Читать книгу The Amish Christmas Matchmaker - Vannetta Chapman - Страница 16

Levi didn’t have a chance to talk to many people before the wedding. Amish weddings started rather early in the day—on account of they were long and they needed to be finished in time for lunch. Then there were games for the young adults and children, and after that, most of the teens and young married folk stayed for dinner.

Beth and Avery’s ceremony was taking place outside, so it was fortunate that the day dawned mild and sunny. In fact, it was a perfect fall day. He watched families assemble across the benches that had been set out in the backyard of the Stutzman farm, but his mind was on Annie Kauffmann. He’d had only one glimpse of her when he and Old Simon were walking from their buggy to the house. He was thinking of how he hoped to have time to talk to Alton again when he spied Annie darting from her trailer toward the back porch.

How did she manage to move that trailer there?

When did she find the time to cook enough food for all of these people?

Did she enjoy cooking that much?

And why wasn’t she married? She was a nice-enough-looking woman and pleasant, other than her dislike of Texas. Or maybe it was him that she disliked. It was hard to tell.

He was chasing that line of thought when the hymn singing started. Old Simon led the congregation in a prayer, then there was more singing, a short sermon, and finally, the soon-to-be-married couple stood in front of everyone.

It seemed to him like they’d only been there a few minutes. He was surprised when he glanced at his watch and saw that ninety minutes had already passed.

As he watched the couple exchange their vows, his mind slipped back to Annie. Did she need help readying the wedding lunch? Probably not. No doubt she’d catered many weddings before without his help, but then again, perhaps volunteering would soften her up a little.

Before he could properly think that through, they were singing again and then the bishop—an older guy named Marcus with a beard that was more salt than pepper—reminded everyone to stay for the meal and led them in a time of silent blessing. The next thing Levi knew, Jebediah appeared at his side holding two babies in his arms and introduced him to at least a dozen people. It would take him a while to get all the names straight, but he tried to look as if he were paying attention. The names were common Amish names—Joel, Matthew, Silas, Eli, Martha, Tabitha, Naomi. He wondered how he would ever remember who was who, but then he realized he wasn’t staying in Goshen. It didn’t really matter if he remembered everyone’s name. So he smiled politely and said hello.

Finally, a woman and a young girl moved beside Jebediah. The woman said something softly to him, as the young girl clung to her dress. Jebediah laughed and turned to Levi.

“This is my wife, Nicole.”

“Oh, ya? Gut to meet you.”

“Jebediah told me all about you.”

He could see the family resemblance, now that he studied her closely. She had the same warm eyes as Annie, but her hair was blonder and she had her father’s height. Annie was shorter with hair that reminded him of the color of autumn wheat. The word prettier popped into his mind, but he brushed it away. Annie Kauffmann might be pretty, but she had a lot of strong opinions that she didn’t mind sharing. It might be funny except for the fact that she was standing in the way of his plans.

“I think we lost him for a minute,” Nicole said.

“He drifts off every now and then.” Jebediah jostled the two babies in his arms.

“I can hear you. I was thinking of how much you look like your sister Annie.”

“You look exactly like Annie described. She’s talked about you a fair amount.” Nicole reached out and wiped some drool off one of the babes in Jebediah’s arms. “As has Dat.”

“All gut things I hope.”

“From Dat? Ya. But Annie, well...you know how Annie is.”

“I do? I’ve only known her a few days.”

“She’s not exactly a mystery.”

“Meaning?”

“She told me she told you that she doesn’t like all this Texas talk.”

“I guess she did mention it.”

Jebediah and Nicole both laughed at that as if he’d told a joke. It made him squirm, not that they might be laughing at him, but that he might be up against a force to be reckoned with. Instead of delving into the details of Annie’s opposition, he changed the subject.

“What are your children’s names?”

“The twins are Micah and Mitchell—nine months old.” Jebediah readjusted both babies in his arms. “Our oldest is Rachel.”

“I’m three,” Rachel proclaimed, holding up a pudgy hand and bending down her thumb and pinky.

Levi remembered what Jebediah had said about their expecting another. He glanced at Nicole’s stomach, then quickly averted his eyes.

She again laughed. “I’m five months along, in case you were wondering.”

“I wasn’t.” And now his cheeks were burning.

When everyone else surged forward to be in the first seating of folks who would eat, Levi hung back.

“You can come with us into the first group,” Jebediah said.

