A Husband For Mari (The Amish Matchmaker 2) (9 page)

* * *

As it turned out, Zachary didn’t go with her to James’s house for supper. Hannah Yoder was having some of her grandchildren over for an evening of homemade soup, corn muffins and apple pie. Zachary had explained after coming home his second day at the Amish school that they would make popcorn balls and hot cocoa the old-fashioned way at Hannah’s and he didn’t want to miss it. ’Kota, J.J. and Jonah would be there as well as a few boys from school. Anna’s twins, who were older, were coming over to walk with him to Hannah’s house and see him safely back to Sara’s. Mari tried to explain to Zachary that he was expected to dinner at James’s sister’s house, but he couldn’t be swayed. He really wanted to be with the other boys.

What could she do? She let him go.

“Don’t worry about him,” James said after she climbed into his buggy and explained why Zachary wasn’t accepting Mattie’s invitation. “Hannah will keep an eye on him. He won’t get into any trouble on her watch. You want him to make friends, don’t you?”

“I’m just amazed, I guess,” she confessed. “In the community where I grew up, we never played with English kids. And we certainly didn’t have English kids at school with us. Having worldly friends wasn’t encouraged.”

James snapped the leathers over his horse’s back. “Walk on,” he said to Jericho. And then to her, “But Zachary is a special case, isn’t he? You were raised in the faith. According to our tradition, that makes your boy one of us, whether he likes it or not. In our eyes, he’s no different than the other children in our community, because none of the children are baptized.”

Neither of them said anything after that, and for a few minutes there was only the comforting rhythm of Jericho’s ironclad hooves striking the blacktop. A few snowflakes were drifting down like confetti. The air was crisp and cold, and the quiet of the countryside surrounded them like a velvet cloak. It seemed nice to Mari to just be able to ride in silence with James. There was something comforting about their quiet companionship, something she didn’t quite understand.

“So how did the twins’ appointment go?” Mari asked.

“Great.” He grinned. “The boys are fine. Hearing is fine. No need to see the specialist again.”

“That must be a relief,” she said. Then, after a few minutes, “I was thinking this morning. Do you know that no one here has asked me about Zachary’s father?”

“They won’t.” He uttered a muffled grunt of amusement. “Well, Addy’s mother, Martha, might, but no one would expect you to answer her.” He cut his eyes at her. “Has anyone warned you about Martha?”

“Sort of. Gideon said if she came into the shop, let her have anything she wanted, free of charge. And not to do anything to ruffle her feathers.”

“Smart man, Gideon. It’s why he gets on so well with his in-laws. So long as Martha does nothing to upset Addy or cause trouble between him and his wife, Gideon lets Martha have her druthers.”

“So Martha’s something of a character, is she?”

She could see him grinning in the darkness. “You could say that. Gideon once told me that he suspects she eats unripe persimmons. Otherwise, she couldn’t come up with all the sour things she has to say about her relatives and neighbors. But he says she has a good heart—she just doesn’t realize that some of the things she says can be hurtful.”

“It’s hard for me to believe that there’s not more than a little whispering going on about me. I’m a woman alone with a son. I know Amish. They’re as human as anyone else, and, religious or not, they like to gossip.”

“Some do,” he admitted. “But we’ve all made mistakes. And Sara likes you. Gideon and Addy praise your work. And anyone who disagreed with them would have to face down Ellie. She’s quite an ally.”

“She is, isn’t she?” Mari smiled at the thought. Ellie was probably one of the best friends she’d ever had. It seemed to have happened overnight. And so easily. She glanced at James. “What about you? Have you wondered about Zachary’s father?”

James shrugged. “None of my business. I figured if you want me to know, you’ll tell me. I gather he’s not really part of Zachary’s life.”

“No. He died.” She let out a long breath, realizing that it felt good to confide in James. She waited for the old hurt to twist in the pit of her stomach, but all she felt was a twinge of sadness and regret for Ivan’s passing. “He was Amish,” she said. “We made a mistake and we ran away together, but he wasn’t prepared for the outside world. He had a harder time adjusting than I did, maybe because he’d been baptized and he knew there was no going back.”

“Mari, it’s okay,” James said quietly. “There’s no need for you to share this with me.”

She swallowed. “I don’t mind. I...I’d like to tell you.” He didn’t say anything, just waited patiently, so she went on, “We were both young. I thought I was in love. Things just went too fast. We made some impulsive decisions. Then we had a new life to be responsible for. That was too much for Ivan. He turned wild. Fell in with the wrong crowd and did things I couldn’t accept.”

