[2016] The Precious Amish Baby

by Faith Crawford

  He tilted his head slightly. “Are you sure you should be going on a picnic? You…you look like you might be ready to have your baby.”

  “Doc says I’ll know when it’s time. He says I will feel intense pains and that there are other signs that show it’s time.”

  “Do you know what to expect? I’m sure you’ve been talking to Amanda and Bethany. They’ve both had children.”

  “Yes, they’ve given me some advice.”

  He nodded. “Well, if you really feel like you can safely go on the picnic, we’ll go. But I think maybe we should stay close to the ranch.”

  Rebekah put one hand against her back and smiled at him. “Perhaps we should.”

  ***

  It turned out to be a very wise decision to have the picnic in the meadow just beyond the barn. Halfway through their meal, Rebekah turned a resounding laugh into a pained squeal. Andrew jumped to his feet, an excited look on his face.

  “Are you ready? Is he coming?”

  Rebekah looked up at him with wide eyes. “Oh Andy, I think we’d better get back to the ranch quickly.”

  “Will you be able to walk? Do I need to carry you?”

  She laughed. “I don’t think you can carry me, Andy.”

  “Of course, I can!” He exclaimed. “I’m strong! You aren’t that heavy! I can…”

  “No, I mean I don’t think I will be comfortable if you carry me. I don’t want to be…oh, oh!” She closed her eyes, feeling a sharp pain sliding up from her knees into her lower back. “Oh my, let’s hurry, let’s hurry!”

  He grabbed her elbow and they made their way back to the house. “Daniel!” Andrew spotted his young friend as he came out of the stable, a large saddle in his hands. When Daniel saw the way Andrew was supporting Rebekah and the look of pain on her face, his eyes opened wide. He dropped the saddle and took off toward the house calling over his shoulder, “I’m getting the Doc!”

  Andy and Rebekah smiled at each other before another birth pain took over the look on her face. “Oh, oh!” She moaned. All she wanted to do was lay back on the birthing table the doctor had set up in the house. She wanted to have the baby now. Her pains were not very far apart. She prayed that she would make it to the room, where blankets, buckets and a comfortable bed were waiting for her and her new baby.

  “I am not going to let you go, Rebekah,” Andrew said, putting one arm around her waist to give her additional support. “I…I’m never going to let you go. Or the baby. Never.”

  “Oh, Andy. I have been hoping to hear you say that. I don’t want to leave. Ever.”

  He shook his head, leaning in to give her a soft kiss on the cheek. “I should never have reacted the way I did. I…I loved you when I first saw you. And I love you even more now. I will love your baby, too.”

  “I want him to be your baby, Andy.”

  “He will be. I will make him mine.”

  “Will you help me pick out a name for him? Do you want his name to be Andrew, as well? Andrew the Second?”

  He laughed softly as they began to take the steps up onto the porch very slowly and one at a time. “No. He’s not a junior. He’s not the second. But thank you for offering. That’s sweet of you.”

  “Do you have a suggestion?”

  “How about the Doc’s name? His name is Phillip.”

  Rebekah smiled. “Oh, I like that name very much, Andy. Very much.”

  “Phillip it is then.”

  “And Philippa if it’s a girl.” She supplied.

  “Very nice. Very nice.” He held the door open for her but stopped her with a touch on her chin. They gazed into each other’s eyes. The pain ebbed through her but when it eased up, all she could feel was a warm flow of intense love for the man in front of her. She felt tears of happiness rising in her eyes.

  “Oh no.” He whispered. “Are you in terrible pain?”

  “It doesn’t hurt right now.” She breathed softly. “I…I just love you. I love you so much, Andy.”

  He pressed his lips together and closed his eyes for a moment. “Oh, Rebekah. I love you, too. I always have. I should have been telling you that all this time.”

  “You are an amazing man. I’m so glad I came to be with you. You will be a wonderful father for my baby. You will be. I know it.”

  “I will love you both.” He leaned forward and put his lips on hers. When he pulled back, he cupped her cheeks and rested his forehead against hers. “I will love you both until I breathe my last breath. Come on. Let’s get you in there. We’ll have a new member of the family to greet very soon.”

  *****

  THE END

  Bonus Book 9: The Doctor's Bride

  By: Faith Crawford

  Description

  A mail order bride, a lonely doctor and an orphaned boy. Can they be happy in the dangerous west when bandits come after them?

  Emma Lenore was one of nine children who heard of a lonely doctor out west in need of a wife. Growing up in a clapboard house, Emma had always dreamt of a life out with the cowboys, far away from her family.

