Chapter 29
Rachel
felt
Mamma’s return to the crowd without seeing her face: a hush hovered over everyone as conversations got suspended midsentence. But then, when had they ever seen Miriam Lantz grinning like a schoolgirl—looking all the prettier because her new orchid dress and fresh kapp brought out the glow of her complexion?
Rhoda, too, turned to see what was happening, and immediately set aside her lemonade. “Well, it’s for sure and for certain we’re gonna hear
gut
news now. Somethin’ way more excitin’ than the three of us turnin’ twenty-one, ain’t so?”
“
Jah
! It’s so!” Rebecca answered happily. “I thought Daddy and Mr. Shotwell were
never
going to get this show on the road.”
The three of them stepped aside as Mamma came to the cake table, but before she said a word she just grabbed them. Squeezed them, laughing and then crying until she had to wipe her face on her sleeve. “Ya won’t believe it, girls!” She blew her nose loudly into the napkin Naomi handed her. “Rebecca’s
dat
bought the Sweet Seasons buildin’, so now the bakery and the quilt shop can go right on doin’ what we do best!”
“Oh, Mamma! That’s so wonderful-
gut!”
“Best possible news, that!” Naomi slung her arm around Mamma’s shoulders for a sideways hug. She grabbed a napkin, too, to blot her huge brown eyes.
“And we’ve got our Rebecca to thank for it!” Mamma continued in her excited whisper. Then she picked up a spoon and loudly tapped the tea pitcher to get everyone’s attention. The expectant gazes from all around the dining room had her laughing and crying all over again.
“Can’t tell ya how happy I am that all of ya came to share this special birthday, now that my three girls are together again,” she began in a voice choked with emotion. Then she inhaled loudly, to settle herself. “But I
can
tell ya, for sure and for certain, that I’m mighty happy about Rebecca’s
dat
, Bob Oliveri, buyin’ the buildin’ and keepin’ us here, along with the Schrocks’ quiltin’ shop!”
The applause and whistles were deafening. Mary Schrock clapped her hands while Eva and Priss reached for each other. Bob Oliveri looked ready to pass through a crack between the floorboards, but it was a happy sort of embarrassment—and it earned him an immediate place as a good friend among these Plain folk, who had long supported the two local shops.
From across the room, Rachel found Micah’s easy grin ... as though he’d guessed this might happen and had never believed Mamma would be out of business. The way his gaze lingered on Rachel ... the smile that eased over his handsome face ... foretold at least one more secret to be revealed before this eventful summer passed into fall. Every time she’d seen him today he was escorting someone to the loft, and she’d overheard several folks saying they had places in their homes or shops where a sliding wall system would be just the thing.
Never had she felt so proud of him! Even in this uncertain economy where large construction projects were harder to come by, Micah Brenneman had found a way to turn his smarts and his building skills into a fine, steady income for him and his brothers. All because he’d gone out on a limb to find out more about Tiffany Oliveri, the girl in black and tattoos. And then he’d faced the consequences, made his confession before God and all of them, and set himself right with the world again. No complaints. No finger-pointing or accusations.
Something about his expression made Rachel’s heart thump in her chest. She held his gaze for another teasing moment and then she cut a large square of the strawberry cream cake, surrounding it with scoops of all four ice creams. Micah’s eyes followed her every movement—he met her gaze then—and as she headed for the kitchen’s back door, she’d never felt more triumphant. She hadn’t conquered Micah’s wandering thoughts so much as she’d taken control of her own. It was a wonder the handsome blond had tolerated her pity-fits and tantrums. She could see now that Tiffany—their Rebecca, returned—had no romantic interest in her man. And she never had.
Rachel set the loaded plate on the kitchen counter and returned to the cake table. She hesitated, but when Rebecca turned, Rachel wrapped her sister in her arms and just held her ... felt the heart that had beat time with hers since before they were born. “
Denki
, Rebecca,” she whispered. “Thank you so much for—for all you’ve done for us.”
“
Jah
,
denki!”
Rhoda whispered as she, too, joined the embrace. “We wouldn’t be celebratin’ this way if ya hadn’t persuaded your
dat
—”
“You wanna hear the real story?” Rebecca’s blue eyes sparkled. She glanced over to be sure Mamma and the others were chattering. “Not my business, telling our mamma who to love or what to do—not my place to butt into your religion, either. But I could
not
let that bishop take over her life, ya know?”
Rhoda giggled first, and Rachel couldn’t help joining in. “
Jah
, we know—”
“Ya did real
gut
, Rebecca!”
“—but can’t none of us ever let on about that! Gotta be our sister secret, ain’t so?”
Delight sparkled in a gaze that met theirs straight on, filled with a love light Rachel would never have believed had she not seen it herself. “Ya didn’t hear about it from
me!”
Rebecca teased. “All for one and one for all?”
“
Fer gut
and forever!”
“
Jah
, sisters!
