Who knew that weird-flavored ice cream would have such a long-range negative effect?
Though, was eggnog truly weird flavored?
She pushed to her feet, extended her hand to Levi to help him up—not that he needed it—and gave him a quick hug. “Danki for listening. I really appreciate it. Especially since you really don’t even want to be here.”
He made a sound that might’ve been intended to be a chuckle, but it sounded rather rusty from nonuse. “Jah. My pleasure.”
Elsie snorted. “Right. Should Abigail sign your note now that you made an appearance?”
“Ready to get rid of me so soon?” Levi almost sounded flirty.
The old Elsie would’ve flirted back. Instead, she stayed serious. “I know you really don’t want to be here.”
Levi shook his head. “It’s very difficult for me to be here. You have no idea how hard it was for me to enter my own house tonight.” His hand rose and cupped her cheek. His thumb brushed over it, coming to rest on the corner of her lips. “But I’m here now, and despite my deadline…” His fingers traced her lips. They tingled. His gaze dipped. “I might stay long enough for some refreshments.” His voice was husky.
Elsie swallowed. Hard. “Levi, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were flirting.”
He startled, jerking his hand back. Opened his mouth, shut it. Looked away. Opened his mouth again. Shut it again. Then looked at her again with something that might be shame in his expression. Remorse. Sadness. Pain. A whole mix of emotions. “Good thing you know better,” he said quietly.
Jah. She didn’t want to get her hopes up. Hope was deadly. Whenever she reached for it, it slipped right out of her grasp.
“I’m sorry, Elsie. It’s not you. It’s me.” He backed away, leaning against the opposite wall.
And there was that classic breakup line that meant nothing. How many guys had she heard that from? So many times it rang false. Never before from Levi, though. It hurt. She’d thought Levi was above the clichéd.
“Levi Wyse, sometimes you’re a real jerk.” Her thoughts escaped. Unintended.
The pain in his eyes intensified. “I know. I am. I don’t mean to be.” He hung his head. “Someday, maybe, I’ll attempt to explain.”
“Why not now?” She steepled her fingers over her mouth. Answers, please?
“Now?” Levi frowned. “I haven’t thought out what to say, yet.”
“There is something to be said for spontaneity.” Elsie looked up at him. “What do you want to say?”
Levi blinked. Opened his mouth and made a sound. “I—”
Gracie’s brother Jon appeared in the doorway. He came into the room. “Okay, you two.”
“We’re on opposite sides of the room,” Elsie said, waving her hand between them.
Jon smirked. “Now you are. When I peeked in before, you weren’t.”
Elsie’s face heated.
“But I’m not here for that. Zeke is taking Gracie and Patience home, and the freezing rain has started, so I suggest we eat and go. Everyone can cut and wrap their candy at home. No one wants to be stranded when it gets bad, and we don’t want a panic. My wife and your sister are setting the food out now.” Jon pointed over his shoulder.
“Oh no!” Elsie pivoted and pushed past Jon into the kitchen. She had picked a bad evening for a youth frolic. She’d apologize to Abigail and Noah later for ruining their first date. “How can I help?” she asked Abigail. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed the punch bowl and started assembling the drink. Noah moved to the mudroom where he divided chunks of pulled taffy so everyone could have an assortment of flavors.
“Leave the ice cream out of the punch,” Abigail said. “Noah said some will eat it individually. Just set it open with a scoop and let them have at it. I put bowls and spoons on the table, near the spot for the punch bowl.”
“Danki.” Elsie stirred the mixture and set the bowl on the table as the youth lined up.
Jon and Levi came out of the mudroom. Levi quietly got into line for food as Jon headed back to the bedrooms or to the loft, maybe to round up a few missing couples.
Plates loaded with sandwiches, chips, raw vegetables, dips, fruit slices, and tons of cookies and brownies, along with several bowls of ice cream, passed by as she ladled punch into small plastic cups. Her stomach rumbled and she looked toward the window. She couldn’t see anything, but some of the horses were getting restless. She could hear them stomping and whinnying.
