Huckleberry Harvest (27 page)

Could this be true? Was Mandy toying with him, determined to collect his broken heart like a souvenir? He clenched his teeth and rubbed his hand down the side of his face. Mandy was leaving soon. She had never hidden that fact from him. Maybe she had known from the beginning that their relationship had an expiration date, like milk from Yoder’s dairy. And maybe she didn’t care that Noah would be crushed when she was gone.

He bridled his galloping imagination and considered the source of this information. He’d never heard one sensible word from Kristina’s mouth. Maybe her jealousy colored her understanding and made her say things that weren’t true. Still, Mandy had told her about the kiss. What else had she shared with Kristina, and were they laughing at him even now?

Kristina must have sensed that something she had said hit the mark. She studied her fingernails with disinterest even as her eyes blazed with intensity. “I’ll forgive her, of course. That’s what best friends do. But she doesn’t deserve your love, Noah. It doesn’t mean anything to her.”

Noah tried to keep any emotion out of his voice. “How Mandy and I feel about each other is none of your business.” His life was none of anybody’s business. Why wouldn’t everybody leave him alone?

“But I love you,” she whined at the perfect pitch to set his teeth on edge.

“I don’t love you,” he said. “I . . . don’t love anybody.” He felt as if he were choking as he shoved the lie from his mouth.

She balled her hands into fists and glared at him. “I’ve been loyal to you ever since we met. It’s useless to wait for someone prettier. No girl but me would ever marry a boy whose fater is a drunk.”

Noah flinched. She should have known how much he hated that word.

“Remember when you dragged your fater out of that bar? He was drunk, and he smacked you. He hit his own son.”

This time Noah felt as if he’d been sliced right through the heart with a carving knife. There was only one way Kristina could have known about the incident at the bar. “How do you know about that? Did Mandy tell you?”

Kristina stuck out her lower lip. “Everybody knows about it.”

Noah thought back to gmay this morning. Four people had asked him about his dat. Nobody ever asked him about his dat. He caught his breath. Kristina was right. Everybody knew. Just like Mandy wanted.

“No girl would stoop to marry into such a family,” Kristina said, reaching out to grab his hand. He stepped back. “No girl except me. My love is strong enough to help us through the bad times.”

Even though it was a cool night, Noah felt the sweat trickling down the back of his neck as an oppressive vise squeezed the air out of his lungs and threatened to suffocate him.

How could she do this to him?

She’d promised. Mandy had promised him that she wouldn’t tell a soul about that night at the bar, and like a fool, he had believed her. He pressed his palm against his forehead as their last conversation played over and over in his head. On Friday she had seemed so concerned for his well-being.

She must not have been satisfied with his response, because she was apparently trying to force his hand. Maybe she thought if she told everybody about his dat, Noah would feel compelled to admit the truth and shove his dat into a rehab center whether he wanted to go or not.

Mandy couldn’t help herself. She stuck her nose into other people’s business like bees stuck their noses into flowers, but Noah never thought she’d stoop this low.

Mandy knew that this wouldn’t help his dat. It would only serve to compound Noah’s already deep humiliation.

Had she purposefully wanted to shame him to teach him a lesson?

“You know it’s true,” Kristina said.

He’d forgotten what Kristina had been saying. He didn’t know what was true anymore.

“I would be the best wife you could wish for,” she said. When he didn’t respond, she added, “I make yummy pie. You like pie, don’t you?”

Mandy made pie. Huckleberry pie with mild, sweet berries. Apple pie with cinnamon and nutmeg. It was the best thing he had ever tasted. No other pie would ever, ever measure up. But that was all over now. He’d never eat pie again.

Kristina must have found his silence encouraging. “I also make really good pretzels. Much better than Mary Lambright’s.”

Mamm probably wouldn’t consider it good manners to tell Kristina that he’d be happy to never lay eyes on her for the rest of his life. And what about the girl who had taken his heart and thrown it on the pavement? What would his mamm say about a girl who’d put his secrets on display like laundry on a clothesline?

His legs would no longer support him. He stumbled to the nearest chair and sank into it, burying his face in his hands to cover his despair.

“Kristina,” he whispered. “I really want to be alone. Could you please just go?”

“Is that all you have to say?”

“I don’t want to talk right now. If you go, I’ll text you later.”

With his face in his hands, he couldn’t see her expression, but her voice rose to an almost fevered pitch. “You will?”

“Jah.” He would have said just about anything to get her to leave.

“Do you promise?”

“I promise. I will send you a text.” One text, and at the moment, he couldn’t promise her it wouldn’t be a rude one.

Kristina gave a little squeal. He heard her skip down the porch steps, and soon the sound of her footsteps faded in the distance. She had probably gone back to the barn to lie in wait for some unsuspecting boy who had the misfortune of wandering in there.

