Hold on. That was downright silly, immature thinking. I was a grown woman and needed to take care of myself. Why wouldn’t they like me as much as Zook’s owner had?
First things first. I stowed Mamm’s food in the pint-sized refrigerator. I’d rarely seen an empty refrigerator, and it was so clean inside too. Our refrigerator at home was always jam-packed with meats, cheeses, and yummy leftovers. Well, I doubted I’d starve working near a café, which must stand behind the greenhouses. I supposed it depended on when they served food. I knew Olivia’s baked goods would be available if employees were allowed to eat meals there. Still, after laboring in the soil all day, they might not be permitted to dine with the café’s patrons.
Deciding I’d have a snack later, I unclasped and opened the suitcase and then spread an armload of clothes across the bed. A tall bureau stood ready and welcoming. Above it hung an oval wood-framed mirror with a bedraggled woman gawking into it.
Ach, my heart-shaped kapp had collapsed like a failed soufflé. Clumps of my hair Mamm thought was the color of caramel straggled out from under it. I untied my kapp’s strings. My beige dress and black apron did nothing to improve my appearance, but I’d fix my hair later.
I knelt on the floor and pulled open the bottom drawer of the bureau. I was pleased to see plenty of room for my black socks. As I arranged them neatly, I imagined moving into my future husband’s home someday. Always his face looked like blond and striking Jake’s, my first love, whom I hadn’t seen for seven years. Silly musings. I was determined to replace his face with another man’s. Soon, I hoped.
Without warning, the door blew open, and I let out a surprised yelp.
“Sorry I startled you.” A tall man dressed in jeans and a yellow collared work shirt stepped into the room carrying an LED lamp—not Amish, judging by his clothing and Englisch haircut. “Are you the new employee?” he asked.
I got to my feet and put out my hand to shake his. “Yes. Hello. I’m Eva Lapp.” I scanned the bed and felt heat flushing my face when I saw my nightgown draped across it. I bundled it up and stuffed it in another bureau drawer.
He tilted his head. “We weren’t expecting you for a couple of days.”
“I’m sorry. I should have called ahead to warn you I was coming early.” I’d spare him the details of my mad dash to get packed and leave home.
“No matter. I’m Stephen Troyer, in charge of the nursery while the boss is out of town for a couple of weeks. I was just stopping by to make sure everything is okay.” He set the lantern on the small table next to the bed. “We’re happy to have you, Eva. The café has practically had to run on its own since Olivia left.”
“Café? I thought I’d be working in the nursery with plants. And perhaps maintaining a vegetable garden.” Gardening was my passion.
“No, we need a replacement for Olivia in the café. We have plenty of staff in the nursery. Although the little herb garden behind the main house might need tending now that Edna’s gone. She’s the Amish woman who used to live here and was my boss’s housekeeper for many years. But she had a stroke, and her family moved her to Indiana to live with one of her nieces.”
My mind spun with the impossibility of the situation. Why hadn’t Olivia been clear about this? “But I know nothing about running a restaurant.” Or much about cooking.
The corners of his mouth dragged down. “Can you manage a cash register and credit cards?”
“Yah, I did that in the fabric store, my last place of employment.”
“And can you brew a decent pot of coffee?”
“I’m used to making it for large crowds after church services and such. Nobody has ever complained.”
“Anything will taste better than the coffee made by the two girls we have now.” He raked a hand through his nutmeg-brown hair. “Olivia said you could accomplish anything if we give you directions. We were so relieved when she suggested you and said you needed a place to live.”
“I’m afraid my cousin might have stretched the truth a little.” I scanned the cabin and reminded myself she was doing me a favor. “I don’t possess half of Olivia’s culinary skills. Only what I’ve done at home. I always favored the garden and helping Dat with the milking when he needed me.”
“No cows to be milked around here. But we do have chickens and fresh eggs you’re welcome to gather and eat for breakfast.” His hazel-brown eyes probed mine. “Should I find someone else for the job?”
I canvassed my cozy new abode. “Nee. I’m used to working with the public. I’m sure I can learn what’s needed.” I hoped.
“It’s still early in the year, but we expect to get busy once the flowers are in bloom. Our goal is to have the café cover its overhead and make a profit. My boss was determined to build the place. It was his dream, so there you go. The nursery’s a bustling place spring through autumn. In winter, we sell Christmas trees. Glenn plans to have the café open all year.”
“I’m used to waiting on impatient customers. We would get buried at the fabric store during a sale. And I’m here now.” My being here must be God’s will. Wasn’t it?
“Come on. Let me walk you over there before you settle in.” I understood him to mean, before I have to kick you out in favor of someone more suitable for the job.
He glanced down at me. “I feel as if I know you, Eva. Have we met before? Wait. Didn’t you date Jake Miller?”
I cringed. “Many years ago.”
“I heard he still lives in New York.” Again he gave me an inquisitive look, waiting for my response.
“I heard that
