Elijah And The Widow (Lancaster County Weddings 4) (6 page)

After the men had filled their bellies, Martha watched as the crews went back to work. Their next job would be to cultivate the soil to ensure the ground was soft enough for seed. They might till the fields many times, if needed, to prepare the dirt properly.

Martha found her gaze drawn to Eli as he and Jacob switched places behind Ike’s new cultivator. He appeared to enjoy working with the equipment while, walking along beside him, Jacob helped steer the horses and remove any obstacles, such as rocks and other debris loosened by the machine blades.

Eli had pulled his straw hat low to shield his eyes from the sun. A light breeze rustled his royal-blue shirt and dark pants as he rose on the horse-drawn machinery from one end of the field to the other.

She smiled as she switched her attention to Annie’s husband. Jacob was a good man who loved his wife. Annie had made a wise choice when she’d married him.

Her thoughts turned naturally to her late husband. She was sincerely sorry that Ike had died without the joy of holding his own child. Martha tried to imagine him as a father of a houseful of children, but for some reason she couldn’t. Would he have been capable of tenderness toward his children, or would he have become impatient when the reality didn’t fit his imagination?

Jacob Lapp was tender to EJ, and he didn’t mind showing it. Noah was sweet and loving toward his baby daughter. Was it a mother’s influence on her sons that had made them such good husbands and fathers, unashamed of showing affection?

Ike had been gruff; she’d wondered since his passing if he would have been the father he’d hoped to be.

“Martha?” Eli’s voice startled her later that afternoon as she cut up the second cake and transferred the slices to small paper plates. Earlier she’d made fresh iced tea, and Meg and Charlie had carried out more lemonade as well as chilled bottles of pop.

“Back so soon?” Martha felt her face heat as she met Eli’s smiling gaze. “Are you here for another piece?” His regard made her feel tingly. “Is something wrong?” she asked when he hadn’t replied.

He shook his head as he continued to study her. “I’d like to try the lemonade.” He watched her as she reached for the pitcher, poured him a glass. “We’re getting ready to sow seed,” he said.

Martha gave a start. How long had she been lost in her own thoughts? “We are?”

“Amos and my
dat
are still cultivating, but they’ll be done soon.” He directed her attention to the horse-drawn machinery he’d recently driven. “That machine can do six rows at a time. Makes the job easier.”

Martha, recalling Ike’s claim, nodded. “He said the new equipment would cut farmwork time in half.”

“It does.” Eli continued to gaze at her with piercing blue eyes. Her face warmed. “As for the sowing—I don’t mean we as in you or any of the women, but us men.” He pointed out another of Ike’s machines. “A planting machine. Does the work in less than half the time as sowing seed by hand.”

She was impressed and told him so.

“We’ll be starting your repairs on Monday,” he reminded her. “
Dat
will stop by tomorrow with your estimate.”

“I appreciate your help.” She stopped her fingers from playing with the edge of her apron.

“I should get back to work.” He glanced toward the barn, where Jacob had hitched up the draft horses to another of Ike’s shiny new machines. “We’ll finish up today. If not, we’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

Martha was grateful for the help from her friends and her new family. Katie and Hannah happily helped in the kitchen, while Meg and Charlie carried dishes to and from the food table and kept watch for workers who stopped in for a quick drink or snack. The men toiled until the sun began to set in the west; then they finally came in from the fields to pack up for home. While his sons lifted the single row plow and set it carefully in the back of their wagon, Samuel approached Martha, who chatted with his wife.

“Got most of it today. We’ll finish up first thing tomorrow.” Samuel looked warm, his shirt moist against his skin. He had worn a long-sleeved shirt along with navy tri-blend pants and work boots, and the day had turned hotter than expected. The breeze had ceased that afternoon, and while the humidity wasn’t bad, Martha realized how hot it must have felt to the men doing her farming.

“
Danki
,
Samuel,” she said gratefully. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your hard work.”

He smiled. “’Twas our pleasure, Martha. Eli and Isaac will be back early tomorrow morning. I’ve checked on material for your repairs, and I’ll get you a proposal by tomorrow afternoon. On Monday, we’ll get started if everything meets with your approval.”

“Martha,” Mae interrupted as she approached from behind. “Amos is ready to leave. You will let us know if there is anything you need?”

“You’ve done more than enough.” She looked around gratefully at everyone within sight. “All of you.” She released a breath. “
Danki.
If there is anything that I can do for you, any way to repay you—”

Samuel frowned. “There will be no repayment.”

“Cake!” Eli called out at the same time.

Martha looked at his teasing grin and cracked a smile. His father stared at his son, and the innocent look on Eli’s face had Samuel shaking his head with amusement.

