Huckleberry Hill (9 page)

The exchange between Moses and Rachel struck Lia mute. In another week, they’d be professing their undying love for one another.

She ate the rest of her mushy bread in silence while Felty and Moses talked about Moses’s newfangled buggy and disagreed about getting a telephone shack installed at the top of the lane.

Felty was adamant that he didn’t need one. “What would I do with a telephone? Listen to it ring all day long and try to talk salesmen out of selling me things?”

“I worry about you two up here all by yourselves,” Moses said. “The bishop would approve a phone for emergencies. What if one of you fell? You’d have to crawl all the way to a hospital.”

Anna patted Lia’s hand. “We have Lia. She takes good care of us. Don’t you, Lia?”

Lia still couldn’t speak. She glanced at Moses and nodded.

Anna studied Lia’s face and furrowed her brow. “We can’t get along without our Lia.”

Moses sprouted a crooked grin. “Maybe we’ll have to convince Lia to stay year-round to take the place of a telephone.”

“Jah,” Anna said. “We want Lia to stay forever.”

Rachel bit her bottom lip and looked up coyly at Moses. “What about me?”

“Friends of Lia’s are always welcome here,” Felty said.

Lia chastised herself for being so irritable. She gave Anna a good imitation of a cheerful expression and rose to clear the plates.

Moses gathered forks and knives and cups and joined her at the sink. “What? No pie tonight?”

“I got busy doctoring Rachel’s foot.”

“You did a gute job. Did you knit that wrapping around her foot while she sat there? It seems to fit perfectly.”

Lia cracked a smile. “I’m not as fast as Anna.”

Moses put the plug in the sink and turned on the water. “Who is?”

Lia buried her hands in the water, but Moses nudged her aside. “My turn to wash.”

“I can wash.”

“Why should you get all the fun? My skin gets all wrinkly like old-man hands.”

A laugh tripped from Lia’s lips. She found it difficult to be gloomy when Moses was near.

Rachel remained on her perch at the table while Felty, Anna, Lia, and Moses did up the dishes. Felty dried while leading them in a chorus of “In the Sweet By-and-By.” It seemed the only times Felty didn’t sing were when he slept and when he ate. And as he had a fondness for making up his own words, Lia, Anna, and Moses followed along as best they could.

Lia forgot all her unhappiness when Moses tried to harmonize with Felty. He sang perfectly awful off-key notes at the top of his lungs. Sparky howled along and kept time with her tail.

Rachel kindly lifted her feet when Lia swept under her chair, and Moses held the dustpan for her dirt.

“I’m trying to improve my sweeping skills,” she said as she swept up the last of the crumbs. “I have discovered there are men who don’t want to marry me because I am not a gute sweeper.”

“That’s silly,” Rachel said. “Nobody cares how you sweep. It’s because you’re too tall.”

A cloud passed over Moses’s face before he grinned mischievously and said, “You think I’m too tall?” He clutched his chest. “I’m crushed.”

Rachel giggled at Moses’s dramatics. “I’m talking about Lia, not you.”

“Lia thinks I’m too tall?” Moses put his hand to his throat and made a choking sound. “I’m devastated.”

Rachel knew he was teasing, but she must have wanted to make herself perfectly clear. “No, Moses. Lia is too tall for the boys.”

Moses draped an arm around Lia’s shoulder. A thrill traveled up Lia’s spine even as she tried to think of him as a brother—or more likely—a brother-in-law. “I love tall girls. Two women at the auction told Lia she should be a model for a magazine.”

Lia tried hard not to let his praise wheedle its way into her emotions. He didn’t mean anything by it.

Rachel acted bored with the conversation. “Who cares what the Englisch like? I’m glad I’m not tall.” She pushed her chair out from under the table with her good foot. “Moses, will you carry me back to the sofa?”

“Jah, I will.” Moses handed the full dustpan to Lia, picked up Rachel, and hastily deposited her on the sofa. “I must go, Mammi.”

Mammi finished wiping the table. “So soon? Don’t you have time for a game of Scrabble?”

“Nae, but I will return Thursday. Lia and I still need to stack those limbs. We could have a bonfire.”

Rachel fluffed the pillow on the sofa. “If my toe is better, we can roast marshmallows.”

Moses grinned sideways at Lia. “Are you planning on holding your stick with your foot?”

Lia rewarded his teasing with a smile.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” Moses said. “I have something for you in my buggy.”

Rachel beamed. “For me?”

“For Lia.”

Rachel’s face fell to the cellar.

