Harvest of Hearts (10 page)

“Wise.” At least Matthew wasn’t in the house to overhear Mamm talk about her lack of culinary skills. She could manage some recipes well enough, but pies were something she’d never mastered. “Then, I’ll get started on the cookies. What kinds do you want?” She hadn’t made cookies since leaving home. Hadn’t baked at all, really, unless she counted the Duncan Hines brownies she made in the microwave whenever she craved chocolate. But that powdered stuff wasn’t real chocolate. Scary, if she stopped to think about it. She usually tried not to.

“Whatever kind sounds gut to you. We’ll need to replenish our cookie jar, too. That Matthew, he likes his cookies.”

Daed preferred pies. That never kept Mamm from keeping cookies on hand.

“We have plenty of peanut butter, oatmeal, raisins, chocolate chips, and molasses,” Mamm said, working her wooden spoon around the bowl.

Shanna retrieved a mixing bowl and Mamm’s recipe box. “Oatmeal raisin sounds gut.”

“Englischers like their chocolate.” Mamm dumped the contents of her bowl on a faded floured towel and then reached for the rolling pin.

“I’ll make chocolate chip, too, if I have time. I have a date tonight. Nate is supposed to pick me up around three so we can go into the city.”

Mamm peered at the battery-operated clock. “You won’t have time for both, then. But I appreciate the help you can give me.”

“I need to refresh my baking skills, anyway.” Shanna started thumbing through the recipe box and pulled out the card for peanut butter cookies. Maybe she’d make those first.

“Just be careful you don’t burn them. No one likes black cookies.”

Shanna grimaced at the gentle reminder of the last time she’d helped Mamm bake. Hopefully, she had matured since then and could be counted on to focus.

Focusing shouldn’t be too hard, as long as Matthew stayed out of the kitchen.

She glanced out the window toward the shop, where Daed, her brothers, and Matthew would be working on furniture. Nothing moved. All she saw was the barn, the shop, and the fields beyond. She turned her attention back to the recipe and reached for the flour.

Two hours later, Shanna tucked a few strands of hair back beneath her kapp, then used the oven mitts to pull the last sheet of cookies out of the oven. She carried it over to the table to cool for a moment, then began using a spatula to transfer the cookies to the wire rack.

Mamm peered out the window. “A blue car just pulled in. Ach, that must be your friend. Nate, you said?”

Shanna looked down at her Amish clothes, and the black apron covered in flour. She’d meant to be done earlier so she could shower before Nate arrived. He’d never let her live this down.

She straightened her shoulders when she heard the car door shut. A few seconds later, the porch steps creaked, followed by the sound of a hesitant knock on the door.

Shanna lifted the last cookie from the tray.

Mamm wiped her hands on her apron. “Come in!”

After a moment, the door slowly opened. Nate peered in, his eyes going to Shanna. They widened. Then, he smirked, and his gaze darted to Mamm and the table as he stepped inside. “Oh, you’re baking. I haven’t had cookies in I don’t know how long.” He glanced at his watch. “I am a bit early, but you said something about kittens?”

Shanna gestured to Mamm. “Mamm, this is Nate. He’s a friend from school. Nate, this is my mamm, um, mom.”

“Sit down and help yourself.” Mamm headed for the gas-powered refrigerator. “Care for some milk with your cookies, or would you rather have koffee?”

“Uh….” Nate’s brow lifted questioningly, and he glanced at Shanna.

“I need to get ready.” Shanna indicated her clothes. “I’ll be right back.” She darted out the door and ran toward the barn. She needed to take a shower and put some normal clothes on. Maybe jeans and a T-shirt. Nate had said something about going to the movies. She’d been so out of the loop that she had no clue what was playing. And it wasn’t just because she’d moved out here or because she had barely any cash to spare. Even in Springfield, she’d been so busy with school, studying, dating, and trying to get at least a little more involved in a church. She’d started attending the college-age Bible study, at least. But she pushed the thought away. Her parents would never believe her recent lack of attention to God.

If they went to the movies, Nate would probably let her choose, unless there was something he wanted to see and would prefer not watching alone.

Chances of it being a romantic comedy?

Not good.

A shadow moved in the dark recesses of the barn, and Shanna jumped. The next moment, a form stepped into the dim light.

“I caught the kittens for you.” Matthew held out a box, and Shanna could hear the kittens mewing inside.

“You scared me.”

Matthew chuckled in a short, abbreviated way. Actually, it was more of a bark. “Sorry.”

He didn’t sound sorry. “Nate’s waiting. I need to get ready to go. I’ll be right down.”

Matthew nodded. “I’ll take this box to the workshop, then, and make sure they don’t escape.”

“Danki.” She turned toward the apartment door.

He moved a step closer. “You smell gut. Like peanut butter cookies.”

Her breath caught. How he’d managed to detect that aroma in a barn full of animal smells, Shanna didn’t care to figure. She waved a hand toward the house. “Go help yourself. I made plenty.”

“For Deborah’s bake sale?”

“Extra. For the family.”

His grin could have lit the barn. “Guess there’s some hope for you, after all.”

Hope? For what? She frowned and reached for the doorknob. “Maybe you’d better wait until you taste them to make a final opinion.” With that, she opened the door and hurried up the stairs.

