āYouāre cute, you know that?ā
Ezra Bontrager paused, his axe hovering in the air. He glanced at Charity Raber, the overly thin young woman who had been following him around Stollās Inn grounds for the past hour. Levi had warned him two weeks ago when he took the job as the innās handyman that many of the guests here were answering the bride ad in the paperāan ad that was placed over a year ago but was still causing trouble in the community. Since then three of his brothers had gotten married, and one was engaged to marry this fall. Birch Creek was running out of bachelors, and now there was no shortage of bachelorettes. Whoever put that ad in the paper had no idea what they had wrought.
He set the axe next to the stump, letting the piece of wood he was about to split fall over. āUh, thatās nice of you to say, Charity, but Iām kind of busy right now.ā
āNeed any help?ā
That was the fourth time sheād asked him since heād checked the dripping faucet in the guest room that she shared with another husband-seeking woman. That repair was easy since all he had to do was turn the water completely off, tighten the faucet, then turn the water back on again. When he left the room, she followed him down the staircase, out the front door to the mailbox he still needed to fix after a car clipped it two days ago, then back up the driveway to the woodpile, maintaining a steady stream of chatter the whole time. When he grabbed the axe, he figured sheād get the hint that he didnāt have time to chat. Unfortunately, she didnāt.
āNee. I donāt need any help.ā He fought for patience. Normally he was a good-natured guy, but there was only so much banal monologuing he could take. āDonāt you have some plans for today?ā
āYa,ā she said, nodding. Her bright-red hair peeked out from underneath her white kapp. The kapp was shaped like a heart and different from the round ones the women in Ohio wore. āBut thatās not until later this afternoon.ā She tilted her head at him, her freckled face breaking into a smile. āYouāre cute, you know that?ā
Oh brother. Not only was she repeating herself, she was also getting close to his last nerve. āLook, Charity, Iām really . . .ā He spied Katharine Miller walking into the Stollsā barn. āI forgot I have to do something,ā he said, hurrying away from her. When she started to follow him again, he held up his hand. āItās something I have to do by myself.ā
āOkay,ā she said, doubt creeping into her pale-blue eyes. āIāll wait outside then.ā She batted her almost transparent eyelashes. āDonāt be long.ā
He figured she was trying to be flirty, but sheād only accomplished getting further on his nerves.
Ezra rushed into the barn, heading to the back where he figured Katharine would be. He didnāt know her very well, and she kept to herself most of the time. Odd since every other woman who had answered the advertisement had been on the prowl for a husband, with the exception of his brothersā wives. But for the most part, women who came here either went home disappointed or married someone in a nearby district. They didnāt stay unless theyād married a Bontrager.
Sure enough, she was in a small space in the back of the barn where she had set up her basket weaving business. She was just sitting down in the chair in front of the table when Ezra skidded to a stop in front of her.
Glancing up, she frowned but didnāt say anything. They hadnāt interacted with each other before he took the job at Stollās Inn two weeks ago, but he did remember when she first came to church. His young and extremely immature brother Jesse had mumbled a crack about her weight, and after cuffing him on the head, Ezra turned to take a look at her. Sure, she carried some extra weight, and he could even see the red acne on her face from his seat near the front of the Yodersā barn. But what had struck him was how sad she seemed, her shoulders slumping as if she carried a burden almost too hard to bear. Once the service was over, she disappeared, and he hadnāt given her much thought after that.
As the months passed, though, her complexion had cleared up, and her weight had gone down. She wasnāt thin by any means, but she looked healthier. She also rarely said much, even to the Stolls, the family she lived with. At least, heād never seen her talk much to them. She did her job and when she was finished with her tasks, she spent the rest of her time making top-notch baskets. Theyād never been in close proximity before, and heād been busy learning the job from Loren and his son Levi, who both owned and ran the inn along with Lorenās mother, Delilah.
Her left brow raised. Knowing she had to be wondering why he was standing in front of her, he started to explain. āUh, hiāā
āEzra!ā Charityās voice carried from the front of the barn. āWhere are you?ā
Oh nee. He looked over his shoulder, then back at Katharine, who still remained silent. Heād never met such a quiet woman in his life, and after spending a few hours with Charity, he was starting to appreciate that quality. āCan you hide me?ā he pleaded in a loud whisper.
