“Why are you saying that, Mary, when you know you gave her the cold shoulder after she took your mamm’s leftover scraps to make a book cover?”
“I’m over that. I had wanted to make a memento to remember Mamm. But I probably would never have gotten it done, and the one Sarah made looks gut.”
Caleb pushed his chair back, scraping the legs on the floor, and threw his arms in the air. “All this time you liked Sarah and never said anything?”
“I certainly don’t like Widow Miller. Sarah is much better for a mamm than Kathryn. I can’t believe you didn’t ask Sarah to marry you.”
“Jah, Daed. Marry Sarah. Then she can come live with us,” Jacob squealed.
Caleb turned to Mary. “You like her now?”
“I like her and I can tolerate her a lot better than Kathryn. Kathryn has set her kapp for you. The way she bats her lashes when you’re around.” Mary rolled her eyes.
“What does ‘set her kapp’ mean, Daed?” Jacob raised puzzled eyes.
“Never mind, Jacob.”
“Why hasn’t the laundry been getting done, or the cleaning? Why is the food burnt now half the time?”
“I’m tired of doing all the housework. Soon I’ll get married and have to do everything by myself. I want a life first. I want to go skating with my friends. I want to have fun.”
“Mary, you shouldn’t say things like that. Should she, Daed?” Jacob shook his head.
“Jacob, please. Mary and I are talking.”
Caleb sat back and rubbed a hand across his forehead. It was hard work for a woman to manage a whole household, let alone a fourteen-year-old mädel. He should’ve hired help.
“I can’t see my friends—there’s no time. A few of us have been going down to the frozen creek and skating.”
“And you leave Jacob here all by himself? What if he got hurt?”
“Exactly. If I go do anything, I feel guilty because I took a little time away from all this work.” She waved her arms around. “It was nice when Sarah was here, helping me. I know I shouldn’t have gotten mad at her over those scraps of material. Mamm wouldn’t have liked my behavior.”
Mary raised her gaze to Caleb. “You let Sarah go. I thought you loved her. Go after her, Daed.”
He headed outside. He needed some cold air to clear his mind. All this time, Mary had played games with him instead of being honest.
Nein. That wasn’t the truth. She was truly hurt at first when Sarah took the scraps. Apparently when Sarah helped her and taught her like a mamm, she forgave Sarah. Then Gott healed her grieving heart.
He’d made a mess of things.
He heard the kitchen door close behind him and two sets of feet walking across the porch.
“Daed, you need your coat. Are we going to get Sarah?” Mary asked.
“Jah. Get ready. You, too, Jacob.” Caleb ran into the haus, grabbed his coat and hat, and threw them on while he raced to the barn.
“Hurry, Daed. Hurry.” Mary yelled. “Before she leaves her haus in Kalona.”
Caleb hitched Snowball to the buggy while the horse paced the ground in place as if he sensed the urgency. Caleb motioned and the kinner jumped in behind him. He tapped the reins on Snowball’s back. The buggy lurched ahead as the horse set the wheels in motion.
When they turned onto the roadway, Snowball increased his gait to a full trot toward Kalona. The three miles to town seemed more like twenty to Caleb as he reined the horse to a stop. Sarah’s yard and driveway were empty.
“Wait here.” Caleb stepped down, hurried to the door and knocked.
No answer.
The man on the porch next door waved Caleb over. “She left a few minutes ago for Iowa City. If you hurry, you might be able to catch up with them. I heard her say she needed to stop at the bank, and she had to turn in the house key.”
“Danki for your help.”
Caleb headed toward Route 218 at the edge of town to wait for the SUV.
* * *
Sarah already missed Caleb and the kinner so much, her heart was about to burst. After she settled in to her apartment, she’d bury herself in work at the restaurant until she’d adjusted to life without the Brennemans.
Caleb was obviously not ready to remarry, and she understood that. Martha had only been gone not quite two years. Yet it was difficult seeing him when he didn’t want a relationship, only a friend, a companion.