  Aiden Barlow has been a doctor in the Colorado territories for ten years. Even though he’s dealt with stabbings and bullet wounds, Aiden remains a quiet and serious man. The beloved doctor of a dusty town, he has a young son, Cole, an orphaned boy he rescued and raised as his own.

  When Emma arrives in the Colorado Territories she’s overwhelmed by the exciting new landscape, but none of it compares to the handsome Dr. Barlow. The two begin a happy life together, but the west is not a place where happiness blooms easily.

  It’s a dark night when the happy couple hears a banging at their door. Outlaws from the fringes have come to the town. They’re dangerous and angry and in need of a doctor. Aiden warns Emma to hide and stay safe, but the bandits know she’s in the house...

  Chapter One

  The train rattled down the tracks. Suitcases and hat boxes jumped and shuddered with every turn of the wheels. Outside, the long, empty plains flicked past Emma Lenore’s wide eyes. Tall, yellow wheat shivered in the wind. It was like looking at an endless ocean of grass.

  It was all so much. It was all too exciting. Emma peeled her eyes away from the world outside and looked around her cramped train compartment. She should have felt afraid. The nuns who were escorting her certainly seemed nervous. The two darkly-clad women in their full habits sat with their bags on their laps, rosary beads in hand, mouthing the words of a prayer. They kept their eyes cast down and refused to speak to anyone else.

  Emma wasn’t afraid at all. This was amazing. There were so many different kinds of people in their second class car. Far on the other side were several farmers and their wives. Next to them were two lawmen with a brooding, handcuffed prisoner between them. They were smoking a pungent-smelling cigarette and laughing heartily. The handcuffed man had a huge purple bruise on his face and a beard that stretched halfway down his chest.

  In front of the lawmen were a man and a woman from China. Emma had tried her hardest not to stare at them, but she found them fascinating. The beautiful woman was wearing a red silk dress and a simple woven hat that covered most of her face. In front of them were an Irish family who spoke with a heavy brogue.

  It was exactly like the comic books her little brother Sammy used to read. Their father hadn’t approved of the book's contents, the story of Jesse James and his boys, and so they used to read them in secret after their father had gone to bed.

  This was just like the great train robberies they had read about. She looked around excitedly, wondering if the train would actually be robbed. It would be so exciting! She wasn’t afraid of robbers. She didn’t have anything worth stealing. She had no money or jewels; she was as penniless as the nuns she traveled with.

  She almost wished Sammy were here. He would have loved this. But this was a journey she had to take alone. She had left her entire family behind. All her five brothers and four sisters were still back in Appalachia scrounging for blueberries and blackberries while she, and she a
lone, got to go West.

  “Perhaps you should take some time to read the bible while we drive,” one of the sisters said quietly. Emma couldn’t remember which one was Sarah and which one was Mary. Her two companions were almost identical and were always finishing each other’s sentences.

  “Yes, sister,” Emma said, as she took the bible from her bag. She opened it to her favorite book: Esther. But her eyes refused to remain glued to the page. There would be a noise or a shout and she would lift her gaze and lose her place. It wasn’t poor Esther’s fault, the train was just far more exciting than her adventures with the Persian King. Besides, Emma could read the bible anytime she wanted. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

  They had been traveling for three weeks. She had got used to the sway and rattling of the train. She didn't even hear it anymore. At night, she and the sisters slept in their seats and she had become used to sleeping sitting up.

  Pretending to read the bible, Emma secretly pulled out her picture of Dr. Aiden Barlow and looked over his handsome features: a clean-shaven jaw, bright eyes and a slim figure. The nuns had helped her write her letter to Dr. Barlow showing her interest. The priest wrote a letter in her favor. One month later, Dr. Barlow responded that Emma would make a perfect wife to him and mother to his young son.

  “You did what?” Her mother’s voice had vibrated with anger when she had heard the news. She had been doing the washing up when Emma had arrived, letter in hand. She had been worried about putting Dr. Barlow’s letter in her mother’s soapy hands. She didn’t want it to fall into the washing tub.

  “You can’t run off to the other side of the country and marry some stranger. Who's going to help me around the house?” her mother demanded. At that moment the baby, Vincent, started crying and Emma picked him up and held him to her shoulder, patting his back softly to soothe him.

  “Evelyn, Cynthia and Margaret will help you,” Emma said, referring to her three younger sisters who were still at home. “I thought you would be happy. My leaving means there’s one less person for you to feed and house. Besides, I’m eighteen now. It’s time I got out of the house and out of your way.”

  Her mother looked hurt when she said that. Wordlessly, she grabbed her son from her daughter’s arms and, shaking her head, walked out of the house.

