A Hope Springs Christmas Page 3

  Sarah held back a smile. If this is what it took to get Grace to leave town for a few weeks, Sarah would agree. “I hadn’t thought of it that way, but you may be right. In spite of the fact that Levi was Jonas’s friend and has been my neighbor for years, I don’t really know him well.”

  Grace sat back with a satisfied smile. “I can tell you anything you want to know about him. Go ahead, ask me something.”

  “All right, what does Levi like to do for fun?”

  A furrow appeared between Grace’s eyebrows. “He doesn’t really do anything for fun. He doesn’t have a sense of humor, that’s for sure. He works in the shop all day and sometimes late into the night.”

  “I know he is hard-working, but does he like to hunt or play checkers or other board games?”

  “I don’t think so. I mean, I’ve known him to go hunting in the fall when we need meat, but I don’t think he enjoys it. The boys and I like board games, but Levi doesn’t play with us.”

  What kind of wife would want a husband who didn’t interact with his own family? Sarah said, “He used to go fishing with my husband. Does he still do that with his friends?”

  “He goes fishing by himself sometimes. Levi doesn’t really have friends. Everyone says he makes right fine buggies, though.”

  Sarah knew that for a fact. She drove one he and Jonas had built together. It was solid and still rode well after eight years. However, Levi had to have other traits that would make him attractive to a potential wife. “What does your brother like to read?”

  “He reads the Bible every night, and he reads The Budget.”

  The Budget was a weekly newspaper put out by the Amish for the Amish. Everyone read it. It was good to know he read the Bible. A devout man usually made an excellent husband. “Does he read other kinds of books?”

  “Books? No, I don’t think so.” Grace shook her head.

  Sarah never suspected Levi was such a dull fellow. What had her outgoing husband seen in him?

  “You’ve been a big help, Grace. I’ll look over my list of single friends and think on who might find him appealing.” Right off hand, she couldn’t think of anyone.

  “Do you really believe I should leave town?”

  “I do. It will do you, your grandmother and Henry a world of good. Trust me on this.”

  Grace nodded bravely. “I do trust you, Sarah. I’ll do it.”

  Sarah grinned. “That’s the spirit.”

  Grace jumped to her feet. “I must ask the Wilsons down the block if I can use their phone. I need to find out when the bus leaves and call my grandmother’s English neighbors so they can tell her I’m coming.”

  “But it’s getting late, child. You should go home and talk this over with your family.”

  “Nee. If I’m to do this it must be now.” She leaned down and pressed a kiss on Sarah’s cheek. “You’re the best friend ever, Sarah Wyse.”

  Without a backward glance, she rushed out as quickly as she had rushed in, slamming the door behind her.

  “I’m not sure your brothers are going to feel the same,” Sarah said to the empty room.

  * * *

  Levi tugged his suspenders up over his shoulders as he walked down the stairs from his bedroom on the second floor of the house. When he reached the kitchen, he paused. Instead of the usual aromas of toast, bacon and scrambled eggs, the forlorn faces of his twin brothers sitting at a bare table greeted him.

  A suitcase sat beside the front door. His sister, Grace, entered the room, tying her best bonnet beneath her chin. “I left sliced ham in the refrigerator for sandwiches. You boys can heat some up in a skillet for breakfast if you’d like or make oatmeal. After today, you’re on your own as far as getting something to eat. There is plenty of canned fruit and vegetables in the cellar along with canned meats. If you don’t want to cook, the Shoofly Pie Café serves good food, and it’s reasonable.”

  She picked up her suitcase and gave her younger brothers each a stern look. “I expect the house to still be standing when I return.”

  Levi found his tongue. “Grace, what are you doing?”

  “I’m going to visit Grossmammi for a few weeks.” She had a smile on her face, but it was forced.

  He scowled at her. Grace was impulsive, but this was odd even for her. She hadn’t said a word about visiting their relative. “Is Grandmother ill? Is that why you’re going?”

  “Nee, she’s fine as far as I know.”

  “You can’t take off at the drop of a hat like this.”

  Atlee spoke up, “That’s what we told her.”

  “But she told us she was going and that’s that,” Moses added.

  Grace’s smile faded. “Please, Levi. Don’t forbid me to go. I need you to understand that I have to get away for a while.”

  How could he understand when she hadn’t told him anything? He opened his mouth but nothing came out. She took it as his consent and her smile returned. He never could deny her what she wanted. She and the twins had lost so much already.

  She rushed to his side and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Levi. Sarah said you would understand. I’ve got to run or I’ll miss my bus. This was a wonderful idea. I’m so glad she suggested it. I can’t wait to see Grossmammi again.”

  Sarah suggested it? He should have known. “Grace, who will take care of our customers?” he asked as panic began to set in. He couldn’t deal with people. Words froze in his mouth and he looked foolish.

  “Sarah will help you. Be kind to her.” Grace gave him a bright smile as she opened the door. A flurry of cold air swept in as she went out.

  When Levi blinked he was still standing in his kitchen not really sure what had just happened. He looked at his brothers. They both shrugged.

  Atlee said, “I’d like dippy eggs with my ham.”

