The Farmer's Bride

by Kathleen Fuller

  “I agree.” Levi sauntered up to them. He tilted back his straw hat and once more pushed his glasses up. “I think we can make a geh of this, especially since no other inns are nearby.”

  Of course Levi would be optimistic. His glass was always half-full and sometimes overflowing.

  “Which means we don’t have to worry about competition.” Daed pulled out his cell phone, a new purchase for the move to Birch Creek, where the district allowed phones for business. He’d never had a phone back home. He’d always worked construction—as had Levi—and he’d never been his own boss. This new venture had given him renewed energy.

  Nina kicked at a pebble in the driveway. From what she could tell, the rest of her family would have an easy time with the transition, but she wasn’t sure about the fancy technology, or about the inn, or about being so far from the familiar. But she was sure she wouldn’t let down Daed. He was a good man, and a great father, and if this was what he wanted, she would support him.

  Her father flipped open the phone. Nina had seen some English people with larger phones with screens and touching them all the time, but her father had purchased a simpler model. “Hello?” he said into the phone after punching in some numbers. “This is Loren Stoll. We’re ready to go back to the hotel . . . That’s fine, thank you.” He snapped the cover shut and slipped the phone into his pocket. “The taxi will be here in fifteen minutes.”

  “Does this mean I get a phone too?” Levi asked with a half grin.

  “Maybe.” Daed smiled.

  “I think you’re both foolish for wanting that . . . thing.” Grossmammi sniffed. “No gut can come of it.”

  “It’s just for business, Mudder.” Daed let out a sigh, and Nina could tell he’d had this conversation with Grossmammi before. “It’s impossible nowadays to conduct business without it. You want us to succeed, ya?”

  “If it’s God’s will, he’ll make it happen—with or without a highfalutin phone.” She turned and went up the four steps to the expansive front porch. She started walking its length, testing the wood planks. She motioned to Daed. “All these will need to be replaced.”

  “Not all of them.”

  She gave him a stern look. “All of them.”

  Daed grimaced and went to her. “This board is perfectly fine, Mudder.”

  “It doesn’t match the rest of them.”

  While her father and grandmother bickered, Nina looked around the property again. Despite the lack of climbing trees, she had to admit the place was pretty. It had lots of decorative trees, as if the former residents had chopped down all the stately ones and replaced them with fancier ones. It was a nice touch.

  “You going to be okay with all this?”

  She looked at Levi, who now stood next to her. A bead of sweat dripped down the side of his face. Was it always so hot in Ohio? “Ya,” she said, staring at the road in front of her.

  “Why don’t I believe you?” He moved to stand in front of her. “We all need this change, Nina. Daed was miserable working construction. Grossmammi needs a new challenge now that we’re older and she can’t boss us around.”

  “She bosses us plenty.”

  “Not as much as she used to.”

  Nina nodded. Their grandmother had moved in with them years ago, after their mother died. Lately she seemed at loose ends, other than her attempts to fundamentally change Nina’s personality. “What about you, Levi? Why do you need a change?”

  His expression grew uncharacteristically serious. “Change is always gut. For everyone. Don’t want to get stuck in a rut, do you?” Then he grinned. “It will be all right. The moving van is coming this afternoon, and you’ll feel better once you’re surrounded by yer own things. And when we’re done with the work around here, I’ll help you find a fishing hole. Daed says Birch Creek has plenty of ponds, and I’m sure we’ll find a gut one.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Guess I better geh referee. Daed knows Grossmammi’s right. He just doesn’t want to admit it.”

  As her brother went to mediate between her father and grandmother, Nina looked up at the sky. Levi’s offer was nice, but for the first time in her life she didn’t care about fishing. What kind of community was Birch Creek? Were the people nice? She wasn’t a social butterfly, but she didn’t want to live in a district in conflict. She’d heard stories from other family members who lived in Michigan, about their district splitting into two different ones, each with their own set of rules. She hoped nothing like that was going on here.

