The Courtship Basket (15 page)

Mike had thought about asking her more about that, but he didn't want to pry into her life. The question, however, continued to taunt him while he worked. Why would a man break up with Rachel, when she was a smart, beautiful, loyal woman? Rachel had an intriguing stubborn streak that kept Mike guessing. She would make a wonderful wife.

Mike closed his eyes and groaned. He was falling into the trap
Dat
had laid for him. He had to stop thinking about Rachel and concentrate on the important tasks he had in his home.

So then why did Rachel keep sneaking back into his thoughts?

He finished staining the shelf and then set it on newspaper on the workbench before closing up the shop for the night. As he walked toward the house, he stopped and studied the rocking chair on the porch where Rachel had sat beside John earlier today. He remembered how she'd smiled and clapped as she encouraged him to read.

Rachel truly was a blessing to their family. Mike just had to keep reminding himself that she was a friend, and that was all she could ever be to him.

“I
CAN
'
T BELIEVE HOW QUICKLY THIS WEEK FLEW BY
,” R
ACHEL
said as she sat at the teacher's desk. She was writing in the students' journals. “It seems like it was just Monday, and now we're cleaning up to go home for the weekend.”

“I know.” Malinda erased the schedule from the board and then faced the class. “Okay, scholars. If you are done with your worksheet, please bring it up to the front of the room. It's time to pack up and get ready to go home.”

Rachel lifted the next journal in the pile and smiled when she realized it was John's. She opened to a clean page and prepared to write the note for Friday.

“How are you doing on the journals?” Malinda asked, sidling up beside her.

“I'm on the last one.” Rachel lowered her voice. “I just have John's left.”

“Oh.” Malinda smiled. “I've seen a huge improvement this week. It must be due to your tutoring sessions on the weekends. What are you going to write?”

“I'll let Mike know how well John is doing,” Rachel said.

Malinda whispered, leaning in close, “I don't think you need to do the tutoring on the weekends anymore though. He's reading
at a higher level than most of the other students now, and his math worksheet from yesterday was perfect.”

“I agree.” Rachel nodded and bit back a frown. She was thrilled John was doing so well, but she would miss their Saturday visits. At the same time, however, she knew she was needed at home to help with chores. It wasn't fair for her to expect Emily to keep doing all Rachel's chores along with helping her father in his harness shop.

Rachel poised her pen and then began to write.

Mike,

I'm thrilled to report that John's behavior and schoolwork have improved even more this week. He is excelling in his reading, spelling, and math beyond most of the other students in the class. His math worksheet from yesterday was perfect, and he read aloud without any hesitation earlier today. He also spelled all but two of the words correctly on his spelling exam this afternoon. John has been polite and respectful to both the teachers and his classmates.

Since he is doing so well, I won't need to continue working with him on Saturdays. Malinda and I are happy with John's work, and we hope you are too. Have a nice weekend.

Sincerely,
Rachel Fisher

Rachel studied the note and longed to write something more personal. She wanted to tell Mike she would miss the weekend visits and she hoped to see him soon, but that would be unprofessional. She was John's teacher and nothing more.

As Rachel slipped the journal into John's bag, she closed her eyes for a quick moment and silently prayed, asking God to somehow bring Mike back into her life. She didn't want their friendship to end.

“W
HAT DID
R
ACHEL WRITE IN MY JOURNAL TODAY
?” J
OHN
stood beside Mike at the kitchen counter later that evening.

“You're going to like what she said.” Marie smiled over from the sink, where she was drying the supper dishes. “I read it earlier while you were doing your chores.”

“Let me see.” Mike found the journal inside John's bag and opened to the note. His eyes scanned Rachel's perfect cursive handwriting and then he read the note aloud. “You are doing great!” He hugged John. “
Danki
for working so hard in school.”

“
Gern gschehne
.” John studied the toes of his socks. “Rachel isn't going to come over on Saturdays anymore?”

Mike felt a pang of disappointment in his chest. “No, she doesn't need to come now because you're such a
gut
student.”

John's expression suddenly brightened. “What if we went to see
her
tomorrow? We could take her one of the planters you make as a thank-you gift.”

Mike opened his mouth to protest and then closed it. He turned toward Marie and raised his eyebrows to ask for her opinion.

