An Amish Wedding (21 page)

She smiled again, but Zeke thought it looked a little forced. Which didn’t make much sense. Actually none of this made sense. Why was she so determined to pair him and Margaret together?

“No offense to Margaret, but I was hoping you’d like to
geh
with me.”

His comment seemed to take her aback. She stared at him for a moment, her chestnut eyes widening. Then she rose from her chair and picked up his plate. “
Danki
for the invitation, but I can’t.”

“May I ask why?”

“I’m much too busy.” She took his plate to the sink.

He was hoping to have another piece of pie, but apparently that was out of the question. “Oh.”

She faced him, her cheeks and forehead flushed. “I don’t mean I’m too busy for you. But with the wedding coming up, the bakery, and I have one more cooking class before the wedding, plus I’m working on a quilt for Chester and Priscilla . . .” The words came out in a rush. “There’s just so much to do, Zeke. I’m sorry. That’s one reason why I suggested Margaret.”

“It’s okay.” He stood, suppressing a sigh. Maybe he’d been wrong about Naomi. “I guess I should be going, then. There’s still some daylight left. I’ll head over to Chester’s and see if he needs some help.” His voice sounded flat to his own ears, but he couldn’t help it.

He started to leave the kitchen when Naomi called his name. He turned and looked at her, hope blooming inside him. Had she changed her mind after all?

“Should I ask Margaret about giving you a tour?”

Zeke paused. “Sure,” he said, with about as much enthusiasm as a dog being thrown into the tub for a bath. It didn’t matter anyway. After the way Margaret left, she would probably turn Naomi down.

“How about next Thursday?”

“Fine.”

“I know she’ll be happy to do it.” Naomi smiled.

Zeke fought to return it. He just wished she would smile for him.

“I
DON’T THINK IT’S A
GUT
IDEA
, N
AOMI
.”

Naomi finished sponging off the excess white flour from the table. She dropped the yellow sponge into the sink and turned to Margaret. Her friend was placing brown sugar brownies onto square pieces of white Styrofoam and slipping them into plastic bags. “It’s a great idea, Margaret. You’ll get a chance to talk to him again, and to show him around Paradise. Also, you’ll get to thank him in person for saving your life.”

Margaret twisted a red wire tie and fastened the bag in place. She sighed. “I know. I should have thanked him Saturday.” She set the package to the side and started on another one. “How am I ever going to face him again?”

“By taking him on a tour of Paradise.” Naomi turned on the faucet and squirted some dish detergent on a large baking pan.

Margaret shrugged. “I don’t think it matters anyway. He has to
geh
back home eventually. So what’s the point?”

Naomi paused, the water trailing over the silver pan. Margaret was right. After the wedding Zeke would go back to Middlefield. Why did that thought disappoint her? She shook the feeling away and scrubbed the crumbs off the pan. She rinsed it off and put it in the dish drainer. “I’m not asking you to marry him, Margaret. Just
geh
with him on a buggy ride.”

Margaret tied up the last package of treats. “I really do appreciate your trying to help me, Naomi.” She glanced over her shoulder. “But maybe I’m beyond helping.”

“I don’t believe that.” Naomi turned off the faucet and faced her. “Even if you and Zeke aren’t meant to be a couple, that doesn’t mean you can’t show him around town. Besides, he’s such a nice, easygoing
mann
. He might be able to help you get over your, uh, your . . .”

“Awkwardness?” Margaret displayed a half smile. “I don’t know why I can’t be myself around men. Maybe it’s because I have all sisters and my
daed
is always so busy working. I just get so nervous.” She lifted up her hands. “Just thinking about going on that buggy ride gives me the shakes.”

“Are you nervous when Ben Hooley picks you up?”

Margaret paused for a moment, then shook her head. “That’s probably because he ignores me for the entire buggy ride. He’s just trying to get into
Daed
’s
gut
graces. I might as well be a sack of horse feed sitting next to him.” She sighed. “But Zeke—and every other
mann
I know—they’re different.”

This was worse than Naomi thought. “Then you absolutely must
geh
with Zeke. He really does have a way of putting people at ease. And obviously you didn’t scare him off.”

“That’s true.”

“Plus, if you can get over your anxiety, then you’ll be able to be yourself around everyone.” Naomi touched her arm. “He said he’d come by and pick you up on Thursday after work.”

Margaret’s eyes widened. “I can’t—”

“
Ya
, you can. Remember the Scripture we heard on Sunday?”

“God did not give us a spirit of fear and timidity,” she said.

“Exactly. I think that applies to this situation as well. Don’t be afraid of Zeke.”

Margaret shook her head. “Naomi, I’m not afraid of Zeke. I’m afraid of myself.” Then she burst into laughter. “That sounded silly, didn’t it?”

“A little.” She gave Margaret a hug. When she drew back she said, “Just remind yourself of that verse and you’ll be okay.”

“I will.” Margaret drew in a deep breath. “I promise. And I’ll show Zeke places in Paradise he’s probably never heard of. We’ll have a
gut
time.” It sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

“I know you will. Now,
geh
on home. I’ll finish straightening up here.”

