Michael didn’t look happy to see her. Why should he be?
Bethany kept her chin up in spite of the mortification that weighted her down. Her brother was bent on making it harder for him to remain with her. He should be improving his behavior but he wasn’t. Instead he had shown that she couldn’t keep him in line. Once again she was forced to apologize for his actions.
She took a deep breath. “Good evening, Michael. I understand that Ivan broke one of the windows here. I’m truly sorry. I will have it replaced as soon as possible. In the meantime, my brother has something he wants to say to you.”
“I’m sorry,” Ivan mumbled.
It wasn’t much of an apology, but she let it pass. “He also told me you were hurt.”
“I was startled. I tripped and fell but I wasn’t hurt. As you can see.”
She couldn’t read Michael’s reaction. His face was blank. How upset was he? She wanted this awkward episode over as quickly as possible.
“I’m sure that you and I can find a way for Ivan to make amends and decide on a punishment.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
Her brother wasn’t getting off the hook so easily this time. “I insist. He needs to take responsibility for what he has done.”
“I agree, but Ivan and I will work out the details. He is old enough to decide what’s appropriate.”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “As the adult in the family, I feel I should have a say in this.” Surely he wasn’t going to disregard her position as head of the family?
“Ivan and I can reach an agreement that’s fair.”
Her brother peered up at her. “I am old enough.”
Michael nodded and stepped back. “Come in, Ivan, and we will discuss this. I’ll send him home after we get the window boarded up. The pastor has gone to get some plywood.”
Ivan went inside the cabin and Michael closed the door, leaving Bethany standing on the porch feeling foolish as well as incompetent.
She stomped back to the house but she couldn’t stop thinking about Michael’s high-handed attitude. She was responsible for Ivan. She should be a part of any discussion that involved her brother, not dismissed by some stranger as if she were a child.
Inside the house she went to the linen closet and pulled out sheets, pillows and several quilts, knowing there weren’t any in the cabin. With her excuse for returning in hand, she headed out of the house. Michael Shetler had a thing or two to learn about dealing with her.
Ivan looked nervous but ready to accept his punishment. Michael walked over to the chair and sat down. The dog moved to sit beside his knee and leaned against his leg. He waited for the boy to speak first.
Ivan stuffed his hands in his pant pockets. “I’m sorry about the broken window.”
“It can be fixed. What sort of punishment do you think you deserve?”
A flash of bitterness crossed Ivan’s features. It was gone before Michael could be certain of what he’d seen. He leaned forward. “Why didn’t Jeffrey stick around? Why didn’t he stay to make sure I was okay? He has been staying here, hasn’t he?”
“His dad gets mad real easy. Jeffrey sometimes hangs out here when he does. He took off tonight because he was afraid of getting in trouble at home.”
Ivan took a seat beside the dog. “What happened to your leg?”
Michael wasn’t prepared to have the tables turned on him but something told him that Ivan could be trusted with at least part of the truth. It might be what the boy needed to hear. “I will tell you on one condition. I don’t want this mentioned to your sisters. Okay?”
The boy nodded.
“I was shot during a robbery.”
“Are you joking?” Ivan’s eyes grew wide.
“No joke.”
“Wow. That’s—I mean—you are the only person I know who has been shot.”
“I would rather you didn’t share the story with your sisters or your friends. It’s not a pretty memory for me and I don’t like pity.”
“Sure. I can see you wouldn’t want people talking about it. Does it still hurt?”
“All day every day but I was blessed. Other people died.”
“People you knew?”
“They were my friends.” Michael could feel his anxiety level rising as it did every time he thought about that night. Sadie Sue tried to climb in his lap and lick his face. He stroked her head and grew calmer.
Ivan shook his head in disbelief. “That’s awful.”
“The man who shot me, what kind of fellow do you think he was?”
“Evil.”
“You would think so, but he wasn’t much more than a scared boy pretending to be tough. Do you know what his first crime was?”
