Hannah's Courtship. Emma Miller

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      Chapter Three

      Albert pulled into the long driveway that led through the trees to his nephew John’s new log-cabin-style home. He glanced at his watch as he pulled into a spot in front of the porch. He was right on time.

      He’d had a good day, considering that he’d had less sleep last night than usual; by the time he’d returned from the Yoder farm, it had been after two in the morning. Not that he minded. As a matter of fact, he’d enjoyed the little adventure. Of course, he was concerned for Hannah’s daughter and her friend. Thankfully, everyone was safe. No harm done.

      And his day had turned out to be an easy one. Besides the four routine calls for immunizations, he’d stitched up a pig’s snout, and done a physical examination on a nice-looking colt. With the new vet that he and his nephew had hired tending to the small-animal portion of the practice, he was free to spend his time where his heart was, with large-animal cases: cows, horses, pigs, sheep and goats.

      John and his wife, Grace, stepped out onto the porch and waved. Albert felt a rush of pride. He’d never fathered a child, but John was as close to being a son as a man could ask for. And the wife he’d chosen, Grace Yoder, had come to the marriage with a bright-eyed little boy who had eased his way into Albert’s heart.

      Albert walked around the truck, opened the passenger door and let his dog out. From the floor, he took a bag containing a junior-size pair of binoculars he’d found while poking around in his attic. They had been John’s when he’d been around Dakota’s age, and he thought the boy might like them.

      “Come in, Uncle Albert,” Grace called. “Supper’s ready. My spaghetti and Johanna’s yeast rolls. Your favorite.” She led them into the house and the dog trotted behind them. “She sent them home with me when I went to pick up ’Kota.”

      “Where is the little rascal?” Albert looked around. “I brought him these.” He held out the binoculars.

      “He’s not here,” Grace explained. “Johanna invited him to stay overnight with Jonah, and I couldn’t pry him away.”

      “He’ll be sorry he missed you. But I know he’ll love these. I remember when Gramps bought the binoculars for me,” John said, taking them from Albert and peering through them. “The two of us used to go bird-watching on Sundays after church.”

      “I’ll just finish up in the kitchen,” Grace said with a smile. “You two catch up on vet talk.” She hurried away, auburn ponytail swinging behind her.

      Albert grinned at John. “I like that girl more every time I see her. You picked a winner. I’m just going to wash up.” He pointed toward the half bath in the hall.

      John bent to pat the dog’s head. “I did, didn’t I?” he said. “Grace has made me happy, really happy.”

      Albert paused at the bathroom door. “You’d have to be crazy if you weren’t happy, with her and ’Kota.”

      Albert entered the small room, switched on the light and closed the door behind him. Funny, he thought as he soaped his hands, how much life there seemed to be inside the walls of this house. He looked into the round mirror. “Love inside these walls,” he murmured half under his breath. For days, he’d been looking forward to sharing this evening meal with the three of them. Home was pretty lonely without Pop there now, just him and old Blue and the two cats that had somehow wormed their way into the family.

      Blue had been a hard-luck case just like the cats, and had turned out to be one of the best snap decisions he’d ever made. Not a lot of people wanted a three-legged coon hound that couldn’t hunt anymore, but he and Blue suited each other just fine. Without Blue... Albert sighed. Dogs had short lives, compared to humans, but most folks couldn’t help getting deeply attached to them, and he’d be the first to admit he was guilty.

      Grace was still in the kitchen when he joined John at the long pine table in the dining room. As she had predicted, they each had stories of the day’s patients and their owners to share. Albert settled into a chair, took a sip from the glass of iced tea John had given him and studied the spacious room.

      The log walls, the heavy log beams and wood floors gave the place a real flavor, and Grace and John had furnished it with a mixture of vintage pieces, such as a beautiful refinished icebox and a scarred church pew, mixed with a few antiques. Nothing was fancy. So far as he knew, the young couple didn’t own a television. Other than the laptop, which lay on a maple desk in the living room, and electricity, the house could have been from another century.

      “So what’s this I hear about you coming to the Yoders’ rescue last night?” John asked.

      “Amish telegraph?” Albert asked with a chuckle.

      John laughed. “Johanna told Grace. I can’t imagine Susanna and David King out on the road at night with a pony. It’s a wonder something worse didn’t happen to them.”

      Albert leaned back in the chair. “I came along at the right time. Whoever ran them into that ditch kept going. But it might teach those kids a lesson and keep them out of worse trouble.”

      Grace came to the table with individual bowls of garden salad. “Susanna’s never done anything like that before. I’ve never known her to get into any kind of trouble. She’s such a sweet girl.”

      “You think it’s serious, David and Susanna?” John asked Grace. “They seem to spend a lot of time together.”

      “I don’t know,” she answered.

      “It worries Hannah,” Albert said. “We got to talk some when we walked David back to his house. You’ve got to admire Hannah for the job she’s done with your sister. It can’t have been easy. David’s parents, too. From what I’ve seen of him, he seems like a good boy. But Hannah’s alone. She’s had to go through all this dating and courtship stuff with all of her girls all by herself since Jonas passed away.”

      A timer went off in the kitchen. “That’s the pasta,” Grace explained. “Supper’s coming up as soon as I can drain them.”

      “Is the buggy a total loss?” John asked.

      Albert shook his head. “No, not at all. A new axle should fix it good as new. Hannah was fortunate in that, too.”

      “That’s great,” John sipped his tea. “Buggies are expensive, and I know the family thinks a lot of that one. Grace said her father brought it from Pennsylvania when he was courting Hannah.”