“Which isn’t complete without dessert.” He held up a container of cookies. “Chocolate pecan. Your favorite, right?”
She lunged for the cookies, but he jerked them away at the last second and held them over his head. Then they were laughing and acting like two teenagers. His hand on hers caused goose bumps to dot her arms. She thought he was about to kiss her, their faces so close she could smell spearmint on his breath. Instead he pressed his forehead to hers and said, “Danki.”
“For what?”
He pulled back and studied her a minute, as if he was weighing his answer. Finally he said simply, “Agreeing to come to dinner with me.”
“I should be thanking you. This is a wunderbaar meal you’ve put together, and you were right—it does help to take a few hours away from the packing.”
She began to relax as they put together two sandwiches that looked cartoonish in their height. He’d packed silverware for the potato salad, cloth napkins, bottles of water and cans of pop, as well as a thermos of coffee.
“Don’t know how you fit so much in that basket.”
“It’s very special.”
“The basket?”
“Ya. For sure and certain. Bought it from the auction, and thought to myself that this basket would be perfect for a picnic with Olivia Mae.”
“So you’ve been planning this for some time.”
“Maybe. In the back of my mind.” He took a bite of the sandwich, but held up his hand as if he had more to say. When he’d finished chewing and taken a long pull from a bottle of water, he added, “Truthfully, it threw me for a loop when you told me your move is in a week.”
“Ya. I felt the same way. I still do.”
“I’ve been trying to gather my courage to do this, to take you on a real date and not an instructional one.”
She shook her head, trying not to laugh. “That first lesson, on my porch...”
“Rainstorm nearly blew the table over. And you weren’t going to let me inside.”
“I was embarrassed.” She stared out over the pond. “And proud. I suppose that was part of my problem.”
“Didn’t know a roof could leak that much and still hold together.”
“The look on your face when you walked inside.” She dared glance at him now and was relieved to see that he found the memory as funny as she did.
“Roofs are easy to fix. I know the situation with your grandparents is more complicated.”
“It is.”
“As far as overcoming my shyness and learning I can be comfortable in someone else’s presence...”
“I shouldn’t have suggested otherwise.”
“Nein. It was true. I’d never thought of it that way. I always told myself there was no point because it wouldn’t end well.”
“Sometimes that’s easier than trying.”
“Agreed.” He took another bite from the sandwich, then a few moments later added, “But knowing that our time is limited, that spurred me to action.”
Olivia Mae didn’t answer right away. She had so many thoughts spinning around in her mind that she didn’t know which to say first, so she gave herself a minute. She couldn’t believe that she—Olivia Mae Miller, Matchmaker Extraordinaire—felt so completely off-kilter by a simple date. It was one thing to teach something to someone, to advise others, but it was another thing entirely to experience it herself. She’d forgotten so much.
The heightened emotions.
The way that every minor touch felt like a jolt of electricity.
The anticipation and dread that mingled together.
“I’m glad I came tonight.”
“Ya?”
She echoed his earlier sentiment. “Danki.”
“For?”
“Inviting me. Being thoughtful. Knowing what would help. Take your pick.”
He cocked his head and seemed about to answer, but instead he shook his head and took another sip of the water he’d opened. They finished the meal watching the birds swoop down over the pond, then a doe and fawn appeared at the far side of the water.
The fawn was only a few weeks old by the look of its wobbly legs. It hid on the far side of the doe, trying to nurse as she drank from the pond. It was covered with spots and occasionally it would stick its head out from behind the doe—all ears and eyes, spots and knobby legs. Olivia Mae thought it might be the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
One last drink from the pond and then the mom walked away, though not so quickly that the fawn couldn’t follow.
She glanced up to see Noah watching her. “I’ve seen hundreds of does, but I’ve never watched one from across a pond as the sun set.”
“We’re making special memories, ya?”
“I suppose we are.”
“Care to go for a walk?”
“A walk would be gut.”
They stored everything back into the hamper except for the container of cookies and thermos of coffee. Then Noah pulled her to her feet, but he didn’t release her hand. Instead he again laced his fingers with hers and she marveled at the warmth of that gesture, how it seemed to anchor her world.
Could a small touch do such a big thing?
They walked around the pond, stopping at the dock and then walking out on the wooden planks. The setting sun was sending color across the sky, though they still had probably an hour before darkness settled. The summer evenings in Indiana took their leave gently and slowly.
“Have I ever told you how nervous I was the first day I met you?”
“When you brought me the letter box?”
He nodded as they both sat on the edge of the dock. Olivia Mae pulled off her sandals. Noah laughed as he unlaced his shoes. They could just dip their toes in the water if they stretched.
“I knew you were nervous. You kept twirling that hat.”
