the STRUGGLE (5 page)

Esther had missed her folks dearly after they’d moved to Pennsylvania to help care for her brother, Dan, who had multiple sclerosis. Her family was never far from her thoughts.

Esther removed her shawl and black outer bonnet, placing them on a wall peg near the back door. Then she returned to the kitchen to fix Jared and Penny’s breakfast. She’d just gotten them situated at the table when Hannah, carrying Mindy, stepped into the room.

Hannah blinked her eyes rapidly. “
Ach
, you scared me, Esther! I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I come over every morning to watch the kinner while Samuel’s at work. I assumed you knew.”

“I did hear that, but since we’ll be living here until we have a home of our own, I figured I would be watching the children.” Hannah shifted Mindy to the other hip. “It only makes sense, don’t you think?”

Esther couldn’t think clearly enough to say anything. It probably didn’t make sense for them both to care for the children, but Samuel had been paying her to watch them, and she enjoyed being here. Besides, some of the money Esther earned went toward her brother’s medical expenses, so it was important that she keep working right now. Should she speak up and say so, or let Hannah take over? Maybe it would be best to wait until Samuel got home and let him decide who would watch the children. In the meantime, she was here now, and she planned to stay.

C
HAPTER
6

Marion, Kentucky

T
his is my first time in Marion,” Samuel said as he, Allen, and Timothy worked on a storefront Allen had been contracted to remodel. “It’s really a nice little town.”

“Yep, and there’s a lot of interesting history here,” Allen said while sanding around one of the large window casings.

Timothy listened with interest as Allen talked about the Crittenden County Historical Museum, which had been built in 1881 and was originally a church. “It’s the oldest church building in Marion, and the interior includes original wood floors, pulpit, balcony, and stained-glass windows,” Allen said, pushing his dark brown hair under his baseball cap. “The church held on for over 120 years, until it was finally forced to close its doors due to a lack of membership. Soon after that, the building was donated to the historical society. Now it houses a really nice collection of memorabilia, pictures, and many other things related to the history of Marion and the surrounding communities that make up Crittenden County.” Allen looked over at Timothy and grinned. “Guess that’s probably a bit more than you wanted to know, huh?”

Timothy smiled as he opened a fresh bucket of paint. “Actually, I thought it was quite interesting. Anything that has to do with history captures my attention.”

“My brother’s not kidding about that,” Samuel chimed in. “I’m anxious to show him the Jefferson Davis Monument, because I’m sure he’ll be interested in that.”

“Titus told me all about it,” Timothy said. “He said the view from inside the monument is really something to see.”

“He’s right about that,” Samuel said with a nod. “Maybe in the spring, we can go there and take our kids. I think they’d get a kick out of riding the elevator and being up so high.”

“I’d sure like to go,” Timothy said, “but I don’t know about Mindy. She’s pretty young to enjoy something like that, and Hannah might not go for the idea either.” He paused long enough to grab a paint stick and stir the paint in the can. “As you probably know, my
fraa
tends to be pretty protective of our daughter.”

“
Fraa
means
wife
, right?” Allen questioned.

Timothy nodded. “How’d you know that?”

Allen motioned to Samuel. “Between him and Esther, they’ve taught me several Pennsylvania-Dutch words.” His face sobered. “There was a time when Samuel thought I was interested in Esther because I talked to her so much.”

“But you set me straight on that real quick,” Samuel said, winking at Allen. “And now everyone knows Bonnie’s the love of your life.”

Allen’s face reddened. “I hope it’s not that obvious, because I haven’t actually told Bonnie the way I feel about her yet.”

Samuel snickered. “Well, you’d better do it quick, ‘cause if you don’t, someone else is likely to snatch her away.”

Allen’s dark eyebrows furrowed. “You really think so?”

Samuel shrugged. “You never can tell, but I sure wouldn’t chance it if I were you.”

Timothy grinned as he continued to paint while listening to Samuel and Allen kibitzing back and forth. The two men had obviously become really good friends.

I like working with both of them
, he decided. In fact, so far, Timothy liked everything about being in Kentucky. The countryside where Samuel lived, as well as here in Crittenden County, was nice, and the land was fertile—just right for farming.
Now if Hannah will just catch on to the idea, we might make a good life for ourselves here
, he thought.

“How does Zach feel about you moving to the Bluegrass State?” Allen asked, looking at Timothy. “I know you used to work for him.”

“Zach’s fine with it. Since I only painted part-time and mostly farmed with my dad, I don’t think Zach will miss having me work for him that much. Besides, he’s employed several Amish men.”

Allen smiled. “Zach’s been my good friend since we were kids. I was hoping he might move his family here, too, but I guess that’s not likely to happen.”

“I’d be surprised if he ever did move,” Samuel said. “After being taken from our family when he was a baby and then spending the next twenty years living in Washington State without even knowing his real name or who his Amish family was, once Zach got back to Pennsylvania, he vowed he’d never leave.”

“I can’t blame him for that,” Allen agreed.

“I know our folks are glad Zach’s staying put,” Timothy said, “because Mom hasn’t taken it well that three of their other sons have moved out of state.”

Paradise, Pennsylvania

Fannie had just entered Naomi and Caleb’s general store when she spotted Hannah’s mother, Sally, looking at some new rubber stamps.

“Wie geht’s?”
Fannie asked, noticing the dark circles under Sally’s pale blue eyes.

Sally sighed and pushed a wisp of her graying blond hair back under her white head covering. “I wish I could say that I’m doing well, but to tell you the truth, I’m really tired.”

“That’s too bad. Haven’t you been sleeping well?”

Sally shook her head. “Not since Hannah and Timothy left. I’m concerned about how my daughter is doing.”

