by Lenora Worth
“Josie?” Naomi called from her room.
Naomi had been asleep when Josiah had come by to ask Josie if she wanted to ride with him so she could return the yarn. She should have let him do that deed, but he’d been preoccupied with Daniel being sick and trying to get his chores done. Her brother was acting odd these days. He barely spoke on the way home, his eyes straight ahead and his expression bordering on a frown.
Probably because he wanted to sell the house next door and she’d asked him not to sell to Tobias. Seeing Tobias had upset both of them, no doubt.
Josiah had given her a worried glance, then taken off toward the barn to finish out the day’s work. Maybe he felt bad about her running into Tobias. It wasn’t her brother’s fault that Tobias had shown up out of the blue. No, all of this was her fault. She should have left her husband-to-be a note, explaining that she had to leave. But she’d been so distraught she’d left Kentucky as soon as she could.
Josie got up and touched a hand to her kapp. Her hair had gotten long again. She’d cut it when she’d been hiding out, so no one would recognize her. Now it was coiled in a tight bun on top of her head. She wanted to tear at the cover and pull at her hair.
But she had to stay calm and try to get through this.
“I’m coming,” she called to Naomi.
Gathering her strength, she hoped Naomi wouldn’t notice how frazzled she was. “Are you all right, Mammi Naomi?”
When the older woman didn’t call back, panic set in. Josie rushed into Naomi’s room and hurried to the bed. “Naomi? Naomi?”
“Was der schinner is letz?”
“That’s what I’m asking,” Josie said on a sigh of relief. “I thought something was wrong with you, but instead you are asking me that question.”
“I was worried when you had to go back to town,” Naomi said. “How long did I nap?”
“About an hour,” Josie replied while she straightened the covers and helped Naomi sit up. “Are you sure you’re fine?”
“I’ve never been better,” Naomi said. “Why do you fuss so?”
Josie sank down on the rocking chair that matched the one in her room, the soft cushions comforting her. “I’m sorry. I...I saw Tobias in town, at the store.”
Naomi’s squint widened. “I might need a cup of tea before I hear this.”
Josie tried to stay patient. “Would you like me to bring it to you?”
“Neh. We will go into the kitchen.”
Josie helped Naomi up and into her wheelchair, then pushed her into the kitchen. After making two cups of tea and bringing the cookie jar over so Naomi could have a snickerdoodle, she finally settled down beside Naomi.
“He came into the general store and...talked to me.”
Naomi stirred sugar and cream into her tea. “Did you respond?”
“I tried. But I got flustered and ran out without the yarn.”
“Oh, dear. Josiah won’t like having to go back.”
“No, I mean, I have the yarn. Tobias followed me and brought it out to me.”
“He does sound like a kind soul.”
“He looked gut,” Josie said before she could take it back. “He always had a soft drawl to his voice.”
“That’s the Kentucky in him,” Naomi said, now wide-awake and intent. “Was he born there?”
“Ja.” Josie allowed the memories to roll over her while she nibbled at a cookie. “His parents were so kind. His mother died a few months after I got there. I think I helped him through that and that’s what bonded us. He had an older brother who moved to Indiana. They used to fight a lot.”
“Most bruders do,” Naomi said on a soft chuckle. “Tell me more.”
Josie needed to tell someone the things she’d held so tightly to her heart. “His daed was a sweet man. He welcomed me and allowed Tobias and me to walk out together. He was happy that his younger son had found someone.”
“I’m sure he saw what a wonderful person Tobias had found.”
Josie stopped and put a hand to her mouth. “We were happy once, Mammi Naomi. We truly were.”
Naomi nodded and reached for her hand. “I can see that in your eyes. You still love him.”
Josie pulled away and stood. “I can’t love him. And he can’t love me.”
“But it sounds to me as if you both still care about each other. You’ve never talked about Kentucky much—or Tobias, either, for that matter. Your voice softens when you’re remembering him.”
