He couldn’t stop staring at her mouth even as she pulled away from him. Moses quickly released her hand and began massaging the whiskers on his chin in hopes of rubbing away any thought of planting his lips on hers.
Lia turned her face away and fiddled with the hem of her apron. “Don’t tell Rachel what I said. She and Dat would never forgive me. Besides, you could still fall in love with her.”
Moses stood and brushed off his trousers and reached out his hand to pull Lia to her feet. “I am not looking to marry.” Clearing his throat, he walked to the buggy and mentally measured its width. “If I guide Sammy between those two trees, then go backward, the buggy will make it around those bushes. I’ll need to go forward and back about ten times, but I think we can get turned around by Christmas yet.”
“That is a very gute plan.”
Moses discovered that he couldn’t turn his gaze away. Good he was so loyal to Barbara or he would be in serious danger.
Chapter Eleven
“Why do I have to go? I hate smelly feed stores, and that wagon is torture to ride in.”
Ever since her excursion to Moses’s cheese factory on Wednesday, Rachel had resolved to stay close to Huckleberry Hill in case Moses decided to drop by and ask to take her for a ride. She was sure every minute of every day that Moses would come up the lane in a courting buggy and whisk her away from her dull and unnecessary chores. She spent hours sitting by the big window hoping for the first glimpse of the man destined to be her husband.
Unruffled by Rachel’s tantrum, Anna kneaded her bread dough and smiled her innocent smile. “I suppose Lia could go with Felty.”
“Yes, let Lia go. I can’t lift those feed bags.”
“You will need to scrub the toilet and bathtub while she’s gone.”
“I’m not good at toilets. The cleanser makes my hands chappy.”
Anna didn’t even look up as she handed Lia the loaf pans to be greased. “I’ve known Moses to visit the feed store on a Saturday morning. Lia, you should take a plate of cookies in case you run into him.”
Lia felt that familiar prick of rejection that Anna wanted Moses to marry Rachel instead of her, but today they really did need Rachel gone, so any method Anna wanted to use was acceptable.
Rachel tore her attention from the window. “Oh, Anna. Why didn’t you say so? Of course I’ll go. I haven’t seen Moses for three days. I’m surprised he doesn’t spend more time here.”
Anna deftly formed her dough into three loaves. “He’s very busy. Hardly has time to breathe.”
They heard Felty singing before he came into the house. “Keep your hand upon the throttle and your eyes upon the rail.” He stamped his boots on the rug inside the door. “Wagon’s hitched. You ready, Rachel?”
Rachel leaped from her perch by the window and retrieved a paper plate from the cupboard. She quickly loaded the plate with more than half the cookies Lia had baked that morning. “Moses will love these. I’ll see that he puts some meat on those bones yet.” She quickly covered them with plastic wrap. “Don’t have too much fun here without me,” she said as she followed Felty out the door.
Peering out the window, Anna sighed as she watched Rachel hop into Felty’s wagon as if she were going to a picnic. “Next time we will go to Sarah’s house. I had to do seventeen somersaults to get Rachel out of here.”
Lia twitched her lips downward. “At least maybe she will get to see Moses.”
Anna waved her hands in the air as if swatting a fly. “Oh, fiddle. Moses never goes to the feed store.”
“You told a fib?”
“Jah, a fib. It couldn’t be helped, and I can repent later.”
Lia couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “Anna, you are a wonder.”
“When I get to the other side, I’ll say, ‘Lord, I was too old to know any better.’”
They heard a sound outside, and Lia moved to the window. “Sarah’s here.” She drove an open-air buggy with room for two people—sometimes used as a courting buggy.
Anna glanced at her clock on the wall. “Right on time. Sarah is prompt as the sunrise.”
With the speed born of constant practice, Sarah unhitched the horse and led him to the small corral to the side of the barn. Lia stood at the door waiting for her when she made her way to the house.
Sarah placed a paper grocery sack on the table and gave Anna an enormous hug. “Mammi, you look very well.”
“Lia is taking good care of us,” Anna said.
