Romance In Amish Country Series Boxed Set: 1-3 Naomi's Story; Miriam's Story; Ruth's Story

by Melanie Schmidt

  Ruth smiled. “Thank you.”

  “Poor Mary King,” Naomi said softly.

  “Perhaps things will be a bit better for her, now,” Ruth said, putting her arm around Naomi and hugging her.

  “Every day gives me more and more reason to be thankful for being born a Miller and marrying a Fisher, though,” Naomi said brightly. “We have had our misunderstandings, like any other family, but there has never been anything that could not be resolved with a little effort and willingness to both talk and listen. I mean, look what Mamm accomplished by just being willing to talk to Daed,” she added mischievously. “If she had not found the courage to turn down Herr Petershwim and speak up to Daed, I might never have been born.”

  “Indeed.”

  Naomi stepped back and studied her aunt closely. “Aenti Ruth?”

  When Ruth continued to stare down the road, Naomi rubbed her shoulder. “You are going to talk to John Barber, are you not?” she asked kindly.

  Ruth took a deep breath, feeling her resolve build. “Seth, could you please harness a horse for me?”

  “Of course. Would you like me to drive you?”

  “No. No, thank you. You stay close to Naomi today. She may need you.”

  “As you wish. I will be right back.”

  “Thank you.”

  As Seth moved back toward the horse barn, Naomi reached for Ruth’s hand and gave it an encouraging squeeze. Ruth met her hopeful gaze and nodded.

  “You are right, Naomi. I should not wait. John deserves to hear first-hand about my talk with Thomas.”

  “He deserves to know the truth about how you feel about him,” Naomi said, her voice firm.

  Ruth took another deep breath and nodded. “Yes. Yes, he deserves that, too.”

  24

  Two cars came down the drive just as Ruth arrived at the Barber farm, early blueberry pickers sent home by the late morning sun, which promised a very hot afternoon. She waited patiently for the cars to pull out, returning the waves of the children in the back seat as they passed. She saw Noah and Nathan in their shirtsleeves working a team of four huge draft horses out in a field, turning the rich soil that had been left fallow this year. As she reached the yard, she noticed John’s largest wagon was missing from its usual spot under the overhang alongside the big barn.

  Good. Joseph is still delivering produce to the markets in Paradise.

  John came out onto the porch as she pulled up. He descended the steps and tied her horse’s lead to the railing before turning to her.

  “Are you alone today, John?” she asked nervously.

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” She gathered her skirts and allowed him to help her down, hoping he did not notice she was trembling. At forty-six, she generally had a great deal of freedom when it came to moving about by herself, but even a forty-six-year-old woman did not typically meet with a man who was not her relative in his otherwise empty house. “I need to speak with you,” she said, keeping her language informal.

  “I was just pouring myself a glass of lemonade. Would you care to join me?”

  “Yes. Thank you. That would be lovely.”

  The kitchen seemed dim after the bright sunshine outside, and Ruth watched as John reached for a second glass from the cupboard and filled it with cold lemonade.

  “The parlor is the coolest room in the house this time of day,” he said, handing Ruth her glass.

  “Cool sounds nice,” she replied.

  As she followed John down the hallway, she felt the movement of air along the passage. They entered the room and Ruth saw the windows had all been opened wide, which made for the nice cross breeze through the house. John indicated a comfortable chair near a window, and she took it gladly, relieved to not sit on the same couch she and Ezra had shared yesterday and glad to feel the breeze coming in the window. John sat across the room from her and sipped his drink. She did the same before taking a deep breath.

  “I need to tell you about Thomas.”

  John shook his head firmly. “There is no need.”

  “I believe there is,” she insisted. “You deserve to know the truth about the rumors and gossip that are certain to continue for some time.”

  John sighed. “I will listen to neither concerning you, but as you wish.”

