Chapter 4
“I want to know everything about you and Maynard.”
Daisy glanced around Grace’s room. After they had gone inside, her aenti apologized profusely for being late. “I’m so sorry you had to wait on us, Daisy,” she said, giving her another hug, then
taking her to the other side of the living room while Grace and Onkel Howard fetched their luggage. “I don’t know how I would manage planning Grace’s wedding without you.”
“I’m happy to help any way I can.”
“Just do me a favor,” Aenti Rosella said. “Don’t let Grace know I asked you to come, okay? I wanted to surprise her. I’ll tell her later that you’re
going to help with the wedding.”
“Sure.” But her request was baffling. If she was so desperate for Daisy’s assistance, why was she hiding the whole reason
for asking her to come here? Besides, Grace had older sisters who were married, and Aenti Rosella had managed their weddings just fine. Maybe it was because she and Grace were the same age and had grown up together. She could understand that reasoning. But there was also the strange fact that Grace and her family had returned home early from vacation for Daisy’s visit. If they weren’t going to be here, why didn’t her parents get a ticket for another time? Even two days later would have been better.
She looked again at Grace, who was waiting for her to talk about Maynard. Their fathers were brothers, but she and Grace didn’t
resemble each other. Her cousin was tall for an Amish woman and had dark hair, not light brown like Daisy’s. Their eye colors
were different too, with Daisy having hazel eyes and Grace a deep brown.
Daisy regrouped and set aside the strange circumstances of her arrival in Marigold. She was here with her favorite cousin,
she was going to plan her wedding, and that was that. “Maynard is wonderful,” Daisy said, grabbing one of Grace’s quilted
pillows and hugging it. “So smart and hardworking. He’s a very talented cabinetmaker.”
“Yeah, yeah”—Grace leaned forward, a sly twinkle in her eye—“But is he a gut kisser?”
She froze, shocked at her cousin’s intruding question. But Grace didn’t seem self-conscious at all talking about such an intimate
subject. And that wasn’t a good thing for Daisy. Now she was regretting embellishing the status of her and Maynard’s relationship.
But Grace was always talking about how wonderful Kyle was, how great it was to be in love. Daisy was already feeling left
out from her siblings and friends. Telling Grace that she and Maynard were a couple just... happened.
“Don’t be shy.” Grace grinned. “I won’t tell anyone.”
Clearing her throat, Daisy said, “Uh... is, um... Kyle gut at kissing?”
Grace sat back, a dreamy look entering her eyes. “Oh, ya . He’s a very, very gut kisser.”
Daisy gulped again. “Have you kissed anyone else?”
“Of course not.”
“Then how do you know?”
With a cheeky grin, Grace said, “Because of how he makes me feel.”
“And how is that?” Daisy was acting nosier than Grace, and even though the topic was making her a little uncomfortable, this
was a prime chance to get some insight into romance, something she would need after she and Maynard had “the talk.”
“Well...” Grace shifted positions on the quilt-covered bed that matched the pillow and sat cross-legged, her plum-colored
dress covering her knees and bare feet. They had taken off their black socks as soon as they entered the bedroom. “I get this
tickle in my stomach when we kiss. Then my whole body goes warm and cold at the same time.”
Daisy wasn’t sure how someone could feel two temperatures simultaneously, but she wanted to hear more. “And then what?”
“My heart starts hammering in my chest. Like someone is beating a drum inside me.”
“Does it hurt?”
“ Nee . Not at all. Don’t you feel that when you’re with Maynard?”
“Oh sure.” She waved her hand. “All the time. I just wanted to know how you felt.”
“Wonderful.” Her smile was soft. “Kyle makes me feel wonderful. Not just when we’re kissing—and we try not to do that too
often because, you know...”
Daisy nodded. She did know, thanks to a book at the library and her mother’s quick, red-faced “birds and bees” talk when she
turned eighteen. Or was it sixteen? She couldn’t remember, but her age didn’t matter because she took to heart her mother’s
warning about saving herself for after her wedding. “Being with a man is special—so special that God wanted intimacy to be under the covenant of marriage,” Mamm had said. “You’ll understand when the time comes.”
And she was sure she would, eventually. With Maynard.
“So?” Grace said.
“So, what?”
“It’s your turn.” She leaned forward again. “How does Maynard make you feel when he kisses you?”
Daisy’s neck heated, and her upper lip grew damp under her cousin’s expectant gaze. How in the world was she supposed to answer
this question? She didn’t want to tell Grace to mind her own business, especially when she had been so open and quite helpful.
She now knew what she should feel when she and Maynard finally did kiss.
