Kitabı oku: «Elijah And The Widow»

For Melissa Endlich, Editor Extraordinaire, for her kind patience, understanding and expertise. Thank you.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

Introduction

About the Author

Title Page

Bible Verse

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Extract

Copyright

Chapter One

Happiness, Lancaster County,

Pennsylvania

Spring

The winter had been fierce with heavy snowstorms and time spent huddled near the woodstoves in the gathering room and in the kitchen. Elijah Lapp was glad to see the bitter cold weather end. He stood on the edge of the family farm, lifted his face toward the sun and closed his eyes. He inhaled deeply and smiled. The warm breeze felt good against his skin, and he enjoyed the scents of spring blossoms and freshly tilled dirt, a clear reminder of nature’s rebirth.

The sound of distant male voices had him opening his eyes. Dat and his younger brothers headed in his direction. His father handled the reins to the four big chestnut Belgians that pulled the plow while Isaac walked alongside the horses, ready to help maneuver them as they reached the end of the field. Daniel and Joseph, the youngest, trailed behind. He heard laughter as Daniel jostled Joseph teasingly. Dat scolded the two boys, and they grinned at each other as they returned to work.

Eli chuckled and shook his head. He remembered when Jacob and he were learning farmwork. They had walked with Dat and listened as their father had explained how to get the most from the soil. He smiled as he recalled how excited he’d been when Dat had given him the leathers for the first time. To be allowed to operate the farm equipment had made him feel like a man.

He watched as Dat steered the plow to the end of a field before Isaac grabbed hold of the gear to lead the horses in the opposite direction. He should be working with them today, but Noah had asked for assistance with his furniture business, and Dat said Eli could go because he had enough help for the day’s planned work.

His father acknowledged him with a nod when he saw him. Eli waved as Samuel Lapp slowed the horses to within a few yards of where he stood. The large draft horses halted on command, and Dat turned to him with a smile.

“Dat, I’ll be leaving now. Are you sure you don’t need me to stay?”

Samuel took off his straw hat and wiped his brow with his shirtsleeve. “Ja, but I’ll need your help tomorrow.”

“I wouldn’t go today, but Noah is eager to catch up with his work orders.”

His father settled his hat back onto his head. “You’re becoming skilled as a cabinetmaker in your own right,” he said, sounding pleased.

Eli smiled. He enjoyed working with his hands, and he was thankful that his brother had given him the opportunity to craft a few wooden chairs and a number of tables. “The only things I’ll be making for him today are deliveries.”

Noah and his wife, Rachel, had recently welcomed a baby girl—Katherine, named after his mother, the baby’s grandmother. Little Katy was the joy of her parents’ lives. Since her miscarriage two years ago, his sister-in-law had feared that she’d never be able to carry a child to full term. But everything had gone smoothly with Katy’s birth. A proud father, his brother Noah hoped to finish his deliveries early so that he could spend time with Rachel and their infant daughter.

“Ever think of joining Noah as a cabinetmaker?” Dat asked.

“Nay. I want a business of my own.” Eli had been saving most of what he’d been allowed to keep from his earnings since he was eleven. Soon he’d have enough money to finance his own carriage shop. He’d known what he wanted to do ever since he’d been given an old courting buggy that shopkeeper Bob Whittier discovered in an outbuilding on his new property. Eli took work wherever he could, whether it was helping in the furniture shop or working on a construction crew for the company who occasionally employed his eldest brother, Jedidiah.

“I want to make and fix buggies and wagons.” Lapp’s Buggy Shop was his dream, and Eli wasn’t about to give it up.

“Opening a business is not easy, soohn. You should consider working with Noah,” Dat said. “Now that he has a family, your bruder may want to take on a partner. There will come a day when you will want to settle down.”

“Someday,” Eli said. But not now. There was no one special in his life. While he enjoyed the company of several girls at singings and church gatherings, he hadn’t found the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. And until he had a successful business, which he hoped would be sooner rather than later, he wasn’t going to get serious with any girl. “I should go. Noah will be wondering why I’m late, and Jacob asked me to stop by on my way.” He started toward the barnyard, then halted and turned when his father spoke.

