A Season of Change Read online

  There was a loud bang upstairs, and Lizzie bolted down the stairs faster than Esther had ever seen the woman move. Her eyes were wild. “Oops. Overkill.” She yanked the basement door open and took the flashlight from her pocket. After she’d illuminated the stairs, she rushed down. Esther heard the wrench hit the concrete floor.

  Is that water running upstairs?

  Rose came into the kitchen, breathless. “There’s water pouring out of the pipe underneath the sink upstairs.”

  “Where’s the main water shutoff, Esther?” Lizzie yelled from the basement.

  Esther eyed the steps leading down to the basement. She’d get down them okay, but coming back up would be difficult. “On the right, behind the hot-water heater!”

  Lizzie, what have you done?

  “What happened?” Rose was still trying to catch her breath.

  Lizzie came from the basement, breathing hard. “Rose, hon. I’m sorry to ask this, but can you get some towels and see what you can do about the puddles in the bathroom? I was trying to fix that leaky sink and made the situation worse.”

  Rose and Esther looked at each other, equally confused. “I use that bathroom daily, and I’ve never noticed the sink leaking,” Rose said.

  “Hurry, child. I’m sure a lot of water spilled out of that pipe before I was able to turn off the main valve.” Lizzie gave Rose a gentle push. “I’m worn out from running down to the basement and back. And Esther’s knees aren’t going to make it up the stairs.”

  “Ya, of course. Right away.” Rose hurried to the stairs and took them two at a time.

  Lizzie shuffled her teeth around, then smiled. “We’re going to need a plumber.”

  * * *

  Benjamin had rushed to The Peony Inn after a frantic call from one of the widows–Lizzie, he thought she said.

  But now that he was here, he took his time tethering his horse. He recalled the older woman saying she’d turned off the main water to the house, so that took away the sense of urgency. He would be forced to face Rose unless she purposely stayed out of sight.

  Esther and Lizzie were on the couch when he tapped lightly on the screen door.

  “Come in.”

  Benjamin cautiously stepped over the threshold. Lizzie had a wet rag across her forehead and her head leaned back against the couch cushion. Both women had their bare feet propped up on the coffee table.

  “Danki for coming so quickly.” Lizzie moaned as she lifted her head. “I’m afraid all the rushing around to turn off the water left me a little light-headed. The problem is in the upstairs bathroom. Esther’s knees won’t make it up there.” She pointed to the staircase. “Last room at the end of the hall.”

  Benjamin nodded as his chest tightened. Will Rose be upstairs?

  He trudged up the stairs, and when he reached the hallway, all he could see were two bare feet sticking out of the bathroom. Rose was on her hands and knees, and the rest of her body was blocked by the partially open door.

  “Oh my. This is a lot of water. I can’t imagine what caused this pipe to come apart like this. I’m doing the best I can to get this water up. I heard a loud bang, but I was changing clothes at the time. I spilled pickle juice on mei dress earlier when I was carting out a platter of pickles and olives before the meal. I’ve smelled like a pickle ever since.”

  Benjamin was at the entrance to the bathroom, grinning.

  “I’ve already used a dozen towels trying to keep the water from reaching the wood floor in the hallway. I think I’m going to need more towels. Oh dear, this looks bad. I’m fairly certain that water in the hallway could cause the wood to buckle. It wouldn’t be gut.”

  This was more than the woman had spoken throughout their entire date. He was about to open his mouth to speak so she knew it was him standing in the hallway, but she started talking again before he had a chance.

  “I know this is the last thing you needed, Lizzie.”

  She must have assumed it was Lizzie since Esther had trouble getting upstairs.

  “But as you know, my day wasn’t very gut either. Seeing Benjamin rattled me. But I’ve decided not to shed one more tear over him. Handsome or not, he shouldn’t have kissed me if he had no intention of seeing me again outside of worship service.”

  Benjamin’s breath seized in his chest. He wished he could do an about-face and hurry downstairs, especially if he’d made her cry.

