Loaves of Love Read online

  She grinned. “Ya, I can have it ready by noon tomorrow, but just in case another big order comes in, I thought I better play it safe.”

  With half a pie in his hand, Henry decided he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. He had promised himself that today was the day. He set the pie on the table and begged his pulse to slow down. He reminded himself that all she could do was say no, and they’d still be friends.

  As he opened his mouth, the door swung open again, bringing inside another burst of cold air. They both turned, and a man Henry didn’t recognize swaggered in. He was Amish, but not from their district. He was wearing black slacks, but they had pockets in the front, and his black running shoes had a checkmark on the side. Bishop Troyer only allowed black boots or standard black shoes that were selected by the elders. And they couldn’t have pockets.

  “You ready?” he asked, never even looking at Henry.

  Katie cringed. “Ach, I can’t go to dinner. I’m so sorry you made the trip. Mei cousin, Ella, was supposed to watch the bakery while we went to eat. She lives nearby, but she sent word this morning that her dochder is sick.”

  The man was older than Henry. He didn’t know how much older, but the little bit of gray at his temples, along with a few lines feathering from the corners of his eyes, suggested he might be in his midthirties. His face was clean-shaven. Henry supposed the man was nice looking, although he wasn’t sure he was a very good judge. Why isn’t he already married?

  The guy pulled a phone out of his pocket and held it out toward Katie. “I told you I’d get you one of these.”

  Katie’s cheeks turned pink. “Ya, I know, and I appreciate your offer. But like I told you before, cell phones aren’t allowed in our district.”

  Henry didn’t want to encourage whatever was going on right now, but he did want to endear himself to Katie. He could plan out what he wanted to say when she returned. Feeling invisible, he cleared his throat again. “I can watch the bakery while you go eat.”

  Katie gave her head a quick shake. “Where are mei manners?” She introduced Henry to the man named David, then said, “I can’t let you do that, Henry. I’m sure you have things to do.”

  Henry had the day off since he’d worked on Saturday. He wasn’t sure when he’d be off again, and he could lose his nerve between now and then. A part of him wanted to bolt, to go home and lick his wounds. But maybe he would find out more about David when Katie returned. Perhaps it wasn’t a romantic relationship. “I don’t mind. Consider the pie as payment.”

  She smiled. “Danki. I’ll be back in thirty or forty-five minutes.”

  Maybe she had some sort of business with this man. But as David put his hand on her back when they went out the door, Henry was pretty sure he’d just met his competition. Katie had dated guys in their district before, and it stung every time he found out she was being courted by someone new. None of them had given Henry too much concern since he didn’t think any of them were a good fit for her. This man wasn’t from their community. Henry should have known someone would come along—from another district—and steal her heart, eventually.

  I waited too long.

  2

  KATIE FINISHED HER BURGER AND FRIES IN RECORD TIME. Ella had filled in for Katie and her mother lots of times since she lived so close and didn’t have a job outside the home. But how would Henry handle an onslaught of customers?

  “Don’t they feed you at home?” David grinned as he winked at her. Her date was incredibly handsome. She smiled at him, noticing the clear-cut lines of his profile and the way his coal black hair curled forward and backward, flattened on top where his hat had been.

  “Ach, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m nervous about leaving Henry for too long.” Henry. Now she would think about him for days, then have to reaccept the fact that he wasn’t interested in her romantically. Then her emotions would eventually settle down until the next time he showed up, and another onslaught of feelings would bombard her again.

  “Is he a relative?” David dipped a French fry in ketchup, took a bite, and waited for her to answer.

  “Nee. He’s a friend. We’ve grown up together. Our families are close.” Katie tried to smile. She wasn’t being fair to David by harboring feelings for Henry. She’d been doing pretty good until he came to the bakery today.

  David nodded before eating another fry. Katie wondered if there was anything about Henry that made David jealous, but he kept eating and didn’t mention Henry again. Katie didn’t either. She didn’t want David to be jealous. She was trying hard to give their relationship a chance to begin. This was the third time he’d picked her up for the noon meal, and she’d enjoyed herself each time.

