“Rose! Come!”
The dog barked again. This was Rose? Then, to Hannah’s amazement, it turned around and loped to the man.
“You stinker. You know you can’t go off making friends by yourself.” He ran a hand along the dog’s head, then snapped the leash onto its collar.
As if he’d just realized she was standing there, the man turned to her with a wide smile. “Sorry about that.”
She nodded.
His friendly gaze turned concerned. “Hey, are you okay? I hope Rose didn’t scare you.”
Hannah’s mouth was so dry, she wasn’t sure she could form coherent words. But since she couldn’t simply stand there, she gathered her wits the best she could. “Jah.” Hopefully he wouldn’t notice that she sounded hoarse.
He stilled, looking uncertain, then approached her with Rose now walking complacently by his side. He was wearing a knit cap and had eyes as dark as his dog’s.
“You’re not okay, are you?”
“I . . . I’m all right,” she sputtered. Finding her voice at last, she added, “Your dog just caught me by surprise. That’s all.”
He stopped a few feet away from her. Farther even than Rose had been. “I’m sorry about that.” Looking down at his dog fondly, he said, “She loves her morning walk. I was on the phone when I opened the door; she was off and running before I could grab her.”
“Maybe . . . maybe you should put her leash on before you open the door.” When his eyes widened, she grimaced. “I apologize. I shouldn’t have said that.”
He waved off her apology. “No, she scared you. You have every right to say that. Look, I don’t know if you’ll ever be around here again, but in case you happen to see her, I just wanted you to know that she’s a nice dog. Rose doesn’t bite or attack people.” He reached down and scratched his dog between her ears. “The most she’ll ever do is try to lean up against you.”
“Lean?”
“Yeah. Like she’s doing now,” he said with a grin. “She really likes to get her ears rubbed.”
Hannah realized then that Rose was listing to one side, her head resting on her owner’s thigh. She was panting softly, her big tongue hanging half out of her mouth.
“She’s a mighty big hund.”
“She is. She’s a Rottweiler. But like I said, she’s sweet and she’s very well trained, except for when it’s time for her morning walk. Sometimes she gets so excited, she darts off before I can get her leash attached.” Still looking at his dog fondly, he said, “She doesn’t understand that I have other things I need to do besides chase after her.”
As his words took hold, she gasped. “Oh! I’ve gotta go. I’m gonna be late for work.”
He looked around in confusion. “Where do you work?”
“At the Rosses’ haus.”
“No kidding? Talk about a small world. York and Melissa Ross are my neighbors.” He smiled softly. “I’m guessing you are Hannah, their Amish babysitter.”
She didn’t know how to answer that. Should she tell him that his guess was right?
At her hesitation, he smiled. “I’m Rob Prince. I just moved in two weeks ago. And yeah, I know. I don’t look like much of a prince. Harry is a lot more handsome.”
She didn’t quite catch his joke. Because she was embarrassed by that, she backed up a step. “I better go, Mr. Prince.” Goodness, but that was a strange name! “Mr. and Mrs. Ross don’t like me to be late and I’m late now.”
“Let me walk you over there, then, and explain to them that this is all my fault.”
She wasn’t so sure if that was a gut idea. She didn’t know him and she was afraid of his giant dog—but she was just as worried about coming in fifteen minutes late and facing Mr. and Mrs. Ross. “That ain’t necessary.”
“Yeah, it is. I lost hold of Rose and she scared you.” Reaching out, he said, “May I help you with your bag?”
“Nee. I mean, no, my backpack is fine,” she said as they walked up the street.
When they got closer, she saw Mr. Ross standing on the front porch, a cell phone in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. The moment he saw her, his whole body eased.
“Oh, no. Mr. Ross don’t look happy,” Hannah said. She increased her stride.
“It’ll be all right,” Mr. Prince murmured. “Like I said, I’ll be sure to tell York that this is all my fault.”
“At this point it doesn’t matter who is responsible. I should have left earlier.”
