“Noah,” she said, “I do not regret kissing you. And that thought about you not being good enough for me is nonsense. You are too good for me. I’m the one who should be worried.”
He shook his head and tried to pull his hand away. She squeezed it tighter and wouldn’t let him go.
“My dat is an alcoholic and my mamm left us. I don’t deserve you.”
“What about me? I go to people’s houses who I don’t even know and get mad at them for things they didn’t even do. Then I spy on those same people, and they are nice enough to pull me out of the river. You saved my life. You take care of your dat. I don’t deserve you.”
“But my family is a mess. I haven’t seen my mamm or my siblings for three years. My dat goes to the bar three or four nights a week. What gute Amish girl wants a boy like me?”
“I do.” She bent her elbow and pulled his arm around her back, bringing him gratifyingly closer in the process. Stiffening, he leaned away. She countered by leaning closer to him. He stared at her lips as if he dared not hope to come in contact with them again. She saw where his gaze was focused. “If you don’t kiss me right now,” she whispered, “I’m going to be very irritated with you.”
His eyes danced as he curled his lips. “You shouldn’t whisper like that. It makes me forget every lesson my mamm ever taught me.”
He wrapped his arms around her waist and brought his lips down on hers. They were smoother and more delicious than butter. Her heart thumped a powerful rhythm as she slid her arms around his neck and let herself be kissed until she couldn’t remember which way was up.
He pulled away and then laid a kiss on her cheek and three on her forehead. “The bishop would never approve of this.”
“Your bishop might not approve, but my bishop is not so strict. I’ve never heard him say anything against kissing.”
“Let’s pretend we’re in Charm.” He winked and kissed her again, leaving Mandy wondering how something so simple as lips touching could catapult a girl to the roof even when she wasn’t moving.
She pulled away to catch her breath and felt a catch in her throat. Should she tell him about the letter? She’d sent it over a week ago. There was no taking it back now. She studied his smiling face. She would wait. Nothing might come of it anyway, and they were getting along so nicely for a minute. She just couldn’t spoil the mood.
Mandy had never been so glad for the bell on Kristina’s bike. It certainly was annoying how often she rang the thing, but it was also a gute warning that Kristina was almost to the top of the hill. Today, Mandy needed plenty of warning.
He reluctantly released her as she took a step away from him. “Kristina’s here.”
He made a face and groaned. “Why?”
“She’s my best friend.”
“I know, but that doesn’t mean you actually have to invite her up here.” He tempered his scold with a smile. “It seriously cuts into our kissing time.”
Mandy sighed. “I promised her we could work in the yard so she could gaze at you.”
His smile faded. “You want me and Kristina to get together?”
“Of course not, but she promised to stop spying if I let her come today.”
“Are you sure you’re not trying to get rid of me?” He tried to act flippant about it, but she could tell there was real worry behind his question.
She rose to her tiptoes and brushed her lips across his. He softened like putty. “Do you want to get rid of me?”
“Not a chance.”
“Then you’re stuck. She’ll think I’m the rottenest friend ever, but I’m going to tell her.”
“You’re not a rotten friend. It’s not your fault she can’t see what’s plainly in front of her.” He took her hand and pressed his lips against her fingers. “Does this mean I’ll be eating lunch on the roof yet? I want to eat with you, but not if Kristina’s still here.”
She tried for a carefree smile and failed miserably. “I’m going on a picnic with Paul Zook.”
“Paul Zook?”
“Mammi set it up.”
A dark shadow crossed his features. “I’m not good enough for you. Even your mammi and dawdi think so.”
“Mammi also tried to arrange a date with Menno King. He’s thirty-seven years old, Noah. It has nothing to do with who’s good enough. It has everything to do with Mammi’s desperation to marry me off.”
Huffing the air out of his lungs, he looked away but seemed to relax. “Paul Zook got braces because his mamm said he’d never get a wife with those teeth.”
“You have a thing about teeth, don’t you?”
