Harvest of Hearts

by Laura Hilton

  “I’m not exactly in the ditch.” Nate glanced back at Daed, then faced forward again. “It’s kind of half on, half off the road. So, no, it isn’t safe, but I didn’t know what to do.” He pointed ahead at a dark shape. “There it is.”

  Shanna passed the car and turned into the next farmhouse drive, then backed out into the road. She came to a stop in front of Nate’s car. “Okay, now what?”

  Daed opened the back door. “You hold the flashlight. Matthew and I will get this hooked up in no time.”

  When she stepped out of the car and joined him on the road, he handed the light to her.

  “Can I help?” Nate came around the front.

  Daed gave Nate a dubious stare. “I’m guessing not. Unless you want to hold the light.”

  Nate took the flashlight from Shanna as Matthew went around to the trunk of the car and got the rope. “Where do you want me, then?”

  “Matthew will hook up under the car. You could shine the light under there so he can see what he’s doing.”

  Shanna wasn’t sure if Matthew had heard or not, since he remained silent, but he worked as if he knew exactly what to do and how to do it. Without asking any questions, he slid under Nate’s car. Maybe Amish men knew instinctively how to hook up cars for transport. She grinned. Could be from having to hook up horses or oxen to buggies and farm equipment.

  Daed attached the rope to Shanna’s vehicle as Matthew shimmied out from under Nate’s car. Then, Matthew leaned close and whispered something to Daed as he double-checked the ropes. Her father straightened, gave Shanna a look she couldn’t identify, and whispered something back to Matthew. Finally, they moved away from the cars. “Okay, we’re ready now. Nate, you want to shift into neutral? Make sure the brake’s off.”

  Nate slid in behind the wheel of his car, while Shanna scampered over to hers and got back in the driver’s seat. Ten minutes later, she pulled to a stop in front of the barn.

  While Matthew got to work disconnecting the cars, Daed turned to Shanna. “If you want to go down to the basement and get one of the cots, your friend can sleep inside the haus tonight. I’ll send him home tomorrow in his own car.”

  Shanna hesitated, not sure how she felt about Nate spending the night. Not that she wanted to be antisocial, but, well…. She didn’t trust him, she realized.

  “Wait a minute.” Nate scratched his head. “You’re Amish. How would you know how to fix a car?”

  Daed grunted. “Jah, I’m Amish. Not stupid.” He paused. “Will it be all right with you to sleep here?”

  Nate hesitated, fixing his gaze on Shanna. “I guess. I have to work tomorrow, but I don’t have to be in until eleven.”

  “If I can’t fix it, or haven’t finished by the time you need to leave, I’ll call a driver for you.” Daed strode away. “Shanna, the cot.”

  She started to move, but she wasn’t out of hearing when Daed turned back to Nate. “Don’t for a moment think that because the haus isn’t locked, the barn will be open, too. It will be securely bolted. Not much is more valuable than a daughter.”

  A grin spread across Shanna’s face. Daed still considered her his daughter? And he valued her?

  ***

  Levi turned and disappeared inside the house, leaving Matthew to take care of the towing equipment. Nate trailed him into the barn. “If daughters are so important, why is he making Shanna sleep in the barn?”

  “He’s not making her. She has the option of sleeping inside, but she’d have to share a bed with her sisters, and they thought she’d be more comfortable in the apartment. It has electric.”

  “You don’t have electricity?”

  Matthew didn’t answer. He picked up a lantern and lit it.

  Nate looked at the buggy, illuminated in the flickering light, and his eyes widened. “And you drive buggies! Why would you want to do that? You have choices! There’s a whole world out there.”

  Matthew set the lantern on a shelf and began coiling the rope. He didn’t bother responding to Nate’s questions. It would be impossible to explain his beliefs and lifestyle to a city-dwelling Englischer. If he wanted to know the reasons, he could always ask Shanna later.

  “And you guys dress like you just came off the Mayflower.”

  Matthew forced a smile. He’d seen pictures of Pilgrims. Their clothes didn’t remotely resemble Amish dress.

  “Why would you want to do that? They make belts to hold pants up, so you don’t have to wear suspenders.”

  “Jah. I know.” Matthew picked up the lantern and turned toward the door. He considered mimicking Levi’s curt “I’m Amish, not stupid” comment. “Kum. We’ll get you settled in the haus.”

  “So, are you one of Shanna’s brothers?” Nate followed him out of the barn and across the yard.

  Matthew sighed. Those who said that northerners were nosey had obviously never met Nate. “Nein. Not her brother. I’m….” What? Slightly more than an acquaintance, slightly less than a friend. “I’m a boarder.”

  Shanna came around the corner, dragging a cot and smiling. Was she that happy Nate would be sleeping here? If only she knew what Matthew thought. It had been too dark to be absolutely positive, but it had appeared Nate had disconnected a wire to the alternator. Matthew had definitely noticed something dangling in that area. He’d told Levi as much.

  Shanna touched Matthew’s arm lightly, then pulled her hand away, probably because he had done the same so quickly before. “You’re more than a boarder, Matthew. You’re a friend.”