Noah did his best to breathe. Was this really happening? Was kind, adorable Mandy really this calculating—so bent on getting her own way that she would reveal his most carefully guarded secrets?

Because of Mandy, everybody knew about the night at the bar. How many of his neighbors were laughing at him behind his back or horrified by what they knew about his fater? How could he face anyone ever again?

He heard the front door open, and someone walked out onto the porch. Should he stand up and try to act as if nothing were wrong? It didn’t matter. Now that everybody knew about his family’s disgrace, they knew how unworthy he was to be living among them. He wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.

“I know that was a lot longer than three minutes, but Mary wanted to tell me all about her new kittens.”

Noah exhaled in relief. It was Yost.

“Noah? Are you okay?”

Noah lifted his head to see Yost peering at him anxiously. He hastily stood and swiped his fingers through his hair. “We need to go.”

Yost placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder. “What’s wrong? What did she say?”

“Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

Yost frowned. “I know you, Noah. Whatever it is, it matters a lot.”

Noah jumped off the porch and marched in the direction of their buggy. “If you want a ride home, you’d better come now. I’ll not stay here another minute.”

“Okay, okay. I’m coming. Just let me get my coat.”

Noah didn’t slacken his pace. If Yost couldn’t catch up, he’d have to find his own ride home. The front door opened and closed, and Noah heard Yost’s quick steps close behind him. “Noah, tell me what’s wrong.”

Noah made the mistake of searching his brother’s face. He saw the innocence of youth and the blissful ignorance of hope. Yost could return to Missouri without having to endure the shame of a fater’s downfall or the gossip that circulated around the Mischler family. Yost could go home and live his life and be happy. Noah would never be happy again.

Everything was different now.

Something inside him crumbled, like the walls of Jericho. He yanked Yost to him and sobbed until he was too weak to cry anymore.

Mandy looked up toward the ceiling. She couldn’t see them, but she could hear Noah and his brother tromping about on the roof like two lumbering moose in the forest. It was gute that Noah had his brother to keep him company, but two people working on the roof meant that it would be finished twice as fast. What would she do when Noah didn’t have a reason to come to Huckleberry Hill?

What would she do in less than two weeks when she had to go home?

Maybe she should spend the rest of the week outside gazing at the boy on the roof who had become the center of her universe. Could she convince him to make her the center of his? Would he care when she left? Might he ask her to stay?

Dawdi tromped up from the cellar with a box of empty canning jars in his arms. “
Some morning yonder, we’ll cease to ponder, O’er the trouble life’s brought to our eyes. All will be clearer, my love will be dearer, In that lovely heav’n in the sky.
”

Dawdi placed the box on the table. “Applesauce canning day is my favorite time of year.”

Mandy smiled. “I’m glad I’m here to help this time.”

“You can turn the crank. Once I turned eighty, my elbow froze up every time I did it. Young people should always be the crank turners.”

“I’d be happy to turn the crank. I like seeing the applesauce come out one side and the peelings come out the other. I love applesauce day too.” Even though it would mean less time outside dreamily gazing at Noah.

“Annie wants us to put up three dozen quarts of applesauce, but I bet we’ve got enough apples for five dozen. Do you want to take some bottles back to Charm with you?”

“I might not be able to carry them on the bus.”

Dawdi fingered his beard. “Too bad Noah can’t go with you. He could carry a whole suitcase full of jars as easy as you please.”

“We could give some to Noah and his dat. They don’t do any canning of their own. They’d probably appreciate it.”

“Very gute idea. It’s the least we can do for all his work on the stove. It saves your mammi a lot of labor.” He nodded thoughtfully. “Noah sure is a smart young man, to know how to install a stove and fix our roof. I don’t think there’s nothing he can’t fix.”

“Jah,” Mandy said. “I think I’ll go take him some cookies.”

“The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, your mammi always says.” His eyes twinkled. Did he suspect something between her and Noah? “You should save some for Luke Miller. Your mammi’s invited him to dinner tonight.” Dawdi didn’t suspect anything. He was probably hanging his hopes on the nine-toed boy.

Mandy snatched the small bag of snickerdoodles from the counter, donned her sweater, and stepped outside. It was nearly ten o’clock. Noah and Yost had been up there for almost three hours yet. Maybe they’d like a cookie break.

She’d baked them early that morning in hopes of giving them to Noah before he started working. He usually came to say hello to her before going to the roof. It was always the best part of her day, especially when he brought her something to eat. But this morning, he hadn’t knocked, and she hadn’t known he was here until she heard the clunky footfalls above her.

