“Ya, it is Otto’s haus. He bought it as a rental a few days ago, but it could be our home once it’s fixed up, if you’d let it be.”
“What do you mean, our home? I thought—”
Isaac took her arm and pulled her close. “I feel different now. I’m all for us getting married, starting a family here in Pinecraft...if that’s something you could live with.”
He tried to hold her gaze, but she looked away, hiding her true feelings from him. “You lied to back me up, to protect me from my mamm’s plans for a loveless marriage. You had no interest in a wife. I remember you saying you couldn’t afford one because the shop wasn’t doing that well.” She looked up at him, her gaze somber and searching.
“Ya, I did say that, but only at first. Before I...” Isaac knew now was the time to declare his love, but the tender words scrambled in his mind and wouldn’t come off his tongue. How did a man tell a woman that she meant more to him than the very breath he drew and then confess himself to be a murderer?
“Before what? You can’t be talking about love.”
He drew air into his lungs and began to speak, praying his words were the right ones to convince her how much she meant to him. “I wanted to tell you for weeks that my feelings have changed, but there was so little time. There’s so much you don’t know about me, about my past.”
Molly’s brown eyes blinked back glistening tears, her chin trembling. “But you never said the words I love you.”
Isaac’s shoulders slumped, the weight of his own stupidity oppressing him. He looked down at the dirty floor underfoot. What must she think, listening to my ramblings? “I do love you and would have told you sooner, but I thought if I told you the truth about my past, you wouldn’t want me in your life. I behaved like the coward I am.”
“You’re no coward, Isaac. You’re the man I love. Please tell me about your past. All of it.”
Isaac’s lips brushed hers in a gentle kiss and then his words came fast, his deep voice quivering with emotions he’d held back for too long. “Like here in Pinecraft, the teens from Amish and Mennonite churches back home get together and play volleyball on Saturday afternoons in the summertime. A few months ago my friend Thomas twisted his ankle while playing, and since we lived close to each other, I offered to drive him the two miles to his daed’s farm.”
With a trembling hand, Isaac rubbed away a tear rolling down his cheek. “I’d driven his old truck before, but never on the country roads.” His gaze caught hers, and he almost smiled. “You know how farm boys behave. We’d take turns driving around the freshly plowed fields like young fools.”
Molly nodded, her eyes searching his.
“It had gotten dark, and Thomas was lying in the back of the truck so he wouldn’t hurt his ankle.” Pools of tears filled Isaac’s eyes, making them red. “We were almost to his home when the accident happened.” Big tears rolled down his cheeks, one after another.
He took Molly’s hands and squeezed hard. “I tried to get out of the way of the other vehicle. I fought the wheel, but the lights kept coming straight at us.”
He stopped talking, as if his mind were exploding with memories. A sob escaped his lips. “I must have been knocked out. When I came to, Thomas lay on the ground near me, but I couldn’t go to him.” He slapped his thigh. “My leg was a mess, but I called out to him. Begged him to be all right.” He gulped in air, his breathing fast and hard. “It only took a few minutes for the Englischer police officer to show up, but it seemed forever. I must have passed out again because when I woke up I saw Thomas’s body being placed on a stretcher.”
Isaac stared into his memories, his eyes glassy. “I knew he was dead. He wasn’t moving, and there was blood all over.” He took in a deep breath. “Later at the hospital, the police told me the accident wasn’t my fault. That the drunk driver of the other vehicle was to blame, but I knew better. I killed Thomas that day. I was driving the truck. It was my lack of experience that killed him. My daed wouldn’t let me confess to the police. He said we Amish care for our own, but I wanted to tell the truth, take the blame for what I had done, no matter what the Englischer police would do to me.” Deeps sobs escaped Isaac as she gathered him in her arms and cried with him in pain and regret.
Chapter Eighteen
The next day Liesel Troyer, Molly’s friend, yelled from the sidelines of the shuffleboard court. “Knock her out of there!”
Molly bent, estimated wind and distance, eyed the round yellow disk and then propelled her puck down the court. It hit Rose’s disk with a loud whack, sending it flying to the side.