“If I close my eyes I can still see you standing there. At first I’m pretty sure you just wanted to send me away, and then you saw the box. You stepped out onto the porch and...”
He ducked his head, but still she didn’t interrupt. He raised his eyes to meet hers. “You looked like you walked out of a dream. At that moment, all I wanted was to get to know you better.”
“I remember you telling me that you were a happy bachelor, and I thought there was no such thing. I might have been wrong about that. Some people...well, I suppose some people are happier alone.”
“I’m not one of those people, though. The past weeks with you, they’ve been the best of my life.” He again reached for her hand. “I realize this isn’t the best timing with your move and all, and I don’t want you to feel pressured. But I need to say it...”
“Say what?”
“That I love you.”
Her eyes widened. She hadn’t expected this, though she’d known that his feelings for her had grown. The way she cared for him had certainly changed over the past few weeks.
“Olivia Mae, I...”
“Yes?”
“May I ask a question?”
She nodded, unable to talk now, her heart thundering in her chest.
“What are you doing for the rest of your life?” He reached forward, tucked her kapp strings behind her shoulders. “When I look at you, I see the girl I’m meant to love for my whole life. I see the woman that I want to eat breakfast with and raise children with and watch sunsets with.”
When she didn’t answer immediately, he stammered, “I know I won’t...I won’t always get it right, but I’ll try.”
She was speechless, utterly dumbfounded. In her wildest dreams she’d thought that perhaps they would begin to court. They’d exchange letters and maybe even visit, though it was a long way from Maine to Indiana. She’d never envisioned a marriage proposal, not on their first date. But it wasn’t their first date, not really. And it wasn’t sudden. What they felt for each ot
her, it had grown naturally since that Wednesday afternoon when he’d brought her the letter box.
The Noah sitting beside her wasn’t the same man who had shown up on her porch. He was confident, or at least hopeful. Even now, he waited patiently for her answer.
“Did you just ask me to marry you?”
“Ya. I did.” He claimed both of her hands. “We can do this...”
“This?”
“Find our own future, the lives we’re meant to live.”
She still hadn’t answered him. She understood that she needed to say what was in her heart, that now was the time to do that, but the words were frozen in her throat and her hands were shaking and she thought she might be about to have a panic attack.
“Maybe I’m wrong or maybe I’m right, but I had to try.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Do you love me?”
“Ya, Noah. I do.” And suddenly the pressure on her heart eased. “I think I’ve loved you since you walked into my grandparents’ house and claimed you were going to fix their roof.”
“I’ve never seen so many pots scattered across the floor.”
“And then you followed through—and Noah, it wasn’t only that you helped us, but you did it like we were doing you a favor. Like you were happy to help us.”
“I was. I am.”
She looked down at their hands, realizing that she was clutching his as if he was her life preserver in a storm-tossed sea. “And then when you offered to take care of my sheep...”
“I love sheep.”
“You’re an auctioneer, not a shepherd.”
“But I would do it for you.”
“I know.” The words were a whisper. “And that made all the difference, knowing that you would sacrifice your dream for mine.”
“Nein.” He rubbed the backs of her hands with his thumbs. “First, it’s not a sacrifice, and second, your dreams are as important to me as mine. We can find a way to have both.”
“My grandparents...”
“I don’t know the answer, but we’ll handle it—together.”
He jumped up, helped her to her feet and then stepped closer—close enough that there was only the smallest amount of space between them. He still held her hands, and when he leaned forward, when his lips touched hers, Olivia Mae thought she’d never known such happiness.
They stood there under the final remnants of a glorious sunset, and Olivia Mae stepped into Noah’s arms.
* * *
The sale of the farm was finalized the week after Noah proposed, but Bishop Lucas was able to find Olivia Mae and her grandparents a place to stay for the rest of the summer. Olivia Mae’s brothers came and helped with the move, brought their entire families and promised to return every year. The grandchildren needed to know their grandparents. The grossdaddi haus on Widow King’s place was small, but there was a pasture for the sheep, and living there gave them the time that they needed.
Noah’s dat bought a small strip of land across the road from their family farm. It had been for sale for over a year but, at twenty acres, it was too small to farm. It was, however, perfect for raising a small herd of sheep and pasturing a few horses. A ramshackle house sat on the corner of the property.
Noah and his bruders decided it would be quicker and less expensive to pull down the old homestead. They left the foundation and the chimney, then expanded the foundation because a single story would be easier for Mammi and Daddi. The new home was raised on a Saturday in late August, and a small barn quickly followed.
Daddi continued to have gut days and bad days, but he had no problem with the move. Mammi’s occasional lapses into the past disappeared completely. Perhaps it had been a way of dealing with stress. Perhaps she’d been more worried about their situation than she’d let on, or maybe as the doctor had suggested it had been a result of the medications that she was taking.
