Chapter Twelve
Adam’s head appeared in the hayloft opening. Emma’s heart sank. Her secret wasn’t a secret anymore. Now he and everyone else would know how foolish the old maid, Emma Wadler, had become.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, masking her embarrassment with annoyance.
In the light of the single lantern, his hat cast a dark shadow across his eyes. She couldn’t read his expression. After a moment of silence, he said, “Your mamm asked me to help you with chores so we can get going to the auction. Now I see why you’ve been coming up here so often. How many kittens are there?”
A blush heated Emma’s face and neck but at least he wasn’t laughing at her. “Four.”
He climbed up to sit beside her. “What a cute bunch. How old are they?”
“About six days, I think.”
“How long have you been taking care of them?”
“Five days.”
“What happened to their mamm?” He lifted a gray one from her lap and cuddled it close to his chest.
Her nervousness began to fade. “She was run over on the street in front of the house. I didn’t even know she’d had kittens until I went to the stable later in the day and heard their mewing.”
The kitten he held began making pitiful cries. “It must have broken your heart to hear them.”
“It did.”
Even knowing the odds were slim that they would live, Emma had soon found herself armed with a hot-water bottle, a box with high sides and a kitten-size baby bottle with cat-milk formula and a round-the-clock routine.
Raising the kitten to face level, he said, “They look healthy. You are a goot mudder, but why not take them into the house?”
“Mamm is highly allergic to cats.”
“Oh, no.” He started to laugh.
“It’s not funny,” she chided, but she felt like laughing, too.
He quickly grew serious. “Show me what to do and I will help.”
She looked at him in astonishment. “Do you mean that?”
“Of course. You can’t be scurrying out here day and night. You have a business to run. I will help during the day.”
The idea of taking a break sounded wonderful, but could she trust him to do a good job with her babies? She didn’t want all her hard work to be undone by his carelessness.
Apparently, he read her indecision because he said, “You should watch me the first few times to make sure I’m doing it right.”
For some reason she did trust him. She demonstrated how to swaddle them inside a piece of cloth, how to get the bottle into their mouths, even how to burp them and clean up after them before returning them to their box. She fed one more so he could observe and then he fed the other two.
When they were done and the kittens all returned to the box, he said, “We’d better hurry or we will be late for the start of the auction.”
Spending the day in his company—in public—suddenly became a frightening prospect. She rubbed her hands over her arms. “I don’t think I’m going to go.”
Chapter Thirteen
Adam saw his plans for the day unraveling before they got started. The picnic basket and thermos of hot chocolate under the front seat of his buggy would stay where they were. “What do you mean you aren’t going?”
“I have work to do here.”
“Naomi said she can run the inn while you are gone.”
“I know she can, but I have the kittens to think of, too.”
She walked past him and began to descend the ladder. He followed, feeling their closeness draining away. What had he done wrong? “The Yoder farm isn’t that far. We can come back to feed them and then return to the auction.”
“It’s silly to make so many trips. I’m staying here. You go on.” She pushed open the barn door and walked out into the crisp morning sunshine.
“I was only going because Naomi asked me to drive you. I’ll go patch that hole in the dining room wall.”
Apparently, the connection he’d felt between them went only one way. From him to nowhere. His disappointment was as sharp as the kittens’ claws.
She spun around. “I forbid you to work today. You are to go to the auction, eat good food, visit with your friends. Your cousins are going, aren’t they?”
The auction would be one of the biggest social events of the winter. The weather was cold but the sun was shining brightly. Families would come from miles around, English and Amish alike, to support the Yoder family and have the chance to pick up a bargain. Even his father might be there.
She took a step closer. “You should go.”
Sucking in a quick breath, he said, “I would like to go, but only if you go with me. Please, Emma.”
Her eyes softened; he could see her wavering. Before she could reply, her mother came bustling out of the house, a large box in her arms. She made straight for his buggy. He had no choice but to rush over and open the door for her.
Naomi said, “Danki. You two should get on the road. Emma, I’ve decided I want you to bid on the ice cream maker and on the pressure cooker.”
She laid the box on the floor of Adam’s buggy and held out her hand. “Here is the money.”
When Emma didn’t move, Naomi pressed the bills at her and began pulling her toward the buggy. “If you don’t hurry you could miss the household items. Oh, I can’t be out in this cold for long. It makes my bones hurt. I’m so glad you’re going for me, Emma. And thank you for driving her, Adam. I won’t worry about her a bit in your company.”
Adam climbed in and extended his hand to Emma. For a second, he thought she was going to refuse, but suddenly Naomi began sneezing. Emma sprang into the vehicle and closed the door between them.
With a hidden smile, Adam slapped the reins against the horse’s rump and