“No need. I don’t mind waiting. Gives me time to watch folks.”

Annie had stepped out of the trailer to deliver two platters of food. When she stepped back inside a small tabby cat crept in after her.

“Uh-oh,” Jebediah said.

His astute comment was immediately followed by an ear-piercing scream. He handed the babies off to Nicole, but Levi was already on his way toward Annie.

The scene in front of him when he stepped into the trailer was something he wouldn’t forget for a very long time.

An Englisch woman was holding two large bowls of side dishes up high and trying to move around Annie without dropping them. She wore a conservative dress and a handkerchief over her hair, which was red and braided into a long ponytail down her back. She most certainly was not Amish.

Annie wore a light gray Amish dress with a white apron. A fresh kapp covered her hair, and her cheeks were a bright red. She had a pot lid in one hand and a dish towel in the other. She was slapping at the cat with the towel and holding the pot lid like an early Christian in Rome’s Colosseum fending off the hungry lions.

As for the cat, he was clearly a terrified kitten, but that didn’t stop him from arching his back and hissing at Annie.

Levi wanted to see how this would unfold. He wanted to burst out laughing, but another look at Annie told him that wouldn’t be a wise move.

So instead, he pulled off his Stetson, dropped it over the unsuspecting cat, scooped it up in his arms and fled the trailer.

“Who was that?” Priscilla was still holding the two dishes of corn casserole high, as if the cat might return at any moment and leap on the food.

“I’ll explain later. We need to get this food out there.”

The next hour passed in a blur of activity. Annie loved nearly every minute of it. She liked feeding people, liked seeing the bride and groom and families relax. This was their day of celebration. They shouldn’t be worried about chicken and hot rolls and casserole dishes. The fact that she did her job well meant that they could enjoy the wedding. And she didn’t mind admitting that she was very good at guiding families through these special days, when there weren’t feral cats hopping into her trailer.

She sighed and stood in the doorway looking out over the tables.

“Take a break,” Priscilla said. “In fact, take some food and go sit down somewhere.”

“You’re bossy, you know that?”

“Which is why I make a good partner.”

“I guess.”

“You’re still staring at him.”

“Who?”

“The Amish cowboy.”

Annie snorted at that. It sounded so ridiculous. It was ridiculous.

“So what gives?”

“He arrived here a few days ago.”

“Why?”

“Looking for families to move to Texas.”

“I didn’t realize there were Amish communities there.”

“There’s one, and it’s quite small and located in South Texas. Levi wants to start another.”

“Ahhhh...” Priscilla’s single word said she finally understood the problem. She’d been around Annie long enough to know how excited her dat could be when he first dove into a new idea.

“We’re not moving,” Annie said.

“Have you told your dat that?”

“You can’t tell Dat anything. You have to...wait it out.”

“Like the camels.”

“Ya. Like that.”

“If it’s any consolation, I have family in Texas—Fort Worth. I’ve visited a few times. It’s not such a bad place to live.”

Annie shook her head and picked at the plate of food that Priscilla had pushed into her hand. “I need a plan.”

“Uh-oh.”

“What if Dat went through with it? I mean usually he doesn’t, but this time could be different. I’ve never seen him this focused before. He even checked out some books on Texas from the library. Spent some time on their computers looking things up too.”

“That does sound serious.”

“I need a plan to distract Levi.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. What are men interested in...” At that moment, a swell of laughter arose from the newlyweds’ table. Both Annie and Priscilla stuck their heads out of the trailer to see the bride blushing and the groom ducking his head.

“Women,” they said at the same time.

“That’s it.” Annie reached for her glass of tea and made her way down the trailer steps.

“Do you need help?” Priscilla called after her.

Annie turned so that she was walking backward. “You already helped. You gave me the idea.”

“I did?”

She made her way to an empty seat, sat down and enjoyed the plate of food. The chicken had not dried out, the vegetable casseroles were tasty and the bread practically melted in her mouth. She was a good cook, a good businesswoman, and she wasn’t going to lose everything she’d built to a guy who had stumbled into town with a dream.

It was later that afternoon before she had a chance to implement her plan. She and Priscilla had cleaned the dishes and made sure everything was ready for the evening meal. With nearly two hours before they had to do anything else, Priscilla decided to drive into town and do some shopping. Annie made her way to the pasture fence, where Beth’s parents kept their small herd of goats. They were playful animals. One stuck its nose through the fence when she approached, so she reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of carrot.

