by Mindy Steele
“You can pack a bucket, can you not?” She gripped her apron and twisted it in her hands. “Tabitha agreed to sell a few cut flowers at the market with our greenhouse plants and early vegetables, but Mamm insists I find buyers, like the florist in town. I’m not comfortable doing that, but I can tend to the honey harvest.”
“You want me to talk to buyers and sell your flowers? Is that a thing?” His voice betrayed his doubts. She brushed her cheek out of habit. Maybe he thought her silly, raising flowers for sale, but it was no less important than being a beekeeper.
“The florist might be interested. I mean, I’m local.” She tried to sound confident. “Mammi Mollie mentioned a baker,” she started down the list of possibilities. “There’s also a soapmaker in town. They use flowers for that too,” she added.
“Soapmaker I get, but why would you sell flowers to a bakery?” His brows gathered in bemusement.
“They’re edible,” she began, walking toward the house. “And I can’t sell anything to them, but you can.”
Adam had no idea how to respond to that. Who would eat a flower? Was it a vegetarian thing? Curiosity piqued, he trailed behind her, surprised how fast her stride was and how she managed to not get tangled up in her skirts moving like that. “Besides packing a bucket, what do you need?” Her pace slowed ahead of him.
“Simply speak to the florist. The baker, too. I can have Tabitha speak to the soapmaker. If you can get them to accept, you can deliver my flowers before you go to the mill. You go by all those places, anyway, to get to work, and I can meet with your inspector and begin seeing to harvesting the honey.”
It sounded perfect, coming from her soft rosy lips. How hard could it be to ask a couple of folks to buy flowers? And if they were willing, she was right to say it would be easy enough to drop off a bouquet, or bucket, here and there to appease her. He’d be getting much more than he was offering, and he could still tend to his family needs.
“Deal,” Adam quickly said, without thinking too hard on it. She was all he had.
Belinda pivoted, smiled, and held out a hand. Adam barely had time to stop, and nearly smacked into her. With their bodies mere inches apart, he sucked in a breath, heavy in floral notes and rich earth. Her audible gasp rattled him even more than nearly toppling her over. And she had four freckles on the right side of her face, not three. Her eyes held something soft and vulnerable, with hints of childish excitement over getting her way. It reached into the deepest recess of his soul and lit a spark. Adam all but found himself enchanted, just as he had been at ten, staring at her across a classroom; at sixteen when he went to gathering after gathering hoping to see her there. He should look away. Last thing he needed was to be beguiled by blue eyes and soft features. Being alone meant protection from rejection. Never again would he gamble with his heart, let someone pull the wool over his eyes. Never again would he taste the bitterness of betrayal. With rawness still fresh in his thoughts, the spark fizzled easily.
“Deal. We are now a team.” She gave one hard nod and took a very obvious step back. Despite the slight tremble in her outstretched hand, she was smiling proudly over her accomplishment, striking a deal with him. It was a good look on her. He thought himself a sturdy sort, a man who could focus on the job at hand without getting distracted, but Belinda Graber was standing before him, agreeing to become his partner for the next few weeks. How did one put a spark out for good?
“A business partnership,” he said, more for himself than to her. Who would have thought Belinda Graber would be the one to help him? Tobias would be laughing his hat off when this came out. Adam reached out and accepted her hand as it slipped perfectly into his. One less worry, he mentally whispered. He either was the luckiest guy in all of Havenlee...or he’d just made his life a lot more complicated.
Chapter Six
The kitchen smelled strongly of cloves, vinegar, and summer heat. Belinda set down her basket of freshly picked peas and a handful of crisp lettuce and went to the sink to wash her hands. Tuesdays were just Monday’s repeats. First she gathered eggs, and then she worked in the greenhouse for a spell, transplanting seedlings and putting together more hanging baskets, before heading to the vegetable garden to plant more seeds. Now the sun was perched high, bending toward the neighbors. The time was between lunch and supper, she knew by its position. All her work had made her thirsty.
