A Promise for Miriam (35 page)

“Why don’t you both go on inside the barn? I expect you’re looking for the other
kinner
.”

“
Ya
, we were.” Sadie scooted past her, holding fast to Grace’s hand.

Grace looked back once and then disappeared into the barn.

Miriam pulled in a deep breath, resolved to count to ten and made it to three, and she then turned back around and stormed toward Aden.

“All right. I asked you about this because Gabe has been acting a bit strange around me. If I had the time, and if I didn’t have a pounding headache at this moment—”

Aden stepped toward her, but she held up her hand and stopped any forward progress. “I would go and find him and perhaps your
dat
also and we could straighten this out. But because I’m scheduled to help with the luncheon, there’s no time for that.”

“I can see you’re upset, Miriam, but
dat
meant no harm by it.” Aden stepped back when she didn’t speak. He was a clean shaven, nice-looking young man, but she was having trouble letting go of her anger in this situation. “When I came home yesterday, he said that perhaps I should ask again if you’d like to go to the singing with me next week. That I should catch a ride home again if you would.”

“And you said—”

“That you’d turned me down before, and I didn’t expect a different answer.”

Miriam felt a small twinge of sympathy, but she squashed it. “And he said—”

“That this time might be different, seeing as he’d had a talk with Gabriel.”

Miriam paced back and forth in front of the barn. Her toes were nearly numb and she could see that Aden was miserable. Usually confident, he was out of his element with this conversation, but that was too bad.

How dare they talk about her this way! And to think Clemens Schmucker had told Gabe—

“You’re
sure
your
dat
told him I wouldn’t consider courting a relative of a student?”

Aden took off his hat and rubbed at the back of his head.

“Say it, Aden. We’re going to freeze out here and there’s nowhere else for privacy.”

“It’s only that it’s not just my
dat
who has heard you say such things. You
have
said such things, Miriam. You’ve said it to several men in the district. It’s common knowledge.”

She glared at him a moment and then turned to stare out over the fallow fields. “I may have, but a woman has the right to change her mind, especially when…”

“When you’ve had a change of heart? Is that what you were about to say?” Aden’s voice was low and solemn.

She knew he deserved an answer, but she didn’t turn back to him. She didn’t need to because she could tell he’d walked up behind her. Instead of answering, she asked another question of her own. “Tell me the truth, Aden. Did you move away so I would consider courting you?”

“Partially, yes. But there was more. My
dat
has a heavy hand in his dealings. I never had a
rumspringa
, and I’ve had no urge to try
Englisch
things, but there is a different Amish way, Miriam. Life does not have to be as hard as it is here. Just a few miles to the north and east, where I’m working, is a district that is more liberal.”

“And is liberal always better?” She turned now and looked him full in the face.

“Is it always worse?”

“I don’t know.”

It seemed they had nothing else to say, but as they began to walk back toward the house where she would help prepare the luncheon, she reached out and touched his arm.

“I apologize if I’ve hurt your feelings in any way, Aden.”

He smiled then, and she saw the boy she had played baseball with behind the very schoolhouse where she now taught. “I bounce back easily.”

“I would appreciate it if conversations
about
me
included
me.”

“
Ya
, that seems fair.”

Gabe had been trying to have a private word with Miriam all day. It was almost as if she was avoiding him, which was ridiculous. There was no reason for her to do so.

The benefit for Laura Kiems seemed to have gone very well. Her medical expenses for the heart surgery would be high, but Gabe had heard Eli say they had raised more than half of what she would be required to have not just for the surgery, but also for the medicines and recovery. The other half had already been set back, so her immediate needs were taken care of.

The same had been true when Hope was sick. It had been a huge burden off his shoulders, not to worry about the financial end of things. It did his heart good to see this community pull together in the same way. Many things were different between Indiana Amish and Wisconsin Amish, but much was the same.

Grace was nearly out of breath as she ran up to his side, conspicuously alone. No Sadie? They had been together every time he’d seen his daughter since they had arrived.

“Miriam and some man were having a fight earlier,” Grace whispered as they made their way toward the animal barn.

“What’s that?” Gabe forced his voice to remain neutral.

“A fight. She was hollering at him.”

“Grace, were you listening in on someone else’s conversation?”

“Nope. We didn’t hear nothing.”

“Anything.”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t hear anything.”

“We didn’t. How did you know that?”

Gabe sighed. “Why are you telling me this, sweetie?”

“Because I thought she looked sad or maybe mad. I’m worried about her.”

“Your teacher’s a big girl. I think she’ll be all right.” Gabe wanted to ask whom Miriam was fighting with, but he didn’t know how to ask without sending Grace the wrong message.

“That was him. That man there.”

At least she didn’t point at Aden Schmucker as he walked ahead of them into the barn. Tugging on Gabe’s hand, she instantly changed the subject. “All of the animals are gone,
dat
. All except one. Sadie saved a place for me up front. They are about to auction the donkey.”

“Let’s go watch, then,” he said, following her inside. “Should be fun.”

“Can we bid? Please?”

“The last thing we need is a donkey.”

“He’s so soft and sweet.”

“Do you remember your
grossdaddi
’s donkey? That animal was nothing but trouble.”

“And his name is Gus.”

“I’m not doing it, Grace Ann. We can’t afford another animal, and I probably wouldn’t buy it if we could.”

“But
dat
–”

As they approached the auction area, Gabe saw several things at once. Joshua King was standing behind the auctioneer stand. Miriam and Esther were standing to the right of the stand. The donkey was to the left, and holding the lead rope was young John Stutzman. Still in eighth grade, the boy was all arms and legs.

