Shaking his head, Luke slung his arm loosely around her shoulders. “No doubt in my mind you drive a hard bargain, Nora-girl,” he murmured. “Makes me wonder why you want to spend time with the likes of me.”
It was a bid for a compliment—or for a declaration of affectionate intent—yet Nora smiled. “You’re a man immersed in honest work, who insists on providing his customers with high-quality food,” she replied as she studied the large, work-roughened hand that held the leather lines. “The guys I dealt with this morning might have manicured nails and pricey clothes, but they consider it their job—their right—to upsell every person who walks through their doors, and to make a huge profit from it.”
Nora gazed out at the passing countryside, allowing the sway of the buggy to bump her against Luke’s muscled body. “I understand their methods and motives, but I don’t respect them,” she murmured. “Car dealers cover their butts with so much fine print and legal mumbo jumbo, the average Joe doesn’t stand a chance of getting a fair deal. I want no part of that world anymore.”
When she met Luke’s gaze, he kissed her. It was quick, accompanied by a soft sigh. Feathery gentle and wintergreen fresh.
Nora’s breath escaped her. Before she could protest, Luke kissed her again, longer this time. While his arm remained loose and his lips merely skimmed hers, he was making her tingle all over as though this were her first kiss ever. She’d often anticipated this moment, but she’d had Luke Hooley figured all wrong. He wasn’t the aggressive, possessive kisser his come-on comments had suggested. It seemed he might actually be wooing her. And she hadn’t felt this responsive in a long, long time.
“More where that came from,” he whispered, sounding every bit as rattled as Nora was. He released her shoulders, holding the leather lines with a wolfish smile. “But I’m gonna make you come after it.”
“Teaser,” Nora muttered.
“Yup. Take some of your own medicine, woman.”
“Puh!” Nora scooted across the seat, but they both knew it was only the next play of the game. And the game was on.
They drove the rest of the way to Higher Ground with a charged silence thrumming between them. Luke pulled the rig up to the diner’s hitching rail, and after he’d secured the horse he put down the metal step. Nora smiled when he reached for her hand this time, playing the gentleman. He kept his fingers entwined with hers as they entered the restaurant.
It was a fifties-style diner, and the Mennonite waitresses wearing kapps looked a little out of sync moving among the red leatherette booths. Their athletic shoes squeaked on the black-and-white checkerboard floor as they poured water and handed out menus. Luke quickly decided on the chicken-fried steak special and Nora chose the grilled chicken salad.
“Time to powder my nose,” Nora murmured as she stood up.
“No need to do that for me,” Luke teased. “I think your freckles are sweet just the way they are.”
Her thoughts raced as she entered the restroom. The air-conditioning was a welcome relief from the day’s sultry heat, and as Nora washed her hands she tried to corral her thoughts. She intended to donate her English clothes to the thrift store in Morning Star, but she knew Luke would pursue her no matter how modestly she dressed—and she wanted him to. Today’s new twist on their cat-and-mouse game intrigued her.
When she looked in the mirror, Nora couldn’t miss the heightened color in her cheeks. She didn’t bother to comb her windblown hair. One last time, she would allow her auburn waves to fall in tousled layers around her face. She didn’t freshen her lipstick, either, because she wanted it to get kissed off. Just for the ride home, she would enjoy the sight of her bare legs beneath her short skirt . . . the way her strappy heels accentuated her ankles.
Then she would become Plain Nora, forever.
When she swung open the door, she nearly ran into Hiram Knepp before she saw him in the shadowy hallway. He was leaning against the wall as though he’d been waiting for her to come out. He shifted quickly so he was blocking her exit.
“Looking good,” he murmured with a devilish smile.
Nora somehow contained her irritation. “Hiram,” she said with a curt nod. “If you’ll excuse me—”
“Oh, there’s no excuse for you today,” he quipped as his gaze roamed the length of her. “You and Hooley are as mismatched as a thoroughbred racehorse yoked to an ox. What do you see in him, anyway?”
