Harvest of Hearts

by Laura Hilton

  Shanna’s cell phone rang, the musical tone blaring out from her pocket. Everyone jumped and looked at her.

  “Ach, you made me drop a stitch.” Mamm unraveled a few stitches.

  Shanna reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. The caller was Nate, a guy she casually dated in Springfield. She wanted to talk with him, but did he have to call while she was enjoying time with her family? She deliberated a moment, studying the phone, then the game. Well, maybe she could play a game later. She’d be here all summer. “I won’t be playing this time.” She got up and headed for the door. On the porch, she opened the phone and held it to her ear. “Hey, Nate. What’s happening?”

  Chapter 8

  The next morning, Matthew crawled out of bed before the rooster crowed. He glanced across the room at the other twin bed, where Joseph was still sprawled, sound asleep. Matthew dressed quietly, then went downstairs.

  Deborah was already in the kitchen, starting the breakfast preparations. She looked up from her task of measuring coffee and smiled. “You’re up early, Matthew.”

  “Not so much. I’ll get a head start on the chores.” At the door, he pulled on his shoes and shoved his hat on his head. Then, he stepped outside and took a deep breath of the fresh spring air. He paused for a moment to listen to the chorus of birds before striding toward the barn.

  When he had slid the big barn doors open, Matthew’s gaze wandered to the closed apartment door, and he wondered—not for the first time—who Nate was. Shanna hadn’t bothered to come back into the house last night after his phone call. Instead, she’d padded barefoot over to the barn, leaving her shoes and wet clothes behind. He could only assume she’d stayed there. He hadn’t seen or heard her car leave the property.

  He milked the cows and led them to the pasture. After that job was complete, he hiked back to the barn to clean out the stalls. He’d just started the first one when he felt a presence. Turning, he saw Shanna grab a shovel and move to another stall. “You’re up early” was all he could think to say.

  She grinned at him. “It’s about time I started pulling my weight around here, ain’t so?”

  “Jah, but Judah usually helps with the stalls.”

  Shanna nudged a gate open. “I know. I wanted to do something.”

  Matthew supposed she could have gone to the house to help her mamm prepare breakfast, but since that thought hadn’t occurred to her, maybe it wasn’t his place to bring it up.

  “I have to work eight till noon today. I thought maybe I’d help Mamm when I got home.”

  It was good to see that she’d apparently swallowed her pride and was ready to try reconciling with her family. But he wouldn’t mention that, either. Nor would he remark about the Amish clothes she wore this morning, though he was surprised to see her in them. He’d figured she’d go back to her Englisch attire, since she’d put on plain clothes last night only because her other clothes had gotten wet. Soaked, really.

  It wasn’t raining today. Just a bit drizzly. Misty. He grinned, remembering a nursery rhyme from childhood. “One misty, moisty morning….” It seemed to fit.

  Shanna sucked in a deep breath. “I need to leave for work in an hour. You sure you don’t want to go into Springfield with me this afternoon?”

  “Jah, I’m sure.”

  “I need to get those kittens out of here before they wear out their welkum.”

  “I haven’t heard Levi complain.” And he doubted he would. After all, Shanna had brought them. He was so happy to have her home, she could have come with a dozen extra mouse catchers and not worried about him drowning them.

  She exhaled with a whoosh of air. “Well, that’s gut.” She paused. “I have a date tonight. Maybe Nate will come out a little early so we can take care of the kittens before the Humane Society closes for the evening.”

  A date? Tonight? With Nate? The air left him so unexpectedly, his insides felt hollow. Nate. He would be her boyfriend, then. An Englisch man, no doubt.

  Which meant that she was taken. And all his foolish thoughts about her being his future frau evaporated. No matter. They’d been pure craziness, for more reasons than one. He would never consider marrying someone who was not a member of the church, and he would certainly never court a woman who was someone else’s girl. Even if that someone else was Englisch.

  They worked in companionable silence for a few more minutes, until the barn doors burst open and Judah darted in. “Sorry I’m late. I overslept. Mamm woke me up and told me to get out here so we could finish in time to eat breakfast before it got cold.”

  Shanna thrust the shovel she’d been using at Judah. “We’re almost finished. I need to get ready for work anyway, so you’re just in time.”

  “Danki, Shanna. Glad you’re home.”

  Shanna stood rooted there a moment. Then, she reached out and pulled her brother into an embrace. He hugged her back.

  Matthew turned away. He didn’t need to watch this display of emotions, normal as they were between siblings. He still remembered the feel of her in his arms. The softness. The rightness of her body against his chest.

  And that was something he didn’t want to dwell on further.

  ***

  After work, Shanna changed out of her uniform and into Amish clothes again. She didn’t want to disrespect her parents by dressing as an Englischer while she lived at home. Funny, because when she’d arrived, she would have sworn she would never put on another plain dress and apron. Maybe it was more because of the way Matthew had looked at her that night when he’d seen her with her old dress on. Like she had suddenly turned into the most beautiful girl he’d ever laid eyes on. He’d never said those words, of course.

