Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa

by Melanie Dobson

  The two of them gobbled the dark grapes, nature’s sweetness refreshing them after their long hike. Quietly Liesel thanked God for the abundance of His gifts on this fertile land. The richness and beauty never ceased to amaze her. Everywhere she went, there was evidence of God’s care for them.

  Cassie tossed her stem back into the tangled vines and raced down the pathway, so Liesel lifted her skirts and followed.

  On the other side of the canal, under the folds of a weeping willow, she heard whispering. Cassie stopped to gape at the cascading leaves like the tree was speaking to her. The tip of a canoe poked through the willow leaves, and the whispering turned to giggles. A man hushed the woman with him, and she laughed again. A couple in love.

  If the Elders found out about the canoe, the man would be reprimanded for spending valuable time building a luxury item and the canoe would be confiscated—but for the couple’s sake, Liesel hoped the Elders didn’t discover their secret.

  She smiled as she hurried Cassie along the pathway. The colonists laughed often in their villages, usually over a seidel of homemade ale, but affection between married couples was reserved for their private hours together even though there was so little time and space in the Amanas for privacy.

  The couple must have snuck out of one of the villages, stealing away for a few hours alone. The Elders wouldn’t have approved, but when a couple was in love, they would do anything they could to be with each other. They even moved away from all they held dear, to a lonely city like Cedar Rapids, when one decided to pursue a law degree.

  Which brought her back to the question that haunted her—why didn’t Emil insist on coming to Homestead to visit her? Why didn’t he want to be with her?

  And why didn’t she want to go to him?

  On the other side of the canal, the willow trees broke away to reveal the glory of the Amana Colonies’ coronet, Lily Lake. Thousands of yellow blooms enveloped the surface on the shallow lake. God’s garden.

  His gifts never ceased to amaze her.

  Smoke puffed over Lily Lake, and Liesel saw the hulking frame of the grosse boat in the distance. Cassie dropped her hand and ran.

  “Papa!” she called out.

  Liesel lifted her skirts and ran behind Cassie, toward the monster of a boat. What would the crew think of her, running up the path like a crazed child? And what would Jacob think?

  She wiped her sleeve across her forehead, and hair tangled in the sweat on her face, sticking to her eyelashes. She pushed her hair away from her face as she ran, trying to tuck it back in the hairnet, but it was futile.

  “Papa!” Cassie yelled again.

  Panting, Liesel reached back and pulled the sunbonnet over the mess of her hair and retied the lace under her neck.

  Cassie was yards in front of her, shouting louder and louder for her father. Liesel saw the white hull of the boat, the giant dipper hanging in the air…and then she saw Jacob standing on the stern.

  With a loud splash, Jacob dove into the water and swam swiftly toward them. Seconds later, he hopped out of the water and gathered Cassie in his wet arms. Together they spun, father and daughter, and Liesel stepped back.

  Perhaps she would go to Main Amana for the remainder of the afternoon and let Cassie and Jacob enjoy their time together. She could return in a few hours to escort Cassie home.

  Stepping back a second time, she intended to leave, but Jacob turned as well and his smile slowly encompassed her. Her heart quaking, she smiled back at him. Maybe she did belong after all.

  Jacob couldn’t believe his ears nor could he believe his eyes. Cassie was out of quarantine, and she was here at the Mill Race. He twirled her around again and again, savoring the melody of her laughter. She was whole again. Healthy. He could ask for nothing more.

  When they stopped spinning, he glanced back and saw Liesel there. Her face was splotched with red, and her blue eyes dipped when he met her gaze, but he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  He’d known before that Liesel was pretty, during those days and nights that she nursed Cassie back to health, but he hadn’t realized until now exactly how beautiful she was.

  Cassie tugged on his arm, and he shook his head, breaking his stare.

  “I want to swim, Papa.”

  He tweaked his daughter’s chin. “Not in this water, sweetheart.”

  She knelt down, cupping water in her hand. “What’s wrong with it?”