“I have a preference for freckles. I don’t care about teeth.”
“You do so. First Adam Wengerd and now Paul Zook.”
He cracked a smile. “The real question is, do you have a thing about teeth?”
“I like your teeth.”
His smile couldn’t have gotten any wider without stretching beyond his face.
Mandy nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Kristina’s bicycle bell again, much closer this time. With a quick backward glance at Noah, she adjusted the navy-blue scarf around her hair and brushed the wrinkles from her apron. Putting an extra lilt in her step, she strolled around the corner of the house and greeted Kristina, who had parked her bike on the sidewalk and was putting down the kickstand.
Chester sat on the porch, guarding Mandy’s butter and crackers, looking as if his waiting there was the most important job in the world.
Kristina giggled and took both of Mandy’s hands. “Is that Noah’s dog? Is he here already? Oh, Mandy, I love him so much. If he sees me planting flowers and looking pretty, I just know he’ll remember what we once felt for each other.”
The lump in Mandy’s throat felt like a stale piece of butterless toast. Jah, she was a rotten friend.
Should she mention that nobody planted flowers in September?
“Cum into the house,” she said. “I think we should make some cookies first.”
“For Noah?” Kristina said, nearly squealing her delight.
“Jah, okay, for Noah. And we need to talk.” Making cookies was a gute activity. It kept their hands busy but still gave them a chance to talk about things like how they were in love with the same boy and what a rotten friend Mandy was turning out to be.
Kristina had insisted on sugar cookies shaped like hearts for the only boy she would ever love. Mandy’s heart grew heavier and her throat got drier and drier as Kristina prattled on about how much she loved Noah and how if she didn’t marry him, she would probably shrivel into a little ball and die at the ripe old age of nineteen.
Kristina beamed from ear to ear as they mixed the dough. They could hear the rhythmic pop of Noah’s nail gun, interrupted by the occasional stomp of boots above their heads as Noah moved about on the roof. Noah was close enough to touch, a fact that had not been lost on Kristina. Or Mandy. She felt almost selfish for wanting Noah all to herself.
Breaking the bad news had to be done, and it had to be done quickly before Kristina made a complete fool of herself, if she hadn’t already. But Mammi sat in her rocker knitting pot holders, and Dawdi read the paper in his recliner. Should she suggest they go out and gather eggs so that she and Kristina could be alone?
“It’s a bit chilly out,” Mammi said. “I’m glad I can be in a nice warm home yet.”
No gathering eggs for Mammi.
Dawdi glanced up from his paper. “Mandy, do you think Noah will be warm enough out there? He might like a nice cup of that delicious hot cocoa you make.”
“He’ll like our warm cookies,” Kristina said, nudging Mandy and giggling. “Made with extra love.”
Under no circumstances was Mandy going to allow Kristina on that roof to pass out heart cookies to Noah. “He brought a thermos of kaffe, Dawdi.”
“You might want to check on him, just the same,” he said. Kristina kept right on giggling. “We’ll be sure to check on him.”
They rolled out the cookie dough, and Kris
tina insisted being the one to use the cookie cutter. “They’re like cutting pieces of my heart and giving them to Noah, one cookie at a time.”
Under no circumstances was Kristina going to be allowed on that roof.
“We need to take a walk,” Mandy said.
Kristina raised her eyebrows. “And look at Noah?” she whispered.
“Nae. I want to talk to you.” She inclined her head in Mammi’s direction. “Privately.”
Kristina’s eyes got wider. “Privately?”
Mandy nodded. Kristina’s eagerness would crumble soon enough.
“Let’s finish the cookies first. I want to have an excuse to go on the roof with Noah.”
The popping rhythm stopped, and they heard more stomping. No doubt with every movement from above, Kristina’s hopes soared higher. Mandy hooked her elbow with Kristina’s and pulled her firmly to the door. “We need to let the dough sit. Let’s go for a walk.”
“Okay,” said Kristina, elongating her vowels as if she were indulging Mandy merely because she was her best friend.
