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“Ja.” Abram removed his hat, pushed his hair back, and then settled his wide-brimmed black-felt hat back on his head. “Could have been. One of Obadiah Fisher’s daughters out in Missouri—she got killed last summer when her horse ran away. Terrible thing for the family, and her just fifteen. Lucky for the new teacher you were there.”
The Zook family arrived at that moment, putting a temporary end to the topic of conversation. As he greeted “Horseshoe Joe” Zook’s wife, Miriam, Noah could feel Jedidiah watching him. He pretended not to notice, and soon Jedidiah’s attention turned to the middle Zook daughter, Annie.
Five families had come to visit. The men stayed outside while the women inside readied the midday meal. Moments of the men’s conversation intermingled with periods of silence, as the weather was good and there wasn’t a need for talking.
“The cousin was grateful,” Jedidiah said to Noah. “What does Charlotte think? Must have put a fright into her, seeing it.”
“Rachel is Charlotte’s first cousin. She’s glad I was there to help.”
Noah wondered how Rachel was getting along. She’d been here less than a week, and she must have feelings about their Happiness community.
“Charlotte is an understanding girl,” his brother persisted. “Good head on her shoulders. Make some man a mighty good wife.”
Noah glared at him, wondering where Jedidiah was headed with this conversation. “And why are you telling me? Charlotte and I have known each other a long time.”
“Ja,” Jedidiah said, “and well you should remember this.”
His older brother could be annoying at times, Noah thought. They were close in age—Jedidiah was only a year and a half older than he was. What was Jedidiah implying? That Charlotte was jealous? That he shouldn’t have saved Rachel because he and Charlotte were friends?
Noah shook his head. Sometimes Jedidiah made no sense.
“He did save her!” He suddenly heard Joshua shout from across the yard. “Ask him. Better you should ask cousin Rachel! Cousin Rachel!” the little boy called as he ran from the barn toward the house, followed closely by Jacob Peachy.
The boys rushed inside before Noah could stop either one of them. The last thing he needed was for Rachel to become embarrassed by all the attention—no matter how innocently it began.
“Cousin Rachel!” Joshua cried.
Noah cringed. All he did was stop a runaway buggy. Why couldn’t everyone just leave things be?
* * *
“...And the little Englisher was caught stealing a brownie from a pan cooling on Elisabeth Schrock’s windowsill,” Alta Hershberger was saying.
Miriam Zook’s eyes widened. “What did she do?”
Alta grinned. “She gave him a piece of her mind and then handed him another brownie.”
The women chuckled in response as they unwrapped the food they’d prepared previously.
“Abram’s children are growing fast, like weeds,” Mae commented as she sliced bread and arranged muffins. “Such a shame that those precious children have no mudder to guide them.”
“Abram’s doing the best he can, Mam,” Charlotte said.
“Ja, daughter. But the deacon can’t be all things to everyone. It’s hard when there are children to raise alone and a farm to run. It’s time he thought about marrying again.”
“I’m sure he will when he is ready,” Katie said gently. She unwrapped a plate and set it on the table. “A shame Sarah couldn’t come.”
“Ja,” Aunt Mae said. “I was sorry to hear David came down sick—”
Two young boys burst into the kitchen and stopped, the door slamming shut behind them. “Rachel! Cousin Rachel!”
“Son!” Aunt Mae scolded. “We walk, not run, into a room!”
Rachel grinned as Joshua searched the room and found her. “Little cousin, what’s wrong?” She tossed each boy an apple from a bowl on the counter.
“Jacob doesn’t believe that Noah saved you!” Joshua exclaimed before he took a big bite.
“Noah did save me, Jacob,” Rachel said, her breath catching at the mention of Noah’s name. “If he hadn’t stopped the horse, the buggy could have hit someone or something, and I could have been hurt or even killed.”
Jacob’s eyes went big as he listened to Rachel. “Noah saved her,” he said to Joshua. “And he kept Aaron Troyer’s horse from maybe breaking a leg and having to be shot.”
Joshua nodded vigorously, glad that his friend finally understood. “When are we going to eat?” he asked his sister, who’d been listening with amusement.
