Love Inspired March 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: A Wife for JacobThe Forest Ranger's RescueAlaskan Homecoming

by Rebecca Kertz

  * * *

  “Are you heading to the Zooks’?” Eli asked as he worked alongside Jacob in the barn.

  “Nay. Maybe later this afternoon.” His hand was bothering him. Although it was healing, he still kept it covered. The large blister formed by the second-degree burn had popped, and the skin was still tender, but the wound itself looked much better.

  “What about Joe?” his brother asked as he mucked out the stable.

  Jacob filled a feed pail for Janey and set it within her reach. He checked to make sure she had water and then moved on to the other horses.

  “Joe knows I’ll be back eventually. He’s the one who wanted to make sure my hand was healed properly before starting back to work.”

  “But it’s not your hand that’s keeping you away now,” Eli said with the keen sense of knowing his brother well. “It’s Annie.”

  “She can’t keep me from helping Joe.” Jacob finished with the horses and moved to feed Mam’s chickens. His brother had it right. It was Annie who made him reluctant to return. He had kissed her, and now he was afraid that in the end, he’d be left alone as she chose to wed Ike King.

  Finished with one stall, Eli moved on to the next one. “Why don’t you just tell her how you feel?”

  Jacob watched his brother’s progress. “You missed something,” he said with amusement.

  “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” Eli glared with feigned anger at his brother, who was older by four minutes. “You get the easy chores while I handle this—” He gestured toward the wheelbarrow that held horse manure.

  “I can’t risk getting my hand dirty.”

  “You’re avoiding an answer,” Eli said.

  “Annie Zook has her heart set on marrying someone like Ike King. The woman can’t seem to make up her mind,” Jacob said.

  “But she doesn’t know how long you’ve had feelings for her. What if she likes you more than she’s let on?” Eli said. Finished with the stalls, he lifted the handles of the wheelbarrow and pushed it outside. Jacob followed behind, a bucket of chicken feed in his uninjured hand.

  Jacob dipped his fingers into the grain and tossed it onto the ground, among the fowl. The birds clucked and moved about excitedly before they pecked at their meal.

  Annie had been too surprised to kiss him back last night, but he feared he was mistaken in that she wanted to. “She does like me,” Jacob admitted, “as a friend.”

  “A gut friend.” Eli swatted a fly on his neck.

  “Ja, perhaps.” Jacob threw feed in another direction and the chickens found their way to the newly tossed grain. “But sometimes being a friend isn’t enough.”

  Eli sighed. “So you hope your feelings will go away.”

  Jacob had gone back and forth in his mind about whether or not he should continue to pursue Annie. He wanted to be with her. But he had no idea if she’d changed her plans. What if she still wanted to marry an older man?

  “Why not go after her? What if she’s changed her mind and wants someone like you?” Eli went to dump the refuse in a designated area.

  Should he try? Should he confront her, tell her of his feelings, risk all in the hope that she might return his love?

  Eli returned with the empty wheelbarrow. “Are you going to Joe’s this afternoon or not?”

  “I don’t know.” Something inside urged him to go, while another side of him caused him to hesitate. “I’m still deciding.”

  “Think about going. If you see Annie, talk with her. If you don’t, you’ll regret that you missed an opportunity to win her love.”

  After Eli left, Jacob put away the empty chicken-feed bucket and headed toward the house. He could go to the blacksmith shop to work. He wouldn’t let Joe down, no matter how difficult circumstances might become for him. Annie, he thought. He wanted to see her, talk with her...and reach across a bench seat in the dark to capture her hand.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Mam! I’m going to take Jacob breakfast!” Annie called as she headed toward the door with a thermos and a covered plate of food.

  “That’s fine, Annie,” Mam said as she came out of the gathering room with corn broom in hand. “Don’t be long. We’ve got a lot to do today.”

  “I won’t be,” she promised. Annie found she was eager to see Jacob. Had she imagined the attraction between them? Or had she simply dreamed of their kiss? She hurried across the yard, the jug in one hand, a plate of sticky buns in the other and a smile on her face. When she reached the shop, she experienced a tremor of excitement.

