“He looks sweet all the time. He hasn’t had one cranky moment since I’ve known him.”
The shop phone rang and Hannah rushed over to answer it. Emma watched her frown and look concerned. “It’s no problem,” Hannah said to the caller. “You take care of yourself. Bye.”
She hung up and stood there staring off into the distance.
“Is something wrong?” Emma asked.
“Katie Ann—you know, Rebecca’s schweschder—just called to say she can’t work for me anymore. She was granted a loan, so she’s decided to open up her own bakery. I knew this was coming. She’s wanted to do it for some time and was making the arrangements for it.”
Before she could say more, a pair of customers walked in chatting with each other. They greeted Hannah and went straight for the tables that displayed fabric.
Emma walked over to the counter. “I’m available,” she said.
“Hmm?” Hannah stared at her, distracted.
“I said I’m available. I told you I worked in a quilt shop while I was in Ohio. I can give you the name of the owner and you can check my reference.”
“Does this mean you’re staying?”
“I think so. I’ll know more after Eli and I talk later, but I’m hoping we can work things out. That’s why I came back.”
She held her breath while Hannah looked at her and considered her offer.
“It’s just part-time for now, but I’d need you for more hours as we head into fall.” Hannah looked thoughtful. Then she grinned. “I don’t need to check your reference. I watched you when you helped customers yesterday. You’re hired!”
Emma breathed a sigh of relief. “And to think, just minutes ago, you were reassuring me that things were going to get better.”
“I did, didn’t I?” Hannah chuckled. “I guess I must be pretty smart.”
“Well, you hired me,” Emma said and laughed as she walked over to see if any of the customers needed help.
The two women knew what they wanted, and soon Emma had her arms full of bolts of fabric to cut. It was such fun to be doing something useful again, she thought as she cut the lengths they requested. She had missed working while on maternity leave and then done fewer hours after John’s birth.
Since the two women were the only customers in the shop, she was able to spend time chatting with them, helping them choose the right thread and backing for the quilts they were planning.
She hadn’t had time to quilt since John was born. As she looked at the quilts Hannah had hung on the walls for display and featured for sale, she hoped she’d get back to it soon. She loved the creativity of making something beautiful and useful for a home.
And she hoped she and John would have a home soon.
When the women left loaded down with shopping bags, she walked over to check on John. He slept blissfully, not disturbed in the least by the jangle of the bell over the shop door, the ring of the phone, or the influx of a group of women who swarmed in, obviously shopping after a late lunch at a local restaurant. Emma felt a twinge of hunger when one woman walked past carrying a takeout bag and she smelled its contents. She’d been so distracted with seeing Eli that she had forgotten to eat her lunch.
She glanced at the clock and Hannah saw her. “Go take a break in the back room. I just realized you didn’t get to eat your lunch.”
“Me too,” she said with a chuckle. “Would you like me to fix you a cup of tea?”
“Maybe later. Shoo, before John wakes and insists on his afternoon snack.”
Emma was just finishing up half of the sandwich when Hannah walked in with a sleepy-eyed John. “Look who woke up.”
John held out his arms for her, and she took him and sat him on her lap. He immediately spied the empty jar of pears on the table and began reaching for it.
“He really likes pears, doesn’t he?” Hannah said as she took a bottle from the refrigerator, held it to her side so John didn’t see it, and ran warm water over it in the sink.
Emma nodded. “They’re his favorite fruit although he likes strained bananas, too. He’s always been a healthy eater.”
Hannah turned off the water, dried the bottle with a dish towel, and handed it to her. John wiggled happily when he saw it and soon was sucking milk down vigorously. Hannah picked up the empty jar and tossed it into the trash. “Gideon helped feed the pears to John while you and Eli were talking. He acted a little afraid to do it at first. I guess he hasn’t had much experience with bopplin since he and Eli were the only kinner in their familye.”
She leaned against the table and studied John. “I came back here to fix a cup of tea, and when I went back out into the shop Gideon had the strangest look on his face.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know. I can’t describe it exactly. It was almost like…yearning.”
“Maybe he’s ready for a familye of his own.” She frowned. “Not like his bruder.” She sighed. “Who knew zwillingbopplin could be so different?”
Hannah chuckled. “I wish you could have seen John’s face when he saw the two of them together. He kept looking back and forth like he couldn’t quite figure it out. Then it seemed like he recognized Gideon since he’d been with him earlier that day.”
Emma watched John grow sleepier as he drained his bottle. “I was always attracted to Eli, not Gideon. You could tell Gideon was the more mature of the two, but Eli…he’s got this twinkle in his eye and he’s such a charmer.”
John finished the bottle, burped loudly, then laughed and laughed at what he’d done.
“Has a way about him just like his dat, doesn’t he?” Emma said with a chuckle as John patted her cheeks. She bounced him on her lap. “I was terrified when I found out I was pregnant, but I knew I wanted him no matter what. I love being a mudder.”
She looked up at Hannah. “Gideon can’t keep his eyes off you when the two of you are together.” She wondered if Hannah knew she was blushing. “And I see the way you look at him.”
