A moment later he’d put his jacket back on and headed outside.
When the two scholars made it home from school they were equally appreciative of her baking efforts, wolfing down their share of the cookies as if they hadn’t eaten in days rather than mere hours.
After they’d finished and headed out to take care of mucking the stalls, Phoebe looked at the remaining cookies. After waffling for a moment, she finally made up her mind.
She placed four cookies on a saucer, filled a glass about halfway with milk and headed out the door.
Stepping carefully to avoid another klutzy incident, she breathed a sigh of relief when she finally made it to the workshop. She stepped inside and nearly spilled the milk when Checkers jumped up from his spot at Seth’s feet to bark a greeting.
Seth looked up and when he saw her, he gave the dog a sharp “Sit” command. “What brings you out here?”
“I baked some peanut butter cookies this afternoon. Your brieder have already had some so I thought I’d bring you a few before they’re all gone.”
“Danke. That sounds gut.”
She moved to place the saucer and glass on his worktable. “I don’t want to interrupt your work, at least not any more than I already have. I’ll just set these here and head back to the house.”
He reached for a cookie. “There’s no need to rush off. I could use a short break.”
She relaxed, pleased by the invitation. “What are you working on?”
He pointed to the piece he’d just set down. “The dark queen.”
Phoebe studied the piece. The crown and tapered top it sat on were starting to emerge from the block of walnut wood. It was rough still but she could see some of the classic features starting to appear.
She set it back down. “I notice these pieces have a different look than the set we played with. You’ve added some refinements.” She gave him a smile. “Despite how much I like your original, these new sets have a more polished look and feel.”
He spread his hands. “I try to improve my skill with each set I make.”
That was an admirable goal.
Seth munched on his cookies, watching her admire his work. He knew it was wrong to be prideful but her obvious admiration of his efforts was quite gratifying. Even Dinah had only seen it as an extra source of badly needed income rather than an artistic outlet for him.
Which, to give Dinah credit, was how he’d started his business in the first place. After he’d made a few sets as gifts he’d gotten some inquiries from folks who’d wanted to buy one, either for themselves or to give as gifts. It had amazed him how much some of them were willing to pay for a set. Dinah had suggested he use his off time in the winter months to make his sets and sell them. But she hadn’t been interested in learning to play chess. And when he’d asked her questions about possible design options her only comment had been to ask which design the customers liked best.
He had a feeling that Phoebe would give him a very different answer.
Chapter 14
Seth took his place at the supper table that evening and discovered the meal was once again something she’d come up with on her own. It was a pork chop dish of some sort, accompanied by mashed potatoes that had more than butter added to them, and English peas.
He also noticed that Levi again took the seat to Phoebe’s right.
This time, when the bowls were passed around the table he was able to take a generous portion of each dish without hesitation.
When he actually tasted the meal, he was surprised. The sauce on the pork chops had an orangey flavor, the peas had apparently been seasoned with mint, and cheese and bacon pieces had been stirred into the mashed potatoes with perhaps just a hint of mustard. He was still trying to decide what he thought about it when Levi spoke up.
“This is wonderful gut food. It’s nice to have some variety in our meals, that’s for sure and for certain.”
Several of his brieder added their compliments and agreement. Had having a regimented menu been such a terrible thing? He’d made sure each of their favorite dishes had appeared at least once every week so that it wasn’t all weighted one way or the other.
Levi spoke up again, pulling Seth out of his thoughts.
“Tell me,” Levi asked Phoebe, “are you settling in okay?”
“Jah, this is a wonderful nice home and I feel useful and welcome here.”
“Gut. Because I think I speak for all my brieder when I say we’re glad you came.”
Seth saw the way Levi’s words made her smile, the way her eyes brightened and she sat up a little straighter. Was she falling for his bruder’s charm?
But the next minute Levi offered her a bit of outrageous flattery and she actually grinned and rolled her eyes at him. Perhaps she had enough sense to see his bruder’s harmless flirtations for what they were after all. Just in case, though, it would be best if he still had that talk with Levi.
When the meal was over, Seth stood and carried his dishes to the sink. But rather than filing into the living room with his brieder, he turned to fill the sink.
Levi, naturally, was the first to notice. “What are you doing?”
“Phoebe needs to keep her bandage dry and since Edna can’t help, I’m going to wash the dishes while Phoebe dries.”
Levi’s lips quirked suspiciously. But all he said was “That’s quite noble of you.”
Their conversation had garnered the attention of some of his other brieder, who were now staring at him in surprise. You’d think they’d never seen him wash dishes before.
Before he could come up with a response, Edna stood and made shooing motions. “Everyone who’s not cleaning the kitchen or dishes get out of here and give those who are room to work.”
For once Seth appreciated her no-nonsense tone.