“Okay.
Danki
, Naomi.”

“For what?”

“For keeping your promise. And for not giving up on me.” Margaret grinned as she took her jacket off the peg and left the kitchen.

Naomi smiled. But her mind kept wandering back to the conversation with Zeke. About how he wanted Naomi to go with him on the tour, and his reluctance when he agreed to Margaret showing him around. She was sure he’d asked Naomi to be polite, or possibly out of friendship. She did consider them new friends. But the way he looked at her when he said it . . . the memory made her warm inside, like drinking smooth hot chocolate on a winter day. She’d given him a list of legitimate reasons why she couldn’t spare the time to go with him, but to her own ears they sounded like excuses. From the look on Zeke’s face, she could tell he thought so too.

But what else could she have done? She couldn’t have said yes to Zeke, not when she had made a promise to Margaret. And even though chances were slim that he and Margaret would be a love match, she didn’t want to be the reason they weren’t. But there was another, deeper reason she refused to go with him. Even after her talk with Margaret, even after thinking about the verse in Timothy about God not giving her a spirit of fear, she couldn’t deny the truth.

She
was afraid. Not of Zeke, but of her feelings for him, feelings she was certain he didn’t have. How could he? They barely knew each other. There was no such thing as love at first sight.

And even if there were, she couldn’t forget what David had done to her. She couldn’t take the same risk with Zeke. She had promised herself long ago that she wouldn’t open her heart to anyone unless she was absolutely sure about his feelings. And right now she wasn’t sure about anything.

Chapter Six

T
HURSDAY MORNING DAWNED BRIGHT AND CLEAR, WITH
only a few cottony wisps of clouds in the blue sky. The temperature was crisp, but refreshing. A perfect day for a buggy ride. Naomi stood on the front porch of the
daadi haus
, ignoring the twist inside her that came every time she thought of Zeke and Margaret alone in the buggy. It was stupid and irrational, and she’d always considered herself practical. Being jealous of an innocent buggy ride was as far from practical as she had ever been.

By the time nine o’clock came, however, her jealous thoughts had turned to worry because Margaret had failed to show up for work. Naomi was mixing up a batch of sweet roll dough when someone knocked on the front door. She wiped her hands on her apron as she walked to the door. She opened it to see Margaret’s father standing there.

He tugged on his thick salt-and-pepper beard, which hung a few inches past his chin. “I dropped by on my way to work to tell you Margaret’s sick. Got a stomach bug or something.”

“Oh
nee
. I’m sorry to hear that. She seemed fine yesterday afternoon.”

“Ya
.” He gave his beard one more tug, then shrugged. “It came on all of the sudden. Just hope none of the other
kinner
get it.”

It passed through her mind that maybe Margaret was faking the illness to get out of going with Zeke. Yet now that she thought about it, Margaret had seemed unwell near the end of the day yesterday. Naomi had chalked it up to nerves. Guilt nagged at her for doubting her friend.

“She wanted me to make sure you understood that she was really sick. She threw up in my buggy this morning.” He made a face, his lips tugging down. “That’s one reason why I’m late for work. Made her
geh
straight to bed after that.”

“Please tell her I hope she feels better soon. She can take tomorrow off too. I want her to get completely well.”

“I’ll let her know. Have a
gut daag
, Naomi.”

“You too.” Naomi shut the door and returned to the kitchen. The day flew by. By the end she was tired, but satisfied not only with the baking she’d gotten done but with the steady stream of sales throughout the afternoon. Still, she wouldn’t want to run the bakery alone every day. Margaret’s absence drove home how much Naomi needed her help.

Naomi tidied the kitchen, the rich smell of fresh baked bread still hanging in the air. She kept one ear out for Zeke’s approach, and ten minutes later she heard the
clip-clop
of a horse’s hooves outside. She slipped on her navy blue sweater and pulled it closer to her body, then went outside. Squinting in the sunlight, she recognized Chester’s horse and buggy—she’d seen it enough times at her parents’ house in the past couple months. Zeke was tethering the horse to the hitch when she went to him.

“Hello.” He grinned, his hazel eyes bright. “Is Margaret ready?”

Naomi breathed in the cool afternoon air. “That’s what I came to tell you. She’s not here.”

“Oh?”

“She’s ill with the stomach flu. I’m sorry you had to drive all the way out here. I didn’t have a way to let you know.”

He frowned. “That’s too bad. I hope she feels better.”

“Me too.” Naomi crossed her arms over her chest. A few clouds hovered in the sky, but they didn’t block the sunshine. Colorful leaves skittered across the gravel drive. A couple swirled around Zeke’s ankles as the breeze kicked up. “Again, I’m sorry you wasted a trip.”

“Maybe the trip’s not wasted.” He moved closer to her, a twinkle in his eyes.

S
INCE HE’D AGREED TO LET
M
ARGARET GUIDE HIM
around Paradise, Zeke had prayed about today. He had nothing against Margaret, but it seemed wrong of him to be spending the afternoon with her when he really wanted to be with Naomi. God would want him to keep his word and pick up Margaret today. But it wasn’t fair to her that he would spend the afternoon wishing a different woman sat beside him.