The Amish Marriage Bargain (Love Inspired)

by Marie E. Bast

  * * *

  Thad’s gut wrenched as he gazed out over his farm. Nein. His and May’s farm, and it was barely breaking even now. This would be devastating, but he couldn’t let May know just how bad it really was for them. If he lost her family’s farm, she’d never forgive him. It had been one of the stipulations in their marriage bargain. Jah, they were getting along better, but was their relationship gut enough to withstand a catastrophe like this? The farm meant everything to May. He swallowed against the glumness.

  He opened the barn door and made his way to the milking room. Doing a careful walk-through, he surveyed the whole area. Aside from the roof being gone, he didn’t observe any other damage inside of the barn. First thing tomorrow, he’d see if he could get a tarp put over the rafters until he could make arrangements to replace the roof. The barn had numerous floor drains, but nonetheless, he had to stop the rain and other elements from entering and doing any further damage.

  When the rain finally let up, he dashed over to the shed and cut several pieces of plywood for the haus windows. He carried them to the haus and May helped him nail the pieces in place.

  When that was finished, he and May helped Josie sweep all the glass off the floor and clean up the mess in the kitchen.

  Thad glanced at the clock. Midnight. “Let’s go to bed. We’ll need our rest for tomorrow.”

  The next morning, Thad quickly ate his breakfast. He kept glancing outside as dawn began to light the barnyard.

  “More pancakes, Thad?” May asked.

  “Nein, I need to get out and assess the damage in the daylight to determine how much to request on a loan. Looking down the road, there is a lot of damage to neighboring farms. I need to get our application in before the Amish lender runs out of money.”

  “Josie, will you watch Leah while I go out and help Thad?”

  “Of course, May. I’m here...to help.”

  Thad grabbed a tablet and pencil. They stepped into their boots by the door and walked out into the field.

  He opened the tablet and handed it to May. “Your handwriting is better. I’ll let you write it down.” He walked down a field row and May followed. “Last night, I’d hoped that we could save a few pumpkins and squash but this is a total loss for sure. The storm uprooted the vines and smashed the pumpkins and squash back on the ground. Some even looked like they had exploded.”

  Next he checked each field, all the livestock, and did a thorough assessment of the buildings.

  Thad gazed out over the barnyard. “I’ll have the youngies clean all this up. Let’s go check the barn.” He glanced over at May. Her face told him how hurt she was to see all the damage. “We’ll get it fixed, May, don’t worry.” He wrapped an arm around her, and she leaned into him for support.

  “Last night you sounded like the loan repayment would probably stretch us beyond what we could afford,” she said.

  “We’ll talk to the lender and see what we can work out. Don’t worry just yet.” But her face told him she didn’t believe that.

  He opened the barn door, and she went in first. The stanchions and stalls all looked intact. The flooring and walls of the barn were unharmed. Thad told her what needed marked down that he thought needed repair. He wanted to make sure to request a loan that would cover all the repair costs.

  After their evaluation of the farm, he went to his desk and tallied up the damages. His estimate ran in the thousands of dollars. Money he didn’t have and wouldn’t for a long time. He had to decide if he wanted to go with the traditional shingle roof on the barn or change to a steel roof. If he wanted to go cheaper, he could go to aluminum. But the haus definitely needed shingling, too. The roofs alone would probably run over $100,000.

  He stood up and paced the floor behind his desk, running his hands through his hair. He finally looked up and saw May standing in his office doorway.

  “Thad, how does it look?”

  He swiped his hand down his beard. “I’m worried about borrowing all this money and getting it repaid, but there’s no choice.”

  May took a step forward. “I know, but I have an idea on how to get the money and pay off the debt.”

  “My first priority is to get the loan papers filled out and sent in. You can tell me about your rug business or whatever after that. The loan is the best way to get this much money.” He patted her arm and smiled.

  Chapter Twelve

  May’s gaze swept over Thad’s face. The second day after the storm, and he looked tired after a stressful day of filling out forms to borrow money.

  “Now that the loan papers have been sent, would it be possible to get a cup of coffee while I listen to your plan to get money or make money? I have a feeling this might be a long talk.”

  “Of course. Let’s go sit at the kitchen table.” She poured two cups, set them on the table and sat in the chair next to his. “Before you left for the last dairy association meeting, you said they wanted to start dumping milk and they were going to take a vote. In all the commotion since the storm, I forgot to ask, did the vote pass?”

  “Yes. They want to start dumping milk.”

  May pressed her back against the chair. “We can’t afford to waste milk like that. So I’ve been thinking...”

  “What about?” His voice sounded tired.

  She laid her hand on his arm, then quickly pulled it away. Her cheeks burned at her familiar gesture. She gulped a breath. “Elmer showed Josie and me all around his cheese factory. He said they ship all over the world and that his business was doing gut.”

  “So why are you telling me this?”

  “I think we should make cheese instead of pouring the milk on the ground. We could even make ice cream.”

  Thad leaned back in his chair. “I don’t have the time or the money to make cheese in addition to farming. And it would cost a fortune to set it up. Not to mention, I don’t know a thing about cheese. Elmer sells a lot, but he makes all kinds of fancy artisan cheese and sells it to the tourists, the Englisch.”