  Then again, if Birch Creek was a difficult place to live, maybe her father would change his mind. He didn’t like conflict either, although her grandmother had never shied away from it. If the Birch Creek community had problems, perhaps Daed would sell this place and move them all back to Wisconsin. It was selfish of her to want that, but she couldn’t stop hoping it would happen.

  * * *

  Seth pulled his buggy up to Hezekiah Detweiler’s optics shop and then tied Pinto to a hitching post. “Be back in a minute,” he said, patting the horse on his flank. Pinto bobbed his head as if acknowledging his words. Seth grabbed the antique clock from the front buggy seat and headed inside.

  A bell rang above the front door as he opened it. The shop in the single-story building on Hezekiah’s property had been open a little over a year, ever since Hezekiah and his family moved in next door to the Detweilers. Hezekiah was Martha’s uncle. This was the first time Seth had needed to come here, where Hezekiah repaired clocks, sold binoculars, and did a little optician work.

  After half a minute or so, Martha appeared from the back of the shop and stood behind a counter. “Hi, Seth.”

  He’d been distracted lately, but how could he have forgotten that Martha worked here? Especially since Cevilla’s request hadn’t been too far from his mind since their conversation two days ago. He was still a little annoyed that she’d asked him to spend time with Martha. Not that there was anything wrong with her, because there wasn’t. He looked at her for a moment. She had clear blue eyes and light-blond hair peeking out from underneath her prayer kapp, and her skin looked unblemished, except for the freckle on the side of her nose. Hmm, he’d never noticed that before.

  “May I help you?”

  “Oh, right.” If he was a braver man he’d have a few words for Cevilla for messing with his head, but he knew better than that. Time to get down to business. “Mamm wondered if Hezekiah could repair this clock. It’s pretty special to her.” He placed the clock on the counter.

  “It is pretty.” Martha examined it, her eyes sparkling as she looked over the piece.

  It was an impressive clock, the fanciest thing his parents owned. Mamm had seen it in his sister Ivy’s antique shop a month ago and had purchased it, taking advantage of the family discount, of course. Though Daed had thought it was too flashy for display in the living room, Mamm insisted that it stay on a shelf there, where everyone could enjoy it.

  “What’s wrong with it?” Martha asked, looking at him.

  “It stopped working last week. That’s all she told me. I don’t know much about clocks and watches.”

  “I’m sure mei onkel will get it fixed up for you.” She picked up a pad and pencil and started to write. “When do you need it?”

  “It’s not a rush job, but it’s a favorite of Mamm’s, so the sooner the better.”

  Martha nodded as she scribbled more on the pad, then she set it and her pencil back on the counter and tore off the top sheet of paper. “I’ll let Onkel know.” She picked up the clock and put it on a shelf behind her, sliding the paper under it. A couple of binoculars, three pocket watches, and another mantel clock were on the shelf.

  “Looks like you’re busy,” Seth said.

  “Ya.” She tilted her head at him, and her expression suddenly changed, her eyes sparkling a little more. “Do you have, um, anything else to ask me?”

  “Huh?”

  “Anything . . . else?” Her brow lifted.

  “Um . . . I guess you’ll let me know when it
’s ready?”

  Her shoulders slumped a bit. “Ya. We’ll let you know.”

  “All right, then.” He gave her a nod and walked out of the shop. He untied Pinto and got into the buggy. Something was niggling at him. Martha’s eyes weren’t as bright when he left as they’d been when he arrived. It was almost as if she were . . . disappointed. Nah, that couldn’t be it. What would she have to be disappointed about? It wasn’t as if she was expecting him to ask her out, like Cevilla wanted him to. Surely the woman wouldn’t have talked to Martha about this plan B of hers before she knew if he’d go along with it. Would she?

  He gripped the reins, and Pinto whinnied. Apparently, he’d pulled on them without realizing it. “Sorry,” he said absently. A sinking feeling came over him. What was Cevilla up to? Whatever it was, he wasn’t playing along. He made his own decisions when it came to his personal life, thank you very much. If he dated anyone, it would be because he wanted to, not because of someone else’s meddling. Cevilla would have to accept that.