“I don’t mind taking responsibility for my wayward dog,” he said before calling out, “Hey, York. Look who I found on the corner.”
Looking incredibly relieved, Mr. Ross came down the drive. He was dressed in pleated khaki-colored slacks, a golf shirt, and a pair of tan loafers. “We were getting worried, Hannah. You’re never this late.”
“I’m mighty sorry, Mr. Ross. I promise, it won’t happen again.”
“I’m not mad; I was worried about you.” Looking a bit chagrined, he added, “I was actually holding my phone, ready to call you before I realized that, of course, there was no way to do that.”
“I’m so sorry you were so worried. I’ll go right in.”
“Wait a sec, Hannah,” Mr. Prince called out. “York, Hannah arriving late is my doing. Rose ran out of the house before I could get her leash on and she stopped right in front of poor Hannah. She thought Rose was going to attack. Scared her half to death.”
“That makes sense. Your dog is the size of a small pony.” To Hannah’s surprise, Mr. Ross reached out and rubbed the dog right between her eyes. “Silly girl.”
As Rose closed her eyes in obvious enjoyment and leaned toward Mr. York, Mr. Prince added, “I told her that I thought she might be your famous babysitter.”
Hannah stared at him in confusion. “Famous?”
“I’m afraid we brag about you quite a bit,” Mr. Ross said. “Melissa and I think you’re a wonder.”
“Danke.”
“You’re welcome. So, did Rob tell you that he lives next door?”
She nodded.
“I work from home,” Mr. Prince explained, “so if you ever need anything, you only have to knock on the door or call.”
“Oh.” She couldn’t imagine doing either but she smiled.
“I’ll tell Melissa to leave out his number, Hannah,” Mr. Ross said. “If there’s an emergency, he’s just a few feet away.”
Now that she wasn’t scared of Rose or a nervous wreck about getting in trouble with Mr. and Mrs. Ross, Hannah noticed that Mr. Prince was much closer to her age than she’d first thought. She wasn’t sure why she was glad about that, other than the fact that he seemed nice.
Flustered by the direction of her thoughts, she stepped away. “I better go inside. Good-bye, Mr. Prince.”
“It’s Rob, okay?”
“Okay. Rob.” Rose barked as Hannah darted inside, the sound followed by laughter.
“Rose says bye!”
Rob’s comment was so silly, she found herself giggling as she faced Mrs. Ross and Christopher.
“Hannah, you’re here! Hooray!” Mrs. Ross said.
“I’m sorry I’m late.” She was just about to repeat her excuses when Christopher giggled in his mother’s arms, then wiggled.
To her amazement, Mrs. Ross set him down and then he rolled over. And rolled again!
“Christopher, look at you!” Hannah exclaimed as she got on her knees and held out her hands to him. When he rolled again and treated her to a gummy grin, she laughed. “When did you learn to do this? What a smart boy!”
“Isn’t he adorable? He figured out how to roll over on Saturday morning. Now, he doesn’t want to be held, he wants to roll on the floor! Oh, Hannah, I hope you ate a good breakfast. You’re going to get your exercise today.”
Picking up the baby, Hannah set him in her lap and gave him a little hug. “Jah, I am, for sure. He is doing a gut job.”
Mrs. Ross smiled and grabbed her purse just as Mr. Ross came in through the front door. When he noticed Ha
nnah sitting on the carpet with Christopher, he laughed. “We should have told you to get some kneepads. He’s a regular wiggle worm.”
“I’ll do my best to keep up.”
“I know you will. And Hannah?”
She looked up at him. “Yes?”
“Rob really is a nice guy. You don’t have to worry about him or Rose.”
“You met Rose?” Mrs. Ross asked.
“I’ll tell you all about it on the way to work. Bye, Hannah.”
After going over her list of items for Hannah to do, Mrs. Ross said good-bye, too, leaving Christopher and Hannah sitting on the floor.
After the garage door closed, Hannah swore she heard a faint bark.