“Soon,” Charlotte said, handing each boy an apple-walnut muffin. “Go outside and be gut boys. We will call you when it is your time to eat.”
“Would you take this to the table?” Miriam asked.
Rachel nodded. She accepted the large bowl of potato salad and carried it into the front room, where she set it down on one of several makeshift tables that had been constructed for today’s visit. Her thoughts on Noah, she went to the window and peered outside. She couldn’t see him at first, and she started to turn away. Then his father moved and there he was, speaking with two men she hadn’t met. Noah nodded and then smiled at someone’s answer. He turned toward the house as he chatted, and his gaze locked with hers briefly through the glass. Rachel quickly retreated, embarrassed at being caught staring. She hurried back to the kitchen.
“The meal is ready,” Katie Lapp announced to the men outside.
The oldest men entered the house first. They sat down at a table, and then the younger men took their seats. The women had prepared the food earlier in the week. There was cold roast beef and chicken, potato salad, sweetened-and-vinegared green beans with bacon, frosted raisin bread, sweet-and-sour chow-chow, muffins, yeast rolls and coleslaw. There was an assortment of cakes and pies for dessert, including Charlotte’s shoofly pie and Rachel’s chocolate-cream pie.
The men ate without conversation, and when they were done, the women and children sat down to eat. Rachel enjoyed the meal, especially the sliced roast beef and potato salad with peas. Aunt Mae had made the green beans, and they were delicious.
Nancy took a second helping of her mother’s dish before tasting other foods. “Mam makes the best sauce for her beans,” she said.
Rachel smiled. “Everything is wonderful. Did you have some of Miriam’s chow-chow? Sweet and sour is my favorite.”
“Mine, too,” Charlotte replied as she lifted a forkful of the vegetables to her mouth. “Did you see Alta Hershberger’s vanilla pudding? Before the day is done, I’m going to have me a cup.”
“May I have some pudding with you?” A little girl stood at Charlotte’s side.
Charlotte’s expression softened. “I’ll call you when I’m ready to get some. I’ll scoop you a cup so we can eat it together.” The child looked pleased as she turned and ran back to sit with her sister and brothers. “That’s Ruth Peachy,” she told Rachel. “Abram’s youngest.”
Rachel eyed the youngest Peachy child as the little girl ate carefully, mimicking her older sister. “She’s too young for my classroom.”
Charlotte agreed. “She’s not yet four. She’s a pleasant girl. For some reason, she’s taken a liking to me.”
“The reason is simple,” Rachel said. “You’re as pure-hearted as she is, and you treat her nicely.”
“I like her.”
Rachel smiled. “I can tell you do.”
Suddenly, Rachel felt the back of her neck prickle. She turned, only to encounter Noah’s gaze.
Charlotte stood and approached him. “Can I get you something?”
Noah withdrew his gaze, turning his smiling attention to Charlotte. “Not unless you’re cutting the pies.”
Charlotte chuckled. “We’ll be serving them soon, Noah.” Her eyes twinkled. “You’re still hungry?” she teased.
“Only for pie or cake.”
“I’ll bring you a piece after we cut it,” she offered.
Noah shook his head. “I’ll be back to get it myself.” His eyes met Rachel’s briefly as he left as quickly as he’d come.
* * *
Everyone enjoyed the cakes, pies and other sweets provided by the women. Noah had come for his piece of Rachel’s chocolate-cream pie, as promised. He appeared to relish every bite before he was back for more. Rachel couldn’t help feeling pleased that he took so much pleasure from it. Charlotte and Ruth Peachy sat side by side with their bowls of vanilla pudding. It seemed the most natural thing when Charlotte reached over to wipe pudding off the little girl’s mouth when Ruth was done. Rachel ate a tiny slice of shoofly pie and then enjoyed a small taste of Miriam Zook’s butter coffee cake. Soon, with bellies full and the time growing late, families began to gather their leftovers and their youngsters to leave.
