For Every Season (10 page)

Samuel rubbed his hands together, warming them. “I hope that the understanding helps you forgive me and that we can move on once and for all.”

“Hardly. The conclusion I reached isn’t helpful. You wouldn’t have tried to take her from me unless you believed you’re the better man for her.” Resentment shadowed Jacob’s features as he squared his shoulders.

Samuel shifted, feeling the challenge being hurtled at him. Although Jacob had shown little of his gentle nature since the incident, Samuel never doubted his brother was a good man with a kind and caring heart. The problem was he had a past that chased him. It kept him away from Rhoda time after time, and, ya, Samuel
did
think he was a better fit for Rhoda. But if he said what he really thought, how long would it be before Jacob left for good, taking Rhoda—and all chances for this orchard’s success—with him?

It wasn’t up to Samuel to decide who was best for Rhoda, and he’d never meant to let anyone know how he felt, including Rhoda. Just as he’d never meant to pull her into his arms.

Zara sauntered into the doorway, so where was Rhoda?

Jacob stood. “Deny that you think you’re better for her than I am, and I’ll chalk this whole mess up to the momentary mistake Rhoda wants me to believe it was.”

Samuel wasn’t going to add lying to his ever-growing list of sins, and he couldn’t think of anything helpful to say.

Rhoda walked into the office, saving him from having to answer Jacob’s challenge. She skirted Zara, studying several envelopes in her hands. “I went by the mailbox. Along with all the business stuff, we have some letters from our families.” She glanced at the desk, and her eyes widened as she studied the piles. “Oh my. Don’t either of you ever work?” She grinned at Jacob. “Need a hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand, hand?”

This was Rhoda—upbeat and clever. How did she manage to respond as if they weren’t in the midst of a raging river of emotions threatening to drown them?

“Always.” Jacob winked.

“I think you need the arms of an octopus to clean up this mess.” As she grabbed a pile of letters, one fell from her hand and landed under Samuel’s chair. “Don’t get up.” She made a shooing motion. “Just get out of the way.”

Samuel rocked back on two legs of his chair, giving her what she’d asked for—to stay seated while moving out of the way.

She pushed Ziggy to the side, but just as she picked up the envelope, she lost her balance, scattering the letters in her hand. The dog nudged her as Rhoda grabbed a spindle on the back of Samuel’s chair, knocking him off balance.

Samuel fell backward as she tumbled forward. Jacob dove for her, squatting to catch her by the arm. He fell too. Both dogs fled the office, yelping. A moment later, when all was silent, Samuel realized that he couldn’t see, but he could tell their legs and arms were a tangled mess. Rhoda’s apron lay across his face, and he was pinned between the filing cabinet and Rhoda, waiting for her to get up. So he dared not move.

Someone lifted the fabric from his face, and he stared up at Jacob.

His brother clenched his jaw, and Samuel raised both hands in surrender. “Can I please be banned from entering this office altogether?”

Hardness drained from Jacob’s face. “After Rhoda fell, I slipped on the letters and tripped over a dog.” He helped Rhoda up before holding out a hand to Samuel.

Samuel took it. Jacob pulled him to his feet, their eyes met, and a hint of a smile on Jacob’s face let Samuel know his brother’s heart was softening.

Leah came to the doorway, carrying a tray with cups of coffee and slices of cake. When she saw the letters strewn around the floor and the fallen chair, fear crept into her eyes, and Samuel knew she thought they’d been fighting.

“Kumm.” Samuel took the tray from her. “Don’t worry about the mess. My story is the dogs did it.”

Rhoda huffed, straightening her dress as she focused on Jacob. “Exactly who is he calling a dog?”

Jacob didn’t respond, but it was clear that she was going to act as normal as possible until all three of them felt that way again. It was a worthy goal, and Samuel could only pray they’d reach it.

Rhoda bent and picked up a few letters.

“Ach, no.” Jacob gently tugged on her arm. “Let’s not have a repeat performance, especially with hot drinks in the room. Why don’t you sit down, and I’ll get the letters.”

“Fine. Be that way. One little mishap, and everyone thinks I’m a complete klutz.” She glanced at Samuel, and he caught a hint of a glimmer he hadn’t seen in a while. Had she tripped on purpose?

Rhoda cleared off a spot on the desk, and Samuel set down the tray. Since there was no more room on the desk, she stacked the papers in a corner of the floor.