Too competitive for her own good, Molly held her breath as she continued to watch the trajectory of the disk. It slowed to a crawl and then came to a stop exactly where she’d planned. I’ve won!
Rose sprang off the bench and good-naturedly hugged Molly’s neck, her loose, Englischer styled hair blowing in the wind as they congratulated each other on the entertaining game of shuffleboard.
“I’m so glad you came to Pinecraft,” Molly said with a grin, taking in Rose’s sweet smile, the sparkle in her dark green eyes. At first she’d dreaded meeting Rose, but she’d been wrong to worry. The dark-haired girl, who looked so much like Isaac, turned out to be a charmer, high-spirited, with a winning personality everyone seemed to love. Molly felt sure Rose would grow into a sister and not an enemy as she feared.
“Me, too,” Rose shouted over the noise of the shuffleboard players, her smile as genuine as a child’s.
Molly searched for Isaac in the sea of faces around them and found him nodding, deep in conversation with Otto and Mose Fischer, at a domino table. She grinned, his words of love the day before still ringing in her ears, warming her heart. She was still reeling from his painful story of Thomas’s death. No wonder Isaac had seemed so miserable when he’d first arrived in Pinecraft. His guilt had been eating at him, destroying his sanity. She smiled again as he looked up and caught her watching him. Her love for him grew stronger with each passing hour.
“You think we should disturb them?” Molly asked, sliding her arm through Rose’s as they pushed their way through the crowd of Amish and Mennonite vacationers.
“Absolutely. I’m starving,” Rose said, and took the lead. “Excuse me. Pardon,” she muttered as she buffeted people, her smile never fading.
Otto rose and motioned them over, his disapproving gaze flicking over Rose’s jeans and frilly blouse of bright red fabric. “So this is your sister, Rose,” he said to Isaac.
Rose put out her hand, her smile widening, displaying perfect white teeth.
Otto took the hand she offered and returned her smile. “Hello, Rose,” he said and turned to Mose. “This is my son, Mose. He’s our local furniture builder and church elder.”
Mose shook the young woman’s hand, his expression friendly, “Willkumm to Pinecraft. Isaac tells me you’ve just started your rumspringa.”
Rose laughed. “Ya. I thought I’d visit my brother before going back home and coming to terms with my faith.”
“If we can give you any assistance in making your decision, come and see me and Sarah. Isaac knows our address,” Mose offered.
“We thought we’d go get something to eat. I’m starving.” Rose pulled on Isaac’s arm, urging him out of his chair.
“Rose is always hungry. She has my appetite.” Isaac smiled at his sister, who grimaced at him but didn’t deny his accusation.
Mose rose. “Why don’t all of you come back to the house with Molly? Marta and Kurt, my brother and sister-in-law, are in town, helping out with the babies now that Sarah’s finally home. Marta made a huge pot of chicken and dumplings this morning and chocolate whoopie pies were cooling on racks when I left. I’m sure there’s more than enough for everyone. Besides, Sarah will want the chance to show off the bobbels.”
* * *
Molly watch
ed Theda Fischer’s shoulders sway as she comforted her whimpering grossdochder with a gentle back rub, her blue-eyed gaze on the sleeping twin who lay tightly swaddled in a blue blanket a few feet away in his tiny cot. She tucked in the little girl’s pink arm and adjusted the baby’s blanket before she turned to her son, Mose, who sat next to her. “It makes me to wonder if the New Year will be rung in long before these bobbels get a name.”
Sarah and Mose exchanged a knowing glance across the table. “We have named them, but only this morning,” Sarah admitted. “They are to be Wilhelm and Rebecca, or Willie and Becka, as Beatrice called them before she left for Ulla’s haus.” Sarah grinned at Theda’s joyous expression. “Beatrice says Gott spoke to her in a dream about the names, but I think this time she just wanted to honor her great-grossmammi and great-grossdaadi, as Mose did when he named Beatrice after Ulla’s mother.”