Marie shrugged. “Sounds like a
gut
idea to me.
Mei mamm
and I can come by and stay with your
dat
while you're gone.”

“I don't feel right asking you to come again tomorrow,” Mike said. “You've been here three days already this week.”

“Don't be
gegisch
.” She waved off his comment and then began drying a pot. “
Mei mamm
has been asking about your
dat
and said she wanted to see him. Besides, John has been talking nonstop about Rachel and how much fun he had last Saturday. I think it would be nice if you took her a thank-you gift.”

Mike studied his brother's wide smile. “All right, we'll go see her, but we don't have to take her a gift.”

“
Ya
, we should give her a gift. We can give her something from the store. That way she'll know how much we appreciate her.”
John beamed. “I can't wait. We're going to have so much fun.” He took Mike's hand. “Do you have a planter in your woodshop?”

As Mike led John out to the shop, he smiled. He was just as excited as John was to see Rachel again. He just hoped she would be happy to see them too.

R
ACHEL SWIPED THE BACK OF HER HAND ACROSS HER BROW
as the late-morning April sun warmed her face. She leaned down and pulled another weed from her mother's garden and dropped it into the bucket beside her. She'd been working in the garden all morning and was finally starting to see some progress. In fact, the flowers and vegetables outnumbered the weeds.

“Rachel!”
Mamm
called from the driveway. “You have visitors.”

After wiping her hands on her black apron, Rachel came around the side of the house and gaped when she found Mike and John talking with her mother beside Mike's buggy. John held up a small planter shaped like a basket with pink Gerber daisies peeking out. Rachel approached them and looked back and forth between Mike and John.

“Hi,” she said. “I'm surprised to see you here today.” Mike gave her a sweet smile, and a thrill raced through her.

“John insisted that we come to see you today,” Mike said. “He was disappointed you aren't going to tutor him on Saturdays anymore.”

“I wanted to see you, and I wanted to thank you for tutoring me.” John shoved the small planter toward Rachel. “This is for you. Mike made it, and I picked out the flowers at the garden shop.”

Rachel studied the planter and smelled the flowers. “This is so
schee
, but it's too much.” She held it back out toward John. “You don't need to give me gifts.”

“
Ya
, I do.” John gave Mike an expression that asked for his help. “Right, Mike?”

“John insisted we give you something.” Mike's eyes pleaded with her to accept the gift.

“Well,
danki
, John. And I truly enjoyed tutoring you.” She set the planter on the bottom porch step. “I love it.” She smiled at Mike.

Mike nodded and pushed his hands into his trouser pockets.

“Why don't you come in for lunch?”
Mamm
announced. “I was just putting out lunch meat and my homemade
brot
.”

Mike held up his hand in protest. “
Danki
, Mattie, but I don't want to impose. We just wanted to stop by, say hello, and thank Rachel again for her hard work with John.”

“Please stay,” Rachel said. “I insist. My family will enjoy meeting you.”

“But we didn't bring anything for dessert,” John said. “Marie always says we should take something when we go to someone's
haus
to eat.”

“It's fine,” Rachel said with a chuckle. “We have ice cream and some
kichlin
.”

“I love
kichlin
.” John looked up at Mike. “Can we please stay for lunch?” he whined. “
Aenti
Sylvia and Marie are with
Dat
, so he'll be fine.”

Mike smiled. “All right. We'll stay.”

John clapped his hands, and Rachel laughed again.

A
FTER HE TOOK CARE OF HIS HORSE
, M
IKE FOLLOWED
R
ACHEL
, her mother, and John into the house, where they found Emily setting out the food for lunch.

“Hello,” Emily called. “I didn't realize we had company.” She bent and shook John's hand. “You must be John. I'm Emily.” She smiled at Mike. “It's nice to see you again.”

“
Wie geht's
?” Mike said with a nod.

“You can sit,” Rachel told him, gesturing toward the table. “I'll help Emily finish getting out the fixings for lunch.”

“I'm going to take some food out to
Dat
at the shop and eat with him,” Emily said. “It's been busy today. He said he wanted to come home for lunch, but he didn't want to leave Hank alone in case they had another rush of customers. The tourists are out in full force. They want to see a real Amish harness shop. He wasn't complaining because they were buying souvenirs. He's almost out of key chains and dog collars.”

“That's
gut
to hear,” Mattie said as she brought drinking glasses to the table.

