Grace: A Christmas Sisters of the Heart Novel (9 page)

Again, Levi felt himself grinning. He’d missed this—the banter of masculine bravado, found only in the company of other men his own age. It reminded him that he was still young, hardy and alive.

Thirty minutes later, Levi reckoned Henry’s “good clip” had been a little bit of an understatement. Henry, Jonathan, Mr. Brenneman all walked like they were being timed. Levi was used to hard work, but not so much walking briskly in thick boots. He found himself pausing to catch his breath every few feet.

“Is this too much for ya?” Mr. Brenneman called out. “We can take a breather, if you’d like.”

There was no way on earth Levi was going to look at a man old enough to be his father and admit that he couldn’t keep up with him! “I’ll be fine.”

Though Henry and Jonathan had marched on, limberly hopping over a fallen tree and veering right, the older man paused for him. “No shame in admitting your faults, Levi.”

“I’m not afraid to admit mine. But walking in the woods ain’t one of them.”

Mr. Brenneman chuckled. “All right, then,” he said, then turned and somehow managed to walk even faster. Snow crunched underfoot as he practically marched along.

In spite of his best efforts, Levi found himself breathing harder. “Jesus, I know you’re laughing at me,” Levi murmured. “I have a hunch that you’re warning me to speak up, to admit my physical faults. I know my pride is getting in the way.”

But instead of asking Mr. Brenneman to slow his pace, Levi compensated by unbuttoning his wool coat. When he did, the cool air refreshed him and he followed the men—they were about twenty yards up ahead, talking about a horse auction.

Satisfied he hadn’t lost them, Levi slowed for a moment
and gazed at the beauty that surrounded him. Truly, the area was a sight to see. The Brennemans’ land was hilly and filled to the brim with nature’s glory. Tall oaks stood company with maples and ash trees. A sprinkling of pine kept the area green even now, in the dead of winter.

In the far distance was a large pasture—the ground brown and bare, dormant. Beyond that lay the outline of a barn and a group of dairy cows.

“You coming, Levi?”

“I am,” he called back. To his embarrassment, his words sounded strained. Even to his own ears.

Picking up his pace again, he followed the other men through a maze of trees. Then stopped next to them near an outcropping of rocks.

Jonathan studied him as he finally approached. “Glad you could make it,” he teased.

“I’ve been finding it hard to race through the woods,” he retorted. “You all are walking kind of fast, don’tcha think?”

“Not so fast.”

“I’m just sayin’ that it’s kind of hard to see deer that way.”

Henry slapped him on the back. “We’re going to slow down now. We were just trying to get away from the house. Ain’t safe to hunt so close.”

They’d been walking a good forty-five minutes, and resting for ten. At last his breathing was starting to return to normal. “Do you all plan to continue going for a while yet?” Levi hoped he didn’t sound too hopeful.

Mr. Brenneman answered.
“Nee.”

Henry laughed. “It’s true. Keep your eyes peeled, Levi. Any and all bucks are now fair game for Christmas dinner.”

Jonathan pulled out a thermos of coffee from the knapsack on his back and sipped. “Care for any?”

Gratefully, Levi sipped the hot liquid.
“Danke.”

Once the other men had taken a fortifying sip, they all started walking again. This time at a slower pace. Levi was thankful. He took the opportunity to again study the beautiful surroundings.

About five minutes later, Mr. Brenneman looked his way. “I’m guessin’ you don’t live near the woods up in Berlin?”

“Not at all. I live on a street with several other houses.”

“And what is it you do there?”

“I work at a garage-door factory.”

Henry looked at him with interest. “Is it an Amisowned enterprise?”

“Nee.
Mennonite. It’s a good job. The hours are good and the pay is fair.”

“That’s all a man can ask for,” Jonathan murmured. “And your boss, is he a good man?”

“He is at that. The owners are caring, Christian men. They were good to me”—he caught himself before he talked of how kind Kevin, his boss, had been when Rosanna passed on—“over the years.”

If the other men noticed his clumsy wording, no one looked like he cared. “That is a blessing. I work in a lumberyard,” Jonathan said. “My boss is an
Englischer.
We get along well.”

Levi was surprised. He’d assumed all three men either worked at the inn or farmed. “Working at a job, with other men, is a good thing, I think.”

Henry nodded wearily. “There’s many a day I would
gladly change places with Jonathan. Working side by side with my wife and parents ain’t always rosy.”

