Chapter 10 #3
Her heart squeezed. “This is their home, remember?” Before he could ask any more questions, she set him on the floor. She ruffled his hair, not caring that she ruined all her work with the hairbrush. “ Geh on downstairs and find Jalon. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Malachi smiled and flew out the door as if they hadn’t just had a serious conversation. Children were so resilient. Thank you, God, for creating them that way.
Phoebe stood, her nerves ratcheting up again.
If only she could be calmed with a few words the way her son had.
So far everyone she’d met in Birch Creek had been nice.
Then again, they didn’t know her. Didn’t know her past. Would they be as friendly if they did?
She didn’t have good experiences with strict, unyielding people.
Right now her feelings were more tender than Malachi’s.
Yet she couldn’t dwell on that. She had to get through the next couple of hours, and the best way to do that was to focus on worship. She went downstairs, determined to put God first in her mind and everything else in the background.
Then she saw Jalon, and her plan flew right out the window.
He stood in the kitchen looking out the window, clearly deep in thought.
She didn’t move. She barely breathed. She’d known from first sight, and because of his profession in construction, that he had a good physique.
It was hard not to notice. But the black pants, crisp white shirt, and black vest he was wearing drove that point home.
His profile was thoughtful, and his curly hair almost as messy as Malachi’s.
She wanted to tame it, not with a brush but with her fingers.
Great. These were not the worshipful thoughts she wanted to have before going to church.
“Where’s Malachi?” she asked, forcing herself to focus on her son and not the gorgeous man in front of her.
“He’s in the buggy. With Blue.” He turned and grinned, which sabotaged her efforts to focus on worship and not on him. “I think he’s expecting to take him to church.”
That made Phoebe chuckle and relax a bit.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. He wanted to take him to the grocery store the other day.
” She steadied herself, trying not to lose her senses in Jalon’s smile.
She was failing, so she changed to a subject that would somber them both.
“Jalon, I know we need to talk. About ... the future.” About us.
His smile faded, and while talking was what she wanted, she was sorry to see it go.
“I know. This afternoon, okay?” She agreed, and he picked up his black hat from the table and put it on.
Her thoughts immediately derailed again.
She gave her head a quick shake. They moved to the mudroom for their coats, then went outside.
After convincing Malachi that Blue didn’t need to attend church, they were off.
The weather had slowly warmed up over the past few days, and while there was still some snow on the ground, the air wasn’t as sharp as it had been.
Malachi sat between her and Jalon, and she welcomed the buffer.
She was used to the tight confines of Amish buggies, but this one felt smaller than most. It didn’t help that she could smell the fresh, clean scent of Jalon’s soap, or that all she had to do was reach across Malachi and she could touch Jalon’s shoulder. Or his hand. Stop!
Soon they arrived where a family was hosting the church service in their barn, and Karen greeted them.
She smiled at Malachi, but the smile faded as he uncharacteristically shrank away.
Karen looked at Phoebe, concern in her eyes.
Phoebe put her hand on Malachi’s back as he tried to melt into the skirt of her dress.
Jalon came up beside them. He didn’t say anything, just took Malachi’s hand. Then he walked away, hand in hand with Malachi as if the child were ... his.
“I’ve saved us seats next to Ivy,” Karen said as they walked into the barn where the benches were set up for church. Karen scanned the space, then waved. “She’s over there.”
Phoebe saw a tiny woman who resembled Karen sitting on one of the benches.
They walked over to her, and instead of the curious stares Phoebe expected to feel, she realized everyone else was busy talking to each other, the comfortable murmurs of pleasant conversation filtering around her.
She didn’t feel the same tension she’d experienced at her aunt’s church, nor the uncertainty present at her parents’.
Instead there was friendship. Community.
Things she’d been missing in her life for a long time.
“Hi.” Ivy patted the seat next to her and Phoebe sat down. “I’m Ivy Yoder. I’ve been excited to meet you. Karen’s told me all about you.”
