Huckleberry Summer (16 page)

He slumped his shoulders. “I’m never going to measure up to Tyler Yoder.”

Dawdi put a firm hand on Aden’s shoulder. “I’ll measure my grandson against any man in the church.”

“But you said—”

“I said you’ve got some thinking to do. You mustn’t give up hoping. Anyway, you are not the type to shy away from a challenge.”

Aden thought of Lily. He wouldn’t even consider shying away. Lily was worth every uncomfortable moment spent trying to win her dat over.

They hobbled out of the barn together. Dawdi hobbled because he was eighty-three years old. Aden hobbled because his legs felt as heavy as lead, and his knees could have been rusty hinges. Not a pretty sight.

“Remember the first day you met Lily? What did you think of her?”

“I wasn’t impressed. She didn’t like my dog.”

Dawdi shook his finger in the air as if Aden had said something brilliant. “The very thing. Nothing is more appealing to a father than a boy who adores his daughter.”

Aden smiled. At least he had that going for him.

This was going to be awkward. Not the you’ve-got-broccoli-in-your-teeth kind of awkward, but the I-am-interested-in-your-girlfriend kind of awkward, because that was exactly the conversation he needed to have with Tyler. No man of honor, Amish or otherwise, went behind his friend’s back to court a girl his friend had an interest in. Aden would have to come right out in the open about it so Tyler wasn’t blindsided.

Aden waited until after the supper hour so that he wouldn’t ruin Tyler’s day by telling him first thing in the morning. Maybe Tyler would appreciate his thoughtfulness. Maybe he wouldn’t.

He knocked on the door. Tyler’s mamm answered and the heavenly smell of apples and cinnamon greeted him. “Aden, cum reu. You are just in time for a piece of apple pie.”

If she knew what Aden plotted against Tyler, she probably wouldn’t be so hospitable.

“Is Tyler here?”

“Just got out of the shower, like as not. Come up and sit at the table, and I will dish you both a piece of pie.”

Aden climbed the stairs of Tyler’s split-level house and strolled into the warm kitchen. Tyler’s brother, Joe, held a piece of pie in his hand like a slice of pizza and took a hearty bite. “Hullo, Aden,” he said, with his mouth full.

“Manners, Joe,” said his mamm. “Wipe your mouth and go downstairs for Tyler.”

Joe took a swig of milk and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Manners,” said his mamm.

Joe popped from his seat and went to the top of the stairs. “Tyler,” he yelled.

His mamm jumped. “If I’d a wanted you to yell, Joseph Elmer, I would have done it myself.” She pointed down the stairs. “Go fetch your brother like a boy whose mother has taught him some manners.”

Joe sighed, glanced at Aden, and clomped down the stairs.

“I’m sorry about that,” Tyler’s mamm said. “Sometimes that boy acts like he was born in a barn.”

She motioned to the table, and Aden sat obediently while she cut two generous slices of pie and put them on two plates. Aden couldn’t be comfortable. Tyler was about to get the shock of his life.

Tyler came up the stairs with Joe close behind. Tyler’s hair was damp from his shower, and he looked mildly curious at Aden’s presence.

Aden stood and shook Tyler’s hand. Tyler was still his best friend in Bonduel, at least for another ten minutes or so. “I heard your mamm made pie, and I came to get some.”

His mamm laughed. “Oh, nonsense.”

“Mamm’s pie is the best,” Tyler said, sitting next to Aden and picking up his fork. He frowned with concern. “I heard you saw a bear.”

“A small black bear. Pilot scared it away.”

“Felty told my dat you got stitches.”

Aden held out his arm and ran his hand over the spot where the bandage sat under his sleeve. “I got seventeen stitches, plus a tetanus shot and a big bottle of antibiotics.”

Tyler’s frown deepened. “Dat says Lily was with you. Denki for watching out for her. She would have been frightened out of her wits.”

“Pilot saved us.”

Tyler nodded. “Even though Lily can’t stand that dog, he has helped you out of more than one scrape. I am grateful.”

Aden pressed his lips into a hard line. Lily didn’t still hate Pilot, did she? No, she said she’d love him forever. She also told Aden she liked him more than she liked his dog. He smiled to himself.

