Huckleberry Hearts by Jennifer Beckstrand
Blair nearly jumped out of her skin. When she saw who had knocked, she unlocked her door, leaped out of the car, and threw her arms around Zach’s neck as if he’d rescued her from a burning building. “Z, am I glad to see you. I was starting to wonder if I’d gotten caught in one of those weird made-for-TV movies.”
Zach let her cling for a minute without hugging back. He wasn’t happy to see her, but Blair was more of a nuisance than anything else.
He looked at his companions. Titus seemed positively terrified by Blair’s long fingernails and crimson lipstick. Cassie’s face was a mask of indifference, but her arms were clamped tightly around her waist and she seemed to labor slightly for air.
“These are my Amish friends,” Zach said, nudging Blair away from him. “Nothing to be afraid of.”
Blair swept her long raven hair over her shoulders and tugged her tailored coat over the top of her skintight blue jeans. She looked as if she’d been personally dressed by a designer. “I wasn’t afraid, just annoyed that you hadn’t returned my calls. Do you even get service up here? Whoa. What happened to your eyes?”
Zach waved away her question. “I broke my nose. Nothing serious. Blair, I’d like you to meet Felty Helmuth and his grandson Titus. They’re Amish. Do you know about the Amish?”
Blair batted her eyes. “Of course I know about the Amish. They make those quilts.”
Felty leaned close to Zach’s ear. “She seemed a little tense. Singing usually calms people right down.” He stroked his beard. “Didn’t seem to help this one.”
Blair gave Titus a fake smile. “I hope I wasn’t rude. I felt a little uptight that I couldn’t find Zach. I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”
“No harm done,” said Titus, rocking back and forth on his heels. “I’ve had lots worse from Norman.”
Felty raised his finger in the air. “I’ve got just the thing for you.” He turned around, walked up the steps and into the house.
Cassie seemed to be drifting backward. Zach cupped his fingers around her elbow and nudged her forward. Even though Cassie was dressed in Plain clothes, Zach could practically see alarms going off in Blair’s head when she laid eyes on Cassie. Girls seemed to instinctively know when someone threatened their territory. Her eyes turned icy, and that fake smile she’d used on Titus spread across her face as if it had been ironed there.
“This is Cassie Coblenz,” Zach said, sidling closer to Cassie so as to leave no doubt in Blair’s mind.
“Nice to meet you,” Cassie said, in that mousy voice she used whenever Norman picked on her.
“You Amish too?” Blair asked, her voice pitched so high she sounded like a chicken.
“Cassie used to be Amish,” Zach said. “She’s visiting her family for a few months. She graduated in December.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Blair said, the apathy evident in her voice. “I thought you were Amish. The bonnet is really sweet.”
“Thank you,” Cassie said, even though she surely knew it wasn’t a compliment.
Blair reached over and fingered the edge of Zach’s scarf. “You and Zach have matching scarves. How cute.”
Zach flashed Cassie an apologetic smile. She didn’t move a muscle.
Blair dismissed everybody with a turn of her head and a swish of her hair. “Well, it was nice meeting you. I hope we see each other again very soon.” She’d apparently learned all she wanted to know about one of the most fascinating cultures and peoples in the country. That was Blair. If she didn’t see any benefit to her or her career, she didn’t bother to make an effort.
“I promised Zach I’d take him for a spin in my new car.” She reached out, grabbed Zach’s hand, and pulled him toward her. “You wanna drive?”
“No, that’s okay.” He slipped his hand from her grasp. He’d rather wrestle Elmer Lee and the entire Notre Dame soccer team all at the same time than get in that car with Blair. But as annoyed as he felt, he couldn’t embarrass her in front of everybody. A short drive around Shawano wouldn’t hurt. The good news was that Shawano wasn’t all that big. Even if they drove all the way around the lake, they’d be back within the hour.
That thought cheered him considerably.
Blair made her voice low and sexy. She must have thought that still worked on him. “I know you’re dying to drive, Zach.”
