Winter’s Awakening (7 page)

At five o’clock, the snow fell thick outside the Graber Country Store’s front window. Already Sugarcreek had received six inches. Joshua had heard from a few English customers that more was on the way, as well as a temperature drop. One man had stated that this month was on track to be the coldest January in ten years.

All Joshua knew was that it was going to take him twice as long as usual to get home, and Jim wouldn’t care for the snowy roads either.

Few people were in the store. As the wind picked up outside, swirling the falling snow every which way, his father worriedly looked at the large clock decorating the store’s entrance almost every five minutes. “We should probably close for the day, but we’re still due to get a load from the dairy in Berlin.”

“Maybe they’ll postpone the trip?” Joshua ventured. But even as he asked, he knew it was a foolish question.
Milk needed to be delivered when it was fresh. Always.

“I don’t think so. Plus the weather’s most likely not too bad for that big truck.”

When he noticed his father watching the snow with a frown a few moments later, Joshua patted his shoulder. “I’ll wait for it, Daed. You take Judith and head toward home.”

“But how will you get home?”

“If it’s bad, I’ll spend the night. If it’s not so bad I’ll walk.”

“It’s a long four miles in the snow. I know, I’ve walked it myself.”

“That’s why it’s my turn, yes?” Joshua shrugged. “Perhaps I’ll see someone I know and he’ll give me a ride. But Jim won’t care for the roads if the snow gets much deeper. It’s time for you to go on.”

“Can we do that, Daed?” Judith asked, her eyes shining with hope. “There’s no one here. I just rang the last customer up.”

“I suppose we can, then.” Turning toward Joshua, he added, “That is, if you are sure you don’t mind, Joshua.”

“I don’t. Go on now.”

“I guess we will. Get your things together, Judith, then get the basket full of items your mother asked for this morning. I’ll go break the news to Jim that he’s gonna have to leave his cozy stable in the back.”

Joshua grinned as his sister instantly strode off to retrieve their mother’s requests. “Judith’s anxious to be on her way.”

“She’s always anxious to be on her way,” his father
agreed with a laugh. “All right, then. Joshua, if I don’t see you in three hours, I’m gonna be hoping you are staying here.”

“I’ll stay here until the delivery truck comes, then be on my way,” Joshua promised.

Moments later, Joshua watched their familiar black buggy make its way down the side street and head toward home, the lantern hanging in the back window casting an orange glow through the multitude of flakes.

As the wheels made thin lines in the street, Joshua smiled.

In truth, he’d been exaggerating a bit about his fears for their trusty horse. Joshua didn’t think Jim was finding the snow to be a problem at all—he’d just wanted to lessen his father’s worries. If Daed had stayed at the store, he would have felt torn, worrying about Mamm and the little ones at home.

Joshua was now old enough to take over a lot of the store’s responsibilities, even if his father didn’t always realize it.

Feeling somewhat like his father, he glanced at the clock again. Five thirty. The truck should be along momentarily.

He decided to dust off the back ledge and straighten the area where baskets and wooden toys were. A group of children had come in an hour before and had not been shy about playing with the wooden trains and stable animals.

He’d just picked up a pair of delicately carved sheep when the bell rang.

“I was wonderin’ if ya were gonna be able to get here today, Ben…”

But it wasn’t Ben who greeted him with a smile. No, it was his neighbor. Lilly.

“Hi. I, um, I’m not Ben.”

No, she surely wasn’t. “I’m expecting a delivery truck,” he explained, not certain if his statement was much of an explanation at all.

“Oh, it’s here, too.” She gestured over her shoulder. “He pulled up just as Charlie was parking.”

The door flew open again, spraying the display of baskets with a dusting of snow. And in walked Ben, his solid muscular arms loaded down with supplies as usual. “Joshua! Good evening! I’ve got a full load of milk, butter, and cream for you today. There’re boxes in the back of books and leather goods, too.”

“I’ll pull on my gloves and help you.” Belatedly, Joshua looked Lilly’s way. “Unless there’s something you were needin’ first?”

Looking bemused, she shook her head. “No. I mean, I have time. Charlie’s on his way in, too.”

“All right, then.”

Sure enough, in came Charlie just as Joshua slipped on his gloves and followed Ben outside. “Do you need any help with that?” Charlie asked.