“Think about what I said.” Samuel rubbed his whiskered chin.

“I will.” He would think about partnering with Noah because his father had asked him to, but he doubted he’d change his mind. “I’ll see you later, Dat.”

With a nod, his father returned to his plow, and Eli climbed into the family’s open market wagon and headed toward his brother’s house, a small cottage on the edge of Horseshoe Joe’s property. He slowed his vehicle as he approached Jacob’s driveway. He wondered why his twin had asked him to come. Joe Zook, Jacob’s mentor, had invited Jacob into his blacksmith business two years ago after Jacob had stepped in to run Zook’s Blacksmithy while Joe recuperated from a serious leg injury. Since then he’d married the woman he’d always loved, Joe’s daughter Annie. His brother was blessed, and Eli was happy for him.

Jacob exited the house as Eli parked the buggy close to his brother’s cottage. “Jacob! Hallo!” He climbed out of his vehicle.

“Right on time.” His brother smiled as he approached. “I appreciate you stopping. Annie wants to visit Martha King with EJ. I have to work at the shop. I don’t want her out and about alone. I thought you could bring her since you’re headed that way.”

Martha’s farm was located between their house and Noah’s home and business. “I’d be happy to take her.” He understood Jacob’s concern. In the last trimester of her pregnancy, Annie was carrying their second child. EJ, Eli’s namesake and Jacob and Annie’s firstborn, was a toddler, and Eli realized that his brother didn’t want his pregnant wife driving their buggy while trying to manage their extremely active twelve-month-old son. “Do you need me to bring her home?”

“Nay. She’ll only be there a few hours. I should be able to slip away after I finish up with Amos’s mare and William Mast’s gelding. If I can’t get away, I’ll send Peter to bring her home.”

Annie came out of the house, holding her young son’s hand. “Eli! I’m surprised to see you here. Anything wrong?”

“Nay.” Jacob spoke up before Eli could answer. “Eli came to drive you to Martha’s.”

She scowled at her husband, but her loving look said that his concern pleased her. “Jacob, you worry too much.”

Jacob regarded her with warmth. “You’re my wife. I’ll always be concerned about you.”

She heaved a sigh. “If you insist, I’ll go with your bruder.” She addressed Eli. “Would you mind holding your nephew while I fetch a plate of brownies?”

“With pleasure.” Eli beamed as he lifted the little boy into his arms. “Hallo there, Elijah John.” He bounced the child until EJ gurgled with laughter. He recalled how pleased he’d been when Annie and Jacob had chosen to name their firstborn son after him. The fact that EJ had his coloring, blond hair and blue eyes, gave him cause to frequently tease his brother and sister-in-law. While he and Jacob were twin brothers, they looked nothing alike. They were fraternal twins. Jacob’s hair was as dark as his was golden. His brother had brown eyes while his were blue. Of course, EJ’s coloring might have been inherited from his fair-haired, blue-eyed mother and not his uncle. But it wouldn’t be any fun if he couldn’t tease his brother. “He’s growing so fast.”

“Ja, soon he’ll be as big as you,” Jacob joked, and Eli laughed.

Annie returned seconds later with the wrapped brownies. Jacob took the plate from her and set it in the back of the vehicle. He helped her up onto the bench seat of the wagon while Eli carried EJ around to the other side. He set his nephew in the middle of the seat beside Annie. He then slid in next to the boy and picked up the leathers.

“Be careful,” Jacob warned.

Annie shot him an irritated look. “He’s only driving us down the road, Jacob. I could have walked.”

Eli looked at her. “With EJ?” It would have been too far for her to walk with EJ.

Jacob eyed his wife with patience. “I want you to be safe,” he said, his expression tender.

“I know you do.” Annie blinked rapidly as if fighting tears. “You will come for me later?”