  “But listen...”

  He held up a hand. “Honig, I don’t have the money to start up a cheese factory, and especially now after the storm.”

  “But I do.”

  He straightened his back. “Where did you get that kind of money?”

  “I’ve worked all my life selling rugs, quilts, doilies and baked goods. I’ve operated a vegetable stand and saved all my money. I have always lived here, and Daed or you have always supported me. I have over $100,000 saved.”

  Thad gasped. “I can’t believe it. But even if you have the money, we don’t know a thing about making cheese or starting a factory.”

  May laid a hand over his hand. “We can learn. Let’s at least check into it.”

  She noticed his gaze drop to her hand on his. His voice shook. “I don’t have time to learn how to start a cheese factory and then run it, while keeping the farm going.”

  “Why don’t we hire more youngies? And I’ll help, too. Maybe I’ll run the cheese factory.”

  “You know what the bishop thinks about women working outside the home.” He gave her a serious look.

  “Jah, but we have to make money soon or we’ll lose the farm. Our fall crop is gone, we have lost almost half our herd of cows and we have to borrow money with interest. We have to have some way to get back on our feet. It doesn’t have to be a big factory like Elmer’s. I can make cheese and sell it at my vegetable stand. I will have to start small anyway while I’m learning.”

  He leaned over and gave her a sweet kiss on the lips. “May, you are one gutsy lady.”

  Heat rose from her neck onto her cheeks and burned her ears. Her voice nearly stuck in her throat. “I’ll take that compliment as a yes.”

  “What is a yes?” Gretchen asked as she opened the screen door and entered, followed by Aaron, Thad’s daed.

  May tried to stare Thad into si
lence.

  “Mamm, we are thinking of starting a cheese factory.” Thad’s words seemed to suggest he was aiming to shock more than inform. “Elmer is very successful at his cheese business.”

  “Indeed he is. He is a cheese artisan. You are not. You are a farmer.”

  “He farms, too.”

  “He doesn’t farm the land. He only has his milk cows,” Gretchen huffed. “You’d have to build the factory from scratch.”

  “We know that.”

  “I wouldn’t be surprised if this was May’s idea.”

  “It is our idea to try to save the farm. We can’t keep selling cheap milk or dumping it on the ground because we have no buyers. Cheese can be packaged and sold all over the world.”

  “You’ll lose the shirt off your back if you waste your money on starting a factory. And who will do all that work?” Gretchen jabbed her fists on her hips. “It’s a crazy idea. You are foolish to sink your money into such a business.”

  Aaron pulled his frau toward the door. “Gretchen, it is their business, not ours.”

  “Thad is not sinking a dime into this business. I am.” May let the truth slip out, then was angry with herself for letting Gretchen provoke her into saying it. “The money is mine, and don’t forget this farm has been in my family for 170 years. Thad inherited it from my sister. The farm isn’t making enough right now to pay all the bills and support us.”

  “Apparently it does if you have enough money saved to sink into a cheese business,” Gretchen hissed.

  Thad placed a firm hand on May’s shoulder. “Nein. Mamm, danki for the advice, and we will take it under consideration.”

  Aaron pushed Gretchen out the door, then turned back. “I’m sorry about that, sohn.”

  Thad patted May’s arm. “Mamm is not an adventurer when it comes to money. She still has a coffee can on her kitchen counter filled with money saved up for a winter coat for me when I was a bu.”

  May raised a brow. “So you didn’t get a new coat?”

  “She decided to save the money and sewed those little knit cuffs on the end of the sleeves of my old coat. I was growing up, not out, so it still fit just a little short. The cuffs did the trick, and she’s been patting herself on the back for her thriftiness ever since.”

  “When winter comes, I’m going to check the sleeves on your coat and see if you need a new one.”

  He laughed. “Jah, I believe you will. Don’t let Mamm get you down. She grew up in a family where they didn’t have much money, and every penny was saved and not spent frivolously.”

  May stood. “So you think I’m frivolous?” His words were like a punch on the arm. “If I have $100,000 saved, that doesn’t sound frivolous to me.”

  “Nein, I didn’t say that.”

  “It sure sounded like that to me. Are you taking her side? Do you think the cheese factory is a bad idea?” She punched her fists on her waist.

  Thad stood. “Look, I know nothing about making cheese, or how to run a business like that. Yes, I see people doing it. Cheese is big business in Iowa. It might work. I just don’t know.” He let his gaze drop to the floor, then looked back at May. “I just don’t want you to lose all your hard-earned money.” Worry lined his eyes.

  “So you think this is a boondoggle idea?” Her voice softened.

  “Don’t put words in my mouth and start a fight I don’t want to have. We have been getting along so gut, jah?”

  May walked to the sink, took a rag and wiped up around the edge. “So you just want me to put my money back in the coffee can?”

  “I’m saying it’s a lot of money, so we need to be certain what we want to do with it. Yes, let’s inquire about starting a cheese business. Maybe we can begin small. We can always start with a couple of different cheeses and you can try selling it on your vegetable stand.”

