was checking on mei hiccup
s.” Which had completely disappeared, by the way. At least something good had happened tonight.
“If you say so.” Martha smiled and went back to singing.
Ruby opened her mouth to sing, but she sensed someone watching her. She glanced at Selah. Instead of the smirk that seemed to be permanently on her face, now Chris’s sister looked confused. When she noticed Ruby looking at her, she gave her a glare, and then she went back to singing, although halfheartedly compared to Martha.
Well, wasn’t this dandy? She hadn’t been in Birch Creek for much more than a week and she was already in a jam. Now everyone thought there was something between her and Chris, which was ridiculous. Then there was the problem of getting Seth’s interest. She’d embarrassed herself quite well tonight. And what about Chris and Martha? If Martha thought he was interested in Ruby, it would be harder for him to talk to her, which was a struggle for him to begin with. All because of some stupid hiccups.
She wasn’t sure what she should do, so she started singing, a bit off-key. But that didn’t matter since one of the boys—who she assumed was related to Zeb since they had the same black hair—had a loud enough voice for all of them. And unlike her singing voice, his sounded glorious. He was talented. She needed to find out who he was.
Stop getting sidetracked. She needed to figure out how to fix this. She didn’t owe Chris anything—he’d made the decision to check on her outside. But it was a nice gesture, and she did feel a bit guilty that she’d made it harder on him when it came to Martha, not to mention harder on herself to find a husband. Somehow, she’d set everything to rights—for them both.
CHAPTER 5
The evening had not turned out the way Christian planned.
Then again, he wasn’t exactly sure what should have happened, other than his making a connection with Martha. Instead, he was fielding questions from his sister about Ruby Glick.
“I didn’t know you were interested in her,” Selah said as they walked home from the Yoders’.
“I’m not.” The sun had set by the time they left the singing. He had a small flashlight in his pocket, but it was a cloudless night with a full moon, giving them plenty of illumination.
“But you were outside with her. Alone. None of us even realized you’d left.”
That was a bit disappointing to hear, considering there weren’t that many people at the singing. Discovering he wasn’t consequential enough to be missed didn’t lift his spirits at all. “She had the hiccups. I was merely checking on her welfare.” Selah tugged her navy-blue sweater closer around her. The temperature had dropped a little bit, and although it wasn’t cold, a slight chill was in the air. “Hiccups aren’t that serious.”
“One never knows.”
“Hmm.”
He looked at Selah and saw her side-eyeing him in the silvery light. He wasn’t in the mood to discuss any aspect of tonight with her, but since this was the most she’d engaged him in the past two weeks, he would humor her. “What do you mean, hmm?” he said in Dietsch.
“I think you might have some feelings for her.”
That must be another thing women did—make assumptions about others’ romantic concerns. His sister was reminding him of Ruby right now, although since she’d easily guessed the truth he’d had to admit to Ruby that he did indeed have an interest in Martha. He did not, however, have any interest in Ruby. “You’re mistaken.” He stared straight ahead, hoping his direct answer would appease her.
He supposed he shouldn’t blame her for questioning him. Checking on Ruby had unintended consequences, one of which was people suspecting something was going on between them. His intentions toward her were purely platonic, and that was a stretch since he didn’t even consider her a friend. Ruby Glick, while rather nice, wasn’t the type of woman who would be suitable for a wife—at least not his wife. She was more than a tad perplexing. Martha had far more potential.
Martha’s potential wouldn’t matter, however, if he couldn’t even talk to her.
He shoved his hands into his pockets. He could blame Ruby for his lack of progress tonight, but it was his own fault. He’d frozen up again once he saw Martha. Ruby even encouraged him to go inside and strike up a conversation with her, and he’d failed to do something as simple as that.
“Why don’t you like Ruby?”
Christian glanced at Selah. Apparently, his sister wasn’t ready to let the topic drop. “I didn’t say I don’t like her.”
“Then you do like her.”
“I . . .” Then he saw the teasing glint in Selah’s eyes. She was having fun at his expense, and for once he was happy to see it. While he never really got the gist of teasing, Selah enjoyed it, and if she was able to tease, then perhaps her mood was changing for the better. He would greatly welcome that. “I don’t dislike her. Ruby is a nice young maedel. I’ll leave it at that.”
“She’s different, that’s for sure.”
