“Honor,” he whispered, awed.
And then he grabbed her up. The rest of the mail went flying from her hands as he twirled her around. He was laughing now, a joyous free sound that filled the sky.
“Honor!” he said again, still laughing.
She was laughing and crying at the same time. “Gabe, I love you,” she said and he squeezed her even more tightly.
“What are you guys doing out here?” Brandon asked, disgusted. “Did The Connection come or not?”
Gabe laughed louder. “Don’t know,” he said, grinning. “And as for what we’re doing? I’m kissing my wife. Turn the other way.”
He set Honor down on her feet and cupped her face with his rough, calloused hands. And then he kissed her. “I love you, Honor Chupp,” he murmured.
“And I love you right back,” she answered, losing herself again in his enormous smile.
Epilogue
Ten Months Later
Honor tiptoed out of the room, holding her breath. The minute she started to shut the door behind her, a plaintive cry burst forth from inside. She laughed and went back into the room.
“Matthew Gabriel Chupp, aren’t you a feisty little dear,” she said, bending over the crib to scoop up the child. She kissed his rosy cheek. “You’re supposed to be sleeping. Oh, all right, all right, there.” She softly patted the baby’s back. “I’ll rock you a bit longer.”
She sank down onto the white rocker Gabe had brought up for her the month before. “So you don’t have to go all the way downstairs to rock the boppli,” he’d told her.
Honor brought the baby to her shoulder and nuzzled his neck. She breathed in his sweetness and felt the whispers of hair on his head tickle her cheek.
“You’re going to look just like your dat,” she told him. “I’ve decided, so don’t you get any other ideas.”
She laughed and started rocking, humming a lullaby close to his ear. Immediately, Matthew settled into her and she heard gentle sucking noises. Honor smiled and closed her eyes, nearly bursting with love for the child—and for the child’s daddy.
“Thank you, Gott,” she whispered, so grateful that after all those difficult, painful days and weeks, things had turned around.
Tears filled her eyes, and she drew in a long breath. It was true. Everything had turned around. The contrast between how she felt now and how she’d felt not so long ago was staggering.
Gabe. She loved him so much that sometimes, it hurt. He was the most amazing man she had ever known. He had such integrity and courage and kindness. And that gleam in his eyes when he looked at her… Ach, but she was blessed. Blessed beyond belief.
The last months hadn’t been easy. Tessie had required nearly all of Honor’s time during her first months home. Honor’s energy was spent by the time she fell into bed every night. But she was glad to do it, thankful to be part of the family. And then, she’d found out she was carrying Gabe’s child. In truth, Honor believed that her news, more than anything, had helped Tessie recover. Oh, Tessie still walked with a walker, but at least she was walking. And nowadays, the family understood almost every word she said.
After little Matthew was born, Nathaniel brought in a helper for Tessie. Though she tried, Honor simply couldn’t do it all. And Gabe didn’t want her to. Honor smiled tenderly at the memory of Gabe’s protective stance and his insistence that his dad bring in help.
Honor loved Gabe for it. But in truth, she loved him for everything. After all they’d gone through—after what she’d done—Honor had gotten the marriage she’d yearned for after all. And she would forever be thankful to God because of it.
Matthew’s breathing became soft and even, and his soft slurping noises had stilled. He was asleep. Honor should put him right back down in his crib, but she wasn’t quite ready to let go of him. Not yet. She would rock him just a little while longer.
“Honor?” Gabe called up the stairs. “You up there?”
“We’re up here,” she answered as loudly as she dared.
In her arms, Matthew stirred but didn’t awaken. Honor heard Gabe’s footsteps on the stairs. Within moments, he gently pushed open the nursery door.
“Ah, there you are,” he said.
“Jah,” she answered him, “here we are.”
