[2016] The Precious Amish Baby

by Faith Crawford

  “Well, you’re going to have to, because I’m staying for a while.”

  “Not in my house, you aren’t.”

  “Yes, I am. Emma needs her mother.”

  “I already have a mother for her. That woman over there. I’m going to marry her. And you can’t stop us because we are legally divorced!”

  “You’re going to marry the nanny?” Alexis looked shocked and disgusting at the same time.

  “She’s not a nanny!” He tried not to yell it. He didn’t want Martha to think they were talking about her. “I happen to love that woman. You aren’t going to change that or do anything about it! You can’t stay at my ranch.”

  Alexis moved even closer to him, so that she was pressed up against him. “You seem to forget something, dear,” she hissed in a high-pitched voice. “My daddy’s brother is the Sheriff in town and he’s really good friends with the District Judge. I can take Emma and leave and you can’t do anything about it.” She smiled at him. “You don’t want me to leave and take your baby girl away, do you? I mean we might be able to come to some kind of understanding if I just stay for a while, you know? You can make up your mind. I’ll give you three days to get rid of that woman. That should be enough time for you to change your mind about me.”

  She reached up and ran her fingers under the lapels of the light jacket he was wearing. He blushed furiously, moving his eyes to where Martha was sitting, staring at them, Emma sitting on her lap. The little girl was quiet, probably for the first time in her life. She was holding on to Martha’s arm, which was wrapped around her body, her eyes trained on her mother and father.

  Michael wasn’t going to change his mind. He knew that. But he agreed to do it. Three days would be enough time to figure out what to do. There had to be something he could do. He didn’t know what it would be yet. But he would think of something.

  ***

  Martha held on to Emma with everything she had. She could almost feel her new family slipping away from her with every moment Michael and Alexis stood near the tree arguing with each other. When Alexis turned on the extra layer of charm and moved so that her body was pressed against Michael’s, Martha wanted to scream. She had no idea that Alexis was hissing out her threats to anger and humiliate Michael.

  Michael’s face didn’t change. He was furious, she could tell. She hoped that he was standing up for the two of them, that he wasn’t tempted to take Alexis back in. She didn’t want the woman to have any control over her, Emma or Michael.

  When the two headed back to the blanket, she felt her anxiety shoot up through the back of her neck, causing her to stiffen. Emma turned and looked up at her with frightened eyes. She looked down.

  “Alexis is going to stay with us for a few days.” Michael said, keeping his voice low and even. Martha gave him a hard look and tried to cover up her fright. He clenched his jaw, staring at her. He was so angry. She couldn’t tell whether he was angry that he had already pursued another woman or that he didn’t want Alexis there. She worked hard to convince herself that Michael’s anger when he first saw Alexis was still brewing inside him. She didn’t want to leave.

  She didn’t want to feel jealous either. Or to be pushed aside. She didn’t want to give up caring for Emma. She didn’t want Emma to bond with Alexis.

  It all seemed so unfair to her. She hadn’t had her family for a month yet and this woman had left them for almost a year. She couldn’t have them back.

  She watched Alexis lean down and pick up Emma, taking the girl from Martha’s warm lap. Emma struggled a little bit, pushing away from Alexis to stare at her.

  “I don’t know who you are,” the little girl said plainly. She turned her head and tried to get back to Martha. Alexis made her turn back to her.

  “I’m momma. I’m your momma.”

  Emma looked confused. She stared at Alexis and then turned back to Martha with a pleading look.

  Michael disentangled the child from Alexis’ arms and pulled her to him. Then he transferred Emma back to Martha, who had stood up. “We’re just going to let Emma be where she’s comfortable right now, Alexis. Hope that’s all right with you.” His voice made it clear he didn’t care if it was all right with her. Martha was struggling not to cry. She was grateful to have Emma back in her arms and tried not to squeeze the child too tightly. Emma pushed her little body against Martha, hugging her with her tiny arms.