Joe sat down next to Aden to finish his pie. “Tyler and I went to the pond yesterday.”

“The aerator is still working well,” Tyler said.

“How much longer can we have it?” Aden asked. It didn’t matter. Tyler would probably yank it from the pond tomorrow once he heard what Aden had to say.

“A couple of months. It’s better than nothing.”

“It’s thanks to you that we’ve had it at all.”

“Lord willing, it will do a year’s worth of aerating in only a few weeks.”

Aden cleared his throat. The longer he put this off, the harder it would be. He looked at Tyler’s mamm. “It wonders me if I could talk to Tyler privately for a few minutes.”

Tyler’s mamm didn’t seem excessively curious. She grabbed a basket from the washroom. “Come on, Joe. Help me take the wash from the line.”

Joe groaned and followed his mamm out the back door, dragging his feet all the way.

Tyler regarded him with a serious eye, which wasn’t unusual considering Tyler’s sober personality. “Something is wrong,” he said. “I don’t often see you without a smile.”

“I have something to tell you, Tyler, and it’s going to make you mad.”

“I will try not to get angry. He who is angry without cause is in danger of judgment.”

Aden attempted a smile. “No problem there, then. I’m about to give you good cause.”

Tyler slowly set down his fork and propped his elbows on the table. He stared at Aden as if he were trying to read his mind. “What’s the matter? Did the aerator get broken?”

Aden took a fork and flaked the top crust of his pie. “Do you remember the day you told me that you liked Lily?”

Tyler nodded slowly.

“And I told you I liked her too?”

Tyler furrowed his brow.

Aden swallowed the lump in his throat. “I wasn’t joking. I really like her.”

The lines around Tyler’s mouth seemed to deepen, but his face betrayed no other reaction. “Of course you like her. Lily is as bright as the sunshine in January. Who doesn’t like sunshine?”

“I kissed her.”

Tyler remained stone-faced. “You kissed her?”

“Three times.”

Tyler stood up so quickly, his chair fell over and crashed to the floor. Running his fingers through his damp hair, he began pacing back and forth in a tight four-foot square.

Was Tyler stoking a fire inside himself or attempting to get his anger under control? Aden watched silently and waited for Tyler to explode.

Tyler stopped pacing and looked at Aden. The explosion was restrained. “I’ve had my eye on Lily for three years. You think you can come into town for a few months and steal her?”

“I don’t want to steal her. I want to win her.”

“Sounds like stealing to me.”

Aden pushed his plate away. This conversation was too serious for pie. “Our friendship is important to me, but in the end, it would ruin our friendship if I were sneaky about this.”

Tyler scowled and folded his arms across his chest. “You destroyed our friendship the minute you kissed her.”

“I don’t want to court Lily behind your back. I want to court her in front of your back. No deception, no shame. Because we’re friends, I want you to have a chance to put up a fight. It’s only fair.”

Something seemed to soften around Tyler’s eyes. “At least you’re honest about it.”

“If it were you she’d kissed, I’d want to know so I didn’t feel like a fool.”

“Thank you,” Tyler murmured. He took a deep breath, righted his chair, and sat down. “So, it’s a contest?”

“I don’t know if Lily would appreciate being considered a prize in a contest.”

“You said you wanted to give me a chance to put up a fight. Maybe you’re the one who doesn’t have a fighting chance.”

“Maybe.”

An unexpected smile played at the corners of Tyler’s mouth. “Her father likes me better. In truth, he doesn’t like you at all.”

Aden wished the truth didn’t bother him so much. “I don’t wonder but you have a long list of advantages.”

Tyler sat back as he mulled things over. He ran his hand down the side of his face. “Did she kiss you back?”

Since Tyler seemed so confident of Lily’s dat’s approval, Aden let him squirm a little. “What do you think?”

Tyler cocked an eyebrow. He looked almost cheerful. “You know what I want to do right now? I want to take you out to the far pasture and punch you in the mouth.”

His candor took Aden by surprise. The Plain folk never spoke of doing violence, and Tyler, of all men, would never actually consider it. Laughter tore from Aden’s throat, and he laughed until his sides ached and his injured arm throbbed with every tremor. Tyler joined him, laughing until tears ran down his cheeks. Aden had never heard Tyler laugh before.

