She lowered her eyes, and he gently tilted her head back ever so slightly. She drew a ragged breath. “I’ve been saving my love a long time, Jacob. I just didn’t know it until you entered my life.”
His heart pounded with relief as unfettered love began to sprout. “Is it too bold to say I’d like to be with you and no one else for the rest of my life?”
She shook her head, seemingly unable to speak.
“No?” He lifted her chin.
“It’s not too bold to say it.”
The love and respect he saw in her eyes worked its way into his soul.
She tugged on his shirt. “I agree with almost every text you wrote about doing construction work and traveling to various states for a few months each year.”
“Really? That’s encouraging. What didn’t you agree with?”
“That I could stay rooted while you travel for work. I want to go with you as much as possible.”
His heart jumped. Could he be that blessed? “Really?”
“It’d be fun, and our excuse for my going with you is I need to do the cooking and cleaning. When you’re off, we’ll sightsee and explore. Attend auctions, yard sales, and gut a few old houses here and there. And we could begin the first year we’re married.”
The first year we’re married … That she spoke those words without hesitation made his heart sing. “And your home for unwed mothers?”
“I’ve been working on that. They’ll be well taken care of, sometimes by me, sometimes by the bishop’s wife and other volunteers.”
Wow! Clearly his texts had her thinking and planning. He liked that, and it said a lot about how well they could communicate when he was away. “I imagine I’ll need to return here during springtime each year.” Would she mind?
“I could come with you. I haven’t spent time anywhere yet that wasn’t completely fascinating in its own way.”
He laughed. “A woman after my own heart.”
She smiled and tilted her head in a way that welcomed a kiss. “And you are a man after mine, and that includes the kind of man who intends to always be in Sandra’s and Casey’s lives.”
He could hardly take it all in. Esther understood who he was and wanted to help him embrace a good life as much as he wanted to do the same for her. He wrapped his arms around her and lowered his lips to hers, grateful to have found the one. As she melted against him, he knew …
What they had now was worth every bit of the long, painful journey they’d traveled to find each other.
EPILOGUE
Nerves skittered through Leah, making her feel flushed as she folded a pair of jeans and tucked them into her suitcase. Music played softly on the digital clock radio beside her bed. A ceiling fan whirred overhead, rustling the knee-length, beige silky dress that hung on the closet door.
Her wedding dress. She’d bought it six weeks ago, and it’d been hanging right there ever since, waiting for today.
The store below her was silent, closed all day for this wonderful occasion. With help from family—some of hers and all of Landon’s—she had a thriving business.
Finally, two years after she and Landon had made up at the hospital, they would marry. They’d spent the last two years trying to walk carefully among the Amish as she severed ties as honorably as she knew how.
Her phone rang, and she dug it out of her jeans pocket, glancing at the screen. Landon. She put in her earbud headphones, brushed her finger across the screen, and slid the phone back into her pocket. “Apparently this avoid-the-groom-before-the-wedding thing doesn’t include phone calls.”
Landon chuckled. “The tradition is that the couple isn’t to see each other before the wedding.”
“Oh.” She put the last few items into her suitcase and zipped it. “If you marry me enough times, I’m bound to get it all straight in my head.”
He laughed. “It’s taken us years to get it done once, but your confusion over traditional English weddings is understandable. It would’ve helped if you’d been able to attend one before our big day. How’re you doing?”
His question hung in the air, and she pondered it.
Even though she was going to be center stage during a rather unfamiliar ceremony, she was beyond excited to begin a new chapter of her life. But it hurt that no one on her side of the family would be allowed to attend her wedding.
“Great … and yet a little sad.”
“I know. Me too.”
She ran her fingers over her dress, enjoying the cool, soft fabric. Landon’s mom and grandmother had shopped with her. The trio had spent two days going from store to store before Leah found the perfect dress—not too fancy or too plain. Landon’s mom said it was a vintage sundress style with a short waist jacket. Whatever its style, Leah thought it was perfect for a midsummer, Saturday afternoon wedding in a small church. “It’s finally our day, Landon.”
“It is. I’d begun to think it’d never arrive.”
She chuckled. When she was eighteen and they were falling in love, he’d had to encourage her regularly to slow down her desire to get married. This past year he had been the one who needed encouragement to continue waiting. But she’d had goals she wanted to accomplish before she wed—like establishing the store, finally getting her driver’s license, earning her GED, and being accepted into a community college, where she’d taken a few business classes at night.
More than those things, at twenty-one years old, she had a deep, abiding satisfaction, and even on her worst days, peace guided her.
“Leah, I called to say that I’m leaving in a few minutes. It’s your last chance to take me up on the offer to drive you to the church.”
“I’m not arriving with the groom. Go.”
“Mom and Granny are at the church already, making sure the girly stuff is in the right places, but they wouldn’t mind coming back to get you.”
“Flowers, tulle, and lighting.” She looked forward to seeing the church decorated for her wedding.
“Yeah, like I said—the girly stuff.”
