A Daughter's Dream (16 page)

P
roving that Lukas could rise to any occasion, he smiled like he didn't have a care in the world when he opened the door. “Good evening,” he said easily.
“Wilcom
.
”

“Good evening to you, Lukas,” Mr. Yoder said as he entered, followed by Mrs. Yoder, Lilly, and at last Jacob, who was carrying an enormous basket.

Eager to put her little argument with Lukas behind her, too, Rebecca hugged Lilly and smiled fondly at Jacob.

As Darla led the group into the gathering room, Mrs. Yoder stopped and stared at the table. “Look at the tablecloth! And the fancy glasses and dishes, too! And the flowers in the center! It looks so pretty.”

“Danke,”
Darla said.

“You shouldn't have gone to so much trouble.”

Lukas met Rebecca's gaze. “See,” he teased. “The girls were busy all afternoon, fixing everything up just right.”

“We had fun,” Rebecca said.

“I bet,” Mrs. Yoder remarked. “It makes me feel special, indeed.”

Amelia, Rebecca, and Darla all started laughing at once.

“What's so funny?” Lilly asked.

“Only that this table has been a source of conversation for the last hour,” Rebecca explained.

When Lilly still looked confused, her grandmother wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come into the kitchen, child. There, I'll tell you all about what getting ready for dinner guests means to men . . . and women. They are two mighty different things, for sure.”

At last, Rebecca's spirits lifted. Things might go just fine after all.

W
HEN THE MEN
were alone, they sat down in the living room and talked about the mill and the latest crops. Oscar waddled in, eyed Jacob's
daed
, then jumped on the couch next to him.

To Jacob's surprise, his father held the puppy with ease, cuddling him close. Jacob was about to say something about how everyone seemed to like puppies when he noticed that Lukas was eyeing him in a completely new way. An almost suspicious way.

“Rebecca was eager for you all to arrive,” he said.

“We were looking forward to the meal as well,” Jacob said stiffly.

“Huh,” Lukas said.

Eager to move the conversation forward, Jacob gestured toward the large fireplace in the center of the room. Its face was made of limestone and its mantel looked to have come from a redwood trunk. It was smooth and gorgeous. A true focal point.

It also looked like it had been in place for decades.

“That's a fine-looking piece of wood,” he said. “Redwood?”

His expression relaxing, Lukas nodded. “It is. My grandfather had it shipped out by train almost fifty years ago. The story goes
that it took him and three of his friends to wrestle that trunk into his shop and slice it in half. Then weeks to sand and polish it until it was good enough for my grandmother.”

“It's big, I'll give you that,” Jacob's
daed
said. “I bet your
dawdi
needed half the workers at the mill to cart it in here and put it in place.”

Lukas laughed. “Just about.”

“Did you grow up in this
haus
, Lukas? Or did your grandparents stay here while you lived elsewhere?” Jacob asked.

“
Nee
, I grew up here. When my mother married, she and Daed elected not to build a
dawdi
haus
for my grandparents, even though they said they wouldn't mind moving into one.” Looking reflective, Lukas added, “My mother wanted to live close to her parents, and my father, well, he liked my mother happy.”

“Sounds like he was a smart man,” Jacob's
daed
said.

Lukas grinned. “He was. But I think he enjoyed everyone living under one roof. My siblings and I sure did.” Resting his elbows on his knees, he said, “We made a lot of good memories here. Someone was always around and had plans for the rest of us. We were a noisy lot.” He paused, then shook his head. “It's hard to believe there are only four of us in the house now.”

“More family will come in time,” Jacob's father said. “Before you know it, you'll have more feet running down the halls. It's the way of it.”

Lukas nodded. “I know you're right. God provides what we need when the time is right.”

Until that moment, Jacob had only thought of Lukas as the owner of an extremely successful business. Lukas's admission about all he had lost made him seem more approachable. He
was starting to understand Rebecca's loyalty—not just to him but their company, too. The Kinsingers weren't just close; their lives intertwined.

It was so different from his own upbringing. He and Marc had always gotten along, but Jacob had never considered them especially close. But maybe that was his fault? After all, when his parents had yearned to return to Ohio, Marc had gone with them, choosing to live close by, too. Jacob had been the family member who had elected to stay in Florida and work in carpentry. He suddenly wondered if he'd made the wrong choice all those years ago.

“That must be quite a feeling, knowing that you are continuing in your father's footsteps,” he said.

To his surprise, instead of nodding, Lukas rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. “To be honest, I don't know if I am following in Daed's footsteps or not. My father was a wonderful man. I am . . . Well, I am simply trying to do my best.”

