“You’re the one who needs a tetanus shot, Doctor Luke,” Aunt Bitsy said. “You practically cut your finger off. For someone who is too good for women’s work, you don’t do it well.”
“I’m not too good for women’s work.” Luke grinned at Aunt B and held up his finger with the towel wrapped around it. “But this is Gotte’s way of telling you that I am not fitted for it.”
Dan snorted. “Don’t let him fool you, Bitsy. He’s only saying that because he lost the watermelon-cutting contest.”
Aunt B pointed her fork at Luke as if she were going to hurl it at him. “Luke Bontrager couldn’t fool me if I were blind and hard of hearing.”
Luke raised his hands in surrender. His towel flapped in the air. “I’m not trying to fool anybody. Poppy won fair and square, but I won’t be caught off guard next time. That was a clever watermelon trick.”
Poppy very nearly flashed a smile but thought better of it. Luke didn’t really think she was clever.
Luke helped himself to two pieces of Poppy’s nut brown bread, spread a thick layer of butter over each of them, and took a bite as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. “This is wonderful-gute bread.”
“Poppy made it,” Lily said, as if Luke would care who baked the bread.
Luke turned his dark eyes to Poppy. “I know. I finished the chicken coop so she could come in early. This bread is worth all the work I had to do myself.”
Poppy willed her pulse to slow down. One nice word from Luke wasn’t going to affect her in the least. “I think what you mean to say is that you wish I would have been baking bread all day instead of bothering you outside.”
“Jah, that’s probably what I meant.” He took another bite. “I’d build three chicken coops for a loaf of this bread.”
“You would not,” Poppy protested.
“You don’t have to do that,” Lily said. “Poppy made an extra loaf. You’re welcome to take it home.”
Aunt B scrunched her brows together. “We can’t risk sending food home with him. He’s sure to come back if we do, and I won’t stand for it.”
“I know how much you like my company, but I think I can safely promise you never to come back,” Luke said, stuffing a bite of meat loaf in his mouth and savoring it like it was his last bite of food ever. “Unless you need something else built or I have to rescue Poppy again. But I’ll sure miss this bread.”
“That’s a piecrust promise, Luke Bontrager,” Aunt B said, waving her fork so hard that Poppy was sure it would fly out of her hand. “Just look at Dan. We fed him once and he kept coming back, no matter how hard I prayed.”
“I’ve never needed rescuing,” Poppy said.
“I was happy to do it.”
Poppy ground her teeth together. Luke Bontrager was as aggravating as a garden full of bindweed in the springtime.
Luke ate like a starved man. For as tall and muscular as he was and as hard as he worked, he probably ate that way at every meal. “Denki for dinner,” he said. “The potatoes are creamy, and the meat loaf is delicious.”
“Poppy helped with the meat loaf,” Lily said.
Poppy glanced sideways at her sister. “I grated the carrots and chopped the onions. It’s Lily’s recipe and Rose’s special sauce.”
Luke trained his eyes on Poppy as his lips twitched upward. “The carrots are well grated.”
A pleasant warmth overspread her face. She gritted her teeth and pushed it away by pressing her fingers against her cheeks. She refused to behave like silly Dinah Eicher, who swooned every time Luke looked at her. Poppy never swooned, especially not over a boy.
“It doesn’t take much to grate carrots,” she said.
Luke raised his eyebrows. “I’d probably lose half the skin on my hand.”
“And bleed all over the kitchen,” Aunt B added. She had a very low opinion of Luke’s abilities.
Luke finally looked away from her. Poppy’s breathing returned almost to normal. “It wonders me if Joann would like the recipe for your sauce, Rose.”
Rose smiled, not the least bit disconcerted that Luke looked at her. So why was Poppy feeling so skittish? Luke didn’t frighten her at all.
“Are you going to the animal shelter tomorrow?” Luke said. “You could give her the recipe when you see her.”
“Jah,” Rose said. “For sure and certain.”