She understood that Jon didn’t want a panic, but did he have a plan?
Levi stood at the end of the line and said something to a couple of guys as they passed by on the way to the trash can. They looked startled, glanced at the dark windows, then after throwing their plates away, went to whisper something to their dates, and the couples quietly headed back to the bedroom where maybe Jon waited. Then they exited through the mudroom door with a quiet click and a draft of frigid air that threatened to freeze Elsie’s backside.
Jah, Jon had a plan. And Levi was just the guy to keep panic under control with a few quiet words. Noah was the one to hand out the candy, thank them for coming, and send them on their way, laughing.
Elsie glanced at Levi, awkwardly bouncing on his heels at the end of the line, looking as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Which was so untrue. How could he appear so calm, quiet, and strong when the world was falling apart? She needed his strength.
Wait. Bouncing? Levi never bounced. That was a Noah trick. Noah must’ve suggested it.
Levi met her gaze.
And winked.
A wink that left her shivering with promise.
* * *
Levi continued to make the tricky move of bouncing on his heels like Noah suggested as he stood in line to get something to drink. He felt like a fool, but Noah said it would give him a carefree vibe, and Jon agreed. Whatever. It was making him thirsty. He wasn’t sure what Abigail had planned for the beverage. Something with fresh strawberries, pineapple, Sprite, and ice cream, served in a big glass bowl with a ladle. He remembered those items because she’d asked for the money so Elsie could buy them for her. Of course, the ice cream wasn’t added, but no matter. That would be eaten and enjoyed even if it was eggnog flavor.
What he wanted was one of Elsie’s meatloaf sandwiches. He didn’t know what she’d done different, but they were so good. Last night at supper, Abigail had told him only one and no more. Save some for the frolic.
Tell a man he couldn’t eat something, and his stomach remembered it. And asked for it. Repeatedly.
Kind of like a girl. He wanted Elsie, especially now that he couldn’t have her.
He whispered an ice storm alert to five other men and stepped closer to the table. The meatloaf sandwiches were all gone. And he’d had quite enough bouncing. He stilled. Had Noah suggested it just to make Levi look foolish? Payback for the alpha thing, perhaps? Though if that were the case, why did Jon agree?
Elsie handed him a cup of the strawberry-pineapple-Sprite-minus-the-ice-cream concoction. Levi took a sip of the tangy drink and struggled not to wrinkle his nose. He’d never been a huge fan of punch. It was tasty, but any of the ingredients on their own would’ve been just as good, if not better. He glanced at Elsie.
She smiled and pointed to the food he’d bypassed. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
He glanced at Abigail, then shook his head. “Later.” And it appeared as though everyone was leaving their leftover finger foods there in their hurry to leave before it got bad. So he could fill up with a nice healthy meal of sugar cookies and peanut-infused fudge, washed down with tangy punch and a spoonful of eggnog ice cream.
Except, Abigail hadn’t eaten yet, either, so he’d have to share the bounty.
Jon came into the kitchen by way of the mudroom, surveyed the clueless remnant still talking and eating, and cleared his throat twice. “The ice storm has arrived.” He sounded like he was introducing royalty.
That had every bit as much of a reaction as som
eone screaming, “Fire! Fire! Fire!” Plates were abandoned. Half-full cups of punch were bumped, knocked over, spilling onto the floor. And there was a mass exodus as people rushed for their outerwear.
Jon ushered his wife toward the mudroom. “I assume you’re leaving right away?” He glanced at Elsie.
Noah carried out the remaining chunks of taffy to hand out at the door. “As soon as we can,” he answered. “Our parents already know we might not come home tonight.”
Jon nodded and they left.
“You need to go. I can finish passing out the candy.” Levi looked out the door as a couple left, slipping and sliding down the steps.
“We’re not leaving this mess for Abigail,” Elsie said.
Noah nodded. “Our parents already know we might not be home. I called from the mudroom.”