  “We can start out small to learn but a small business that makes a few dollars doesn’t pay very many big bills. We have to invest in our future and in our children’s future.” What did she just say—their children? “We will have to ensure we have enough money to make the loan payments.”

  Thad walked to the sink and stood next to her. “We haven’t even discussed what kind of cheeses we want to make. Do you know what kinds sell the best? Didn’t Elmer start out small, then add his fancy cheese the Englisch like?”

  “Jah, you’re right,” May said. “Let’s think about it and decide if it is truly right for us. In the meantime, I’ll just keep making quilts and rugs and selling my vegetables.”

  He put an arm around her shoulders and hugged. Then his arms encircled her and pulled her close. He dropped his mouth to hers for a tender kiss.

  She stepped back and exhaled. “I know what you’re doing, Thad. And I don’t like it. You’re trying to change the subject, and you’re hoping this all goes away.”

  “May, I have to run the farm and oversee the repairs. I don’t have time to run a cheese factory, too. I’m sorry.”

  “I know, but the money is mine. I’ll take care of running the cheese factory.”

  Thad’s face turned somber. “The bishop won’t like you running a factory, but he probably won’t be against you selling a few homemade cheeses.” He headed toward the other room, but looked back at May. “I’ll help as much as I can. See if you can find some classes we can take, but not from Elmer.” He raised a brow. “Maybe there is a book we can buy or some recipes.”

  She ran over and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Danki, Thad. I know we can do this.”

  He raised a brow. “Hope so.”

  A burst of excitement flooded her heart. Jah, she could do this and the cheese factory would be a success. And she knew the perfect place to start.

  * * *

  The next morning, while Josie watched Leah, May hired a driver and had him drop her off at the library in Iowa City. Thad stayed at the farm to oversee the first day of repairs, but May needed to start the factory research before her boot came off and Josie went back home. She asked the librarian to show her how to find the online cheese-making class. The computer was an awkward device, but with the help of the librarian, she managed. It was a long day of studying and note taking.

  On her second visit to the library, Thad went along with May. They took the advanced online cheese-making class to learn how to make the artisan cheese, then ordered a suggested recipe book and information on how to start a cheese-making business.

  The following day, Thad accompanied her to visit a factory. The tour guide was helpful and answered their questions. On the way home, she asked the driver to stop at a shop so they could pick up a vat, press and other supplies. After selecting a few items, May looked up to see Thad frowning. “Is there something wrong?”

  “The vat and warmer are pricey. But I guess we have to have a little outlay first. I just worry about the bills.”

  “Jah, and I forgot to tell you, we need to buy a goat or two so I can make some goat-milk cheese.”

  He frowned.

  She knew the factory was a big risk for their family but they had to take it. They’d start out small and only increase production if it looked like the customers liked their product. With the over-production of organic milk by the big producers, it made sense to have another outlet for their milk instead of dumping it. Jah, she was sure she could make the cheese and sell it.

  Maybe she’d offer a cheese-tasting when she officially opened her business. In the fall, she would add apples and pears to the stand from their trees. It would be easy to add cheese to the wares offered.

  This had to work. Gott, please bless the cheese idea so it will work and save the farm.

  * * *

  May made her first batch of cheese and tasted it. Terrible. She threw away her second attempt. Cheese-making was a little more complicated than she’d thought. She hadn’t realized that it was the aging process that actually g
ave cheese its distinctive taste and texture, which produced thousands of varieties. That aging caused sour, sharp or tangy tastes over time, so some of the cheeses would take several months to age properly for the taste to develop. She hadn’t planned on that.

  May selected a few cheeses to start with: Colby, cheddar, provolone, Monterey Jack and Parmesan. Fortunately, all cheese started with the same basic ingredients: milk, from either a cow, goat, sheep or buffalo; bacterial culture; rennet and salt.

  While some of the cheese aged, she still needed something to sell. Leafing through her recipe book, she found cream cheese, sour cream, ricotta and feta cheese recipes.

  For two weeks, May worked hard making cheese, throwing away batch after batch. Her stomach ached from worry that they’d lose the farm. Nein. She had to keep trying.

  Finally, the batches started to develop good flavors. This might actually work!

  * * *

  A horn honked from the driveway, and May ran to look out the window. “Josie, the driver is here to take me to the doctor’s office. Hopefully it won’t take long.”

  “I’m going to pack so I’ll be ready to go home when you get back.”

  May slid into the car and handed the driver the address. “It’s a medical building.”

  “Yep, I’ve been there before, ma’am. Have you there in no time. I’m James, by the way. I’ll drop you off and wait for you in the lobby.”

  “Thank you. That will be gut.” Her hands fidgeted on her lap. After six weeks, she was so ready to get this boot off.

  She blew out a sigh as she exited the car and hurried to the doctor’s office, leaving James to follow behind her. She signed in, took a seat and waited.

  “May Hochstetler,” a lady in blue scrubs called.

  The nurse took her information, then led her to a room to wait for the doctor. In only a minute or two, she heard paper rustling outside the door, then the doctor entered.

  Dr. Kincaid held out his hand and shook hers. “Good morning, May. Good to see you. How’s the foot feeling?”