Where the Heart Takes You

by Virginia Wise

  Greta placed the palm of her hand against his chest. She could feel the thump of his heart beneath his homespun shirt. “Der Herr has not given us a life without pain. But He has given us each other. And that will be enough.”

  “Ja. That will be enough.”

  Jacob kissed Greta’s forehead and lifted her back into the cart. She rode in silence as she watched Jacob lead the horse down the winding path and imagined the life that they would live together.

  But when the Yoder farm came into view, an unwelcome thought hit Greta. She realized that she agreed to his proposal without thinking of what would become of Ruth and the twins.

  “Jacob?”

  “Ja?”

  “I should have said something earlier.”

  He frowned and turned to her. “About what?”

  Greta bit her lip. “I want to marry you, Jacob. More than anything I want to marry you.” She looked down. “But I cannot abandon Ruth and the Fisher twins. And I cannot ask you to take on so many mouths to feed. You are expecting a bride, not an entire family!”

  “My dear, sweet Greta. Always thinking of others.” He cupped her chin in his hand and raised her eyes to his. “Your family is my family. They will all come with you.”

  “Really?”

  “Of course.”

  “You mean . . .”

  Jacob nodded. “Ja. We will take in Eliza and Peter as our own children.” He cleared his throat and turned his eyes back to the path. “If they want me for a father, that is.”

  “Oh, Jacob. They certainly do!”

  He looked back at her. “Do you really think so?”

  “Ja. Of course.”

  They rounded the curve and pulled in front of the Yoder cabin. Jacob’s jaw tightened. “Well, I guess we are about to find out.”

  “I already told you. They will love you.”

  Jacob nodded, but Greta could see the doubt etched on his face. He pulled the reins and spoke to Old Bess in a low, commanding voice. Greta could not wait for the cart to roll to a complete stop. “Hurry, Jacob! I want to tell them everything!” She hopped down without his help and ran ahead. Jacob felt a pang of anxiety as he watched her bolt into the cabin. Will the twins want to be part of my family?

  Peter and Eliza leapt up as soon as the door opened. “Greta!”

  Ruth turned from the hearth and put her hands on her hips. “Well, I am glad to see that you are dry this time.”

  “We have news.”

  Jacob appeared in the doorway with a sheepish grin. “Jacob!” The children crowded closer. Greta glanced at her fiancé and he pulled her close. “Greta has agreed to marry me.”

  “Well, it is about time!” Ruth grinned and shook her head. “It took you long enough.”

  “Ja.” Jacob’s gaze stayed on Greta as he studied her gentle eyes and freckled cheeks. “It took much too long.”

  Eliza smiled and stood on her tiptoes to reach Greta’s ear. Then she whispered loud enough for everyone to hear, “I told you that he was in love with you!” Greta hugged the girl and laughed. “Ja, you did. And you were right!”

  Peter watched the celebration with a finger in his mouth and a crease in his forehead. He shook his head and tightened his little fists. “No! No! No! I do not want you to marry him! You cannot marry him!” He ran out the door and slammed it behind him.

  Greta’s hand flew to her mouth. Jacob looked crushed, but he put a comforting hand on Greta’s shoulder. “It is all right. I will go after the boy.” He set his jaw and walked outside in time to see Peter disappear into the lean-to behind the cabin. Jacob sighed and followed him into the small structure. He passed through rectangles of sunlight that streamed through the cracks between logs as he looked for the boy. Jacob frowned and ran his fingers through his hair. He heard a thump from behind a sack of grain. Then another thump and a muffled sob.

  Jacob eased around the sacks and found Peter wedged between the rough flax fibers and the log wall. The boy wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and looked down. Jacob sank onto the dirt floor beside him. Peter scowled and inched away. “What do you want?”

  “I want to know why you are upset.”

  “Because you are marrying Greta. I already told you that.”

  “But that does not answer my question. Why don’t you want me to marry Greta?”