Zach finally let himself really look at Blair’s new car. It was a beauty, with smooth lines and shiny chrome. He could practically feel the steering wheel in his hands and the powerful engine beneath the hood. Of course he wanted to drive it, but if he wanted it that bad, he’d find a dealership where the most obnoxious car salesman wouldn’t be near as annoying as Blair at this very minute.
Blair nibbled on the tip of her finger. “Don’t you want to see how it handles?”
“You drive, Blair.”
Blair seemed disappointed but undeterred. “Okay, then. Get in.”
Zach opened the driver’s side door for her. His mom had taught him to be a gentleman, no matter how abrasive the lady proved to be. Blair flashed him a flirty smile and slid into her seat.
He closed the door and leaned his head to one side to get Cassie to look at him. She stared faithfully at her feet.
“Cassie,” he said.
Her feet couldn’t have been that interesting. “Yes?”
“I’ll be back soon to help finish the trees.”
She finally looked at him and smiled, but the light had gone out of her eyes. “Of course.”
“She seems like a real nice girlfriend,” Titus said.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Zach said. “Just a friend.”
Titus nodded. “If you say so. How long will you be gone?”
Blair started the car. The engine purred just like Zach knew it would. She rolled down her window. “I’m taking Zach to dinner,” she said. “Any good restaurants in town?”
“I won’t have time for dinner,” Zach said.
“I don’t mind,” Blair said. “I drove all this way to see you. The least I can do is take you out.” She rolled up the window before he could argue, although she’d get plenty of argument when he got in the car.
Felty came out of the house and bounced down the steps. He knocked on Blair’s window. “I have a gift for you,” he yelled.
Blair pursed her lips and reluctantly rolled down her window.
Felty pulled a pair of pot holders from his pocket. One lime green and one baby pink. “Anna said there’s nothing that comforts a nervous condition like homemade pot holders. She wants you to have these.”
“Oh, okay. Thanks,” Blair said, more perplexed than grateful. She took them from Felty and stuffed them into her purse.
Zach went around to the passenger side of the car. “I’ll see you soon,” he said, making sure Cassie made eye contact with him.
“Have fun,” she said, smiling as if she’d just been kicked in the shins.
Blair pulled forward and back, making a three-point turn to get the car pointed down the hill. A grin played at her lips until they got all the way down the hill, when the dam seemed to burst and she laughed as if she’d been holding it in for weeks.
“You want to let me in on the joke?” Zach said.
She snatched the two pot holders from her purse. “Pot holders. He gave me pot holders. Have you ever seen anything so bizarre?”
Those pot holders were lovingly knitted by Anna Helmuth, the sweetest little mammi in Wisconsin. She’d given them as a gesture of friendship. If Blair had ever met Anna, she never would have poked fun at her pot holders.
“Where did you find those hayseeds?” Blair said, her voice charged with amused disbelief.
Zach rolled his eyes. “Anna is one of my patients. They’re my friends.”
“What is it with the beard on the old guy?”
“All married Amish men grow beards. It’s part of their tradition.”
Her eyes grew wide. “If my husband had to grow one of those, I think I’d kill myself. Of course, if all the wiv
Zach stiffened. He couldn’t let that slight go unchallenged, even though he knew what Blair’s reaction would be. “Cassie is the prettiest girl I’ve ever laid eyes on.”
She raised her eyebrows. “Really? That granola is the prettiest girl you’ve ever laid eyes on? Come on, Zach. I can do better than that in a ponytail and an old sweatshirt. I’ve seen bag ladies more attractive.”
Zach folded his arms and stared out the window at the bare trees and empty pastures. He was done talking about Cassie. It wouldn’t change Blair’s mind about anything, and her insults only served to make him ferociously angry. No matter what, he would not challenge Blair to a wrestling match.
She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “What do you think of my car? Do you like the leather seats? They’re heated. And a V-6 turbo engine.”
“It’s really nice, Blair.”
