Читать книгу Elijah And The Widow - Rebecca Kertz - Страница 11
ОглавлениеMartha carried a large chocolate cake as she exited her farmhouse. She smiled at Meg Stoltzfus, who waited on the front porch.
“Let me,” the girl said as she took the cake plate.
It was visiting Sunday. Meg, the young woman who’d stayed with her after Ike’s death and through the winter, wanted to ride with her to the Samuel Lapps, their hosts. Meg often visited or attended church with her since moving back home. Despite their ten-year age difference, Martha and Meg had become good friends.
“How does your vadder feel about your riding with me again?” Martha asked as they headed toward her buggy. She didn’t mind driving alone, but Meg wanted to come for reasons of her own, and Martha enjoyed the company.
Meg leaned inside Martha’s vehicle and set the cake on the back floor. She grinned as she straightened. “I enjoy the extra room. It feels crowded in the back of Dat’s buggy.”
Martha approached the Stoltzfuses’ carriage. “Morning, Arlin.” She smiled. “Nice to see you again. Missy, you, too.” Missy was Arlin’s wife. “I hope you don’t mind Meg coming with me again. She’s a wonderful girl. I enjoy her company, especially after the winter I had.” After Ike’s death.
Arlin’s stern, weathered face softened. “Staying with you was gut for her,” he admitted.
Meg’s four sisters were seated in the backseat of the vehicle. “Hallo.” The girls returned her greeting.
“Dat, can I ride with Martha, too?” Charlie, named Charlotte at birth, was Meg’s youngest sister. Charlie’s nickname had worked out well since Martha’s niece, who lived in Happiness, too, was also named Charlotte. The older Charlotte was happily married to Deacon Abram Peachy.
Arlin frowned while he seemed to struggle with his daughter’s request.
“I don’t mind if she rides with us, Arlin, but it’s entirely up to you.” Martha made the offer carefully; she didn’t want to offend.
“Ja, Dat, it will be fun if Charlie rides with us.” Meg beamed at him. “I promise we’ll take gut care of her. This afternoon we’ll ride home with you.”
Finally, Arlin gave a curt nod. “Oll recht,” he said, glancing back toward his youngest. “You may go with Martha and Meg.” There were murmurs from the backseat as Charlie scrambled from the vehicle on her mother’s side. He held up a hand. “Don’t ask!” he warned his other daughters. “The rest of you will ride with your mudder and me this morning.”
Ellie Stoltzfus leaned forward between her mother and father. “We are comfortable right here with you, Dat.”
The man’s expression softened. “We should go,” he said gruffly. “Katie will be wondering where we are.”
Friends and families gathered to spend time with each other on visiting Sundays. Unlike church days when service started early, visiting occasions began leisurely with folks leaving for their destination midmorning. Martha enjoyed visiting family and friends.
“I’ll follow you,” Martha told Arlin, and the man nodded.
As Arlin steered the horse back toward the main road, Martha, Meg and Charlie climbed into Martha’s vehicle, and Martha drove her horse to follow. The Lapp farm was on the opposite end of their village. As they drove past the William Mast property, Martha spied William and Josie approaching in their gray family buggy. “Morning, William. Josie,” she called. She waved to the couple and their three children, who happily waved back. Martha continued to steer past Jacob and Annie’s house, the Joseph Zook farm and Zook’s Blacksmithy.
“Looks like Jacob and Annie may have already left,” Meg commented. “I don’t see anyone at their house.”
“Ja,” her sister said. Charlie leaned forward and gestured past Meg and Martha toward a residence on the left side of the road. “Look! There are Noah and Rachel. And their baby!”
Martha caught sight of Rachel and Noah exiting their house. “Noah! Rachel!” She slowed her buggy and waved.
The couple grinned and returned the wave. “Martha! Heading over to Mam and Dat’s?” Noah said as he cradled his daughter lovingly against his chest.
“Ja. ’Tis a great day for visiting.”
“Ja, a fine one indeed,” he called back pleasantly. “We’ll see you when we get there.”
“Who else do you think will be coming?” Meg asked as Martha drove on to catch up with Arlin.
“Not Reuben Miller, if that’s why you’re wondering,” Charlie said. “Ya know he’s not from our church district. Mostly likely, he’ll be visiting his own friends and neighbors.”
Meg got quiet. “I didn’t ask about him.”