“It is gute to have a youngster here looking after you.” Sarah motioned toward the window. “I passed that girl going down the hill with Dawdi. How long will they be gone?”
“At least an hour,” Anna said. “Probably longer. Felty’s been given strict instructions to dawdle.”
“Gute.” Sarah picked up her sack. “I thought I would make cucumber mayonnaise sandwiches.”
“My favorite,” Anna said.
Lia wondered if defective taste buds ran in the Helmuth family. Cucumber and mayonnaise sandwiches? It was a very good thing Rachel was not here.
Sarah refused to let Lia help her as she peeled and chopped cucumbers, sliced the bread, and spread mayonnaise. She put one sandwich on each of three plates plus a handful of potato chips and clusters of grapes from her grocery bag.
They sat at the table and said silent grace. Then Anna and Sarah both dug in to their sandwiches. Lia wasn’t so sure, so she popped a grape in her mouth to prepare herself.
Anna dabbed her lips with a napkin. “Lia, did you know that Sarah is my oldest grandchild? Born three years before my youngest daughter, Ruth Anne.”
“How many grandchildren do you have?”
“Sixty-four and ninety-six great-grandchildren. By the end of the year we will have ninety-nine greats.”
“And one great-great,” said Sarah. “My daughter Beth is expecting.”
Lia took a bite of cucumber sandwich. It tasted surprisingly refreshing and delicious. “That is a wonderful posterity.”
Sarah finished half of her sandwich and wiped her hands on her napkin. “Now, Mammi, I come today to set you straight.”
Anna flashed a wide smile. “I’m happy that you came at all.”
“Moses said you sent that girl to help me with Yoder’s baby.”
Anna’s smile did not fade. “I suppose I did.”
Sarah folded her arms across her chest. “You know how touchy I am about who I let sit in. I allow Lia to help because she’s got the temperament for it, and she’s done her reading. I won’t let that girl barge in and think she can interfere.”
Anna patted Sarah’s hand. “I had my reasons.”
When Anna didn’t elaborate, Sarah said, “Well, what are they?”
“I guessed you wouldn’t let Rachel go in. I wanted Moses to have some time to get to know her.”
Hearing the truth from Anna’s own mouth proved more painful than Lia could have imagined. She almost choked out her next words. “She wants Moses to marry my sister.”
Anna snapped her head around as her eyes grew big as saucers. “What are you saying, dear?”
Lia felt her face get warm. “I saw the letter you wrote Dat. You wanted me to come back to Huckleberry Hill so Moses and Rachel would have more time for courting.”
Alarm leaped into Anna’s eyes. “Oh, my dear. No wonder you have been moping about since you returned. I never meant for you to see that letter.”
“Don’t be troubled about it. I am glad I can help you and Felty even if you don’t think I am good enough for your grandson.”
Anna reached over and wrapped her hand around Lia’s wrist. “You are quite mistaken. I have never for one minute changed my mind about who I want Moses to marry. I knew your fater would not agree to send you back unless I gave him a gute reason. Rachel told me what his plans were, and I knew what I needed to write in my letter to convince him.”
Warmth spread through Lia’s entire body. “You told my dat a fib?”
Anna waved her arms in the a
ir. “I’ll tell the Lord that my handwriting’s bad. How could Owen tell for sure what I wrote in that note?”
“But why did you insist Rachel come with us on Wednesday?”
Anna lowered her voice even though there were only the three of them within a mile. “I can’t find it in my heart to like your sister very much. Don’t be angry.”
“I am not angry.”
“I am putting pressure on that grandson of mine. I knew if he spent the day with Rachel, he would see how different she is from you—that he would realize what a wonderful-gute girl you are and ask you to marry him.”
Lia couldn’t smile wide enough. They’d never wanted Moses to marry Rachel. They still valued her even though she wasn’t as petite or as pretty as Rachel. Her spirit soared.
Anna pressed her lips together. “But he is fighting it harder than I thought he would.”
Lia scooted her chair closer and put her arm around Anna. “I do not expect him to like me. He told me on the day we met that he does not want to marry.”