“Done!” Martha said before anyone could object. “I just happen to have an extra cake or two in the house. If you’ll wait just a moment, I’ll get them.”

Katie spoke up. “Martha, there’s no need—”

“I know, but ’tis my pleasure,” Martha called back as she hurried toward the house. “I baked too many, and I can’t eat them all!” She had seen the pleased gleam in Eli’s blue gaze when she mentioned the extra cake.

Feeling unusually lighthearted, Martha grabbed the cake, then returned to hand it to Katie. “Eli will ruin his supper if he gets a hold of this,” she warned.

Katie’s lips twitched. “
Ja
, he probably will.” She turned to her son. “Do you hear that, Eli?”

“But
Mam
—”

“Time to go,
soohn
,” his father said. “Be happy you have a cake to enjoy after dinner.”

Martha choked back a chuckle when she saw amusement twinkling in Eli’s expression. “
Danki
for the cake, Martha,” he said solemnly. “I’ll eat it after supper.”

Martha burst out laughing. “You’re not fooling me, Elijah Lapp.” Jacob approached from the yard, and she offered him the last cake to take home to Annie.

His brown eyes lit up. “She’d like that.”

She retrieved the other one and gave it to Jacob.

The workers and their families left, and Martha was alone in the house as light darkened into night. As she prepared for bed, she thought of the day and how grateful she felt for the help and the friendship of her church community. She thought of all the work done by her family, friends and neighbors. Katie Lapp and Missy Stoltzfus had cleaned up her kitchen and left it spotless.

Next year I’ll pay someone to work.
Her mind found an image of Eli Lapp. He was strong, healthy and a good farmer. Perhaps she could hire Eli and his brothers to plant for her next season. She’d have to give it some thought. She frowned as she had trouble banishing from her thoughts Eli Lapp with his warm, teasing demeanor.

Chapter Seven

“D
o you have everything?” Samuel placed his tool belt into the back of the wagon.

“
Ja, Dat.
We have the tools we need and the two-by-fours you picked up on Friday.” Eli studied the sky. “The day looks to be a
gut
one, so we should get a fair amount of work done today on Martha’s farmhouse.”

Isaac left the house and joined them. “Jedidiah coming?” he asked as he placed his tool belt next to
Dat
’s.

Dat
nodded. “
Ja
, he said he’d come for a while this morning. We’ll work on the windows after he gets there.”

Eli climbed onto the front wagon seat, while his father climbed in on the passenger side. Isaac jumped into the back.

The air was clean and fresh, filled with the scents of
Mam
’s
roses, as Eli steered their mare down the dirt lane toward the main road. Janey was in good form as she pulled their vehicle onto the King farm. Jedidiah was waiting for them in Martha’s barnyard as Eli parked their buggy next to Jed’s. He got out of the vehicle. “
Hallo
, Jed.”

“Took
ya
long enough, Eli,” Jedidiah teased.

“You could have come with us,” Isaac suggested as he climbed out of the back.

Jed shook his head. “I can work this morning. Have other work to do this afternoon.” He smiled as his father left the vehicle to join them. “
Gut
to see you,
Dat
.”

Their father was pleased. “Ready to get started?”

“
Ja.
Sarah fed me an early breakfast.”

Eli reached into the back of the wagon for the tools he’d need. “What did you have?” All of his sisters-in-law, like his mother, were wonderful cooks.

“Cinnamon rolls.” Jedidiah’s gaze grew soft. “But she made me eat eggs first. Said the sweet rolls alone wouldn’t keep me going until lunch.”

“I would have liked a cinnamon roll.” Isaac grabbed the tool belt Jacob had given him and strapped it on.

His father raised his eyebrows. “Your
mam
made you a fine breakfast.”

Isaac shrugged. “I still would have liked a cinnamon bun.”

Jedidiah laughed. “I’ll ask Sarah to wrap one up for you.”

“How are Sarah and Gideon?” Eli opened the back of the wagon and slid out several two-by-fours, which he stacked near the barn. Sarah and Annie had given birth within three months of each other. Annie and Jacob had welcomed EJ, his namesake, after Sarah and Jedidiah had been overjoyed with the new arrival of their son, Gideon.

Jedidiah smiled. “They are doing well...wonderful.”

Eli had never seen Jedidiah this happy before he married Sarah Mast from Kent County, Delaware. They’d met at Spence’s Bazaar and Auction in Dover. Jed had accompanied their uncle Arlin to sell Arlin’s wooden craft items and their mother’s herb, vegetable and flower plants at the flea market there. Sarah had been selling baked goods. It’d been a chance meeting between the two young people when Sarah’s young brothers had chased a puppy into a busy parking lot and Jed had rescued the boys from being hit by a car. It seemed as if God had devised a plan for Jed and Sarah when they’d encountered each other again in Lancaster County at the home of William and Josie Mast, Sarah’s cousins, who were the Lapps’ neighbors and friends. But Sarah’s mother’s health had been an obstacle to their future happiness until Ruth Mast had made a full recovery after heart surgery. Daniel and Ruth Mast had encouraged their daughter Sarah to follow her heart and begin a life with Jedidiah in Happiness.