She also didn’t want to tell a lie. But the truth was too embarrassing. “Uh, well, you see...” Daisy wiped the back of
her hand over her perspiring lip. “It’s like this—”
“Grace! Time to fix supper!”
Daisy almost melted with relief at her aunt’s voice from the bottom of the stairs. “We shouldn’t keep her waiting,” she said,
bouncing off the bed as if her backside was on fire.
“To be continued, then.”
Grace moved off the bed with much more grace than Daisy, and she didn’t seem to notice that Daisy was in a hurry to go downstairs. Anything to get off the topic of kissing.
When they reached the kitchen, Aenti Rosella was hovering over a whole chicken sitting in a roaster pan on the gas stove and brushing the skin with oil. “Grace,
why don’t you and Daisy geh to the greenhouse and bring in some tomatoes and lettuce? We’ll have a simple salad with the chicken and noodles.”
They didn’t bother to put on shoes before walking outside, and the grass felt soft and cold on her bare feet as she and Grace walked to a small greenhouse near the wooded edge of the yard. In her confusion about being locked out of the house, Daisy had missed seeing the small building the first time she was back here.
A cool breeze rustled the trees in front of them. Many of the branches had tiny green buds on the ends, and there were a few
conifers among the many tall, mostly bare oaks and elms. The greenhouse was a square structure, made of old windows, including
the roof. “I’ve never seen a greenhouse like this before.”
“ Daed and Tobias made it,” she said, referring to one of her brothers-in-law. “This is the fourth year we’ve used it, and all my
sisters have one now.”
“Are they made with windows too?”
“ Ya .” Grace opened the upcycled door. Daisy thought it was an excellent use of something people might thoughtlessly throw away
or drop off at a dump.
They walked inside, the temperature much warmer than the outdoor air. “The lettuce is over there,” Grace said, pointing to
the back of the greenhouse. “We’ve got two kinds, so get a little of both.”
Daisy walked past several pots with tomatoes, cucumbers, and cabbage, then a table that held smaller pots of parsley, dill,
and coriander. “This is really wonderful,” she said, touching the soft dill sprigs as she headed for the lettuce. “It must
be great having fresh vegetables in the winter.”
“ Ya . Daed ’s going to make one for me and Kyle, with Kyle’s help, of course.” Grace plucked two ripe tomatoes off a vine tied to a string
attached to the ceiling of the greenhouse, the bottom of the plant sitting in a medium clay pot. “The hardest part is finding
suitable windows no one needs anymore.”
She was sure Maynard would be able to construct such a structure, but he’d have to do it without her Daed ’s help. Her father was an excellent house painter, but Mamm was the one who did all the fix-it jobs around the house, and she had taught Daisy how to do them too. But Daisy wouldn’t have to worry about that with Maynard. He was highly capable when it came to using his tools.
Once she and Grace had gathered the vegetables and Grace had decided to pick a couple of carrots for the salad, they went
back to the house. Daisy couldn’t help but glance at Perry’s house again. His buggy was still in the driveway, but he wasn’t
outside. She had appreciated him making her lunch and keeping her company, but she couldn’t forget that Grace said he was
unusual, whatever that meant.
She shrugged and stepped on the patio, the flagstones even colder than the grass. But she didn’t mind. She preferred being
barefoot to wearing shoes. Maynard couldn’t stand to take off his shoes, and whenever he visited Daisy, he always had a pair
of protective overshoes covering his boots or sneakers. She initially thought that was a little odd, but she never had to
worry about him dragging mud into the house.
After they finished the delicious supper Aenti Rosella, Grace, and Daisy made, Daisy walked down the driveway to the phone shanty at the end. It was between her aunt and
uncle’s house and Perry’s, so she assumed they shared the phone. The sky was a dusky blue with layers of coral, lavender,
and light pink from the descending sun. She opened the shanty door and stepped inside. Even though she trusted her mother
to tell Maynard where she was, she wanted to give him the news herself.
Quickly she dialed his number, and after two rings she heard a clicking sound. “Hello?”
Disappointment filled her. “Hi, Neva,” she said to Maynard’s mother. She didn’t call him all that often, and he never picked
up the phone, but hope always sprang eternal.
“Daisy.”
She also hoped that one day Neva Miller would speak to her without sounding put upon. Maynard’s father, Amos, was reserved too and worked at the same shop Maynard did. “Is Maynard there?” she asked.
“ Nee .”
“Will he be home soon?”
“I don’t know.”
Daisy rolled her eyes. “Can you tell him I called?”
“ Ya .”
“ Danki . The number is—”
Click.
