An Honest Love (5 page)

“I think about fifteen, but I’m taking twenty pairs with me.” Gabe and his father, John, had not only taught Aaron how to make horseshoes and other useful items out of metal but also how to shoe horses. Aaron actually enjoyed being a farrier more than he did a blacksmith, but those two jobs went hand in hand. He looked forward to Tuesdays when he had a chance to work with the horses.

“Better to be prepared.” Gabe put down his tongs and wiped the sweat off his forehead.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to stay?”

Gabe shook his head. “
Nee
. I’m going to finish up these shoes, then close the shop for the rest of the afternoon.”

“When’s John due back from Indiana?”

“Next week.” Gabe picked up the tongs again. He took the horseshoe from the anvil and put it back in the forge. “But he’s extended his visit twice, so we may not see him for another month or so.”

“I’m glad he’s enjoying time with his
familye
.”

“
Ya
, I am too. Retirement seems to suit him, and to hear him tell it, he’s healthier than he’s ever been. Although I’m sure he’s staying busy with his sister’s
kinner
.
Daed
can never be idle for too long.” He pulled out the shoe and put the red hot metal on the anvil. “Speaking of
familye
, your sister was asking about you. She wondered if you planned to come visit her and the
boppli
in the hospital. I didn’t know what to tell her.”

Aaron paused. “I don’t want to bother them.”

“I don’t think Rachel would see it as a bother. Sounded to me like she would appreciate you stopping by.”

“All right. I’ll head up there later on.” Aaron was glad his sister and the baby were doing well. He hadn’t always gotten along with Rachel, but after she’d married Tobias—and since he’d given up his wild and illegal ways—they were on better terms with each other.

His four brothers were several years older than him, so they had never been close. Three of them lived nearby in West Farmington, and one lived in Pierpont, about an hour away. He didn’t see them very often, although his mother had often babysat the grandchildren when they were younger. Aaron had done little to cultivate any type of relationships with his nieces and nephews, or his brothers and their wives. In turn, they hadn’t wanted much to do with him during his teen years. Not that he blamed them. More regrets to add to an ever-growing list.

Back in his buggy, Aaron made his way toward his parents’ home. He saw another buggy in the distance, but instead of making its way down the paved road, it was pulled to the side. When he drew near enough, Aaron pulled his horse to a stop behind it to offer his help. He jumped out and walked up to the driver’s side of the buggy. “Do you need some . . .” His voice trailed as he saw Elisabeth Byler inside.

“Oh, I’m glad to see you!” Elisabeth breathed a sigh of relief as she poked her head out of the buggy. She said a quick prayer of thanks that God had sent help, especially Aaron, who would know exactly what to do about her predicament. “Daisy threw a shoe a little while back.”

He stopped when he reached the driver’s side, then faced her. “Is she hurting?”

“She’s limping, but I don’t think she’s in a lot of pain. I pulled over as soon as I could.”

Aaron nodded. “
Gut
. I’ve got shoes and tools in my buggy. We’ll get her fixed up quick.” As he stood on the shoulder of the road, several cars dashed by, stirring up a breeze strong enough to flutter the brim of his straw hat.

“
Danki
, Aaron.” She moved to step out of the buggy when he touched her arm.

“What are you doing?”

“Going to find the shoe.”

“
Nee
. Stay in the buggy. I’ll find it.”

“That’s all right, I don’t mind looking for it.”

“Stay here. Too many cars flying by.”

His tone firm, she nodded and hopped back inside. Elisabeth peeked over the edge of the door and watched him search for the shoe. When he found it, he strolled to his buggy, apparently oblivious to the traffic racing by. He climbed inside, then disembarked, holding a black object in his hand, and went straight for the horse. Now she could tell what he held—a small protective leather boot that would allow her to drive home without damaging the horse’s foot. After murmuring a few words to the horse, he crouched down and placed the boot over her left foot. When he stood up, he put his hands on his hips and called out to Elisabeth. “I’ll meet you at your house.”