“What?”
“The first time he was arrested it was for stealing money from a neighbor. He was fourteen.”
Ivan pinned his gaze to the floor. “Maybe he didn’t have a choice.”
Michael pushed Sadie Sue off his lap. She sat quietly beside his chair and watched him intently.
“We all have a choice. Your sister is mighty worried about you, Ivan.”
The boy reached out and stroked the dog’s head. “What’s her name?”
Michael let him skirt around the issue of his sister’s concern, knowing the boy would come back to it sooner or later. “I called her Mutt. Your sister, Jenny, named her Sadie Sue.”
Ivan chuckled. “Sadie Sue. Only Jenny would think a dog needed a middle name.”
“I like your little sister.”
“Me, too.”
“Bethany has treated me with kindness. She strikes me as a good woman.”
“She treats me like I’m a little kid.”
“Stop acting like one.”
Ivan shot him a sour glare. “I don’t. She should treat me like the man of the family.”
Michael shrugged. “Being the man of the house isn’t about how people treat you. The man of the family takes care of the people in his family. What have you done to take care of Bethany or Jenny lately? Think about it.”
Ivan was silent for a few minutes. Finally, he looked up. “I don’t have the money to pay for a new window, but I’ll split wood for your fireplace for two weeks.”
“A month.”
“Okay, a month.”
“And you are not going to skip school again, not even if Jeffrey asks you to do it.”
Ivan tipped his head to the side. “How did you know Jeffrey asked me to skip with him?”
“Because Jeffrey took off tonight and left you to face the consequences alone. Something tells me he is at the bottom of some of your troubles.”
Ivan scrambled to his feet. “He’s my friend. You don’t know anything about him.”
“You’re right. I don’t and I’m sorry. I was wrong to say that.”
Ivan relaxed his stance. “My grandfather used to say a wise man is the one who can admit when he is wrong.”
“I wish I’d had the chance to meet your grandfather. I owe him a lot.”
“You would have liked him.”
“I’m sure of it. Ivan, you value your friend Jeffrey and rightly so, but don’t value your sisters less because of that friendship. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I think so.”
“Catch up on your schoolwork and don’t skip.”
“Okay.”
“You should get on home now. Remember, take care of your sisters. Don’t expect them to treat you like you’re the man of the family. Be that man. The same way your grandfather was. They will respect you for that.”
“I’ll try.”
Sadie Sue rushed to the door and barked once. Michael got up and went to open it, expecting Frank. Bethany stood on his doorstep, her arms loaded with linens. “I knew you would need sheets and blankets.”
“Come in.” He glanced at Ivan. Would the boy keep his secret? He hoped his trust wasn’t misplaced. “Ivan and I have come to an agreement.”
Turning to Ivan, Michael held out his hand. “We have a deal, right?”
“Right.” Ivan shook on it. “I have some homework to finish. See ya.” The boy went out the door, leaving Michael and Bethany alone.
Suddenly alone with Michael, Bethany stepped past him, determined to show him she wasn’t intimidated by his presence. “Where would you like these?”
“On the bed will be fine.”
How silly of her. Of course he would want sheets and pillows there. She crossed the room and tossed her burden on the foot of the bed. “I see you have a sleeping bag. You came prepared to rough it.”
“It’s not mine. I think it belongs to Ivan’s friend Jeffrey. Apparently he stays here sometimes when his father is upset with him.”
“I wasn’t aware of that. Was that the reason the doors were locked?”
“It would be a good guess. What do you know about the boy?”
“Not much. He’s been friends with Ivan since we arrived. His family lives over the ridge about a half mile as the crow flies but farther by road. His father drives a delivery truck. I don’t think the mother works.” She crossed her arms as she faced him. “But I’m not here to talk about Jeffrey.”
“You want me to know you are in charge of Ivan, and you don’t want me to interfere.”