“He ran out on you.”

She shook her head. “Not with other girls. He wasn’t like that. He had a good heart in spite of his immaturity. But the things he was doing, the people he brought to our place? I didn’t want them around our child.”

“So you took on the full responsibility for yourself and your baby?”

“He left when I was seven months along. I tried to contact him when Zachary was born, but I think he was in jail. I never saw him again.” She closed her eyes. “It was Sara who wrote to me and told me about the accident. Zachary was about four. Ivan and another ex-Amish boy were killed in a car accident. Ivan was driving.”

James turned the horse off the road and onto his lane. “I’m so sorry, Mari. It must have been terrible for you.”

“Terrible that I was so stupid, that I’d allowed such a thing to happen, that I’d left everything I knew and cared for behind. If Ivan and I had stayed, made confession and been forgiven, I’m afraid it would have been worse. I would have been married to a foolish boy who thought more about a good time than the fact that he was going to be a father.”

“You told me that you went back to your uncle’s that one time. Did you ever think about trying it again? Maybe going to some other member of the community?”

“I did.” She sighed. “A couple of times...maybe a lot of times. But I was stubborn and proud. And I could never have stood in the church and said I had sinned and regretted what I’d done. My son isn’t a mistake. He’s good and pure and the most decent thing in my life.”

“The faith can be hard to live by, but we really do believe in forgiveness. In God’s mercy. In His love. I don’t think anyone could expect you to deny your son’s worth.”

“My uncle did. He said the only way I could come back was to send him away, to let him be adopted by a married couple. Somewhere far away, where I’d never see him again. I couldn’t do it. I
wouldn’t
do it. So my aunt and uncle crossed my name out of the family Bible and said I was dead to them.” Lights from the house grew larger as the horse approached it. She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought all of this up.” She stared out at the gorgeous snowflakes, feeling a strange comfort in the sound of Jericho’s hoofbeats. “I’m not much of a supper guest, am I?”

“We’re friends, Mari, and this is what friends are for, right?” He reached over and patted her hand. “I’m honored that you’d share with me.”

His hand felt good, the warmth, the security of it. But she also took note of the fact that he used the term
friends
. “I just hope we’ll still be friends, now that you know what a wicked woman I am.”

He laughed and took his hand from hers. “Hardly wicked. And don’t worry. I don’t discuss my friends’ personal matters with other people, not even with my sister.” He stopped the buggy at the front of the house. The door opened, and a man and woman stepped out. “There she is. Mattie,” he said. “And her husband, Rupert. He surprised us by showing up this afternoon. You go in and get warm. I’m going to put Jericho in the barn.”

Mari climbed down, and Mattie rushed out to meet her. “Come in—come in,” she said cheerfully.

“Welcome,” Rupert said.

“Everyone else is here,” Mattie bubbled. “Lilly and her cousin can’t wait to meet you. And the children are so excited that their
fadder
is home, they’re worse than usual.”

In minutes, Mari was inside and Rupert had taken her coat. Mattie, a smaller, rounder, ditzy version of James, had led her through the front room and into the kitchen and shown her to a chair at the round table. Scooping up a crying baby, she deposited him into Mari’s arms and introduced Lilly Hershberger and her cousin Calvin, also a Hershberger. When James said Lilly was bringing her cousin, Mari had assumed he meant another girl. Calvin was a very tall, very slim man with yellow-blond hair.

Little William in Mari’s arms was crying so loudly that she could barely hear what Lilly said to her. Trying to settle him, she rested him on her shoulder and bounced him. It felt surprisingly good to have a baby in her arms again.

“Wait,” Mattie said laughing. “Let me trade you. You hold Timothy here. He never cries.” She took a swaddled infant from Lilly and looked down into his face. “Or is this William?” A puzzled expression came over her face. “Lilly, did I tell you this one was Timothy?”

Lilly, who Mari had met at church Sunday, was a very pretty young woman with dimples on each cheek and curly blond hair much lighter than Ellie’s. She laughed. “You said you thought he was Timothy, but you weren’t sure.”

Mattie met her husband’s gaze.

“Don’t look at me.” Rupert grinned, holding up both hands. “You know I can’t tell the twins apart except when you tie ribbons on their wrists.”

James came in through the kitchen door just then.

“Sit there,” Mattie instructed. “Next to Lilly.” She handed him the baby she’d taken from Lilly. “We’re not sure which one he is,” she told James. “I’m going to start putting the food on the table.”

“Can I help?” Lilly asked Mattie, while smiling at James.