“Your father would've been proud of you,” his
daed
said.

Lukas stared at him. “You think so?”

“I know so. Don't forget, I grew up in Charm and knew your father well. You are right, he was a
gut
man. Everyone respected him.”

“Truly?”

“Absolutely. Well, except for when we all went fishing together.” Shaking his head sadly, Jacob's
daed
said, “I'm sorry to tell ya, son, but your father was a terrible fisherman. Talked nonstop, he did.”

Lukas laughed. “You're right. My friend Roman told me that they'd only ask Daed to fish on every other trip.”

“That sounds about right,” his father said with a grin.

Lukas studied him. “I'm sorry, but I wasn't under the impression that you and Daed had been close. I guess since you didn't work at the mill I figured you two didn't know each other well.”

“I never worked for him, but we visited with each other at church for decades.” He stretched out his legs. “Church is the great equalizer,
jah
? There, we're all the same in each other's hearts.”

“I suspect that is true.” Lukas exhaled. “
Danke
for sharing some of your memories with me.”

“No need to offer thanks. I miss him, too, son. It brings me pleasure to talk about him.”

Looking a bit overcome with emotion, Lukas smiled tightly. Then, with a sigh, he turned to Jacob. “Before we join the women, I'm simply going to ask. Are you courting my sister?”

Jacob didn't know whether to burst out laughing or answer as quickly as possible. He decided on the latter. “I'm hoping to.”

“Hoping?”

“Rebecca is a busy gal. I'm trying to wedge myself into her life. At the moment, I'm only getting to walk her places. But I intend to push her a bit.”

Lukas looked thoroughly confused. “Why do you want to do such a thing?”

“Have you seen your sister?” his father interjected. “She's a fetching thing.”

Jacob groaned. “Daed, stop.”

“I don't lie. She's pretty.”

“I know that. But that don't mean you need to notice it.” Glancing Lukas's way, Jacob said, “I'm sorry. I hold your sister in high esteem. I hope I have your blessing to court her.”

Lukas's blue eyes danced. “I, uh, recently became aware that I need to sometimes be my sisters' brother and not makeshift guardian. If Becky means that much to you, I wish you well.”

“Danke.”

After glancing at the closed kitchen door, Lukas lowered his voice. “And if I could, let me tell you a secret.”

“Jah?”

“Take her to the pond on the outskirts of our property. It's her favorite spot.”

“She's fond of water?”

Lukas winked. “
Nee
. She's fond of turtles.”

As luck would have it, all the women came in just then.

Lilly looked the most puzzled. “Who's fond of turtles, Dawdi?”

“Rebecca.” Smiling broadly, his father added, “We've had quite a lively discussion out here. All kinds of things are being discussed.”

Jacob inwardly groaned. His father couldn't keep a single conversation to himself.

Looking as awkward as Jacob felt, Lukas climbed to his feet. “Before things get any livelier, I think this conversation should move on.” Turning to face the women, he said, “Amelia, please tell me that it's time to eat.”

“It is, thank goodness. Come to the table everyone.”

As they crossed the room to take their seats, Jacob caught up to Rebecca, who looked beyond embarrassed.

Fearing she blamed him for talking about her, he leaned close. “I'm sorry. I don't know how your name came up. But I promise, nothing bad was said. We meant no disrespect.”

“I'm certainly not upset with you. Besides, I'm the one who should be apologizing to you, Jacob. Lukas sometimes takes his job as an older brother too seriously.”

“He can ask me all the questions he would like. It ain't going to bother me none.”

“Why is that?”

“You know why. Because I do want to court you. What's more, I'm planning to tell you that after supper on your front porch.”

She giggled. “You're going to take me out to the front porch, just as if we are teenagers?”

“Of course, Becky. Why should they have all the fun?”

She giggled again, just as Lukas scowled over at them. “Are you two going to join us at this fancy setup so we can pray and eat?”

Rebecca tossed her head. “We're on our way, Luke. Settle down.”

Monday, September 21

J
acob considered himself to be a fairly smart man. He also considered himself to be a person who didn't let a good opportunity pass him by. That was why he strode into the main office two days after Lukas had told him about Rebecca's favorite spot.

She was sitting behind her desk, sorting through papers while Simon and a young woman argued with each other and her.

“Mercy, you need to own up to your mistakes,” Simon said. “You got my order wrong. Just admit it, then we can move on.”

“I didn't make any mistakes. There's nothing to admit.”

“Actually, there kind of is,” Rebecca interjected. “At the moment, we have three thousand extra three-inch nails.”