Levi nodded, though he was surprised Noah hadn’t asked him first. It was bad, but not that bad—yet. By the time they got home…He was wise. “Are they okay with it?”
“Daed suggested it this morning before we left, if Noah felt we needed to. And I can’t leave Abigail with this mess.” Elsie joined them at the door. “Of course, Daed said a chaperone needed to stay, too.”
“We have one,” Noah said, but he didn’t elaborate.
“We’ll make room, right, Levi?” Abigail sounded anxious, as if she was afraid he’d refuse.
“Jah, we will.” Levi reached for his coat to hide his reaction to the news that Elsie would be spending the night. He was pretty sure he lit up like flashing red fire engine lights. “I’ll go to the stable and take care of your horse and close up the barn.” He hoped he sounded calm, in control, and unaffected. He was anything but. He slipped his boots on.
And maybe the freezing rain would extinguish the blaze from his raging male hormones.
They’d have a chaperone, after all. Noah.
And with Levi’s pressing deadline, maybe he could put Noah to work. And that way Levi would also be chaperoning Noah and Abigail.
He skated his way to the horse and buggy and led the unhappy animal to the barn. Except, there was another unhappy animal hitched outside the barn.
Who was still here?
He entered the barn cautiously but still found himself flung forward and landed hard on his hands and knees. “Oof.” He took a moment to assess the damage. He’d live. But…seriously? Who strung a trip wire across the doorway of his barn? He glanced sideways from his position on the floor and found the lights on in his workshop.
He wanted to storm over there and give the invader what for, but the miserable animals had to come first.
He also needed to let his temper cool somewhat.
He took a deep breath, pushed up, unhooked the wire, and led the first horse and buggy in. Another deep breath, and he got the second horse and buggy. Leaving the two horses in the buggy bay, he peeked into the shop. And was greeted by an old man wielding a walking stick.
George.
* * *
Noah went to work taking apart the church benches and tables borrowed without prior consent for the frolic while Abigail collected all the trash and Elsie swept the floor. They left the little remaining food on the table as well as the rest of the uncut taffy, since none of them had eaten yet, and the candy needed to be divided between the two families.
Elsie was hungry and she was sure Noah was as well, but Abigail wanted the house to look somewhat normal before Levi returned from caring for the animals. She was convinced it would cause him undue stress to find a mess. And she was probably right. This whole frolic had caused him stress. The pain in his eyes when he mentioned how hard it was for him to come in made her want to cry. Hopefully he would find the words to explain his emotions while Elsie was there. She really wanted to understand the man Levi had become.
Noah took the disassembled tables to the front porch and stacked them under the overhang while Abigail returned to the kitchen and Elsie went for the pail to scrub sticky spilled punch from the floor. With people wandering around in socks or slippers, that was kind of necessary.
Abigail emerged from the pantry clutching a one-pound box of elbow pasta. “There’s not a lot left over from the frolic except sweets. Macaroni and cheese and green beans will be quick and easy.”
Elsie wasn’t going to argue. “I’ll shred the cheese when I finish mopping the floor.”
Noah came in from outside. “It’s getting bad fast. I hope everyone makes it home okay. I’m going to see if I can help Levi in the barn, unless you have something else for me to do.”
Abigail waved. “Go. Tell him he can work on his toys tomorrow. It’s Saturday and he won’t have to go out if the roads aren’t clear.”
“They won’t be. Not if it gets as bad as they predict. I’ll offer my help with whatever he’s making. I’m a pretty good sander, if I say so myself.”
“We can all help with something.” Abigail filled a pot with water and set it on the stove, then turned the burner on. “Tell him to hurry, though. Macaroni and cheese won’t take long.”
“Will do. I’m going to get my coat.” He headed down the hall to Levi’s room.
As soon as the outside door shut behind Noah, Abigail turned her wheelchair around. “Okay. Spill. You and Levi…” She raised a brow.
Elsie ladled herself a glass of punch. “Um. Me and Levi, what?”