She took a glass, filled it under the faucet, and gulped in a most unladylike manner, glad Mamm wasn’t there to see her. The only witness was Mammi, who was pickling the last of the cellar-stored beets. Such work always lifted her grandmother’s spirits. Mollie Bender loved the kitchen, her sanctuary. Belinda figured everyone had one: a place where one went and found peace, satisfaction. Tabitha’s was the upstairs sewing room. Daed often walked the last fields where a murky pond hid. And Mammi loved canning in the kitchen, almost as much as she liked her Sunday visits with friends. Belinda took another drink. Did Adam have a sanctuary?
“You’ve got something to share.” Mammi continued stirring, not looking up. Belinda set the glass aside for later and went to fetch a large bowl to soak the peas in. Belinda had nothing to share. Not a thing.
“Nix,” she replied, standing on tiptoe to retrieve a large metal bowl from the top of the hutch. “Would you like me to clean more jars? Looks like we had more beets left over than last year.” She pointed a thumb toward the table where freshly washed jars awaited filling.
“Nee, I washed plenty,” Mammi said flatly. “Yer dodging the question.”
“You asked a question?” Belinda smirked playfully, lifting one light brow.
Mollie Bender shook her head and did what she always did when she felt unheeded. “Lord, give me strength to deal with these grosskinner in my last days. They are a task for sure and certain, and you know how hard Hattie and James wore at me.” Belinda giggled. Mammi talking aloud to Gott always amused her. Mammi turned around, fisted one hand on her healthier hip and said, “Here is yer question. What was that handsome fella next door doing in the garden with you last night?”
The pickling spices were clearing her sinuses, but in response to that question, she was glad to have the excuse to hide her face in her pocket handkerchief. “Asking for help,” Belinda mumbled, giving her nose a pat.
“With?” Mammi stood waiting. Her patience shortening.
“Harvesting honey,” Belinda replied.
“And?” Mammi’s tone grew taut.
“And that’s it. He asked me to help.” Belinda shrugged, turning off the faucet once the peas were completely submerged.
Mammi looked heavenward. “Lord, help this one get to the point before I soak her in beet juice and send her to town for staple goods.” Mammi lowered her gaze. “And yer reply was?”
“I agreed,” Belinda caved, having no more teasing left in her. In fact, she was still reeling over agreeing to help Adam. As Belinda washed the peas and helped her grandmother ladle the bloody beets and vinegary spiced liquid in jars, she shared the details of her new arrangement with Adam. She left out the part where she had looked foolish with a flower tucked in her hair. Alone time with Mammi gave Belinda a chance to talk out her thoughts, without a sibling around to prune them.
“I worry what some might think of us helping each other,” Belinda confessed, and bit her lip. She really wanted to help with the bees, help someone who certainly needed it, but it was Adam, the boy next door. And since when did he get so muscled and tall, and distracting?
“You agreed to help another, as is our way.” Mollie waved a wooden spoon in the air. “You pay no mind to what others think, just what the Lord does.”
Belinda nodded, agreeing with the logic. “I was nervous talking with him, but it wasn’t so bad,” she admitted, gathering pots stained crimson and heading toward the sink.
In the windowsill sat a dying arrangement of daffodils, two limp dull-red tulips with wide-faced pedals, and one
faded purple hyacinth. She needed to collect fresher ones. She’d barely slept a wink all night thinking about the hives and the look of desperation on Adam’s face. There had been moments when their eyes collided and she didn’t even feel the need to run or shy away. She actually felt pity for his hard circumstances, and a desire to make things better for him. But as much as he needed the money from all his jobs, it was certain that his hives weren’t just a hobby. A man didn’t worry like that over a hobby. His bees were just as much a part of him as her flowers were to her. It was nice to not be the only person who felt that way.
“He’s a good fellow,” Mammi added. “And he isn’t a stranger. Maybe that is why it was easy.” Belinda wished that were true. Despite him living just across the road, he was nearly a stranger. Boys like that didn’t talk to girls like her, and just because they were adults now, that didn’t change.
