“Walk around Jane, and things might move quicker.”
“Will it be more painful?”
“It’ll be over quicker.”
Jane didn’t know which was worse, but opted for the ‘being over quicker.’ She walked around the room stopping as her body was gripped by contractions.
“You can walk through them,” Gracie said.
No, I can’t, Jane thought, not being able to talk. It was twenty minutes later that Jane had the urge to push.
“Wait while I examine you.”
“I can’t!” Jane screamed as the urge to bear down was greater than anything she could’ve imagined.
“I can see the baby's head,” Gracie said after Jane had stopped pushing. “You can push on the next contraction.”
Jane was too tired to tell her that she’d had no intention of trying not to push. Her body was forcing her to push.
Twenty more minutes went by and then, with one last push, Jane’s baby boy was taking his first breath.
“He’s a boy!” Lizzie squealed and with that, the baby howled. “He’s got good lungs too.”
Gracie wrapped the baby in a cloth and placed him against Jane’s chest.
“Is he okay?” That was all Jane wanted to know. “Is he healthy?”
“He’s healthy and well.”
“And he’s beautiful and so tiny,” Lizzie said. “ I forgot how tiny they are.”
Jane looked down at her baby and wrapped her arms around him. He had a wrinkled face, and his bright eyes were looking into hers. “He’s looking at me.”
“They can’t see anything for days,” Lizzie said peering over Jane’s shoulder at the baby.
“He’s looking right at me! Hello, my little son. I’m your Mom.” A tear trickled down Jane’s face, all the pain and all the bad things she’d ever gone through meaning nothing now. The baby in her arms was all that mattered. After Jane had cuddled him for a while, Gracie took him, cut his cord and cleaned him up. When he was all cleaned up, with diaper and clothes on, Gracie covered him in a wrap and handed him back to Jane.
“Will I feed him now?”
“If you’d like to. There’s no rush. I’ll clean up this room. You might as well stay in this one tonight. He’s a beautiful baby, Jane.”
“He is.” Jane couldn’t take her eyes off him. “Thank you for staying with me through everything, Lizzie. You’ve been so kind to me.”
Lizzie patted her on the shoulder. “Does the baby have a name yet?”
“I’ve always liked the name Matthew.”
“Matthew’s a good name,” Lizzie said, and Gracie agreed.
That night, after Jane had fed Matthew and he was sleeping, her thoughts turned to Zac. Where was he? She got into bed and stared at Matthew beside her in his crib.
It would’ve been nice for Matthew to have a father and for her to have a husband.
* * *
Early the next morning, Lizzie opened Jane’s door slightly and peeped into her room. “You’re awake?”
“Yes. I’ve been awake most of the night. I think Matthew doesn’t know that night time is for sleeping.”
“I’ll watch him after breakfast, and then you can get some sleep.”
“Would you? That would be marvelous.”
“You have a visitor.”
“Is it Gia?”
“No. Gia is staying at her uncle’s house. I thought it best she not be around while you were giving birth.”
Jane nodded and Lizzie stepped aside to let Zac poke his head in the door.
“It’s me,” he said.
She couldn’t keep the smile from her face. “Come in.”
He walked through the doorway and closed the door behind him. “Are you okay?”
She swallowed hard and nodded. Then the baby in the crib took his attention. “He’s lovely and so, so tiny.”
“I’ve called him Matthew.”
He smiled and then kneeled beside her. “I had no idea you were having the baby here. I went to New York to find you.”
“You did?”
“You weren’t taking my calls and I didn’t know what to think. I phoned your work and spoke to Tyrone, who said he hadn’t seen you in a while.”
“That’s not true!”
“I figured as much, but I didn’t know what was true. The only thing I could do was come to you. Then I couldn’t find you.”
“I’m sorry to put you to so much trouble.”
“It’s no trouble. Don’t you know what you mean to me?”
Her heart pumped wildly.
“I went to New York to ask you a question.”
Please say you want to marry me. “What question?”
He looked into her eyes and took her hand. “These past two weeks of not knowing where you were, or how you were, it's been just torturous. I can’t go through that again, Jane. I want to look after you, you and Matthew. I want us and our children to be a family, and be happy.”
“Really?”
He smiled. “Jane, will you marry me?” He shut his eyes tightly and then opened them. “Just say ‘yes.’”
Peace flooded her entire being. Matthew would have a father and she would have a husband—one she could trust with her heart and her life. Zac was her answer to prayer. “I will. Yes, I will.”
He smiled, and then stood to his full height before he leaned over to softly brush his lips against hers. He whispered, “You’ve made me a very happy man. I’ll make up for all the sadness you’ve had in your life.”
The O’Connor account and her problems with Derek now faded into the background. Derek could take her job and the stresses that went along with it. A good strong man in her life was something she’d never had until now, and she was going to do everything in her power to be a good wife.
