“Wow,” Nora murmured. “When I imagined opening a store that featured Plain pieces, I never dreamed I’d be carrying furniture like this, guys.”
Aaron shrugged modestly. “No point in makin’ stuff nobody would want,” he remarked. “We’ll get that sleigh bed in here now. Ya want it right there?”
Nora nodded when he gestured toward a nearby nook. She was already imagining how the bed would look draped in one of the Schrocks’ quilts, with a crocheted rag rug from her Cedar Creek supplier on the floor beside it. A few minutes later, after Aaron and Seth had carefully set the bed down, she ran her rag over its beautifully carved, curved headboard.
“Did I hear that you and Mary have set your wedding date?” she asked the older Brenneman. “Congratulations!”
“Jah, we’re tyin’ the knot in a couple of months,” he replied. “Mary’s been so busy of late, movin’ into the house, I didn’t realize she was sewin’ up a few things for your store. Be back in a few!”
Nora blinked. Seth returned to hand her a big plastic sack, and when she peeked inside, she saw not just one or two Amish dolls, but a whole family of them!
“Oh my word!” She grinned at the two men. “If you’ll bring me that empty mattress box beside the door, I can make up this bed with embroidered sheets and a quilt. These dolls will be sitting pretty on top of it! Tell Mary I’m really tickled that she’s already made so many of them.”
The Brennemans hadn’t even pulled their wagon out of the driveway before Nora was fitting a set of pale yellow sheets over the mattress box. Embroidered butterflies of pink, fuchsia, and blue embellished the pillowcases, which were edged in a variegated crocheted border of the same colors—the sort of handiwork that looked so romantic in a bedroom, but which few women had the time or inclination to craft these days. After she’d tucked Eva Schrock’s flower garden quilt into the sleigh bed’s frame, she folded the crocheted edge of the sheet over it.
Arranging Mary Kauffman’s family of faceless Amish dolls on this quaint, feminine bed made Nora smile. With their solid-colored Plain clothing, kapps, and a broad-brimmed hat on the bearded father, the dolls made the perfect addition to the display.
“Looks like your store’s really taking shape, Nora.”
Nora turned to grin at Vernon Gingerich. “I was so engrossed in arranging these new pieces, I didn’t hear you come in,” she admitted. “It’s like playing house, but on a bigger scale. It’s a huge dream coming true.”
“I can see that. It’s written all over your face, dear
Nora,” the kindly bishop replied. “I’ve brought you the pottery and rugs from Cedar Creek, along with a little gift.”
“You’ve saved me a trip. Denki so much.” Nora followed him out into the bright sunshine, to the enclosed surrey that held boxes of ceramic pieces and a stack of colorful crocheted rugs. But before he removed these items from his double rig, Vernon lifted a table through the back door and placed it on the ground.
Nora sucked in her breath. The table was about three feet wide and five feet long, made of cherry-wood and polished to a lovely gloss. Its rounded corners were set off with identical carved roses in full bloom, so perfectly crafted that they might have been real flowers.
“I thought you weren’t going to consign anything to my store,” she said. “This is such a fabulous piece, Vernon. It would surely bring hundreds of dollars at your auction.”
“It’s not for sale. I made it for you, Nora.”
Her mouth fell open. “I—I don’t know what to—thank you so very much,” she stammered. “What a treasure.”
Vernon’s blue-eyed gaze embraced her. “I thought a new storekeeper could surely use a place to do her bookwork, or merely to sit for a minute when her customers don’t require her attention. Work and rest,” he went on in a more eloquent tone. “They both belong in our schedule as we go about the business God has called us to.”
“I know where I want to put it, too,” Nora said. “We’ve got a space right outside the office, where we can tend to the record keeping while we watch the store. My daughter, Millie, will be helping me, you know. And—and Dat and I have made our peace,” she added in a rush. “We Glicks are all together as a family again.”
“The gut news traveled fast, from Bishop Tom’s barn phone to mine,” Vernon replied with a chuckle. “We’re both glad that God’s wisdom has settled over this situation, and that your dat’s health has been restored, as well. I see those two things working together, as two parts of the whole blessing.”