Later, only the Amos Kings and Rachel stayed behind to visit a little longer with the Samuel Lapps and to help Katie with the cleanup. As she collected dishes to bring to the kitchen, Rachel saw the older Lapp brothers begin to take apart the front-room tables. She had met all of Noah’s brothers this day. They were a fine bunch of young men and boys who teased each other while they worked together as a team. Hearing them reminded her of her own three brothers back home in Millersburg, and she got misty-eyed for a few seconds. There was at least one Lapp brother close in age to each of her brothers, Moses, David and Thomas, who were all younger than she. Today would be their day for Sunday visiting, too, and it did make her feel a little better to know that, in a way, things were the same here as back in Millersburg.
The kitchen was clean, and the food was put away in Katie’s refrigerator and pantry or in dishes ready for the Kings to take home. The men had gone outside to look at Samuel’s new milk cow. Katie, Aunt Mae, Rachel and her cousins sat on the front porch. Katie bounced her baby daughter on her knee. Little Hannah had been happy and smiling since she’d woken from her nap and eaten. She seemed content to sit on her mother’s lap and gaze at the other women.
Rachel studied the little girl and had the strongest urge to hold her. “May I?” she asked Hannah’s mother.
“Ja. Don’t be alarmed if she fusses,” Katie warned as she surrendered her baby into Rachel’s outstretched arms.
Baby Hannah cuddled against her without complaint. Rachel felt an overwhelming contentment as she rocked to and fro in the front-porch rocking chair, enjoying the warmth of the spring afternoon in the companionship of women she liked and respected.
Soon it was time for the Kings to return home. They didn’t have far to go, but it was getting late and there would be time for the family to enjoy the rest of the day reading, playing games or just resting in the comfort of their own home. Rachel stood and handed Hannah back to her mother. To everyone’s surprise, Hannah fussed a little before she settled down as Katie stood, rocking her against her shoulder.
“Good food and fine company,” Aunt Mae said. “A perfect Sunday visiting.”
Rachel and her cousins agreed. “Ja, and the weather is fine,” Nancy added. They went inside to gather their dishes and the leftovers given to them by their hostess.
“It’s been a gut day,” Rachel said as she prepared to descend the porch steps. There was no sign of the men yet, but she expected them to appear at any moment.
Katie smiled as she continued to pat her daughter’s back. “I enjoyed your company.” Her gaze shot past Rachel toward the barnyard. “You’ll come again soon. Don’t wait until next Sunday’s church services to see us.”
Rachel murmured agreement as she glanced back to see Samuel, her uncle Amos, Noah and three of his brothers as they stepped from the barn and started toward the house. She watched the men’s approach, trying not to look too much at Noah, but it was Noah who drew her attention. When she realized that he watched her, she felt her face warm and quickly glanced away.
With a dish in hand, she followed Charlotte as her cousin crossed the yard toward their buggy. Suddenly, Charlotte stopped and Rachel nearly bumped into her.
“Noah, would you like any of these cookies?” Charlotte asked. “Annie Zook made them.”
Rachel didn’t hear his response. She was trying desperately to move away, to give them time to visit alone. But as she hurried to turn, she tripped, and it was Noah who was suddenly there to steady her, his hand warm through her long dress sleeve.
Blushing, Rachel was saved from having a conversation with him when Aunt Mae appeared to urge them into the buggy. She could feel Noah’s gaze as she climbed inside. She didn’t glance back, but kept her eyes trained ahead.
Rachel hated that he had this strange effect on her. She had to avoid him as best she could without things appearing odd to anyone. Earlier in the day, several of the neighbor women had wondered aloud why Noah and Charlotte had not begun to court openly yet, but even if they were not official sweethearts, Rachel would not interfere. “It’s only a matter of time,” Miriam Zook had assured a small group of women when neither Katie nor Aunt Mae was present.
Since then, every time Rachel was affected by Noah’s presence, she felt a sense of betrayal toward her cousin, guilty about the way Noah made her feel. She knew what it felt like to be betrayed...and it was the worst thing she’d ever experienced.
Chapter Five
The day was warm, with a stiff breeze that tore at the garments Rachel and Charlotte were hanging to dry. Rachel secured cousin John’s overalls on the clothesline. Satisfied that the wooden clothespins would hold, she bent and lifted a wet mint-green shirt, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her face as she pinned it into place next to the overalls. The linen scent of detergent mingled with the aromas about the farm...the bright-red roses planted in the yard near the house...the smell of the family cow in a nearby pasture...the freshly tilled earth in the vegetable garden.