“I’m so happy to marry you.”
“We’ll all have a good life, Matthew, Gia and both of us.”
Three months later, Jane and Zac were married. In those months preceding the wedding, Jane and Matthew had lived with an Amish family named Miller. Jane had taken the instructions to become Amish, and then she had been baptized.
Zac had reconfigured one section of the B&B to accommodate the four of them having sold the house he and Gia had once lived in with Ralene.
“How does it feel to be Mrs. Yoder?” Zac asked her on their wedding night as they stepped into their new living space.
Gia was staying with one of Zac's brothers for a couple of days, and Lizzie had put Matthew to bed a little earlier in the room beside her bedroom. Zac and Jane had arranged to get him soon, after a little time to themselves. “Wonderful, just wonderful.”
Zac laughed and turned to face her. “I never dreamed when you first came here that we’d be married. You’ve made Gia a very happy girl and me a wondrously happy man.”
“I hope so.” Jane smiled as a feeling of light welled up within. “I’m a different person from the one who came here. All I cared about was being the best at what I did, and keeping the top spot.” Jane giggled. “Now, I couldn’t care less. You and my new family have taught me what’s important.”
He pulled her into his arms. “I can see it on your face that you’re truly happy, and I want you to stay that way always.”
She rested her head on his chest, her arms encircling him. “And I want to make you happy,” she said.
He pushed her back slightly so he could look into her eyes. “I love you, Jane. You and I were meant to find each other. It’s quite the love story that we can tell our children.”
Jane looked into his sincere brown eyes and knew what he said was true. The tragic loss of their spouses had enabled them to meet, but she knew now it was God’s hand that had brought them together. She'd thought she knew what love was before, but the love she’d had for Sean was love from the head. Her love for Zac was love from every fibre of her being.
“Tell the children we have now, or our future ones?”
He laughed. “All of them.”
She flung herself back into h
is arms. “I hope I never lose you.”
“Let’s not think of things like that. We’ll enjoy our days together for as long as Gott wills us to have them. Okay?”
“Okay.” Jane held onto him tightly and sent up a silent prayer of thanks. So many things had needed to happen for them to be together, and if she’d refused to go on vacation, they never would’ve met. “I love you, Zac.”
He held her tighter and kissed her on her forehead. “And I love you, Jane.”
Thou wilt shew me the path of life:
in thy presence is fulness of joy;
at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.
Psalm 16:11
Thank you for reading A Pregnant Widow’s Amish Vacation. I do hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
If you’d like to stay up to date with my new releases and special offers, add your email at my website in the newsletter section.
https://samanthapriceauthor.com/
Blessings,
Samantha Price
The next in the series is:
Book 8 The Amish Firefighter's Widow
When Amish woman Katie's volunteer firefighter husband dies in the line of duty, she is heartbroken. Not only have her two young sons lost their father, but the child she is carrying will never know him. Her husband's best friend, Mark, steps in to take care of Katie and her children.
Many months pass, and Mark is offered an opportunity away from Lancaster County. Not wanting to leave Katie and the children behind, he makes his feelings known.
Katie tells Mark she would never marry again, and if she did, it would never be to another firefighter. Katie urges him to take the job. Months turn into years before Katie realizes that she has made a terrible mistake. When Mark finally returns, will Katie find that she's left things too late?
EXPECTANT AMISH WIDOWS
Book 1 Amish Widow's Hope
Book 2 The Pregnant Amish Widow
Book 3 Amish Widow's Faith
Book 4 Their Son's Amish Baby
Book 5 Amish Widow's Proposal
Book 6 The Pregnant Amish Nanny
Book 7 A Pregnant Widow's Amish Vacation
Book 8 The Amish Firefighter's Widow
Book 9 Amish Widow's Secret
Book 10 The Middle-Aged Amish Widow
Book 11 Amish Widow's Escape
Book 12 Amish Widow's Christmas
Book 13 Amish Widow’s New Hope
Book 14 Amish Widow’s Story
Book 15 Amish Widow’s Decision
Book 16 Amish Widow’s Trust
Book 17 The Amish Potato Farmer’s Widow
Book 18 Amish Widow’s Tears
About Samantha Price
USA Today Bestselling author, Samantha Price, wrote stories from a young age, but it wasn't until later in life that she took up writing full time. Formally an artist, she exchanged her paintbrush for the computer and, many best-selling book series later, has never looked back.
Samantha is happiest on her computer lost in the world of her characters. She is best known for the Ettie Smith Amish Mysteries series and the Expectant Amish Widows series.
www.SamanthaPriceAuthor.com
Samantha loves to hear from her readers. Connect with her at:
[email protected]
www.facebook.com/SamanthaPriceAuthor
Follow Samantha Price on BookBub
Twitter @ AmishRomance
Instagram - SamanthaPriceAuthor
A Pregnant Widow's Amish Vacation Page 12