The Hearts of Middlefield Collection

by Kathleen Fuller

  Moriah giggled. “I haven’t told Gabe yet, but I can’t keep the news a secret any longer.”

  Her mouth dropped open. She could tell by the bright glow on Moriah’s face and the excited tone of her voice what the news was. Good grief, her sister was a baby-making machine.

  “I’m pregnant!” Moriah clasped her hands together. “Isn’t that wonderful? Gabe will be thrilled. He wanted a large family, and we’re well on our way.”

  “Congratulations,” Elisabeth said, mustering a smile. “That’s . . . wunderbaar news.”

  “Danki, Lis.” She hugged her sister. “Danki for being happy for me. But don’t tell anyone about it yet. I want to let Gabriel know first.”

  “My lips are sealed.” She smiled, trying to elevate her mood to mirror some of Moriah’s excitement. But the thought of babysitting three of their kinner made it near impossible.

  Moriah picked up a couple of freshly dried plates and put them in the cabinet. “You should see Rachel and Tobias’ boppli. He looks just like his mami.”

  Elisabeth smiled. “Uh oh.” she said, rolling her eyes, “I’m sure Tobias had something to say about that.”

  “Ya, he promised their next boppli would look like him.” Both Moriah and Elisabeth laughed, both knowing that the spark in Tobias and Rachel’s marriage came from their competitive natures.

  Elisabeth handed Moriah a glass. “Have they decided on a name?”

  “Finally. It took them the whole day. It’s not like they didn’t have months to think of one.”

  “I’m guessing they probably spent all that time arguing over who got to choose the name.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. But whoever did, they picked a gut one.” She looked at Elisabeth. “Josiah Andrew.”

  “That is a nice name. I’ll have to go over and see them once Rachel comes home.” Just as long as they don’t ask me to babysit. She gave Moriah the last of the dishes. Once they were put away, Elisabeth asked, “Do you need help with anything else?”

  “Nee. I appreciate you watching the maed. Hope they weren’t too much trouble.”

  “They were . . . lively.” She wasn’t about to admit she’d nearly been bested by an infant and a toddler. Her family thought her flighty enough as it was. Sure, she was often late getting ready for church, and sometimes she forgot things, like leaving the cap off the ketchup or not adding baking powder to a cake. Still, she was getting better about that—or at least she was trying to.

  Taking one last look at Moriah, who had started putting the groceries away, Elisabeth thought about her sister’s news. First Moriah had her two children, with a third on the way, and now her brother Tobias just had his first child with his wife Rachel, Aaron Detweiler’s sister. It wouldn’t be long before the next Byler, Lukas, would start thinking about marriage and a family. Unlike her, Lukas was great with his nieces. Fortunately, her youngest two siblings, Stephen and Ruth, were too young to think about all that. At least she wasn’t the only one in her family who didn’t have babies on the brain.

  As she left the house, she saw Aaron exiting the Miller’s blacksmith shop with a large wooden crate, a few horseshoes visible on top. He moved slowly, forearms and biceps straining, as he walked behind the shop. At the same time she heard the creak of the shop door open. She turned to see Gabe walk outside.

  “Glad I caught you before you left,” he said, walking toward her. Any embarrassment at getting caught kissing his wife earlier had disappeared. Instead, he had a serious look on his face. “I want to talk to you about something.”

  “Ya?” The summer sunlight beat down on them. She shaded her eyes with her hand as she regarded her brother-in-law. “What about?”

  “I wondered if you’d be interested in a job. God has seen fit to bless our small business, and with daed officially retired, I need someone to help out part-time.” As Aaron approached the front of the shop, Gabe motioned for him to join them.

  Elisabeth watched Aaron remove his straw hat and wipe the perspiration from his forehead, revealing a mop of dark blond hair. She looked back at her brother-in-law as Aaron neared. “Gabe, I have no idea how to make horseshoes.”

  Gabe laughed. “Nee, Elisabeth. Not with the blacksmithing. I need someone to do the books and help with ordering. Also taking orders from customers, keeping the paperwork straight—office details. Moriah said you’re gut with numbers.”

