Almost Amish (13 page)

“Me a natural? At something domestic? I’ve never heard those words uttered before.” Julie laughed and turned her attention back to her stitches, wanting more than ever to prove that she’d earned the compliment.

“Certainly not about your cooking, eh, Mom?” Whitney grinned over the tangle of fabric and thread in her hands.

“Bah.” Rosemary made a dismissive gesture, then leaned back in the rocking chair. “You remember that story in the Bible, where Jesus took the loaves and fishes from that one kid and fed the five thousand?”

“Yeah, there were all those basketfuls left over. Jesus did an amazing miracle.” Whitney pulled a thread through and made a face.

“You’re missing the point.” Rosemary reached over and pushed the fabric back down to Whitney’s lap. “It wasn’t the fact that God fed them; it was that He used what the kid
already had.
He didn’t say, I’d prefer it if we could find someone with filet mignon. No, the kid had something very common and not very fancy, which he turned over to God, and God used it in a powerful way. If every woman in America were a gourmet cook, then there wouldn’t be any need for shows like the Lisa Lee show, now would there? She’s a good cook and she uses her talent to help others. Your mom has other talents. We’re each charged with using the talents we were given, not try to live up to someone else’s.”

Whitney nodded her head. “That’s a really amazing point.”

“Yes, it is.” Angie set her work in her lap and looked into nowhere with a firm mouth and determined eyes.

“Hopefully it won’t take you as many years as it took me to learn that and really believe it. It’ll save you a lot of time and heartache if you figure it out sooner rather than later.”

“Really? What happened with you?” Whitney kept her fabric in her lap and her attention focused on Rosemary.

“That, my dear”—she pushed herself to standing and stretched her back—“is a story for another day. I’ve got to go now.”

She walked from the house without further comment.

“All right, then.” Whitney giggled and soon they all joined in. Still, Julie couldn’t help wondering about Rosemary’s story. She looked down at her first row of stitches and smiled.

At lunch, Julie sat at the table, enjoying a ham sandwich and ice water. “I really enjoyed this morning. I hope Rosemary will be back soon.” She had left them with instructions to keep working on their squares, and they would see her when it was time.

“Oh, she’ll be back soon, believe me.” Kendra sat next to her, wearing a white tank top and short denim shorts, a sharp contrast to the rest of them in their Peter Pan collars and long skirts. “In fact, I think it’s safe to say that you’ll have seen more than enough of Rosemary before your time here is through.” She took a sip of her Diet Coke. “And you will have heard enough of her stories. I swear, the four of you got off easy this morning. I only heard one story the entire time. Every time she talks to me, I get at least two. And preachy . . . don’t even get me started.”

“I enjoyed her story. I thought it was . . . meaningful.” Julie looked down and took a bite of her sandwich, immediately embarrassed.

“I did, too.” Angie’s voice was so quiet she barely heard it, but just hearing her made Julie glad she had challenged Kendra. If by doing so, she’d given her niece the courage to speak up, then it was well worth it. Julie looked up at her, and after making certain that Susan wasn’t watching, she winked. Angie smiled just a little, then turned her attention back to the salad on her plate.

“Sounds like I missed a bundle of fun.” Brian, who was showered and had on freshly washed blue pants and a button-up shirt, took a big bite out of his sandwich. “Gary’s going to teach me how to—”

“Brian, don’t talk with your mouth full.” Julie looked at her son, cutting her eyes back toward Kendra and giving him her best “we have company” glare.

Brian shrugged, took a sip of water, and then continued. “Gary said he’d teach me how to hook up the horses to the wagon this afternoon.”

“Oh, have the wagons arrived? I hadn’t heard that.” Susan glanced out the window as if wondering how she’d missed such a thing, although around here there were always trucks coming and going with equipment. It didn’t surprise Julie at all.

Kendra’s phone buzzed. She pulled it up and read a text message, then looked up. “Yes, it got here yesterday afternoon. Unfortunately, you’ll have to save that for another time, as your tutor is on her way here right now.”

