Huckleberry Christmas (4 page)

“Nae, I think it is a wonderful-gute idea. Everyone would buy. My mamm hates to sew. She would love it if someone else made a dress for her.”

“Do you think the bishop will approve?”

“My dat is the bishop. He’ll approve.” He placed his buckets on the floor and shoved his hand into his pocket. “It wonders me if you would sew a dress for my mamm for her birthday. Purple is her favorite color.” He pulled out two twenty-dollar bills and stuffed them into Beth’s fist.

A thrill passed through her as she stared at the money in her hand. “You want me to make your mamm a dress?”

He cracked a smile. “It’s worth the forty dollars to see how wide your eyes are.”

“I can’t take your money. I haven’t even officially started the business yet.”

“You have now.”

She tried to give the money back, but he refused to take it. Her insistence and his refusal became a sort of tug of war as she tried to shove the bills into his hands, and he raised them in the air so Beth could not reach them. They both laughed as she backed him against one of the cellar walls. He was cornered, but he wouldn’t lower his hands.

Beth, giggling uncontrollably, finally threw the money at him. It fell at his feet. He snatched it off the floor and stuffed it into one of the empty jars sitting in one of the buckets.

“I haven’t even made the dress yet,” Beth insisted between giggles. “Pay me when I finish.”

Tyler was breathless with laughter. “You need money for fabric, and I don’t think Toby has the cash to loan you.”

Beth slipped the bills out of the jar and smoothed them in her hands. “My first customer.” Her lips curled in satisfaction. “I think I’ll put your name on a plaque over my sewing machine.”

Tyler chuckled. “Be sure to spell it right.”

“I’ll make a very nice dress for your mamm,” Beth said. “But I might have to charge you extra for the wrinkled money you paid your bill with.”

He picked up the buckets and stomped up the stairs. “Charge me anything you want. Your dresses are probably worth twice what you’re asking.”

It turned out that Tyler’s muscles came in handy making jam after all. He lifted boiling-hot pans of jam off the stove and poured their contents into bottles. He packed boxes with finished jam and lugged them downstairs for storage until Christmas. Between batches, he took Toby outside and chased him around the yard when Dawdi ran out of energy to look after him.

Tyler had to leave at three to milk cows at his dairy. Aden hadn’t shown up again, and Beth began to suspect that Aden was in on Mammi’s scheming. Why else would he invite Tyler to Huckleberry Hill and then not show up himself? She’d have to give her cousin a good talking-to.

Beth couldn’t help but be touched. Aden may have tricked Tyler onto Huckleberry Hill, but Tyler’s gute heart had compelled him to stay and help with whatever project she happened to be working on that day.

Amos certainly wouldn’t have been so kind-hearted.

Thoughts of Amos jolted Beth back to reality. No amount of scheming by any of her relatives would convince her to waste her life on another husband. Not even someone with big muscles and an adorable frown.

She’d be much better off on her own.

Tyler strolled into Aden’s barn with his hands in his pockets. His friend sat at his workbench studying a book by the light of a kerosene lantern. Even though a bright autumn sun glowed outside, the barn was mighty dim for reading without a lamp. “You should drag a recliner out here if you want to be more comfortable.”

Aden burst into a smile when he saw Tyler. He hadn’t stopped smiling since he’d married Lily. It was a wonder that someone so deliriously happy could keep from floating off the ground. “I’m trying to figure out how to use my new composter.”

“What’s to figure out? You dump leaves and peelings in and get compost out six weeks later.”

“Not this composter. It’s complicated. It makes tea and does all sorts of fancy things.” Still grinning like a cat, Aden stood, strode to Tyler, and shook his hand firmly.

Tyler sighed in mock relief. “I’m so glad to see you haven’t broken your legs. Or your ankles. Or even your toes.”

Aden raised an eyebrow in puzzlement. “Nae. I’m walking around just fine.”

“Lift up your sleeves,” Tyler said. “I want to see your hives.”

“I don’t have hives.”

“Shingles? Chicken pox?”

Aden, realizing Tyler’s game, chuckled and shook his head.

“The croup? Or measles? What about fibromyalgia?”

“I’m fit as a fiddle, thank you very much.”

“So,” said Tyler, folding his arms and looking his friend up and down, “it wonders me why you have missed three appointments with me on Huckleberry Hill. I assume you still want help with Lily’s Christmas present.”

Aden would not stop grinning. Tyler found his amusement slightly annoying. “A few unexpected things came up. I hope you made good use of the time you spent waiting for me.”

“I picked huckleberries one day and made jam the next.”

“Gute. Picking huckleberries is hard on Mammi’s back.” Aden leaned against a wooden pillar. “Did you meet my cousin Beth?”

“Oh, jah, I met her.”