  “So I just want you to know that the crying is over. But I do think we’re going to need a plumber. Just be sure it’s anyone besides Benjamin King.”

  She stood up and pushed the door open wider. Rose’s prayer covering was tilted to one side of her head, and she was holding an armful of wet towels, which she haphazardly tossed in the bathtub. When she turned to face him, her big brown eyes widened and her mouth fell open. Stains of scarlet filled her cheeks as her bottom lip began to quiver.

  Benjamin was smiling. He couldn’t help it. But please don’t cry. Their eyes stayed locked for several long seconds.

  “How long have you been standing there?” She slammed her hands to her hips as she blew loose strands of dark hair away from her face.

  “Long enough.” He raised an eyebrow, unsure if the continued reddening of her face was due to embarrassment or anger.

  “It isn’t gut manners to let a person ramble on without announcing your presence. You should have made yourself known the moment you got here, and”—her hostile glare and gritted teeth confirmed she was angry—“why are you smiling? Do you think this is funny?”

  Benjamin tried to break from the smile, but she was even more beautiful when she was mad. And when she was talking. Even though she was furious with him.

  He set down his workbox, then lifted one shoulder and slowly lowered it. “Ach, ya. It is kind of funny.”

  Her nostrils flared as she took a step closer to him. Benjamin tried to stop homing in on her lips as she pointed a finger at him. “Since you never called me or stopped to visit, there is no reason why I should bottle mei feelings with you. It was very wrong for you to kiss me. It was even more inappropriate for me to allow such a thing. But when something like that happens, it is common courtesy to at least pay a social call.” She slapped her hands to her sides. “That’s just having gut manners. You don’t get to kiss a person the way you kissed me—twice—and simply say you’re sorry.” She held up a palm. “But you did apologize, and I never formally accepted, so I’m telling you now that I accept your apology. And that’s all there is to it.” She shrugged. “We needn’t have any more discussion on the subject.”

  Why did Benjamin feel there was more discussion coming?

  She stepped closer again, close enough he could have kissed her, and there was nothing he wanted more. “Can you please wipe that smug grin from your face?”

  Benjamin forced his mouth closed and clamped his lips together.

  “I am going to go have a word with Esther and Lizzie.” She inched around him, careful not to brush against him, and she looked at him as if his touch would burn her. She was halfway down the hall when she glanced over her shoulder and caught him gaping at her. “The problem is that way.” Stretching out her arm, she pointed toward the bathroom.

  Benjamin smiled again as she stomped down the stairs and out of sight. He’d never been so entranced with a woman in his life. This wasn’t the same person he went out with last weekend. This woman ignited his senses. She wasn’t just beautiful. She was feisty, outspoken, and filled with emotions that seemed to scatter in every direction like pieces of a puzzle that hadn’t been put together yet.

  He’d never wanted to get to know a person more than he wanted to know Rose Petersheim. Now that the real woman had shown up.

  Chapter 8

  Lizzie had her eyes covered with her hands when she heard Rose coming down the stairs. “We’re in trouble,” she muttered.

  Esther couldn’t argue. They’d heard every word spoken. “How were we to know she would say all those things? It sounded like she didn’t even know
he was there and listening.” She gulped when Rose entered the living room with her hands fisted at her sides and her lips thinned with anger. Rose had a tendency to cry. But not right now. She was clearly livid. “Oh dear,” Esther said cringing.

  Lizzie barely uncovered her eyes, but covered them again when she caught a glimpse of Rose’s fury. “Uh-oh,” she said in a muffled voice.

  Esther flinched. “I’m afraid we heard everything. It sounded as if you didn’t know he was listening.”

  “I am humiliated more than I have ever been in mei life. Well, except for . . .” She paused, that faraway look in her eyes again. “Never mind. Let’s just consider this the most embarrassed I have ever been. What kind of person lets someone ramble on like that without announcing their presence?”

  Lizzie still had her face covered as she sunk into the couch cushions. Esther eased her legs from the coffee table and sat taller. “We’re sorry.”

