Cakes and Kisses by Kelly Irvin

Author:Kelly Irvin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2019-09-06T16:00:00+00:00

8

ONLY PRIDE KEPT AMBROSE FROM POUNDING HIS FIST ON the dashboard. Danki, Gott, for gut freinden. With that small prayer, he swiveled in the seat and offered his best smile to Burke, who seemed relaxed behind the wheel of his pickup truck. “Thank you.”

“My pleasure. If you ever need help with business matters, don’t think twice. Ask me.” Burke pulled in to the parking lot behind the Purple Martin and put the truck in Park. “Like I said before, you wouldn’t believe the rigmarole you have to go through when you deal with the government.”

“But we’re okay?” The entire morning and part of the afternoon had been taken up with going to the bank, driving to Gallatin to the courthouse, and dealing with a fussy person in the tax assessor’s office. It turned out Father had provided funds for the taxes. If Ambrose had read the monthly bank statements, he would’ve known this.

“You’re okay. I promise.” Burke touched the envelope that sat between them on the bench seat. It must not look like a coiled snake to him. “I’ve put the correct balance in the checkbook register. That tells you how much you have in the bank. On the first of each month, you’ll write a check to Daviess County and subtract that amount from the total. If you have any problems, ask me or Carina. We’re glad to help.”

“I don’t want to be burden.”

“You’re not. You’re a friend.”

Ambrose looked at the restaurant’s pretty purple door. A knot made his throat hurt. Maybe he was getting a cold. “Martha says she’s my friend too.”

“That’s good.” Burke’s voice held a hint of laughter. “A man can never have enough good friends. Especially a nice female friend.”

“She is nice. And pretty.” Should a Plain man say such a thing aloud? Burke would understand. He told Carina she was pretty all the time. Only he said beautiful and gorgeous. Carina was pretty—inside and out. “She’s going to teach me to . . . to read. She makes a good friend.”

“Good friends help each other. You should definitely take her up on that offer. But you like her more than just as a friend, don’t you?”

No one Ambrose knew talked about these things. At least not with him. The men in the Gmay treated him like one of the schoolboys. If he weren’t so tall, they’d probably pat him on the head and tell him to run out and play when they started their discussions of farming, the cost of land, and the price of crops.

Burke leaned against the seat and drummed a rhythm on the wheel. “It’s okay to like her. In fact, it’s a good thing, in case you haven’t figured that out.”

“It’s not good.”

“Why?”

“Because my heart hurts.”

Burke frowned as he turned on the seat so he half faced Ambrose. “Did you ask her to take a ride with you and she turned you down?”

“No.”

The frown changed into a smile. Burke’s smile always made Ambrose want to smile. Burke cocked his head. “Then why?”

“She’s smart.

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