Leah whistled. “Mamm always said Jacob kept the messiest room in the house.”

“I do. But this is a barn, decorated mostly by the lovely Rhoda Byler.” Jacob set the stuff he’d collected on top of the filing cabinet.

Rhoda curtseyed to him, and Jacob’s half smile was undeniable.

He pointed at the walkie-talkie on Leah’s apron. “You’ve got what you wanted—all of us here without balking. You can turn that on again.”

Leah’s cheeks tinged with pink, but she did as he said before passing them each a plate with a slice of cake.

Samuel took a bite. “What’s this about?”

“Well.” Leah handed him a napkin. “Look around. Think about our daily
work list. There’s just too much for us to keep up with. Can anyone in this room deny that?”

“I will.” Rhoda lifted her fork. “We
can
do it. We just haven’t done so lately.”

Leah cleared her throat. “I think we need to hire someone.”

“Sure we do.” Jacob took a sip of coffee. “When we can afford it and have time to interview people. Late summer. Maybe early fall.”

Leah grimaced. “We don’t have that long.”

“What do you mean?” Samuel asked.

“I’ve hired someone. She’ll be here in just a bit.”

“You what?” Samuel plunked his plate on the tray. “What are you talking about?”

Leah explained everything.

Rhoda’s fork clanked against her plate as she pushed it away from her. “That was inappropriate. We know nothing about this girl. We don’t have any money to pay her. And you may have just invited trouble, as if we haven’t had more than our fair share lately.”

Leah turned to Jacob. “Every one of us knows we need help. Rhoda was going to run an ad in
The Budget
.”

“Whoa.” Rhoda motioned for Leah to hush. “That was going to be for a specific type of help when the harvest began. Months from now. We’ll have a product to sell and some cash flow to hire one really good worker by then.”

“But we need someone now. See all the stuff stacking up in this office?” Leah looked to each of them.

“No one can tend to this except one of us three.” Rhoda gestured at Samuel and Jacob.

Samuel was sure she was being diplomatic. Except for the occasional quick job of accounting, Jacob had never been one for paperwork, and after being gone so much, he wouldn’t know where to start. How many of Rhoda’s responses had been carefully weighed since Jacob returned as she aimed to create peace?

Leah focused on Jacob, her steady ally when she wanted her way. “Phoebe
needs more help with meals and laundry than I can give her, unless you don’t want me to work in the field.”

Jacob nodded. “Leah’s right about us needing help.”

“And I’m not?” Rhoda took Jacob’s empty plate. “There isn’t money to hire anyone else, and we know absolutely nothing about this girl.” She placed it on the tray with a clang. “What are the chances of this woman being the right person?”

Leah fidgeted with her apron. “You didn’t interview me, and I’ve worked out pretty well. Why wouldn’t Iva?”

“You’re selling yourself short to think just anyone can do what you do. You’re a perfect fit inside a hot canning kitchen day after day.” Rhoda brushed crumbs into the trash can. “And I most certainly did interview you, starting the first day we met. It’s just that none of us realized it at the time.”

Leah seemed surprised by Rhoda’s confidence in her. In the distance a car door slammed. “Landon’s back already?”

Jacob went to the window. “Ya. And he’s got the girl with him. She doesn’t look old enough to legally leave home.”

Rhoda sighed. “Leah, what have you done?”

EIGHT

Iva got out of the truck, clutching the front of her coat. Her research had said the April temperatures in Maine and Indiana were similar, but it felt a lot colder here. She grabbed her suitcase and followed Landon.

She had recharged her camera battery and taken lots of pictures during a four-hour layover at Union Station in Washington. While waiting in Bangor for Landon to pick her up, she had walked around and snapped a few more. But when he arrived, he seemed shocked that she had a camera, so she shoved it and the tripod into her suitcase. If he reacted that way as an Englisch man, she wasn’t about to let these Amish see it. She needed to make a good first impression, but now her ancient carrying bag was quite heavy and bulging.

Landon pulled out his walkie-talkie. “Leah?”

“We’re in the office.”

“Okay.” Landon motioned for Iva to follow him. “They’re in the barn. You need some help with that?”

“No, I’m good. Thanks.” But her arms ached as she carried the bag.