  “I want mine scrambled.” Moses folded his hands and waited.

  Levi stared at the black stove with a sinking feeling in his gut. How on earth would they manage without Grace?

  An hour later, Levi left the house and headed for his retreat, his workshop, where nothing smelled like burnt ham or charred eggs and he couldn’t hear his brothers’ complaints. He’d left after telling them to do the dishes.

  A body would have thought I told them to take the moon down and polish it the way they gaped at me.

  When he left, they were arguing over who should wash and who should dry. He didn’t have time to referee because he was late, and he was never late opening his business.

  He still didn’t know why Grace had to leave town so suddenly. He hoped she hadn’t gotten herself in trouble. That wasn’t the kind of thing a man wanted to ask his sister. All Atlee and Moses knew was that after an argument with her boyfriend, Grace had decided to visit their grandmother for a few weeks. How many was a few? Three? Four? She didn’t intend to stay away for a month, did she?

  One thing Grace said stuck in Levi’s mind. She’d said Sarah had suggested it. He suspected that Sarah Wyse was a whole lot better informed about his sister’s abrupt departure than he was.

  Two men in Amish clothing were standing in front of his store when he approached.

  “Did you decide to sleep in today, Levi?” one man joked.

  Levi tried to think of a snappy comeback, but nothing occurred to him. He kept his eyes down and wrestled with the key that refused to unlock the door.

  “Reckon he wants to start keeping banker’s hours,” the second man said with a deep chuckle.

  Levi hated it when people made fun of him. He searched his heart for forgiveness and offered it up to God, but he still felt small. He always felt small.

  When the stubborn lock finally clicked open, he rushed inside. He hadn’t had a chance to get the stove going and the building was ice-cold. The two men waited by the counter while he stoked the
fire. When he had a flame going, they both stepped up to warm their hands.

  Levi cleared his throat and asked, “How can I help you?”

  The outside door opened, but Levi couldn’t see who had come in. The men blocked his line of sight. He hoped it was the twins because he didn’t like dealing with customers. Not that the twins would do better. They were likely to pull some prank and then disappear, leaving him to deal with the fallout.

  The taller of the two men said, “We’re wanting to order a pair of courting buggies for our oldest boys. They’re good sons and they are willing to help pay some of the cost. Before we place any orders, what kind of deal can you give us for ordering two buggies together?”

  Levi scowled. “A buggy costs what a buggy costs.”

  “That’s not what Abe Yoder over in Sugarcreek told us. He’s willing to take ten percent off for a double order.”

  Levi struggled to find the right thing to say. Grace always knew just what to say. Why did she have to take off and leave him to work alone? She knew how much he hated dealing with people.

  Abe Yoder’s offer was a good one, but Levi didn’t want to send these men back to his competition. He couldn’t cut ten percent off his price or he’d be making the buggies for free. He cleared his throat again and felt heat rising in his face. Why was it always this way? Other people didn’t have trouble talking.

  Behind the men, a woman’s voice said, “If Abe Yoder says he can cut ten percent off he’s overcharging to begin with.”

  The men turned around as Sarah Wyse approached the stove. She was looked straight at him. “Isn’t that right, Levi?”

  He nodded and followed her lead. “Ja.”

  She waited, as if expecting he would say more, but when he didn’t she gave her attention to the men. “Come up to the counter, neighbors, and let us talk about what you think your sons will like and what they can live without. Once we have an idea of the amount of work that will be needed, we can give you a fair estimate. You’ll find our prices are as good as Abe Yoder’s and our quality is better.”

  Levi blew out a breath of relief. Everyone’s attention was on her and not on him. Now he could think.

  She stepped behind the counter and began opening drawers. “If I can just find our order forms.”

  “Top left.” Levi supplied the direction she needed.

  She opened the correct drawer and said, “Ah, here we are. Changes can be made later, but that may affect the price once we’ve started work. Do you know what color of upholstery they want on the seats? Do they want drum brakes? How about cup holders and storage boxes? I assume these will be open buggies as you said they are for courting.”

  She waited, pencil posed, with a friendly smile on her face that could charm anyone. Levi was grateful for her intervention until he remembered that she had sent Grace out of town in the first place.

  Once again, Sarah seemed bent on making his life difficult.

  Chapter Three

  Sarah took down the information the men provided along with their addresses and promised them an estimate would arrive in the mail in a few days. They left, content with that.

  When the door closed behind them, Sarah found herself alone. Levi was nowhere in sight. Silence surrounded her except for the occasional crackling and pop of the fire in the potbellied stove. She had time to look around. This cavernous building had been Jonas’s favorite place.

  There was nothing fancy about the shop. The bare rafters were visible overhead. Thick and sturdy, the wooden trusses were old and stained with age and smoke. A few missing shingles let in the light and a dusting of snow that had melted into small puddles here and there.

  Buggy frames in all stages of completion were lined up along one side. Wagon wheels were everywhere, leaning against the walls and hanging from hooks. Some were new and some were waiting to be repaired. Wheel repair made up the bulk of their business. A good buggy wheel could last five years or more, but eventually they all needed to be fixed or replaced.

