Noah's Sweetheart (17 page)

She enjoyed her first night in the cottage with her cousins. Charlotte, Nancy and she giggled long into the night before finally falling asleep in the same room. Rachel and Charlotte slept in Rachel’s double bed, while Nancy slept on a comfortable pallet made with a thick layer of quilts on the wooden floor right next to the bed.

They stayed for the first three nights after Rachel’s move. During the second day, Noah and his brother Jacob appeared on Rachel’s doorstep. Charlotte let them inside.

“Is everything working all right?” Noah asked, glancing about as if to see that all was in order.

“Fine. Everyone is
gut,
” Charlotte said.

“Rachel,” Noah greeted. “You like the bed? Is it comfortable?”

Rachel flushed. “
Ja.
Charlotte and I slept well last night.”

“We just stopped by to see that all was in order. If you need anything, you know our house is not far.”

Rachel nodded. She saw that Jacob and Nancy were grinning at each other. She controlled a little smile.

“Would you like breakfast?” Nancy asked.

“Ja—”
Jacob began.

“Nay,”
Noah said simultaneously.

“We’ve got fresh cinnamon rolls.” Charlotte held up a plate of the fresh-baked, newly iced cinnamon rolls. The aroma wafting from the treat smelled delicious.

Jacob and Noah exchanged looks. “Noah?”

Noah sighed and then smiled. “They look and smell wonderful. Do ya have enough?”

“We have another half dozen in the oven,” Charlotte said, gesturing toward the kitchen table.

Rachel watched helplessly and with a secret thrill as Noah made himself comfortable in a chair next to Jacob’s. Recalling her manners, she went to the stove and held up a metal coffee pot. “Would you like a cup?”

Noah held her glance as he nodded, and Rachel quickly turned to take cups out of the cabinet. Her face felt warm and her heart beat rapidly.

“I’ll have a cup,” Jacob said and Rachel nodded. As she carefully poured each brother a cup of coffee, Rachel found the moment she needed to gather her composure.

Her heart beat a rapid pace, but she believed she hid her reaction to Noah’s presence.

Chapter Thirteen

W
hat is the matter with me?
Rachel wondered.

She set down the coffee cups and went to get the pitcher of cream out of the refrigerator and butter for anyone who wanted to spread some on a cinnamon bun.

It had been some time since Rachel had spoken with Noah, other than in the company of her relatives on the King family front porch.

“We’re here to finish putting up Rachel’s clothesline,” Jacob said. He held up a roll of rope. The Lapp boys had put up the T-bars a day earlier.

Rachel nodded.

“I’ll get started,” Jacob said.

“I’ll help,” Nancy chimed in, and she hurried to follow Jacob out the rear door.

Charlotte, Noah and Rachel remained in the kitchen.

“Another cinnamon roll, Noah?” Charlotte asked cheerfully.

“
Nay.
But I wouldn’t mind another cup of coffee.”

“Rachel, I have to get over to Abram’s to watch the children.” Charlotte untied her patchwork apron. “Would you mind getting Noah’s coffee?”

“Not at all,” Rachel said, experiencing a sudden fluttering beneath her breast. She went to the stove for the coffeepot and brought it over to the table to pour Noah a second cup. While there, she poured some for herself.

The sugar was on the table. “More cream?” she asked as she returned to check the pitcher. She was conscious of the fact that she and Noah were suddenly alone. The flutter within her chest quickened.

Noah handed her the pitcher of cream. “There is enough.”

Rachel poured in a small amount after she added a spoonful of sugar. She handed the pitcher back to him, for she’d noticed that he’d given her the cream first. She stirred her coffee and then glanced over at him. He was watching her, a slight smile playing about his lips.

“I appreciate the breakfast,” he said, his warm brown eyes twinkling.

“Charlotte made the cinnamon rolls.”

“But you made the icing,” he said.

She frowned. “How did you know that?”

“You’ve got a bit of icing on your apron.” He leaned toward her and lowered his voice. “The icing is the best part.”

