Eventide: The Days of Redemption Series, Book Three

by Shelley Shepard Gray

  “Listen, the wife is in the hospital with some kind of pneumonia. That’s a difficult thing, for sure. I feel blessed that I have two good arms and two good legs. Helping them out so they can visit her at the hospital is a small thing.”

  Daniel sobered. “I didn’t know she was in the hospital. I hear ya. I would be beside myself if my Edith was that sick.”

  “I know you would. You’re a blessed man, brother. Edith is a wonderful-gut frau.”

  “She’s the best,” he said softly.

  With effort, Landon shoved aside the twinge of envy he felt whenever his brother talked about Edith. He didn’t begrudge Daniel’s happiness, but he did wonder how the Lord had seen fit to match Daniel so early in life . . . and him so late.

  Shrugging off those feelings, he walked toward the door and pulled out his key ring from a pocket. “So, see you on Monday?” With no church that weekend, they usually took some time apart. There was no reason for them to be living in each other’s back pocket seven days a week.

  “I guess so, since you don’t want to stop by for supper.”

  Just before turning away, Daniel said, “Hey, Landon?”

  “Jah?”

  “Be careful now, will ya? You don’t want to get too sidetracked by your neighbor’s needs. Not when you have plenty of your own problems to solve. And we have a business to run.”

  “I won’t get sidetracked.”

  They went their separate ways then, Daniel walking back toward Market Street. Landon, on the other hand, grabbed his bike resting on the side of the house and got ready to pedal his way to his new, very small farm with its broken-down barn and dilapidated house.

  And his new neighbors.

  As he pushed off and started pedaling down the almost-empty street, Landon smiled slightly. Well, perhaps he had a secret, too. His reasons for visiting the Keims’ farm weren’t completely unselfish.

  There was a very pretty brown-haired lady there who he’d like to get to know a bit better. And if luck was on his side?

  Roman would ask him if he’d like another glass of water . . . and Elsie Keim would just happen to be back in that kitchen and in a chatty mood.

  He’s out there again, Viola exclaimed as she bounded into their bedroom just an hour before dinner.

  Elsie blearily opened her eyes, which had been bothering her all day. When her head had started to pound, too, she’d escaped to their bedroom for a few minutes’ rest.

  But, by the sound of things, she’d slept far longer. As she struggled to get her bearings, she sat up and scooted off the bed. “Who is out where?”

  “Landon Troyer is out in our barn.”

  “Landon?” Though a spark of interest flared in her, she did her best to act nonchalant. “Is he helping Roman with chores again?”

  “I don’t think so; it’s a little late in the day for that.”

  Elsie rubbed her eyes again. “Hmm. I wonder why he stopped by.”

  “It looks like he merely came over to visit with Roman.”

  “I guess they’ve become gut friends.”

  “Perhaps.” Glancing out the window, Viola softly chuckled. “Elsie, it was so funny. When our new neighbor first saw me, he did a double take.”

  “I wonder why.”

  “One reason, of course. He thought I was you.” Turning back to Elsie, she still looked amused. “I had to explain to him that, though we might look a whole lot alike, we aren’t identical twins.”

  Despite that fact, Viola and Elsie shared the same coloring, height, and build. When they were little, only the smallest differences could be found: Viola freckled easily; Elsie did not. Elsie had inherited her mother’s long, slim hands, while Viola had shorter fingers and wider palms.

  As the years continued, their differences became more pronounced. Viola was outgoing and possessed a bossy nature. She was restless and had always been a favorite for impromptu kickball or volleyball games. Elsie had been quieter, more apt to be found in the kitchen helping their grandmother than playing with the other children in their neighborhood.

  Then, of course, came her diagnosis and glasses. Afterward, no one confused her and Viola.

  Now, however, Elsie was surprised even a brief acquaintance like Landon Troyer could mistake her for her vibrant sister. After all, her thick glasses were hard to overlook.