The wind tugged a dress from Charlotte’s hands and sent it flying across the yard toward her cousin. “Rachel!” she cried. “Get it!”
Rachel laughed as she quickly caught the damp garment before it hit the ground. “I almost missed it.”
“Gut catch,” her cousin said with a grin. She looked carefree and happy in a pale blue dress, white apron, and white prayer kapp.
Rachel returned her grin as she hung the dress. “These clothes won’t take long to dry in this weather.”
“Ja. It’s the perfect day for laundry,” Charlotte agreed as she reached into the basket for her sister’s black apron. “Dat and BJ are going to clean out the side room in the barn for this Sunday’s singing,” she continued, referring to her brother John, often called BJ, for Big John, when the family gathered. Little John was Sarah and Eli’s son—Charlotte’s nephew. “I think Dat is afraid if we stay in the house we’ll keep him up at night with our songs and fun.”
“It’s a gut space,” Rachel said. She grabbed a black prayer kapp and pinned it on the line. “How many will come?” The young people’s singing was an event held the evening of each church Sunday, usually at the same farm or home as the church services that morning. It was a time for young men and women of the community to intermingle for song and fun. Rachel had always enjoyed singings in her Millersburg community in Ohio.
Charlotte looked thoughtful as she continued to hang clothes. “There will be four of us—you, Nancy, BJ and me...the four oldest Lapp boys. The Zooks and Mary Hershberger...”
Noah will be coming, Rachel thought, a little disturbed to realize that she was pleased.
“And then there will be some young people from the next church district...I’m not certain how many.” Charlotte bent for a shirt and nearly collided with Rachel, whose thoughts had drifted. She laughed as she drew back quickly. “I don’t know. Fifteen or twenty?”
It would be a large gathering. “We’ll have a wonderful time,” Rachel said.
Charlotte grinned. “Ja. Lots of gut food, fine singing and wonderful company.”
The young women finished the chore and headed toward the house, their spirits high and their appearance disheveled from the wind that had loosed fine strands of hair from their pins.
“We’ve finished, Aunt Mae,” Rachel said as she entered the house. She reached up to attempt to fix her hair and then gave up, unsuccessful. “What else can I do to help?”
“You’ve done enough, Rachel. Why don’t you head toward the schuul to see how the construction is coming on the teacher’s cottage?”
“Ja,” Charlotte urged her. “You said you’d enjoy watching the work take place.”
Rachel nodded. “But surely there is more you’d like me to do first.”
“Nay,” Aunt Mae said. “Horseshoe Joe came by for Uncle Amos early this morning. They went over to Abram Peachy’s house. I told Amos that we’d come for him before supper.
“Your new haus is not far, and it’s a nice day for a walk. Just head up the lane and turn right. Be careful,” she warned, “of speeding cars along the narrow road.” She rolled her eyes. “Some of these Englishers drive like...”
Rachel nodded, pleased with the idea of visiting the cottage. “I will.” She knew her hair must look a sight. Should she head upstairs to put herself to rights first? The breeze would only pull her hair free...unless she put in extra pins.
She debated whether to fix her hair when Aunt Mae approached. “You can take these muffins for the workers. I’m sure they would enjoy something to eat about now.”
Charlotte came up from behind her mother and handed Rachel cups and a water jug. “The Lapp men will be thirsty as well.”
“Go along now, Rachel.” Aunt Mae didn’t see anything wrong with the way she looked, Rachel realized, so it must be all right for her to go just as she was. Besides it was wrong to worry about one’s looks. Vanity was a sin that she wouldn’t give in to.
With a brown paper bag filled with sweet muffins and cups in one hand and the jug of water in the other, Rachel started down the dirt lane that led through the King property toward the main road.
The sun felt wonderful, and Rachel tilted up her face to enjoy its warmth. A fly buzzed about her ear and, laughing, she swatted it away. The warm breeze held the scent of fresh-tilled earth and the honeysuckle that grew along one side of the lane. Rachel felt a deep sense of peace and contentment as she walked.