  “Well, that’s fine.”

  “Do you have somewhere to go while we finish our picnic?” Michael asked, looking directly at Alexis.

  She looked slightly offended. “Well, I could just eat with you three, couldn’t I?” she asked, smiling at Emma with a sickening sweetness.

  “You could if you were invited.” Michael’s voice was even deeper. “And I’m afraid you weren’t invited.”

  Alexis gasped. “Well, well…all right, I’ll go to…main street and…do some shopping.”

  “You do that.”

  He turned his back to her and put one hand on Martha’s waist to turn her around. The three of them sat back down on the blanket with their backs to Alexis. Michael and Martha shared a glance, both of them listening for the sound of her retreating footsteps. Both visibly relaxing after they heard her stomping off. Martha stole a glance behind her and watched as Alexis swung her hips back and forth, swinging a small purse in circles next to her. She felt disgusted and hurt. She wished the woman hadn’t returned.

  Chapter Six

  The atmosphere at the ranch changed drastically after Alexis’ arrival. It was as though a dark cloud had covered the sky, or a huge wet blanket had been draped over the residence. Martha’s only consolation was the fact that it would only last a few days. At least, she hoped it would only be a few days. She and Michael had had a private conversation, during which he made it clear to Martha that he was not happy having his ex-wife insisting on injecting herself into their lives. But his resistance to her didn’t make Alexis back away in the least. If anything, she had pushed harder to get her way.

  Martha’s naturally aggressive nature put her into emotional conflict. She lay awake at night wondering if Michael was talking to Alexis, if he was seeing what he’d seen in her before. She wondered if she would get to the altar and be left standing there once again, while Michael ran off with Alexis and Emma. The thoughts terrified her. She didn’t want to think that way, but even trying to force the thoughts away didn’t stop them. She told herself that Michael was not the same man as Scott. He was a gentleman and he loved her. She could tell it in his actions, regardless of whether he said it or not. And he had already told her his feelings. He made it clear he loved her for the beautiful woman she was, inside and out.

  One thing that didn’t change was Martha’s attention to Emma. Alexis seemed to have no real time to spend with the child, or she just didn’t want to. She spent a lot of time roaming the grounds or looking for an excuse to boss the servants or Michael around. In two days, Martha became used to seeing the woman primping in front of a mirror, applying more lipstick, straightening her dress and other wise staring at herself.

  Martha had never seen a woman behave that way before. There were certainly no women like that in the Amish community she’d grown up in. The few years she had spent in the town society in Nebraska didn’t afford her a chance to see women behave that way either. She was glad. It made her feel unattractive, like a shadow was cast over her constantly.

  She would’ve liked nothing more than to stay in her room all day until Michael figured out what he was going to do. He had been talking to a friend of his who knew something about the laws. The influence of Alexis’ uncle and the Judge weighed heavily upon them. Martha had even heard Michael talking about the three of them running off somewhere and leaving it all behind. But that wasn’t what he really wanted and Martha knew that.

  “There has to be a way to protect yourself from this, Michael,” she said on the second day, while they walked through the garden. “You should not have to be subjected to her behavior an
d hatefulness.”

  “I agree, Martha.” Michael took her hand and walked with it clutched tightly in his. “John and I are looking into it. He’ll find a way to keep her from taking Emma. I just want her gone. I want her out of here as soon as I can get her out of here. I thought…you know, at one time, I thought I wanted her to stay. Not this time but before…when she’d only been gone a few months and before the papers were signed. I wanted her to come back, so our family could be one again. But now I see that it wouldn’t have been right. Not then and not now.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.” Martha squeezed his hand. He pulled in a deep breath and smiled at her.

  “You are a lovely woman, Martha. I’m so glad you came to be with me.”

  “I feel the same way, Michael. I think we are a good couple.”

  “We are.” He stopped and turned to her, gazing into her loving eyes. He pulled her into a warm hug.

