Huckleberry Christmas

by Jennifer Beckstrand

  “Marry me, Beth.” When she didn’t respond, he pulled her closer until his face came within inches of hers. “I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  She pressed her lips into a firm line. He stared at her for a few moments before scowling and nudging her away from him. Stepping back, he shoved his fingers through his hair.

  Beth took a deep breath and willed her pulse to slow down.

  Isaac looked around the room. “It’s a mess in here,” he said resentfully. He pointed to her sewing machine and the fabric that sat on the sofa next to Toby. “What’s all this?”

  “My sewing business.”

  Isaac laughed bitterly. “You were always talking about starting a sewing business. But you’re not smart enough to make this work, Beth. You can’t sew a straight stitch to save your life.” He threw his arms out wide and made a sweeping gesture around the room. “I told you. You don’t have to do all this. I will take care of you. Come back where you belong and marry me.”

  The hurt and abuse of three years with Amos almost choked her. She wanted to lash out, to tell Isaac how much she despised him, how much she resented his family for crushing her spirit and trampling her dreams. But fear stole her voice. Isaac and Amos had always frightened her. When she wanted to be strong, she always found herself cowering in a corner.

  Beth shook her head. “My grandparents need me.”

  “Mamm needs you too. Don’t you care about her?”

  “Of course. I nursed her for over a year after Amos died.”

  Isaac turned red in the face. With his fair complexion, he looked as if he were on fire. “That’s so typical of you, Beth, to make it sound like a prison sentence. My mamm took you in and let you stay in the dawdi house even after Amos died. She deserves your gratitude, not your selfishness.”

  “I . . . I can’t leave. I’ve got several orders for dresses yet.”

  Scowling, Isaac stomped to the table and swiped his hand over the top, sending her patterns, fabrics, and scissors crashing to the floor.

  Beth recoiled as her heart beat a wild cadence. Toby started to bawl hysterically. She reached behind her and smoothed her hand over Toby’s hair. If Isaac meant to harm her, she didn’t dare pick Toby up.

  She hoped Mammi and Dawdi would sleep through the racket. Isaac’s behavior would distress them. They did not need to partake in her troubles.

  Isaac returned to her side and shoved his face within inches of hers. “You are a stubborn, prideful woman. If you don’t forsake your wickedness, you will burn in Hell.”

  Beth held her breath. Isaac seemed to be within seconds of striking her across the face.

  Please, Heavenly Father, don’t let him hurt my child.

  The most beautiful sound in the world reached her ears.

  “If I were you, I’d get away from her.”

  Beth caught her breath. Did God really answer prayers so immediately?

  With all the noise Isaac had made, she hadn’t even heard him come in. Tyler stood in the open doorway with his arms folded across his chest. He looked an awesome sight. The tense muscles of his arms bulged against the confines of his navy-blue shirt. His eyes flashed with the violence of a thousand winter storms and the intensity of barely contained rage.

  Isaac snapped his head around and glared at the intruder as Toby, still bawling, slid from the sofa, pumped his little legs as fast as they would go, and made a beeline for Tyler. “Mommy!” he cried. Tyler gathered Toby into his arms and kissed his cheek. Beth wanted to sob with relief.

  “What do you want?” Isaac growled.

  Tyler pinned Isaac with a steely gaze. “Maybe you should step away from Beth. It’s clear she doesn’t welcome your touching.”

  Isaac didn’t lose his snarl, but he took a small step backward. “It’s none of your business.”

  Although she wanted Toby as far from Isaac as possible, Beth felt palpable relief when Tyler moved to her side with Toby firmly in his embrace. He placed the whimpering Toby carefully in Beth’s arms and positioned himself between Beth and Isaac. “Take Toby to your room, Beth, while I show this man where the door is.”

  Beth moved away from Tyler, but in the opposite direction of her room. To get there, she’d have to pass Isaac. What if he lashed out and hurt Toby?

  Isaac balled his hands into fists as his face glowed red as a beet. “Don’t try to keep me from what’s rightfully mine.”