She felt an infusion of warmth. It wasn’t appropriate for her to be alone with him, not when she was feeling this way. She stood and went to the sink to pour out the last of her coffee, which had tasted bitter to her. “Noah—”

“Ja?”
Noah rose from his seat and approached. Rachel seemed skittish. Was she nervous around him? After the outing they’d shared and the search for little Jacob Peachy?

It was wonderful to see her. He wanted to spend more time with her, but he could tell that something was bothering her. Had she been hurt in the past? He liked her, and he’d thought that she liked him, but lately she seemed distant.

He wanted to court her. Should he tell her? Or would it only frighten her more? He could make himself helpful to her, ready to fix anything in the school or cottage. He could fetch her supplies or offer to take her into town again.

Rachel was startled to turn from the sink and find Noah right behind her. She glanced up at him, wondering why exactly he had come. He didn’t need to enter the cottage to put up the clothesline. Unless he had wanted to see her….

Now that she knew he and Charlotte weren’t interested in each other, she should feel relieved, even happy…but how could she when she was afraid to become involved? There was much he didn’t know. She couldn’t risk it…yet.

They stood in close proximity for a long moment, and the tension between them was thick and laced with a tinge of excitement…at least for Rachel.

She thought Noah was about to say something, but he must have thought better of it, for he withdrew a few steps.

“I’d better get outside to help Jacob with the line.”

Without saying a word, Rachel nodded.

“You will tell me if there is anything that needs fixing?” Noah stood at the door with his hand on the knob.

“I will,” she assured him, not able to meet his gaze.

“Sink is all right? Any doors squeaking or sticking? Shower work well?” He listed several things that must have concerned him.

“Everything is fine,” she said quietly.

Noah smiled, and his genuine warmth radiated across his features. “I hope you will be happy in your new home.”

“It is wonderful. I will enjoy living here.”

Then after a quick nod, Noah exited through the back door, and as he disappeared from view, Rachel went to stand in the doorway to catch another glimpse of him. She saw him approach his brother and Nancy, who were teasing each other, if their laughter was any indication. She watched Noah and Jacob exchange words, and then she continued to study Noah as he and his younger brother secured each length of line on the wooden T-bars, allowing plenty of room for her to hang her laundry.

A new washing machine would be delivered later this week. Until it came, she would rinse her clothes out in the sink or go to her aunt’s to do laundry but return to hang her garments on her newly constructed clothesline.

As if he sensed that she was watching, Noah turned toward the house and waved.

She stepped outside and waved back. “It is a
gut
clothesline,” she called across the yard.

He nodded and grinned, and then he left with his brother a few minutes later.

* * *

Noah was everywhere. She couldn’t have ignored him if she’d wanted to, which she realized she honestly didn’t. Still, Rachel did her best to discourage Noah Lapp’s attention whenever he came to the schoolhouse—which was often—and whenever he visited the cottage, which was at least once every other day. And during church service and the meal afterward, Noah was always near…watching her…making her aware of his presence.

If something needed fixing at the school, he appeared as if summoned. When the lock on the cottage’s back door got stuck, he was there to reposition the lockset with hammer, chisel and screwdriver.

One morning after her cousins returned home, Rachel had awakened to find flowers on her front doorstep. Only one person came to mind when she saw the flowers…the same man who had picked wildflowers for her and Charlotte the first time she’d visited the schoolyard.

Sunday arrived and church service was held at Joseph and Miriam Zook’s farm. Everyone came in their Sunday-best black, including the children, who behaved well during the service.

Rachel again noticed Noah’s presence during the service and afterward during the meal, but he didn’t approach to speak with her. She didn’t know how she felt about that. She kept her distance, glanced over at him from time to time to see if he was watching, noticing her, but his attention had turned elsewhere. To her disappointment, he talked with everyone, it seemed, but her.

She ate, enjoyed the company of the community women. As usual, Alta Hershberger had a lot to say about many people, and while she listened politely, Miriam Zook didn’t join in the discussion as she usually did. Rachel narrowed her gaze as she studied her. Was Miriam all right? She approached the woman when she had the opportunity to talk with her alone.

“Miriam?” she said softly. “Aren’t you feeling well?”