Lia felt a twinge of guilt for not having more sympathy for her sister. “I’ll walk out with you to fetch it.”

Moses kissed his mammi and hugged Felty and retrieved his hat from the hook. “I’ll hitch up the buggy,” he said before nodding to Lia and closing the door behind him.

Rachel frowned. “Help me up, Lia. If you let me lean on you, I can walk out too.”

Lia hung the broom in the closet. “I’ll just be a minute.”

“I’ve been sitting on this sofa all afternoon. I want to say good-bye to Moses and get some fresh air. We’ll make it out there in plenty of time before he has the buggy hitched.”

Reluctantly, Lia helped Rachel from the sofa and put her arm around Rachel’s waist. Rachel hooked her hand around Lia’s shoulder and leaned on her for support.

Rachel winced as she put weight on her injured foot. “Lia, you’ve got to hold me up better than that.”

“Why don’t you stay put?” Lia said. “I’ll be out and back before you even get comfortable on the couch.”

Rachel took a tentative step with her good leg. “I want to go out.”

They stumbled a few steps together before Rachel scowled and let go of Lia completely. “We’re wasting time.” She glanced out the window, sighed in annoyance, and hopped deftly across the kitchen. After opening the door, she turned to Lia and pursed her lips. “Well, come on. I need your help across the yard.”

Lia wanted to point out that Rachel seemed to be doing a much better job of getting around on her own. Instead, she wrapped her arm around Rachel’s waist, and they shambled to the porch together.

Moses caught sight of them while guiding the horse between the buggy shafts, and Lia wasn’t surprised by the look of irritation that flashed across his face. Determined that they would not delay him further, Lia released Rachel and jogged to Moses’s buggy.

“Lia, stop. Come back and help me.”

Lia tried to ignore the protests behind her. If Rachel wanted to be near Moses, she would have to find a way to him all by herself.

As Lia got close, Moses’s annoyance seemed to evaporate, and he reached into the buggy and pulled out a thick purple book. “Sarah wanted me to bring this to you.”

Midwifery, volume two. Lia’s heart swelled with gratitude. Sarah had not forgotten her. “Oh, denki, Moses. I have finished the first one. I’ll get it so you can take it back to Sarah.”

Cradling the heavy book in her arms like a baby, Lia ran past Rachel and ignored the sour look her sister gave her. The first book sat on her bed, available for easy reference at any hour of the day. Lia thumbed through its pages, doing her best to hold a picture of each lesson in her memory. She didn’t want to forget a bit of the precious information. The margins were filled with plentiful notes, and several makeshift bookmarks made from scraps of newspaper poked out of the top of the book. Those held places with especially important information. Should she pull them out? No. Perhaps Sarah would let her borrow it back sometime.

She came into the kitchen and saw Anna and Felty gazing out the window. Felty wore a crooked grin and Anna’s puckered lips hinted at a smile. Lia scooted next to them to see why they were so amused.

Rachel hopped daintily toward Moses, all the while calling out to him and trying to engage him in conversation. Lia couldn’t hear what Rachel said, but she kept up a steady stream of words as she hopped ever closer. Moses didn’t seem to notice her or rather was too busy fiddling with a strap and buckle to pay her any mind.

When Rachel got close enough, Moses turned slowly to look at her. The shadow hovering over his face gave way to a kindly smile.

“She’s determined,” Felty said.

Anna turned from the window and patted Felty on the arm. “Now, Felty.”

Should she give Moses and Rachel some time alone together before racing outside with her book? The stones piled on her chest again, and she recognized that unreasonable sadness she felt every time she thought of Moses.

Lia pressed her lips together and stepped outside. If Moses wanted time with Rachel, he would have to finagle a way to get it. Lia would not be his faithful assistant, even if Dat wanted her to.

“Here’s Sarah’s book,” Lia said, striding across the yard. “Thank her for me.”

“Why do you need a book like that?” Rachel asked.

Moses eyed Lia and turned the book over in his hand. “You’ve read this a few times.”

“Should I buy Sarah a new one? She told me to make notes.”

“I think Sarah will be impressed that you studied so hard.”

Rachel reached out and held on to Lia’s arm to steady herself. “I’d die of boredom if I had to read a book that long.”

Moses kept his eyes on Lia and laid the book on the seat of his buggy. “Lia is smart. I don’t think learning something new would ever bore her.”

Lia’s heart jumped about for a few seconds while Moses checked the straps one more time. “I will see you on Thursday.”

Rachel put a small amount of weight on her injured foot. “Before you go, will you carry me back to the house? Lia isn’t strong enough.”

