The Amish Bride (12 page)

“Or bad?” Joel giggled. “We have to tell if we did something bad, too.”

“Bad, too,” Joel’s echo, Asa, added.

Ellen’s first thought was to tell them about the stranger sleeping on her porch, but she wasn’t certain that was a proper supper topic. Instead, she told them about the magnolia warbler.

“There was a flock of yellow throats here earlier in the week,” Neziah said. “And I think I saw one myrtle warbler with them.”

“Today,” Simeon reminded him. “You’re supposed to tell about today.”

“What did you see today,
Grossdaddi
?” Joel asked.

“Hmm.” Simeon stroked his beard again. “What did I see? I know. I saw a small boy driving a pony cart. A
goot
job he did of it, too.”

“
Grossdaddi!
I wanted to tell that,” Joel exclaimed. “I did,
Dat
. I drove Butterscotch by myself.”

“Did you?” Neziah asked, wide-eyed. “Bet you did a fine job.”

“So what else did you do today?” Simeon asked the boy. “See any blue cows?” Both children giggled. “
Nay?
No blue ones? What about flying cows?”

The game went on around the table with much laughter and teasing. Ellen found herself more relaxed than she’d thought possible. She’d been afraid that coming for the evening meal would be uncomfortable, but it was the opposite. She was pleasantly surprised to discover that she felt at home in this house, at ease with these three men, as she had been when she was a child. Even Asa and Joel seemed endearing. They were scamps, certainly, but if their upbringing the past few years had been lenient, it was plain for anyone to see that they were loved and loved back in return.

I could be really happy here,
Ellen thought.
I could be an aunt or a mother to these boys and a daughter-in-law to Simeon.
He was a good man and he’d raised decent sons who were devout and faithful to the community.

But which son? she fretted. Which man was the one the Lord wanted her to marry? Because she
would
take one of them. It wasn’t an abstract question anymore. Simeon had been right in the pony cart when he’d driven her through the woods. The question was no longer
if
she would choose one of his sons. It was:
which one
would she choose?

“Let me help with the dishes,” she offered when they had finished off the last of the cinnamon sticky buns.

“Not tonight,” Simeon said, rising from the table. “Come with me, boys. We’ll see if I have any peppermints left in my candy can.” He glanced at Micah. “You two can do the cleaning up. Ellen is our guest. Plenty of time for her to tend the kitchen when she marries one of you,” he called as he left the kitchen, boys trailing behind him.

“I don’t mind,” she said.

“You heard
Vadder
.” Neziah rose and began gathering up the plates. “Tonight you’re our guest.”

“You wash, I’ll dry,” Micah told his brother. “After I walk Ellen home.”

Neziah gave him a stern look. “I invited her. I’m walking her home. But not yet. First we visit, talk, like people do.”

“And then I walk her home,” Micah said.

Neziah’s voice grew louder. “You do
not
walk her home. I do.”

Ellen stood there in the middle of the kitchen not sure what to say or do. Micah and Neziah sounded a little like Joel and Asa fussing.

“Are you two arguing again?” Simeon called from the parlor. “Micah, stop giving your brother a hard time. Neziah will walk Ellen home. When
you
invite her, you can walk her home.”

“Fine,”
Micah said.

Neziah picked up a damp towel off the sink and tossed it at Micah. “
Jah
, Micah. Stop interfering between me and Ellen.”

“I could say the same about you,” Micah replied with a grin.

“Boys!” Simeon bellowed.

Eventually, amid much horseplay and teasing between the brothers, the dishes did get washed, dried and put away. Neziah made fresh coffee and they joined Simeon on the porch, where they watched twilight settle around them. The children, tired after a long day, curled up in the nearest male lap until Neziah announced that it was time for baths and bed.

“I can handle that chore,” Micah offered. “If you’re to have Ellen home before dark, you’d best start out now.” Asa and Joel protested, begging to go with their father, but Micah picked up one under each arm and carried them off amid much giggling and pleading for a bedtime story.