Miriam smiled and regarded her with kindness in her gaze. “I am well, Rachel.” She paused to instruct her daughters to put out the desserts. “Are you settling in at the cottage?”

“Ja,”
Rachel said, taking the hint that if something was bothering the woman, Miriam preferred to keep it to herself. “It’s a comfortable house. Have you been by to see it lately?”

“
Nay.
I meant to, but there was so much to do with my parents.
Mam
is not well. She just came home from the hospital.
Dat
had a hard time while she was gone. It is good that both are back home in the
grosselders
‘ house. It’s been a worry.”

Rachel felt instant compassion. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Miriam smiled as she brushed crumbs off her apron. “You are a dear. We are doing better now. I appreciate your offer. If I need you, I’ll let you know.” She gestured to her daughter Annie to take the chocolate cake and shoofly pie. “Alta means well,” Miriam said. “She is a
gut
God-loving woman. We all are curious about our friends and neighbors.”

Rachel nodded. It was true. Wasn’t that why
The Budget,
the Amish newspaper, was a popular read?

As Miriam continued to oversee the kitchen, Rachel grabbed a pan of blond brownies and rejoined the other women who were moving food on the tables outside.

She was thoughtful as she shifted plates and made room for the pan as well as the other desserts that Annie and her sister Barbara brought out for all to enjoy.
The Budget
had news from Amish communities all over the country. Neighbors reported everything from who was ailing from what to the weather, as well as deaths, births and any other news deemed reportable by someone in the community.

Rachel felt her stomach tighten as she recalled her accident. She knew it had been reported in the Amish newspaper. Not by her family, she knew, but by a neighbor. She hadn’t realized at first. When Rachel was in the hospital, the outpouring of love and caring toward her had been tremendous. She’d received cards and letters from family and friends. It was when she began to receive mail from folks outside Millersburg that she had guessed. The fact disturbed her, at first, until she realized that no one knew the true extent of her injuries. They’d just learned that she’d been hurt seriously enough for family and friends to ask everyone to pray for her.

Katie Lapp and Noah came up to the table and Rachel shook off her mood. It was the first time Noah had approached her all day.

“The desserts look delicious,” Katie said with a smile. “I believe my son would like a piece of the chocolate-chip chocolate loaf.”

Rachel couldn’t keep from grinning. “No surprise there.” She cut him a slice, and as she handed him a plate, she locked gazes with him.

“Rachel,” he said with a small smile.

Heart thumping hard, Rachel tore her gaze away to smile at his mother. “Would you like a piece?”

“A tiny slice for Hannah.” Katie turned as one of her younger sons, Daniel, approached with Hannah on his hip. “Daniel, would you like dessert?”

Young Daniel’s eyes lit up. “
Ja!
Got any peach pie?”

Rachel nodded and cut Hannah’s piece of the loaf before she reached for the pie to cut Daniel a generous helping.

The young boy grinned his thanks and handed his sister over to his mother before taking his pie and fleeing to enjoy it at the men’s table.

“You need your diaper changed, little one,” Katie crooned to her daughter. “I’ll be back for Hannah’s dessert,” she said to Rachel.

“I’ll bring it to you in a few minutes,
Mam,
” Noah said.

Katie left and Noah and Rachel faced each other alone. There were people milling about the yard but it seemed to Rachel as if they were the only two people on the earth.

“I haven’t spoken to you all day,” Rachel said after a few seconds of silence.

Something flashed in Noah’s expression. “Did ya miss me?”

Rachel eyed him carefully.
“Ja.”
Her stomach tightened.

Noah’s grin held pleased satisfaction. “You don’t find my company annoying?”

“Nay!”
She frowned. “Why would you think that?”

He shrugged. He looked wonderful in his Sunday best. His sandy-brown hair was neatly trimmed, his face clean-shaven. His white shirt, black vest and pants fit him well, she noticed. His eyes gleamed beneath his felt wide-brimmed hat.

“I was afraid you might have thought me too helpful.” Noah broke off a small piece of chocolate loaf and ate it. Rachel watched fascinated as he chewed and swallowed.

When she realized that she was staring, Rachel quickly looked away.

“There is a singing tonight,” Noah said.