  Elisabeth lifted a brow, surprised that Moriah had mentioned that to Gabe. She’d been bored out of her mind in school, and no one had ever been happier to graduate after her eighth grade year than she was. But math had been her best subject and the only one that hadn’t put her to sleep.

  “It’s part-time, only three days a week,” Gabe continued. “But you can pick your days and set your own hours. Are you interested?”

  “I’m definitely interested!” She had spent a good part of the last two years since graduation working with her mother at home, helping with the gardening and canning, and keeping the household running smoothly. Unfortunately, those tasks didn’t give her much satisfaction. During the past year she had decided to go out and find a job, a quest that had been more difficult than she’d thought, as opportunities were scarce. “Did Moriah tell you I was looking for work?”

  “She mentioned it. She said you were having a tough time.”

  “Gabe, I don’t want you to create a job for me.”

  “Oh, trust me, I’m not.” He looked at Aaron. “We were just talking the other day how we needed to hire someone.”

  Aaron nodded. “You’re looking at the current bookkeeper. I’d be more than happy to hand the paperwork over to you.”

  Elisabeth looked at Aaron. “And let me guess, you’d rather be working at the forge than the desk?”

  “Definitely.”

  “So?” Gabe gave her an expectant look. “Do you want the job?”

  It didn’t take long to make up her mind. “Ya, I’d love to come work for you. When should I start?”

  Gabe pushed his hat back on his head. “I said you could make your own hours, so you tell me.”

  “I’ll come in day after tomorrow. I promised Mami I’d help her can spaghetti sauce tomorrow. We have tomatoes coming out of our ears. I can bring a few jars with me, since we’ll have more than enough.”

  Gabe grinned. “Great. When you get here, Aaron can fill you in on his ‘special’ filing system.”

  She turned to Aaron. “What’s so special about it?”

  Aaron smirked. “You’ll see.”

  Chapter 2

  Anna Esh twisted the brand new key in the lock, frowning when it didn’t turn. She reinserted the key and with a little effort, finally got it to unlock the door of Esh’s Amish Goods. With a small shove she forced open the door and peered inside.

  She surveyed the small gift store and let out a long sigh. She and her mother had purchased the shop a week ago, and there was still much to do before it was ready for business. Changing the name for one thing. As of today the store would be known as Esh’s Amish Goods, and the new sign would be delivered next week. The gift shop was in a great location—a small shopping center located next to the Middlefield Market. Business would be brisk, especially on Mondays when the flea market was open. Its prime location a street over from the Middlefield Cheese Shop, another popular destination for tourists, couldn’t hurt business either.

  She walked over to the glass countertop and set down her bag with her lunch and paperback novel inside. The display case beneath the glass held a few cheap knickknacks, part of the inventory the previous owners had left when they sold everything to Anna and her mother and then moved back to their retirement home in Florida. At first Anna had been hesitant about the venture, not only of buying the business but of moving from Maryland to live with her great uncle Zeb, her late father’s much older brother. Leaving the Amish community she grew up in hadn’t been easy. But since her father’s death three years ago and Uncle Zeb’s accident last month, not to mention her broken relationship wi
th Daniel . . .

  She shook her head, sending thoughts of the past away. When she and her mother had made the decision to move to Middlefield, she had vowed to focus on forging a new life, not on remembering her painful past.

  Anna picked up her bag and opened the dirty white door that led to the back of the store. Her gaze took in the small office and storeroom, noticing the peeling yellow paint on the walls and the chipped linoleum floor. The entire store smelled musty. Although the temperature inside was cooler than outside, it was still warm. The previous owners had closed the store five years ago, but they hadn’t had a single offer until Anna expressed interest. She could see why. Besides repainting everything, she had to replace the back door, fix the leaky toilet in the tiny bathroom, and order more inventory and shelving. And that was just the beginning.

  But despite all the work involved, she loved the place.

  Placing her bag on the dented metal desk, she grabbed a rag and a can of all-purpose cleaner, ready to tackle the dust and grime that had formed on every surface of the store. As she walked back into the store, she hummed a hymn she’d sung in church last Sunday, occasionally singing a German word of praise.