“Ja.” Jacob leaned closer to her through the open window. “If I can’t get away, I’ll send Peter,” he told her, referring to Annie’s younger sibling. He eyed Eli from across the vehicle. “Danki, bruder.”

“You’re willkomm, Jacob.” Eli waited as Jacob straightened before he flicked the leathers and drove off. Annie was quiet beside him as they left, but his nephew babbled incessantly in what sounded like baby Pennsylvania Deitsch, the language spoken within the Amish household. He shot them a glance as he steered his family’s mare toward the King farm. As if sensing his attention, his sister-in-law turned from the window and met his gaze. She smiled, and he grinned back, his right hand reaching out to lightly ruffle EJ’s hair while he returned his gaze to the increasingly busy road.

* * *

Martha Schrock King had opened the house windows to allow the warm spring breeze to filter in and freshen up the stale indoor air. She stood at her bedroom window, enjoying the light gust that caressed her face and rustled her clothing as she studied the yard below.

Spring had made her mark. The lawn was lush and green; the leaves on the trees were beginning to sprout light green while others showed the promise of rebirth in the tiny reddish-brown buds at the end of each tree branch.

She’d been alone in the house these past few weeks, and she was managing. There were memories of her husband in every room. She could almost hear his voice calling to her as he entered the house from outside. She and Ike had been married more than a year when he’d suffered a fatal heart attack while shoveling snow during an early heavy November snowstorm. During the winter months that followed, she’d had to come to grips with living the rest of her life alone. She would never know the joy of growing old with her husband nor experience the wonder of holding their baby son or daughter. But Ike’s death was Gottes wille and she prayed to the Lord daily for the strength to accept it.

Martha shifted her attention toward her farm fields. It was the season when families gathered to work up the soil and plant seed. Soon she’d have to find someone to help with the planting. She could appeal to the community, but the farm was hers, and eventually she would have to find a way to manage on her own. If she didn’t, she might have to sell the property and go home to Indiana.

Thoughts of Indiana made her think briefly of her former betrothed, John Miller. She had cared for him deeply and she’d thought he’d felt the same. But then John had chosen to leave the Amish way of life—and her. She had joined the church and would have been shunned if she’d gone with him. Not that he’d ever asked me. The knowledge still made her feel a little pang whenever she recalled the day he’d told her that he was leaving.

Martha straightened her spine. She must accept that her life hadn’t gone the way she’d envisioned. She had loved and lost two men—John and her husband, Ike. She sighed. There was no use questioning God’s plan. She would find the strength to rise above the challenge to become self-sufficient. Fortunately, Ike had left her enough money to last for several months, perhaps even a year if she was careful. But she needed to discover a way to earn income before there was nothing left to buy supplies, care for the animals and maintain the house.

As she turned from the window, she caught a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. She groaned as she saw her first challenge. Two sheep had escaped from the pasture and were munching contently on the side lawn. Then she watched as her best dairy cow widened the fence opening as it followed the sheep.

Martha hurried downstairs. If she didn’t put them back where they belonged, the animals might wander into the road. As she raced outside, she made a quick decision to corral the sheep first. She eased toward the closest one, and when the animal bolted out of reach, she ran after it. Her attempts to corner her livestock became an unwelcome game of cat and mouse between her and the sheep as she raced about the yard in hot pursuit.

The animal stopped several feet away. Martha paused to catch her breath, hoping that if she remained still for a few minutes, the sheep would become too busy eating to notice when she approached. She bent over and rested her hands on her knees, peering at them in watchful anticipation. Straightening slowly, she took a small step toward it and then stopped. When the animal didn’t move, Martha eased closer, then froze when the sheep suddenly looked up from his food, gave her an evil look and took off. She spun toward the other lamb that stood within range, but it baaed loudly at her and scuttled away.

Determined, she gave chase, zigzagging back and forth in an attempt to block one and then the other’s escape. The sheep ran toward her Holstein, and Martha shrieked in frustration as the cow mooed and shifted into a loping run. She found herself running after three animals instead of two. She became dismayed when she heard bleating and noted the escape of a fourth animal—Millicent, her temperamental milk goat.

