Chapter 2
Martin felt guilty for not being all that happy to see his sister walk through the door. No, that wasn’t quite right. He did want to see Beth. He wanted to see his grandparents, too.
All of them had a lot of things to catch up about. But ever since he’d arrived in Walden an hour ago, he’d been stuck doing everything but what he wanted to do, which was see Patti.
He really missed Patti.
Though they’d talked on the phone almost every night, it wasn’t the same. He wanted to see her smile, to watch the way her nose wrinkled when she was mentioning something distasteful or see how her expression lit up when she laughed.
He’d been starting to think that he lived for those moments when she laughed. The tight control she had on her emotions seemed to release in a rush whenever she burst into laughter. Happiness would infuse every feature. The sight never failed to lift his spirits.
Or maybe it was just the sight of her that did.
Yeah, it had been way too long since he’d seen Patti.
But it looked like their reunion was going to have to wait a little bit longer.
“Martin!” Beth called out as she rushed toward him after pulling off her cloak.
He took advantage of that second to look her over. Though she now sported a definite baby bump, the rest of her looked smaller. That seemed odd. Had she been sick?
Grasping her arms, he pulled her close. “Hey, Bethy. It’s good to see you.”
“Same. I’ve missed you.”
Realizing her cheeks were cold and damp, he said, “Where’ve you been?”
“Over at Patti’s.”
“Why?” he asked, hoping that he didn’t sound envious. “Just to pay her a visit?”
“Yes, and to give her some loaves of bread.”
“She walked over there,” Mommi said as she joined them in the living room. “Though exercise is good for her, I thought she should’ve worn a better hat.”
Focusing on his sister again, he said, “It’s sleeting outside. The ground is no doubt slick. You could have slipped and fallen.”
“I didn’t.”
“Still, you shouldn’t have walked.”
“I needed to get out of here, and it was no big deal. I was fine. Plus, a friend of Patti’s gave me a ride home in his buggy. I only walked there, not back.”
His? Jealousy, his unwelcome new best friend, roared to life. “Patti had a man over?”
“She did, but he was a client, not a suitor. Settle down.”
“I’m settled.” And he was, kind of. “What’s his story? Is he married?” Ignoring the amused glances his sister and grandmother were exchanging, he added, “Was he English or Amish? And how old was he?”
“He was Amish. He drove a buggy, remember? As far as his status and age, I’m not sure about either. If I had to guess, I’d say he wasn’t married and is older than Patti.”
“By how much?”
“Oh, for heaven’s sakes!” Mommi exclaimed. “Bethy, how about you tell me this man’s name and I’ll fill in your bruder.”
“Junior Lambright,” Beth replied. “Do you know him?”
Their grandmother leaned back with a pleased expression. “Ah, to be sure. He’s a nice man. A good one.”
“I thought the same thing,” Beth commented. “I mean, at first I thought it was strange that he was named Junior, but it suits him.”
“I reckon it does. But with a name like John, it’s better that he goes by Junior, ain’t so?” Eyes sparkling, she added, “Some days, it feels like every fifth man I meet is named John.”
“Just like there are lots of Katies and Marys around,” Beth mused.
“Jah. Just like.”
Martin couldn’t care less about popular Amish names, though he figured the women had a point.
A lot of folks in Walden had the same last names and popular Bible names.
It could get confusing from time to time.
He cleared his throat. “Circling back to Junior. Are you sure he was at Patti’s because he was a client? ”
Beth’s eyes lit up in a knowing way. “Yes, brother.”
Little by little, Martin relaxed. Picturing a man in his late fifties or sixties, he added, “That’s good for Patti. Sometimes older men don’t want to trust young women to manage their books.”
“I sat at the table while they finished up their work. Junior seemed to trust her just fine.”
“Good. That’s good.” Feeling more comfortable about Patti’s client, he added, “Hopefully he got home safely in the bad weather.”
Mommi tilted her head to one side. “You’re acting as if he’s a doddering old man. That ain’t the case.”
“Of course not, Mommi,” Martin said quickly. He didn’t want her to think he considered her and Dawdi to be anywhere near doddering.
Beth folded her arms over her chest. “You sure seem to have a lot to say about someone you’ve never met. Why all the questions, Martin?”
“No reason. I was just curious.” And jealous. Which didn’t make a bit of sense, given the fact that Patti had a successful business and she probably had quite a few clients. And . . . he’d yet to figure himself out, so of course she had every right to date other people.
Mommi studied him for a long moment before she rearranged two books that were on the coffee table. “Well, if you ever get the chance to get to know Junior better, you should do it. He’s a nice young man with a bright future ahead of him. He started his own business from scratch, you know.”
“What kind of business is that?”
“He makes candles.”
“Candles?” Beth asked. “Really?”
“Oh, jah. Junior is a candlemaker. They’re real nice ones. They smell gut, too.”
“Good for him,” Martin murmured. And, good for him, too.
He figured every person had the right to choose what they wanted to do for a living, but obviously Junior wasn’t doing that great if the best he could do was make candles in his kitchen.
Then, there was the fact that he couldn’t even manage his own books.
“That’s kind of Patti to give him a helping hand. ”
“Nee, he pays for her work.”
“I’m sure he pays what he can.” Sure, he sounded full of himself and probably not a little bit stuck-up, but he was relieved that Junior, the candle-making Amish guy, was no threat to him.
Martin made a great living. He could take care of Patti very well.
If she ever chose him to be her guy, he’d make sure she had every comfort she might want.
“How long are you here for, Martin?” Beth asked.
“Through the weekend. I want to spend time with all of you.” And Patti.
