The back screen door closed softly, and Rebecca turned to smile at her son. It had to be Lige, because any of the others would have let the door bang.
Mammi, cant we go yet? Daniel is counting on me to help.
In a few minutes, Lige. Ill be out as soon as Im ready.
He looked disappointed, but he didnt argue. Sometimes she almost wished he would. Instead, he slipped quietly out again.
A silence fell between her and Leah, making her wonder if Leah was thinking the same thing.
That Daniel, Leah said. The kinder are all crazy about him. Its a shame he doesnt have a passel of little ones of his own by this time.
Ive thought that, too, Rebecca admitted. I kept expecting to hear hed been married, but it didnt happen.
No. Leah shook her head. I hope he wasnt listening to that foolish talk that went around after Calebs first wife left him. Folks saying that history was repeating itself, and that the King men couldnt find happiness in marriage.
Thats not just foolish, its downright wrong. Just because of their mother, and then Calebs wife... Rebecca was too indignant to find the right words. Anyway, with Caleb happily married now, surely that shows they were wrong.
Yah, youd think so, wouldnt you? Leah dumped the dishwater and dried her hands. But its hard to know what Daniel is thinking sometimes. He took it awful hard when Aaron jumped the fence.
He would, Rebecca said, her heart aching for Daniels little brother, out there in the Englisch world somewhere. Daniel always felt responsible for Aaron, especially after their mother left. He...
Whatever she might have said was lost in the noise as a large truck came down the lane. Leah craned her neck to see out the window.
Its the moving truck, she exclaimed. Your things are here!
Together they hurried outside, and Rebecca felt her heart beat a little faster. Her belongingsthe furniture shed wanted to bring, Liges toys, her collection of quiltsthey were finally here. Now she could start to feel at home.
When they reached the rear of the truck, the driver was opening the door and letting down the ramp. Almost before hed finished, the rest of the family had arrivedher mother and father from the grossdaadi house, Sam and the older boys from the barn and the eldest girl from the chicken coop. She even spotted Daniel hastening down the lane toward them.
Mamm put her arm around Rebeccas waist. Now youll start to feel settled, aint so? Youre really home. Her eyes clouded over with tears, making Rebecca wonder how much Mamm had been worrying about her.
Ill need to sort things... she began, and Daad interrupted before she could head into the van.
All you have to do is say where each thing goes as we bring it off. Someone will carry it there. Daads voice didnt allow an argument.
But still she felt vaguely guilty, drawing them all away from the things theyd been doing.
Furniture in our basement for now, Leah said. Its all cleaned and ready. Just pick out what you want in the grossdaadi house. You wont want anything to go in your new place yet, aint so?
Rebecca shook her head. It would just be in Daniels way.
Thats right, Daniel said, tapping Liges straw hat. We men need to have room to work, aint so, Lige?
Her son nodded, his smile chasing any tension from his face.
The next few minutes were a scramble, as things started coming out of the van so fast that it was all she could do to keep up. Lige showed a tendency to want to open boxes to see what was inside, until Daniel showed him how they were marked.
Sam marshaled his young ones into a line. He picked up each item in turn, checked with Rebecca what she wanted done with it and then gave it to one of the kinder to hurry off with. Daniel came out balancing several large boxes and headed for her.
My quilts! Her heart seemed to lurch with excitement. There they were, all packed up, the things that would allow her to support herself and her son.
Daniels grin said he understood, at least a little, what this meant to her. Should we toss these in the chicken coop? he said, teasing her the way hed teased the girl she used to be.
Into my sewing room, Leah said firmly. I dont need the space just now, and theyll be handy for you there.
Joshua, Leahs eldest, seized the boxes from Daniel. Ive got it, Mammi. He strode toward the back door, Lige scurrying ahead to hold the door open for him.
Theyd left Rebecca nothing to do but watch as the van emptied and Leah produced coffee and crullers for the driver. I hate to put everyone to so much trouble, Rebecca murmured. I shouldnt...
Ach, dont be foolish. Daniel gave her a friendly nudge. Look at them. See how happy they are? It would be wrong to take away their joy in doing something for you.
