For Every Season (33 page)

The drizzling rain continued to slow, promising a glorious afternoon for a ride. Samuel walked into the barn, wet spots speckling his light blue shirt except where his broad-brimmed straw hat had protected it. He held the mail in his hand, opening an envelope.

He looked up. “Hey, finally going out in the carriage?”

“No. I just thought I’d do this for the fun of it.”

Samuel grinned. “If one asks a stupid question, one should expect a smart-aleck response.” He unfolded the letter and began reading it while Leah continued harnessing the horse to the rig.

It’d been three weeks since the frost, and the orchard looked to be in very good health. The trees were in full blossom. With pleasant temperatures and the good rains they were getting, everyone was hopeful concerning the crop. In another week or so, the blossoms would fall, and then they’d have to wait about five weeks to catch a glimpse of fruitlets. At that point they’d have a good idea how much the orchard would yield this year.

Samuel held the letter out to her. “Look.” He sounded pleased.

She skimmed it, reading about each person in the Miller family. “They sound very interested in moving here.”

“Large family with three young, single men. If they visit and like it enough to move here, it could be exactly what we need.”

“I guess.”

Samuel frowned. “Give me that.” He snatched the letter from her, laughing. “If I’d known you weren’t going to be excited about it, I’d have kept it to myself.”

His lighthearted response didn’t keep guilt from swooshing through her. He was trying so hard to make this new settlement viable, and he had no one to really talk to. Steven spent all his free time with his family or with Jacob, helping him through the instruction. And Jacob was no longer the brother to Samuel he used to be. For her part Iva wasn’t much interested in anything but photography, meals, and organization. And Leah, well, she felt like a hypocrite discussing how to make the settlement stronger when all she did was ponder whether to leave it.

Leah grabbed another leather strap. “Sorry.”

Samuel smiled and read the letter again.

Families wanting to move to Orchard Bend was a big deal. Huge, in fact. They had to believe they could make a living here, probably through farming whatever acreage they could purchase, and they had to have enough money to make the transition. They also had to be members in good standing within their own communities for their bishops to support their moving. Steven, as the spiritual head here, would have to get to know them and agree to accept them into the fold.

Still, their desire to move here indicated this new Amish district in Maine had a good reputation among other Amish communities. If they didn’t, no man would consider uprooting his family from the safety net of the familiar and their multitude of relatives to enter the unknown.

Apparently, Rhoda and this new settlement hadn’t received a black eye because of her legal difficulties. In fact, these people seemed to admire the strength they’d seen through the news outlets.

Leah buckled the last straps together. “Rhoda will be thrilled about the news. Find her and—”

“Nah.” Sadness shadowed his face for a moment. Or maybe heartache. “She’s too busy.” He patted the horse’s neck. “So where are you off to?”

She should’ve known better than to tell him to find Rhoda. “It’s a test drive mostly.” Since Landon had given her the driver’s manual more than three weeks ago, she’d memorized most of it, and she wanted to look at the roads with that information in mind. “But I’ll eventually make my way to Landon’s and surprise him.”

“Ah.” Samuel looked as if he’d tried to smile but hadn’t quite made it. “The Millers and their three single sons will visit soon. Keep that in mind, okay?”

“Sure. Maybe I’ll find one of them as intriguing as you find Iva.”

Samuel all but flinched, and Leah wished she’d thought before she spoke.

“What else arrived in the mail?” she asked, hoping to undo her more callous remarks.

“Information from a Realtor about houses that could be converted into a kitchen.”

“Any prospects?”

“None that I saw. They’re either too far or too expensive or too run-down to have ready by August. Unless we find something basically free that requires mostly hard work, there’s not a lot we can do until I receive the check for the acreage. And we can’t finalize that sale until the survey is complete. That surveying company seems to move like an injured turtle.”

“Can’t Rhoda agree to borrow the money from the Cranfords until then?”

“Does everyone in the house know about that?”

“I think so. I overheard Jacob telling Steven before they shut the door for his instruction time. Speaking of, I didn’t know the Amish would allow instruction to take place outside of Sunday church services, did you?”