“
Ne, ne
, you sit,” Mattie said. The toddler Emanuel crawled out from under the table and seized a hold of his mother’s skirts. “Emanuel. Up on your stool beside your
fadder
. Rupert, can you get him? Where did Roman get to? Roman? Come to the table.” She rushed to the stove and began dishing up bowls of vegetables.

The baby that James was holding opened his eyes and began to whimper. James put him up on his shoulder and began patting the little boy on his back. The baby gave a loud burp.

Everyone laughed.

“I can see you’re an old hand at that,” Lilly said, clearly smitten with James. “You’ll make some woman a
goot
husband.”

Rupert took the now-sleeping baby from Mari’s arms and laid him in a cradle near the stove and came back to retrieve the second twin from James and snuggle him in with his brother. Then Rupert put Roman on a stool beside James and went to help his wife bring the food to the table.

“Wait until you hear our news, James,” Rupert said after he and Mattie had taken their seats and they had shared grace. “My mother has agreed to come live with us.” He took two slices of ham and passed the platter to Calvin. “She’ll be selling her house and helping us with the cost of putting up our cabin. Which means,” he said, exchanging meaningful glances with his wife, “that you’ll have your home to yourself much sooner than you expected.”

Mari met James’s gaze across the table.
See what I’m talking about
, he seemed to be saying. She had to look away to keep from laughing out loud.

Chapter Eight

F
or a second, James didn’t respond to Rupert’s obvious hint that once he and Mattie and the boys were gone, James would be free to bring home a wife. From across the table, he could see that Mari was trying not to laugh, her pretty eyes dancing. He almost started laughing himself, though he didn’t know why. This wasn’t a laughing matter. He really
was
going to have to sit Mattie down and have a talk with her. No underhanded or heavy-handed matchmaking his sister could do was going to sway him. He thought he’d made that clear to her. He wasn’t going to marry Lilly Hershberger or any other girl just to make Mattie happy.

James grinned. “I’m in no hurry to be rid of you,” he told Rupert as he threw out his hand to catch a glass of milk that Roman had just tipped over. James wasn’t fast enough, but fortunately the three-year-old had already drunk most of the milk. James laid his napkin on the puddle as his sister leaped to her feet. “It’s fine,” he said. “I’ve got it.”

“
Ne
, let me.” Lilly offered James her napkin. “Cleaning up after children is women’s work.”

Calvin nodded. “Let her do it, James. It’s always been that way in our family. Plenty of men’s work outside,
ya
?”

“I’d say the wisest thing is that the job should go to whoever’s closest,” James replied. “And the one that will end up with milk in his lap if he doesn’t jump fast.” He chuckled, and the others joined in.

“I’m sorry,” Roman murmured in
Deitsch
.

“No harm done,” James assured his nephew as he eased back into his chair and reached for a bowl of green beans in front of him.

Calvin picked up a serving bowl and held it out to Mari. “Scalloped potatoes?”

“Thanks,” Mari said.

Calvin took a generous helping for himself before passing the dish on to her.

As the evening meal progressed, it didn’t escape James’s notice that Lilly’s cousin Calvin had been admiring Mari since they’d arrived. She had dressed modestly in a dark navy dress that he’d seen her wear before. She had pinned her hair up into a bun at the back of her neck, but she wore no head covering. Not that she should. It was only required for Amish, traditional Mennonites and other religious groups, not the English. But she was wearing nothing revealing, nothing that would not pass a deacon’s scrutiny. She had dark stockings or tights on over her legs and sensible black sneakers. There was no reason for Calvin to keep staring at her, unless he found her attractive.

Not only had Calvin paid more attention to Mari than he should, he’d done a lot of talking to her about his plans to raise ducks commercially and for buying a farm in the area. He’d rambled on at length about the modern house he was looking for, emphasizing that he’d been single long enough and had reached an age to settle down and find a wife.

James glanced at Mari; he hoped she was having a good time. She seemed to like Mattie, and Mattie obviously liked her. If she didn’t, James would have known. His sister was a force to be reckoned with and a woman who liked to have things her way, but in spite of all that he would truly miss her family when they moved into their own house. He loved Mattie and the children dearly, and he was very fond of his brother-in-law. But Mattie never let go of a notion once it had settled over her, and she always had
some
notion.

James took a bite of scalloped potatoes. Calvin was still talking about ducks. It was a shame that he and Lilly were related, because
they
would have suited each other. Calvin and Lilly both liked to talk about themselves best.

Calvin seemed nice enough, but it was obvious that he wasn’t right for Mari. James seriously doubted that Calvin would understand the responsibility that came with taking a wife who had a nine-year-old son. The wrong husband and stepfather, and life would be unhappy for all three of them.