Martha shot her a sympathetic look. “Have you seen him recently?” This past winter Martha had become Meg’s confidante. She’d heard all about Meg’s feelings for Reuben Miller, who had shown an interest in the girl last year at a youth singing. Reuben had sat across from Meg and paid her special attention during two additional singings, but then had become noticeably absent ever since. “Meg?”
“Nay.” Meg kept her eyes on the road ahead. “It’s been a while.”
“The Zooks will be there,” Charlie offered, obviously trying to cheer up her sister. “Peter should be with them.”
“Peter.” Meg groaned. “The last thing I need is that boy following me with those dark puppy dog eyes of his.”
“Meg, what’s the matter with you?” her sister exclaimed. “Peter is a nice boy, and he likes you.” She sighed dramatically. “And he’s so handsome.”
“Too handsome for his own gut,” Meg replied irritably. She drew a sharp breath. “Reuben is nice and as handsome as Peter.”
“I’m sure he is,” Martha interjected. “But I imagine that your sister is concerned because Reuben doesn’t visit you as often as he should. Peter clearly likes you and wants nothing more than to make you happy.” Directly ahead, Arlin slowed his horse, and Martha followed suit, pulling to rein her horse behind him. “I’ve never seen Peter bother you or be a nuisance to anyone.”
Meg shrugged. “Just ’cause he keeps his distance doesn’t mean he’s not annoying,” she said stiffly.
Martha stifled a smile. Meg always reacted strongly whenever Peter Zook’s name was mentioned, a strange thing considering her claims that she harbored no feelings for him.
“Reuben’s probably busy with farmwork,” Meg offered.
“Ja, most likely,” Charlie said softly as she leaned in her seat to be closer to Meg. “I only want you to be happy, Meg. I hope Reuben visits you soon since you like him so much.”
Meg rewarded her with a smile. “I know you want me to be happy, Charlie. I want the same for you.” She stayed silent a moment. “What if Reuben thinks I’m not interested in him? Maybe that’s why he’s stayed away.”
Martha doubted it but kept her thoughts silent. “The Kinzer Fire Company Mud Sale is in June. So is the Lancaster County Carriage and Antique Auction. Maybe you’ll see Reuben at those events.”
Mud sales were fundraising events exclusive to Lancaster County, where the Amish community helped to raise money for local fire departments. Each Saturday throughout the spring, members of their Happiness community donated craft and other items to be auctioned off to the highest bidder as well as food for sale for those attending the event. Mud sales got their name because typically the ground was muddy in the aftermath of spring rain showers when these sales or events took place. Those who attended mud sales frequently knew enough to bring their rain boots.
During the winter months, she and Meg had crocheted pot holders, sewn aprons and made other craft items for local mud sales. Most of their items would go to the two sales she had mentioned to Meg—the Kinzer Fire Company Mud Sale and the Lancaster County Carriage Auction—because they benefited the fire companies closest to their Happiness community. Every weekend through late winter and early spring there’d be other mud sales at different locations. There were also one or two that took place during August.
“He did tell me he’d worked as auctioneer at the Kinzer Mud Sale two years ago,” Meg said brightly.
Martha smiled as she continued to follow Arlin’s vehicle as it turned onto the dirt road to the Samuel Lapp farm. “Then there’s a gut chance you’ll see him there.”
“Look! There’s Annie!” Charlie exclaimed as Martha parked her buggy in the side yard next to Arlin’s vehicle. The girl waved vigorously through the side window. “Annie!”
Annie Lapp grinned as she saw them. Arlin and the rest of Meg’s family got out of their vehicle, the girls quickly following their mother toward the house.
Martha caught sight of Eli Lapp surrounded by a laughing group of community girls. Clearly he was a favorite with them. Martha sighed. Had she been that carefree at their age?
She climbed down from her buggy, retrieved the chocolate cake from the back floor and followed Meg and Charlie to Annie’s side. “Hallo, Annie,” she said after the Stoltzfus sisters had greeted her good friend and moved on. “I’m glad you came.”
“I’m feeling great today.” Her friend lowered her voice. “EJ has been taking long naps, and I’ve been able to get some rest.” The fact that the boy remained quiet and content within his mother’s arms confirmed it. Annie’s gaze settled on Martha’s plastic cake tote. “Is that chocolate cake?”
“Ja, with dark fudge frosting.”
“You better hide it from Noah. He loves anything chocolate.” Annie smiled fondly at the mention of her brother-in-law’s enthusiasm for chocolate. “He’s liable to eat several slices before it’s time to eat.”
