The Gift (2 page)

She looked down at the plastic sack in her hands, unwilling to tell him that she’d bought massage lotion to use on Sara’s feet. He’d probably have something negative to say about that, too. “I just needed something at the health food store,” she murmured, wiping a drop of water as it trickled down her nose.

Adam clucked to his horse to get him moving a bit faster. He was probably as anxious to drop Leah off at her house as she was to get there.

Leah watched Adam pull back on the reins, guiding his horse through a waterlogged area. The small creek, which normally flowed through a pipe under the road, now splashed across the asphalt pavement. As the horse walked slowly through the fast-flooding creek, she noticed the cause of the rising water. The pipe was clogged with debris that had washed down from farther up. Small branches and clumps of dead leaves had caused the creek to detour from its natural flow. The water was still shallow, but if the rain kept coming down like it was, the road might become impassable. Thankfully, they’d made it this far and would hopefully make it home before the storm got any worse.

They rode in silence the rest of the way, and Leah felt relief when Adam directed his horse and buggy up her folks’ driveway. Except for that one small area of flooding, the drive had been without incident.

“I’ll get your bicycle.” Adam guided his horse up to the hitching rack. Before Leah could respond, he jumped out of the buggy, secured the animal, and went around back.

Leah climbed out, too. “Danki for the ride,” she said when Adam pushed her bike around the side of the buggy. She noticed how the rain poured from the top of his hat.

“Sure, no problem.” Adam speedily untied his horse, stepped back into the buggy, and as he backed the horse away from the wooden rail, he gave a quick wave.

Leah waved in response then, dodging puddles, made a dash for the house. If Adam hadn’t acted so negatively toward her reflexology, in appreciation of him bringing her home, she might have invited him in for a cup of hot tea and the chance to dry off a little while waiting for the storm to subside. But after that conversation, Leah hoped she would never again be put in a position where she’d have to be alone with Adam Beachy. He might be the most attractive single Amish man in Arthur, but as far as she was concerned, he had the personality of a donkey!

L
eah Mast may be pretty, but she’s sure opinionated,” Adam muttered as he headed for home. “No wonder she’s not married.”

Adam had never met a woman as independently determined as Leah. Of course, he hadn’t known that many women personally, since he kept to himself as much as possible when it came to socializing. At a young age, Adam had reached the conclusion that he would never marry. It wasn’t that he had no interest in the opposite sex—he just didn’t trust them.

Bringing his thoughts to a halt, lest he start feeling sorry for himself, Adam concentrated on the road ahead. It was still raining hard, making it difficult to see. If he didn’t pay close attention, he could end up off the road. So far, his horse, Flash, was behaving himself and didn’t seem to mind the driving rain. Unfortunately, Adam couldn’t say the same about his own demeanor. Thanks to his generosity in giving Leah a ride home and then getting out in this horrible weather to transport her bike, he was wet and cold. Drips of rainwater still hung on the brim of his hat, and his shirt and trousers felt like a second skin. He couldn’t wait to get home and out of the soaking wet clothes. First and most importantly, though, Adam knew he had to keep his mind on the road, or he might not make it home at all.

Maybe I should have kept going when I saw Leah riding her bike. She was already soaking wet by the time I came upon her. If I hadn’t picked her up, we’d never have had that conversation about foot doctoring.

The more Adam thought about it, the more upset he became. Leah reminded him of someone he’d rather forget—not in looks, but in that sure-of-herself attitude. Well, the pretty woman with blue-green eyes and golden brown hair could practice reflexology all she wanted, but it wouldn’t change the fact that it was a waste of time. If certain people thought otherwise and wanted to give her a donation, that was their business, but Adam would never let Leah touch his feet!

“
Ach
, my, you’re sopping wet!” Mom exclaimed when Leah found her in the utility room, washing clothes.

“I got caught in the downpour,” Leah replied.

“I wish you would have taken the buggy instead of your bike. I’m guessing by now you probably wish that, too.”

Leah nodded. “Where’s Sparky?”

“Last time I looked he was lying just inside the barn.”

“Guess he doesn’t want to get wet, either.” Leah chuckled, wiping another drop of rainwater rolling down the middle of her forehead. “
Schmaert
dog.”

“Until I closed the window, the rain was actually blowing into this room, even with the large overhang on the porch to protect it.” Mom handed Leah a clean towel. “You’d better dry off some before you head to your room to change, or you’ll be leaving a trail of water.”

“Danki, Mom.” Leah removed her saturated head covering and hung it on a wall peg; then she blotted her hair with the towel. “I’d probably look even worse if Adam Beachy hadn’t come along and offered me a ride home.”

A wide smile stretched across Mom’s face, and her thinning eyelashes fluttered above her dark brown eyes. “That was sure nice of him. Did it give you a chance to get better acquainted?”

A jolt of heat traveled from Leah’s neck to her face, despite the chill she felt on the rest of her body. “Oh, we got better acquainted, all right. I found out that Adam doesn’t believe in reflexology, and he really didn’t have much of anything nice to say.”

Mom’s lips compressed. “I’m sorry to hear that. I was hoping…”

“What were you hoping… that Adam might be interested in courting me?”

Mom pulled a towel free from the wringer washer and placed it in the wicker basket at her feet. “Now that you brought up the subject, it would be nice if you had a suitor, don’t you think?”