Rupert, probably tired of hearing about ducks, cleared his throat as Calvin took a breath and spoke quickly to get in before Calvin got wound up again. “How’s the addition at Sara Yoder’s going, James?”

“Well.” He nodded, wishing he’d gotten up to get a clean napkin. He hoped he didn’t have any potato in the corner of his mouth. He tried to wipe at it inconspicuously. “I opened the new rooms to the main house this morning.”

“James is a wonderful carpenter.” Lilly beamed at James. “He does beautiful work. Everyone says so.”

“He’s promised to build the cabinets for our new house,” Rupert said. Emanuel chose that moment to slide from his stool to try to dive under the table. His father caught him by the back of the shirt collar and helped him firmly, but gently, back into his seat. “Sit still, son,” he warned, “or no pie for you.”

“Lilly brought two cherry pies for dessert,” Mattie said. “Her cherry pie raised twenty-two dollars at the last school fund-raising.”

Unfair
, James thought. Mattie knew cherry was his favorite pie. He never could resist it, and he suspected that his sister had put Lilly up to baking it. He should have been pleased, but he felt like a shoat that was being funneled down a ramp into the slaughter room at the back of the butcher shop. Next Mattie would be talking about spring weddings.

“Muscovy or Runners. Both good layers,” Calvin announced to the table and then moved on to the subject of different breeds of ducks and the possibility of finding a market for duck eggs.

James could see that Mari was trying to pay attention, but her eyes were beginning to glaze over.
So much for the duck farmer
, James thought.
He’s duck soup.

Eventually, Mattie took pity on them all and asked Mari about the different style of the women’s prayer
kapps
in Wisconsin, and Mari gratefully gave her a detailed description of the head covering. Calvin, undeterred by his hostess’s attempt to change the subject, asked Mari if she’d ever baked with duck eggs. When she admitted she hadn’t but had seen her aunt use them in custards, Calvin seized the topic and explained why the larger duck egg was superior to a chicken’s in bread pudding.

Somehow they made it through the supper, one twin’s wailing, the cherry pies and a lopsided German chocolate cake that Mattie had baked, and Roman and Emanuel’s protests at being sent to bed. The rest of the evening went fairly well, and James was just beginning to think about suggesting he hitch up Jericho to take Mari home. He’d had such a good time riding over with her that he’d been looking forward to the ride home all evening. Then Calvin beat him to it and offered to drive her home.

“We’re going right past Sara’s house,” Calvin explained. “It would be foolish for James to go out when there’s plenty of room in our buggy.”

“It’s not a problem,” James said.

“Ne,”
Lilly chimed in. “James has to be hard at work at Sara’s early tomorrow morning. We’re glad to see her home. I insist.”

A few minutes later, James followed Mari and the others out the door, amid a flurry of thank-yous and “You must come again soon,” and helped her into the back of Lilly’s father’s family buggy.

“I hope you enjoyed yourself,” James said to Mari as he found the lap robe under the seat and handed it to her. “I warned you that it would be chaotic.”

“I had a great time.” She smiled down at him. “The children are adorable.”

“Even Emanuel?”

She chuckled. “Especially Emanuel.”

James wanted to say something about the fact that he was sorry he wasn’t going to get to drive her home, but he didn’t know how to say it, so he just said goodbye. “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She smiled at him again, and James wished the evening wasn’t over.

James returned to the kitchen to find Mattie settled down in her rocker near the stove, feeding the babies. He grabbed a clean dishcloth and started wiping off the table.

“So, James,” Rupert said, a broom in hand. “Are you planning on asking Lilly to walk out with you?”

Mattie sighed. “Men.” She rolled her eyes. “Not a clue. Didn’t you see them together?” she asked her husband, though not unkindly. “I had high hopes, but James is as flighty as a yearling steer in fly season. He’s not interested in courting Lilly.”

Rupert paused to look at James. “I thought you were tired of the bachelor life.”

“Lilly would make any man a fine wife.” James leaned on the table to look back at his brother-in-law. “I like her, but that’s not enough to make me choose her as my partner for life.”

Mattie sniffed. “It’s Mari Troyer who’s caught his eye.”

James glanced at her.

“Don’t give me that innocent look of yours,” she cautioned. “I saw the looks you two were giving each other across the table...
and
the dirty looks you were giving Calvin.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” James wiped down the chair Roman had been sitting in, catching the crumbs with his hand. “But someone needs to tell that boy that there’s only so much duck information a person can handle in one sitting.”