She flinched. How rude. Then she remembered she didn’t leave her uncle’s phone number. She started to dial Neva back, then
changed her mind and called her parents. At least she could carry on a conversation with them, and she needed to tell them
she was all right.
“Hi, Daisy,” Mamm said as soon as she answered the phone. Because of her father’s job, he had a cell phone that revealed the caller on the
screen. “Did you make it to Marigold all right?”
“ Ya . But no one was here when I arrived.”
“Oh?”
Her mother sounded tense. “Did you know they were on vacation this week?”
Silence. Then, “There must have been a mix-up. I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s okay. I—” She was about to tell her that she had passed the time with Perry but thought better of it. It wasn’t like
her mother would ever meet him. “I managed.”
“ Gut . Enjoy yourself, Daisy. Your ticket is open-ended, and you can come back anytime you want to.”
“But what about my job?”
“I forgot to tell you,” Mamm said quickly. “I took your shifts. Mr. Brickman didn’t mind. Just while you’re gone. It’s nice to get out of the house.”
“But—”
“Oops, your father needs me right now. Love you.”
“Love you too—”
Click.
Hung up on twice in a row. Daisy frowned. Why was everyone acting so strangely? Well, not everyone. Grace seemed herself, albeit a little snoopy. And
Neva would probably never change. But her parents and Aenti Rosella’s behavior was more than a little off.
She put the receiver back in the cradle and left the phone shanty. Only one light was on at Perry’s, and it was on the backside
of his house. What was he doing tonight? Then she shook her head. It wasn’t her business to be wondering about Perry Bontrager.
She had more important things to ponder, like how to dodge Grace’s kissing question when their conversation resumed. Her stomach
knotted up. Oh boy.
***
Perry yawned as he waited for Ferman to climb inside his buggy. The old man was trying to hide that his hip was bothering
him, but his moan when he hauled himself onto the front buggy seat gave him away. Perry ignored the sound.
“ Gute morgen ,” Perry said, grabbing the reins. “You’re right on time.”
“Of course I am,” Ferman groused. “Even at this ridiculous hour in the morning.”
“Not all jobs are this early.” Or five miles away. That was the reason they left at this ridiculous hour. His client needed his horses to be finished by early afternoon, and there were several to shoe. One of them, Turbo, had a particularly difficult personality. Perry would have offered to pick up Ferman and save him the trouble of driving over, except that the job was in the opposite direction of his house.
Soon they were on their way. As sunrise broke through, he saw a familiar sign that announced they were only six miles to Birch
Creek. That wasn’t their destination, but it was a reminder that he still hadn’t decided what he was going to do about Mamm and her letter-writing campaign to marry him off. He cringed. It was awful when he thought about it, and he’d tried not to.
Fetching the doorknob and tools and fixing his front door had been a needed distraction. So was Daisy Hershberger from Dover,
Delaware. He smiled. Daisy from Dover. Kind of cute how she kept repeating where she was from.
His mouth froze in place, then switched to a frown. That was the second time—okay, more than two times—that he’d smiled when
he thought of her. After she left with Grace, he’d gone into the kitchen, Lady following him. He decided to shorten her name
and she kept him company as he finished cleaning the kitchen. He was drying the last dish when he saw her land on a torn paper
towel by the stove. He was about to throw the shred away when he noticed the writing and read the message.
So Daisy from Dover had a boyfriend named Maynard. No surprise there. Besides being pretty, she was a good conversationalist,
and he enjoyed learning about a place he’d never been to. Noticing her pleasant looks and ability to chat didn’t mean anything,
though, and he was relieved she had a boyfriend. If she were single and his mother found out, no doubt she’d try to match
the two of them up. Thank goodness he didn’t have to worry about that, because he was definitely, 100 percent not interested.
“Are you gonna tell me about that maed you were eating lunch with yesterday?”
Perry jerked at Ferman’s gruff voice. He’d been so lost in his thoughts he forgot the man was sitting next to him. Jesse hadn’t mentioned anything about Ferman being nosy, and that had probably been on purpose. “She’s Grace’s cousin,” he said, his tone clipped.
Ferman settled back in the seat and took a thermos out of his lunch cooler. When he opened it, the smoky scent of coffee filled
the buggy. “Where’s she from?”
“Dover. Delaware,” he added, in case Ferman didn’t know where Dover was.
“Nice place. Been to one of the beaches before. Years ago, with Lovina. Before we had Junior.” He finished pouring his coffee
into the lid and took a sip. “How long is she staying?”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Why not?”
Perry gripped the reins. “Digging into my personal life isn’t part of your job.”
“Well, excuse me for making conversation. I’ll keep my yap shut from now on.”
