the STRUGGLE (25 page)

C
HAPTER
29

Pembroke, Kentucky

A
s soon as Samuel pulled his horse and buggy into Bonnie’s yard, Cody leaped off the porch and darted into the yard to greet them. The children were barely out of the buggy when the dog was upon them, yapping excitedly and leaping into the air.

“Calm down, Cody,” Samuel scolded, snapping his fingers at the dog. He remembered how once last year Cody had gotten his horse riled up and the critter ended up getting kicked pretty bad. The end result was a broken leg for the dog. Samuel sure didn’t want anything like that to happen again.

“Take the dog over there to play,” Samuel told Marla as he pointed to the other side of the yard. “That way he won’t get kicked by the horse like he did last year.”

She bent down and grabbed Cody’s collar then led him across the yard. The other children quickly followed.

Samuel secured his horse to the hitching rail and hurried up to the house. He was about to knock when the door opened and Bonnie stepped out.

“Oh, it’s you and the children. I heard Cody barking and wondered what all the commotion was about.”

Samuel chuckled. “Yeah, that critter can get pretty worked up sometimes—especially when my kids come around.”

Bonnie smiled. “Maybe the kids would like to come in for some cookies and hot chocolate.”

“I don’t know about the kids, but I’d like some.” Samuel jiggled his eyebrows playfully, which was easy to do because of his good mood. “I’d like to talk to Esther first, though. Is she here or at the guesthouse?”

“She’s upstairs right now, cleaning one of the rooms. I have some guests checking in later today.” Bonnie motioned to the stairs. “Feel free to go on up if you’d like to talk to her, and then when you’re done, you can join me and the kids in the kitchen for a snack.”

“Sounds good to me.” Samuel hung his jacket and hat on the coat tree in the entryway and sprinted up the stairs, hearing his kids squealing with delight as Bonnie called them in for a snack. He found Esther in one of the guest rooms sweeping the floor.

“Guder mariye,” he said, stepping into the room.

Esther jumped. “Ach, Samuel, you startled me! I didn’t realize you were here.”

“Sorry about that. I’m surprised you didn’t hear my noisy boots clomping up the stairs,” he said.

“Well, I did, but I thought it was Bonnie.”

“Bonnie has loud-clomping boots?”

Esther giggled, and her cheeks turned a pretty pink. “Her snow boots are a bit loud, but since we don’t have any snow right now, I guess she wouldn’t have been wearing any boots.”

Samuel grinned. Esther looked so sweet when she looked up at him, almost like an innocent little schoolgirl. His heart ached to marry her, but he was trying to be patient.

“So what are you doing here?” she asked, setting her broom aside.

“Came to see you, of course.” He took a few steps toward Esther. “I wanted to share some
gut noochricht
.“

“What’s the good news?”

“Timothy and Hannah are buying a house. Their real estate agent’s at my place right now, and they’re signing papers to make an offer on the place. If their offer’s accepted, they hope to be moved in by spring.” He moved closer and took Esther’s hand. “So you know what that means?”

“I guess it means Hannah will be happy to be living in a place of her own, where she won’t have to share a kitchen or worry about anyone giving Mindy too much candy.”

“That’s probably true, but what it means for us is that once they’re moved into their own home, we can get married.”

“But what if their offer’s not accepted?”

“I think it will be. It’s a fair offer, and Tom Donnelson told Timothy that the owner of the house has passed on, and his adult children are anxious to sell the place.”

“If they’re so anxious to sell, then why would it take until spring before Timothy and Hannah can move in?” Esther questioned.

“The place is pretty run-down, and it’s going to take a few months to get it fixed up so it’s livable.” Samuel gave Esther’s fingers a gentle squeeze. “But if Titus and I help with the renovations, I think we can have it done in record time.”

“I believe you could. It didn’t take long for you and Allen to fix this old place up, so I’m sure with three very capable brothers working on Timothy’s place, it could be done in no time at all.” Esther’s eyes sparkled as she smiled widely. “Oh Samuel, after all these months of waiting to become your wife, I can hardly believe we could actually be married in just a few months.” Her face sobered. “I think it’s best if we don’t set a definite date yet, though—just in case the owners of the house don’t accept Timothy and Hannah’s offer.”

Samuel pulled Esther into his arms and gave her a hug. “I’m sure it’ll all work out, but we can wait to set a date until we know something definite. Now, why don’t you take a break from working and come downstairs with me? Bonnie’s promised to serve hot chocolate and cookies to me and the kids, and I’d like you to join us.”

“I’m almost done here. Just let me finish sweeping the floor, and I’ll come right down.”

“Okay, but you might want to hurry. The kinner are in the kitchen with Bonnie, already enjoying those kichlin, and I’m going down now and make sure there are some left for us.” Smiling, and feeling like a kid himself, Samuel gave her a quick kiss and hurried from the room.

Esther smiled as she finished sweeping the floor. Did she dare hope that she and Samuel could be married in a few months—or at least by early summer? Of course, she’d need a few months to make her wedding dress and plan for the wedding. Since Samuel was a widower, they wouldn’t have nearly as large a wedding as younger couples who’d never been married. But there would still be some planning to do.

Oh, I wish Mom could be here to help me prepare for the wedding
, Esther thought wistfully.
But it wouldn’t be fair to ask her to come when she’s needed to help Sarah care for Dan
.