Leah shook her head. “I don’t need a man in my life right now. What I do need is to get out of these wet clothes so I’m ready when Sara Miller shows up for her reflexology appointment.”

Mom glanced at the battery-operated clock on the wall to her left. “Oh that’s right. You did mention before you left that you had a few appointments this afternoon.”

Leah nodded and turned toward the stairs but paused when she smelled a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. “Do you have something on the stove, Mom?”

“
Jah.
It may be the middle of summer, but on a rainy day such as this, I thought a pot of vegetable soup would taste good for our supper tonight. I also made a loaf of homemade bread.” Mom gestured to the adjoining room. “Would you mind checking on the soup before you go upstairs?”

“Sure, Mom, no problem. Oh, and if Sara gets here before I’ve changed, please tell her to go on down to the basement, and that I’ll meet her there.”

“Okay, I’ll let her know.”

Leah blotted her arms and legs with the towel then went to the kitchen to check on the soup. Taking a sip of the broth, she smacked her lips. “Yum. I can’t wait till suppertime.” Turning the burner down so the soup could simmer, she left the room.

As Leah made her way up the stairs, she thought about her mother’s comment about a suitor. Although Leah acted like she didn’t care, she longed to be a wife and mother. But so far, the right man had not come along. No one, that is, who had swept Leah off her feet. It was probably wishful thinking, but she wanted to fall in love with a man who made her heart beat like a thundering herd of horses. Leah’s friends Elaine Schrock and Priscilla Hershberger both had boyfriends. Priscilla was being courted by Elam Gingerich, and Elaine had recently started seeing Ben Otto, who was fairly new to the area. She figured they’d both be married with children long before she had a suitor.

Leah entered her room, removed her wet clothes, and changed into a clean, dry dress.
Here I am, twenty-five years old already, and I don’t even have a boyfriend, much less the prospect of marriage. Maybe it’s not meant for me to get married.
Leah wasn’t going to marry just anyone merely because time was running out before she’d be considered an old maid.
I must leave things in God’s hands and remember Isaiah 30:15, the verse I read last night: “In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.”
Leah sighed.
I am certainly not quiet by nature. Adam sure got under my skin today, and I probably said more than I should have in defense of myself. Well, he said more than he should have, too.

When Leah entered the basement a short time later, Sara was sitting in the recliner with her shoes and stockings off. Her normally slender legs and feet looked a bit swollen, and several strands of her medium brown hair peeked out from under her head covering. Sara’s shoulders were slumped, and Leah noticed dark circles beneath her friend’s brown eyes.

“Sorry for making you wait,” Leah apologized. “I rode my bike to the health food store earlier and got caught in that downpour, so I had to change out of my wet clothes.”

“It’s not a problem; I haven’t been here that long.” Sara motioned to a plastic container on the small table to her right. “I brought you some chocolate-chip cookies that I baked this morning.”

“Danki. That was nice of you. Except for bread, neither Mom nor I have done much baking lately. We’ve been too busy picking strawberries from our garden and making them into jelly.” Leah smiled. “Last night, I was going to make a strawberry cheeseball but decided to make a chocolate-chip one instead.”

Sara smacked her lips. “I’ll bet that was good.”

Leah nodded and took a seat on the stool in front of the recliner to begin working on Sara’s feet. “I enjoy making cheeseballs, and it’s always fun to try out new combinations.” She picked up the bottle of lotion, poured some into her hands, and rubbed it gently into Sara’s feet. “How have you been feeling lately? Are you having any unusual symptoms with your pregnancy?”

“No, not really. In fact, my symptoms have actually diminished, which the doctor said often happens to pregnant women who have MS.”

“That’s good to hear. So you’re not having any problems at all?”

“Not with my MS, but my lower back has begun to hurt, and it’s hard to sleep.” Sara frowned. “I’m only four-and-a-half-months pregnant, so I wasn’t expecting back pain this early. I didn’t experience it at all when I was carrying Mark, but I know that many women have trouble with their back—especially toward the end of their third trimester.”

Leah began to work on the heel of Sara’s right foot. After a while, she moved to the other foot. “Is that tender?” she asked when Sara winced.

Sara nodded. “Jah, a little.”

Leah worked on Sara’s left foot for several minutes, then she asked her to stand and walk around for a bit.

“My back feels much better. Danki, Leah.” The dimples in Sara’s cheeks deepened when she smiled.

“You’re welcome. Let me know if it flares up again or if you need another foot treatment just to help you relax.”

“I will.” Sara put on her shoes and stockings.

“Now let me rub your neck a bit before you go.” Leah usually did that for most of her patients. It helped them relax and finished the treatment on a positive note.

As Leah massaged Sara’s neck, they talked about the weather.

“How were the roads when you came here?” Leah asked. “Were any sections flooded?”

“At one place,” Sara said as Leah worked the knots out of her neck, “but my horse cooperated well and walked right through it without a problem.”

“That’s good. Some horses get spooky over things like water in the road.”

“You’re right about that.” Sara slipped some money into the jar Leah had set on the small table near the chair. “Guess I’d better go. Jonah took some time away from his buggy shop to watch Mark so I could come here, and I’m sure he’s anxious to get back to work.”

Leah hugged Sara, and as the young woman headed up the stairs, Leah thought about her friend Elaine, who had once been courted by Jonah. Listening to Elaine talk about Ben, Leah wondered if she cared for him as much as she had Jonah.