With a sigh, Perry said, “Sorry. I didn’t get a gut night’s sleep.”
“Thinking about Daisy?”
He almost laughed in surprise. What was with this guy? And no, he hadn’t thought about Daisy as he tried to fall asleep. Not
too much anyway. “ Nee . I just had trouble sleeping. It happens sometimes.”
“You should try a little valerian. Or is it lavender? Lovina used to say that one of those was for menopause and the other
for insomnia, but I forget which is which.”
Chuckling, Perry said, “Lavender is for sleep. My sister-in-law Margaret is a naturopath, so I should probably get some from
her.”
“Get a pinch or two for me while you’re at it.”
Ferman drank his coffee in silence for the rest of the trip, and by the time they arrived at the horse farm, the morning sun was fully above the horizon. Before starting the job, Ferman admitted to having a little farrier experience, and Perry was glad he didn’t have to train him. He gave him the lighter duties—conditioning the hooves and keeping track of the tools—leaving Perry to do the more physically demanding tasks of blacksmithing and shoeing. That gave Ferman plenty of time to chat with the owners, and Perry noticed he didn’t mind conversing with the horses either. The man did like to talk.
By noon they had finished well ahead of schedule, partly because the usually persnickety Turbo was on his best behavior, but
also because of Ferman’s assistance. Perry had to admit it was nice to have some help.
After cleaning up at the wash station near the client’s barn, they went to the buggy and put away their tools. When they were
packed up and ready to go, once again Ferman struggled to climb into the seat. Perry could see why Jesse and Micah were concerned
about him working in their shop. While he’d appeared to be fine on the job, he now seemed to have trouble masking his pain.
As Perry steered the buggy down the long driveway toward the road, he glanced at Ferman. His eyes were closed, a slight grimace
on his face. He wondered if he’d given him too much to do. The man knew his way around horses and farriers, but if the work
was too strenuous, he needed to know. “Ferman?”
His eyes flew open, and he straightened up in the seat. “ Ya ?”
“How bad is the pain?”
“I’m fine,” he snapped.
“Look, I think you’re going to be a gut assistant, but I need you to be honest with me. If you’re hurting or too tired, you gotta tell me. You don’t have to keep up with me, and I don’t mind if you take breaks.” Or even work at all, but he didn’t say that. Other than apprenticing with Andrew, Perry had always worked alone. While Ferman was helpful, he could do the job without him.
Ferman pressed his lips together, and Perry thought he’d offended him until he started talking again.
“Having a break or two would be gut .”
Perry nodded, glad Ferman agreed to some moderation. “Would you consider using a stool to get into the buggy? Just at my house.
You don’t have to use it unless you need to.”
Ferman nodded, almost imperceptibly. Then he picked up his lunch cooler and opened it, signaling the conversation closed.
Perry saw a single sandwich and an apple inside his cooler, along with the coffee thermos. Perry also brought his lunch, as
he always did when he was working. Unlike Ferman’s, though, his was more substantial—three protein bars from the box he’d
picked up at E&J’s grocery last week, the last piece of zucchini bread Charity made for him a few days ago, a plastic baggie
full of dried fruit, and the rest of the chips from the bag he’d shared with Daisy yesterday. Instead of coffee, his thermos
was full of ice water. The lunch wasn’t fancy or even all that balanced, but it was enough to get him through the day. He
couldn’t say the same about his new assistant’s meager meal.
As Ferman unwrapped his sandwich, Perry hesitated. He wasn’t keen on going out to eat. Growing up on a farm and with his mother
being an excellent cook, he preferred eating at home and bringing his own lunches. He also didn’t like crowded restaurants.
Or crowds, period. Church was the only exception, but that was because he wasn’t there for the people, but for the Lord. Otherwise,
he found big groups exhausting.
All the eateries in the area were usually busy, so the chance of them finding a quiet, low-populated restaurant was almost
nil. Good for them, but not so great for him. Still, Ferman needed more than a cheese sandwich and a piece of fruit to get
him through the next job.
“What do you think about going out for lunch?” Perry asked. “We’ve got time before we see our next client.”
Ferman stared at his sandwich as if considering the offer. Then he shoved it back in his cooler and shut the lid. “You know
that new restaurant just outside Marigold? The one with the train theme?”
He didn’t, but he nodded anyway.
“They make these bite-size potato square thingies. Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside. Melt-in-your-mouth gut .”
“We’ll geh there then.” Perry thought he saw a faint smile on the old man’s face. While he knew better than to hope the diner wasn’t
packed, he was hungry and crispy potatoes did sound good. It was only lunch anyway, and he’d get through it even if it was
crowded. How bad could it be?