The Gift (7 page)

“Oh, okay.” Leah hesitated, glancing at the chain tool then back at Adam. “Umm… I’m really not sure how to use this.”

“Figured as much. Want me to do it for you?” he asked.

“I appreciate the offer, but you have a store to run, and I noticed a delivery truck out back when I entered the parking lot, so you’ll probably be busy with that.”

“It’s not a problem.” Adam looked at Ben. “Since there are no customers in the store at the moment, would you open the back door and help the driver bring in those bags of seed? The dolly is inside the door, and you can just stack them anywhere in the back room. I’ll get to them as soon as I help Leah.”

Ben nodded. “Sure, no problem.”

Adam followed Leah out the door. While he knelt next to her bike, Leah stood off to one side, watching. “I’ve done this a good many times,” he said, looking up at her. “My daed owned a bike shop when I was a boy, so I’ve had lots of practice fixing chains and a whole lot of other things related to bikes. Fact is, I’ve repaired my own bike chain several times.”

Her eyebrows lifted. “Really? I didn’t know you owned a bike. I’ve never seen you riding one.”

“Jah, well, there are a lot of things about me you don’t know.”

I
ch hab’s im rick
,” Priscilla complained to her mother as they pulled weeds from their garden. Mom straightened, rubbing an area on her lower back. “I can understand why you have a backache. My back’s about to give out, too.” She gestured to the wicker chairs sitting under the gazebo Dad had built a few years ago. “Let’s take a break. I’ll go get us some lemonade, and we can sit out there in the shade and rest awhile before we finish up for the day.”

Priscilla smiled. “That sounds good to me, only why don’t you sit and let me get the lemonade?”

“That’s okay,” Mom said. “I need to go inside anyhow. While we’ve been weeding, I thought of a few things I want to put on the grocery list. If I don’t do it now, I’ll probably get busy doing something else and forget.” She frowned. “I’ve been kind of forgetful lately.”

“That’s fine, Mom, but if you need me for anything, just give a holler.”

Watching her mother go toward the house, holding her lower back as she walked, Priscilla sauntered around the yard for a bit, hoping to get the kinks out of her own back. All that bending, stooping, and pulling of weeds had really done a number on her this morning. She glanced at the small store connected to their home, where she and Mom sold homemade jelly and several kinds of home-canned fruits. It was closed today. Otherwise, she would have been working there instead of in the garden. Priscilla helped her mother process all of their fruits, vegetables, and berries, which she found somewhat rewarding, but weeding was not one of her favorite things to do. Mom’s either, for that matter, but it needed to be done.

Priscilla looked up at the house, thinking about how Mom had said she’d been forgetful lately. She hoped it was just a case of having too much to do, and that Mom wouldn’t end up with dementia someday, like what Elaine’s grandma had gone through. It had saddened Priscilla to watch her good friend deal with the heartache of losing her grandma to such a horrible disease. Priscilla, as well as Leah, had offered Elaine their support. Priscilla knew if she were ever faced with an adversity that her two best friends would be there for her, too.

Rubbing at the knot in her lower back, Priscilla glanced toward the road and was surprised to see Leah pedaling up the driveway.

“I was just thinking about you,” Priscilla said when Leah rode up.

Leah grinned. “I hope they were good thoughts.”

“Of course. I was thinking how fortunate I am to have good friends like you and Elaine, and how we’ve always been there for one another.”

“That’s true, and I feel blessed because of it.” Leah climbed off her bike and set the kickstand. “I’m on my way home from the health food store and decided to stop here and ask for a cold drink of water.” She fanned her face with one hand while holding up her Thermos with the other. “All the ice cubes melted, and what little tea I have left is now warm. When I left home, I didn’t realize it was going to be such a hot day. After all I’ve been through, I’m drenched with perspiration.”

Priscilla felt concern. “What do you mean, all you’ve ‘been through’? Did something happen on the way to or from the health food store?”

“It was on the way. My bicycle chain became loose, so I stopped by Adam Beachy’s hardware store to see if I could find something to fix it, and then…” Leah paused and blotted her damp forehead with her dress sleeve. “Whew, the air is so humid today. My clothes are actually sticking to me.”

Priscilla motioned to the wicker chairs under the shade of the gazebo. “Take a seat. I’ll run in the house and get you something cold to drink. You look miserable, and I’m worried that you may have been in the sun too long.”

“Danki,” Leah said. “I really do need to rest awhile. When you come back, I’ll tell you what happened after I got to Adam’s store.”

“‘Here you go; I brought lemonade, and it’s nice and cold,” Priscilla said when she returned from the house carrying two glasses.

“Danki.” Leah took a big drink then held the cool glass against her hot cheek. “This is so refreshing. It’s just what I needed right now.”

“I know what you mean.” Priscilla took the seat beside Leah and drank from her own glass. “Mom and I have spent most of our morning weeding, and it didn’t take long till we were both hot and sweaty; not to mention that our backs are hurting.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. By the way, where is your mamm?”

“She’s in the house, adding things to her grocery list.”

“I have a couple appointments early this afternoon, but I’m free around four o’clock, if you’d like to come by for a foot treatment and neck massage. You can bring your mamm along, and I’ll work on her, too.”

“That sounds nice, and if Mom doesn’t have anything important she needs to do, we both may take you up on that offer.” Priscilla sipped her drink and set her glass on the wicker table between them. “Before you leave, I’ll refill your Thermos with cold water and lots of ice cubes. That way you’ll have something to drink on your trip home.”