  David put his hat back on after he finished his burger and downed the rest of his root beer. Then he asked the waitress for the check. Katie had offered to split the bill after their first two lunch dates, but he’d declined the offers, so she didn’t say anything this time.

  She thanked David for dinner on their way back to the bakery. She had enjoyed her first two lunches with him more than today. She wasn’t sure if it was solely because she’d left the bakery. Was just seeing Henry enough to distract her so much?

  David lived near Shoals, and once a week he traveled to Orleans to pick up supplies for the roofing company he worked for. Katie recalled their first encounter, the day they’d met while waiting in line at the supermarket. They’d struck up a conversation about the weather that had led to a first date. She’d noticed the way his mouth curled up slightly on one side as he talked, almost like he was happy all the time. But it was a physical trait that hid the truth. She found out during their first dinner that David hadn’t been happy for a long time. His follow-up words had been, “Until now, since I met you.” She prayed he would be the one to shift her feelings away from Henry.

  “Are you warm enough?” David reached for the heavy wool blanket he’d draped around her shoulders and tucked it closer to her neck.

  “Ya, I am.” His dark eyes were masked in a serious expression in contrast to his half smile, which gave him a mysterious edge.

  Light snow fell as they turned on the road to the bakery, and anticipation swirled in her stomach. She wished her anxiousness was based on whether or not David would ask her out again or how the bakery had fared during her absence. If she were truthful with herself, the swirling in her stomach was more about seeing Henry.

  David slowed the horse after they’d turned, gently pulling back on the reins until the animal settled into a steady trot.

  “I-I want to ask you something, but I’m not sure how you’ll feel about it.” David brought the horse to a stop at the bakery entrance, then twisted to face her. “Mei mamm has invited us to supper on Saturday. She takes the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving and makes it into a stew. It’s kind of a family tradition. I know we’ve only been to dinner three times, and if it feels too soon for something like that, I won’t hold it against you if you say no.” Grinning, he shrugged. “But I like you, and you have to eat.”

  Katie knew it was a bigger deal than David was making it out to be. He’d told her that his only girlfriend died a month before they were going to be married. That was six years ago, and he hadn’t dated anyone since. Katie wanted to bring him the happiness he deserved after going through such a tragedy.

  “I’d love to meet your family.” She folded her gloved fingers into his when he reached for her hand, then he leaned closer and kissed her on the cheek.

  After discussing the plans for Saturday, Katie hurried beneath the awning, turned to wave, then rushed into the warmth of the bakery. Henry was sitting behind the counter with a clear view out the window and a scowl on his face.

  Had something gone wrong while she’d been gone? Or was he unhappy to see David kiss her on the cheek?

  As wrong as it was, Katie hoped for the latter.

  “How was dinner?” Henry forced a smile as he put his palms on the counter. His stomach churned, and it wasn’t because he was hungry.
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  “It was gut.” Katie came around the counter, took off her gloves, and stood next to him. “Danki for watching the place for me.” She put a hand on his, which caused him to tense beneath her touch. She must have mistaken his reaction as unease since she took her hand away abruptly. “I-I appreciate it so much.”

  “Ya, you’re welcome.” He wanted to tell her that just the feel of her hand on his caused his pulse to pick up.

  “Did everything go okay while I was gone? Any customers?”

  “Ya, two ladies came in and bought some fried pies. One of them chose the last raisin pie. No problems, though.”

  An awkward silence followed as Henry pondered whether he should question Katie about her relationship with David. Was it serious? How long had it been going on? Or were they just friends? A kiss on the cheek seemed pretty friendly to Henry.

