The Amish Christmas Cowboy. Jo Ann Brown

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СКАЧАТЬ hoped neither man had heard the girl. Those hopes were dashed when she aimed a furtive look in the younger man’s direction and saw his frown. His light brown brows were lowered like storm clouds over his bright blue eyes. Intense emotion filled them, but she didn’t know why he was distressed.

      After Natalie had rushed away to her daed’s office in the left wing of the house, Sarah looked at the men, unsure what to say next. She wished Mrs. Summerhays were there, but the kinder’s mamm was in Europe, buying items in antiques shops in Paris and Rome and Vienna to create her new vision for the house. Should Sarah ask the two men in? No, three men. Another guy with a cowboy hat walked around the trailer. Leaning against it, the dark-haired man lit a cigarette, startling her. Mr. Summerhays didn’t like anyone smoking near the house or stables.

      Her face must have revealed that, because the older man snapped an order at the third cowboy. With a grimace, he dropped the cigarette and ground it out with the toe of his boot.

      “Sorry, ma’am,” said the older man. “Ned forgets his manners sometimes.” He aimed a frown at the man by the trailer.

      Wanting to put an end to the uncomfortable conversation, Sarah asked, “Was Mr. Summerhays expecting you?”

      “We’re a day early, but I warned him we might be. By the way, I’m J.J. Rafferty, and that talkative guy there—” he pointed at the younger man who hadn’t said a word “—is Toby Christner. Toby, show the lady that you can talk.”

      “Nice to meet you,” the handsome cowboy said. His baritone voice would have been pleasant on the ear if he’d put inflection in it.

      “I’m Sarah Kuhns,” she answered.

      J.J. nodded toward her, then looked past her.

      Sarah turned to see Natalie standing behind her. “Did you talk to your daed?”

      The girl nodded. “He’ll be out in a few minutes. He’s finishing a call.”

      “We’ll catch up on a few things,” J.J. said, “while we’re waiting.” He walked toward the truck, motioning for Ned to follow him.

      The dark-haired man winked at her before going with J.J.

      Toby remained where he was. So did his frown. What was bothering him? Was he upset Mr. Summerhays hadn’t dropped everything to greet them when they arrived? If they’d done business with her boss, they should have known how busy he was. So busy he seldom came home before ten, long after the kinder were tucked into bed. He was gone at dawn to the stables in Saratoga or to New York City, where he did something there with the stock market.

      Sarah wished she could think of something to say to the tall man who didn’t seem in a hurry to join the others. She’d gotten comfortable talking with Englischers since she started working as a nanny. Something about the man’s posture told her engaging him in small talk would be futile. She was curious how many horses were being delivered to the stables, but held her tongue.

      J.J. and Ned returned to the porch after a few minutes. If they’d come to the house she shared with her two brothers deep in the hollow with Harmony Creek at its center, she’d know what to do. She would have brought them into the kitchen and asked them to sit at the table while she served iced tea and chilled pie.

      Should she do the same here? She couldn’t invite them into the kitchen. Mrs. Summerhays had her guests brought to the room she called the library, though there weren’t any books in it. Sarah wished the housekeeper were here, but it was Mrs. Hancock’s day off. Mrs. Beebe, the cook, had her hands full with getting meals ready while the kitchen was being renovated...again. It was the third time in two years Mrs. Summerhays had decided it needed a complete updating.

      Knowing she must not leave the men standing on the porch in the heat, she said, “Please komm inside where you can wait for Mr. Summerhays.”

      Toby cleared his throat. “I can—”

      “Come along, both of you,” said J.J. “I don’t want to unload the horses until Summerhays checks them to make sure they meet his satisfaction. We had a tough enough time getting the bay into the trailer the first time. He’ll be more resolute not to go in again.”

      “But—”

      “No sense standing out in the heat. Any chance you might have something cool to drink, young lady?”

      “I’m sure there’s something. I can check.”

      “Much obliged.” J.J. motioned for her to go ahead of him, then followed her into the large entry along with Toby and Ned. As J.J. took his hat off, he gave a low whistle. “Mighty fine spread here.”

      She hadn’t heard anyone talk like him before but guessed he was complimenting the house. She had a lot to learn about Englischers. Finding out about Englisch ways was going to be a bigger task than she’d guessed.

      “I’ll find out what’s on ice in the kitchen.” She shouldn’t leave them in the entry, but she wasn’t sure where to take them. Mrs. Beebe would know what to do, because the cook had been working at the house since the family moved in.

      “Whatever you’ve got will be great,” J.J. said.

      She smiled in return, then spun and hurried toward the kitchen. She glanced back. Her gaze was caught by the younger man, who regarded her with the same expressionless look.

      How odd! At that moment, she would have given a penny to know his thoughts. Maybe even two.

      * * *

      The last person Toby Christner had expected would answer the door was an Amish woman. If someone had warned him ahead of time, he would have thought it was a joke. She wasn’t any more out of place in the fancy house than the house itself was among the other simple farms they’d seen along the road toward the Vermont border. Stone pillars by the road were set next to a fancy sign announcing Summerhays Stables, which lay beyond them. The whole setup matched the prestige Ian Summerhays was garnering with his excellent racehorses, including the three his boss had brought from Texas, where Toby had been working with them for a year.

      He glanced at the young Amish woman, who was rushing away as if she couldn’t wait to be done with them. Not that he blamed her. Ned Branigan hadn’t stopped trying to get her attention. Toby wanted to tell his coworker his sly wiles wouldn’t work on an Amish woman, but Ned would have ignored him.

      Sarah wasn’t tall. In fact, when he’d moved closer to her to go inside, she’d taken a step back so she didn’t have to tilt her head to look at him. She had bright red hair beneath her kapp. Her gold-rimmed glasses hadn’t been able to hide the surprise in her mahogany-brown eyes when she’d seen him on the porch.

      Toby let his boss and Ned lead the way into the magnificent house. It was grander than the house on J.J.’s spread, and larger than what everyone called the Hacienda. That long, low house didn’t have pristine marble floors glistening like mirrors and columns as formal as the ones he’d seen in a casino in Las Vegas when they’d made a delivery out to the desert about six months ago. A staircase curved up to an open gallery on the second story. On either side of the front door, rooms were two steps below the entry’s marble floor. Furniture that looked like it belonged in a mansion was arranged in each. None appeared comfortable.

      A plain woman didn’t fit in this setting. Neither СКАЧАТЬ