A Simple Autumn: A Seasons of Lancaster Novel (13 page)

Face-to-face with him, she smiled. “The seat is wet,” she said, “but no more wet than
I am already.”

Hope welled inside him. To have Annie so close, sitting beside him in his buggy—it
was sweet torture. And the chance to take care of Annie, even if it was only a brief
ride to get her out of the rain, it was the answer to his prayers.

“Where were you?” he asked when they were rolling ahead.

“Just at my aunt’s farm down the road. She’s been sick and I made some soup for her.”

“You should have used a carriage.”

“And how about you? Why the buggy?”

“I thought I’d make it back before the rain,” he said.

“Mmm. That, and maybe that Amish men like their buggies.”

Jonah grinned. She was never one to mince words. “There’s that.”

She laughed, the sweet sound underlined by thunder in the distance. “Uh-oh.”

He shot a look at the western sky, a fierce shade of gray. Light flashed over the
hills as a jagged line of lightning tore the sky. “If the lightning gets close, the
last place we want to be is out on an open road.” He didn’t fancy making Annie get
out of the buggy to wait out the storm huddled near a bush.

The storm could sweep in quickly, but Jigsaw was fast, too. “We’d better make a run
for it. Ready?”

Annie pressed one hand to the covering on her head. “Let’s go!”

Jonah couldn’t help but grin as he urged his horse to full speed. Flying in the wind
with Annie holding on beside him, he didn’t care about the rain that pelted his face.

This was the life he had dreamed of!

As Jigsaw took command of the empty road, Jonah uttered a prayer of thanks that there
were no cars to deal with in this dark, wet mess.

All too soon they were making the turn down the farm lane,
bouncing over a rut as they approached the barn. Jonah wasn’t sure if the loud beat
that thrummed through his body was his heart or the horse’s pounding hooves or both,
but he felt happy and alive. More alive than he’d been in years.

They reached the barn just as the sky lit up above them and thunder boomed nearby.
Jonah halted the horse and dropped to the ground.

“The nick of time!” Annie gasped as she gracefully hopped down from the buggy.

Even soaked with rain, she was beautiful. The blue of her dress, like a summer sky,
seemed to make her eyes brighter. It was still raining on his head, but he didn’t
mind. He could stand here in the mud for years, just watching Annie.

She smiled up at him, and his throat grew thick. What was he going to say now? He
felt that familiar worry tighten his shoulders. Did his feelings show?

But she was smiling up at him, her blue eyes dancing as she swiped the rain from her
forehead. “That storm came in fast! Denki for the ride.”

“It’s good that I was there,” he said, and right away he wanted to take it back. That
sounded like something a father would say.

Why couldn’t he ever find the right words when he was face-to-face with Annie? He
looked down, and water poured from the brim of his hat. With a sigh, he took it off
and smacked it against one hip to get some of the water off.

“Well … I’d better get this unhitched.”

To his surprise, she helped him, working from the other side of Jigsaw. “Jonah?”

He ran his hand along the horse’s back and looked up at her. “Ya, Annie?”

“I’m glad we met on the road. There’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you.”

She had his full attention. He opened his eyes wide, trying to ignore the galloping
beat of his pulse.

“If someone was sweet on you,” she said, talking softly, “you’d want to know, wouldn’t
you?”

Would I want to know?
He reached for a strap near the horse, trying to hide the embarrassment that warmed
his face. Was this really happening? Annie was here, saying the words he’d always
wanted to hear, and he had his head stuffed under a horse’s belly.

He straightened and faced her again, feeling a jolt of awareness that was like a burst
of sunlight in the dark.

“I reckon I’d like to know,” he said.

But the truth was, it was the one thing he’d been waiting to know all his life—that
Annie was sweet on him.

“Well, then I’ll tell you.” She tilted her head to the side, then put her hand to
her mouth to hide a smile. “There’s a girl here who’s got her eyes on you. But sometimes … ach!”
Her hand flew back to her mouth, and she shook her head. “It’s hard to find the right
words!”

“I hate when that happens,” he said earnestly.

“And maybe I’ve said too much already.”

“Don’t say that.” He understood how it felt to be at a loss for words. But right now,
despite the thick beating of his heart, he was able to speak. Knowing that Annie cared
for him, he found the words.

“It’s okay. We’ll talk about it later,” he said, looking down at her and smiling from
the heart.

Even Jigsaw gave a blustery snort of approval as Annie clapped her hands together
and sighed. “Oh, Jonah, thank you! My heart is singing with joy.”

Mine, too
, he thought. And it was a beautiful song.

H
annah?” Annie called from the mud porch, letting the screen door slam behind her.
The news of her talk with Jonah bubbled inside her, and she would have dashed right
into the house if her shoes weren’t caked in mud. She slipped off her muddy shoes,
lined them up by the door, and raced into the kitchen.

Mamm stooped down at the oven, peering at a tray of biscuits. The table was covered
with trays of cooling cookies. It was Lovina’s baking day for the tea shop.

“Where’s Hannah?” asked Annie, slipping off her wet sweater.

“She’s upstairs, fetching Mark from his crib.” Lovina straightened, hands on her hips.
“And look at you, soaking wet. Don’t drip on the floor.” She took a dish towel from
the counter and handed it to Annie.

“Denki. I—I just got caught in the rain on the way home from Beth’s.” Annie dabbed
at her shoulders and legs with the small towel.

“I see that. And how is Beth?”

