Christmas in Apple Ridge (48 page)

U
sing tiny wooden pegs, Levi attached another brace to the bottom of a cradle. He needed to take a load of goods to Hertzlers’ soon. He had a meeting set up for one o’clock. Later this afternoon, around three, Daniel was supposed to drop off some horses for training and pick up others that were ready to be sold. The process would take the rest of the day, perhaps until midnight.

The door to the shop creaked, and he raised his head. The neck brace made his workday harder because it was hot and unforgiving, but he tried not to let it grate on his nerves. He was healing, and that was all that really mattered.

Andy had a box in his hand. “This came for you.”

“Denki. Just set it on the counter.” He tapped the last peg into place and turned the cradle upright. “The stuff lined up against the wall is ready to go. Could you hitch up the wagon and pull it around?” Grabbing a sheet of fine sandpaper, he noticed that Andy lingered by the door. “Is there a problem?” Levi scrubbed the headboard, causing wood particles to swirl in the air.

He hoped nothing was wrong. He had neither the time nor the patience for any issues today.

“Mamm came by earlier to see if you’d heard from Sadie.”

“And now I have.” Levi removed a cotton rag from his pants pocket
and used it to wipe off the headboard. He inspected the finished product, smoothing a few rough spots with sandpaper.

Despite Levi’s request that Andy pitch in, he continued to wait by the door. Andy opened his mouth twice and drew a quick breath as if on the verge of saying something. Levi turned the cradle upside down again, ready to attach the two rockers.

“If you’ve got something on your mind, say it. We have fifteen hours of work to do during the next five hours.”

Andy picked up one of the finished toy highchairs and propped it on his shoulder. “You know Mamm and Daed think you and Sadie have something going on.”

Levi threw the rag onto the table, studying his brother. “And?”

Andy tucked another chair under his arm and picked up a cradle. “Do you?”

Levi turned his back on Andy and grabbed a hand drill. “I don’t know who’s worse, you or them.” After putting a seat for a toy highchair on the bench, he pulled out a measuring tape. “All I want is a little peace on this topic. Could you get the horse hitched up and everything loaded, please?”

The screen door slammed, leaving the silence to heap guilt on Levi.

Three weeks ago, after his visit with Sadie in Stone Creek, he’d ended up staying in a hotel with Daniel and the driver. The auction and subsequent sorting and hauling of horses had lasted until nearly dawn. When he’d arrived at Andy’s around noon the next day and stepped out of the car with a couple of boxes of Sadie’s crafts, his folks were there.

Their parents lived across the back pasture, so it wasn’t unusual for them to pop in, often with food for the bachelors. They were good people, and Levi loved them and enjoyed their company—when they weren’t
matchmaking. But since he had Sadie’s boxes in tow, they had questions. He couldn’t figure out how to avoid admitting he’d gone by to see the woman who’d returned his horse. So he told them the truth—he’d gone to see her, discovered the five-and-dime was closing, and planned to give her crafts to Beth for the store.

Neither Mamm nor Daed had asked any more questions. They simply nodded, but Levi recognized the look in his mother’s eyes, and he couldn’t douse it. She was a good woman whose heart had broken when Andy’s wife had left. She believed if Levi didn’t marry, he’d be worse off than Andy, because he’d die without ever having loved someone or having children or grandchildren.

Her ache for Andy and Levi was like a hole in her gentle heart.

Then Sadie sent another package of dolls, but also inside the box was a gift for him. It was a simple gesture, a candle shaped like a horse and made to smell of leather, but Tobias saw it and ran across the field to tell his grandparents that Levi’s girlfriend was sending him presents.

The sound of horse hoofs and the creaking wagon let Levi know his brother was back. The screen door opened again. “Hey, Levi.”

“Ya?”

Andy didn’t say anything, and Levi turned to face him.

“You’re annoyed with me, and I get that, but I carry this awful fear that my life has redirected yours in a negative way.”