“Oh no.” Whitney said the words aloud, but it took only a quick glance at the other faces to know there was agreement among all the kids. “Tell me again why we’re doing school in the summer?”

“The schoolhouse is part of the Amish fascination,” Kendra said. “Even though the school year has officially ended, we wanted to bring in that aspect of their lives.”

“And both of you can use the extra time to prepare for your SATs,” Susan added.

“What?” Whitney’s mouth hung open. “What kind of Amish kids study for the SAT? They only go to school through the eighth grade, right?”

Kendra gave Whitney her typical annoyed expression. “It was your Aunt Susan’s request that there be some form of scholastic enrichment. And as I was saying before I was interrupted”—she paused just long enough to let the arrow find its mark on Whitney—“you two will prep for the SAT, and Brian will go through some science and math curriculum to help prepare him for the engineering academy when he enters high school.”

“Like there’s any way Brian wouldn’t be the first person accepted.”

Kendra shrugged. “He apparently wanted to go to a science camp this summer, and the filming of our show has prevented him from that. We’re making amends in the best way we know how.”

A knock sounded from the back door. Kendra stood up and started toward it. “Come in, come in. Everyone, this is Charlotte Buchanan.”

“Hello, everyone.” Charlotte walked into the room. She was on the shorter size of average, shoulder-length straight brown hair, understated yet stylish. Her smile lit up her whole face, and Julie immediately liked her.

“Hi, I’m Brian.” Brian had bounded up out of his seat and stood before his new teacher, his cheeks a bit flushed. Apparently Julie wasn’t the only one who liked her at first sight.

“Pleased to meet you, Brian.” She smiled at him and shook his hand.

“Likewise. And I’m sorry you’re stuck teaching the other two this summer, but don’t worry, I’ll help you deal with them whenever necessary.”

Charlotte laughed. “Thanks for the offer of help. I’m sure we’ll all get along just fine.”

Introductions were shared all around; then Kendra said, “Charlotte, why don’t you take the kids on out to the schoolroom? We’ll come check in after a little bit.”

“All right.” The kids and their new teacher walked out the door, trailing the sounds of laughter and chatting behind them.

“Is she old enough to be a teacher? She looks more like a high school student to me.” Susan watched them long after they’d left the room.

“Well, you know”—Kendra folded her arms—“Amish schools only go through eighth grade, and their teachers are unmarried young women, often teenagers.”

“Yes, but we agreed—”

“I’m kidding, Susan.” Kendra put her hand on Susan’s arm. “She graduated undergrad from Stanford, magna cum laude, to be exact. And she just earned her master’s degree in education from Vanderbilt.”

“Okay.” Susan still looked doubtfully out the door. “Where is the schoolroom?”

“It’s a small building way on the backside of the property. After you two get the lunch dishes all cleaned up, I’ll walk you out there. Come find me when you’re ready.” She pushed open the back door and then turned. “I’ll likely be down near the barn with Gary and the new wagon. If I’m not there, Gary will know where to find me.” The screen door slammed shut behind her.

“I guess producers don’t have to worry about whether or not the Amish thing would be to help clean up, now, do they?” Julie piled the plates together and carried them toward the large farmhouse sink. “I have to admit, I’m missing my dishwasher.”

“And front-loading clothes washer.” Susan sighed.

“And the cleaning ladies that come in every other week. Yes, especially them.”

They both laughed then as Susan started the water running into the sink. “Didn’t you think that teacher seemed a bit more like a party girl than a teacher? I think we’re going to need to keep a close eye on their educational experience this summer.”

Susan always kept a close eye on Angie’s educational experience. Still, Julie wished she would ease up, just for the summer. “She seemed sweet to me.”

“All the more reason to keep a close eye on her.”

Oh boy.