Nora didn’t try to break past him, because that would bring her into contact with the arm he’d planted against the wall, right at her chest level. “You’re entitled to your opinion,” she muttered, “but—”
“But I’m really here with a proposition,” Hiram interrupted. “A business proposition, that is.”
As he moved closer, Nora had nowhere to go but backwards, into the deeper shadow. As her back found the wall she instinctively bent one leg up so her knee was in a strategic position. She remained silent, making Hiram talk while she figured out how to get out of this trap he’d set.
“Several friends have told me how excited they are to be consigning items to your new store,” Hiram continued. “What a shame it would be if your business went belly-up. Most small businesses—especially those owned by women—fail within the first year because they’re undercapitalized. I’d like to help prevent that.”
I just bet you would, Nora thought, but she kept her mouth shut. Anything she said would give him more ammunition.
Hiram smirked. “Miriam Hooley and Andy Leitner can attest to that,” he stated. “ They couldn’t keep their doors open if they didn’t have a benefactor who owned their buildings and relieved them of all that overhead. So what if I bought my barn back?” he asked. “What if I became your silent partner, Nora?”
“No way,” she muttered. “I don’t care to pay the sort of interest you’d expect.”
Hiram’s chuckle echoed in the small hallway. “Nora, my dear,” he protested in a silky voice. “You misunderstand my—”
The door to the men’s room swung open so hard it hit the wall.
“The lady said no, Knepp,” Luke snapped as he stepped into the hallway. “I’ve got zero tolerance for snakes, so you’d better slither back into your hole. Got it?”
Hiram backed away from her. His jet-black goatee rippled with his grin as he pointed first to Nora and then to Luke. “There’s just no accounting for taste, I guess,” he said with a shake of his head. “If you care to reconsider my offer, Nora, my door’s always open.”
As Knepp strode away, Nora let her foot slide back to the floor. Her knees felt so wobbly she wondered if she’d make it back to the table. “Can’t thank you enough, Luke,” she rasped.
“Good thing I took a notion to powder my nose, eh?” he asked as he offered his arm. “I had no idea he was here until I heard him, uh, propositioning you outside the john.”
Nora’s face went hot. It was bad enough that she’d had to endure Hiram’s come-on, but even worse that Luke had been listening to their conversation. She gulped air to settle herself, happy to hang on to his arm as they returned to their table. Their orders arrived, but even though the grilled chicken salad looked really fresh and smelled delicious, she’d lost her appetite.
Luke, however, cut into his chicken-fried steak with gusto. “Has he done that before? Pestered you about your store, I mean.”
Nora sighed. “He came to the house once. Let himself in without being invited—so I’ve now installed dead bolts.” She watched as Luke forked up mashed potatoes and gravy, envying the way he was enjoying his meal. “Was it true, what he said? About Miriam and Andy having a benefactor who owns their buildings?”
“Yup. But it’s not Hiram—although he tried his best to finagle Miriam’s bakery away from her as revenge for not marrying him.” Luke sawed off another big bite of his meat.
“Ew,” Nora murmured. “I can’t picture them as a pair—not as sweet and honest and down-to-earth as Miriam is.”
“Hiram needed somebody to raise his younger kids,”
Luke explained. “He was really mad when he found out that the English fellow who raised Rebecca had bought the place out from under him, with an assist from the banker.
“His name’s Bob Oliveri,” he went on after he’d chewed for a moment. “He bought the clinic building and helped with its renovation, too, so Andy Leitner—our local nurse—could become Amish yet still have the electricity he needs to run some of his medical equipment. Good guy, Bob is,” Luke added with a nod. “Willow Ridge is a better place because of him.”
Nora had to agree. Her pulse was returning to normal, but her thoughts wandered. If Hiram had told the truth about Miriam and Andy having a benefactor, should she believe what he’d said earlier about Luke and Ira leaving previous girlfriends behind—in the lurch, as he’d put it—and then being able to open the mill only because their brother Ben was bankrolling it?
A tapping sound brought her out of her woolgathering. Luke was gazing intently at her as the tines of his fork repeatedly struck the edge of her plate. “Do not let Knepp ruin your lunch, Nora,” he insisted. “He’s not worth your time, and he’s full of bull. Nuff said.”
