A Hand to Hold (32 page)
“My goodness, Deborah. He’s quite a hottie.”
Deborah looked at Aunt Sadie and laughed. Her aunt had arrived for a surprise visit the day before, and now they were sitting on the front porch, snapping the last of the green beans they had picked from the garden. Over near the barn, Stephen had set Will on his broad shoulders. He looked over at the women and waved.
“Yep,” Sadie said, snapping a bean in half with one hand. “He’s a fine-looking man.” She glanced at Deborah. “And from all accounts, a very good man too.”
“That he is.” She waved back at Stephen and her son, then looked back at Sadie. “I’m so glad you’re here,
Aenti
.”
“Me too.” Her bright red lips curved into a smile. “Although I wish I had known about Moses before I got here.”
“We didn’t want to worry you, and he didn’t want the attention.” She picked up another green bean from the pile on the table and broke off the ends.
“I give you permission to worry me. I would have been here days ago if I had known.” She glanced over Deborah’s shoulder at Stephen again. “So what’s going on between you two?”
Deborah kept her gaze on the bowl in her lap, but she couldn’t hide her smile. “What makes you think there’s something going on?”
“Oh please. I’m old but not senile. I know two lovebirds when I see them. So when’s the wedding?”
“We’ve barely started to date,
Aenti
.” Although she had to wonder that herself. Neither of them had brought up marriage, but Deborah couldn’t imagine marrying anyone else. The more time she spent with Stephen, the more she fell in love with him.
“Fine, be coy about it. I’ll make sure to keep my calendar open this fall, just in case.”
Deborah grinned. It was great to be with her aunt again.
Stephen and Will headed toward them. When they reached the porch, Stephen lifted Will off his shoulders high in the air, letting him dangle there for a moment. Will burst into giggles as Stephen swung him down and set him on the porch. Stephen looked at Deborah, his blue eyes shining with warmth. Deborah could feel her cheeks heat underneath his tender gaze.
Sadie mumbled something about lovebirds, then set her bowl of green beans on the table and reached for Will. “Looks like this punkin’s been having too much fun in the dirt.” She rose from the rocker and took his hand. “Bath time for you, little man!”
After Sadie and Will walked into the house, Stephen sat down in the rocker next to Deborah and leaned his arms over his knees. “It’s
gut
to see you smile.”
She nodded. “I have a lot to smile about.” And she did. Two weeks had passed since her father’s heart attack, and he was gaining more strength each day. And even though Naomi was still distant, her attitude had softened toward her and Will. She even offered to watch him a few days ago while Deborah went to town for the first time. That spurred Deborah to pray even harder for her sister. She wanted Naomi to heal.
Stephen angled his chair toward her, his expression suddenly serious. “I need to talk to you about something. I hope you’ll still be smiling after I’m done.”
Deborah dropped the green bean she’d just snapped into the bowl, alarmed. “Is there something wrong?”
“Nee.”
He reached for her hand. “Deborah, everything is right. It has been since I met you.” He covered her hand with his other one. “I know we haven’t known each other that long, so this might seem sudden. But it’s the truth. I love you, Deborah. I want to be a husband to you, and a father to Will. But . . .” He looked away, swallowing.
She frowned. “But what?”
He met her eyes again. “I don’t want you to think I’m marrying you because of the farm. In fact, I don’t want it.”
“You don’t want to be a farmer anymore?”
“
Nee
. That hasn’t changed. But if I thought for minute you doubted my reasons for marrying you, I’d give up the idea of farming.”
“Oh, Stephen, I could never doubt you. And I would never ask you to give up your dream of farming.” She smiled, her heart swelling with love for this gentle giant of a man.
He let out a deep breath and squeezed her hand. “That’s what I was hoping you’d say.”
The front door opened and Aunt Sadie walked out, Will cradled in the crook of her arm. She looked from Deborah to Stephen, her lips spreading in a fat grin. “Now, now, don’t mind us.”