  After studying her for a long moment, Viola sat on her twin bed across from Elsie. “So, you fell asleep. Even though it’s almost suppertime.”

  “I don’t know what happened,” she fibbed. “I guess the day just caught up to me. The house was so noisy last night, I couldn’t get to sleep.”

  “It was noisy last night,” Viola allowed after a pause. “It’s been fun having Onkle Aden, Aunt Rachel, and cousin Beth here. When you add in Beth’s kinner, it’s mighty crowded.”

  “I’m just glad they’ve been spending time with Onkle Sam and Aunt Lorene, too. I’m verra glad everyone is here to see Mamm and Daed, but all this company can be overwhelming.”

  Actually, Elsie was finding it harder and harder to keep her bearings with so much noise and comings and goings in the house, which made her realize just how much she’d been relying on her other senses to get through each day.

  Her sister’s voice turned soft. “Are you having a tough time, Elsie?”

  “Jah.” Elsie wouldn’t have admitted that to anyone else. “My . . . my eyes have been bothering me a bit more than usual.”

  “You should call your doktah.”

  “There’s no need. Dr. Palmer told me years ago that stress can sometimes make my vision weak. I bet things will get better when Mamm comes home.” Having the family here was a blessing. But that didn’t mean they didn’t bring more work and more stress.

  Viola nodded. “We need for Mamm to get better.”

  After getting to her feet, Elsie was dismayed to see that her dress was wrinkled and that some of the pins had come loose. With a sigh, she unpinned the majority of them and prepared to painstakingly pin the dress back together.

  After a moment of watching her struggle, Viola crossed the room and helped her. Usually Elsie brushed off her twin’s offers of help but today she felt too sluggish to refuse.

  “I think you need to go back to the eye doctor as soon as you can, Elsie. More might be wrong than just stress.”

  “I know.” She couldn’t hide her problems from her twin easily, and for the most part, didn’t even like trying. “I’ll call when Mamm gets better.”

  “You know Mamm would want you to call Dr. Palmer and hire a driver to take you to Ashland.” She snapped her fingers. “I know, you could ask the driver to take you to Ashland from the hospital in Dover after you see Mamm tomorrow.”

  Elsie shrugged. It was going to be hard enough to go to the doctor with the immediate family asking her question after question about it. The last thing she wanted was for all her aunts and uncles to get involved, too.

  It was her mother who needed everyone’s prayers and concern, not her.

  “I’ll go when the time is right. That isn’t now. And besides, tomorrow is Saturday. The doctor’s office is closed on Saturdays,” she said as she carefully brushed her hair, then pinned it back.

  “Elsie, please—”

  When her kapp was on, Elsie walked to the door, hoping to dash into the bathroom. “Thank you for worrying about me, Vi.”

  “You do understand that my worry is because I love you, right? I’m not nagging for any other reason.”

  That sparked a burst of laughter. Her sister loved to nag! “I’ll try to remember that.”

  She was still chuckling about Viola’s explanation a few minutes later when she made her way downstairs. Her twin was as bossy as a mother goose with a barn full of goslings. Viola couldn’t help managing things.

  “You seem especially happy,” Roman commented. “Anything new?”

  She looked at him in surprise. She’d been sure he was still in the barn with Landon. “Oh, it’s nothing, just something Viola said.” Cu
rious about their neighbor, she said, “Viola said we had company?”

  “You mean beyond all the family here?”

  “Yes. Do we have a guest?” she asked almost nonchalantly, just as Landon walked in from the mudroom.

  “Only me,” Landon said.

  Feeling her cheeks heat, she thanked the Lord she hadn’t had time to finish her questions. She would have been so embarrassed if Landon had heard her ask about him. “Hello, again,” she said.

  “Good to see you.” After a beat, he added, “I met your twin earlier.”

  “Yes, ah, Viola mentioned that she met you.”

  “For a moment I thought she was you, but now I realize you two look very different.”

  Fingering her glasses self-consciously, she nodded. “Yes, I suppose we do.”