  She hurried into the house, the strings on her prayer kapp bouncing with each step. In the kitchen, Mamm stood over a large mixing bowl, studying a recipe card on the table. Canisters of flour and sugar, eggs, and other ingredients were spread around her.

  “What are you making?” Shanna asked, glancing down at the recipe card.

  Mamm looked up. “Ach, it’s the third weekend. Daed allows me to sell baked goods here at the haus once a month. I’m trying to get the baking done for it. This will be pecan pies.” She waved her hands at the messy table.

  “May I help?”

  Mamm looked at Shanna with a smile. “Jah. That would be wunderbaar. I’m getting the pie crusts made now. You could start on the fillings.” She moved the recipe so that Shanna could see it, too. “You remember where everything is kept?”

  Shanna gazed around the room—spotless, except for the table. “Jah, unless you rearranged.”

  Mamm shook her head. “We’ll make six pecan pies, and about the same of apple and cherry. Plus extra bread and cookies.”

  Shanna tilted her head. “How much have you done already?”

  Mamm gestured at the table again. “I’ve barely started. I’m going to be baking all week.” She hesitated and moved the recipe away. “On second thought, you never were able to get the fillings to set right. I’ll let you try on a day when they’re not for the sale.”

  “Wise.” At least Matthew wasn’t in the house to overhear Mamm talk about her lack of culinary skills. She could manage some recipes well enough, but pies were something she’d never mastered. “Then, I’ll get started on the cookies. What kinds do you want?” She hadn’t made cookies since leaving home. Hadn’t baked at all, really, unless she counted the Duncan Hines brownies she made in the microwave whenever she craved chocolate. But that powdered stuff wasn’t real chocolate. Scary, if she stopped to think about it. She usually tried not to.

  “Whatever kind sounds gut to you. We’ll need to replenish our cookie jar, too. That Matthew, he likes his cookies.”

  Daed preferred pies. That never kept Mamm from keeping cookies on hand.

  “We have plenty of peanut butter, oatmeal, raisins, chocolate chips, and molasses,” Mamm said, working her wooden spoon around the bowl.

  Shanna retrieved a mixing bowl and Mamm’s recipe box.
“Oatmeal raisin sounds gut.”

  “Englischers like their chocolate.” Mamm dumped the contents of her bowl on a faded floured towel and then reached for the rolling pin.

  “I’ll make chocolate chip, too, if I have time. I have a date tonight. Nate is supposed to pick me up around three so we can go into the city.”

  Mamm peered at the battery-operated clock. “You won’t have time for both, then. But I appreciate the help you can give me.”

  “I need to refresh my baking skills, anyway.” Shanna started thumbing through the recipe box and pulled out the card for peanut butter cookies. Maybe she’d make those first.

  “Just be careful you don’t burn them. No one likes black cookies.”

  Shanna grimaced at the gentle reminder of the last time she’d helped Mamm bake. Hopefully, she had matured since then and could be counted on to focus.

  Focusing shouldn’t be too hard, as long as Matthew stayed out of the kitchen.

  She glanced out the window toward the shop, where Daed, her brothers, and Matthew would be working on furniture. Nothing moved. All she saw was the barn, the shop, and the fields beyond. She turned her attention back to the recipe and reached for the flour.

  Two hours later, Shanna tucked a few strands of hair back beneath her kapp, then used the oven mitts to pull the last sheet of cookies out of the oven. She carried it over to the table to cool for a moment, then began using a spatula to transfer the cookies to the wire rack.

  Mamm peered out the window. “A blue car just pulled in. Ach, that must be your friend. Nate, you said?”

  Shanna looked down at her Amish clothes, and the black apron covered in flour. She’d meant to be done earlier so she could shower before Nate arrived. He’d never let her live this down.

  She straightened her shoulders when she heard the car door shut. A few seconds later, the porch steps creaked, followed by the sound of a hesitant knock on the door.

  Shanna lifted the last cookie from the tray.

  Mamm wiped her hands on her apron. “Come in!”

  After a moment, the door slowly opened. Nate peered in, his eyes going to Shanna. They widened. Then, he smirked, and his gaze darted to Mamm and the table as he stepped inside. “Oh, you’re baking. I haven’t had cookies in I don’t know how long.” He glanced at his watch. “I am a bit early, but you said something about kittens?”

  Shanna gestured to Mamm. “Mamm, this is Nate. He’s a friend from school. Nate, this is my mamm, um, mom.”

  “Sit down and help yourself.” Mamm headed for the gas-powered refrigerator. “Care for some milk with your cookies, or would you rather have koffee?”

  “Uh….” Nate’s brow lifted questioningly, and he glanced at Shanna.