Luke had two sisters. Joann, age fifteen, and Dorothy, age thirteen. Luke’s sisters and Rose rode the bus together every Wednesday afternoon to volunteer at the animal shelter in Shawano. At the ripe old age of twenty, Rose was like a mother hen when she got together with Joann and Dorothy.
Luke polished off the last of the meat loaf on his plate. Poppy had never seen anyone eat with the appreciation Luke showed his dinner. He had probably tucked away half of the food on the table. “This whole meal is wonderful-gute.”
The lines around Aunt B’s mouth were as deep as canyons. “Well, don’t get your hopes up.”
Lily had been blessed in her choice of boyfriends. Always so helpful, Dan jumped up after dinner and began filling the sink with soapy water. Aunt B insisted that Luke, in spite of having only one good hand, help clean up too. He groaned about having to do women’s work, flapped his towel-wrapped hand like a wing, and made a big show of struggling to lift his plate from the table, but he did his share and made everyone laugh. That is, everyone but Aunt Bitsy. Aunt B would never allow Luke to coax so much as a smile from her lips. She kept a watchful eye just in case Luke shirked his duties.
After dishes, Aunt B folded her dish towel and propped her hands on her hips. “Now, Poppy, I’d like to inspect part of the chicken coop.”
“Which part?” Luke said, doing an unsatisfactory job of wiping down the table with his one good hand. He left several crumbs.
“The part that you built,” Aunt B said. “I trust that Poppy’s part is well made, but if you build like you cut watermelon, it might not pass muster.”
For the first time since he’d walked into the house, determination settled into the lines of Luke’s face, as if Aunt B had thrown him a challenge. Poppy had seen that same look on his face several times in the last two days. She hadn’t really considered it before, but Luke took immense pride in his work.
“Then let’s go have a look,” he said.
Poppy furtively swiped a rag across the table to pick up leftover crumbs before they filed out behind the barn, where the brand-new chicken coop stood. They had built it raised from the ground, and it looked as if it would withstand a tornado and a flood.
Luke had made a clever latch for the door from some leather and a wooden peg. He unhooked the peg, and the door swung downward and rested on the ground, serving as a ramp for the chickens to get into the coop. “You pull up the ramp at night so foxes and dogs can’t get in.”
Aunt B stuck her head inside the coop. “Was that your idea, Poppy?”
Poppy shook her head. “None of this was my idea. Luke had it all figured out. I just took directions.”
Luke acted as if she’d handed him three loaves of nut brown bread. “Poppy is a fast learner. And she is very gute with a hammer.”
“Of course she is,” Aunt B said.
Poppy wasn’t sure she deserved such praise, even though it pleased her that a boy would offer it to her. She had forced her way into Luke’s project and snapped at him for showing concern for her safety because she hated being treated like a helpless female. Then, earlier today, she had smashed her thumb with the hammer, just as Luke had feared.
Luke stepped back to let Poppy’s sisters take a look inside. “We put in ten roosting boxes in case you get more chickens. Dan put some leftover shingles on the roof.”
“Watertight,” Dan said. He smiled at Rose. “And Josiah helped too.”
Luke stood back and folded his arms, his face betraying nothing amiss. Josiah hadn’t been allowed to hammer one nail, but it was clear that Luke would never tell Rose.
Poppy smiled to herself. Why hadn’t she realized it before? L
uke and Dan were trying to nudge Josiah and Rose together, but Josiah seemed like the cautious type. It might take years.
Josiah wasn’t timid. He talked to girls at gatherings and singeons, and he and Poppy had had a normal conversation last night while he moved pallets for Luke. Josiah must have known how easy it would be to scare Rose away. He relied on his friends to prime the pump a bit.
Lily finished her survey of the inside of the coop. “We can’t thank you enough for rebuilding our chicken coop.”
Luke shook his head. “No need. I wanted to help.”
Aunt B brushed some sawdust off her fingers. “No one can accuse me of not giving credit where credit is due. You and Poppy have done fine work, and we appreciate it. Now I’d appreciate it if you’d go home and forget you ever ate Poppy’s meat loaf.”