  Tyler contained his rage, but Beth could see it deepen in the lines of his face and the set of his jaw. “So far as I know, you have no claim on Beth. And I will not stand for your cruelty. Get out now.”

  Tyler placed a firm hand on Isaac’s arm. Isaac reacted by throwing a punch squarely at Tyler’s mouth.

  Beth screamed as Tyler’s head snapped back. He didn’t go down, and he didn’t fight back. Holding up his hand to stop Beth from coming to him, he fingered his bloody lip and raised his hands in surrender. “I won’t fight you,” he said. “I’m a man of peace. If you want to hurt me, let’s go outside so the baby doesn’t see.”

  Isaac massaged his knuckles and shot Tyler a glare that could have curdled milk. He turned on his heels, snatched his hat and coat, and stormed out the door.

  Breathing heavily, Tyler nodded to Beth. “I’ll make sure he leaves. Get Toby in the other room.” He cupped his hand over her elbow. “And get yourself in the other room where I know you’re safe.” When she didn’t move, he frowned. “Please?”

  Numb with shock, but not about to abandon Tyler, Beth followed him to the threshold. He screwed up his mouth in vexation, gave her an exasperated huff, and shut the door behind him.

  Peeking out the window, Beth saw Isaac tromp across the frost-covered grass. Tyler followed him halfway and stopped. Beth let out a breath as if she’d been holding it for ages. Isaac had finally given up.

  Suddenly, Isaac turned and yelled something to Tyler. Beth couldn’t hear him, but even in the semidarkness, the nastiness in his expression was unmistakable. Without warning, he charged at Tyler and plowed him to the ground.

  Beth gasped as Isaac hit Tyler again and again. Tyler did his best to shield his face from the blows but did nothing to fight back. The panic tore through Beth’s chest. Maybe it wasn’t right, maybe her vow of nonviolence demanded that she do nothing, but she refused to stand by and let her brother-in-law hurt Tyler.

  Sobbing uncontrollably, she ran to her room and set Toby in his crib. He reached for her and cried as if his heart would break, but he’d be safe until she got back.

  She ran to Mammi’s closet and pulled out the broom. She could beat Isaac back with it or give him a good smack over the head if she had to. Unable to quell her tears, she burst from the house ready to do battle in the middle of the night.

  Isaac had disappeared. Tyler sat on the ground with his elbow propped on his knee, holding the left side of his face in his hand. She sprang off the porch and ran to him. His lip and nose were bleeding and a goose egg was already forming at his eyebrow.

  In breathless alarm, she knelt beside him.

  He peeked at her out of his good eye. “Did he hurt you?” She didn’t answer, just kept sobbing as she brushed her fingers across his lip. “Beth, are you okay?” he insisted.

  “Jah, jah, I am fine.”

  “Was that Amos’s brother?”

  “Jah. Isaac. His twin in every way.”

  Tyler glanced at the broom clasped in her fingers. “Do you want me to sweep something?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  She offered her shoulder to lean on, but he stood on his own accord and hobbled slowly into the house. Toby’s cries of distress immediately greeted them.

  “Sit down,” Beth said. “I’ll tend to your face.”

  He ignored her request. She followed him as he limped down the hall into her room and scooped Toby out of the crib. Toby, his entire face soggy with moisture, immediately rested his head on Tyler’s broad shoulder and hiccupped pathetically.

  They went back into the gre
at room. He sat at the kitchen table and patted Toby’s back while whispering comforting words into Toby’s ear.

  Toby might be soothed, but Beth could not be comforted. Crying softly, she dampened a dishtowel and pulled a small first aid kit from the drawer. Scooting a chair close to Tyler, she began sponging off his lip and nose. “Your nose isn’t bleeding anymore.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  “No,” Beth said. “He asked me to marry him.”

  He kept one arm tightly under Toby and reached out for her hand. “I’m so glad he didn’t hurt you.”

  “He wouldn’t stop hitting you,” she whimpered.

