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“What are you going to do?” Isaac had no advice to offer Molly. He couldn’t manage his own life issues. How could he help her?
“That’s where you come in.” She made an effort to grin at him through her tears, her cheeks flaming red. Her hand fidgeted with the handkerchief in her lap.
“Tell me,” Isaac encouraged.
“If my daed were alive, he’d put a stop to all this nonsense...but he’s not. Mamm has all the power. I’m just the old maid.” She pushed her shoulders back and held his gaze as she sniffed. “I know it’s a lot to ask of anyone, especially you, but I couldn’t think of anyone else who could help.” Her bottom lip began to quiver.
“I can’t help if you don’t tell me what you need of me,” Isaac encouraged, patting her hand.
Molly took in a deep, ragged breath. “Would you pretend to court me for a little while, act like you have a real interest in me? Between the two of us, we can consider it a joke. It would mean nothing serious or binding.”
Isaac’s eyebrows went up in surprise.
“I know we barely know each other, and that we don’t share affection in that way, but we’d only have to go places together. Be seen in public once in a while. Nothing more. Just pretend an interest to fool my mother and the community until Samuel goes back home to Ohio in a few weeks. Once he returns home, we can end the relationship. You can just tell people I wasn’t the one for you.”
Isaac looked at Molly, saw expectation in her eyes. Coming to him, asking him for help, couldn’t have been easy for her. He couldn’t let her down, not after all the help she’d given him. He owed her that much, but was still surprised when he heard himself say, “Ya, sure. I can do that for you. You’ll let me know when you want to start this pretending?”
Molly’s stressed expression relaxed. She smiled. “There’s a singing frolic in the Mennonite church tonight. All the youngies are going. If you’re not too busy...maybe we could go together and hold hands when we get there so others would see.” Molly’s expression grew pensive again, her smile disappearing.
“Ya, that sounds okay,” he said, not sure he was doing the right thing.
“Thanks so much, Isaac.” Molly threw her arms around his neck, squeezed hard and then jumped off the couch. “I’ve got to get home before Mamm does. We’ve got a new guest, and she complains when lunch meals aren’t on the table at noon.”
Standing, Isaac watched Molly hurry out the shop door, a relieved smile brightening her face. He ambled back toward his chair. What had he gotten himself into?
Silence greeted him as he turned back into his office. Pain coursed down his leg, reminding him he needed to take one of the pain pills the Englischer doctor had given him that morning. A few days of pain medication and maybe he’d stop snapping customer’s heads off just because he hurt in body as well as spirit.
He wanted to help Molly, but he didn’t want to give her the wrong idea, either. She’d been nothing but good to him, but she deserved someone better to court, even if their relationship would be nothing but pretense.
Leaning forward and looking around the clean, organized bike shop took the frown off his face. He’d never experienced such kindness from total strangers before. The people of Pinecraft had been generous to a fault. Getting to know them, he found Mennonites, Amish and Englischers all working side by side, without pay, but with a common goal. To get his business open.
He was almost ready to flip the Closed sign over to Open, and he had Molly and the people of Pinecraft to thank for that. She’d even brought in Mose Fischer, his first real customer. And now he was about to start a fake courtship with her.
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