***

Matthew peered out the upstairs window at the car turning into the driveway. Shanna and Nate had been out later than he’d expected them to be, though why he’d had expectations, he didn’t know. She had the right to date, even if it meant that he suffered through visits from the green-eyed monster.

Nate seemed to be the perfect gentleman. He got out of the car and came around to the passenger side to open the door for Shanna. She accepted his hand as he helped her out and then stood there beside the car, talking with him. And then he leaned in for what appeared to be a kiss.

Matthew clenched his fists. It was a quick kiss, an innocent peck. They were saying good-bye and thought no one was watching.

Matthew didn’t mean to see their kiss. He hadn’t expected there to be a kiss, or he would have moved away sooner. He wished he had, not only out of guilt for spying, but also because it added to this strange sense of jealousy that haunted him.

Shanna eased away, then shut the car door. Her lips moved, but it didn’t appear as if she was scolding Nate for taking such liberties. Then, with a smile, she turned and walked toward the barn.

A smile. Nein, she hadn’t been scolding him.

Nate called to her as he jogged around the car. She turned around to look at him, but her gaze traveled upward, to the second-floor window where Matthew stood. They made eye contact. For a moment, neither one moved. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Matthew noticed Nate’s head lift.

To his shame, he ducked to the side, away from the window.

“She’s home, then.” Joseph ambled barefoot across the room and peered out the window.

“Jah.”

“Gut.” Joseph turned away and crawled back into bed.

Minutes later, Matthew heard the car engine start and the tires crunch over the gravel.

“You should go talk to her.”

Matthew leaned to the side and glanced out the window. All clear. “About what?” He turned around and looked at Joseph.

Joseph shook his head but didn’t answer.

Matthew slid his suspender straps off his shoulders. “I’m going to bed. Morning comes early.”

“Jah. No wonder you haven’t got a frau. You don’t even try.”

“With Shanna? She’s not Amish.”

“She might be, if you get her to fall in love with you.”

“Ach. That’d be setting myself up for a heartbreak. Besides, what makes you think I’m even interested in your sister?”

“Why else would you be spying on her?” Joseph shrugged and extinguished the gas lamp beside his bed. “Suit yourself. Gut nacht.”

Matthew hesitated, his face heating. He pulled his straps back up, turned off the other gas lamp, and left the room. As he padded downstairs, he could hear Levi and Deborah’s voices coming from their bedroom but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He opened the front door and slipped outside.

An owl hooted, and a dark form flew past the barn. Matthew glanced up at the star-studded sky. Not a cloud in sight. He picked out the Big Dipper.

The porch swing creaked. “I’ve been expecting you.”

Shanna gazed at Matthew, who stood at the far side of the porch. He stared out in the direction of the barn and made only a slight twitch when she spoke.

Maybe “expecting” had been the wrong word. Maybe she should have said she’d hoped he’d join her instead of implying that she’d figured he would.

Still, he’d been spying on her. She hadn’t noticed him at first, but when Nate had called to her and she’d turned back, she’d seen his face, framed by the bedroom window.

Had he seen Nate kiss her? Was he jealous?

Ach, that was presumptuous of her. Nothing about Matthew’s actions indicated any interest in her. At least, nothing beyond curiosity, or maybe friendship.

Matthew remained silent.

She patted the space next to her on the swing. “Want to kum sit?”

He shook his head. “Nein. Let’s walk.”

Shanna stretched, then pulled herself up off the swing. “Okay.” She followed him down the steps.

He turned toward the road, not the fields. “Did you get rid of the kittens?”

Ach, a sore spot. She hadn’t anticipated being asked to make a donation to the Humane Society. She’d borrowed the money from Nate, promising to reimburse him after she received her first paycheck from McDonald’s.

She needed money for school, not for all these miscellaneous expenses that seemed determined to eat away at her earnings.

“Jah, they’re gone. Nate is keeping one. We left the other four.” They’d chased her to the door, mewing. One had even jumped on the screen door, seeming to plead with her to come back. She blinked at the tears burning her eyes. Who knew that getting rid of a few stray kittens would hurt so much?

Matthew moved a little closer. “They’ll find gut homes.”

“Maybe.” She struggled to find a new topic of discussion and soon settled on her evening with Nate. Maybe then, she would be able to tell whether Matthew was truly a little jealous, as she suspected. “Nate and I went to a movie, one that he’d wanted to see. It was kind of scary. Lots of graphic images….” She shuddered. If only she’d insisted on a romantic comedy, instead.

She could understand the wisdom in not having a television and in staying away from movie theaters. Now, she had all this garbage filling her mind, taking up space that should have been filled with God and His goodness. Her spiritual life needed work. Lots of work. She smiled. Well, her mind definitely should have been filled with less scary stuff.

Matthew came even closer but still said nothing.

Shanna lifted her shoulder. “We shared a large popcorn, and he bought me a drink. Before that, we ate pizza.”

“I haven’t had a pizza in a while.”

At least he hadn’t been struck mute. “I can make one for supper sometime. Maybe Mamm will let me.”

“Mmm. Sounds gut.”

Shanna smiled. “Then, he brought me home.”

Home. To the farm she’d dreamed of escaping. Ironic that once she’d left, she’d wanted to go back. To the quiet, the safety, the community of friends and family. The sameness that used to drive her insane now beckoned her.