  “I’m okay, Beth. Really. He spent his rage right quick, especially when I didn’t fight back. He only hit me four or five times. And not that hard. I can tell he doesn’t milk cows.” He flexed his bicep and made Beth smile involuntarily. “My arms are about twice as thick as his. Because he beat on me, he wasn’t even thinking of harming you or Toby. That’s what I wanted.”

  Beth shuddered. “I’m glad Toby is safe, but I can’t be happy that you got hurt.”

  “I was sorely tempted to hit him back, but I held my anger. Jesus said to turn the other cheek. But it crossed my mind to wonder what to do when I ran out of cheeks.”

  Beth giggled through her tears. “You gave him your nose.”

  Tyler gently ran a finger up and down Toby’s arm. “What were you planning on doing with that broom?”

  “I was going to conk him on the head.”

  Tyler frowned. “I’m glad you didn’t get the chance. He could have turned on you in an instant, and then I would have been tempted to break my vow of nonresistance.”

  Beth finished wiping the blood from his face as she felt she might overflow with gratitude. “Isaac seldom had a kind word to say to me. I don’t know why he’d ever want to marry me.”

  “I do.”

  “Both brothers always had hot tempers. . . .” She lowered her eyes and let her voice trail off. There were many things that Tyler need never know.

  A deep line appeared between Tyler’s brows. “Beth.” He took her hand and caressed her fingers one by one with his thumb. His soft touch tingled all the way up her arm. He cleared his throat. “Did Amos ever hit you?”

  Her heart felt as heavy as a blacksmith’s anvil. “Nae. He never did.”

  Frowning, Tyler bent his head over to meet her eye. “Is that the truth?”

  She nodded. Amos, with all his faults, had never struck her.

  He turned her hand over and stroked her palm. “But he was unkind to you?”

  Beth snatched her hand away and practically leaped to her feet. She turned her back on him and opened the freezer. “You need some ice for that eyebrow.”

  “Beth.” His voice was as soothing as chamomile tea. “Will you tell me about Amos?”

  She swiped a tear from her cheek and reached into the freezer for a small chunk of ice. “Do you have a headache?”

  Tyler braced Toby against his chest and stood up. The poor little guy had zonked out in the comfort of Tyler’s arms. “I’ll go lay him down,” Tyler said before tromping down the hall and disappearing into Beth’s room.

  Beth rinsed out the dishtowel and splashed cold water on her face. She still needed to tend to that lip. She pulled the ointment from the first aid kit.

  Tyler came back, rubbing the uninjured side of his face and peering at Beth with a doubtful glint in his eye.

  She motioned for him to sit on the sofa and brought the ointment and the ice wrapped in a towel. Sitting next to him, she handed him the ice. He hissed as he dutifully placed it against his eyebrow. “I’ll bet he hurt his hand on this one. I have a thick skull.”

  Beth squeezed some ointment onto her finger and dabbed Tyler’s lip. He riveted his gaze to her face while she worked in silence. She couldn’t endure that probing look for long. “I want you to know, I wasn’t glad that Amos died.”

  “I didn’t think you were.”

  She swallowed hard. Might as well share the worst of it. “But I was relieved. Extremely relieved.”

  “Oh, Beth.”

  She took a shaky breath. “And now you know. A woman who is relieved when her husband dies has a heart as black as coal.”

  She half expected him to turn away from her or find an excuse to go home. Instead, he slid his arm around her shoulders. She should have resisted his pity or his attempt to rescue her or whatever it was, but weariness overtook her. She leaned her head on his shoulder and melted into his warmth.

  “If Amos was anything like Isaac,” he said, “I would have been relieved too.”

  “In many ways, I deserve the blame.”

  “No. Don’t ever say that.”

  “I am not very good at cooking or keeping house. Amos got so frustrated with me. But why couldn’t he have been more patient?” Water flowed anew down her cheeks.

  Tyler set his ice down and wiped the tears from her face.

  “He criticized everything I did. The chicken was too tough, the clothes weren’t ironed properly, the toilets were cleaned wrong. I was too stupid to read a recipe or understand the Bible.”