  “I need to get ready.” Shanna indicated her clothes. “I’ll be right back.” She darted out the door and ran toward the barn. She needed to take a shower and put some normal clothes on. Maybe jeans and a T-shirt. Nate had said something about going to the movies. She’d been so out of the loop that she had no clue what was playing. And it wasn’t just because she’d moved out here or because she had barely any cash to spare. Even in Springfield, she’d been so busy with school, studying, dating, and trying to get at least a little more involved in a church. She’d started attending the college-age Bible study, at least. But she pushed the thought away. Her parents would never believe her recent lack of attention to God.

  If they went to the movies, Nate would probably let her choose, unless there was something he wanted to see and would prefer not watching alone.

  Chances of it being a romantic comedy?

  Not good.

  A shadow moved in the dark recesses of the barn, and Shanna jumped. The next moment, a form stepped into the dim light.

  “I caught the kittens for you.” Matthew held out a box, and Shanna could hear the kittens mewing inside.

  “You scared me.”

  Matthew chuckled in a short, abbreviated way. Actually, it was more of a bark. “Sorry.”

  He didn’t sound sorry. “Nate’s waiting. I need to get ready to go. I’ll be right down.”

  Matthew nodded. “I’ll take this box to the workshop, then, and make sure they don’t escape.”

  “Danki.” She turned toward the apartment door.

  He moved a step closer. “You smell gut. Like peanut butter cookies.”

  Her breath caught. How he’d managed to detect that aroma in a barn full of animal smells, Shanna didn’t care to figure. She waved a hand toward the house. “Go help yourself. I made plenty.”

  “For Deborah’s bake sale?”

  “Extra. For the family.”

  His grin could have lit the barn. “Guess there’s some hope for you, after all.”

  Hope? For what? She frowned and reached for the doorknob. “Maybe you’d better wait until you taste them to make a final opinion.” With that, she opened the door and hurried up the stairs.

  ***

  Matthew peered out the upstairs window at the car turning into the driveway. Shanna and Nate had been out later than he’d expected them to be, though why he’d had expectations, he didn’t know. She had the right to date, even if it meant that he suffered through visits from the green-eyed monster.

  Nate seemed to be the perfect gentleman. He got out of the car and came around to the passenger side to open the door for Shanna. She accepted his hand as he helped her out and then stood there beside the car, talking with him. And then he leaned in for what appeared to be a kiss.

  Matthew clenched his fists. It was a quick kiss, an innocent peck. They were saying good-bye and thought no one was watching.

  Matthew didn’t mean to see their kiss. He hadn’t expected there to be a kiss, or he would have moved away sooner. He wished he had, not only out of guilt for spying, but also because it added to this strange sense of jealousy that haunted him.

  Shanna eased away, then shut the car door. Her lips moved, but it didn’t appear as if she was scolding Nate for taking such liberties. Then, with a smile, she turned and walked toward the barn.

  A smile. Nein, she hadn’t been scolding him.

  Nate called to her as he jogged around the car. She turned around to look at him, but her gaze traveled upward, to the second-floor window where Matthew stood. They made eye contact. For a moment, neither one moved. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Matthew noticed Nate’s head lift.

  To his shame, he ducked to the side, away from the window.

  “She’s home, then.” Joseph ambled barefoot across the room and peered out the window.

  “Jah.”

  “Gut.” Joseph turned away and crawled back into bed.

  Minutes later, Matthew heard the car engine start and the tires crunch over the gravel.

  “You should go talk to her.”

  Matthew leaned to the side and glanced out the window. All clear. “About what?” He turned around and looked at Joseph.

  Joseph shook his head but didn’t answer.

  Matthew slid his suspender straps off his shoulders. “I’m going to bed. Morning comes early.”

  “Jah. No wonder you haven’t got a frau. You don’t even try.”

  “With Shanna? She’s not Amish.”

  “She might be, if you get her to fall in love with you.”

  “Ach. That’d be setting myself up for a heartbreak. Besides, what makes you think I’m even interested in your sister?”

  “Why else would you be spying on her?” Joseph shrugged and extinguished the gas lamp beside his bed. “Suit yourself. Gut nacht.”

  Matthew hesitated, his face heating. He pulled his straps back up, turned off the other gas lamp, and left the room. As he padded downstairs, he could hear Levi and Deborah’s voices coming from their bedroom but couldn’t make out what they were saying. He opened the front door and slipped outside.

  An owl hooted, and a dark form flew past the barn. Matthew glanced up at the star-studded sky. Not a cloud in sight. He picked out the Big Dipper.

  The porch swin
g creaked. “I’ve been expecting you.”

  Chapter 9

  Shanna gazed at Matthew, who stood at the far side of the porch. He stared out in the direction of the barn and made only a slight twitch when she spoke.

  Maybe “expecting” had been the wrong word. Maybe she should have said she’d hoped he’d join her instead of implying that she’d figured he would.

  Still, he’d been spying on her. She hadn’t noticed him at first, but when Nate had called to her and she’d turned back, she’d seen his face, framed by the bedroom window.