* * *

Neziah and Ellen ended up talking with Simeon a while longer and they didn’t set off down the woods’ lane until an hour later. She offered the use of her flashlight, as it was completely dark, with only a partial moon and a few stars illuminating the sky.

“
Nay
,” Neziah said, waving away the flashlight. “I know every bend in the path. Unless you prefer we use it.”

“I trust you.”

Micah groaned from the dark, somewhere behind them. “Your first mistake, Ellen. Never trust him,” he called. “He’s sneaky.” And when neither answered him, he said, “I could come along and protect you, if you need me.”

Neziah shook his head and chuckled at his brother’s antics, but then his thoughts became more serious. It had seemed in the beginning as if Micah had seen this as just another contest, but he was beginning to think his little brother really did care for Ellen. That worried him. What if she fell in love with him? And in all fairness, what wasn’t there to love about Micah?

“Ignore him,” Neziah told Ellen.

“I’d make a
goot
chaperone!” Micah persisted, following them a few yards into the woods.

“We don’t need one,” Neziah called back.

“You’ll be sorry!” Micah shouted. “Remember, I warned you, Ellen.”

Ellen laughed and looked up at Neziah. “Maybe he’s right.” She turned on her flashlight, shining the yellow beam on the rutted track ahead of her. “Maybe we should invite him to come along.”

“He’s not right,” Neziah argued good-naturedly. “This is my time with you, and I’m not going to share.”

They walked for a while in easy silence. The sounds around them were familiar and comforting to Neziah...the chirp of crickets, frogs croaking and the rustling of small animals in the leaves and undergrowth. He and Ellen had often walked together in silence during their earlier courtship. Because they both enjoyed bird-watching, it came naturally to them. Talking frightened away some of the species they were attempting to identify. Of course, they’d not see many birds at night, but the dark was nice.

When Neziah was certain they were alone, he said, “It wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked. “Tonight?”

“I had a really nice time,” she answered.

He took her hand. It felt small and warm, familiar but strangely exciting at the same time. “There’s a fallen log, here, just ahead on the left. Will you sit with me for a few moments?”

He felt her hesitation, but something more...

“Maybe we
should
have taken Micah up on his offer as chaperone,” she said teasingly. But he knew she was serious.

“
Nay
, I’d never do anything to threaten your honor. I love you, Ellen. I think I’ve always loved you.”

“I loved you, too, Neziah, but...”

“But?” He led her to the log and they sat, only a few inches of space between them. He was afraid that she was going to say that she loved him like a brother. And that wasn’t what he wanted.

“I don’t know, Neziah,” she admitted. “We’re talking about love. Love we had for each other a long time ago. You’ve been married since then. You were a married man.”

“And that bothers you?” he asked quietly. He had known they would have to talk about Betty at some point; he just hadn’t be eager to do so. It was a strange place for a man to be. A widower with the possibility of a second marriage with the first woman he ever loved.

“I... It doesn’t bother me,” Ellen said. “It’s just... I...” She exhaled.

“You want to know about Betty. About Betty and me.”

“No. No, of course not.” She sounded flustered. “That wasn’t what I meant. I only...” Again she didn’t finish her thought.

Neziah brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed her knuckles. “I don’t mind talking about Betty. I think you’re right. We do need to talk about her.”

He smiled in the darkness, liking the feel of her hand in his. He’d held her hand quite a bit in their courting days, but he didn’t remember it feeling this way. So simple. So good. So right. “If you accept my proposal, I’d not have any secrets between us, Ellen.” Reluctantly, he let go of her hand.

“All right.” Her voice sounded small.

He tightened his hands into fists, then relaxed them and leaned forward and rested them on his knees. “The accident was such a shock. Losing her that way. I’ve grieved for her over the past three years.”

“I understand. It must have been terrible, losing Betty and your mother in that accident, being left with no mother for the children.” She let out a long breath. “I didn’t know her that well, but she seemed patient and cheerful, hardworking.”

