Her Amish Holiday Suitor

“Who? You’ve already courted all the meed in Willow Creek,” Kevin countered.

Courtships among the Amish were usually private matters and Nick definitely hadn’t told Kevin about his romantic relationships. “How would you know?”

“Word gets around. Everyone says you’re a real heartbreaker,” Kevin replied flippantly. “You’d practically have to leave Lancaster County to find someone you haven’t already courted.”

Nick was suddenly inspired. “Hey, maybe someone has a cousin visiting Willow Creek for the Thanksgiving holiday. Let’s stop at Frederick’s haus and check it out. Then we can go talk to Jenny about the repairs.”

But when they entered Frederick’s home and Nick scanned the room, his hope flagged. The only out-of-towner present was Frederick’s cousin, Mark. The usual young women from Willow Creek and the Elmsville district were encircling him, batting their lashes and fiddling with their kapp strings. Katura and Mildred Peachy, Lucy Knepp’s stepsisters, appeared downright enraptured, and it occurred to Nick he hadn’t ever courted either of them. But asking to walk out with Katura or Mildred was a risk he couldn’t take. He’d heard how outspoken the sisters had been about wanting to get married at the slightest hint of interest from young men who weren’t even their suitors yet. That was exactly the kind of pressure Nick wanted to prevent.

He nudged Kevin, muttering “Let’s get out of here,” but just then Frederick’s mother noticed them and insisted they take off their coats and have some hot chocolate. They couldn’t refuse since she was the hosting chaperone, so they gave her their coats and shuffled into the kitchen. After eating popcorn and downing their mugs of cocoa, Nick meandered to the back room to grab their jackets so they could head to Jenny’s house.

He had to dig through a heap of coats and cloaks piled on the bed before he found theirs. He was about to exit the room when he caught a small movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Lucy Knepp sitting in a circle of faint lamplight, her head bowed. Was she praying? No, she was sewing.

That was typical. Ever since they were in school Lucy had distanced herself from the other scholars. At recess she always stayed inside and cleaned the whiteboards. It was generally accepted she was the teacher’s pet, and the boys believed she spied on them from the window and tattled about their wrongdoings to the teacher. More than once Nick received a scolding for antics on the playground the teacher couldn’t have known about unless Lucy had told her.

She probably had matured by now, but she was still one of the most boring women he’d ever met—either that, or she was a snob, because she made no attempt at even the most casual of conversations. But she was respected by virtually all the parents in Willow Creek, who admired her good manners and quiet thoughtfulness, as well as her dedication to serving the less fortunate Englischers in their community.

Because Lucy didn’t look up from her fabric, Nick decided he’d pussyfoot it out of the room without greeting her, but suddenly an idea struck him. She could be his pretend girlfriend! The plan unfolded almost instantly in his mind’s eye: Kevin could “accidentally” let it slip in front of their parents Nick was courting Lucy. Once they heard that, they’d let him go out whenever he wanted, no questions asked.

But how would he convince Lucy he wanted to be her suitor? They were as different as salt and pepper. She’d never believe he genuinely wanted to court her, and even if she did believe it, there was no way she’d accept his offer. The only time they’d really spoken to each other had been when Nick was courting her cousin Bridget. But after Bridget broke up with him three years ago, Lucy hardly looked in his direction. I’ll have to tell her the truth, Nick concluded. Or some version of the truth. He’d have to present his situation in a way that appealed to her sense of charity and compassion.

“Eh-hem.” When Nick cleared his throat, Lucy glanced up and the lenses in her glasses reflected the weak lamplight. How could she see to sew? “Hi, Lucy.”

“Hello, Nick,” she replied, and adjusted her glasses on her nose. She gestured to the coats he was tightly gripping. “Do you want me to turn the lamp up or did you find what you came in here to get?”

“Jah,” he replied, stalling.

“Jah you want me to turn the lamp up or jah you found what you needed?” she asked. Was she smirking or smiling at him?

“I’ve got my coat, jah,” he said, glad the light was low so she couldn’t watch his face turn as red as his hair. Why was he so nervous? He’d proposed courtship over a dozen times before and he’d never felt like this. “I actually, er, came looking for you.”

“For me?” She cocked her head.