“Really nice? I drive all the way up here for ‘really nice’? I think you can do better than that. You should drive it. See what it’s got.”
Driving it wasn’t such a bad idea. That way he could control how far they went and how soon he got back to Huckleberry Hill. “Okay,” he said. “Pull over.”
She flashed a delighted smile. “Whatever you want.”
She pulled to the side of the road, and they traded places. He put it into drive and headed for the highway. The steering was so smooth, it almost felt like they were floating.
Blair reclined her seat slightly and kicked off her pink heels. How did she get around in the snow in those things? She combed her fingers through her hair, a gesture that used to drive Zach wild. He knew what she was trying to do.
“I like it when you drive,” she said. “You look so powerful behind the wheel.”
He merged onto the highway. The Lexus accelerated like a dream.
She tilted her head and studied the speedometer. “Only sixty-five? Really, Zach?”
“I’m being cautious.”
“That’s not the Zach I know.”
“It’s the one you’re getting today. I don’t want to go far. I’ve got to go back and get my car.”
“There’s no hurry. We could go back and get it in the morning.” She nibbled on the tip of her index finger and winked at him. “My meetings don’t start until after noon tomorrow.”
He shook his head and expelled a deep breath. “You know that’s not going to happen. It’s been over for a long time, Blair.”
She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout. “It’s just one night. Don’t you want to have a little fun, no strings attached?”
Zach might have bought into that a few months ago, but he was beginning to realize that there were always strings attached—physical, emotional, spiritual strings that didn’t untie themselves simply because both people wanted them to. He’d seen the consequences of casual intimacy firsthand with patients who came into his office and in girls who’d been tossed aside by Finn McEwan and the boys in his club. When he looked into Cassie’s eyes, he’d seen what he wanted to become and how he wanted to behave.
A one-night stand with Blair Baker was not it.
It only took about ten minutes on the freeway to get from Bonduel to Shawano. He guessed Blair would have been happy to have him drive clear to Chicago. She’d have to settle for a drive by Walmart and the lake.
She smirked when he exited the freeway. “It’s not that far to Stevens Point. Or we could go the other way to Green Bay. They’ve probably got a decent restaurant or two. Probably.”
“I want to get back to help the Helmuths with their maple trees.”
Blair retrieved a tube of lipstick from her purse and dabbed a little on her already dark lips. “I think you’ve been breathing too much of this country air. You’re a doctor, Z, not a redneck.”
“I’m more of a redneck than you think. I used to be a cherry picker, remember?”
“What? You trying to revisit your childhood? And what is this weird thing you have for that little Amish girl?”
“What weird thing?”
“You like her, but she’s definitely not your type. I think I’d die of embarrassment if you left me for that one.”
He tightened the muscles of his jaw and took a deep breath. She was being purposefully petulant. He wouldn’t take the bait. Cassie’s beauty needed no defense. “I’ve already left you.”
She leaned her elbow on her knee and propped her chin in her hand. “Zach, we dated for two years. We had the friendliest breakup in history. We gave each other a lot of support. Can’t you even give me two hours out of your busy schedule?”
“I don’t know what the point is, Blair. I don’t want to get back together.”
“We were friends too.”
“What’s the point?” he said again. Every minute spent with Blair was a minute he could have been spending with Cassie.
“The point is to have dinner. Do some catching up.” When he didn’t respond, she tapped him on the leg and dragged one of her bright red fingernails lightly over the sleeve of his coat. “You’re so tense, like you’re waiting for me to pounce.”
“Are you going to?”
“I’ll be honest, Z. I’d love to get back together.” She raised her eyebrows. “There’s nobody quite so fine in a pair of Levi’s. But I’m not going to push the issue, and I’m not one of those creepy stalkers. I like you more than you like me. Get over it, and come to dinner.”
Would his agreement get Blair off his back once and for all? Probably not, but it would get her off his back for the time being. He could have a brief dinner with Blair, send her back to Stevens Point, and go to Huckleberry Hill afterward. His shift didn’t start until midnight.
