by Naomi King
Beth Ann’s eyes widened. “When did he decide that? I mean, he’s not that old!”
Rosemary wandered into the hall. “So…if he’s not taking that big room at the other end of the hall—”
“You should have it! Katie’s crib would fit in the alcove by the window, so you won’t be nearly so crowded,” Beth Ann pointed out. “And when she’s ready for a regular bed, she can have that smaller room next door.”
And when did my baby get so big that we’re talking about a regular bed?
Rosemary ambled into the larger bedroom, as the men would soon need her to point the way for more large, packed boxes. The room looked too big for the furniture she’d been using in Titus’s house, but it made sense for her to be next to where Katie would eventually sleep, didn’t it? She hadn’t wanted to ask Mamm for her furniture from home, for that would have left an empty room there.
Downstairs, Mose and Matt were hoisting the box springs toward the dawdi haus while Titus and Dylan followed with the mattress. The men had arranged the contents of the livestock trailer in a logical order, and they’d put flattened cardboard boxes on its floor to keep any animal odors from getting on the furniture. Rosemary glanced around for the boxes of bedding, figuring to make up the beds as soon as they were assembled.
Matt returned to the front room. “Did I see a cooler of lemonade?”
“Another generous gift, from the Grabers,” Rosemary replied as she led him to the kitchen.
Matt frowned and then jogged to the window. “Oh, but this has to stop!” he declared as he hurried toward the back door. “Katie’s just slipped between the boards of the pasture gate. I’ll take care of it.”
Alarm rose within her, and Rosemary hurried outside in Matt’s wake. A loud bleating caught her attention. Sure enough, Katie was toddling toward a lamb that had gotten its head caught between a trough and the pipe of the pump used to fill it. As it cried out pathetically, its mother approached at a wary gait. In the distance, Rosemary spotted the border collies, but they were too far away to prevent Katie from approaching the crying lamb and causing a crisis at the water trough.
What had possessed her daughter to dash off yet again? At Titus’s, Katie hadn’t shown any inclination to get past a fence, yet she’d clambered down from the elevated chair, moved the box she’d been sitting on so she could reach the doorknob, and then let herself outside. Yes, this did have to stop.
Rosemary watched as Matt nimbly scaled the gate and within seconds he’d grabbed Katie. He pivoted, unlatching the wide, heavy gate with one hand as he held her daughter in the crook of his other arm. He was a man on a mission, his expression taut, yet he showed no sign of losing his temper as he closed the gate and then set Katie firmly on the ground. As Matt crouched in front of her little girl, Rosemary stayed out of Katie’s sight. The way Matt handled this moment might determine a lot of things, as far as how Katie reacted—and how she felt about it, too.
“Katie, this is not a game,” he stated sternly, “and those sheep are not like puppies. And you are not to run off by yourself ever again. Understand me? Big girls stay where their mamm puts them—because once you’re a big girl, you can be punished for not behaving. When I was your age, my mamm whacked my bottom with her wooden spoon and stood me with my nose in the corner.”
Katie’s eyes got wide and her face fell. She looked away from Matt’s intense gaze, but she knew better than to try to escape. She hadn’t been talked to this way by a man…Joe had died before she was steady on her feet, and she was intimidated enough by Titus’s gruffness not to follow him around outside.
Rosemary smiled in spite of the situation’s seriousness. She could well imagine Matt standing with his nose in the corner as Barbara scolded him, just as she had received similar discipline from her own mother. Plain parents believed in nipping misbehavior in the bud and impressing their children early on when it came to the dangers of living around livestock and machinery.
“I’m going to help that little lamb now,” Matt continued, pointing to the bleating animal, “and you’re going to sit right here on this stump and wait for me without moving. Ain’t so?”
Katie glanced at the stump beside the gravel driveway, which was just the right height to make a seat for her. She sat down without protesting and then clasped her hands in her lap.
“Gut girl. I’ll be back in a few, and then we’ll go back to the house.” Matt still spoke in a no-nonsense tone of voice, but he had relaxed some. “Your mamm’ll be real glad you listened to me and that you won’t ever, ever run off from her again. Ain’t so, Katie?”