“Now they’re going to stampede over here.” Levi walked up and crossed his arms on the top of the fence.

“Maybe that’s what I wanted.”

“A goat stampede?”

She dusted off her hands and shooed the goat away. “I saw you talking to Dat earlier.”

Levi raised his hands in surrender. “Not the way you think.”

“So you weren’t talking to him about Texas?”

“I didn’t bring it up. I told you I wouldn’t, and I didn’t.”

“But...”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t answer questions. He brought it up because he had a few questions that cropped up from his reading.”

“And it didn’t hurt that a few other men were standing around listening.”

Now Levi smiled. “Come on, Annie. It’s why I’m here. You can’t fault me for that.”

“Except your plan could bankrupt my business.”

“Ten families moving wouldn’t affect you at all.”

She shook her head so hard that her kapp strings bounced back and forth. She had promised herself she wouldn’t get into an argument with him. That wasn’t her plan.

But she needed for him to see what was at stake.

Suddenly she thought of the brainstorming sessions she’d had with Priscilla, before they’d started Plain & Simple Weddings. Part of their initial challenge had been convincing families that they needed their services, and that in the end, it would be less expensive for them. She was up against the same sort of thing with Levi. He simply didn’t understand that he needed her services, and she wasn’t talking about catering.

Levi Lapp thought he needed a fresh start, but that wasn’t the case at all. When had moving away from your problems ever solved anything?

Levi didn’t need to move; he needed to believe in himself.

He needed to be able to envision his future here—in Goshen, Indiana.

He needed a woman, and she knew several that were available.

Annie cleared her throat and looked back toward her trailer. “Priscilla and I started our business three years ago.”

He seemed surprised at the change of subject, but he turned as she had and looked out at the trailer.

“She put up two-thirds of the initial money.”

“You mean buying the trailer?”

“It’s actually a mobile kitchen and cost a little more than twelve thousand dollars.”

Levi glanced at her in surprise. “Seriously?”

“Ya. Stoves, refrigerators and enough dishes for five hundred...not to mention the trailer itself and the licensing fees.”

“I had no idea.”

“We broke even the first year.”

“Wow.”

“She’s a gut partner too. Since she’s Englisch, she drives a truck that can pull the trailer. She can also order a lot of what we need wholesale on the computer.”

“You’re saying you two make a wunderbaar team. I can see that. You have every right to be proud of what you’ve done, Annie.”

“Pride goes before destruction as my mamm often reminds me, but I am pleased with our success. More importantly I enjoy what we do. I like making this...” She waved at the large group of people sprawled across the green yard—full, content, some of them growing sleepy. “I like making it all possible. I enjoy seeing others happily wed.”

“What about you?”

“Me?” Her thoughts scrambled for an answer to his question. It wasn’t the first time someone had asked her why she wasn’t married, but somehow it was different coming from Levi Lapp while he smiled at her with his cowboy hat tilted at an angle.

“Doesn’t being at so many weddings make you...interested in finding someone?”

“I’m only twenty-four.”

“I didn’t say you were an old maid.”

“My mamm worries about that, but I’m in no hurry. I’ve been to my schweschder’s often enough to know that running a catering business is less work than three small children.” She paused, and then added, “What about you?”

“Me?” His voice squeaked. He cleared his throat and resettled his hat on his head. “I figure that will happen after I move to Texas.”

“But what if you could find a fraa here and take her with you?”

“Now you’re making fun of me.”

“I’m not.”

“Did you have someone in mind?” The grin he gave her reminded Annie of the cat in her trailer—mischievous and daring.

Annie had a flash of clarity then, staring up into Levi’s blue eyes. There was no doubt that she could find women in their congregation interested in dating Levi Lapp, but she wouldn’t be able to trick him into it. That part of her plan died before she could implement it. Levi was like competition that you had to face head-on.

So she stepped back and crossed her arms. “Do you really think you can convince my dat and bruder to move to Texas?”

“I’m not saying that I can, but it should be their decision...along with your mamm and your schweschder. If it’s what they want, then you should be happy for them.”

She didn’t bother arguing that her mamm and schweschder were quite happy in Goshen. Levi was like a steam-engine train headed in one direction—no U-turns allowed.

“All right. I’ll make you a deal.”

“A deal?”

“You agree to date some of my freinden...”

“Date?”

