Rosemary Opens Her Heart: Home at Cedar Creek, Book Two (23 page)

“I think it’s very sweet. Another way of understanding that love comes in its own
gut time.”

“That’s gut advice no matter what your age or your situation.” Abby placed the lid
on the first big pan of chicken pieces and then lifted another of Beulah Mae’s metal
bins to the table. “Truth be told, James nearly kissed me, but he’s saving it for
when I don’t have nieces peeking out their window. I’ve…almost forgotten what kissing
felt like.”

Rosemary chortled as she fetched a pan of sliced ham from the oven of the big metal
stove. “You can quit beating around the bush,
Abby. I know gut and well that Matt’s told you why I rushed into the kitchen.”

“Ah. Well, then, I’m glad to see you’ve recovered.” Abby shook her head. “Matt’s been
coming on like a runaway train, hasn’t he? He’s kicking himself for whatever he said
to you.”

Rosemary retreated into her own thoughts as she arranged hot ham slices in the catering
pan. She then stacked the glass pans the meat had been warming in and carried them
to the sink. Abby had no doubt that this young woman kept Titus Yutzy’s house clean
and well organized…and that she would be a good match for Matt, who tended to clutter
things up. “I should stop being such a nervous Nellie, I suppose,” she finally admitted.
“Matt means well, and he’d be a gut fella to hitch up with, but—”

“If you’re not ready for that, you should stand your ground,” Abby said. “Nothing’s
to be gained by rushing into a new courtship only to find out you disagree on some
important issues after you’ve invested yourselves emotionally.”

Rosemary smiled ruefully. “Denki for understanding my side of it. Titus and Mamm and—well,
just about everyone I know—have been saying it’s time for me to let go of the past.
I have all faith that I
will
move forward, Abby. But I want to do that on my own terms. Once I’m a wife again,
I might not be making my own decisions, you see.”

“Jah, that’s happened to some of my friends who married in a flurry and now…well,
they’re seeing to their husbands and their young children, and they sometimes wonder
if they’ll ever have time to be themselves again. That’s one of the reasons I’ve remained
unmarried.” Abby set the heavy lids on the two catering pans. “Too hardheaded and
set in my ways, you see.”

“Something tells me James doesn’t think so. I predict that by the time summer’s in
full bloom, you two will be setting a date,” Rosemary replied. “Better plant a big
patch of celery soon.”

Abby felt her cheeks go pink. “We’re already doing that for
Phoebe, you know. She and Owen Coblentz got engaged during the supper at Zanna and
Jonny’s wedding.”

“Well, then, there must be something in the air here in Cedar Creek.” As Rosemary
went to the oven for the final pan of ham, she glanced out the window. Her expression
became more speculative. “And there’s something else afoot, too, seeing’s how Titus
and Perry Bontrager are heading across the road together.”

Abby was about to ask what Rosemary meant when the door opened and James stepped inside,
followed by Matt, who held a pie pan with only three pieces left in it. The two fellows
stood there taking in the metal pans on one end of the long kitchen table along with
the clean dishes stacked on the other end.

“Time for me to cart these to the greenhouse,” James remarked as he found a big pair
of potholders. “The first shift of folks is moving outside. Beulah Mae and her helpers
are headed this way.”

Rosemary looked toward the greenhouse. “Jah, such a big crowd is a nice tribute to
Preacher Paul.” She turned then, clasping her hands in front of her. “Matt, I’m sorry
I spoiled our picnic. I overreacted,” she said. “Maybe someday we can take up where
we left off. But not today.”

Matt’s face lit up even though Rosemary had made her boundary clear. “And I’m sorry
I bungled things, Rosemary,” he rasped. “It’s gut of you to give me another chance.”

Abby smiled at James as he carefully lifted the first hot, heavy pan into the wagon.
Wasn’t love a fine thing when the folks involved made an effort to truly understand
each other’s feelings?