Seeing his brothers happy with their chosen wives made Eli long for a love like theirs and a family of his own.

“The windows along the back are the worst,”
Dat
said, interrupting Eli’s thoughts. “We’ll start with those.”

Jedidiah frowned. “Why do any windows need to be replaced? Didn’t Ike just buy the place?”

“Five years ago. The windows were installed before Ike bought the farm,”
Dat
explained. “He left them in although the weather had taken a toll on them long before he purchased the property. And he didn’t paint them, which made matters worse.”

Jed examined a lower-level window with peeling trim. “These are going to take some work.”

Eli, who followed with Isaac, answered, “
Ja,
but we’ll get it done.”
What had Ike been thinking to ignore needed repairs to the house yet buy new farm equipment?

“Eli, why don’t you let Martha know that we’re here?”
Dat
said. “Isaac, Jed, grab the lumber Eli unloaded.”

“Ja, Dat,”
Isaac said as he moved to obey with Jed lending a hand.

Eli knocked softly on Martha’s back door. It was early, and he hoped that she was awake. Most women in his Amish community were up at dawn or before, but Martha was a widow who lived alone. Her work and sleep schedule might be different.

When she didn’t appear after several moments, he knocked a little louder. This time the door opened immediately. Drying her hands on a kitchen towel, Martha appeared unsurprised to see him. “Eli,” she greeted him. “Ready for work?”

“
Ja
, we’ll be at the back of the house this morning.” He studied her, noting how her blue dress complemented her dark hair and brown eyes.

Martha flipped the towel over her left shoulder. “The windows?” He nodded.
“Gut.”

They gazed at each other for several seconds until Martha seemed suddenly eager to do her chores.

“Try not to worry,” he found himself saying as he backed up to go.

Her lips curved. “I’m not worried. I know I hired the right crew.”

Eli returned her smile. “We’ll try not to make too much noise.”

“You’ll have to use a hammer,
ja
? Make whatever noise you need to get the job done.”

“As if we can help it,” he teased. He left with the mental image of her bright brown gaze and warm smile. His father and brothers were discussing where to start when he rejoined them. “Martha knows we’re here.”

“Gut.”
His
dat
eyed the back of the house. “Jedidiah, let’s start with the second-story windows.”

“Ja, Dat.”
Jedidiah put the ladder against the house, then tested to see if it would hold.

“The windows are scheduled for first delivery.” He pulled a pencil from behind his ear and jotted notes onto a clipboard. “They should be here at any time. Isaac, I’d like you to scrape the paint peeling off the window trim. Start with those on the back side.”

Isaac grabbed a paint scraper and went to work. Eli figured that he’d be sanding that same trim.

The truck from the local lumber company arrived with the ordered windows. The loud
beep beep
of the delivery truck as it backed into the barnyard drew Martha to the back door to learn the cause of the commotion. When she saw the truck’s company logo, she went back inside and closed the door.

Eli signed for the window and gave the delivery slip to his father. He then grabbed sandpaper and joined Isaac at the opposite side of the house from the dirt drive.

“I don’t understand,” Isaac said. “Wasn’t the house finished a couple of years ago?”

“
Ja
, Ike must have been short on funds that he didn’t finish the house properly.” Eli folded the sandpaper and began to sand an area Isaac had completed.

“So now Martha bears the expense of fixing them,” Isaac said.

“Ja,”
Eli said. He felt bad for Ike King’s widow. Ike had found the money to purchase new farm equipment, but he’d ignored the problems with the farmhouse. She couldn’t have been happy about it.

By midmorning, Isaac and he had scraped and sanded all the side lower-level windows. Jedidiah and their father had cut the shipping straps off all of the windows after checking to see that each one was the correct size. There had been no sign of Martha since the window delivery. She didn’t come out to check on their work.

“Eli!”
Dat
called. “We need your help over here!”

“Coming,
Dat
!” Eli rounded the house to find that Jedidiah had climbed up the ladder to the second floor to size up the window situation and decide how best to proceed. Eli took over steadying the ladder from his father, who went inside the house to speak with Martha. Jed climbed down, and when he reached the bottom rungs, Eli stepped away.

“Best to work from inside,” his brother said, and Eli agreed.

Dat
returned from talking with Martha. “Go ahead inside, Jed. Martha understands that we’ll need access to the rooms upstairs.”