The End
Continue Reading…
Thank you for reading Honor’s Wedding? Are you wondering what to read next? Why not read The Lie. Here’s a peek for you:
Tessa Speicher threw herself on her bed and sobbed into her closed fists, trying to muffle the sound. Tears coursed down her face, puddling on the beautiful blue and yellow quilt.
It couldn’t be true.
It simply couldn’t.
But Tessa knew better. It was true all right. Calendars didn’t lie. She drew her knees up to her chest, wishing she could die. There was no way she’d be able to face her mother with this. Life was hard enough without her father. The years since his death had been fraught with hardship.
But this?
This would be worse than anything that’d happened so far. Much, much worse. Tessa gulped back her tears. Feeling sorry for herself wouldn’t help. Wishing for death wouldn’t help. There was only one thing to do. Only one thing that might fix this mess.
She crawled off her bed and wiped her tears with her sleeve. She straightened her kapp and fanned her face, trying to dry her cheeks. Hopefully, her eyes weren’t too swollen. If she were lucky, her mother wouldn’t even be around. She’d be busy in the barn or busy in the kitchen, and there wasn’t much chance Tessa would run into anyone else.
The tiny farm they’d leased didn’t require extra help since they didn’t farm the land. Somebody else leased the fields. Tessa and her mother made their living by selling milk and cheese to the Englisch.
It wasn’t hugely profitable, but it paid the bills and kept a roof over their heads and food on the table.
Tessa crept down the stairs on bare feet, cautiously looking about as she went. No sign of her mother anywhere inside. If she slipped out the side door and ran around the back of the house and through the fields, she could leave without being detected.
But then what?
Was she going to march right up to Tom Miller’s house and knock on the door? Ask his mother if he could come out and talk to her? There was no way she could do that; it simply wasn’t done. But she had to talk to him. Urgently. Maybe, if she hid out by the side of the barn, she could catch him coming or going. That would probably be safest.
She left by the side door and scurried around the back of the house. When she got to the field, she ran as fast as she could toward the main road. Being early spring, the ground was cold on her bare feet, but she hardly noticed. All she could think of was finding Tom. Talking to Tom. Having Tom make this all better.
The Millers’ farm was a short piece down the road. When she neared it, she carefully hid until she was on the road side of the barn. If she stayed back a bit, she could still see who was around, and unless they really looked, no one should see her. She leaned against the rough boards and caught her breath. She felt a surge of nausea rise to her throat, and she went completely still. She’d learned that if she didn’t move a muscle when the nausea came, it would often pass without making her vomit.
She could hardly stand there on Miller land, retching her stomach out, now, could she?
Oh, Lord … how had it come to this?
She lowered her head. She knew full well how it had come to this. She heard a noise and peered cautiously around the side of the barn. It was Tom’s father, carrying a harness. She backed up and plastered herself against the wall.
Ten minutes or so later, she heard another sound. Then she heard a chuckle and a low voice talking to an animal, no doubt a horse. It was Tom. It had to be. She slithered forward and peered again around the barn to see Tom leading a pony toward the pony cart.
“Tom!” she whispered. “Tom! Over here!”
He paused and looked around. When he caught sight of he
r, his face crinkled into a wide grin. He looped the pony’s reins over the cart and came to her.
“Tessa!” he said. “What are you doing here?”
He looked toward the road, as if checking for curious eyes, and then grabbed both her shoulders and kissed her soundly on the lips. “What a gut surprise.”
She looked into his blue eyes and felt everything inside her relax. He loved her. He would make this right. Everything would work out now.
“Tom—” she started, but he interrupted her with another kiss.
“When can we see each other again?” he asked, his hands running up and down her arms.
“We’re seeing each other now.”
“You know what I mean.”
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About the Author
I am blessed to live in part-time in Indiana, a state I share with many Amish communities, and part-time in Costa Rica. One of my favorite activities is exploring other cultures. My husband, Paul, and I have two grown children and five precious grandchildren. I love to hole up in our lake cabin and write. You’ll also often find me walking the shores by the sea. Happy Reading !
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