As a gift to her and Landon, his mom had been the wedding planner. With Leah staying busy at the store and knowing too little about Englisch weddings, she was glad to turn it over to her. They’d become good friends since meeting almost two years ago. For that, Leah was grateful. Other than giving opinions about the wedding plans, Leah hadn’t needed to do any work to prepare for the event. She had even slept late this morning. There wouldn’t be a meal after the wedding, just a nice reception that Landon’s parents had insisted on paying for. The ladies from Unity Hill were doing the setup, serving, and cleanup.
Her life was so different now, and this was just the beginning. Eighteen months ago, when she’d told her Daed she was moving off the farm and wasn’t going to join the faith, he’d railed at her and hung up, and he had refused to speak to her since. He didn’t let her younger sisters talk to her either, but her Mamm had written a couple of times—just enough to assure Leah she loved her even though she disagreed with her decisions. Leah didn’t know if her Mamm had Daed’s permission to write or if she had to sneak around to write and send the letter.
“Leah,”—Landon’s voice pulled her from her thoughts—“not seeing the groom is a silly tradition most people have set aside these days. How about if we meet on the porch and talk?”
The long pause she’d taken after his earlier question apparently had him worried about how she was doing. “We’ll have plenty of time to talk after you’re legally bound to live with and listen to me.”
“Legally bound to listen?” His chuckle warmed her heart. “I don’t think there’s a law that covers such a thing.”
“I may have to work on that.” She grabbed her shiny, heeled sandals off the bed. “Look, I know everyone at the farm would come if they could, and they’ll make it up to us when the dust has settled. So trust me when I say I’m coping just fine, okay?” She was strong enough to carry the hurt and still fully enjoy her day.
“Okay.”
But she knew
Landon wanted to give her what he couldn’t—a wedding day without any lingering sadness.
When she’d made it known to the Amish community that she wasn’t joining the faith, Samuel, Rhoda, Steven, and Phoebe had supported her without fail. But for giving her their support, they’d been held accountable by the church for several violations of the Ordnung: not taking the proper stand against the person leaving, creating an atmosphere that encouraged Leah’s independence from the Amish, and helping her establish a business with the intent of leaving her Amish roots. The final charge was opposition to the will of God.
Since Leah had been born into an Amish home, the church believed it was God’s will she remain there. So Samuel, Rhoda, Steven, and Phoebe were shunned for six weeks and had to retake instruction classes concerning the Amish belief on how to deal with wayward loved ones. Steven had lost his right to preach during that time too, which had to be embarrassing. But despite what was equal to six weeks of public flogging, the four hadn’t wavered in their backing of her.
Jacob and Esther supported her too, but since they didn’t live here, they hadn’t been held accountable for helping pave the way for her to leave the Amish.
She moved to the window. Landon was below, looking up. Fresh gratefulness stirred excitement about her future. The store was under her, Landon was beside her, and God was in and around her. This was the life she wanted.
A few months ago, before they announced to the community that they were getting married, Landon had quit his job at the farm, hoping to diminish the church’s outcry at Samuel, Rhoda, Phoebe, and Steven. Landon would return to work on the farm when those who were so angry with Leah for leaving the Amish and marrying an outsider were no longer looking for someone to blame.
If people were over the worst of their anger before apple picking began at the end of next month, Samuel would hire Amish workers again. If people were still too upset to work for Orchard Bend Farms, Samuel would hire migrant workers. By Leah pacing her severing of ties, she had tried to leave her family in a good place emotionally and businesswise.
Still, even with their love and encouragement, she and Landon had dealt with anger, disapproval, and harsh words of judgment from some in the district. The disapproval of the Amish community directly affected the success of her store, but she couldn’t live her life based on that. Her next goal, which would take a few years to achieve, was to establish a strong connection to the non-Amish in the area.
She grabbed her keys and took one last look at Landon as he stood on the gravel parking lot staring up at her window. She was so very, very grateful that he’d been willing to walk this journey with her. “I love you, Landon Olson.”
Inside a pole barn, Jacob stood behind a row of mismatched, unlevel tables filled with junk and treasures. All of it represented the life span of a stranger who’d passed.
Only a few minutes earlier, he and Esther had been passengers in a car, and this wasn’t their original destination. But he had spotted the Estate Sale sign, and it had been his idea to stop. Of course Esther had been excited at the prospect, and once out of the car, she sent him on a mission to hurriedly search for goods, because they had to leave soon.
His intentions were good. If a worthy item was here, he wanted to help find it. But right now, rather than searching, he couldn’t stop eyeing his wife. She was on the next aisle from him, quickly moving down the tables of items.
Yard sales and auctions were a favorite pastime of theirs, something they had done just for fun on Saturday mornings the last two summers. They’d had only two summers together thus far, but the idea of a lifetime of seasons with her made his heart pound with anticipation and enthusiasm. She called Saturdays their minivacations, and no one was quite as good at productively wasting a day as he and Esther. Last spring when Jacob and Esther were in Maine to visit and help with the orchard, Landon had pointed out that “productively wasting a day” was an oxymoron—a contradiction of terms. But that didn’t stop Jacob and Esther from spending their Saturdays in that fashion.
