Chapter Two
Ben’s face flushed red. “Why would Tobias Lieb send you a letter about me?”
I closed my eyes for a moment, realizing my mistake. I should have spoken to Ben in private, not out in the middle of the flea market. True, not all the shoppers paid attention to us, but I felt the prying eyes of a few on my back. One of those, I was afraid, just might be Tobias Lieb.
“Maybe we should go outside to talk about this,” I said in a low voice.
Ben folded his arms. “I have half a mind to go over to Tobias right now and ask him what’s going on.”
I placed a hand on his arm. “Calm yourself, and please don’t do that. It will only make things more difficult for you as far as Tess is concerned.”
I noticed that the greengrocer in the next booth seemed to be very interested in our conversation. “Come, Ben, let’s go outside.”
“Fine,” he said and stomped in the direction of the back exit.
I followed a few paces behind him and wondered how I could have bungled this so badly.
From the back of the flea market, we could see the secondary barns. The land we were on had once been a horse farm. I had never known the owners though. Sometime while I was in Michigan caring for my sister, it was transformed into the Harvest Village Flea Market.
I knew that my nine-year-old grandnephew Micah, as well as my two ornery Boer goats, Phillip and Peter, were being judged somewhere in one of those other two buildings. Months ago, Micah had asked if he could show the goats at the local competition, and I had agreed, even though I knew it would not be easy for him, or anyone, to handle Phillip and Peter. His mother, my beloved niece Edith, ran Edy’s Greenhouse, the largest Amish greenhouse in the county. Because of all the valuable plants in the greenhouse, owning goats was not a good option on her land. So Micah was borrowing mine. He’d come to my farm every day for the last few weeks, trying to prepare the goats. Judging by the way the goats ignored his every command, I didn’t have high hopes they would place. Even so, it was something Micah cared about, and I believed every child—every person, for that matter—needed a special interest.
“Please, Millie, tell me about his letter,” Ben said. The frustration that had been on his face a little while ago was gone now. In its place was resignation. What had happened between the Liebs and this young man to cause such an expression?
“Tobias knows that I’m the closest person you have to family in Holmes County, and he wrote me to ask you to stop pursuing Tess.”
He balled his hands into fists. “I suspected as much. It doesn’t matter to him that Tess and I love each other. It doesn’t matter to him that I would do anything for his daughter, absolutely anything. I am working all these jobs to prove myself to him, and her.”
“I know this, but if her father doesn’t approve—”
“You think I should give up on her?” He was hurt.
“I didn’t say that. I said nothing like that. I think you should not be in such a terrible rush. It’s very possible that her father is concerned that the two of you have developed such deep feelings for each other so quickly. You are only nineteen. She’s eighteen. There is no reason to be in such a hurry. You don’t want to make a match that estranges Tess from her family. In the long run, this will cause both of you pain. Patience is what you should hold onto now.”
He shook his head. “Nee, Millie, that is where you are wrong. There are things that Tobias clearly didn’t tell you.”
“What things?” I asked. “Maybe if you told me what they were, I would have a better understanding of your position.”
He shook his head. “I need to go to my next job.” He gave me a small smile. “I do not blame you for your words, Millie. I know that you have told me this only with the hope that it will help me.”
I studied his face. He was exhausted. I frowned. “I’m worried that you are stretching yourself too thin.”
He shook his head. “I’m fine. I catch a nap here and there when I can.”
“You’re not sleeping at night?”
“I can’t just now. I’m watching over the flea market. It’s my job to make sure the market is secure overnight.”
I frowned. “Have there been more robberies?”
He looked around as if he was afraid someone might overhear. “Nee, but a time or two I have scared off men who were set to cause trouble. I know if I hadn’t been here, they would have taken whatever they wanted from the market.”
I didn’t like the sound of that.
“Who were they? Amish or Englisch?”
“They were Englisch. At least their dress was Englisch. I don’t know who they were.”
“Did you call the police?”
“Oh no, the owner of the flea market wouldn’t like that. He hired me so that he wouldn’t have to get the police involved. You know the Amish would rather take care of things their own way.”
“The owner is Amish?”
“Nee, he’s Englisch, but he wants to keep the Amish vendors calm, so they don’t leave the flea market. Having the police poking around won’t do that.”
“Who’s the owner?” I asked.
“Ford Waller.”
“Are you working here tonight to guard the market?” I asked.
He nodded. “I will be here from nine at night until seven tomorrow morning, when the shop keepers come and set up for the day.”
Ben walked me back into the flea market, and his gaze fell on Tess again. “Have you ever seen anyone so lovely?”
I smiled. “I have, but everyone thinks the object of their affection is the loveliest of all.”
“They would be wrong. Tess is the only one.” He grabbed my hand. “Millie, you have to convince Tobias that I am the right man for his daughter. You are the village matchmaker. You should be able to do it.”
“I can’t change a father’s mind as to what is best for his child,” I said quietly. “It may be that you will just have to wait until he believes Tess is ready.”
He turned pale. “I can’t wait. Time is too short for that.”
I wanted to ask what he meant by that, but he released my hand. “I must be off, or I will be late. As it is, I will have to pedal fast on my bicycle to reach my next job on time.” With that, he slipped through the back door again, leaving me wondering why a healthy young man would believe time was short.