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“She’s growing too quickly,” Rachel said.
“Ja, it can seem that way,” Annie agreed. Her son wiggled within her arms, and she set him on his feet. “Stay here, EJ.” She kept a firm eye on him. “Every time I see him it seems as if he’s grown another half inch.”
The women laughed. “Do you know how much a half inch is?” Meg Stoltzfus said. She showed the group with the space between her two fingers. “I wonder how you can tell EJ’s size, as active as he is. He barely stays still.”
“Except when he’s asleep,” Annie pointed out. She reached to grab hold of her son’s hand to keep him close.
“A mudder can see the changes,” Missy Stoltzfus said, joining the women in time to overhear her daughter and Annie’s conversation. She had returned from inside the house.
“I’m glad you agree.” She flashed Meg a teasing look.
Katie exited the house and approached. “What a lovely day! Do you think the boys will want to play ball?” She reached down to run her fingers through her grandson’s baby-fine blond hair.
“Peter will.” Annie smiled at her mother-in-law. “Ach, and here he comes now with my mudder and vadder.” Horseshoe Joe had pulled his buggy into the yard and parked it next to Noah’s.
“Your dat has been doing well since his accident,” Martha said.
Annie beamed. “Ja, ’tis hard to believe that two years ago he was unable to walk after he fell from his ladder.”
“We’ve had much to be thankful for,” Katie agreed.
“How are Josiah and Nancy?” Missy asked referring to Annie’s older brother and his wife, Nancy, who was Martha’s niece.
Josiah Zook had married Amos and Mae King’s daughter Nancy last year.
“They are doing well.” Annie picked up her son, who squirmed and tried to get away. “EJ, be still.”
“I’ve never seen Nancy happier,” Rachel said of her cousin.
Martha knew that Rachel had lived with her King relatives when she’d first arrived in Happiness. The schoolteacher’s cottage had been under construction back then. Once the house was complete, Rachel had moved from her aunt and uncle’s into her new home. Noah had been one of the men who’d worked on the teacher’s house. After Rachel and Noah had wed, they’d lived in the cottage until a new house could be constructed for them elsewhere.
Peter stood chatting with a group of young Amish men near the buggies. Martha eyed him a moment and turned to study Meg, who seemed annoyed by the young man. Anne’s younger brother broke away from his friends to saunter in their direction. He smiled when he saw EJ in his sister’s arms. “I’ll take him,” he offered as he reached for his nephew, who was clearly happy to see him.
Annie smiled gratefully as she handed off her son. “He’s a bit of a handful today.”
“He’s fine,” Peter said with a smile for the child. “He’ll be a gut boy for his onkel Peter, ja?” He casually glanced in Meg’s direction. “Hallo, Meg. You’re looking well.”
Meg narrowed her gaze. “Peter,” she acknowledged stiffly. When he looked back to EJ and walked away, the young woman appeared miffed that he hadn’t paid her more attention.
Martha hid a smile. She had felt the increasing tension between Peter and her young friend. Meg doesn’t know it yet, but she may be sweet on him.
“Let’s go inside, ja?” Katie suggested. “’Tis a nice day but not as warm as I’d thought. May I help carry anything?”
Martha shook her head when Katie offered to take her chocolate cake. “I can manage.” She grinned. “I hear I should keep careful watch over this cake. Apparently there is someone in your family who may try to steal a piece before we’re ready to serve it.”
Katie laughed. “Ja, Noah, for certain. I’m afraid that most of my boys are partial to chocolate cake.” She smiled. “Except for Jed. Jed prefers Sarah’s cherry pie.”
Martha accompanied the ladies toward the house. Eli and Jacob came up from behind them. The twins were deep in conversation, oblivious to the women before them. She saw Eli nudge his brother’s arm with his elbow as he murmured something in Jacob’s ear. The two brothers laughed, the sound deep, masculine and joyful. Martha turned and found that she couldn’t tear her gaze from them as they drew closer to the women.
Suddenly as if he sensed his wife’s presence, Jacob glanced in her direction, his gaze brightening as it settled on his wife. He gave her a special smile. “Annie.”
“Jacob.” She nodded solemnly. “Gossiping again?”
He blinked as if taken aback. “Nay, I—we’re—” He apparently saw Annie’s smile because his lips curved up as he closed the short distance between them. “Trying to start trouble, wife?”
Annie blinked up at him innocently. “Nay, husband. I wouldn’t start trouble. ’Tis not the Lord’s way.”
Martha heard Jacob’s answering chuckle. She witnessed the couple exchange loving looks, and she wondered what it would have been like if Ike had cared for her as much as Jacob loved Annie.
An odd tingling started at her nape and traveled the length of her spine. Martha inhaled sharply when she realized Eli Lapp was staring at her. She experienced the urge to look away but didn’t. As their gazes locked and held, Martha heard Annie and Jacob talking, but their words were lost on her.
“Eli. Jacob. Would you bring out the other table?” Katie called.
“Ja, Mam.” Eli broke eye contact as he and Jacob continued past them to climb the porch steps. The memory of his expression made it difficult for her to concentrate...and to breathe.