“Oh, all right. I’ll load the stuff myself.” Levi grabbed numerous pieces from along the wall. With a couple of cradles and a rocking horse in hand, he went out the door and to the nearby wagon.

“We’re having a conversation here!” Andy followed him, carrying several more items.

The way Levi saw it, Andy’s and Daniel’s experiences had opened his
eyes. That was a positive thing, not something Andy needed to feel bad about. But Levi knew his brother wouldn’t see it that way. “You need to stop. Stop fretting. Just … stop!”

“Okay,” Andy growled, setting the stuff in the wagon. “All I want to know is if you’re courting Sadie. Just tell me straight up.”

Levi stared at his brother, tempted to climb onto the wagon seat and drive off. “Look, I know what Mamm and Daed think, and maybe there’s some whispering about Sadie and me in the community. But do you have any idea how nice it’s been these last few weeks with no one prodding me about attending singings or making wisecracks about how I
can’t
find a girl who’ll have me? I’m sick of being needled about it.” He removed his tool belt and threw it onto the porch of the workshop. “And you’ve joined them.”

“Okay.” Andy sighed and leaned his forearms against the wagon. “But it’s been four years since you moved in with us to help me juggle work and raise Tobias, to help us cope with the hole Eva left, to make the house feel less lonely. You’ll never know how much I appreciate that, but—”

“So?” Levi interrupted. “You want me to move out? Is that it?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! For my sake, for Tobias’s, being completely selfish, I’d side with you about avoiding singings and staying single. I’d have you live here forever.” Andy shook his head. “But I want what’s best for you. Not what’s best for me or even Tobias.”

Levi climbed into the wagon and took the reins. “Then be my brother, my friend, and my business partner. But stop trying to be my trainer.”

B
eth picked up a large stack of empty handwoven shopping baskets from the counter near the register. She went through the main part of the store, heading for the front to return them to their rightful spot. Zigzagging between small groups of shoppers, she enjoyed the breeze that flowed through the aisles, caressing her skin. It was the second week in September, and today was the first hint that summer was fading and autumn was on its way.

Jonaich was descending a ladder, holding a large clock he’d removed from the wall display. He stepped off the last rung and passed the clock to an employee, giving instructions. He then grabbed his cane off the ladder’s hinge. As Beth skirted around the customers, someone put a hand on her arm, and for a moment she thought a patron had a question. But then she recognized Jonah’s tender touch. His golden-brown eyes stared into her soul, melting her right there in front of everyone—if the others hadn’t been too busy to notice.

“I’ll take those.” He lifted the baskets from her arms and repositioned his cane, all without moving his gaze from hers. His lopsided grin tempted her to kiss him.

Jonah moved in closer. “How about if you and I take a break?” He brushed his lips near her ear. “I’ll make us lunch and bring it to your office.”

“I’d planned to grab a few bites of a sandwich while working. I’m backlogged on the inventory. I haven’t logged or shelved the items that came in this morning, and Levi will be here soon with his goods.”

“Please. Take just a few minutes to get off your feet and rest.”

She slid her hand over her slightly protruding stomach. The bump was hardly noticeable to onlookers. Five months pregnant and each day she’d witnessed the joy of their news in her husband’s eyes, a pleasure that seemed to know no bounds.

“I’m going to be spoiled before this child is born.”

“I don’t think sitting at lunchtime qualifies as being pampered.”

“How about if we sit at one of the outdoor tables of Mattie Cakes café?”

“Is the shade of the white oak calling you again?”

She grinned. He knew her well. “It is.”

“Beth,” Lillian said.

“It’s not the only voice calling to you.” Jonah brushed his hand against hers, smiling as they turned to the girl behind the register.

Lillian held up jars of Amish candles. “When will we get some more of these?”