He had practically taken the words out of her mouth. Some of her bluster ebbed away. “That’s true. I’m the head of the household.”
“I understand and I respect that,” he said softly.
His intense gaze left her feeling exposed and vulnerable. Could he tell she doubted her ability to keep her family together? That she felt backed into a corner by the bishop’s words? There was no way he could know what was in her mind yet she was sure that he did. She started for the door. “I hope you will be comfortable here.”
“I hope so, too. Good night, Bethany.”
The gentle way he said her name with such longing brought goose bumps to her arms. She hurried out the door before she could change her mind and stay to learn more about her unusual new neighbor.
Early the next morning the sound of someone chopping wood woke Bethany from a restless sleep. Knowing it would be useless to stay in bed, she got up and dressed for the day. Downstairs she put on a pot of coffee and enjoyed one cup in solitude. As she watched the eastern sky grow lighter, her thoughts turned to Michael. Her annoyance had vanished in the night.
Was he right to exclude her from his talk with Ivan? Last night she didn’t think so, but now she was able to look at the situation without embarrassment clouding her thinking. She had been prepared to be a buffer between Ivan and Michael. She wanted her brother to make amends, but she didn’t want his punishment to be unjust. Perhaps it was better that she stayed out of it and let Ivan face the consequences of his actions alone.
She glanced at the clock on the wall. Once the children were off to school she still intended to have a talk with Michael. Rising to her feet, she started on breakfast. When the eggs and oatmeal were ready, she called up the stairs. “Ivan, Jenny, time to get ready for school.”
She returned to the kitchen and set plates and bowls on the table. It wasn’t long before Jenny came down still in her nightgown. She made a beeline to the stove, where she warmed her hands. The upstairs bedrooms weren’t heated. Hot flannel-wrapped bricks helped stave off some of the chill, but they didn’t last all night. The heavy quilts only helped as long as a person stayed in bed.
When Ivan didn’t appear, Bethany went to the staircase again. “Ivan. Time to get ready for school. Did you hear me?”
As she was waiting for a reply, the back door opened and he came in bundled from head to toe in his work clothes. He bent to pull off his boots. “We got four more inches of snow last night. The snowplow just went by on the road and left a huge pile of snow on our side.”
She stared at him in amazement. “What were you doing outside?”
“I was chopping wood for Michael, and I shoveled the path to his house. I fed and watered our animals, too, but I didn’t gather the eggs. Jenny should do that for you. I’m really hungry. What’s for breakfast?”
“Scrambled eggs and oatmeal. It is nice of you to make sure Michael had wood for his fireplace.”
“I have to do it for a month.” He didn’t sound resentful at all. He was actually smiling as he sat down at the table and pulled off his stocking cap.
“How long is he making you do my chores?” Bethany asked.
“He isn’t making me do them, and they are my chores now.”
Somewhat taken aback, Bethany filled their plates and took her place at the foot of the table. She looked at Ivan. “Would you like to sit at the head of the table and lead the prayers from now on?”
Both his eyebrows rose. “Really?”
It was the responsibility of the male head of an Amish household to signal the beginning and the end of the silent blessing before meals. Their grandfather had always been the one to lead prayers. After his death Bethany took over the task, never once considering that it should have fallen to Ivan. To her, he was still a child, but he wasn’t little anymore.
She realized her brother was waiting for her reply. “Of course you may.”
He moved his plate and sat down opposite her. Bowing his head, he clasped his hands together. Bethany did the same and silently repeated the blessing. When she was finished she waited with her head bowed for Ivan’s signal. He unfolded his hands and picked up his fork. Jenny had her eyes closed. Ivan cleared his throat.
Jenny peeked at him with one eye. “Are you done?”
He nodded once. “I am.”
“Goot.” She reached for her glass of milk.
Ivan poured honey and milk on his oatmeal. “Jenny, I want you to gather the eggs for Bethany every day.”
Jenny looked puzzled. “I do it when she asks me to.”
