“I usually take their clothes off before bathing them.” Mose leaned against the bathroom door, his hands in his pockets. “You need some help?”
“Nee. I’m fine.” Sarah unsnapped Mercy’s dress and threw the cotton frock in the basket. Carefully she unpinned her dry diaper and lifted the lightweight child into the bubbles. There’ll be two babies in diapers soon. A knife-sharp pain pierced her back and Sarah paused before she straightened, waiting for the contraction to pass.
“What’s wrong?” Mose stepped forward.
“Just one of those pains Linda warned me about. I get them once in a while. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“You should have waited for me to do this. I wanted you to rest. You know you’re tired.”
“Ya. But this is my job and I’m fine.”
“You’re stubborn. You know that?”
Mercy’s squirmed and Sarah let go of her arm. “Ya. I’ve always been.”
Mose laughed. “What smells so good?”
Sarah shifted to a more comfortable position, her hand reaching for her back when another pain slammed her. She took in a deep breath, held it and then slowly pushed the air out.
Beatrice piped up. “It’s me that smells good. My bubble-bath soap makes me smell good enough to eat. Sarah told me.” She twisted around to grin at him and almost knocked her sister over with her sudden movement. “I need my bathtub toys,” she sang out in a high-pitched tone.
“Use your indoor voice, please.” Sarah steadied Mercy. With gentle pressure she began to scrub Mercy’s neck and back with a washcloth. She wished she wasn’t so tired. “No toys tonight. I’m tired and want an early night. You can have an extra-long bath tomorrow night with lots of toys. I promise.”
Beatrice glared at Sarah and silently began to wash herself. Encouraged by the child’s cooperation, Sarah decided against washing their hair and grabbed the towels. She dangled one in the air. “Who’s ready to get out first?”
Mercy grabbed the edge of the white towel. “Mine.”
Mose watched Sarah handle the child with ease, the big towel swallowing up Mercy as Sarah patted her dry. “I have good news for you.”
Preoccupied, Sarah murmured, “Ya, what is it?”
“Mamm called today. Linda and the baby had their doctor’s appointment and both checked out fine. The baby weights nine pounds already and is starting to look like Kurt, or so Mamm says.”
Sarah looked over at Mose and smiled. “I’m so happy for them. It went well for her? No problems with her labor?”
Mose smiled back. “Daed said there were no bumps in the road.”
Sarah went back to drying Mercy. “Didn’t Kurt want a son?”
Mose grinned at her, ignoring her question. “I think I’ll go check the water levels in the yard again. Be right back.”
* * *
Under the streetlight, windblown rain pelted down at an angle. When will this rain stop? Mose dropped the blind slat and put his empty glass in the sink. He padded barefoot through the dining room, flipped on the light in the hallway and pushed open the girls’ partially closed door. Both slept soundly, Beatrice sprawled out on her stomach, her head in the middle of her pillow. Mercy lay curled on her side. He covered the baby’s bare legs with the light blanket bunched at her feet and touched one blond corkscrew curl before he wandered down the hall to his own bed. It had been a long, stress-filled day. He looked forward to some sleep and a hot meal in the morning.
Sarah had left the bedside lamp on. She lay sleeping in a fetal position at the edge of the mattress, her hand partially covering her face, her long hair in a thick plait on her pillow.
He sat on the edge of the bed across from her, listening to the rain. All he could hear was the downpour and the steady beat of his own heart. Sarah moved. His hand searched for the lamp switch and twisted it back on. He looked across the bed. She lay on her back, her body rigid, as taut as a bow. “Sarah? Are you awake?”
“Ya. The thunder woke me.”
“I love thunderstorms. Daed and I used to stand on the porch and watch the sky light up. Mamm always fussed at the door until we came back in.” He waited for a laugh, some kind of reaction, but got none. “Am I keeping you awake?” He wanted to make sure she was okay after her difficult day.
“I can’t sleep with the storm overhead.”
Mose liked the way the soft artificial light made her skin seem to glow. “I’m sorry I was late for lunch today. I had to drive home slow. The streets were flooded past the sidewalks. I wish I had been here with you when the officers brought the news about Joseph’s killer.”
