Noah's Sweetheart. Rebecca Kertz

      Chapter Three

      They walked in silence; the only sounds were the crunch of their shoes against dirt and gravel, the distant tapping of a hammer coming from inside the school, and the sweet chirping of a robin redbreast.

      Rachel, pleased with the schoolhouse, could hardly wait to see where she would live as the teacher. She wasn’t expecting anything fancy. She needed only the basics to make a home. Whatever her family district provided, she’d be grateful for.

      They’d not gone far when she’d spied the building. She gasped in wonder. It was a small cottage, slightly bigger than the schoolhouse with white siding, working dark blue window shutters and a matching blue door. She couldn’t help the silly grin that spread to her lips. “This is the teacher’s house?”

      “Ja.” Noah gazed at her with a smile. “Do you like it?”

      Rachel nodded, still grinning. “It is lovely.” It was unusual for the school board to build a house for the teacher. Usually the teacher was selected from among the members of the community, but Rachel was from Millersburg, Ohio, far away. Was that why she would have her own house as long as she continued to teach here? Lord, thank You for Your blessings.

      “It will be the right size for you, ja?” Charlotte said. Rachel saw that her cousin looked happy for her.

      “It is perfect,” Rachel agreed. She was eager to get a closer look. “Is it safe to go inside?”

      “Ja, we can go in and look around,” Noah said, “but I don’t want you to be disappointed. The outside is finished, but the inside is not.”

      As she stepped into the interior of the house, Rachel felt a sense of home. There were only wooden studs where the walls would be, but she could see the size of each room and the opening of each doorway. Her imagination finished the rest for her.

      “I’m sorry it is not done yet,” Noah apologized.

      Rachel met his gaze. “I’m not,” she said sincerely. “I will enjoy watching each stage of construction.” And she could help. She wasn’t afraid of hard work.

      “Dat thought it would be best to get the schuulhaus finished first,” Noah said as he led the way to the back of the house and into a room that, Rachel decided after judging its size, must be the kitchen. “The old schuulhaus burned to the ground last summer.” He waited for Charlotte, who had stopped to gaze out a window, to catch up. Once she joined them, he continued on. “We will work on the house next. We have been busy planting, but we will do our best to get it done for you soon.”

      “I’m grateful.” Rachel rewarded her cousin with a smile. “As long as Charlotte doesn’t mind sharing, I don’t mind waiting for the house. It is fun to spend time with my Lancaster County family.”

      Charlotte grinned back. “And we like having our cousin stay with us.”

      Noah gave the two cousins a guided tour and then showed them the yard out back. “You will be able to plant a vegetable garden here. There is plenty of room. I’ll be glad to come over and plow an area for you. And look—” He pointed to two spreading, flowering trees with white blossoms, not far from the back door. “You will have your own apple trees. They are Braeburn.”

      “A gut all-around apple.” Rachel went to examine them more closely. “I will enjoy having apple trees. I can share fresh, crisp apples with the kinner. They can eat them during recess.”

      “And you can make apple pies,” Charlotte said. “You make delicious pies.”

      “I would like a piece of Rachel’s apple pie,” Noah told Charlotte in a low, teasing undertone.

      “I heard that!” Rachel’s voice held a hint of laughter.

      “You would keep pie from one of the builders of your new house?” Noah said, feigning sadness.

      Rachel sighed...loudly. “All right. You can have a piece of my apple pie.” Noah’s face lit up with eagerness, and Rachel caught her breath at how handsome he looked. Fighting the feeling, she added, “As long as you get my house done before apple season.”

      “It will be done in a month,” Noah promised.

      “If he says it will be done, it will be done,” Charlotte said when Rachel was skeptical. “The Lapp men are good carpenters.”

      “Men of many talents,” Rachel said softly, thinking of Noah, recalling his skill with her rescue and the desk he’d made for the teacher.

      “It is getting late,” Noah said. “Aunt Mae will be wondering why I kept you so long.”

      “Ja,” Charlotte said. “There is cooking to be done before we come on Sunday.”

      Rachel had almost forgotten. They would be spending time at the Lapp farm on Sunday. She would meet not only Noah’s mother, but also all of his other kin. She was both terrified and excited by the prospect. Were all of the Lapp brothers as handsome as Noah?

      They left the cottage, and it seemed a much shorter walk back to the buggy, where the old mare Janey waited patiently for their return. Rachel climbed into the back of the buggy, conscious of Noah waiting for her and Charlotte to be seated.

      “I will be right back,” Noah said and he disappeared around to the rear of the schoolhouse. He was back within minutes with two handfuls of wildflowers. Without a word, he gave Charlotte and Rachel each a small bouquet of colorful, delicate blooms.

      Rachel remained silent as Charlotte thanked him profusely. The gesture was sweet and thoughtful, and she didn’t know what to make of it. No doubt he’d wanted to give flowers to Charlotte but felt it’d be awkward not to give any to Rachel.

      Whatever his reasons, Noah had pleased her, and Rachel tried to shut down her feelings. It wouldn’t do to like Noah, who was the man in her cousin’s life. It wouldn’t do to get involved with any man. She had learned a hard lesson from Abraham Beiler, and she should never, ever—could never, ever—forget how awful she’d felt.

      * * *

      Rachel went with the Amos King women to the Lapp farm on Friday. She hadn’t expected to visit so soon, but Katie Lapp had seven sons and only a baby daughter. Katie needed help getting ready for the five families who would come to visit on Sunday.

      They had delivered pies to Kitchen Kettle Village on Thursday morning. On Thursday afternoon they had baked two more cakes and four more pies. These treats were for the social.

      Rachel had a pie on her lap as Aunt Mae drove the family buggy over to the Lapp farm. It didn’t take long to get there. As her aunt pulled the carriage into the Lapps’ barnyard, Rachel stared at the house. It was a big house, bigger than the Amos Kings’ and bigger than her home back in Ohio. White with a large front porch and many windows across the second and first floors, it was a plain but beautiful structure that displayed signs of a contented life.

      Her aunt and cousins alighted, and as she climbed out, Rachel was conscious of chickens clucking and running about the yard. A low mooing from the barn could only have come from the family cow. Two young Amish boys of about six or seven ran about, chasing each other, while an older boy, who looked to be eleven or twelve, carried wood from the shed with his gaze on his two younger brothers. Noah’s brothers? Rachel wondered.

      “John! Jacob!” Aunt Mae called. “Come say hello to your new schoolteacher.” She turned to Rachel. “John is mei kinskind. He is your cousin Sarah’s son. He is five.”

      Rachel blinked. “Sarah? Sarah is here?”

      Aunt Mae nodded. “She and Eli live on the other side of Bird-in-Hand. They have been away to Delaware. They were due back late yesterday.” She smiled as the boys approached slowly, eyeing Rachel with cautious curiosity.

      Rachel hadn’t realized that Sarah had had children. Sarah was the eldest