piece away from another customer.”
“Someone requested this slice of pie, but instead you brought it to a person who hadn’t ordered it?” His tone of voice was maddeningly soft and conversational.
“Pretty much. I wanted you to try it.”
“All right. I’ll taste a bite once the sandwich settles a little.” He glanced at her before returning his focus to the newspaper.
Leah’s level of annoyance ratcheted up a notch. “Jonah Byler, would you please put the paper down and pay attention to me?” As soon as she said the words, she felt vain and bold, but it was too late to recall her hasty words.
He folded The Daily Budget in half, set it aside, and focused his sea blue eyes on her. “You don’t need my attention, Miss Miller,” he said calmly. “You’ve been getting compliments from plumb near everybody else all morning.” He nodded in the direction of the counter. Her three regular Amish customers were sneaking peeks at them over their shoulders.
Leah prayed for the floor of the train car to give way beneath her feet. “Sorry. You’re right,” she mumbled. “I’m acting like a child. You would think I’d found the cure for a deadly disease or something.” Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment while the back of her throat burned. She picked up the plate of dessert but Jonah grabbed her hand.
“Please leave it. I do want to try it, and I’m sure my mother will be curious.”
The touch of his fingers was more than she could bear. She pulled her hand back as though stung by a bee. “I’ll get you a small box.” She walked to the kitchen with legs turned to rubber and then delivered a Styrofoam container on her way to another table. Fortunately, April then sent her to the kitchen to start more coffee and iced tea.
Shame from her foolish, prideful behavior washed over her like a dense fog. The more she thought about her actions, the worse she felt. Tonight she would pray long and hard to be delivered from herself. Her job was changing her, and not for the better.
“Leah?” April called from the doorway. “Jonah needs you at the cash register.”
Leah looked up from measuring loose tea. “Could you please ring up his bill? I’m in the middle of something.”
“No, I can’t. He wants to speak to you.” She let the door swing shut to circumvent further argument.
Seeing no recourse, Leah trudged to the small counter by the door. Jonah stood waiting with his trusty newspaper folded beneath his arm. The pie box was nowhere in sight.
“May I help you?” she asked. “Where’s your bill?”
“I already paid April. I wanted you for two other reasons.” He waited a few seconds until she finally met his gaze. “First, I ate a bite of pie and then another, and pretty soon the piece was gone. You’ll have to bake more and see that my mamm gets some from the next batch. It was very good.” His grin filled his entire face.
“Danki,” she said weakly without a fraction of her earlier enthusiasm. “What was the other thing?”
“This,” Jonah said, tapping a notice in the paper with his finger. “This Saturday is the summer draft horse sale in Mount Hope. They’ll be auctioning off all kinds of Belgians, Percherons, and crossbreeds. It’s the second biggest horse sale of the year.”
Leah waited patiently but had no comment on the subject.
“Were you planning to attend?” he asked.
“Absolutely not.” She wrinkled her nose. “Horses make me sneeze and my eyes water—at least their dander does. You saw what happened when I was in your barn. I try to stay away from large numbers of farm animals. Why do you ask?”
“I need to pick up a pair of work horses, maybe four if the price is right. Dawdi’s team is almost as old as he is,” he joked. “But I’m not a good judge of horseflesh. My knowledge is confined to dairy cows.” Again he waited for a reply that didn’t come.
Jonah, who apparently wasn’t daunted by anything, forged ahead. “April tells me your
“Someone requested this slice of pie, but instead you brought it to a person who hadn’t ordered it?” His tone of voice was maddeningly soft and conversational.
“Pretty much. I wanted you to try it.”
“All right. I’ll taste a bite once the sandwich settles a little.” He glanced at her before returning his focus to the newspaper.
Leah’s level of annoyance ratcheted up a notch. “Jonah Byler, would you please put the paper down and pay attention to me?” As soon as she said the words, she felt vain and bold, but it was too late to recall her hasty words.
He folded The Daily Budget in half, set it aside, and focused his sea blue eyes on her. “You don’t need my attention, Miss Miller,” he said calmly. “You’ve been getting compliments from plumb near everybody else all morning.” He nodded in the direction of the counter. Her three regular Amish customers were sneaking peeks at them over their shoulders.
Leah prayed for the floor of the train car to give way beneath her feet. “Sorry. You’re right,” she mumbled. “I’m acting like a child. You would think I’d found the cure for a deadly disease or something.” Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment while the back of her throat burned. She picked up the plate of dessert but Jonah grabbed her hand.
“Please leave it. I do want to try it, and I’m sure my mother will be curious.”
The touch of his fingers was more than she could bear. She pulled her hand back as though stung by a bee. “I’ll get you a small box.” She walked to the kitchen with legs turned to rubber and then delivered a Styrofoam container on her way to another table. Fortunately, April then sent her to the kitchen to start more coffee and iced tea.
Shame from her foolish, prideful behavior washed over her like a dense fog. The more she thought about her actions, the worse she felt. Tonight she would pray long and hard to be delivered from herself. Her job was changing her, and not for the better.
“Leah?” April called from the doorway. “Jonah needs you at the cash register.”
Leah looked up from measuring loose tea. “Could you please ring up his bill? I’m in the middle of something.”
“No, I can’t. He wants to speak to you.” She let the door swing shut to circumvent further argument.
Seeing no recourse, Leah trudged to the small counter by the door. Jonah stood waiting with his trusty newspaper folded beneath his arm. The pie box was nowhere in sight.
“May I help you?” she asked. “Where’s your bill?”
“I already paid April. I wanted you for two other reasons.” He waited a few seconds until she finally met his gaze. “First, I ate a bite of pie and then another, and pretty soon the piece was gone. You’ll have to bake more and see that my mamm gets some from the next batch. It was very good.” His grin filled his entire face.
“Danki,” she said weakly without a fraction of her earlier enthusiasm. “What was the other thing?”
“This,” Jonah said, tapping a notice in the paper with his finger. “This Saturday is the summer draft horse sale in Mount Hope. They’ll be auctioning off all kinds of Belgians, Percherons, and crossbreeds. It’s the second biggest horse sale of the year.”
Leah waited patiently but had no comment on the subject.
“Were you planning to attend?” he asked.
“Absolutely not.” She wrinkled her nose. “Horses make me sneeze and my eyes water—at least their dander does. You saw what happened when I was in your barn. I try to stay away from large numbers of farm animals. Why do you ask?”
“I need to pick up a pair of work horses, maybe four if the price is right. Dawdi’s team is almost as old as he is,” he joked. “But I’m not a good judge of horseflesh. My knowledge is confined to dairy cows.” Again he waited for a reply that didn’t come.
Jonah, who apparently wasn’t daunted by anything, forged ahead. “April tells me your
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