Sarah looked at him, her eyes intense and bright. “I had to hear what they had to say. Hearing it was hard, but knowing the truth makes a difference.”
“Months ago you blamed yourself for Joseph’s death. Do you have peace now?”
Her bottom lip quivered. “For so long I’ve believed I caused the fire. That he died because of my carelessness. I’ve punished myself because of it. When I heard the truth, I was relieved and horribly angry. I wished his killer dead, Mose. I wished Benjamin Hochstetler would die, and then I learned he had. He’d killed himself.” A sob escaped her. Her shoulders started heaving in great, gulping sobs.
Mose scooped her in his arms. She burrowed close, her tears dampening his shoulder. “Don’t cry, Sarah.” He rubbed her back, the baby kicking at the pressure of his body so close. “Gott understands why you were angry. He made us all fallible, with good and bad thoughts. You didn’t cause the man’s death. He killed himself, probably because his shame was more than he could live with.”
“I thought for so long that Joseph had died because of something I didn’t do. All those months I grieved, and this man knew the truth and said nothing.”
“Be angry, but forgive. For yourself and the baby,” Mose murmured softly. “Hatred does horrible things to a person’s mind. It burns a hole in your soul. Don’t let him steal your peace.”
Sarah took in a shuddering breath, her body beginning to relax. Minutes ticked by and as she spoke she pulled away. “Danke, Mose. I needed to talk. You are so kind to me, mean so much to me.”
The loss of her embrace overwhelmed him as she laid back down on the bed. His eyes watered with unshed tears. She needed comfort but still didn’t trust him to understand.
“I think I can sleep now. Gut night.” She turned onto her side, away from him.
Mose watched the rise and fall of her back become regular and deep. He stood up and got ready for bed.
* * *
Something was wrong. Sarah woke with a start. Pain tore at her, her stomach growing hard. Had she wet the bed? Her gown clung to her body, cold and damp. Pain ripped through her back and circled around to the lower part of her stomach. She sucked in a breath, waiting for the heavy cramps to ease. She flipped on the lamp and lifted the light sheet across her legs. Pink fluid circled the sheet and soaked her gown. Did my water break? Another pain hit, this one more intense, forcing her to moan. She took in a breath and pushed it out. Is this labor? I’m not due for days. Panic grabbed at her throat, made it hard to swallow. She called out to Mose, but her voice was a whisper. She inched across the bed, waiting for each pain to pass. Finally, she could touch his shoulder. She shoved with all her might. Mose murmured something low, unintelligible. She shoved again, over and over until he stirred and turned her way, his eyes opening.
“You all right?”
“I think my labor started.” She cradled her stomach as it tightened, prepared for the next round of pulsing pain.
* * *
Mose shot out of bed, grabbed his work pants from the closet and pulled them over his pajama bottoms. “I’ll be right back.” He grabbed his cell phone and dialed his father’s number. On the fourth ring he picked up.
“Otto Fischer here.”
Mose opened the blinds in the kitchen and looked outside. The storm had calmed, but hours of heavy rain had completely flooded the street. Water lapped at the sidewalk in his
yard. “Daed, its Sarah. She’s in labor. Our roads are too flooded to drive. I can’t get her to the midwife. Do you think you and mamm could walk over here? I need help fast.”
“Mose. Remember, your mamm’s not here. She left for her sister’s yesterday.”
“Ach. I forgot. I’ve got the girls asleep and no way to get Sarah help. What can I do?”
“Did you call the hospital, or fire department? Maybe a fire truck can make it through the water.”
“I’ll call, but I don’t think there’s time for them to get here. Her water’s already broke and I don’t have a clue what to do next.”
Otto cleared his voice. “I’ve got a suggestion but you’re probably not going to like it.”
“I’m desperate. Tell me.”
“I can get Ulla.”
Mose looked at his cell phone, wondering if his father had lost his mind. “Are you serious? Ulla’d never come, and I don’t think Sarah would let her anywhere near her, or the baby.”
“Ulla was a midwife for over twenty years. I think you better reconsider your situation before you throw stones.”
Mose looked toward the only light on in the house and sucked in his breath. “Okay, ask her if she’ll come, and, Daed, please be careful. It’s bad out there.”