Martha and Katie followed the twin brothers into the house, while Rachel went to have a word with her husband. Missy and her daughters stayed behind and continued to chat with Annie and her mother, Miriam, along with Alta Hershberger, who just had arrived. Martha tried to force her reaction to Eli from her mind as she entered Katie’s kitchen, and she was successful until he and Jacob came out from another room carrying a small table. Then he was gone, and she could breathe again. “There is a lot of food, Katie,” she said with a smile.
“Plenty enough for all of us,” the woman agreed.
Martha wondered where she should put her cake plate as she looked over the kitchen countertop and trestle table.
“Chocolate?” Eli asked, startling her as he came up from behind.
She gave a nod but didn’t turn around until he added teasingly, “Quick, hide it. Noah’s coming.” She faced him and immediately noted his sparkling blue eyes and the way his male lips curved upward.
Her face warmed as she felt an instant attraction. She didn’t know whether it was his good humor or his teasing that appealed to her. Martha grinned, taken again by this playful side of him. “And you think I should give you the cake?”
“I can hide it for you.” He gave her a mock frown. “Don’t you trust me?”
“Should I?” He amused her.
“Ja, you can trust me.” His voice was soft and her nape tickled again as she found herself doing just that. She handed him the cake. “I’ll put it in the back room,” he whispered.
She inclined her head. They heard Noah and Rachel as they entered the house. Eli slipped into the backroom while Martha stayed as Katie greeted the couple and smiled at her grandchild.
“Here’s my little grossdochter!” She beamed at the infant. “May I hold her?” She held out her hands.
Noah smiled as he handed the child to his mother. “Katy is a gut girl, Grossmudder. She slept until after seven this morning.”
“Wonderful!” her grandmother exclaimed as she held the baby close.
As Eli returned from the back room, Martha felt a little jolt in her midsection the moment his intense blue gaze sought and met hers. “Safe and sound,” he mouthed, causing her to smile.
Noah sniffed the air. “Do I smell chocolate?”
Martha regarded Eli with raised eyebrows before she went to check where he had put the cake—on the washing machine. He must have taken a peek beneath the plastic covering, as the scent of chocolate permeated heavily in the air and had filtered into the kitchen.
“It looks delicious,” a male voice murmured in her ear.
“Eli!” she gasped and turned, her heart beating wildly. “You startled me.”
His eyes twinkled. “I couldn’t resist taking a look, but I didn’t touch it.”
She narrowed her gaze as she saw his expectant expression. “And now you want a piece,” she guessed.
His handsome mouth curved into a grin. “Ja.”
“I shouldn’t give you one.” She sighed dramatically, but she wasn’t really upset. She was pleased that he was eager to try it. “I may as well bring it into the kitchen. There’s no hiding it from your bruder now.”
Eli looked delighted. “Then I may have a piece now?”
Martha chuckled as she picked up the cake and carried it into the other room. “One. You may have one slice.” She grabbed a knife from among the utensils on the table. She sliced a piece, set it on a plate and gave it to him.
“Danki,” he whispered, beaming.
“Do I get one, too?” Noah eyed Eli’s cake plate with a hungry look.
“Ja, of course. Big piece or little?”
“Bigger than Eli’s.” He flashed Eli a grin and then watched eagerly as she served him a slice of cake. His warm brown eyes gleamed with appreciation as he cut a mouthful with his fork and raised it to his lips. “I love chocolate.”
Martha smiled. “I never would have guessed.”
Eli beamed at her. “We all do.”
“Ja,” Noah said as he raised a forkful to his mouth.
“Noah Jeremiah Lapp!” his wife scolded. Rachel winked as Noah stiffened before turning to her with a guilty look.
“Cake before dinner?” Rachel said with hands on her hips.
His expression warmed as he stepped closer. “It’s chocolate.”
Her brow cleared. “Ah, I didn’t realize. I certainly can’t have you missing out on a piece. After all, it may be all gone if you wait until after you’ve eaten a proper meal.”
She laughed when Noah blushed.
“It could be all gone,” Eli defended as he and Martha exchanged amused glances. He dipped his fork into the cake, brought it to his lips.
Martha couldn’t seem to take her eyes off him. “I should have brought two.” She covered the cake with the plastic lid. “Time to put it away before there’s none left.”
“Gut idea,” Rachel said after she and Martha had shared a smile. When Noah was finished, she grabbed hold of his arm. “We need to go outside.”
“Eli? Are you coming outside?” a young voice called into the house.
Eli smiled at Mary Peachey as the young woman entered the room. “Soon,” he told her. He didn’t leave immediately but continued to eat his cake. “That was delicious,” he declared after he’d eaten his last bite. Unlike Noah, who had rushed through his piece, Eli had savored every bite slowly.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” she said.
“I wouldn’t mind a second helping, but I won’t ask,” he added quickly when he saw her disapproval.
“Gut,” she replied, trying hard not to be persuaded by his little boy smile.
