Well, there was nothing for it now. Maybe in time, she could find more work and save up her money. She could buy a pony cart first; they were less expensive. Less protection in the cold, too, but safer than bicycling in this weather.
She stared at the phone sitting on her desk. Even after all these months, it was still odd to make frequent calls, but this was business, so it was allowed. She picked up the phone and dialed one of the diner’s suppliers, the list of items needed in her hand.
* * *
A half hour later, Donna came to her doorway. “He’s here, Leora.”
“Okay,” Leora said. She’d already put everything away and was ready to go. But she didn’t put on her cape; she hurried through the restaurant and outside. She could see that Noah was indeed alone, and she felt relief spread through her. She went to his window.
“You aren’t ready? Shall I wait out here?” he asked.
“Donna Jeffreys wants you to come in for a cup of hot chocolate. Do you have time?”
He answered right away. “Sure. Let me secure Flicker. Go on back in, Leora. You’ll catch your death out here.”
She was already shivering, so she did as she was bidden. A minute later, he came inside to the tinkling of the bell. Donna came right up to them.
“Donna, as you know, this is my friend Noah King. Noah, this is Donna Jeffreys,” Leora introduced them.
Noah inclined his head. “Nice to meet you formally, Donna. I’ve seen you before when I’ve come in.”
“Yes. I recognize you, too. Nice to meet you. Sit right over here. I’ll bring you the hot chocolate right away.” She looked at Noah. “Are you hungry? Would you like something else?”
“Nee,” Noah said. “Hot chocolate sounds right nice about now.”
Noah sat across the booth from Leora.
“Nice person,” he said, watching Donna head for the kitchen.
“Jah. She’s real nice.”
He folded his hands on the table, and she could see the callouses on the sides of his fingers.
“How was work?” he asked.
“Fine.”
His eyes were studying her, and she felt uncomfortable. She searched her mind for something to say, but before she could think of anything, Bill was walking toward them.
“Noah King, we meet again,” he said, his hand outstretched.
They shook hands, and then Bill turned to her. “When are you coming in again, Leora?”
“I need to follow up on some orders tomorrow, so I’ll be here in the morning for a couple hours.”
“I’ll be picking you up. Will nine o’clock work?”
Inwardly, she sighed. Why was he doing this? It was like he was challenging Noah somehow, and she didn’t like it.
“Not necessary,” she said. “I have a ride.”
Both men stared at her. She did her best not to squirm under their scrutiny. In truth, the only ride she had was her bicycle, but she wasn’t going to admit that.
“You do?” Noah asked first.
“I do. Now, I don’t want to talk about it any further. Is the hot chocolate ready?” she asked Bill.
He blinked, and she saw the surprise on his face. She wasn’t usually curt, and she could see he was annoyed.
“I’ll go check,” he said, and despite the look on his face, his voice was gracious.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
When he left, she avoided Noah’s gaze. She knew he was looking at her, she could feel it. She licked her lips and then turned back to him. “How was Doris’s tour? Did she like Hollybrook?”
She wondered just how chummy they’d gotten on the drive, but she could hardly ask that.
“It was gut. She liked the town well enough.”
“How long is she staying?”
“I don’t know for sure. Likely through Thanksgiving at least.”
“Oh.” So, Doris was staying a few weeks then. Leora wasn’t sure how she felt about that, but then, it was hardly her business.
Donna came out with two steaming cups of chocolate. She put them down and said, “Enjoy."
"We sure will," Noah responded pleasantly. "Thank you, Donna.”
Leora put her hands around the mug, soaking in the heat. It smelled divine, and she saw that Donna had dropped a few marshmallows into each cup. Noah took a drink of his.
“Ach, it’s hot. Be careful,” he said.
She took a tiny sip of hers. It was hot, but it felt good on her throat, sending warmth through her. She took another sip.
Noah looked around the diner. “It’s quite busy in here.”
“It usually is,” Leora said, happy to have something to talk about. “The weekends are even busier. Sometimes, people have to wait for a table.”
“They’ve owned this place for a long time, ain’t so?”
“I’m not sure exactly how long. But over five years, I think.”
Noah took another drink of his chocolate. “I’m glad it’s doing well. It seems like some businesses just get started in town, and they’re closed again just as quick-like.”
“Like that home decorating place? I forget what it was called.”
“Divine Rooms?”
She smiled. “Jah. That was it. I don’t think they were open more than four or five months.”
“You’re right on that.”
“A dream that died,” she murmured, bending over her cup and letting the steam rise to her face.
“What?”
“I just said, a dream that died.”
He nodded, looking pensive. “That’s always sad.”
Yes, it was. She thought of the dreams that had died with David. Her eyes burned and she blinked rapidly, not wanting Noah to see the tears in her eyes. But it was too late. He reached across the table and put his hand over hers—for no more than a second or two.
“I’m sorry about your dreams, Leora,” he said softly.
Her throat tightened and for a moment, she feared she might burst into tears right there in the middle of the diner. She cleared her throat and shook her head. “It’s over now. But thank you.”
