A Daughter's Dream (4 page)

Rebecca shrugged. “I don't know what happened, exactly. All I know is that if Rachel hadn't come in when she did, that boy's behavior would have gotten even worse.”

Lukas frowned. “Want me to talk to him?”

“Of course not. If you say anything, he's going to think I tattled.”

“You kind of did,” Amelia pointed out.

Rebecca rolled her eyes. “You tattled on Oscar.”

“That
hund
ate my
kapp
.”

“Maybe your next visit will go better,” Darla said encouragingly.

“Maybe, though it might not.” Actually, she was thinking she had quite a ways to go before she could consider her time in the classroom a success.

“Maybe you should stick to working at the mill,” Lukas said. “I don't want to ruin your dream of being a teacher, but we really missed you there. You're a mighty
gut
receptionist.”

“Lukas, you shouldn't have said that,” Darla chided.

“Why not? It's true. She's wonderful-
gut
.”

“That might be so, but everyone needs to follow their heart.”

Right before their eyes, her bossy brother softened. “That is true,” he said with a smile. “Look what happened to us.”

“Oh, no,” Evan grumbled. “You two aren't going to start fawning over each other again, are you?”

“Evan, you are a guest here,” Darla said. “Mind your manners.”

“I'm also your
bruder
. And I don't want to watch you get all mushy over your husband.” Then, as if he suddenly realized who that husband was, he flushed. “Sorry, Lukas.”

“I don't blame you. If Levi was here, he would have said something far more direct.”

The mention of Levi put an immediate damper on the conversation.

“I hope Levi is okay,” Amelia whispered. “I wish he'd come home.”

Their supper conversation tonight was a veritable minefield of taboo topics. Grasping for another subject to raise their spirits, Rebecca said, “Guess what, Evan? I did meet a new student this afternoon.”

“Oh? Boy or girl?”

“Girl, and her name is Lilly. She is thirteen. She's going to start tomorrow.”

“Where's she from?”

“I'm not sure. I thought her
daed
said he was from Florida, but the girl said something about how she was from Ohio. Anyway, she seemed really nice.”

“We'll see.” Evan shrugged. “Girls her age aren't always so nice to boys.”

“You're a full year older than her, Evan,” Darla said.

“
Jah
. But to some girls, that don't matter one bit.”

The silly, sweet comment was so true and irreverent, Rebecca giggled. And just like that, all of her problems faded away. Lukas chuckled, Darla shook her head in dismay, and Amelia grinned down at her plate.

As Rebecca smiled at Evan, she gave thanks for him. His simple statement was a nice reminder that everything mattered to someone. No matter how big or small it might seem, it was still important.

Monday, August 17

F
our days later, Rebecca wished she could return to the wonderful feeling of contentment that she'd felt at her supper table. Instead, she was once again sitting behind the circular reception desk of Kinsinger Lumber. The broad granite countertops that surrounded her were covered with piles of folders she hadn't sorted and messages she'd neither had time to read nor reply to. Phones had been incessantly ringing, customers in the retail showroom had been asking questions, and deliverymen from no less than three companies had stopped to ask her for help.

She was also currently surrounded by a handful of men, each of whom was acting as if his business was more important than the others.

“One at a time, please,” she bit out. Again. When they quieted, she turned to the man who'd been standing there the longest. “Now, Jonas, what invoice did you say you had concerns about?”

“The invoice marked July seventh. I told you that,” he said impatiently.

She ignored the jab and wrote down his reminder. “I'll look into it.” Turning to the next man, she said, “Scott, tell me what it was that you needed again.”

“I need you to call Griffin Mill in Washington State.”

She wrote that down. “Because?”

“Their latest shipment of redwood is running two weeks late. The customers who ordered it want some answers. But no one at Griffin is answering my calls.”

Though Rebecca wasn't sure why Scott thought anyone would pick up her calls if they weren't picking up his, she still wrote down his concerns dutifully. “I'll call this afternoon.”

“Danke.”
He leaned closer. “And, Becky, when you get an answer, don't forget to let me know as soon as possible.”

Rebecca nodded, keeping her thoughts to herself about how she definitely did not have time to trot down to Scott's building to give him updates. “Next?” she asked wearily.

Abe smacked his palm down on her desk as if he didn't already have her full attention. “I need to put in for some vacation, Rebecca.”

Her patience nearing its end, she shook her head. “You know you should go to your team leader. I canna take care of vacation leave for a whole company.”

“I know that,” Abe replied, looking just as irritated to be talking to her as she was to be hearing about vacation leave. “However, my team leader is Jeremy Wolfe. He's out sick. I was told that you were his backup.”