  Ruth thought he sounded irritated, but she pressed on. “I once thought I loved Thomas,” she said, having decided on the way over to be blunt. “Or at least I loved him as much as any twenty-year-old girl can love a boy she has known all her life. I knew he was having trouble at home, but he refused to tell me anything about it. I thought that meant he was handling it. I was wrong, of course. The last time I saw him all those years ago he had come to our farm to ask me to marry him. My family and I all knew that was his purpose, and I was so glad. I had dreamed about that moment, so certain, as only a girl in love can be certain, that Thomas loved me with his whole heart and all would be well, if we could just get beyond the wedding to the other side where we could start our lives together.”

  She paused for a sip of lemonade and sighed. “Then Thomas told me his plans. He told me he had a job lined up in the city, that there was a man there who would help us get started, find us a place to live, find us a way to fit in among the English. I was absolutely stunned. I remember staring at him, waiting for him to tell me it was some kind of mistake, or at least a bad joke.”

  “Ruth…”

  “But it was no mistake,” she pressed on. “He was adamant. He was leaving his family’s farm, leaving the Amish community, and he wanted me to go with him.”

  “How could he possibly have imagined you would go with him?” John asked, astonished.

  “He said he loved me enough to make me happy among the English.”

  “He was a fool,” John snapped. He rose from his seat to pace the floor. “I did not know you in those days, but I knew your family. Only a fool could have thought so little of you that would give up the way of the Amish for a foolish boy’s interpretation of love. That is not love. It is a selfish fantasy.”

  Ruth found herself smiling. “Thank you. It means a great deal to me that you would think so much of me. I think what hurt so much, even then, was knowing the boy I loved could think so little of me.”

  “And now?” he asked.

  He stood in the shadows away from the windows, so she could not see him well, but she heard the uncertainty in his voice.

  Ruth stood up, put her glass on the table and walked across the room to stand in front of John. “Now that I have spoken with him once more, I see very clearly that the love I had once felt was no more than a girl’s tender feelings for a boy, feelings that would never have lasted, even if he had not left. I am glad he came last week, though. I am glad we spoke, and I was able to meet his children. Now I can finally, after all these years, put him completely behind him. It was the not knowing, you see—never being certain of what might have been—that made me question myself, my life’s choices. But now I know with certainty I really did choose what God intended for me. He meant for me to be here for my brother’s children all these years.”

  She stepped closer to him, trying desperately to read his expression in the dim light. “I think He may have meant me to be here for you, too, John,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “I think He may have brought Thomas to me this week, just so I would learn the difference between a foolish girl’s dreams and a grown woman’s hopes.”

  “Ruth…” John’s voice broke.

  “I care for you, John. I know Joanna has only been gone a short time, but…”

  John reached out to close her lips with trembling fingers.

  “I loved Joanna, Ruth. I will always love her.”

  Ruth closed her eyes tightly, willing the tears away. She had made a fool of herself, and she could not bear to look at him.

  Then she felt him take her face between both his work-roughened hands, and she opened her eyes to see him staring into hers, his expression full of wonder and hope.

 
“I will always love Joanna, Ruth, but that does not mean I cannot also love you.”

  “John?”

  He used his thumbs to brush the tears from her cheeks and smiled. “I care for you, Ruth.”

  Ruth felt as though she’d been suffused with sunshine. She’d hoped that somehow, John could find it in his heart to care for her, and he did! She felt joy blossom until she remembered the other problem. “Tamara,” she said, trying to rein her hopes in before they carried her away without considering the practicalities.

  John shook his head in disgust. “I have seven grown children and six of them—along with their spouses—have been hinting to me about you for weeks, now,” he said. “Tamara will simply have to make her peace with you—with the idea of us—or live with the consequences.

  “Ruth, I believe it is the Lord’s will that we be together, and Tamara will not stand in the way,” he said firmly, as he gently touched her cheek. “I want to marry you, and if you’ll have me, we will be together regardless of whether my daughter likes it or not.”