Since the beginning of their courtship, they had gotten up early on Saturdays, gone out for breakfast, talked over coffee and delicious food, and then spent half the day finding a few hidden treasures. Most often they walked through the yard sales and auctions like they walked along the beaches Bailey drove them to—hand in hand.
She glanced up. Her beautiful, radiant smile warmed his day even more than the July sun. Privately he called her Sunshine. Truly, she brought warmth and light into every moment of his life.
They’d courted for a year before marrying, and as courtships were intended, they’d gotten to know each other better and had fallen so deeply in love he couldn’t imagine life without her. Looking at her now, he found it hard to believe how difficult it’d been to get to know the real Esther. But after she came to Maine to see him almost two years ago, letting him know she’d chosen to dismantle her armor for him, he’d never known a more honest and open person.
They’d been married nine months, and they’d learned yesterday that she was expecting. Their firstborn was due early next spring. Jacob had never imagined being this excited about anything. Before the wedding they’d bought a small, older home less than a mile from the Daadi Haus where she used to help unwed mothers-to-be full-time, but now she did it only part-time. At Esther’s warm and sincere invitation, Sandra had moved to Virginia and now lived in a good school district only a few miles from them.
Esther looked up again. This time she mouthed the words you ready to go?
He grinned and shrugged, finally scanning the stuff on the table in front of him. He quickly scrounged through various boxes.
She joined him. “Having trouble concentrating?”
“I am,”—he opened the lid to a dilapidated box about the size of a toaster—“and I blame you for being entirely too intriguing. Did you find anything?”
“No. I searched every table except this one and had no luck, but we need to go.”
Jacob jiggled the box, making it rattle.
She peered inside it and laughed. “That’s not fair.”
He’d stumbled upon a box of antique doorknobs, plates, and keys. “Apparently you didn’t need to go in search of treasures. You only needed to wait for me.”
She put her arm around his waist and kissed him on the cheek. “That is the story of my life.”
Rhoda came out of the bathroom, freshly showered and wearing a new dress. Her almost air-dried hair cascaded down her back as she gathered the items for pinning it in place. Was that humming she heard? She followed the sound and found herself tiptoeing to the nursery and peering through the barely opened door.
Samuel stood beside the empty crib, his daughter snuggled in his arms as he swayed her back and forth. He turned, radiating the peaceful contentment of a man in love with life.
When they were shunned for supporting Leah’s leaving, it’d been unexpectedly hard on Samuel, and they’d discovered that Rhoda was as much help to him in that situation as he was to her when tragedy made her sense of intuition run amuck. She’d grown up being isolated and ostracized due to her intuition, and he’d grown up as a King, knowing only respect from everyone. But the birth of their daughter had freed him from people’s opinions, because he’d realized all that truly mattered was what was in his heart toward his family and others.
She moved in closer and cradled her daughter’s head, enjoying the downy softness of her scant blond hair. Three months old today. Rhoda had been completely clueless how much she and Samuel would fall in love with their child—and with each other all over again. Was this normal? “She’s so beautiful.”
They’d named her Emma, after Rhoda’s deceased sister.
“She is.” Samuel met Rhoda’s eyes. He ran his hand through her hair and to the base of her neck. With Emma asleep in the crook of one arm, he pulled Rhoda closer.
She rested her forehead on his. He gazed into her soul before he slowly kissed her full on the lips.
“Hello?” Phoebe
called, sounding as if she was at the foot of the steps.
Samuel slowly stopped kissing Rhoda. He drew a deep breath and winked. “In the nursery.”
Numerous footfalls could be heard on the steps, and Rhoda knew Phoebe had at least two of her three children with her.
Phoebe was quite healthy, had been for the last eighteen months, but since she liked having her living quarters on the main floor, Samuel and Rhoda’s space was permanently upstairs. With Leah living above the store and Iva married to Crist and living in an apartment above his parents’ carriage house, these days the home housed only two couples and their children.
A few moments later Steven eased open the door. Isaac and Arie hurried into the room, and Steven’s two-year-old son, Karl, was in his arms, grinning. Steven and Phoebe had fought so hard to keep Karl alive, and they would probably never get all the hospital bills paid, but he was such a blessing to the household and a bundle of boundless joy, energy, and smiles.
Arie slid her hand into Rhoda’s. “Is Emma asleep again?” she whispered.
Rhoda bent and kissed Arie’s forehead. “Ya.” Arie wanted Emma to play, and thus far her little cousin had proved to be a disappointment.
Phoebe held up a black apron. “Freshly pressed.”
“Oh, gut.” Rhoda put it around her waist, and Phoebe helped pin it in place.
Steven gestured toward the front of the house. “Jojo’s here.”
Rhoda jolted. “Already? I’d better get moving. I need to get my hair pinned up and find my shoes.” Since Emma had been born, Rhoda seemed to have lost her sense of timing.
“We’re here to help.” Phoebe glanced under the gliding rocking chair and then pulled out Rhoda’s missing shoes.
Samuel grabbed Emma’s diaper bag. “I’ll take Emma down. By the time we have the children strapped in their car seats or seat belts, you’ll be ready.”
“I’ll hurry.” Rhoda scurried out of the room to find a hairbrush.
Seasons of Tomorrow Page 34