A Love Made New (16 page)

The already-small workshop seemed to close in on him. “You don't know me, Irene. Not the real me.”

“I know you well enough.”

“There are things . . . in
mei
past . . .”

She moved closer to him, her hand tightening around his. “We all have things in our past.”

“Not like this.”

She kept her gaze on him, and he nearly melted at the understanding in her eyes. “Everything can be forgiven, Sol. God gives us mercy. We should extend it to everyone else.”

He wanted to say something, but his mouth went dry. She could say these words now, but what if she knew what he'd really done? She'd run out that door faster than you could draw a breath.

“We're done for the
daag
,” he said, turning and walking away from her.

“Sol—”

But he ignored her plea and walked out of the shop.

A
lmost two weeks after the blizzard, Saturday morning dawned cold, but it wasn't snowing. It hadn't snowed in a couple of days, and the streets were more passable. Abigail couldn't put Asa and the trip to the bank off any longer. She got up early and went to the store to get the shawl she'd left there yesterday. It was seven thirty and the store wouldn't open until eight.

Although Abigail was able to go home the day after the big snowstorm, the weather had continued to be ruthless. Last Saturday she used that as an excuse to keep her and Asa from going to the bank, which was halfway between Birch Creek and Barton. She'd seen him at the store when he delivered some new shelves, but they didn't talk. She kept herself busy with customers. She wasn't hiding from him exactly, but she didn't want to speak to him either. She was kind of glad the weather wasn't cooperating, because she must have been out of her mind to agree to let Asa help her with her business.

Not that she didn't trust him. But she was embarrassed to show him how much she didn't know. Now that she was serious
about it, she also realized she cared what he thought. She thought maybe she should ask Sadie to help her get things straight before she met with Asa. But she never got a chance—Sadie had taken advantage of the terrible weather to put her and Aden to work rearranging the store.

Abigail also kept busy with her weaving projects and started knitting again. A week after the big snowstorm, she'd pulled the box with her collection of yarn out of the closet. She hadn't knitted in a long while, focusing her energy on the rugs. But as she picked up a skein of soft navy blue yarn, she itched to start. She ran her fingers over the yarn, a lump in her throat. She had been planning to use this yarn to make a scarf and cap for Christmas for her father. His were fraying, and she had purchased the expensive yarn, only to put it away in the box after his death.

She took the yarn and her needles downstairs, sat in the chair where her mother usually sat, and started knitting. Outside snow continued to fall as she started on the waffle pattern. She wasn't sure what she was going to make, or for whom. But for some reason she was compelled to knit, to use this yarn, and to sit in her mother's chair. It didn't bring her peace, but it brought her comfort.

Afterward she had sent word to Asa that she was ready to go to the bank if the weather was good on Saturday.

Now she unlocked the door to the store and surveyed the changes. She had to admit, Sadie's idea had been a good one. On the left side of the store were the new shelves Sol had constructed. They held a variety of Amish goods, including Joanna's baked goods, jams Karen Yoder had made, and candles made by Rebecca Chupp. Sadie asked Abigail if it was all right to carry Rebecca's candles. “She approached me last week,” Sadie said,
looking unsure. “She saw Karen's jams and told me she makes candles. She wanted to sell some to save money . . .”

Sadie didn't have to finish her sentence. To save money for the wedding. Or for their marriage. It didn't matter. Abigail put her hand on Sadie's arm. “You can sell them here.” It would be unfair of her not to agree.

Sadie nodded, and the next day Rebecca arrived with a box of scented candles.

Next to the new shelving was another section of wider shelves. These featured Sol's birdhouses. Abigail knew Irene was working on painting the birdhouses and she had done a wonderful job. They were a mix of traditional, rustic, and colorful birdhouses. Aden said the snow and slow business had been a blessing because it allowed Sol to catch up with the orders and to make extra inventory. Abigail thought he must have worked day and night to get so many birdhouses done.

On the other side of the birdhouse display was the woven rugs display. This was a smaller space, although there was still room for more rugs. Since Irene had been busy painting—and Sol was paying her more money than Abigail had—Abigail had been weaving her rugs alone again. She still hadn't used her special loom. She couldn't think of a project she was interested in. Now she had to focus her time on building up her stock of rugs again.

The rest of the store was still stocked with grocery and tool items, everything neat and facing outward. Things were also easy to find. Once business picked up, the store would do well.

The sound of the bell above the door tinkled and she spun around. Asa walked in, grinning. “Ready to
geh
to the bank?”

“It's open already?”

“Not until eight. But if we leave now we'll get there right at opening time.”

She bit her lip. She couldn't get out of this, she knew. She picked up her shawl and said, “I'll get
mei
money.”

He nodded as he walked over to the Amish section of the store. She thought he would pause to admire Sol's birdhouses or drool over Joanna's baked goods. Instead he went to the rugs and stared at them. “You do very
gut
work,” he said, touching one of the blue-and-gray rugs.

“
Danki
.” She was pleased he noticed. “They're easy to make.”

“They don't look that easy.” He turned to her. “I know I still hadn't decided what to buy when I returned
yer
samples to Irene, but now I've figured out which one I want.”

“Oh?”

“Want to guess?”

She smiled, studying him for a moment. What would Asa choose? She looked him up and down, and suddenly she wasn't thinking about rugs. He had his hands on his trim waist, causing his jacket to rise up a bit above his belt line. His shirt was tucked in. The man didn't have an ounce of fat on his body. She suddenly became self-conscious. She turned away. “Green,” she said, saying the first color that came to mind.

“
Nee.
I don't like green at all.”

She put her shawl around her shoulders, still not looking at him.
He is so beautiful . . .

