Huckleberry Hearts (7 page)

Or a wild huckleberry chase.

He couldn't be sure which.

Chapter Six

“Dawdi, have you seen my phone?”

Cassie glanced around the great room. She didn't really want to spend a lot of time looking for her missing phone. It would turn up. It couldn't have gone far. She remembered having it when she came into the house. For all she knew, Mammi could be sitting on it.

Cassie swept the floor as Dawdi washed up the dinner dishes. Her cousin Moses and his wife Lia had been kind enough to bring dinner for them tonight after they came home from the hospital. They had brought fried chicken, green beans with bacon, Jell-O salad, and the flakiest, most buttery rolls Cassie had ever tasted. Lia was a very good cook. She'd made enough for an entire houseful of Amish folks. They'd be eating leftovers for days.

Mammi relaxed in Dawdi's recliner with her feet propped up, dozing on and off while Dawdi and Cassie finished cleaning up. A tube dangled from Mammi's tightly wrapped foot and connected to a small appliance about the size of a toaster. Dr. Reynolds had called it a wound vacuum. It sucked moisture from Mammi's surgical site to help it heal for a skin graft in three weeks.

Dr. Reynolds had been so kind at the hospital today that Cassie had almost started to like him. He hadn't pressed the issue of wanting to go out with her, and he hadn't tried to make her feel guilty for saying no. However he felt about her, he had treated her with uncommon courtesy and had been more than attentive to Mammi. He hadn't talked down to her grandparents like some doctors did with old people. Mammi and Dawdi were both still sharp as tacks. Sometimes Cassie felt like they were the only family she had left. She had a soft spot for anybody who treated her grandparents kindly.

Even Dr. Zach Reynolds.

Cassie's lips curled involuntarily when she remembered the look on his face when he requested her phone number that last time. He had been sincerely reluctant to ask. She found his unexpected hesitation kind of cute.

And what was it about his nose that made his face so attractive? Being a little crooked meant it had probably been broken sometime in the past, but judging by that devil-may-care grin he usually wore, Cassie could just imagine that he'd been doing something wildly reckless and incredibly fun when he had broken it.

“Is everything all right, yet?” Dawdi asked.

“Oh, jah, everything is fine. Don't I look fine?”

“Well,” he said, with a spark of amusement in his eyes, “you're sweeping the dog.”

Cassie looked down. She was indeed brushing the broom back and forth across Sparky's back. The unconventional fur cleaning hadn't disturbed Mammi's little white dog in the least. She remained fast asleep in the corner next to the stove.

Cassie pulled the broom away and gazed at it as if it were a foreign object. What had she been thinking? How could the thought of a crooked nose distract her so thoroughly?

The recliner squeaked as Mammi shifted in it.

“Are you okay, Mammi?”

Mammi opened her eyes. “The pain medicine helps my foot, but it makes me feel like I'm floating away on a cloud. And I can't steer a cloud. I think I'd rather have control of all my faculties. There's still so much to be arranged. Who's going to do the arranging?”

“You just need to concentrate on feeling better, Mammi. Everything will still be here when you're on your feet again.”

“The doctor won't. How am I supposed to work things out with the doctor if I can't even steer my cloud?”

Dawdi dried his hands before sitting on the sofa next to the recliner. “You've arranged things just fine yet, Annie.”

She smiled and patted Dawdi's hand. “I suppose I have. But I'd rather not sleep through all the fun.”

“I'll wake you if anything exciting happens.” He turned and looked at Cassie. “But right now, she's just sweeping.”

Cassie made her expression as earnest as possible. “I promise if I do anything exciting, you'll be the first to know. But studying for the GRE is about as boring as watching paint dry.”

Someone knocked softly on the door as if they didn't want to be heard. Sparky, who hadn't woken up when Cassie swept her, immediately lifted her head and barked.

Mammi seemed to perk up as well. “No need to wake me, Felty. I'm ready for the excitement.”