What caught his attention, though, other than Miriam, were the ten stacks of wood spaced out and set in front of the auctioneer’s podium. Next to each block of wood was an ax.

“I’d take care of Gus,” Grace added. “I would see to his feeding.”

Gabe pushed through the crowd until he stood beside Eli, who turned and grinned at him.

“The entry fee is twenty dollars, folks,” Joshua called from the auctioneer’s stand. “This is the last event of the day. The last chance to contribute to the benefit and work off some of the desserts you ate.”

Good-natured laughter mixed with the chatter.

Eli opened his wallet, pulled out a twenty, walked forward, and dropped it in a black hat that had been turned over for receiving entry fees. Then he walked to a block of wood and picked up the ax.

“We have our first competitor. Are you young men going to let Eli have it?”

Again laughter.

“I’d even clean out his stall,” Grace said, tugging on his arm.

“Remember, not only will the winner take home this lovely donkey donated by Clemens Schmucker—”

“I promise.” Grace moved in front of him and put her hands on his suspenders.

“You’ll also win dinner at the schoolhouse, cooked by my
dochder
, Miriam, and Esther Schrocks.”

“Please…”

Aden stepped forward and dropped money in the hat, and then he picked the spot next to Eli.

“What’s wrong, Grace?” Sadie asked.

“I want that donkey, and my
dat
won’t even look at him.”

Four other men stepped forward, followed by two gentlemen Eli’s age. Now there were two spots left.

“Not to mention, you’ll be providing the schoolhouse with enough chopped wood to see the children through the winter.” Again, laughter rippled through the crowd.

“Why did your
dat
say you can’t have the donkey?” Sadie asked.

“He hates them.”

“Oh.”

Gabe heard Grace and Sadie discuss the donkey. He heard Joshua explain the competition. Neither affected him much.

Then Miriam turned and glanced at him. She had been speaking to Esther, but when she turned, found him in the crowd, and smiled, Gabe groaned. He was sunk. Those gray eyes could ask him to plant a field of roses instead of hay, and he would do it.

“So he doesn’t like donkeys. I don’t like vegetables much, but I eat them,” Grace said.

“
Ya
, and I don’t like baths in winter, either. I wonder if donkeys need baths.” Sadie hopped so she could get a better look of what was happening up front.

Gabe only had eyes for Miriam.

Another contestant walked to the front, or rather was pushed there by his family.

Gabe reached for his wallet, pulled out a twenty, and put it in Grace’s hand. “Go place that in the hat for me.”

Kissing her on top of the head, he reached the last open spot, the spot next to Aden Schmucker, as Joshua turned back toward the microphone. “Looks like we’re ready to begin, folks. Ten fine men and two hundred dollars for Laura Kiem’s medical fund. Feel free to add some to the hat if you haven’t contributed today because you’re about to see some wonderful entertainment.”

Chapter 43

M
iriam watched Gabe walk to the front of the room and pick up the ax.

What had just happened?

She’d been talking to Esther, and when she’d turned back toward the people in the barn, he’d been staring at her. And not just at her, but into her. The look he’d given her had nearly pulled the breath out of her chest.

Then he’d handed Grace his entry money and walked up to the last open spot.

“Whom should we root for?” Esther teased.

“Hush.”

“I’m just saying that if you have a favorite, I could whisper a quick prayer.”

Miriam gave her assistant teacher the most withering scowl she had, but Esther only smiled and nodded back toward the men.

“Bishop Beiler,” Joshua said, “you helped me count the wood in each stack. Is that correct?”

“
Ya
. Correct.” Beiler didn’t seem completely at ease with the competition they were having. Miriam supposed he was allowing it because it was for a good cause. Surely there was no harm in splitting wood. It wasn’t as if the winner would receive a ribbon.

Joshua addressed the men. “I’ll count to three and then you may begin. Pick up your axes, and on my mark—one, two, three!”

The sound of chopping wood filled the air.

Miriam had watched her father and her brothers chop wood hundreds of times. Never before had it caused her heart to race. Never had it caused her palms to sweat so that she had to wipe them on her apron.

Esther moved closer, “He’s ahead by two.”

Was it because she understood the reason for his strange behavior now? And did that change anything between them?

“Aden’s catching up.”

“I can see, Esther.”

Esther was clutching her arm, and Miriam suspected she’d find bruise marks there in the morning. Somehow she didn’t mind. It helped to have her friend so close.

The men were all breathing heavily now and wood chips were flying. They were down to their last few logs. Aden reached for his next to the last piece, dropped it, and had to bend for it again.

Gabe glanced at Aden once, realizing now that the two of them were ahead. He grabbed his last piece of wood, set it on the block, and put the ax through it in one smooth stroke.

Applause and laughter filled the room.

Gabe turned, but instead of looking to Joshua, he again found Miriam. This time his gaze left her confused. Before she could think what he meant by it, he’d turned back to Aden, who was congratulating him on giving him a solid run for the prize.

And what was the prize? Had Gabe entered because of the donkey?

Gabe stepped closer and said something to Aden that no one else could hear. Aden glanced toward the back door and nodded once.

Suddenly, Grace ran into the picture. She greeted her dad, jumping up and down, and she hugged Sadie, whom she’d brought with her. Miriam had last seen the girls before lunch when they had interrupted her conversation with Aden outside the barn.

Her conversation with Aden—

Gabe glanced at her once more. It seemed his eyes lingered on hers, sending a trail of goose bumps down her arms. Then he reached down for Grace’s hand, and together they went to collect their winnings.