She halted her thoughts. She'd never thought Joel beautiful. Handsome, yes. But not enough to take her breath away, not like Asa was doing.

“Guess again,” he said.

She didn't want to play this game, but she also didn't want him to suspect the line her thoughts were traveling. “Gray.”

“Gray's pretty boring.” He moved to stand in front of her. “Is that what you think I am? Boring?”

Nee. I don't think you're boring at all
. The twinkle in his eyes as he looked at her, the sly grin he was giving her . . . what was wrong with her? “Brown,” she said, this time sure that was the answer.

His smile widened and her heart thumped. “That's the one.” He pointed to the brown rug on the display, which happened to be the largest. “I'll take this one.” Then he dug into one of his pants pockets and pulled out his wallet.

“You don't have to pay, remember? That's why you're helping me with
mei
bookkeeping.”

“I'm sure this rug costs more than a little financial advice and squaring up accounts.” He checked the tag, then counted out the amount.

She looked at the cash as he held it out to her. “I feel like I should give you the
familye
discount.”

He tilted his head. “I'm not
familye
.”

Yet.
She clapped her hand over her mouth as if she'd said the word out loud. Where had that thought come from?

Asa frowned. “Abigail?”

She removed her hand and snatched the money out of his. “I'll meet you at
yer
buggy.” She didn't wait for him to respond. She just turned around and fled the store.

When she ran into the house, Aden and Sadie were in the kitchen. They had appeared later than usual this morning, which reminded her yet again that she was the third wheel here.

“Abigail, what's wrong?” Sadie asked as Abigail flew by her.

“
Nix
,” she said. “Just going to the bank.” She flew upstairs and went into her room. Out of breath, she shut the door and leaned against it. She couldn't keep Asa waiting out in the cold for long, but she had to gather her wits. Family. What had that been about?

Then another flutter appeared in her tummy. She was losing her mind. She had to be. It was nearly spring and she'd spent most of the winter stuck inside, either in her house or in the store. That had to explain why she had the words
Asa
and
family
in the same sentence in her mind. Cabin fever.

She looked at the money in her hand. Other brown rugs were on display, but he had chosen the biggest and most expensive one. The one that would make her the most profit. Did he do it on purpose? Or was that really the rug he wanted? And why was she overthinking a rug?

Her breath caught and she went to the bed and pulled out the shoe box she had underneath it. She rummaged through the receipts and found the envelope with her money. She grabbed her purse and ran downstairs.

“Abigail, when will you be back?” Sadie asked as she hurried back into the kitchen.

“Not sure—Aden, can you help with
mei
shift? Thanks!” She opened the back door and ran to the buggy. The faster they took care of this, the sooner she could get away from Asa and figure out what was going on with her feelings.

But Asa didn't seem in any hurry. In fact, his horse seemed to be sluggish once they were on their way. “Is there something wrong with
yer
horse?” Abigail asked.

Asa shook his head. “She's fine.”

“We're going pretty slow. What if the bank closes?”

He looked at her and chuckled. “We're not going
that
slow. The bank is open until noon on Saturdays.” He looked ahead, a puff of cold air coming out of his mouth as he spoke. “I just thought we'd take a slower drive today, since the weather is finally decent. But I can get her to move faster if you need to get back to work.”

“That's probably a
gut
idea.”

He nodded but looked disappointed. She glanced at his profile. It wasn't helping that she couldn't keep her eyes off him. There wasn't anything different about him today than there had been the last time she'd seen him. She stared straight ahead again and kept her gaze that way until they got to the bank.

There was a hitching rail in front of the small bank, which Asa explained was a branch location of a major bank. He opened the door for Abigail. “Is this where you do
yer
banking?” she asked.

He nodded. “They're friendly here. They also have a
gut
interest rate and don't penalize you if
yer
balance drops under a certain amount.”

She had no clue what he was talking about, and that bothered her. She once teased Sadie for reading a boring accounting book, but Sadie would know what Asa was talking about. Abigail let him take the lead as he went to the teller window. She stayed back as he explained that they wanted to open a checking account. The teller asked them to have a seat, adding that someone would be with them shortly.

Abigail sat down in one of the chairs and Asa sat down next to her. He leaned close and whispered, “You look nervous.”

She glanced around the bank. “I am.” She was about to give over her hard-earned money to people she didn't know. The fact that people did this all the time didn't quell her misgivings. “What if they lose
mei
money?”

“They won't. It's insured.”

“What does that mean?”

“If something happens—the bank makes a bad investment, for example—then
yer
money is protected.”

“Whose money are they investing?” she asked.

“Mine. Soon to be
yers
. Everyone's.”

“Without our permission?” She gripped the strap of her purse tightly.

“Abigail.” He put his hand over hers and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Do you want to leave? You don't have to open an account.”

She looked down at his hand covering hers. He'd driven her all the way out here, and she didn't want him to have made a wasted trip. Besides, it was her fault for not knowing anything about banks. “
Nee
,” she said. “You have
yer
money here. That's
gut
enough for me.”

He removed his hand. “I can explain everything to you on the way home, if you want. How banks work, about interest, investing, savings, all of it.”

She couldn't think of a more boring topic of conversation. But she needed to know these things. He also looked eager to teach her. “Okay,” she said as a woman in a smart-looking business suit approached them.

Half an hour later, Abigail had a bank account. It was easy to get one, she discovered. And Asa was right—the banker was friendly. The only awkward moment was when she had asked if Abigail and Asa were getting a joint account.

“Oh, we're not married,” Asa said.

“He's a friend,” Abigail added quickly.

“Just helping her out,” he said just as fast.

The banker had looked at them for a moment before continuing to fill out the paperwork.