“He was the love of my life,” Josie admitted, tears burning her eyes. “But...it can never be now.”
“You need to be patient and you need to be kind to him, in the same way you were when he lost his mamm. After all, he has done you no harm.”
Josie lifted her head and stopped her pacing. “You’re right. Tobias has done nothing wrong. I shouldn’t be angry with him.”
“Not one bit. But your anger toward this other boy has caused you a lot of pain. You can’t hold that against the man who has come here to find you.”
Josie realized she’d been holding on to that anger and it had turned her from kind to bitter. Why should Tobias bear the brunt of all her woes? She glanced at Naomi. “You’ve done it again.”
Naomi took a big bite of her cookie and lifted her eyebrows. “Done what?”
“Tricked me into seeing the light.”
“I only listened and commented as needed,” Naomi said with the innocence of a lamb. “You figured it all out on your own.”
Josie sat back down, a tremendous lightness making her smile for the first time in days. “I did, didn’t I? I will be civil to Tobias when I see him. But...I will not love him again. That is over.”
“Of course. Whatever you decide.”
Josie started clearing away their dishes. “I’ve decided. I won’t change on that.”
“As long as you’re considerate of Tobias and his feelings, too, I think you’ve made the right choice.”
Josie took Naomi out on the porch to enjoy the nice breeze and the sunshine. While Naomi read the large-print Bible Josie had given her at Christmas, Josie sat on the steps and stared at the house across the way. Maybe she should tell Josiah it was okay for Tobias to buy it.
But no. She might have to tolerate him staying here and finding work, but she could not tolerate him living so close to her, in a house that had brought her only pain and terrible memories. While she watered the daylily bulbs she and Naomi had planted around the breezeway, Josie thought about Tobias again. Having him near did bring her joy, but her secrets shattered that joy with a piercing clarity. She couldn’t change the past. But maybe she could learn better in the future.
Raesha came around the corner, carrying Daniel on her left hip while holding a bundle of fresh flowers in her free hand.
“There you are,” she said, out of breath. “I came home with the kinder. He’s even fussier today.” Then she handed Josie the cut flowers. “Someone delivered these to the shop.”
Josie took the beautiful flowers and sniffed at them. “Oh. Do you need me to put them in water?”
Raesha laughed. “They need water, but they aren’t for me, Josie. The note had your name on it.”
Josie looked down at the flowers in her hand, the paper covering part of the bundle. Lifting the stiff wrapping away, she smiled. “Dandelions, asters and trout lilies.”
“Chickweed and daffodils, too,” Naomi noted. “All so pretty with the yellow tones mixed in with the pinks.”
“Who sent me flowers?” Josie asked. “They seem to be fresh picked.”
Raesha and Naomi exchanged motherly glances. “There was no name on the note,” Raesha said. “The delivery person wouldn’t say who, either.”
Josie sniffed the fresh flowers and then looked over at the house that seemed to watch her all the time. “My favorites,” she said on a soft whisper. “I lov
e yellow flowers the best.”
And she knew of only one person who would go into the woods and find wildflowers for her.
Tobias.
She knew it had to be him.
And so did the two women watching her so closely.
Chapter Seven
Tobias loved the smell of fresh-cut lumber. A fresh piece of solid wood was always a challenge for him. Each piece held a certain forest scent. His daed and older brother didn’t mind him making furniture, but they’d frowned on him whittling tiny replicas such as animals to sell as toys. They also frowned on decorative stencils, but the Englisch loved that kind of thing, as well as distressed furniture.
He’d finished his first week of working for Abram, and while he’d enjoyed working with Abram, he still hadn’t found an affordable place to live. Abram came out of the workshop and waved to him just as he was about to clock out. He intended to retrieve his suitcase from the Campton Center and move to the hotel at the edge of town.
“Tobias, could I speak to you?”