  A friend? Maybe. The temptation was there to be more. Much more.

  Chapter 11

  The next morning, Shanna woke up to realize she had overslept by half an hour. She needed to hurry to get to work on time, so she didn’t have time to help with the morning chores in the barn. Daed and Matthew were already tinkering with Nate’s car when she drove past them on her way down the driveway. At least, they appeared to be. Matthew sat on the ground in front of the car, like he’d been fixing to slide underneath or had just slid out. He raised his hand in a wave.

  She waved back. She didn’t see any sign of Nate. Of course, she’d never known him to get up before ten in the morning. He always managed to schedule his classes around his penchant for sleeping late. Englisch were funny that way. She’d been raised to be up before the sun.

  When she returned home four hours later, Nate was gone. Daed must have been able to fix his car. Shanna ran upstairs to her apartment and changed out of her uniform into a blue dress. She’d retrieved all of her old clothes from her sisters’ bedroom. Good thing they still fit.

  She was on her way to the house when Matthew came out of the shop. He grinned at her. “Shanna. You got a minute? We need to talk.”

  “Jah. What’s up?”

  He hesitated, the expression on his face changing from pleasure to trepidation. He gestured toward the fields. “Let’s walk.”

  A walk sounded nice, but Matthew looked too serious. Troubled. Like she’d done something wrong. She couldn’t think of what she might have done to bother him. And she hated getting into trouble. Shame, since she seemed to be good at it. She didn’t even have to try.

  “I planned to help Mamm with the baking. Cookies, again.” She forced a smile, but he didn’t return it. In fact, his eyes turned even more serious. She sighed. “Will this take long?” Might as well get it over with. Then, she could apologize and go her way.

  “That depends on how blunt I am. If you’d prefer, I can get your daed. He thought maybe you’d take this better from me.”

  Shanna tensed. Daed was using Matthew to pass along criticism? Anger flashed through her, and she glared at him. “Just spit it out.”

  Matthew frowned, his eyes narrowing in confusion. “Spit it out?”

  “Say what you’re going to say, okay? And in the future, if you want to keep being my friend, maybe you shouldn’t get involved in Daed’s never-ending issues with me. He can yell at me himself.”

  Matthew’s eyes widened. “Whoa. Maybe you
shouldn’t jump to conclusions so fast.”

  She fixed him with a hard stare and straightened her shoulders defensively.

  Matthew pulled his shoulders back, as well. Not to mention, his jaw tightened, and a muscle flexed in his neck. Stubborn, was he?

  “I’m not going to stand here and blurt out things where others might overhear.”

  Shanna lifted her arm and massaged her neck muscles for a moment. Then, she dropped her hand to her side, ready to give in.

  The shop door opened, and Daed strode toward them. “Matthew. Never mind. Furniture truck should be here in a short while. Why don’t you help Joseph get the order together?”

  Though he’d phrased it like a question, it was an order. Matthew glanced at Daed and nodded, then gave Shanna a long, pointed look before he turned and headed into the shop.

  His expression had shifted from anger to concern, perhaps even pity.

  Maybe she would rather have heard whatever it was from Matthew. Daed’s expression almost terrified her. His eyebrows drew together as he studied her with obvious assessment. She stiffened.

  “Kum.”

  She hesitated and glanced toward the house, then the shop, hoping for something urgent that needed her attention. A fire, maybe. Or a roof that was about to collapse.

  Not seeing anything, she followed Daed out behind the barn.

  “I’m not going to sugarcoat this, Shanna. The bu had disconnected his alternator. Those don’t come detached by themselves. He had deliberate car trouble.”

  Shanna stared at him. “Deliberate?”

  “Jah. Maybe you should choose your friends more wisely. He isn’t a gut choice.”

  “Nate?” She scratched her head, forgetting about the prayer kapp she wore, and stabbed a pin into her scalp. So, she chewed her lower lip, instead. The wire must have become detached on its own. While she’d realized she didn’t fully trust Nate, she didn’t believe he’d deliberately disable his car. That didn’t make any sense. “I think I know him a lot better than you do.”

  Daed frowned. “Maybe so. But it’s clear that bu has designs on you, and they don’t include marriage.”

  Withholding a snort, Shanna looked away. “If that’s true, he’s had ample opportunity. I went on a date with him. To the movies and out for pizza. Seriously, Daed.” She shouldn’t have to describe their date to him. Anger flared within her. “Maybe you should leave my choice of friends alone. Just because he isn’t Amish doesn’t mean he’s bad.”

  Daed’s green eyes hardened. “And just because he’s Englisch doesn’t mean he’s gut. You won’t take my word for it. You have to find these things out for yourself, ain’t so? Always have. When will you ever learn to listen?” He flung his hands in the air. “Go on, ‘do your own thing.’ But don’t come crying to me.” He turned and stalked off.

  Shanna growled in frustration. With tears burning her eyes, she rushed through the weeds behind the barn to her car. She flung herself into the driver’s seat, slammed the door, and reached inside the console for her keys.