  Immediately, Landon looked embarrassed. “I wasn’t talking about your glasses. I was talking about—”

  “Roman?” Regina called out. “Roman?”

  “That’s my daughter,” Roman interrupted, already turning toward the hallway. “I better go see what she needs.” Glancing at Elsie, he seemed to be asking her to stay with his friend. “Sorry about this, I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t worry about me,” Landon said. “I’m fine right here.”

  When they were alone, Landon gestured to the table.

  Elsie realized that he wasn’t going to sit down without her sitting first. She also was starting to realize that he wanted to sit with her.

  Yes, he definitely wanted to be with her.

  Carefully, she pulled out a chair and took a seat.

  Immediately, he sat down, too.

  Though her vision was flawed, she noticed that his gaze was as direct as ever, and that she was still drawn to his rugged good looks, with his dark hair and matching eyes. But there was something else about him that had captured her fancy.

  He seemed to have a bottled-up power inside him. An energy, almost a glow. Charisma. She couldn’t help but be drawn to that.

  He leaned forward on his elbows that were resting on the table. “So . . . can you keep a secret?”

  He looked so focused, so intent, she felt a quiver of tension roll through her body. “Of course.”

  “I didn’t come over to see Roman. I stopped by because I was hoping to see you again.”

  As his words sank in, Elsie was glad she was sitting down. Perhaps, after all this time, she really had been wrong.

  Perhaps the Lord actually did listen . . . and could actually make her dreams come true.

  chapter four

  I stopped by because I was hoping to see you again.

  Elsie gulped as Landon’s words sank in. And as they did, she came to a startling conclusion: Though she’d always wanted a man to pay attention to her, had always hoped a man would one day look at her like she was special . . . she was utterly unprepared to deal with it.

  As Landon continued to gaze at her, a bit of humor tingeing the interest that she’d spied in his eyes, she awkwardly sputtered. “Is that right?” she asked.

  Completely unnecessarily.

  Of course, she was already wishing it was possible to take those words right back and exchange them with something far more charming. And if she couldn’t manage charming? Well, coherent would be good!

  His lips curved. Looking almost sheepish, he added, “Oh, I wanted to help Roman out with the farm however I could. But ever since we first said hello, I knew I wanted to get to know you.”

  “I’m not quite sure how to respond to that.”

  His brows rose. “Uh-oh. Did I say too much?”

  “Nee,” she blurted. No, the problem wasn’t his saying too much. It was her saying too little!

  Come on, Elsie, that little voice of reason coaxed in her head. Make sense. Quick-like. “Um, what I meant to say was that I had no idea you felt that way about me.”

  Suddenly, simply sitting across from him felt impossible. “I need to take some towels and sheets off the line. Do you mind if we talk while I do that?”

  “Not at all. I can even help you, if you’d like,” he said as they walked toward the back door.

  After she slipped on a thick black cardigan over her dress, she pointed to a basket. “Would you like to carry the laundry basket?”

  “I’d love to carry it.” He picked it up with one hand and a grin.

  As they walked outside, she raised her face to the sun. The temperature wasn’t especially warm, only in the high sixties. But there was a warm breeze threading through the air, and it made her more aware than ever that spring had definitely arrived. “I’m so glad it didn’t rain today. I had to get some of the wash done.”

  “Do you do all the laundry?”

  She nodded. “Most of it.”

  “That seems kind of a lot for one person.”

  “I don’t mind the chore, especially since my mother is in the hospital.” She’d also taken over the chore because it was one of the few things she didn’t need perfect vision to do.

  “I hope she gets better soon.”

  “Me, too.” Reaching up, she unfastened a couple of pins and tossed them in the basket. Then she carefully folded a towel and handed it to Landon. He took the towel and set in the basket.

  She wasn’t sure what else to say, so she repeated the process several more times, tossing clothespins, folding towels, and handing them to Landon.

  He didn’t seem to need to converse much, either. In fact, he seemed to be fairly content just to be outside with her.

