But it did: expense after expense kept hitting him. And his carefully saved dollars—saved by doing without any extras at all—were going to be depleted this afternoon. Because he knew what he had to do. He had to square away his grandfather’s debts. But then Moe would have to see reason and come back to Ohio. Moe wasn’t doing okay on his own. He couldn’t afford to keep the farm going. That was just a plain fact.
His grandfather was going to be embarrassed. Arden felt his heart squeeze at that thought. The old man would be humbled—and Moe was the last one who needed humbling.
Arden took the broom and swept the kitchen, his heart heavy. How on earth was he going to discuss this with his grandfather? After paying the bills, of course. That would have to be taken care of first, and then he could sit down with Moe and discuss the state of things with him. At times like this, Arden wished he weren’t the only one on hand to take care of these issues. He wished there were an older man in the family to handle them for him, but there wasn’t anyone else. Just like Job had pointed out, he was the man who was here, and the responsibility was his.
Arden put the broom back on its hook, pocketed the bills and headed outside to hitch up his grandfather’s buggy. As he worked, he heard his name called in the distance. He looked up, shaded his eyes and spotted Ellen standing outside, waving a towel in the air.
Was something wrong? He headed in her direction, picking up his pace and breaking into a jog. When he got to her, Ellen’s face was pink.
“I’m sorry to make you run, Arden,” the old lady said. “I didn’t mean to do that. I just wanted to get your attention. Are you going out?”
“Yah,” he said. “I’m heading out to run a few errands.”
“Would you be a dear and fetch my butter order for me?” she asked. “The creamery is in town, and it closes at six tonight. I need to pick it up, and if you’re headed in that direction—”
“Yah, I’m happy to get it for you,” he said. “I’ll be in town all afternoon. It’s not out of my way at all.”
Sarai came out of the house, and for the first time in a few hours, she met his gaze.
“I’ll come with you, Arden,” Sarai said.
“Yah?” He wasn’t sure what to make of her change of heart.
“We need to talk,” she said, but her tone was firm, and that didn’t encourage him a whole lot. He had a sneaking suspicion that she was the one who needed to talk, and he was supposed to sit and listen.
“Well, that works nicely,” Ellen said with a smile. “Moe and I will enjoy our coffee, and when you two get back, I’ll pull out the blackberry pie.”
“Sure,” Arden said, and he shot Sarai an uncertain look. “I can do it myself, you know.”
“I’ll come along,” she said, still sounding more firm than friendly.
Right. That was clear enough. Maybe it was for the best. He wasn’t going to let her lecture him. He had a few things of his own to explain. And soon enough, Moe would be telling Ellen that he was moving.
It was time to sort it all out and get back home.
“Let’s go, then,” he said. “I’ll bring that order back for you, Ellen.”
“Danke, Arden,” Ellen said with a smile. “I appreciate it.”
Arden stayed half a step ahead of Sarai as they headed back to where the horse waited, only half hitched up. He got back to work with the buckles and straps. He meant to simply ignore Sarai until she was ready to talk, but when he looked over at her, he caught her unawares, and she looked more sad than angry.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Not really,” she replied. “I should be. It shouldn’t matter. I know that, but somehow—” She swallowed.
“I wasn’t flirting with Susie,” he said, tightening the last strap and then straightening. “I want to say that right away. She was flirting with me, all right. But she’s a kid. She’s on her Rumspringa, and she’s finally allowed to keep company with some boys. She’s feeling the power of it. That’s all. I know it looked bad. Verna thought the same thing, but I wasn’t flirting with her. I was trying to politely send her back to you women.”
Sarai eyed him. “It didn’t look that way.”
“I know.” He shook his head. “And I know with my history, you’d assume the worst. I don’t even blame you. But I wasn’t doing that. What do you think—that I want to pass my time getting a teenager’s hopes up? Come on, Sarai. I’m not that kind of man. Not anymore, at least. I’ve grown up.”
Sarai eyed him for a moment, silent.
“Do you believe me?” he asked.
“I think I do.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. But you do realize that, more than just your history, you draw a lot of female attention.”
“Are you calling me handsome?” He shot her a grin.
“No, I am not!” she said, her cheeks coloring.
“It sounded almost like that,” he teased.
“Well, fine. You are handsome, and apparently you know it,” she said. “And you’ll always get that attention. You’ll need more character than most to deal with it.”
The implication seemed to be that he didn’t have character in quite that supply.
“And you think you’re any different?” he asked, then hoisted himself up into the buggy. “Come on.”
Sarai got up next to him and settled into the seat. “Of course I’m different.”
He started to laugh. “Sarai, I told you before, and I meant it. You are uncommonly beautiful. Men stumble over themselves to make you smile. If anyone needs a buggyload of character to face that kind of special treatment, it’s you.” He shot her a smile. “And you have it, for the record. You’re one of the best people I know.”
“Oh...” She looked disconcerted then.
“Look, I’m not going to be trouble for much longer,” he said, flicking the reins. “I’ve got to get back to work, and my grandfather needs to come with me.”
“Unless he wants to stay,” Sarai said.
