Heart in Hand: Stitches in Time Series #3 (15 page)

She started toward the steps, but when he didn’t follow, she turned, raising her eyebrows.

“How did you fix it?”

“You think I don’t know how?”

“How did you fix it?” he repeated, curious.

She lifted her chin. “You don’t think a woman can do such a thing?”

“I think you can do anything you want to do. Amish women are capable of doing many things,” he said and was relieved when she began descending the stairs. “Just as Amish men can do many things.”

“Like cook?”

He nodded.

She turned as she reached his buggy. “I put a bucket under the leak,” she said, and she laughed. “It’s only a slow leak so I decided not to go crawling around under the sink getting my good dress dirty when you were due here.”

“You’re sure?”

She nodded.

Speaking of crawling around, he glanced at her. “You look very nice,” he told her and was rewarded with a smile.

“I’m looking forward to coffee. It’s a treat to have it out.”

“I agree.” He walked around and climbed into the driver’s side of the buggy. “Especially since Fannie supplies their baked goods, and mine aren’t anywhere as good.”

They traveled a ways, but the silence didn’t feel awkward.

“Sarah Rose has been getting interested in baking some things,” he said after a time. “Chocolate chip cookies are her favorite. We’ve even put chocolate chips into pumpkin bread.”

“I used to love chocolate chip pancakes.”

“That sounds sweet.”

“Makes up for my tart personality.”

He glanced at her. “You’ve never been anything but pleasant to me.”

“I have my moments.” She glanced at him. “I’m nothing like Mary.”

Surprised, he stared at her. “I didn’t think that you were. But I wouldn’t want you to be. You deserve to be yourself.”

She searched his eyes and finally appeared to believe him. “I just thought maybe you were hoping to meet another woman like her.”

“I do if you mean one who loves God and her family,” he said slowly. “One who is generous with that love and compassion. Who is a partner with her
mann
and loves his
kind
and hopes
with him that they’ll have a
boppli
or two or three—however many God gives them.”

He drew up in front of the parking lot of the small restaurant favored by the locals, and when he turned to look at her his eyes were intense.

“Is that you, Anna? Are you that woman?”

10

His words shocked Anna speechless.

“Never knew you to be at a loss for words.” He grinned.

“I’m not,” she said, and she got out of the buggy.

They walked into the restaurant, found a table, and ordered coffee and some of the coffee cake that the place was known for. Actually, Gideon ordered two slices for himself.

Anna stared at his plate. “I’d forgotten how much a man can eat.” Then she blushed—
that hadn’t really been polite
, she chided herself.

“It’s okay,” he said, washing down the bite he’d taken with his coffee. “Nothing wrong with an honest appetite and appreciation for fine food.”

She smiled. “True.”

“From what I remember, Samuel loved a good meal. I remember him talking about your cooking more than once as we ate a meal after church.”

That is an advantage of living in a small community for so many years
, she thought.
They all knew each other for years and shared memories, worked together, and relationships—especially those between married couples—were kept private
. But Anna had seen how Gideon treated his wife with care and love in public, and
most of the time, when a man misbehaved, word got around and the bishop visited his home to talk to him.

Anna couldn’t finish her coffee cake and offered it to him. She wasn’t surprised when he took it and scraped the plate clean.

Looking satisfied, Gideon leaned back in his chair to sip his coffee. “So what about you, Anna? It’s a two-way street. I don’t expect you to be another Mary. I’m sure you aren’t looking for another Samuel.”

“Of course not. But he certainly was a man few others have measured up to.”

“So you’ve dated?”

“No,” she said firmly, setting her cup down with a snap. “You’re the first man I’ve gone out with since Samuel died.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Well, I’m glad you went out with me today.”

The waitress came to top off their cups, and Anna raised hers as she looked at Gideon. “It’s coffee. Just coffee.”

“It’s a date,” he said. “I’m serious about wanting to be with you, Anna.”

She swallowed, suddenly a little nervous. “You’re with me right now.”

“And I want to be with you again. How do you feel about that?”

It felt a little unnerving to have things be so serious so quickly, but as she’d thought earlier, dating a boy, getting married so soon, well, that was a different thing entirely than marrying a grown man who was obviously interested in getting married again.

He reached across the table and touched her fingertips with his, lightly, teasingly. “We’re not the young kids we were when we married the first time. It means more this time. We know how it can be, don’t we?”

Then, as if he’d gotten too serious, he withdrew his hand and sat straight. “Let’s go for a little drive, and then later, after Sarah Rose comes home from school, I’ll stop over and fix that little plumbing problem for you.”

“You don’t have to,” she began, but he was standing and pulling out some bills to pay the check.

“I don’t mind,” he told her.

They went for a drive, enjoying the bright blue sky, the cool air, and the scenery. The leaves were almost gone, but a few drifted across the road. Time always seemed to go by so quickly this season. The days would become busier and busier as more customers visited the shops in the area, buying gifts for Christmas and doing last-minute visits before the weather became worse.

Their conversation became lighter. She wasn’t sure if it was because Gideon felt he’d asked what he needed to or if the serious tone would have been too much in the more intimate space of the buggy.

The horse’s hooves clip-clopped at a pleasant, relaxed pace on the road. The drive was the perfect way to talk and get to know each other without pressure.

So when they arrived back at her house and he leaned in as if he was about to kiss her, she drew back and frowned. Surely, he wasn’t going to rush her into a kiss on the first date?

But just when she thought he’d try to kiss her on the lips, he kissed her cheek. “See you later.”

“Later,” she said, trying to look and sound unaffected. But her heart raced and her cheeks felt warm.