“It will be your chore every morning before school, starting tomorrow. Bethany has enough to do.”
Jenny shrugged. “Okay. Pass me a piece of toast, Ivan.”
Bethany couldn’t understand this sudden change in Ivan. What had Michael said to him? She wanted to ask but she didn’t want to discuss it in front of her little sister. Jenny had a habit of blurting out things she had overheard.
Later, when the children were ready to go meet the bus, Bethany brought out their lunch boxes. “Ivan, did you complete the homework your teacher gave you?”
“Not all of it, but I’ll stay in at recess and get the rest of it done.”
“I’m pleased to hear you say that.” But could she trust that he meant what he said?
“And you won’t skip school again. Is that clear?” she said firmly.
“Michael and I talked about it last night. I won’t skip.” Ivan took his lunch box from her. “He’s a goot fellow.”
“I like him and his dog.” Jenny grabbed her lunch box and headed out the door. Ivan followed close behind her, leaving Bethany more curious than ever about what Michael had said to inspire her brother.
After dressing warmly, she hiked up the hill to the cabin and knocked. She waited and knocked again but he didn’t answer. She checked the barn and found his pony and cart were gone. Disappointed, she went back down the hill. Her talk with him would just have to wait.
For most of the next day and a half Michael wrestled with the notion of leaving New Covenant. He came here because he hoped the remoteness of the settlement and a change of scenery would put a stop to his anxiety attacks and flashbacks. To have such a profound episode occur within a week of his arrival was deeply disappointing. In the end he decided he had to stay. There was nowhere else to hide. He didn’t want his decision to be emotional. As much as he tried to dismiss one important factor, he couldn’t. Bethany was here.
If he was going to stay, he needed to work. He had a choice between building sheds with Jesse and the bishop or doing what he loved. The only drawback with repairing timepieces was that he’d be working for Bethany. He liked her. A lot. But there was no future there as long as he could fall apart at any second. His episode Sunday night had driven that fact home.
He would go back to his original plan. Bury himself in his work and remain apart from people as much as possible. He walked down the hill and found Bethany hanging wash on the line at the side of the house. Her clothesline stretched from the back porch to a nearby pine tree. A pulley system allowed her to pin her clothes on the line and move them out without stepping off the porch into the snow.
He nodded to her. “Guder mariye, Bethany. May I see your grandfather’s workshop?”
She hesitated a fraction of a second then nodded. “Of course. It’s this way.”
She walked through the house into the kitchen and opened a door. “This was my grandfather’s workroom.”
His disappointment must have shown on his face. She tipped her head slightly. “Is something wrong?”
He didn’t want a workshop attached to the house where family members could come and go as they pleased. He wanted a space all to himself. “I thought the workshop was one of the other buildings on the farm.”
She shook her head. “Grandfather liked being close to us. He usually kept the door open, but if you’re thinking that we will disturb you, you can keep it closed.”
“I don’t like interruptions while I’m working.”
Her smile was forced. “That’s understandable. We will make it a point to not interrupt you. You may add a bolt to the door or a lock if you prefer.”
“That will not be necessary. As long as everyone’s aware that I’m not to be bothered while I’m working, that should suffice.” He stepped through the doorway into a tidy room with a long workbench in front of a large window. The workbench itself was made of oak. It had four shallow drawers across the front.
He opened the first drawer. Numerous screwdrivers were lined up by size in a wooden holder that had obviously been custom-made. The next drawer held a jeweler’s loupe and several magnifying lenses all nestled into cotton batting. The third drawer held an assortment of gears and springs Elijah must have scavenged from clocks of all types. The fourth drawer held ledgers, receipt books, stationery and padded envelopes.
Michael looked around the room at the dozen or so clocks hanging on the walls, some in various stages of repair. The running ones ticked softly. “Your grandfather was obviously a man who took great care with his tools.” He ran his finger along the top of the workbench. It was satin smooth.
