by Jan Drexler
Aaron stepped closer to Elizabeth. “He knows how much you love children. What would you do if he threatened the boy’s life? Would you marry Solomon to save him?”
As Elizabeth nodded, her face crumpled, and a tear slid down her cheek. “I would do anything to save a child from Solomon’s control.”
“This is something I need to talk over with the other ministers,” Gideon said. “Solomon has established himself in our community, and we need to decide how to handle this situation.” He grasped Elizabeth’s hand. “Denki. I’m glad you came to me. We’ll do everything we can to protect you.”
He gave Aaron’s shoulder a pat and then left.
“I suppose you want to go in and talk to Ruby now,” Aaron said.
He should follow Gideon and go back to the Zooks’ harness shop, but Elizabeth’s tears had multiplied. Her shoulders shook as she covered her face. Aaron put an arm around her shoulders and steered her toward the bench near the barn door. He sat next to her, his arm still around her shoulders. She sniffed, then took a deep breath and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.
“You must think I’m such a fool.”
Aaron pulled her closer. “Not at all.”
“I was taken in by Solomon’s charm and his looks, but I should have listened to you. You tried to warn me about him.”
“I wasn’t certain it was the same man.”
Another sob bubbled out. “I thought he was the one I had been waiting for. The one who could fulfill my dreams.”
Aaron let her cry. He didn’t know what to do when a woman cried. His mind went back to his last membership class with Gideon, when the minister was discussing Gelassenheit, surrendering to God’s will and plan.
“Maybe you’re dreaming the wrong dreams.”
Her shoulders tensed and she pulled away from him. “The wrong dreams? My dreams . . . they’re mine. Who is to say if they’re wrong or not?”
Aaron stretched his good leg out, letting the muscles relax. “Gideon told me that one of the first things the Amish teach their children is to give up their own will and surrender to God’s. He teaches them to put Jesus first, others second, and themselves last. Perhaps your dreams have turned that around.”
Elizabeth didn’t answer, but she didn’t walk away, either. Finally, she leaned closer to him again, under the arm that was still stretched out along the back of the bench. “Don’t you have dreams? What about going west?”
He fingered a lock of hair that had escaped from her kapp and rested on her shoulder. “I think I was wrong about those plans. If I went west, then I would only be living for myself.”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?”
Aaron rubbed his stump, the leg that was closest to Elizabeth. In fact, since they were sitting so close together, it rested against her skirt. She hadn’t seemed to notice. “Not anymore. Since I’ve been here, things have changed.”
She turned toward him and rested her hand on top of his, the hand that had been rubbing his leg. Her fingers brushed his trouser as she laid her hand on his leg, near the edge of his stump. She didn’t cringe. Didn’t shy away. Didn’t give him a look full of pity. She only took his hand again, allowing him to curl his fingers around her small, soft one.
As Aaron’s hand grasped hers, Elizabeth relaxed into his gentle touch.
“I know things have changed a lot. With your new leg you’re able to get around much better.”
“I’m not talking about my leg.” His soft voice tugged at her heart. “I’ve found my true dream right here in Weaver’s Creek.”
“Your family.” She smiled. “I always knew you needed a family.”
He nodded. “The Zooks are part of that. But it’s much bigger than that. The one thing I missed since the beginning of the war was my home. I had seen it destroyed and Grandpop killed in front of my eyes.” His gaze took on a faraway look, as if he were seeing the past recreated in Gideon’s barn. “But what I’ve found is my true home.”
“Do you mean Weaver’s Creek?”
Aaron smiled. “This place is just the beginning. But now I understand that my dreams are nothing without the Lord. He’s the one who gives us our heart’s desire.”
Elizabeth’s eyes grew moist again. She would never have her heart’s desire. God had already shown her that.
“Do you understand what I mean?”
“You mean that you’ve given up making your own dream come true and now you’re waiting for God to give it to you.”