  He lifted himself from the stool and rubbed his chin, wondering why this man in Katie’s life was causing him such grief. Was it because he’d seen her being intimate with him? Knowledge of her other dates only played out as unpleasant scenes in his mind. Seeing her with this guy was different, more real, and felt like a significant threat. Henry had gone to great lengths to convince himself that now was the time to test the waters with Katie. That opportunity felt lost all of a sudden.

  “Is something wrong?” Katie raised an eyebrow as she folded her arms across her chest and looked up at him. Her expression was a bit challenging, or maybe defensive.

  He wanted to tell her that it upset him to see another man kiss her, even if it was just on the cheek. But he didn’t have a right to tell her anything. He was the one at fault and should have told her how he felt a long time ago. If she’d rejected him, he could have forced himself to let go of his feelings for her. If that was possible. “Nee, I’m fine.”

  “I guess I better get back to work.” She nodded to the half-empty table of pastries. “I need to make more pies for today and also work on that woman’s order.” She picked up two pieces of wood, added them to the firebox, and stoked the flames with a poker she kept nearby.

  Henry was being dismissed, and after putting his nerves through a meat grinder, he still hadn’t asked her out. Maybe it wasn’t too late to throw his name into the hat. He shifted his weight and opened his mouth to force the words out, but Katie was already gathering bowls, flour, and a rolling pin, placing each item on the large counter behind her.

  “Guess I’ll see you around.” Henry pulled on his black beanie, covering his ears, as he looked out the window at a fresh round of snow falling. He shuffled toward the door, hauling his defeated ego like a sled behind him.

  “You could wait until the snow slows down.”

  He turned around and tried to decipher her intentions. His well-being? Or did she want to spend more time with him?

  “I’ve got coffee.” She smiled at him over her shoulder as she poured flour into a big bowl.

  “Ya, sure.” The snow was predicted to get worse, but something in Katie’s eyes gave him enough hope to want to stay a little longer. He sat on one of three bar stools in front of the glass counter and pulled off his hat.

  Katie stopped kneading the dough and put the bowl on the other counter, then poured two cups of coffee.

  “Danki.” He sipped the warm beverage and watched the snow falling in blankets now. He took a deep breath and decided that asking her out wasn’t off the agenda, but he wanted to know more about the guy she was dating before he decided for sure. “Have you been seeing David long?”

  Her eyes met his right away. “Uh, nee. That was our third dinner.” She stared at him as if waiting for him to comment. When he didn’t, she refocused on the rising dough and dug her hands in. Maybe Henry wasn’t defeated yet.

  “Saturday, it’s supposed to be warmer, and I’ve got to go shoe two horses at the Troyer place.” His heart thumped in his chest. “Maybe, if you’d like to ride along, we could get dinner afterward.”

  There. He’d surprised himself and done it. Now it was Henry who was holding his breath as Katie looked across the counter at him and smiled. He knew a forced smile when he saw one, and he braced himself for the rejection he knew was coming.

  Katie couldn’t tell if Henry was asking her out on a date or just asking a friend to keep him company. She’d been waiting for years for him to ask her out, and she wanted to jump on the opportunity. Then she remembered David.

  “I’m sorry.” She lowered her eyes and began kneading the bread, knowing she would have to toss this batch if she worked it anymore. “I’m meeting David’s family on Saturday.” She glanced up just in time to see Henry wince, and it warmed her heart to think he might be jealous, as awful as the thought was.

  “I guess it must be serious.” He pulled out his wool cap and put it on again.

  “Uh . . .” Katie’s emotions swirled and collided as she tried to figure out a way to cancel her date with David. It was an about-face, and she wasn’t proud that the idea had come into her mind. She refocused her thoughts on doing the right thing.

  Katie owed it to David to see where things were going. She’d sensed it had been hard for him to take that big step—to ask her to meet his family. As she stared into Henry’s eyes, she just couldn’t tell what his intentions were. She remembered Henry’s scowl when she’d first returned from dinner. But maybe she’d read his expression wrong. She settled for the truth. “I think it’s too soon to tell if it’s serious. It’s only been three dates.”

