Huckleberry Harvest (3 page)

Had he done that to try to impress her?

Of course not. He despised her as much as she despised him. The cleaning up obviously came as naturally to him as walking. Whoever his mother was, she had trained him well.

She turned her attention back to the fridge. She refused to be amazed by anything Noah Mischler did or did not do. He was a low-down snake who’d broken Kristina’s heart and then had the nerve to scoff at Mandy about it. His washing three measly dishes didn’t mean much piled on top of his multitude of sins.

The tension between them expanded like a balloon until Mandy felt as if she were being squished into a corner by the silence. She glanced at him as he rummaged through that giant toolbox of his. Sparky the dog sat on her haunches a few inches from the toolbox and studied Noah with her black eyes as if he were the most fascinating thing in the world. Noah reached out and cupped Sparky’s face in his big hand before turning his attention back to his tools.

He had been holding his temper well and didn’t seem inclined to scowl at her. He
had
complimented her on the pie and been nice to the dog. Maybe he wasn’t completely without feelings. Maybe he could still be influenced in Kristina’s direction. “If you think my pie was good, you should try Kristina’s soft pretzels. You’ve never tasted anything better.”

He looked at her as if she’d just said something slightly rude. “Do you really think I want to talk about Kristina Beachy?”

She clamped her mouth shut faster than Mammi could click her knitting needles together. He might have said nice things about her pie, but why in a million years had she ever believed he might be a partially nice person?

She would remain silent. Let him smell her disdain from halfway across the room like an
Englischer
’s cheap perfume.

He retrieved a tape measure and a pencil from his toolbox. After surveying the wall behind the old cookstove, he measured the distance between the stove and the wall. Jotting notes and numbers directly onto the wall, he made a measure of where the stovepipe went into the wall and how big the hole was.

Mandy quickly abandoned the refrigerator. It stood right next to the cookstove, and she couldn’t bear the thought of being that close to Mr. Grumpy. Instead, she found some paper plates and napkins and set them on the cupboard. If all these suitors were going to come, she’d like to be ready to serve them pie. Too bad she hadn’t known about Mammi’s plans earlier. She would have invited Kristina to the party and let her take her pick of the lot. Mandy would have relished the satisfaction of seeing Noah’s brown eyes turn green with jealousy.

Noah tried to measure the entire length of the wall behind the stove, but the fridge got in the way, and when he tried to lengthen out his measuring tape, it snapped in the middle and sagged to the floor.

“Here,” she said, instinctively grabbing the end of the measuring tape. “Where do you want me to hold it?” She might not have liked him, but she was a very nice girl, after all.

Suspicion traveled across his face, as if he feared an ambush. Maybe he thought she’d try to bully him into a date with Kristina. Well, maybe Mandy had decided not to try to get them back together. What did it matter that Noah was handsome? Kristina could do much better.

“Denki,” he said. He didn’t make eye contact, but one corner of his mouth twitched slightly upward. It must have been as close as he ever came to a smile, considering his expression consistently looked as if he’d just come from a funeral.

He wrote down the measurements, she released the tape measure, and he let it roll back onto itself.

“Denki,” he said again, as if it were the only word that was safe to say to her.

It probably was.

She nodded once again, all the while searching for an excuse to get out of the kitchen. Maybe she didn’t need an excuse. Maybe she could just walk away.

Before she had time to put her brilliant plan into action, someone knocked on the door. She took a deep breath and tried not to hyperventilate. The first of Mammi’s boys had arrived. Even though Mandy had no intention of getting together with any of them, her heart still raced at the thought that whether they knew it or not, they had come specifically to meet her. She felt like a cow at the auction, and she’d much rather not have been the center of attention.

Noah continued to jot his numbers and notes on the wall and didn’t seem to notice that anyone had knocked. At least he didn’t smirk or glare at her. She would have died of embarrassment if he’d even glanced at her the wrong way.

She smoothed her dress before she even realized she was doing it, and opened the door. Her cousin Titus, with the ever-present toothpick in his mouth, smiled back at her.

She stretched a smile across her face. Surely Mammi had no intention of matching Mandy with her own cousin. Maybe Mammi had forgotten they were related.

“Mandy,” Titus said, pulling her in for a bear hug. “I didn’t know you were here. Are you in for a visit?”

