The Path to Piney Meadows Read online

  Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Her eyes widened, she covered her mouth with her hands, and she burst out laughing.

  He’d thought he’d do better at the accent, but even though he hadn’t, seeing her laugh sent a wave of relief through him. “Maybe I won’t try that again, if I did it so bad.”

  She waved one hand in the air as her laughter calmed. “I would like to say it was a good try, but you did sound very funny.”

  Chad felt his cheeks flame. So much for his efforts to be taken seriously. He’d picked up a few words and phrases of the German language, but if he couldn’t even say “yes” in German and be taken seriously, he wasn’t going to attempt anything else. Admittedly, most of the phrases he’d learned centered around food, but just like a teenager, he’d gone online and found the phrase he’d really wanted to say to her—Ich leewe die—I love you.

  Not today but hopefully in the not too distant future, he could use it. And by the day he said it, he’d have practiced the accent.

  “Never mind,” he grumbled. “I’m going to start cooking. If you get your bun all fixed up the way you want it, I’ll do the rest.”

  As he started cooking the beef patties, Anna began opening the containers he’d brought, and spooned portions onto both plates. “Did you really prepare all this food? Or are you teasing me?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not teasing. I really made everything myself. If you doubt me, just ask Frank Neufeld, at the store. I bought everything this morning. Even the eggs. Speaking of eggs, I have to ask. When will Waddles and Blinkie start laying eggs? They’re just over two months old, and they’re getting pretty big.”

  Anna smiled, causing him to nearly drop one of the burgers he’d been in the process of flipping. “Hens will not lay until they are five or six months old, and your two chickens still have much growing to do. I am sorry. For now, you must simply feed them and keep them healthy.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I’m having a lot of fun with them.”

  “I have never thought of chickens as fun, but I am glad you are enjoying them.” She paused to close the containers, then raised her head again. “I cannot believe you have made this by yourself.”

  “I did, but I probably shouldn’t be admitting it. You can keep a secret, can’t you?”

  “Ja, I can. Even though this is very odd. Of course, since you live alone, you must do much of your own cooking, but this is not what I expected.”

  “I enjoy cooking. I always have. I wish your mama would show me how to make those Glums wareneki, but she always kicks me out of the kitchen.”

  She stared at him like she thought he was kidding.

  “I also make great shrimp curry. You’ve probably never had curry, have you?”

  “Nein, I have not.”

  “Then you’ll have to come over to my place for supper one night. I’d bring some for lunch, but it can have a strong smell. It’s not bad, but it’s not like anything anyone here would ever cook, so people would ask what it was and where it came from. It would probably be best to keep it at home. I’ll invite Brian over, too. I know he likes to try different things, and he’d keep a secret for a free meal.”

  Anna shook her head. “I am not sure of that. I remember the first time Miranda made a new kind of chicken dish called Shake ’N Bake. No one here had ever heard of it. But when Miranda made it for Ted and Brian, Brian told everyone how delicious it was, and now it is a regular item at Frank’s store. Brian would mean well, but I believe he would accidentally say something. He is very enthusiastic when it comes to food he likes.”

  “You’re probably right. Now I’m going to have to think about it. I don’t want to do anything to rock the boat any more than I already have. I had a hard enough time redeeming myself after helping the ladies do the dishes that one day.”

  “Then we will only do this, and I will not say more.”

  It was too bad he couldn’t cook curried shrimp on a barbecue. Although, he probably wouldn’t be able to get shrimp in Piney Meadows anyway. Or curry powder. He’d already used up almost all he’d brought when he moved. “The burgers are ready. Can you please hand me a plate?”

  He set the burgers onto the plate, closed the lid to the barbecue to let it burn itself clean for a few minutes, and then joined Anna on the blanket. He led with a short prayer of thanks, then waited for her to take her first bite.

  At her first taste of the burger, her eyes opened wide. “This is zehr gut. Very good.” Instead of taking a second bite, she took a taste of his potato salad. “This, too. Zehr gut.” Next, she nibbled one of the deviled eggs with his secret ingredient, a pinch of curry.

