A Season for Tending (29 page)

There were times in life when a man couldn’t do certain things. And Samuel couldn’t gamble with what savings he had.

And, clearly, Jacob couldn’t pick up a hammer again.

How could he have let things get so off course today? Now Jacob felt responsible for letting down Kings’ Orchard. Before then only Samuel and Eli carried that weight—Eli for not taking care of the back tierce and Samuel for not checking on Eli’s work.

Years from now when they looked back on this time, would they be able to accept that they had buckled under their shortcomings rather than battled against them?

TWENTY-SEVEN

“Leah!”

Leah moaned. Mamm was calling. But it was late on a Sunday afternoon, for Pete’s sake. Who wanted something done now? If she hadn’t needed to stay close to a bathroom because of her nausea, she’d have gone to the hayloft to read. She tucked her newest thriller under her pillow and went to the landing.

“Ya, Mamm?”

“Arlan’s here to see you.”

She probably should have brushed her hair and pinned it up afresh, but she hurried down the stairs. He stood in the kitchen, talking to her parents. His black hair was disheveled, and his clothes were crumpled. This was Arlan, all heart and passion and not the least bit interested in appearances.

They were good friends, and she regretted how little they’d seen of each other lately. He boosted her self-esteem, and unlike his sister he respected her opinion.

He smiled, showing a row of white and slightly crooked teeth. “Thought maybe you’d care to go for a ride.”

“You thought right.”

Mamm considered them. “Are you attending the singing?”

“I wasn’t planning on it.” Arlan glanced at Leah as if trying to read her thoughts.

“So what’s the plan?” Daed asked.

Leah hated when her parents did this. If she walked out the door on her own, they’d let her go without asking much of anything. But when a guy came to pick her up, they wanted answers.

Arlan didn’t seem the least bit bothered. “No exact plans. But there are
several possibilities. My aunts have been making different kinds of ice cream for weeks and storing it in the freezer. They’re pulling all of it out this evening for a taste test to determine which one is everyone’s favorite. We might go by there or meet up with some friends and go wading in the creek. Or we may just go for a long ride. Whatever we do, I’ll have her home by ten, if that’s okay with you.”

Daed motioned for them to head out the door. “Go and have fun.”

She grabbed Arlan’s wrist. “Well, come on, then.”

He said a quick good-bye to her parents.

“Such a gentleman, always making sure my folks approve.” She climbed into his buggy.

He went around to his side and got in. “I’ve missed your sass, Leah. How are you?”

“Okay, I guess. Not up for eating ice cream.”

“You’re not feeling good?”

“No, I’ve been puking my guts out for weeks, but I’m losing weight.”

“Sounds like a bad diet plan.”

“Tell me about it. Maybe the problem is I’ve been missing you. What’ve you been up to?”

He drove the carriage onto the road, glancing at her more than where he was going. “Working a lot, moving from farm to farm, cutting and hauling hay. I’ve been waiting on the music store to get a new shipment of guitars. It should happen this week. And I’ve been going to a protestant church on our between Sundays. I’m still thinking about leaving the Amish.”

“So basically nothing new.”

“Not a thing, except Catherine’s discovered all my secrets.”

“Oh poor Samuel.”

“Your brother?” Arlan made a face. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me, and you understand why I said it too.”

“True. You got me on that one. So what book are you reading now?”

They talked fast about everything. The odd but nice thing about him was he didn’t have to agree with her to like who she was.

“So that’s it?” Arlan studied her face. “You and Michael are done?”

“Ya, I guess so.”

“You’re not sure?”

“I’m positive. It’s just hard to say it out loud with any oomph. My heart keeps holding on, which is annoying, but it’s where I am. I believed he was who I wanted him to be, not who he was.”

“What’d you want from him?”

“A stupid fairy tale, I guess. I longed for him to be unable to live without me, for him to make me feel good about myself, and for him to take me away from here. Well, he can easily and gladly live without me. I’ve never felt worse about myself in my life. And I’m stuck right here in Harvest Mills for the rest of my days.”

He pulled onto the gravel parking lot of a little white church and parked the rig to the side. “I’ll take you away if you need it.”

“Oh, you’re so sweet to me. It’s a shame we didn’t fall in love.” She elbowed him.

“I don’t have to buy a guitar, and I can use that money to help support you.”

She chuckled. “Why would you do that?”

“Because you’ll need help with the baby.”

Her heart lurched, and a wave of nausea hit. She bolted out of the rig and walked toward the creek. Arlan followed her.

Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the muggy breeze made the lush trees rustle.

“I’m
not
pregnant!”

“But Catherine said—”

“Catherine?” Leah was sure Michael wouldn’t spread that rumor. Jacob was the only other person to know about her scare, and he wouldn’t tell. If the accusation had come from someone she’d attended parties with, she might be able to understand it, but Catherine? Anger burned through her. “Your sister is a liar. She probably said it just to make me look bad.”

“Don’t get mad at me. I’m on your side.”

“Where are Samuel and Catherine tonight?”

“My house, last I saw them. Samuel talked with me about music and attending non-Amish churches. I’m sure Catherine put him up to that.”

Leah marched back to the carriage. “Come on. She’s got some explaining to do.”

Arlan got in. “You sure you want to make a scene? Catherine’s not used to being confronted.”

“Of course not. She’s used to crying her way through an argument, and everyone around her gives in to whatever she wants. Well, not this time.”