“Hear me out. You’re not planning on staying. They’re not necessarily looking to get married, but they need...let’s say they need a little experience in the dating area.”

Levi groaned. “You’re going to set me up with the rejects.”

She felt a headache forming just at her left temple. Closing her eyes, she prayed to Gotte for patience, then counted to three.

“They’re shy,” she corrected him. “And maybe they have a lack of confidence. Dating you should help that.”

“Because I’m such a gut catch?”

He grinned, and she realized he was handsome. Not her type, but handsome nonetheless. Yes, this plan could work.

“Let’s say there’s no pressure on either side. That should help. They’ll know you’re not staying...”

“And I’ll know they’re not really interested. This is a terrible plan. Why would I agree to it?”

This was the tricky part. She almost couldn’t believe she was going to suggest it. But then again, what choice did she have? He was going to talk to her dat and Jebediah in spite of how much it bothered her. They would keep asking him questions. He’d keep painting pictures of rosy Texas sunsets.

“When were you planning to leave?”

“You get right to the point, don’t you?”

“Do you even have a plan?”

“Of course I do.” Levi scuffed the toe of his boot against the dirt, and she noticed he was wearing Western boots. Of course he was.

“Why does our bishop let you dress like that?”

“This?” He pointed the toe of his boot up. “These are Ariats. Very comfortable.”

“And that.” She pointed at his hat.

“A Stetson. All Texans wear them.”

“Why are you wearing them? You’re Amish.” She said the last word slowly, in two drawn-out syllables.

“Marcus talked to me about it,” Levi admitted. “He said if I decided to join the community I’d need to dress more conservatively. I assured him I was moving on, so he said it wasn’t a problem.”

“Back to the when of your plan...”

“I hope to go down before Christmas to look for land and move by early spring—my target date is February or March.”

“That’s not spring.”

“It is in Texas.”

She couldn’t hold the sigh inside. She’d hoped he was planning for a move in a year, which would have been plenty of time for her dat’s attention to wander elsewhere. A scouting party before Christmas? That was mere months away. She’d have to work fast if she hoped to save the nice comfortable life she had. She’d already waded in too far to back out now, plus she didn’t have any backup plan. It wasn’t going to be easy to match Levi with someone. Who wanted an Amish cowboy? Though there was one possibility...

Levi was studying her as if expecting her to give up. He didn’t know her very well. She liked a challenge. She thrived in tough situations. Tossing her kapp strings behind her shoulders, she plastered on what she hoped was her prettiest smile. “All right. You agree to date a couple of my friends...not at the same time, mind you.”

“Of course not.”

“And in return, I won’t try and stop you from talking to my family about your plans.”

“As if you could.”

“My point is that you won’t have to deal with my objections.”

He studied her a minute and then said, “Seriously?”

“Ya.”

“What’s in it for you?”

“Me?”

“Why are you doing this? I know you’re dead set against the idea of moving.”

“Oh, I am not moving. I’ll find a way to stay here even if you convince the whole community to move south.”

Levi laughed. “That’s the Annie I know.”

“You don’t know me.”

“Uh-huh. But seriously, why are you doing this?”

“I like weddings is all. I enjoy seeing two people who are meant to be together find each other.”

“I’m not getting married.”

“I know, but maybe Gotte has different plans.”

“What does Gotte have to do with it?”

“Maybe He brought you to Goshen for a reason...a different reason.”

“So now you’re a matchmaker?”

“Think of me as a concerned bystander.”

Levi shook his head. “I don’t know...”

“Is it a deal or not? If you’d rather, I can keep pointing out all the terrible things about your Lone Star State.”

“All right. It’s a deal.” He held out his hand. “But you have to shake on it.”

She rolled her eyes, but put her hand in his. He closed his fingers around hers, held her hand long enough that she didn’t like the goose bumps running down her arm or the jumble of nerves in her stomach. She jerked her hand away.

“Great. Then it’s settled. I’ll give you the name of your first date when you come over on Wednesday to work.”

“I look forward to it.”

Of course he did. The man was conceited in addition to being stubborn. But, just possibly, she’d found a way to keep her life firmly rooted in Goshen, because she had the perfect woman in mind for Levi Lapp and this person would never consider moving away. All Annie had to do was see to it that the two of them fell in love. She was envisioning a wedding announcement before the holidays if she handled this right. No need for a long courtship at their age. It would mean she’d have to live around Levi the rest of her life, but at least she wouldn’t have to do so in Texas.