Cassie propped the broom against the wall and answered the door. The sight of Dr. Reynolds standing there with a crooked nose and a bright red scarf tied around his neck almost took her breath away. It was a good thing she wholeheartedly disliked him or she'd be in some danger of being pulled in by his good looks.

He eyed her doubtfully. “I'm sorry to bother you, but I had to make sure everything was okay. Your mammi—”

“Tell him to come in,” Mammi called from across the room.

“Oh,” Cassie said, stepping back and holding on to the doorknob as if it were a trusted friend. “Please come in, Doctor. I didn't expect to see you.”

Pulling the beanie off his head, he stepped tentatively into the room. “I apologize.”

“No apology necessary,” Dawdi said, jumping to his feet. He strode across the room and shook the doctor's hand vigorously. “Anna will feel much better now that you're here.”

“I know this is unconventional,” the doctor said, “but Anna called and the answering service said it sounded urgent, but no one answered when I tried calling back. I got worried. If she were my mom, I would want the doctor to come and check on her.”

“Mammi called you?”

He glanced at Cassie as if asking forgiveness for every bad thing he'd ever done. She was nearly inclined to give it to him. Darn that crooked nose!

“Come and let me have a look at you,” Mammi said.

Dr. Reynolds gave Sparky a pat before walking past Cassie to the recliner. “Is everything okay? They said you sounded very upset over the phone. How is the pain?”

“She's on a cloud,” Dawdi said. “I think she's feeling fine.”

Zach nodded and got on one knee next to the recliner. “Can I do anything for you? Are you drinking plenty of liquids?”

“I'm feeling much better now,” Mammi said. “There's nothing quite like a doctor to make everything better.”

Cassie sidled near Mammi's recliner. “When did you call the doctor?”

Mammi pulled Cassie's phone from her apron pocket. “About an hour ago. I hope you don't mind that I used your phone.”

“Of . . . course not,” Cassie stammered. Mammi had stolen her phone to make an unnecessary call to the doctor? “I'm sorry, Dr. Reynolds. We really were trying to make sure that she rested comfortably.”

His smile made her feel warm all the way to her toes. “It's okay. I was concerned when I couldn't get hold of you. I'm not sure what the Amish protocol is. But I was happy to come over. It's my first time in an Amish home.”

“You're wearing my scarf,” Mammi said, smiling as if she were floating on a cloud.

“Rose Sue's mom dropped it off at the registration desk.”

“Here,” Dawdi said. “Let me take your coat.”

“I'm not going to stay,” the doctor said, standing up. “I just wanted to make sure Anna was all right.”

“Well, of course you're going to stay,” Mammi said. “I counted on it.”

“Thank you anyway, but I've imposed on your privacy long enough. I'll see you next week.”

“Felty, make him stay,” Mammi said with a mixture of amusement and scolding in her voice.

Although Cassie was eager for the doctor to leave, she would have done anything to make Mammi happy. “Have you eaten dinner, Dr. Reynolds?”

He nodded as a smile slowly formed on his lips. “Ramen and hot dogs.”

“That's a sad excuse for a meal,” Mammi said. “No one goes hungry in an Amish home. One thing we know how to do is to feed people.”

Cassie raised her eyebrows. “We've got cold fried chicken and homemade rolls.”

“I couldn't impose,” he said halfheartedly, wanting her to talk him into it.

“And Cassie made chocolate chip cookies,” Mammi said.

Cassie was already halfway to the fridge. “If a doctor went to your mom's house to check up on her, she'd feed him.”

He chuckled. “I suppose she would. She'd say it was good karma.”

“Let me take your coat,” Dawdi said.

The doctor slid his coat off his wide shoulders—not that Cassie noticed things like wide shoulders—and handed his hat, scarf, and coat to Dawdi. “I hate to impose,” he said one more time.

Cassie retrieved the food from the fridge and a plate from the cupboard. She put a hearty piece of chicken on the plate as well as a scoop of Jell-O salad, green beans, and a golden brown roll. She motioned for the doctor to sit at the table where she deposited the plate and utensils, three cookies, and a tall glass of milk.