“I can do McDonald’s,” he said.
She frowned but must have realized that was all she was going to get. “I’ll buy.”
Dinner didn’t turn out so bad, probably because he knew it would be short. He could endure a lot if he knew there was an expiration date. Blair was pretty and smart and he mostly enjoyed her company. She was a poor substitute for Cassie, but if eating dinner with Blair tonight meant he’d never have to do it again, he was willing to sacrifice.
In the McDonald’s parking lot after dinner, Austin’s mom Jamie called and asked if Zach could swing by the hospital and look in on Austin for a couple of minutes. His surgery was tomorrow, early, and Jamie was afraid Zach might not be available right before Austin went in.
Blair wasn’t happy about it, but she drove him to the hospital and waited in the car while Zach went in to see Austin. He wasn’t keen on taking Blair into the hospital. Blair didn’t particularly like children, and she got nauseous around sick people.
Austin looked horrible. He was as skinny as a flagpole and pale as a ghost, and the circles under his eyes were almost as dark as any black eye Zach had ever gotten. The surgery was coming none too soon.
Zach gave Austin a pre-game speech and a pre-game arm wrestle and prayed with him before saying good night.
It would be a rough time yet, but God would not abandon a little kid who needed His healing power so badly. Zach felt it in his bones. Austin was going to be okay. Zach had said another prayer on his way out the door as an extra precaution.
It was nearly seven when Blair pulled alongside the two matching cars sitting in front of Helmuths’ house.
She put the car into park and gave him a weary smile. “I’ll be here until Saturday. Call me if you want some company.”
He wouldn’t. Instead, he would be the person Cassie wanted. The man she deserved.
And, as an added bonus, he would learn how to make syrup.
Chapter Twenty-Two
It was already dark when Cassie, Titus, and Dawdi each took a sled to collect sap from the buckets hanging from the trees. The buckets would overflow by morning if they weren’t emptied tonight. On warm days it kept two or three of them busy all day emptying sap buckets. Mammi and Dawdi and one other person could usually manage it, but it
The rest of the family had gone home once they’d completed the tapping. Ben and Emma planned on returning tomorrow to help with the collecting and boiling.
Cassie pulled the sled with both hands and wore a headlamp to see her way in the dark. She, Titus, and Dawdi had separated from each other, she to the west, Titus to the east, and Dawdi to the north in hopes of getting all the buckets and not duplicating each other’s steps. The taps spread out over a half a mile of space, and they knew the paths well.
After finding a stand of tapped trees, Cassie unhooked a bucket from one of the spiels, poured the collected sap into her ten-gallon plastic bucket, and replaced the smaller bucket on the tree.
She usually didn’t mind collecting sap, even in the dark. It was satisfying to see the full bucket and hear the slap of liquid as she poured the sap into the larger bucket. But tonight her feet felt heavy, as if she were wearing lead-lined boots. She barely had the energy to put one foot in front of the other.
Zach said he’d be right back, but Cassie had taken one look at the beautiful, sophisticated woman behind the steering wheel of the steel blue Lexus and knew he’d be gone for a long time. Maybe forever.
That raven-haired beauty queen with the hot pink stiletto heels was definitely Zach’s type, more than Cassie could ever hope to be. It shouldn’t have bothered her. She had made peace with her insignificance, but sometimes she wished she were flashier, like a Christmas tree ornament. An ornament that would catch the attention of Dr. Reynolds.
She looked down at the gray dress Mamm had insisted she wear. The thought that she’d never be enough for him cut like a knife into her soul and left her panting for air.
From the seven trees, she filled her ten-gallon bucket to the brim, snapped on the lid, and made sure it sealed tightly. It would be bad if she lost half the sap on the way back to the sugar shack.
She dragged her sled through the snow, doing her best to pull through the tracks she’d already made. It would make the sled easier to pull. Ten gallons of sap was a heavy load.