Heart in Hand: Stitches in Time Series #3 (17 page)

Sometimes people in her community tried to get those who’d lost their spouse to look at another in a similar situation to remarry. It seemed like a good idea for widows and widowers to remarry. After all, if you’d been happily married, of course you’d want to be again. And with the shared experiences of marriage, you had many things in common.

They finished the dishes, and Anna was hanging up the dish towel to dry when a she heard Naomi make a low sound of approval. She glanced at Naomi and then followed her gaze to the doorway.

Gideon stood there, and when she looked at him, he smiled slowly at her.

Naomi left the room, but Anna never saw her go.

Gideon glanced around at the décor in the Italian restaurant he’d taken Anna to. There were framed posters of scenes of the Italian countryside on the walls, vases of big, fat sunflowers on the tables, and the aromas in the place were incredible.

“How’s your chicken parmigiana?” she asked him.

“Delicious. Your gnocchi?”

“I love it. Reminds me of the little dumplings my
mamm
makes of leftover mashed potatoes. These taste like little potato and cheese pillows.”

She sighed. “But we didn’t need to come to someplace so expensive. It’s crazy to charge the prices they do here.”

“Is that why you chose the cheapest thing on the menu?” he asked quietly, setting his fork down on his plate. “There’s no need to worry about my wallet.”

“I think we should go Dutch,” she said. “Isn’t that what people do these days?”

“A modern woman, eh?”

“It just seems fair,” she said, putting another gnocchi into her mouth.

“Did you split checks when you and Samuel dated?”

Her laugh was rueful. “We never went anywhere that cost us. We went to church stuff, singings, you know. You were there at those kinds of things with Mary.”

“We got out for a special night now and then.”

“Samuel and I were saving for our own house,” she said, her expression becoming faraway. “He wanted us to have our own place, not live with his parents or mine until could buy one. So he worked all the time. When he wasn’t doing that, he was building the house. You know the story. It seemed like everyone we knew came and helped with something.”

Gideon nodded. “I was happy to help. Mary and I would have had to do the same thing if my parents hadn’t decided to sell us the farm and move into the
dawdi haus
of my brother’s
place. They’re older than your parents, and
Dat’s
arthritis was getting too bad to take care of the farm.”

He buttered a roll and took a bite. “Later they decided to move in with one of my brothers since they have a special needs child and they could use the help.”

“Grace and Eli are living with his parents right now,” Anna said. “Working their fingers to the bone and wanting to put their roots down . . .” she trailed off, looking down at her plate.

“But they have each other,” he said. “And they’ll value what they build together more, don’t you think?”

“I guess.” She lifted her gaze. “If you get to live to enjoy it.” She set down her fork. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say something like that. It sounded bitter, and I’m not bitter anymore. Or angry at God.”

“That’s good,” he said with a grin. “I’m sure He appreciates that.”

She laughed and nodded. “Well, I was pretty angry that after all that waiting for marriage with Samuel, I got so few years with him.”

“I don’t know anyone who isn’t angry at God after they lose someone they love.” He looked up as the waitress came to refill their coffee cups, thanked her, and waited for her to leave. “We don’t always understand God’s will but we just have to go on faith that He knows what He’s doing.”

“True.” She straightened and smiled at him. “So let’s talk about something more pleasant. How’s Sarah Rose?”

“She wasn’t happy she couldn’t come tonight.”

“Maybe she could join us next time we go to a restaurant.”

He studied her, liking the way she looked at him with a directness that had always been a trait of hers even when she was a young girl. He didn’t know her as well as he wanted to yet and suspected that she wouldn’t be the calm woman Mary
had been—even a little shy and reserved years after they’d been married.

“Would you like there to be a next time, Anna?” He reached across the table to touch her fingertips with his.

She nodded. “I like her. She reminds me a little of myself at that age.”

“I think you’re right.” He considered what it might be like to live with two strong-willed females in the house. It might not be quiet and easy. But it would certainly be interesting.

He thought he might like that a lot.

“How about some dessert, folks?” the waitress returned to ask.

“I saw brownie sundaes on the menu,” Gideon told Anna. “Isn’t that one of your favorites? You bring brownies to church a lot.”

Surprised, she nodded.

“We’ll both have one,” he said to the waitress.

“One for the two of you?”

“No, one for each of us,” he corrected.

“Be right back with them,” she said and took their plates with her.

“We could have shared one,” Anna said.

“I don’t dare come between you and a brownie sundae,” he told her seriously. “I need all my fingers to do my work.”

“I’m not quite that bad.”

“I saw you get after Samuel for stealing a bite of your brownie once at a church lunch,” he said.

She grinned. “I’m surprised that we’re seeing each other with what we know.”

“What can you possibly know that’s negative about me?” he asked, pretending to be offended.

“I heard about that incident when you and a couple of your friends sneaked off to drink a keg of beer during your
rumschpringe
.”

“Got deathly sick and could never look at a beer again,” he said, laughing. “That was the extent of my wildness. I didn’t really want or like the beer. It was just something I think we thought we needed to do then.”

Shared memories. They had so many of them growing up in their tight-knit community, bonds that came from attending school together, holding church services in each other’s homes, and having a common belief in hard work and putting God and family first.