  “Jacob?” she called as she opened the door to the building.

  The shop was quiet, too quiet. Annie frowned. There was no light inside the building, no ring of steel against iron.

  “Jacob?” she said hesitantly. She moved to stand in the inner doorway and stared inside. Everything was as neat as a pin, just as Peter and Dat had left it after Jacob’s accident.

  Where was Jacob? He had been well enough to attend the singing. And he’d offered his hand to help her onto the wagon. She became concerned. Had he done too much yesterday? Had he reinjured his hand?

  Where is he? She longed to see him in his leather apron, heating metal until it glowed red, raising the tongs to inspect the fiery red piece before setting it on the anvil to hammer into shape. She recalled how he looked, his eyes narrowed as he concentrated on the task, the movement of his forearms as he brought down the hammer again and again, fired up the metal and repeated the process. She felt an odd feeling in her chest at the mental image.

  Annie left the thermos on the worktable in case Jacob came later. She eyed the plate of sticky buns and decided it would be fine to leave them, too. As she left the shop and headed back toward the house, she felt a rush of disappointment. Mam said that they had much to do today. It was just as well that Jacob wasn’t here, for she had no time to visit with him this morning.

  What if he regretted kissing her? she thought. What if he’d simply tried to prove a point? All the more reason for her to avoid him.

  Annie walked slowly back to the house, wondering why it felt as if the sunshine and joy had been stolen from her day. She had to stop thinking the worst. She would see and talk with Jacob another day. She’d have to be satisfied with that. She picked up her pace and ran toward the porch steps. “Mam! I’m back! What would you like me to do first?”

  * * *

  There was no one around when Jacob arrived at Horseshoe Joe’s. His brother had needed to run errands in town, so Eli had brought him with the promise to return for him later.

  There was no sign of anyone in the yard, no sign of movement in the farmhouse windows. He entered the shop and pushed open a window to allow the sunlight inside. Then, he checked the work ledger to see what needed to be done. William Mast—handsaw repair. Bob Whittier—metal coat hooks.

  He continued down the list. Arlin Stoltzfus requested that he make some shepherd’s hooks, like Englishers liked to use in their front yards, on which to hang flower pots or wind chimes. The cold weather was an impending threat, and several neighbors had appointments for him to replace their horses’ and mules’ shoes.

  He glanced toward the vise mounted on one end of the worktable. As he took down his leather apron, he caught sight of a thermos and a plate of sticky buns. Annie. He smiled. He wasn’t ready to see her yet, but it was comforting to know that she cared enough to bring him breakfast. Laying the apron across the top of the worktable, he paused to pour himself a cup of coffee. After a few slow sips, he sighed appreciatively. The woman always remembered how he liked it best. The plate of sticky buns tempted him, making his mouth water, for he had eaten breakfast hours ago before helping his brothers around the farm. One delicious bite of the bun led to another until he had finished the first and started on a second one. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if he had her in his life always! Then he s
colded himself for being distracted by her.

  Forcing her from his mind, Jacob focused on the work. He donned his apron and pulled on gloves to protect his hands. As canvas and leather brushed his burn injury, he winced, but then the pain passed and he was ready to begin. He grabbed solid iron pieces from a shelf and set them on the worktable. Then he reached for a pair of recently purchased safety glasses and put them on. He readied the forge, grabbed his metal tongs and cross-peen hammer and went to work.

  * * *

  “Annie!” Mam’s voice came from the bottom of the stairs.

  “Ja?” Annie left her brothers’ bedroom to look down at her from the top landing. “Do you need me?”

  “I’d like you and your sister to run an errand for me.”

  “I’ll be right down.” Annie returned to the bedroom and grabbed the sheets she’d stripped off the two beds.

  Mam and Barbara were in the kitchen when Annie came downstairs. Mam stood near the stove, ladling homemade soup into a large bowl. When she was done, she turned to her daughters. “I’d like you to take this chicken soup over to Ike King.”

