Their Convenient Amish Marriage. Cheryl Williford

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СКАЧАТЬ Clara entered the room from the hall and flashed past Leviticus, her advanced pregnancy evident by the round bulge pushing at the waistline of her plain blue dress. Tears ran down her face as she rushed out the back door behind Solomon.

      Leviticus took a sip of his water, swallowed hard and poured the rest of it down the sink. He’d expected Solomon to be relentless with anger and he hadn’t been far off the mark. Solomon’s forgiveness might come, but not today. Maybe not ever.

      Her face flushed, Verity patted Albert on the arm. “You’ll be all right while I gather the eggs?”

      “Ya, sure. Leviticus is here now. He can fetch and carry for me till you’re back in.”

      She nodded but paused a step away and turned back. “You took your pill?”

      “Ya. Just like you told me. One at lunch and the other at dinner.”

      “Gut.” Verity grabbed the egg basket and then hurried out of the room, but not before sending Leviticus a warning glance over her shoulder that told him she wouldn’t put up with any more foolishness from him around his father.

      Leviticus raked his fingers through his tangled hair and let his arm drop to his side. Verity wasn’t comfortable with him around, either. What had he expected? A happy homecoming? Like Solomon, she may never forgive him.

      Albert motioned for him to sit. “Your bruder’s angry now, but he’ll calm down. It may take time, but he’ll see the error of his ways and repent. I taught you both how to forgive, as Gott forgives us.” He smiled at his youngest soh, his eyes lighting up.

      “Your bruder missed you. He’s just bone tired and frustrated. The hurricane—it did terrible damage to the grove.” Albert rubbed at the base of his neck. “We’re not sure the grove can be saved. A big city buyer came round today, offering fifty cents on the dollar for the ground, but Solomon ran him off before I could.” The old man thrust his fist in the air. “I’ll die before I see this grove given away.” He laid his hand on his son’s arm. “Now that you are home, there is hope for the future of Hilty Groves.”

      “Don’t put your faith in me, Daed. Trust in Gott. I’ll disappoint you every time.” Humiliation ripped at his gut. He hadn’t earned his father’s trust yet, but he would, given time. He didn’t know if he had what it took to be the kind of soh his daed needed him to be, but he intended to try. Can I become a Plain man and please Gott?

      * * *

      Somewhere in the dark room, a baby was crying as if its heart were broken.

      Verity woke disoriented, her jumbled thoughts convincing her it was Faith’s lusty wails. She hurried out of bed, hoping she could calm the boppli before her cries woke Mark. He rose early each morning, before the sun’s first rays. The poor mann needs his rest.

      She frantically searched for her robe at the foot of the bed, then went on a hunt for her missing slipper. Kneeling, she found it just under the bed. Verity rushed to scoop the baby up, but the cot wasn’t where it should be by the back window. She turned, looking about in the darkness. The whole room seemed off-kilter, everything out of place. Why wasn’t the night-light glowing? She always left it on, so she could check the baby without disturbing Mark. Had the bulb burned out?

      She located a lamp on the dresser and switched it on. Its golden glow flooded the room.

      She glanced around. One side of the bed was rumpled. The other empty.

      Reality returned like the jab of a knife. She let out a loud sigh, all the while her heart pounding in her throat. Mark was with the Lord, his broken body deep under the soggy ground, along with their tiny soh, who’d been born much too early due to her shock and grief.

      The crying child was sweet Naomi, Leviticus’s child.

      Her house shoes made scuffing noises as she hurried across the hardwood floor and lifted the squirming child into her arms. Naomi was furious, her face red and splotched from crying. Her feet kicked the air in outrage. Verity cooed and softly talked to her, trying her best to calm the irate kind.

      She and Leviticus could have had their own dochder if he hadn’t walked away. But he had. Faith’s birth had filled her with a mother’s love, but what about Naomi? The child needed the care and love of a mamm. But could she care for Naomi and not feel resentment? A look into the baby’s shimmering dark eyes told Verity all she needed to know. She would love Leviticus’s child and show no grudge.

      She hugged the child closer, even though Naomi protested and pushed away. All kinner needed to feel wanted. Especially this bundle, whose mamm thought more of her job than her own flesh and blood. Anger rose up. Her heart ached for Naomi. How could anyone disown such a sweet boppli?

      Soaked from head to toe, Naomi was inconsolable. Her diaper, sheet and blanket would need changing. She’d have to put a fresh diaper and gown on the kind before she could get the chill off a bottle of milk.

      She worked fast, stripping off the Englischer onesie covered in tiny orange giraffes and pink rabbits. Amish children slept in nightgowns made of soft cotton, as was the custom. She’d made all her daughter’s gowns by hand and packed them up as Faith outgrew them. They’d been stored away for her next kind, but that boppli, a son she’d named Aaron, had lived but a few hours and then taken his last breath. Out of the dozens of gowns she’d sewed for him, he’d only worn one while alive. He’d been buried in a casket gown made by her hands, his little body swallowed up in the tiny garment painstakingly sewn while she’d cried a million tears in sorrow.

      Aaron had never gazed into his mother’s eyes or fed at her breast. The loss of Mark had left her broken, but the loss of Aaron had left her inconsolable. Almost crazy with grief, she’d shaken her fist at God the day they laid Aaron in the ground. She still asked how her soh’s loss could have been Gott’s will. Nothing good ever came from his death.

      A tap sounded at her closed bedroom door. Bending over the foot of her bed, Verity quickly wrapped Naomi in a blanket and picked her up before cracking the door. “Ya?”

      Leviticus stood just outside the semidarkness of her room. As if he’d dressed in a hurry, his shirt was buttoned incorrectly and thrown over wrinkled jeans. His long hair stood out wild around his sleep-creased face.

      “I heard the baby crying and thought you might need my help.”

      “You could fix her bottle while I redress her.” Her nerves tensed. Leviticus shouldn’t be in my bedroom while the others sleep on. She edged back to her bed, drawing Naomi close to her as she went. The child squirmed, almost slipping out of her hands. Turning her back to Leviticus, she tried to still the child’s body as she wiped her down with wipes and grabbed for a fresh diaper.

      Leviticus stood over her. “She squirms a lot.”

      Uncomfortable with the closeness of their bodies, she dipped her head, her eyes on his kind. “Ya.”

      He stepped away. “You’ll have to be extra cautious when changing her near the edge of the bed. She’s quick.”

      “That she is.” Glad he’d moved toward the door, she couldn’t help but grin. His dochder’s wiggling antics reminded her so much of Faith at this age.

      “I’ll СКАЧАТЬ