“Danke Gott you were there when it happened.”
Leaning his hip against the counter, Paul wondered about the cause of Mr. Miller’s heart attack. Then again, from what he’d heard, these health conditions generally did not manifest overnight. Still, he imagined the stress of trying to run this farm single-handedly hadn’t helped. There had been rumors floating about in the community for a long time that the man had been working long hours, burning the candle at both ends, with not much help. Keeping that sort of pace for too long couldn’t be good. Even though he generally worked long hours, Paul always left time in his week for time off to pray and reflect. As he recalled, Joseph Miller had been absent from the past few church meetings. A habit that was highly frowned upon by the church leaders.
“I’m not sure I did anything that mattered other than check to see if he was breathing.”
His mamm patted him on the arm, saying, “You were there for Lizzie. And you made sure she got to and from the hospital. That’s what’s important, sohn. That’s what she’ll remember.”
“I’m her friend—of course I was there for her.”
He stopped thinking about Lizzie for a moment and then wondered what his mamm would do when she found out what his plans for the future were. Though he knew she wanted the best for him, he also didn’t want to be the cause of conflict in the family.
“Paul...”
The sound of her quiet voice brought him out of his reverie. From the soft look on her face, he knew exactly what she was going to say about the relationship between him and Lizzie.
Paul cut her off with, “Please don’t go there. To me, she’s always been and will always be David’s sister. Nothing more.”
She gave him a thoughtful look, her brown eyes warm with love and bracketed with fine lines. She patted him on the arm, then said, “If that’s how you want to see it. One more thing to consider, my sohn, that tragic day happened a long time ago. I know sometimes it’s hard to understand Gott’s ways. But you and Lizzie, you need to make peace and put the past where it belongs. Your future could be bright.”
“I’m friends with her. Nothing more,” he insisted.
As she turned away from him to put the string beans in a large bowl, he heard her mumble, “For now.”
Taking the bowl from his mudder, he dropped a kiss on her cheek and then headed out to the backyard. He walked over to the food table and handed the bowl to Lizzie. She barely gave him any attention as she took the beans from him.
“I’ll take that bowl off your hands,” she said.
He tipped his hat to her and went to find a seat at the makeshift table.
While he dug into the midday meal, he became aware of Lizzy’s gaze on him. He wondered what she was thinking. No doubt she was still feeling overwhelmed at finding herself in charge of the household for the moment. He gave her a smile, knowing that even if she didn’t think so, she was more than capable of handling the situation.
He shuffled down a few spaces on the bench as his bruder Abram plunked his plate down and swung a leg over to sit beside him. Paul watched in awe as he emptied the plate of the large portion of potato salad in three forkfuls.
“You need to slow down, Abram, or one of these days you’ll end up choking.”
His brother smiled at him and shook his head, saying, “Mamm’s salad is still the best in these parts.”
Paul nodded as he picked up the sandwich he’d added to his plate. Taking a generous bite, he realized he was hungry, too. He also realized he needed to get back home to do the chores there and help finish up the cabinet job he had been helping his vader with. Swallowing, he knew he had to talk to his vader soon. The man who owned the building Paul was interested in renting wanted to know how soon he could begin leasing it.
It was a good price and he didn’t want to lose the opportunity to set up his own store there. It was a great location, only half a block up from the main intersection in the village. Paul knew the tourists would come into the store. They loved to buy Amish goods. He felt if he listed his furniture at a good but fair price that he would do well.
After finishing his meal, he took his plate over to the makeshift washing area that had been set up outside the kitchen. Leaving his plate there, he caught Lizzie’s attention and waved at her. She gave him a half wave back. He walked around to the front of the Millers’ house. As he made his way up the driveway, he looked off into the fields. He saw a wagon bringing in a load of hay bales. Near the barn, a line of cows with their udders full lumbered toward the milking parlor. All around him the air was filled with the earthy scents of the farm.
Ben met him halfway down the drive. As he came closer, Paul saw that he looked to be a bit concerned. Maybe there was a problem on the Millers’ farm or he’d heard news about Lizzie’s father. Either way he wasn’t going to have to wait long to find out, because his bruder caught him by the arm and pulled him to the edge of the lawn.
“I was just up at our house and Daed is upset with some news he heard from the owner of the general store. Is it true you’ve been looking into renting some shop space?”
A knot formed in the pit of his stomach as he met his brother’s firm gaze. He’d hoped that word of his plans would not be spread around yet. But small towns being what they were, the thought that he’d be the one to deliver the news to his vader the way he saw fit had been ridiculous to begin with. Frowning at his brother, who’d grown so much over the past spring that he now stood eye to eye with him, Paul knew his vader had to be angry about this.
The Burkholders had been living in Miller’s Crossing since their Amish community had been founded back in the 1950s by Lizzie’s great-grandfather, Levi Miller. The group had traveled from Ohio in search of affordable farmland and had come upon this vast area of Chautauqua County. Over time, due to the changing economy, the farms had shrunk and the members of the community had taken to establishing lumberyards and other small but sustainable businesses.
Paul’s father had served at one time as the head of their church. Now he was busy with the family furniture business. Though he knew his father would stay tied to their property, Paul wanted desperately to have his own business in the village. He was in his twenties now and wanted to be making his own way within Miller’s Crossing.
“Paul, is it true?” Ben asked again.
“Yes,” Paul answered as he looked at the deepening crease on his brother’s forehead. Of all his siblings, Ben was the one who worried the most.
Continuing up the hill to the top of the driveway, Paul clasped his hand against his brother’s back. “You let me deal with our daed.”
“He doesn’t want you to leave.”
Paul shook his head. “I’m not leaving the family. I’m only going into town to sell my furniture.”
“Plenty of Englischers stop by our shop,” Ben said.
“They do. But we could be doing better.”
“We are doing okay. There’s always food on the table and warmth in the house.” Ben’s face turned red as he argued his point.
Paul didn’t respond to his bruder, other than mentioning the fact that he wanted his own business. He enjoyed working with wood. Smelling the shavings from the floor in the saw room and working to build fine furniture brought him great joy. More importantly, he liked to work with his hands.
He wasn’t moving