The little girl’s face remained somber as she considered what Matt had said. She nodded.
“Tell me that part, Katie, about what you won’t do ever again.”
Katie focused intently on Matt, whose eyes were on the same level as hers. “I…won’t run off no more. I a big girl now.”
“Jah, you are. I’ll be right back.”
As Matt returned to the pasture, Rosemary remained on the back side of the nearest tree, watching her daughter. As she had promised, Katie sat absolutely still on the stump, watching Matt approach the lamb and the ewe who waited close by the water trough. In a low voice, he spoke to the fluffy, fleecy mother while his two dogs sat alertly on either side of her, trained not to interfere unless she charged.
“We’re gonna get this busy baby of yours out of this hang-up,” he said in a low singsong voice. “You’re Titus’s ewe and you don’t know me yet, Mama, but you will. I can see how your little one’s head is stuck where it was never intended to be…”
Rosemary listened closely. If the ewe perceived Matt as a danger to her lamb, she would attack him. Indeed, the fluffy sheep stood stiffly, not at all confident about what he intended to do to her baby. As he reached into the narrow space between the trough and the water pipe, the lamb squirmed and freed itself. Matt took hold of it, chuckling.
“Jah, see there,” he said, “you got to climbing around when your mamm wasn’t watching—probably ran off, just like our Katie over there,” he added as he massaged the little lamb’s neck and checked its windpipe. “And you see what sort of trouble it got you into, ain’t so? Little ones were meant to stay with their mamms while they learn how to be big girls.”
Rosemary covered her mouth so Katie wouldn’t hear her chuckling. Matt had not only gotten the lamb out of its predicament, he had turned the situation into a fable for her little girl to follow. And follow him Katie did, watching between the gate slats from her seat, not missing a single word as Matt soothed the little lamb.
And what a picture, when he took the lamb in his arms and held it to his chest to let it become accustomed to his voice, his scent. The little ball of fleece pressed its head against the strong, gentle hand that still caressed it. Then it turned to gaze at Matt full in the face with a look of such utter love and trust that tears sprang to Rosemary’s eyes.
Matt was the picture of the Good Shepherd, right here in Titus’s pasture. After a few moments he gently set the lamb on the ground, and it bounded over to its mother as though nothing scary had happened to it.
Rosemary sighed. It took a special sort of man to be a shepherd, just as it took a special sort of man to be a dat. And it seemed, as Matt closed the pasture gate and then opened his arms, that he was indeed a most special man. He took to her daughter better than a lot of natural fathers related to their children. Plain men were known more for their discipline than for their affection, yet Matt Lambright had just demonstrated the perfect combination of both. Katie sprang from her stump and rushed toward him, aglow in the forgiveness she sensed in Matt’s smile.
“You did real gut, Katie,” he assured her as he swung her up to his shoulder. “Your mamm will be glad to see you’re safe and— Ach, there she is now, come to look for you, no doubt.”
Katie swiveled. “Mamm!” she cried. “Matt fixed the lamb! He fixed me, too, so I’m a big girl now, ain’t so?”
As Rosemary closed the distance between
them, she considered her words carefully. “So what does it mean that you’re a big girl, Katie?” she asked pointedly. “You look the same to me as when I left you at the table eating your fried pie. And when I looked again, you were gone. Do you know how scared I got when we couldn’t find you?”
Katie’s finger went to her mouth, but then she perked up again. “I won’t go again, Mamm. Me and Matt decided,” she declared with a nod.
Me and Matt decided. Rosemary couldn’t miss all the situations that phrase might apply to. As they walked toward the house, she let the emotions of the moment carry her—relief, because Katie was safe…hope, for she realized her little girl was indeed maturing to meet the challenges of this move to Cedar Creek…contentment, because walking alongside Matt as he held Katie to his shoulder felt so right. She could even chuckle at the folks who had come outside to find them. Titus, Dylan, and Mose had stopped carrying furniture while Beth Ann had come downstairs. Every one of them looked so pleased right now.