“I was right sorry when I heard the news about your husband.” His dark brown eyes were steady on hers. “I wish I could have done something to help you.”
Her forehead creased. She hadn’t even been aware of him when it had happened. The people came and went in a blur at her farm. She’d only really noticed Martha. Martha had stayed with her day and night during those days of the viewing and the funeral. Martha had handled so many things. Had Noah King even come to David’s funeral? She had no idea.
More than likely, he had, though. Funerals were times when everyone in the district was glad to be together. Glad to catch up with each other. Glad to take a break from their usual chores and routine. Glad to share another community meal.
“You moved houses so quickly afterward, Leora. I was worried.”
Her frown deepened. “You were?” she asked, stunned.
His face turned red, and he coughed. “All of us were.”
Worried? She didn’t think that was the right term. She didn’t feel their worry; she felt their censure when she sold the farm so quickly. She felt their curiosity. She’d been the main topic of talk for quite some time afterward.
“Thank you,” was all she said now.
They drank the rest of their hot chocolate in silence. It wasn’t awkward, and Leora began to relax. The chocolate tasted good, and she thought that she should really make hot chocolate for herself more often at home. Sometimes, she got tired of tea. When she finished her cup, she pushed it gently away.
“You ready?” he asked.
She nodded, and they both stood.
“Let me go pay for this.”
“You don’t have to. I’m sure Donna doesn’t expect it.”
“Still, I need to offer.”
She watched him cross the diner and speak with Donna, who was busy at the register. Noah is a good man, she thought again. She wondered if he would be seeing Doris again
. Doris certainly had seemed an amusing person to be around. Did he like her? Did he like amusing people? Leora didn’t feel very amusing these days.
She blanched. What was she doing? Trying to discern whether Noah liked her or not? Her cheeks went hot and she turned aside, staring out the large window into the cold outdoors. She saw Noah’s buggy, saw Flicker paw the ground, saw the billows of steam coming from the horse’s nostrils.
“You were right,” Noah said from behind her. “She wouldn’t let me pay.”
Leora bundled up quickly, and together, they left the diner. She was almost certain Bill was watching them from the kitchen, but she didn’t turn to check. The frigid air affronted them the minute they stepped outside.
“Ach, it’ll be cold tonight,” Noah said, rubbing his hands together and looking to the sky. He opened her door for her, and she climbed in.
He got in on his side and flipped the switch on his heater. “I should have had this warming up,” he told her apologetically.
“It’s fine,” she said, smiling. “In truth, I still marvel at these heaters. Goodness, but they make a difference.”
“That is true,” he agreed. “Imagine our poor cold ancestors.” He laughed, and she joined him.
They got underway, and she gazed out at the businesses they were passing. Some of them had window displays for Thanksgiving, full of cornucopias, pumpkins and squash, and pilgrims. Other stores seemed to have skipped Thanksgiving entirely and already had Christmas decorations up.
“Leora?”
She turned to him. “Jah?”
“I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning about eight-thirty. Will that suit?”
She tensed, staring at him. He’d seen through her earlier claim—he knew she didn’t really have a ride. He knew she’d been referring to her bicycle.
“How… How did you—”
“How did I know you didn’t have a ride?” he cut in. “Because I’m beginning to know you, Leora.”
His words filled the buggy with a sense of intimacy that flustered her. He didn’t know her, not really. But the fact that he’d seen through her comment was unnerving—and comforting at the same time.
She swallowed and then blew out her breath. “Eight-thirty will be fine,” she muttered.
He grinned at her and turned his attention back to his horse.
Chapter Nine
After dropping Leora off at her house, Noah went straight home. When he pulled into his drive, he noted that he had company.
Eliza jumped out of her buggy and stood there waiting for him. He groaned and pulled up beside her. Instead of waiting for him to get out, she climbed straight into his buggy.
“Doris tells me that you probably won’t go riding together anymore.”
He frowned. “Did she?”
“And why aren’t you? Doris is a lovely girl. Surely, you can see that.”
He stifled a moan. “Jah. She’s a lovely girl.”
“You courting someone I don’t know about?” she asked, her chest heaving.
He thought of Leora. But in truth, they weren’t courting… Not yet.
“Nee, I’m not courting anyone.”
Eliza leaned close, studying his face. “I know these things are kept secret. Are you telling me the truth?”
“Why are you so fired up about Doris and me?” he asked, still holding the reins tightly.
“Why wouldn’t I be? You’re a fine young man, and she’s a fine young lady.” Eliza shrugged casually, as if poking her nose into other people’s romantic affairs was completely normal—which it wasn’t. “And then Doris could move to Hollybrook, which would suit me right fine.”
“You want us to court so she’ll move to Hollybrook?”
Eliza sighed and her entire body deflated. “That ain’t all of it.”
He waited.
“I promised her mamm, my sister, that I’d see to it that she found a young man here.”
Thoughts of Doris’s beau behind bars flitted through his mind. “I see.”
