[2016] The Precious Amish Baby

by Faith Crawford

  “Oh, you know God works in his own time,” Clive said mildly.

  Cynthia hugged her news to herself. She wanted to blurt it out to Clive but she wanted the moment to be special. Nathan crawled to the rug and lay down as though exhausted and they both laughed.

  “I hate to leave,” Clive said.

  Cynthia nodded, knowing his fears.

  “But I’ve organized for Mrs. Williamson to spend the two nights that I’ll be away, here with you.”

  “That won’t be necessary, we’ll be fine on our own,” Cynthia said, ignoring the fear that she knew would be with her for a long time.

  Sometimes she woke up screaming in the night, after reliving that night. She knew it worried Clive and no matter how many times she reassured him that she did not give the matter any thought during the day, he still thought that the episode had scarred her for life. The good thing was that Beatrice and her partner were behind bars and would be for a very long time.

  It seemed that all the while that Beatrice had been with them, she and her partner had been planning to rob Clive. Beatrice had come across the news that Clive would be selling his beef cattle and she had seized the opportunity when he would have a lot of cash. The owner of the boarding house had confirmed to the sheriff that the man had been staying there and that Beatrice had visited with him several times.

  Thank God for the timing of the ranch hands, Cynthia thought recalling the events of that night. They had come home to find Cynthia sprawled on the ground and bleeding. It had been pure luck that they had decided to stop at the barn, for other times, they usually went straight to their quarters, too exhausted to leave their horses in the barn.

  For Cynthia, there was no doubt that it had been the work of the Lord. He had been watching over her and Clive and Nathan. Unknown to her, Clive too had been unconscious inside the barn. He had regained consciousness about the same time as the ranch hands had found Cynthia. Clive had figured out what had happened and had sent one of the ranch hands galloping to the sheriff’s home.

  Within minutes, the town’s men had gathered together and arranged a chase. Beatrice and her partner had not gone very far before they were captured. She had tried to pin down the crime on her partner, saying that he had kidnapped her, but the bag containing Clive’s money from the sale of his cattle had been found hidden in her clothes.

  The knocks on her head had been traumatic for her body and it had taken Cynthia two whole days to fully regain consciousness. The first thing that she asked when her eyes popped open was about Nathan. The relief of knowing he was well had been great and even now when she thought of it, she wanted to take him into her arms and keep him safe forever.

  “A penny for your thoughts my love,” Clive said.

  “I’m just thinking of how far we have come,” Cynthia said. “The Lord has been with us.”

  “Indeed, he has, from that very first letter you wrote to me, agreeing to be my wife. I love you so much my wife.”

  “And I you, my husband.”

  Their eyes locked onto each other and Cynthia’s heart filled with gratitude for a good, wonderful and kind husband. The moment seemed right for her news and she edged a little closer to him. She touched his cheek and he covered her hand with his own.

  “I have news for you, my husband,” Cynthia begun.

  Clive immediately wore a guarded look, something she had noticed whenever she was about to speak of something. She knew that in his mind, he still worried that she would desert him. She still had a lot of work to do, Cynthia thought to herself. Perhaps the news would finally convince him that she would never ever leave him or their family.

  “Clive, the Lord has blessed us. I’m heavy with child. The doctor confirmed it yesterday. Imagine, a sibling for Nathan!”

  Tears welled in his eyes and he pulled her to him so that she sat on his lap.

  “What wonderful news. We’ll be a family of four,” Clive said.

  “Mrs. Williamson might walk in on us,” Cynthia giggled.

  “She would have a testimony about how much we love each other,” Clive said, his voice laden with emotion.

  Cynthia knew that theirs was the kind of love that lasted a lifetime and beyond. They both wanted the same thing in life. To love each other and to raise kind, God-loving children. They lived simply, enjoying all the blessings that the Lord gave them and in return, they treated each day as a gift. They both knew how quickly everything could change.

  Clive ran a hand over her tummy, his eyes shining with awe. Just then, Nathan ambled towards them, surprised to see his mama seated in his papa’s lap. Clive encircled the boy and the three of them sat holding each other. For Cynthia, it was unbelievable that she finally had her own family to love and to cherish.

  Surely God did have good plans for us all, Cynthia mused, feeling safe in the circle of love of her family.

  *****

  THE END

  Bonus Book 5: In Love with the Rancher's Baby

  By: Faith Crawford

  Description

  An Amish girl left at the altar, a lonely ranch owner and a baby girl. Can they be a family?

  Martha Yoder grew up in a Nebraskan Amish community until she was 18 years old. During her Rumspringa, the time of a young Amish person’s life when they are allowed to explore the outside world, she met and fell in love with Scott. Unfortunately, Scott had other plans and left the young woman at the altar, much to her humiliation and disappointment.

  Out of desperation, Martha answers the call to be a bride for a ranch owner in the West. Michael has a baby daughter to care for and has been struggling emotionally since his wife deserted him for another man almost a year ago. Martha and Michael get along very well and a family bond is formed. But then, Michael’s ex-wife Alexis reenters the picture.