When the laughter subsided, Tyler wiped his eyes and said, “I am trying really hard to hate you, but I can’t. It doesn’t make sense, but I still want to be your friend.”

“It makes perfect sense. I knew the day I met you. You have a gute heart. Anger is not in your nature.”

Tyler picked up his fork and pointed it at Aden. “It’s a competition, then. May the best man win.”

“No,” Aden countered. “I don’t want the best man to win.”

Tyler gave Aden a brotherly pat on the shoulder. “Be forewarned. If Lily chooses you, I’m taking my aerator back.”

“No hard feelings,” Aden said before popping the last bite of pie into his mouth.

Let the game begin.

“When we get there, I’ll show you where we saw the bear,” Aden said.

“It’s a gute thing that pesky dog was with you,” Moses said, helping his wife step over a branch that had fallen across the path.

Moses had arrived for the frolic not fifteen minutes ago, and Pilot had already tried to knock Aden’s cousin over twice. Fortunately for him, Moses was as tall and as solid as Aden. He had no trouble standing against a giant dog.

Pilot hadn’t so much as nudged Moses’s wife, Lia. It was almost as if Pilot sensed she was expecting and wouldn’t do anything that would risk harm to the baby. Either that, or Moses had given Pilot such a ferocious growl when Pilot ventured near Lia that Pilot guessed it would not be a good idea to mess with Moses’s wife.

Lily had seldom seen a more considerate husband than Moses Zimmerman. He carried Lia’s bucket and warned her of trail hazards on the hike to the huckleberry patch. And he held her hand while they walked, unconcerned that anyone else might be watching.

It was a wonderful-gute day for a berry-picking frolic. The sun warmed the air to a pleasant temperature. Lily would not feel as if she were baking under her black bonnet as she sometimes did in the heat of summer, and the walk to the other side of the hill would be relatively cool.

Anna and Felty, spry and chipper, led the way to the huckleberry patch leaning on the arms of two of their great-grandsons, Sarah Beachy’s boys. Moses and Lia walked down the trail behind them, and Sarah Beachy and her husband Aaron followed with two more sons and two daughters in tow. Sarah was Anna and Felty’s oldest grandchild and probably the same age as Lily’s mama. Sarah worked as a midwife, and Lia, Moses’s wife, served as her assistant.

Lily didn’t know Lia well, but her attachment grew the more Lily saw of her. Lia had a quiet, modest way about her that seemed to invite strangers to be her friends.

Lily and Aden took up the rear. Their little band of huckleberry pickers made enough noise to repel any bears moving about. And they had brought Pilot. He knew how to handle unwelcome wildlife, if only he would take his job seriously. He bounded through the trees and bushes, pausing occasionally to smell a rock or harass a squirrel. Lily suspected that Huckleberry Hill was what dog heaven looked like.

Aden was in no hurry today. He ambled beside Lily, holding both their buckets, and let the others outpace them. “Do you know what I’m thinking?” he asked.

“That you should have brought your frying pans?” Lily teased.

“I am imagining how nice it would be to hold your hand on a beautiful September day like this.”

So much for not baking under this bonnet. Her face grew hot even as her mouth twitched into a grin. “Your relatives would be shocked.”

“Are you saying you wouldn’t dare hold hands in front of my grandparents?”

“Of course not. What would they say?”

“Mammi would probably throw a party.”

“Either that or fire me.”

“My mammi would never fire you. She adores you.” He tripped a few steps ahead of her, swinging their buckets in his hands. He turned around and walked backward so he could look into her face. “I’ve got a few ideas for impressing your fater.”

Lily’s heartbeat quickened. “I thought you were teasing.”

“Does he like pie? I could make him a fresh huckleberry pie.”

She giggled. “Do you know how to make huckleberry pie?”

“Nae, but Mammi could help me.” He stopped short and thought about what he had said. “Moses’s wife Lia could help me. She is an excellent cook. Or I could paint your barn or milk your cow.” Aden almost tripped on a tree root but managed to stay on his feet. “Does he hate raking leaves? I could come over and rake your leaves when they drop.”