  He held out his stained hands, and for the first time he felt self-conscious, standing here in his wool jersey with dirt encrusted on his neck and arms. Even with soap, the murky water along the Mill Race did little to wash off the soot.

  He guided the women toward the boat, and Michael tossed him a towel. Drying off, he wrapped the towel around his waist, and then his baas handed over a basket filled with food.

  The three of them sat on the bank of the canal and watched the pipe on the boat chug out the last of its smoke for the day. He put his arm around Cassie. In spite of his damp suit, she snuggled close to him.

  “I missed you, Papa.”

  He kissed the top of her head. Words couldn’t express how much he’d missed her. “You are all better?”

  She nodded. “Liesel took good care of me.”

  His gaze traveled over to the woman beside his daughter. “I’m sure she did.”

  Liesel blushed. “Cassie was a stellar patient.”

  “The laboratory results came back?”

  “Yesterday,” Liesel said. “The diphtheria is gone.”

  He kissed the top of Cassie’s braids. “Thank God.”

  “Indeed.”

  Liesel had promised to care for her while she was at the doctor’s house, but her baas probably needed her back in the gardens for the summer harvest. Would another woman in Homestead take over the care of his daughter? No one could possibly care for her as well as Liesel had.

  He leaned toward Liesel. “What happens now?”

  She smoothed her fingers over her lap. “I spoke with Niklas Keller yesterday, and if it’s all right with you, Cassie can stay with me for the remainder of the summer.”

  “But your work…”

  “Two older women work in the Kinderschule, caring for the younger children while their mothers are working.” Liesel stopped, blushing again. “Not that I’m her mother.”

  “I understand.”

  “She can play at the school while I work in the gardens.” Her cheeks remained flushed, and he wanted to reach out and pull her close to him. “I will care for her in the evenings and at night.”

  As she peeled back the cloth covering the basket of food, his eyes were on her face. “You’ve been so kind to Cassie and me.”

  “The Bible says that pure religion is caring for the fatherless in their affliction.”

  He braced himself. “Cassie isn’t fatherless.”

  “I only mean…”

  He cocked his head. “What do you mean?”

  “I enjoy being with her, Jacob.”

  He nodded slowly. “I’m grateful.”

  She glanced away from him, back toward the village. “Have you visited Main Amana yet?”

  “The crew took me to Nachtgebet.”

  She looked back at him. “Really?”

  “They thought I needed to pray…and they were right.”

  “I’m glad for you, Jacob.” She handed him a piece of bread. Its hard crust crumbled in his fingers. “What did you think of it?”

  Cassie engulfed her piece of bread, and Liesel handed her another.

  “The men were different than the men in Homestead.” He hesitated. “Not as welcoming.”

  She unwrapped a round of soft brick cheese and held it out to him. “They are wary of strangers.”

  He didn’t take the cheese. “As they should be.”

  “None of them spoke to you?”

  “One man did.” He paused, watching white clouds mingle with the blue sky. “ Emil Hahn.”

  She breathed in so quickly that Cassie turned her head
.

  “Are you all right?” the girl asked.

  Liesel coughed, slapping her chest. “Ja.”

  “ Emil’s an interesting fellow,” he continued. “Seems to know what he wants.”

  “Most of the time…”

  She took a bit of the cheese, an uncomfortable silence resting over them before she spoke again.

  “Did he ask about…” She brushed away her words. “Never mind.”

  “He didn’t ask me anything.”

  She tossed her food back into the basket. “I see.”

  “I thought he might slug me.”

  Liesel shook her head. “Violence is not our way.”

  “What is your way?”

  “We talk about our problems. Pray about them.”

  He broke off another piece of bread, which had probably been made by Emil that morning. “And they go away?”

  “Not always, but we ask God how we should respond in love.” She brushed her hands over her skirt. “I wanted to ask you a question.”

  Jacob put his arm around Cassie’s shoulders and whispered, “See that giant tree down there?”