  What will happen to Martha? Will Michael decide Alexis is the woman he wants after all? Martha has no family to return to. All she can do is hope and pray for the happiness she desires.

  Chapter One

  The sun was shining brightly. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. A soft breeze was blowing. It was the perfect day for a wedding.

  Martha waited in her dressing room, her best friend and bridesmaid, Margie, sitting next to her on the high-backed, white-cushioned couch. She was a little bit nervous. Scott was late. He had a reputation for being late more often than being early. It was something Martha knew well. But to be late for his own wedding…it didn’t sit well with her.

  She looked at Margie with worried eyes. “What do you think has happened?”

  Margie tried to keep a neutral look on her face. She had been suspecting for some time that Scott was going to stand Martha up, but hadn’t dared say a word to her best friend about it. She was never sure enough. The signs were there, but Martha was too in love to see it. This was going to break Martha’s heart, she just knew it. She shook her head. “Maybe a wheel broke on his wagon,” she said, knowing full well that Scott would bring his horse, not a wagon, to the wedding.

  Martha shook her head. “No, he’ll be riding Trinity. He won’t bring a wagon. That was the plan. We were going to leave on Trinity.”

  Margie looked to the window, as if she would be able to see the road from the second story up. She swallowed. Martha was really going to need her help now. She turned her eyes back to her. “Well, did he say anything about…maybe not wanting to get married today? Or something?” She said it slowly, knowing she was not going to get a good reaction.

  Martha stared at her, the worry in her mind doubling. “I…I didn’t think he had any doubts. Did…did you think he did?”

  Margie lowered her head. “I saw some signs, Martha. I’m sorry. I…I was surprised when he agreed to go through with this at all. He…he’s not a good guy, Martha. I never really thought he was but I couldn’t say something like that to you. Your heart was too wrapped up in him. You only saw the good. You didn’t want to see the bad.”

  Martha sat in shock. Chills ran over her arms. “This can’t be hap
pening.”

  She folded over in half, her heart breaking. Margie wrapped her arms around her, trying not to cry herself. She felt guilty. She should have warned her friend to begin with. Scott was a cad. He should have told Martha from the beginning that he wasn’t the marrying type. He should have given her fair warning as to what she was getting into.

  “I’m so sorry, Martha. I’m so sorry.”

  “I just keep hoping he’s going to show up. I know it just keeps getting later and later. But I was so looking forward to this. I…” She could no longer speak. The tears had clogged her throat and she sat huddled in her friend’s arms, sobbing.

  ***

  She could hear Margie inside preparing a pot of tea and some biscuits. Her mind was still whirling from the day before, when she had been left standing at the altar, waiting for a man who wasn’t coming. His best mate, Andy, had come to the church an hour after the ceremony was to begin to tell her that Scott had left town. He’d written a letter for Martha but it was very short and not something she would ever want to read again. He had blamed her for his unhappiness and claimed she had “forced” him into the engagement.

  Martha had always believed in marriage. Her roots were in the nearby Amish community, where she had three brothers and three sisters still, her parents, who were both alive and living happily together, and a wide spread of friends from her childhood. But she had left the community for Scott, believing that she would be able to find that same happiness with him.

  She was wrong. He wasn’t the marrying type, just like Margie had said. He was terrified of the thought of being tied down to one woman for the rest of his life. He wanted to live life his own way and not worry about someone else. He didn’t want kids and he didn’t want to be strapped to one woman.

  He was not at all who she thought he was.

  She would not be able to return to her Amish community. They were not happy with her leaving them to be with a man from the town. They were particularly unhappy that she had been staying with him before they were married. She wasn’t shunned. But she knew she could not go back to living with them and following the rules and traditions her family held dear.

  Her past had left her with a feeling that she needed to pray all the time for forgiveness. She did, in fact, pray for forgiveness every morning and evening and sometimes throughout the day. It was the only thing that was getting her through at this point. She had a completely different picture in mind of her future. Now she was left hanging in the wind, unsure what was going to happen next. She had no home now that Scott was gone. She was blessed that Margie had an extra room she was willing to let Martha use and that Margie’s husband, Timothy, was willing to let her stay there for a time. But that wouldn’t last long and Martha knew it. She was going to have to do something. And she wasn’t sure what that was going to be.

  She stared out over the horizon and sighed. Yesterday morning she had been so happy. She shook her head, trying to quell the growing anger in her mind and heart. She was angry at herself for not seeing the truth. She was angry at Scott for what he’d done to her. She was disillusioned and confused.

  “Here’s some nice hot tea for you, Martha, and a couple biscuits. How are you feeling?” Margie had come out on the porch and set the tea and biscuits on the small table between the two rocking chairs. Martha was balled up in one, a thick, soft quilt wrapped around her shoulders, her legs pressed up against her chest.

  She dropped her legs and reached out of the blanket for one of the biscuits, attempting to give Margie some kind of a smile. “I’m not doing very well, Marge,” she said. “I’m really not. I feel so lost. I don’t know how to feel or what to do.”

  “We’ll figure something out, dear. For now, just relax your brain and your heart. Eat some biscuits, here’s some butter to put on it…and a little bit of jelly, too…and here’s your tea. You’ll be all right, eventually, Martha. You really will.”