Martha chuckled at the idea of hiding her cake. “Is he that bad?”
“He doesn’t just enjoy it,” Annie told her. “He’s obsessed with it.”
Martha laughed outright. “Consider myself warned.”
Rachel Lapp waved at them as her husband, Noah, drove past and parked in the line of vehicles. Meg and Charlie met the young couple, hoping to hold their baby daughter.
“Rachel is looking well,” Martha commented as she watched Meg reach for baby Katherine. “Being a mother must agree with her.” She smiled at Annie. “I know it does you.”
“I’m feeling well and I’m happy. Jacob is excited about being a vadder again.” Her friend’s expression softened. “I’m afraid he expects us to have eight children like his mudder,” she whispered with a laugh. “As if two kinner aren’t enough to handle at the moment. He forgets that I’m not as young as his mam was when she had Jedidiah.”
Martha eyed her friend warmly. “You want them, too.” How she wished she could have had a family, but it wasn’t meant to be.
“Ja, I do,” Annie admitted with a chuckle. “We’ll see what the Lord has in store for us.”
A burst of laughter drew Martha’s gaze once again toward Eli. The girls surrounding him were giggling at something he said, as he was grinning, obviously pleased with his audience.
“I wonder if Eli will ever settle down,” Annie said.
Martha studied the young man objectively. “Those girls like him.”
“And he enjoys their company, but never once has he shown serious interest in any one of them. Jacob says it’s because Eli is determined to open his own business first. He’s been working and saving for it for years.”
“What kind of business?” Martha asked, more curious than she should be.
“A carriage shop.”
“Here in Happiness?”
Annie shifted her son onto her other hip. “Ja. Says he wants to provide a service to our community.”
Which said a lot about Eli Lapp, Martha thought as she watched him break from the group and head toward Noah and Jacob, who had stopped to talk near the barn.
Rachel approached with Meg and Charlie, who was now holding the baby. As they joined them, talk became centered on the infant.
“She’s the sweetest baby,” Charlie said as she studied the child in her arms, drawing a smile from little Katy’s mother.
“She’s growing too quickly,” Rachel said.
“Ja, it can seem that way,” Annie agreed. Her son wiggled within her arms, and she set him on his feet. “Stay here, EJ.” She kept a firm eye on him. “Every time I see him it seems as if he’s grown another half inch.”
The women laughed. “Do you know how much a half inch is?” Meg Stoltzfus said. She showed the group with the space between her two fingers. “I wonder how you can tell EJ’s size, as active as he is. He barely stays still.”
“Except when he’s asleep,” Annie pointed out. She reached to grab hold of her son’s hand to keep him close.
“A mudder can see the changes,” Missy Stoltzfus said, joining the women in time to overhear her daughter and Annie’s conversation. She had returned from inside the house.
“I’m glad you agree.” She flashed Meg a teasing look.
Katie exited the house and approached. “What a lovely day! Do you think the boys will want to play ball?” She reached down to run her fingers through her grandson’s baby-fine blond hair.
“Peter will.” Annie smiled at her mother-in-law. “Ach, and here he comes now with my mudder and vadder.” Horseshoe Joe had pulled his buggy into the yard and parked it next to Noah’s.
“Your dat has been doing well since his accident,” Martha said.
Annie beamed. “Ja, ’tis hard to believe that two years ago he was unable to walk after he fell from his ladder.”
“We’ve had much to be thankful for,” Katie agreed.
“How are Josiah and Nancy?” Missy asked referring to Annie’s older brother and his wife, Nancy, who was Martha’s niece.
Josiah Zook had married Amos and Mae King’s daughter Nancy last year.
“They are doing well.” Annie picked up her son, who squirmed and tried to get away. “EJ, be still.”
“I’ve never seen Nancy happier,” Rachel said of her cousin.
Martha knew that Rachel had lived with her King relatives when she’d first arrived in Happiness. The schoolteacher’s cottage had been under construction back then. Once the house was complete, Rachel had moved from her aunt and uncle’s into her new home. Noah had been one of the men who’d worked on the teacher’s house. After Rachel and Noah had wed, they’d lived in the cottage until a new house could be constructed for them elsewhere.
Peter stood chatting with a group of young Amish men near the buggies. Martha eyed him a moment and turned to study Meg, who seemed annoyed by the young man. Anne’s younger brother broke away from his friends to saunter in their direction. He smiled when he saw EJ in his sister’s arms. “I’ll take him,” he offered as he reached for his nephew, who was clearly happy to see him.