  Ruth was startled when John took a step toward her, leaned in, and planted a kiss on her lips. She took a step back in her surprise and realized that John looked hurt, that he thought she didn’t want him to kiss her. Deciding to throw caution and decorum to the wind, Ruth closed the gap between them, threw her arms around John, and kissed him back, putting every bit of emotion she felt into that kiss. She had not known a man’s touch since Thomas all those years ago, and this was nothing like that had been. She felt John’s caresses to her core and wanted it to go on forever.

  The rattle of the empty wagon coming up the drive told them that Joseph had returned from market and their moments alone were at an end, at least for today.

  “John…” Ruth managed to say between kisses.

  “I know.” He pulled back with a sigh, and brushed the few stray pieces of her hair back from her face. “Joseph has always had good timing.”

  Ruth heard the sarcasm in his voice and giggled. She couldn’t help it. Her head was spinning, and she was feeling things deep inside she had never felt before.

  John kissed her lightly once more, and pulled her toward the hallway, pausing before the bathroom door. “You had better put yourself back together,” he said. “I will go help Joseph and the boys with the horses. Both will be looking for their dinner.”

  “I’m happy to put dinner together for all of you.” Ruth suggested, not quite ready to take her leave of John.

  “Will they not miss you at home?”

  “Naomi and Seth know where I am. They can manage for Ezra until I get back.”

  John grinned. “I will ride back with you after dinner and speak with your brother. We may have to wait until October to marry, but I want everyone to know you are mine.”

  Ruth blushed with pleasure and reached up to touch his face lightly. “And you are mine.”

  “Yes.”

  He kissed her once more—the kiss brief, but hard and full of promise—then strode out of the house.

  Ruth stepped into the bath and stared at herself in the small mirror. Her hair was mussed, her kapp askew, her lips swollen from his kisses, and she looked, all in all, thoroughly happy. Sighing and pulling off her kapp, she ran the water until it was cold, splashed her face then used her damp fingers to comb her fly-away hair. She was able to replace her kapp and some of the misplaced pins without redoing her hair entirely.

  A few minutes later, Ruth was in the kitchen looking neat and composed as she looked through the refrigerator for something promising for dinner. She found a platter of meat and cheese, pickles, and boiled eggs along with more of the lemonade. Figuring that Martha or Lydia had prepared the food ahead of time, Ruth began to set the table. Familiar with the kitchen, since she had just been there on Sunday, she soon had the table set and the food on and had begun pouring the lemonade as the four men walked in.

  Throughout the meal, Ruth could not be certain if John had told the younger men of their plans to marry, but she did intercept some knowing looks between them as they talked. They discussed the plowing, the animals, repairs needed on a shed, all manner of topics men usually shared over a meal. Every now and then one would look Ruth’s way and apologize for leaving her out of the conversation, but she was simply pleased they were comfortable having her there.

  Finally, over the last crumb of Martha’s snitz pie, Joseph sat back with a sigh. “We are going to need to step up our plans for the new addition on our house, Daed,” he said to John. “I am afraid we cannot wait until spring after all.”

  When John said nothing in reply, Ruth glanced at him and saw the warm smile spread slowly across his face.

  “Lydia is expecting again?” Nathan asked.

  Joseph grinned, and John reached out to give his first-born a strong, manly clap on the shoulder.

  “That will mess up our construction plans for the fall, I think,” Noah said thoughtfully, but when they all stared at him, he burst out laughing.

  “I take it your house is a little small?” Ruth asked.

  Joseph nodded. “Not too small, yet, but with number four on the way, it will be very soon.”

  The men began tossing around suggestions on how and where to begin, when Ruth broke in.

  “Why do you not simply switch houses with John?” she asked.

  Her suggestion was met with silence by the younger men, but John was nodding thoughtfully.

  “Actually, your mother made the same suggestion back in February,” he said.

  “February?” Joseph asked.