Aaron sighed. “Not exactly. I stopped thinking about what I want. Now I’m watching while God gives me what he wants me to have. Once I set my sights on pleasing him and obeying him, then I could see how he is working to give me what I want most, after him.”
“You’re talking in circles.”
Elizabeth started to draw her hand away. Ruby would make more sense than Aaron. But he grasped her hand harder until she looked into his eyes.
“Let me say it plain, then. And in Englisch.” He ran his thumb along the back of her hand. “My dream is to have my own home. A place to belong. A family . . .” His gaze dropped to her hand. “And a wife. A woman like—” He stopped. “No, not a woman like you.” He looked into her eyes again. “You. No one else. I want you to be part of my dream.”
“But—”
He stopped her with a kiss, quick and gentle, on her lips. She pulled back to see his face turn scarlet, his blue eyes boring into hers. He let go of her hand and touched her lips with one finger.
“Don’t say anything. Not yet.” He took her hand again, as if by holding it she could never leave him. “I love you, Elizabeth, and it has been painful to watch you over the past few weeks as you’ve grown closer to Solomon. But at the same time, I’ve discovered that I had the wrong dream. I needed to put God first in my life and accept what he had planned for me.”
Aaron lifted her hand and kissed it. Her thoughts swirled.
He continued. “I hope what he has planned for me is you, but only if you want me. I will do almost anything for you.”
A bubble of hope turned inside her breast and she smiled. “Almost?”
He nodded, serious. “I won’t turn away from God for you, but I would do anything else.”
Elizabeth chewed the inside of her lip. His dream sounded so much like hers, except for one thing.
“You aren’t Amish, though.”
“Not yet.”
She shot her gaze up to his eyes. He wasn’t teasing, but he was smiling.
“What do you mean? Ever since you came here you said you weren’t Amish.”
“I went to the ministers and asked about joining the church. I want to become part of this community. To set down roots here. To embrace the Amish faith and life my grandfather ran away from.”
“You can’t just decide you’re Amish and then you are.”
“I know. I’m not Solomon. But I didn’t just decide to become Amish. I thought about it for a long time.” He chuckled. “All right. I didn’t think about it as much as I argued with God. But nobody can argue with him and win.”
How often did she spend her prayer time arguing with God? Bargaining with him? “So, you want to join the church?”
“Is that such a surprise?” His smile was sure. “Of course, I’ll have to finish my classes with Gideon and Jonas—”
“Jonas?”
Aaron grinned. “Now I’ve really surprised you. Jonas and I are taking the class together.”
Elizabeth slumped against the back of the bench. She had been wrapped up in her own problems . . . Katie probably even told her about Jonas taking the membership class, but she hadn’t noticed.
When Aaron squeezed her hand again, she looked at him. “I’ve told you what I want, and I’m willing to accept whatever God provides for me. If that is for you and me to hitch our lives together, then that would make me very happy.”
Elizabeth closed her eyes. It seemed that his dream danced with hers in a swirling whirlwind of leaves on a fall day. But she had been so wrong abou
t Solomon, and so wrong about Reuben. She couldn’t trust her feelings or her ears when it came to Aaron. She couldn’t risk making another mistake.
“I can’t give you an answer.”
She opened her eyes, expecting to see a frown on his lean face, but instead he was grinning.
“I hope you won’t until you’re certain. If that takes a long time, then I can wait. It seems like I’ve waited my whole life, so why not wait a little longer?” He ducked his head. “I’m sorry I kissed you earlier. I couldn’t help myself.”
Elizabeth put her fingers over her lips. His kiss had been so gentle, demanding nothing from her. She had never been kissed like that before, but suddenly she longed for another one. If she did marry him, would Aaron always be so gentle and thoughtful with her?
“I enjoyed the kiss.” He turned bright red again and she smiled. “I will think about what you’ve said, but I don’t know if I’ll ever marry again.”
He leaned over and brushed a kiss on her cheek. “Think about it and pray about it.”