Emily filled a tray with lunch meat, bread, sliced tomatoes, and condiments. John wandered over to her and stood on his tiptoes as he surveyed her work.

“Do you need some help?” John offered. “I can carry the tray to your
dat
, and you can bring the drinks. Maybe I can even eat out there with you.”

Emily looked at Mike, raising her eyebrows as if asking for permission.

“It's fine with me if he won't be in your way,” Mike said as he sat down at the table.

“I would love the assistance.” Emily handed John three bottles of water. “Let's go see my
dat
, and I can give you a tour of the store.”

Emily and John walked out the back door and talked as if they were old friends. Mike silently wondered if all the Fisher daughters had been equally blessed with the ability to relate well to children. Surely they all would be wonderful mothers someday.

Rachel sat down across from Mike with her mother to her right. After a silent prayer, they began to build their sandwiches on the homemade bread. Rachel handed Mike a bowl of potato salad.

“I made this last night. I hope you like it.” She smiled, and
his own smile widened. He had grown to enjoy seeing her pretty smile light up her whole face.

“
Danki
.” He shoveled a small mountain of the salad onto his plate. “I really appreciate you inviting John and me to stay for lunch. We were only planning to stop by and drop off the planter. He was so disappointed when he found out you didn't need to tutor him anymore.”

“
Danki
for the gift, but you really didn't need to give me anything. I was only doing my job.” Rachel cut her turkey sandwich in half.

“The planter is
schee
,” Mattie said as she piled ham onto her bread. “You do incredible work.”

“
Danki
. I really enjoy it.”

“Your family owns Bird-in-Hand Builders?” Mattie asked, and Mike nodded. “That's very nice. I imagine it stays busy.”

“It does. This is the beginning of our busy season.” He picked up the mustard to add to the mayonnaise on his sandwich. “When is the busy season at the harness shop?”

“I think it stays busy, right, Rachel?” Mattie said.

Rachel nodded while chewing, then swallowed. “
Ya
, it's busier in the spring and summer, but
Dat
and Hank have customers all year round.”

They fell into an easy conversation, and as Mike enjoyed getting to know Rachel's mother, he noticed that Rachel frequently glanced down at her plate. Was she shy or was she nervous?

After they finished homemade chocolate chip cookies for dessert, Rachel and Mattie began to clean up. Mike put the condiments in the refrigerator.

Rachel filled one side of the sink with hot, soapy water and set the dishes in it.

“I'll wash the dishes,” Mattie said, touching Rachel's arm. “Why don't you take Mike to the harness shop?”

“Are you sure? I don't want to leave you with the mess.”

“Go and spend time with your guest.” Mattie gave Rachel a knowing look.

“
Danki
.” Rachel turned to Mike and gestured toward the door. “Let's go find John.”

Mike nodded. “
Danki
for lunch, Mattie.”

Mattie smiled at him. “
Gern gschehne.
I'm so
froh
you and John came by. I've heard a lot about you.”

Rachel shook her head, and the tips of her ears turned pink. Was she embarrassed? She looked adorable. Mike bit the inside of his lip to prevent a chuckle from escaping his mouth.

Mike followed Rachel through the mudroom and out to the porch. “How long has your
dat
owned the harness shop?”

“Almost twenty-six years,” Rachel explained as they walked side by side toward the store. “
Mei dat
and our neighbor, Hank Ebersol, built the shop when they were in their twenties. They run it together. Emily helps out with the books every week, and sometimes she'll run the front counter and answer the shop phone. Mostly it's just
Dat
and Hank, though.”

Mike's stomach knotted as they walked toward the one-story, white clapboard building. Why was he nervous about meeting Rachel's father? It wasn't as if they were dating. They were only friends. He pushed away his anxiety as he noticed a prominent sign boasting the Bird-in-Hand Harness Shop. A hitching post by the front door welcomed horses and buggies, and a car was parked in one of the three parking spaces.

“It looks like they're still busy,” Rachel remarked.

Mike pulled the door open, and Rachel stepped inside as a bell over the door announced their arrival. As Mike followed her, the aroma of leather permeated his sense of smell.

The one-room store was filled with displays of harnesses, leashes for pets, pet collars, saddles, saddle blankets, doorknob
hangers with bells, rope, pouches, bags, and various other horse accessories. The sales counter sat in the center of the packed showroom with a small, round display peppered with leather key chains in shapes varying from cats to horses.

