A Bee in Her Bonnet (26 page)

Part of her hated to let Griff get away with anything. If his
dat
had struck Griff, he would have deserved it. Part of her wanted to hug Luke and make him a cherry pie for being a better person than she could ever hope to be. He had already forgiven Griff Simons, and now he was watching out for him—at the expense of his own nose.

Ach.
She didn't hate Luke Bontrager. Not one little bit.

Luke turned and gave Poppy a cautious smile. His nose was red, but the blood wasn't dripping anymore, although there were several spots on his shirt. “Poppy,” he said. How could that one word from his lips send her head whirling like a swarm of honeybees?

He wrapped his protective arm around her and pulled her forward. Poppy couldn't have been more surprised that Luke would let her come out from behind him, but her shock was soon overshadowed by the warm sensation of Luke's arm around her, as if she belonged tucked neatly next to his heart. It didn't help her pulse that he smelled of freshly cut cedar. She could breathe in that scent all day.

He ran his finger along her jawline and nudged her cheek so Griff could see the bruise. “Are you proud of what you did to Poppy, Griff?”

“She hit me first,” Griff said, mumbling so that Poppy could barely understand him. Well, the enormously fat lip probably made it hard to talk.

Ach
, she was such a wicked girl.

“Are you proud?” Luke said, his tone demanding an answer that Griff didn't want to give.

Griff hung his head. “No.”

“Are you proud of scaring three Amish girls who have never done you any harm?”

“I was having a little fun, that's all.”

Luke's glare would have scared Billy Idol. “Are you proud, Griff?”

“No.”

How did he manage to make his voice soft and authoritative at the same time? “Next time you see my sisters or Poppy's sisters walking down the road, will you remember how I could have told your
dat
what really happened but didn't, and just let them be?”

Griff glanced toward his
dat
's motorcycle. “I suppose.”

Poppy didn't know if Griff was convinced, but at that moment, Luke could have persuaded
her
of anything. His goodness astounded her.

Maybe she should at least try to show some forgiveness, even if Griff didn't deserve it. “Wait here,” she said before running into the house.

Aunt B stood on the window seat with her gun pointed at Griff's head through the glass.

“Did you load it?” Poppy said.

“
Nae
. I could see that Luke had it under control. And it never hurts a boy to get some sense knocked into him.”

Poppy went to the cooling rack where four loaves of wheat bread sat. “May I?” she said, taking the wax paper from the drawer.

Aunt B swiped her hand through the air. “It's a waste of a good loaf of bread, but go ahead. Griff might be the worst thing that ever happened to the neighborhood, but he is still a motherless child.”

Poppy tore off a piece of wax paper as best she could with one hand and wrapped it around the bread. She ran outside and handed it to Griff, who acted like he didn't quite know what to do with it. He probably suspected she'd poisoned it.

“That bread is like gold,” Luke said. “Guard it with your life.”

“Oh. Okay,” Griff said.

She hadn't expected a thank-you. She didn't get one.

Griff clomped down the stairs, climbed on the back of his
dat
's motorcycle, and they drove away.

Luke exhaled deeply and gave Poppy a smile that set her heart racing. “I thank the
gute
Lord that you are safe, and nobody got hurt.”

“What do you mean nobody got hurt?” She took the handkerchief from his fist and dabbed at the blood under his nose.

He hissed and pulled back. “Careful. It stings something wonderful.”

“Did he break it?”

“I don't wonder that he did.”

“You should put some ice on it.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Only if you put ice on your hand.”

She batted her eyes. “I was planning on doing that all along.”

He growled. “Poppy Christner, you delight in aggravating me, ain't not?”

“Jah,”
she said. “Almost as much as you delight in aggravating me.”

“I do not.”

Dabbing at the blood on his shirt was futile, but she did it anyway. It kept her close to him and his wonderful-
gute
smell. “At first I thought you didn't tell Griff's
dat
what really happened just to spite me,” Poppy said. “And then I thought maybe you wanted to take the credit for giving Griff a fat lip.”

He laughed. “I'll bet you surprised him with how hard your fist is.”

Poppy grinned. “He slapped me more out of shock than anything else.”

Luke reached out and gently stroked his hand along her cheek. His cool fingers felt heavenly against her warm bruise. “
Oy
, anyhow, Poppy,” he said in his low, musical voice. “I wish I could have taken this one for you.”

“Why didn't you tell me your plan instead of making me promise not to speak?” she said.

His hand found a wisp of hair from beneath her scarf, and he twisted it between his fingers. “Because, no matter how much you dislike me, I knew you wouldn't willingly agree to let Griff's
dat
punch me. Either that or you thought Griff deserved to be hit.”

Poppy lowered her eyes. “
Ach
. I am wicked. I
do
think he deserved it.”

“You're not wicked. It shows you have a tender heart for my sisters and Rose.”