“She was,” he continued, torn between sharing what was in his heart and being disloyal to Betty. “Ours was a solid marriage. I had great respect for her, and I felt deep affection, as well. It’s important that you know that.”

Ellen didn’t reply, so he went on.

“I will always keep a special place in my heart for her. Every night I pray with my boys, and I try to keep the memory of their mother alive for them.”

“As you should.”

His throat constricted with emotion. “But it really is time we moved on. Joel has forgotten her, and Asa never really knew her. There’s only me, and sometimes...sometimes I have trouble remembering her face.”

“Neziah, you don’t have to tell me these things. You’re embarrassing me.”

He rose to his feet, unable to remain seated. “That’s not my intention. But I think I need to explain my relationship with my wife if I have any hope that you’ll agree to marry me.”

She was quiet, sitting in the darkness. He went on. “Betty was nothing like you. She was a gentle girl who accepted without question the traditional role of wife. It was what I believed I wanted when I asked her to marry me. She was brought up in a strict community in Missouri. She had been taught to turn to me as head of the house to make all decisions, even domestic ones that my mother would make without going to my father. Betty and I never argued. Whatever I wanted, she was content.”

Insect song chirped and peeped all around them.

“But over time, I learned that it wasn’t what I wanted at all,” he said. “I would have honored her and our marriage so long as I lived. But...” He stopped and started again. “The love between us was different from the way I feel about you. I’ve felt guilty sometimes, thinking I should have been a better husband to Betty. Thinking that I don’t deserve a second chance to be with you.”

Neziah stood in front of her, listening to the sounds of the woods. “I wanted to come to you after my year of mourning had passed, but I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what to say to you. And the more time that passed, the more impossible it seemed. For me to come to you. Then, a few weeks ago, I went to my father and confided my shortcomings to him.”

“Oh, Neziah.” She sighed.

The way she said his name made his heart thump in his chest. He had to make himself go on. With every word he spoke, he was afraid he would turn her away from him, but he knew he had to say these things. “You know what he told me?”

“What?” she murmured.

“He said it was time I put aside my mourning for Betty. ‘Life is a gift from God,’ he said. ‘You were faithful to your vows while your wife was with us. You take nothing away from that by seeking happiness in marriage again. My son, if you had been the one lost in that wreck, I would give the same advice to Betty. None of us knows what the Lord has planned for us, but we must strive to accept and make the most of whatever that may be. To do less is to squander the precious gift of life.’”

They were both quiet for a moment. “And he was right,” she said.

Neziah sat back down on the log and stared into the dark. “You think so?”

“I do. And I think that, no matter what happens between you and me, Neziah, I think you should take his words to heart and find the wife who’s meant for you.”

“Does that mean you prefer Micah over me?”

“I didn’t say that.”

He felt his heart swell with...hope. “So I’m still in the running?”

She turned to him and in the darkness he could feel her more than he could see her. “Now you sound like Micah. This is not a contest.” She rose. “I should get home.”

He jumped up. “I guess we need to talk about what happened with us. When we ended our courtship. Do you want to talk about that, Ellen?”

To his surprise, she gave a laugh. “I think we’ve had enough serious discussion for one night, don’t you?”

He smiled and fell in step beside her. “Can I hold your hand?” he whispered.

She laughed again and gave him a little push. And then he felt her small, warm hand slip into his, and he grinned all the way to her farmhouse steps.

Chapter Eleven

B
y seven-thirty Tuesday morning, Ellen was halfway to Honeysuckle on her push scooter. So far, no motor vehicles had passed her, and she’d seen none of her Plain neighbors walking or driving. It was one of the things she liked about leaving early for the shop. She spent so much time in the company of others that she treasured time alone with her own thoughts.

It hadn’t been a particularly restful night, and she’d had a lot on her mind this morning when she left her barnyard. She’d enjoyed her visit at the Shetlers, and the walk home had been exciting, but also unsettling. She believed Neziah now when he said he still loved her. The question was, did she still love him or had that period in her life passed? What if her future was with his brother?

