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“What do cows eat?”
“Hay.” He forked some over the stall to his milk cow Maybell.
“What’s hay?”
“Dried grass.”
“You have a funny hat, Johnjohn.”
“It’s just John.”
“Can cow come in the house?” one asked.
He quickly shook his head. “Nee, the cow can’t come in the house.”
The other child parked her hands on her hips. “Cow come with me!”
“No,” he repeated sternly.
A mutinous expression appeared on her face and she shook a finger at him. “Don’t tell me no!”
He leaned down to look into her eyes. “No!”
Tears welled up and quickly spilled down her cheeks. “You bad man.”
He raised his eyes to the barn ceiling. How did they know at this young age that tears could turn a man’s resolve into putty? “I am not bringing a cow into the house.”
“I see kitty,” one said and ran toward the yellow tabby perched on the window ledge.
Her sister’s tears vanished, and she went running toward the animal, too. The cat didn’t care for the sudden attention. She jumped down and scampered out the door.
Both children turned toward him. One scowled. “Kitty ran ’way.”
“I don’t blame her. I’d like to do that myself.” He decided the frowning one was Megan and decided to test his theory. “Megan, do you like goats?”
She nodded. Okay, he had that right. “Come, we will feed them now.”
He gave each child a pail of grain. His small herd crowded around the children, eager to reach the feed. Lucy petted the head of each goat that came to investigate her. “Me like goats.”
“They can’t come in the house,” he said quickly to forestall another episode of tears.
“Okeydokey,” Lucy said.
“Where did you girls come from?” he asked, hoping to get more information about them.
Lucy pointed toward the road.
“What town did you come from?” he asked to be more specific. He was more curious about their pretty mother than he cared to admit.
Megan sighed deeply. “Our town.”
Lucy’s lower lip trembled. “Me want to sleep in my bed.”
“You will sleep in a warm bed tonight, I promise.” He laid a hand on her head. To his surprise, she wrapped her arms around his legs.
She looked up at him. “You nice, Johnjohn.”
“No! Bad man,” Megan yelled. She yanked Lucy away from him, making Lucy wince at the tight grip on her arm.
John leaned down to frown at Megan. “That was unkind. You must tell your shveshtah you are sorry and ask her forgiveness.”
For a second he thought she would defy him, but she put her arms around Lucy and pulled her close. “I’m sorry.”
Lucy pulled away and sniffled. “It’s okay.”
John stood up straight. “Goot. Your family is second only to God in your life. You must care for each other always. Let’s go milk the cow. Maybe your mother will be awake by then and I can get back to work.” His first order of business was to see what was wrong with the rear wheels of their buggy. His mother was insistent that they stay overnight, but he wanted them on their way first thing tomorrow.
His attempt to milk the cow proved far more difficult than he had imagined. In spite of his cautions, Lucy tried to catch Maybell’s tail as Megan crawled under her belly to see what he was doing. The cow jumped and almost upset his milk pail when Lucy squealed loudly. She had spotted Maybell’s twin calves in the next pen. The girls climbed the wooden fence and jabbered to each other and to the curious calves in a steady stream of words he couldn’t hope to keep up with.
They squealed again. He grabbed the pail as the cow kicked nervously. His chores had never been so nerve-racking. A glance over his shoulder revealed five kittens had come out of the hay to get their supper portion of fresh milk. The cats beat a hasty retreat when the girls rushed them.
“Johnjohn, why kitties run away?” Lucy demanded.
“You scared them by being too noisy. You must be quiet around the animals.”
“Why?”
“Because all creatures enjoy peace and quiet. Including this blacksmith.”
“Kitties!” Megan said, pointing toward the top of the hay bales where the litter had taken refuge.
“Leave them alone, and they will come down.” He poured a portion of the milk into a small wooden trough.
He walked to the barn door and held it open. “Come, we must take the millich to Mamm so we can have fresh cream on our oatmeal tomorrow morning.”
They were halfway across the front yard when the door of the house flew open, and Willa came rushing out. Her cheeks were bright red and her eyes were glassy. “I’ve slept too long. We have to be on our way. Get in the buggy, girls. Where is my horse?”
His mother came out of the house and took hold of Willa’s arm. “You are feverish, child. You can’t travel today.”
“I have to go. You don’t understand. I have to go or they will take my babies away from me.” She staggered closer to John. “I need a horse. Please, get my horse.”
He looked at his mother, and she shook her head. He spoke softly to Willa. “You can’t go until you are better. The girls are fine. See?”
He stepped aside so she could see them. “No one is going to take them. They are safe here. Go back into the house, where it’s warm.”
She clasped her arms across her chest. A shiver racked her body. A second later, her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed. He managed to catch her before she hit the ground.
He headed toward the house with her in his arms. By the time he reached the steps, her eyes fluttered open. She pushed against his chest. “I’m fine. Put me down.”
“You aren’t fine and you aren’t going anywhere except back to bed. You will stay there until my mother tells you that you may get up. Is that understood?”