  Henry stood and pulled on a pair of black gloves. “Meeting the family sounds serious.”

  Katie searched his face again, but he wasn’t giving away any hints about his feelings. Meeting the family did sound serious, even to her. Maybe she should have declined the invitation, but at the time, she really didn’t have a reason to. Just because Henry had shown up today didn’t mean she should let his presence dictate her decisions. He’d had a long time to ask her out, and he hadn’t. She was trying to move forward and give things a chance with her and David. “I don’t know,” she said softly as she avoided his eyes.

  “I guess I’ll see you around. Have a nice Thanksgiving.” He rushed toward the door.

  “You too,” she whispered, unsure if he’d even heard her.

  She went to the table with the pies, chose a peach one, and pulled off the wrapper, then ate a large bite. After she’d soothed herself with sugar, she thought about God’s perfect timing. Henry’s timing certainly wasn’t perfect. His attempt to spend time with her couldn’t have come at a worse time. She might still think about him a lot and what might have been, but David was a nice man who cared enough about her to introduce her to his family.

  Every time she resolved things in her mind, her heart bucked up against her, urging her to find out if there could be something more between her and Henry.

  As she stared out the window, she reached for another fried pie.

  3

  KATIE WAS STEPPING OUT WITH SOMEONE FROM ANOTHER district. Maybe Henry needed to broaden his search as well and quit pining about what might have been. Or did he owe it to himself to give it another try with Katie? Maybe wait and see what happened with her and David?

  Thanksgiving had come and gone. Henry was glad to be off today since he’d worked last Saturday. Except, now he had idle time to torture himself even more with thoughts of Katie and David together. This was the slow time of year, following the harvest, and as he lounged on the couch, he wished he had something to keep him busy. He’d gone to shoe the two horses at the Troyers’ place early this morning, but that hadn’t taken long.

  Lena walked into the living room carrying a box filled with Christmas decorations. His family always ran a strand of garland across the fireplace mantel during the Christmas season, and his mother had three small angels that would adorn the space as well. They never had a tree like the Englisch, but presents would begin to pop up here and there, wrapped and stacked in various places in the house. Henry hoped the festive decorations might lift his mood.

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sp; His sister sat beside him on the couch. She was only a year younger than Henry. At twenty, Lena still didn’t have any prospects for marriage, at least none she was considering. She had been courted by nearly every available man in the district and turned down two marriage proposals.

  “How is Katie doing, running the bakery by herself? I wish I could have helped while her mudder recuperates. But I’d already committed to volunteer at the women’s shelter.” She paused, cutting her eyes at Henry. “I’m guessing you didn’t ask her out earlier in the week, or I would have heard about it.” Lena and Henry confided in each other since they were the closest in age. Henry’s four brothers were younger and all still in school.

  He relaxed his shoulders and flicked at the straps of his suspenders until they dropped to his sides. “She’s busy at the bakery, but she seems to be handling it. And ya, I did ask her out. It was an informal invitation, but she declined. She’s seeing someone, a man from another district. She already had plans with him.”

  His sister clicked her tongue as she pointed a finger at him. “I’m sorry, but you should have asked her out long before now.”

  Henry didn’t need another reminder, so he just stayed quiet.

  “But . . .” His sister grinned. “I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

  “Nee.” Henry groaned as he shook his head. “I’m not interested in being fixed up.” He kicked his socked feet up on the coffee table as he laid his head back and closed his eyes.

  Lena nudged him with her shoulder. “Well, you’re going to meet her anyway because she’s coming for dinner today.”

  Henry opened his eyes and glared at his sister. “I won’t be here. I already ate.”

  Lena pressed her lips together and shot him a thin-lipped smile. “I suggest you go change clothes. She’ll be here in a few minutes. It’s interesting that Katie is seeing someone from another district, because our dinner guest isn’t from around here either. She is a cousin of Mattie Glick. Her name is Clara Zook, and I think you will like her.”