“Got the lost lamb back in the fold, I see,” Titus remarked. Then he focused on his granddaughter. “And what do you say to Matt? He kept you from getting hurt pretty bad, ain’t so?”
Katie beamed and threw her arms around Matt’s neck. “I love you, Matt!”
“And I love you, too, Katie. Awful much,” he replied without missing a beat.
Yes, Rosemary thought, this moment was about gratitude and growing up, but it was mostly about love. It was something special indeed that Matt Lambright broke the mold of most Amish men when it came to saying how he felt.
And didn’t Matt’s response say more than mere words? Maybe this incident, and his response to it, could be a springboard for the big leap of faith everyone had been encouraging her to take.
Rosemary gazed up at him, noting the color that crept into his cheeks. “Maybe we can talk sometime soon, jah?”
Matt’s face glowed as he handed Katie back to her. “Jah, we can, Rosemary. Anytime you’re ready.”
As Matt helped the other fellows heft the rest of the bedroom furniture up the stairs, the dressers and wooden chests felt weightless. He floated along, carried on a stream of ecstatic thoughts. Rosemary wasn’t the only one who was ready to talk, however. As Titus helped Matt put her bed together, a grin flickered on his lips.
“Figured I might was well save us all a lot of trouble,” her father-in-law began as he fitted the metal frame into the simple wooden headboard. “Knew it was only a matter of time before you and Rosemary tied the knot, so here’s my offer. You kids can live in the main part of this house, like it was your own place—if you want to,” he added.
Matt rocked back on his heels, grabbing the edge of the headboard to steady himself. “That’s mighty generous, Titus. But maybe you want to settle in first and then think about—”
“It worked for Paul, staying in the dawdi haus, and it’ll be fine for me, too,” his partner insisted. “Keeps me fed and dressed, gives Beth Ann a gut home with a woman to help her grow up—and it saves you the trouble of squeezing into a room at your dat’s place as newlyweds, ain’t so?”
Matt’s cheeks went hot. “There’s that, jah. But it all depends on Rosemary, what she wants.”
Titus’s eyebrow rose. “You’ll want to be careful about giving her so much say-so, son. Once a woman gets a taste of having her way, there’s no end to it. Just ask my brother, Ezra, or Abe Nissley,” he said. “Adah Ropp’s another one who takes it upon herself to rule the roost, and that’s not the way nature intended. God created the man first for a gut reason.”
Matt had heard this sort of logic all his life, and he sensed it was a fine time to keep his opinions to himself. Far as he was concerned, everything did depend on Rosemary—and for all of Titus’s insistence on the Old Ways with the man running the house, he probably wouldn’t have kept up with his sheep, much less entered into this business partnership, had Rosemary not gotten him through the winter.
“We’ll work that part out,” Matt replied as they positioned the box springs on the frame. “But I appreciate the offer, Titus. Having us live here makes a lot of sense for you and me as partners, too. And it saves me the expense of getting a house built.”
“But anytime you wanna do that, it’s fine by me,” Titus insisted.
As they positioned the mattress, Matt’s thoughts were spinning. While it would be very convenient for all of them to live here, maybe Rosemary was fed up with looking after Titus…She had made plans to build a house with Joe, after all. And she would be starting up her baking business, so maybe he and Titus were putting the cart before the horse, assuming she’d marry him anytime soon. Could be, when Rosemary wanted to talk, she would thank him for keeping Katie out of harm’s way rather than encourage his attention.
There was only one way to find out.
Somehow Matt made it through dinner, with everyone chatting at the table as though they had nothing pressing to do, nothing twitching in their minds. Soon they would be packing up another trailer load, but he sensed an important moment might be lost if he returned to Queen City with Titus and Dylan.
“I’m going back over to make up the beds, in case Katie’s ready for her nap,” Beth Ann said as they rose from the table. “Can you help me unpack your clothes and toys, Katie?”