He didn’t want to talk about Ruby. He’d squandered tonight’s opportunity, and he needed to figure out a way to approach Martha again. Although Ruby did say she would help him. He thought about what she’d said about him learning tact. “Do you think I’m rude?” he asked Selah.
“That came out of the blue.” Then she hesitated before saying, “You are at times.”
Another disappointing revelation.
“But I don’t think you mean to be. You’re not trying to hurt anyone’s feelings.”
“Yet I do.”
“Sometimes.” She touched him on the arm and they stopped. “But we’re all rude sometimes. What brought this up?”
“It’s come to mei attention that I need to learn tact.” He started to walk again.
Selah followed him. “Ruby told you that?”
He paused and then nodded.
“How much time have you two been spending together?”
He blew out a breath. There was no point in being deceptive with Selah, especially since he’d asked for courtesy from her. This morning, after their argument last night, he’d asked her to leave more detailed notes whenever she left. To his surprise she’d agreed without protest. She had even joined him in the living room today while he was reading a book for pleasure, this time one on quadratic equations. He found math fascinating.
“Not much,” he replied, finally answering her question. “We ran into each other at church last Sunday.” No need to add that they had literally run into each other. “Then we talked for a few minutes the other day. Other than those two occasions and tonight, we haven’t interacted.”
Selah tapped her chin. “Seems like you’ve made an impression on her in a short time.”
“Clearly an unfavorable one.”
“Why do you say that? It sounds like she was trying to be helpful. It also sounds like she’s got you pegged.”
He was about to contradict her, but then he changed his mind when he realized she was right—at least when it came to his lack of tact. And Ruby telling him about that personality flaw would be beneficial.
They were nearing home when Selah said, “Why don’t I invite her to visit this week?”
Christian turned to her, exasperated. Why wasn’t Selah listening to him? “I already told you, I don’t like her that way. There’s nee need to invite Ruby over.”
“I meant Martha. She is the one you like, ya?”
“Oh.” He stopped and looked at her. “How did you know?”
She giggled. “Christian, you’re acting like you did in seventh grade.”
He frowned. “I am?”
“Remember, when you had a crush on Suzanna Miller?”
His face heated. “She was our teacher, Selah. I didn’t have a crush on her.”
“Everyone knew about it. You’d get tongue-tied whenever she asked you to recite anything.”
Cringing, he turned and walked away, quickening his steps. He’d thought his feelings for Suzanna—immature and inappropriate, in retrospect—had been his secret. He’d been devastated the way only a thirteen-year-old boy who
had suffered unrequited love could be when she moved away two months into the school year. The teacher who replaced her, Katherine Byler, had been acceptable as an educator, but she wasn’t Suzanna.
“I know,” Selah said as she caught up with him. “I could invite Martha and Ruby.” She grinned. “That might be kind of fun.”
“Selah—”
“We’ll have kaffee and game night,” she said. “We haven’t played games in a long time. It might be easier for you to talk to Martha in the comfort of our home.”
How did this get so out of his control? Then again, game night might not be a bad thing. If Ruby was there and saw how he failed to interact with Martha, she could pinpoint his problem. He was also excellent at all sorts of games, especially trivia ones. He could impress Martha with his knowledge, which would give him the confidence to talk to her.
“All right,” he said. “Game night it is.” He paused. “I have just one question.”
“What?”
“Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me with Martha?”
She crossed her arms against the night chill as their house came into view. “I know I’ve been out of sorts lately, and I haven’t been very nice to you at times. That isn’t right of me, especially since you let me move here with you.”
“Do you want to geh back home?”
Selah shook her head. “Nee. I definitely don’t want to do that. I like it here, even though I haven’t shown it much. I’m going to try to do better.” She lifted her chin and looked at him. “Helping you with Martha is a start.”
“Danki,” he said, stunned by her admission. And pleased. He was glad she was coming around. He made a note that they should talk more often. Just not about Ruby Glick.
After the supper dishes were washed Monday evening, Ruby sat at the kitchen table and for the first time ever wrote out her plans for the week. As someone who liked to keep her options open, using a calendar was a new experience. She wasn’t too excited about working with a schedule, but she was willing to do what needed to be done. She was finished throwing caution to the wind and hoping it didn’t blow back in her face. She was mature. Adult. And adults used a calendar.
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