“No. It’s my job, not yours. You go on in out from the cold.”

After Charlie disappeared through the door with another clink of bells, Joshua clambered inside the truck’s spacious bed and pulled out a wooden crate.

Its weight momentarily took his breath away before he steadied himself. “I always forget how heavy these trays of milk are,” he grumbled to Ben as he followed Ben’s footsteps on the snowy walkway.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be remembering soon enough,” the burly thirty-year-old said with a grin.

Five turns later, Joshua was signing the receipt and waving Ben on his way.

He slipped in the back door and hastily went to the wash room and wiped off his brow. Even in the snowy weather, he’d managed to work up a sweat.

After that, he looked for Lilly and Charlie, and found them next to the baked goods. “Are you needin’ some bread or rolls?”

Lilly nodded. “We do. And some fresh cheese and yogurt too, if you have it.”

Charlie stood to one side while Joshua retrieved the items for her. “Anything else?”

“No, this is it.” Looking at her brother, she nibbled on her bottom lip a bit uncertainly. “We’ve got to get on home. The streets are really getting bad. Since the storm came up so quickly, I don’t know if the salt trucks have been out yet.”

“I best be letting ya get on your way, then.” Carefully, he punched in each item on the cash register. “Eighteen dollars and seventy-six cents.”

She handed him a twenty. “When will you leave?”

“Soon. You two are my last customers.”

When Charlie joined them at the counter he whistled
low. “I’ve never seen your store so quiet. Where’s everyone else?”

“The snow scared the rest of the customers away, I’m thinking.”

Lilly waved a hand. “Your family, too?”

“I sent my
daed
and sister on home. The roads were getting icy. I didn’t want to worry about Jim slipping.”

Charlie tilted his head. “Jim?”

“He’s our—”

“Horse,” Lilly finished with a smile. “I met him the day Mom sent over that cake.”

Joshua handed Lilly her sack. “Well, here’s your things. Thank you for comin’ in.”

“Thank you.” Turning to her brother, Lilly wrapped her gray wool muffler around her neck. “Charlie? You ready?”

“Yeah, sure.” Charlie pushed off from the wall, then took the sack from Lilly. “Hey, Josh, if your horse and buggy is gone, how are you getting home?”

“I’ll be walking.”

Lilly’s eyes widened. “It’s quite a ways.”

“It is,” Joshua agreed. “But I’ll be fine. I’ve walked farther in worse weather before.”

“We can give you a ride, if you want,” Charlie blurted. “That is, if you ever ride in cars and trucks.”

“We do. We can ride in vehicles, just not own them.”

“Well, you want a ride with us? It’s no trouble.”

Joshua made a sudden decision though there really wasn’t much of a choice to make. He could either spend
the next hour or so walking through snow or ride home in the truck’s relative comfort. “
Danke
. I’d be mighty grateful. I just have to go lock up.”

Lilly smiled at her brother. “No hurry. Take your time.”

Lilly was aware of every single move that Joshua Graber made. From the contemplative way he studied them, to the easy movement of his body, lifting those heavy packages from the truck without much more than a small grimace.

She caught him smiling in appreciation when they climbed in the cab of Charlie’s black truck, taking a moment to run a finger over the hood before getting in on the other side of her.

When he noticed that she noticed, his cheeks reddened. “I was just thinkin’ about how much my brother Caleb would like to be in my shoes. He likes this truck very much.”

Before Lilly could say anything, Charlie spoke up. “Hey, anytime he wants a ride, just let me know. I’ll give him one.”

“I’ll tell Caleb. That will make him happy, indeed.”

“Good.”

Lilly turned to her brother in surprise. What was going on with him? Usually he never put himself out for anyone. And, last she’d heard, he hadn’t been in any hurry to be friends with their Amish neighbors either. Was he trying to make friends…or simply just trying to do the right thing?

They bumped along the snowy road that had been re
cently salted. With each mile gained, the group of stores behind them began to fade behind the thick curtain of snow.

Joshua seemed content to ride in silence, merely looking out the window. For his part, Charlie seemed relaxed, too. Usually he blared his music or complained about something. Now, though, whether it was because of the poor road conditions or Joshua’s presence, he drove without saying much.