Aden didn’t take his eyes off Tyler’s face. “She’s pretty, ain’t not?”

“Sure. And feisty. Keeps me on my toes.”

Aden smirked. “I knew you’d like her.”

Tyler eyed Aden suspiciously. “Did you?”

Aden cleared his throat and suddenly became very interested in his boots. “Everybody likes Beth.”

Tyler groaned as realization caught up to him. “Please don’t tell me you and your mammi are in cahoots to match me and Beth.”

“Okay, I won’t tell you.”

He put a hand on Aden’s shoulder. “Look, I know you still feel guilty about stealing my fiancée.”

Aden sighed. “I suppose I do.”

“Well, don’t. Lily is much happier being your wife. And I don’t feel bad anymore. Lily is a wonderful-gute girl, but we never would have suited. I’m glad she came to her senses before it was too late. I was embarrassed, to be sure, but I have a thick skin. I got over it.”

Aden kicked the pieces of hay at his feet. “I want you to be happy as I am. You deserve a girl like Beth.”

Tyler shrugged off such a thought. “I gave up the notion of romance a long time ago, Aden.”

“And it’s my fault you did.”

“When Lily broke our engagement, I realized that I’d been chasing after an illusion.”

“You’re wrong.”

“No, I’m not. I got swept away by infatuation when I should have been more levelheaded.”

Aden pressed his lips into a hard line and shook his head. “Why don’t you admit that the rejection stung and that it’s painful to think about trying again?”

“Romance doesn’t work for everybody, Aden. You don’t need to feel bad about that.”

“So you’re giving up on Beth?”

“Beth is Anna’s and your idea, not mine.”

Aden sat down at his workbench. “She’s a wonderful-gute cousin.”

Tyler couldn’t argue with that. He liked Beth a lot. It was nice to have a friend he enjoyed being with, someone who actually tempted him to smile occasionally. “I worry about her, trying to pull through life without a husband. She shouldn’t have to struggle like that while she’s still grieving the loss of her husband.”

Aden snorted. “Amos? That grumpy toad? Amos didn’t deserve her.”

With an ear-splitting bark, Aden’s giant of a dog came barreling into the barn. Before Tyler could fend him off, the dog jumped up and propped his paws on Tyler’s shoulders.

“Pilot, get down,” Aden said.

Tyler nudged Pilot off him and ruffled the curly fur on the dog’s head. “It’s good you’re so lovable, Pilot, or I might find you annoying.”

Pilot trotted to Aden for some love. Aden held Pilot’s face in his hands. “Jah, no one can resist your cuteness.”

Tyler rolled his eyes. That dog would never learn to behave with Aden as his master. Aden didn’t have a stern bone in his body.

Breathless and flushed, Aden’s wife and Tyler’s former fiancée, Lily, appeared at the door of the barn. “Pilot, you little sneak. How did you slip out of that knot?” When she stepped farther into the barn, she caught sight of Tyler and hesitated for a fraction of a second. After almost a year, it still felt a bit awkward between them even though there was no ill will on either side.

With satisfaction, Tyler noted that the sight of Lily didn’t upset him at all. He was finally over her and his juvenile dreams of giddy romance.

“Hi, Tyler. Sorry about Pilot. He’s supposed to be having a bath.”

Tyler smiled, hoping to put her at ease. “It’s Aden’s fault. He lets Pilot walk all over him. Or rather, jump all over him and every other poor soul who happens to set foot on your property.”

Aden grinned and brought his face within inches of Pilot’s nose. “You wouldn’t hurt a fly, would you, boy? Tyler’s just being crabby.”

“Oh, sure. This is
my
problem.”

Laughing, Aden patted Pilot’s neck. “At least you’re man enough to admit it.”

Lily marched up to Pilot and grabbed his collar. She and Aden briefly brushed hands, and the look they gave each other didn’t escape Tyler’s notice. Romance came naturally to some people. It just wasn’t Tyler’s thing.

“I don’t know how, but Pilot can sense when I’m about to give him a bath,” Lily said as she pulled him toward the open barn door. “He’s a master of escape.”

“It’s chilly outside,” Aden said, obviously trying to keep the concern out of his voice.

Lily looked up at him and winked. “Don’t worry. I’ll make the water nice and warm. He’ll love it.”

Aden didn’t take his eyes off Lily until she disappeared from sight. “Isn’t she beautiful? I am blessed beyond measure.” He glanced at Tyler, lowered his eyes, and cleared his throat. “Sorry. That was insensitive.”

“I don’t want you to spend one more minute worrying about it.” Tyler pulled up a milking stool and sat down next to Aden. “I’m sincerely happy for you. God sent you a wonderful-gute wife, and I hope I am as fortunate someday.”

“But you just said you’ve given up on marriage.”

