An Amish Noel

Roy’s face split into a wide grin as he scooted up in bed and leaned against the headboard. “Are you gonna take the job? That would be wunderbar.”

“I’m glad you like the idea.” Luke still didn’t know what had come over him. He never should have accepted Zachariah’s offer. He hadn’t even spoken to his own father yet.

“I have so many things to ask you, Luke. You know everything about life in the city and about the things an Amish guy needs to do if he wants to live English. You can teach me that stuff, can’t you? I’m a quick learner.”

A chuckle made Luke look over his shoulder. His brother Samuel stood in the doorway. Samuel’s face still bore the faint scars of the burns he had suffered when their gasoline generator exploded. Luke’s carelessness had contributed to the accident. He knew Samuel had forgiven him, but he had a hard time forgiving himself. His one consolation was that Samuel’s need for a nurse after the accident had brought Rebecca into their lives. Samuel considered Rebecca’s love well worth the pain he had suffered.

Samuel advanced into the room. “Luke can teach you how to get into trouble anywhere, Roy. Amish or Englisch trouble, it doesn’t matter to him. I’d avoid his company if I were you.”

“He sure saved my hide yesterday.”

“And the lesson learned from this?” Luke prompted.

“Don’t take a snowmobile out on the river no matter how thick the ice looks.”

Luke shook his head. He recognized a restless spirit in Roy. It was the same restlessness that had filled him at that age. “The lesson is to stay off snowmobiles and all Englisch machines.”

Roy cast him a sheepish look. “I doubt I’ll get the chance to ride one again since I almost ruined Mr. Morgan’s.”

Luke thumped his finger into Roy’s chest. “It serves you right. Just so you know, Jim Morgan came by to collect his machine. His brother isn’t going to be riding for a while, either. Jim wasn’t happy to hear Brian let you boys ride off without adult supervision.”

Samuel chuckled again. “That is the pot calling the kettle black. You and Jim were always up to no good when the adults weren’t looking. He’s the one who taught you to drive a car when you didn’t have a license.”

Luke frowned at his brother. “You’re not helping, Samuel.”

His brother laughed again. “Daed wants to see you downstairs.”

Luke nodded and rose to his feet. “Okay. I’ll check on you later, Roy. Stay in bed or Rebecca will have your head on a platter and mine, too.”

Luke followed Samuel out of the spare bedroom. In the hallway, Samuel gave him a sidelong glance. “You took a job working for Zachariah? You’re joking, right?”

“I don’t know what happened. I opened my mouth to refuse, but that wasn’t what came out. I agreed to a part-time job for a few months. Maybe more.”

“What were you thinking? Did sticking your head under the ice freeze your pea-size brain?”

“Maybe so.” Until recently, Samuel’s teasing would have made Luke fighting mad, but these days the brothers had come to understand and respect each other.

“There’s no maybe about it. Then again, it will get you out from under my feet.”

“Sammy, you’ll come crawling to find me the second that finicky planer jams again, begging me to fix it.”

“On bended knee. You’re the only one who can coax that machine to do its job. Zachariah might have made a smart move getting you to help him.”

Working for Zachariah was a bad idea for so many reasons. Number one—Emma would hate having him around.

Number two—he already had a job working for his father in the family’s woodworking and gift shop. He wasn’t sure his father could spare him.

Number three—Emma would hate having him around.

His parents were sitting at the kitchen table when he came downstairs. The fact that his mother wasn’t offering him food proved it was going to be a serious talk. His father folded his hands in front of him. “What is this about you taking another job?”

Luke looked back and forth between them. “How did you find out?”

“Rebecca spoke to Emma this morning.”

Luke shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants. The Amish might not use telephones, but that didn’t stop news from spreading like wildfire. “Zachariah talked me into a part-time job working for him. It was a mistake. I’ll tell him I’ve changed my mind or that you can’t spare me.”

“What sort of job is it?” his mother asked.

“He wants help finishing his hardware store before Christmas. It would be mostly simple carpentry, stocking shelves and taking inventory. I don’t think the man knows half of what he has stashed away.”

Samuel rubbed a hand over his new beard, the one he’d started growing after his marriage, and scratched at his chin. “Luke, you suggested that we add a hardware section to our gift shop. I’ve been seriously considering it. Won’t Zachariah be in competition with us?”

Luke’s father snorted. “In all the years I’ve known him, Zachariah Swartzentruber has rarely finished a project he started. He won’t become our competition. I doubt he’ll ever complete his store.”

“Isaac, that is unkind,” his mother said with a sharp-eyed scowl at her mate. “Our neighbor has asked Luke for help. What do you think, Samuel? Can we spare Luke for a few weeks? Don’t forget, your father and I will be gone to Florida for a month after Christmas.”

Samuel fixed his gaze on Luke. “Will you have to notify your parole officer that you have a new job? Working and living here was one of the conditions of your early release, wasn’t it?”

It wasn’t common knowledge that he was still on parole. Only a few people outside the immediate family knew. His parents didn’t like to discuss anything to do with his time in prison. He had caused them enough embarrassment in the community. He was surprised his brother mentioned it in front of them. “I’m not moving, and it would be in addition to my work here, so it shouldn’t make a difference.”

Samuel propped his hands on his hips. “If a neighbor needs help, we must give it. We can spare you, Luke. We’re caught up on our Christmas orders for both the gift shop and the woodshop. Unless we get more than a few rush orders, Timothy, Noah and I can handle your work. As long as you can make any equipment repairs we need.”

“You don’t have to pick up my slack. I’ll tell Zachariah I can’t do it.”

“How is Emma?” his mother asked with a look of innocence.

Suspicious at the abrupt change of topic, Luke shrugged. “Fine as far as I know. Ask Rebecca. She’ll know more than I do.”

“Won’t it be hard for Emma to have you at her home? The two of you were close once. She was broken-hearted when you left.”

His father shook his head. “That was a long time ago, mudder. They were kinder.”

Luke avoided his mother’s sharp gaze. He and Emma hadn’t been children, but they had been too young to know what love was. He tried for an offhand tone. “I’m sure Emma couldn’t care less if I work with her father or not.”

“You are right about that.” A cold voice he recognized came from behind him.

He spun around to see Emma and Rebecca standing in the doorway to the living room. They must have come in through the back door, for both women wore their traveling bonnets and cloaks. Emma had a fixed smile pasted on her face. Rebecca shook her head and glared at him.

His mother rose to her feet. “Emma, how nice to see you. If this arrangement is all right with you, then it’s okay with us. Luke can work for your father.”

Great. Now he was stuck with the job. Maybe it was for the best. Maybe if he and Emma spent some time together they could put the past to rest and start over. He wasn’t expecting friendship, but he hoped for something more civil than the icy stare he was getting at the moment.

“How is Roy?” Rebecca asked, pulling off her bonnet.

“Goot,” Samuel said. “He’s been a better patient than I was.”

She laughed. “That wouldn’t take much. Come, Emma, I’ll show you up to his room. He was very blessed that Luke was able to reach him under the ice and pull him out. I hope he knows that.”