After they placed the table and its matching chair on the dais outside the office, Nora and Vernon unloaded the crates of pottery and the rugs. The bishop said his good-byes and headed down the road, leaving Nora to contemplate the selection of beautiful pottery as she unpacked it. The bowls, pitchers, vases—and dinner place settings for four—glowed on the new shelving. Nora arranged one place setting of the dishes on the dining room table, loving the simplicity of their warm ivory color, which was accented with rings of rust and cobalt around the edges.
She positioned the largest of the rag rugs, crocheted with fabric strips in deep rose, cream, and yellow, beneath the Brenneman table. She hung the other rugs from hanger bars that extended out from the wall so customers could get a good look at them. After she put a folded paper placard on the table, telling about the Brenneman brothers of Willow Ridge, she made similar signs about Zanna Ropp in Cedar Creek, who had crocheted the five colorful rugs, and Amanda Brubaker, who’d created the pottery.
Nora’s rumbling stomach told her it was time for a break, but she wandered back to admire the cherry table Vernon had made for her. It seemed the perfect place to put a monitor for the security camera system, so she quickly set it up. With the push of a button, she began watching the various nooks and display areas of the store rotating on the screen. Plenty of space remained for her or Millie to do bookwork on the table—
Nora gripped the top of the chair. On the screen, she saw Hiram Knepp entering the shop. When he noticed the swivel of the camera that was mounted above him, he flashed a cocky smile at it—at her—and then wound his way between the displays to where she was standing.
“You’ve had quite a stream of gentlemen callers, Nora,” he said in a silken voice. “I was wondering if I’d get my turn.”
Goose flesh raced up Nora’s spine—the willies that hit her when something creeped her out. Had Hiram really been watching the comings and goings at her store all morning? Or was he just saying that to frighten her?
“You are the queen of heat in that pink print dress.” Hiram stopped mere inches away from her, well aware that he’d invaded her space and trapped her against the table. “It calls to mind the color of a woman’s skin between her—”
“What do you need?” Nora interrupted brusquely. “I’m ready to go—”
“You lead and I’ll follow. You know what I need,” he whispered suggestively. He raised a finger to her face but Nora smacked it away.
“Leave! Now,” she snapped. She inhaled, trying to control the sick, woozy feeling in her head. Her first impulse was to call the sheriff, but her phone was in the office. If Hiram cornered her in there, she’d be very, very sorry.
“What kind of talk is that for a lamb who’s to be baptized in a few days?” Hiram asked in a voice edged with sarcasm. “If you were a seeker in my district, I’d have you on your knees begging for my—”
“But Nora’s not in your district,” came a loud male voice from the doorway. “I’ve got the sheriff on speed dial, Hiram. Wherever you take off to, he’ll know it’s you in that vintage black Caddie, won’t he?”
Oh, thank you, Lord! Nora prayed when she spotted Luke and heard the solid tattoo of his boots crossing the floor.
Hiram eased away from her, but he didn’t appear ready to leave. “There’ll come a day when Hooley won’t arrive in the nick of time,” he remarked caustically. “Then you and I can become partners on more than just a business level. You know you need me, Nora. I kno
w too much.”
“You don’t know beans,” Nora blurted. It was exactly the wrong tone, the wrong attitude for dealing with Hiram—or was it? Maybe she could end this farce once and for all—if Luke would play along. Would he do that for her? Or had he come to pay her back for the way she’d slapped him and told him off? His face looked ruddy and set, his eyes as hard and green as marbles.
Slipping her arm around Luke’s waist, Nora gazed up at him with an expression of utter, head-over-heels love. “What you don’t know, Hiram, is that you were exactly right at the diner,” she said boldly. “When you told me I was a thoroughbred yoked to an ox? Well, Luke and I are a team now—engaged, matter of fact. We’re both the best of our breeds, so I don’t need you. And I have never wanted you. Got it?”
