A Bee in Her Bonnet (29 page)

She placed her good hand on the side of his face. He thought he might dissolve into the gravel at his feet. “I'll tell you what,” she said. “I'll race you to the bridge. If you win, I'll marry you.”

“And if you win?”

She grinned. “Then you'll marry me.”

He'd never felt so gloriously happy, like he could run and never get tired. He pretended to calculate the odds in his head. “I can live with that.” He took her hand in his. “May I escort you to the finish line?”

They strolled to the bridge, which wasn't much of a walk from the honey house but still slow going for Poppy since she limped all the way. Luke made a point to take a decisive step on the bridge before Poppy did. “I win,” he said. “Does that mean you marry me or I marry you?”

“Jah,”
she said, her smile lighting up the dimming sky.

He gave her another kiss. Every cell in his body seemed to come alive. Had he ever known real happiness before this moment?

Something pricked his ankle, and he looked down to see Billy Idol trying to claw his way up Luke's trousers. The stupid cat.

Poppy giggled. “Why he likes you, I'll never know.”

Luke growled in mock indignation. “Oh, really? What do you know? You never did like me all that much.”

She tilted her face to his, inviting him in for another kiss. “I still don't like you, Luke Bontrager, but somebody's got to make the sacrifice and marry you. I'd hate for you to end up a bachelor.”

He chuckled before kissing her again. His legs got wobbly.

“Kissing is not allowed on this farm. You'll scare the bees.” Bitsy stood in the lane, grasping her two fire extinguishers and eyeing them with raised brows.

Ignoring Billy Idol, who was still climbing up his trousers, Luke braced his arm firmly around Poppy's shoulders and grinned. Poppy grinned right back.

“Bitsy, I touched Poppy's leg a few minutes ago. I think I need to marry her.”

Bitsy smirked. “It's up to Poppy. Ever since you've started coming around, you've been nothing but trouble. Poppy is missing a thumbnail. She has a new scar, a nasty bruise on her face, and a broken hand. And she had to get a tetanus shot. At the rate she's going, she'll end up in a wheelchair at her own wedding.”

Poppy nudged closer to Luke and smiled up at him as if he was the whole world. He thought he might burst. “I love him, B. I'll take my chances.”

“Well, don't say I didn't warn you,” Bitsy said as she turned and walked toward the house. “And, Luke, you have a cat crawling up your leg.” Luke thought he might have seen the faintest of smiles on her lips—either a smile or a painful grimace. He couldn't be sure.

Maybe he didn't want to know.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Poppy kept glancing out the kitchen window as she helped Lily and Rose roll out cookie dough. Luke would be here any minute, and she thought she might go crazy with anticipation.

“Poppy, that will never do,” Lily said.

Poppy tore her gaze from the window. Her dough ball was the size of a lemon, sitting like a giant on the cookie sheet, overseeing all the normal-sized cookies.
“Ach,”
she said. “It's hard with only one hand.” It was a
gute
thing she hadn't been the one to read the recipe or measure the ingredients. She couldn't concentrate on anything but the heavenly thought of seeing Luke.

“I think she's a little distracted today,” Rose said, smiling and picking up Poppy's mammoth ball of dough. “I'll fix it.”

Lily's grin matched Rose's. “He's so handsome, Poppy.”

“And so nice,” Rose added.

“And too big for his britches,” Aunt B chimed in. She sat at the table with a cotton ball and some fingernail polish remover, trying to take off the stubborn black nail polish she'd worn for two weeks. It wasn't going well. Even after she removed the polish, her fingernails looked dirty, as if she hadn't washed her hands for days. “I'll have Luke whipped into shape before the wedding.”

The wedding.

The thought stole Poppy's breath. She was going to marry Luke Bontrager, the most
wunderbarr
boy in the whole world. Was there ever a girl so blessed? Surely not even Lily could be as happy as Poppy. Dan was a fine young man, but Luke was everything a girl could want. He was handsome and kind and stubborn, and she could barely keep herself from laughing at the pure joy of being the one he'd chosen. No wonder Dinah Eicher hated her so much.

Lily rolled another ball of cookie dough in the cinnamon and sugar. “Luke will be happy about a double wedding, won't he?”

“Of course. Dan is his best friend. He'll love the idea.”

Lily curled her lips and eyed Rose. “Now we just need to find a husband for Rose. Wouldn't a triple wedding be wonderful-
gute
?”

“There's no hurry,” Aunt B said, concentrating very hard on her fingernails. “I don't think I can bear having another boy loitering around the house. They're a lot more trouble than they're worth.” She pointed a finger at Rose. “Don't feed anybody.”

Rose turned a bright shade of pink to match their barn door. “I don't dare talk to a boy.”

“You have no trouble talking to Luke and Dan,” Lily said. “And Luke is about the most frightening boy you'll ever meet.”