Eliza put her hand on his arm. “Doris needs a distraction,” she said earnestly. “I promised my sister.”
“So, you decided on me.”
“Don’t say it that way. I’m doing you a favor, can’t you see? Doris is lovely.”
“But we won’t be courting,” he told her.
She scowled. “Take her for a ride again. Give this some time.”
“She isn’t interested in me,” he said gently, not bothering to tell her that his heart, too, was elsewhere.
“She could be…”
He didn’t respond.
“Ach, for goodness sakes,” Eliza said, grabbing the handle of the door. “Did she say anything to you? Anything about another young man?”
Eliza was clearly referring to Doris’s friend in jail, but he didn’t feel right talking about it.
“Eliza, I’m sorry I can’t help you.”
She sniffed with great annoyance and got out. “Thank you anyway, Noah King,” she sputtered and stomped off.
He couldn’t help but shake his head and give a rueful smile. He understood Eliza’s heart. She cared about Doris, and she cared about her sister. She was trying to do something good for everyone. And indeed, Doris was a fine person.
Just not the person for him.
* * *
Someone was banging on her door. Snuggled in bed, Leora groaned and wriggled to a sitting position. What was going on? Was that her door? Had something horrible happened? She lit a candle and stumbled to her front door and pulled it open.
“You all right?” Tom Yutzi asked.
“Jah, of course, I am. What’s going on?”
“Martha made me come over to check on you.”
“Why? It’s the middle of the night! What’s happened?”
“The Yoder’s barn is burning.”
Leora lifted the candle higher and saw the soot on Tom’s face and clothes.
“Ach! I’ll get dressed.”
“Nee. Just lock your door, will you?”
She stared at him in confusion. “But I can help.”
“The fire trucks are there. They’re putting it out.”
“But I can—”
“Someone started it, Leora. Sam Yoder saw someone running away from his barn.”
“What?”
It wasn’t the first time Amish folk had been targeted for arson. But never, never had it happened in Hollybrook.
“Martha made me come check on you. Sorry to wake you up. I didn’t want to disturb you, but Martha is in a stew. I knew she wouldn’t rest until she knew you were fine. Now lock your doors.”
“But I don’t have a barn. I only have the shed. I’m in no danger.”
He shrugged as if that didn’t matter. “Lock your doors.”
“I will, Tom.”
And just that quickly, he was gone.
Leora stood there, staring after him into the darkness. Someone had set Sam’s barn on fire? Were his animals safe? And was the house spared? She shivered as the cold from outside crept into her house. Quickly, she shut the door and locked it. Most folks in their district didn’t lock anything up.
Once she’d moved to this house, Leora had started locking her doors. After burying her husband, she felt oddly vulnerable in her new place, and at first, she felt better when she was locked in. But lately, she’d gone back to her old ways, leaving everything unlocked.
Now fully awake, she wandered into her kitchen and got a drink of water. Arson? Were they sure? And what was wrong with people? Why would someone do such a thing?
They’d be having a barn raising soon, and it would be all the more difficult in this weather. But the Yoders could hardly go through the winter with no barn. This had to be most upsetting to them. She would go over later that morning and take some food.
Wait. Noah was coming at eight-thirty to take her to work. She could have him swing by on the way, if that was all right with him. She wondered whether he was over at the Yoders right now. Probably. News could
spread through their district at unbelievable speed, even without phones. Likely, every able-bodied man was over there.
She sat down at her table and set the candle in front of her. What time was it, anyway? She held the candle up and the circle of light reached the clock above her sink. Two o’clock. And here she was wide awake. She might as well bake something for the Yoders now. It would be better than tossing and turning and trying to go back asleep.
She could bake the Yoders some biscuits and a cake. She stood up and lit the lantern she kept on the counter. Its light filled the room, and she blew out the candle. She rummaged through her cupboards getting out all the ingredients she needed. Then she turned on her cook stove to preheat.
It was cold in the house. The fire she’d banked in the heating stove before turning in must have gone out. She went to put another log on it and then remembered she needed to bring in another load of logs from outside under the roof overhang. She stood, debating. Should she go outside right then and fetch the logs?
She remembered the look on Tom’s sooty face. Was whoever started the fire still about? She shuddered. Surely not. And besides, a person who started fires wasn’t likely a person who would hurt someone. They were two different things entirely. Weren’t they?
Leora moved to the side door and put her hand on the knob, but she didn’t turn it. An unreasonable fear took hold of her. Ach, but this was silly. She turned the knob, but she still didn’t pull the door open. She drew in a long breath.
No. She wouldn’t go outside in the night. She would just work in the cold.
She re-checked the lock and went back to the kitchen counter. Her hands trembled slightly as she began measuring out the cups of flour.
Chapter Ten
Leora was perched on the arm of her couch, craning her neck to see outside when Noah showed up the next morning. She was completely ready—bundled up with her baked goods tucked into a basket. When the buggy came to a stop, she got up, grabbed her basket and went outside.
Thanksgiving In Hollybrook (Hollybrook Holiday Amish Romance) Page 6