Noah's Sweetheart. Rebecca Kertz

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СКАЧАТЬ but no, Aunt Mae. It’s too late for more than this.” She rose with plate in hand to wash it in the dish basin.

      Aunt Mae left the house to take Uncle Amos something to drink. Rachel’s uncle was working in the fields. The day was again lovely but a little warmer, and Amos would want something to quench his thirst.

      As she dried her clean plate, Rachel heard a knock resound loudly on the outside door. She couldn’t see who it was as she put away the dish and hung the dish towel over the drying rack.

      “Noah!” she heard Nancy exclaim, and Rachel felt her stomach flutter.

      “It’s nice to see you, Noah,” Charlotte said cheerfully. “Would you like a biscuit or piece of pie?”

      “I appreciate the offer, but no, Charlotte. After helping Dat early in the fields, I ate a huge breakfast.”

      Rachel heard every word spoken between her cousins and Noah Lapp, but she didn’t turn around. With the warmth she felt since Noah’s arrival, she knew her cheeks would be blazing red. Besides, he had come to visit with Charlotte, surely. Although both had behaved in the most appropriate manner in town, it seemed clear to Rachel that Charlotte and Noah were sweet on each other.

      “Gut morning, Rachel.” Suddenly Noah was next to her, overwhelming her with his presence. “Are you settling in nicely?”

      Forced to meet his regard, she nodded. “Ja. My uncle and his family have made me most welcome.” He smelled and looked nice, she thought as he turned to speak with Nancy. He must have bathed after working in the fields, for his shirt was clean, as were the dark triblend denim pants that he wore. She tried not to notice the way his suspenders fit over his shoulders. He had a firm jaw and a ready smile. His golden-brown eyes sparkled. His sandy-brown hair looked neatly combed beneath his banded straw hat.

      She recalled suddenly how he’d looked yesterday after he’d rescued her: tall, thin but strong enough to leap onto the back of a galloping horse and hold on. He had lost his hat during his wild ride when he’d leaned low for the reins. His hair had become tousled and windswept during his efforts to take control of the runaway horse and buggy. She recalled how her heart had hammered and the relief she’d felt when he’d straightened, triumphant.

      Watching him now, she felt the back of her neck tingle. What was wrong with her? Abraham Beiler. Noah Lapp. She frowned. Was one man any different from another? She was here as a schoolteacher. She would be content with teaching children other than her own.

      Startled by her own thoughts, she glanced to see if anyone was watching her. Her gaze encountered her cousin Nancy, who rewarded her with a little smile.

      “Rachel?” Noah’s voice brought her attention back to him.

      “I can’t thank you enough for coming to my rescue.”

      “It was my pleasure.” Noah smiled. Rachel looked well and content...and extremely appealing with flour on her nose and a dusting across the front of her apron. It was good to see that she suffered no lasting effects of her frightening experience the previous day.

      “Noah!” Aunt Mae exclaimed as she came in from outside. “I thought I saw you from across the yard.”

      He reluctantly drew his attention away from Rachel to grin at her aunt. “Gut morning, Aunt Mae. I thought to take Rachel over to see the new schuulhaus.”

      “That is a wonderful idea, Noah.” Aunt Mae appeared delighted.

      “What do you think, Rachel?” Noah asked. “Would you like to see your new schuul?”

      “Noah and his brothers have worked hard to fix it up for you,” Charlotte said.

      “That was nice of you, Noah,” Rachel said. “Ja, I would like to see the schuulhaus.”

      “It is not far,” Nancy said. “It’s just off our property and down the road a little ways between our land and the farm belonging to Noah’s family.”

      “Charlotte,” Aunt Mae said, “you can go with them. Nancy can finish these pies on her own.”

      “Are you sure you do not want us to stay and finish?” Rachel asked.

      Aunt Mae smiled. “We will be fine. Go and see where you’ll be spending a lot of your time soon.”

      Rachel grinned. “I will enjoy this.” To Noah, she said, “I will be with you in a minute. Just let me get cleaned up.”

      The relief he felt when she agreed to come made Noah realize just how eager he was to show her the schuul.

      Charlotte and Rachel went upstairs to change their aprons and wash their hands and faces of baking dust. Rachel was the first one downstairs and out the door.

      When she stepped outside, she noticed the buggy parked in the yard. It was an enclosed family buggy with a gray roof. Seeing it, she sighed with relief. Two mishaps in small open buggies had made her leery of riding in one again. She and Noah were alone, waiting for Charlotte to join them.

      She grinned at Noah. “Nice carriage.”

      Noah grinned back, pleased by her response. “I thought after that little accident yesterday that you’d prefer riding in this.” Her smile made him feel good inside.

      “Danki,” she said.

      Charlotte soon appeared, and she climbed into the front seat next to Noah, while Rachel climbed into the back.

      “And I hitched old Janey. She’s twenty-five years old and you couldn’t get her out of a trot if you tried.” Noah clicked his tongue, slapped the reins, and the carriage took off down the dirt lane toward the main road.

      Rachel sat behind Noah, aware of his straw-brimmed hat, his sandy-brown hair cut in the bowl-cap style that all the Old Order Amish men wore.

      Charlotte turned around to smile at her. “I think you will like the schoolhouse. Samuel Lapp and his sons built a new one, large enough for all of the school-aged children in our church district. The Lapp men are good carpenters. Noah is the best, after his vadder.”

      “How many brothers do you have, Noah?” Rachel asked.

      “Six,” he said with his eyes still on the road. They had come to the end of the lane and he steered the buggy left onto the paved street. “Jedidiah is the eldest, then I am next.” He turned his head to flash her a quick smile before his gaze returned to the road.

      “The Samuel Lapps include Samuel’s seven sons and one daughter,” Charlotte said. “Hannah is only six months old.”

      “You will meet them all on Sunday,” Noah said. “It’s visiting Sunday, and some of our friends will meet at our family farm.”

      The clip-clop of the horse’s hooves was the only sound in the buggy for a time, allowing Rachel to digest what she had learned. Noah pulled the carriage off the blacktop and onto a dirt drive that ran next to a white building with a front porch.

      “The schuulhaus,” Charlotte announced.

      Charlotte got out on the right side of the vehicle. Noah climbed down and offered his hand to Rachel. СКАЧАТЬ