The sounds of children laughing and adults chatting filled the air, and Holly breathed in the aromas of the fall festival. The buttery-sweet scent of kettle corn blended with the earthy smells of fresh hay and fallen leaves. A dozen Amish children were lined up for the horse-pulled hayride, almost bouncing in anticipation. But she and Josh weren’t here to partake of the festivities. He stood nearby, talking with one of the Millers. It was clear to her this was not the lead they were looking for. So why hadn’t Josh brought this conversation to a close already?
“Well.” The middle-aged Amish man folded his arms across his chest. “I’m Simon Miller, but I got a cousin named Sam Miller. Everyone says he’s my spitting image, so I understand the confusion.” The man scratched his head through his straw hat. “His son is Samuel Jr., but he’s only nine, so I doubt he’s your guy. And come to think of it, I got at least one other Sam Miller, my great-uncle, but he goes by ‘Sammy’ on account of not getting confused with his father, who was also Samuel Miller, but he passed about two decades ago, so I don’t think he’s your guy either.”
“Definitely not.” Josh made a few notes on a small notepad. “I appreciate that you mentioned him.” He tapped the pen against the paper. Holly wanted to grab his arm and move on. How did Josh have patience to linger like this? “So the Sam Miller who is your cousin and the Sammy Miller who is your great-uncle—do you have their addresses or numbers for a phone shanty where we can reach them?”
“Not off the top of my head. My cousin lives about a hundred and fifty miles from here in Maryland.”
Josh took a deep breath and let it out. “Any chance he was visiting last month?”
“Well, I don’t think so. At least if he did, he didn’t tell me, which would be quite unusual as he is really fond of my wife’s apple pie, and it is apple season right now. Secret family recipe on her side.”
“Sounds like a smart man.” Josh grinned. “And your great-uncle?”
Simon Miller chewed his lip. “Well, I haven’t seen him since last year. He has trouble getting out of his house, you see. Bad leg.”
Josh nodded. “So he probably didn’t walk into Greene’s Pharmacy.”
Simon’s eyes flashed as if he’d remembered something. “Hey, you know what? Usually this fall festival is the only annual event the family has, but there will be a whole bunch of Millers gathering for my grandparents’ seventy-fifth anniversary. Noah and Rachel Miller. Why don’t you come by? I bet you’ll meet several Sams. There’s even a Samantha.”
A desire to holler in victory rushed through Holly. Josh’s patience had just paid off. Big-time. “Well, denki, Simon.” Josh glanced at her, an endearing smile on his face. “That could be very helpful. Where’s the gathering?”
“Not too far from here, over in New Springs on November eighteenth.”
November eighteenth? That was next weekend. What a gold mine to have learned that piece of information.
As Simon gave the full address, Josh wrote it down, and then he closed the notepad. “Thank you so much, Simon. It was good to meet you.” The men shook hands.
“It’s no trouble at all. You tell your Daed I said hello.”
“Of course. Take care.” Josh nodded goodbye and motioned for Holly to walk with him. When they were out of earshot of Simon, Josh whispered, “If I ever have kids of my own, I’m naming each one something unique.”
Holly couldn’t help but laugh. “No more Joshua Smuckers?”
“Sadly one of my many nephews is already named after me. I better tell him to go by Joe or something else if he ever goes to the pharmacy. Avoid a mix-up.”
“The issue we’re having with Sam Miller has never happened before with anyone, not in the whole history of the pharmacy. We fill hundreds of scripts accurately every week, and we ask for way more information than just the patients’ first and last names. Send us ten Joshua Smuckers, and I guarantee we’ll keep them straight.” She put her hands on her hips, refusing to smile as she mocked setting him straight. “Now, come again?”
He put his hands up in surrender. “Only teasing. For sure, there’s no mistaking your identity, Holly Noelle. Your siblings have Christmas-sounding names too, don’t they?”
She grinned as they strolled through the festival, apparently on their way back to Josh’s rig. “Ya, Christmas was kind of my parents’ theme. Mamm went into labor with me on Christmas Day, and I was born a day later.”
“You were born on Second Christmas?”
“I was. My sister, Ivy, was born almost two years later on December twenty-first, and my brother, Red, was born two years after that on December twenty-ninth. Though technically he’s named after my Daed, Ezra. I was born at home, and because of the holiday, my parents had a lot of extended family visiting, all waiting in anticipation for me, the firstborn of my parents’ relatively new marriage. They had married ten months earlier. The story is that after recovering from the daylong birthing process, my Mamm and Daed paraded me, all swaddled tight, and placed me on blankets on the table in the center of the Christmas wreath, among all the decorated foods and Christmas cards. It’s why my community still calls me Holly Noelle, though I prefer just Holly.” She smiled, remembering all the times her Daed had told the story.
Josh beamed back at her. “That’s quite the birth story.” He shrugged. “I don’t have any stories that interesting. I’m afraid that by the time I came along as kid number thirteen, my parents pretty much put a basket in my hands immediately and said, ‘Go to work and help your siblings gather eggs.’ Not a lot of excitement there.”
Holly pointed at him. “I don’t believe that for a second. I saw how your parents fussed over you.”
He laughed. “I was kind of blocking that out and hoping you’d forgotten.”
“No such luck, Joshua Smucker the first.”
He groaned while still chuckling. “You’d have to go back at least two hundred years, maybe two thousand, to find the first Joshua Smucker.”
“True. And we might need to travel to Europe to figure out if that name crossed over with the Amish or if it began in America.” She snapped her fingers. “Add it to our list, Josh.”
She’d meant it to be funny, but he glanced at her, looking a bit confused.
You are here to work, Holly. But it was so easy to fall into joking and laughing with him. Still, it wasn’t right or fair to behave as if she were open to dating him. She could never be available for more than friendship.
But Josh needed to find someone, and suddenly a solution sprang to mind. Since he got along with her, he would get along with Ivy. And he’d mentioned being interested in music. That would go great with Ivy’s annual caroling project, which she would start soon.
They climbed into the rig. Taking the reins, Josh turned to her. “So you want to resume our Sam Miller list by following some leads on Monday evening?”
“Actually, I was wondering what you were doing on Sunday evening. My sister, Ivy, is starting caroling practice for this year, and she could really use a strong male voice. If I’m recalling right, you’re a musician.”
“Well, as much of a musician as one can be while tending chickens all day and living in a community that forbids musical instruments. But, ya, I do enjoy singing. That sounds like fun.” He smiled at her before looking away, cheeks a bit flushed.
Despite herself, she could feel heat creep up her own cheeks. For both their sakes, he needed to connect with Ivy.