Читать книгу A Love For Leah - Emma Miller - Страница 12

Chapter Four

Leah didn’t know what to say. She didn’t know if she was more disappointed in Sara or upset with her that she would suggest such a thing. Hadn’t she just told Sara the other day that Thomas was all wrong for her? A terrible match. Of course, he was a good person. This was awkward, so much so that she almost wished the floor would open and let her drop through to the cellar. Anything to get out of this chair and away from Thomas.

“Well?” Sara said. “Are we in agreement, Leah? Six weeks?”

“I... I’m just afraid it would be...a waste of everyone’s time,” Leah hedged. “Not helpful for...” Her fork fell off the plate. She grabbed for it and missed. The fork clattered to the floor leaving a trail of blueberry-pie filling across the hardwood. Her face felt warm; she knew she was blushing. She reached to pick it up but Thomas was quicker. He grabbed the wayward utensil and dropped it onto his empty saucer.

Leah seized a napkin off Sara’s desk and wiped at the mess. It smeared and she got down on her knees to get the last of the blueberry smear.

Sara cleared her throat.

Leah got up hastily, crumpling the dirty napkin and shoving it into a spacious apron pocket. She glanced toward the door, wondering if she should make a run for it.

Sara folded her arms again and looked at Thomas. “What about you? Are you willing? Would you date Leah for six weeks?”

He started to rise and then settled back into his chair. “Ya, I suppose I could. I mean...” His tanned complexion flushed. “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting...”

“You can see that it wouldn’t work,” Leah blurted, finding her voice. “He doesn’t want—”

“Nonsense,” Sara interrupted. “What Thomas wants or doesn’t want clearly hasn’t been working, has it? That’s why he came to me.” She turned and their gazes locked. “And you came to me. You asked for my help. My opinion. And I’m giving it to you. My opinion is that you and Thomas may be a good match. An excellent match.” Sara steepled her hands and leaned forward, elbows braced against the desk. “And if nothing else, six weeks will give you time to settle in to Seven Poplars again. What is it the sailors say? Get your sea legs?”

Leah was in no mood for humor, but what could she say? She had hired Sara and she had put her trust in her abilities. And it wasn’t as if she could go door-to-door knocking at farmhouses, asking if there was an eligible bachelor available. She’d wanted a matchmaker so that she wouldn’t have to make a decision, so that the weight would be taken off her shoulders. Her plan was that whoever God sent, she would accept.

“I... I just...” Leah didn’t know what to say.

“Come now, it’s not as though I’m asking you to cry the banns next Sunday,” Sara said. “And Thomas is an acceptable escort. You might have fun. And if the two of you go to frolics, singings, socials, who knows—you might meet someone you really like.” She hesitated. “Humor me, Leah.”

Leah looked at Thomas. “What do you think?”

“I see no harm in it.” Thomas shrugged. “And it could be fun.”

“Ya,” Leah replied. “You would say that.”

He chuckled. “Sorry. I do like having a good time.”

“Well?” Sara asked.

Leah looked from the older woman to Thomas and back to Sara. “At the end of six weeks, if we both feel the same way, will you find me the older widower I asked for?”

“Of course,” Sara agreed. “And if I’ve made a mistake and wasted your time, I’ll consider a substantial reduction in my fee for your new matches.”

“Could we talk?” Thomas suggested. “Just Leah and me?” He glanced at her. “If you’re agreeable, Leah?”

“Ya,” she said.

“Fine.” Sara got up from her chair. “Take all the time you want. But I’ll leave the door open, for propriety’s sake.” She paused on her way out. “You two need to trust me. I know what I’m doing.”

“I wish I was certain of that,” Leah admitted, once she and Thomas were alone.

“Want to sit down?” Thomas motioned toward the chair she’d vacated. “Talk about this?”

Leah nodded, taking Sara’s seat, putting the desk between them. “I’m sorry about you being put on the spot this way. I had no idea that she was going to suggest—” she began.

“Me neither,” he said, cutting her off. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just don’t want you to think I was in on this.”

“I know you weren’t. It’s fine. This is just so—”

“Awkward,” he finished for her.

“Ya,” she agreed, and found they were both chuckling as though they shared a joke. And perhaps they did. Sara’s ruse. “I suppose we’re stuck with this,” Leah ventured.

