Love's Abundant Harvest (4 page)

“How about some fresh-made egg noodles?” Nellie set a bowl of noodles with chicken
broth in front of him. These ladies were known for their cooking and didn't expect
anyone to refuse anything they made.

Manny took in a long whiff, waved some of the delicious aroma Lucy's way, and took
a bite. “It tastes even better than it smells.” He motioned over his shoulder to
the three ladies bustling about.

“
Jah
, sure.” It was only polite to agree, but her stomach was telling her something
different.

“
Gut
, I hate to eat alone.” His smile was like sunshine in the dead of winter. It
seemed as if a black cloud hung over Sam's farm, so the sun was something she didn't
take for granted. Then she realized he had referred to the fact that he did actually
eat alone. Lucy's situation was the opposite, in a way; she dreaded meals with Sam
and sitting with him in silence if he wasn't complaining about something she did
or didn't do.

“I hear your
mamm
will be coming for a visit.” Manny gave her his full attention
as he waited for an answer but never said a word about her scar.

Lucy felt the room become still, an unfamiliar experience for this group of chatty
women. The more they stared, the more she felt the walls shrink in on her as the
words flew around in her head, refusing to leave her mouth. She stuttered, trying
to push a word out—any word—to stop the room from spinning. She took a breath and
heard Manny's voice.

“Take this.” He held out a napkin, but she couldn't get her hands to move and take
it, and closed her eyes instead.

The darkness calmed her, allowing her breath to even out. When she felt anxiety pass,
she opened them, expecting to see everyone huddled around her, staring, but to her
surprise, the girls were cleaning up the kitchen and Manny was by her side.

“Feel better?”

His soft, clear voice reassured her, and to her surprise, she wasn't embarrassed
that he had his hand on hers. It was a gesture of comfort she needed at that moment.

“Your color's back. I'll help you to the couch so you can rest, if you'll let me.”

She thought, horrified, that he must feel her confusion regarding what was right
and wrong, and probably her embarrassment for her behavior.

He glanced over to Frieda. “Maybe some water,” and lifted his eyebrows at her for
an answer.

“
Jah
, water, please.” Lucy lifted her eyes to his. “I'm sorr—”

He held up a hand. “I understand.”

“
Nee
, you see, I'm with child.”

“
Jah
, but I didn't know the other day until Caleb told me. You shouldn't be walking
from your place like that in your condition.”

She pushed herself up and away from him. “Sometimes I just need to be away from things.”

He handed her the water Rosy gave him and moved closer. “What kind of things?”

Her eyes widened as he sat there staring at her, waiting for the answer she wanted
to give but couldn't. No one needed to know the life she lived and accepted as her
fate.

He moved in closer—too close—so close that she moved back and pulled her hand away.
Her senses were coming
back to her, and she knew she was in a potentially dangerous
position. Sam would never understand or accept what happened here, even if it was
completely innocent. If he found out, she would be as concerned for Manny as herself
. . . but what Sam couldn't take from her was the sensation of her fluttering heart.

M
anny's heart sank. It always did when he drove up to his farm alone, knowing the
house would be empty. He slowly rode over to the barn. He'd learned to drag out every
chore, repair, meal, or errand as long as he could. It helped the days go a little
faster but not much.

He'd chosen another horse to go over to Frieda's place and needed to stop and check
in on Sweet Pea. It was always nice to see those ladies when he made his regular
trips over for a meal in exchange for some work on their farm. He would have stayed
longer, but Lucy made him uncomfortable. The way she held her cheek was odd, to say
the least. Still, there was something intriguing about her. She barely met his eyes
when she spoke, but he sensed an inner strength, a steely resolve that seemed guarded,
maybe due to her husband, Sam.

Manny didn't like to speak poorly of people, but that man didn't seem to like anyone,
maybe even himself. Manny knew what it was like to lose a spouse, but he didn't take
his pain out on anyone. He wondered what Sam's excuse was and whether he was the
cause of her scar, but he would never be so bold as to ask her.

Manny unhitched the buggy, rolled it into the barn, and then went out to the farthest
stall. Sweet Pea turned her large head toward him and stood at attention, as if waiting
for him to do or say something. But then this was their
ritual. Since he didn't have
a spouse or therapist to talk to, Sweet Pea was the next best thing.

She nodded and let her mane flutter against her brown neck. Manny felt fatigue kicking
in after a day's work repairing one of the fence lines, milking, feeding, and doing
some of the chores in the
haus
when Emma couldn't make it over. He'd never thought
he'd be doing women's work, but this was part of where he was.

“You think I'm a sissy, Sweet Pea?” Just hearing her name, a name Glenda had picked
out for the horse, reminded him he was still outnumbered. Even his dog, Daisy, had
a girlie name, but he didn't mind. They gave him some comfort and never complained.
“Well, maybe I am. Glenda always liked that, didn't she?”

The horse nodded again, almost on cue. Manny would like to have thought it was a
reply, but he knew she just wanted an extra scoop of oats. “Not so fast. I need your
opinion about something. What can you do for somebody who's shy?”

Sweet Pea looked him in the eyes and stared.

“
Jah
, I'm talking about Lucy. There's nothing wrong with helping somebody, and that's
all I'm doing.” He hiked his arm over the wooden stall. “To be honest, she makes
me uncomfortable, so I'm really doing it for selfish reasons.” He shook his head
in thought. “If only she wasn't so darn timid.” He lifted one eyebrow. “Maybe it
suits her, and she's more comfortable than she seems.”