Tobias turned back up the main aisle that showcased gleaming walnut and oak headboards and nightstands along with rocking chairs and cradles. He’d made his first oak headboard this week and hoped it would sell. Oak was a strong, sturdy wood that would last a lifetime. Had he done something wrong? Forgotten to clean and put away his hammer and chisel? Overstepped by meticulously explaining the different woods to the other workers? Abram looked so serious.
“Yes, Abram?”
Abram tugged at his beard, a habit Tobias was beginning to get used to. “I hear from Jewel that you still need a place to stay.”
Tobias nodded, thinking the worst. Abram had been willing to hire him even if he didn’t have a permanent address yet. “I am looking. She said she’d ask around, but I didn’t know she’d told you. I hope that is not a problem.”
Abram checked the sale receipts and tidied the long counter where the clerks worked the cash register at the back of the shop. “She asked me because my wife and I have a big house and all of our children are grown and in their own homes. We have a bedroom on the far left side of the house that’s near the back porch. It’s big enough for a sitting area—my mamm stayed there when she’d come visit. But she passed about a year ago. You would have privacy there and you can come and go out the back as you like, and we won’t bother you.”
Tobias blinked. Abram lived on the other side of the community, away from the Bawell house. “You mean you’d rent the room to me?”
Abram’s gaze showed sympathy and understanding. “Jewel told me about your need right after I hired you, but I wanted to get to know you before I asked. You’re a gut man, Tobias. And I kind of enjoy that Southern accent of yours.”
Tobias couldn’t hide his smile. “I am glad to hear that.”
Abram went on. “Rent would include breakfast every morning and dinner every night unless you have other plans. We’ll feed you all you want.”
“No. If I’m paying for room and board, then add a little more extra for meals,” Tobias replied. “That’s the only way I can accept.”
Abram grinned and shook his head. “You drive a hard bargain by offering to give part of my money right back to me and add extra, but I think Beth will agree to that.”
Abram named his price, which sounded reasonable. “I added a few dollars extra for meals, but if you start putting on weight, I might have to add more.”
Tobias liked Abram, and this would keep him from wanting to go to the Fisher place when he had nothing else to occupy his time.
“Okay, I accept your kind offer.” Tobias breathed a sigh of relief. “Denke, Abram, for everything.”
Abram slapped him gently on the back. “We can swing by the Campton Center on the way home. And since today’s Friday, you’re in for a treat. Beth makes peach cobbler almost every Friday so I can have some for breakfast on Saturday. That’ll include you now, too.”
“That will be gut,” Tobias replied, his stomach growling. He’d packed a lunch from leftovers at the Campton Center, but that had been gone hours ago. “It will be nice to have some good home cooking.”
“Beth will feed you—don’t worry about that. And you’ll bring her joy, eating her food. She loves to bake, and she misses our daughters.” Abram took off his leather apron and hung it on a hook behind the counter. “She loves when they bring the kinder to visit. Bakes cookies for days. Especially at Christmas, when they bring their husbands, too.”
Tobias missed his mother’s cooking. He and his father had made do with what they could scrounge up and with the few casseroles and desserts neighbors brought by. He’d had many a young woman try to ply him with food, but while he appreciated the meals, he couldn’t take things with any of them further than friendship. Which meant the homemade food that had started on a regular basis had trickled down to not much.
Nodding at Abram, he said, “I’ll make sure and let her know how much I’ll enjoy the meals, then.”
Together they cleaned up and locked down the shop and the workshop. Tobias liked working here with Abram and the two other men who did everything from sawing and cutting to sanding and loading. But those two didn’t have an inkling about creating something from wood, although they worked as hard as anyone. Tobias, on the other hand, had shown Abram some of his designs. Abram had immediately liked all of them. The slow pace of creating something by hand had always fascinated Tobias. Thankfully, Abram understood that need to create beautiful things.