“Jah. There’s a favor I’d like to ask.”

Lucy didn’t know what to make of Nick’s behavior, but there was definitely something fishy about it. It reminded her of his tomfoolery when they’d attended school together. As he shifted from foot to foot she sensed he was there to deliver a joke, and she wanted him to get it over with so she could return to her embroidery. The lighting was terrible and she’d already had to undo her stitching several times, but she didn’t want to turn the lamp up, lest she be discovered by dauntless Frederick or his pushy mother, Mary.

“Okay, what’s the favor?”

“It’s going to sound...it’s going to sound lecherich. But I wondered if you’d consider allowing me to court you. I mean, I don’t really want to court you, I just don’t know who else to ask. You see—”

“You’re right, that does sound lecherich,” she interrupted, appalled he’d point out how ridiculous it was for him to consider courting her and then have the gall to admit he was only asking her because he’d run out of other prospects. “And I don’t want to be courted by you, either.”

She dipped her head and squinted at her stitching, hoping he’d scram. Did he think she’d be so enamored of him she’d gleefully accept his half-hearted offer, the way so many other women in Willow Creek had? They all knew he’d never be serious about sustaining a romantic relationship, but that didn’t stop them from saying yes.

Even Lucy’s favorite cousin, Bridget, had fallen for him—and then he’d broken her heart by striking up a relationship with someone else before his courtship with Bridget was over. Lucy was smarter than that. She didn’t care how charismatic or impishly handsome anyone considered him to be, she didn’t need the affections of Nick Burkholder to make her feel special.

“Lucy, please listen,” he pleaded.

She glared in his direction and snapped, “What?”

Nick delved into a story about his Englisch friends, the Nelson family, whose vacation cabin was damaged by a small fire while Mr. and Mrs. Nelson were away for the Thanksgiving holiday. The family was anticipating celebrating Christmas together there one last time with their dying grandfather, but the parents didn’t know the interior was a wreck. Nick’s friend didn’t want to add to their distress by telling them about the damage since they were already distraught about the grandfather’s health. The goal was to complete the repairs before Mrs. Nelson began decorating the cabin for their party.

“I’m pretty confident I can get it all spruced up in time for their celebration, but I need a gut excuse to go out in the evenings to work on it. That’s where a courtship with you figures in.”

Lucy was skeptical. The whole story was probably a fabrication, and she wouldn’t be surprised if Nick’s friends were listening at the door to hear if she’d fall for it. “Why don’t you just tell your eldre the real reason you need to go out? They’re warmhearted people. They’d want you to help.”

Nick rambled, “Like I said, Mr. and Mrs. Nelson don’t even know about the fire, so I’ve got to keep it a secret that I’m renovating the walls. And, I, uh, I probably shouldn’t be telling you this but my daed’s health has suffered and he’s been under quite a bit of financial strain ever since Harper’s Hardware came to town. In order to compete with them, we have to keep our store open late until Grischtdaag. Even though my brother absolutely can handle the customers without me, since the Nelsons are Englischers, well, my daed would probably say our family’s business takes top priority.” Nick wiped his palms against his trousers, casting his gaze toward the floor as he admitted, “If I were courting someone, that would be a different story, because my eldre are sort of eager to see me...to see me settle down, as you might imagine.”

Lucy could imagine. Two Sundays ago after church, Mildred had babbled about how she’d overheard Nick’s mother complaining to Doris Plank that she was worried Nick would never join the church and get married. Hearing that, Katura had sulked all the way home because Nick had never asked to be her suitor.

“Please, Lucy?” Nick entreated, and she suddenly understood why her peers said yes to walking out with him. There was something irresistible about his earnest manner, his big blue eyes, and the way his nose and cheeks were speckled with freckles. “My friend’s groossdaadi might not live long enough to return to Willow Creek, but if he does, he’ll be devastated to find his boyhood cabin in tatters.”

Lucy’s resolve was beginning to waver. She wanted the Nelsons and their grandfather to have a merry Christmas, especially if it was going to be their last celebration together.

“Please?” he repeated.

At that moment Frederick walked in. “Aha, I found you! There’s something I want to ask you, Lucy.”