As Rosemary sat beside Titus in the buggy, she kept her thoughts to herself, which
wasn’t difficult because her father-in-law couldn’t stop talking. He had eaten in
the first shift before speaking to Perry Bontrager, and then decided to drive back
to Queen City ahead of the crowd, knowing how heavy the horse-drawn traffic would
be once everyone else decided to head home. “Jah, there were quite a
number of Paul’s kin there I hadn’t seen for nigh onto forty years,” he remarked as
he urged the horse into full road speed. “And the more I heard some of them speculate
about what Perry might do with that farm, the more I figured I’d best have a word
with him before somebody else did.”

Even in his somber black vest and pants, with his black broad-brimmed hat riding low
on his forehead, Titus seemed more cheerful and upbeat than he’d been since Alma had
started feeling so poorly from her cancer treatments.

“So I asked Perry what his plans were, and we walked across the road,” he continued.
“What with his wife just a few months from having another youngster, he wasn’t keen
on uprooting his family, and yet—”

Titus shifted his hat back, chuckling. “I could tell the idea might take root if I
planted the right seed. His outbuildings are in pretty fair shape, although the fences
would need to be replaced on account of how he hasn’t kept much livestock lately.
And, of course, those fields would have to be plowed and planted in grass rather than
crops,” he continued matter-of-factly. “Meanwhile, I’d be out the expense of feeding
the flock or renting pasture nearby until the new grass got established. It’s a lot
to think about, but it could be done. Having Matt right across the way will make the
whole shift a lot easier.”

Rosemary closed her eyes, letting the afternoon sun warm her face as the breeze played
with the strings of her kapp. Titus was talking as if he had already bought the place.
And there was no question in his mind that Matt would be staying in Cedar Creek rather
than moving to Queen City.

And wasn’t that wishful thinking, assuming you could keep things the way they’ve been
for so long?

Yet as Titus kept talking in a voice that rose on a tide of rare excitement, Rosemary
no longer felt the fear that had overwhelmed her earlier. Oh, it would be a horrendous
job to clear out Titus’s big
old house. Forty years of his and Alma’s living there meant that long-forgotten personal
possessions would come out of cubbyholes and attic boxes and trunks that Titus had
no idea about. Women took care of such matters—just as she had donated Joe’s clothing
to an Amish relief program months ago—but Titus had insisted that Beth Ann leave her
mother’s belongings where they had always been.

What if he says all of Alma’s personal effects must go to Cedar Creek? How will you
make everything fit into a house that doesn’t appear to be as big as the Yutzy place?

Rosemary shifted on the seat. Plenty of time to deal with that situation, the way
she saw it. As she recalled Matt’s hopeful, contrite smile when he’d said good-bye…she
realized she didn’t feel edgy or upset anymore. She wasn’t ready to rush ahead, yet
she could consider relinquishing her roots in Queen City now that she’d had more time
with Matt and had experienced his affection and exuberance. Truth be told, his anticipation
of their happiness together was blowing through her soul like a breath of spring.

Matt wanted to be with her. He had established a fine flock and a steady income. All
he lacked, as far as she could see, was a physical house where they could make a home.
While she liked the Lambright family, living with his parents, his three sisters,
and his grandmother in their busy home as a new bride—with Katie—seemed a bit…intimidating.
And not at all private.

And who’s rushing ahead now?

“And you know, as we walked around in the house,” Titus was saying, “I realized that
if you and Matt were to get hitched, you’d have plenty of room to raise a family while
I’d have the dawdi haus, where Paul was living while Perry and Salome’s family used
the main rooms. A fresh coat of paint, and the place would be like new.”