  Rose threw her head back so hard her prayer covering fell on the floor. She picked it up right away, but when she put it back on her head, it was lopsided. “I told you not to call Benjamin,” she said with her hands clenched at her sides again.

  Esther pointed to Lizzie and mouthed, “She did it.”

  Lizzie slammed her hands to her lap, then turned to Esther. “I saw that.”

  Esther shrugged. “It’s the truth.” Although Esther hadn’t done anything to discourage Lizzie from making the call. She stifled a yawn. They’d missed their afternoon nap due to their matchmaking effort.

  Rose drew in a big breath as she tapped one foot nervously. “Ach, well, it doesn’t really matter what Benjamin thinks of me. I think he’s made his feelings clear since our date.” She raised her chin as she held her position. Esther felt sorry for her. With her red face, flared nostrils, tilted prayer covering, and continued toe tapping, she looked a bit out of control.

  There was a loud noise, followed by a fairly loud “ow” from upstairs.

  Rose threw her hands up in the air. “That’s great. I suppose I will have to go check on our inefficient plumber who has clearly bumped his noggin or something.” She spun around and marched up the stairs.

  Lizzie uncovered her face. “Do you think he did that on purpose?” she asked in a whisper.

  “I don’t know.” Esther grinned. “But Rose didn’t waste any time going upstairs.”

  “See, I did a gut thing.” Lizzie smiled like a Cheshire cat.

  “It was a bit extreme. You could have flooded the haus.”

  “I only flooded the upstairs bathroom a tiny bit,” Lizzie said in a whisper.

  They held their breath as they strained to hear what was happening on the second floor.

  * * *

  Rose’s heart thumped wildly as she went up the stairs. Somehow she had to regain a fragment of her dignity. Benjamin hadn’t said much during her rant. Not surprising since Esther said he was shy. But his smile told her he was laughing on the inside.

  When she got to the end of the hall, the bathroom door was open. It was one of two bathrooms, the smaller one that Rose used most often. There was a claw-foot tub, double sink with cabinets underneath, and a commode. Benjamin was lying on his back in an awkward position with his head inside the cabinet. Rose glanced around at some of the items he’d had to move to gain access to the plumbing. Mostly cleaning supplies, along with some extra bars of lavender soap.

  “We heard you say ‘ow’ from downstairs. Are you all right?” She stood right outside the bathroom.

  “I bumped mei head.” He had a tool in his hand and was twisting something around the pipe. “I’m okay.” He groaned as he shifted his position. “I don’t know how this pipe came loose. There’s a dent in it, almost like something hit it.”

  “Or someone,” Rose mumbled.

  “Ow!”

  Rose stepped back as he slithered from beneath the sink with a hand on his head and stood up. As much as she wanted him to be on his way, she was a little concerned that he was bleeding on the left side of his forehead. She gave him a clean hand towel that had been hanging on the rack just inside the door. He reached to take the towel. Rose gasped when she saw how much blood there was on his hand.

  Instinctively, she moved closer and took the rag from him. “Let me have a look.” She flinched as she eased the towel from his forehead, but quickly put it back and held it there. “I don’t think you need stitches, but at the least you need a butterfly bandage. And it needs to be cleaned up. I think I better apply some antibacterial ointment too. It looks like a hole in your head. What did you hit? Oh, I bet I know. I cut mei hand on a protruding nail in that cabinet one time. I was reorganizing everything, and I bumped against it. Of course, I didn’t full-on smash mei head into it, so it wasn’t nearly as bad. Hold this.” She took his hand and pressed it against the towel on the side of his head. He had large hands, slightly rough from his work, she assumed. Rose was tall, but he still towered over her. After she’d observed his broad shoulders and beautiful green eyes for way too long, she edged around him and found a bandage and ointment. She also wet a clean washrag as best she could. With the water still turned off, only a small amount of water dribbled from the faucet.

  “Um . . . you don’t have to do that,” he said when she removed the bloody towel and began to blot his forehead with the damp rag.