All of her arguments about standing on her own feet and taking care of herself and her son seemed useless against Daniels perceptive comment. She glanced at him. He was right, and his smile said he knew it.
Maybe she should argue, but she was too happy just now to care.
Chapter Three
Rebecca walked into the shop the next morning to hear the sound of a saw. Obviously, Daniel was already at work, and that gave a boost to her already-optimistic frame of mind. She hadnt realized how much it would mean to have her own belongings here with her and Lige.
Maybe every mother had these strong instincts to create a nest for her family. With their own things surrounding them, she and Lige could feel at home. And how much better it would be when this place was finished. She looked around the kitchen, seeing it not as it was, but as it would be, with the gas appliances, the pie cabinet shed inherited from her grandmother, her dishes on the shelves and pots of herbs growing on the windowsills.
But there was work to be done, and dreaming wouldnt get it accomplished. Rebecca headed into the front room.
Daniel looked up from the sawhorses with a warm smile. Youre here, but where is my helper?
Hell be along in a minute. Hes been begging to be allowed to bring the mail from the box, so I said he could today. She could see him now through the front window, skirting along the edge of the road toward the box.
Lige will be fine, Daniel said, apparently reading her thoughts. Hes growing a little every day. Like you did at that age. He grinned. That was when you started wearing your braids pinned up under your kapp, remember?
I remember thinking it was a gut idea, because then you and the other boys couldnt pull my braids, she said with mock tartness. You were a bunch of little monsters at that age.
Were not, he said quickly, just as he would have all those years ago. Then he turned back to his work, measuring a board hed laid out. Funny thing, he said.
Whats funny? She bent to pick up the pencil hed dropped just as he reached for it.
Im just thinking that with gut friends, you can pick up just where you left off, no matter how many years its been in between.
Rebecca was speechless for a moment. Sometimes it seemed she was looking at Daniel with new eyes, seeing things she hadnt noticed before. Yah, thats true, I think. When did you get so wise? You didnt show any signs of that when you were little.
Rebecca was speechless for a moment. Sometimes it seemed she was looking at Daniel with new eyes, seeing things she hadnt noticed before. Yah, thats true, I think. When did you get so wise? You didnt show any signs of that when you were little.
What kid does? he asked. It takes a bit of living to find some qualities in yourself. And maybe some folks never find them.
Could he be right? If so, then she might have had the seeds within her the whole time to bear the burden of Jamess injury and the effect it had had on their marriage. It wasnt anything shed ever expected.
She shook herself out of her momentary absorption, not wanting Daniel to think hed made her sorrowful. I certain sure never showed much sign of wisdom myself. Like the time I tried to prove that I could climb higher in the willow tree than Sam, and got stuck there. And all Sam could do was stand there and say hed told me not to do it.
Sam was the one who wasnt smart, he said, grinning. We knew how strong-willed you were. Telling you not to was the surest way to get you to do it.
I can still remember how small he was when I looked down at him from above. It would have been a triumph if I hadnt outsmarted myself by going too far to get down.
You did get back to the ground, though. And you managed it without falling on your head. He marked the board with care.
Only because you talked me through it, climbing up to me and showing me exactly where to put my hands and feet so I could get safely down.
That was my strength, he said, his grin smug. I could talk you into things. Did I ever tell you I was scared stiff you were going to fall and Onkel Zeb would blame me? I had a lot to lose if I didnt get you down.
I should have known there was something in it for you. Just like the day you talked me into sneaking one of Mammis cherry pies. Ill never forget how you looked when Mammi caught us with cherry all over our faces.
They were both laughing at the image when Lige came in, the mail clutched against his chest with both hands. He looked from one to the other, his eyes wide. Most likely, he didnt expect grown-ups to behave that way.
Rebecca swallowed her laughter. Ach, Lige must think were crazy. She smiled at her son. Its a funny story about something we did when we were little. Ill tell you about it later, she said. You can go ahead and run the mail to Aunt Leah, and then come back and help.