  * * *

  Martha leaned against the counter and sighed. Cevilla had been wrong. When she stopped by the shop yesterday, she’d said she’d seen Seth, and that plan B was in motion. Martha had been stunned, and more than a bit embarrassed that Cevilla had said anything to him. But the old woman had insisted everything would work out fine—for everyone. “No need to fret,” she’d said, patting Martha’s hand. “You’ll see.”

  Although she’d felt a little comforted by Cevilla’s words, she’d almost pretended she wasn’t there when Seth came into the shop. When she was back in the office, she often peeked around its door before going out, just to see what kind of customer had come in. It had taken a few deep breaths for her to calm her nerves, plus a reminder that being nervous about Seth Yoder was ridiculous to begin with. She had little feeling toward him one way or the other, but ever since Cevilla’s plan B conversation, the man had been on her mind. Thanks a lot, Cevilla.

  She was sure Seth wasn’t dropping off his mother’s clock as a ruse, though. The clock did need repairing. Still, she’d wondered enough about plan B that she’d blurted out that question to Seth, and immediately regretted it. He looked confused, which meant that whatever Cevilla had said to him hadn’t made an impact on him. Maybe she’d been too subtle? Either that, or how he’d reacted to Cevilla’s suggestion—as in, declining to be involved—hadn’t made an impact on her.

  She bent forward and put her elbow on the counter, then her cheek in her hand. This was more of an emotional roller coaster than dealing with her overeager suitors, and she’d never thought she’d say that. She wished she’d never said anything to Cevilla, or to her mother. She was an adult. She should have handled this alone. Richard was right—being straightforward was a lot better than going along with Cevilla’s confusing plans. But how could she be straightforward without hurting anyone?

  “Did the bell ring a little while ago?” Her uncle walked up beside her, his work glasses perched on top of his head. They were regular glasses with magnifiers on the lenses so he could see the small parts of the items he repaired.

  “Seth Yoder dropped that off.” She waved at the shelf behind her.

  “The clock?”

  “Ya.”

  “This is a beautiful piece.” He took it off the shelf. “Very old, probably nineteenth century.” He turned it over in his hands. “Can’t wait to see what secrets you’re keeping,” he said to the clock.

  Martha was used to her uncle talking to the items he repaired. She thought it was rather sweet. He seemed oddly affectionate toward them and took great care and time with the repairs. But even his kindly nature didn’t keep her from letting out a long sigh.

  “Something wrong?” He put the clock back on the shelf.

  She shook her head and straightened. “Nee.” She turned to him and smiled. “What do you need help with today?” The best way to get her mind off her troubles was to do some work.

  “I thought I’d show you what the inside of a pair of binoculars looks like.”

  “Oh. Sounds . . . interesting.” Not really, but she did like to learn new things, and thinking about binoculars would be better than thinking about Seth Yoder.

  “It is. It’s amazing how sophisticated this pair is.” Hezekiah started for his workroom at the back of the shop, still talking. “I’m really impressed with how far the technology has come along in the past decade or so.”

  Martha followed, forcing her thoughts toward binoculars and away from Seth. She had to do something about her problem, and she would stay away from any social events until she had a solution. That included the scavenger hunt, although she’d have to figure out how to break it to Ruby that she wouldn’t attend. And she would have a talk with Cevilla for sure. Martha was walking away from plan B, as well as from singings and socials and any other activity that had even a whiff of romantic possibilities. Cevilla would have to find someone else’s love life to meddle in.

  After supper that evening, Martha was in the living room, reading one of her uncle’s books on the history of binoculars. It was more interesting than she’d thought it would be, and he’d been happy to loan her the small book. “You do like to learn new things, don’t you?” he’d said. “Yer mamm told me you learned how to tie nautical knots two weeks ago.”

  She had, although she wasn’t sure if she’d ever need to use that bit of obscure knowledge. But she’d seen the book in the library in a display of fishing and boating books, and now she could make a rolling hitch in nothing flat.

  A knock sounded on the door, and her father lifted his head from the seed catalog he was reading. His trade was carpentry, but now that Mamm had put her foot down about moving again, he’d mentioned he might want to help plant a larger garden in the spring. “I’ll get it,” Martha told him. Mamm nodded from her chair near the gas lamp. She was darning a pair of Daed’s socks. Two battery-operated fans were on the coffee table, cooling the room to a more comfortable temperature.