  Down the center of the shop were two rows of various machines. Although their Amish religion forbade the use of electricity, in their church district it was possible to use propane-powered engines to operate machinery. While some of the equipment was new, much of it was older than the hills.

  Sarah walked to the ancient metal bender and grasped the handle. The bender used heavy-duty iron gears and wheels to press bands of steel into symmetrical rings. The steel ring was then welded together to form the outside rim of a wagon wheel.

  How many rims had she cranked out when she worked beside Jonas and Levi? Two hundred? Three hundred? She could still do it, but it would take a while to build up her muscles. Carrying bolts of fabric wasn’t nearly as physical.

  Turning around, she noticed the back of the shop held various pieces of wood waiting to be assembled into buggy tops and doors. In the far corner of the building, an area had been partitioned off and enclosed to make a room for cutting and sewing upholstery. The old sewing machine was operated with a foot pedal. She knew it well.

  Although almost all the buggies they made were black, as required by their church, a person could order anything from red velvet to black leather for the buggy’s interior and seats. Jonas’s courting buggy had dark blue velvet upholstery. When he sold it two years after their wedding she cried like a baby.

  She smiled at the memory, but she wasn’t here to relive the past. She went looking for Levi. Would he have something to say about her usurping his authority in dealing with customers? She found him working on the undercarriage of a buggy at the very back of the building. Or rather, she found his feet.

  The sole of his left shoe was worn through. He had used a piece of cardboard inside to keep his socks dry. Did his socks have holes in them, too? She imagined they did for the hems of his pant legs were worn and frayed. Grace was wrong. Levi didn’t need a wife. He desperately needed a wife.

  Someone with housewifely skills to mend and darn for him and to make sure he was properly clothed. Someone to insist he get new shoes for the winter instead of making do with cardboard insoles. She’d paid no attention to the business books after Jonas died, preferring to leave all that in Levi’s hands. Was the business doing poorly? Or was Levi frugal to the extreme?

  Clearly, it was time she got her head back into the business. “Levi, may I speak with you?”

  A grunt was her answer. Was it a yes grunt or a no grunt? Only his feet moved as he struggled with some hidden problem. She decided to be optimistic. “I’d like to take a look at the ledgers.”

  His feet stilled. “Why?”

  She crouched down trying to see his face. “I realize that I’ve left the running of the business to you alone for far too long. We are partners in this, are we not?”

  He wiggled backward out from under the carriage and sat up to glare at her. “I don’t cheat you.”

  She pressed a hand to her chest. “Goodness, I never thought you did. I simply want to begin doing my share again. Jonas and I used to do the books together. I know what I’m looking at.”

  “Jonas is gone. I do the books now.” He lay down and started to inch back under the buggy.

  Sarah was sorely tempted to kick the sole of his miserable excuse for a shoe, but she didn’t. More flies were caught with honey than with vinegar. “I don’t mean to step on your toes, Levi, but I am the owner of this shop, and I have a right to see the books. I’m sure you understand my position.”

  “Help yourself,” came his muffled reply.

  “Fine.” She left him to his work and headed for the small enclosed place that was used as an office. A wooden stool sat in front of a cluttered desk. Off to one side, a stack of ledgers and catalogs were piled together. She started by searching through them, but soon realized they weren’t what she needed.

  She went back to his feet. “Where are the c
urrent ledgers, Levi?”

  “Ask Grace.”

  She blew out a huff of frustration. “I can’t very well ask Grace. She’s on her way to Pennsylvania.”

  He came out from under the frame and rose to his feet. “Ja, she is. I wonder why my sister chose to go running off during our busiest season with inventory to do and four carriages to finish. No, wait. I know why she left. You told her to go.”

  It was the longest speech he’d ever spoken to her. Sarah curbed her ire at his tone. “Grace didn’t tell you why she went to visit her grandmother?”

  “All she said was that it was your idea.”

  “Oh.” No wonder he seemed upset. Where should she start?

  He folded his arms and stared at his shoes. “Is Grace in...trouble?” he asked, his voice low and worried.

  “Trouble? You mean... Oh! No, no, it’s nothing like that. I hope she would confide in me if that were the case. No, she and Henry have gotten serious so quickly that I thought a short cooling-off time would give her a chance to decide if she really wanted to marry him or not.”

  “Marry? Grace?”

  Levi looked astonished by the idea. It was almost comical. Sarah struggled to hold back a smile. “That’s what young people do when they’ve been courting.”

  “She’s too young to marry.” He turned to his tool chest and grabbed a second wrench.

  “She’s the same age I was when Jonas and I married. I was twenty and he was twenty-seven.”

  “That was different.” Levi didn’t look at her.

  “How?”

  “It just was. Grace Ann is a child.” He returned to his position under the buggy.

  “Nee, Levi, your shveshtah is a grown woman. You must be prepared for her to marry and start a family of her own.”

  A second grunt was her reply.

  If Levi hadn’t considered where his sister’s courtship was leading, then Sarah really had her work cut out for her. Not only did she need to find a woman who could put up with his stoic ways, she needed to help him see that Grace was an adult. This could certainly make the coming winter months more interesting.