“He only thinks he doesn’t want to marry,” Anna said.
Sarah crinkled her napkin in her fist. “When a man’s heart gets broke that bad, he ain’t likely to snap out of it fast.”
“It’s been three years,” said Anna, “and Lia is so much better than that one.”
In shock, Lia looked at Sarah. “What happened?”
“Moses and Barbara Gingerich were published. Published even. But she kept dabbling in the world and finally decided to leave the church. Moses tried to persuade her to stay. He even told her she could keep getting her magazines after they were married. But in the end, she didn’t love him enough to stay. That’s what stung the worst, I expect.”
“And Moses ain’t one to spend his love lightly,” Anna said. “If he commits to someone, they’ve got his whole heart, nothing held back. He doesn’t hand it over easy, and he’s more loyal than a bird dog. I expect he still feels beholden to Barbara after three years.”
Lia’s mouth went dry. Moses loved someone else?
“He used to get a letter from her every week,” Sarah said.
“She wanted to keep him hoping even though we all knew she would never come back. Adam hasn’t said anything about the letters for months. I think she finally quit writing.”
Sarah shook her head. “Mammi, I know you mean well for Moses, but what if Lia doesn’t want him? Are you setting him up to have his heart broken all over again?”
“Moses doesn’t want to marry me,” Lia said, her heart sinking even as she voiced it.
Annoyance flashed in Sarah’s eyes. “Stuff and nonsense. Your problem is that you sell yourself short at every turn. If you can’t make him change his mind, nobody will.”
“It’s all right,” Lia said. “Don’t worry about my feelings. I don’t think I will ever marry. I’m too tall.”
Sarah snorted. “Too tall for Moses? What are you thinking?”
The room got hot. “I told him I wouldn’t have him,” she whispered.
Anna and Sarah stared at her as words seemed to fail them.
Lia shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “He told me he’s not looking to marry, and I told him I wouldn’t have someone so arrogant to assume I wanted to marry him.”
“What did he say?”
“He was relieved.”
Anna seemed to consider this good news. The laugh lines around her mouth deepened as she turned to Sarah. “They’ve talked about marriage.”
Sarah leaned her elbows on the table. “Now, Mammi. Matchmaking is dangerous. What if Moses decides to marry that blond girl?”
“I think I wouldn’t allow him on my property again.”
“And what if Lia decides to marry one of your other grandsons? I count five of marriageable age.”
“Lia is meant for Moses.”
“I am here on Huckleberry Hill to help Anna and Felty, not find a husband. I never expected to.”
Sarah wrinkled her forehead. “Moses might break Lia’s heart. Or Lia will break his.”
Lia felt a little silly talking about something that couldn’t possibly happen. “I promise to never break Moses’s heart.”
Sarah pointed a finger at her. “I hold you to that promise.”
Lia stopped scrubbing and lifted her head. There was that strange tapping noise again. She looked around the bathroom. Was it coming from the sink? The drain sometimes gurgled when Anna turned on the water in the kitchen.
She poured more cleanser on her scrub brush and swished it back and forth until a louder tapping startled her and the scrub brush thudded to the bottom of the tub. She scanned the room again and saw a movement at the small window above the toilet. In puzzlement, she gingerly stood on the toilet seat, pushed open the hinged window, and stuck her head out.
Below the bathroom window, the foundation rose halfway aboveground. Moses stood in a thicket of alder shrubs and huckleberry bushes with his hand reaching to the sky.
Lia couldn’t help but smile every time she saw him. “Moses, what are you doing down there? Come through the front door like normal folks.”
He put his finger to his lips. “Shh. Sarah wants me to take you to Bontragers. Arlene is having her baby.”
Lia did her best to contain her laughter as Moses shushed her. “Is it a big secret?”
“Nae, but if Rachel finds out, she’ll want to come with us, and Mammi will make me take her. Can you sneak out of the house? My buggy is halfway down the lane.”
Maybe it wasn’t right, but Lia felt so giddy she could have giggled for three days. “I’ll be there before you are.”