“I’ll do my best. You call the fire department, quick.”
Mose stood looking at his phone. He tore the fire department calendar out of the kitchen drawer and started pushing numbers as he ran to the back of the house. Gott, don’t let her die. I love her. Please don’t let her die.
* * *
Sarah watched from a chair as Ulla and her daughter, Molly, worked as one. It was if they knew what the other wanted before being asked. The bed was stripped, remade and a plastic sheet tucked under the bedding. Silently the soiled gown was pulled over Sarah’s head and a fresh gown replaced it. She was helped back into bed without a single word being spoken. A fresh wave of pain hit and Sarah lay still, enduring what must happen to deliver her baby.
“Are you in pain?” Ulla placed her hand on Sarah’s stomach, allowing a professional smile to crease her lips up at the ends.
“Ya, I was.” Sarah watched as the older woman began to press her wrinkled hands into her softening stomach.
Ulla looked up, her expression changed, her forehead creased. “Molly.”
The young woman stood, abandoning the chair she’d sat in. “Ya?”
Ulla’s fingers continued to probe, her features pinched. “The baby has twisted. We must turn it before it reaches the birth canal. Put your hands here and push gently when I tell you.”
“Ya.” Molly followed her mother’s instructions, pushing, and then waiting as Sarah’s stomach hardened with a contraction.
“Breathe slow and easy. This will hurt but we must do what we can to make this baby come head first,” Ulla told Sarah.
Sarah nodded, terrified but understanding.
The woman’s blue-eyed gaze held Sarah’s as they pushed and then waited for her contractions to pass.
Excruciating pain tore at Sarah’s insides. She stifled a scream. Tremors hit her. She bit on the blanket, her teeth chattering. She wanted Joseph in that moment and then Mose’s face filled her mind.
“There.” Ulla straightened, waiting at the foot of the bed with Molly by her side.
Pains came at regular intervals, stealing Sara’s breath, and then increased until there was only pain. The urge to push overwhelmed her. “I need to push.” Sarah waited for Ulla’s nod.
“Another moment, Sarah. I have to check the cord’s placement first.” Ulla finally grunted, “Ya. Now.”
With all her might Sarah pushed, her face heating, sweat pouring off her.
“Again,” Ulla instructed.
A wave of hot misery hit her and she pushed again. She felt movement and looked down. Ulla lifted her silent baby in the air and swung it by its blue feet. Sarah’s heart pounded in her throat. What is she doing? A lusty cry filled the room and the baby began to squirm, his arms and legs flailing in the air, his skin turning a bright, healthy pink.
“A healthy-looking son with ten fingers and toes, thanks to his brave mamm.” The smile was back but wider. Ulla laid the baby on Sarah’s stomach. She cut the cord and accepted the baby blanket held out by Molly. Seconds later she handed off the swaddled baby.
Her gaze on the child’s face, Molly lay him on his mother’s chest and smiled at Sarah as she stepped back. “He is so beautiful.”
Sarah looked at her wailing son, his blond curls, and began to weep.
* * *
Mose tiptoed into the dim room, trying hard not to make a sound. Sarah lay in the bed, probably asleep after her ordeal, a tiny bundle in the crook of her arm.
“Mose?” Sarah turned his way, a smile gentle on her lips.
He walked to the bed and sat on the edge. “Ya.” Sarah looked tired but good to his eyes. Her bright hair fanned out against the pillow, lose from its braid and damp at the crown.
She put out her hand and he took it, eager to touch her. The baby stirred, making a mewing sound and she was alert, checking him with her glance.
“Beatrice tells me she’s named him Levi. Any chance she’s telling the truth?”
“We girls heard from Gott. He will be Levi Nolt Fischer.”
“And Levi’s mother? How is she?” Mose squeezed her hand, longing to take her in his arms and kiss her cheek but afraid to move her.
“Levi’s mother is fine.” The bags under his eyes told her what kind of night he’d had.
“It was a fast birth.” Mose had been through two lengthy births with Greta and was amazed how quickly Levi had been born.
“Ya. Levi wasted no time. He’s small but healthy. Ulla said his tiny size helped speed things up.” Sarah kept her voice low.