Simon crossed his arms over his chest. “Which is why Mercy needs to call them up and fix things.”

When Mercy raised her chin and looked prepared to plead
her case again, Rebecca said quickly, “It ain't that easy, Simon. They might not accept any returns.”

“Then she better get on the phone.” He glared at Mercy. “I'm hoping you can handle
that
phone call.”

Mercy placed her hands on her hips. “I can handle it just fine. But this ain't my mistake. It's yours, Simon. I said exactly what you told me to say. Either you gave me the wrong number or the distributer sent more than I ordered. It weren't me.”

Wearily, Rebecca looked from Simon to Mercy. “Someone needs to get those extra boxes out of Warehouse One. Jackson is going to have a fit when he comes in tomorrow and he can't do inventory.”

Simon pointed to the phone. “Then I guess you better handle it.”

Jacob had heard enough. Though he was the new guy at Kinsinger's, he'd had a lot of experience working on crews that played pass the buck. He certainly wasn't going to let it play out in front of him at Rebecca's expense.

Stepping forward, he said, “It's five o'clock, Rebecca. Pack up your things, it's time to go.”

She blinked at him owlishly. “What?”

“You heard me. You
know
we have plans. Don't make us late.”

Simon narrowed his eyes. “Excuse me, uh, Jacob, but we're in the middle of something here.”

“Oh?” Keeping his voice firm, he asked, “Do
you
have plans at five o'clock?”

Simon blinked. “Well,
nee
.”

“
Gut
, then you and Mercy can straighten it out. Rebecca is leaving.”

Mercy stepped forward, a look of panic in her eyes. “But she handles things like this all the time. Rebecca, can't you—”

“She can't. Plus, she shouldn't have to. I don't know which one of you made the mistake, but it sure wasn't her. Fix it without her.”

“I hope wherever you're going is important,” Simon said around a sigh.

To Jacob's amusement, Rebecca was already standing up, purse in hand. “I'm sorry. It is. It's terribly important.” Looking at both disgruntled parties, she frowned. “
Danke
for taking care of those nails. The invoice with all the phone numbers is right there.” Walking to Jacob's side, she smiled. “Sorry to make you wait. I'm ready.”

Jacob rested his palm on her back and guided her out of the office. After they'd turned the corner, he couldn't hide his grin. “You did a
gut
job getting out of there.”

“Any chance you want to tell me why I just lied to two of my coworkers? Where are we going?”

“Your favorite place.”

She stopped. “What place is that?”

“The pond. You, Rebecca Kinsinger, are going to take me to the pond, sit with me on the bank, and show me those turtles.”

“That's why you pulled me out of there?”

“I pulled you away because they were taking advantage of you and I got tired of it.”

She bit her lip. “I hope Simon and Mercy never find out what we're doing. They would be so mad.”

“You can't take on everyone's problems. Not at home or here at work.” When she still looked unsure, he gentled his voice. “Remember when you said that you'd like to start thinking more about yourself?”

“I remember,” she said softly. Pointing to a small street, she said, “Let's go through here. It's a shortcut.”

He slowed his pace and started asking her about the rest of her day. As they walked down the street, turned, then started across a field, she talked. Then she asked him about his day. And then she simply looked at ease.

When the pond was in view, she sighed in contentment. “Here we are.”

He reached for her hand. “It's pretty.”

“You really think so? Levi always says it's a pretty boring little pond.”

Jacob reckoned Levi was right. It was just a little body of water. It wasn't terribly picturesque and neither were the trees that surrounded half of it, but what was mesmerizing was the look of, well, glee on Rebecca's face as they got closer.

“Oh, Jake, look! They're out!” She dropped his hand and rushed forward. Then, like a child, she flopped down on a thick log that someone years ago had rolled on its side and placed next to the water.

“Do you see them? Aren't they adorable?”

Making himself turn away from her, he sat down on the log beside her and looked at the little line of green turtles on a fallen tree branch in the middle of the pond.

There had to be at least ten of them in a row. What was amazing was that they were all facing the same direction. Each one was facing Rebecca. Almost as if they'd been looking for her.

“Do they do this every time you come out?” he asked.

“Do what?”

“Line up and face you?” He held his breath, half waiting for her to chide him. Saying that they were simply sunning.

But instead, she nodded, her blue eyes still glowing like she was witnessing a miracle. “Pretty much.”

“I'm glad we came, then,” he said softly. Because he was.

He wouldn't have missed this moment for the world.

Because, right at that moment, with ten tiny turtles looking on, he'd just fallen completely, unabashedly, head-over-heels in love.