It didn’t matter to Leah that she could’ve been pregnant. Catherine’s jumping to conclusions and telling lies had her fuming. If Catherine were as much of a saint as she pretended to be, she would’ve kept her mouth shut.

“Like I said, I’ve been sick a lot lately.” She watched the scenery through the open window as the horse trotted down the road. “Mamm made an appointment for me to see a specialist in about three weeks. So here’s the good news: I may be dying of some illness. But your sister is a liar.”

Arlan faced her. “Leah, what you’re going through is scary.”

“You bet it is. But Jacob is convinced it’s a bad case of nerves or some such, so I prefer his diagnosis.”

“You should have told me. Is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah, back me up when I confront your sister for saying I’m pregnant.”

“Okay. I mean, she did say it, and it’s not true, so she deserves what she gets, right?”

“Right.”

The horse clipped along, seemingly taking forever, and Leah’s stomach hurt worse by the minute. Jacob had to be right; the pain, nausea, and vomiting had to be a nervous stomach. That understanding brought her a lot of relief, but she wished she knew what to do for it.

Arlan pulled in front of his home, and she hopped out of the buggy.

He came around from the other side. “My guess is they’re in the sitting room, talking with my parents.”

“I’ll wait out here. No sense in getting your folks involved.”

“All right. I’ll be back in a minute with both of them.”

Leah went to the side yard and paced. Who did Catherine think she was, saying something like that?

Just then, Samuel and Catherine rounded the side of the house.

“Leah.” Catherine came to her, looking worried. But was it for Leah or for herself?

“You okay?” Samuel angled his head.

“No, I’m not. My stomach hurts all the time. I’m not sleeping for being sick,”—she glared at Samuel—“and your girlfriend is telling people I’m pregnant.”

Samuel frowned and turned to Catherine.

She looked panicked, as if she needed a way out of this mess. “I shouldn’t have shared my concerns with Arlan. But are you?”

Had she prepared for this moment? Leah gritted her teeth and doubled her fists. “Am—”

“Catherine.” Samuel’s eyes blazed.

“I … I don’t mean to be unkind. But she went out dressed like a tramp, got drunk, and has spent weeks being sick.”

Samuel grew still and quiet. Leah wasn’t sure who he’d turn to—her or Catherine—but one of them was about to get an earful.

“It’s nice to know”—his voice was like ice—“that my girlfriend cares so little about my sister that she can’t control her tongue.” Samuel’s eyes bored a hole in Catherine. “Daed listens to the chat line regularly, and clearly Rhoda said nothing about Leah’s night at her house, but
you
start rumors?”

“Rhoda?” Catherine stared at Samuel, and her ever-present tears began flowing. “Are you going to compare me with
her
from now on?”

“Do not shift this argument to something it’s not. This is about you and what you said about my sister—that’s all.”

Catherine wiped at her tears. “I only said it to Arlan.”

Leah could not care less about Catherine’s tears. The woman cried over a
wrinkle in her dress. “Why?” Her stomach roiled with nausea. “Why did you do this? To embarrass me? To make Arlan hate me the way you do?”

Nausea got the better of her, and she hurried to the edge of the cow pasture. She gagged several times, but she had nothing on her stomach to lose.

“I’ll get her a drink and a washrag.” Arlan left and returned a few moments later.

After sipping on the drink and wiping her mouth, Leah dumped the rest of the liquid onto the lawn. “Denki.” She gave him back the rag and glass. “I’m going home.” She never should have come here.

Samuel nodded. “Sure.” He walked beside her as they crossed the side yard, leaving Catherine and Arlan behind. Her brother motioned for her to go toward his rig instead of Arlan’s.

He was taking her home? She’d expected him to be a little frustrated with Catherine, correct her, and make her promise not to tell that lie to anyone else, but had he sided with Leah to the point of ending his evening with Catherine?

“Samuel!” Catherine ran to him.

“Not now.” He wouldn’t look at her. “My sister is sick, and we don’t know what’s going on. I told you she had an appointment with a specialist, and if you’d brought up this topic with me privately, I’d have respected that.” He finally met Catherine’s eyes. “To say I’m disappointed doesn’t begin to cover it.”

Samuel went to the passenger’s side of the rig and opened the door for Leah. Catherine followed him to his side of the rig. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“We’ll talk about this later, but you
were
thinking. You said you were concerned, you wanted Arlan to stay away from her, and you said something you shouldn’t have to accomplish that.”

Samuel got in, and they began the drive home.

Guilt hounded Leah, and she had to speak her mind. “She was a little justified to think what she did.”

Samuel glanced at her. “And I was a little justified to react as I did.”

Leah stared out the window. She didn’t like Catherine, and clearly the feeling was mutual.

TWENTY-EIGHT

Samuel opened his eyes as if an alarm clock had gone off. Early morning darkness surrounded him. Humid air hung thick. Not even a slight breeze floated in through the open windows, only the constant buzz of cicadas drowning out all other insects. He pushed the thin sheet off and sat up. He didn’t need a clock to tell him it was time to begin his day. It’d be another scorcher. But for the first time in his life, he wasn’t looking forward to the cooler weather that would accompany the harvesting of apples.

It’d been only three days since Rhoda came to the farm, and he’d spent every minute hoping she’d change her mind and call, even to say she was reconsidering her stance. He wanted to call to see if he could persuade her, but a botched conversation would only set her decision in concrete—if it wasn’t there already.