The problem was that both Shetler brothers were good men, and she cared for each of them. Being with Micah felt so exciting and new. But she found a certain comfort in being with Neziah, a comfort that came from having a past with a person. She was so confused. How could she tell if her affection for Micah was budding love? Or what if what she felt for Neziah wasn’t real, but simply a longing for what they once shared?

And the Shetlers hadn’t been the only thing that had troubled her night’s rest. She hadn’t been able to stop worrying about the homeless girl she’d found on her porch the previous morning. She kept wondering if she had shown Gail due charity or if she’d taken the easy way out, simply giving her a meal and saying a prayer to ease her own conscience. Should she have done more for Gail than offer a few platitudes?

In the middle of the night, Ellen had risen from her bed and gone to the window to stare out at the moonlit barnyard. Standing there, she had wondered where Gail was. Had she taken shelter in someone’s stable again, or had a friend offered a spare bed? Did she even have any friends in Honeysuckle? Had Gail eaten or had she gone to sleep on an empty stomach? What if something awful had happened to her in the night and Ellen could have prevented it?

Ellen balanced both feet on her scooter and rolled down a hill, enjoying the feel of the wind in her face. She felt so strange, as if her life had lost its balance, though not in a bad way. Still, it was unnerving. So much was happening so fast. It was only the previous Tuesday that Simeon had made his proposition and changed the entire direction of her life. She felt as though she were caught up in the swirl of wind and tumbling leaves that came before a thunderstorm. One minute, she had been resolved to remain unwed and care for her aging parents, and now she was being courted by not one, but two suitors. Two
serious
suitors.

It was hard to believe that when November came, the traditional time of weddings, she might be one of those happy brides celebrating her marriage with her family and community. It was a dream come true and one that filled her with excitement. The truth was, all the time she’d been assuring herself that it wasn’t God’s plan for her to wed, she’d been secretly studying each eligible male visitor to Honeysuckle. She’d watched the faces and listened to the voices of strangers for years, but never thought to look next door.

The sound of a horse and buggy coming up fast behind her caught her attention. She laughed aloud, guessing that it was either Micah or Neziah, but she refused to look back over her shoulder to see which one. Whoever it was must have gone up to her house only to find her gone.

Of course, she could be wrong and then she would feel silly. It might be some other member of the Honeysuckle community, but she didn’t think so. She supposed that she should feel guilty that she was keeping either Neziah or Micah from starting his workday on time, but instead she felt deliciously giddy.

In her teens, Ellen had read a few forbidden English romance novels where couples walked together through clouds of apple blossoms. Sometimes, sweethearts parted over some misunderstanding and then when all seemed lost, he came galloping back on horseback to fall on his knees and propose marriage. In other stories, the handsome young man and the girl met when he rescued her from danger. They had been chaste stories, nothing like the revealing covers she saw on book racks in Lancaster, but daring enough to make her heart race.

For herself, Ellen had long since given up on romance. She had thought that if she did ever marry, because of her age, it would be to an older widower, someone with grown children or a man who needed a younger wife to nurse him in his later years. Suddenly, everything was different, and she was being swept up in a whirlwind romantic courtship with not one but two men, both of whom professed to love her. She had to admit that she was enjoying every moment of it.

The rhythm of hooves on the pavement grew louder, and seconds later, Micah’s showy driving horse drew up beside her. “Morning!” Micah called from the buggy.

“Morning.” Ellen pushed harder, and the scooter kept pace with the buggy.

Micah removed his straw hat and waved it at her. “I’ve come to drive you to town!” How handsome and dashing he looked, with his yellow-blond hair and square, clean-shaven chin.

Breathlessly, she slowed and the horse and buggy pulled slightly ahead. Micah reined in the horse to remain alongside her. “Move over! You’re blocking the road,” she shouted above the sound of Samson’s hooves striking the blacktop.

“I know.” He grinned. “It will be all over Honeysuckle if anyone sees us. You better get in.”