Jed picked up a window and carried it inside. He appeared within minutes at the second-story window he’d examined earlier.

“Take another window up to Jed,”
Dat
said.

Eli obeyed, excusing himself to Martha as he passed her in the hall. It felt awkward for him to walk through her home without an invitation, even though she’d requested the work.

By noon, they had removed and installed three windows and were discussing a plan to install more tomorrow.

Martha brought them sandwiches and drinks for lunch. “I hope you like chicken salad.”

His mother had made ham sandwiches for them before they’d left the house, but Eli didn’t want to hurt Martha’s feelings when she went to all the trouble. “I love chicken salad,” he said truthfully.

She looked pleased. “Would you rather eat them inside?”

“Nay,”
his father said. “We’ll eat out here.” He explained that they were too filthy to eat at her kitchen table.

The sun shone in a bright blue sky. A balmy breeze made it a good workday and provided the perfect weather for enjoying lunch on Martha’s back stoop.

Martha gave them soap and towels, and the three of them—and Jed, who had to leave—took turns washing up at the hand pump. Jed left, and they sat down to enjoy Martha’s food. The sandwiches were delicious and so were the potato chips she’d added to each plate. When they were done eating, Eli collected the dishes and took them inside. She answered his knock immediately.

“Danki.”
He smiled as he gave her the empty plates. “The sandwiches were delicious. You make a great chicken salad. The potato chips were a nice surprise.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed them.” She took the dishes from him and studied him a long moment. “Are you still hungry? Do you want dessert?”

He shook his head. “We need to get back to work,” he said with regret.

She brought the dishes in the sink. “I’ll fix you something different tomorrow.”

Something softened inside of him. “You don’t have to feed us, you know.”

“I want to. It’s nice to cook for someone other than myself.”

“I can’t speak for my
vadder
and
bruders
, but I’ll be happy to eat whatever you want to make.”

She seemed delighted. Her smile warmed him like a summer’s sun. “Tomorrow I’ll give you cookies instead of potato chips.”

“I should get back to work.” But he hesitated, wishing he could stay and talk with her awhile. He forced himself to turn.

Her soft voice stopped him. “Eli?”

He spun back.
“Ja?”
He eyed her curiously, wondering what she had to say.

She opened her mouth to say something and then closed it as if she’d changed her mind. She blinked. “Your
vadder
is behind you.”

He turned. His father stood several yards away. Eli quickly approached him. “Was I taking too long?” he asked as he followed
Dat
back to the work area.

“
Nay.
I wanted to thank Martha for the food, but you already did,” his father said approvingly, surprising him.

“
Ja.
Martha wants to feed us again tomorrow.”

There was a sudden shift in his father’s features from solemn to smiling. “It gives her pleasure.”

Eli nodded. “Then we should tell
Mam
not to make our lunch tomorrow.”

Samuel nodded. “
Ja.
If Martha wants to cook for us, we’ll let her.”

As he glanced back toward the house, Eli saw Martha in a downstairs window, but after their gazes met, she quickly disappeared from view.

* * *

The strange sounds from outside the house since early that morning were disconcerting. Except when she’d brought the Lapps a meal, Martha had stayed inside, unwilling to get in their way. She’d gone about her daily chores, working to clean the entire house from top to bottom, starting at first with the upstairs bedrooms, until she’d glimpsed a face in the window while dusting furniture. Startled, she’d gasped but managed not to scream. It had taken her only a moment to recognize Jedidiah Lapp as the man on the ladder. She’d scolded herself for being frightened. Fortunately, Jed hadn’t seen her as she fled the room. She’d left to clean the rooms downstairs with a plan to finish the upstairs later. But as she’d swept floors and dusted furniture in the gathering room, she’d remained overly conscious of their masculine voices. Eli speaking with his younger brother Isaac. Samuel’s voice joined with Jedidiah’s as he called up to Jed at the top of the ladder. She’d frozen at hearing scraping sounds from the right side of the house.

What is wrong with me? I’m not usually this unsettled.
She made a concentrated effort to relax and succeeded as she did her chores.

Late that afternoon Martha exited the house as the Lapps put away their tools. She studied the residence. “Looks like you got a lot done today, Samuel.”

The older man beamed. “
Ja.
We replaced three of the upstairs windows and scraped and sanded several others on the main floor. Tomorrow we’ll finish up the second story and then start on the ones up front.” He skirted the vehicle and climbed into the passenger side.

“
Danki
, Samuel.”

Eli didn’t say a word but acknowledged her with a nod as he picked up the leathers. Martha returned to the house with mixed emotions. She was worried about the money she’d spent, but she was grateful that she had hired the right men for the job. The thing that most concerned her was that she’d found herself frequently searching through her windows for Eli Lapp throughout the day.