Regardless, both of Olivia Mae’s grandparents seemed to have improved by the time they moved into the new home, and they all agreed that living across the street from Noah’s parents would be a real help. Olivia Mae hadn’t realized how much she’d let her pride stand in the way of accepting help that they desperately needed.
She and Noah were wed on the second Saturday in October.
Jane was there with Elijah. The Sunday before, they’d announced their intention to wed in the spring.
Francine had been accepted for the MDS cook position in Texas, and she was scheduled to leave the following week.
All of Olivia Mae’s brothers attended the wedding, as well as all of Noah’s family, including his new baby nephew, Silas. Their church family brought the number to nearly two hundred. Looking out over the crowd, she was surprised to see so many couples that she had helped to find one another.
“The matchmaker finally gets matched,” Noah whispered.
Olivia Mae wore a forest green dress with a matching apron, and Noah looked so handsome in his new suit that Olivia Mae had trouble taking her eyes off him.
After the singing and sermon, Bishop Lucas called them to the front of the group and they recited their vows, repeating after him and staring into each other’s eyes. So much of the day seemed like a blur, like something happening to someone else. Olivia Mae felt as if she was walking through a dream.
Then Lucas presented them as Mr. and Mrs. Noah Graber, and she knew it wasn’t a dream. It was her life and her future and her hopes all tossed together into something beautiful—a marriage.
Later that day, as they were about to eat the second meal, Noah tugged at her hand and whispered, “Let’s go look at our house.”
“But, we’re supposed to...”
“Sit at the corner of the table. I know. I promise to have you back before Francine sets down the first plate of chicken casserole.”
Instead of going into the house across the road, they walked around to the back, where her sheep were grazing.
“What do you call a dancing sheep?”
“Oh, Noah...” She was standing at the fence, looking at the herd, which would soon grow to nine. When he walked up behind her and put his arms around her, she felt as if she was the happiest woman in the world. She could even forgive him the terrible jokes.
“You know you want to know,” he murmured, kissing her cheek.
“Okay. What do you call a dancing sheep?”
“A ba-a-a-llerina.”
She covered his hands with hers, wrapping his arms even more tightly around her. “How many of these jokes do you have?”
“Enough to last us a lifetime.” He turned her gently so that she was facing him. “I want to say, in case I forget or we get busy with—with living, I want to say that when I saw you standing there this morning, the sunlight shining down on you...” Tears filled his eyes, but he didn’t bother to brush them away. “No one ever looked so beautiful.”
“Beauty is only skin-deep.”
“Not yours.” He thumbed away her tears. “Yours goes all the way to the center of your heart. That’s what takes my breath away.”
“I love you, Noah Graber.”
“And I love you, Olivia Mae.”
She glanced around at their small farm where they would build their life together, hopefully have children, care for her grandparents and her sheep, and her heart swelled with the joy and hope of their future together.
She and Noah were the perfect match—not because they were the right height for each other or had the same hobbies or even because they felt a very real physical attraction to one another. They were the perfect match because they’d taken the time to truly know one another, and when they did, they’d forged an emotional bond that blossomed into love.
That was Gotte’s doing, and Olivia Mae knew in her heart that He was the perfect matchmaker.
* * *
If you loved this story,
pi
ck up the other books in the
Indiana Amish Brides series,
A Widow’s Hope
Amish Christmas Memories
from bestselling author
Vannetta Chapman
Available now from Love Inspired!
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Dear Reader,
So often life interrupts our plans. Sometimes we’re left feeling like a boat tossed on a stormy sea. During those times, we occasionally bury our dreams believing that they aren’t possible, that they’ll never happen, that we don’t even deserve such happiness.
Olivia Mae has lived just that sort of life. She’s compassionate and kind and giving, but in the process she’s buried her own dreams. As she cares for her grandparents, she decides that while love and marriage and family aren’t things she’ll ever experience, she can at least help others on that path. She becomes a matchmaker.
Noah is a confirmed bachelor. He’s had relationships in the past that always ended badly. He believes he’s defective in some way, and so he envisions a life for himself where he is happy alone. Then he meets Olivia Mae, and they both discover that while they might have given up on their dreams God hasn’t. God has a hope and a plan for them. God wants the very best for them, and that best includes all the things they wanted but didn’t think they deserved.
I hope you enjoyed reading A Perfect Amish Match. I welcome comments and letters at [email protected].
May we continue “giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20).
Blessings,
Vannetta
We hope you enjoyed this Harlequin Love Inspired story.
You believe hearts can heal. Love Inspired stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives—always.
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