  Martha sighed again. She couldn’t wrap her brain around what had happened. He was with her and then he was gone. She had invested two years of her life into being with him, expecting to be married. And now, at 21, she was not only not married, but she had no man, no home and no one to love.

  Her heart was hurting more than she had ever thought possible.

  “I know Tim isn’t going to let me stay here forever, Marge. But what will I do? Where will I go?”

  “Have you thought about going back to your family?”

  “I thought about it. But…” She shook her head. “I would never be accepted there again, not really. I don’t know if they would actively shun me but I know they would not be happy with me. I haven’t…I haven’t kept in touch with them. I haven’t written to them.”

  “Have they tried to contact you?”

  Martha shook her head again. “I never let them know where I was. They had nowhere to write to even if they wanted to.”

  “And you haven’t seen any of them even once when they come to town?”

  “I haven’t. It’s kind of hard to believe really. But I’ve not seen even one of them in town for over a year.”

  “I am surprised by that. I really am. I’ve seen a few of the community people in town but I wouldn’t recognize them if they were your family.”

  “You were the first friend I made when I came to town those years ago, Margie. I’m glad I met you. You must be my angel sent from God.”

  Margie laughed. “Now that I would doubt, Martha. I am glad I am your friend though. I wouldn’t want you going through this alone. It’s so painful to be rejected. I had a beau before Timothy and he broke up with me after about eight months of courting. It was very heartbreaking for me, too, though I was younger and not as serious about life as I am now.”

  Martha managed to laugh softly. “You are only 26 years old.”

  “I was always a serious type.” Margie admitted, settling in the chair on the other side of the table. “I wanted to get married and live a happy life from the time I was very little. I dreamed of the perfect husband and the perfect life.” She glanced over at Martha. “That’s not what I ended up with, mind you. We both know my life with Tim isn’t perfect.”

  Martha couldn’t say anything. Tim was, as Margie well knew, not the best man in the world. He was a good provider and worked hard. But he was also very stubborn, not highly intelligent and he liked to make sure he put Margie in her place whenever he felt she was stepping out of line. As the husband, he liked to be in control and rule the house as a strict enforcer. Martha had been slightly shocked that he had agreed to let her stay there. She hoped that she would figure something out soon because she didn’t like to listen to Tim disrespecting Margie and hurting her feelings.

  She hadn’t really known how bad his behavior was until just the night before, when he’d helped Martha and Margie bring Martha’s clothes and personal items to their house. The two women had spent the entire afternoon after the failed wedding gathering her things from the empty house Scott had left behind. When they arrived at the house, the first thing Martha noticed was that it looked almost completely bare. Scott must have spent the entire time she was getting ready for the wedding packing his things in the back of his wagon, preparing to leave. Andy had apparently helped him, he’d confessed the day before.

  Andy had expressed his own sympathy for Martha, telling her that he was stunned when Scott had come to his house and asked him to help. He’d been getting ready for the wedding, too, completely unaware of Scott’s plans. He’d spent the entire time trying to talk Scott out of it and to give it a go with Martha.

  “But when I think about it now, Martha,” Andy had said the day before. “Even if I had convinced him to go ahead with it, he would have resented both me and you and eventually left anyway. That wouldn’t have been a happy marriage for you. You deserve someone who really wants to love you, who really wants you in his life.”

  His words had not dried Martha’s tears or made her feel any better, even though they had made perfect sense.

&nbs
p; Martha ran through the memory of the day before in her mind. She wondered how long it would be before she would stop thinking about it. How long would it be before her broken, shattered heart would be mended? How would she get through the pain until then?

  Dear God, she whispered a prayer in her mind, please help me. I don’t want this pain. Please give me peace. Please help me find my way.

  Chapter Two

  It didn’t take long for Martha to realize that she would need to leave her friend’s home and find a way on her own.

  After enjoying an evening of roast and potatoes, Martha, Margie and Timothy gathered on the porch to look at the stars and enjoy the night for an hour or so before bed. Martha had been helping around the house so that Margie wouldn’t have as much to do. She’d also helped her in the garden and with any house cleaning that was required. She tried to stay busy so that she didn’t have to think about what was going on in her life. At the same time, the thought that she had to do something to make a life for herself was always weighing on her mind.

  Margie and Martha were sitting in the rocking chairs and Tim had taken a spot on the porch steps. He was holding a bottle of beer in his hand, which he tipped back regularly, taking a long drink. It wasn’t his first and the women knew it wasn’t his last by any means. Margie stood up, looking down at Martha. “I’m going to refresh my cup of tea, Martha. Do you want some more?”

  Martha shook her head, holding up her own cup. “I’ve still got half left. It’s not quite cold yet. I’ll finish it first.”

  Margie nodded. “All right. I’ll be right back.”

  She disappeared through the doorway, letting the storm door slap closed behind her. As soon as it clapped shut, Tim looked back at Martha.

  “You enjoying the room?” He asked.

  Martha hesitated before answering. The tone in his voice was less than pleasant. She was expecting him to tell her to get out at any moment. “Yes, thank you. I like it very much,” she finally said.