Shoving a notecard his way, she said, “Write all the pertinent details down, and I'll take care of it. Next?”

“We need to check on our fundraiser,” Paul said. “It's scheduled to take place in six weeks but I don't think anything's getting organized.”

Pulling her spiral notebook closer, Rebecca scribbled
Fundraiser. Paul. Check.
Hopefully when she finally got to that note she'd remember what it meant, though it was doubtful.

And so it continued. Four more workers, plus one retail customer, and one builder representative, all with questions and demands. An hour later, after assuring everyone that she could get to his needs far more quickly if he was not watching her every move, Rebecca shooed them all away. Each person left grudgingly.

“You're sure you won't forget about Griffin Mill?” Scott asked.

“I will not forget, Scott.”

Glad to have a few minutes of peace and quiet, Rebecca rested her head on the back of her chair and sighed. She wasn't sure how much longer she was going to be able to do this full-time.

The men, while always respectful, were men. They were gruff and abrupt. They got sweaty and stomped around. They joked with one another but not with her. She was not only a member of the Kinsinger family, but she was also a woman. Those two factors were always going to keep an imaginary barrier between her and the rest of the workers.

When Rebecca had first started at the reception desk, she'd been a little hurt by the men's distance. Luckily, she'd grown accustomed to it over the past three years.

She'd tried to find satisfaction in helping her family. And she had. She also got along with most of Lukas's and Levi's friends. They might not ask her to eat lunch with them, but they were friendly enough.

Even so, she was more than a little tired of being in the company of men all day. She was growing weary of every conversation being about lumber and trucks and deliveries and shipments.

Though she appreciated how hard the men in the company worked—and understood their concerns—she was starting to realize that in her heart, she didn't care all that much about what they wanted. The fact was, Rebecca did not want to work at the lumber mill six days a week. She wanted this to be her brothers' place of work. Not hers.

She needed to do something else. She needed it as much as Scott needed his questions answered from Griffin Mill.

When she opened her eyes, she was startled to see Lukas leaning up against the doorframe of his office. His arms were folded over his chest and he was looking at her so intently she thought he was attempting to read her mind.

“How long have you been standing there?” she asked.

Her brother cocked his head to one side. “Long enough to see that you have a to-do list a mile long.”

“
Jah
. That about sums it up.” She rolled her eyes. “I swear, half of these men don't need a receptionist, they need a mother. They're helpless, Luke.”

Though he didn't crack a smile, his gaze warmed. “
Nee
, they simply know who to look to for help. You are a capable woman. I promise, they wouldn't flock around you if they didn't believe you could get things done.”

“That's good to know.” At the moment, though, she wished she was just a little less competent. Maybe then more people would attempt to solve their own problems instead of asking her to fix them.

Walking toward her, new concern lit his expression. “Hey,
what's going on? You usually don't let any of this get to you. I've seen you handle dozens of moments like the one I just witnessed. Is everything okay?”

“Everything is fine.” And it was. Well, as fine as it could be. “I'm sorry. I'm just a little grumpy. I'll get over it.”

“You don't have to apologize to me. I know these men and this job can be a handful. I remember Daed made me take over your chair a few months after I started here. He told me I needed to remember how important each person's role in the company was.”

She chuckled. “I had forgotten all about that. You hated sitting in this chair.”

“
Jah
. I really hated it. I wasn't good at it, either.” Rubbing the back of his neck, he said, “I think half the men marched into Daed's office and threatened to quit if he didn't get me out of there.”

Rebecca knew he was trying to make her feel better, she really did. But so far all his story was doing was making her wish that she'd gotten to move on, too. “Like I said, I'm fine. I won't feel so overwhelmed once I get some things on my to-do list taken care of.”

Lukas didn't look as if he believed her. “You know what, we've been blessed with a lot of work. But because of that, there are lots of minor emergencies. It's stressful. Maybe you need some help.”

The last thing in the world she wanted to do was make Lukas more stressed about the mill than he already was. She had no right to complain when he was running a whole business single-handedly. “No worries, I feel much better now. I, um, just needed to vent.”

But instead of looking relieved, he sat down in the chair
across from her. “Becky, be honest. What's going on?” After a pause, he looked at her worriedly. “Hey, none of the men are being disrespectful, are they? If someone is treating you poorly, I'll put a stop to that.”

“No one is being disrespectful.” She quickly shook her head.

“Sure?”

“Positive.”

“Okay, then what can we do to make you happier? How about we hire you an assistant? Like I said, the business has been growing. I've hired more managers but not more office assistants.”

She loved how Lukas always talked to her as an equal. He valued her abilities to handle things. Because of that, she shrugged. “An assistant might help. I don't know, Luke. Maybe all these changes have finally gotten the best of me.”

