Healing Grace (9781621362982)

by Shriver, Beth

  He shook his head. “Maybe what I said didn’t come out right.” They stood in awkward silence. “And I don’t want your money.”

  “Let me know when you want me to pick her up.” She mentally kicked herself even as she was speaking. Her pride kept rising, and she couldn’t make it stop. He seemed to bring out her difficult side. She could hear him walking behind her to the side as if he didn’t want to get too close, unsure of what she might say next.

  Mose was silent as he walked to Abby’s car and opened the door for her. “Thanks, Mose.” She was too embarrassed to look at him. But when she did glance into his piercing blue eyes, Abby felt a knot in her throat. She didn’t want to feel anything. Abby had learned to stuff her feelings. This was uncomfortable. She needed to leave, fast. She turned the key.

  The motor groaned but wouldn’t start. Abby groaned too and laid her forehead on the steering wheel. Without saying a word, Mose popped the hood and then walked away. Abby stayed in her car and watched him disappear into the shop and come back out with a hand generator.

  Abby dug out her jumper cables and connected her end. The engine coughed but then started. Could she be any more in debt to the man? She’d rather walk than have him do anything else for her. What was his motive? Was he just a nice guy, or did he have another reason for always coming to her rescue? She couldn’t imagine why he was so interested in her, especially with her behavior around him. He was just being a good Amish man.

  He walked over to her window with the cables in hand. “You might want to keep these handy. I can follow you home if—”

  She brought up a hand. “No, but thanks. You’ve done enough already.”

  He stared into her eyes for a moment. “It’s just the Amish way.”

  She tightened her lips together and nodded as she drove away. If she didn’t care about him, why did that comment sting her heart?

  Chapter Eight

  WHY DO YOU care so much about this horse?” Joe asked, clearly irked at being roped into fetching a horse instead of his original plans of going fishing.

  “It’s lame, and the owner’s done everything she can to mend the filly.” Mose watched Joe’s eyes dart over to him. “So I brought her here for a while.”

  “She? Are you interested in the horse or her?” He frowned. “And who is it, anyway?”

  “I’d be so bold as to match this horse against Frank.” Mose figured that would get Joe’s attention, and it did.

  “I never thought I’d hear you say that. She must be something.” He stacked the buckets and headed for the barn door. “But who’s the owner?”

  “She wants her back, so I need you to go with me. Claude’s gonna pick me up with his trailer.”

  Joe stopped and stared at Mose. Riding in a machine with that kind of power was a rare experience.

  “All right, under one condition.” Joe opened the door and stood in the way so Mose couldn’t get out. “Tell me who owns the horse.”

  Mose hesitated. “The person in that accident.”

  “Ach, I see.”

  Mose looked down at him. “It’s about the horse.”

  “Whatever you say, but I’ve gotta get back. Some of us have to work.” He grinned, and they walked out together.

  “You mean, go fishing.” Mose grunted, wondering whether he was doing the right thing, but he’d given her his word that he would see after Ginger for just a couple days, so he needed to follow through. Besides, it was a sure way to see Abby again. He had to get his priorities straight. But then, all it took was a little time with her, and he was questioning what the attraction was. She was salty or bittersweet, but deep down, Mose had a hunch Abby could be attracted to the right person like a bee to honey if she’d drop her guard.

  Mose was readying the horse when Joe came back in. “Henry said he got a call from your driver. He’s running late.”

  Mose blew out a breath. Abby wouldn’t be happy—which wasn’t anything new—but this time it fell on him. He could hitch her up to his trailer, but the truck was faster and a better ride for the horse.

  Joe leaned against the barn door. “What are you gonna do?”

  Mose looked at the horse and then at Joe. “Go fishing.”

  Joe clapped his hands. “Now that’s a plan. You know I really didn’t want to go, but I do want to see her in person.”