  “Because . . . because . . .” Peter’s lip trembled and a fat tear ran down his face. “Because you are going to take her away from me.”

  Relief washed over Jacob. “You are sad because you think that she is going away?”

  Peter nodded and kicked a sack of grain.

  “What if I told you that she is not going to leave you?”

  Peter’s eyes shot up.

  “What if I told you that we want you and your sister to come live with us?”

  The little boy’s mouth opened in surprise. “You want me to come to your cabin to live with you?”

  “Ja.”

  A look of suspicion passed over Peter’s face. “For how long? Just until you can find another home for us?”

  “No. I want you and Eliza to stay with us forever. I want to be your father.”

  Peter jumped up and exploded into Jacob’s arms. “Really? Do you really want to be my father?”

  “Ja.” Jacob hugged the boy and then tousled his hair. “Ja, I do.”

  Peter looked up with serious eyes. “I am sorry about the things I said. I did not mean them.” He swallowed hard. “I just felt so upset that Greta did not want me anymore.”

  “You know, Peter, she told me that she would not leave you to marry me.”

  Peter’s eyes widened. “She did?”

  Jacob nodded. “She did. She will never leave you.” He put a hand on Peter’s shoulder. “And neither will I.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  The next few days passed in a whirlwind of activity. “There is so much to do!” Greta turned to Ruth and shook her head. “And the wedding day is almost here!”

  Ruth shrugged. “Everything will get done. Do not fret. The menfolk are nearly finished with the addition to Jacob’s cabin. And we have already mended the linens and made more lye soap. There is just the laundry to do and the packing.” She pushed a basket of dough into Greta’s hands. “Here. Go do the baking. Get out and get some fresh air and relax.”

  “But it is not my baking day.”

  “No matter. We need to work ahead this week.” Ruth raised an eyebrow. “Everything has been thrown off schedule, or have you not noticed?”

  Greta laughed. “All right. I will try and relax. It is just that everything is about to change and I am so excited!”

  Ruth patted her shoulder and smiled. “I know, dear. These are happy days.”

  Greta started for the door, then paused and turned around. “There is just one thing that is still bothering me. And I do not know what to do about it.”

  Ruth frowned. “What is it? I thought everything had fallen into place perfectly.”

  “It is Catrina. I have not seen her since Jacob and I announced our engagement. I worry what will become of her. Will she stay here, feeling unloved? What if she gives up and goes back to Philadelphia?”

  Ruth thought for a moment. “Catrina needs to discover why she is really here and what is truly of value. She needs to learn what it is to be Plain in her heart.” She shrugged. “It is hard, but sometimes we have to suffer disappointment to find the right path.”

  Greta nodded, but her brow remained furrowed. “I do not want to be the cause of her pain.”

  Ruth shook her head. “You and Jacob were meant to be from the very beginning. The entire settlement saw it coming, did we not? And besides, I feel certain there is a man for Catrina, even though she has not met him yet. Why, with our settlement growing so fast, he could arrive any day!”

  * * *

  Greta swung her basket and hummed as she walked to the community bake-oven. Frost crunched beneath her feet and the sun glinted off fields of ice like a shimmering crystal wo
nderland. The cold air stung her cheeks, but the coming winter no longer felt barren and empty. Instead, her heart sang with expectation.

  Greta’s happy mood deflated as soon as she reached the oven and saw Catrina checking on a loaf of bread. Greta stopped and started to turn around, but Catrina glanced up and saw her. Too late. Greta adjusted her prayer kappe and continued walking. Mayhap we can manage a civil conversation. Why, we even managed a good laugh, last we spoke! She offered an awkward, but hopeful hello.

  “Oh. Hello.” Catrina looked uncomfortable. “I did not think that today was your baking day. I did not expect to see you here.”

  “Ja. I do not usually bake today but the wedding—” Greta stopped in midsentence and cleared her throat. She had not meant to speak of it.

  “Ja.” Catrina nodded grimly. “Of course. The wedding has thrown your schedule.” She turned back to the oven, slid the long wooden paddle inside, and pulled out a golden brown loaf of bread.