  “These are also zehr gut. I have never tasted deviled eggs like this.”

  “And you likely never will again, except for mine.”

  “Will you tell me how you have made these? I wish to take this the next time I attend the knitting group lunch on the weekend.”

  “Nope. I won’t tell you. But I’ll make a batch for you.”

  “Du deist mie spos? Are you making fun of me?”

  He grinned. “Nope. I’m very serious. If you want to find out my secret ingredient, you’ll have to marry me first.” He hadn’t meant to blurt it out, but now that the words were said, he couldn’t take them back.

  He cringed, waiting for a tongue-lashing. Instead, the corners of Anna’s mouth quivered, and she broke out into a full-bellied laugh. “That is what all the mamas say when they are trying to find a husband for their daughters. That in order to get good food like they are eating, they will have to marry their daughters.” She covered her mouth with one hand but didn’t stop giggling.

  Personally, he didn’t know what was so funny. Back in Minneapolis, his talents in the kitchen made him a desirable commodity among the women. To everyone except Brittany, apparently. But here in Piney Meadows, just like so many things, it only made him odd.

  When Anna finally noticed he wasn’t laughing with her, her laughter faded. “I am sorry. I am not laughing because you like to cook. I think you are very brave for admitting such a thing. I was laughing because most women would not know what to do with a man in their kitchen.”

  He wanted to ask if she would know what to do with him in the kitchen but thought it best not to push his luck. For now, she appreciated his cooking—at least while they were in the middle of nowhere eating it—and most of all, she didn’t say that she would never allow him in her kitchen. He decided it best to leave it alone.

  Chad checked his watch. “We don’t want to take too long to eat. I want to go back to the lake and take pictures when the sun starts to set. We have to make sure we leave enough time to get back through the path before it becomes too dark to see.”

  “Of course, you are right.”

  They ate the rest of their meal in companionable silence. The lack of conversation emphasized to him how right this was—they felt so comfortable with each other that it wasn’t necessary to fill every minute with meaningless conversation The silence said so much more than words could.

  They hurried to pack everything in the car so they wouldn’t have to do it in the dark, in case they didn’t beat the setting sun on their way back up the path. As they prepared to leave to go back to the lake, Anna scanned the area. “I think we are leaving the area clean. I do not see any crumbs on the ground, so the bears should not come while we are away.”

  All Chad’s motions froze. “Bears?”

  “Ja. We do not want them to come while we are gone. It would not be good if they were between us and the car.”

  “What bears?”

  “The brown bears. We should not have to worry; we only need to remain cautious. You make a lot of noise when going through the bush, so that would send them away unless they are going to their den to sleep for the night.”

  “There are bears here?”

  She stopped moving, planted her fists on her hips, and glared at him. “Of course there are bears here. No one builds them a nice bear hotel in which to sleep. Where
do you think they live?”

  “I don’t know.” He made a lame laugh. “The zoo or something. I hadn’t thought about it, but you’re right. We are just borrowing this spot from the wild animals.” He glanced around, paying more attention to what might be lurking in the bush just out of sight, suddenly feeling far less relaxed in this beautiful patch of wilderness than he had a few minutes ago. “What else lives here that has fur and big teeth?”

  “I suppose the only other animal we need to be cautious about would be cougars. Bobcats and coyotes will not usually attack people, they eat smaller animals.”

  He had been warned coyotes were the worst for coming into town to try to eat everyone’s chickens at night, but he hadn’t thought about where they lived when they weren’t hunting for domestic chickens.

  “What about wolves? Are they here, too?”

  “Ja, but I have never seen one. They do not come near the town.”

  Suddenly, Chad didn’t feel so complacent about making a trip to the lake in the near-dusk. “You know, maybe we should just go back home.” To the “metropolis” of Piney Meadows. Where there were people. And good, solid buildings.

  Anna grinned. “We will be fine. We just cannot take too long. I will race you to the lake.”