  “I haven’t even let her meet my bruder, so why would I let her see you?” Mose’s brother would tease him until the cows came home for bringing an English girl into the community. Because Abby was so touchy, Mose made a point to come and greet her before she could get to the house, and he made sure the barn and shop were clear before she went in. It was a lot of stress that he thought a couple hours of fishing would take care of. He’d deal with Abby later.

  He and Joe had each caught a fish or two by the time Abby’s car came down the driveway with a dust cloud floating behind. He expected her to be upset that he hadn’t taken Ginger to her, so he prepared himself and kept on fishing.

  Joe glanced over his shoulder. “Is that her?”

  “Who else would be driving a car?”

  “And driving like a madwoman.” Joe squinted up at Mose. “Were you supposed to have taken her the horse already?”

  Mose looked up at the sun directly above them. “Guess it is noon.”

  When Abby saw them, she parked and made her way down to the pond. “Catch anything?”

  Mose didn’t know whether she was being friendly or sarcastic, so he thought he’d just give an honest answer. “A couple.”

  She came closer and looked over the pond. Tall grass bent with the slight wind as dragonflies flew by. “This is a good size fishpond. I bet you’ve caught some big ones in here.”

  Joe and Mose looked at each other. Joe stood and wiped off his hands on his pants. “I’m Joe.” He stuck out his hand and pumped hers. When she made a face at him, Joe explained. “We just shake once, kinda hard, and that’s the end of it.”

  “Oh, interesting.” She seemed sincere, and Mose was beginning to enjoy the interaction.

  “Mose tells me you have a horse that’s gone lame.” Joe studied her intently as he waited for her answer.

  “She was bad off for a while there, but Mose has done a good job with her.” Then she smiled. Mose hadn’t seen but small hints of a smile from her, so he leaned back and enjoyed the transformation. “She’s only been gone a few days, but she seems to be better.”

  “Nee, I doubt it was Mose. The horse just needed a place she felt peaceful in. Makes a difference with animals—the stress level and all.”

  Mose watched Joe talk, giving away his secrets and flirting with Abby. If he had feelings for her, he’d be bothered by it, but since there was nothing between them, he sat back and listened.

  Abby hadn’t said anything after Joe’s last comment, and Mose realized how Joe may have overstepped his bounds. Abby’s farm was the most uncomfortable place Mose had ever been, and that was no lie. The thought had crossed his mind, but he was preoccupied and didn’t think it through. There was more needed than just a calm setting, but Joe was right about that.

  “Mose.” Abby was talking to him.

  “Jah, sorry.” He snapped back into the conversation. “Do you want to get Ginger ready to go?”

  She scanned the tranquil body of water in front of her and looked at Mose’s pole. “I suppose so.”

  She looked at the bubbles that came popping up, the water lilies that fish liked to hide under, and the direction the wind was blowing.

  “Do you want to throw in a line?”

  She shrugged, but when he handed her his pole, she admitted, “I haven’t done this for a while.” She tightened the line and threw her hand back, holding the pole, then flung it forward to cast a perfect line.

  Joe and Mose stared at one another. “Gut cast.”

  “Nice pole.” She kept her eyes on the tip to see if there was a nibble.

  Mose grinned at Joe, who was smiling too. “Made it myself.”

&n
bsp; “You’re pretty serious about this.” Mose picked up Joe’s pole and jerked on the line.

  “I used to fish with Jim when I was little.” Her wide blue eyes moved across the water, catching every movement.

  “How little?” He had a hunch she’d kept it up longer than she let on.

  She glanced at him. “From kindergarten to…middle school.”

  He grinned. It was nice to hear about better times between her and her daed. They sat in silence, and after awhile Mose began to wonder whether Joe was ever going to talk. He was never this quiet.

  Abby suddenly yanked on the line and pulled. The pole was bent almost in half, and Mose wondered whether he dared help her. She was an independent one, and he didn’t know when to be a gentleman and when to let her take the lead.

  “Ya got it?” Joe moved forward, probably struggling with the same restraint Mose was.