Luke pulled her closer, kissing her temple as a chuckle rumbled in his chest. “We’ve been comparing notes, Nora and I,” he went on. “And all that stuff you told me about being her silent partner and buying her barn is a pack of lies, Hiram. She’s got bank backing, like any smart businesswoman.”
Hiram opened his mouth to refute Luke’s statement, but Nora was ready for him.
“Same thing goes for that story you told me about Ben financing Luke and Ira’s mill,” she asserted. “And you did not lower the price of this property for me. You made a killing on this place—raised the price so your crooked Realtor would get a bigger commission. The loan officer in New Haven confirmed my suspicions.”
Hiram smirked. “Who’s been filling your pretty head with such—”
“Lay off !” Nora blurted. “I find it disgusting that you’re putting the moves on me—and that you insinuated Luke left a woman in the lurch, back in Lancaster. Matter of fact, every woman I know thinks you’re disgusting—including Miriam and Jerusalem,” she continued in a voice that rang around the rafters. “So why do you keep making a fool of yourself? Why don’t you get a clue and go after stupid women, Hiram?”
The slightest flicker in Hiram’s eyes told Nora her arrows had found a soft spot.
“That’s why Delilah left you, too,” Luke continued without missing a beat. “That black dye’s a poor cover for the old goat you really are, butting into everybody’s business with your lies. Delilah and Nora have got your number—and I’ve got a number ready, too.”
He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and positioned his thumb over a button. “So what’ll it be? Will you get out of Nora’s face—out of our lives for good?” Luke demanded. “Or do I let Officer McClatchey know you’re driving with expired license plates?”
Hiram’s eyes widened before he could cover his reaction. “Fine,” he muttered as he turned to leave. “But don’t believe for a minute that you can tell me where to go or with whom to spend my time.”
As her uninvited guest made his way between the displays, Nora kept her arm around Luke, maintaining their appearance as a team. Her heart was pounding too fast and her legs felt wobbly, but she dared to believe she’d gotten rid of Hiram Knepp—at least for a while.
“Hey, Knepp?” Luke called out.
Hiram turned, scowling.
“That underwear you said was missing?” Luke went on in a knowing tone. “You got it all wrong. It’s pink and frilly and made of silk.”
Hiram pivoted. After a few moments a car engine roared, and then gravel pinged against the outside of the barn as he raced away.
Nora let out the breath she’d been holding. “Are his plates really expired? How’d you notice that little detail?”
Luke reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out two small, curled-up slips of plastic film that were tattered around the edges. “I’d have been here sooner, but I had trouble lifting the edges of these renewal stickers off his plates with my pocketknife.”
Nora laughed out loud. “So are you going to call the sheriff ?”
Luke shrugged, easing away from her. “I’ll let Hiram wonder about that for now. He can get new stickers at the license bureau. But like he said, we can’t tell him where to go or who to see.”
“Yeah, but he knows we’re wise to the lies he’s been telling us.” Nora sat down in her desk chair to keep her knees from buckling. “I’m not sure why you showed up when you did, but thanks, Luke. Hiram’s full of hot air but he still gives me the creeps.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Luke realized he was breathing in and out in time with Nora. He wanted to grab her and kiss away her fear—her huge hazel eyes took up half her face as she gazed up at him. She was so grateful for the way he’d rescued her, he could probably ask for anything he wanted.
But he held his breath for a few heartbeats so his fantasies wouldn’t run away with him. He knew some of the stuff she’d said had been designed to get Hiram out of her store, but when Nora had put her arm around him—when she’d said they were engaged . . .
Was that part of her ruse, too? Was Nora pulling one over on Hiram, the same way he had peeled off the Cadillac’s license plate stickers? Hiram could replace those, but Luke wasn’t so sure he could handle it if Nora had only been toying with his emotions.
Should he reveal why he’d come over? How he’d been a fool for believing Knepp’s lies? Luke decided to start slowly, to clarify a few major points first. He hoped he wouldn’t regret delving into the issues their confrontation had raised.
“When I looked out my upstairs window and saw Hiram’s car parked behind the windbreak of evergreens across the road,” he began, “I realized he’s probably been hiding there periodically, ever since you moved here. Spying on you.”