  She looked up and locked eyes with him, piercing the short distance between them. Neither one of them spoke at first as she continued to hold the rag against his head. They were close enough to kiss. Was he recalling the end of their date like she was?

  “Would you rather do it yourself?” She heard the slightly venomous tone in her voice.

  “Nee.” He grinned.

  “Why do you grin and smile so much?” Rose wrinkled her forehead as she shook her head.

  “I usually don’t.”

  “Well, I’m glad I amuse you.” She took his hand and put it atop the moist rag while she opened the ointment and took the backing off the bandage. Then she brushed his hand away and dabbed ointment on the injury.

  He pulled away a little. “You’re not very gentle.”

  “Ach. Sorry.” Now she was the one grinning. She placed the bandage on his head and stepped back. “I think you’ll live.”

  “Danki.” He touched the spot.

  “Don’t touch it. You’ll irritate it. Clean it again and change the bandage tonight.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Are you done?” She nodded to the open cabinet.

  “Ya.”

  She waited. He didn’t make a move to gather his supplies.

  “Why are you staring at me?” She let out a heavy sigh.

  His eyes darkened with an emotion Rose couldn’t identify. “I’m sorry if I made you cry,” he said softly. “I-I just don’t date very well. I mean, I’m not very gut at it, I guess.”

  Rose’s hands found their way to her hips again. “I talk too much. I’m trying to be a better listener. Our date was torturous because I thought if I didn’t talk so much that maybe you’d like me.” She threw her arms in the air, then put them back on her hips. “I don’t date very well either. I have a lot on my mind, and I tend to dominate just about every conversation I’m involved in. It no longer matters what you think of me because mei dignity got up and hightailed it the moment I turned around and saw you had heard everything I said.” She paused, glaring at him. “Do I think you’re handsome? Ya, I do. But that doesn’t justify allowing you to kiss me. Look where that got me.” She grunted and heard how unladylike it sounded. “And then I’m told you’re shy and that I should have talked more, and—”

  “Ya, you should have.” He grinned. “I like listening to you. It’s cute . . . I mean, the way you’re so honest and . . . and able to share your feelings so freely.”

  Rose felt the warmth crawling up the back of her neck to her ears and then filling her cheeks. She might have been angry before—mostly with herself—for not turning around to see who was behind her, but at the moment, she was speechless.
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  * * *

  Benjamin waited for her to say something, but her face kept turning redder and redder. It was as if all the roadblocks between them had been kicked over. Now he knew she was attracted to him also. He was especially attracted to this new whirlwind tornado of a woman who said exactly what was on her mind—something he needed to do more of.

  “Do you want to have supper with me Wednesday?” He waited for the familiar tightening in his chest to come, for his palms to feel clammy. But instead there was a fluttering in his stomach, an anticipation that she would say yes.

  “Why?” She blinked her eyes a few times.

  “What do you mean, why?” He swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

  They were still standing close to each other, but Benjamin focused on her eyes, even though her lips had a strong hold on him.

  “Neither of us enjoyed the last date.”

  Ouch. He wasn’t sure if she was just saying that or if she really had as miserable a time as he had. She’d acted like she was enjoying herself, even though she was brutally quiet the entire evening.

  He was tempted to just let it go, but this woman intrigued him.

  While he was trying to figure out how to respond, she said, “I’m sorry if that sounds harsh. I had high hopes that we would go out again. I was proud of myself for controlling my jabbering.” She rolled her eyes. “But I’m not going on another date where I have to be painfully quiet the entire time.”

  “I don’t want you to be. I want you to be yourself.”

  She laughed. “Ach, well, you’ve certainly seen the real me today.”

  “I like what I see.” He heard the seductiveness in his voice and quickly cleared his throat, surprised he’d verbalized the thought. “I’d like to try again.”

  She stared at him for several seconds. “Ya, okay. We can try again.” She held up a finger. “But there will be no more kissing unless it’s warranted and means something more than physical attraction. And we will be completely honest with each other.” She scowled. “Not just kiss and run.”