When the SUV slowed, she glanced out the window and noticed a buggy sitting along the side of the road with Caleb, Jacob and Mary waving for them to stop. She tried to slow her racing heart. She’d probably forgotten something at their haus, or they just wanted to wish her well again. She stepped out of the SUV.
Jacob tore out ahead of his daed and Mary, skidding to a halt in front of her. He threw his arms around her in a hug and sobbed.
Sarah rubbed his back and whispered. “I’ll miss you, too, Jacob.”
“Don’t you want to be my mamm?”
She froze.
What in the world was this bu talking about? How could she ever face Caleb? The heat burned on her cheeks.
Caleb and Mary hurried over and stood a few feet away from her and Jacob. Sarah glanced up. She drew a ragged breath and noticed the broad smiles on their faces. She patted Jacob’s back as he continued to hug her.
Caleb took a step closer. Sarah’s gaze met his.
Caleb’s lips twitched and his eyes sparkled like precious stones. His eyes captured and held hers. “Jah, sorry, Sarah, but I imagine there are worse proposals than that.”
Did he say what she thought he’d said? Did Caleb Brenneman just propose to her?
Caleb stepped forward and patted Jacob. “It’s my turn. Let me give her a hug, too.”
Jacob stepped back and rubbed his shirtsleeve over his eyes and down his cheeks.
Caleb wrapped his arms around Sarah and gave her a tender kiss. When he pulled away, he locked eyes with her and whispered, “Ich liebe dich. I love you, Sarah.”
“Ich liebe dich, Caleb Brenneman.” She looked over at Mary’s smiling face. “And I loved the way the whole family asked. I wouldn’t have wanted it any differently. My heart is overflowing with liebe for you all. Jah, I’ll marry you...for sure and for certain.”
Cars were driving by with windows down and people clapping. Some held cell phones out the windows, taking pictures.
“Oh, no!” Mary laughed. “This is going to be all over the internet.” Mary hurried and put her iPhone in her pocket, but not before Sarah witnessed the act. Their gaze met and Sarah gave Mary a wink.
Sarah stepped back. “I need to call Mr. Gardner and tell him I won’t be taking the pastry chef job after all.”
Caleb grinned. “Maybe you can bake for him until he hires a new chef.”
Sarah nodded.
“Mary, I almost forgot.” Sarah darted to the SUV, hurried back and handed the book to Mary. “I forgot to give you this earlier.” Sarah wrapped an arm around Mary’s shoulders.
Mary stared at Sarah for a few seconds and glanced at the book in her hands, Baking the Amish Way by Sarah Gingerich. She turned the front cover over and spotted a note written on the inside.
Sarah whispered the words to Mary. “To my darling girl, Mary. I treasure you in a very special way. May God always bless you and guide your footsteps. May your days always bloom with joy, like the flowers of the garden. And may you always cook and bake with love. Yours in a very special way, Sarah.”
Mary raised tear-filled eyes to Sarah. “Danki.” She wrapped her arms around Sarah and gave her a kiss on the cheek.
Sarah returned the hug and kissed the top of Mary’s head.
“They’re my mamm and daed’s recipes, and some I developed myself. Your copy is the very first one off the press. I made sure of that.”
Sarah gestured toward the crowd gathe
ring around them. “We made quite a spectacle. If folks didn’t know what the Amish people were like, they got their eyes and ears full today.”
“Jah, they did.” Caleb sighed. “That’s the thing with us Plain folk. We like to keep life exciting in a simple kind of way.”
Sarah feasted her eyes on Caleb and pulled him close once again. “I’m never going to let you three get out of my sight.”
“Does that mean you are willing to give up the bakery and come be a farmer’s wife?”
“After I left your farm and before I even got back to Kalona, I discovered it wasn’t the bakery that mattered to me. It was you, Jacob and Mary. The thing I want most in life—to be part of your family.”
Epilogue
“Sarah.”
Ach. She stopped and cringed. The bishop. Only fifty feet from her buggy. She turned and waited for him to catch up to her.