Annie smiled gratefully as she handed off her son. “He’s a bit of a handful today.”
“He’s fine,” Peter said with a smile for the child. “He’ll be a gut boy for his onkel Peter, ja?” He casually glanced in Meg’s direction. “Hallo, Meg. You’re looking well.”
Meg narrowed her gaze. “Peter,” she acknowledged stiffly. When he looked back to EJ and walked away, the young woman appeared miffed that he hadn’t paid her more attention.
Martha hid a smile. She had felt the increasing tension between Peter and her young friend. Meg doesn’t know it yet, but she may be sweet on him.
“Let’s go inside, ja?” Katie suggested. “’Tis a nice day but not as warm as I’d thought. May I help carry anything?”
Martha shook her head when Katie offered to take her chocolate cake. “I can manage.” She grinned. “I hear I should keep careful watch over this cake. Apparently there is someone in your family who may try to steal a piece before we’re ready to serve it.”
Katie laughed. “Ja, Noah, for certain. I’m afraid that most of my boys are partial to chocolate cake.” She smiled. “Except for Jed. Jed prefers Sarah’s cherry pie.”
Martha accompanied the ladies toward the house. Eli and Jacob came up from behind them. The twins were deep in conversation, oblivious to the women before them. She saw Eli nudge his brother’s arm with his elbow as he murmured something in Jacob’s ear. The two brothers laughed, the sound deep, masculine and joyful. Martha turned and found that she couldn’t tear her gaze from them as they drew closer to the women.
Suddenly as if he sensed his wife’s presence, Jacob glanced in her direction, his gaze brightening as it settled on his wife. He gave her a special smile. “Annie.”
“Jacob.” She nodded solemnly. “Gossiping again?”
He blinked as if taken aback. “Nay, I—we’re—” He apparently saw Annie’s smile because his lips curved up as he closed the short distance between them. “Trying to start trouble, wife?”
Annie blinked up at him innocently. “Nay, husband. I wouldn’t start trouble. ’Tis not the Lord’s way.”
Martha heard Jacob’s answering chuckle. She witnessed the couple exchange loving looks, and she wondered what it would have been like if Ike had cared for her as much as Jacob loved Annie.
An odd tingling started at her nape and traveled the length of her spine. Martha inhaled sharply when she realized Eli Lapp was staring at her. She experienced the urge to look away but didn’t. As their gazes locked and held, Martha heard Annie and Jacob talking, but their words were lost on her.
“Eli. Jacob. Would you bring out the other table?” Katie called.
“Ja, Mam.” Eli broke eye contact as he and Jacob continued past them to climb the porch steps. The memory of his expression made it difficult for her to concentrate...and to breathe.
Martha and Katie followed the twin brothers into the house, while Rachel went to have a word with her husband. Missy and her daughters stayed behind and continued to chat with Annie and her mother, Miriam, along with Alta Hershberger, who just had arrived. Martha tried to force her reaction to Eli from her mind as she entered Katie’s kitchen, and she was successful until he and Jacob came out from another room carrying a small table. Then he was gone, and she could breathe again. “There is a lot of food, Katie,” she said with a smile.
“Plenty enough for all of us,” the woman agreed.
Martha wondered where she should put her cake plate as she looked over the kitchen countertop and trestle table.
“Chocolate?” Eli asked, startling her as he came up from behind.
She gave a nod but didn’t turn around until he added teasingly, “Quick, hide it. Noah’s coming.” She faced him and immediately noted his sparkling blue eyes and the way his male lips curved upward.
Her face warmed as she felt an instant attraction. She didn’t know whether it was his good humor or his teasing that appealed to her. Martha grinned, taken again by this playful side of him. “And you think I should give you the cake?”
“I can hide it for you.” He gave her a mock frown. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Should I?” He amused her.
“Ja, you can trust me.” His voice was soft and her nape tickled again as she found herself doing just that. She handed him the cake. “I’ll put it in the back room,” he whispered.
She inclined her head. They heard Noah and Rachel as they entered the house. Eli slipped into the backroom while Martha stayed as Katie greeted the couple and smiled at her grandchild.
“Here’s my little grossdochter!” She beamed at the infant. “May I hold her?” She held out her hands.
Noah smiled as he handed the child to his mother. “Katy is a gut girl, Grossmudder. She slept until after seven this morning.”
