Chapter Ten
Once again, Elias made the long trek to the blacksmith in the morning.
This time, he was able to bring his hoe home.
With summer halfway over, it was imperative that he could dig out weeds and such to keep his animals from chewing on them.
Some were harmful to his animals, and others were simply not the best food for his stock.
As he carried his hoe, that car passed right by him.
It parked, and he smiled a little. That meant that at the very least, Hannah had wanted to say goodbye to someone in person before they left.
He hoped it was him, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if it was John and Olivia.
However, when Hannah got out of the car with a large suitcase, Elias found himself puzzled. He had thought they were going home.
“Elias! What great timing,” Hannah said as she walked over. “Would you mind accompanying me to John’s house again? Is he going to be up at this time?”
“He’s probably at his shop. Olivia’s at home this time of day, usually, though,” Elias replied. “May I ask why you’re back, and with the suitcase once again?”
“It’s a long story, but I’m making sure that John’s ready to make good on something he promised me before my friends leave,” she shared. “Shall we? What’s the hoe for?”
He was slightly impressed that she could tell he had a hoe in his hand, but he was more intrigued by the fact that she was willing to drag the suitcase to John’s haus and then back to the car if he wasn’t ready to make good on the promise.
It was probably a promise to give her a place to stay if she wanted to stay longer, but that was his best guess. Could have been anything, honestly.
“To make sure my animals don’t eat any weeds that might harm them. It’s easier to dig them up at the root if I have a tool to get at the roots,” he replied with a shrug. “To John’s?”
“To John’s.”
“May I ask why the suitcase, if you don’t mind a little bit of prodding?”
“I don’t mind at all,” she said as they started toward John’s home. “I think I’m going to stay and see what the Amish lifestyle is like for a while. Or, at least, get to know my new cousin. I’ve still got half a summer’s worth of time to kill, and I want to get to know John and Olivia better.”
“Well, if you want the proper tour and everything, I’d be honored to help you learn the ways of the Amish,” Elias offered. “I know it may not look like much, but there’s a lot to take in around here. I’m sure you still have a ton of questions after everything you saw in the two days you were here.”
Hannah nodded.
“Starting with, what does it take to get a job on one of the farms here? I love animals, Elias. There’s a reason I’m studying to become a vet.
I want to help animals around the world, and if I can make any impact, I’d like to know how.
It won’t give me anything I can use for college credit, but I think it’d be a good thing to get used to,” she shared.
Her impassioned voice made quite an impact on Elias. He thought about it slowly, but there wasn’t anything to be done other than being willing to learn how to take care of the animals.
“Well, since you’ve already proven that you’re willing and ready to learn about how to properly take care of the animals, you could work with just about any of the farms here,” he replied.
“I’d love to have you work with me if you’d like.
The animals there are already aware of you and your smell.
It might be easier to have you start there than anywhere else, especially if you want to make the most of your time. ”
She thought about it, but Elias quietly cursed himself. That was far too forward. He shouldn’t have said half of that, now that he thought better of it. He didn’t want to influence it all…
“And it means I would get to spend more time with you,” she added. “All right.”
Elias blinked in surprise as they arrived at John’s. He hadn’t expected to hear that she was willing to spend that much time with him. He’d thought it’d be all about the animals. Perhaps there was still a chance to see what might develop if she stayed in the community for the rest of her life.
But first, she had to prove that she wanted to be here.
As she talked to John about her wishes, Elias couldn’t stop thinking about what this meant for him while she was here in the summer.
He’d have to be careful, but he was sure he could convince her they could at least be friends.
If he couldn’t have her heart, he’d be more than content with being her friend.
“Of course, we have room for you to stay while you explore this side of your heritage!” John said, pulling Elias out of his thoughts. “Kumm in. Let your friends know you’re safe and that they can go if they’re ready. I’m sure that they’ve been baking in that car if they’ve been trying to save gas.”
“All right. Oh, thank you for walking me here, Elias. I’ll see you later?”
“Of course. I’ll kumm get you tomorrow to start on the farm?”
Hannah nodded before walking inside. Elias started walking back toward his farm, his heart racing in his chest. What an exciting summer this was turning out to be!