Two large brown horses stood in the paddock, their eyelids drooping in the morning sun. Several goats on the other side of the barn brayed at each other and ate at whatever was in their little trough. There were no people to be seen or heard anywhere in the vicinity. Susan stuck her head in the barn door. “Kendra? Gary?”

“Nobody here but us chickens.” The reply came from behind her. She spun around and saw Gary mending a fence on the other side of the hen coop. He smiled and started toward them. “Some way I can assist you ladies?” His blue eyes glinted bright in the sun, perfectly contrasted with his gray hair.

“We were supposed to meet up with Kendra and go out to the schoolroom after we cleaned up the lunch dishes. Have you seen her?”

“They had some sort of mechanical issue and she got called away. I’m not sure when they’ll be back.”

“Oh.” Susan thought about the young girl currently in charge of her daughter’s education and decided she didn’t want to wait for Kendra’s return. “Do you happen to know where the schoolroom is?”

He nodded. “Sure do.” He looked toward Susan with sort of a dare on his face. “But I don’t think it’d be right to tell you—”

“She’s my daughter, and I want to know where she is.” Who did this handyman think he was? “Tell us where they are, right now.”

“You didn’t let me finish.” Gary grinned a slow, easy smile, apparently unfazed by Susan’s obvious irritation. “I said it wouldn’t be right to tell you where they are, when I could show you. I’ve got a horse that needs some exercise, and the new wagon needs some breaking in. Now, if you ladies are up for a little adventure, come on down this way.”

“Oh.” Susan felt her face flush warm. “Sorry, I . . .”

“No need to apologize. Truth is, I’ve been itching for an excuse to hook one of these things up ever since they arrived.”

They headed behind the barn where a gleaming black Amish-style buggy waited.

“This is smaller than I thought it would be. How will the whole family fit in this thing?” Susan walked around the vehicle, checking every detail.

“We got two. There’s one back in the storage barn that is family-sized, with a couple of rows of seats. This one is for smaller crowds.” He made short work of hitching up the horse. “Okay, ladies, in you go.” He held up a hand to help Susan into the carriage. She took it and climbed in. Julie followed.

Gary came around and got in the other side. “Okay, we’re about to see what this baby has under the hood.” He clucked at the large brown horse, who launched into a leisurely walk. “Hmm. Not a lot, apparently.”

Both Julie and Susan laughed. They started moving in the direction of Brian’s observatory, then turned right at the top of the hill. From there, it became apparent that several dirt roads crisscrossed the property. Trees dotted the landscape, until they grew dense near the creek just over to the left. “This is such an amazing place,” Susan said, in spite of herself.

“Yes, it is.” Gary spoke the words in an almost reverent tone.

“It’s interesting, though, that the farmhouse is built in the valley between two hills. In California, we would put the house right on top of the tallest hill for a better view.”

He nodded. “True enough. This place was originally built over a hundred years ago. Likely the owners were thinking more about protection from the elements than a nice view.”

“I suppose so.”

“And it works well for our purposes. No one can see the buildings from the road, so it’s nice and private.”

They continued along for a moment, hearing only the muted clomps of the horses’ hooves against the dirt road and the singing of the birds off in the distance. Gary held out the reins to Susan. “It’s time for you to start your first driving lesson.”

Susan kept her hands firmly planted at her side. “I don’t think—”

“You’ll be just fine. Now take the reins, and I’ll tell you everything you need to know.”

Susan finally lifted her hands in the general direction of the reins, still perfectly certain that she was not up to this. She grasped the reins, and Gary kept his own hands over hers for just a few seconds. “Pull here to turn right.” He made a light pull on the rein and the horse started to veer off the road. “And here, to go left.” He steered the horse back on course.

He released his grip but remained close beside her. Susan could feel his shoulder brushing against hers. In spite of the fact that she tried to concentrate on keeping the horse moving the right direction, she was all too aware of his closeness. It was ridiculous. They were in a tight space, that’s all. It was ridiculous that she would even notice such a thing.