Poppy raised an eyebrow at Lily. “That's my fiancé you're talking about.”

Rose placed another ball of cookie dough on the sheet. “I knew Luke had a
gute
heart and that he was the perfect match for you. I was never afraid of him.”

“The perfect match? He hated me.”

“Nae,”
Rose said. “He just needed to get to know you. I knew he'd fall in love.”

Lily opened the oven and slid the full cookie sheet inside. “We just need to find the perfect match for you.”

Rose frowned. “I wouldn't know the first thing about getting a husband. It terrifies me.”

Aunt B was on her seventh cotton ball. “You won't have to
get
a husband. Unfortunately, the boys who are interested will come to you. And eat all our food.”

“I hate to put anyone to so much work,” Rose said, looking increasingly troubled.

Lily put both her arms around Rose. “Don't spend a single minute worrying about it. Falling in love should not be scary. If it happens, it will happen naturally.”

“Gute,”
Rose said. “I don't have to have a husband at all.”

“Jah,”
Aunt B said. “Being an old maid has its advantages. I don't have to share the covers when I sleep.”

Three strong raps came at the door. Poppy's heart galloped as if no one had ever come to the door before in her life. She dropped her cookie dough back in the bowl, wiped her hand, and ran to the door. Luke stood on the other side holding a kitten and a drill and smiling as if he couldn't stop himself.

She stepped outside, closed the door behind her, and since his arms were full, threw one arm around his neck and kissed him. He didn't object.
Ach.
She felt like a sliver of light floating across the sky. She loved him to the bottom of her toes.

“If you do that every day,” he said, “I think I will die of happiness before my next birthday.”

“Me too.”

He held up the drill. “I thought you and I could do a little drilling together today.”

She loved that he trusted her to use a drill safely. “Sounds like a fun activity. Did you bring the kitten to keep us company?” Poppy stroked her finger along the orange ball of fur.

Luke smiled sheepishly. “The kitten is a present for Bitsy.”

Poppy shook her head. “She won't accept it.”

“I know. I'm hoping Rose will butter her up.” He opened the front door and motioned for Poppy to go in first.

“Luke,” Lily and Rose said at the same time.

Aunt B groaned. “I suppose you'll want to stay for dinner.”

Billy Idol started hissing at Luke the moment they entered the house. Luke laid his drill on the table and scooped Billy Idol into his free hand. Billy Idol immediately stopped hissing, but he still wore the scowl on his face. Luke showed Billy Idol the new kitten. “This is Fluffy. Poppy saved her from the ditch, and now she needs a new home. Honeybee Farm needs another cat, don't you agree?”

Aunt B tightened the lid on her polish remover and grunted derisively. “Luke Bontrager, if you think I'm going to let another cat into my house, then you breathed in a little too much smoke yesterday. Farrah Fawcett and Billy Idol are trouble enough.”

From her comfortable pillow on the window seat, Farrah Fawcett eyed Aunt B, Luke, and the new kitten with haughty indifference. She'd borne the indignity of Billy Idol in the house. She probably wasn't eager for a pesky kitten to invade her space.

“My
mamm
says we can't keep all four cats, and Dorothy and Joann would be devastated if we took it to the pound.” The kitten, obviously sensing some resistance, mewed pathetically and looked at Aunt B with those big, blue, captivating eyes.

Aunt B folded her arms. “Absolutely not.”

“Male or female,” Rose said.

Luke nodded. “Female.”

Rose cleaned off her fingers and took the kitten from Luke's hand. “
Ach
, what a beautiful kitty,” she said, nuzzling the kitten against her cheek and cooing softly. “Aunt B, we have to keep this cat. Poppy saved it from the ditch. Do you want her dislocated shoulder to be in vain?”

“We've got lots of room, Aunt B,” Poppy said. “And lots of mice to go around.”

Aunt B seemed to dig in her heels as she sat there. “We don't need another cat.”

“
Jah
, we do,” Lily said. “Billy Idol could use some help keeping the mice out of the beehives when winter hits, and there are ever so many grasshoppers in the garden.”

Aunt B pushed her lips to one side of her face. “Cats don't eat grasshoppers.”

“She's pretty too, and she needs us. How sad to be an orphan with no one in the whole world to care for you,” Rose said.

Aunt B twitched at the mention of orphans. Lily, Poppy, and Rose were orphans. Aunt B had taken them in out of the goodness of her heart. Poppy thanked the
gute
Lord every day that Dawdi Sol, with his harsh version of life, hadn't raised her.

“Please, Aunt Bitsy,” Rose said. She put the kitten on the table so Aunt B could get a closer look. “Please let us keep this sweet little orphan cat.”

Aunt B slumped her shoulders, grunted, and huffed a breath so forcefully that she stirred up a breeze in the kitchen. “I'm turning into a cat lady.”