“Estee and I rake the leaves.”

“I can rake the leaves for you, then. And I have enough money to buy a small piece of land. Does your dat like boys with land?”

Lily suddenly felt tired. She feared Aden’s eagerness would soon be quashed. She slumped her shoulders. “It’s hard with my dat. He’s wary of outsiders, even other Amish people. I wish I knew what you could do short of changing your name to Tyler Yoder.”

Aden lost the bounce to his step as if his entire day were ruined. He stopped walking and let out a long breath. “So that’s it? There’s no hope?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that,” she said. “You will have to give my dat time. His brother had a restless spirit and got swept up with a crowd of Englischers who persuaded him to join the Army.”

“The Army?”

“Dat was devastated. He’d always watched out for his brother, and then to have Zeke turn his back on everything Dat holds dear—it really hurt. Dat blamed himself, said he should have been a better brother. I’ll never forget the day we learned Onkel Zeke had been killed. It’s the only time I’ve seen my fater weep.”

“And that’s why he keeps a stern eye fixed on you,” Aden said.

“I promised myself I would never do anything to give my fater cause to grieve like that.”

“You want to do what’s right for your fater’s sake.”

“And mine. My dat and I are both very careful of anything out of the ordinary.” She wanted so badly to wipe that frown from Aden’s face. Glancing at the trail ahead, she placed her hand over his fingers curled around the bucket handle. “And you are everything out of the ordinary, Aden Helmuth.”

Aden surrendered half a smile. “Does he think I will persuade you to sign up for the Navy?”

“Probably.”

“But he knows you are smarter than that, Lily. Why doesn’t he trust you?”

She dropped her hands to her side and trudged up the trail so she wouldn’t have to look him in the eye. “I disobeyed him once, and something very bad happened. He has never forgotten.”

Aden matched her determined pace. “What happened?”

“It doesn’t matter. My dat just wants what’s best for me.”

The sadness in his voice gave way to resolve. “So now I have to convince him of my worthiness. It wouldn’t hurt to get Tyler married off. Then your dat might be willing to look at other options.” He nested one bucket inside the other and took her hand. Lily almost sighed at the warmth of it. She didn’t pull away. It felt heavenly, and the others were too far ahead to see.

Everyone else had started picking berries by the time Lily and Aden made it down the trail with Pilot following close behind. Aden had abandoned her hand the minute his relatives came in sight.

Pilot jogged to Sarah Beachy, who cooed and scratched behind his ears before shooing him away. “Get, Pilot. I’ve got better things to do than entertain you all day. Go pester one of my boys.”

Pilot turned to Lily for some affection. Lily grinned at Aden and pulled a leaf from Pilot’s fur. “Go play. I’ve got to pick huckleberries.”

Sarah bent over a low bush. “I’m glad to see you’re not so afraid of dogs as you used to be, Lily. A bite like you had would have scared me off dogs altogether.”

Aden handed her a bucket and studied her face with those penetrating eyes. “A dog bit you?”

Lily found a bush to pick and turned away so Aden wouldn’t discover anything in her face. “It was nothing.”

Sarah snorted. “Surgery and twenty stitches ain’t nothing. But you’ve done gute to put it behind you. It’s not healthy to be so timid.”

Lily quickly scooted away and looked for a faraway bush laden with fruit. With purposeful strides, she put some distance between Aden and her. Lord willing, he would forget all about surgery and twenty stitches. He would hate her if he ever found out, and no matter how happy it would make Dat, she didn’t want Aden to hate her.

She knelt down and picked berries in earnest. Despite her efforts, Aden would find out. If she refused to tell him, he would surely ask Sarah the details. She blinked back the stinging tears.

It didn’t take Aden long to catch up with her. He tromped through the undergrowth, sat next to her in the dirt, and started plucking berries from the bush.

“Now I’m really sorry Pilot jumped on you that first day. You must have been terrified.”

She didn’t look at him. The berries required her full attention.

“Do you want to tell me what happened? I promise, I don’t think you’re a coward.”

She should tell him, if only so he would stop looking at her with all that pity, but her throat constricted and she didn’t think she could speak coherently.