  After four towels were neatly set in the basket, he spoke. “Elsie, you remind me a lot of my sister Mary.”

  She hoped that was a good thing. “How so?”

  “Mary is kind of a surprising person. She’s a tiny thing, doesn’t look like she’d amount to much . . . but she’s pretty tough. Even though I don’t know you all that well yet, I’m starting to get the feeling that you’re the same way.”

  She was glad she was busy folding a sheet because otherwise she’d be forced to look at him, and that would be a disaster. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

  “I hope you will. I meant for it to be. Elsie, you aren’t seeing anyone are you?”

  Holding the now neatly folded sheet, she turned to him. “No, I’m not. Are you?”

  “Nee.” He looked like he wanted to add more, but then his gaze drifted behind her. “If I come back tomorrow, on Saturday, will you be home?”

  “I’ll be here in the afternoon. I’m going to visit my mother in the morning.”

  “If I did come by, and you were home . . . would you talk with me some more?”

  His asking was clumsy. Stilted. Almost like an insecure teenager.

  But maybe because of that, she found it endearing. It certainly made her want to see him again. “If I’m home when you come over, I’ll look forward to talking with you.”

  He smiled as he picked up her basket of laundry, then handed it over to Roman who’d just joined them.

  “What’s this?” Roman asked.

  “Your laundry. Carry it in for your sister,” Landon said. Then, with a slight tip of his hat in Elsie’s direction, he walked off.

  A line formed between Roman’s brows as he watched Landon walk away. “What was that about?”

  “Nothing at all.” She shrugged. “I guess he had to leave suddenly.”

  “I guess so.” Looking at the basket in his hands, he said, “I suppose you want me to carry it inside for you?”

  She hid a grin. “Well, since you’re holding it and all? I do.”

  On Saturday afternoon, after a short visit to the hospital followed by a quick lunch at a fast food restaurant, Elsie set about putting the house to rights. With the extra company in the house, along with everyone’s crazy schedules, the whole house was in constant disarray.

  She’d taken over the majority of the day-to-day upkeep. Since she couldn’t do much cooking or sewing, she was glad of the chores and to be of use.

  She just wished they wouldn’t be so constan
t.

  She’d just finished dusting and sweeping the front room when Landon arrived.

  Unlike the other times, today he’d come to the front door.

  He was also looking remarkably clean, which made her smile.

  “What’s so funny?” he asked after she led him inside.

  “Oh, nothing. It’s just that I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to see you in clean clothes.” When he looked embarrassed, she held up a hand. “I meant that in the best of ways, Landon. I can’t help but admire a hard worker.”

  His expression warmed. “I’m thankful to find you home . . . and alone. I’m starting to get the feeling that your family enjoys looking out for you. . . . Your brother especially.”

  “That is true. Roman and I are pretty close. Actually, I’m close to all of my family. . . .” She fumbled, trying to figure out how to explain enough without having to explain her disability and how her family always babied her because of it.

  “I mean that in the best way, Elsie,” he said, echoing her words. “Anyway, I’m mighty glad you were home today. I didn’t know how much longer I could just happen to stop by without a good reason. Roman’s already told me he’s run out of chores for me to do.” He grinned at his joke.

  She tried to smile right back, but failed. It was becoming more and more obvious that she had few skills when it came to speaking with the opposite sex.

  As he waited for her to reply, she felt his gaze settle on her face. Wishing she could see his expression a little bit better, Elsie began to really wish she and Viola were a whole lot more alike.

  Funny, she’d never envied Viola’s good vision. But now she did envy her ability to chat with men. Over the years, Viola had had her share of beaus. Nothing too serious, but she’d been friends with enough boys in their church district to know how to respond to something like this.

  As for herself? Well, she was feeling hopelessly out of her element.

  Landon Troyer appeared to have no trouble. He seemed to be without the slightest trace of nervousness. Instead, it was as if he told girls he liked them all the time.