“Is it that obvious?” Hannah bit her bottom lip.
“To someone else in love.” She felt her mood slipping. “Well, it’s a clean diaper for you, my Johnny, and then we’re going back to the motel for a nap before we go out to eat supper with Daedi and talk.”
“I thought about moving the crib back here because I was afraid the noise from the shop would keep him awake,” Hannah told her as Emma carried him to the crib to change him. “But I think he could sleep through a tornado. Besides, the ladies love him so much.”
“Ya, he’s just like Eli,” she said and tapped him on the nose to make him giggle. “Mr. Charm.”
Chapter Ten
Gideon stood before his dresser mirror and combed his damp hair. He was glad he’d asked Hannah out a night early. It had been a long, busy week at their shops and they’d had the extra work and concern over John’s arrival.
He studied his appearance in the mirror. His best shirt had mysteriously disappeared from his closet again, so he’d been forced to wear his second-best. He suspected he’d find it on Eli if he went looking, but he didn’t have time for that now.
Maybe he needed to start hiding it.
He grabbed his wallet, checked its contents to make schur he had enough cash for tonight, and started downstairs. He wasn’t worried Eli had borrowed any money. His bruder borrowed his shirts but he never borrowed anything else. Eli just didn’t like having to deal with chores like washing and ironing and cooking. With their mudder away he was forced to do his own cooking and laundry.
It was no wonder Eli had welcomed all the baked goods the maedels in the community dropped by. He’d have them do his laundry too if it wasn’t considered improper.
Eli was settling his straw hat on his head when Gideon walked into the kitchen. He glanced back and had the grace to look guilty.
“I should make you take off my shirt.”
“But the one you’re wearing brings out your blue eyes so nicely,” Eli told him with a big grin. “I’m out of here. H
ave a gut time with Hannah.”
“I will.” Gideon glanced at the clock and saw he had ten minutes to spare. He slapped his hat on his head and headed out the front door to wait for Hannah.
The crocuses and daffodils his mudder had planted years ago had burst into bloom. He wondered if Hannah would like some. Then he told himself every woman liked flowers. He picked a bunch and remembered the lecture he’d gotten from his mudder when he picked roses from her favorite rose bush to give to Hannah on her sixteenth birthday. Well, crocuses and daffodils weren’t his mudder’s precious roses, and since she was away she wouldn’t miss them.
Still he found himself glancing guiltily over his shoulder as he picked the blooms.
Hannah drove up a few minutes later, and she looked delighted with the flowers when he gave them to her.
“Feeling brave, are you?” she asked, obviously remembering the roses incident.
“I figure Mamm won’t be back for a while and miss them,” he admitted with a grin.
“I love spring flowers. We don’t have a long spring season here, so I enjoy them while we have them.”
She put the flowers on the seat between them. When he saw her glance at them from time to time as she drove, the reins held easily in her hands, he told himself he needed to give flowers to her more often.
“You look pretty,” he told her then grimaced. He didn’t have the charm of Eli.
She blushed. “Why, danki. Violet’s my favorite color.” She smiled at him. “You probably noticed I wear it a lot.”
“You look pretty in whatever you wear.”
“You’re being awfully sweet tonight.”
He felt heat rise under his collar. “Well, I’m no Eli.”
“That’s gut.” She bit her lip. “I’m sorry. That wasn’t nice. But I’m not happy with Eli at the moment.”
“I know. Neither of us are. You know he’s out with Emma and John tonight.”
“I do. She told me.” She pulled over to the right of the road so a car could pass them. “I almost suggested you and I go to the same restaurant to see how it goes. But that would be nosy.”
“It would.” He chuckled. “But I suddenly feel a craving for pizza coming on.”
She shook her head. “We can’t do that. They would know we’re spying on them. And goodness knows they’re old enough to solve their own problems.”
“One of them is. Emma, I mean.” He sighed. “I’m just five minutes older but sometimes I feel five years older than Eli.”
“I know. You’ve always been the more mature of the two of you.”
“He got more of the charm.”
“I’m surprised you’d say that. I think you’ve been pretty charming. Especially tonight.”
“I should steal my mudder’s flowers more often,” he joked. He reached for her hand. “We deserve a night away from Eli and Emma and their problems. Just the two of us. I’ve been wanting to take you out for supper in a nice place for a long time.”
“I don’t need fancy. It’s nice just to spend time together.”
Was there ever a doubt this was the woman for him? he wondered.
The fields along the road were beginning to show green. It wouldn’t be long before passersby could see rows of corn and wheat and many types of vegetables.
Hannah pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant he’d directed her to, and he had to let go of her hand for a few moments until they were out of the buggy and strolling up the walk. The restaurant was busy tonight. He saw a lot of Englisch couples, but he also spotted several Amish couples they knew and said hello to them on the way to their table.
The hostess handed them their menus and wished them a good evening.
Fine linen covered the table and crystal glasses glittered in the candlelight. Music played softly in the background, something classical.
“Gideon, the prices,” Hannah whispered in horror as she glanced inside the leather-bound menu. “Let me split the check with you.”