Chester and Sparky frolicked around the yard like two puppies, wagging their tails and nudging each other with their wet noses. Mandy gave each dog a little love before ambling far enough away from the house to be able to see the boys working on the roof.

Yost, following behind Noah with a pile of shingles and his own nail gun, glanced in her direction. He didn’t seem inclined to acknowledge her. That was strange. On Friday, he hadn’t seemed like the timid type.

“Gute maiya, Yost.”

He turned and gave her a half smile. “Gute maiya.”

All of Noah’s attention was focused on nailing shingle after shingle into place. The muscles of his shoulders and back seemed to work in one fluid motion whenever he raised the nail gun. He was laying down shingles so fast, he didn’t even turn to look at her. She didn’t want to be a nuisance and interrupt his hard work, but she simply had to see that smile at least once. “Noah,” she called, “try not to work yourself to death. I wouldn’t want to have to carry your body down the ladder.”

He didn’t even turn around. Could he hear her over the popping of the nail gun?

Yost sprouted a sheepish grin. “He’s in a hurry to finish before the rains come this weekend.”

Uncertainty tightened around Mandy’s chest. Something was wrong. Noah wouldn’t look at her. What didn’t he want her to see?

She felt a catch in her throat. Two Sundays ago, Noah’s dat had given him a black eye. What was it this time? A broken nose? A goose egg on his forehead?

What could she do? She didn’t want to embarrass him, but if she knew what his injuries were, she was sure she could fix them. Why didn’t he trust her? She already knew the worst about his dat.

Her insides plummeted to the ground when she heard the familiar sound of a bicycle bell behind her.
Oh sis yuscht!
Kristina couldn’t have picked a worse time to pay a visit. Wasn’t she still mad at Mandy? She had told Mandy to go back to Ohio and leave her alone. Her righteous indignation should have kept her away for at least another day or so.

Kristina appeared around the bend in the lane, walking her bicycle with an extra spring in her step and ringing her bell over and over as if she were playing a song. Apparently, she was in a very good mood. Mandy couldn’t decide if that was a good or a bad thing.

Kristina waved her arm back and forth over her head as if she were trying to signal an airplane. “Yoo-hoo, Mandy.”

Mandy followed Kristina’s lead and pretended there was nothing amiss between them, even though Kristina had accused her of vile betrayal only three days ago. “Hi, Krissy. How nice to see you.”

Kristina’s gaze traveled to the roof where Noah was still trying to lay down all the shingles in a matter of minutes. “Hello, Noah,” Kristina chirped in that flirty, singsong voice that was sure to annoy him.

Noah didn’t acknowledge her. The steady sound of his nail gun driving nails into the roof was all the response they got. Yost glanced at them and stretched an apologetic smile across his face. “We’re pretty busy,” he said.

Kristina pulled her phone from her apron pocket and jiggled it in her hand. “Noah, I got your text,” she called, gushing as if there was something private and personal between her and Noah.

Noah had texted Kristina? That was surprising. He certainly shouldn’t be encouraging her. She’d double her efforts if he gave her any reason to.

There was nothing to do but distract Kristina and get her into the house as quickly as possible. Mandy couldn’t risk letting her best friend catch a glimpse of Noah’s injured face. Whatever the injuries were, Noah would be mortified if anyone saw.

“Let’s go in the house,” Kristina said, before Mandy had a chance to suggest it. She cradled her phone in her hand as if it were a
buplie
, a baby.

Mandy cupped her hand over Kristina’s elbow. “Jah. You can help me lay out some quilt squares. I’m making a top for Mammi.”

Kristina marched into the house with purpose, as if she wasn’t just there for a friendly visit. As soon as Mandy closed the door, Kristina grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit on the sofa. “Come here, Mandy.” She was overjoyed about something, but Mandy could tell she was trying to temper her enthusiasm. She practically shoved her phone in Mandy’s face. “Look what Noah texted me. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Doubtfully, Mandy took the phone from Kristina. “I don’t see it.”

Kristina snatched the phone away and pushed some buttons. “Here,” she said.

Mandy studied the screen. It said,
I need you to deliver a message to . . .

Mandy turned to Kristina. “Who are you supposed to deliver a message to?”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Kristina said, not trying to mask the exasperation in her voice. “Don’t you even know how to use a cell phone?” She pointed to a tiny arrow on the keypad. “Push this, and the message will scroll down. You can’t see the whole message at one time.”

Mandy pushed the arrow button and the words scrolled up the screen.
I need you to deliver a message to Mandy for me. Tell her that I agree with you that a best friend should never betray a confidence. Tell her that I don’t want to talk to her or see her again, and I don’t want to be her friend.

The room began to spin. Mandy found it nearly impossible to breathe. “I don’t understand,” she said weakly. What was Noah about?