“You always liked helping Saul with his hives. This is good.” But was it? Before Belinda could respond, Tabitha came bursting inside, her arms heavy with the empty trays the family used to display their vegetables.
“I sold all the hanging baskets, potatoes and lettuce, and most of your flowers too.” Belinda noted a small collection of remainders lying in the bottom of a basket. She would put them in a glass on the table, give them time to flourish, then toss them in the compost in a few days. She loved the smell of fresh flowers throughout the house. Tabitha brushed back her loose hairs from her milky skin. Belinda wished she’d inherited her sister’s skin instead of being sun-touched and freckled.
“Tulips are a customer favorite, but I think if you have any hyacinths left, they will do well. When all those sunflowers bloom, I imagine they will be even a bigger seller. Oh, and Mirim Petersheim said when your lavender blooms, she would love some to dry.”
“I can do that,” Belinda said, slightly stunned. So she was in business, at the market at least.
“I smell fresh bread.” Tabitha kissed Mammi’s cheek affectionately. Belinda couldn’t smell anything but the strong pickling spices.
“Mica had three sandwiches at noon today. I could bake three loaves a day and he would find somewhere to put them, I tell ya,” Mammi said, starting supper now that she’d finished the canning. Always busy, they all were, from sunup to sundown. Belinda almost felt guilty she’d agreed to help Adam when she was sorely needed at home. Almost.
“Mica said he’ll be cutting hay tomorrow.” Belinda eyed the sky out the kitchen window, a chicory blue color without a hint of threatening clouds. A few more days of this kind of weather and she would be carrying water for the gardens. “How will he get that done without Daed?”
“I’m sure Ivan will help, as usual. I do enjoy watching them work themselves weary.” Tabitha chuckled. “But perhaps we should help with Daed gone.”
“Those men can handle it. You two have plenty to do,” Mammi said, peering into the oven. Satisfied with the progress of supper, Mammi limped toward the fridge, tossing a wink over her shoulder toward Belinda. Was Mammi making sure that Belinda didn’t have added duties so she could help with the hives?
“Daed left a message this morning.” Belinda turned to her sister. “He said Dawdi is feeling better today. Mamm got him to eat two meals yesterday.”
“That is wunderbaar news.” Her sister’s green eyes glimmered with joy, and Mammi nodded in agreement. “I still pray for his healing, but I know how hard those treatments were on him.”
“So, what’s the latest news from the market?” Mammi prodded, always eager for the latest gossip.
“Well,” Tabitha began, “I heard Deacon Moses gave Lynn Christner a visit. It seems she insists Lake Drive should be off limits to all Amish teenagers.”
“But the Deacon, the Shetlers, the Glicks, and the Beilers all live on Lake Drive,” Belinda put in.
“Jah, but her fuss was that she fears too many young couples take advantage of hiding among the trees surrounding the lake to kiss until the sun comes up.” Tabitha clutched her heart in dramatic fashion.
“Stuff and nonsense,” Mammi barked, slinging a towel in the air. “Couples have been kissing there for years. She thinks to stop it? They’ll just find another spot.”
“Mammi,” Belinda said, taken back. “We shouldn’t speak of such things.” Kissing was private, and Belinda felt her face heat just thinking about it.
“Then I’ll change the subject. I heard today that my sister is going into the honey business.” Tabitha kicked off her thick-soled shoes and stomped toward the laundry room to tuck them away in their usual place. Mammi shot Belinda a knowing look.
How did Tabitha find out at the market about her helping Adam? Gossip traveled awfully fast.
She hadn’t spoken about her agreement with Adam last night with either sibling, mostly because it was none of their business. She was twenty-three, for crying out loud. Besides, she hadn’t wanted them to get the wrong idea. She’d snuck back inside, hurried upstairs into her room, and when Tabitha went to check on her, had faked sleep just as she had when she was young. She hadn’t wanted to discuss it. Adam was doing her a big favor, and Tabitha didn’t need to know what it was.