  “No, this must be a big fish.” She wrinkled her nose and used both hands to reel in the fish. Colorful scales lit up in the sunlight each time the fish jumped.

  Mose pulled on the middle of the rod, and together they easily plucked the large fish up and out of the water. “It is!”

  They had him pulled up to the tip of his tail when the rod snapped in two. Abby lost her balance, grabbed onto Mose, and they fell back, landing on their rumps. He pushed himself up, but not as quickly as he meant to. Mose was glad nobody had seen that fiasco.

  “Are you all right?” Joe stood above them.

  She chuckled. “Yeah, I’m fine.” Her pants were grass-stained on one knee and her hair had fallen out of the clip, but she wore a wide grin and her face glowed.

  Mose shook his head. “Remind me never to take you fishing again.” He helped her up, and she brushed herself off. Her smile quickly faded, and her eyes misted.

  Mose came to her side. “Are you hurt?”

  She let out a long breath. “No. I just realized how long it’s been since I laughed.”

  When he saw her in this vulnerable state, all of the emotions Mose had locked up inside stormed out like a twister, swooping down on him. He’d only known her for little more than a week, but the connection between them was like nothing he’d ever felt before. He had no idea what to do about it.

  She was English, and he was Amish.

  Chapter Nine

  ABBY PARKED AT St. Phillips Episcopal School and hurried through the Texas heat to the front door. The blast of cool air instantly refreshed her. She waved at the secretary in the office on her way down the hall to her classroom. She taught English as a second language, so the kids came to her for help with whatever communication issues made them struggle. A few more days of summer school, and she would have too much time at home with Jim.

  When she was young, she had wanted to go to school there. Abby’s family didn’t attend church, and she wanted to have what some of her friends talked about, like a loving God who forgave you when you made a mistake and cared about you unconditionally. She couldn’t get her head around the concepts they talked about. They seemed to have something she didn’t.

  Visiting Mose’s place had created an awakening in her. Mose and Joe both seemed to have that same connection with what they believed in, but they didn’t have to say it. It shone through in their actions and the way they treated others. Abby wondered when she’d see him again, now that she had Ginger and Old Blackie back home and her leg was improving by the day. It hadn’t been that long since she’d seen him, but it seemed like it.

  As the children began to enter the building, Abby took out the lesson book that had the schedule of students she’d be working with for the day. The agenda was condensed in the summer classes, so if a child missed a day, it meant a long day was ahead.

  “Buenos dias.” Manfred sat down at a desk next to her. The room was small but sufficient, because she didn’t teach to a full classroom. Abby felt it was more comfortable to work together in a smaller area.

  “Good morning.” Abby enunciated the words so he could understand them.

  Manfred smiled a toothy grin and attempted to mimic the words. “It is hard to say the morning word,” he said with a thick Hispanic accent. His dark hair was shaggy and uncombed. His dark brown eyes showed his emotions no matter how hard he tried to hide them.

  “Then that’s the one we will work on the most.” She smiled and heard him groan.

  Ada ran in, breathless and rosy-cheeked. She gave Abby a big smile as she sat next to Manfred.

  Esta came in right as the bell was ringing. She wore the traditional plain clothing of the Amish. “Good morning, Ms. Abby.”

  “Very good,” Abby encouraged, but she also knew not to overdo the praise. Manfred wasn’t learning English as well as Esta and was easily discouraged. But Abby was glad the Amish children took to English quickly. Even though she took some German in high school, she knew how to teach Spanish better.

  Esta’s wide smile told Abby she knew she’d said the words well. She tucked her skirt under her and sat next to Manfred, facing Abby. She was pudgy, and the way she carried herself was more mature than the girls two grades ahead of her and made her seem older than her eight years.

  “We are going to find out what our names mean.” Abby opened a book and searched for her name.

  “I think I know mine!” Ada leaned forward in anticipation, and Manfred scoffed.