“Why do you say that?” his father asked.

Henry’s eyes widened in alarm, then he laughed sheepishly when he spied the humor in his dad’s face. “No reason. It’s also nice, of course.”

“I don’t know how I’d feel, doing anything else. I’m happy where I am,” Levi stated. My boss is agreeable and pays a fair wage. That’s good enough for me.”

“Brent, my boss, helped us out when my barn burned down,” Jonathan said quietly. “He donated a lot of the wood, and let me buy the rest of it at cost. He even came to the barn raising.”

“Good bosses like that are hard to find,” Levi agreed. For a moment, he was tempted to go ahead and share how Kevin had not only given him paid days off, but had taken up a collection for Levi to help pay for his wife’s hospital bills.

Of course, he didn’t mention that, though. Discussing anything to do with Rosanna’s death would ruin the entire reason he’d left Berlin.

“It’s cold, but at least it’s not snowing … ain’t so?” he blurted. The comment obviously came out of nowhere, but perhaps the men wouldn’t mind.

With a perceptive glance, Henry nodded. “Clear skies are always more welcome than snowy ones,” he agreed. “Of course, we weren’t as lucky last year.”

Mr. Brenneman took up the wayward tangent next. With a gruff chuckle, he began to tell a long, convoluted tale about the men’s hunting trip the previous year.

As he spoke, they continued on. Gradually all talk stopped as they approached a thicket.

Because he wasn’t actually hunting, Levi kept quiet and concentrated on the beauty of the area. And he also was finding the other three men he was with to be entertaining. They had an easy familiarity with each other that spoke of a long friendship. And their light joking made Levi feel at ease.

Henry held a rifle, on the off chance that they’d come across a wild hare or deer. Every so often he held a hand up, motioning for silence as he scanned the area.

Jonathan smirked, but otherwise waited patiently as Henry would lift his rifle, then bring it back down again. “Don’t know if we’re going to get lucky today, Henry. Most likely, we’ll be carting back some greenery to decorate the table.”

“I’m in no hurry to carry more pine boughs,” Henry said. “I’m anxious to have fresh venison.”

Suddenly, he held up a hand again. But this time, instead of lowering the gun to his side, he crouched down and looked through the viewfinder. Levi squinted, attempting to see what Henry could. But in the time it took for his eyes to adjust and scan the area, Henry had already squeezed the trigger.

The reverberation echoed through the area, setting off the frantic squawking of birds as several took flight. Levi stood in awe at the sight, then rushed to follow Henry and Jonathan.

Slowly, his footsteps stilled as he saw what lay in front
of them: a six-point buck. “Is it dead?” he asked, feeling silly, but afraid the animal was suffering.

Henry approached it carefully, a knife in his hand, obviously ready to cut its throat if the need arose.

But the buck simply lay still. For a moment, Levi mourned the loss of life. The animal was a beautiful one, as surely a majestic creature as any he’d ever seen.

By his side, it was obvious that the other two didn’t feel any of the same qualms.
“Ach,
we’ll be eating well for weeks to come,” Jonathan chortled. “It is a
gut
day.”

Henry grinned. “You’ve brought us luck, Levi Bender. Never before have we gotten so lucky on the hunt.”

“I don’t know if I’ve brought you luck or not. I’ve never been hunting before.”

“Well, you have now!” Jonathan slapped Henry on the back as Levi offered his congratulations. “That’s a right
gut
buck.”

Henry grinned. “Perfect for Christmas dinner.” Bending down, he examined the deer carefully. “Anna’s going to be so pleased.”

“Not if she sees it in this state!” Jonathan laughed. “She’ll be scolding you something fierce, I imagine. She’s got a soft spot for all the Lord’s beautiful creatures.”

“No doubt Katie will turn it into another lesson,” Henry agreed, his eyes shining. “To hear her talk, my sister is the authority on all things Amish.”

Levi was confused. “Why in the world would Katie be giving a lesson on deer hunting? Or on anything Amish to Anna?”

“Because Anna didn’t grow up Amish. Actually, she
wasn’t Amish until recently. Until then, her chicken was wrapped in plastic and frozen at the grocery store,” responded Henry.

“And she’d never eaten deer—she said the animals were too pretty to eat,” added Jonathan.

“I’m afraid I’m not much more of a hunter than Anna is. But I’m willing to learn. How do you intend to get this animal back home?”