“I need to get to Hope Springs tonight. I can’t let the children spend another night on the road.” He barely heard her hoarse whisper.
“You can’t get to Hope Springs before nightfall. It’s a two-day trip from here.”
“That can’t be.”
“Your horse must have carried you many miles out of your way. You can send a letter to your family, telling them that you have been delayed. Or I can use the neighborhood phone and call them if you will give me a number. That way they won’t be worrying about you.”
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “They aren’t expecting me.”
He stood aside so his mother could open the door for him. “That’s goot. They can be just as surprised and happy to see you when you are well. Now, back to bed with you.”
She closed her eyes. “You are very bossy.”
He fought back a smile. “And you are very stubborn.”
“So I have been told,” she whispered before her head lolled to the side, and he knew she was asleep again.
She didn’t rouse when he laid her on the bed. He stepped back and thrust his hands in his pockets. Her daughters crept in behind him. Lucy tugged on the hem of his coat. “Mama sick?”
Willa looked small and vulnerable lying beneath the thick quilt. He wanted to see her standing strong with that stubborn chin jutting out. He nodded. “Ja, I think she is very sick.”
Megan squeezed past him, grasped her mother’s hand and tugged on it. “Mama get up.”
His mother scowled at him and leaned down to reassure Megan, slipping her arm around the child’s shoulders. “Your mamm just needs to rest. Kumm, we must let her sleep. You are all going to stay with us for a few days. Won’t that be nice?”
“Feed cows again?” Lucy asked.
“Ja. Tomorrow John will let you feed all the animals again. Now it’s time to make our own supper. Go into the kitchen. I’ll be there in a minute. You may each have a cookie from the plate that is on the counter.”
The girls reluctantly left the bedroom. John followed his mother down the hall. “You sound positively delighted to have this family of strangers stay on for days.”
“I am.”
“Well, I’m not. I haven’t been able to get a single piece of work done today.”
She stopped and turned to face him. “You have done nothing but work yourself half to death for the past four years.”
“You speak as if that is a poor thing.”
“Work is all well and good, but you’ve forgotten how to have a little fun now and again.”
“I know how to have fun.” His mother was being ridiculous.
“What was the last thing you did simply for the fun of it?” She stared at him with her arms crossed.
“I enjoy my work. It is fun to me.”
“You can’t think of anything, can you?”
He shook his finger at her. “If they do stay another day, you will keep the chatterboxes occupied while I get caught up on my work. A forge is no place for such wild kinder.”
“They aren’t wild.”
“Maybell will disagree with you.”
“I will keep them. All you had to do was ask.” She smiled sweetly, and he saw exactly how tomorrow was going to turn out. It would be a repeat of today.
“The first thing on my list will be repairing their buggy so they can leave.”
“If Gott wishes them to go, they will go. If He wishes them to stay, they will stay.” His mother turned away and walked into the kitchen.
Chapter Four (#ue25a4891-f3bc-51e0-9566-b3db562dc4b2)
Willa stretched her stiff and aching muscles, then snuggled down beneath the warm quilt again, reluctant to open her eyes. If only she could stay asleep for a few more minutes. Just a few more.
“You’re awake, I see.”
The familiar voice put an end to Willa’s wishful thinking. She turned her head and found John’s mother sitting in a rocker beside the bed. There was daylight pouring through the window. “What time is it?”
Pushing to her feet, Vera patted Willa’s shoulder. “Time to eat something. I’ll be back in a minute with your tray. I hope you like strong tea. I never could drink coffee while I was pregnant.”
“You don’t need to coddle me,” Willa said, but Vera was already out the door.
Willa sat up in bed and pushed her hair back from her face. Her chest ached from coughing and her throat was scratchy, but she didn’t intend to stay in bed another day as much as she wished she could.
“This is not coddling. It’s plain common sense,” Vera said as she returned with a tray of tea and cinnamon toast. “The more you rest, the sooner you will be well enough to travel. Perhaps tomorrow.”
When Vera finished propping pillows behind Willa, she placed the tray on her lap.
Willa smiled her thanks. “A good night’s sleep has done wonders for me. I won’t trouble you any longer.”
“Eat and then we shall see.”
“Where are my daughters?” Willa looked past Vera to the empty hall. She wasn’t used to having the girls out of her sight. She couldn’t rest easy until she saw them.
“They are helping my son John with the chores. I believe they are gathering the eggs and feeding the chickens.”
Willa bit her lower lip. “I’m not sure they will be much help.”
Vera chuckled. “I’m sure you are right, but John needs a lesson in patience. Kinder are often the best teachers of that virtue.”
“I don’t want them to annoy him.”
Vera moved to the window to look out. “I hope they will. My son has become a stuffy fellow. It will do him good to see the world through the eyes of little ones for a change.”
Willa moved the food tray aside. The last thing she wanted was to cause John trouble. He’d been more than kind. “I can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for us, but I must be going. I still have a long way to travel. Has John had a chance to repair my buggy?”