“I will.” A sunbeam of clarity pierced her cloudy thoughts. “I’m going in to see Ruby now.”
“And I need to get back to work. Casper is probably wondering where I am.”
They walked out of the barn together, then Aaron winked at her as he turned to go toward the road and back to the Zooks’. Elizabeth went to the kitchen door, knocked softly, then opened the door. Ruby called from the front room.
“Come on in, Elizabeth.” Ruby sat in her chair, a needle in one hand and a pair of boy’s trousers in the other. “I saw you drive in. Have you been out in the barn this whole time?”
Briefly, she told Ruby what she had found at Solomon’s house. “Gideon left to talk to the other ministers about the situation.”
“They’ll spend all afternoon discussing it, I’m sure. But Gideon left quite a while ago. You’ve been alone with Aaron since then?”
“Aaron and I were talking.” She sat on a chair opposite Ruby’s. “Where are the children?”
“Roseanna and Sophia took the boys down to Mamm’s house, and Lovinia is taking her nap.”
“And how are you feeling?” Elizabeth remembered how sick she had been for those few months when a little one was growing inside her.
“The worst of the illness is over and I’m feeling good. I do get tired in the afternoon. Sometimes I lie down and nap with Lovinia. Roseanna is such a help at those times.” Ruby cut off the end of her thread and folded the small trousers. “I think of you often, since you told us about the baby you lost. I can’t imagine how you must still grieve at times.”
Elizabeth picked at a piece of chaff sticking to her skirt. “I wonder about that child often, if it had been a boy or a girl. If its eyes were brown like mine, or green like Reuben’s. But it has been a long time since then . . .”
“Only a few years.”
Six. It had been six years and three months. She would never forget.
Ruby picked up another pair of trousers, frowning at the hole in the knee. “I don’t know how these boys can be so rough on their clothes.”
Elizabeth grinned, forcing the sad memory to the background. “They’re boys. They’re supposed to be active.”
“But do they always need to crawl on their knees when they play?”
They both laughed, and Ruby looked at Elizabeth.
“It is good to hear you laugh. I was afraid with what you told me about Solomon that you would not be happy. So, tell me. What is going on with Aaron?”
“Aaron?”
“He’s the one who put that smile on your face, isn’t he?”
Elizabeth found another piece of dust on her skirt. “It is nice to know a man who is gentle and kind.”
“You know a lot of men like that. There’s Gideon, and Jonas, and Datt.”
“But they’re all related to me. That’s different.”
Ruby threaded her needle and took a stitch. “Aaron comes by here every Friday evening.”
“For his membership class.”
“He told you about that?”
Elizabeth nodded. “I think it’s wonderful that he’s thinking of joining the church, but it will be hard for him, won’t it?”
“From what Gideon said, he has his heart set on it. He’s very dedicated and shows up early every Friday. His enthusiasm is wearing off on Jonas too. I was afraid Jonas was only going through the motions of joining the church so he and Katie could be married.”
A warm feeling started in Elizabeth’s middle. “So, you think Aaron is serious?”
Ruby smiled at her. “Very serious. He wants to become Amish.”
The warm feeling expanded. He was becoming Amish because he wanted to, not because he wanted to impress her. He didn’t give her an ultimatum and he didn’t try to wheedle his way into her affections. He didn’t even try to threaten her by saying he wouldn’t continue the classes if she didn’t marry him.
Whether there was any future between them or not, Aaron would still be Amish by his own choice.
16
The town of Millersburg was festooned with banners, bunting, and flags even today, two days after Independence Day. Solomon hunched his shoulders as he drove through the crowded street to the livery, keeping his gaze down. With this many people around, he couldn’t keep track of them all. It was best to lie low and get his business done.
The livery stable was full again.
“You could try at Wilson’s around the corner,” a thin man with one eye said, jerking his thumb in that direction. “He usually has room since so many folks around here won’t do business with one of his kind.”