“First we must dress it here,” John Brenneman said, taking a knife out of a worn leather scabbard. “We’ll remove what we won’t use, bury it, and then prepare to carry our prize home.”

Jonathan whistled low. “To carefully carry it home.”

Levi pretended his stomach didn’t turn somersaults as John carefully made an incision along the deer’s belly and then proceeded to gut the poor animal.

But he didn’t think the other men were fooled for one second. It was a difficult thing, to take another animal’s life. But it was also the way of the world. The deer meat would not be wasted. And the time they spent hunting and preparing it for eating wouldn’t be forgotten, either.

Henry slapped him on the back. “You doing all right, there, Levi? You’re looking a bit green.”

“I am.” He smiled weakly. “It’s quite a sight, though. I’m afraid I’m almost as squeamish as a girl.”

“Not quite. My Anna would be in tears by now, I’ll tell you that. If she had her way, we’d have a salt lick outside for the deer and she’d be giving them names. She’s right fond of them.”

“It’s
gut
she didn’t go with us, then.”

“You have no idea.” Henry looked over and smiled. “My
daed
has our deer ready now. Let’s cart this beast home and show the women,
jah?”

“I’ll be glad to help carry it.”

Thankful that he wore gloves, Levi stood where Henry placed him and helped pick up the animal after they carefully wrapped a tarp around it.

The deer was a good size—at least two hundred pounds. But between the four of them its weight wasn’t unbearable. On Sam’s count of three, they hefted the animal and started toward home.

The cold temperatures helped with the bleeding, but being what it was, blood on their clothes couldn’t be helped. “We’re making a real mess of you, Levi.”

“It’s true. I hope there’s a place I can do laundry.”

“Don’t be silly. If the women are washing our shirts and pants, they can wash yours, too. After all, the mess is for a good cause, yes?”

Grinning, Levi nodded. Though he wasn’t sure if he was a fan of hunting, he was enjoying the exercise and companionship. And the realization that he hadn’t thought of Rosanna in almost three hours.

December 21, 5:00
P.M.

“The men are back,” the littlest of the two girls—Hannah, Melody thought she was named—called out. “They’re back and they’ve brought us home a deer!”

As Melody heard the multiple exclamations and watched
members of the family go racing outside, she retreated to the back of the entryway. From there it was easy to view things and, surprisingly, too, easy to blend in with the surroundings. People walked by with intent to get somewhere, and seemed to only imagine she was busy, too.

Melody almost felt herself smiling as she spied the hunters’ proud expressions. Oh, but they looked full of themselves, like they’d just saved the area from the fearful threat of a wayward buck!

Almost as comical were the expressions of their womenfolk. Mrs. Brenneman, especially, seemed to be wavering between excitement and exasperation—of both having fresh venison for Christmas dinner and the experience to know of the enormous amount of work that was going to take place in order to store the deer meat for the winter.

Melody was just wondering where to go next when Levi entered, his cheeks ruddy from the cold.

As soon as he saw her, he hesitated. “You ought to come out and see our prize. It’s quite a sight.”

She hugged her stomach. “Oh, I don’t think so. I feel queasy enough these days without looking at a dead animal.”

To her surprise, instead of looking uncomfortable at the mention of her pregnancy, he chuckled. “I know what you mean. Rosanna had a terrible time with some smells. Why, it didn’t matter whether an egg was boiled or fried, she could hardly stand the sight of it.”

Melody didn’t know who Rosanna was, but he was so touchy about his personal life, she didn’t dare ask. “Eggs haven’t bothered me none. Only raw meat. But did you enjoy yourself?”

“You know what? I did. We hiked quite a bit, it was
gut
exercise. It’s chilly out, though. I hope they have some coffee here.”

“I just saw Anna put out some fresh cookies and coffee on the sideboard in the dining room.”

His eyes lit up. “As soon as I clean up, that’s where I’m headed.” He paused. “In twenty minutes or so, once I’ve gotten fit for company again … would you care to join me?”

“You wouldn’t mind?” She didn’t know if she was more surprised by his offer or her willingness to accept it.

“I wouldn’t mind at all. As a matter of fact, I would welcome your company.”

As she stood there next to him, she became suddenly very aware of his gaze. Of his shy, reticent manner. Melody felt another startling pull toward him. “Then I will save you a seat in the living room.”