Clearly Lucy wasn’t going to get anything done tonight. She stashed her embroidery hoop in the canvas tote at her side. Allowing Nick’s question to hang in the air unanswered, she turned her attention to Frederick. “Go ahead and ask.”

“It’s, uh, it’s sort of private. So, um, I can wait until you and Nick are done talking.”

Lucy had a feeling she knew what Frederick was going to ask and she wished he’d leave her alone. She wished everyone would leave her alone and stop forcing their social agendas on her. Then it occurred to her if Frederick thought she was walking out with Nick, he wouldn’t ask her to walk out with him. Furthermore, if her stepsisters and stepmother thought she was walking out with someone, they wouldn’t pester her to join their pre-Christmas social events or the caroling rehearsals, either. She’d finally have time to finish her project.

She stood up and rummaged through the coats, simultaneously saying, “Well, Nick and I were about to head out together, so you might as well ask me now. Nick, would you mind giving Frederick and me a quick moment alone to chat?”

A look of utter surprise crossed Nick’s face before it brightened with elation. “Sure,” he said. “I’ll wait for you in my buggy.”

“Denki,” she replied in a syrupy voice, tilting her chin upward for added effect. After Nick left, she asked Frederick, “What is it you want to ask me?”

He stammered, “Oh, er, I was wondering if you’ll be caroling this year? In a few minutes we’re going to start the meeting to plan our rehearsal schedule and I thought you’d want to make suggestions about meeting times since I know you volunteer during the week.”

“Denki for the heads-up, Frederick. But as much as I might enjoy caroling, I have...I have other social engagements that will be taking up my time.”

Frederick looked forlorn, but he nodded and said he understood. She almost felt sorry for him, but then his mother entered the room, turned up the lamp and uttered, “Oh gut, I see Frederick tracked you down, Lucy! We didn’t know where you’d escaped to. I set a mug of cocoa for each of you near the love seat.”

A mix of embarrassment and empathy washed over Lucy as she noticed Frederick cringing. She nearly told him she’d stay after all, but Frederick said, “Lucy’s going home now. Nick Burkholder is taking her.”

“Nick Burkholder?” Frederick’s mother was obviously incredulous. There’d be no stopping the rumors from spreading now.

Lucy excused herself quickly, saying, “Jah, and he’s waiting for me in his buggy, so I’d better get going. Denki for your hospitality, Mary. Gut nacht, Frederick.”

Speechless, Frederick lifted his hand in a wave. He looked stunned, but not nearly as stunned as Mildred and Katura appeared when Lucy bade them goodbye and informed them Nick was giving her a ride home.

“Why? Are you sick?” Mildred asked. “Because if you are, you can take the buggy and Katura and I can get a ride home from someone else. Maybe Frederick’s cousin will take us.”

“Neh, I’m not sick. It’s just... Nick and I are...” Lucy allowed the innuendo to hang in the air before concluding, “I’ll—I’ll see you at home.”

Leaving them with their mouths hanging open, Lucy couldn’t help but feel a bit smug—not because they were surprised Nick was taking her home, but because for once they really would have to unhitch the buggy and stable the horse by themselves.

Chapter Two

Nick could have jumped for joy when Lucy accepted his offer of courtship. Or of pretend courtship. Before exiting Frederick’s house, he signaled Kevin to follow him to the porch.

“Listen, I found someone I can pretend I’m walking out with. The important thing is you can’t tell anyone—and I mean anyone—that it’s not an authentic courtship. If word gets out this is a farce, it will only be a matter of minutes until Mamm and Daed find out about the fire and then we’ll both be in trouble. You got it?” Nick tapped his finger against Kevin’s chest, emphasizing his point.

“I got it,” he promised, before slyly remarking, “So who’s the fortunate maedel? I didn’t see anyone inside you haven’t already courted. Are you going to give one of them a second chance?”

Nick didn’t appreciate Kevin’s attitude toward young women, and his response was immediate and gruff. “I’ve already told you it’s no one’s business what meed I’ve courted in the past. Besides, what makes you think they’d give me a second chance?”

“I’ve always heard you’re a charmer, that’s all. It was intended as a compliment.”