Now, if Tobias could just get on with the other business of being here. He wanted to see Josie and talk to her, try to get her to open up to him. Would she allow that?
He wondered if she’d liked the flowers he’d sent. He had meant to send store-bought, but they looked so obvious and were way too expensive. Not that he minded the cost, but he knew Josie loved flowers straight from the earth. She’d planted herbs and sunflowers back in Kentucky. He could still see her running through a meadow of wildflowers, barefoot and free.
A lot different from the shell of her he’d seen recently.
Glad he’d picked flowers from the meadow near the park fence and that Jewel had helped him clip some of the beautiful blooms surrounding the Campton Center, he felt sure Josie would know they were from him. A perfect batch of fresh flowers.
Would his first gift please her? Or would it backfire on him?
He’d find out from Josiah.
And maybe he’d see her in church on Sunday. Abram had invited him, but he’d almost said no. Until he thought about seeing Josie across the way, sitting with the other women.
That, and getting back on track with God, made him decide it was time for him to get serious about the things that mattered in life—a home and a family.
He only hoped Josie would get serious about getting to know him again. He’d have to start from scratch and court her in a proper and considerate way. As impatient as he was, Tobias knew he’d have to take things slow this time around. Or he’d lose her all over again.
With that in mind, he went with Abram to pick up his suitcase and other possessions.
Jewel greeted him with a big smile when he came down from his room. “Are you going to stay with Abram and Beth?”
“Ja, thanks to you,” Tobias replied with a gentle admonishment. “I am glad to have a place to sleep. Not that my room wasn’t comfortable, but it’s time for me to move on.”
Jewel held her arms open. “Bring it in. Right here.”
Tobias laughed as she hugged him tight. The woman had a grip. But it felt good to be cared for and hugged.
Jewel stood back, her floral top making her look like a flower garden had exploded all over her. “You remember, now—we’re here to help. You need to talk, you come on in and grab some of that fancy coffee and a cookie and have a seat. Your friend Jewel here will listen and get you on the right path.”
“I will do that,”
Tobias told her. “And, Jewel, once I’m on my feet and have some extra money, I’ll be in here with a donation every week.”
“Ah, that is so sweet. I’m gonna pray for you and your girl, Tobias.”
Tobias thanked her, and after telling Mrs. Campton and Bettye goodbye, he got back in the buggy. “Here, Abram. The women wanted you to send Beth some spice mix they made.”
“Oh, she’ll appreciate that,” Abram replied after he set the small bag between them on the seat. “She uses fresh spice in everything she cooks.”
As they rode along, Abram’s white-and-gray Percheron trotting in a graceful fashion, Abram carried on small talk and pointed out some of the farms and landmarks along the way.
“See that bridge?” he said, pointing to the red beams of a wide covered bridge. “That goes over the deepest part of the creek, but it brought the Amish side of town together with the Englisch side. The early Camptons wanted it that way since they allowed the Amish to start a community here.”
Tobias could see that. “Judy Campton is an amazing woman and so is Bettye Willis. Jewel seems to love both of them.”
“You mean Jewel who apparently has no last name,” Abram said, nodding. “An odd woman but a loyal one. She does love those two. They saved her, I believe.”
“Yes, that Jewel,” Tobias said, understanding why Jewel went by only one name. “She’s been kind to me.”
“We have a lot of great people around here and we all get along, thankfully. I hope you continue to meet everyone.”
“I hope that, too,” Tobias said. Then he decided to be honest. “Abram, I came here to buy a farm, and I have my eye on the Fisher place.”
“Well, now,” Abram said, shooting Tobias a quizzical glance, “have you made an offer?”
“I did and I’ve put up good-faith money, but I’d rather you didn’t mention that to others, in case it falls through.”
“I won’t repeat anything we discuss,” Abram replied, his expression solemn. “I will say it would be good to see that place up and running again. It’s sat empty for so long now. Since the fire that killed Josiah’s parents.”