  “Perfect as always,” Greta remarked.

  Catrina’s face remained hard. “A lot of good that has done me.” She tucked the bread in her basket and turned away.

  “Catrina, wait.”

  The young woman paused. She took a long, deep breath and turned around. “Ja?”

  Greta stumbled over her thoughts. “I, uh . . . I . . .”

  “Ja?”

  Greta frowned. “I . . . I guess I just wanted to ask if you are well.”

  Catrina bit her lip and looked away. “I am not sure what I will do now.” She shook her head. “How can I stay here? I do not fit in. I never fit in.”

  Greta reached out and put a hand on her arm. “That is not true, Catrina.”

  “Do you think that I could ever truly be one of you?”

  “Ja.” Greta nodded and looked Catrina in the eye. “I do. But it is up to you whether or not you choose to live as our people do.”

  Catrina hesitated. She cleared her throat and looked away. “Mayhap I should start by saying that I am sorry. I should not have competed against you for Jacob.”

  “Nor I. And I am sorry that I was not honest with you. How could you have known that I longed for Jacob when I told you that I did not!”

  Catrina flashed a teasing grin. “’Tis true. You did create the misunderstanding.” She squeezed Greta’s arm. “But I did not want to believe otherwise, even when I saw the signs.”

  “That is all behind us now, ja?”

  “Ja.”

  “But, will it trouble you to see me with Jacob?”

  Catrina paused and shook her head. “I think not. Truth be told, I was never in love with him. I was afraid—afraid of being alone and afraid of being unloved.”

  Greta’s expression shifted to surprise. “You were afraid of being unloved?”

  “Ja. Of course.”

  “But you are so very beautiful.”

  “Oh, Greta, you know better than most that there is far more to a woman than her looks.”

  “You have caught me by my own words.”

  Catrina winked. “That I have.”

  Greta laughed.

  Catrina smiled, then dropped back to a serious expression. “You know, at first I did not know that you sought Jacob’s affection. And then, when I did realize, it saddened me to see how he looked at you. He never looked at me like that. I thought if I could be charming enough and beautiful enough he might look at me like that—with adoration in his eyes.”

  “Someone will look at you like that, Catrina! And, when he does, he will adore you for more than your beauty.”

  “You believe that I will find him here, in the wilderness?” Catrina laughed and shook her head.

  “You never know what der Herr can send your way!”

  Catrina’s eyes danced for a moment, then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I think I will stay, Greta. I want to finish the adventure that I have started.”

  “I am glad to hear you say that.” Greta reached for Catrina’s hand and squeezed it. “And I know you will be glad as well.”

  * * *

  Snow blanketed the countryside in a clean white quilt as Jacob and Greta walked hand in hand to the Riehl cabin. When the worship service ended she would be a married woman, tied to the man she loved for the rest of her life. Greta breathed in the crisp, clear air and smiled. “The forest and fields are transformed beneath a layer of unbroken snow. And the sun could not shine any brighter. As far as the eye can see, all the world is pure and white and gleaming.” Jacob grinned and looked down at her, his eyes full of love and joy. “My heart has been transformed as surely as the landscape. This is a time for renewal, Greta. Der Herr has restored my life to me.”

  Greta nodded and slid her small hand into his as they passed through the doorway of the Riehl cabin. A roomful of familiar faces waited, eager to celebrate with them. Ruth beamed as the twins fidgeted. Abraham and Amos exchanged happy I-told-you-so looks. Even Catrina was there, smiling shyly. She stepped forward and whispered quickly into Greta’s ear. “I am happy for you both. I truly am.” Then she slid back to her seat.

  Silence fell across the room as all eyes moved onto the couple.

  “Well, Greta, are you ready?” Jacob asked in a low voice.

  “Oh, Jacob, I have never been more ready for anything. I want us to spend the rest of our lives together.”

  Jacob gazed into her eyes. “We will, my darling. We will.”