Sweet as Honey (10 page)

“You can walk back to your buggy okay, can't you?” Paul said. He no doubt wanted to get back to his gravy.

“
Jah
. You finish eating.”

“My blood sugar always does better that way.”

Mahlon and Moses Zook passed them on the sidewalk, each holding a half-eaten doughnut in their hands. They'd been to Yutzy's doughnut stand.

“Hello,” Mahlon said. “Have you tasted these doughnuts? They're so soft.”

“My
mamm
's rolls are even softer,” Paul said.

Moses nodded and grinned. “Your
mamm
's rolls are my favorite. I eat them with Honeybee Sisters honey.”

Mahlon motioned toward the restaurant. “Did you eat?”

Well, one of them had.

“Biscuits and gravy,” Paul said. “No one makes them as
gute
as my
mamm
. There's still some left if you go in before the dinner rush.”

“We already had supper.” Mahlon held up his doughnut. “This is dessert.”

Moses took another bite of doughnut. “Did you ever find your croquet ball at the gathering, Lily?” He said it with a grin, knowing perfectly well that she had found Dan Kanagy along with her ball in the bushes.

“
Denki
for being so concerned. I was never going to win that game anyway. It was better I dropped out.”

“At least you got a ride home out of it,” Moses said.

She could practically see Paul's ears perk up. “What ride?”

Mahlon slapped Moses on the back. “We've got to get to the harness shop if we ever want to get that field sown today.”

Moses nodded. He waved his doughnut at Lily as he and his brother marched away toward the harness and tack shop. “We'll see you at
gmay
.”

Paul concentrated on Lily's face as if he were trying to read tiny letters written on her forehead. “You said you weren't going to the gathering.”

Actually, Paul hadn't bothered to check with her before he had told Dan she wouldn't be at the gathering. Lily clenched her teeth and did her best to quell the fire that flared to life. Paul didn't deserve her anger. He was only asking a question. Why was she so out of sorts with him? “I, uh . . . I decided to go. Rose wouldn't go unless Poppy and I went with her. You know how nervous she gets.”

Paul intensified his gaze. “You've got to stop babying her, Lily. If Rose is ever going to learn to be a good wife, she has to be brave enough to go to gatherings by herself.”

Lily nibbled on her bottom lip and reminded herself there was no reason to be mad at Paul. “It makes Rose happy when we come.”

“Who drove you home?”

Lily wouldn't have answered that question for a whole set of Carol Ryrie Brink novels. “Paul, I need to go. I'm reading to the children at school and then I have to run to Coblenzes and see how their
dat
is doing. Poppy made them a cake. And then I'm off to the—”

“Lily.” Paul narrowed his eyes and scrunched his lips together, the look he gave her when he got ready to scold her for something. “Moses said you got a ride out of it. What did he mean?”

“I . . . Moses sent my croquet ball into the bushes. I happened upon Dan Kanagy, and he offered to drive me home.”

He stuck out his bottom lip so far he could have caught raindrops with it. “You let Dan Kanagy take you home?”

“He took Poppy and Rose too.”

“He's a cheat, Lily. He calls you bad names. He said you were
hesslich,
ugly. How could you have agreed to a ride home?”

The word
ugly
felt like a little pinch, on purpose. “You weren't there, and we needed a ride.”

“If I had known you would accept a ride from Dan Kanagy, I would have come to the gathering and taken you home myself. He could have hurt your feelings.”

“It's okay, Paul. It's sweet that you're worried about me, but he was nothing but nice.”

The corners of Paul's mouth seemed to droop all the way to his toes. “Nice? He didn't call you names?”

She lowered her eyes. The buggy ride had been nice up until the last minute. “
Jah,
he did.”

“I thought so.”

“But he talked to Rose, and Rose talked to him, and he reads beekeeping books.”

“So what. Anybody can read a beekeeping book.”

Anybody could; not everybody did. Sighing, she wrapped both arms around her accounts book and hugged it to her. “Maybe it's time we forgave him, Paul. He's probably sorry for what he's done.”

Paul stuck that lip out again. “Forgive him? You might still be holding a grudge, Lily, but I'm not. I forgave Dan and his family almost before they cheated us. But I haven't forgotten, and you'd be wise not to forget either. If you forget how he hurt you, you're inviting him to hurt you again. That's why I don't forget. I don't want to be tricked, and I don't want him to insult you. A boy like Dan will put you down over and over again.”