  “What’s wrong?” Abby looked at Manfred. He was the overly emotional one much of the time, but she’d thought this would pique his interest. “Don’t you want to know the meaning of your name?”

  He shrugged, so Abby found the page with her name and began to read. “The name Abigail means God Is Joy.” Abby stopped, stunned by the words. The significance of it seemed too far from reach. She hadn’t practiced her mother’s faith since she passed away, but it fit with what she’d been thinking about when she came to work. There are no coincidences, she could hear her mother say.

  “Ms. Abby?” Ada’s voice brought Abby back, and she realized they were staring, waiting for her to continue.

  She looked at each of them for a quick moment and then settled back into the conversation. “You see there, it’s nice to know what’s behind our given names.”

  “Mine is Star,” Esta stated as she sat up in her seat and waited.

  “Let’s see…Noble.” It was almost fitting, if Ada would keep it in check for Manfred’s sake. Abby wished she had prepared by looking up the meanings before they’d come in.

  “Really?” Her eyebrows lifted, and her smile was luminous. “I thought of a lot of things, but not noble.” She beamed and rested her cheek in her palm.

  “Now for yours, Manfred.”

  He crossed his arms and laid his head down on them. “Do I have to?”

  Ada snapped her head over to him. “Why wouldn’t you want to know?”

  He shrugged and peeked over his arms at Abby.

  “I bet it will be something great!” When she turned to his name and saw what it meant—Little Warrior—she decided to change it a little. “Listen to this…the name Manfred means God’s Little Warrior.”

  Ada sat straight up and frowned, and for once she was speechless.

  Manfred sat up and smiled. “Does it say that?”

  Abby showed him and hoped he didn’t see the added word. If so, it was still worth a try.

  The bell rang and they left, only to have another three children come in. The numbers continued to increase until the last bell rang.

  Normally she would be thinking of what to make for dinner, but Jim had been spending more time away. Sometimes she started to worry, but whenever she asked about him, he would get irritated. He never answered, so she left him alone and enjoyed more freedom. Abby hadn’t seen any more symptoms like she had that one day, so she figured it was a one-time thing, but she knew he wouldn’t tell her if it was anything more. He wasn’t one to go to the doctor before he absolutely had to.

  As she said her good-byes, she started to think about Mose. He came to her mind more often than s
he knew what to do with, and she had stopped trying to push him out of her thoughts. He was there whether or not she wanted him to be. But what good did it do? With Ginger on the mend, she had lost her connection with him.

  After work, on her way out of town, Abby paid more attention to the fields and the farmers working them, especially the Amish farmers. Their life seemed similar to hers in many ways, living off the land and raising livestock. They both had jobs to subsidize their incomes, even though their first priority was living the country life. But there was more to it. They lived in a community, and the more she saw the benefits of it, the more she envied them for having the support they offered one another without hesitation.

  As she drew closer to the turnoff to her farm, she wished she had somewhere else to go, even to run a chore, but she couldn’t think of anyplace. Halfway down the lane she remembered. Stopping in front of the house, she went to the closet in her room and moved back the laundry basket next to Mose’s hat.

  As she picked it up, she started to feel a bit of guilt. He surely needed it, and he may have gotten another by now. He might think it strange that she’d kept it for so long, and she wondered why she had. As she walked back out to her car, she threw her cares to the wind, refusing to let herself second-guess her decision.

  When she came to the familiar bend in the road to Meadowlark Valley, Abby slowed to a crawl. She suddenly felt she was trespassing. Not that they never had visits from the English, but she just felt uncomfortable, not having been invited.

  As she drove by the community store, an older woman with graying hair stopped sweeping the porch and waved at her. She stopped, thinking the woman wanted to tell her something, but she turned back to her sweeping, so Abby kept going down the narrow road leading to Mose’s place.

  She’d passed by three farms when she finally found the Fishers’ farm. Maybe she was partial, but their place seemed to be the best groomed. She wondered how common it was to have three boys to help with a single farm and blacksmith shop.