  She could hear his heart beating when she pressed her ear against his chest. It gave her comfort. She didn’t want to let him go. She didn’t plan to.

  She felt bad that she didn’t want Emma to bond with Alexis. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway. The woman showed very little interest in the child. Martha wondered why she was even there. She did try to get Michael’s attention as often as possible. But she didn’t show any interest in the child she had given birth to, except when she thought Michael might be watching. If he was in town or out on the property, Alexis’ only focus was herself.

  Despite the fact that Michael had made it perfectly clear what Martha’s role was in the household, Alexis still referred to her as “the nanny” and dismissed her like another servant whenever the two were in the same room together. The initial three-day agreement stretched on into a week and then two. Martha was beginning to feel as frustrated as she could be and it looked as if Alexis was feeling it, too. She acted jealous when Michael spoke to Martha and, though she did her best not to let it show, Martha was feeling the same way whenever Alexis brushed her slender body up against Michael. She’d left the room several times to avoid a confrontation.

  She wasn’t always able to. Her usually relaxing routine of taking a walk through the garden had become merely stressful, as she had to deal with seeing Alexis there often, sitting on one of the benches, gazing out toward the forest behind her. She didn’t look like she was really seeing anything. She just sat on the bench and looked off through the forest. Martha wondered why she was in the garden if she wasn’t there to appreciate the beautiful flowers and sculpted shrubs that were there.

  “Hello, Martha,” Alexis said, giving her a pretentious smile.

  Martha just nodded.

  “Enjoying the beautiful garden today?”

  “Yes.” She would get straight to the point with Alexis. She didn’t want to have a friendly conversation with the woman.

  “Well, I was, too. But now that I see it’s getting a little overcrowded, I think I will go on inside. Enjoy your day.”

  Martha’s cheeks grew hot. She tried to stay her anger. What Alexis had to say shouldn’t have hurt her. Her words shouldn’t have made a difference. But Martha didn’t like being put in second place, and she didn’t like being disrespected.

  She sat on the bench where Alexis had been and gazed at the many colors and species of flowers spread throughout the garden. It was the most peaceful place on the ranch.

  She sat for ten minutes, trying to relax and shake off the rudeness that she had to bear. She thought about what it would be like once Alexis was gone.

  What if she never left?

  Martha didn’t want to even think that way. She couldn’t live like this forever. She wasn’t married to Michael yet. She had the option of leaving if the situation didn’t change. But she didn’t want to leave. She had grown to love both Michael and Emma with all of her heart. He was a gentleman with a sense of humor, intelligence and a handsome face.

  She sighed. She didn’t want to leave.

  A sound behind her made her turn and look through the surrounding wooded area. The hedge that outlined the garden was tall but sculpted into arches, so that anyone in the garden could wander off into the woods if they wanted to look at the wildlife. She leaned to the left and to the right but didn’t see any animals or people behind her. She turned back to look at the garden again.

  The sound was louder the second time, but before she had a chance to turn and look for someone or something, she felt an arm reach around her shoulders. She gasped and let out a frightened sound just before a hand clutching a cloth closed over her mouth, sealing off the sound. She screamed into the hand and felt herself being yanked backwards off of the bench. Her feet hit the ground and she flailed with her fists but seemed to make no contact. She was being dragged away from the garden, through the woods. She pulled on the arm around her chest and the one at her mouth as much as she could but she was not nearly as strong.

  Instant tears streamed down her face as fear washed over her. She continued to scream until she felt something hit against her head, and then everything in front of her eyes went black as she lost consciousness.

  ***

  Being caught in the middle of the feud made Michael extremely uncomfortable. He tried to explain to Martha that getting around the judge and the sheriff was not as easy as he had hoped it would be. All he wanted to do was keep his ranch and his daughter and marry the woman he wanted, but the local legal system was against him.