Mandy handed Kristina a jacket and put on her own black coat. Both girls donned their black bonnets before heading out the door. Chester and Sparky ran around the yard, chasing each other’s tails. Once again, Mandy hooked her elbow around Kristina’s and nudged her in the direction of the garden. If they walked amongst the bare peach trees, the barn would block their view of the roof. Kristina wouldn’t be distracted by the sight of Noah, and no one would see if Kristina melted into a puddle of tears.
Mandy hoped that Kristina wouldn’t melt into a puddle of tears. Even though she only imagined her feelings for Noah, infatuation was a powerful thing.
Kristina didn’t take her eyes from the roof as they trudged across the yard. “Do you see him, Mandy? You are such a gute friend to let me come. The days I can’t see him are the saddest days of my life. I love him so much.”
Mandy took a deep breath. There would be tears. Lots and lots of tears.
“Where are we going?” Kristina asked when they passed the barn and walked among the trees in Dawdi’s tiny peach orchard.
Mandy glanced behind her. They were out of sight of the roof. “Right here,” she said. “I need to tell you something.”
Kristina walked to her left and strained her neck to see over the roof of the barn. “I can’t see Noah anymore. Let’s talk in the front yard.”
“Nae. I don’t want anyone to see us.”
“Will it take very long?”
Mandy laid her hands on Kristina’s shoulders. “We have been best friends for a long time.”
“It seems like forever. I thought I’d die when we moved to Bonduel.” Kristina frowned as doubt traveled across her face. “Is something wrong?”
“I wouldn’t ever want to hurt you.” Mandy pursed her lips.
For a split second she considered breaking things off with Noah. Wasn’t her friendship with Kristina more important? She thought of Noah’s kisses, of his gentle spirit and loyal heart. She couldn’t let him go, not even if it meant losing Kristina.
Kristina narrowed her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that you know how important our friendship is to me.”
“Of course I do. You invited me here today, didn’t you? That is the act of a true friend. Because of you, I know I can work up the courage to talk to him. Maybe even ask him to take me to a gathering. Who knows what can happen after that? He’ll grow to love me if he just gets a chance.”
It was nearly impossible to breathe with the icy hand of guilt clamped around her throat. She felt as if she almost had to cough the words out of her mouth. “Krissy, there’s something I need to tell you. I’m afraid some things have happened. I . . . the thing about it is . . . Oh, Krissy, I feel horrible, but I think Noah likes me. And I like him. We like each other.”
Kristina narrowed her eyes. “You would never do that to me.”
A hole yawned right in the middle of Mandy’s chest. “I’m . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen. He’s just so wonderful.”
Kristina scowled. “I warned you.”
“You did?”
“All the girls like Noah. He’s handsome and polite. I warned you not to get yourself pulled in. He won’t return your affection.”
Oh dear. Kristina wasn’t going to make this easy. What could she do to make Kristina see the truth? “Nae, he likes me as much as I like him.”
“How do you know? How could you possibly know that? He doesn’t like you. He likes me.” Kristina’s voice rose in pitch.
Mandy had to stop her before she worked herself into a frenzy. “He kissed me yesterday,” she blurted out. She hadn’t wanted to share that bit of information, but she wanted to be very clear about where she and Kristina stood. They were, after all, still best friends. At least for another minute or two.
Complete silence as Kristina held her breath and stepped away from Mandy. Her mouth fell open, and she looked at Mandy as if trying to make out her shape through a clouded window. Before Mandy even knew what happened, Kristina drew back and slapped her hard across the face.
Gasping, Mandy stumbled backward, more out of shock than pain. She’d expected a fierce reaction, but nothing quite so violent. A river of tears sounded quite tame next to a blow across the face.
Kristina immediately blanched as white as Mammi’s hair. “Oh sis yuscht. I didn’t in a thousand years mean to do that.” Mandy hoped Noah wouldn’t hear the racket and come running.
Mandy laid her hand against her cheek. “I . . . I probably should have broken the news more gently.”