“So do you, but you thought of Griff too. I didn't.”

“There was really no time to argue about it. Another minute and Kyle would have broken down the door,” he said.

“Did you know he would hit you?”

“
Nae
, but I suspected if he didn't turn his anger on me, he'd take it out on Griff. I live close enough to know what goes on at that house.”

Poppy had been wiping at the same spot of blood on his sleeve for a very long time. She smiled sheepishly and handed him back his handkerchief. “I shouldn't have been so difficult, but I didn't want you to boss me around.”

He smirked as if he knew he was going to annoy her. “I told you, the world would be a much better place if everybody just did things my way.”

“Ach,”
Poppy said. “What an imagination you have.”

Someone knocked on the window, and they turned to see Rose and Dorothy grinning and waving at them.

“They look like they're feeling better,” Luke said.

“Cum reu,”
Poppy said. “I will get you some ice for that face and a slice of bread because you have done a very
gute
thing.”

He pursed his lips and shook his head. “
Nae
. I will get
you
some ice. Your cheek is purple and your hand is swelling like a dead fish.”

She glanced down and winced. Her right hand looked decidedly chubby. She'd be wearing a cast at the wedding and weeding the garden with one hand. But she could still make bread if Luke helped. Her heart did a double somersault twist at the thought of Luke Bontrager coming over every day to knead bread. It didn't even matter that she only made bread once a week. Surely she could find something for him to do the other six days.

“Cum,”
he said, cupping his hand over her elbow and leading her into the house as if she were a frail old woman. “It must be hurting something wonderful.”

“At least there is nothing that needs to be glued,” she said. “Remember all the time we spent gluing each other back together? I have such fond memories.”

He gazed at her as if he were looking into her heart. “Me too. What would I do without you?”

Her pulse pounded like a charging bull. “Well, you wouldn't have that scar on your finger. You wouldn't have had to pull me out of a car window, fish me from the ditch, or buy me a drill. You'd be sitting at home in a rocking chair playing Scrabble with one of your
bruders
. You'd be enjoying a lot more peace.”

He shrugged and gave her a dazzling smile. “Nah. I've kind of gotten used to the excitement.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Poppy, Rose, and Lily each pulled two bags of tomatoes from the buggy. Poppy hung both bags on her
gute
arm. It was a
gute
thing they had handles. She hated it when she couldn't do something to help.

One of their errands in town was delivering tomatoes to the Yutzys, who sold some of the Honeybee Schwesters' produce at their fruit, vegetable, and donut stand. The Yutzy girls, Hannah and Mary, were
gute
-natured and friendly and unapologetically loud, and they never seemed to let anything ruffle their feathers. Poppy liked them very much.

The Yutzys' vegetable stand stood on one of the busiest corners in town, where tourists liked to stop for Amish donuts and produce. Tables of cherries and beans, corn and peas lined the sidewalk for several feet. Even in the early morning, a few tourists and some Amish neighbors were looking at the produce.

Poppy's stomach lurched. Dinah Eicher and her
mamm
stood near the flowers looking at a flat of petunias. Poppy pretended she hadn't seen them and hoped Dinah would pretend too. There was no need for them to say anything to each other.

So what if Luke liked demure, pretty Dinah? That didn't hurt Poppy's feelings at all. Luke could like whomever he wanted. But that didn't mean Poppy had to be friendly. She slid her broken hand behind her back. Dinah was sure to gloat over it.

Hannah and Mary stood inside the little enclosure that housed the vegetable stand's cash register and the propane stove where they cooked donuts. Hannah looked up as she counted out change to a customer and squealed in delight. “Lily! Poppy and Rose!
Ach, du lieva
, it's the Honeybee Schwesters!”

The customer, an
Englisch
tourist, pinched her lips together in annoyance, as if Hannah had just broken her eardrum.

Hannah giggled and patted the woman's hand. “I'm sorry if I scared you. I'm just so happy to see my friends.”

The
Englischer
softened and cracked a smile. “Good friends are the greatest treasure, I suppose.”

Hannah's head bobbed up and down. “
Jah, jah
. Nothing better than friends. Have a wonderful-
gute
day.” She came out from behind the counter and gave each of the sisters a hug. “
Ach, du lieva
, it's been ages,
ages
since I've seen any of you.”

Poppy smiled. Maybe not ages. They brought some cherries here just last week.

Hannah furrowed her brow. “Poppy, what happened to your face?”

If only she could hide her cheek like she could her hand. “It's nothing.”

Hannah was always a little flighty. She turned and called to her sister, who was sprinkling sugar on some donuts just out of the deep fryer. “Mary, look who's here.”

