Over a week had passed since he’d last seen Mary. John Weaver took that as a sign that it was time to stop thinking about things he couldn’t have—and to focus on things he could.
Like maybe a date with Jayne Donovan.
Of course, asking her out was proving to be just as awkward as anything he’d ever done. From the moment she picked up the phone, he was stumbling over himself, trying to come up with the right words.
“So, I was hoping, if you weren’t doing anything Saturday night, you might like to have dinner with me,” John finished, clutching his phone a little tighter. Closing his eyes as his words echoed in his ear.
For heaven’s sakes! He sounded like an idiot! No, like a child. Like a pimply-faced teenager trying to find the courage to ask his first girl out for ice cream.
Not like a thirty-eight-year-ago grown man who was asking the town librarian out to dinner. The librarian! It wasn’t like she was a movie star or anything.
No, she was just beautiful and funny, and he thought about her way too much in the middle of the night.
The pause lengthened on the other end of the line. Obviously she was trying to find a way to let him down easily.
John bit his lip so he wouldn’t do something stupid, like beg.
“John?”
“Yes?”
“I . . . I hate to admit this, but . . .”
While she paused he wondered if he could live the rest of his life in Jacob’s Crossing and never see her again. The humiliation was too much.
“I’ve promised a girlfriend that I would dog-sit her dachshund.”
He wasn’t following her. He was getting rejected because of a wiener dog? “Oh.”
She chuckled. “What I’m trying to say—not very well—is, on Saturday I work from nine until three, and Minnie gets lonely.”
“Minnie, the dachshund?”
“Yes. Boy, I guess you can tell I’m nervous, huh? What I’m trying to say, is . . . would you mind coming over and I’ll make you dinner?”
His mouth went dry. She wasn’t rejecting him. Instead, she wanted to cook for him. All because she was the kind of person who took care of wiener dogs for friends.
“Jayne, I wouldn’t mind that at all.” Oh, he hoped he didn’t sound too awkward.
“Are you sure? I know it’s not a dinner out . . .”
“I live alone. I’d love a home-cooked meal,” he said in a rush. “That is, if it’s not too much trouble, what with the wiener dog and everything.”
“It’s not at all. Do you like steaks?”
He was now the luckiest man in the world. “I love steak.”
“Oh, good. I thought maybe we could grill, and I’ll just throw together a salad and pop some potatoes in the oven.”
Eager to help in some way, he asked, “How about I pick up a pie from the bakery?”
“I would absolutely love that. If you pick up anything chocolate, you’ll be my favorite person in the world.”
“I’ll do my best,” he promised, smiling alone in his living room. After he hung up the phone, John knew he would go to at least a dozen restaurants and bakeries if it meant he could bring her a chocolate pie.
After all, it had been a very long time since he had been any woman’s favorite person.
As Loyal handed Graham yet another piece of yellowed linoleum, he blew at the hair that seemed determined to stick to his brow. “Next time I buy a house in the middle of August, remind me not to pull up the linoleum and carpet right away.”
Graham grunted as he tossed the scrap into the trash pile and held out his hands for more. “I’ll tell you one thing, I’m definitely going to be sure I never volunteer to help you again. This is a schlimm job.”
As he felt yet another line of sweat drip down his back, Loyal couldn’t help but agree. “It is an awful job. But even you have to admit that it’s necessary. These coverings need to go. Underneath is lovely wood. It’s a shame it’s been covered up for so long.”
“Perhaps,” Graham allowed as he grabbed another piece and tossed.
“Perhaps? This plastic floor is yellowed and curling. Wood flooring will be much better underfoot.”
“Who are you getting to help you sand and stain and varnish? ’Cause it’s surely not going to be me.”
Loyal had counted on that. He’d wanted to make sure he spent his money in a smart way. Instead of trying to refurbish the floors himself, he’d decided to hire professionals. “I’m hiring the Johnson Brothers from Middlefield. They said work was slow, so they can begin tomorrow. They’re going to let me help, too, so the labor costs won’t be too high.”
Graham raised his brows. “At least they’ll get paid. All I’m getting is sweaty.”
“A little hard work never hurt anyone.”
“And now you sound like Calvin.”
That caught Loyal off guard. Their brother was notoriously opinionated and bossy. But now that he was a home and a landowner himself, Loyal started thinking that maybe being bossy wasn’t a bad idea. With ownership came responsibilities.
“Well, at least we’re all done now,” Loyal said as he got to his feet. “After I sweep everything up, it will be ready for the Johnsons to begin.”
“I’ll start carrying this linoleum to the wagon. But I have to warn you, I’m leaving you at six o’clock this evening, whether you are ready for me or not.”
“What are you doing that is so important?”
“I’m taking Jenna Yoder out for a drive tonight,” Graham said with a somewhat secretive smile.
“I had no idea you two were seeing each other. When did that come about?”
“Only recently. I stopped by to see Jenna the other day and we got to talking. Then we agreed to go on this drive. She’s schee, don’t you think?”
Loyal couldn’t help but think that his brother was being more than a little blasé about it all. And if he knew his brother—which he did—Loyal knew that Graham never did much without carefully weighing the pros and cons. “Yes, Jenna is very pretty. But I thought you had a special relationship with Mattie Lapp. What happened there?”
“Nothing.” He sputtered. “Actually, I’m fairly surprised you asked that. Mattie and I are just friends, you know. There’s nothing special between us.”
Loyal thought the complete opposite. Whenever Graham and Mattie were in the same room, sparks flew.
But he surely wasn’t going to let Graham know that if he wasn’t ready to hear it. “I guess I didn’t realize you two were only friends. I thought the two of you would court one day.”
“To be honest, one day I thought we might as well,” Graham said after a lengthy pause. “But Mattie has made it plain time and again that I’m only her friend and that’s all she ever wants me to be. It’s time to move on.”
Despite wanting to push his brother on this decision, Loyal had learned from watching Calvin that it wasn’t possible to control one’s heart—or one’s future. The Lord liked to have a say in just about everything. And sometimes, it was best if you just let Him have his way. He had to trust God would turn things around if He wanted.
“I hope you and Jenna have a good time,” he said simply. “I wish you both well.”
Graham nodded his thanks, then paused as he was picking up the linoleum. “What about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Aren’t you interested in any woman yet?”
A sudden vision of Ella Hostetler appeared in his mind, but he shook it away. “Nee. But it’s just as well, you know. I’ve got a lot to do.”
“We all are busy. But finding someone special is a good thing.”
“Perhaps.”
“And you know all the girls have always been by your side. More than one has said you’re the best looking of us three.”
“Looks mean nothing.”
“To some it does.”
“If you have to leave me to go courting, we had better get to work,” Loyal said, suddenly eager to push the conversation away from him.
“I’m working. I’m working. And sweating,” Graham grumbled as he picked up his load and walked outside again.
As Loyal moved to the edge of the carpet and pulled, he thought of Ella once again. And wondered if she’d ever wanted to pull up all of this carpet and enjoy wood floor underneath.
He wondered how her day had been at the library.
And he thought about her smile when he dopily talked about donuts.
More times during the day than he could count, he’d found himself thinking about Ella. And that made him a bit uncomfortable. How could he have known someone all his life, but suddenly start seeing her in a new way?
It didn’t make sense. With relief, he saw their uncle’s truck approach. “Uncle John’s here. He said he’d bring in supplies from town. Come help me unload, wouldja?”
“Sure,” Graham said, already striding forward to visit with John.