She wanted to say something clever in reply but she was quickly becoming winded. Surrendering gracefully, she stopped pushing, let the push scooter roll to a stop and got off to walk. Micah reined Samson to a walk and then a halt.

“Does this mean you need a ride?” he asked innocently.

She laughed. Minutes later, her scooter was in the back, and she was sitting on the front seat of the buggy beside him. He shook the reins and gave Samson the signal to walk on. “I thought you’d wait for me this morning because you were feeling so guilty about letting Neziah walk you home last night,” Micah teased.

Ellen straightened her
kapp
. It had slipped down, and she’d nearly lost it when she was racing along the road to keep up with the buggy. Why was it that Micah always brought out her reckless nature? She smiled to herself. Life with him for a husband would never be humdrum or boring. He was exciting, and Ellen liked excitement. Didn’t that mean they would be a good match? “Why aren’t you at the sawmill?” she asked, choosing to ignore his question.

“I had to see you this morning. Wanted to ask you if you’d go bowling with me tomorrow night.”

She looked straight ahead. A van full of tourists stared at them through the open windows of a minivan as they passed. Micah grinned and waved. Ellen saw several phones pressed against the windows. Pictures, she supposed. Someone was always trying to take pictures of them, as if they were exotic animals at the zoo. She’d often thought of buying a camera and snapping photos of the tourists, but she supposed that it wouldn’t be good for business. You never knew when a tourist might become a customer at the shop, and she was attempting to be a successful businesswoman.

“So, will you?” Micah asked. “Bowling? Pizza after?”

“Just the two of us?”

He shook his head. “Abram’s going. And Nat. They’re bringing dates. I don’t know who, but there will be other girls, so you don’t have to worry about me trying to steal a kiss or anything.”

She should have chastised him for his inappropriate joke, but when she looked at him he was grinning. She couldn’t help smiling back. “All right. You know I love to bowl.”

His grin grew broader, if that were possible.

“I warn you, though,” she said. “I might be better than you.”

He chuckled and urged Samson into a trot. “That was pretty easy. Neziah thought you wouldn’t agree to go with me so easily.”

“And if I didn’t?” she teased.

“I’d just keep pestering until you agreed.” His blue eyes twinkled with mischief. “My brother should know by now that I’m impossible to resist.”

* * *

Micah left her at the back of the shop with the promise to pick her up the next evening at six-thirty. That would give her time to close up, go home and make certain her parents had their supper before she left to go bowling. In spite of her boasting to Micah, Ellen hoped that she wouldn’t be too rusty at the game. She loved bowling, but she hadn’t been in more than a year.

As Ellen pushed her scooter up onto the back porch, she couldn’t help wondering if Gail would be there again. But everything was as Ellen had left it the previous day. There were no empty soda cans, no sleeping bag and no evidence that anyone had been there since she’d left. She unlocked the inner door and went into the shop. All was quiet; Dinah hadn’t come down yet. She put coffee on to brew for Dinah, then went into the office to turn on the computer. There, her gaze fell on a box of baby clothes that she hadn’t had time to price and put on display yet. Drawn to the contents, Ellen opened the box. Inside were infant sleepers, dresses, sacques and caps, hand sewn of the softest cotton in green, yellow, lavender and cream. The sewing was exquisite, the style of the clothes simple and traditional.

She lifted a newborn-size sacque and pressed it to her cheek. Longing to have a baby of her own blossomed in her chest, and she found her eyes welling up with tears. If she married, God willing, she could have a child of her own, one that she could dress in such tiny garments.

The sound of a door opening and footsteps made Ellen dash away the moisture from her eyes and quickly return the baby clothes to the box. “Morning, Dinah,” she called, feeling silly by the intense emotion that had bubbled up inside her. “I’m in the office.”

“Wee gayts,”
Dinah answered. “A good day to you, too.” Her cheerful face appeared in the open doorway. Dinah was wearing her work apron and carrying a bucket and cleaning cloths. “I thought I’d wash those windows in the front room before we open. They looked smudgy yesterday. I can’t abide dirty windows.” She set her bucket on the floor. “Coffee smells
goot
. Will you have a cup with me before I start?”