Mary beamed like a lantern as a giggle tripped from her mouth. She came out from behind the counter and hugged Poppy and her sisters just as Hannah had done. Poppy never felt unloved around the Yutzy sisters. “
Ach
, Lily and the Honeybees. We sold all your cherries in about two days. People love them. I think the bees make them extra sweet.”

Lily held up one of her bags. “We brought some tomatoes if you want them.”

No one ever had a hard time hearing Hannah. “Do we want them? Poppy Christner tomatoes are famous. I mean, famous.” She turned around again and called to her brother James, who stood behind the counter staring at Poppy and her sisters. James had a crush on Lily, and unlike Hannah and Mary, he fell silent whenever the Honeybee Sisters were around. “James, come and get these tomatoes and put them on the table.”

Red in the face, James came out of the enclosure, took Lily's and Rose's bags, and laid them on the table with the other tomatoes.

Hannah leaned in and lowered her voice. She was still significantly louder than a whisper. “James used to have a crush on Lily, but now that Dan has come home, James has taken a shine to Poppy.”

“Me?” Poppy said.

Hannah giggled. “Of course you. The Honeybee Sisters are all so pretty, James had no problem switching.”

Lily smiled. “I don't wonder that he did. Poppy and Rose are a hundred times prettier than me.”

Rose's cheeks glowed red. “That isn't true, Lily. No one is prettier than anyone else.
Gotte
looks on our hearts.”

Hannah gasped. “Poppy, what happened to your arm? Did you break it?” She quickly took the bags hanging from Poppy's elbow. “James, come over here and get the rest of these. Can't you see Poppy is hurt?”

Silently and obediently, James took the bags from his sister, then went to the table and started arranging the tomatoes so they looked nice and neat. The Yutzys knew how to sell produce.

“Ach,”
Poppy said, fingering a thread sticking out from the cast that went halfway up her forearm. “I'm afraid I hit somebody.”

Both Mary and Hannah widened their eyes.

“You hit somebody?” Mary said. “Not something?”

Bless their hearts, Lily and Rose stood ready to defend her from anyone who dared suggest that Poppy shouldn't have punched Griff Simons.

“Dorothy and Joann Bontrager and I were walking home from the bus stop,” Rose said.

Lily leaned in. The rest of them did the same. “Griff Simons moved back in with his
dat
.”

Mary shook her head. “That's too bad.”

“He tried to kiss Rose,” Lily added.

Mary's gasp sounded like her dying breath. “
Nae!
Rose, what did you do? Did you cry? I would have cried.”

“I would have screamed my lungs out,” Hannah said.

Hannah was noisy and outgoing. Poppy would have been very interested to hear how loud Hannah could scream.

Rose's expression darkened with a painful memory. “I screamed.”

“Poppy was in our yard,” Lily said. “She heard the screaming and punched Griff so he would let Rose go.”

The Yutzy
schwesters
gazed at Poppy as if she could control the weather. “
Oy
anyhow, Poppy. You're so brave,” Mary said.

Hannah slapped her hand over her mouth. “Look at her cheek, Mary. Did he hit you back?”

Poppy nodded. The thought still made her a little jumpy.

“She broke her vow of nonviolence. She should be shunned.” Paul Glick, Lily's ex-boyfriend, stood on the sidewalk in front of the vegetable stand with his arms folded across his chest and a smug scowl on his lips. His puffy face held the petulant expression that Poppy had come to know and dislike. No doubt he was on his way to his family's market.

Mary's face looked as if she'd just sucked on a lemon. “Shunned? Paul Glick, you don't know anything.”

James came from behind and tapped both sisters on the shoulder. “Mary, Hannah, there's customers.”

Hannah gave Poppy a swift kiss on the cheek. “Griff Simons is the meanest boy in the world.”

The Yutzy sisters went back behind the counter. Paul didn't seem to have anywhere he had to be. “You Christners have caused trouble in this community long enough.”

“Paul,” Lily said, with a fake and cheerful lilt to her voice, “how have you been?” Lily had broken things off with Paul. Maybe she felt a slight tinge of guilt about it. Poppy felt no guilt at all.

Paul didn't even look at Lily, didn't even acknowledge that she existed. Poppy shouldn't have expected anything better from him, but she still thought steam might come out of her ears. “We are a peaceful people, Priscilla,” Paul said. “You hurt more than yourself when you use violence on our
Englisch
friends.”

Eyes flashing with anger, Lily opened her mouth to say something. Poppy beat her to it. Lily shouldn't have to speak to Paul ever again, and Poppy was eager to defend herself. “What would you have done, Paul, if Griff had attacked your sister?”

“I would have let him kiss her.”

“And hit her?”

“It would have been
Gotte
's will to test my faithfulness. I would have let
Gotte
exact His vengeance.”

Rose hooked her elbow through Poppy's. “Maybe Poppy was
Gotte
's vengeance.”

“God is able to do His own work,” Paul said. “Ours is not to question His commandments.”