Hearing the admiration in his brother’s voice, Nick set him straight. “Courting a lot of meed isn’t necessarily a gut thing, Kevin. Neither is superficial charm. It’s the quality, not the quantity of relationships, that’s important. Courtship is intended to be an opportunity to discover if you and a maedel are compatible for marriage, but regardless of how long your relationships last, you’d better treat any woman you court with respect.”

“You sound just like Daed, you know that?”

“That’s because Daed’s right.” Nick warned, “You’ve got your whole rumspringa in front of you. Your running around period is a time for you to make decisions on your own. There’s a lot of freedom in that, but there’s a lot of responsibility, too. I’ll help you clean up the mess you’ve made this time, but if you make another one, you’re going to have to take care of it yourself, understand?”

“Jah, jah, I got it already. So you still haven’t told me who you’re going to pretend you’re courting.”

Nick lowered his voice. “Lucy Knepp.”

“Lucy Knepp?” Kevin chortled. “No one will ever believe you’re interested in her. She’s such a wallflower! Haven’t you noticed how pale she is? I don’t think she ever goes outside in daytime except to attend church. She’s such a goody-goody.”

“Exactly. Which is why Mamm and Daed won’t object if they think I’m going out with her during the week,” Nick reasoned. “So here’s what’s going to happen now. While I’m bringing Lucy to her haus, you’re going to walk to ours. Mamm and Daed will still be awake and when they ask where I am, you can let it slip I’m taking Lucy home. Plant the seed in their minds, okay?”

“But what about going to Highland Springs like we planned?”

Nick shrugged. “I already told Lucy I’d take her home. If you still want to go to Highland Springs, go ahead and go. Just make sure you ask whoever gives you a ride to swing by Jenny’s haus first so you can tell her you can’t afford the cost of repairs to the cabin.” Before turning to leave, he tossed Kevin’s jacket at him and added, “Her eldre probably will just contact Daed instead of getting the police involved.”

That got Kevin’s attention. “Wait! I’ll do it. I’ll walk home now.”

“Gut,” Nick said. “And remember, you can’t let on to anyone—not even Lucy—that you know this is a sham.”

“Is it a sham?” Kevin jibed as he shoved his arm through his coat sleeve. “Or could it be this is the opportunity you’ve been waiting for your entire rumspringa? To court Lucy Knepp?”

Nick elbowed his brother. “You should be thanking me, not mocking me, so knock it off.”

Grumbling, Kevin began his long schlep home and Nick went to unhitch Penny. A few minutes later, Lucy appeared. Kevin was right—she was so fair her skin glowed in the moonlight, which also reflected off her glasses. It was a good thing she was carrying a bag; it served as an anchor to keep the stiff wind from carrying her away.

“Here, let me help you,” Nick offered, indicating he’d assist Lucy into his open one-seat buggy.

“I can manage,” she replied, using her free hand to pull herself into the carriage. But the step was too high or the bag too heavy because she faltered backward and Nick steadied her by her waist—he could practically encircle his hands around it—before giving her a clumsy boost up. She scooted to the far end of the front seat, clutching her bag to her chest as if it contained gold.

On the way Nick tried to drum up something to say, but he drew a blank. Recognizing he and Lucy had absolutely nothing in common except they were both Willow Creek Amish singles, he was relieved this charade would last only a week, or two at most.

Finally, he remarked, “I really appreciate your letting me say I’m courting you. Knowing how quickly the rumor mill spins, everyone probably saw us leave and they’re already gossiping that we’re getting married.”

Ach! It was true their peers were probably expressing curiosity about their relationship, but why did Nick even bring up the notion of marriage? As if this experience weren’t already awkward enough as it was.

Lucy giggled behind her hand. “That’s not likely,” she said, and Nick didn’t know if she meant it wasn’t likely their peers were already gossiping about them or it wasn’t likely the two of them would ever get married. Of course the latter wasn’t likely, but it was kind of haughty for her to snicker at the idea.

Lucy dropped her hand to her lap again, guarding her bag. “So when do you want to get started on the repairs?”

“As soon as possible,” Nick replied, glad to switch subjects. “I can’t start on Monday because I’ll be returning from a trip to one of our suppliers out of town. So I’ll probably buy the stuff I need and begin the prep work on Tuesday night.”

