And last night, when they’d played cornhole toss, she’d seen yet another side of him, a more playful side.
And she’d for sure and for certain like to see more of that Seth.
When she’d finished checking all the possible spots where the hens might have laid their eggs she had seventeen of their offerings safely tucked in her basket. Pleased that she’d managed to perform the task without breaking any of the eggs, she exited the chicken yard, carefully latching the gate behind her.
She’d only taken a few steps when seemingly out of nowhere a dog raced toward her, barking loudly. Startled, Phoebe let out a yelp and dropped her basket.
“Checkers, down!” At the sharply uttered command, the dog immediately quieted but continued to watch Phoebe suspiciously.
Seth got between her and the dog and studied her in concern. “I’m sorry. Did he hurt you?”
She bent down to retrieve her basket, keeping a wary eye on the dog. “Nee, but I’m afraid I dropped the eggs.” She studied the contents in dismay. “It looks like about half of them are broken.” Two careless accidents and it wasn’t even noon yet.
“I’m sorry Checkers startled you. He’s rather protective of the place and doesn’t trust strangers.”
She studied the animal warily. “How did I miss meeting him yesterday?”
“Checkers tangled with a coyote a few days ago and got scratched up pretty bad. We penned him up so we could tend to his injuries. Mark must have let him out this morning.” He scratched the dog’s ears. “It seems he’s feeling a lot better now.”
Looking closer, Phoebe could see several scratches and scars. It also appeared the animal had a bit of golden retriever in him.
“Poor boy. I’m glad he recovered okay.”
Seth straightened. “Hold your hand out and let him sniff it. Once he realizes you belong here the two of you will be friends in no time.”
Phoebe carefully set the basket down, but before she could do as he’d instructed, Seth placed his hand lightly on her shoulder.
“To show him we’re friends,” he explained matter-of-factly when she shot her gaze his way.
Phoebe nodded, but even when he removed his hand she was very aware of his touch.
She tried to push that aside as she resolutely faced Checkers and did as Seth had instructed. She liked animals and hoped the golden-retriever-looking dog would sense she wasn’t a threat.
Sure enough, after a few moments the dog’s tail started wagging and he was treating her as he would an old friend.
“Looks like you’ve won him over.”
“He just needed to see me as a member of the familye.” She straightened. “Edna tells me you make chess sets. Is that what you were working on?”
“Jah.”
“That sounds like wonderful creative work.”
He smiled. “I’m not sure about that, but it’s something I enjoy doing.”
“I’d like to see one of your sets sometime if that’s okay with you?” She hoped that hadn’t been too forward of her.
But he didn’t appear to mind. “Of course.” He nodded toward the workshop. “I have one in my shop I’m working on now if you’d like to see it.”
“Jah, I’d like that very much.”
He picked up the basket of eggs and allowed her to lead the way.
As Phoebe walked in she caught a whiff of wood shavings accented with the almost sweet smell of the stains and glue. Then as her eyes adjusted to the workspace she saw small blocks of wood front and center on the table. A closer look showed that he’d begun working with one of them, as the figure of a horse—a knight—was taking shape.
“There’s a finished set over here,” he said as he moved to a smaller table under one of the windows.
She immediately crossed the room to study his handiwork. The board was obviously made by a skilled craftsman. She reached down to touch it, then paused and glanced at Seth. “May I?”
At his nod, she stroked the board and discovered that the squares were each inlaid separately. He’d let the natural color and grain of the wood show through with the contrasting squares getting their color from the different types of wood they were constructed from. She looked back at him. “This is beautifully done.”
“Danke. There’s also a drawer underneath for storing the pieces.”
She looked closer at the raised base and sure enough there was a drawer built onto the underside. She pulled it open to see spaces designed to hold individual chess pieces and rows of checkers. There were two rows of checkers arranged vertically and between them the individual chess pieces were carefully arranged horizontally against a bed of blue velvet.
She carefully lifted the dark king and stroked its smooth surface, studied the remarkable detail in the crown, admired the rich color. “Seth, this is truly wunderbaar. The pieces are so rich and detailed.”
“Danke.” Then he asked almost too casually, “Do you play?”
“Jah. I used to watch my daed and my grossdaadi play when I was a kinner and the game fascinated me. My grossdaadi eventually taught me. He was very patient and did his best to teach me the finer points. When he passed I started playing with my daed because none of my brieder were interested in learning.”
“That sounds like my brieder—the not-being-interested part. They much prefer checkers.” Then he touched his beard. “You say you know how to play, but do you actually enjoy the game?”
She nodded. “It’s something my daed and I can do together, a special connection for us.”
He met her gaze with a smile. “Then how would you like to play a game after lunch today?”
“Oh, that would be wonderful fun. But I haven’t played in a while.”