“I didn't want Griff to hurt my sister,” Poppy said.

Paul narrowed his eyes and glared at Poppy as if she were preaching evil doctrine. “It was
Gotte
's will.”

“You pledged to follow the Confession of Faith.” Poppy turned to see Dinah Eicher lurking just outside their little gathering. When had she sneaked into the conversation? “Do your baptism vows mean nothing to you?”

Paul glared at them the way Aunt Bitsy had looked at Kyle Simons yesterday. “Time and again I have cautioned the bishop and the ministers about your family's behavior. Your Aunt Elizabeth dyes her hair and wears earrings and tattoos. Someone has seen her with lipstick. Lily breaks her promises and deceives people. All of you wear pants and flirt with boys.”

Flirt with boys? What he really meant was that Lily had chosen Dan Kanagy over him. Poppy clenched her teeth. Paul liked nothing better than to twist facts to justify himself. If she hadn't sworn off hitting any more boys, she would have seriously considered clobbering him over the head with her cast. How dare he talk about Lily and their family that way?

Dinah nodded so hard, Poppy thought her
kapp
might fly off her head. “You flirt with lots of boys.”

A look of understanding passed between Dinah Eicher and Paul Glick. They must have realized they were allies in the imaginary battle against the Honeybee Sisters. But what did Dinah have against Poppy except that she thought Poppy had stolen her recipe for Nestlé Toll House cookies?

Since she had called things off with Paul, Lily had become almost as bold as Poppy. “Paul,” Lily said, “don't insult my family as if you know them. You know nothing.”

“You are the worst offender, Poppy,” Paul said, still ignoring Lily as if he'd cut her completely out of his heart and therefore she didn't exist anymore. “You have never been able to fully accept the Confession of Faith. You use violence to solve your problems. It will only bring damnation to you and trouble to our community.”

Dinah was so eager to share her opinion with someone who would agree with her. She stepped forward and stood next to Paul. “She wants to be a boy. She is not content in the place
Gotte
has placed her.”

Rose tugged at Poppy's sleeve. “Let's go. Paul is too angry to speak any sense.”

Poppy nodded at Lily. Lily nodded back. Paul would not be allowed to bully either of them today.

“I'd like to hear what else Paul has to say,” Poppy said, lifting her chin and daring Paul with her eyes. She took one of Rose's hands and Lily took the other. They stood together, a wall Paul would not be able to breach no matter how many cruel words he threw at them.

Paul pasted a look of fake concern on his face. “You can make this right, Poppy. The man is the head of the woman. Find someone to marry you and prove that you are willing to submit to him. You might just keep from getting shunned.”

“It's why she's been throwing herself at Luke Bontrager. She needs a husband to make her respectable.”

Poppy did her best to school her expression even though Dinah's words had hit their mark. Sweet, pretty, helpless Dinah Eicher had a nasty streak. Did Luke know about that particular quality?

Rose looked as deeply troubled as Poppy felt. Her skin turned pale, and her eyes pooled with tears. She practically yanked Poppy's shoulder out of its socket. “Let's go, Poppy. Please, let's just go.”

Poppy wasn't about to be wounded or chased away by two people who would take great satisfaction in seeing her put down. “I don't need a husband,” she said. Luke or Owen Zimmerman or Wallace Sensenig could just leave her alone. Why did she even think of Luke? He wouldn't ever consider marrying her, not when a lovely girl like Dinah Eicher was available. “I don't want a husband. I am enough of myself.”

“Not in
Gotte
's eyes,” Paul said.

She'd never felt such a surge of outrage before. Not when Luke had yelled at her, not when vandals had painted her barn, not even when Griff Simons attacked Rose. “
Nae
, Paul. I am unworthy only in your eyes, and you are so small, your voice is like the buzzing of a mosquito in my ear.”

Hannah Yutzy practically burst from around the counter with a box of donuts in her hand. “Here you go!” she said, her smile so painful, Poppy could tell she forced it as wide as it would go. “Donuts hot out of the fryer.” Starting with Poppy, she went around the circle and handed a fresh, hot donut to everyone, including Paul and Dinah.

She shoved one in Paul's hand before he could refuse it. He made a point never to buy anything from Yutzys' produce stand. His family's market stood just down the street. “I don't want this,” he said. He tried to hand it back to Hannah, but she seemed awful busy handing out napkins.

“What do you mean, you don't want it?” Hannah said, giving him a look of wide-eyed innocence. “Didn't you order a glazed donut with sprinkles on top?”

Paul scowled. “
Nae.
I did not.”

Dinah had already taken a bite out of hers. “I didn't order one either.”

Hannah sighed a very deep, to-the-tips-of-her-toes sigh. “Well, I can't take it back now. You've put your fingers all over it. We'd have to throw it away and lose all that money.”