“That’s fine. I’ll arrange to make an early supper for my family and you can pick me up any time after six. I’ll wait on the porch so Mildred and Katura won’t accost you with questions.”

“What?” Nick panicked, his pulse galloping. He only wanted to imply he was courting Lucy; he hadn’t intended to actually take her out. “What do you mean, pick you up? You do realize this is a pretend courtship, don’t you?”

Lucy didn’t know whether she was amused or annoyed by Nick’s alarmed reaction. It was obvious he’d never consider dating her for real. Not that she wanted him to, but still, he didn’t have to act so repulsed.

“Of course I realize this is a pretend courtship. But I’m not going to lie about going out with you and I’m not going to allow you to use my name to lie about it, either. If you tell your eldre—if you even imply to them—you’re spending an evening out with me, then you’ve got to actually spend some part of the evening out with me.”

Nick gulped audibly. “You want to kumme with me while I work on the cabin?”

Lucy couldn’t do that. The sawdust would cause her allergies to act up. “Neh. You can drop me off at the library and then pick me up when you’re finished. That way, if anyone asks where we went—which they shouldn’t, but that won’t necessarily stop them—I can truthfully say you took me for a ride and we stopped at the library.”

Nick hesitantly conceded, adding, “I always knew you were a bookworm but I didn’t realize you like to read quite that much. I’ll be gone for a couple of hours each evening, you know.”

Lucy was surprised Nick knew she liked to read—their paths hardly crossed since they had been scholars in the town’s two-room schoolhouse. She’d chatted with him a few times when her cousin Bridget still lived in Willow Creek and was walking out with him, but that was almost three years ago. For some reason it annoyed Lucy that Nick called her a bookworm, the same term her stepmother used to describe her.

“It’s true I like to read. Reading allows me to learn about new ideas and places. But that’s not why I want you to drop me off at the library,” she said. “I have a special embroidery project I need to finish by December 21 and the library is a quiet place to do that.” Then, to make it clear she was as disinterested in being courted by him as he was in becoming her suitor, she said, “That’s the only reason I agreed to this arrangement. Otherwise, Betty and my sisters would pressure me into attending all the upcoming Grischtdaag social events and I’d never finish my project on time.”

“Oh, so that’s why you were embroidering at the singing,” Nick replied. “I just thought you were too stuck—”

Nick cut his sentence short but Lucy knew what he was going to say. He was going to call her stuck-up. She wasn’t unaware some young men thought that about her, but she’d never been told it outright. Why the meed in Willow Creek thought Nick Burkholder was such a catch, she’d never know, but Lucy wasn’t impressed by his manners.

Changing topics, she asked, “How long will it take to make the repairs?”

“I should be done in a week. Ten days, at most.”

Lucy was actually hoping it would take longer than that, but she’d just have to make the most of her time away from the house. “And then what will we tell people?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll agree to pretend we’re walking out together until your repairs are finished, but not any longer than that. It would be nosy for someone to ask us why we’ve broken up, but in case they do, it’s a gut idea to have a credible answer ready. After all, two weeks is an awfully short time for a courtship, even for you,” she said, not mincing words.

Nick puffed loudly, as if exasperated. “I suppose we’ll just say it didn’t work out.”

“Ha,” Lucy uttered. “If you think that answer will satisfy my sisters’ curiosity, you don’t know how persistent they can be.”

“Then what do you propose we say instead?”

Lucy was quiet. How would she know what to say? She’d never been in a real courtship, much less a phony one. “I guess we’ll have to cross that bridge when we kumme to it.”

“Yeah, all right.” Nick urged his horse into a quicker trot, as if he couldn’t wait to get to Lucy’s house to drop her off.

She had often heard Mildred and Katura nattering on about Nick’s expensive racehorse, and the animal was certainly living up to its reputation. Because it was an open-seat buggy, Lucy felt the wind biting at her cheeks as they cruised along the country roads, but she didn’t mind. Despite the horse’s speed, the carriage wasn’t bouncing about. Lucy might not have had many conversations with men her age, but she’d read enough articles in The Budget to know Nick probably tinkered with the suspension of his buggy springs, which was a popular trend among Amish young people. In any case, she felt surprisingly invigorated by the quick trip home.