“How come? Is Hannah
grank
?”

“She’s not physically sick, but when I spoke to her on the phone Saturday evening, she said she already doesn’t like Kentucky and wishes she could come home. I’m not sure that’s ever going to change.”

Fannie wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t any happier about Timothy leaving Pennsylvania, but it was what her son wanted, and if getting Hannah away from her mother strengthened their marriage, then it probably was for the best. Hannah and her mother were too close, and Fannie knew from some of the things Timothy had shared with her that Hannah’s unhealthy relationship with her mother had put a wedge between the young couple. It was a shame, too, because Timothy really loved his wife and wanted her to put him first, the way a loving wife should.

“Don’t you miss your son?” Sally asked. “Don’t you wish he would have stayed in Pennsylvania?”

Fannie glanced at her stepdaughter, Naomi, who stood behind the counter, and wondered if she was listening to this conversation. She had to be careful what she said, because if Naomi repeated it to her father, he’d probably lecture Fannie about letting their children live their own lives and tell her not to discuss Timothy and Hannah with Sally.

Sally touched Fannie’s arm. “Is everything okay? You look
umgerrent
.”

“I’m not upset.” Fannie lowered her voice to a near whisper. “You know, Sally, I haven’t lost just one son to Kentucky; I’ve lost three. And if I can deal with it, then I think you can, too.”

Sally’s forehead wrinkled. “Are you saying you’re okay with the fact that three of your boys live two states away?”

“I’m not saying that at all. I’ve just learned to accept it because it’s a fact, and short of a miracle, none of my sons will ever move back to Pennsylvania.”

Sally tapped her chin, looking deep in thought. “Then I guess we ought to pray for a miracle, because I really want Hannah to come home.”

C
HAPTER
7

Pembroke, Kentucky

H
ow would you like to go over to the B&B and meet Bonnie?” Esther asked Hannah after Leon and Marla had left for school.

Hannah shrugged. “I suppose that would be okay.” Truth be told, she didn’t really care about meeting Bonnie but guessed it would be better than sitting around Samuel’s house all day, trying to keep Mindy occupied and making idle conversation with Esther, whom she barely knew.
Of course, I don’t know Bonnie either
, she reasoned.
But it’ll be good to get out of the house and go for a buggy ride
.

“We can take my horse and buggy,” Hannah said. “After being confined in the trailer with Timothy’s horse on the trip here, Lilly’s probably ready for a good ride.”

Esther hesitated a minute then finally nodded. “I’ll get the kinner ready to go while you hitch your horse to the buggy.”

Hannah wasn’t sure she wanted Esther to do anything with Mindy, so she quickly said, “On second thought, maybe we should take your horse and buggy, because I’m not used to the roads here yet, and neither is Lilly.”

“If that’s what you’d prefer.” Esther went over to Jared and Penny, who sat beside Mindy playing with some pots and pans, and explained that Hannah would help them wash up and get their jackets on because they were all going to Bonnie’s.

Samuel’s children leaped to their feet and started jumping up and down. Following suit, Mindy did the same.

“
Ruhich
, Mindy,” Hannah said, putting her fingers to her lips. “You need to calm down.” She looked sternly at Penny and Jared. “You need to be quiet, too.”

The children looked at Hannah and blinked several times as tears welled in their eyes.

“Now don’t start crying,” Hannah said.

“They’re just excited.” Esther spoke in a defensive tone. “They love going over to Bonnie’s and playing with her dog, Cody.”

“Well, they’re getting Mindy all worked up, and it’s hard for me to get her settled down once that happens.”

“Be still now,” Esther said, placing her hands on Penny and Jared’s heads. “Listen to Hannah and do what she says while I go out and hitch Ginger to my buggy.”

The children calmed down right away, and so did Mindy. Then as Esther went out the door, Hannah led the three of them down the hallway to the bathroom to wash up. When that was done, she took their jackets down from the wall pegs in the utility room and helped the children put them on.

By the time they stepped onto the back porch, Esther had her horse hitched to the buggy. When she motioned for them to come, Hannah ushered the children across the yard. Once they were seated in the back of the buggy, she took her seat up front on the passenger’s side.

“Everyone, stay in your seats now,” Hannah called over her shoulder as Esther directed the horse and buggy down the driveway. “This road is bumpy.”

“You’re right, the driveway is full of ruts right now,” Esther said, looking over at Hannah. “That’s because we’ve had so much rain this fall.”

Hannah grimaced. She knew the damage too much rain could cause. A few years ago, they’d had so much rain in Lancaster County that many of the roads had flooded. She wondered if that ever happened here.

After they turned onto the main road and had traveled a ways, Esther pointed out various church members’ homes. “Oh, and there’s the store my folks used to own before they moved to Strasburg to help care for my brother, Dan.”

“Who owns the store now?” Hannah asked.

“Aaron and Nettie Martin. They’re a Mennonite couple, and they’re fairly new to the area.”

“I see. Is that where you do most of your shopping?”

“Jah, but when we’re able to go into Hopkinsville, I shop at Walmart.”

They rode silently for a while; then Hannah turned to Esther and said, “I understand that your brother has MS.”

Esther nodded. “The disease has progressed to the point that he has to use a wheelchair most of the time.”

“That’s too bad. I can’t imagine how I would feel if something like that happened to Timothy.”

“It’s been hard on his wife, Sarah, because she has a lot more responsibility now, but with my mamm and daed there to help, it makes things a bit easier.”

“Easier? How could anything be easy if you have someone in your family in a wheelchair or with a severe disability?”

“Mom and Dad don’t see it as a burden, and neither does Sarah. They love Dan very much, and there isn’t anything they wouldn’t do for him.”