There is one for you, Mammi. Lige extracted it carefully from the bunch. Im delivering it first. Now Ill take the rest, and then Ill come back and help Daniel, yah?
She had to smile at his solemn attitude toward his new responsibilities. Sehr gut. Denke, Lige.
With a quick smile for Daniel, he hurried off with the mail, his shoulders squared with responsibility.
When hed gone, Rebecca turned her attention to the envelope in her hand. It was from John, Jamess brother, so it must mean that hed sent the amount of his first monthly payment. Relief washed through her. Thank the good Lord it was here. Shed been running low on cash, and she wouldnt feel right asking her parents for help. Theyd done enough for her already.
Ripping it open, she looked for the pale blue check that was sure to be enclosed. But it wasnt. There was just a letter from John, brief and to the point. He couldnt pay her now. No excuses, no reason. Just a short statement.
She stared at the page, her body rigid while her mind raced. What was she going to do? How could John do this to them?
* * *
Daniel, watching her, saw the color drain from Rebeccas face as she stared at the letter shed received. His stomach clenched into a knot. She looked worse now than she had on the first day after shed come back.
He dropped the tape measure. Rebecca, was ist letz? Is it bad news you got?
As if suddenly aware of his presence, Rebecca spun away from him, turning her back. Shutting him out. He had a brief flare of totally inappropriate anger.
Her hand, still holding the paper, was trembling, and sympathy washed away the anger in an instant.
I can see its bad news. He kept his voice gentle. Wont you tell me what it is?
Its...its nothing, she said, but her voice and her body gave the lie to the words.
Its something, he said, propelled by the need to help close the distance between them, but not quite daring to touch her. Trouble shared is trouble halved, aint so?
Rebecca turned to face him. For an instant, he thought shed burst out with it, but then he saw that her lips were folded tightly together.
His jaw tightened in response as he took in that refusal. Remember what I was saying about friendship never changing? It looks as if I was wrong, yah?
For an instant, she glared at him, and he thought she was going to walk out. Then she sucked in a deep breath. I...Im sorry if it seemed that way. This affects you, so I guess youll have to know anyway.
He wanted to reach out and touch her, but instinct told him it wouldnt be welcome. Instead, he waited, sure now that shed tell him, whatever it was.
Rebecca gave a sidelong look at the letter, almost as if she needed to avoid it. The note is from my brother-in-law, John. The one who is buying the farm in Ohio from me.
She seemed to have difficulty getting the words out, and he tried to help her along. Yah, I know. You mentioned that youd used his down payment to buy this house.
I did. And his monthly payments were intended to cover the costs of remodeling and getting my business started. The first one should have come by today. The hand holding the letter trembled again before she saw and seemed to force it to steady. But he says he cant make the payment this month. Hell send it later.
Daniel frowned, trying to make sense of it. But...does he say why?
No. No explanation. But then, Johns not one to explain himself. She rubbed her arms, almost as if she was cold.
He was beginning to form a picture in his mind of the brother-in-law, and it wasnt a very complimentary one. What was the man about, to fail in his duty to his dead brothers widow and child?
Did you have a written contract with him? It wasnt his business, but he hoped now that she was talking, shed keep going.
Yah. I maybe wouldnt have thought of it, but Daad was there at the time, and he insisted a written contract was proper. I think Jamess family was a little offended by his attitude, but Daadi wouldnt let it go. She might have seen his surprise that shed even let her father handle the negotiations, because she made a small movement with her hands, as if pushing something away. Daad and Mammi gave us money to help buy the farm to begin with, so it only seemed right for him to have a say in what happened.
Thank the good Lord that Josiah had such a businesslike attitude toward it. Folks didnt usually get the better of a hardheaded Pennsylvania Dutchman easily.
Seems like it was smart you listened to him. At least you have it in writing. He hesitated and then said what was in his mind. Maybe you should remind John of that contract he signed. He was probably going too far, but Rebecca seemed to need bolstering up where her in-laws were concerned.
He wasnt sure she took in what he said, but finally she shook her head. No. Theres nothing I can do. I dont want to start a hassle with Jamess family.