Luke cocked an eyebrow. “That will be impossible, but I’ll do my best.”
“I only grated the carrots.”
“You’re very gute at grating,” Aunt B insisted.
“And hammering,” Dan said.
Poppy ran her index finger lightly down the side of the chicken coop and noticed some screws that hadn’t been there three hours ago.
She quit breathing as her chest tightened with irritation. Had Luke taken a drill to her work? What about all his talk about her being a good hammerer?
Luke retrieved a small hand broom from his toolbox. “I need to brush off the floor and then I will leave. Denki for dinner. My mamm is always happy to have me eat somewhere else.”
“So are we,” Aunt B said.
Luke simply curved his lips upward. Aunt B had yet to offend him.
Rose was not cooperating with Aunt B’s plans. “Won’t you at least stay for ice cream? It’s honey cinnamon.”
Luke hesitated and glanced at Poppy. “I really like cinnamon.”
“Then you’d better stay,” Lily said. “It’s one of Poppy’s best recipes.”
“I’m not as good a cook as either Lily or Rose,” Poppy said. “Don’t expect too much.”
Luke eyed her as if he didn’t believe a word she said. “I’ll never forget your apple pie in a thousand years, and you made that bread. I think you could make sawdust taste good.”
“She can,” said Rose, almost eagerly.
Luke didn’t need more convincing. For as enthusiastically as he ate, he was probably starving all the time. “Okay. I’ll sweep out fast and come in.”
Everyone but Poppy headed back to the house. Aunt Bitsy called over her shoulder, “And, Luke, you turn the crank on the ice-cream maker. It only takes one hand.”
Poppy hung back as her family walked away, intent on giving Luke an earful of her displeasure. With his left hand still wrapped in a towel, Luke leaned into the coop and swept out the leftover wood shavings.
“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
He jerked up his head in surprise and conked it on the top of the door frame. Hissing, he rubbed the back of his skull vigorously. “Poppy, I thought you’d gone in.”
“You said I was good with a hammer. Were you lying or just trying to impress Aunt B?”
He leaned against the chicken coop, still rubbing his head. “I don’t think I could say anything that would impress your aunt.”
“So you were lying?”
He studied her with one eye closed. “Lying about what?”
She pointed to a screw just above his head. “You drilled the corners after I hammered them. You pretended that I’ve been a big help when really you’ve just been putting up with me. You can’t bear to let a girl be good at ‘man’s work,’ can you?”
He folded his arms across his chest, frowned, and rolled his eyes as if barely tolerating her. “Has anyone ever told you that you tend to overreact?”
“Don’t blame me. You’re the one who took a power drill to my work.”
“The corners are stronger with screws instead of nails. Your hammering was fine, but I made it extra secure with screws. I wasn’t trying to offend you.”
“You should have let me do it.”
His sigh came out more like a grunt. “I noticed you wiped the kitchen table after I’d already done it. Should I have been offended?”
“You cut your finger. I wanted to help you out.”
“You have a bruised hand, a wounded knee, and a smashed thumb. I didn’t want you using a power drill.”
“Because I’m a girl,” Poppy said. “And you think I’m stupid.” She’d heard it over and over again from Urius Beachy. You’re just a stupid girl, Poppy. Go in the house and make a quilt. Even though she had been only seven years old, it was an insult she would never forget.
“It’s not because I think you can’t do it. You did a better job on the wood than Josiah Yoder ever could. It’s because I didn’t want you to drill a hole in your foot.”
“You think I’m stupid enough to drill a hole in my foot?”
He sighed again. “You’re not stupid. You’re a girl, and like it or not, girls aren’t as strong as boys. You won’t take no for an answer, Poppy, and I had to protect you from yourself.”
She plunked herself down on Luke’s massive toolbox. “I don’t understand where your thinking comes from. Dorothy and Joann seem like very capable girls, and your mamm isn’t weak or helpless.”
He bowed his head and shook it slightly. “My mamm is one of the strongest people I know, man or woman. But I don’t want her to have to be strong. She endured so much when my dat had cancer. She worked late into the night trying to take care of our farm. If I can ease her burden and protect her from ever having to go through that again, I will.”
