A Match for Addy. Emma Miller

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СКАЧАТЬ and the briars had been cleared away. In their place were solid new posts, shiny, five-feet-high stock wire and a sturdy set of steps with a handrail. Someone, Gideon, she supposed, had been busy. At least twenty feet of fencing had been replaced, and there was a pile of new wooden posts waiting to be put into the ground.

      Addy climbed up and over the new stile with ease and then strode purposefully across the pasture toward Sara’s outbuildings. Two sorrel mules that she hadn’t seen before grazed on the lush grass. The first animal paid her little attention and kept eating, but the second lifted a big head, twitched its long ears and stared curiously at her as she passed. She felt like it was staring at her—the girl who needed a matchmaker to get a husband.

      Which was silly, of course. Lots of Amish girls needed the help of a matchmaker to find a good husband. There was no reason for her to feel embarrassed. Sometimes it was just a matter of fitting the right girl with the right boy. Was it her fault that she had been born plain, or that she’d grown so tall, taller than her dat and many of the men in Seven Poplars? And wouldn’t it be worth it if Sara found her a good husband? She smiled to herself at the thought...a husband she could love. A husband who would love her. Love between a man and woman wasn’t a subject discussed in her parents’ house, but she had only to see her Yoder cousins and the fine matches they had made to know it could happen.

      The rhythmic thud of an ax striking wood cut through her reverie. As she entered the barnyard, she looked up to see Gideon.

      “Good morning, Addy,” he called. He was standing at the edge of a pile of freshly split sections of logs.

      Addy stood for a moment, mesmerized.

      He lifted the ax to rest on his shoulder. “You’re feeling better today, I hope.”

      “Ya,” she answered. She felt her cheeks grow warm, and she fought the urge to look at the ground. “I am.”

      His grin lit up his handsome face, and warmth swirled in Addy’s stomach. Gideon was so clean and wholesome, standing there in his worn clothes and battered hat, that she had to remind herself that he wasn’t for her. It was likely his parents had sent him to Seven Poplars so that he could marry up. Hired man or not, with a strong back, an easy manner and a fair face like his, he’d be guaranteed a match with a pretty girl from a wealthy family or a plump widow with land of her own.

      “Sara tells me that this is a church Sunday coming up.” Gideon took off his hat and pushed his hair off his face. Moisture dotted his forehead and soaked through his shirt, revealing more of his muscular chest and shoulders than was proper.

      Realizing she was staring, Addy swallowed and glanced at the ground. “At my Aunt Hannah’s. Close by. You can walk.”

      “I’m looking forward to worshipping with your congregation.”

      She knew she shouldn’t be standing there chatting when Sara was waiting for her, but she ventured another glance at him. “My father is one of the preachers.”

      “Ellie told me. She liked his last sermon, on Noah’s faith.”

      Addy nodded. That had always been one of her favorite stories from the Old Testament. “Dat says that people must have thought he was crazy, Noah. To build a boat when they were so far from the sea.”

      “I wish I’d heard the sermon.” He had the nicest eyes, she thought, so large and full of life.

      “I think Bishop Atlee will preach on Sunday, or maybe Caleb. He’s married to my cousin Rebecca.”

      Gideon sank the ax into a stump and rubbed his hands together, easing the strain of gripping the ax. “I’m looking forward to it, and to meeting your neighbors. Sara says the congregation has welcomed her.”

      “Oh, good, you’re here,” Ellie said, appearing from behind one of the outbuildings. “Addy’s here, Sara!” she called toward the house. For a small girl, she had a big voice.

      Sara came out of the utility room onto the porch with a basket of wet laundry. “You’re early. Goot. Help me hang these sheets, and then we’ll start painting the big bedroom. I may have girls coming in soon to stay with us while I find matches for them. It’s the way I like to do things.” She glanced at the woodpile. “My, you’ve done a lot since breakfast.”

      Gideon wrenched his ax from the stump. “Best to get the heavy work done early. The day promises to be another scorcher.”

      “Hotter here than in Wisconsin, I imagine,” Addy said, unwilling to walk away without saying something sensible.

      “Ne.” He shook his head. “You’d be surprised how hot it gets there in the summer. Unless you’re near one of the lakes.”

      “The big difference will be in the winter. Delaware winters are mild, so they tell me.” Sara held up the basket of laundry toward Addy, then set it on the porch. “If you’ll take this, I’ll go back for the second basket.”

      “I brought back your dress.” Addy showed it to her in the basket on her arm. “I appreciate you loaning it to me.”

      “No need for you to return it.” Sara’s round face creased in a smile. “I meant it as a gift. It will hardly fit me or Ellie.”

      “Because...I’m so tall,” Addy supplied.

      Sara’s smile widened. “Or we’re so short. Right, Ellie?”

      “Ya, Sara, right about that,” Ellie agreed.

      “But it could be hemmed,” Addy suggested. The dress was so nice, but she didn’t want to appear needy.

      “Nonsense,” Sara shot back. “The green color suits you.”

      “It does, Addy,” Gideon added. “I thought that when you left here wearing it the other day.”

      Sara’s dark eyes narrowed. “Gideon and Ellie seem to think you’d prefer to be called by your middle name. So which will it be? Dorcas or Addy? I need to know these things.”

      “Addy...I think... That is...” Addy hunched her shoulders and tried to make herself smaller. “Unless you think...Dorcas is better.”

      “I think that you can call yourself whatever pleases you, so long as it doesn’t offend your parents or your neighbors. Addy sounds fine to me.”

      “Ya. And me.” Self-consciously, Addy set her basket on the porch and picked up the laundry basket. “I’ll start hanging these,” she said. “And thank you...for the dress. It’s kind of you.”

      “And kind of you to come and help us get settled. It’s a good house, but it needs work.”

      As do I, Addy thought, if I’m to ever have a chance at finding a husband. I just hope Sara is good at her job. Because finding someone for me might be her most difficult match yet.

      * * *

      Sunday, Gideon, Sara and Ellie headed for the Yoder farm for church services. And as Addy had promised, her aunt’s home was near enough to walk, which he appreciated. He’d always believed that, as much as possible, the Sabbath should be a day of rest for the horses as well as their owners.

      As СКАЧАТЬ