Theda grinned. “My mamm and daed would have been so pleased. They were good people, full of Gott’s love. To name the bobbels after them is such a special blessing. Danke, both of you.”
“It is our pleasure, Mamm. Sarah loves you as much as I do and was happy to honor your parents. You are the mamm Sarah never had and for that I am grateful.”
Molly ate the last bite of her chicken and dumplings, contentment putting a perpetual smile on her face. She had a future with Isaac and had accepted his love. Nothing, not even the death of Thomas, could spoil her joy.
Her gaze drifted across the table to where Isaac sat in a chair next to Rose. He reached over and patted his sister’s hand as he said, “It’s been such a pleasure eating with this wonderful family. I’ve missed these kind of meals, where love is shared in abundance.”
Rose turned to Isaac and added, “Like our meals at home. I’ve missed Mamm and Daed. It’s been a week since I’ve seen them.”
Otto laid down his napkin and cleared his voice with the authority of a judge. “Perhaps it is time to consider your options, Rose. Is the Englischer life for you, or will you be baptized and become a part of your community?”
Rose grinned and said, “You’ll be glad to know I’ve decided to go home and join the church.”
* * *
An hour later Sarah was feeding tiny Rebecca. “This child is never full.” Sarah laughed, her finger trailing down her newest daughter’s rosy cheek. The child turned toward its mother’s finger and tried to suckle.
“Her hair is darker than Levi’s, almost a honey color,” Rose commented, her arms filled with baby Wilhelm, who was twice the size of his diminutive sister.
Molly sat in a chair by the window, enjoying the evening breeze and the close family interaction, but her mind soon wandered to Christmas next year. Would she be the one holding a bobbel, a child with her brown eyes and Isaac’s good looks and dark hair?
“You’re very far away, Molly. Something bothering you, or is it the wedding coming up in a matter of days?” Sarah bent to change Rebecca’s mini-sized diaper.
Twisting, Molly faced her mentor and friend. “Nee. I wasn’t thinking about the wedding, although I must, and soon. Time is flying.”
Sarah placed her freshly diapered daughter into Theda’s eager arms and strolled over to her bedroom closet, motioning with her finger for Molly to follow her. “Come with me. I have something to show you.” She smiled, revealing a mischievous side to Sarah that Molly hadn’t seen before. The mother of five turned on the light in a deep closet big enough to be a bedroom and went directly to a large plastic bag hanging among simple Amish dresses in every shade of the rainbow.
Sarah pulled off the protective plastic bag. A shimmery kapp, delicately fashioned out of the finest woven linen and lined with satin threads hung from a padded hanger. Behind it another hanger held a pale pink dress of polished cotton, the cut simple but beautifully stitched.
“Oh, Sarah. What a beautiful dress. Is this what you’re wearing for Christmas?” Molly fingered the soft fabric of the skirt, touched the tiny flowers embroidered along the neckline.
Sarah tucked her arm around Molly’s waist and smiled down at her, the dress held high off the floor. “Nee, silly goose. This dress is for your wedding day.”
“Mein dress?” Overwhelmed with joy, Molly took the garment and pressed it to her chest. “Oh, look. It’s the correct length. How did you guess so perfectly?”
Sarah laughed. “I didn’t guess. I snuck one of your dresses out of your closet and took measurements for the ladies in the sewing circle who made the dress in just two days. It should fit perfectly.”
“Ya, it should.” Molly grinned at herself in the mirror, her surprise showing in her expression. “But how did you know for sure Isaac and I would marry? I wasn’t sure myself.”
“I had a feeling,” Sarah said, smiling.
Molly smiled back. “Gott must approve of this marriage. He has been so faithful and made a way for all this to happen.”
Sarah nodded. “Mose told me Otto has found a haus for you two. That should relieve your mind some.”
“It did. We’ll be renting the fixer-upper. Gott bless Otto Fischer. He’s always there for me when I need him, just like Mose. The house will become a wonderful home once the work is completed.” Molly worried her kapp ribbons, her mind revisiting the abandoned house, the long list of repairs that needed doing. Would it be ready in time?