“That’d be great. Danki.”

“So tell me now; what happened at Adam’s store this morning?”

Leah fiddled with the ties on her head covering, remembering how flustered she’d felt when Adam fell beside her on the porch.

“Your cheeks are bright red.” Priscilla’s voice was edged with concern. “Maybe you need to drink more lemonade.”

Leah shook her head. “No, I’m fine. Just thinking about what happened is all.”

“Please tell me. I’m anxious to hear.”

Leah recounted the events, from when the teenage boy rushed out the door and knocked her to the porch to when Adam had nearly fallen on top of her.

Priscilla giggled. “I’m sure it wasn’t funny, but I can just picture you and Adam lying there beside each other.”

“You’re right, falling wasn’t funny, but if you’d seen the look on Adam’s face, you would have laughed.” Leah suppressed a giggle. “I seem to be falling a lot lately whenever Adam’s around.”

“What do you mean?”

“I saw him at Rockome Garden Foods the other day and managed to slip in some honey that got on the floor when he dropped a jar of the stuff.”

“Oh no! Maybe it’s a sign that you’re meant to
stick
together.” Priscilla snickered.

Leah shook her head. “No way! Adam’s not my type, and I’m sure the feeling is mutual.”

“I didn’t think Elam was my type when he first seemed interested in me, but look at us now—we’re courting.”

“That’s different. You’ve known Elam since we were kinner, and he was your friend before he asked if he could court you.” Leah took another drink. The tangy, cool lemonade felt good on her parched throat. “Adam and I don’t even like each other, so there’s no chance of him ever courting me.”

“Who let this mutt in my store?” Adam asked Ben. A bedraggled-looking black Lab was sniffing around the garden rakes.

Ben shrugged his broad shoulders. “Beats me. I didn’t even notice him till now.”

Adam inhaled a long breath. “Well, he needs to go out. No dogs are allowed in here, unless they’re service animals.” He pointed at the Lab. “And that mangy critter definitely doesn’t qualify!”

“Want me to get him out?”

“No, I’ll take care of it.” Adam opened the front door, pointed at the dog, and hollered, “Go on outside where you belong!”

The dog looked up at Adam as if he had no idea what he wanted.

Adam wasn’t keen on touching the dirty animal, so he grabbed a broom and shooed the dog out the door, quickly shutting it behind him. Hopefully, by the time the next customer came in, the dog would have gone back to wherever it came from. In the meantime, Adam had a box of paintbrushes to unpack, as well as the bags of birdseed to unwrap and stock on the shelves. He decided to work on the seed bags first. The bags weighed from ten pounds all the way up to fifty pounds, so that would keep him busy for a while.

“I’ll be in the back room if you need me,” he called to Ben.

“No problem. I’ll take care of any customers who come in,” Ben responded.

Adam finally got the bags off the pallets and used the dolly to wheel them out to the shelves. First he put the smaller bags on the higher shelves, then the forty-and fifty-pound bags went on the lower shelves. In the same aisle, opposite the seed, were various-sized bird feeders, along with boxes of suet cakes.

After several trips, Adam brought out the last two fifty-pound bags of seeds. His shoulders had started hurting.
I wonder if Leah could help my shoulders.
Pausing, Adam thumped his head.
Now what made me think that?

Making sure there was room for the last bag, Adam picked it up and felt his fingers poke through the middle of the bag. As if watching it in slow motion, he saw the birdseed pour out, spreading all over the floor.

“Oh, great! What more could go wrong today?” Adam moaned as he inspected the almost-empty bag. Apparently there’d been a tear in the bag, which his fingers had made bigger when he’d lifted it. “Now how did I not see that before?” He looked down at the seed-covered floor, slowly shaking his head.

“Do you need some help here?” Ben offered, joining Adam in the aisle.

Adam looked at him and rolled his eyes.

“I’ll go get a container, and we can put the seed in there.” Ben left quickly. When he returned, he held a garbage can, two brooms, and two dustpans. As they worked together to clean up the mess, Adam decided to question Ben.

“I don’t know if you realized what happened a little bit ago, but we had a shoplifter in the store. That’s who I was chasing when I ran out the door and bumped into Leah Mast.”

“No, I didn’t realize that.” Ben’s dark eyebrows squished together. “Guess I must have been busy with a customer at the time.”

“Did you notice a teen enter the store before that? He had on a denim jacket and a baseball cap. Oh, and he had red hair, which he wore in a ponytail.”

“I was up at the front of the store, but I didn’t see anyone like that come in.” Ben scratched his head with a quizzical look. “Course, I may have been helping a customer and just didn’t notice the boy. What are you going to do about this, Adam? Will you call the sheriff?”

“Think I’ll wait on that.” Adam shoveled another dustpan full of seed and poured it into the can. “He only took some garden gloves and two hand shovels, so I’m really not out that much.”

“Okay, whatever you think is best,” Ben responded with a shrug.

“Would you mind finishing this up while I take care of the paintbrushes that need to be put out?” Adam asked.

“Sure, no problem.”

Adam headed to the back of the store, tore open the box, and had begun sorting the paintbrushes but had to stop. “Guess I overdid it with all those seed bags,” he mumbled, rolling his shoulders, hoping to get the kinks out. “Well, this isn’t going to get done by itself.” Reaching inside the box, he stopped again when he heard a whimper. Standing a few feet away was that same black Lab.

“You again? What are you doing back in here, boy? Are you lost or just looking for trouble?”