Moses climbed into his buggy. “You seem to be able to get around on your own quite well.” Without another word, he slid his door shut and coaxed the horse forward.

Lia knew she shouldn’t, but she wanted to laugh at Rachel’s dumbfounded expression. No man had ever withstood Rachel’s charms before.

Lia couldn’t fathom why Moses would pass up an opportunity to be close to Rachel. Maybe he thought his resistance would make him more desirable, but Moses didn’t seem the type to play such games. Lia didn’t take her eyes off Moses until his buggy disappeared down the hill. What went on in that man’s head was a mystery.

“Cum, Rachel. I will help you back.”

Rachel rolled her eyes and huffed out a big breath of air. “Don’t bother, Lia. You are no help at all.”

She bent over, unrolled the scarf wrapped around her foot, and tossed it at Lia. After pausing to cautiously wiggle her toes, she marched back to the house with a barely discernible limp.

Chapter Ten

Moses groaned inwardly. Rachel must have seen him coming. She swung the door open with such force it fanned up a breeze. Stepping forward, she gifted him with a coy smile that must send the boys in Wautoma over the moon. It only served to irritate Moses. He didn’t like it when girls thought they could manipulate him.

“Moses, we didn’t expect you until tomorrow. You just can’t stay away, can you?”

“Actually, I’ve come for Lia,” he said.

Rachel pressed her rosebud lips into a rigid line and glanced over Moses’s shoulder as if hoping someone more accommodating waited for her in line behind him.

Moses tried not to take satisfaction in her reaction. He didn’t want to be spiteful, but one afternoon spent in Rachel’s company was quite enough. He had forced himself to be nice because it wasn’t in his nature to be rude and because Rachel was Lia’s sister. He would never want to injure Lia by doing anything to embarrass Rachel. When Rachel had insulted Mammi’s cooking, he remembered his manners and tried to find a way to spare Mammi’s feelings without embarrassing Rachel. For Lia’s sake.

How did Lia put up with such a sister?

Folding her arms, Rachel stood in the doorway silently conveying the message that if Moses wanted someone else in the house besides her, he’d have to do his own work.

Luckily, Mammi saved him from Rachel’s withering stare. Mammi came into the kitchen and saw Moses standing on the porch. “Moses. What a nice surprise. Come in, come in.”

She took his hand and pulled him past Rachel. “Would you like a piece of pie? Lia made it for supper, but I sometimes eat pie right after breakfast. It looks delicious. We still have apples in the cellar.”

“I came to fetch Lia,” Moses said. “Is she here?”

Mammi’s eyes twinkled like sunlight on the water. “Jah, scrubbing the toilet. I will go see about her.” She tripped lightly down the hall with Sparky following close behind.

Moses glanced at Rachel, who still regarded him with an air of displeasure. “I see your foot has made a speedy recovery.”

She slightly shifted her weight off yesterday’s injured foot. “It hurts something terrible, but Anna really needs my help, so I am enduring through the pain.”

“Denki for helping my mammi. She is slowing down a bit.”

Rachel softened her posture and tilted her head to one side. “Anything for Anna. She is a dear. You are blessed to have such a wonderful grandmother.”

With Mammi following, Lia appeared wearing bright yellow plastic gloves and holding a spray bottle of window cleaner. Her face was flushed, and her eyes briefly darted from Rachel to Moses. “I thought we were stacking limbs tomorrow.”

Must he be in a constant state of annoyance whenever he came within ten feet of one of the Shetler girls? He was annoyed with Rachel because he didn’t like her and she wanted him for a husband. He was annoyed with Lia because she was too beautiful and the perfect height and she spoke her mind. And the most annoying thing was that he enjoyed the sensation of his heart flopping around in his chest whenever he saw her. If he had more self-control, he wouldn’t be so irritated.

“Sarah is delivering a baby. She called my factory and asked me to bring you over. If you want to.”

Lia’s face bloomed into a dazzling smile—the one that always took Moses’s breath from him. “Oh, yes. Thank you so much.” She lifted her spray bottle. “Do you think I have time to finish the bathroom?”

“Now, Lia,” Mammi said in her kindly, scolding tone, “Rachel will manage fine.”

Rachel regained her good humor. “I think I will go too. I have never seen a baby be born.”

It took everything in Moses’s power to be nice. “I’m sure Lia would enjoy having you there, but Sarah is very particular. No one is allowed but who she allows. They’ll make out better if you stay to home.”

Rachel stuck out her bottom lip. She must have believed that this somehow made her irresistible. “They need lots of help when a baby comes into the world. Sarah will be happy for an extra pair of hands.”