“Jah, for a few weeks.”

“Well, Mamm will be cross if you don’t come down to the house for a visit. You can meet Ben’s fiancée Emma.”

Mandy nodded. “I’ll be sure to come.”

“I’ll tell her,” Titus said, gnawing on his toothpick. “Freeman Kiem told me Mammi asked him to come help move a stove today, and I thought, ‘Who better to help my mammi than her own grandson.’ So I invited myself.”

“Is Freeman coming?” Mandy asked.

“I told him I’d meet him here. He’s always late. Where are Mammi and Dawdi?” Titus strolled into the room and nodded at Noah. “Noah. I figured you’d be here. It seems nothing gets fixed in Bonduel without you being part of it.”

Noah stowed his measuring tape in the toolbox and smiled that attractive smile he’d flashed at Mandy when she first met him, before she knew how unpleasant he really was. “How is the pump working?” he said.

The toothpick bobbed on Titus’s lips as he spoke. “Better than new. Dat says we should have paid you double for all the money you saved us.”

Noah lowered his head. “You paid me plenty. I’m grateful for the work.”

“From what I hear,” Titus said, “people like your work so much, you’ve got enough jobs to keep you busy for about thirty more years.”

“God has been good to me.”

Okay. So Noah showed a little humility. Maybe he wasn’t completely beyond repair.

Mammi came bustling down the hall as if she were late for her own wedding. Dawdi ambled far behind. “Oh, Titus,” she said. “It’s only you. I was afraid I missed the introductions.”

Titus took the toothpick out of his mouth and kissed Mammi on the cheek. “Good to see you too, Mammi.”

She nudged his shoulder. “Don’t tease me. I didn’t mean it like that. Of course I’m happy to see you. You’re just not who I was expecting.”

“Freeman’s coming soon,” Titus said.

Mammi’s eyes danced. “Actually, this works out better than planned. Mandy, come stand over here by me while Titus answers the door. It will give you a better view of each boy as he comes in.”

Titus gnawed on his toothpick. “Is this a parade, or are you making matches again, Mammi?”

“Never you mind, Titus. Just do your job and don’t ask any questions.”

“What’s my job again?” Titus asked, squinting in concentration.

Mammi went to her hall closet and pulled out five of her colorful hand-knitted pot holders. “Answer the door when the boys come, dear,” Mammi said, handing the pot holders to Titus, “and give each of them a pot holder as a welcome gift.”

Mammi took Mandy by the elbow and dragged her near the sofa. “You and I will inspect each boy as he enters.”

Mandy couldn’t help but giggle.

Dawdi didn’t seem as interested in finding Mandy a husband as he was about getting a new stove. While Titus hovered near the door and Mammi clutched Mandy’s hand, Dawdi had Noah show him where the stove was going to go and gave Noah his opinion on where to drill the hole for the gas line. Dawdi acted as if he truly respected Noah’s knowledge, as if Noah were a close friend instead of a boy who broke hearts with his cell phone.

They didn’t have to wait long for the first visitor. Titus, who obviously wanted to perfectly execute his responsibilities, opened the door almost before the knock came. Two young men stood on the porch, one tall with curly hair and the other shorter, with a mouth full of braces. He looked about fourteen years old. Titus invited them in and handed each a pot holder.

Mammi leaned to whisper in Mandy’s ear. “That’s Paul Zook. He’s going to have nice teeth in seven to nine months. The tall one is Melvin Lambright. He’s twenty-nine years old and has a gute farm with his dat, but he’s lactose intolerant. Do you mind a husband with an acid stomach?”

Mandy couldn’t do anything but humor her mammi, who took her matchmaking duties very seriously. “I suppose an acid stomach is better than a snoring problem.”

Mammi raised her hand to her mouth. “Oh dear. I didn’t ask about snoring.”

Both Melvin and Paul immediately sought out Noah and shook his hand. Mandy heard Paul ask Noah something about a water heater, and both boys listened intently as Noah launched into an explanation that Mandy couldn’t begin to be interested in.

Adam Wengerd arrived next. Stationed close to Titus, Sparky greeted him with a soft yip. Adam was almost as handsome as Noah Mischler. He had a good face and eyes the color of caramel drizzled over ice cream.