Kristina took her phone and flipped it shut. “You read it. It sounds plain enough to me. Neither of us can trust you.”

She didn’t even know where to begin to try to understand what was happening. “But . . . why?”

“He’s mad, Mandy. Real mad.” She patted Mandy’s hand, but Mandy didn’t even feel it. She was numb. “I’m your best friend. There is forgiveness in my heart. But Noah might never forgive you.”

“Forgive me for what?”

Kristina looked at Mandy as if she were an idiot. Maybe she was. “Noah doesn’t approve of you trying to steal your best friend’s boyfriend. He’s very honorable that way.”

“He was never your boyfriend.”

“And he was never yours, even though you kissed. He agreed with me.”

Mandy’s stomach dropped at the idea that Noah had agreed with Kristina about anything.

“He seemed particularly upset about the kiss,” Kristina said.

Upset that they had kissed?

Her heart skipped a beat. Nae. He must have been upset that Kristina knew about it. He hated when other people knew anything about his personal life. Did her telling Kristina feel like a betrayal to him?

The room pitched about wildly. She felt light-headed and dizzy. Maybe she shouldn’t have told Kristina about kissing Noah, but at the time, she had wanted to convince Kristina that Noah didn’t love her. Horrible, horrible mistake.

Noah was sensitive about such things, she knew, but to never want to see her again because of a careless word to a friend? It seemed so final, so extreme. She thought she meant more to him than that. More than to toss their relationship aside in a text message.

She’d made a lot of mistakes with Noah, but she wasn’t about to roll over and play dead. She loved him, and she was going to fix this, for the both of them.

Standing up, she grabbed the phone from Kristina.

“Hey,” Kristina protested.

“I need to borrow this,” Mandy said. “I’ll be back.”

“Are you going to talk to Noah? He said not to, remember?”

Mandy stormed out of the house. She would not let Noah break her heart in a text message, and she certainly wouldn’t let him do it without a fight.

They seemed to do a lot of fighting. He was probably expecting it.

Kristina burst from the house, ran down the steps, and followed so closely that she almost stepped on Mandy’s heel. “I’m coming with you. Noah is my boyfriend. He sent me the text.”

Pretending Kristina wasn’t right behind her, Mandy marched around the corner of the house and climbed the ladder as if she lived on the side of a cliff.

“Mandy, I don’t like ladders. Come back,” Kristina said. “I need you to help me up.”

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Mandy ignored her best friend. Kristina, in all her annoying eagerness, had done nothing wrong, except maybe to fail to see how her behavior drove boys away. Mandy would fix things with Kristina later. Fixing things with Noah was an emergency. Surely she could leave Kristina waiting on solid ground in an emergency.

Noah’s nail gun did not stop as Mandy got to the top rung and stepped onto the roof. She sucked in her breath as she tried to steady herself on the incline.

The brothers were intent on their work, no doubt attempting to finish the roof in record time so they could leave this terrible place and never come back. Neither of them noticed her until she spoke. “Noah Mischler,” she said, trying to lend steadiness to her voice. She loved Noah, and she felt deep remorse for telling Kristina about the kiss. If she couldn’t convince him of that, all her hopes of happiness would come crashing down around her.

He glanced at her, hesitated for a second, and then resumed laying shingles as if all the nails in the world still needed to be driven. Why he thought he could get away with that behavior was beyond her. Hadn’t he known her long enough to understand how persistent she was?

If he wouldn’t come to her, she would go to him. She took a couple of steps on the steep incline, raising her arms to balance herself. He refused to look at her as she made her way toward him tottering unsteadily with every step. She was doing very well until she stepped on an errant nail and her foot flew out from under her. She squeaked in alarm as she fell hard on her backside with her feet dangling precariously over the edge.

That got Noah’s attention. Frustration gathered on his face as he cast his nail gun aside, leaped to his feet, and took four giant steps to reach her. He slid next to her, hooked an arm around her waist, and held on tight as if she were a fence post and he was the cement anchoring her to the ground. “Mandy,” he hissed. “I told you to stay off this roof. You could have broken your neck.”

Mandy panted for air and willed her heart to slow to a gallop. It felt so gute to be close to him, even if he was a little prickly at the moment. “You wouldn’t even look at me. You broke up with me in a text. I had to come up.”

“And risk your life?”

“For you, I’d risk anything.” She did
not
want to melt into a puddle of tears. She sniffed them back.

His expression didn’t soften. If anything, the lines around his eyes could have been cut into his face, and the muscles of his jaw tightened as if his mouth were fastened shut. He slid his hand from her waist and wrapped his fingers around her arm with an iron grip. Pulling her to her feet, he steered her away from the edge of the roof and toward the ladder. “You need to get down. Your dawdi would be angry if you fell.”