Between her exhaustion and nerves, Iva’s whole body trembled, making even walking a challenge. She had left home more than forty-eight hours ago, changed trains three times, and would have slept until morning if she could’ve curled up in a corner at the station.

The peeling red paint of the barn caused a thrill to run through her. She’d seen such barns before, but this one would make a gorgeous photo. She turned a full circle while walking, seeing the old farmhouse and a wagon hitched to a horse and a few apple trees in the distance.

She itched to get shots of the new scenery. Although the buildings were in need of paint and repair, to her the place was absolutely gorgeous. Actually, the
more scarred and worn the subject, the more fascinating she found it. Character, that’s what made an image endearing. Still-life subjects were fascinating, although animals made for interesting pictures too. She rarely took a snapshot of people, partly because the Amish frowned on such things and partly because inanimate objects awakened her appreciation of the world too few seemed to notice.

Once in the barn she spotted an old shoe nailed to a wall, and she couldn’t take her eyes off it. Landon went through a narrow door, and she followed him, studying which angle would give her the best light to capture the shoe on the wall.

When her suitcase bumped hard against the doorframe, she was jolted out of her thoughts. “My camera!” As soon as the words left her mouth, she gasped.

Landon took her suitcase. “I’m sure it’s fine. I’ll put this somewhere in a moment.” He motioned as he spoke. “This is Leah King, her brothers Samuel and Jacob. And this is Rhoda Byler.”

Iva looked from one man to the other before her eyes locked with one of them. “There’s no denying you’re brothers.”

Leah frowned. “They don’t look that much alike. Do they?”

No one answered. Except for Leah, they all seemed speechless.

Iva searched for something to say to break the ice. “I saw all of you, except him”—she pointed to the man standing next to Rhoda, unsure which one was Samuel and which was Jacob—“on television when you got the news that Rhoda had been cleared of the lies those girls told, right?”

Leah glanced to Landon before returning her focus to Iva. “Indiana Amish watch TV?”

“Oh no, but I used to clean house for an Englisch woman before she got laid off, and she recorded the news and showed it to me one day.”

Jacob extended his hand. “You didn’t see me. I’m Jacob.”

Iva shook his hand. “Ah, the one who wasn’t questioned by the bishop for being seen on television, right?”

“Actually”—Rhoda pressed her fingertips against the desk—“we don’t have a bishop or a preacher. Not yet.”

“Really? No wonder I liked the idea of coming here.”

When Rhoda’s eyes widened and her startled face turned to Samuel, Iva realized how her statement sounded. What must they be thinking about her now? “Beneath everyone’s love and respect for the church leaders is a desire not to have to answer to them on occasion.” She stared into blank faces. “I guess that could just be me. It seems I’ve managed to put both feet in my mouth.”

Jacob glanced at Rhoda and chuckled. “She fits right in. A bit clumsy, colors outside the Amish lines by owning a camera, and is drawn to avoid church leaders at least once in a while.”

“Is that who we are?” Rhoda’s brows furrowed as she studied Jacob.

He nodded. “Afraid so. Don’t you think?”

Rhoda pursed her lips. “Ya, I suppose it is. But it’s not our intention or our goal.” She took a seat behind the desk. “Iva, it was good of you to come all this way. Would you care to sit?” She gestured to a chair.

Iva sat, feeling very much on the hot seat. “I thought I was going to be traveling by train for just a day, but I read the tickets wrong. I’ve been traveling for more than two days straight. The view and the layovers were nice, though. Interesting.”

“Did you get some good shots?” Jacob asked.

She tried to suppress her enthusiasm. It’d been a wonderful couple of days of capturing on her digital camera things she’d never seen before. But now that she didn’t have access to her Englisch neighbor, she wasn’t sure how she’d upload images or recharge the batteries. “I think so.”

Rhoda looked to Samuel. Was she waiting for him to speak up?

When he said nothing, Rhoda cleared her throat. “Iva, how old are you?”

“Twenty-one.”

Surprise flickered across Rhoda’s face. Iva was used to that. Most people thought she looked seventeen at the most. “I have proof if you—”

“Nee.” Rhoda shook her head. “I believe you.”

Iva was relieved, because her proof was a driver’s license, which probably wouldn’t endear her to them.

Rhoda tapped her fingers on the desk, seemingly reluctant to speak her mind. “I’m sure you need some rest, and dinner will be ready soon, but there’s been a mistake. We simply aren’t in a position to hire.”