āWhat?ā Now both of her eyebrows were arched.
He heard Charityās footsteps nearing, and without asking he dove under the table, then pulled a few of the hay bales nearby in front of him. Still crouching, he held his breath.
āEzraāoh.ā Charityās surprised pause lasted less than a second. āWhat are you doing here, Katharine?ā she asked, her tone borderline snotty, as if Katharine didnāt have the right to be in the same barn as her.
āThis is mei workstation,ā Katharine replied, sounding unruffled.
āArenāt you a maid, though?ā
āI am. But I also make baskets and sell them at the inn. You might have seen some of themāā
āYa, whatever, but whereās Ezra? He told me he had to do something here before we went on our date this afternoon.ā
Ezra gasped, losing a bit of his balance. That little twerp. How dare she lie about him, or rather, them? Wait, there was no them. He settled himself, then realized his backside was against Katharineās legs. He should move, but if he did, he might draw Charityās attention, and that was the last thing he wanted. He just hoped Katharine wouldnāt kick him out from under the table, even though she had every right to.
Instead she remained still. āI havenāt seen him.ā
āAre you sure? Because I saw him geh into the barn and I didnāt see him come out.ā
He imagined Charityās thin arms crossed over her boyish frame. Heād suspected she was young, but now he wondered if she was even old enough to date, much less find a husband. She certainly was sounding childish.
āI donāt know what else to tell you. Heās not here.ā
Her voice had a surprisingly pleasant lilt to it. When Charity didnāt respond, Ezra was relieved. Hopefully she would move on, and he could stand up and give Katharine the apology he owed her.
He wasnāt that lucky. āYou make baskets, huh,ā Charity said.
āYa.ā He heard Katharine sliding pieces of willow around on the tabletop above him.
āThat sounds boring.ā
āItās not.ā A pause. āI can show you how to make one if you want.ā
No no no. He did not want Charity lingering any more than necessary. His legs were cramping as it was. He was the tallest in his family, and although he was turning twenty-one in two months, heād grown two more inches over the fall, and that had put him at six foot four. And a half, but no one was counting. He was practically folded up in a ball under the table and balancing on his toes while being keenly aware that a part of him that shouldnāt be pressed against Katharineās legs still was. He shifted his line of sight and his eyes widened. All Charity had to do was look down at her feet and she would be able to see him through the gap in the hay bales heād hastily arranged in front of him. Great. Just great.
āNah,ā Charity said, taking a step back from the table. āI need to geh find Ezra.ā
āYou must like him a lot.ā
āOh, I do. Heās so tall. Heās cute, you know.ā
Katharine didnāt respond.
Ezra frowned. Whatāshe didnāt think he was cute? He wasnāt prideful, but he wasnāt oblivious either. Charity wasnāt the only single woman in Birch Creek who had pursued him or been complimentary of his looks. Now that he thought about it, Katharine was the only one who hadnāt.
āAre you positive you donāt want to learn how to make a basket?ā she said to Charity. āI just started a square one thatās big enough for lots of storage. It should only take me, oh, an hour or two to teach you. Iām sure wherever Ezra is, he wonāt mind waiting for you.ā
He nearly groaned out loud. Had Katharine lost her mind? There was no way he could stay under this table for an hour, much less two. When Charity didnāt answer right away, he started to panic. Was the girl actually considering Katharineās offer?
āI donāt like doing crafts,ā she sneered, as if she were referring to snakes and cockroaches instead of an industry that was bread and butter for a lot of Amish. āMamm says the only Amish who make crafts are the ones who arenāt gut at doing anything else.ā She turned and left.
Wow. Not only was Charity wrong, she was also a brat.
After several of the longest minutes of his life, he felt Katharine nudge him with her foot. āYouāre safe now. Sheās gone.ā
He shoved away the bales and scrambled from under the table and rose. Intense tingling shot through his right leg. Rats, his foot had gone to sleep. He hopped on the other one and faced her. She was o...