  Before he had a chance to try to convince her otherwise, Anna turned and sprinted down the path, giving him no choice but to follow.

  The sunset had better be worth it.

  21

  Anna stood in the doorway of Chad’s office, watching him type. For some reason, she seemed to find herself doing this often, whenever she needed to talk to him about something and didn’t know how to start the conversation.

  As usual, after about a minute, he noticed her standing there, not doing anything but watching him. He stopped typing, not so discreetly slid his coffee mug further away from his keyboard, and turned to her. “Yes?”

  “Two boxes have arrived for you. They are in shipping.”

  His eyes lit up, and he broke into a smile so bright she nearly had to blink. “Fantastic!”

  “I see you were expecting them. The documents list them as two bicycles.”

  He stood. “That’s correct.”

  “Why do you need two bicycles?”

  “I don’t. One is for you.”

  She stepped back. “But I already own a bicycle.”

  “Which I’ve never seen you ride. So I got a bike for you, the girl’s version of what I got for myself, and we can do some real biking. We’ll start off by riding to work every day. I see a lot of people here take their bikes to work, and now we can do the same. Then, on the weekends, we can head for the hills and have an adventure.”

  “I do not think that would be good.”

  Chad stood and waved one arm in the direction of the spot where all the people who had ridden bicycles had parked them. “Not with that kind of bike. I got us a couple of five-speed mountain bikes.”

  “Five speeds? Why would a bicycle need to go five speeds?”

  His grin widened. “These bikes have gears. Depending on the surface or the steepness of a hill, you change the gear ratio to match your cadence to make your peddling easier or more efficient and a nicer ride. You’ll see.” He walked around her toward the hallway to the warehouse, then stopped. “Are you coming?”

  She followed him to the shipping area, where in the short time since she’d been there to sign for his packages, the men had opened both boxes and were already assembling the bicycles.

  “Thanks, guys,” Chad said as he watched. “Did the other stuff come, too?”

  “Ja.” Frank nodded. “They came yesterday, and we put them aside for you. Two baskets, two headlights, and two helmets.”

  “Great. You’ll give me a call when they’re ready?”

  “Ja. I have never seen a bicycle like this before.”

  “If you want, go ahead and take it for a test drive.”

  Frank nodded again. “I think I would like to do that.”

  Chad turned to the group of men, some of whom were openly examining the gears on the bicycles, while others were reading the instructions. “If anyone wants to take it for a ride around the block, go ahead. The instructions for changing gears are in the manual.” He turned to Anna. “Do you mind if any of the ladies here take your bike for a test drive? I thought you might want to be the first to give it a test. Just tell me when you’re going, so I can answer the phone if it rings.”

  Anna shook her head. “I do not know how to change gears. I will not be good at this.”

  “I’ll show you, you’ll do it a few times, and then it will just be natural. It’s not hard.”

  “I think I will do that then.” Given the opportunity, it would be better for her to learn to use the gears without Chad watching—then she wouldn’t look so foolish in his eyes. She didn’t know why she felt it important, but she did. “Also, I do not mind if any of the ladies want to try out this bicycle.” Although Anna did think it not right that everyone was enthusiastically building the bicycles instead of doing their regular work, when they were on the program to bank their overtime. However, obviously Chad had allowed them to assemble the bicycles and encouraged everyone to go for a short ride, so she said nothing. But then, knowing her people, they would all work extra hours and not write it down to make up for the time they took to build and ride the new bicycles.

  Leaving everyone to their temporary project, she walked back to the office with Chad. “I have received an invitation for the two of us on Thursday evening to go to Henry Friesen’s farm. He has invited everyone to come watch and celebrate his new chicken plucker.”

  If she weren’t mistaken, Chad’s steps slowed and then he resumed his speed. “Chicken plucker?”

  “He has a new chicken plucker—the fastest he has ever seen—and he wants everyone to see. I thought that this would be a good opportunity to visit one of the farms, because many people will be going.”