“Bishop Yoder, I’m married now. You certainly don’t want to introduce me to another widower, do you?”
He laughed. “But every time I introduced a widower to you, he ended up married—to someone else. The only exception was Elmer Plank.”
“Jah. Elmer is a really nice man.” She nodded. “I’m working on introducing him to someone. We’ll see how it turns out.”
“Ah, gut. Then I can turn the matchmaker hat over to you. What I really wanted to ask was how you managed to convince your ehemann to join our church. I didn’t think Caleb Brenneman would ever come back to the Old Order.”
“Old Order has a better youth retention rate, and we want to keep the kinner close. Again, thank you, Bishop, for marrying Caleb and me last Thursday. We really appreciate you clearing your schedule.”
“It’s almost Christmas. You should be with your loved ones for the holidays.” He turned to leave, then glanced over his shoulder. “I wasn’t taking any chances on getting you two married.” He winked at her. “Gut day, Sarah.”
As he walked away, she chuckled. “You’re an old softy, Bishop.”
“Don’t tell anyone that, or I’ll deny it.” He raised his hand in the air and waved.
Sarah hurried to the buggy, grabbed her ehemann’s hand and snuggled close to him. “Sorry you had to wait.”
Caleb turned to her as he gave the reins a tap on Snowball’s back. “What did the bishop want?”
“Oh, just to see how I liked married life.”
“I hope you told him it is wunderbaar.” Caleb smiled.
Sarah slipped her hand around his elbow and squeezed. “Of course, liebling.”
“And you don’t miss being a pastry chef?”
Sarah hesitated. “Maybe a little bit, but I’d rather be with my family.”
The snow began to fall as Caleb turned the buggy into the drive. Sarah shivered. “It’s cold. Who wants hot cocoa?”
Everyone said, “Me,” at the same time.
“Cookies and cocoa in fifteen minutes.” Sarah hurried into the house and shook the snow off her cape. “Mary, we’ll need to start making Christmas cookies tomorrow.”
“Have you talked to Daed yet about us opening a bakery?” She pulled out a saucepan and grabbed the milk.
“Not yet. I’m waiting for the right time.” She glanced over at Mary as they worked side by side.
Mary set cups, plates and spoons on the table. “I’ll fetch the cookies,” she called out as she headed to the pantry.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sarah caught Caleb sneaking up behind her. He planted a big kiss on her cheek.
“I liebe you.” His breath tickled her face.
“I liebe you, too.” She turned around, wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close for a tender kiss.
“I’m going to like being married. And to think, I almost lost you.”
“Nein. That was never going to happen. You just needed a little nudge.” Sarah glanced around and noticed Mary had disappeared from the room.
“What? You had this planned all the time?” His eyes widened.
Sarah smiled. “Come on, everyone, the cocoa is hot.”
Jacob pulled out his chair and sat. “Mamm, I’m ready for my snack now.”
Sarah smiled at her new name—Mamm.
When Mary stood behind her chair, Sarah noticed she held something behind her back. Mary brought her hand in front and held up the book cover that Sarah had made out of Martha’s quilt scraps. Mary folded the book cover back to display Sarah’s cookbook.
“Now I’ll always have both of my mamms right here, at my fingertips and in my heart, always.”
Sarah ran and gave her a hug. “Danki. That is the best Christmas present you could have given me.” Tears clouded her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
Gott had been with her on this journey all along to give her what she needed. For sure and for certain, how could she ever have doubted Him?
* * * * *
If you enjoyed The Amish Baker,
look for these other emotionally gripping
and wonderful Amish stories:
The Amish Bachelor’s Baby by Jo Ann Brown
The Promised Amish Bride by Marta Perry
Her Amish Child by Lenora Worth
Available now from Love Inspired!
Find more great reads at www.millsandboon.com.au
Keep reading for an excerpt from Rancher to the Rescue by Arlene James.
Rancher to the Rescue
by Arlene James
Chapter One
Glancing at his three-year-old in the rearview mirror of the double cab pickup truck, Jake cranked up the air-conditioning.