It was time to ask the same question that had sprung to her mind on the ride into
Cedar Creek that morning. “You’re talking like Perry’s already said he’d sell out,”
Rosemary remarked. “He’s worked at
James Graber’s carriage shop for a lot of years, so why would he want to move? And
what if his wife has no intention of leaving so close to her due date? They have to
find someplace else to go, you know—and when you asked Matt about property available
around Cedar Creek, there wasn’t any. What with their little ones and all that clearing
out and packing to do, why—”

She shook her head, boggled by the sheer effort it would require to shift Perry Bontrager’s
family out of their home. “
I
certainly wouldn’t want to tackle that move, if I were Salome.”

“Ah, but you’re not.” Titus gave her a sideways smile. “I could tell from the way
Perry was talking that the decision to move would be his. As well it should be.”

Rosemary pressed her lips together. Titus’s attitude matched most men’s, as far as
expecting women to say “jah” and go along with whatever their husbands decided. Joe
would’ve responded the same way.

And what about Matt? Would he consult you about such a major move, or would he announce
his decision and expect you to get everything packed by the date he set?

She had a lot to ponder. Yet surely by the time Perry and Salome found another place
to go, their new baby would be here…With this being the end of April, figuring on
at least a couple of months to pack up and deal with Paul’s carpentry equipment, she
didn’t see how they could possibly be out of the house before August or September.

Truth be told, she didn’t see this sale taking place. Too many circumstances didn’t
support Titus’s optimistic opinions about his future in Cedar Creek. He was caught
up in his own form of wishful thinking, just as she had been, except that while he
believed all these changes—all the pieces of this puzzle—would fall into place, she
was still half hoping their lives would stay the same.

Maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched to think about building that house on her property.
If Matt moved to Queen City and they found a
place for his sheep, wouldn’t Titus be just as happy? And wouldn’t life be a whole
lot easier for all of them?

Rosemary sat back against the buggy seat, hiding a smile. Maybe the partnership Titus
wanted depended more upon her ownership of adjoining land—which could be converted
easily enough into pasture for Matt’s sheep—and the construction of her new home than
her father-in-law wanted to believe.

And wasn’t
that
something to think about?

J
ames got to the phone shanty early on Friday afternoon to lift its window and prop
the door open. It was a beautiful first day of May, so while he hoped several friends
would stop by for his interview with Lacey Piranelli, the magazine writer, he also
realized the mercantile would be busy, as would Treva’s Greenhouse. English customers
often ventured into Cedar Creek on Saturdays to shop and then eat at Mother Yutzy’s
Oven or Mrs. Nissley’s Kitchen—a very good thing for everyone in town after a cold
winter had limited the tourist traffic.

And here came Abby out the mercantile door, waving at him. “Are you ready for your
interview, James?” she called over to him. “It’s a big day for you!”

“Jah, I don’t often tell Leon and Perry and Noah not to return after dinner,” he replied.
“I gave them the afternoon off with pay because, with all those specialty orders,
we’ll all be putting in some overtime.”

As Abby stopped in front of him, James allowed her confidence to settle his nerves.
“It’ll be different, talking to a woman about the carriage business,” he admitted
as he checked his handwritten list of
questions for the dozenth time. “I hope I won’t bore her or stumble over my tongue
while I talk to her.”

“James.” Abby reached for his hands. “I’ve never known anyone—especially women—to
be bored with you. Your interview will fly by before you know it.”

“And Sam can spare you this afternoon?” he inquired as he glanced at the buggies and
cars parked in the mercantile’s lot.

“Phoebe and Gail are working in my place. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

He wanted to hug her, but this was too public a place. “Jah, it would take two people
to replace you, Abby. But I’m glad you’re here. If I stumble over my tongue, I can
look at you and I won’t be so nervous.”

Within the next few minutes, Vernon Gingerich was hitching his horse to the post beside
the mercantile, and Mervin and Bessie Mast pulled in, as well. Emma was stepping out
the front door with their parents, too, as Mamm and Dat had been buzzing like bees
all morning. Everyone exchanged greetings as they placed their lawn chairs or blankets
close to the shanty. James’s heart swelled: where else on earth would folks be so
excited for him?