Esther knew she could probably count on Suzanne to help with wedding details, but with Suzanne being pregnant and possibly not feeling well by then, she might not be able to help that much.

I could ask Bonnie, but then she has her own wedding to plan for, and I’m sure that’s going to take up a lot of her time. Then there’s Hannah, but I’m not sure she’d even want to help—especially now that they may be buying a house that needs a lot of work
.

Even though Hannah had been a bit friendlier to Esther lately, she still kept a little wall around her—like she didn’t want anyone to get really close. Esther hoped that wall would come down someday, because she still wanted to be Hannah’s friend.

I’d better wait and see first if Hannah and Timothy get that house. Then I can begin planning my wedding and decide who to ask for help
.

Once Esther finished sweeping, she emptied the dustpan into the garbage can she’d placed in the hall and went downstairs to join everyone for a snack. She didn’t realize how hungry she’d gotten.

She’d just stepped into the kitchen, where Samuel and his children sat at the table, when the telephone rang.

“Hello. Bonnie’s Bed-and-Breakfast,” Bonnie said after she’d picked up the receiver. There was a pause; then she said, “As a matter of fact, Esther is right here. Would you like to speak with her?” She handed Esther the phone. “It’s your mother.”

With a sense of excitement, Esther took the phone. “Mom, I was just thinking about you. I wanted to tell you that—”

“Esther, your daed’s in the hospital.” Mom’s voice quavered. “They’ve been treating him for a ruptured appendix, and now he’s in surgery.”

Esther gasped. “Ach, Mom, that’s
baremlich
! I’ll either hire a driver or catch the bus, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“What’s terrible?” Samuel asked when Esther hung up the phone.

She relayed all that her mother had said and then asked Bonnie if she could have some time off.

“Of course you can,” Bonnie was quick to say. “Other than the guests coming in later today, I have no one else booked until Valentine’s Day.”

Esther looked at Samuel. “Do you think Hannah would be willing to take over full responsibility of your kinner and all the household chores until I get back from Pennsylvania?”

“I’m sure she will,” Samuel said. “And if she’s not, then I’ll find someone else to help out. Your place is with your family right now.”

Esther smiled, appreciating the understanding of both Samuel and Bonnie. She felt sick hearing about Dad’s ruptured appendix, knowing how serious something like that could be. She closed her eyes and sent up a quick prayer.
Lord, please help my daed to be okay
.

C
HAPTER
30

A
ray of sunlight beckoned Hannah to the window in Marla’s bedroom, where she’d been cleaning. Esther had only been gone a week, and already Hannah was exhausted. Samuel’s children were a handful—especially Jared, who was a lot more active than Mindy. Hannah never knew what the little stinker might get into, and she had to stay on her toes to keep up with him. Jared was also a picky eater, often refusing to eat whatever she’d fixed for meals. Esther had usually made him something he liked, but Hannah felt that Jared could either eat what was on his plate or do without. She figured in time he’d learn to eat what the others ate, even if he didn’t particularly like it.

Then there was all the extra cleaning she had to do. It seemed that no matter how many times she got after the children to pick up in their rooms, they just ignored her. Penny and Jared were the worst, often scattering toys all over the place. It was either nag them to clean up or do it herself, which was what she was doing today. She was glad Marla and Leon were both in school, and she’d put the three younger ones down for a nap. It was easier to get things done when they weren’t underfoot. Hannah often found herself wishing Esther hadn’t gone to Pennsylvania, because she now realized that it had been much easier to share the work.

Hannah sighed and bent to pick up one of Marla’s soiled dresses that should have been put in the laundry basket. The only good thing that had happened this week was that the offer she and Timothy had made on the old house had been accepted. So she could now look forward to the day when they’d be able to move in. As soon as the deal closed, which should happen in a few weeks, Timothy would begin working on the interior. He and his brothers would take care of exterior work as well, but most of those renovations could be done once they were moved in.

Samuel had heard from Esther a few days ago, giving him an update on her dad’s condition. Even though he’d made it through surgery okay, there’d been a lot of infection in his body, and he was still in the hospital being carefully watched and getting heavy doses of antibiotics. The family had been told that he’d probably be there at least another week. After that, he would need a good four to eight weeks for a full recovery. So Esther had decided that she would stay and take over the stands her dad had been managing at two of the farmers’ markets in the area. The stands really belonged to Esther’s brother, but with Dan’s MS symptoms getting worse, he certainly couldn’t manage them anymore. Esther’s mother probably could have taken over the stands, but she felt Dan’s wife needed her help to care for their home and two children, as well as Dan.

As Hannah moved across the room to make Marla’s bed, her thoughts went to Bonnie.
I wonder how she’s managing without Esther’s help
.

Hannah knew the woman from California was still at the B&B because her ankle wasn’t completely healed. No doubt, having her there created more work for Bonnie. She probably felt as overwhelmed as Hannah did right now.

“I was wondering if you’ve heard anything from Esther,” Trisha said when Bonnie joined her in the living room in front of the fireplace.

“Her father is still quite sick, and Esther plans to stay in Pennsylvania and take care of the stands he’s been running. It could be up to eight weeks before she returns to Kentucky,” Bonnie said.