“Wonderful!” her grandmother exclaimed as she held the baby close.
As Eli returned from the back room, Martha felt a little jolt in her midsection the moment his intense blue gaze sought and met hers. “Safe and sound,” he mouthed, causing her to smile.
Noah sniffed the air. “Do I smell chocolate?”
Martha regarded Eli with raised eyebrows before she went to check where he had put the cake—on the washing machine. He must have taken a peek beneath the plastic covering, as the scent of chocolate permeated heavily in the air and had filtered into the kitchen.
“It looks delicious,” a male voice murmured in her ear.
“Eli!” she gasped and turned, her heart beating wildly. “You startled me.”
His eyes twinkled. “I couldn’t resist taking a look, but I didn’t touch it.”
She narrowed her gaze as she saw his expectant expression. “And now you want a piece,” she guessed.
His handsome mouth curved into a grin. “Ja.”
“I shouldn’t give you one.” She sighed dramatically, but she wasn’t really upset. She was pleased that he was eager to try it. “I may as well bring it into the kitchen. There’s no hiding it from your bruder now.”
Eli looked delighted. “Then I may have a piece now?”
Martha chuckled as she picked up the cake and carried it into the other room. “One. You may have one slice.” She grabbed a knife from among the utensils on the table. She sliced a piece, set it on a plate and gave it to him.
“Danki,” he whispered, beaming.
“Do I get one, too?” Noah eyed Eli’s cake plate with a hungry look.
“Ja, of course. Big piece or little?”
“Bigger than Eli’s.” He flashed Eli a grin and then watched eagerly as she served him a slice of cake. His warm brown eyes gleamed with appreciation as he cut a mouthful with his fork and raised it to his lips. “I love chocolate.”
Martha smiled. “I never would have guessed.”
Eli beamed at her. “We all do.”
“Ja,” Noah said as he raised a forkful to his mouth.
“Noah Jeremiah Lapp!” his wife scolded. Rachel winked as Noah stiffened before turning to her with a guilty look.
“Cake before dinner?” Rachel said with hands on her hips.
His expression warmed as he stepped closer. “It’s chocolate.”
Her brow cleared. “Ah, I didn’t realize. I certainly can’t have you missing out on a piece. After all, it may be all gone if you wait until after you’ve eaten a proper meal.”
She laughed when Noah blushed.
“It could be all gone,” Eli defended as he and Martha exchanged amused glances. He dipped his fork into the cake, brought it to his lips.
Martha couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him. “I should have brought two.” She covered the cake with the plastic lid. “Time to put it away before there’s none left.”
“Gut idea,” Rachel said after she and Martha had shared a smile. When Noah was finished, she grabbed hold of his arm. “We need to go outside.”
“Eli? Are you coming outside?” a young voice called into the house.
Eli smiled at Mary Peachey as the young woman entered the room. “Soon,” he told her. He didn’t leave immediately but continued to eat his cake. “That was delicious,” he declared after he’d eaten his last bite. Unlike Noah, who had rushed through his piece, Eli had savored every bite slowly.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” she said.
“I wouldn’t mind a second helping, but I won’t ask,” he added quickly when he saw her disapproval.
“Gut,” she replied, trying hard not to be persuaded by his little boy smile.
He shrugged. “I should go.” He paused to study her a long moment. “Danki for the cake.”
“You’re welcome.” She turned to search for Katie.
“Mam’s outside,” he said as if he’d read her mind.
Turning from his appreciative look, Martha refused to be charmed like the young girls who waited for him. She continued to feel his gaze on her as she crossed the yard to join Katie, Rachel and the other women who had gathered on the back lawn.
She knew the exact moment when he rejoined his friends. The girlish laughter that immediately came from the group at his arrival grated in her ears. Martha frowned. Why would she care who he spent his time with?
He took that moment to lock gazes with her. A small teasing smile played about his lips, making her heart race despite the fact that she didn’t want to notice or feel the slight hitch in her breathing.
“You can bring chocolate cake anytime,” he mouthed. A young girl drew his attention, and Martha looked away.
She had to admit that Eli was both handsome and kind, and if she’d been younger, never married and had never suffered a broken heart, she might have felt differently. Like the giggling girls across the yard, she might have welcomed the man’s attention. But she wasn’t young and she wasn’t looking for another husband or beau of any age.
Twice men had disappointed her. She wouldn’t allow one to disappoint her a third time. Especially a man like Elijah Lapp.