Tyler shook his head. “I still want to get married. I just don’t believe in romance anymore.” He propped his elbows on his knees. “Mamm says that unmarried men over the age of twenty-five are a nuisance. I only have two years left before I become insufferable and annoying. I’d rather find a wife.”

“But you don’t want a romantic relationship?”

“What I really need to find is a good woman to share my life. A companion and helpmeet. No romance required.”

Aden nudged him in the shoulder. Hard. “Then why not Beth? You’ll never find a harder worker or a girl who’s more fun to be with.”

“She still misses her husband.”

“I already told you, Amos was a toad.”

Tyler knew better. He had seen the look of pain that flitted across Beth’s face every time she mentioned Amos’s name.

Aden nudged him again.
What?
Did he think Tyler hadn’t been paying attention? “It’s plain as day that my cousin needs someone to care for her, and Toby needs a
fater
.”

Aden was right. Ever since that first day on Huckleberry Hill, Tyler hadn’t been able to stop worrying about how Beth would support herself and care for her small son. She’d wear herself to a frazzle in a matter of months. She needed help.

It concerned Tyler that Toby would never have a dat to teach him how to fish or show him how to plant and harvest crops. A boy should grow up with a
fater
.

“Amos has been gone for almost a year and a half,” Aden said. “You wouldn’t be offending anybody’s notions of what’s proper and what’s not.”

“I might be too late. Alvin Hoover’s already set his sights on her.” Tyler’s mouth went dry at the thought of Alvin courting Beth.

Aden grimaced. “Alvin’s old. What young widow wants to marry someone who will make her a widow again in twenty years? She’d definitely pick you over Alvin.”

Before he could raise another objection, Tyler pictured Beth in his mind and clamped his mouth shut. Beth was a gute woman who had the qualities he wanted in a wife. It seemed too good of an idea not to at least consider.

Beth needed someone to take care of her. Even if the sewing business did well, she would only be able to make enough dresses to barely eke out a living. He could help her rear Toby, and Beth could lend a hand at the dairy. A mutually beneficial arrangement.

Because she still loved her first husband, she wouldn’t crave the romance Tyler felt so disillusioned about. She’d already married for love once and wouldn’t need the devotion and fervor of a first relationship.

“It doesn’t hurt that she’s pretty,” Aden added.

“In other words, you’re still scheming to match me with your cousin.”

“It’s not scheming if you’re in on it. It’s more like a secret plan.”

Tyler chuckled. What would Beth think of their secret plan?

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Beth was certainly pretty. She didn’t need to be pretty, but Tyler considered it a nice bonus. And she could make him laugh. He’d laughed more in the last two weeks than he had in the last twelve months. She would keep him laughing, and he would keep her safe.

Beth’s heart sank as she saw Alvin from the window. Another bouquet of flowers, another awkward conversation. Some men were annoyingly persistent.

She’d considered baking cookies yesterday with salt instead of sugar or offering him a bowl of Yankee bean soup with mushy beans and slimy ham. Since his first wife had been such a good cook, one fallen angel cake would surely chase Alvin Hoover away.

Instead, she decided the best course of action would be to tackle the problem head-on, without hesitation and without apology. Not waiting for Alvin to knock, she stepped onto the porch before he would have a chance to invite himself in and make himself comfortable.

“
Gute maiya
, Beth.”

“
Gute maiya
, Alvin.”

He marched up the porch steps and presented her with the flowers. “I gathered these myself. Shall we sit?” He hesitated as he glanced around the covered porch. The lack of a place to sit seemed to confuse him momentarily. “Oh. Never mind. I expected rocking chairs or a porch swing.”

Beth always felt more comfortable when the mood was light, although she hadn’t noticed if Alvin had a sense of humor. She smiled. “Mammi says porch rockers are for old people, and she doesn’t consider herself old yet.”

Alvin smiled weakly as his gaze swept the porch for a second and third time. Did he think a loveseat would appear if he wished hard enough? He finally gave up and stared at Beth as if the absence of a place to sit derailed all his plans.

“We can sit on the steps,” Beth suggested and sat before he had time to think of a better plan, like going inside. Keeping Alvin safely out of doors made for an easier getaway after she rejected him.

He smiled uncomfortably and grunted as he lowered himself to the step. Beth had forgotten that not everybody was as young as she, but he was only forty-five, for goodness sake. Was he too stiff to have a sit on the porch step?

He scooted to the middle of the step, cramming Beth tightly between him and the railing. “Beth, I have something very important to ask you.”

She thought of cutting him off right there so she wouldn’t have to sit in embarrassment while he professed his imaginary love. But she thought better of it. Let him say his piece so he couldn’t claim that she hadn’t given him a chance. That was what Wallace Schwartz had accused her of after she had refused him.