“You were alone in the mudroom forever.” Abigail punctuated it with a little giggle. “Did you get any mileage from the mistletoe?” She waggled her brows.
Elsie pretend-scowled at her. “Stop being such a matchmaker. I already told you there is nothing between me and Levi. I’m not quizzing you about Noah.” But there was something between her and Levi. History. A one-sided love that refused to die. Passion. She sighed.
So did Abigail.
Yelling came from somewhere outside.
The two women looked at each other.
The front door opened. And in staggered Noah and Levi with a shouting George supported between them.
Chapter 16
Levi held on to George’s arm until the older man found his footing and hobbled, walking stick tapping, across the freshly mopped floor toward a chair. He clutched something in his left hand that he refused to let Levi see, something that seemed as important to him as the walking stick. Since George still seemed wobbly, Levi followed him across the room, hoping they weren’t tracking mud or other messy farm stuff in, yet knowing—and sorry—they were because Elsie stood waiting, mop in hand as she sipped from a cup. He gave her an apologetic look.
George stopped midway to the chair.
“You okay, George?” Levi shouted.
“My cane was slipping on the ice,” George bellowed to one of the girls, because Levi and Noah both knew that. “I was going to sleep in the barn and not put you ladies out, but he insisted I come in.” He waved the hand holding the small item toward Levi. Hopefully, whatever he had wasn’t dangerous.
Jah, George probably had planned to sleep in Levi’s workshop—where they’d found him. But that explained why it was so impossibly complicated to get him out of the barn and into the house in the first place.
Abigail rolled toward him, stopped, and looked up at him. “You should be inside with us, George. The barn is much too cold for you or anyone.” She didn’t yell.
Levi gathered a breath to try and repeat all that loudly so George would understand.
George sat in a chair. “You’re a sweet girl, Abigail. Your mamm would be so proud of you.” He released the walking stick and patted Abigail’s hand.
Levi blinked. George heard her? How was that possible? He’d have to ask Abigail her secret.
“Unlike that brother of yours,” George continued. “He’s such a man.” That was said with a bit of disdain. As if that were a bad thing.
“One would hope.” Noah chuckled where he stood by the door, waiting for Levi.
George didn’t react to what Noah said. “Not a bit of sweetness to him at all.”
Elsie coughed like
she was choking.
Levi glanced at her.
She raised her cup. “Tried…to breathe…the punch,” she gasped.
While also recalling how “sweet” Levi was?
He raised a brow.
She blushed as she glanced at the mudroom door and he felt a bit of something to know she was thinking the same thing he was…even if he shouldn’t.
Still, Levi nodded. He wanted to go over and rub her back or something, but that would be forbidden with a chaperone present. His gaze returned to George and he expelled a frustrated breath. Why? Out of all possible chaperones to be stranded with, why did it have to be George? Since Levi couldn’t touch Elsie, he needed something else to keep his hands—and thoughts—busy. He turned to Noah. “Let’s finish up in the barn before it gets worse.” And he went out the door.
This was turning into a major fiasco. The taffy pull combined with an ice storm and a possible blizzard later…Levi slipped on the steps, groped for the ice-coated railing, but missed and skidded down, arms flailing. Somehow he landed on his feet.
“Too late—it’s worse,” Noah quipped.
He didn’t need to sound so cheerful.
A tree branch snapped, sounding like a rifle shot.
Levi took a step forward and slid again. He had to unhitch the horses, feed and water them, and close up the barn for the night. “You stay in,” he said to Noah. “No sense in both of us being out in this.” He slowed and carefully picked his way across the beginning of that icy patch. Except, it continued nonstop between the house and the barn.
Noah chuckled as if something was funny. “Daed made me memorize a passage. He gives us one every Sunday. The one he gave me this past Sunday—he said it’s something you need to know.”
“You as in me?” Levi asked. How would Stephen even know Noah and Levi would see each other?
“Jah. You. The verse is Ecclesiastes 4:9–11: ‘Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?’” Noah quoted.
The Amish Christmas Gift Page 14