But it wasn’t all about traditional values and responsibility. She knew Gideon was a steady, dependable man who obviously loved and cared for his daughter like he’d always done for her and his wife. But she was like any other woman: she’d had a warm, loving marriage and true happiness with one man.

She wouldn’t take less with another.

There was a full moon out, bright and white, lighting their way home. Gideon took the long way home, and she didn’t point out that fact to him. He switched on the small battery heater, but she didn’t feel she needed it. Sitting so close to him, she could feel the warmth his body projected, and whenever he glanced at her, the look in his eyes made her temperature rise and shivers race over her skin all at the same time.

He must have seen or felt her shiver because he frowned and reached for a blanket kept on the backseat. She took it and spread it over her lap, not needing it but grateful for his consideration.

Gideon was a handsome, vital . . . 
sexy
man. The single women in the community had tried to attract his attention
but hadn’t. She was smaller than her cousins and felt more feminine, almost delicate next to Gideon’s tall, muscular body.

The skin on her hand tingled when he touched it lying between them on the seat. She looked at him, saw the heat in his eyes, and her heart beat faster in her chest as she thought about venturing down this road to discovering if they had a future together.

“Ready?”

Anna looked up as her grandmother entered the storage room, attached a mailing label to the box in front of her, and nodded. “That’s the last one. You know I could drop this shipment off by myself. You don’t have to go with me.”

Leah placed it on top of the packages in the cart and wheeled it out of the room. “I know. But it won’t take long, and it’ll give us a chance to talk.”

Hmm
, thought Anna. She pulled on her coat, grabbed the handle of the cart, and followed her grandmother out of the shop.

“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” played from a nearby speaker over a shop.

The air felt a little nippy, but they moved briskly so Anna didn’t feel chilled. The weather forecasters predicted cooler temperatures the following week. Stores up and down the street were festive, decorated for the holidays with swags of pine greenery, shiny ribbon, and ornaments.

A tiny fireplace with a battery-operated fake flame set a warm scene in their shop window. Several of Leah’s dolls sat near it, covered with one of Naomi’s warm and comfy Christmas-patterned quilts, Anna’s baby hats that looked like
fanciful little forest creatures, and Mary Katherine’s pillows woven of red-, white-, and green-colored wools.

And since the Amish believed in making gifts for each other for the holiday, one corner of the window was devoted to all the kits that customers could buy to sew or knit or cross-stitch to give to friends and family.

Some store owners had used a light dusting of fake snow to give windows a wintry look since the real stuff hadn’t shown up yet. Signs in windows advertised specials and sales. It was proving to be a good season for retail judging by all the shoppers crowding the sidewalks, carrying shopping bags loaded with their purchases.

Jamie, Mary Katherine, and Naomi were back at the shop taking care of the customers, but it wasn’t like her grandmother to take a break in the day. Anna wondered what was going on but waited until she chose to reveal why she’d asked her to take the packages to ship.

Finished with their chore, Leah turned to Anna. “How about some pumpkin spice coffee?”

“It’s expensive,” Anna said.

“We only get it this time of year. It’ll be my treat. Let’s have ours here and take some back for the others.”

Anna nodded, and they went inside the coffee shop. The line moved quickly as the baristas created the specialty coffees with holiday flavors like pumpkin, eggnog, cinnamon, and peppermint.

They ordered their coffee and found a small table near the front window.

“I know Henry and I didn’t let any of you know that our relationship had changed from just being friends,” Leah said. “But it really seemed to surprise you.”

“It’s not that I don’t like Henry,” Anna said. “He’s a very nice man. I guess I just hadn’t thought you might end up getting remarried.”

“Because I’m old?”

“No! You’re not old!”

“Well, I’m not young,” Leah said with a smile. “But I’d gotten to where I didn’t think God was going to send along another
mann
.” She paused to take a sip of coffee. “How about you?”

“How about me?” She looked at her grandmother. “What do you mean?”

“Thelma asked me how you and Gideon were doing.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “She’s such a matchmaker. We’re just friends. But that doesn’t mean it’ll turn into more like you and Henry.”

“Of course not,” Leah said, giving her a sage nod. “But how would you feel if it did?”

Life seemed . . . heightened
, she thought. Everything seemed a little bit brighter, a little bit more interesting. And when they weren’t together, he came to mind constantly. Like now. He and Sarah Rose would be coming to the shop for a knitting lesson, and then they’d be having supper afterward.

She couldn’t wait.

Aware that her grandmother watched her, waiting for some reaction, Anna dug in her purse for her wallet. “I like him,” she said finally.

“I’m getting the coffee,” Leah objected, reaching for her purse.

“It’s fine. It’s my treat.”

“If you don’t want to talk about Gideon, just say so,” Leah said, a smile lurking around her lips.

Anna turned back and took her seat. “It’s still too new. He’s a really nice man and I like him a lot. But I was happily married for—”

“And you don’t want to settle for less. I understand.”

She patted her grandmother’s hand. “I know you do.” She sighed. “I’m not sure I’m ready for more than friendship right now.”

“That’s fine.” Leah’s smile grew wider. “
Gut
things come from friendship.” Then her smile faded. “You’ve grown up a lot in the last year. Your moods have settled down a lot, and you seem happier, less wanting to be by yourself.” She paused and sipped her coffee. “More mature.”