“Don’t try to skitter away from the subject,” Mattie warned. “You like Sara’s Mari.”

“Of course I like her.” James carried his handful of crumbs to the trashcan. “She’s my friend.”

“Just a friend?” Mattie asked. “The way you were watching her all evening? I’m afraid that it’s more than just friendship there, brother.”

“Oooh, getting warm in here.” Rupert propped his broom against the wall. “Let me have those babies, Mattie, if they’re asleep. I’ll just carry them upstairs and tuck them into their cribs.” Gathering up both babies, he gave James a glad-it’s-not-me-in-hot-water look and made himself scarce.

“Don’t you like her, Mattie?” James said quietly after his brother-in-law had left the room. “It seemed to me as if you two got on fine tonight.”

Mattie rose and went to him, placing both hands on his shoulders. “Of course I like her. She’s a good person. But you seem to be forgetting that Mari’s not Amish. She walked away from the church.”

“So did I, but I came back.” He studied her face; she had their mother’s eyes. “You saw Mari in church this week. Sara thinks she’ll return to the faith. And so do I.”

Mattie squeezed his arm. “You know how much I’ve always loved you and wanted what was best for you.”

“I do.” His voice came out thick and full of emotion. He loved Mattie, too, deeply, and he never wanted to hurt her. But sometimes they didn’t see eye to eye, and he refused to give in to her just because he loved her. “And I gave you my word that I was back for good. I won’t marry outside the church. You don’t need to worry about that.”

“How can I not worry?”

“I’m not the little brother who needs you to care for his skinned knees anymore. I’m a grown man, and I can take care of myself.”

“It’s not your knees I’m worried about. I’m afraid you’re going to get your heart broken.” She gazed up at him, her eyes teary in the lamplight. “Even if Mari does come back and accept baptism, how will you know that she won’t leave again? Leave and take your children with her? Then you’d have to go, wouldn’t you?”

“You have to trust me, Mattie. I know you mean well, but I’ll pick my own wife when I’m good and ready.”

“But not an Englisher. Promise me that,” she begged. “And promise me that you’ll think about what you’re doing with Mari, the risk you’re taking. You know, when I started to come of courting age, our
dat
warned me never to walk out with a man I wouldn’t marry. I think it was wise advice.”

“I’m not walking out with Mari. Mattie, you’re the one who told me to invite her to supper. Tonight was just a supper with friends.”

She gave him a look that made it clear she wasn’t buying it. “Promise me,” she repeated.

He exhaled. “I promise you I’ll always take into consideration what you have to say. I value your advice, but in the end, the decision is mine. And you can rest your mind on one thing. I’d never consider an English girl.”

“Have it your way,” she said, releasing him and retracing her steps to the rocking chair. “Stay friends with Mari. And I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with that. But find yourself a good Amish girl, someone who’s never strayed from the fold, someone who will help you put down roots in this community. Marriage isn’t just between a man and a woman. When you make your wedding vows, you marry a family, a community, and you make a commitment to your future children and grandchildren.” Her gaze locked with his, and he felt the strength of her conviction. “Mari Troyer is a good woman and a good mother, but I don’t want her as a sister-in-law. You think about that, James. And if you’re wise, you won’t let this
friendship
of yours go any deeper.”

* * *

When business picked up late in the afternoon at the butcher shop, Mari left her desk in the office and went out to help wait on customers. She didn’t mind the change of pace. She’d been working on orders and taking phone calls all day. Wrapping meat and ringing up sales was easy. She was just checking out a nice English woman with a toddler when she spotted James coming through the front door. Just catching sight of him made her smile. “Hi,” she called to him. She handed the customer her receipt and her bag. “Thanks, come again,” she told the customer.

James waited for the woman to walk away and then came to the counter. “I’d like four center-cut pork chops and two pounds of bacon, please,” he said. “Mattie wants thick, lean chops.”

“Sure.” He was grinning, though why she didn’t know. She couldn’t help but grin back. “I’ll be happy to get that for you. How was your day?” she asked as she pulled on clear plastic gloves and opened the meat display.

“Good. Good.” He nodded. “Sara’s addition is coming along. We’ll be done before you know it. How about you?” He watched her place the chops on a piece of butcher paper on the scale. “Good day?”

“Great.” And having him pop in like this made it better, but she didn’t say that, of course.

He glanced at the big clock on the wall. “Don’t you usually leave around this time?”

“About this time,” she told him as she wrapped up his chops.

He nodded and slid his hands into his pockets. “Business good?”

“Picking up every day,” she answered.