  She shaded her eyes, looking up the canal. “That one by the lake?”

  “The very one. How about you run all that way and tag it?”

  Cassie didn’t wait for him to start counting. She untied her shoes, kicking them off, and picked up her skirt.

  Jacob looked back at Liesel and the ringlets of blond hair that had tumbled out of her bonnet onto her shoulders. “What’s your question?”

  She plucked a piece of grass from the bank and began twisting it in her hands. “Cassie told me her mother was in Chicago.”

  The bread fell out of Jacob’s hand, onto the grass. He didn’t know what he had expected Liesel to ask, but it certainly wasn’t about Katharine. “Her mother is buried in Chicago.”

  Liesel wouldn’t look at him. “I see.”

  “She passed away last year, after the birth of our son.”

  Liesel’s voice shook. “How long were you married?”

  “Five years.”

  “You loved her?”

  He nodded. “Very much.”

  “When Cassie said that…I wasn’t sure.”

  “I’m not hiding anything from you, Liesel.”

  Her blue eyes were tender. “Nor I from you.”

  Cassie raced to his side, tackling him. “How long was it, Papa?”

  He turned to face his daughter, but he didn’t want this moment to end. “Less than a minute, I believe, but I’m not certain. Should we try again?”

  Cassie collapsed on the ground. “No, thank you.”

  Katharine would have loved to see her daughter playing along the banks, and she would also want her to know the love and affection of another woman. His wife would want him to know love as well. Katharine had been faithful to him for five years, and it felt like he was being unfaithful to her to even think about loving someone else…yet he knew she would want him to love again.

  He couldn’t think about that now.

  He hopped to his feet instead, picking up Cassie in his arms, and he pointed toward the canal. “Have you ladies ever been inside a dredge boat?”

  Cassie sat up. “Not me.”

  Liesel shook her head. “Me neither.”

  Grinning, he took the basket from Liesel’s hand. “Allow me to give you a tour.”

  Whosoever cannot endure storms, rain, sunshine, cold, and heat; whosoever cannot allow the Lord to guide the ship of his faith in the great and stormy ocean of life and death; will not safely enter into the harbor of eternal rest.

  Christian Metz, 1833

  Chapter Nineteen

  With gray clouds hovering over the grosse boat, Jacob tried to release his hold on Cassie, but she clung to his neck. He understood. He didn’t want to let her go either. Still, the storm clouds were building on the horizon, and if she and Liesel didn’t rush through the forest, they would be drenched before they reached Homestead.

  Reluctantly, he pried Cassie’s hands from his neck and kissed her forehead. “Walk quickly now, Pumpkin.”

  Her nose scrunched into a pout. “I’m not a pumpkin.”

  He hugged her again. “You’re my pumpkin.”

  “We want to stay with you tonight. Don’t we, Liesel?”

  Liesel blushed and shook her head.

  How he wished they could stay—but Michael wouldn’t allow either woman to sleep on the boat. He met Liesel’s eyes. “Perhaps you should stay in your father’s home.”

  She shook her head. “My baas is expecting me in the morning.”

  “You’re going to get wet.”

  Her smile warmed him. “The rain will feel good.”

  That it would.

  Cassie leaned over to tie her shoelace, and he took Liesel’s hand, gently squeezing it. She was intended for another man, but she was also his friend. And his guardian angel.

  “Thank you,” he whispered.

  Her eyes met his, awash with confusion, and he searched her face. Both of them were confused.

  She pulled her hand away, her voice shaking. “We’d better hurry.”

  “Liesel…”

  She reached down, her hand reaching for Cassie’s, and together they turned.

  He wanted to run after them. Run after her. But he had no choice—he had to let them go.

  He stood on the bank, watching them until they reached the woods. Michael had promised he would be able to return to Homestead for a visit next Sunday, less than a week away. Still, he didn’t know if he could wait that long.