Rose clapped her hands, snatched the cat from the table, and hugged it to her breast. Poppy and Lily cheered. Luke gave Aunt B one of his best smiles. “
Denki
, Bitsy. I know she'll have a
gute
home.”

Aunt B waved her hand in his direction. “You don't care about a
gute
home. You just want to get rid of those cats.”

Luke merely grinned and took his drill from the table. “I hate to leave you just as we're getting to know the new cat, but Poppy and I are going to fix the fire damage on the honey house. It shouldn't take too long.” A shadow crossed his face. “I wish we could find who did it and make them stop. I don't like how close Poppy came to getting hurt.”

“I invited the sheriff by this morning,” Aunt B said. “He poked around in the ashes but didn't find anything important.”

“I'm going to tell you plainly,” Luke said, glancing at Rose. “I'm worried about it. You all need to be more careful. Never go out of the house alone.”

“Unless we have the shotgun,” Lily said.

“As frightening as it was, I don't think they meant to burn the honey house down,” Aunt B said.

“Why do you say that?”

“They piled that fire with things that would burn slow and make a lot of smoke. They wanted to scare us but not necessarily burn anything down. Maybe whoever it is has a conscience after all.”

Luke took Poppy's hand right there in plain sight of Aunt B. “You give them too much credit, Bitsy. Someone who scares four women living alone doesn't have a conscience.”

“We still need to do our best to forgive them,” Rose said. “And pray they will leave us alone from now on.”

Aunt B looked up at the ceiling. “Lord, I'm still waiting for that yeast infection for Paul Glick and the troublemakers, and I don't much like Luke holding hands with my niece.”

Nothing Aunt B said ruffled Luke. He didn't let go of Poppy's hand.
Ach
, he didn't even have to look at her to make her heart race.

“Do you really think Paul Glick is mad enough to try to have Poppy shunned? His
dat
is one of the ministers,” Rose said.

Aunt B nodded. “He's already tried. I had a visit from the deacon this morning.”

Luke squeezed Poppy's hand, and his eyes flashed with concern. “What did he say?”

“I wasn't expecting him, and I still had my black fingernail polish on, so I slipped on two oven mitts and wore them the whole time he was here. My hands got really hot, but at least he couldn't chastise me for wearing nail polish.”

“Is Poppy going to be shunned?” Luke asked. “Because if she is, they will have to shun me too.”

Aunt B pushed air out between her lips. “Stuff and nonsense. I explained to him all about Griff Simons. He was very understanding and said if it had been his daughters, he might have been tempted to do the same thing. He was more concerned about the honey. Paul says we cheated him.”

“Jah,”
Lily said, her expression in shadows. “He's been spreading that all over the community.”

Aunt B swatted away Lily's concern. “I explained as best I could without saying any bad words about Paul. The deacon understood. Shunning is done out of love and a need for correction. You girls have done nothing wrong. The deacon agreed that none of you needed correction, and he didn't get a glimpse of my nail polish. We'll be fine.”

“Did the polish help you think of a
gute
idea for your book?” Luke asked.

“I've given up on writing a Mennonite vampire romance. The Mennonites are very nice people, and I wouldn't want to offend them. We'll have to come up with another way to pay for two weddings.”

Poppy pulled closer to Luke, who was still holding her hand. “We want to have a double wedding. Me and Lily. Is that all right with you?”

“Don't ask what he wants,” Aunt B said. “The groom should keep any opinions to himself. The wedding is for the bride.”

Luke looked at Aunt B, then Poppy. “She's right. I should keep my mouth shut.”

“I'm liking you better and better,” Aunt B said.

Poppy tugged at his hand. “But I want it to be okay with you.” Especially since Aunt B was planning fireworks for the wedding. Luke needed to be prepared.

He gave her a heavenly smile. “I wouldn't want anything else.”

She thought she might faint. Or fly. Or float. Her happiness overflowed to fill the entire house. She would be Luke Bontrager's wife.
Oy
, anyhow!

Aunt B breathed deep. “It's going to be a big event. We've got to come up with a way to make some money. Maybe we could start by selling the cats.”

Lily gasped in mock horror. “I'd be desolate without Farrah Fawcett.”

Luke held Billy Idol up so they were face-to-face. “I won't let that mean lady sell you,” he said, talking to Billy Idol as if he were a baby. That cat had wheedled his way into Luke's heart.

Rose hugged the kitten against her neck. “You can't sell Fluffy either.”

Aunt B threw up her hands. “All right. I won't sell the cats, but if that kitten is going to be living with us, she'll have to be renamed. Fluffy is no name for a cat.”

Luke placed Billy Idol on the floor and winked at Poppy. “We should get to work. There's no telling how much time we'll need to repair the honey house.”

Aunt B shot darts at Luke with her eyes. “You're too cheerful for your own good, Luke Bontrager. No kissing behind the honey house.”

Luke gave her a look of wide-eyed innocence. “Would you prefer we kiss in front of the honey house?”