“You went back out on the ice? You risked your life to retrieve a stupid machine? What is wrong with you, Luke Bowman?” Emma’s eyes snapped with fury.
Taken aback by her anger, he gaped at her. She had no idea how attractive she was with her cheeks flushed with color and her hands propped on her shapely hips. Her dress was a deep blue, the same shade as her eyes, and her white kapp accented the fiery red of her hair. She was a fine figure of a woman now. Not at all like the skinny girl that he’d dated back when he was nineteen. They had both changed, but he remembered the sweet taste of her lips as if it were yesterday.
“What were you thinking?” Emma demanded.
Luke fastened his gaze on the floor. Best not to think about the times he had kissed those pert lips. “I was thinking it would be a shame to let a fine machine fall into a watery grave. Jim is a good friend of mine.”
“You are unbelievable!” Emma stormed out of the room and up the stairs. The sound of a door slamming overhead reverberated through the house.
Zachariah swung his gaze to Luke. “Forgive Emma’s temper. She has had a trying day.”
“Having Emma mad at me is nothing new. I’ll live.” Luke quelled his desire to follow her and make amends. It wouldn’t do any good, anyway. She could barely stay in the same room with him, let alone listen to his apology.
Zachariah laid a hand on Alvin’s shoulder. “I’m glad you are safe. I give God thanks for His mercy. Are you well enough to go take care of my horse?”
“Sure.”
“Danki, sohn.”
When the boy left the room, Zachariah gestured toward the chairs at the table. “Please, sit down, Luke.”
“I didn’t plan to stay.”
“Humor an old man. Sit for a spell.”
“You’re not so old, Zachariah.” Against his better judgment, Luke took a seat. He knew having him around made Emma uncomfortable. If he heard her coming downstairs, he’d leave.
Zachariah leaned back in his chair. “I feel as if I am a hundred today. How is your family?”
“Everyone is fine. I don’t know if Emma told you, but Samuel and Rebecca are expecting a child in May.” Luke’s oldest brother had married Zachariah’s niece a year ago. Rebecca and Emma had remained close friends.
“She mentioned it the other day. That is goot. A blessing to be sure. Is your father’s business keeping all your brothers busy?”
Luke’s father owned a woodworking shop. Luke and his four brothers as well as several other carpenters from the area made furniture for a high-end furniture dealer in Cincinnati. “We’ve been busy, but Daed plans to close for a month after Christmas and take Mamm down to Pinecrest, Florida, for a few weeks. They haven’t had a vacation in years. Mamm says she can’t take the cold the way she used to. She wants to visit the Amish settlement by the sea.”
“I understand how she feels. I have often wanted to go there myself. Luke, I wanted to talk to you because you’re a fellow who knows his way around machinery. I’ve collected a fair number of items that need some restoration work before they can be resold.”
Luke smiled. “You collect junk, Zachariah.”
The older man chuckled and gave Luke a wry smile. “Ja, I do. But not all of it is junk. Some of it just needs a little elbow grease and a knowing hand to set it to rights. I’ve heard you keep your father’s equipment in tiptop shape.”
Luke grimaced inwardly. He did now, but he hadn’t always been so diligent. An accident in which his oldest brother had been seriously injured made Luke realize how he had failed his family yet again. Now, he took every step of his work seriously. “I try to keep things in working order.”
Zachariah leaned forward. “I want to get my new hardware store open the Monday after Christmas. It’s almost finished. After that, I want to get this place in order over the winter. I want it ready for a farm sale in the spring. It’s time to get rid of it all.”
“That’s a tall order.” Zachariah owned numerous sheds and buildings crammed to the rafters with all manner of stuff. Clearing it out would be a monumental task.
“I know it’s a tall order. That’s why I’m looking for help. My boys and I can’t do it alone. Roy likes machinery and hardware. He has a gift for it. That’s why I want the hardware store finished. He’ll run it one day, but he doesn’t have the skill to get all of my broken-down machinery working. I’d like to hire you to help me for the next few months.”
“I already have a job.”
“Surely your father could spare you a few days a week. That’s all I’m asking for. A few days a week to look over what I have and see what can be repaired and fix it if you can.”
“I think Emma would rather you ask someone else.”
“Your breakup was a long time ago. It’s water under the bridge to her.”
Zachariah might see it that way, but Luke wasn’t so sure Emma did. “I don’t think it would be a good idea.”
Zachariah stared down at his hands for a long moment. When he looked up, Luke saw desperation in his eyes. “I’ve been remiss in not putting money aside for Emma’s dowry. Time just went by too fast. What I get from the sale of my machinery will go to her. She’ll marry soon. I don’t want her going to a new husband empty-handed. I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important. What do you say? Can you give me a hand?”
Emma was getting married? Luke shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. Emma was old enough and a fine woman, but it still came as something of a shock. It was hard to imagine her as someone’s wife, but she deserved happiness. He wanted her to be happy.
Would helping secure her dowry make up in some small way for his treatment of her in the past? If so, then maybe he could finally put away that guilt.
* * *
Tears streamed down Emma’s face as she leaned against her bedroom door. She didn’t even like Luke anymore. So why did the thought of him risking his life for a chunk of metal turn her blood ice-cold?
He had risked his life to save Roy, too, and she hadn’t bothered to thank him.
His bravery she could admire, but she couldn’t bear his foolhardiness. He hadn’t changed. He would always be the same reckless man who broke her heart.
Rubbing her eyes with both hands, she faced the sad truth. She still went soft inside when Luke smiled at her. For some unknown reason, he still had a hold on her heart.
Until she remembered how irresponsible he was. Why couldn’t she get over this silly schoolgirl infatuation with him?
Sure, he was a fine-looking man with broad shoulders, slender hips and blond hair that curled just enough to make a girl want to comb it into order with her fingers. There were plenty of nice-looking men in her community, but none of them affected her the way Luke did. Her feelings didn’t change the fact that he had gone to prison for dealing drugs after he left the Amish.
It was wrong of her to hold any man’s past against him, but she couldn’t forget the way he had brushed aside her tender heart when she offered to give up everything and leave with him that night so many years ago. She’d learned a bitter lesson. Luke didn’t care about anyone but himself.
She thought she loved him then, but it hadn’t been true love. It had been a foolish teenage crush. He had been right to reject her. Now, she knew better than to believe he cared.
Scrubbing her cheeks vigorously to erase the past and the traces of her tears, Emma paced the confines of her small bedroom and struggled to regain her composure. It wasn’t just Luke. It was everything. Her father’s illness, his desire