  Annie exchanged glances with her sister. “Is he ill?” she asked.

  Mam nodded. “Josie stopped by on her way to Whittier’s Store. She said he has stomach pains.” She worked as she talked, withdrawing a sleeve of saltines from the pantry and setting them near the soup bowl.

  “Do you think we should bring him chamomile tea?” Barbara suggested. “He may want a cup to settle his stomach.”

  “That’s a fine idea, Barbara,” Mam said.

  Annie pitched in to gather things to take to Ike. Her mother’s concern for him alleviated the fear that this was a way for Mam to get her into Ike’s company. She didn’t think her mother was trying to make her a match—this time.

  When she was done preparing Ike’s care package, Mam gave Barbara a plastic bag with the crackers, one of her home remedies for stomachaches and the chamomile tea.

  “Annie, you take the soup,” Mam instructed. “Barbara, put some paper bowls in the bag so there will be no dirty dishes to wash.”

  Soon, the sisters were in the buggy, with Annie steering the horse toward Ike King’s farm. They arrived within minutes. Annie parked their vehicle in Ike’s barnyard, and the sisters climbed out.

  “Shall we knock or just call out?” Barbara asked as they approached the house.

  “Why not do both?” Annie shifted the bowl of soup to one arm as she climbed the porch steps. She tapped lightly on the wooden door. “It’s a big place,” she commented. Ike’s home was an impressive two-story whitewashed brick farmhouse.

  Annie rapped on the door again. “Ike?” When there was no response, she grew concerned. She knocked harder. “Ike?”

  “What do we do if he doesn’t answer?” Barbara peered inside a window. “I don’t see him.”

  Annie thought a moment. “If he doesn’t come, we’ll go around to the back. He might have fallen asleep in a chair.”

  “Let’s try again,” Barbara suggested. This time she knocked. “Ike!”

  Finally, they heard movement inside and then the door opened. Ike stood on the threshold, looking ill and with his hair mussed up as if he’d run his fingers through it. He appeared disoriented at first, and his eyes widened as realization dawned. “Annie!” he said. “Barbara.”

  “We heard you were feeling poorly,” Annie explained with a sympathetic smile. “We’ve brought soup and crackers and some chamomile tea to settle your stomach. Mam sent some of her bellyache medicine.”

  “Danki.” He moved aside to allow them to enter. Suddenly, he gasped, “I’m sorry, I have to—” And he ran out of the room.

  Annie set the soup on his kitchen counter while Barbara took items out of the paper bag.

  Minutes later, Ike returned, looking green in the face. His eyes had a glassy look to them as he stood teetering on unsteady legs.

  “Sit down, Ike,” Anne urged. “Would you like some chicken soup?” She held up Mam’s bowl.

  Ike agreed, and Annie went to work heating it. After Ike ate and returned to rest on the sofa in his gathering room, Annie and Barbara left. Once home, Annie went inside the farmhouse while Barbara headed toward the clothesline to check on the garments they’d hung earlier.

  Peter was at the kitchen table when Annie walked in. “Where have you been?” he asked as he munched on a cookie.

  “Ike King’s. He’s ill, and Mam wanted him to have some of her chicken soup.

  Her brother set his glass down after taking a drink of milk. “He didn’t look sick yesterday,” he said as he reached for another cookie.

  “He’s sick today. He looks awful.” Annie grabbed Peter’s now empty glass and held it up. “More?”

  He nodded. She picked up the jug from the counter when she spied the thermos sitting in the dish drainer. “Did you bring this in from Dat’s shop?” she asked.

  “Nay. Jacob brought it before he left earlier. He said the coffee—and the sticky buns—were gut.”

  “Jacob was here?” Recalling his kiss, Annie felt a short burst of joy but then was disappointed when she realized that he’d left and she missed him. “Is he coming tomorrow?” she asked casually as she handed her brother his milk.

  Peter shrugged as he drank from his glass. “He didn’t say.”