“We deserve a treat,” he said firmly. “And nee, you will not split the check with me.”
He found himself enjoying the way she looked in candlelight, her eyes glowing, her posture so relaxed and graceful.
They ordered and then talked about their week.
“Oh, I know we said we weren’t going to talk about Eli and Emma, but I wanted to tell you I hired her part-time.”
Gideon stopped, his fork halfway to his mouth. “You did? So she’s staying?”
“At least for the time being.” She sampled her chicken Oscar and it melted in her mouth. “Katie Ann is starting her own bakery, and this gives Emma some money for the motel. And it isn’t charity. She’s very gut with the customers. She worked in a quilt shop in Ohio while she lived there.”
He frowned. “When I told her I wanted to help she said she didn’t need anything. Why didn’t I think about the cost of her staying in town?”
“It’s allrecht. It worked out for everyone. And I have to say I love having John around.”
She’d be a gut mudder, he thought, studying her. She was a quiet woman—not one to chatter but with a real interest in others. He’d found he could share his interest in carving and making toys with her. After his dat had died two years ago she’d listened to him pour out his grief and not offered the platitudes others had.
“Gideon?”
“Hmm?”
“Are you allrecht?”
He smiled at her. “Of course. Just thinking how lovely you look in the candlelight.”
Her cheeks grew rosy and her eyes warmed. “Danki,” she said and when he reached his hand across the table for hers, she let him take it even though she was shy about such gestures in public. “I’m so glad you asked me out tonight.”
Gideon caught a movement at the corner of his eye and glanced over at the table in the nearby corner and watched a man pull a small velvet box from his suit pocket. He frowned. Maybe now wasn’t a gut time to talk to Hannah about their relationship after all. He wasn’t quite ready to propose and if she saw what was happening at the next table, wouldn’t she think he was about to do so?
This was what he got for taking his time and not bringing up the subject of their relationship earlier in the meal. He sighed. Well, there was nothing else he could do. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to talk to her about anything serious tonight. He’d just have to find another time and hope things worked out then.
* * *
Hannah had resisted the idea of supper at such an expensive restaurant when Gideon told her where they were going on the way there. Now as they lingered over dessert and coffee she wasn’t sorry they’d come here.
Such an evening would be a memory she’d tuck away for the future. It didn’t take linen tablecloths, fancy food, and candlelight to make her happy. But it seemed that when a couple dressed up and spent time in a setting that was designed for intimacy, for quiet talks over an exquisitely prepared meal, and were encouraged to linger and make a meal an event, it couldn’t help being romantic.
Hannah wondered if Gideon noticed that the man sitting with a woman at the table tucked in a private corner nearby had just held out a tiny velvet box to her. The woman was crying and nodding and allowing the man to pluck the ring from the box and slide it on her finger. They kissed and celebrated with glasses of champagne.
This evening would indeed be a special memory for them.
When Hannah looked back at Gideon, she saw that he’d seen the proposal and seemed thoughtful, but he made no comment. She wondered what he was thinking but was afraid to ask. Would he think she was hinting she wanted a proposal?
She took a last sip of coffee and patted her lips with her napkin as Gideon paid the bill. Time to go. She sighed.
“Tired?”
“Nee. Just thinking that I really enjoyed myself.”
“Gut.” They left the restaurant and she chose the long road home.
He shot her a knowing glance. As they rode along, the full moon floated above them, casting light, then sh
adows, over the strong bones of his face. He was at once the man she’d known for years, then the mysterious one she learned more about each day that she spent with him.
She stopped beside a field. “Do you remember this spot?”
“We stopped here the first night you let me drive you home from a singing,” he said slowly. “Honeysuckle was blooming along the fence and fireflies were dancing over the field.”
“Ya.”
“I wanted to kiss you but it was too soon.”
She turned and smiled at him. “It’s not too soon tonight,” she said, a little surprised at her boldness.
He leaned over and took her face in his hands and looked at her for a long, long moment. And then he kissed her. The kiss was warm and sweet and wunderbaar. She sighed when he released her face and drew back. She wanted more, wanted him to hold her longer, wanted more kisses. But best to avoid temptation. They stared at each other and neither had to say what they were thinking. Eli and Emma wouldn’t be in the position they were in if they hadn’t let passion overtake them.
“No fireflies tonight,” he said into the silence.
“No honeysuckle, either,” she told him, chuckling as the pungent aroma of fertilizer drifted on the wind from the fields.
“I wish I’d had more time to help Eli with the farm. We talked about how he’ll need to hire some help when it comes time for harvest.” He sighed. “I wouldn’t have started my shop three years ago if I’d known that Daed would die and leave Eli and me the farm. Eli is carrying more of the burden than he should.”
“But you love making toys and working at the shop.”
“I do.”
“And Eli loves farming.”
“He does. Always has, more than me.”
“So don’t you think the path the two of you were set on is the right one?”
He glanced at her. “Ya,” he said after a long moment.
“I don’t know that I would have had the courage to start my own shop if you hadn’t encouraged me.”
The Amish Baby Finds a Home Page 7