“She’s feeling better. Out of bed.” She squeezed moisture from her
dress into the towel. “This is still soggy.” Without looking at Mamm, she crossed
the kitchen. “I’m going upstairs to change.”

“Mind you and your sister head back down. I’ve got three dozen cookies to ice and
only two hands.”

Upstairs she found Hannah in the nursery, where Mark was toddling around carrying
an armful of books while Levi sat on the floor, pretending to read to his cousin.

Hannah’s brows shot up when she saw Annie. “You’re soaking wet.”

“Ya, but I just had the most interesting talk with Jonah King.” With a grin, she bent
over Levi and put her hands over his ears. “He seems very happy to hear that you’re
sweet on him.”

“You didn’t say that!” Hannah covered her mouth with one hand.

Levi shuddered, pushing away Annie’s hands. “Your hands are cold,” he complained.

“But my heart is warm,” she teased, turning back to her sister. “It’s wonderful news,
isn’t it? And now that he’s going to be working for Dat, he’ll be around nearly every
day. You’ll have time to get to know each other.”

“It makes me a little jittery.” Hannah pressed a hand to her chest. “What do I say?
I’ve never done this before.”

“That’s why I’m here to help you.” Annie touched her sister’s shoulder reassuringly.
“I’ve got to change, and Mamm wants us downstairs to help with the cookies. But tonight,
we’ll talk. I’ve got lots of good ideas.”

Hannah smiled. “I’m so grateful that you’re helping me, Annie. Maybe I won’t be an
alt maedel, after all.”

“Of course you won’t.” Annie squatted down so that she was face-to-face with little
Mark. “Time to go downstairs. Do you want to help decorate cookies?”

“Cookie, cookie,” he babbled.

A pang of longing passed through her as she touched his smooth cheek. Would he remember
his aunts after he was gone a year or so? It hurt her to think he’d be growing up
without knowing this part of the family, but Gott had other plans for Sarah, Perry,
and Mark.

She would have to put her mind on other things, like helping Hannah. That was Annie’s
gift. She enjoyed doing things for others, bringing soup to her aunt or keeping her
little nephews occupied. She would put her mind on the good things that she could
do, and trust Gott to heal the parts of her life that she couldn’t fix.

That night, when everyone else was asleep, Hannah and Annie sat huddled together on
Annie’s twin bed by the dim light of a lowered lantern. They had shared this room
for a little more than two years, ever since Sarah and Perry married and took the
larger room down the hall that used to be Annie’s bedroom.

“You know, there are a few little tricks that you can do to bring out your natural
beauty.” Annie reached over and tucked a stray hair behind her sister’s ear. They
both wore nightgowns, long braids of hair hanging down their backs. Their prayer kapps
hung on a hook on the wall, and Hannah had a quilt over her shoulders.

“Like what?” Hannah asked. “Candy Eicher says you can pinch your cheeks to put roses
in them. I tried, but it doesn’t last long.”

“That doesn’t work,” Annie said. “But when you wash up in the morning, finish by splashing
cold water on your face. It makes your skin nice and shiny.”

“Okay.” Hannah pulled her braid over one shoulder and tugged it anxiously.

“And your eyes, they’re such a beautiful shade of blue.”

Hannah grinned, tapping Annie’s knee. “Your eyes are the same color.”

“I know. And I’ve seen that our blue dresses are a very good match. They bring out
the color of our eyes like nothing else.” Annie popped up from the bed and took the
lantern to the closet. “Where’s your blue dress? You should wear it all the time.”

“I think it’s down with the dirty laundry.”

“Then we’ll have to wash it first thing tomorrow. You can borrow mine for a day, if
you want.”

“Denki, but I don’t mind wearing the green. Just for one day.” Hannah brought her
knees to her chin, the quilt a tent over her. “Is this a sin, Annie? To try to look
pretty?”

“Of course not! We’re just trying to take care of the gifts Gott gave us. We’re not
talking about painting you with makeup or anything. But you know, there’s a trick
you can do with water. If you drink eight glasses a day, those little red bumps on
your skin will go away.”

“Just from water?” Hannah touched her skin. “I can do that.”

They talked until they were both yawning. Annie promised to help her sister take advantage
of any chance for Hannah and Jonah to be together. “Maybe you’ll just bring him lemonade.
Or you can go out and groom one of the horses while he’s working in the barn.”

“I’ll do as you say, Annie,” Hannah said as she spread the quilt on her own bed and
ducked under the covers.

“Don’t worry. I’ll help you every step of the way.” Annie turned off the lantern,
staring at the light as it flickered to darkness. If this matchmaking was the right
thing to do, why did she feel so hollow inside?

She pulled the covers up to her chin, thinking that she was just feeling sad about
Sarah’s family leaving this week. Ya, that had to be it.

The next day, Annie didn’t have as much time as she had hoped for Hannah. Mamm and
Rebecca were at the tea shop, and Sarah needed help packing for her big move.

“This is a very strange feeling, to be putting my belongings in a tea box,” Sarah
said as she and Annie pressed down on the linens and quilts to make room for more.

Everything that didn’t fit in Sarah’s hope chest was going into cartons they had saved
from the tea shop. Annie agreed that it seemed odd to see Mark’s little black pants
and white shirts disappearing in boxes marked “Earl Grey” and “English Breakfast.”

As Annie rose to gather more items, she saw Jonah outside near the barn. What was
he doing? She paused near the window, and saw that he was rolling a wheelbarrow full
of potatoes. Most likely on his way to the storage cellar.