“I’m just helping him out. You know Atlee will be out of work for months, and Adam did ask Mica first.” Wasn’t Tabitha the one who begged her to try harder to speak with others? Belinda finished scrubbing the last pot and set it aside to dry. Mammi had potatoes peeled and boiling on the stove. She was always one step ahead, preparing for the next day before this one had even completed a half turn.
“Is he paying you fair? Don’t let your shyness be taken advantage of, little sister.”
“Sort of.” Belinda went to stir a mixture of vegetables in a pot, added salt and pepper, and then turned the gas burner on low. The scent of pork and thick gravy slowly wafted in the air.
Tabitha began setting the table. “What does ‘sort of’ mean?” Her eyes darted between Mammi and Belinda.
Belinda blew out a breath. “We are to help those in need, ain’t so?”
“We are,” Mammi seconded. Belinda could always count on her grandmother for support.
Tabitha frowned. “You two know what I’m saying. Helping Ada with the house or weeding their garden is neighborly. But this is bees, Belinda. They sting.”
“Not me. They fly around here all day and haven’t stung me yet. And we are helping each other.” Her voice lost some of its certainty.
“Meaning?” Tabitha began tapping her bare foot against the floor as hard and quick as Mamm with shoes on. “You know I can do this all night.” And she could. It was that Bender blood—stubborn to the end.
“Might as well tell her. Nothing goes hidden,” Mammi reminded.
“He’s going to try to sell my flowers in exchange for my helping him harvest his honey and tending his hives.” Belinda crossed both arms across her chest. Tabitha’s scowl pinched so tight, it looked as though she was fending off a swarm of gnats. “And I do have to meet an inspector for him, so there’s that,” Belinda added.
“I can’t say I’m froh you found a way around dealing with others, but I am impressed at your business sense.” Had Tabitha just complimented her scheme? Belinda’s shoulders relaxed a little. But there was no way she would tell Tabitha that when Adam had nearly knocked her over and their eyes locked, something in her insides had suffered a mighty shock.
“Danki. We probably won’t start for a couple weeks. He works a lot, but he mentioned showing me all the hives soon.” Just the thought of a second encounter made her nervous and excited at once. “I know he has some by his house, but he wants to show me the ones in the other fields too.”
“I bet he does,” Tabitha said in her typical teasing way.
Belinda blushed. “It isn’t like that. Adam is courting Susanne. They will probably marry next year. What we have is just a partnership. He helps me and I help him.”
“Adam is a smart fel
low. He’ll figure it out.” Tabitha went to the refrigerator and pulled out a pitcher of lemonade, a hint of something playing on her lips.
“Indeed he will,” Mammi added, still eyeing the gravy that was reaching a nice thick texture. She adjusted the gas underneath.
“What does that mean?” Belinda studied both of them for clues.
“It means that while he’s so busy taking care of his family and working around the clock, he might find out his girlfriend isn’t such a catch after all. In fact, he might’ve figured that out already. I haven’t seen them together for a spell. They used to eat lunch at the market together.” Had they broken up? No, Belinda quickly decided. If they had, Adam would’ve said so.
“I’m proud of you for helping,” Tabitha added. “Mica says pulling honey is hard work. I heard Mamm and Daed talking before they left about how expensive Atlee’s surgeries were, and his rehabilitation will be costly as well.”
“Our Belinda has always had a soft heart for those in need. Thankfully, she wasn’t born picky, like some.” Mammi pinned Tabitha with a look and her sister responded by playfully sticking out her tongue.
Belinda carried food to the table as Mica began stomping his boots clean on the porch. “I just wish Adam didn’t go to work at the same place where Atlee got hurt.”
“We all do what needs to be done.” Tabitha said. She worked hard to sell the family’s products, when it was no secret that she preferred to spend her time quilting and baking. If given the chance, Belinda suspected Tabitha would quilt and bake all day. “And being picky is better than settling for something you don’t really like.” Tabitha aimed the comment to their grandmother. “I won’t settle.”
“Dawdle and get nothing but a drowned heart,” Mammi quipped. She began flipping the cooled jars of beets upright, now that they had sat long enough for the caps to seal.
Neither sister had a worthy response.