Jonah squeezed Beth’s shoulder. “Lunch will be served in twenty minutes.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

She went toward the customer who was buying the last of Sadie’s candles. “I don’t know.” Beth had left several messages for Sadie on her parents’ answering machine, but that was in a phone shanty. And as of yet Sadie hadn’t returned any of her calls. She made a mental note to ask Levi about it when he came in later. Surely Sadie returned his calls. “But I’ll do what I can to get some more.”

Beth took notes on what the woman wanted, chatted with her for a bit, and then headed toward the café.

The chimes of several clocks bonged, letting her know it was half past noon, and then one of them played music. Beth continued through the craft supplies aisle, but she always savored the only source of music allowed in an Amish store or household. She and Jonah had one of these timepieces in their bedroom.

As Beth went through the little section of the store that was Mattie Cakes café, Mattie glanced up. “Need anything?”

Beth pointed toward the door several feet behind Mattie. “I’m having lunch on your patio as soon as Jonah arrives with it.”

Mattie smiled. “It’s a beautiful day, even if we haven’t had a change of seasons yet.” Mattie turned to a customer and opened her portfolio of celebration cakes. She pointed one out to the woman. “This is probably similar to what you described.”

“Yes. It’s perfect. You can make this?”

Beth smiled as she stepped outside. She paused near the doorway, letting her eyes adjust to the sunlight.

The patio was as new as the area they called Mattie Cakes café. There were three wrought-iron tables with a couple of chairs each and a short picket fence that connected to the store. Since the patio abutted the gravel parking lot, Jonah and Mattie’s husband, Gideon, had put in the fence mostly to keep little ones from escaping and wandering into a driver’s path.

It was so nice to have Mattie back. She had lived three years in Berlin, Ohio, with her brother. Unfortunately, the transition from Ohio back to Apple Ridge hadn’t been easy for Mattie. She returned only because her cake shop there had burned down just before Thanksgiving last
year, and her parents had insisted she come home for a while. Mattie had moved away because of a rift between Gideon and her, but once she was back home, she slowly learned of the great sacrifices he’d made to protect her from the trials he was going through. Once the truth was laid out, Mattie made it known that nothing short of death could ever keep her from Gideon again. They had married in March, and Beth had the pleasure of witnessing their love and joy make up for the time they’d been apart.

Jonah crossed the parking lot toward her, his cane in one hand and a tray in the other. It was convenient having a home only a stone’s throw from the store.

She opened the gate and let him in. He’d made two sandwiches and put several types of fruit in a bowl.

“I’ll get some water from Mattie.” Jonah set the items on a table and pulled out a chair for her to prop up her feet. They were pretty good at snatching downtime together during the workday.

Before he could turn to enter the store, Mattie brought out two glasses. “Water, anyone?”

“Perfect.” Jonah took them from her.

She went back inside as he sat down across from Beth. “So what’s on your mind for Sunday afternoon?”

She shared her thoughts about having a picnic by the creek, and the conversation rolled along as if they hadn’t seen each other in months. They both looked up when Levi pulled into the lot.

Beth stood. “This was nice.”

Jonah got up and threw away the trash. “But work calls us back.”

Levi toted an armload toward the service door. All three headed for the stockroom to check in the items.

“Hey, Levi. How are you today?” Jonah asked.

“Gut, and you?” Levi knew the routine well, so he lined up several pieces for check-in. He set a red barn trimmed in white on the floor.

“You’ve outdone yourself.” Beth inspected the two-story building.

He’d created wooden fences and farm animals to boot. The tiny sheep were covered in real sheepskin, and the cows had strips of rawhide glued to their wooden bodies.

“Glad you like it.” Levi nodded, and Beth could tell he was in no mood to talk. “I have some more pieces in the wagon.”

“Let’s bring them in.” Jonah clasped his hand on Levi’s shoulder.

Beth grabbed the inventory clipboard and a pen and began logging the new items.

Levi walked in carrying another cradle. “This isn’t the full order we discussed last May. I’m working on another two-story dollhouse, but it and plenty of other stuff aren’t done yet.”