“Jah, I’s a big girl,” the toddler declared as she scrambled to the floor. “Unpack. No nap.”
As everyone laughed, Matt silently thanked Beth Ann for opening this conversational door. “I’ll get this morning’s boxes rearranged so we’ll have places to put all the stuff that’s still to come over,” he said.
“Jah, and we’d best get moving, too,” Titus replied with a knowing smile. “Dylan and I can handle this load, and that’ll still get him home before dark.”
As Matt took his straw hat from its peg behind the door, it occurred to him that someday he would be hanging his hat in a different spot.
Are you sure about that? She hasn’t said yes yet.
His dat and Abby headed down Lambright Lane to the mercantile, chatting with Beth Ann and Katie. Rosemary and the other women began to redd up the kitchen, so amid the clatter of their dishes and chitchat, Matt slipped out the back door. From the swing in the yard, he often gazed out over the pastures, keeping watch. Whenever he needed to gather his thoughts, this was the peaceful place he chose.
Last time he’d sat here with Rosemary, she’d run off because he kissed her.
He settled into the slatted seat and began to rock, letting the familiar creak of the wood and the chains soothe him. The rolling pastures glowed a lush green, and the clusters of grazing ewes and lambs helped his tired body relax. Carrying furniture up the stairs was harder work than tending sheep, but it gave him a sense of hope. For even if Rosemary didn’t give him an answer today, she would be living across the road. He would have the chance to truly court her then—and maybe that would be the better plan. She had a hundred things on her mind right now, and if he waited for a quieter moment, maybe when they were alone in the buggy…
“Hope you don’t mind if I join you,” Rosemary murmured as she slipped into the swing beside him. “Seems your mamm and sisters don’t want my help with the dishes, so they shooed me out. I suppose I could go back to the house and empty those boxes in the kitchen—”
“Rosemary.” Matt took her hand, pleading with his eyes.
She twined her fingers between his. “Jah, Matt?”
Oh, but there was no getting around it, was there? Mamm and the girls were probably peeking out the kitchen window behind them. But if he walked Rosemary over to the other place, they might get interrupted by Katie or Beth Ann—and those piles of boxes would compel Rosemary to unpack. She was never idle—always a willing worker, a woman who served the Lord and everyone around her with gladness.
The freshness of her pretty face, and the way she looked ten years younger wearing purple instead of black, encouraged him. Changing out of her widow’s clothing was a big signal, and if he didn’t follow up on it, he migh
t go a long while before he found another opportune moment.
Matt cleared his throat. Maybe he was making this way too complicated. “Will you marry me?” he asked in a strained whisper.
Rosemary clapped her hands together. “Oh yes. Yes!” Then she drew in a long breath and sat back. “But, Matt, I want to be courted a gut long while,” she began, as though she’d been thinking about it more than she’d let on.
His heart throbbed hard. “I—I can understand that, jah.”
“And meanwhile, I’ll be baking pies for Aunt Lois and setting up my business.” When her hand found his again, her grip was as firm as her voice. “It’s only fair to both of us to know how that part of my life will work out before we jump into being married. You might change your mind about having a wife who spends a part of her days working at something for herself. And we need to court long enough that you know I’m not perfect. I’m sure to have habits that will aggravate you—and you’ll do things that irritate me, too.”
Matt felt light-headed. He had hoped her answer would be an immediate yes…and yet she spoke wisely. “Truth be told, while I’m best at tending sheep, I might have to help Dat more while he’s learning to be a preacher,” he murmured. “But I won’t change my mind, Rosemary. I want you for my wife.”
“Jah, Matt. I want that, too.”
Applause and squeals came from the kitchen. Jah, the window was open, dummy. It’s June, after all.
But he had to make the situation perfectly clear so Rosemary would have no regrets. She had opened her heart to him, and he wanted nothing to stand in the way of her complete love and acceptance. Matt kissed her with great restraint, so he would have concentration enough to continue. “What would you say to us living at Titus’s place?” he asked her in a low voice. “He’s offered it to us—”