Lily nibbled on her bottom lip. Dan had used his charm on her in the buggy and then when her guard was down, he'd called her Amtrak. Paul was right. She should forgive, but she shouldn't forget.

“I'm sorry I let Dan take me home,” she said, more out of a need to placate Paul than actual regret for doing it. She'd rather he not stew over it.

He took a deep breath as his annoyance came to rest. “From now on, I don't want you to go to gatherings without me.” His attempt at a smile came out more like a grimace. “I'm jealous when another boy takes you home.”

“I wouldn't want a boy who's never jealous.”

He didn't stick his bottom lip out again, but he was definitely pouting. “You wouldn't make me jealous on purpose, would you?”

“Of course not. I wouldn't play with your emotions like that.” She glanced at the sky. “I've got to go, Paul. I'm due at the school at one thirty.”

He rubbed his hands together as if he were eager to get moving himself. “Okay then. I'll walk you to your buggy.”

“No need. Go finish your dinner.”

“What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I let you walk by yourself? We don't spend enough time together as it is.”

He motioned for her to lead the way, and she tried not to let the shock show on her face. He never walked her back unless he happened to be going that way already.

Paul had willingly left gravy on his plate.

Her riding home with Dan must have shaken his confidence.

It had certainly shaken hers.

Chapter Eleven

Willing his heart to slow down, Dan tucked the large roll under his arm and tapped on the Christners' door. He obviously didn't have a very strong will, because his pulse kicked into a gallop at the mere feel of Lily's door beneath his knuckles.

He didn't even know if she'd be home. He hoped like crazy she'd be home, but he had really come to see Bitsy. Just like the way to a man's heart was through his stomach, if he wanted Lily to notice him, he'd have to go through Aunt Bitsy.

Bitsy opened the door with a suspicious look on her face and her hand on the shotgun leaning against the wall.

“Hullo, Bitsy,” Dan said, smiling and resisting the powerful urge to glance at the gun. It wasn't loaded, was it?

Bitsy wore a cherry-red apron over a bright purple dress with her hair tied up in a blindingly fluorescent pink scarf. The scarf wasn't unusual. Many Amish women wore a scarf instead of a
kapp
when they did chores. The color was a bit outrageous, but Dan liked it—something festive to wear to do ordinary work.

He tried not to gawk at her hair. He could have sworn the salt-and-pepper gray had been tinted blue. Today it was a shade of lime green—light and subtle—but definitely green.

Bitsy sighed and arched one eyebrow. “She must have fed you.”

“What?”

“The last time you were here, Lily fed you, didn't she?”

“Uh.” He had to stop and think. “
Jah
. She gave me two cookies. I finished them off before I got to the end of your lane. They were delicious.”

Her other eyebrow rose to meet the first, and she nodded as if she had the mysteries of the world figured out. “If you feed a stray cat . . .”

A heavenly smell wafted from the kitchen. “I hope I'm not interrupting anything.”

“
Ach, nae,
” she said, looking skyward as if she were holding a silent conversation with someone up there. “I've been lounging on the couch eating ice cream and waiting for suitors to show up.”

Dan chuckled. “What I meant was, I hope I'm a welcome interruption.”

She smirked, but there was good humor in her face.
Ach
. If only he could read the thoughts behind those eyes. “I won't know if you're a welcome interruption until I know why you've come. I don't think you're worth burning the muffins for.”

“Please, don't let your muffins burn on my account.”

“If you're looking for one of the girls, they're gone. Poppy and Rose are thinning apples, and Lily is in town talking business with Paul.”

Dan did his best not to let his smile droop. He should have expected Lily would be with Paul. He couldn't let it bother him. This whole attempt to get Lily's attention was probably futile, and if he got upset about Lily spending time with Paul, he'd be perpetually miserable.

Bitsy must have seen the shadow pass across his face. “So. You're here to see Lily.” Her eyebrows inched higher. “You know she's got a boyfriend?”

Dan took a deep breath and let the word
boyfriend
wash over him. Miserable. He'd be eternally miserable if he didn't discipline his feelings. He pulled the paper-covered roll from under his arm. “Actually, I'm here to see you. I brought you something.”

Bitsy seemed resigned to the possibility of burned muffins. She propped her hands on her hips and eyed him as if she were trying to count his nose hairs. “You're a smart boy, Dan Kanagy. And persistent. I'll give you that.” She stared at him for a few uncomfortable seconds before stepping back from the doorway. “Come in then,” she said, “and let's see what you've got to say for yourself.”