  When her hand came up empty, she realized she’d left them in the apartment. She pressed her forehead against the steering wheel as a couple of tears made tracks down her cheeks. Why couldn’t he leave her alone? Why did he have to ruin everything?

  The passenger door opened.

  Shanna straightened, hastily wiped her face, and fixed a glare on—Matthew?

  ***

  Matthew slid into the passenger seat of Shanna’s car and closed the door. Levi had told him to go check on her, but that hadn’t been necessary. When he’d stomped into the shop, steam almost visibly rising from his head, Matthew had set down the glider rocker he’d been carrying. What Levi had needed to tell Shanna must not have gone over well. Of course, their talk had been doomed to fail from the start, considering how defensive she’d gotten with Matthew.

  He wondered how he could have worded things differently so that she wouldn’t have reacted so strongly.

  Matthew hadn’t wanted to be involved in this at all. It wasn’t his place.

  Besides, he couldn’t quite grasp Levi’s insistence on telling Shanna the “truth” about Nate. Yes, Matthew had pointed out that the wire had been disconnected, but Levi was the one who had jumped to conclusions about what that meant. He’d called Nate out about it, too, pointing at the wire and accusing him of having ulterior motives.

  Nate had stared at Levi, his eyes wide with shock—whether from simply being accused, or being accused of something he was guilty of, or even not having expected an Amish man to know so much about a car, Matthew didn’t know. Still, Nate hadn’t denied the charges. He hadn’t thanked them for reconnecting the alternator. He’d merely jumped into his car, gunned the motor, and roared off.

  All this had cemented Levi’s belief that Nate had been up to no good, and he’d confided this to Matthew. To be honest, Nate’s actions had disturbed him, too. Why would anyone go to such lengths?

  He couldn’t wrap his mind around it. Englischers were confusing creatures.

  Matthew turned to face Shanna. He could still read the anger in her eyes, but now it was mixed with hurt.

  He didn’t know what to say. How had he gotten himself appointed to the cleanup crew?

  “He was trying to dictate my friendships! I knew this wouldn’t work. Daed doesn’t love me, and he wants me to be unhappy.”

  “Ach, Shanna. That’s not—” Saying it wasn’t true wouldn’t go over so well. Lord, help me know what to say. Prayer. Always a good place to start. “You want to pray?”

  Shanna gave him a blank look. “Pray?”

  “Jah. Why not?”

  She gave a harsh laugh. “Nein. Prayer won’t help me. God is on Daed’s side. Always has been.”

  “God doesn’t choose sides. He loves you. Just like your daed loves you.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this.” She folded her arms across her chest. “In fact, I’d rather just make out.”

  ***

  Make out? She couldn’t believe she’d just suggested that to Matthew. Come to think of it, though, that might make her feel better. Especially considering the sparks she felt around this man.

  “I think I know what that means.” Matthew stared at her as color crept up his neck. Then, he reached for her, his gaze flitting to her lips.

  Anticipation shivered through her. She waited while he shifted a bit closer, and she thought she saw mischief gleaming in those beautiful eyes.

  Mischief?

  Tenderly, he grasped the back of her head with his hand, and then, to her surprise, he gently pushed her head down. “Let’s pray.”

  Prayer. Maybe that was the answer, after all. She closed her eyes, letting the silence sink in before she even attempted to put her thoughts into words. Enjoying the weight of his hand against the back of her head, holding it down. His fingers moved, caressing the strands of hair against her neck.

  Ach, Lord, I want this man in my future. That wasn’t what she was supposed to pray about. She dipped her head further in shame. Her attitude toward her father, and the whole situation with Nate…. He wouldn’t…. Would he?

  A memory surfaced. Right after Shanna had left home, Nate had invited her to move in with him, to share expenses. He already lived with another guy, who, like Nate, was into cars. Posters of hot rods with bikini-clad women posing on the hoods lined their living room walls. Shanna had been uncomfortable when she’d been in his house. Oddly, when she’d prepared to leave that night, she hadn’t been able to get her car to start.

  Instead of offering to take her back to campus, he’d asked her to spend the night, to experience what it might be like living together. She’d called a friend to pick her up. The next day, she’d found another guy who was willing to look at her car. Strangely enough, it had started fine then. He’d figured she’d flooded it.

  If she’d taken Nate home last night, would she have found herself stranded with no way to call for help? It was good she’d asked Matthew to come along. Better ye
t, that Daed had intervened before they’d left for Springfield. Ach, Daed, she thought. Maybe you weren’t completely off base.

  But how could Daed have picked up on Nate’s intentions immediately after meeting him?

  Matthew’s fingers moved down to her shoulder. He caressed it briefly, then pulled away. “You’re not so tense now. Gut.” His voice conveyed peace.

  How could he always be so calm?

  “You’re gut for me, Matthew.”

  He settled back in the seat, his smile reaching his eyes. A dimple flashed on the right side of his mouth. “God is gut, ain’t so?”