“Ne. Not if it doesn’t suit you. If you find me that...” Thomas seemed to search for a word. “Distasteful.”

Leah shook her head. “It’s not that. I like you, Thomas. You’re a good man. Just not...”

“What you were looking for,” he supplied. “I understand.”

“I’m glad someone does.” She nibbled at her bottom lip. “I thought it would be easier than this.”

His dark eyes lit with humor. “It would have been if I’d taken a fancy to Hazel.”

“And if I liked Holsteins more.” She returned Thomas’s smile with one of her own. She felt her annoyance slipping away. He was sweet. What harm could it do to humor Sara? It would only be for six weeks, and then she would get on with the process of making a serious arrangement. “I think we should just give in gracefully,” she admitted. “I think Sara has us in a corner.”

“Actually,” he said. “You might be doing me a favor. It will give me some time to get my family off my back.” He arched a brow questioningly. “Are you in?”

Leah nodded and offered him her hand. “I think we have a deal. Six weeks and no hard feelings when we break it off.”

His stood again and strong fingers closed around hers as he reached across the desk to shake on it. “Six weeks,” he echoed quietly. “We walk out together, have some fun, and everyone is satisfied.”

“And then we get on with our lives,” she finished.

“Goot enough.” He squeezed her hand and then released it. “So, will you let me walk you home after church services tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “Are you sure? So soon?”

“Ya, tomorrow,” he answered steadily. “Why not tomorrow? We’ve made a bargain, haven’t we? When I agree to something, I keep my word.”

“All right,” she said, smiling at him again. “Me, too.”

* * *

“A good sermon,” Leah said. “Not too long.”

Thomas nodded. “Your sister’s husband is a good preacher. When Caleb first came to Seven Poplars, we thought he might not be a good fit, but we were wrong. We like him.” He grinned at her. “Partly because he doesn’t speak to hear the sound of his own voice.”

“But what he said was powerful,” Leah replied. “A good preacher doesn’t need to shout to deliver God’s message.”

“Ya, I agree.” Thomas bent to pick up a stick lying on the edge of the blacktop and tossed it into the woods. “When a sermon is too long, a man’s thoughts drift. I like the short ones best.”

It was late afternoon and they were on their way back to Sara’s house after worship. Ahead of them, a few hundred yards, walked a young family: a mother, father and three children. Some distance behind them, another couple strolled. Buggies passed at regular intervals, followed by an occasional automobile or pickup truck, but this was a narrow country road with little traffic other than locals, a safe road for walking.

The Kings’ farm, where services had been held today, was two miles from Sara’s, but the weather was mild and the spring sun warm on his face—so warm that Thomas looked overdressed in his coat and vest. She suspected that he would rather remove the coat and walk home in shirtsleeves, but it wouldn’t be proper on the Sabbath. Thomas seemed fast, almost reckless at times, but he wasn’t outright rebellious.

Leah was comfortable enough in her gray cotton dress and black leather oxfords. She considered herself a good walker, and although Thomas’s legs were a lot longer than hers, she had no trouble keeping up.

Thomas groaned and patted his stomach. “I think I might have had one too many helpings of Anna’s shoofly pie.”

“Greedy. You should have stopped at one slice.”

He chuckled. “I thought it was delicious, but I couldn’t be sure until I ate a second piece.”

“Three,” she reminded him. “You had three slices.”

“Small slices,” he admitted, and laughed with her. “This isn’t so bad, is it? Walking out with me? Unless you’d rather be driving.”

She shook her head, thinking of her little black car parked behind Sara’s chicken house. “I don’t mind walking,” she answered. “It’s good exercise. We walked all the time in Brazil. There are no roads where we were. It was travel by boat down a river, fly or walk. Mostly, we walked. It could take hours or days to get to a sick patient or a village where Daniel was preaching.”

“You walked for days through the jungle? Weren’t you afraid?”

“Sometimes. Not often. Most of the tribespeople are quite shy of strangers. We always traveled with a guide, someone who could speak their language. Usually, we were welcomed into their villages and treated as honored guests. If I was afraid of anything, it was the snakes.” She shuddered, just thinking of them. “There are several that are extremely poisonous. Deadly, even with modern treatment. I never learned to lose my fear of snakes.”

“You said there were lots of insects. Mosquitoes?”

“Far too many. And some carry diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.”

“And here I thought Delaware mosquitoes were bad.”