“If so, we need to ease your load.”

She thought about that. “You're right, there is a lot of work to be done, but I don't mind all that much. It's just—” She stopped herself before complaining more. She wasn't a whiner, she never had been. She had always prided herself on simply putting her head down and working harder when things got tough.

“Come on, Becky. Talk to me. I'm not your boss, I'm your brother.”

“All right.” Unable to stay sitting behind that desk piled high with work, she got up and walked around, leaning against the front of it.

Then, without the desk between herself and her brother, she bared her soul. “It's like this. I think everything has just finally gotten to me. Daed dying, then dealing with the aftermath of the fire. Then you and Darla getting married and Levi leaving. . . . It's kind of a lot to take in.”

“It has been a lot. Too much.”

“I'll handle it, though.”

He looked troubled. “I didn't think you minded that me and Darla got married right away.”

“I didn't and I don't. You two are perfect for each other, and you always have been,” she said in a rush. “I promise, I'm happy for you. I love Darla. But it's simply another change in an already eventful two years. It's exhausting, trying to keep up.”

“It would have been better if Levi hadn't taken off.” With a pained expression, he added, “I can't tell you the number of times I've had to reassure Darla that his leaving was not her fault.”

Rebecca thought about that. Although Lukas had worried that it was his marriage to Darla that had made Levi so upset, she didn't think that was the reason Levi had left.

She was starting to think that Levi's excuse had been completely honest. All the changes had simply gotten the best of him, too. But instead of staying and working things out, he had opted to take some time for himself.

Though she hated the extra work caused by his leaving, she couldn't say she blamed him. She wanted some time for herself, too.

“Levi leaving was not Darla's fault. I think he would be mighty upset if he knew she thought that.”

“He's not going to know, though, because he hasn't kept in touch,” Lukas said bitterly. “I can't believe he just took off with nothing more than a brief note saying good-bye.”

Rebecca completely agreed. Levi's departure had been painful. Lukas had felt guilty, and she had been perplexed. But Amelia? Amelia had been crushed. They'd always been close, and Amelia took his leaving very personally.

“I think it was simply the last straw.”

“I can't do anything about Levi. But I can help you.”

“Lukas, please stop worrying so much. I am fine.”

Narrowing his eyes, he shook his head. “No, I don't think so.”

“Lukas—”

“Rebecca, how about this? How about I ask one of the women who works in the retail store to come work in here with you?”

“Such as?”

He thought for a moment. “How about Mercy? She's awfully good at managing both numbers and people.”

Though Rebecca had been prepared to push aside any of his suggestions, that name drew her up short. Mercy was eighteen, smart as a whip, and as brash as a mockingbird. In a strange way, Mercy's youth helped her more than another person's experience might. Pretty much because she had no expectations or fear of failure. Instead of worrying about what might happen if she was disappointed, Mercy merely ran over everyone's objections until she got her way. That pushiness was not a very good quality when making friends but it was excellent when sitting at the reception desk and dealing with all those men day after day.

In a rare show of patience, Lukas let her consider his choice. “Well?” he asked.

“You know what? I think Mercy would do great here.” She could actually feel her entire being lighten at the prospect of sharing some of her duties. “I wouldn't have thought of her at first, but I think she would be a good fit.”

Lukas grinned. “I think so, too.”

“Do you think she'll say yes?” Now that he'd mentioned the idea, she was already hoping it wouldn't go away.

Lukas nodded. “I am sure she will. She doesn't always get
along with our retail customers but she gets along real well with our employees. I can promise you that Scott won't be coming in here any longer and browbeating the receptionist to do his bidding.”

Rebecca giggled. “The first time he tries that with Mercy, she's going to bite his head off.”

Lukas grinned. “Just like a Doberman.” Taking a breath, he turned serious again. “Rebecca, you know how much I like you here. You do a good job, but it's more than that, too.”

She suddenly felt shy. “What is it?”

“When I walk out of Daed's old office and see you here, I realize that it's still our family's company. Seeing you here helps me remember that I'm not alone.”

“You're not alone, Luke. You've got more support here than you realize. Everyone is real proud of you.”

He shrugged. “Everyone just wants things to go on like they used to. I'm doing my best with that.”

“You're doing more than that.” What her brother didn't realize was that he was so capable and respected, no one would ever suggest that he didn't have every right to run the company. The fact of the matter was that Lukas Kinsinger had always been Kinsinger Lumber. More so than her or Levi.

By making him their parents' eldest son, God had created a perfect match. Lukas not only wanted to take over their family's business, but he was also meant to do so. It hadn't just been their parents who'd been proud of how easily he'd followed in his their father's footsteps; they had all been proud of him.