Sweet Pea nodded again, and this time Manny was sure she meant it as an answer to
what he was asking. “Well, that doesn't leave me with much, so I guess you're telling
me to leave it be.” Though he didn't want that to be the answer, he didn't have much
choice as to what to do. His
compulsion to help Lucy was futile. “I'll butt out.
But if I happen to run into her again anytime soon, I'll be taking that as a sign.”

He dipped the scoop into the oat bin and then paused, listening. The
clip-clop
of
horse hooves reached him.

Who could be calling so close to suppertime?

Most families were finishing up chores for the day, not out visiting. As he waited
for the visitor to approach, Manny admired the sunset lit up with streaks of yellow,
orange, and crimson nestled in with the clouds. A familiar buggy came down the road,
and he felt the loneliness fade away.

“
Hallo
, Emma.” He grabbed the reins. Emma practically jumped out of the buggy and
wrapped her arms around him.

“As far as I'm concerned, you won't eat your dinner alone.” She reached into the
buggy and pulled out a basket.

“Whether you like it or not.” She slipped her arm around his and urged him toward
the
haus
, strands of her brown hair blowing in the slight wind.

“I'm not your little cousin to care for; you tend to forget that from time to time.”
He tugged her forward to get a rise out of her. Her playfulness lifted his spirits,
and
Gott
knew he needed that. With both of his parents gone now, Emma and her family
were just about the only relatives he had left.

“You are to me. And you'll be eating your dinner off the dirt road if you don't stop
pushing me around,” she teased with a stern face.

“Paybacks for you picking on me as a kid.”

She couldn't argue with that, and they both knew it. But for all their teasing, they
had just as many good-hearted
conversations. If not for Emma and Caleb, Manny didn't
know how he would have made it through Glenda's passing.

“Well, that goes both ways.” When they reached the door, she stopped and stared him
in the face until he agreed with her. She'd done this for as long as he could remember,
and he'd finally quit squirming when he grew taller than her. Now that she had to
look up, she wasn't nearly as intimidating. There was still the problem of her flailing
her gums at him, but he wouldn't have it any other way.

As soon as Emma set foot in the kitchen, a whirlwind of commotion began as she prepared
his dinner. “You're gonna need more help planting this year. You should ask
Daed
and the boys to help out.”

He sat down at the kitchen table, his legs suddenly heavy. He knew she was trying
to help, but he didn't want to hear how different everything was now that Glenda
was gone, after only one year together.

He'd been through a harvest without her, and it wouldn't matter how many others helped;
it would never be the same.

When he glanced over at Emma, he saw her looking at him. His throat caught, so he
didn't try to talk. Then his chest started to heave. He took deep breaths to keep
the pain at bay.

“Don't get all sentimental about it, Manny, or you'll get me going.” She turned completely
around to check on him, and he dropped his head.

The more she saw his emotions spilling out, the worse it would be. There were plenty
of thoughts going through his mind, but one stopped. He wasn't just upset about Glenda,
he was suddenly worried about living the rest of his days
alone. He hadn't thought
much about finding another wife, but in that moment he wondered what his future held
and stopped thinking about the past. Maybe. Even if it was fleeting, it made him
feel a little more alive.

Emma was in a chair by his side before he knew it, wrapping her arms around him and
resting her head on his shoulder. “You're gonna be all right, Manny. I promise you,
you will. It just takes time, like healing a wound. You just can't keep opening it
up again.” She lifted her head, staring straight at him, but neither spoke.

She was right. It was time to let go.

“I don't know what I'd do without you and Caleb.” He tried to smile but couldn't.

She suddenly stood and glanced around the room. “We're going outside.” She set the
casserole in the oven and went about opening and closing drawers, diverting his attention.

“What are you looking for?” He was too tired to stand but did it anyway. She wouldn't
give up until she found what she wanted. “And what about dinner?”

“It can wait.” She gave him an empty jar and kept one tucked under her arm, opening
the back door with the other. The screen door slammed behind them. Emma took off
running toward the dirt field, but stopped short, standing in the hip-deep prairie
grass.

“You mind telling me what you're doing?” As he watched her take off the lid and creep
around slowly through the grass, he knew what she was doing but couldn't believe
it.

“Let's see who can catch the most fireflies.” She didn't lift her head, just kept
her jar level with the grass and then scooped up a tiny, glowing light. “It's hard
to believe that's
a living creature in there.” She held it up and watched it go off
and back on a second later.

Manny watched a glowing, yellow light fly by and then turned toward Emma, jar in
hand. “They say the female lights up to show the male where she is.”

He looked over to see Emma walking toward him. She stopped and tapped his jar with
hers. He opened the lid, and she poured the firefly into his jar. “Ya got to let
her go, Manny.”

He nodded and put his arm around her. “What would I do without a cousin like you?”

“Find a wife.”

He turned to her. “I'll find someone, someday. Quit trying to get rid of me.”

“We need pie. Whoopee pie, to be exact.” She looked over expectantly, waiting for
his reaction.

“You made my day by saying those words.”

They'd almost made it to the door when a horse with one rider came thundering up
to the
haus
. It was Sam. His first thought was Lucy and the baby, but it was difficult
to read Sam's face. He was a serious man without much expression. But looking at
him now, Manny wondered if that was the look of a man who never got over the death
of his first wife.