Moses felt his face get hot. For Lia’s sake, he didn’t want to hurt Rachel’s feelings, but her coming was out of the question.

Lia snapped the gloves off her hands. Her soft, indulgent tone surprised Moses. “You were not invited, Rachel. You will only be in the way and what you see could make you very upset.” Lia rubbed her hand up and down Rachel’s arm. “I’m sorry. You can’t come.”

Tears pooled in Rachel’s eyes. “And what am I supposed to do, clean toilets all day? How can you feel good about leaving me to do all the work?”

One corner of Mammi’s mouth curled upward. “I think it would be wonderful gute to let Rachel tag along. You can all get to know each other better.”

Rachel squealed in elation and threw her arms around Mammi. “You see? Anna wants me to go.”

Moses fully expected Lia to protest. Instead, her creamy cheeks lost all their color, and she stared at Mammi with an undecipherable look in her eyes. “I’ll finish the bathroom tonight if I don’t get home too late.” She turned and plodded down the hall as if her best friend had abandoned her.

Moses shook his head. “Mammi, I don’t think—”

“Now, Moses, take her with you.” Mammi didn’t seem concerned at all. “It will be a very educational trip.”

 

 

Rachel had not stopped talking since she climbed daintily into Moses’s buggy. “And I told him plain-as-day, I won’t marry you, John Petersheim. Just because I let him drive me home from gatherings did not mean I wanted to mar-ry-him. Dat said I could do better. Much better.”

Moses didn’t even make an effort to listen to the steady stream of words coming from Rachel’s mouth. He hadn’t wanted her along in the first place. He shouldn’t have to pay her any attention.

Lia sat like a statue in the backseat of the buggy clutching Sarah’s book to her chest like a security blanket. Moses glanced at her periodically, but she kept her posture stiff and fixed her eyes on the road ahead as if she were trying to be invisible.

“The boys who ask me to marry them do such a shoddy job of it. Clemens asked me on the day of my aunt’s fun-er-al. Paul got down on one knee and sang me a song he wrote himself. He didn’t have the voice for it.”

Moses jiggled the reins to pick up the horse’s pace. He couldn’t stand much more of this chatter. Right now, he wished he were Paul or Clemens, whoever they were, blessedly living their lives free of Rachel Shetler.

The directions Sarah had given Moses took them four miles out of Bonduel where they turned onto a dirt road marked by a red piece of yarn tied to a weathered fence post. The road skirted an orchard that turned into a forest of pines on a seldom-traveled path to a cabin made of rough-hewn logs with a tin roof.

Moses secured the reins and turned to look at Lia. For the first time since she got into the buggy, Moses saw an honest emotion, as excitement intermingled with anxiety on her face. She gazed at the book in her hands as if seeing it for the first time. “I shouldn’t have brought this. Can I leave it here?”

Moses nodded and offered his hand to help her from the buggy. She waved it away. “You’ll want to help Rachel, no doubt.”

He would? Lia was always so mindful of her sister, but Moses couldn’t muster that level of consideration.

As Moses expected, Rachel sat in her seat as if frozen in place until Moses came around to her side and gave her his hand.

“Oh, thank you. My foot still aches something awful.”

Filtered light peeked from between the trees and danced along the walls of the cabin. A rusty plow grown over with weeds rested against the rough-hewn log walls, and an unruly bush with tiny yellow flowers grew next to the door with branches stretching several feet in every direction along the ground. A hundred feet behind the cabin stood an outhouse with deep green ivy spreading its tentacles up one side.

Lia trudged to the cabin, hesitated while Moses and Rachel caught up to her, and knocked softly.

A loud creak greeted them as Sarah opened the door. She looked Lia up and down as if deciding if she were healthy enough to enter. “Good, you’re here. Moses, you can come back to fetch her at noon.”

Rachel stepped forward. Lia’s face turned pale, and she lowered her eyes. Moses wondered if she might be sick.

“I’m here to help,” Rachel said.

Sarah knitted her brows together and glanced at Moses. “Who are you?”

“I’m Lia’s sister Rachel. I want to help deliver the baby too.”

“Do you know anything about birthing babies?”

“Jah, a bit.”

Moses could have sworn Lia held her breath.

Sarah narrowed her eyes and frowned unapologetically. “Why did you bring this girl, Moses?”

“Mammi wanted her to come.”

Sarah’s hard expression gave way to puzzlement before her frown deepened, and she shook her head vigorously. “I don’t know you and Mattie don’t know you, and you are not setting foot in this house.”