For the first time in memory, the sound didn’t make her flinch. Instead she wondered if it was Rose.
And then, as she watched Christopher reach out a hand for one of his toys, Hannah wondered about Rob, what he was like.
And she realized, with a bit of surprise, that she wasn’t filled with sadness and regret for the loss of Paul.
Instead, she merely felt at peace.
Chapter 7
March 25
Uh-oh,” Amanda Jefferson called out from the counter of the post office. “Don’t look now, Darla, but you’ve got company.”
It was five minutes before the end of a very long day. In the back, Darla was just locking up the cash drawer and closing down the machines. She looked at Amanda curiously. “Tell whoever it is that we’ll be open tomorrow at nine. I’ll help them then.”
Amanda poked her head into the room. “I don’t think it’s gonna be that easy.”
Darla bit back a sigh of impatience with effort. Amanda was eighteen and rather enthusiastic. She also was a little scared of making decisions or confronting anyone by herself. Darla understood that, and could even sympathize, but it was time for her to take some responsibility.
“Amanda, it will be all right. People know what time we close. They might not like having to come back, but they’ll understand.”
“But—”
Deciding that maybe it would be best to illustrate how to be firm, Darla pointed to the clock. “Amanda, as of right now, we are closed. Tell whoever is out there that I couldn’t help them even if I wanted to. The postal machines have been turned off.” With a feeling of satisfaction, she flicked the machine’s switch and listened to its steady humming fade into silence. “There now. Our day is done. Go lock the door if you’d like.”
Yet Amanda remained, wobbling on the balls of her feet and looking a bit like a small child in need of a bathroom. “Um . . .”
“Amanda, please do this. I’m ready to pack up and go home. It’s been such a long day.”
And it would have been just as long if Mary Troyer hadn’t come in to inflict her daily dose of accusations and threats. But Mary had, and today her anger and screeching had risen to new heights. Darla had had to press her palms down on the countertop so Mary and the other customers wouldn’t notice how badly she was shaking.
Amanda cleared her throat. “I hear what you’re saying, I really do. But simply closing the door on our newcomer ain’t gonna be that easy.”
“Because?”
“Because I don’t think your visitor is gonna leave just ’cause I told him he needed to.”
Darla stopped sorting the papers on the counter. “Visitor?”
“Jah. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell ya. It’s Lukas Kinsinger who’s here.”
“Lukas?” She was surprised. The last time he’d been in, Lukas had announced that he wouldn’t be back. And though she hadn’t been entirely pleased that she’d gotten her way—she hadn’t thought he would back down so easily—it wasn’t like him to be back so fast.
“I’ll go say you’ll be right out,” Amanda announced before Darla could ask her to send him away.
Seconds later, the girl’s voice drifted to her. “Darla’s in the back, Lukas, but I’m thinking she’ll be out presently. And by the way, we’re closed,” she chattered on. “She turned off the machines, so we can’t be doing any work right now even if we wanted to. Which we don’t.”
“Is that right?”
Darla pressed her hands to her cheeks as Amanda continued spouting off information. “Oh, yes. Now, you gotta step aside ’cause I’m gonna have to put on the Closed sign and lock the door.”
“That’s fine, do what you want. I didn’t come to do business. I came to walk Darla home.”
His voice was deep and sure. And, like always, laced with that quiet confidence that Darla had always found so appealing.
There in the privacy of the office, Darla felt a tremor run through her.
Shoot!
“Oh,” Amanda said. “Well, I told her you were waiting on her, but she didn’t say nothing about your walking her home. Do you think she knows?”
“I have a feeling she probably knows by now. Now, don’t you worry about me, Amanda. I’ll just stand here while you do whatever you need to do.” Raising his voice a bit, he said, “I don’t mind waiting here all afternoon for Darla.”
“I think I better go tell Darla that,” Amanda squeaked. “Um, I’ll be right back.”