“Move!” she hollered as she ran about waving her hands in an attempt to herd them in the right direction. “Nay! Nay! This way!”

“Shoo! Shoo!” a deep voice exclaimed, startling her.

Martha spun and saw Elijah Lapp, her friend Annie’s brother-in-law, as he joined in the chase for her livestock. She gasped as something soft brushed past her—one of the escaped lambs.

Flashing her a grin, Eli raced after the animal. She started to follow but slowed when she spotted his vehicle parked in the dirt drive close to the farmhouse. Recognizing Annie seated in the market wagon with her young son, Martha waved at her before she renewed her efforts to capture and pen up her animals.

It felt like a comedy of errors to Martha as she and Eli ran about the yard in hot pursuit of four pesky farm critters. Eli reached to snatch the smaller lamb and nearly fell when it eluded his grasp. He righted himself as the lamb headed in her direction, and Martha extended her arms to capture it. She slipped to her knees but managed to get a firm grip on the sheep.

“Got him!” she cried. Triumphant, she grinned at Eli, who gave her a nod of approval before he went after the second lamb.

Where could she put it until the fence was repaired? Martha gave it some thought. In the barn. She fought to pick up the struggling animal as she stood, then stumbled into the building and locked it inside a stall before she left to rejoin Eli. Outside Eli had control of the cow and was urging her toward the barn.

“In the stable next to the sheep!” she instructed, and he immediately obeyed.

While Eli was inside the barn, Martha went after her wily goat. The beast bleated loudly as if daring Martha to capture her. Martha sprang forward just as the goat rammed into her. Taken by surprise, Martha wobbled and then fell face forward. She got a mouthful of grass and dirt as the animal took off behind her.

Martha rolled onto her side and lay a moment with her eyes closed. She counted to ten silently, unhappy to be bested by a stubborn she-goat. She thought she heard Annie cry out something, but she couldn’t be sure.

Sensing someone above her, she looked up and saw Eli gazing down at her with concern. “Are you all right?” he said huskily. He crouched down to examine her more closely, and she felt the sharp impact of his bright azure eyes.

“Ja, I’m unhurt.” She gave him a crooked smile. The only thing that ailed her was embarrassment.

Looking relieved, Eli rose and extended his hand toward her. Martha stared at it a moment, debating whether or not to accept his help. She lifted her gaze and noted his tousled hair along with the dirt streaks and grass clippings on his handsome face and on his clothing. Two animals were in their pens, but there were still two critters running loose. The young man’s appearance and her own state of disarray with messy hair and grass-stained frock suddenly struck her as hilarious. She began to laugh. Her laughter started as a wide smile, then became a chuckle before it blossomed into a full-out belly-clutching roar.

She could sense that Eli was startled as he stared at her in silence with his hand still extended. Then his features crinkled with amusement, and his blue eyes began to twinkle. His chuckle turned into a laugh as if he, like her, had realized suddenly the hilarity in their situation—two grown adults bested by livestock.

Her laughter felt wonderful; it had been a while since she’d felt this good. Martha reached for his hand, and Eli pulled her to her feet. Her loud outburst eased to a soft giggle. Then the thought came to her that this wasn’t proper behavior for a widow, and she quickly pulled herself together.

“What do ya think?” she asked him. “Can we get the last of them?”

“Ja.” He grinned. “Can’t let a couple of critters get the better of us.”

Martha couldn’t contain her chuckle. “I think they already have.”

“Not for long!” he exclaimed as he spun and gave chase to the goat that dared to come too close. “Bet I can grab him first!”

“Not if I get to her before you do!” she cried, taking off after him. The goat continued to elude them. This was the most fun that Martha had enjoyed in years, and she wasn’t going to feel guilty about it. She forgot about her sorrow and felt alive again, almost as if God was reminding her that she had her life to live.