  Alexis had been there a full two weeks when Michael hit a breaking point. He met her in the stables as she was about to go for a ride and had it out with her. He told her that she needed to leave, that it wasn’t going to work for them and that she wasn’t going to be taking Emma with her.

  “You haven’t spent but about a half hour total with my baby girl since you got here! It’s been a full two weeks and here you are, getting ready to go on a ride. Alone! What is wrong with you, Alexis?”

  Alexis gave him an innocent look. “I don’t know what you could possibly mean. I spend plenty of time with the child.”

  “That’s a load of horse hockey!” Michael exploded. “I haven’t seen you playing with her at all! You don’t color in her books. You don’t play with her dolls. You don’t take her out on walks or picnics. What are you doing here?”

  “Maybe I’m just here for you, Michael,” she responded, playfully, taking a step closer to him. He put his hands up and took a step back.

  “Don’t you dare put your hands on me, Alex! I don’t want you here. I want you to leave.”

  Alexis looked at him with a haughty face, then turned and pulled herself up into the saddle. “I won’t be leaving, Michael. Deal with it. Now get out of the way or I’ll have my horse run you down.” She violently kicked the horse’s flank and made it jump a little and neigh in pain. It took off out of the stable and she raced down the hillside toward the back of the property. He watched her go, gritting his teeth and wanting to throw a temper tantrum. He wanted her gone. What was it going to take to get rid of that woman, short of murdering her?

  He kicked the side of the stable door and hit it with the side of his fist, letting out a yell of rage.

  “Mr. Martin!” He heard the familiar sound of Morgan calling out to him from the front porch. He moved around the side of the building so that he could see the housekeeper. He yelled back and waved. Morgan gestured that he should come to her. He saw a look of concern on her face and moved quickly to get to her.

  “What is it, Morgan?”

  “Oh, sir. I…I can’t find Martha. She isn’t with Emma, as she usually is, and I cannot find her in the kitchen, the library, the study or her bedroom. I don’t know where she’s gone!”

  Chapter Seven

  When Martha regained consciousness, she found that her wrists and ankles were bound together by tight fabric cords. Another cord was tied around her head, and there was something in her mouth to gag her. She was lying on an old mattress on the floor in a room she didn’t recognize. There was a window, but all she co
uld see through it were trees. The room was otherwise bare and looked like it was about to fall in on her. She could see through cracks in the wooden walls. The floor was crushed, hard dirt.

  Her head was aching badly and she could feel that her hair was matted down on one side. She suspected whatever she had been hit with had split open her skin and what she was feeling was blood. She wanted to cry but it was only going to make her head hurt worse. Her anger was doing enough of that.

  She struggled against the restraining bonds, but they were too tight. She turned over onto the other side to see if there was anything in the room besides the mattress. There was nothing.

  She pulled herself up so that she was sitting and stared furiously at the door. She started to scream through the gag. It was so muffled that she wouldn’t be surprised if the person in the other room, if there was one, was unable to hear her. She pounded her feet up and down on the mattress. Her arms were tied behind her. She scooted forward and bounced herself on the mattress to bring her arms to the front, glad that she was slender enough to do it and that her skirts weren’t as big and poofy as they had been when she was living in the East.

  When her hands were to the front, she rolled over onto her knees and crawled forward to reach the door. Once there, Martha lowered her head to the floor and peered under the door, hoping there would be enough space between the bottom of the door and the floor for her to see a glimpse of where she was and if anyone was out there. All she saw was the bottom of a table, a few chairs and what was probably the front door. It had to be some kind of small shack. She assumed it was somewhere on Michael’s property.

  It didn’t look like there was anyone in the other room. She sat up again and struggled to get to her feet. She hopped over to the window and peered out. For a few moments, she pondered pressing her face against the wall where it was cornered for the window to try to get the gag off. She didn’t like the look of the wood there, it was splintered and old. She was afraid she would get hurt. Plus, who was going to hear her? She saw nothing but trees all around her and had no idea where on the property she was, if she was still on it.