Rebecca Kertz - Her Forgiving Amish Heart

Leah vaguely heard their discussion. She heard mention of wood and hinges and other stuff she couldn’t comprehend. When the men’s conversation ended, the barn became overwhelmingly quiet.

“ Dat? You’re going to get a dog?”

“I am.” Arlin gazed at her with a silent look that warned her to mind her own business.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She fought back the hurt. It wasn’t the first time she’d felt a little left out, set off from her family. She managed to smile. “What kind?”

Dat smiled and his demeanor changed from stern to little-boy excitement. “I don’t know. What do you think?”

“I have no idea.” She paused. “We could ask Nell. She’ll recommend a good breed.”

“I already asked her.”

Nell knew. Who else? That feeling of being excluded rushed in again. She could feel Henry’s gaze. Refusing to look at him, she addressed her father. “May I go with you when you pick one out?”

Her father beamed at her. “ Ja , but I’d like to fix up the stall before I bring one home.” He turned his attention to the space where the dog would be kept. “Jonas was happy here.”

Leah nodded. Nell’s rescue dog had been happy in these surroundings. “ Ja , he was.” She swung her gaze grudgingly toward Henry. He studied her with a thoughtful expression, and she feared that he could read the pain she’d tried to conceal while talking with her father.

“Leah!” Ellie’s loud voice called from out in the yard.

“I’ve got to go,” she said and spun around. She ran a few yards before she stopped. “See you later, Dat . Henry, you do a gut job with the cabinet, ja ?” She softened the request with a slight curve of her lips.

Pleasure transformed Henry’s features. “I will,” he promised.

Leah trusted that he would. The warmth in his penetrating gaze had her scrambling to escape. She didn’t want to feel anything for Henry Yoder—even the littlest, tiniest bit of warmth that settled within her chest and reached out in an unsuccessful attempt to capture her heart.

* * *

Henry watched Leah leave before turning back to Arlin. “She seems surprised that you want a dog.”

Arlin had been studying his daughter as she left. He turned his focus on Henry. “She doesn’t mind, though. All my dechter are animal lovers.”

After a nod, Henry quietly studied the paper in his hands. “This looks simple enough. You want me to take down the shelf and put up a plain cabinet.”

“I thought we could leave the shelf and install the cabinet to the left of it,” the man said.

Henry eyed the wall space. “That would work. The dimensions for the cabinet are small.”

The older man inclined his head. “Big enough, though. I’m getting a dog, not a herd of goats.” He chuckled. “The two goats we have cause enough damage.”

Henry didn’t join in. He kept remembering the look of pain on Leah’s face as she’d learned that her father hadn’t bothered to include her in his plans. “When do you need this?”

“When can you get it done?”

He thought for a moment. His father was being discharged from the hospital that afternoon. He’d work in the store but figured his mother would want to spend time there. “I can have it done before Thursday.”

Arlin looked surprised. “Gut, gut.” The man headed toward the door and Henry fell into step beside him. “I was glad to see you back on Sunday.” He hesitated. “I would have liked to see your mam and dat .”

“ Dat’s been in the hospital. Mam has been spending all of her time there.” Henry became quiet. “I’ve been running the store. My vadder will be released today. Maybe in a couple of weeks, they’ll be able to come.”

The older man regarded him with concern. “I didn’t know about your dat .” Arlin was too polite to ask, but Henry could see his curiosity.

“He had a heart attack, but his doctor says that there’s no permanent damage.”

“A wake-up call,” Arlin said as they stepped out of the barn.

“Ja.” He saw Ellie and Leah inside the buggy as Ellie steered the horse to head toward the street. He couldn’t tear his attention away from the taller of the two blonde women who sat on the vehicle’s passenger side.

“She can be stubborn,” the man next to him murmured, catching Henry off guard. “Just like her mother.”

Henry’s gaze focused on Leah’s father. “Who?” he asked, but he knew.

“Leah.” The corners of his mouth bowed upward. “She’s the sweetest and kindest of all of my dechter , but she can also be the most hardheaded.”

“I’ve never known Missy to be hardheaded.” Henry noted a strange look enter the man’s expression and saw him stiffen.

“Leah hasn’t welcomed you back to our church community, has she?” When Henry was too stunned to answer, the man continued, “Don’t let it bother you. She’ll get used to you soon enough.”

“You think so?”

Arlin nodded. “ Ja. ’Tis Leah. She’s different than the others. I’ve never known her to be upset with anyone for long.”

Henry took comfort from her father’s belief that sooner or later Leah would accept him for the changed adult man that he’d become—and forget his foolish teenage mistakes.

* * *

His father was released from the hospital late Monday afternoon. Henry had worked on the cabinet an hour or two after the store closed. He stopped when his dat got home since he wanted to spend time with him and to assure his parents that the store had run smoothly with a steady flow of customers in their absence.

Henry got up extra early Tuesday morning and finished the cabinet. He had time to make a quick run to Arlin’s to install it. While he drove his market wagon to the residence, he hoped to see Leah again. His heart raced at the prospect. As he pulled his vehicle into the driveway and parked near the barn, he caught a glimpse of the woman ever present in his thoughts at the clothesline, taking down laundry. She must have heard him arrive for she turned and glowered at him.

He climbed down from the wagon and reached into the back to retrieve the cabinet. He didn’t realize that Leah had left the clothesline to approach until she stood within several feet of him. She watched silently as he carried the cabinet inside the barn. Henry set it in the designated stall, then left to get his tools. He accidently bumped into Leah as she entered the barn. Instinctively, he reached out to steady her.

“Careful,” he murmured. She smelled like vanilla and honey, a fragrance that would forever make him think of her. Her soap?

He saw her throat move as she swallowed when she stepped away. “You’ve finished it already?” She seemed skeptical.

“Ja,” he replied. “’Tis a simple design. Gut enough for a barn stall.”

Her brow knit with confusion. “Where are you going?”

He hid his pleasure. It was as if she was afraid that he’d leave. “To get my tools.” When red stained her cheeks, he realized that he’d guessed correctly. Hiding his joy, he swept past her on his way back to his wagon, where he retrieved everything he’d need for installation, including the cabinet doors, which he’d left off to make it easier for him to carry the unit. Leah hadn’t moved from where he’d left her. He didn’t say a word as he walked past her and into the stall.

Ignoring her, he pulled out his tape measure to gauge the distance between the small shelf to the wall corner. He’d crafted the cabinet to the right measurement. Feeling pleased, he placed two screws between his lips before he lifted the cabinet to where he wanted to secure it. Henry pulled his carpenter’s pencil from behind his ear and marked within the predrilled holes before setting the unit down again. He grabbed his battery-operated screwdriver, picked up the cabinet, then screwed it into place. Once secure, he wordlessly reached for a door, which he installed before he secured the second one. When he was finished, he turned. Leah stood behind him, examining his work. She jumped back, startled as she met his gaze. He didn’t say a word as he picked up his tools and headed outside.