He came around to her side of the buggy and helped her down, then stroked his hands up and down her arms once, twice. “I’ll bring Sarah Rose.”

“It’ll be nice to see her.”

“I was thinking more like she could be a chaperone,” he said, looking at her meaningfully.

Then, as he turned, he stopped and touched her arm.

“Someone’s on your porch.”

“It’s Grace. Her husband farms part of my property.”

“Were you expecting her?” Gideon asked her.

Anna peered at Grace. “No. Looks like she’s asleep.”

“Make sure she’s okay before I leave. I could be wrong, but it looks like she’s—” he paused, “expecting.”

She laughed. “There’s nothing wrong with her if she’s pregnant.”

He reddened. “I just mean make sure she’s not sick.”

“I’ll do that.” She turned and smiled at him. “I had a good time today.”

“Me, too. I’ll see you later with Sarah Rose.”

Anna felt a little self-conscious walking away, but when she glanced back, he stood looking down the road, his hand on his horse.

Grace sat up and blinked as Anna started climbing the steps to the front porch.

“Everything all right?”

Nodding, Grace yawned. “I’m just so tired lately.”

Anna turned and waved at Gideon, who climbed into his buggy and left.

“Did I forget that you were coming today?” Anna asked Grace.

Grace pulled her shawl closer around her shoulders. “Eli’s out in the barn. I just wanted to get out of the house for a little while. The fresh air’s doing me good.”

“It’s making you cold,” Anna fussed. “Why didn’t you go inside? You know where I hide the key.”

“I’m fine. And it didn’t seem right to go inside when you weren’t here.”

She ushered her into the house.

“Such a beautiful home,” Grace said, removing her shawl and thin coat, revealing thin shoulders and a burgeoning belly.

“Here, sit down at the table. When are you due?”

“Middle of February.”

“I’m ready for something warm to drink,” Anna said, washing her hands. “And lunch. I’m ready for lunch.”

She didn’t usually have much of an appetite. Must have been the fresh air, she decided, and a few hours’ break from work and cares.

There was no way she was going to get all in a tizzy because she’d been out with an attractive man who was interested in her. And she in him. No, that would be shallow, and she wasn’t a shallow woman.

She opened the refrigerator and considered her choices. “I have some vegetable beef soup. Will you have some with me?”

Grace withdrew a wrapped sandwich from her purse. “No, thank you. I made us lunch. Eli took his sandwich and a thermos of coffee with him to the barn. I think he’s making up his seed orders for spring. He doesn’t expect to be here long today.”

“I have plenty of soup.” She poured the contents of the container into a pan and set it on the stove to warm. “Do you want to call him in?”

“I will, but I think he enjoys spending time in your barn.” She smiled as she unwrapped the sandwich. “I’m looking forward to the time we have our own farm. It feels like we’ve been saving forever. Thank goodness we’ve been able to live with Eli’s parents to save more.”

Anna watched as Grace’s hands stopped, and she frowned. Then with a shrug, she finished pulling the waxed paper from the two slices of bread with just a thin slice of ham in the middle. She stared for a moment at the sandwich, then took a bite.

The soup smelled heavenly as Anna turned off the flame under the pan and poured some in a bowl. She set it near Grace, served herself a bowl, and sat down at the table.

“Have some. Otherwise I’ll end up eating it for a week.”

“Only if you’ll share my sandwich.”

Anna shook her head. “Aren’t you supposed to be eating for two? Besides, I’m not real fond of ham. I made this mistake of baking one when Samuel and I first married. A very big ham. I served it to him in some form for nearly a week.”

She smiled at the memory. “Neither of us could eat ham after that.”

Grace laid her hand over Anna’s. “He was a special man.” She glanced around her. “I pray God will send another to you to share this beautiful home and have
kinner
and fill it with love.”

Incredibly touched, Anna stared at Grace, her spoon halfway to her mouth. “Thank you,” she finally managed to say.

She curled her fingers around Grace’s hand and squeezed it. “I appreciated everyone helping me get the crop in that last harvest he was alive.”

“Everyone helped,” Grace said simply.

“But Eli went on to plant the fields again as Samuel would have wanted the next season, and that was on top of his work with his father on his farm.”

Thoughtful, Anna stirred her soup, watching the chunks of vegetables and beef swirl around the spoon. Then she set down her spoon and stood. “I’m going to see if Eli would like to come in and have some soup with us.”

“I can go—”

Anna shook her head. “You stay put and stay warm. I’ll be right back.”

She grabbed her shawl and went out the back door before Grace could insist on going.

Grace had been right: when she opened the barn door she found him poring over a pad of paper and making notes. He looked up and smiled. “Anna! You’re home!”

“Took a day off,” she said, rubbing her hands together. “It’s cold out here. Thought I’d see if I could get you to come inside and have some hot soup.”

“Maybe you can get Grace to go inside.”

“I already did. But of course she’s worrying about you being cold out here. I know you don’t want that.”

She knew the right words. He got up immediately and followed her.

When he bent over his wife to kiss her cheek, she shivered. “Your beard is cold!” she told him, laughing.

“Did you want to talk about the spring planting?” Eli asked Anna as he shed his jacket and black felt hat.

Anna noted the time and shook her head. “We’ll have to do that another time. I have someone coming to fix the sink.”

He glanced at it. “I’d have fixed it if I knew. You should have called me.”

“You do too much,” she said, setting a steaming bowl of soup before him. “And it just started this morning.”

They were chatting over coffee—Grace sipped decaffeinated tea—when there was a knock on the door. Anna went to answer it and saw Eli and Grace look surprised and exchange looks when she returned with Gideon and Sarah Rose.

The men shook hands, and then as if they were partners, they went to confer under the sink.