As they turned a corner and entered Old Ranch Trail, the broad street which both their homes branched off of, Lilly decided to speak. She was too curious about Josh to pass up the opportunity to learn more about him. “So I guess your family has lived here a long time.”

“Oh, yes. Four generations now.”

“And you’ve always had the store?”

“No. We were farmers for most of that time. Things changed when farmland got expensive, though. My grandfather was always a master planner, and terribly shrewd, too. He started thinking that maybe our community didn’t need another set of struggling farmers as much as a store to see to our needs. Until we built this store, most folks had to drive to Berlin to get most of their necessities.”

“And so you built that big building?” Lilly asked.

“Oh, no. My grandfather built a smallish building at first. When business got good, he added on. My father added on, too.”

Charlie turned Joshua’s way. “So…do you like working there?”

“Well enough. It’s all I’ve known, and it’s what’s been expected of me.” Looking over Lilly to Charlie, Joshua said, “I hear you go to college.”

“Yep. Well, I was in college before we moved. I’m working over at the dry cleaners in order to save up some money to pay for room and board.”

“He wants to live in the dorm at Bowling Green,” Lilly added, thinking she was both literally and figuratively in the middle of the conversation.

Drumming his hand on the steering wheel, Charlie nodded. “I went to a community college this fall, but had to stop when we moved here.”

“Now that’s a shame.”

Though Joshua didn’t say anything more, Lilly felt awkward. She didn’t like being reminded about how she was the reason for Charlie’s college break and she really didn’t want her brother mentioning her pregnancy.

“Next fall Charlie will be off at college again,” she said quickly.

“And you?”

Now that was the hundred-dollar question! She sure didn’t know what she wanted to do. “I’m not sure what I’ll be doing in the fall.”

“Ah.”

Thankfully, for once Charlie didn’t add his feelings about the whole subject. Instead he said nothing, just continued driving.

After a moment, Joshua looked at her again. “What else would you do besides go to college? You want to work? Do you have a sweetheart?”

Charlie scoffed under his breath.

Lilly attempted not to smile at Josh’s quaint phrase. “A sweetheart? Um, no I don’t. Well, I don’t anymore.”

Looking increasingly interested, Josh continued to gaze at her. “But you did?”

“Yeah. I guess I did. He’s back in Cleveland, though. And we’re over.”

“Why?”

She wanted to chide him for being so nosey, but she didn’t feel as if she could. After all, she was the one who’d pushed for conversation. She was the one who’d brought up Alec, too.

And, as she looked into his eyes, Lilly realized Josh wasn’t being all that prying at all. More like…direct. Actually, it just seemed like asking those kinds of questions were commonplace for him.

Lilly recalled how her mom said she’d learned that most Amish didn’t speak in meaningless half-truths. They asked meaningful questions and expected direct answers.

Well, she could go with that. “Things happened. We, um, decided to have different futures.”

“You don’t think you could have worked things out?”

“No.”

“Did neither of you want to?”

Now she felt tongue-tied. Josh was forcing her to say out loud all of the confusing feelings she’d been experiencing for the last four months.

She didn’t know if she could.

“We’re here,” Charlie said abruptly. “I think it would
be best if you got right out so we could get home, too.”

“Oh. Yes. Thank you for the ride,” he murmured as he climbed out of the cab. “It would have been a long walk home.”

Because Charlie didn’t say a word, Lilly smiled enough for both of them. “You’re welcome, Josh.”

As soon as Josh turned away Charlie pulled the truck into gear and made his way down the Grabers’ driveway. Rocks crunched under the wheels as he exited.

“That guy’s such a piece of work. Here I was, trying to do the right thing and give him a ride home and he repaid us by asking a dozen questions.”

“I don’t think he was being rude. We asked him questions, too.”

“His were a lot more personal,” Charlie said as he turned left out of the Grabers’ driveway then almost immediately turned into their own yard.

“They weren’t that bad.”

After placing the truck in park, Charlie turned to her. “Bad enough. Lilly, he’s probably got his eye on you.”

“I doubt that. I bet he already has a girlfriend, anyway.”

As Charlie opened his door and hopped out of the cab onto a cushion of packed snow, he said, “I sure hope he does. I hope he’s got a great girlfriend who he’s in love with. Because the last thing you need, Lilly, is to be involved with another guy.”