He shrugged. “I should go.” He paused to study her a long moment. “Danki for the cake.”
“You’re welcome.” She turned to search for Katie.
“Mam’s outside,” he said as if he’d read her mind.
Turning from his appreciative look, Martha refused to be charmed like the young girls who waited for him. She continued to feel his gaze on her as she crossed the yard to join Katie, Rachel and the other women who had gathered on the back lawn.
She knew the exact moment when he rejoined his friends. The girlish laughter that immediately came from the group at his arrival grated in her ears. Martha frowned. Why would she care who he spent his time with?
He took that moment to lock gazes with her. A small teasing smile played about his lips, making her heart race despite the fact that she didn’t want to notice or feel the slight hitch in her breathing.
“You can bring chocolate cake anytime,” he mouthed. A young girl drew his attention, and Martha looked away.
She had to admit that Eli was both handsome and kind, and if she’d been younger, never married and had never suffered a broken heart, she might have felt differently. Like the giggling girls across the yard, she might have welcomed the man’s attention. But she wasn’t young and she wasn’t looking for another husband or beau of any age.
Twice men had disappointed her. She wouldn’t allow one to disappoint her a third time. Especially a man like Elijah Lapp.
Chapter Four (#ulink_7d13800f-5db7-5f59-87f8-f6e7818e338a)
Martha enjoyed a pleasant visiting Sunday before heading home after the midday meal. It had been nice to see her friends. Watching the Lapps with their extended family, she’d felt the love and the joy that filled their lives.
She regretted not having a family of her own, one that she’d never have now that Ike was dead. There were times she’d wanted to see her parents and siblings, but they rarely ventured from Indiana and had come to visit only once, for her wedding. She had no intention of visiting her childhood home. There were memories there, hurtful memories. It was there that her sweetheart had asked her to marry him...before he’d changed his mind and chosen to leave their Amish life for the English world.
She loved her Happiness community. The people here had welcomed her with open arms from the first. They were always available for whatever she needed. She had made many friends, and her brother-in-law, Amos, his wife, Mae, and their children were her family. While she wished she could see her mam, dat, her bruder, Micah, and sister, Ruth, she knew that this was where she belonged. She had married Ike and made this community her home. Why would she want to leave? It had taken Ike some time to ask to court her and then become his bride. They had been seeing each other for months at community gatherings before he’d made his intentions known.
As she steered her horse onto her dirt driveway, Martha recalled how nervous Ike had been on the day he’d asked her to be his bride. Once news reached the church community that he finally had popped the question, no one had seemed surprised.
“Took him long enough,” Mae had said. “But don’t ya fret, Martha—Ike will be a gut husband. I know he thinks highly of you. He’s been working up the nerve to ask you.” The fact that Ike had discussed her with his family was unusual, as courting was done discreetly and never discussed outside the involved couple until it became serious when the banns were read in church.
Hearing news of the impending marriage, Annie had confided to Martha that she’d wondered what had taken him so long to propose. Everyone had noticed the way Ike had followed Martha with his gaze at community gatherings.
Before the wedding, gossip about Ike’s earlier interest in Annie had caused Martha moments of unease. Since Annie was her closest friend, Martha had gone to her for the truth.
“Ja, he asked to court me,” Annie had said, “but not because he cared for me. He simply assumed that I’d grab my last chance for a husband.” Her friend had eyed her with concern. “Martha, you’ve nothing to worry about. Ike didn’t love me. His wife had passed on just a short time before he moved back to Happiness. He never once looked at me the way he looks at you. I have to admit I did give marrying him some thought, but only because I was determined to steer clear of young attractive men like Jacob. I’d had my heart broken by Jedidiah, and I wasn’t looking to get hurt again. Jacob loved me, and I fell in love with him, too.”
“You were meant to be together,” Martha had agreed with a smile.
“I didn’t even have to tell Ike. His interest had turned elsewhere.” She’d regarded Martha with warmth. “He’d met you.”
The day of their wedding was the happiest day of her life. Their first seven months of marriage had been wonderful; she was in love with her new husband, who was kind and attentive. Later, after he’d become disappointed that she hadn’t conceived, Ike had changed. He no longer paid her much attention. He’d spent all of his time on farmwork and looking for new farm equipment. She’d been upset when the shiny new equipment had arrived, but she’d kept silent. She couldn’t have stopped him from making the purchase. He was in charge of the farm and she the house. If her husband could afford it, why shouldn’t he have the best tools?
The men were coming to her farm for the spring planting on Wednesday. They would have a chance to use Ike’s equipment then. She had food to prepare and the house to clean. Meg, Charlie and Nell Stoltzfus would arrive tomorrow morning to help her get ready for the workers.
As she’d exited her buggy and approached the house, she couldn’t help but notice, as she had many times, the repairs that were needed to the farmhouse. Despite her gentle requests to fix things, Ike had turned a blind eye to the problems. He had bought this farm with its large English farmhouse incomplete. It must have used a lot of her late husband’s money and time to finish the house enough to live in it. He had grown tired of working on it or had stopped caring about needed repairs.