  He brushed his thumb across her bottom lip and whispered gently. “Hush. I can’t listen to any more of this. It makes me furious.”

  “My mamm urged me to stand up for myself, but I was too weak.”

  A smile played at his lips. “I’ve seen you stand up for yourself plenty of times.”

  “I’m not afraid of you.”

  “I’m very glad to hear it.”

  “But wives must submit to their husbands. I tried to be meek and submissive, but in my heart I resented him. He could sense it. My ill will made him all the more angry.” She lifted her head off his shoulder and folded her arms. “That is why I refuse to remarry. I won’t submit myself to anyone ever again.”

  Tyler’s face briefly clouded over. “You’re forgetting the other half of the marriage vow.” He pulled his arm from around her and reached for Dawdi’s Bible on the table next to the sofa. He leafed through the pages of Ephesians and raised his uninjured eyebrow. “Will I put you to sleep if I read a few verses?”

  He managed to coax a half smile out of her. “You’re the one who falls asleep on dates.”

  “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it. Did Amos ever love you the way Christ loved his church?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.” He laid the Bible back on the table. “No husband should ever treat his wife the way Amos treated you, because such behavior is the grossest sin.” He brushed his finger against her jawline and sent sparks shooting through her whole body. “The grossest sin, Beth. A husband must have the deepest humility when he takes a woman to wife. He is charged with treating his wife as Jesus would treat her.”

  “So you can see how risky it is for any woman to entrust her happiness to an imperfect man.”

  “And yet women do it all the time.”

  Beth looked down at her hands. “Because they don’t know any better.”

  “Because they trust God.”

  Beth wanted to agree with him, but she had seen too much of real life. “That didn’t work for me.”

  “Maybe it did, and you don’t recognize it.”

  Beth refused to be convinced. “You’re not making any sense.”

  Tyler shrugged in resignation and put the ice back on his eyebrow. “I got hit in the head one too many times tonight.”

  Her eyes blurred with tears yet again. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t been here. Thank you.”

  “I’ve never been so glad for a bad date in my entire life.”

  She clapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh no. What happened?

  “Lydia’s boyfriend showed up at the restaurant, and they eloped. He h
ad a new Jeep.”

  “They eloped? What do you mean they eloped?”

  Tyler grimaced. “She told me that she had been planning on jumping the fence for weeks and that a date with me had been the perfect time to put her plan into action.”

  “She was thrilled when I asked her to go on a date with you.”

  He smiled wryly. “And that didn’t make you suspicious?”

  “Not at all. You’re quite a catch, Tyler Yoder.”

  He knit his brows together. “At least to some girls.”

  “I had no idea any of this was brewing. Poor Lydia! I feel so bad for her family.”

  “I went to her parents as soon as she walked out on me.”

  “What did they say?”

  Tyler shook his head. “Her dat lectured me for twenty minutes. I apologized, but I don’t know what I could have done short of tying myself to the top of the Jeep. Her mamm was understandably upset, but neither of them seemed all that surprised.”

  “They were probably hoping you would convince her to settle down. If anyone could have done it, it would have been you.”

  “Nae. I can’t compete with a new Jeep.”

  Beth swallowed the lump in her throat. “I promise I’ll do better, Tyler. The next girl will be everything you could ever want. You deserve a wonderful-gute companion in life.”

  He took the ice from his eyebrow and stared at her. A hint of some intense emotion flitted across his face before he released a huff of air and stood up. “I don’t think you can find me what I’m looking for.”

  “Give me another chance,” she heard herself say. Did she mean give her another chance or give her another chance to find someone? She couldn’t really decipher her own feelings. She ran her hand across her forehead. Tyler was proving to be a greater temptation than she had anticipated.

  He frowned and turned away from her. “You do what you think is best.”

  “I just . . . I just want you to be happy.”

  “Do you?”

  “Of course. I’ll do everything in my power.”

  He turned back and gazed at her, that deep emotion returning to his expression. “And I’ll do everything in my power.”