His Suitable Amish Wife. Rebecca Kertz

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СКАЧАТЬ make it a home. His sister Sarah had offered to stay and help with Ethan until Reuben could make other arrangements for his son’s care while he was at work.

      Life was tough. He worked hard to feed and clothe Ethan, and although he’d finally paid the balance owed to the hospital, there never seemed to be enough money or time to fix up the house and clear the garbage from the yard. He briefly closed his eyes. So much to worry about.

      Reuben knew the best solution would be for him to marry again, something he didn’t want to do. Still, he had to think of his son first, so he would find a wife, if only for Ethan to have a mother. He would need to find a woman who would watch and protect his son and be content to simply be a quiet, calming companion for him. He wouldn’t promise love, although he would honor her. He didn’t want to marry for love. Love hurt too much.

      He would be practical in his choice of bride. He’d already lost a wife. While Susanna and he had started their relationship as friends, deep affection and love for each other had come with time. When she died, a part of him had died with her. He never again wanted to feel that depth of pain.

      “Reuben, are you hungry?” Sarah entered the room with a smile. “I can make us eggs, toast and sausage.”

      “That sounds gut, Sarah.” He smiled his thanks while he noted something different about her. She looked rested, pretty. She’d redone her hair, and the dress she wore looked freshly laundered. It was only at that moment that he realized how hard it must be for her to care for his young son. His sister was only fifteen, and she received no help or relief from Ethan’s care, except for when Ethan was napping. It wasn’t fair for Sarah to be saddled with a child. He would have to start looking for a wife, and soon.

      Reuben shifted his son in his arms and softened as he studied Ethan’s perfect, smooth baby facial features. His son lay content against him. It had taken him a while to bond with Ethan. His grief had been too stark, at first, that it had been painful to look at his son, who reminded him of Susanna. But his parents’ decision to move had spurred him to change and take full responsibility and care of his child. He’d held his baby frequently, staying up with him at nights when he cried. He’d bathed, fed, and changed his diaper. His time spent with Ethan had created a deep parental bond. He’d discovered a love for his son that was overpowering and joyful. Every time he saw the way his baby lay trustingly within his arms, his love overflowed, overtaking his grief and cementing an even stronger link. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his child—and that included taking another wife so Ethan could have a mother.

      After supper, he left Ethan in Sarah’s care and built a cradle large enough for a toddler to use on the first floor for when he and Ethan were downstairs together. Tomorrow, he would work to replace old and damaged shingles on the roof of his house. The job shouldn’t take long. The area of roof was small, but the house had two floors, with the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs and a second smaller bath downstairs. Plenty of room for three or four, even possibly five people. Although there will be only three of us living here. He had no intention of having more children. He’d learned the hard way that the health risk to a woman was too great.

      The next morning, he got up and checked on Ethan, who continued to sleep. He began to assemble what he’d need to fix the roof. He briefly considered bringing Ethan outside while he worked, but was afraid that his son would get hurt as he stripped off shingles and tossed them to the ground. Ethan would have to remain inside with Sarah. Today, he’d get a lot done with the building supplies that he’d already purchased and stored in the small barn. Money was tight, but he would get paid by the construction company in the next couple of days.

      Reuben felt a measure of peace at his plans for the day, until he remembered that Ellie Stoltzfus had said she’d be back. His good humor and sense of well-being abruptly left him.

      He sighed as he recalled the first time he saw her years ago...sweet, lovely, with golden blond hair and bright blue eyes. He’d been attracted to her.

      He forced the memory away. He had to stick to his plan and find a wife who would accept that they would be companions but nothing more. The last thing he needed was for Ellie to interfere with his life. He had enough to worry about without the attraction he still felt complicating things.

       Chapter Two

      Ellie had no idea why she felt as if she shouldn’t tell her family about Reuben. Yet she decided not to tell anyone about her experience at the house or that Reuben had moved into their church district. They’d find out soon enough when Bishop John introduced him to the community, or in the event that someone such as their neighboring busybody, Alta Hershberger, learned about the new family in Happiness and nattered about them.

      She told him she’d be back today. And she’d made the decision to return tomorrow and the day after that until he no longer needed her. But once she’d arrived home last evening, she’d worried about the cleaning jobs she already had scheduled. Ellie couldn’t abandon her housecleaning business yet, even if she wanted to help someone in need. She’d worked too hard to get it going, and she wasn’t about to let any of her clients down now that they’d come to rely on her. Thankfully, the Broderick family, her job for this morning, had changed the day and time that they wanted her to clean. Which left Ellie free to head to the Reuben Miller residence first thing to continue the work she’d started yesterday afternoon.

      The early summer day heralded warm temperatures and sunny skies. Ellie enjoyed the trip to Reuben’s as she viewed the green lawns that looked lusher after an overnight rain. She was happy with her life and pleased with how well her cleaning business was doing. She figured she would clean houses until she had children after marrying.

      She wasn’t in any hurry to wed. Her sisters Nell, Leah and Meg were happy with their husbands, and her youngest sister, Charlie, would be marrying Nate Peachy, the man she loved, come autumn after harvest time in November. Once Charlie moved out of the house, Ellie knew that she would be the only one there to help Mam and Dat with chores. Her parents were getting older, and she noticed that they were starting to show their age. She caught her father walking with a stiff gait as if in pain, especially before it rained. Her mother often needed help lifting baking pans out of the oven, and she seemed to have slowed down some. Though she was away from the house with her work each day, Ellie always made it a point to help them in any way she could when she was home.

      The house would be too large for her parents if she wed and left the nest like her sisters. If her mother and father were settled in a smaller home, Ellie would feel better about moving on. But as things stood, with five daughters and no sons to take over the property, there would be no one to help her mam and dat if she left. And there was no dawdi haus on the property, since neither Mam nor Dat had parents who lived in the area. Her dat’s eldre were deceased, and her mam’s non-Amish parents lived in Ohio. For now, she’d keep a close eye on them. If they needed her, she could adjust her cleaning schedule to spend more time at home.

      Ellie saw Reuben immediately as she steered her horse onto the short driveway next to his house. He knelt on the roof, working on removing shingles. He wore his black-banded straw hat to protect his face and neck from the sun and a short-sleeved light green shirt with black suspenders and navy tri-blend work pants. As she climbed down from her vehicle and tied up her horse, she heard the thud, squeak, thud, squeak of his hammer claw as he pried nails out of old roof shingles before he ripped them up and tossed them to the ground.

      She stood a moment, her hand shadowing her eyes against the sun so she could see him better. She couldn’t help but notice the way his forearms flexed as he worked. Reuben moved to another area to tear off a section СКАЧАТЬ