  Dark shadows consumed the sunlight in the forest, and the wind swept up leaves and swirled them around their knees. Cassie didn’t skip through the trees, nor did Liesel need to urge her across the bridge. The girl understood. They must hurry back to Homestead or they would be drenched when the clouds emptied themselves on the Colonies.

  Thunder cracked in the distance, and Cassie froze on the pathway. Turning toward Liesel, her eyes were wide with fear. “Are we going to blow away?”

  “What?”

  “The wind…will it blow us away?”

  She pressed down her skirt as she knelt on the ground near the child. “Of course not.”

  “But Robert blew away.”

  “Robert?”

  “Robert and the red umbrella.”

  The fairy tale in Der Struwwelpeter.

  She hadn’t thought twice about reading Cassie the silly story of Robert. After all, it was what her Vater had read to her when she was a child—what most German parents read their children. Yet out here in the rain, she clearly remembered reading the story of little Johnny Look-in-the-Air when she was a child. Johnny’s head was always in the clouds, like hers used to be. She was always dreaming, watching the sky more than she watched her feet. In the story, Johnny fell right into a deep, swollen river and almost drowned.

  “Robert blew away, but…,” Liesel said as Cassie leaned closer. Try as she might, she couldn’t think of a reason why the wind wouldn’t steal them away like poor Robert.

  Thunder shook the trees again, and Cassie trembled as well. “But what?”

  “The umbrella,” Liesel blurted. “The wind picked up Robert’s red umbrella and took them away.”

  She held out both of her hands and took Cassie’s hands in hers, turning them over. “See, no umbrella.”

  A slight smiled reemerged on Cassie’s face.

  “God will protect us tonight.”

  The girl nodded, but she tugged on Liesel’s hand to hurry, and they ran through the blowing leaves. The wind whipped her skirt around her knees and her feet ached, but the first raindrops didn’t fall until they crossed the railroad tracks into Homestead.

  The rain fell hard and swift, stinging her eyes and cheeks, but they were close to the safety of her home now. Close to warm wool blankets and a dry change of clothes.

  Mud weighed down the hem of her skirt as they ran up the steps to the kitchen house. She flung open the door and Cassie ra
ced into the hallway. Inside, out of the storm, they both burst into laughter.

  Liesel flung her soaked bonnet and shawl on the floor, water dripping off her skirt and hair. Cassie clutched her stomach and curled up like a pretzel. Together they laughed and laughed until a black-cloaked man stepped out into the hallway.

  The laughter vanished from her lips.

  Two other Elders joined Niklas Keller in the hallway and Cassie curtseyed at the men. Niklas gave her a small nod.

  She nudged Cassie toward the staircase. “Go change into your nightclothes.”

  Cassie hesitated, eyeing the three men.

  “Hurry now,” she said. “You don’t want to get sick again.”

  Cassie turned and jogged up the steps.

  She stared back at Niklas. Afraid for Sophie. Afraid for her father. And even afraid for Emil. Her voice cracked. “What is it?”

  Niklas pointed toward the sitting room and waited as she hurried into the room and sat on a cane chair. The Elders lined up on the divan in front of her. Part of her wanted to shake the news out of them, while the other part never wanted to hear why they were visiting her.

  Niklas spoke first. “You left the village.”

  She glanced across their grim faces. “What?”

  “You left Homestead, Liesel. Without permission.”

  She sighed with relief. Sophie and the others were fine.

  “I took Cassie to see her father.”

  Niklas looked at the other men before catching her eye again. “Who told you to take Cassie to Amana?”

  She twisted her hands on her lap. Never before had she left Main Amana or Homestead without first asking an Elder, but today…Today, she’d been so excited when Helene and then Dr. Trachsel told her she could take Cassie to Jacob. Not once did she consider petitioning Niklas or any of the others. She assumed they would want Cassie to visit her father.

  “It was my decision,” she said quietly. “I thought Cassie needed to go.”

  “What if something had happened to you?”

  She glanced up. “My baas knew where I went, as did Dr. Trachsel.”

  “They both thought you received permission from an Elder.”