The Christners' fluffy white cat lazed on the window seat as if she'd been there all day. She probably had.

Leaving him standing just inside the doorway, Bitsy went into the kitchen, slid two chunky oven mitts onto her hands, and opened the oven. She pulled out a tin of golden-brown muffins and set it on the cooking rack next to the stove. “You're off the hook for the muffins,” she said.

“They smell delicious.”

She peeled off her oven mitts and shook her finger at him as if he were a naughty little boy. “Don't get your hopes up. I don't feed strays.”

Was he a stray?

Before he could decide the answer to that question, the tattoo on her wrist diverted his attention. Last week, it was a honeybee, and it had been on her left wrist. This week, it was a purple butterfly on her right wrist. It matched her dress perfectly. He stole a look at her other wrist to see if maybe he'd missed the butterfly last time.

Nope. The honeybee has disappeared.

How had she managed a traveling tattoo?

He laid his bundle on the table and hoped against hope she'd like it. Despite her vivid attire and butterfly tattoo, she seemed like a person who would appreciate a practical gift.

Bitsy turned the muffins out of the tin, righted them on the cooking rack, and wiped her hands on the towel hanging from the fridge handle. “Let's see what you've got,” she said, holding out her hand.

He stepped aside and let her unwrap the paper from around the roll of mesh. “Hardware cloth,” she said. He might have detected a little lilt in her voice. “What size?”

“Eight mesh. The bees can't fit, but the Varroa mites fall right through. It's the most useful size for a beekeeper.” He cleared his throat, trying not to get carried away by his eagerness. “At least that's what it says in the book I got from the library.”

Her lips curled so slightly, he wasn't sure he'd actually seen it. “
Jah
. I know all about hardware cloth.”

His breathing grew rapid and his stomach tied itself into a complicated knot. Maybe she liked it. Maybe she would tell Lily what a thoughtful young man he was. Maybe she'd give her blessing to their happy marriage.

Whoa there.
He was getting ahead of himself. Far ahead. Five counties ahead. His heart did cartwheels in Minnesota. Bitsy hadn't even thanked him. Maybe she had rolls and rolls of number eight mesh already stored in her shed. Maybe she despised hardware cloth and shot any boy who presumed to bring it onto the property.

But there was something in the twist of her lips and the glint of her eye that told him he might be on the right track, at least with Bitsy. Who knew what kind of a track he was on with Lily? Probably the railroad track, and he was tied to it.

“So tell me, young man, why am I the lucky one to get hardware cloth?” Bitsy folded her arms and looked at him as if she already knew the answer to her own question.

“I hoped it might be something you could use.”

“
Jah.
We can use it,” she said.

“Lily has agreed to discuss
Where the Red Fern Grows
with me. I thought mesh would be a nice thank-you gift.”

Bitsy looked like a cat stalking an unsuspecting mouse. “What else?”

He'd been afraid of this. What if Bitsy grilled him until she forced him to admit that he was in love with Lily and that he'd buy her a whole buggy full of mesh if it would make her like him better? His lungs got tight, and he had to squeeze air out of them to speak. “I . . . I want to get to know your family better.”

She looked at him sideways. “What if my
family
doesn't want to get to know you better? What if my
family
has a boyfriend?”

Ach du lieva,
she knew! Why had he ever imagined he could pull one over on Aunt Bitsy? He curled his lips in feigned innocence. “I'm hoping this mesh will soften you up?”

“I'm always impressed by a boy who knows his meshes.”

Dan snapped his head around as the door opened, and the girl of his dreams entered in a pretty gray dress. Okay, the dress wasn't pretty, but the girl inside sure was. His heart tripped all over itself, and it was all he could do to keep from shouting her name out loud.

He'd made a fool of himself with his eagerness once. He wasn't about to do it again. He leaned his elbow casually against the butcher-block island. It wasn't as tall as he'd anticipated and his torso bent awkwardly in an attempt to strike a natural pose. Yep. He looked like an idiot, but it was too late to unbend himself now without seeming more foolish. “Lily,” he said. “What a pleasant surprise.”

Surprise? She lived here. How surprised could he be at seeing her in her own home? He mentally pounded his head against the wall.

Lily was the one who looked surprised, as if a visit from the deacon would have been less of an intrusion. “Dan,” she said. “What are you doing here?”