From the satisfied look on her aunt’s face, Deborah knew her aunt hadn’t just appeared. “You were eavesdropping again,” she said as Stephen dropped her hand and leaned back in the chair. His cheeks reddened.
“Absolutely not. I was casually listening. There’s a big difference.” Sadie glanced from her to Stephen. “Don’t stop on my account. I just came out here to get Will’s toy. He kept asking for that wooden horse of his. There, I see it.” She went to the opposite end of the porch and picked it up off the floor. Then she turned back around and walked inside. “Carry on,” she said before shutting the door.
“Well,” Stephen said, still looking a little embarrassed. “That wasn’t exactly how I expected my proposal to
geh
.” He rose from the rocker and stood in front of her, holding out his hand. “But it doesn’t matter. As long as you say you’ll be my wife.”
Deborah took his hand and stood. “I’d be honored to be your wife.”
Smiling, he leaned down, giving her a soft, quick kiss on the mouth. Then he drew her into his arms.
She closed her eyes and leaned against him, marveling at how God had brought them together. He knew what they both needed and wanted, even before they realized it themselves. He had known it all along.
O
NE
Y
EAR
L
ATER
Z
ach, what are you doing?” Ruth glanced over her shoulder as he grabbed her hand and led her to the other side of Lukas’s house. When they were shielded from her entire family, he let go of her hand. She leaned against the white siding of the house and put her hands on her hips. “Well? Are you going to answer me or not?”
He grinned, putting both hands on either side of her face, then drew her mouth to his for a lingering kiss. “How’s that for an answer?”
Breathless, she nodded. “
Gut
answer.” Then she shook her head and regained her senses. “You can’t do that here. What if my family catches us?”
“I’m a troublemaker, remember? I have a reputation to uphold.”
“Sorry, that reputation has been shattered for months.” She smiled at the joy on his face. He had come so far in the past year learning to read. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he said it would be difficult to teach him. Through her research, she discovered he was dyslexic, and it had taken several months and a lot of determination on his part to succeed. Witnessing his drive had made her fall more deeply in love with him, and they would be getting married in mid-November, which was only three weeks away.
As much as she wouldn’t mind spending time alone with him right now, they both knew it wouldn’t be appropriate. “We better get back before anyone misses us.”
“I think they’re all too busy to notice.” He leaned forward again, but she put her finger to his lips. He smiled against it and stepped away. “All right, you win. This time.”
She laughed as they went back around to where the rest of the family were gathered. She could only imagine what he meant by that. Zach had changed a lot in the past year, but he hadn’t lost his impulsiveness. And for someone who never liked surprises, she didn’t mind his at all.
“Where did you guys
geh
off to?” Ruth’s mother asked when she and Zach joined her at the picnic table. Lukas had set up several of the tables in his spacious backyard. One table was devoted completely to food where, not surprisingly, she saw Stephen piling up his plate.
“We took a walk.” Zach looked at his future mother-in-law, his eyes wide with innocence. Ruth had to look away before she started to laugh.
Emma peered at him over her eyeglasses, but didn’t say anything. “Did you two get enough to eat?”
“
Ya
,” Ruth said, sitting next to her mother.
“I doubt there’s any left if we didn’t,” Zach added, joining them. “I see Stephen’s hit the table pretty hard.”
“I heard that.”
Ruth turned and saw her brother a few feet away. He grinned as he sat down with them. “Where’s Deborah?” she asked.
“With the
kinner
.” He gestured with his thumb to the sandbox several yards away. Deborah, Elisabeth, Moriah, and Rachel were sitting near it, keeping an eye on the children. He took a bite of potato salad, then wiped his bearded chin with his napkin. He and Deborah had married in January and were staying at the Coblentz farm with her father and sister until he built a house of his own.
“Stephen! Zach!” Lukas’s foster son, Sawyer, called out from the other side of the yard. His dark brown hair lifted in the cool fall breeze. “Get over here. We need two more players to make the teams even.”