“Oh, good,” she replied, looking visibly relieved. “I was worried you were just coming down for the day.”
“No. I want to see Kelsey and Richard and Jonny and Treva and Mommi and Dawdi and you, of course.” And Patti . . . ASAP.
“That’s a lot of people.” Beth smiled. “We should all meet at the Trailside Café. Then you won’t be running all over town.”
“That would be great.”
“Or, we could have everyone here, Beth,” Mommi offered. “That way Treva wouldn’t feel obligated to serve everyone kaffi. What do you think?”
“If everyone brings something, I think it will be perfect. I don’t want you and me to have to make all the snacks. Looking at their grandmother’s kitchen phone, Beth said, “I’ll reach out to Treva and Kelsey now. Say, for ten a.m. on Sunday?”
“There’s no church, so that works for me.” Mommi turned to Martin. “Now that that’s settled, let’s take care of you, child. Are you hungry? If so, I can heat you up some potato soup. We have some left over from last night.”
“Thanks, but I’ve got something to do first,” he said, as he grabbed his coat and pulled it on. “I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Take your time. We’ll be here,” Mommi said.
She wasn’t asking where he was going.
Neither was Bethy.
Surprised by their silence, Martin paused, but didn’t trust himself to look at either Beth or his grandmother. If he did, he was afraid that he’d see exactly what they were thinking on their faces.
And he had no idea how he was going to explain his need to see Patti right that minute.
He walked out the door and quickened his step. In less than ten minutes he’d be seeing her. In person. He couldn’t wait.
Patti knew she’d spent far too long cleaning up the kitchen and dining room after Beth and Junior left, but she couldn’t help herself.
Her house was too quiet, and the only activity she had left in her day was tending to the chickens.
Since the henhouse was clean, that chore wouldn’t take long at all.
After that, she’d have to find something else to occupy her brain.
Perhaps she could finish the somewhat boring book she’d gotten at the library. Or work.
Neither was appealing.
Though the rain and sleet had finally stopped, it was still cold out. The skies were gray. None of those things made her feel like doing laundry or even mending.
She also refused to do her new secret favorite hobby, which was count down the hours until Martin called.
She wasn’t proud of this new activity, especially since she had a very good feeling that his calls were going to end sooner than later.
They were too different, and she was also very sure that he was not going to become baptized in her faith, after all.
It was disappointing, but she knew that the Lord was in charge of their future and Martin’s faith.
If He didn’t think that Martin should become Amish, then that was what Martin needed to do.
She would just have to find a way to accept it. And she would. She just didn’t know if she was going to be able to recover from the disappointment.
When she heard the knocking on the front door, she let out a sigh of relief. She had another visitor. Maybe Kelsey was stopping by or even Sylvia.
Throwing open the door, she started to smile. Then froze, because it felt as if she’d been struck by lightning. She was that shocked. “Martin.”
His blue eyes seemed to scan her body before meeting her gaze. Only then did he slowly begin to smile. “Patti. You look beautiful.”
If there was ever a man who could make her heart beat double time all while making her mouth go dry, it was Martin Schrock.
What was even more amazing was that she knew he wasn’t just saying the words.
He really did find her to be pretty. Even with the port-wine stain that marked her neck and had made her the focus of jokes and teasing and even suspicion all her life.
“Martin, the things you say.”
“May I come in?”
Only then did she realize that she’d been letting in the cold and making the poor man stand there in the freezing weather. “I’m sorry, of course.” She stepped back so he could come inside.
After he shut the door, he chuckled softly.
“What?”
“Nothing. Only that you look so surprised to see me.”
“That’s because I am. Last night when we talked, you gave no indication that I’d be seeing you today.” If she’d known, she would have put on a newer dress. Or maybe even made snickerdoodles, his favorite cookie.
Or maybe she wouldn’t be acting so jumpy and skittish.
“I didn’t tell you for a reason.”
“What is that?”
As a smile played on his lips, he unbuttoned his coat and hung it on one of the hooks by the door. “Because . . . I didn’t know I was coming down.”
“This is a spur-of-the-moment thing?”
“Very much so. One moment I was thinking about ordering a pizza for supper, and the next I was packing a bag and tossing it in my car.”
That was very much unlike Martin. He was a steady sort of man. Beginning to worry, her mind began to toss out possibilities. “What happened? Is someone sick? Has your grandmother’s cold taken a turn for the worse? Is she worse than I thought?”
“She’s fine.” Stepping closer, he lowered his voice. “It’s more of an I-can’t-wait-to-see-Patti-in-person thing.”
She blinked. And then stared at him like a lovestruck fool. “Martin.”
“Now, are you going to hug me hello? It’s been weeks since I’ve been to Walden.”
“Um . . .” Truth be told, she was eager to give him a hug. She was eager to chat with him, hug him, hold his hand . . . kiss him sweetly.
But she had no idea how to make the first move. Not with Martin still staring at her with a mixture of amusement and affection in his eyes. What was she supposed to do now, just throw herself into his arms?
“You make me smile, Patti.” Reaching for her hand, he curved his own around it and tugged. “Come here.”
And then, there she was, wrapped in his warm arms. Her face pressed against his shoulder. Surrounded by his scent.
It was almost too perfect a moment.
It was also something she probably shouldn’t be doing. She’d missed him so much that she didn’t want to leave the embrace. Honestly, if she was just a little bit braver, she would do what she wanted to do and raise her head, gaze into his eyes, and part her lips.
Giving him an open invitation to kiss her again. For the first time in months.
Although it was wrong to want such things. After all, they were unmarried and there wasn’t a chaperone in sight.
She couldn’t care less.