and admired her strength to politely stand against what their people expected of her.
He didn’t know much else right now, but it was obvious he shouldn’t have balked at what she’d demanded from him: an apology and honesty.
Jonah came up beside him with a clipboard filled with papers. “She left without stepping inside.”
“Ya.”
Levi had told himself to apologize to her. When he’d stopped her horse, he intended to tell her the truth. He’d wanted to say he was sorry. Instead, he’d just stood there. Whatever possessed him to use Sadie to make his life easier?
“Okay, here are the records for everything you brought in today.” Jonah pulled copies of the receipts from the clipboard. “Should I give you Sadie’s invoices too?”
“Probably not. If I tried to pass them on to her, she’d likely tear themup without looking to see what they are.” Levi rolled up the receipts and swatted them against his leg. “I guess I messed up the meeting Sadie should’ve had with Beth.”
“Businesswise, we can sort out everything with Sadie another day.”
“Businesswise,” Levi mumbled, watching Sadie’s carriage disappear over a hill. “I don’t think that’ll help me at all.”
Jonah stared at the horizon. “I don’t know what happened, but I believe you are right about that.”
Levi shoved the rolled-up papers into his pocket. “Apologizing to a woman doesn’t come easy, does it?”
Jonah scratched the side of his face. “No, but it gets easier—for you and her.”
Levi had never needed to apologize to a woman before, not really, certainly not like this. Oh, he’d apologized for some thoughtless incident at a church meeting or family gathering or such, for spilling a drink on a clean floor or nonsense like that. Those apologies came easy. The words flowed out of his mouth without his needing to think about them.
Apologizing to Sadie, though. That would’ve required him to make himself vulnerable. When he’d looked into her fiery eyes, it’d felt as if a team of wild horses couldn’t have dragged the words out of him.
Levi debated whether to go home where work waited for him or to rush after Sadie. “This was my first argument with a girl. Not that I said much. But she sure said plenty.”
Jonah chuckled. “Beth and I had our first argument the day she realized who I was. Long story, but I have to say you’ve nailed exactly how it went and how it felt. I think it’s a female thing. They’re usually more emotional than we are, and they’ve spent a lifetime trying to understand how they feel. They can think fast and argue with the past, present, and future in mind.” He dug the bottom of his cane into the gravel. “If acouple cares for each other, though, you’ll both learn to fight fair, and then you’ll come away with a better understanding of her and yourself.”
Levi stared at the storm clouds on the horizon. He wasn’t interested in all that, but he did want to keep Sadie as a friend. He wanted letters from her when she was in the mission field. He wanted visits with her when she returned home. Twenty years from now, when they were both turning gray and their families had finally accepted who they were, he wanted to be on her to-visit list whenever she returned to the States.
“Jonah, I need to go. Tell Beth that I need to reschedule our meeting.”
“Will do.”
Levi untied his horse and climbed into his wagon. He soon pulled onto the main road, encouraging the horse to pick up speed. Even with his decision made, his chest had a weird heavy feeling to it. A kind of unfamiliar sadness.
But he wasn’t sure why.
Maybe it was because of how he’d treated Sadie compared to what she deserved. Or maybe the sadness was because he knew he’d damaged her, and some part of him understood that they’d never get back the easy-flowing friendship they’d had.
Sadie ran wet towels through the wringer and dropped them into the clothesbasket. Why had her grandmother started a
He didn’t know much else right now, but it was obvious he shouldn’t have balked at what she’d demanded from him: an apology and honesty.
Jonah came up beside him with a clipboard filled with papers. “She left without stepping inside.”
“Ya.”
Levi had told himself to apologize to her. When he’d stopped her horse, he intended to tell her the truth. He’d wanted to say he was sorry. Instead, he’d just stood there. Whatever possessed him to use Sadie to make his life easier?
“Okay, here are the records for everything you brought in today.” Jonah pulled copies of the receipts from the clipboard. “Should I give you Sadie’s invoices too?”
“Probably not. If I tried to pass them on to her, she’d likely tear themup without looking to see what they are.” Levi rolled up the receipts and swatted them against his leg. “I guess I messed up the meeting Sadie should’ve had with Beth.”
“Businesswise, we can sort out everything with Sadie another day.”
“Businesswise,” Levi mumbled, watching Sadie’s carriage disappear over a hill. “I don’t think that’ll help me at all.”
Jonah stared at the horizon. “I don’t know what happened, but I believe you are right about that.”
Levi shoved the rolled-up papers into his pocket. “Apologizing to a woman doesn’t come easy, does it?”
Jonah scratched the side of his face. “No, but it gets easier—for you and her.”
Levi had never needed to apologize to a woman before, not really, certainly not like this. Oh, he’d apologized for some thoughtless incident at a church meeting or family gathering or such, for spilling a drink on a clean floor or nonsense like that. Those apologies came easy. The words flowed out of his mouth without his needing to think about them.
Apologizing to Sadie, though. That would’ve required him to make himself vulnerable. When he’d looked into her fiery eyes, it’d felt as if a team of wild horses couldn’t have dragged the words out of him.
Levi debated whether to go home where work waited for him or to rush after Sadie. “This was my first argument with a girl. Not that I said much. But she sure said plenty.”
Jonah chuckled. “Beth and I had our first argument the day she realized who I was. Long story, but I have to say you’ve nailed exactly how it went and how it felt. I think it’s a female thing. They’re usually more emotional than we are, and they’ve spent a lifetime trying to understand how they feel. They can think fast and argue with the past, present, and future in mind.” He dug the bottom of his cane into the gravel. “If acouple cares for each other, though, you’ll both learn to fight fair, and then you’ll come away with a better understanding of her and yourself.”
Levi stared at the storm clouds on the horizon. He wasn’t interested in all that, but he did want to keep Sadie as a friend. He wanted letters from her when she was in the mission field. He wanted visits with her when she returned home. Twenty years from now, when they were both turning gray and their families had finally accepted who they were, he wanted to be on her to-visit list whenever she returned to the States.
“Jonah, I need to go. Tell Beth that I need to reschedule our meeting.”
“Will do.”
Levi untied his horse and climbed into his wagon. He soon pulled onto the main road, encouraging the horse to pick up speed. Even with his decision made, his chest had a weird heavy feeling to it. A kind of unfamiliar sadness.
But he wasn’t sure why.
Maybe it was because of how he’d treated Sadie compared to what she deserved. Or maybe the sadness was because he knew he’d damaged her, and some part of him understood that they’d never get back the easy-flowing friendship they’d had.
Sadie ran wet towels through the wringer and dropped them into the clothesbasket. Why had her grandmother started a
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