“Just a minute.” Stephen wolfed down a couple more bites of food, then handed his plate to Ruth. He trotted over to Sawyer, who was conferring with Tobias, Lukas, and Aaron. The men wore baseball gloves, and Aaron was tossing a baseball up and down in his right hand.
Zach looked at Ruth, eagerness in his green eyes. She nodded and he took off running toward the men.
Once Zach left, she heard her mother sigh. She turned and looked at her. “Are you okay,
Mami
?”
“
Ya
. I’m perfectly fine.” She smiled, but her eyes shined with tears. “It’s hard to believe how fast the time goes. I remember when the six of you used to form your own team.”
“And Stephen always struck out.” Ruth laughed quietly. Her brother was talented at many things, but he had never gotten the hang of hitting a baseball.
“Now look at all of you. Moriah and Gabriel have three
schee maed
. Tobias has a
wunderbaar frau
in Rachel, and his Josiah is as mischievous as he is.” Emma chuckled. “Lukas and Anna opened their hearts and home to Sawyer, and soon will have two other foster children. And Elisabeth, she’ll be a
mudder
by Christmas. Stephen and Deborah have a fine
sohn
in Will. Then there is my youngest.” She swiped a finger under her eye. “You’ll be married soon.”
Ruth looked at her siblings and their families. Her nieces and nephews playing in the sandbox and on the swing-set, her sisters and sisters-in-law close by. She saw Elisabeth place her hand over her swollen belly, remembering how giddy she had been when she announced she and Aaron were expecting.
Her gaze travelled to the men, who had already chosen teams. Stephen, Aaron, and Tobias stood by the old baseball mitt that served as home base while Lukas, Zach, and Sawyer formed the other team. Her father and Gabriel stood by, their arms crossed over their chests as they talked.
“The Lord has blessed us mightily,” Emma said. “He has given us a
wunderbaar familye
.”
Ruth nodded. “
Ya
,
Mami
. He certainly has.”
*
Guide contains spoilers, so don’t read before completing the novel.
1. Because of decisions Zach has made, he often feels like a failure. Have you ever felt like you failed at something? How did God help bring your confidence back?
2. Ruth doesn’t like surprises, yet during the story her plans don’t work out the way she expects them to. Discuss a time when your plans didn’t coincide with God’s. What was the result?
3. Deborah worries about the community not accepting her and Will because of the circumstances of his birth. However, she does believe God accepts her no matter what. Give an example of a time where you felt God’s acceptance and how that affected your life.
4. Stephen is unselfish and loyal in helping the Coblentz family take care of the farm. Is there a person in your life who has demonstrated these qualities? In what ways?
5. Zach is ashamed that he can’t read, and he is afraid he’ll never learn how. Think about a time in your life when you were afraid. How did God help you overcome that fear?
6. In the story, Ruth learned that first impressions aren’t always accurate. Have you ever formed an opinion about someone, only to change your mind after you got to know him/her? What happened to make your rethink your opinion?
7. Naomi still harbors the pain of her past. If you could give Naomi advice, what would you say to her?
8. Do you think Stephen should purchase his own farm or take over the Coblentz farm? Explain your answer.
9. How important was it for Jacob to see Zach accept Ruth’s help? Describe a time where admitting personal weakness has benefited someone else (you can use a Biblical account or personal account as an example).
10. Stephen showed unconditional love when he accepted Deborah and Will into his life, in spite of her past. Discuss a time when God specifically showed you His unconditional love.
I
’d like to thank my wonderful editors, Natalie Hanemann and Jenny Baumgartner, for helping me bring
A Hand to Hold
to life. They continually teach and encourage me, and I couldn’t have written this book without them. Thanks to my agent, Tamela, who’s not only a great agent but a dear friend. A big thank you and hug to my children, Mathew, Sydney, and Zoie, for being the best three kids in the world. A special thank you to my friend Maria for reading over the manuscript and giving me her invaluable feedback. And most of all, thank you, dear readers, for your support and encouragement. I’m so glad we made this journey to Middlefield together.
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