  “To celebrate the new chicken plucker . . .”

  “Would you like to go?”

  He turned to watch her face as they walked side by side. “I suppose this is a good time to meet people who don’t work at the factory away from church activities. Am I supposed to bring anything?”

  “Oba nü. Of course not. All the ladies will bring all the food. We will have a small celebration, and then everyone will go home.”

  “Since this is on a farm, then do we ride our new bikes or take the car?”

  “Everyone will be on bicycles except Pastor Jake and Kathleen.”

  “Then we’ll use our new bikes, too. But for now, it’s time to get back to work.”

  Anna had hit the save button on Chad’s laptop computer and just started to read the next portion of her assignment when her mama stepped inside her bedroom. “The telephone, it is for you.”

  For today, since her papa wasn’t home, Anna didn’t need to make sure the computer was out of sight when she left her bedroom. “Who is calling for me?”

  “It is Rebecca. She sounded very strange. I hope nothing is wrong.”

  Anna quickened her pace. “Rebecca. Hello. Is something the matter?”

  Rebecca spoke so fast her words nearly blurred together. “It is Chad. He is on his bicycle, and he has just ridden past my house.”

  Anna smiled. “Yes. He is enjoying his new bicycle. He is very enthusiastic about it.” So enthusiastic, it was as if he were a young boy just getting his first adult-size bicycle, able to go faster for the first time, as boys liked to do.

  “Anna, he is riding around with his chickens. One of them is in the basket, the other is perched on the handlebars.”

  Visions of Rebecca’s street passed through her mind. The only reason he could have his chickens with him was if something was wrong, and he was taking them to Zebediah’s veterinary clinic. But that was on the other side of Piney Meadows from Rebecca’s parents’ home, and since it was evening, the clinic was closed. “He must be lost. Or maybe his is trying to find Zebediah’s house.” Surely
he had his cell phone in his pocket. As soon as she hung up with Rebecca, she would phone him and give him directions.

  “Nein. He does not look lost at all. He was smiling. Wait. He is in front of my house again.” Anna heard a shuffle, like Rebecca was trying to stretch the cord from the phone while she looked out the window. “He is switching the chickens.He has taken the one from the basket and put it on the handlebars, and now he is putting the chicken that was on the handlebars into the basket.” Anna’s grip on the phone tightened as Rebecca gasped. “The chickens are jumping! No, only one is jumping. It is jumping back into the basket, and now the one from the basket is jumping back onto the handlebars. Chad is now moving again. He is not going toward the clinic. He is going the other way. He is going to Brian’s gas station. Why is he taking his chickens to Brian?”

  “Ick pliewe daut nijch! I do not believe this! Brian’s parents have chickens, but Brian does not know about them.” Anna began to run her fingers through her hair, then froze with her fingers still on top of her head. This was something she saw Chad do when he was frustrated, and she seemed to be picking up his bad habits. She would now be careful of where she left her coffee mug on her desk.

  “Anna! I see them! Now Brian is riding his bicycle, and the two of them are going down the street. Mein seit! Oh dear! Brian is riding without his hands touching the handlebars. He is sticking his arms out to the sides and clucking like a chicken. Chad is now going faster. Brian has put his hands down and now he is catching up to Chad. The two of them are now not in front of my house anymore. They are continuing down the street. I do not know where they are going.”

  “Chad must have asked Brian how to get to Zebediah’s home, and Brian is now taking him there.” She didn’t know anything was wrong with his chickens, but the possibility made her feel strangely sad. Even though they were only chickens, Chad had been very careful with everything they needed. Most people didn’t treat their dogs as well as Chad treated his chickens. If something happened and one or both of them died, it would be quite a shame, considering all the work he put into them. “I do not need to phone him anymore, Brian will take him to Zebediah’s house. I do not know if Zebediah has ever been asked to look at chickens after he has closed his clinic, but I know he will not mind. Everyone knows that Chad is working very hard to care for his chickens. I will phone you back later when I find out more.”