A Secret Amish Love. Rebecca Kertz

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СКАЧАТЬ offered a tentative smile. “Hallo, Dat.” He watched with awe as happiness transformed his stepfather’s expression.

      “Come in!” he invited with a grin as he stepped back to allow him entry. “Your mudder will be pleased to see you.” He regarded James with affection. “I’m glad you’ve come back to visit.” His eyes brightened as if Adam fought tears. “You look well, soohn. Your clinic is doing gut?”

      James suddenly felt as if a big weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he entered the house. “It’s doing better now, Dat.” He needed this homecoming. Adam was still the warm, patient and kind man he’d always been, and James was so thankful for him. “It was hard to get started at first. I’m getting more patients, though.”

      Adam smiled. “I’m happy for you, James. I’m certain that you’ll make a success of it.” He gestured toward the kitchen table. “Sit, sit. I’ll get your mudder.”

      James sat, aware that the house held all the wonderful cooking smells reminiscent of those he’d loved and remembered from his childhood.

      Before Adam could leave to find her, his mother entered the kitchen from the front of the house. “I thought I heard voices, husband. Who—” Her eyes widened as they filled with tears of joy. “James!” She beamed at him. “You’re back.”

      James grinned. “Hallo, Mam. I’m sorry I haven’t been back sooner.”

      His mother brushed off his apology. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters.” She met her husband’s gaze with a pleased, loving smile. “He’s come home again,” she whispered huskily.

      Adam moved to his wife’s side and placed a loving hand on her shoulder. His smile for her was warm. “Ja, he has.” He captured James’s gaze. “And he is happy to be here.” His stepfather grinned when James nodded. “I know ’tis near suppertime, Ruth, but why don’t we have tea first?”

      James watched his mother put on the teakettle. He had to stifle the urge to get up and help, knowing that it would upset her if he tried. In her mind, a woman’s work was in the house while a man’s work was on the farm or at his business. Adam’s farm was small but large enough to provide for his family. His stepfather made quality outdoor furniture for a living, and Adam was good at his work.

      The teakettle whistled as Mam got out cups, saucers and tea bags.

      “It’s gut to be back,” James said sincerely. It was good to see his family and the farm.

      He made a silent vow that he would return more frequently to spend time with the family he loved and missed, he realized, during the years he’d been away from Happiness, Pennsylvania.

      * * *

      Her father came into the room as Nell was drying the last of the supper dishes. “Dochter, when you’re done, come out onto the porch. I want to talk with you.”

      “I’ll be right out, Dat.” She was putting away dishes when her sister pitched in to help. “Danki, Ellie.” Nell hung up her wet tea towel on the rack when they were done.

      “He’ll not bite you,” Ellie said softly.

      Nell flashed her a look. “I didn’t think he would.”

      “Then stop looking scared. Dat loves us.” Her lips twitching, she teased, “Even you.”

      “I know, but I’m afraid he’s angry that I didn’t come right home from Aunt Katie’s.”

      “He’s not angry,” Ellie assured her.

      “Disappointed? Upset?”

      “He was worried. Joshua didn’t come until it was too late for him not to worry.”

      “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t know that Bob would send Joshua.”

      “Nor could you foresee the accident that would keep Joshua from getting to us sooner.”

      “Then why does he want to talk with me?”

      Her sister shrugged. “Only one way to find out.”

      Nell nodded. “I guess I better go then.”

      She couldn’t regret her afternoon at the clinic. She’d had a taste of what it might have been like if she’d accepted James’s job offer as his assistant. She loved animals. She enjoyed spending time with them, caring for them, holding them. After her sister Meg became gravely ill, and Michael—the man she’d loved—had died, her animals had been Nell’s only solace.

      Working the afternoon at Pierce’s Veterinary Clinic, she believed, was God’s reward for doing the right thing.

      Her father was standing on the front porch gazing at the horizon when Nell joined him.

      “Dat?”

      “Gut, you’re here.”

      “Dat, if this is about today, I’m sorry that you were worried. I called Bob as soon as I knew that I’d be staying. I didn’t know about Joshua and the accident.”

      “This isn’t about today,” he said, “although I was worried when you didn’t come home.”

      “I’m sorry.”

      “You did what you should have. Joshua explained everything.” He turned to stare out over the farm. “’Tis about something else. Something I’ve been meaning to talk with you about.”

      “What is it, Dat?”

      “You’re twenty-four, Nell. ’Tis time you were thinking of marrying and having a family of your own. Other community women your age are married with children, but you have shown no interest in having a husband. I’m afraid you’re spending too much time with your animals.”

      Nell’s heart lurched with fear. He’d talked previously of marriage to her but not negatively about her animals. “Dat, I enjoy them.” She inhaled sharply. “You want me to get rid of them?”

      He faced her. “Nay, Dochter, I know you care for those critters, and as unusual as that is, I wouldn’t insist on taking anything away that gives you such joy. But having a husband and children should be more important. You’re getting older, and your chances at marriage are dwindling. You need to find a husband and soon. If not, then I’ll have to find one for you.”

      “How am I supposed to get a husband, Dat?” She’d loved Michael and hoped to marry him until he’d died of injuries from an automobile accident.

      She knew she was expected to marry. It was the Amish way. But how was she to find a husband?

       Chapter Three

      Saturday morning found the five Stoltzfus sisters in the kitchen with their mother preparing food for the next day. This Sunday was Visiting Day, and the family would be spending it at the William Mast farm. Nell and her sister Leah were making schnitz pies made from dried apples for the gathering. Mam and Ellie were kneading bread that they would СКАЧАТЬ