Nora began to pick the chicken from her salad, sensing Luke would make her sit here until she ate most of it. And wasn’t that sort of nice? He was being a friend—even if he eventually wanted to be a friend with benefits. She wouldn’t ruin the moment by quizzing him about his past, especially considering who had insinuated such questionable details about it.
When she’d eaten most of her salad and had downed a couple of glasses of ice water, Nora felt much better. She and Luke climbed into the buggy again. They chatted about the fields of corn they passed, which would soon be harvested by the Hooley brothers’ Mennonite farm helpers to make cornmeal and yellow corn grits. Nora enjoyed listening to Luke discuss the details of his milling work, and she was impressed with how many acres around these Plain settlements he and Ira had under contract. Even so, in the back of her mind she realized that the minutes were ticking by. And once they returned home, they both had work to do.
Nora’s hand found the inside of Luke’s elbow. His skin felt smooth and warm beneath the short sleeve of his tan cotton shirt. His eyes were the deep green of the shaded cedar trees along the road, and the intensity of his gaze unnerved her. “Um, maybe before we get to Willow Ridge, we could . . .”
“Shall I pull over?”
Nora’s breath escaped her as she nodded. She felt like a nervous girl on her first date. Her heart hammered as Luke brought his horse to a halt on the side of the road. He just kept looking at her, waiting for her to make the first move. Nora was once again impressed by Luke’s control, because even as desire danced in his eyes, his hands remained on his lap.
When she reached for him, Luke pulled her close and kissed her for several long, lovely moments. His soft sighs mingled with hers as he explored her mouth. When she eased away, Nora knew she’d followed a path from which there was no retreat. No turning back.
“Wow,” Luke murmured as he caught his breath. “Wow.”
“You got that right,” she murmured. “ This is the first time I’ve ever been kissed in a buggy—which sounds odd, considering the reason Dat sent me away. But before Borntreger took what he wanted, I’d led a very sheltered, good-girl life.”
“Maybe I can reintroduce you to Plain dating,” Luke replied as he took the lines in his hands again. “The basics between a man and a woman don’t require a car or cell phones or electricity, after all.”
Nora grinned, for it seemed they had generated their own type of electricity—and it was very different from what she’d known with Tanner.
“Will you need a ride to pick up your painted van?”
“No, the Stutzman brothers offered to deliver it, to be sure everything drives the way it should after they’ve checked it over,” she replied. “Poor planning on my part, eh?”
Luke wrapped his hand around hers as the horse clip-clopped along the blacktop again. “The best parts about getting to know someone usually don’t follow a plan. Although I’ll confess that I accomplished everything on my agenda today. And I liked it. A lot.”
Nora smiled. Who could’ve imagined that cool, self-assured Luke Hooley would admit such a thing in a way that seemed so guileless? So sweet and open.
When the mill came into view, Luke kissed her once more, gently guiding her chin with his finger. He drove her to the front door of her house, and as Nora got out of the buggy, she felt so giddy she wasn’t sure what she said to him. When she entered her front room, the fabric hangings stacked on her couch reminded her that she had a million things to do to get ready for her store’s opening, but she went straight upstairs. She changed into a cape dress and pulled her hair into a bun with a kapp over it. In the bathroom, she washed off her makeup.
Grabbing the wardrobe boxes she’d used for her move to Willow Ridge, she went to her closet and quickly took out every pencil skirt, silk blouse, and pair of tailored slacks, plus all the sundresses and suits and high-dollar shoes and purses that went with them. She bagged her jewelry and colorful scarves, and yanked her T-shirts, jeans, and shorts from her dresser drawers. Waves of emotion rolled through her as she recalled the occasions when she’d worn some of this stylish clothing, but before she lost her resolve, Nora sealed the boxes shut with packing tape. She would haul this stuff to the thrift store in Morning Star as soon as her van arrived.