“Sorry, son. It’s just too hot to ride with the windows down.”
Frankie made a face, but said nothing as Jake hit the buttons that rolled up the windows. The boy loved the wind in his face, even the scorching wind of an August morning, which was one reason he’d taken off at a heady gallop on his pony across the field after his six-year-old cousin yesterday. Tyler was a more experienced rider than Frankie, and Jake’s heart had leaped into his throat as he’d watched his son’s dark head bouncing along behind his nephew’s horse. Thankfully, Jake had caught up to him before the boy had lost his seat.
Determined that both the boy and the pony would receive further instruction before being allowed out of the corral again, Jake had brought Frankie along with him while he ran errands. He didn’t have any other option. His brothers, Wyatt and Ryder, and Wyatt’s son, Tyler, were out on horseback checking the least-accessible water holes on the ranch, and Wyatt’s wife, Tina, had a doctor’s appointment.
Given the size and population of his native Houston, Jake had always thought that in Texas, it was a long drive to get anywhere, but Oklahoma was proving its equal. Its many small towns and few big cities were separated by long stretches of empty road. Consequently, Oklahoma felt rather lonely to Jake, even more so since Wyatt had married Tyler’s mother in June.
Tina and Tyler were good for his brother, and Jake wished them only happiness, but now that Wyatt had his own family, Jake had started to feel out of place at Loco Man Ranch. He and his two brothers had spent many joyous summers running wild over the two thousand acres of the ranch on the outskirts of tiny War Bonnet before inheriting the place from their uncle Dodd a few months ago. More and more, though, Jake felt like an interloper in his sister-in-law’s house and an unnecessary dependent on the ranching enterprise. As a mechanic, trained by the army, Jake felt the ranch simply did not need or maintain enough vehicles to keep him busy or justify his take of the profits, which were irregular.
On the other hand, the nearest mechanic to War Bonnet was at least thirty miles away. Jake figured he could pull in enough business from the surrounding countryside to turn a profit. So, right after the wedding, with the blessings of his brothers and sister-in-law, Jake had the foundation poured for a shop that he was building at the very edge of t
he road fronting the ranch property, only a few hundred yards from the house. While doing much of the building himself and keeping a close eye on his budget, he was quickly acquiring building materials and inventory. If the shop was up and running within the next month or so, he should have enough of his dwindling savings left to see him through until the business fulfilled expectations.
With his mind full of lists and plans, he didn’t notice the old car beside the road until he was right on it. A woman was bent over the front fender of the little coupe, her head hidden by the raised hood, one tennis shoe kicked up into the air and her long full skirt rising to the backs of her knees. Jake knew instantly that he had to stop. Already hotter than ninety degrees with a high in triple digits predicted, it was too hot to be stranded on the side of the road, and out here the next vehicle might be long in coming.
He brought the big pickup truck to a grinding halt beside the two-lane pavement, well ahead of the stranded car. Shifting the transmission into Park with one hand, he rolled down all the windows with the other before killing the engine. “Don’t you get out of your seat,” he instructed Frankie. “I’ll be right back. I’m just going to help this lady.”
Frankie leaned forward and craned his neck, looking behind them. “What lady?”
“Don’t know,” Jake replied, reaching for the pale straw cowboy hat on the passenger seat. “Looks like her car broke down.”
He got out, settled his hat on his head and pushed his sunshades farther up on his nose, wishing he’d taken the time to shave that morning. The coal-dark dusting of beard on his cheeks, jaws and upper lip always made him look rough and undisciplined, or so his late wife, Jolene, had said. He didn’t want to scare this poor woman any more than she likely already was.
Jolene, like him, had been military. If she hadn’t died in a training accident, they’d still be soldiers together, army from the tops of their heads to the soles of their feet. That was a tough life for a single father, however.
He approached the hissing car with a smile for a greeting, only to find that his damsel in distress had retreated into her vehicle. Lifting his eyebrows, he casually strolled up to the driver’s window and tapped on the glass.
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