Emily stood at the sales counter and spoke to an
English
customer as she rang up the man's items.

Beyond the showroom was an open area where two middle-aged men worked. John stood by one of them and nodded with enthusiasm. The man seemed to be showing him how to work on a leather strap. Rachel walked that way and Mike followed her.

“Hi,
Dat
,” Rachel said. “Hi, Hank. Mike is here to visit.”

“Mike.” A tall man with graying, light-brown hair and a matching beard stood up from the chair beside John. He looked down at John and said, “Is this the older
bruder
you were telling me about?”

“
Ya
.” John smiled and pointed at Mike. “This is
mei bruder
, Mike. He's the best carpenter you'll ever meet.”

Mike shook his head and chuckled. “You're being generous, John.” He held out his hand as the man stepped away from the workbench. “
Wie geht's?
”

“I'm doing well.” He shook Mike's hand with a confident, strong grip. “I'm Leroy. I've enjoyed meeting John. He's a
gut
worker. He's helping me make a dog leash. I may have to hire him to help out here.”

“I'd love to work here,” John said as he came to stand by Leroy. Then he frowned. “But Mike needs my help at home.”

“
Ya
, I do.” Mike touched John's straw hat.

Leroy smiled down at the boy. “You'll have to come by and visit me then.”

Mike heard the customer thank Emily, and turned in time to see him wave as he exited the store. Then he glanced around, taking in all the items for sale, before gesturing around the showroom. “You have a
schee
store here. You do fantastic work.”

“Oh no.” Her
dat
pointed toward the other man sitting at the workbench. “Hank does the
gut
work. I'm still learning.”

“That's right,” Hank chimed in. “I taught him everything he knows, and he's still trying to catch up with me.”

Leroy gave a loud, boisterous laugh, and Mike smiled. Leroy reminded him of his own father. He grinned as he recalled how much his father used to enjoy joking and laughing. Before he became ill.

John joined Emily at the counter, and she began showing him how the cash register worked. Rachel touched Mike's arm and he turned toward her. “I'm going to go help my
mamm
in the kitchen. I'll leave you out here to talk with the guys.”

“Hey, I'm still here,” Emily teased as John swiveled on the stool beside her.

“I'm sorry, Em.” Rachel rolled her eyes, then turned back to Mike. “I'll leave you out here with the guys and
Emily
. Come back up to the
haus
when you're done, and we can sit on the porch and talk for a while.”

“All right,” Mike said, and his chest felt light. Rachel wanted to spend time with him, and the thought overwhelmed him.

Rachel waved to John, picked up the lunch tray he and Emily had brought out, and left the store, the bell on the door ringing as she disappeared.

“I'm going to run home and get some lunch,” Hank said, walking toward the door. “I think you all can handle the store while I'm gone.” He waved good-bye and sauntered out.

Leroy motioned for Mike to follow him over to the workbench. “So, you're a carpenter?”

“That's right,” Mike said. “
Mei dat
and
onkel
own Bird-in-Hand Builders.”

“Do they?” Leroy's eyes flashed with recognition. “I've been in there. That's a nice store.”

“
Danki
.” Mike glanced over his shoulder. John and Emily seemed to be discussing how to ring up a leather belt. “I think
mei bruder
really does want to get a job here. He seems even more excited about the cash register than about woodworking.”

Leroy chuckled and handed Mike a bottle of water. “Have a seat.” He pointed toward a stool beside the bench. “Rachel has been
froh
to work with John. She's shared her progress with him. She's thrilled he's doing so well in school.”

Mike took a sip from the bottle and then swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Rachel's a
wunderbaar
teacher.” He glanced over at John. “She has a real gift with her students. I was surprised when she told me she hadn't planned on teaching.”

“
Ya
, I never expected her to become a teacher. I was shocked when she told me she was going to help Malinda with the special school.”

“How so?” Mike furrowed his brow.

Leroy fingered his beard. “Rachel didn't tell you what happened with David?”

Mike shook his head and gripped the bottle of water, which crackled in protest in his hand.

“I don't know if I should be telling you this, but I suppose she'll tell you eventually,” Leroy began with a resigned sigh. “Rachel had been dating David for quite a while, and she thought he was going to propose soon. He broke up with her for someone else.”