Phoebe smiled, fully relaxing for the first time that morning.
Karen was petite, but Ivy was tiny. Her feet dangled above the barn floor, and her small hands were folded in her lap.
She was lovely, with the same freckles as her sister, but her hair was pale blond rather than red.
Phoebe turned to Karen, who smiled, then squeezed her hand.
At that point Phoebe knew she would be okay. Released from worry, she was able to worship freely, to pray, to ask God for direction, and above all, to give thanks.
Jalon tried to focus on worship. He needed to focus.
He was lost, not only when it came to his lack of employment and his future, but he’d been lost in Phoebe when she came into the kitchen before they left for church.
That was becoming a normal thing for him, but this time it was clear she returned the attraction, and that had thrown him for a loop.
He’d been glad Malachi was sandwiched between them in the buggy.
If he hadn’t been, Jalon might have done something stupid, like reached for her hand or put his arm around her.
What was it about her that made him lose every bit of his common sense? Everything. It’s everything about her.
That wasn’t exactly the thing to be thinking about in church, or while he was sitting next to her son.
Malachi, to his credit, was being as quiet and still as he could during the service, only whispering to Jalon a couple of times, then swinging his legs a little too hard while sitting on the bench.
When he saw Malachi clinging to Phoebe when they arrived, he knew he had to do something to put the boy at ease.
As he walked into the church, the men glanced at the two of them but didn’t say anything.
Sol had given him a particularly pointed look, but Jalon only nodded in return.
By now everyone knew Phoebe and Malachi were staying with him.
The grapevine worked fast in Birch Creek.
Yet folks in his community weren’t quick to judge, especially since Freemont had become the bishop.
The man’s open frankness in his preaching and in showing his doubt about being a bishop had affected the congregation.
The atmosphere was more relaxed. More friendly.
And definitely more accepting. And since he had allowed Phoebe and Malachi to stay with Jalon, and Karen was their chaperone, the rest of the community, while curious, were also accepting.
Not that that helped him get his mind off Phoebe.
A few days ago he’d been fairly sure she didn’t think of him as anything but a pen pal who happened to have good timing.
But lately he’d been catching her looking at him, quickly shifting her gaze before he could see the expression in her eyes.
Yet every once in a while he did see the spark of attraction there, and it had been in full force in the kitchen earlier.
The thought forced him to suppress a smile.
When the service was over, Sadie Troyer invited them to lunch with her family. Jalon declined, and he could tell Phoebe agreed with his decision. They couldn’t put off talking any longer. Karen was going to have lunch with her family and then she’d be back at Jalon’s later that afternoon.
Malachi fell asleep on the way home, his head leaning against Jalon’s arm. Phoebe tried to reposition him to lean on her, but he kept shifting closer to Jalon, and eventually she gave up. “He really likes you,” she said as Malachi snuggled his cheek against Jalon’s shirtsleeve.
“I’m nee competition for Blue.”
Her smile, coupled with the twinkling blue of her eyes, made him almost drop the reins.
When they arrived home, Malachi stirred, but didn’t waken.
Phoebe scooped him up and took him inside while Jalon put up the horse.
When he entered the kitchen, he found Phoebe had made him a plate of boiled eggs, cheese, bread and butter, pickles, and a sliced apple.
She set it on the table. “Sorry about the boring lunch.”
He glanced at it. “Looks like a regular Sunday lunch to me.”
She sat down across from him. “ Ya. Boring.”
Noticing she didn’t have a plate of her own, he said, “Aren’t you eating?”
Phoebe shook her head. “I’m not hungry. Malachi is asleep on the couch, so I’ll fix him something to eat later. If I’m hungry then, I’ll eat.”
Jalon nodded. Although he was starving, it didn’t feel right to eat in front of her. He pushed the plate to the side.
She frowned. “Is there something wrong with the food?”
“ Nee. ” He took in a deep breath. Karen was gone, Malachi was asleep, and they were alone. They had run out of excuses and diversions. “It’s time we had that talk.”