“I heard the men talking around the table earlier this morning. Seems Isaac hired a man to work a full week at the bike shop, so he’s free to gut the bathroom and kitchen. Mose and Otto will be putting in all new fixtures, a new sink and counters in the kitchen. Several men from the church will be painting once the dust settles. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. I can’t wait to see the house so I can make drapes for you and maybe a quilt for the new bed.”
Theda slipped into the clothes-filled room, Rebecca asleep in her arms. “Oh, Sarah. You and the ladies have outdone yourselves. That dress came out beautiful!”
Rose quickly followed Theda in and caught her breath as she viewed the dress and kapp up close. “Molly, what a lucky girl you are. I am so impressed. You’ll make such a beautiful bride. My brother will fall over his own big feet when he sees you in this.”
Molly erupted into giggles, picturing Isaac saying his vows from the floor at her feet. “He may be a bit of a klutz, but he’s a wonderful klutz and I love him more than I can say.”
Chapter Nineteen
The Florida sun blazed outside, the December day perfect for a wedding.
Sarah’s large bedroom was full of women, some ready to assist Molly as she dressed, while others seemed content to sit around, laughing aloud at the silly things Rose was sharing about Isaac as a boy.
“I kid you not, Molly. Isaac was impossible to live with between the ages of ten and fourteen. He was constantly in trouble with Daed, either for stealing the buggy and taking all his friends on joyrides, or coming home late and missing his ten o’clock curfew.”
Molly smiled at the picture Rose painted. She would have loved to have known the rambunctious, mischievous Isaac, the man he’d been before Thomas’s tragic death. Gott willing, he’d return to that same happy man with time and healing.
She was glad to see Rose had changed out of the jeans and a comical kitten T-shirt she’d worn at breakfast, into a plain dress in pale yellow, fit for an Amish wedding. She still wore no kapp. Her shiny dark hair curled around her shoulders, free from the traditional constraints of the bun most Amish women wore.
Otto would throw a fit when he saw her, but Molly knew nothing would be said in public. The wise old man understood rumspringa sometimes sent youngies into a spin, their decision to join the church, or not, often stymied their decision making for months, sometimes years. Rose was settling down, and once she was back in Missouri Molly felt sure Rose would join the church and find her way her way back to her Amish roots.
; Her heart beat fast in her ears as Sarah breezed out of the closet and brought out the wedding dress. A hush fell over the room and then a united clap of hands broke out as the beautifully made dress was lifted over Molly’s head and slid into place.
* * *
Two hours later, Molly stepped over the threshold of her and Isaac’s new home. She laughed when she saw the banner over the fireplace that read ISAAC AND MOLLY GRABER.
“Did you know about this?” she asked her new husband, her gaze flitting around the perfect room. A traditional vase of flowering celery stalks decorated the beautiful dining room table in the alcove.
“I had no idea, but you know my sister was probably the ringleader of all this hoopla,” Isaac said with a grin.
“Your sister does have a flair for the dramatic,” Molly said with a laugh, sitting on the plush tan couch, another piece of furniture she’d never seen before. “Where did all this furniture come from? I thought we’d be sitting on crates and saving every penny we could spare for furniture.”
“Nee. Otto wouldn’t hear of you doing without. He and Theda made it happen. So many people from the community donated to our cause and kept it a secret. Even Willa Mae.”
“Willa Mae kept a secret? I’m shocked. She’s usually the first to spill the beans. She never said a word all week. Wait till I see her.” Molly laughed good-naturedly and hugged Isaac close. She took in all the changes to the kitchen behind them. “You’ve been busy in there. Look at this place. It’s much too fancy for us. Granite countertops?”
Minutes later, hand in hand, Isaac trailed behind Molly as she made her way to the back of the house. “Oh, look. We do have a bathroom, and a wonderful one at that.” The new white sink, toilet and tub sparkled in the filtered sunlight shining in through an oblong window over the tub.
The Amish Midwife's Courtship and Plain Truth Page 17