“Daadi believed in a place for everything and everything in its place. He liked to use authentic old tools. He said they simply do the job better than the new ones.”
“I have to agree.” Along the back of the workbench were several dozen books stacked on top of each other. Michael picked up one and read the title. “Clocks of the 1800s.”
She picked a book up and ran her fingers over the colorful cover. “Daadi would spend his free time reading about the history of clocks. I would often find him in here late at night poring over antique books on the ancient practice of clock making. I could never understand how he knew what all those little gears and wheels did.”
“Repairing a clock can be complicated work, but it can also be simple when the pieces speak for themselves.”
“How so?”
“Everything inside of a clock’s mechanisms has a purpose. Everything is there for a reason. If you work backward, if you understand what part connects to another part and then another, the clock will tell you what each part does.”
She swept her hand through the air, indicating all the timepieces on the walls. “I think you love the art of this the way he did.”
“There is something fascinating and beautiful inside each clock I open. I’m happy when I can return it to someone who has treasured it. Often I see them smile when they hear a clock chime again because it brings back good memories.”
She smiled softly and swiveled the old leather chair around to face her. “Good memories are important.”
She looked at him. “Now that you have had a chance to see the workshop, what do you think? Are you interested in a partnership?”
“I can work in here.”
She held out her hand. “Do we have a deal?”
He hesitated a second but then accepted her handshake. “We have a deal.”
He held on to her fingers a few seconds longer than he needed to. She blushed as she pulled her hand away.
Bethany couldn’t ignore the attraction she felt for Michael. The amazing thing was she had only known him a few days. Maybe letting him work here wasn’t a good idea. For some reason she felt off balance when he looked at her with that penetrating gaze of his.
She gave herself a hard mental shake. She was being ridiculous. He needed the work and she needed the income. It wasn’t like antique watch repairmen grew on trees. She would have to make sure she kept the relationship strictly business.
“Are you comfortable in the cabin?”
“It’s snug. Or it will be when the new window gets in. Pastor Frank took the measurements last night. He’s going to order a replacement for me.”
She slipped her hands in the pockets of her apron. “Make sure the bill is sent to me. Ivan mentioned that you encouraged him to remain in school. I don’t know what else you said to him but he is a changed boy. He’s doing chores without being told. He’s catching up on his schoolwork. Is he still splitting wood for you?”
“Without fail.”
“Good. However, I still think I should have been included in the conversation.”
Michael faced her. “Ivan said you treat him like a little child and not like the man of the house. I doubt he would have spoken so plainly about it if you had been in the room. I told him if he’d act like a man he would be treated as such.”
“I don’t agree with his assessment.”
Michael grinned. “I didn’t think you would. You have to admit that you don’t treat him like a grown fellow.”
Of all the nerve. “You haven’t been around this family long enough to make an assumption like that.”
“It wasn’t my assumption. It was Ivan’s.” He smiled broadly as if inviting her to share the joke. She didn’t find it funny.
“And if Ivan’s change of heart wears off in a week or two, I imagine I’ll be the one to blame.” What possessed her to imagine she was attracted to this man? She knew from the first time they met that he was laughing at her. He was still laughing at her.
His smile faded as he seemed to realize she was upset. “I’m sure he will backslide a time or two. That’s only natural. No one is looking to assign blame to you.”
“That’s just it. Men are assigning blame to me. The bishop, my uncle, they assume I can’t control a boy Ivan’s age. They want to take the problem off my hands. He isn’t a problem. He’s my brother. I don’t know what we will do if the bishop insists on separating us, but I can tell you I won’t stand still for it.”
“Defying the bishop could get you shunned.”
“There are other Amish communities in Maine. As much as I loved my grandfather and shared his vision for New Covenant, I will move lock, stock and barrel before I give up my brother. You don’t need to worry about putting a lock on this door. I will not set foot in this room while you are here.”
She walked out and slammed the door behind her.