Kristina seemed to forget about her short-lived remorse. She scowled. “How could you, Mandy?”
“I’m sorry.”
“I shouldn’t have let you go to his house. I knew as soon as you saw him you’d fall in love, just like every other girl in Bonduel.”
“That’s not what happened.”
Kristina took a step toward her, and Mandy immediately took two steps back. She’d rather not get socked in the chin. “I should have known you’d try to steal him.”
Mandy held out her hands in surrender. “If I thought you two really had a relationship, I would have stayed away. But you know you don’t have a relationship and never did. You and Noah are practically strangers.”
Kristina folded her arms. “What do you know about it? We saw each other every day last summer.”
“Because you spied on him, not because you dated.”
“He took me home from a gathering.”
Mandy tried to say it gently, but there was no nice way around the truth. “That doesn’t mean he was interested in you. You wanted to believe he loved you, but he never did.”
Kristina puckered her lips as if she’d just eaten three lemons. “You want to believe he never loved me so that you don’t feel so bad about betraying your best friend.” She sat down in the dirt and buried her face in her hands. “You tricked me into showing you where he lives.”
“Why would I have tricked you?”
“Because you wanted to steal Noah.”
Mandy felt simply horrible. Was there any way to make Kristina see reason? “It’s not stealing if it doesn’t belong to you in the first place.”
Kristina wailed louder. “It’s not fair. You’re prettier than me and smarter. How can I win his heart now? I’ll never get a husband if you don’t go back to Charm.”
Mandy exhaled slowly and sat next to her friend, but not close enough to get an elbow to the kidneys. Kristina had worked herself into a tizzy. There would be no reasoning with her now. Still, she had to try. “You are a very beautiful girl. And your wheat bread is so much better than mine. Of course you’ll get a husband. Any boy would be blessed to have you for a wife.”
Kristina jumped to her feet. “Even Noah?”
“I’m sorry, Krissy. Noah doesn’t love you.”
“Because you stole him.” She kicked the dirt at her feet. A few flecks landed on Mandy’s dress. “You couldn�
��t possibly love Noah the way I love him. You only even met him two weeks ago.”
“Two and a half,” Mandy said weakly.
“I’ll get him back, wait and see.” Kristina marched out from under the shelter of the peach trees before pausing to turn around and glare at Mandy. “And I will not invite you to our wedding.”
“If you’d try to understand—”
Kristina turned on her heels and refused to look back. “Go back to Ohio and leave me alone.”
Mandy sat in the dirt, feeling like dirt, as she watched Kristina slam her kickstand with her foot, jump on her bike, and ride down the hill as fast as she could go.
She stood and brushed the dirt from her dress. Would poor Kristina ever recover from her broken heart? Would she ever speak to Mandy again? With Kristina, things were either wonderful or horrible. Maybe she’d wallow for a few days and then see fit to forgive her best friend. Maybe she’d give up on Noah and give the other boys in the community a chance.
Mammi had a long list of potential suitors. Was the list transferable?
She walked out from among the trees. Her heart skipped a beat when she glanced up and saw Noah standing on the ridgeline staring at her, obviously unaware of what had passed between her and Kristina. He grinned and waved. She waved back.
Just the sight of him made her feel a hundred times better.
No wonder Kristina loved him so.
Her stomach clenched. And a hundred times worse.
“Did Kristina have to leave early?” he said.
“Jah,” was the only answer she could muster.
“At least you can stay inside until lunch. It’s getting cold yet.”
“We made cookies. I’ll bring some up.”
“I’d like that,” he said, swinging his hammer in the air. He turned to get back to his shingles but reversed direction just as quickly. “I almost forgot,” he said. “Have fun on your picnic.”
Any happiness she felt upon seeing Noah hissed out of her like air from a leaky balloon. Instead of eating Noah’s butter for lunch, she was going on a picnic with Paul Zook.
Huckleberry Harvest (The Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill Book 5) Page 22