Fer gut
and forever!” Rachel squeezed their shoulders, not surprised that all of them heaved a satisfied sigh at the same time. “And now I’m gonna snatch myself a minute with Micah, before his ice cream melts. He’s been givin’ me a look all day and it’s time I heard what’s on his mind.”
Rachel met Micah’s gaze again. He’d stopped to talk with Tom Hostetler, but he was waiting her out ... observing her as she embraced Rebecca. She took his plate out the back door of the kitchen, listening for his familiar tread behind her. Good thing no one was fetching their buggies, because she wasn’t in the mood to be interrupted. She leaned against the sweet-gum tree that shaded the parking lot, extending the plate as bait.
Micah stopped a few feet away, his blond hair like corn tassles riffled by the summer breeze. As he stood with his feet spread the width of his broad shoulders, he looked as strong and sturdy as the oaks he fashioned furniture from; not a man to be moved by the winds of conflict or change or gossiping tongues. Micah looked ready to say something profound, but all that came out was, “Happy birthday, Rache.”
She spooned up some of the melting ice cream and smiled around the creamy sweetness of it. “
Jah
, it is. Mostly Rebecca’s doin’, that her
dat
bought the buildin’. And mostly
your
doin’ that she came around again, to really know us,” Rachel murmured. “Means a lot to us, Micah. I thank ya for doin’ what ya felt was right ... and for puttin’ up with me when I thought all the wrong things about your seein’ her.”
He shrugged, stretching his suspenders. “I was gawkin’ like a clueless schoolkid. Just real glad it all turned out so
gut
for all of us. Who knew?”
“
Jah
, who knew?” Rachel cut a bite of the pink cake and held it out to him. “Seems I scooped up more than I could handle—and you’re the man to help me with it.”
Micah stepped toward her then, his smile still speaking of secrets. “You’re tryin’ to coax me into givin’ out your present, ain’t so? I know your kitty-cat ways, Rache.” He closed his eyes over the bite of cake, taking her hand to steady the spoon. “Sweet as this is, you’re even better, ya know. I love ya, honey.”
Her pulse pounded. “Sometimes I wonder why—”
“Oh, never doubt it, Rache. From the time I sat gawkin’ at ya in the schoolroom, you were the only girl I could see. Hope ya won’t be disappointed at what I got for your present.”
Micah guided the spoon into the soft ball of chocolate ice cream and then to her mouth before taking a big bite of the strawberry for himself. He grinned. “Now, see, when I kiss ya we’ll taste like both our favorites, all mixed together till ya can’t tell one from the other ... because it’s a new flavor entirely,” he murmured. “And that’s how it’ll be when we’re married, ain’t so? Blended. So there’s no separatin’ us.”
Rachel closed her eyes and reveled in his kiss, cool and sweet and, yes, a perfect blending of flavors. “
Jah
,” she whispered. “I’m likin’ the sound of this, Micah. And the taste, too!”
“Come here. Looky what I got for ya.” He led her over to where Rosie stood amongst the other horses, hitched to his wagon rather than to the buggy he was so proud of. He lifted off the blue tarp.
Rachel set the cake plate on the wagon’s seat and then placed a foot on the metal step. She clasped the strong, broad hands that lifted her from the waist. “Lumber,” she murmured, inhaling the fresh-cut tang of it. “And long sections of metal, and bags from the hardware store.”
“Not the most romantic whatnot,” Micah agreed, “but now that I’ve used the upstairs of the smithy as a trial run, I can whip together the same sorts of rollin’ walls at the house—for
you
, Rache. So be thinkin’ about how you’d wanna convert the attic into livin’ space, or expand your pantry—”
“The bathroom, for sure and for certain!” she added. Her heart pounded faster as she considered all the possibilities. With a load of materials like this, why, Micah could redesign their whole house ... create a whole new world for the two of them.
“And seein’s how ya mentioned maybe openin’ a B and B—”
Had this man recalled every one of her dreams? Listened to her plans and taken them seriously enough to invest in them himself? While Dat had dearly loved Mamma, he’d never been one for fixing up the house. Like most men, he’d invested money in his business—having the best farrier equipment and materials to work with—but he’d never provided conveniences for his woman. Yet here was Micah Brenneman, already indulging her whims without questioning their practicality or imposing judgment on their worth.
“Micah, I’m thinkin’ now that I just wanna share that house with
you
,” she insisted softly. Her heart quivered at the thought of it ... having this man all to herself because he’d already made a cozy nest for her mother and sister. “And hopefully, now that the Sweet Seasons is still Mamma’s, and you’ve got so many new projects ... we won’t need the income from a B and B. So we can figure out other ways to use those bedrooms. Ain’t so?”
“I like the way you’re thinkin’, Rachel.” He nuzzled her neck. “And come fall, I’m gonna make
gut
on all your ideas. And mine!”
When she turned in his sturdy arms, her heart soared. “It’s been quite a summer,” she whispered against his soft hair, “but there’s a lot to be said for snuggle-up weather, too. Ain’t so?”