Nora’s mouth formed an O but no sound came out. She looked ready to crawl underneath the desk. “Stalking me,” she whimpered. “That’s horrible—but what can I do? The windbreak’s not my property, so—”
“We can tell Dan Kanagy what’s going on,” Luke suggested. “Wouldn’t hurt to trim those evergreens and the vines that’ve grown between them. Ira and I could make pretty short work of that.”
Luke stopped before he volunteered any more of his time or emotional involvement. As pieces of their conversation with Hiram came back to him, he figured he had to be careful about how he used that information.
“So Knepp said you were a thoroughbred yoked to an ox?” he murmured. “I’ve been compared to a lot of animals over the years, but most of them were more, well—graceful. Certainly sexier.”
Nora bit back a laugh. “But an ox is strong and dependable, and he gets the job done,” she remarked. “And only a fool would get crossways with an ox.”
Luke smiled. Was that the tiniest hint at innuendo in her teasing tone, her arched eyebrows?
“Think of it this way,” Nora went on. “Would you rather be considered an ox or a snake? I know which one I’d prefer to be hitched up with.”
Hitched up with. Nora was referring to Hiram’s yoke imagery rather than marriage, of course—yet her words made his heart wander down a more hopeful trail. Too early to jump to such conclusions. Focus on the answers you need to hear.
“So Hiram told you I left a trail of trouble back in Lancaster?” Luke ventured, watching Nora’s expression. “What did he mean, saying I left a woman in the lurch?”
“That phrase could cover a lot of sins,” Nora replied. “I see it as another of Hiram’s attempts to manipulate me. Another lie to make you look bad.”
“Glad to hear that,” Luke murmured. “While I’m by no means as pure as the driven snow, I was careful about sowing my wild oats. If you know what I mean.”
“I believe that,” Nora whispered. “You’ve always told me what you wanted to do with me, but when I asked you to slow down, you showed me total respect. I really appreciate that, Luke.”
Appreciation was fine, as far as it went, but Luke had wanted more from Nora from the moment he’d first laid eyes on her—not to mention after he’d kissed her. The open expression on Nora’s sweet face made him want to kiss her now, but he had another point or two to clarify first. “Why’d you tell Knepp we’re engaged?”
Nor
a clasped her hands in front of her white apron, her gaze never wavering from his. “Why’d you give him so many details about my underwear?” she countered. “That bit about the pink silk was an interesting touch.”
Nora had him there, and they both knew it.
“Can’t a man have his fantasies?” Luke blurted. “I was just fighting fire with—”
“You could probably have more than fantasies if I sensed a bit of... repentance.”
Luke’s throat went tight. His previous encounter with Nora came back in all its inglorious detail as he glanced at the wooden staircase and up to the loft level, where a magnificent quilt was hanging. “I owe you that,” he agreed with a sigh. He paused to pray—asking God for the right words, because he doubted they would flow out without divine intervention.
“Nora, I was way out of line when I stormed over here and accused you of being Hiram’s—partner,” he said, quickly replacing a harsher word. “I’m sorry I let his insinuations get me all riled up—”
“You were green with envy,” Nora recalled in a breathy voice. “This might sound strange to you, but after the way my ex lost interest and left, it was kind of gratifying to see a man get so worked up over me—so angry about who might be getting what he wanted for himself.”
Luke sucked in his breath when Nora came over to grasp his hands. Her face had regained its usual glow as she gazed up at him with eyes that shone like wild honey.
“I accept your apology, Luke. And I’m sorry I slapped you so hard,” she said. “The way both of us sometimes fly off without thinking, I suspect this won’t be the last time we apologize to each other.”
That implied a future, didn’t it? Luke wrapped his arms around Nora, resting his head on hers. While he’d come here to rescue her today, he was the one who’d been sprung from a trap of his own making. It felt so good to hold Nora this way, to feel her forgiveness and erase the doubts Hiram had fabricated.
“Is this where we kiss and make up?” he murmured.
Harvest of Blessings Page 24