Ellen murmured assent. There was little chance of any dirt collecting when Dinah was around. Although she’d been thinking of having a cup of tea, she joined Dinah, accepting a mug of the strong coffee. Dinah liked hers black. “My husband liked it that way,” she explained, “and in time I came to think that was the only way to drink it. He’d say, ‘If a spoon won’t stand straight up in the cup, the coffee’s not strong enough.’”

“I guess we didn’t have any visitors last night,” Ellen commented.

“Quiet as a graveyard. Just the way I like it.”

They talked about what Dinah had cooked herself for supper the previous evening and then discussed the best way to can peaches. Three-quarters of the way through her coffee, Dinah leaned forward, elbows on the table. “How was last night’s supper at the Shetlers’?”

“Fine.” Ellen studied the mug between her hands. “It was nice. They’re a nice family.”

Dinah pushed her glasses back up her nose. “So which one are you planning on? The serious, older one or the young, sassy one?”

“I don’t know, Dinah.” She glanced up at her friend. “And that’s the truth.”

“My advice is to use your head as well as your heart. Marriage is nothing to go into lightly. You get out what you put in. It’s past time you had a husband and a family of your own, and either of those boys will do, so long as you can pick one and never question your choice. Trouble comes when a woman weds one and yearns after another.” She rose from her chair, went to the sink and rinsed out her cup. “Best I get to those windows.” She patted Ellen’s shoulder as she went by. “Pay no heed to my nosing into your business. Just an old woman who lives by herself and talks too much when she has someone to listen.”

“I value your advice, Dinah. You’re one of my best friends, and you’re a wise woman.”

Dinah gathered her cleaning supplies and removed a bottle of ammonia from the cabinet. “I walked down to the restaurant last night,” she said. “Asked Margaret right out about that girl.”

“What did she say?”

“Wasn’t disposed to say much. If the girl doesn’t have her papers, she shouldn’t be working there. The government has rules. If you ask me, Margaret suspects Gail’s Amish and is giving her some rope.”

Ellen stood. “She must like her or she wouldn’t be bending the rules for her.”

“Oh, she likes her, I could tell that. Says Gail has never been late for work and never missed a day. Honest as a bishop. Apparently, a customer left her purse on the counter in the restroom. She had a lot of cash in it. Gail found it and turned it in. She offered the girl a reward, but Gail turned it down.”

Ellen brushed her forehead with her fingertips. “I couldn’t sleep last night for worrying about her,” she admitted.

Dinah frowned. “Best you let it go, Ellen. You’ve enough on your shoulders without taking on more. And...” She glanced around as if she thought they might be overheard. “What if her people shunned her?” She shook her head. “No
goot
can come of poking into some stranger’s troubles.” She picked up her bucket and carried it into the front showroom.

Ellen returned to her office work, but she couldn’t concentrate. Restless, she shut the computer down, priced the beautiful baby clothes and put them on display. She was headed for the office again when someone knocked at the front door. She hoped it wasn’t a customer because they weren’t open until nine. “Dinah?” she called.

“It’s just Simeon,” Dinah said. “He told me he’d be bringing some more of his boxes in today. We sold the last of what we had.”

Simeon made small boxes out of cedar and pine and inlaid them with designs in cherry. Suitable to hold jewelry or trinkets, they were attractive and reasonably priced and sold as quickly as he crafted them.

“I can let him in,” Ellen said, turning in the doorway.

“I can handle this.” Dinah set down her mop. “No need for you to bother.”

Ellen hesitated, thinking about what Dinah had said about Gail. “Okay. I think I’ll take an order to the post office. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” The post office wasn’t her primary destination, but she did need to mail off some aprons that had been ordered. As she left the office, she glanced into the front room and saw Simeon and Dinah deep in conversation. On the back porch, she put the carefully wrapped package into the scooter’s basket and made her way to the small post office a block away.