She felt purged. Clean. Her English wardrobe represented a life she felt good about leaving behind, even though she’d known some shining moments and had gained a world of experience that would never leave her. But it was time to move forward, even if that meant stepping back in time to the simpler life she’d known as a girl.
Nora looked in the mirror and smiled. The woman gazing back at her belonged in Willow Ridge. No matter what her father thought of her, she had come home. To stay.
Chapter Eighteen
Miriam opened the windows in the Sweet Seasons kitchen and dining room, welcoming the fresh breeze that came with a cool, rainy afternoon. This summer had seemed hotter and more humid than any she remembered, possibly because she was five months along in her pregnancy. A break in the heat had put her in a better mood after a very busy day.
Or was she smiling because all three of her girls were here? Rachel, beautifully round with her first child, sat in the kitchen beside a large crate of carrots, peeling them, while beside her, Rhoda peeled potatoes and dropped them into a big pan of cold water. Rebecca was wiping down the tables and chairs in the dining room.
“What a picture,” Miriam remarked as she gazed around the café. “Can’t recall the last time all three of ya were in the same place at the same time, even though I see each of ya nearly every day. Denki for bein’ here with me.”
Rachel looked up, her peeler poised over another carrot. “What with Micah and his brothers workin’ over in New Haven today, it’s better that I’m here helpin’ ya with this mountain of carrots than lookin’ for things to do. Aunt Leah must have a bumper crop of root vegetables in her garden this year.”
“Jah, she didn’t sell as much at the farmers’ market this mornin’ on account of the rain,” Miriam replied. Her sister, Leah Kanagy, who raised vegetables and kept bees, often sold Miriam the leftover items she’d harvested. “I’ve been wantin’ to try a new carrot soup recipe Rebecca found, and this seems like a fine time for it. And I’m gonna slice some of those onions Leah brought to make that cheesy onion casserole the fellas like so much.”
“You’d better enjoy your last weeks of peace and quiet, Rachel,” Rhoda teased. “Andy thinks your wee one’ll be here by the middle of September. That gives us a bit of time to spoil your baby and practice our diaperin’ technique before Mamma’s comes along.”
“It’ll be a new experience, havin’ my first grandchild and then birthin’ another baby of my own after all these years,” Miriam remarked. “I’m glad I’ve got you girls close at hand. I’m not sure how I’ll manage a wee one while Naomi and I keep the S
weet Seasons goin’. But I’ll figure it out.”
Humming, Miriam took a stockpot from a hook on the ceiling. She was in the mood to cook most of these carrots and make the soup for tomorrow’s lunch menu, and then simmer the onions for the casserole . . . maybe get a few pans of cornbread casserole in the oven while it was so pleasantly cool. These days, her energy seemed to come and go on its own schedule, so cooking ahead gave her some leeway for those days when she wasn’t as bouncy.
When the bell above the door jangled, she looked out to see Nora entering the dining room, wearing a speculative expression.
“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Nora said as she smiled at each of the girls. “I thought if I came after you closed, I’d not cause a scene with Dat.”
Miriam’s smile fell a notch. She sensed Nora was hurting inside even though she’d put on a good front. “Gabe’s not been here all this week,” she remarked. “I suspect he’s avoidin’ the lectures he’ll get from Bishop Tom—and me. Why he has to be so hardheaded is beyond me.”
“I can’t change him, so I’ve stopped fretting over it. I hope he realizes how hard it’ll be on Mamm and Millie if he gets shunned, though.” Nora peeked into the kitchen and her mouth dropped open. “That’s the biggest pile of carrots I’ve ever seen!”
“Mamma’s trying a new recipe for tomorrow’s lunch menu,” Rachel explained. She shifted her bulk, adjusting her posture in the chair. “Can’t say I’m looking forward to slicing all of these before she cooks them, though.”
“You don’t have a food processor?” Nora gazed around the kitchen, taking in the array of appliances.
“Nor a blender for after the carrots are cooked,” Miriam said, frowning at the recipe. “Ach, if I’d paid closer attention to that detail, I might’ve started something different. Sometimes I think this baby’s makin’ me absentminded.”
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