Before Amanda could appear again, Darla snapped the drawer shut and picked up her purse. After locking her office door, she joined them at the front. Now Amanda was standing in front of the counter staring at Lukas like he was the most handsome man in Charm, Ohio.
Which he was.
Lukas, on the other hand, was leaning against the wall of post office boxes, arms crossed over his chest, looking for all the world like he had every right to loiter in the lobby.
His chin lifted when she appeared. And then, to her regret, he smiled. “Hi.”
Aware that Amanda was staring at them, Darla smiled. “Hi. Just a sec, okay?”
He didn’t reply. Merely smiled.
Now, why in the world did that make her shiver? She really needed to get a handle on both her reaction to Lukas and all those foolish dreams she used to entertain about him.
Practically pivoting on her heel, she turned to Amanda. “Danke for your good work today. I already locked the office door, so the next time you come in we’ll note the time you left. You can leave now.”
After looking from Lukas to Darla to Lukas again, Amanda went behind the counter and grabbed her canvas tote bag. “I’ll see you on Saturday.”
“I’ll be here. See you then.”
The minute Amanda walked out, Darla locked the door behind her. Then she turned to face Lukas, who was still leaning against the wall of post office boxes as if he had nowhere else in the world he’d rather be.
His presence made the room seem smaller and her mind go blank. “Lukas, I thought we already discussed this. We canna spend time together.”
“I decided I wasn’t really on board with that.”
“Why? What are you doing here? And why did you tell Amanda that you were walking me home?”
“I think that would be fairly obvious. Don’t you agree?”
“But we agreed not to be friends.”
“I know, but I changed my mind. Are you ready?”
“Nee.” She needed to stand firm. He shouldn’t be so bossy with her. He shouldn’t ignore what she was saying. Just as important, he needed to understand that she simply wasn’t going to drop everything whenever he asked.
Well, not anymore.
He looked around then, pointedly, at the purse on her arm. “What else do you still have to do?”
“It’s not that.” She took a breath and plunged forward. “Lukas, I don’t think we should be seen walking together. People will talk.”
“People are already talking.” He stepped forward, getting into her space. “People are talking a lot. Actually, I don’t think they want to stop talking about you and me and the mill and the fire. From what I hear, and I don’t hear much, we seem to be the favorite topic of conversation around most every coffeepot in Charm.”
“See—”
“In fact,
I think the only people not talking about you and me are you and me. Therefore, it’s time to change things.”
Part of her agreed with him, but she was learning that what she wanted didn’t always matter. “Lukas, my family won’t be happy.”
“I don’t care,” he said quietly. “I don’t care about how they react. I care about what you think and how you feel.” Every word seemed to have new emphasis.
And in spite of her best intentions, she felt a pull toward him. She wanted to agree with him. Wanted to believe that he was right.
Lukas crossed his arms over his chest and studied her. “Darla, I have decided that God placed you in my life to help me become more patient.”
“Oh, Lukas, stop. And you mustn’t use the Lord to attempt to explain yourself.”
“I’m serious, Darla. I don’t think the Lord minds me bringing Him up in the slightest. What’s more, I think He wants me to realize that I need to wait for the important things. That is why I’m determined to wait for you to change your mind. I’m gonna wait as long as it takes.”
“God doesn’t bully, Lukas.” And yes, she did sound just a tad bit pious.
“No, God is good. So good that He is giving me the courage to push aside both of our doubts and wait.”
“You might be waiting a mighty long time.”
“I don’t mind.” Staring at her intently, he lowered his voice. “Are you really going to throw away years and years of friendship?”
They did, actually, have years and years of friendship between them. Wonderful years.
Was she willing to disregard them in order to keep peace within her family?
Warily, she eyed Lukas, noticed that he was leaning against the wall again. It seemed he was intent on proving to her this new patience of his.
She didn’t know what to say. Well, she knew what she should say, but she wasn’t going to say it. “All right. I’ve got the keys right here. Let me finish locking up.”
Looking far too pleased for his own good, Lukas nodded. “Take your time.”
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