“With Steven being the only minister, he can’t preach Sunday service and teach Jacob his lessons at the same time.” Samuel turned. “I’m going to leave what the Realtor sent on the desk, and if you see Rhoda, let her know the information is there. Maybe she’ll see potential in something I didn’t.”

“But even if she found something that fit what you said—low cost and lots
of work—its quality and size would probably get us through only one canning season, so that wouldn’t be ideal, would it?”

“Nothing in this settlement has been ideal.”

That was an understatement, but Leah kept her sarcasm and irritability to herself as she climbed into the buggy. “You didn’t answer my question. Why can’t we accept the Cranfords’ loan just to tide us over until you get the money from the land?”

He shrugged. “This business is a partnership. I won’t circumvent Rhoda to do what I think is best. Besides, we’ve all seen what her intuition can accomplish.”

“Ya, from what I’ve overheard, I’m alive because of it.” As were her two younger sisters, who, except for Rhoda’s warning, would’ve been asleep upstairs when the tornado removed most of the second story of their home.

“So we respect what we know is true and sit tight.”

It seemed odd how much he’d changed since meeting Rhoda. A man once fully persuaded to operate within the male rights of a patriarchal society had learned to yield to a woman as an equal. That was such a huge development it defied all Amish logic.

Leah threaded the reins into the carriage. “I can’t imagine where you’ll have this farm and settlement in five years.” She smiled, hoping he believed that as fully as she did. “Bye.” She waved and drove out of the barn and across the driveway.
“Geh begreiflich.”
She gently tugged on the reins, urging the horse to go easy as he entered the road.

The reins felt odd in Leah’s hands. It’d been quite a while since she’d driven a buggy. The roads were wet, and she breathed deeply, taking in the aromas of spring and wet asphalt as the sun peeked through the clouds. Since it was the end of the month, she wondered if June would continue this kind of weather. She hoped so.

She drove for more than an hour before guiding the horse toward Landon’s place. An old boarded-up house hidden behind overgrown hedges caught her eye, and, curious, she pulled onto the dirt path that led to it. The building was white clapboard with peeling paint. The door had an outside padlock, apparently a fairly new one compared to the rest of the place.

The sight of it gave her chills of excitement. But why? It intrigued her, yet she didn’t recall ever noticing it before. Hmm. It was about the size of the summer kitchen back home. Could Jacob turn it into a canning kitchen?

With her heart thumping wildly, Leah backed up the rig and got onto the road. Before long she was pulling into Erlene’s driveway.

Wouldn’t Landon be surprised that she’d driven here? She tethered the horse to a nearby spruce tree, went to the door, and knocked.

Erlene opened it with a cordless phone to her ear. She smiled. “This is a nice surprise.”

Leah nodded, unsure whether to speak since Erlene was on the phone.

“I’m on hold.” Erlene motioned for her to enter. “I don’t mean to be rude by answering the door this way, but I knew Landon wasn’t going to budge from the game he’s watching. I’m talking with my sister about knee surgery she apparently needs. While we were working through what I could do to help out, her son beeped in on call waiting.” She closed the door behind Leah. “Landon.” She elongated his name. “Leah’s here.”

“Hey.” Landon’s voice echoed from somewhere inside. “Come on in.”

Erlene gestured. “He’s in the living room.” She tilted her ear toward the phone. “Yeah, I’m still here. I’ve been thinking. What if we make this easier on everyone by my coming down to help out while you’re recuperating?”

Unwilling to eavesdrop, Leah waved to her and hurried into the living room.

Landon’s full focus was on the television. His ball cap was crooked, his face unshaven, and his T-shirt wrinkled. Funny, he didn’t come to work unshaven or in wrinkled clothes.

“Hi.” He smiled but barely glanced at her before moving his laptop off the spot beside him. “Have a seat. I’m watching the Red Sox trying to score against the Indians.”

She sat. A quick glance assured her the Red Sox were a baseball team. Unlike most sports, baseball was one she knew something about. She’d played it a lot during recess at school. But what was the appeal of watching people he didn’t know?

Landon set his laptop on the end table beside him. “I’m hoping Will Middlebrooks will hit another grand slam like he did a few weeks back.”

Will who?
“Is he a friend of yours?”