Bitsy picked up the mesh roll. “You fed him cookies.”

“I thought you might need some hardware cloth,” he said, pushing away from the butcher block and unkinking his back.

“Hardware cloth?”

“Number eight mesh,” Bitsy said, carrying the roll into a room on the other side of the kitchen wall and coming out empty-handed. “He's been doing some reading.”

Lily stared at him briefly before giving him a half smile. “That's very nice of you.”

Poppy and Rose marched into the house with cheeks rosy from exertion. Both of them wore scarves covering their heads, and both of them had wisps of hair sticking out in several directions. Poppy had a streak of dirt down her cheek.

Rose gave him a genuine, timid smile. “Dan. I didn't know you were here.”

“Lily fed him,” Bitsy said.

Lily and Poppy exchanged a puzzled look that Dan knew he wasn't meant to see. “He brought us some hardware cloth,” Lily said.

Dan hoped that was enough of an explanation. He didn't want Poppy asking probing questions about why he'd brought it or who he'd come to see or why he was madly in love with another boy's girlfriend.

“That's so nice,” Rose said, hooking her elbow around Lily's arm. “Don't you think so, Lily?”

“
Jah,
very nice.”

They all fell silent and stared at each other. He should have taken the hint to leave, but Lily had just gotten here. Could he steal another minute to gaze at her?

Rose seemed determined to keep the conversation going. “It was nice of you to come all the way out here.”

“I got, uh, really excited about the mesh. I wanted to show it to Bitsy to make sure I bought the right kind.”

“Number eight mesh is a very useful size,” Lily said.

A glimmer of hope almost stole Dan's breath. If she had wanted to get rid of him, she wouldn't have made an attempt to be encouraging. “I hoped you'd like it. You can use it for screened bottom boards, screened inner covers, moving screens, and screened ventilation ports.” He'd memorized the list of uses for number eight mesh on the way over here. Had he left anything out? They'd know if he left anything out. “It keeps wasps and hornets and small animals out.”

Lily's smile was amused and warm and sweet all at the same time. “
Jah,
we know all about mesh.”

He almost melted into a puddle right there on the kitchen floor. If she looked at him like that when he talked about mesh, what would she do if he started discussing beeswax? All he knew was that he was going to go home and memorize that book.

They were staring at him again as if they were expecting him to do a dance or spout off more interesting facts about bees. If only he'd committed more of that book to memory!

He cleared his throat. “And I hear duct tape is very useful.”

“
Jah
,” Lily said, still with that slightly amused, incredibly sweet smile in place. “We use it all the time.”

He was grasping at straws, and they were wishing he'd go away. Much as he wanted to be near Lily, he couldn't be a nuisance any longer. “I should go. I just wanted to bring that mesh.”

“It's a long ride back,” Rose said. “Why don't you stay for dinner?”

Stay for dinner? He'd give one of his molar teeth to stay for dinner. “I should probably get home.”

“I don't think we should feed him again,” Bitsy said.

Rose nodded at Lily. “What do you think, Lily? Don't you think it's the least we can do for him bringing the mesh?”

Lily's smile faded into uncertainty. “We would be very happy if you stayed for dinner, Dan.”

Was she being polite or did she really want him to stay? Did it matter? He smiled with his whole heart. “I'd really like that.”

He'd make sure that neither Lily nor Rose regretted inviting him.

Bitsy shook her head in resignation. “Don't say I didn't warn you.”

Bitsy was a lost cause. She regretted it already.

Poppy seemed indifferent to the whole thing. She took Rose's hand and led her to the stairs. “We'll wash up.”

Lily and Bitsy left Dan trying to find a comfortable way to lean on the island and went to the sink to wash their hands. Lily retrieved a frying pan from below the sink and set it on the stove.

“Can I help?” Dan asked.

The question seemed to catch Lily off guard. “Are you sure?”

“You're feeding me. I want to help.”

Her lips twitched upward. “Do you know how to cook? Aunt B won't like it if you ruin dinner.”

“I won't like it if you ruin dinner,” Bitsy said, not really paying attention to the conversation. She stood on her tiptoes to reach for a bottle of tomatoes on one of the higher shelves.

Dan practically raced to her side to reach the bottle for her.

Bitsy looked him up and down as if noticing him for the first time. “A tall boy is very useful. You have my permission to stick around.”