She fastened the catch on the window and jumped down from the toilet. After quickly rinsing the cleanser from the tub, she stowed the cleaning supplies underneath the sink. Lia slipped into her room and packed a few things in her bag before scurrying down the hall. Rachel lay on her bed picking lint from a pair of her black stockings. “Who were you talking to?”
Lia didn’t have the time or the inclination to fabricate an explanation. “The clothes should be brought down from the line.”
“I will get to it. It’s too warm to go out right now.”
She found Anna in the kitchen studying her new recipe book. “Anna,” she whispered, “Sarah is asking for me, and Moses is here with his buggy. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Anna’s eyes lit up. She bustled to the closet and pulled out a tiny pair of knitted white booties. “For the new baby.”
Lia took them and laid them carefully in her bag. “Denki, Anna. The baby’s first gift.”
Both Anna and Lia jumped when they heard Rachel calling from her room. “You better be off,” said Anna. “I don’t have a strong enough grip to stop her if she gets it in her head to go.”
Lia slipped out the door so quietly she didn’t even hear herself. She ran until the bushes blocked the sight of her from the house. Then she skipped down the lane to where Moses stood patiently waiting for her.
His smile was like a bonfire on a frosty evening.
Chapter Twelve
“Well, he’s here—come to set you straight, Lia. I hope you’re satisfied.”
Rachel sat at her usual place at the window while Lia put the finishing touches on the peach pie for dessert tonight. Lia didn’t even bat an eye. Why would Moses want to set her straight?
Rachel jumped from her seat and opened the door. A feather could have knocked Lia over as her dat walked into the kitchen. Rachel squealed and threw her arms around him. He patted her on the back and then took off his hat when she let go of him.
“Dat,” Lia said. “Rachel didn’t mention you were coming for a visit.”
Dat took a few steps into the kitchen and gazed around the room. “I came to check up on you, to see if you two were treating each other well. Where are Anna and Felty?”
Rachel sauntered to the sofa and sat down. “They’re out in the garden. Come sit down, Dat.”
Lia covered her pie with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge. “Wh
o brought you up here?”
“David Groen. He’ll be back at six to pick me up. I told Rachel I would be staying for supper. I’m sorry she didn’t tell you I was coming.”
“I wanted everyone to be surprised,” Rachel said, looking like a guilty child with an unpleasant secret. “Moses will be here too.”
Dat sat down next to Rachel. “Gute. I made a special effort to come today because you said he’s always here on Thursdays.”
Lia felt indignation bubble up inside her that Dat and Rachel were scheming against poor Moses. She hated to see how uncomfortable it made Moses to always be dodging Rachel’s advances.
Taking a deep breath, Lia let the anger pass through her like water through a sieve. They couldn’t help themselves. Who wouldn’t want to scheme for Moses Zimmerman? Besides, Moses could take care of himself. If Rachel succeeded in drawing him in, then he deserved what he got.
Dat leaned back on the sofa and draped his arm over the back of it. “Tell me all about Bonduel. What is the gmay like? Is the district small?”
“Thirteen families,” said Rachel, “but there are probably fifteen widows on top of that. Mostly old people.”
“No suitable boys?”
Lia dried her hands and hesitantly sat in Anna’s rocker. She knew she should be sociable, especially for Dat’s first visit to Huckleberry Hill, but if Rachel and Dat wanted to talk about boys, Lia had no interest. And she still needed to put together a meatloaf.
“Besides Moses, there isn’t much. Four or five boys of the right age, but one is fat and the others aren’t at all good-looking. Moses is really the only one, but he is the right one, so it doesn’t matter about the rest.”
Dat and Rachel shared a meaningful look that Lia was not up to interpreting. Then Dat patted Rachel on the leg, leaned forward, and propped his elbows on his knees. He pinned his gaze on Lia and frowned.
“Lia, I came because Rachel tells me you’ve been inconsiderate of her feelings.” He shook a finger at her. “This selfishness must stop.”
His accusations struck Lia quite mute. Inconsiderate? Selfish? Was she not doing enough of Rachel’s chores?
Huckleberry Hill Page 12
