The Amish Nanny's Sweetheart. Jan Drexler

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СКАЧАТЬ Amish settlers who came to Indiana from Pennsylvania.”

      “And they’re well liked in the community?”

      “Ach, ja.” Annie sat on a chair at the kitchen table.

      Eli held a block out for his mother to see, then pounded it on the floor. “Block, block, block.” Then he looked at Judith and grinned.

      She grinned back at him. She was growing to love this little boy more each day.

      Annie sighed and stretched her back. “The Kaufmans have been leaders in the church for years, according to what Matthew has told me. Luke’s daed is one of the deacons. Why are you asking about them?”

      Judith leaned her back against the kitchen shelf, facing her sister. “I think Luke is interested in me.”

      “What makes you think that?”

      “The way he acted at the Singing. He singled me out to talk to, and he wanted to take me home. Hannah said his courting buggy was new, so I know he wanted to show it off to me.”

      “Would you welcome his attentions?”

      Judith stared out the window. Luke was handsome, and the family was well established, according to what Annie said. But could she face the future with Luke, knowing how uncomfortable he made her feel? That might change as she got to know him. After all, he had the means to support her and a family, and there was no question about his daed’s commitment to the Amish faith.

      Luke was the kind of suitor she had always dreamed of. A man who could change the course of her life.

      Judith sat in the chair facing Annie, wiping her hands on a towel. “I don’t want to end up like Mamm, working too hard and never having enough.”

      Annie’s face paled. Eli climbed into her lap with a block in each hand, and she made room for him, but her brows puckered. “You mean you don’t want to marry someone like our daed? You want someone who can provide well for you?”

      “I don’t want to sound ungrateful or that I’m not honoring Daed’s memory...but I didn’t like him very much.”

      Annie grasped her hand. “You and Esther had it the worst of all of us, I think. I remember that his drinking became a lot worse after Mamm died.”

      Judith nodded. “I only remember him being angry those last few years, and we could never please him.” She pressed her lips together before more complaints about Daed slipped out.

      “I don’t blame you for wanting a different kind of life.” Annie squeezed her hand, then released it to help Eli slide off her lap and onto the floor again. “But they were happy once. Mamm really did love him.”

      “Before he started drinking.”

      “She loved him, even then.”

      Annie fell silent, and Judith watched Eli stack one block on top of another. Annie was right. Their parents had loved each other at one time. But was love enough to make a happy marriage?

      “Still, I don’t want to end up poor and living on the edge of the family and community.”

      “There’s nothing wrong with being thankful for what the Good Lord provides,” Annie said, her voice quiet.

      “But don’t you think a marriage has a better chance of being happy if there’s enough money to live on?” Judith went back to the meat grinder. She had ground all the ham and she needed to wash the grinder before the gears became crusty and hard to clean. “The Kaufman family is well-to-do, from what you said.”

      “But Judith, just because Luke’s family has a good farm doesn’t mean he would be a better husband than anyone else.”

      “Don’t you think it’s worth getting to know him better?”

      Annie shook her head. “He’s broken more than one heart already.”

      Judith let Annie’s comment settle in her mind. She didn’t have enough experience to tell what kind of man was the right one to marry, but Annie and Matthew seemed happy together.

      She sat down at the table again, next to her sister. “How did you know Matthew was the right man for you to marry?”

      Annie smiled. “First of all, he made me laugh.”

      Judith grinned, remembering nearly falling off her chair the evening before.

      “But most important, he showed me how much he loved me.”

      “You mean he whispered mushy poems in your ear?” Judith wrinkled her nose at the thought of some boy’s moist lips next to her ear, breathing words of love.

      “Ne, nothing like that,” Annie said, laughing. She sat back in her chair and looked at the ceiling as she went back in her memories. “He remembered that I like the piece of cake from the very middle of the pan and always made sure I got that one. He let me win when we played games with his brothers and sisters. He always gave me his hand to help me in and out of the buggy.”

      Annie leaned forward, cupping the top of Eli’s head in a loving caress. “Matthew has always put my needs and our family’s needs before his own comfort. He works hard to provide for us and never complains.”

      They sat together for a few minutes while Judith thought about Annie’s description of her husband. A swelling rose in her throat...a longing for someone to cherish her in that same way.

      A cry from one of the babies drifted from the bedroom. “I think someone is hungry again.” Annie started toward the kitchen door, then turned back to Judith. “Don’t go chasing Luke. He’s not the man I’d want my baby sister to marry.”

      Judith smiled, hoping to reassure her sister. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.”

      She let the pieces of the grinder soak in warm, soapy water while she chopped onion, celery and pickles to mix into the ham spread.

      “Me?” Eli said, tugging on her skirt.

      “For sure.” Judith lifted him into his chair at the table and spread some of the ground ham on a bit of cracker. “What do you think?”

      Eli opened his mouth and she popped the bite in, then he scrunched up his face into a smile. He nodded and patted his tummy as he swallowed. “More? Eli more?”

      Judith prepared another cracker for him, grinning as he opened his mouth like a little bird.

      “You love ham spread as much as your daed does, don’t you?”

      “Da?” Eli held his hands up. “Da here?”

      “He’s working now, but he’ll be in for dinner.”

      Eli kicked his feet against the chair. “Go Da. Down. Go Da.”

      Judith glanced out the window. The weather was cold and cloudy, but it hadn’t started snowing yet.

      “After I finish my work, we’ll go out and see what Daed is doing.” She wiped off the little boy’s hands and СКАЧАТЬ