  “Excuse me, fraulein.”

  At the sound of the deep voice, she jerked up her head, nearly dropping the cleaner. Standing inside the front door was a young Amish man. Unnerved, she gripped the can tightly.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I knocked on the door a couple times, but I guess you didn’t hear me. It was unlocked, so I came right in.”

  “That’s okay.” She struggled to regain her composure, something she found difficult to do with this nice-looking, dark-haired man standing only a few feet away. She hadn’t seen him before, and as she took in his face, she noticed his hazel eyes, their unusual color apparent even in the dimness of the store. “I suppose I shouldn’t have left the door unlocked. We’re not ready for business yet.”

  “Ya, I know. I spoke with your mudder a couple days ago. She said you hoped to open the store in a couple of months.”

  “That’s the plan. We should have the repairs and renovations done on the shop and have enough inventory by then.

  He grinned, revealing perfectly straight teeth. “I’m hoping I can help you out with that. I’ve got the toys and other things your mudder ordered out in my buggy.”

  Anna frowned. She had no idea what he was talking about. “I’m sorry, Herr . . .”

  “Byler. Lukas Byler. Call me Lukas.”

  “I’m sorry, Lukas. I don’t know anything about the order.”

  “Your mudder didn’t mention it to you?”

  “Nee.” Anna made a mental note to discuss the matter with her mother when she came in later. They couldn’t order things without discussing them first, or at least telling each other about it. Finances were tight, and they had to watch every nickel and dime.

  “I guess there’s some sort of misunderstanding then.” A puzzled look entered his eyes and he stroked his clean-shaven chin. He moved his hand from his face and looked at her. “Is your mud-der here? She can probably help clear things up.”

  “She won’t be back until late this afternoon.”

  “Then I tell you what. What if I bring in the goods, you take a look at them, and I’ll come back tomorrow morning. Then you can let me know if you change your mind.”

  “If my Mami ordered the items, then I’ll pay for them.” Anna didn’t want the man to go away empty-handed just because she and her mother hadn’t communicated. That wouldn’t be fair to him. “Just bring them inside and put them over there.” She pointed to an empty space near the front door.

  He nodded. “Be right back.”

  Anna sighed. She hoped her mother hadn’t negotiated too steep of a price with Lukas. She also hoped that he wasn’t bringing her a pile of junk she couldn’t sell. There were several stores in the area that sold cheap, plastic goods at high prices. She didn’t want Esh’s Amish Goods to go that route. She had envisioned having high-quality, yet reasonably priced, handcrafted goods like quilts, small pieces of Amish furniture, and perhaps some decorative ironwork and homemade pastries, jams, and jellies for sale. She wished to sell only authentic Amish goods to patronize and support the Amish cottage industries. But her mother had a soft heart and Anna could see her ordering a bunch of high-priced, useless items so she could avoid saying no.

  When Anna saw Lukas heading toward the shop with a huge cardboard box, she hurried to open the door for him. “I have one more in the buggy. Geh ahead and take a look at what’s in here while I fetch it.”

  She peeked inside the box, her mouth opening in surprise. Kneeling down, she pulled out a doll-sized rocker, made in the Amish style out of hickory wood. As she inspected the piece, she took in its sturdy construction. Each small, flat spindle was hand-carved then tightly fitted with a mortise-and-tenon joint. The curved rocker runners had been sanded perfectly smooth, then varnished to prevent splintering. She set it gingerly next to the box and then pulled out two more small chairs before noticing a couple of rectangular wooden train whistles that had been coated with clear lacquer. She picked one up and felt the smooth, shiny surface. Turning the whistle over, she saw a small stamp imprinted on the bottom: Byler and Sons Carpentry Company.

  At the creaking sound of the door, she jumped up to help Lukas with the other box. “These are just some miscellaneous things,” he said, setting the box on the floor as the glass door fell shut. “A few garden plaques, a couple of knickknack shelves. I also made two clocks in the shape of Ohio. Yankee visitors seem to love those.”