Moses smiled to himself. Rachel wouldn’t be able to walk all over Sarah like she had Mammi.

Rachel pursed her lips and batted her lashes. “Anna said I should—”

“I will speak with my mammi another day, but you are absolutely not allowed in here.” Sarah took Lia by the shoulders and guided her into the cabin.

Moses heard Lia breathe a pent-up sigh as she relaxed and went eagerly in.

Rachel balled her hands into fists and stomped her foot. “Lia is my sister. I should be able to come in if I want.”

Sarah propped her hand on her hip and eyed Rachel. “I’m sorry you came all the way out here.” She shut the door more quickly than Moses could say “oy anyhow.”

Rachel stomped her foot again and crushed one of the dainty yellow flowers at her feet. Growling, she turned on her heels and marched to the buggy, showing no signs of her critical injury of the day before. She deftly pounced into the buggy and sat with her arms folded tightly across her chest glaring at the front door of the cabin.

Moses chuckled quietly. He adored his cousin Sarah.

He hauled himself into the buggy, took up the reins, and prodded the horse forward. The trip back to Huckleberry Hill would be more pleasant, only because he would be getting rid of Rachel at the end of it.

Rachel still held her arms clamped around her waist as she turned up her pretty little nose. “Can you believe how she treated me? I can guess she sleeps through church services instead of learning how to do unto others as she would have done unto her.”

Moses didn’t feel a bit sorry for her. “Lia warned you.”

“What does Lia know? She didn’t want me to come, that’s all. Did you see how smug she looked when Sarah slammed the door in my face? Dat is going to give Lia what for. She is supposed to watch out for me.”

“She was watching out for you. She knew if you came that you’d be embarrassed when Sarah said no.”

“Whose side are you on? Do I look like I’m embarrassed? I’m not embarrassed. I’m irritated.”

Moses knew there was no point arguing with her, but if she made it out to her father to be worse than it was, he might not let Lia stay for the rest of the summer. Could he think of anything to say to appease her?

“I would have worried if you had stayed. You are so delicate, I’m afraid of how the experience might have frightened you.” A more apt description for Rachel would be touchy or high-strung or downright cranky, but Moses wasn’t going to say that.

Rachel studied Moses’s face, and he could tell she was deciding how to react.

He smiled sympathetically.

She cracked a weak grin that soon bloomed into a full-fledged smile. “Thank you for caring about my well-being.”

Moses hadn’t forgotten that Rachel expected to marry him, and he hadn’t had the chance to set her straight. But he could have that conversation with her another time. Right now, she must be placated so Lia wouldn’t feel the brunt of her father’s disapproval.

Rachel relaxed her back against the seat and seemed to notice her surroundings for the first time. “The woods are pretty. This would be a fine place for a picnic.”

“Jah, and I saw a little stream flowing near the path where we came in.”

Rachel took in her breath sharply. “I know why Anna wanted me to come with you. She didn’t mean for me to help with the baby at all.” Rachel smiled as if she knew a terrific secret.

Moses’s heart sank. He knew precisely what she thought the secret was, and he wouldn’t spend a minute more with Rachel than he had to. Mammi made it plain that she wanted Moses to marry Lia, not Rachel. She wouldn’t think of suggesting that Rachel come along so they could spend time together. Would she? Had Mammi changed her mind about which Shetler girl she wanted Moses to marry?

Well, if he married any Shetler girl, it would not be Rachel.

Any man would be a fool not to choose Lia, with her eyes as rich as melted chocolate and a certain curve of her lips that took his breath away. Moses rubbed his thumb and index finger together as he thought of caressing Lia’s silky cheek.

He tightened his fingers around the reins and sat up straight.

Barbara, not Lia, was the girl he wanted.

“What should we do while we wait for Lia?” Rachel said.

“I’ll take you back to Huckleberry Hill.”

Rachel leaned toward Moses. “Oh, Anna doesn’t expect either of us back for hours.”

Moses ground his teeth together in an effort to keep from growling like a bear. He was taking her straight home, no debate. “I really need to get back to the factory.”

“The factory? I would love to see your factory. Is it far from here?”

“Pretty far.”

Rachel clapped her hands. “You must take me. I want to see how you make cheese.”

Moses reluctantly considered her request. He and Adam had started a batch of cheese that morning. It would be about time to separate the curds. They could always use another pair of hands. Studying Rachel out of the corner of his eye, he had a feeling she’d be useless, but maybe she would decide cheese wasn’t all that exciting and make up her mind that she didn’t want to marry him after all.