Wallace had been the first in Nappanee to propose to her once her mourning period had passed, but he hadn’t given her flowers like Alvin. She had gone to the market to do her weekly shopping, and in between ringing up a box of toddler cookies and weighing a head of purple cabbage, he’d mentioned that he needed a wife and she needed a husband and how about it?

Beth laced her fingers together and wrapped her arms around her legs, pressing her bouquet between her hands and knees. It would soon be over, and Alvin Hoover would never bother her again.

“Something to ask me? I hope you don’t want my recipe for bread pudding. My late husband took a match to it the last time I pulled it out of my recipe box.”

Alvin didn’t even acknowledge her joke. Okay. No sense of humor.

“Barbara has been gone three years. Alvin Junior and Maysie Lynn are a big help, but those kinner will get me laid down yet.”

Beth’s thoughts wandered, and Tyler’s face came unbidden to her mind. Tyler, unselfish to a fault, would never ask a girl to marry him simply because he needed someone to watch out for his children.

“I have a big farm and strong hands. My children will never go hungry.”

Beth did her best to be sensitive to the compliment of a good man asking for her hand in marriage, even out of convenience. She tried to have sympathy for his feelings, though she didn’t return them.

“The moment I laid eyes on you at gmay, I knew you were the one I wanted to share the rest of my life with. I know Barbara would approve.” He took off his hat and tried to grab her hand, but since she wasn’t about to unclasp her fingers, he ended up holding her wrist. “Will you marry me?”

Beth would suffocate if she didn’t put some distance between them. She stood and faced Alvin, holding her flowers like a shield. “Alvin, any woman would be pleased to have you for a husband. You are a fine man with much to offer. I am very grateful that you consider me a fit mother to your children.” She took a whiff of the flowers to give Alvin a moment to let her words sink in. “I am confident you will find a suitable wife, but I can’t cook and I have a very bad temper. I would not make you happy.”

Now
he sprouted a grin. “What a tease you are. Your lightheartedness is one of the things I love about you.”

Blast!
It was her own fault he didn’t take her seriously.

“Nae. You misunderstand. You will be happier with someone else, and I don’t ever want to marry again.”

This time, Alvin took her seriously, praise the Lord. He wrinkled his forehead in concern. “But you have a son to consider. You don’t want him growing up without a father.”

“The good Lord saw fit to take my husband. Perhaps it is His will that Toby grows up without a father.” She didn’t know why she brought God into it. God had done nothing to stop her from marrying Amos. She couldn’t trust what He
saw fit
to do with anybody.

“Not when He sends you a man to take your deceased husband’s place.”

Beth huffed in exasperation. How foolish to give him a reason he could argue with. She had wanted to make it quick and painless. “Alvin, truth be told, I don’t want to marry you.”

His countenance fell, and he stood more slowly than he had sat down. “I’m not so old, you know.”

“No, not so old.” She didn’t know how else to defend herself. Of course she thought he was too old, but that didn’t matter. She did not want to marry, period.

“If you’re holding out hope for a younger man, I fear you’ll never marry. No single man with a lick of sense will want to take on another man’s child, no matter how pretty his mother is.”

Beth tried very hard not to be offended. In his irritating way, Alvin only wanted to persuade her. “I know you’ll find a wonderful-gute woman to mother your children,” she said through gritted teeth.

Falling silent, Alvin folded his arms and shifted his weight from one foot to the other while glaring at Beth. Probably counting all the reasons she’d make a horrible wife. Would it be rude to urge him to go away?

Once again, Mammi saved the day. She threw open the door and gave Beth and Alvin that twinkly smile that diffused even the tensest situations. “Alvin, I have a favor to ask. I’ve been so busy with jam and huckleberries and grandchildren that I almost forgot a promise I made to Suvilla Mast.” She came down the steps and handed Alvin a white envelope. “She is learning how to knit and asked me for instructions for the honeycomb stitch. She’s been waiting on them for weeks, and if she doesn’t get them soon, her daughter will go without a Christmas present. Could you drop these off to her on your way home? She lives in the two-story clapboard house down the road from the Lampings’ gift shop.”

“It’s not really on my way,” Alvin stuttered. Mammi’s change of subject had caught him off guard.

“Oh, thank you. It would mean so much to both of us. Knitting gives Suvilla such comfort. She’s so lonely with her husband gone and all her kinner grown and moved away. She’s not out of her forties yet and is still fit as a fiddle.”

Alvin glanced at Beth as if trying to decide if their conversation had truly come to an end. Narrowing his eyes, he tapped his hat onto his head and pulled his bouquet from Beth’s grasp. Without a word of good-bye, he stomped to his buggy and drove away with all the haste of a spurned boyfriend.

Beth bit her lip to keep from laughing. It was a virtue to be frugal. Lord willing, Alvin would find a gute home for those flowers.