  “Yes. It was that day all the grandchildren were skating on the pond. You remember. Everyone was so cold after, they came here to warm up in front of the fireplaces, but then they had to be bundled up again to go out in the cold to go home. Your mother suggested that it would be much easier, if the children had all been able to sleep here, while the two of us slipped home. I thought it made good sense at the time, but we just never pursued it.”

  “Actually,” Ruth said, smiling, “Joanna made the same comment to me last fall at Martha’s wedding.”

  “Did she?” John grinned.

  Ruth nodded. “She understood why Martha was planning to move to her new husband’s family home in the spring, but she was not looking forward to caring for this big house on her own, especially since it would only be the two of you left rattling around in it.”

  Joseph appeared slightly stunned, but Ruth could see the idea seemed to be growing on him. “Would you really do that, Daed ?”

  “Of course,” John said. “I was going to suggest you and Lydia move in with me, when the time came for needing more space, anyway, but now I have a reason to prefer switching houses.”

  Joseph narrowed his eyes at his father, but then he glanced from John to Ruth, and a smile tugged at his lips. “So, you will be looking for a bit more privacy than you could have here with the children around?” he asked, fighting a grin.

  “That,” John said, “and I think Ruth would—like your mother—prefer a smaller house.”

  “What?” Noah said.

  Nathan laughed. “I told you there was something going on between them. Mary was almost sure of it yesterday.”

  Ruth blushed and could not bring herself to look at John. She stood to begin clearing the table, but John took her hand and held her back.

  “That is if her brother does not have any objections.”

  Joseph grinned openly now. “If he does, let me know, and we will gang up on him.”

  He winked at Ruth, and she smiled openly.

  “Thank you, Joseph.”

  Joseph rose and came around to take her hand, kissing her lightly on the cheek.

  “Thank you for bringing new life to Daed,” he said, somber, now. “I know how close you and Mamm were, and I know you will make him happy.”

  “I hope so. I know he will make me the happiest I have ever been.”

  Noah and Nathan rose, too, and welcomed Ruth into the family as Joseph had done.


  “And do not worry about Tamara,” Noah adding, as though reading her mind. “I think Abner has finally put his foot down, and she will come around.”

  “And if she does not,” Joseph said, “our family dinners will only become more pleasant for her unwillingness to attend.”

  “Joseph,” John said in a warning tone.

  “Sorry, Daed, but you know it is true.”

  John sighed. “Perhaps, but let us pray for a happier solution. She is still your sister.”

  Joseph sighed, looking for all the world like a younger version of his father. “Yes, sir.”

  Joseph winked at Ruth once more and headed for the door. “Is it all right to start spreading the news?” he asked, reaching for his hat.

  John loked at Ruth before he answered. “Let us keep it within the family for now—at least until I can have a chance to speak with Ezra this afternoon.”

  “Done,” Joseph promised.

  “Come on boys,” he said to Noah and Nathan. “That field will not finish plowing itself, and something tells me Daed will be too busy this afternoon to help us.”

  Noah and Nathan laughed and joined their brother-in-law as he headed out, leaving Ruth and John alone.

  “You do not mind if they tell their wives, do you?” John asked.

  Ruth smiled. “No, but we should really tell Ezra first.”

  “I will clean this up later, then,” he said with a grin.

  The food had all been eaten, thanks to the three hungry young men, so there was nothing to put away, and though Ruth felt a tug on her conscience at the thought of leaving the mess in the kitchen, she let John lead her out. He saddled his horse and tied it to the back of her wagon, then joined her for the ride back to the Miller farm.

  25

  “Will you really not mind living in a small house?” John asked once they were on their way.

  Ruth smiled. “I have been taking care of a very large house ever since my mother died, so, no, I will not mind. Besides, perhaps it will help convince Tamara that I am not after your property.”

  John snorted. “Do not worry about Tamara. She has caused her own problems.”