“Did she treat you well, she and Molly?” He moved closer, touching the baby’s wispy blond hair.
Sarah nodded. “She and Molly were wunderbaar, Mose. They showed me every courtesy and were kind and professional. Not a word from the past. It was as if none of the ugliness happened.”
“Gut, I guess Daed threatening her with being unchurched worked, plus, she’s really not a bad person. Just missing her daughter. I owe her a debt of gratitude for getting you and the bobbel through this.”
“It can’t have been easy for her.” Sarah looked over at Levi and one side of the baby’s lip lifted, almost into a smile. “You see, he likes her, so we must try harder for his sake.”
“She wouldn’t let me come in.” Mose looked like Beatrice when she sulked, his mouth twisted in a grimace. “I wanted to be with you, but she kept me out.”
“She’s old-fashioned. In her day men drank coffee and slapped each other’s backs while we women did all the hard work.”
“Ya, well. I don’t like to be ordered about in my own home. If I want to see you, then I should be allowed. You are my frau.”
“We’ll talk to her about that before the next bobbel comes, okay?” Sarah’s smile spoke words she was afraid to say aloud. “If you want a child with me?” Sarah held her breath, her heart pounded in her chest. Their arrangement had been a simple one. No required affection, no love expected. Perhaps he didn’t feel the way she did now. Maybe he didn’t return her love?
Mose grinned down at Sarah and then his new son, love shining bright in his eyes as he gently pressed his lips to hers. “I’ve always thought six kinder would be enough to take care of me in my old age. What do you think, frau?”
Sarah looked into her husband’s eyes and saw love there in the sparkle of his gaze and more.
So much more.
“Ya, I think six is a perfect number.”
Epilogue
Sarah’s fingers entwined with Mose’s free hand. A smiling Mercy giggled, her feet dangling out of the canvas carrier looped around her daed’s shoulders. Her blond curls bounced with each step he took down to the sun-bleached beach, the late-summer sun hanging low in the sky. Beatrice’s tiny hand was engu
lfed in her father’s other hand, her complaints of wet sand squishing between her toes ignored.
Levi lay nestled against Sarah, the chubby boy’s shoulder sling protecting him from the setting sun and gentle, late-day breezes. “I’ve never seen the sky so blue,” Sarah said, grinning over at Mose.
“I see beautiful sky blue every time I look into your eyes, mein frau,” Mose murmured. She knew he didn’t approve of public displays of affection, but today he seemed unable to resist and kissed her gently on the cheek.
“Hey, did you kiss my daed?” Beatrice squinted one eye as she regarded first her father and then Sarah suspiciously.
“Nee, liebling. He kissed me. What do you think of that?”
“I think it’s funny, that’s what I think. I need a kiss, too.” Beatrice puckered up and noisily kissed her daed on his arm. “Yuck! Your hair tickles.” She scrubbed at her mouth with the back of her hand and started to spit until she caught Sarah’s warning glance.
“His beard tickles, too.” Sarah turned to Mose and smiled.
Amusement sparkled in Beatrice’s eyes as she smiled at her new mamm. “If you don’t like him kissing you, tell him to stop. That’s what I’d do if Danny Lapp tried to kiss me.”
Mose woke from his quiet bliss, his tone the typical Amish father’s bark. “You’re too young to worry about boys, Beatrice Fischer. If that Lapp boy comes near you I better hear about it. You hear?”
“Yes. But, you kissed Mamm,” Beatrice whined. Joy rushed through Sarah. She finally called me mamm.
Sarah gave Mose her best “I love you” smile and grinned as his eyes sparkled back at her. “Yes, I kissed your mamm’s cheek, but we’re married and it’s allowed.” He squeezed Sarah’s hand. “When you get married, you can kiss your husband, too, but not a minute before.”
“Okay.” Beatrice began to skip, obviously less impressed with the subject of their conversation than Mose. Her feet kicked up sand. She yanked at her father’s grasp, pulling him toward the incoming wave. “Can I go walk in the water? Please!”
Love Inspired June 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: The Cowboy's HomecomingThe Amish Widow's SecretSafe in the Fireman's Arms Page 36