“Adam teaches school,” Mammi whispered as they watched Adam slap Noah on the shoulder and join in a conversation about copper piping. “So he’d be out of a job if he married you. You might want to keep that in mind. But he has gute hair. I’m partial to wavy hair like that.”

The last two boys arrived. One of them must have been Freeman because Titus greeted him with a warm handshake.

“That’s Davy Burkholder and Freeman Kiem,” Mammi said. “Davy hasn’t been baptized yet. He is in love with his cell phone.”

Mandy raised her eyebrows and nodded in disapproval. Noah Mischler had a cell phone too. She wouldn’t give the time of day to a boy who had a cell phone.

“But Davy is a gute boy,” Mammi said. “He loves to hunt. Think of the wonderful venison you could eat if you married him.”

Mandy wrinkled her nose. Venison made her gag. She only ate it when absolutely necessary—like when Mammi served it and she didn’t want to hurt her feelings.

Mammi hooked her arm around Mandy’s elbow. “Freeman can crack nuts with his teeth.”

And that must have been all Mandy needed to know about Freeman.

Freeman and Davy also immediately found Noah. Mandy’s five potential husbands plus Titus gathered around Noah as if he were handing out free ice cream cones. They seemed to hang on his every word, acting like he had all the answers to every question ever asked.

Didn’t they know that Noah Mischler slammed doors in the faces of unsuspecting girls?

“Yoo-hoo,” Mammi called, waving her hand as if she were signaling a taxi. “Yoo-hoo, everybody. I’d like you to meet my granddaughter Mandy Helmuth.” In unison, the boys stopped talking. Mammi couldn’t leave well enough alone. “Mandy is only in town a short time. Any of you who would like to ask her on a date had better hurry up.”

Mandy’s face caught fire with embarrassment. The room full of boys stared at her as if they expected her to do a somersault or some other circus trick right there in Mammi’s great room. She would have gladly crawled underneath the sofa and taken up residence with the dust bunnies.

Something akin to sympathy traveled across Noah’s face. He thumped Adam on the back with his palm and nudged Freeman with his shoulder. “Quit staring and help me move this stove. I don’t know about you, but I got other stuff I gotta do today.”

Noah’s unconcerned manner immediately dispelled the awkward tension in the room. Titus and Freeman laughed, and the boys turned their attention to the stove, acting as if they’d forgotten Mandy was in the room. She breathed a sigh of relief and felt almost grateful to Noah Mischler. Almost. He was in a hurry to move the stove, nothing more. He hadn’t intended to help ease Mandy’s embarrassment. But at least no one was staring at her anymore.

Mandy decided to stay out of the way and watch. She couldn’t begin to help lift the old cookstove, and Noah would surely be annoyed if she tried to help.

“We need to shove the stove out from the wall and lift together,” Adam said.

Noah shook his head. “Nae. Let’s do it the easy way. Freeman, you and Davy detach the pipe and take it apart. I’ll be right back. Adam, can you help me?”

Noah and Adam bounded out the front door.

“He’s a smart one,” Dawdi said, grinning and gazing pointedly at Mandy, as if Noah’s intelligence were something she should know about.

Before Freeman and Davy had pulled the pipe from the stove, Noah returned with a strange cart that stood low to the ground and looked like a flat red wagon or a skinny lawn mower. Adam followed, carrying three or four sheets of cardboard.

“We can get the stove out of the kitchen with this,” Noah said. “I’ll need you to keep it steady and then lift it down the stairs and into my wagon.”

Even though Mandy had determined never to speak to Noah again, her curiosity got the better of her. “What is that?”

Noah glanced at her. “It’s a floor jack. It can lift almost anything.”

“I should have thought of that,” Titus said, forgetting that he mostly never had thoughts that deep.

The stovepipe squealed as Davy and Freeman tried to jiggle it loose from the cookstove.

“Wait,” Noah said, reaching into his toolbox for a screwdriver. “You’ve got to unscrew the pipe from the ceiling support.”

Davy and Freeman did as they were told, and with a little more coaching from Noah, detached the pipe from the stove. A cloud of black ash floated into the air once the pipe was off.

“
Ach, du lieva
,” Mammi said. “Oh, my goodness. I should have cleaned that better.”