He stood and brushed off his trousers. “Cum,” he said, picking up her bucket and pulling her to her feet. “There are plenty of huckleberries farther in the woods.”

With his hand gently resting on the small of her back, he led her down a narrow path, barely visible under the fallen leaves and undergrowth. They were soon out of sight of the others and into thicker woods. But Aden was right. Huckleberry bushes dotted the way.

They heard faint voices, walked a little farther, and came in sight of Moses and Lia. Moses stood with his back against a tree with his arms around Lia’s waist. Moses and Lia stared at each other, their expressions overflowing with love, and no doubt whispered sweet nothings that no one else was meant to hear.

Aden and Lily caught Moses’s eye. He smiled, but didn’t make any move to release Lia. “Can’t a man get a little privacy with his wife? If you want to do a little sparking, you’ll have to find your own tree.”

Aden winked at Lily. “We’re just looking for huckleberries, cousin, and you two are shirking. You don’t even have your buckets.”

Lia looked back at Aden and giggled. Moses smiled and waved them on. “Go away.”

Aden and Lily put some distance and some trees between them and Moses. Once they were out of sight of the newly marrieds, Aden found a nice, smooth log to sit on.

“I don’t even know which way the huckleberry patch is now,” Aden said.

“Are we lost?”

“Pilot will find us. We might have to forage in the woods for a few days, though. I’m sorry a dog hurt you.”

“You’re going to hate me,” Lily said.

“Not possible.”

“I was eight.”

Aden enfolded her hand in both of his. “And you think I’m going to hate you for something that happened more than ten years ago?”

Lily pulled her hand away and slid her sleeve up her arm to reveal scars just above her wrist where eight teeth had pierced her skin. She rotated her arm. Five more teeth marks were visible on the underside.

Aden gasped and reached out for her. Up and down, he caressed her skin with his warm, calloused hand while examining the visual reminder of that horrible ordeal. “My Lily,” he sighed.

“He clamped on and wouldn’t let go. I thought he would bite my hand off.”

“He was a big dog, like Pilot.”

Lily nodded. “I went with my dat to Schneiders’ to buy a plow. He warned me not to wander off. I wasn’t so obedient as I am now. I stuck my hand through a barbed-wire fence. The dog latched on to my arm and wouldn’t let go. I screamed, and my dat came running. He didn’t leave my side for one minute at the hospital, but I could tell he was angry at me for disobeying.”

Aden traced his finger down the side of her cheek. “Lily, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“And when his brother died two days later, he told me I’d end up just like Onkel Zeke if I didn’t learn to obey. I didn’t want to end up like Onkel Zeke.”

“Oh, Lily.” Aden shook his head and leaned toward her as if to say more, but instead he cleared his throat and slowly rubbed his hand along her scars.

The pleasant sensation of his gentle caress traveled up her arm even as her heart felt like a stone. “I never meant for any harm to come to that dog.”

Aden pulled his hand away and gazed at her with sudden insight. “They had to put him down, didn’t they?”

“Please don’t hate me,” Lily whispered. “I didn’t want him to die.”

“It wasn’t your fault. They’d have to put down a dangerous dog like that.”

“But I know how much you love animals.”

Aden stared at her, his eyes full of wonder. “And here I thought you didn’t want to tell me because you were ashamed of being afraid, when you thought I’d be mad because of the dog.”

“He died because of my disobedience.”

“Lily, that dog attacked you, yet you care more about the dog than your arm.” He grinned and rubbed his hand along the side of his face. “That sounds like something
I
would worry about.”

“But that poor dog—”

In one rapid motion, Aden wrapped his arms around Lily and stopped her lips with a kiss that left her breathless and forgetful. What had they been discussing? It didn’t seem all that important anymore.

He kept her close but withdrew his lips. “Denki for caring.”

“You’re welcome.”
You’re welcome
for what? Lily couldn’t be expected to remember anything with his face so close. He smelled like mint and leather. That was all that mattered.

Without warning, Aden stood and pulled Lily to her feet. “We better join the others before I lose myself entirely out here. Huckleberry picking is more dangerous than I thought.”

“Dangerous? I think it’s wonderful.”

Aden took her hand and pulled her in the direction they had come. “With you, it’s both.”