“No.” Landon chuckled. “I haven’t met any of them, but I’m well versed in their stats and where they hail from and who’s likely to be traded next season.”

Hail from?
What did that mean? Her earlier hope faded. Not only did he seem unimpressed that she’d gotten to Erlene’s on her own, but he also didn’t seem to care that she was even here. She sat back, waiting for him to snap out of it. When he didn’t, she decided to speak up. “Don’t you think it’s odd that I’m here?”

Landon glanced away from the television. “Oh, I should, shouldn’t I? How did you get here?”

“I drove the rig.”

“Really? That’s—” The television blared as the crowd roared. Landon motioned at the television. “What the heck was that? Come on, ump! Pay attention!”

It seemed so strange. He talked to a box and ignored a real human, one who was supposed to mean something to him. Apparently she meant a lot more to him when the television wasn’t on.

“You do know they can’t hear you, right?”

“And clearly the umpire can’t see either,” Landon complained.

Leah wondered what Landon was going to say before he’d interrupted himself to yell at a box. This was supposed to be a happy visit, a chance for him to quiz her on the manual and for her to tell him all she’d learned. But right now the only thing that mattered was between him and the television.

Would he find it even a little impressive that she’d nearly memorized the driver’s manual?

Landon leaned over, holding out the bowl of popcorn to her. “Something wrong?”

She’d never expected to feel so ignored and out of place while sitting next to Landon. Is this what her life with him would be like?

She shook her head and grabbed a handful of popcorn. “I just stopped by for a minute.”

“Only a minute?” Landon frowned. “That’s weird.”

“I was just practicing how to get a rig on the Maine roads.” She ate some popcorn. “If I don’t see Erlene on my way out, tell her bye for me and that I’ll see her another time.”

When he didn’t answer, she left. This is what she used to feel like all the time with Michael and even her family—unwanted and nothing special.

Before she got halfway to the horse, she heard the front door open.

“Leah.” Landon hurried after her. “Is the game that boring, or do you really need to go?”

She was sure the truth was written all over her face: embarrassment and agitation. So she didn’t turn around.

He caught her by the arm. “Hey. What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Just go watch your stupid game.” She pulled free and hurried onward.

“Whoa, Leah.” He stepped in front of her. “Does me watching a ball game warrant all this?”

“No.” She paused. “Maybe.”

“Okay, what’s going on?”

She rolled her eyes. “I came here all excited because I drove the rig on some unfamiliar roads, because I’d studied the stupid driver’s manual, because I saw a place that might make a good canning kitchen.” She raised her hands and waggled them. “Woohoo for Leah! Isn’t she amazing?” She rolled her eyes. “But I don’t know or understand half of what interests you, and I didn’t expect to be ignored because of something on television.”

“Oh.” He relaxed, an understanding smile stealing her heart. “We’re in for some rocky roads if those few minutes already make you feel like a baseball widow.”

A what?
“Just go back to your game.”

“You’re right. I should’ve shut off the game when you came in.”

“Too late for that now!”

“Leah, I wasn’t thinking.”

“I’ll never know how to hold your interest like that.”

He smiled. “You could brush up on the Sox players and stats.”

“You think it’d be that easy? I don’t. And I have no interest in learning it.”

“Leah, breathe already. I’m kidding. None of this is a big deal. So you don’t know about professional baseball. A lot of couples don’t share an interest in the same hobbies. Most of the novels you love hold my interest for about two paragraphs. You can read while I watch baseball. We don’t have to like the same things or be good at the same things to connect.”

“Sometimes the idea of remaining Amish is comforting.”

“Of course it is. But what’s that got to do with anything happening here?”

She shrugged. “At least there’s not a world of subjects I’m clueless about. And being ignored for a lifeless box is strange.”

“We’ve had a lot of fun watching that lifeless box. You can’t suddenly hate it because something was on that you didn’t like.”

“It made me feel stupid.”

“So? Deal with it. And don’t dump it on me as if it’s my fault you don’t know about the Sox, okay? People feel dozens of emotions in a day or even an hour, but they will change and fade. We can’t let fleeting feelings change and fade who we are. We have to be stronger than that, or we won’t last.”