“No, thank you. I’ve patronized that establishment once, but I won’t go back.”
The one-eyed man grinned, then spat a stream of tobacco juice toward the corner. “Then I can put your horse up in the corral. There’s water for him in there. Two bits for the afternoon.”
Solomon peered into the corral that was already crowded with a dozen horses or more and shook his head. The horse would have to make do with whatever he could find on the street.
He guided the horse to a watering trough on the side of the courthouse, and when the beast was finished, he found a spot along the hitching rail near the post office to tie him.
As he stood in line inside the building, Solomon pulled out the letters he had ready to mail. The most important was the one requesting to take over guardianship of Kaufman’s son. He smiled at the thought of owning Kaufman’s property free and clear without having to deal with Elizabeth. She had proved more bothersome than she was worth. Although, if he needed to, he could still manipulate her. She was foolish to trust him with such important papers as the deed to the land and her marriage certificate.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Mast,” the clerk said when he reached the window. “I think I have a telegram for you today.”
He went to the boxes lining the wall behind them and retrieved a folded paper. When Solomon saw that it was from the lawyer, he shoved the letter he had written to Hoben in his coat pocket and mailed the rest of his missives. Walking out of the post office, he fingered the telegram. It could be good news that would make his letter to the man obsolete. He sought out an open bench and sat down.
The message was short.
Court in Vicksburg awarded custody to aunt Elizabeth Kaufman. Will accompany boy to Ohio on first train.
Solomon checked the date on the note, then crumpled the paper in his fist. He was too late. Much too late. The court had already given the boy to Elizabeth and he was on his way here. Might even be here as soon as Saturday. He should have straightened out that misunderstanding about her relationship to Reuben early on rather than waiting to see if he could use it to his advantage, but instead the opportunity had slipped through his fingers.
He barely noticed the bank draft contained in the other letter, more proceeds from his investments in the South. He deposited the draft in the bank, then gathered his horse and set out for home.
All the way to
his farm, he sifted through the possibilities of how to use the changed situation to his advantage, then discarded them one by one. The only way he could see to maintain his control of the situation was to marry Elizabeth. While at one time he had looked forward to having her close to him, available to him any time he wanted her, now the thought was a bit distasteful. He liked his women compliant and naive, and Elizabeth had turned out to be neither of those things. But since she had been named the guardian of the boy, she held the key to Reuben’s property. Once they were safely married, then he would decide when and how to dispose of both of them.
He noticed Dulcey’s guilty expression as soon as he entered the house. He watched her as she took his hat from him and hung it on the hall tree, followed by his jacket.
“Has anyone been here, Dulcey?”
She kept her gaze down. “Miss Elizabeth stopped by, but I told her you weren’t at home.”
Solomon’s eyes narrowed. “Elizabeth? What did she want?”
“I don’t know. She didn’t say.”
Dulcey cringed, her left shoulder rising, giving her a crab-like appearance. She was lying, but Solomon let it slide for now. He had plans to make.
“When will my supper be ready?”
“I can have it on the table in ten minutes.”
Solomon checked his watch. Nearly six o’clock.
“I’ll be in my study. Call me when it’s ready.”
Dulcey scuttled toward the kitchen as he strode across the hall to the study and reached for the key he kept above the doorframe. His fingers touched nothing. He groped to the left, and then to the right until his fingers touched the key. As he took it down, he glanced toward the kitchen door just as it swung closed. Suspicion filled his mind. Dulcey wouldn’t go into his study when he wasn’t in there. He had trained her better than that. But Elizabeth might have convinced Dulcey to show her where the key was.
Turning the key in the lock, he swung the door open and strode in. Everything looked just as it should. The desk was orderly, the piles seemed untouched. Why would Elizabeth come in here? Shuffling through the papers, a thought came to him. He had told her that marriage certificate didn’t exist, and she had believed him. But what if . . .