Goodness, she’d never noticed how broad his shoulders were. Not that she’d ever thought of Aaron in romantic terms. That would be ridiculous. But she had to admit he was a nice looking man, and she couldn’t help but see the way his light blue shirt sleeves, rolled to the elbow, revealed muscular forearms sprinkled with blond hair. Just like all the other Amish men, he wore black suspenders and broadfall pants, pegged at the ankles, along with a yellow straw hat that cast a shadow over his face.

She grasped the reins as he started to walk away. “
Danki
again. I really appreciate this.”

He gave her a brief nod and went to his buggy.

Twenty minutes later she pulled into her driveway, with Aaron not far behind. She bypassed the house on the left and her father’s woodshop on the right and headed straight for the barn. When she jumped out of the buggy and peeked outside the entrance, she saw that Aaron had parked near the woodshop, in the spot where Lukas normally parked.

She watched Aaron pull out a worn butter-colored leather bag bulging with tools, then retrieve a couple horseshoes from the back of his buggy.

“I really appreciate you doing this,” Elisabeth said, meeting him at the entrance. When she saw Aaron move to detach the horse from the rigging, she followed him. “Here, I can do that.”

He shook his head. “I don’t mind.” He patted Daisy’s chestnut-colored flanks. She let out a low snort. “She’s a beautiful horse.”

“
Ya
, she is.
Daed
got her a few years ago. You won’t find a gentler horse than our Daisy.”

With deft movements Aaron removed the horse’s harness, then positioned her in her stall so he could access her foot. He slipped on a pair of leather leg coverings with the split in the middle and walked over to balance the horse’s bent leg on his thigh. Aaron’s hands seemed to fly as he scraped and cleaned her hoof, removing dirt, tiny pebbles, and small pieces of asphalt picked up from traveling paved roads. He grabbed one of the shoes lying on the ground nearby and matched it to the bottom of the horse’s foot. Seeing that it didn’t fit, he took the shoe and began bending and shaping it with his bare hands.

“You aren’t using her old shoe?” Elisabeth asked.

“
Nee
.” He glanced up at her. “It was pretty worn. She would have needed a new one soon.” Within minutes the shoe matched Daisy’s hoof perfectly.

Impressive. She’d had no inkling he possessed that kind of strength.

He put a couple of small nails in his mouth, then quickly pounded them in, one at a time, through the shoe and into the hoof. The first time she’d seen a horse get shoed she had been a young child and had burst into tears, not realizing that the horse didn’t feel a thing and that the shoes were necessary to preserve the horse’s feet.

After he pounded the last nail, Aaron gently put Daisy’s foot down, then stood up. “
Gut
as new,” he said, more to the horse than to Elisabeth. He walked to meet the animal’s head and stroked her nose. “
Gut maedel
.”

“How much do I owe you?”

He shrugged, still petting Daisy’s nose. “
Nix
.”

“Are you sure? At least let me pay for the shoe.”

Aaron scratched the back of his neck. “It isn’t necessary.”

“Tell you what. How about if I bring you a batch of my oatmeal cookies when I come to work on Wednesday? Well, they’re actually not
my
oatmeal cookies, but my
mami’s
recipe, and they’re delicious. Best you’ll ever have, I promise.”

He tilted back his hat, his forehead beaded with perspiration from the exertion of shoeing the horse. “You don’t have to do that, Elisabeth.”

“I know, you’ve made that abundantly clear.” She stepped toward him. “But I want to. I can’t let your good deed go unre-warded. Besides, I still kind of owe you for yesterday.”

He frowned. “Yesterday?”

“Helping me out with Velda and Ester, remember?” She sighed and dragged her toe across the barn’s dirt floor. “I didn’t have everything quite under control. And I wasn’t very nice to you, either. I apologize for that.”

“You were doing fine.” Aaron picked up his tool bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Everyone knows Velda is a handful.”

“Really? I thought it was just me.”

“Nah. She’s a pistol, that one. And I’d seen
mei mudder
make lots of bottles for my nieces and nephews when I was younger, so that wasn’t a big deal.”