“I hope you don't mind that it's cold. We don't have a microwave, although I could warm up the beans in a saucepan, if you like.”

“This is perfect. Thank you,” Zach said, flashing an enchanting smile. “I don't eat this well at Thanksgiving.”

“Mammi and Dawdi, do you want anything?”

Dawdi sat on the sofa and seemed to make himself very comfortable. “Not a thing.”

Mammi laced her fingers together. “We'll sit right over here and not make a peep.”

Cassie smiled to herself. Mammi would do anything to make her guests feel at home, but Dr. Reynolds probably would not require complete silence during his meal.

She dished herself a small bowl of Jell-O salad and sat next to him at the table. She didn't want him to feel awkward eating alone.

Dr. Reynolds took a big bite of chicken, and by the expression on his face, Cassie would have thought he'd died and gone straight to heaven. “Do the Amish always eat this well?”

“They take their food very seriously. Food is a way to bring families and communities together.”

He held up a spoonful of Jell-O. “Did you make this? It's got cool little squares of gelatin inside of it.”

“No, my cousin's wife Lia made it.”

He picked up a cookie and took a bite. “But you made the cookies.”

She nodded.

“They're the best I've ever tasted.”

Cassie refused to blush. How could they be the best he'd ever tasted? She shrugged off his praise. “I can cook, but I'd rather draw.”

“Thus the art history major.”

Cassie's cheeks got warm. “And for the record, I don't look at naked people all day.”

He chuckled. “Neither do I.” He relished another bite. “Do the Amish allow drawing?”

“My
onkel
Perry paints farm scenes on milk cans. We don't do portraits, but outdoor scenes are permitted.”

“Did you want to do portraits? Is that why you left? Or is that too personal a question?”

He seemed so troubled about offending her that Cassie gave him a reassuring smile. “I don't mind,” she said. “I couldn't see living this way for the rest of my life. It's a good life, but I wanted to get an education. I wanted to see more of the world than the twenty square miles that most people here grow up, live, and die in.”

“But she isn't going to hell,” Dawdi interjected from the sofa.

“Felty,” Mammi said, “we're not to make a peep.”

The doctor studied her face. “You looked sad just then. Do you regret your decision? Are you afraid you're going to hell?”

“My mamm and brothers think I am.”

He bent his head to look her in the eye. “Too personal?”

Absentmindedly, she tapped the spoon against her bowl. “Sometimes I regret what I left behind. Life in an Amish community is predictable. It goes on pretty much the same as it has for decades. And there may be strict rules, but the people don't often let you down. They adhere to a set of values, and they try to live their religion.”

“It's very admirable.”

“Too many people don't believe in decency or self-control. Out there can be a very ugly place.” She clapped her mouth shut. She'd come dangerously close to accusing Dr. Reynolds to his face. She didn't ever want to have a confrontation with the doctor. Let him live in blissful ignorance.

Besides, she sounded bitter, like a sour old preacher who resented other people's lives and begrudged them their happiness. Cassie didn't want to begrudge anybody anything.

Something subtle shifted in the doctor's expression. “It sounds like maybe you've had some bad experiences.”

“Amish boys aren't like other boys. I never had to wonder about why boys wanted to take me home from a gathering. And I didn't have to be suspicious if they asked to take me on a drive. When I got to the university, I was pretty naïve.”

He finally averted his eyes and skewered a green bean with his fork. “Now I know I've crossed the ‘too personal' line.”

She felt herself blush again. “I sound terribly disillusioned.”

“No. Sooner or later we all figure out that the world is an unfriendly place.”

“Now
you
sound disillusioned.”

“I do, don't I?” He sprouted a crooked grin and took another hearty bite of chicken.

“I'm not sorry I left,” Cassie said. “I sometimes forget that the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence, especially since I've been in that particular pasture before.”

Dr. Reynolds had nearly devoured everything on his plate. “I don't mean to sound like some hardened cynic. There's a lot of good in the world, and I guess we all have to realize that even though people will disappoint us, we can't lose faith in the entire human race.”