  Annie stared out the kitchen window. He’d kissed her. It could mean nothing. Handsome young men were always trying to catch women off guard.

  She frowned. Kiss or not, handsome young men like Jacob were not in her plans, while someone like Ike would be the husband she needed. But was Ike really what she wanted? Or did she want Jacob?

  She recalled Jacob’s golden gaze, his warm smile, the feelings she had whenever he was near. Annie hugged herself with her arms. She had done the unthinkable. She had fallen in love with Jacob Lapp, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Except to walk away, keep to the plan and marry someone like Ike.

  Two days later...

  “Annie.” Ike stood a few feet away from the clothesline where Annie worked hanging laundry.

  “Ike!” Surprised to see him, she faced him with a smile. “You’re looking well.”

  “I’m feeling better.” Ike was an attractive man in his late thirties with sandy-brown hair and a matching beard that edged along the line of his chin. His pale blue eyes twinkled with good health. “It was gut of you to bring me soup.”

  “Mam made it.” She secured her brother’s shirt on the rope with clothespins. “Have you brought work for Jacob?”

  “Nay, I’ve brought back your mudder’s dish. The chicken soup was delicious. It made me feel better.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” She faced him, squinted against the sun, then held her hand up to shield her eyes. “Mam is a wonderful cook.”

  “So are you,” he said with a small smile. “I’ve tasted your cakes and pies.”

  Annie felt her face turn warm. “My sister can cook, as well.”

  He glanced toward the house. “Where is Barbara?” he asked, and Annie was relieved at the switch in the topic of conversation.

  “Inside. Why don’t you go in for a visit? My mudder will make you tea and give you some fresh-baked cookies.”

  Ike appraised her with an intensity that gave her pause. “And you?” His voice was soft. “Will you be coming up to the haus?”

  “Ja, as soon as I finish here.”

  “Then I will see you when you are done.” Ike smiled at her and then headed toward the farmhouse.

  Annie went back to hanging clothes. When she was done, she picked up the laundry basket and strode toward the house. She stopped suddenly and changed directions, moving toward her father’s blacksmith shop, her thoughts now focused on Jacob Lapp.

  She hadn’t seen him this morning. In fact, she ha
dn’t seen them since he’d kissed her the night of the singing. He was avoiding her. Why?

  Because he regretted the kiss and their time together? She needed to know.

  Again Annie halted and turned back to the house. Why was she chasing Jacob, a man who clearly bemoaned his time with her, when there was Ike—a gut, hardworking, caring man—waiting in the house for her?

  She retraced her steps until she reached the back porch. As she pushed the door inward, she could hear Ike and Mam talking. Ike’s voice was easily recognizable from the kitchen.

  Annie sighed. The sound of his voice might not incite butterflies in her stomach or make her breath catch, like Jacob’s did, but it was kind and gentle and she was drawn to the sound. She set the basket near the bottom of the stairs and went to the kitchen. “Hallo,” she greeted with a smile. Ike, Barbara, Mam and Dat were seated at the table, each with a steaming cup of tea in front of them.

  She crossed the room to take out a cup for herself. “What’s that delicious aroma?” she asked.

  “Cinnamon rolls,” Mam said. “I’m warming the buns you made this morning.”

  “They smell wonderful.” Ike flashed Annie an appreciative smile.

  “I’m ready for tea,” Annie said. “Does anyone want another cup?” She ignored her mother’s pleased look.

  “I’ll have another,” Ike said.

  * * *

  When he entered the Zook farmhouse, Jacob heard Annie’s laughter coming from the kitchen. Enjoying the delightful sound, he made his way toward the back of the house. Whenever he wasn’t with her, he missed her. He anticipated her smile, longed for her response the next time he held her more properly in his arms and kissed her.

  “Gut morning!” he said with a smile as he entered the kitchen. He became the focus of four pairs of eyes. He stopped abruptly. He was surprised to see Ike King seated next to Annie at the table. His chest tightened. He nodded at Ike. “Hallo.”