  Lukas grinned.

  Anna’s eyes widened. “You made all these?”

  “Most of them. My brothers and daed helped with a few, but they don’t really care for working on the small stuff. I usually make them on my own.”

  “I’m impressed.” She picked up one of the garden plaques with the word thyme burned into the smooth, light colored wood. A thin, straight wooden stake was attached so that a gardener could put it in the ground next the herb. “You’re quite gifted.”

  He cast his gaze to the ground, but said nothing. He showed demut, the humility expected of all Amish. She’d always appreciated that trait.

  She tried to focus on the matter at hand. “What price did you and my mami settle on?” When he told her, she froze. “Are you sure?”

  “Ya.”

  She looked at the toys in the boxes again. “That’s way too low.”

  He shrugged. “I don’t make them for the money. I enjoy doing it and the Yankees and other folks like buying them.”

  “Ya, but you could get so much more for these if you wanted to. Are you sure that’s the price you want me to pay?”

  “Anna, if you don’t stop questioning me, I’ll lower the price.” His mouth formed a small half smile.

  She frowned. “How did you know my name?”

  “Your mudder mentioned it the day I came in here. She also said she was sorry I’d missed you.” He gazed at her, the intensity of his hazel eyes deepening. “I’m glad I didn’t miss you this time.”

  Lukas noticed the blush that bloomed on Anna’s cheeks after he paid her the compliment. Goodness, she was a pretty maedel, with blonde hair around her heart-shaped face and faint brown freckles across the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks. But the thing he’d noticed right off was her height. She was only about an inch shorter than him, and he liked that he could look her directly in the eyes when they spoke.

  He also appreciated her eye for quality. He wasn’t into bragging about his own work, but he always put in his best, even when he was working on his hobby of making toys and other small items out of wood. He’d been selling those items at Mary Yoder’s Amish Kitchen for a couple of years, and when he’d seen that Trinkets and Treasures was reopening, he decided to try to sell them here. As he made the toys, he imagined the delighted faces of children playing with them.

  “Let me get the checkbook,�
�� she said, not looking at him directly. But he could see a tiny smile playing at the corners of her pale pink lips. Cute.

  He watched as she went to the back room, the ribbons of her white prayer kapp trailing behind her slender shoulders. He pushed his hat off his forehead and wiped at the perspiration gathering there. He naturally assumed she wasn’t married. Her mother had said the two of them had moved here from Maryland four months ago, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have someone back home. Or maybe there was someone in Middlefield she had taken a fancy to.

  As he stood by the glass counter, he shoved his hands into his pockets and took in the store. Although it was the beginning of August and the sun shone bright in the early morning sky, the single window on the east side of the store only gave a little bit of light. Puffy white clouds hovered, threatening to block that sunlight, dimming the already dark room.

  He hadn’t paid much attention to the gift shop before the Eshes had taken over, and he knew little about it other than that it had been run by Yankees who hadn’t dealt too much with the local Amish. He glanced up at the two gold-pendant chandeliers suspended from the ceiling. The lights hadn’t been turned on and wouldn’t be, since using electricity wasn’t the Amish way. Somehow Anna would have to get some more light in the store.

  “I know it’s dark in here.” She emerged from the back room, speaking as if she’d read his thoughts. “I need to pull out the electric lighting and put in a few gas powered lights. I thought I might be able to get away with the natural light streaming through the window, but I don’t think that will work every day.”

  “Especially in the winter. We have some dreary days here in Ohio.”

  “Same in Maryland. I’ll figure something out.” She flipped open the checkbook and started writing. When she finished the check, she tore it out of the book and handed it to Lukas.

  He took a quick glance at the check. Esh’s Amish Goods it said at the top. Then he noticed the check number. 103. A brand new account. He remembered when his father had first started his carpentry business. Lukas had been young but old enough to recall there had been a couple of lean years at first. He suspected Anna and her mother were experiencing the same restricted finances as they started their new venture. “I could help you out.” He pocketed the check. “With the lights and electric.”