  Martha opened the door, and Ruby blew right by her. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said, her voice sounding close to a wail.

  “About what?” Martha asked as she shut the door.

  “The scavenger hunt.” She started to pace. “I realize I’m not the best at planning things—except for mei lesson plans, of course—but I really dropped the ball this time.” She blew out a breath but didn’t slow down. “Of course, Christian has had reservations about mei pulling it off all along, which has only made me want to prove him wrong. Now I think he might be right.” She halted, then looked to the right. Her mouth dropped open. “Oh. Hi, John and Regina. I didn’t see you guys there.”

  Mamm lifted her hand in a short wave, then resumed her darning. Daed gave Ruby a nod and went back to reading the catalog, as if Ruby Ropp bursting into their house in a frenzy was a frequent occurrence.

  “Why don’t we get some iced tea and sit outside?” Martha said. It was still warm and muggy, but it was cooler on the patio than in the kitchen. They’d also have more privacy out there.

  Ruby looked at her, relief on her face as if Martha had already solved her problem, whatever that was. “That sounds wonderful.”

  A short while later they were seated on the plastic chairs on the back patio. The iced tea was refreshing, and Ruby had calmed down. Martha turned to her. “Now, what’s the problem with the scavenger hunt?”

  “There’s nix to scavenge!” Ruby took another sip of her iced tea and then set it on the patio table. Droplets of condensation were already settling on the glass. “I thought it would be easy to come up with items everyone could hunt. But every time I think about it, I draw a blank. The only idea I had was to have everyone hunt for different kinds of leaves and bring them back to the haus. But Christian said that sounded more like something for mei students than for adults.”

  Martha wasn’t surprised Ruby’s thoughts had gone in that direction. She and her husband, Chris, were the district’s schoolteachers. Ruby taught kindergarten throu
gh third grade, and Christian taught the older students up through eighth grade. Last year was Ruby’s first year to teach, and from all accounts she had done an excellent job. But she had to agree with Chris—collecting leaves sounded like something children would do.

  “The hunt is in two days. What am I going to do?” Ruby rubbed the back of her neck.

  “Maybe you should just have a supper after all.”

  “Christian said the same thing. But what fun is that?” Ruby sighed. “How many singings and frolics and suppers and volleyball games can we have? I want to do something different.” She looked away. “I should have thought this through before inviting everyone, though.”

  Martha suddenly had an idea. “What about instead of a scavenger hunt, you have a treasure hunt? You could divide everyone into teams, and they can collect clues. Whoever finds and follows all the clues and then finds the ‘treasure’ wins something.”

  “Like a pie?”

  “A pie would be gut.”

  Ruby tilted her head, and Martha could see her mulling over the idea. “That could be fun. I’ll have to put mei own spin on it, of course.”

  “Of course.” Martha smiled. She usually wasn’t the one to think of things like this, and it made her feel good to help Ruby. Not to mention this was a prime opportunity to let her know she wasn’t going to be there. “Ruby, I have something to tell you—”

  “Do you mind coming over early to help me? This is yer idea, after all. I can’t pull it off without you.”

  Martha paused. She should have told Ruby she wasn’t going before she had her idea. Ruby’s eyes filled with pleading, and Martha didn’t want to disappoint her. Be straightforward and tell her the truth. “Maybe—”

  “Wonderful!” Ruby clasped her hands together. “I feel so much better about this already. We’re going to have a great time.”

  Martha fell back in her chair. Why couldn’t she just say no? Her life would be so much easier if she weren’t afraid of that simple word.

  Ruby started throwing out ideas for the hunt, and by the time she left, they had the evening planned, except for a few details. After Ruby left, Martha drank the last of her tea and watched the sun dip below the horizon, streaking the sky with beautiful lavender, rose, and peach colors. Normally she would feel peace watching the placid scene, but peace had eluded her lately. And now she had to go to Ruby’s on Saturday.