“They can be.” She rubbed her arms. “Don’t remind me. They aren’t out yet, and it’s much too pleasant to think about them.”

“August was bad last year. We had a lot of rain and they hatched by the millions. Huge and hungry.”

“Lovely,” she said. “I can’t wait.”

Thomas chuckled. “Well, I guess we raised a few eyebrows when we left the Kings’ together.”

“I’m sure we set them all atwitter,” she agreed. She was surprised at how much she was enjoying the day. She’d expected having Thomas walk her home from church would be awkward, but she found him comfortable to talk to. He had an easy laugh, and it was nice having him beside her.

“My grandfather saw us and nodded his approval.” He made a reluctant sound. “I feel a little bad about deceiving him, letting him think that we’re walking out together.”

“But, we are, aren’t we? We did promise Sara a six-week trial.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Thomas said. “It isn’t really a ruse. Not if we do date like we promised. Even if we both know that this isn’t going to work out.”

“Exactly,” she agreed. “You know, honestly, I can’t see why you haven’t found someone. There’s nothing wrong with you that I can see.”

“I’m glad to hear that.”

His tone seemed a little stilted. “Don’t take it personally, Thomas. And who knows? Maybe Sara will prove us wrong. Maybe we’ll fall madly in love.”

He chuckled with her. “Right.”

Leah stopped walking and looked up into his face. “But I warn you, you’ll have to be careful what you say. My sisters are relentless. They’ll try to drum every bit of information out of you. They’ll interrogate you just like one of those detectives on the television shows.”

“Have you watched a lot of television?”

“Ne. Not much, but you can’t help but see it now and then when you travel a lot.”

“I suppose you miss it now that you’re living with Sara.”

“Ne.” She shook her head. “I don’t. Mostly television is reporters shouting about fires or shootings or some movie star’s latest scandal or people running around and blowing up things. Life is better without it.”

“I suppose.” He took her arm, guided her off into the grass as a truck passed and then released her.

Leah felt a warm rush of pleasure. How long had it been since she’d felt a man’s touch? It felt good, and the realization made her wonder how she could so quickly forget that she had once been a married woman. And now was Daniel’s widow.

Subdued, she turned the conversation to Thomas after they had walked a short way. “Your family must be eager for you to settle down and start a family. As much as my family wants me to marry again.”

“You could say that.”

When she didn’t comment, he found himself telling her about the conversation he’d had with his grandfather about the farm. “I wasn’t expecting that,” he concluded. “I never thought that he’d threaten me about the land.”

“What will you do?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. I wanted to shout back at him. To tell him that he couldn’t pressure me into marrying just anyone. But I bit my tongue. I just...”

She nodded. “I understand. It isn’t easy with those we love. They want to help, but they cause more problems. It’s one reason I decided to stay at Sara’s. Mam pities me because of what happened to Daniel and our baby. She wants to protect me and to tell me what to do with my life at the same time.” Leah flashed a brilliant smile. “But I’m not letting her get away with it.”

“Still,” he said, “you must have...” He wanted to say suffered but, instead, just trailed off. “It was a great loss,” he finished.

Leah swallowed back the surge of hurt that threatened her peaceful day. “I have to believe that they’re in a better place. It helps that I know the two of them are together in the Lord’s care. And that if I live a good life I’ll see them again.” She forced a smile. “I know that. Just as I know that my Daniel would have wanted me to live on, for all of us.”

“Ya,” Thomas said. “I see the wisdom in that.” He touched her arm lightly. “I think you are a brave woman.”

She shook her head and chuckled wryly. “Not brave. Just trusting that God has a path for me and that all I have to do is to try and find it.”

They walked a little farther in silence, and then he said, “You make me realize that my problems are small.”

“Finding a wife?”

“That is an obstacle. But it’s more than that. My grandfather, my father, my whole family expect me to follow tradition and become a blacksmith. But it’s not what I want. It’s not how I see my life. Does that make me selfish?”

She stopped and looked up at him. “You shouldn’t feel guilty because you don’t want to be told what to do for a living. My family certainly didn’t want me to marry a Mennonite and go to Brazil as a missionary. But it was my choice. Surely, each person has the right to choose what’s best for them.”

“Ya. It’s what I think, too. But it’s hard to disappoint my grandfather and my father. It means so much to them.”