It dawned on her that this was the most she’d ever heard Aaron speak. Intrigued, she wanted to keep him talking. “How many do you have?”

“Twelve. They don’t live too far from here, but I don’t see them very often.” He glanced down at the ground for a moment before meeting her gaze again, discomfort evident in his eyes. “I’ve got to
geh
.” He headed for the exit.

“Aaron?”

He paused, then turned around, almost as if he were reluctant to face her again. “
Ya
?”

“Do you like raisins or chocolate chunks in your cookies?” She crossed her arms and smiled at him.

“Elisabeth—”

“Chocolate chunks it is. Those happen to be my favorite too.”

She detected the corner of his mouth lifting ever so slightly, the closest she’d ever seen him smile. Feeling victorious, she gave him another grin as she passed him and went into the house. But before she went inside, she glanced over her shoulder to see him loading his tools in the buggy, his profile now the picture of solemnity.

As he pulled away she went inside the house, the screen door shutting behind her. “
Mami
, I’m home!”

“In the kitchen.”

Elisabeth followed her mother’s voice to the kitchen in the back of the house. The spicy aromas of tomato, garlic, and oregano hung in the air. “You’ve started the spaghetti sauce?”

“Just the first batch.” Emma Byler adjusted the gas heat underneath the large stockpot of simmering red sauce. “We’ll finish up the rest tomorrow. Line up the jars for me on the counter, please.”

“Okay.” Elisabeth took several glass quart jars from the table and put them on the counter as her mother instructed. She placed a large funnel beside the first jar.

Emma gave the sauce a quick stir with a long-handled wooden spoon. “So how are my
wunderbaar
grandbabies today?”

“
Gut
.” Elisabeth leaned over and inhaled, taking in the delicious scent emanating from the pot. Her mouth watered. She’d love to dip a slice of bread into the thick sauce, but her mother wouldn’t appreciate the crumbs she’d leave behind.

“Did you have any trouble with them?”

“
Nee
. Everything was fine. They had breakfast, and played, and Ester had her bottle before they both took naps. Then Gabe and Moriah came home.”

Emma peered at Elisabeth over her wire-framed glasses, which she had just started wearing this past year. “I’m glad to hear it. Those two can be a handful sometimes. I remember the last time I took care of them, Velda Anne just about ran me ragged. I love that
kinn
, but she’s got an independent streak in her, that’s for sure.”

“The morning went by without any problems.” She spun around and sat down at the kitchen table, biting her lip on the tiny fib.

Emma turned around and joined Elisabeth. “I wish I could have watched them, but I had to visit Sarah Lapp today. She’s got the cancer, you know.”

Elisabeth nodded. “Is she feeling any better?”

“Not really. I did a little cleaning today and made dinner for her family. They need a lot of prayer. No one knows how long Sarah has, and we’re all praying for a miracle.”

Elisabeth made a mental note to pray for Ben and Sarah Lapp. Sarah, a young mother of four, had been diagnosed with cancer several months ago. She said a quick prayer of thanks that everyone in the Byler family had their health.

“So tomorrow we’ll can the rest of the sauce, then Wednesday we can put away some pickles. Sometimes it just never seems to end. So I’ll need your help.” Emma sat back in the chair and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Despite the open window, the kitchen sweltered. Still, Emma’s appearance remained neat and tidy, her
kapp
perfectly straight and not a hair out of place. “But when we’re done we’ll have lots of food stored up, praise God. ”

“All right. Oh, wait. I almost forgot.” Elisabeth grinned. “I won’t be able to help you on Wednesday. I’ve got a job.”

“You do?” Emma smiled. “That’s terrific, Elisabeth. Where will you be working?”

“For Gabe. In the blacksmith shop.”

Her smile dimmed, replaced with wariness. “Please tell me you won’t be working at the forge.”

Elisabeth laughed. “
Nee
. I’m sure he won’t let me near the forge, not that I want to do that hot, messy work anyway. He’s asked me to work in the office. Doing the accounts and keeping track of invoices. Filing. Stuff like that.”