Bill clenched his fists.
“Don’t make this situation worse.” Wayne raised his hand to chest level, as if ready to ward off a punch.
“How are you with a hammer?” Harvey asked Bill. “We could use another hand on this barn.”
“Yeah, right. As if I’d help out an Amish farmer.”
“Well, there’s coffee and food over there. You’re welcome to a snack.”
“Look, I don’t want anything from you because then you’d think I owed you.”
“I’m surprised no one helped feed you when your father died,” Harvey said.
“A few neighbors brought food over, and we ate it only because we were hungry. Our father always said, ‘Don’t take nothing from no one. There’s always a catch.’ ”
Despite everything, my heart went out to this wounded man. Not that I trusted him. Not that his circumstances gave him the right to hurt others. But still, I felt pity for him. I knew I had been gullible much of my life, but he trusted no one. I had to ask myself if I had become guilty of the same trait.
I walked over to the food table and returned with napkins and a paper plate supporting several donuts and other baked goods. “May I tempt anyone?”
Wayne’s hand flew out to snag a sugar-covered donut. “I couldn’t refuse a lady.” He bit into it and then grabbed a napkin as the creamy filling dripped down his chin.
“How about you, Bill?”
I could tell Bill was wavering by the way he shifted his weight back and forth, but he shook his head. “I haven’t been working. You’ll all take this as a sign I won’t press charges.”
“No, we won’t. There’s coffee over there too.”
Apparently, Bill couldn’t resist the chocolate donut. He reached out to take it. “Yeah, well, this doesn’t change anything.” He chomped a mouthful. “Where’s the coffee?”
I pointed to the cups on the table, and he sauntered off to fetch some. I noticed his shoulders had relaxed and his gait turned easy.
The clanging of hammers resumed. The chatter of men working on the barn started up again.
“Good work, Eva.” Wayne tidied his mouth, wadded up the napkin, and stuffed it into his jacket pocket. “I thought I was going to be in the middle of a fistfight. I would have hated to give up that donut before I finished it.”
“A temporary lull in the storm.” Stephen kicked a pebble. “But I agree with Wayne. Evie calmed the turbulent waters.” He sent me a smile.
“Don’t get any ideas,” Jake said. “She and I are going to get married.”
Harvey’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you sure you wish to speak of private matters in public?”
I waited to see a sign of contrition on Jake’s face, but his features seethed with frustration. Finally, he turned to face Harvey and then me, and said, “You’re right. I apologize. Lots of work yet to do here, but I need to return home to my dat.”
He pivoted and marched back to the barn, which was nearing completion—on the outside, anyway. Over my shoulder I watched Jake’s departing form and felt more confused than ever.
I tracked down my parents and found them preparing to leave, their buggy all hitched.
Dat’s eyes brightened when he saw me. If we’d been Englisch, I know he would have hugged me and told me he loved me in front of everyone.
“Your mamm says you’re doing a fine job at the café,” he told me. “But then you’ve always been capable at whatever you’ve pursued.”
“To be honest, I still can’t cook very well.”
“But you’re learning, I assume.”
“Yah, I’m getting better.”
“No thanks to me,” Mamm said. “I wasn’t a very gut teacher.”
“You’re the best mamm in the world,” I said. “And I told you before, I liked being in the barn with Dat.”
Again, Dat’s eyes lit up with delight.
“You did well working at Zook’s Fabrics,” Marta said. She was reporting positively about me? “And from what I saw today, you run the café seamlessly. I think you’d be bored silly baking at home, even if you ran the roadside stand.” The hem of her dress fluttered in the breeze as she swayed back and forth. “Anyway, our plans have changed. I’ve spoken to several women in the last few hours who are looking for places to sell their quilts. Your mother was one of them. I’ve admired her quilts but didn’t think she’d wish to sell them.” She rubbed her belly. “I’ve been stupid to miss such a great opportunity. Your mamm can babysit and quilt at the same time.”
My brother and Marta were having another baby? I didn’t dare ask.
“Anyway, I’m sorry for being such a ninny,” she told me. “Reuben made it clear he doesn’t want a bakery business, but I wouldn’t listen. Raising our children and keeping the farm going is more important. Not to mention obeying my husband. Reuben told me to apologize to you and I am. I was acting selfishly and bossy. I’m sorry.”
“No need to apologize.” And yet I savored her words. She put out her hand to shake mine, but I hugged her instead. I felt my fondness for her expanding.
At that moment Reuben strode over to us, looking beat. “Someone just offered me a ride home, and I think I’d better accept it. I’ve so much to do yet today. Maybe if I leave now, I’ll be done by the time you get home.”
“You go ahead and don’t worry about us,” Marta said.
“Yah, I’ll do the driving,” Dat said. He looked tired, too, but a good kind of tired.
“See ya later.” Reuben strode off and met up with Jake, of all people. What on earth?
Before leaving, Dat spoke in my ear, claiming my attention. “I know you’re not a little girl anymore, but I don’t want you going over to the café at night alone,” he said.
So he’d heard the whole story. That probably meant everyone in the county had.
FORTY
Beatrice and Heath accompanied me to the café to check