Poppy rested her chin in her hand. “It seems you’ve put yourself in charge of saving the whole world.”
He studied her face, then sat down next to her on the toolbox. “I can’t save the whole world, but if you did things my way, you’d be so much happier.”
She turned to him, ready to give him a piece of her mind. He flashed a half smile, and she surrendered a grin. “The world does not revolve around you,” she said.
He ran the back of his hand along the stubble on his chin and chuckled. “I truly believe everyone would be happier if they did things my way, but I know I shouldn’t believe it.”
“At least you’re honest enough to admit that.”
His arm brushed against hers as he propped his elbows on his knees. Her heart skipped a beat. She’d have to get that checked at the doctor.
“I’m sorry I drilled without your permission. I wanted to make sure the coop was completely sturdy.”
“I’m sorry I’ve been such a nuisance.”
“I’m sorry I called you a nuisance. You were a nuisance, but I’m sorry I called you one.”
She saw the glint of a tease in his eye and cuffed him on the shoulder.
“I barely felt that,” he said.
“Ha, ha,” she said, resolving to smack him harder next time. “I’m sorry I rewiped your table.”
“I don’t mind. I didn’t do a very gute job.”
They smiled at each other. It felt like a truce. They sat in silence for a few moments watching as the sun disappeared behind the trees. Poppy scolded herself for sort of enjoying the feel of his arm lightly brushing against hers, but she didn’t pull away.
“Denki for building us a chicken coop.”
“Denki for helping me,” he said.
He didn’t really mean it, but it was a nice thing to say all the same.
Poppy felt a nudge against her ankle. Billy Idol pressed close to Luke’s leg, looked longingly at Luke’s lap, and gave a gravelly meow.
Luke sat up straight, and Billy Idol took it as an invitation to jump into his lap. Luke nudged Billy Idol with his elbow. “Get down, cat.”
Billy Idol dug his claws into one of Luke’s suspenders and hissed menacingly. “Stop it, cat,” Luke said, wrapping his good hand around the cat in an attempt to get Billy Idol off his lap. He would have had more success prying a burr from his hair.
Poppy coul
dn’t help but laugh. “Maybe you’d have better luck if you called him by his name and asked nicely.”
Luke pulled while Billy Idol clung. “Please go away, Billy Idol.”
“He likes you,” Poppy said.
“Everyone likes me but you.”
Well. Maybe she liked him okay. She was amused by the helpless way he wrestled with that cat.
Luke finally gave up and let Billy Idol get comfortable. “As you can see, Billy Idol adores me.”
“I see that.”
Billy Idol scowled at Poppy, rested his head on his front paws, and closed his eyes. Luke shook his head, resigned to his fate. “The new coop will keep Billy Idol from trying to kill the chickens at night.”
“I hope we don’t find it in shambles tomorrow.”
A worry line appeared between Luke’s eyebrows. “It wonders me if it isn’t Paul Glick making all the mischief on your farm. Dan says he got wonderful mad when Lily broke up with him.”
“He was mad as a bee with a boil. He threatened to have our family shunned.”
Luke frowned harder. “Because Lily won’t marry him?”
“He says we aren’t following the Ordnung, that Aunt B is leading us down the path of wickedness. His plan was to marry Lily and force Aunt B out of the community.”
Luke growled his disgust. “Paul Glick wouldn’t recognize his own hypocrisy if it smelled like fresh manure on his boots. I really can’t stand the sight of him.”
The fiery indignation Poppy saw in his eyes made her heart swell with gratitude. She was starting to like that look. Poppy curled her lips. “Me either, and he was almost my sister’s fiancé.”
“How did you bear the thought of it?”
“Whenever he came over, I bit down hard on my tongue and folded my arms tight to keep from smacking him. He wasn’t nice to Lily. Boys who treated her like that in school got a mouthful of my fist.”
Luke pursed his lips in mock disappointment. “You never socked Paul?”