  It was the truth. Ninechildren was far too manyfortheir cramped cabin, and there was a tenth on the way. There was always work to do, always laundry to clean, dishes to wash, food to prepare. There were always grubby hands and hungry mouths.

  There was no solace in the local village. It was far away, a half day's walk, and even then there was nothing there. Just a general store and a post office. Her entire life she had seen the same faces and spoken to the same people. The world was so big, and she couldn’t stand to only see a small corner of Virginia.

  The ad had been a sign from God, Emma was sure of it. She had spent the night before sitting up with her baby brother, who had the croup. She had put a large pot on the stove and filled it with water. All night she sat with the baby, holding him near the steam to help clear his lungs. After that, on no sleep, she had to make her brother’s breakfast and clean the house before church.

  It had been too much. She was exhausted and could barely keep her eyes open. The thought of going home after church to more work and more sick babies was more than she could take. She snuck out the side door after the service and walked over to the hollow of a small tree to cry in private.

  She hadn’t heard the priest coming. But when he sat down next to her, she quickly dried her tears with her hands and looked up at him.

  “Hello, Father,” she said, her voice hitching with a sob.

  “Good morning, Ms. Lenore,” he replied, as he leaned back against the tree. “It is a lovely day for sitting outside, is it not?”

  “Yes, sir. A very fine day.” She had no idea what the priest wanted or why he was bothering with her. She glanced up near the entrance, worried her father was going to come around and tell Emma to stop bothering the Father.

  “Why are you crying, Emma?” he asked her. “You can be honest with me. I am your priest. Whatever you tell me will remain between you, me and the Lord.”

  “I’m sorry, sir,” Emma said. “I’m just very tired. The baby was sick and there’s always so much work to do at home. I know the bible says to honor thy mother and father, and I try to everyday, but it feels like they’re crushing me. I worry that I’m going to spend my entire life elbow deep in soap suds cleaning up after every brother and sister my mother bears.” The words came out in a rushed waterfall, one tripping over the other as they spilled from her.

  “You wish for more to life than our little valley?” The priest asked.

  She nodded, “I know it is wicked and sinful. I know that I must learn to accept my place. But it’s so hard.”

  “Why do you think wanting more is wicked and sinful? Yes, the good book does say to honor thy mother and father, but it also instructs us to not waste our talents. You do not have to stay here, Emma. You take the Lord with you wherever you go. Tell me, where does your heart long to go?”

  “West,” Emma answered, almost immediately. She remembered the books and newspapers she had seen with pictures of wide plains, horses and Indians. It was nothing like the woody Appalachians.

  “Really?” the priest asked. He sat up a little straighter and ran his hands through his thick beard. “Would you really like to travel west?”

  “Yes, sir. More than anything.’

  “There is a doctor in the Colorado Territories,” he mused. Emma looked up at him hopefully. She was expecting him to say the doctor needed a nanny or a washing girl. Instead he continued, “This doctor requires a wife to aid him and help raise his son.”

  He glanced down at Emma and she looked up at him hopefully. “Is that something you would be interested in?”

  “Yes,” she answered without hesitation.

  Chapter Two

  The town was like nothing Emma had ever seen. She knew it was rude, but she couldn’t stop from staring all around her with her mouth hanging open. The dusty road was filled with carts and lone gunslingers on horseback. There was a general store, three different drinking establishments, a clothier, a blacksmith, a stunning church and a town hall: and that was just on Main Street.

  The nuns held her back.

  “The streets are dangerous,” the nuns whispered, as they hurried to the church. “You must never go into the town alone.” As they said this, Emma watched as a young lady wearing a shiny blue dress, with her hair in a fancy up do and her face and lips painted red, went hurrying past. The nuns gasped and pulled Emma close, but the woman hadn’t even noticed them.

  “Whore,” one of the nuns hissed, and Emma spun around to get a better look. She had never seen a prostitute before. But the woman had turned down a side street and the last thing Emma saw was her swishing green skirt.

  The nuns grabbed her elbows and urged her on. They had only taken a few steps when a loud whistle came their way. There were three men leaning against a banister in front of a hand-painted sign that said ‘Rusty’s Saloon’.

  “Where are you taking that pretty little thing?” one of the men asked, leering at Emma. “Why do you want to go with those nuns, pretty girl? You’re far too sweet to give up on men yet, love. Why don’t you come inside? I’ll buy a drink and treat you like a real princess.”

  Emma stared at him, unsure of what to say. She obviously had no intention of going into that saloon. She wasn’t that foolish. But she was curious. She just wanted to see what it looked like in there. The nuns shook their heads and gave no response to the man. They just pulled Emma along, hurrying to the church.

  Emma had never before had this much time to herself. There was no one making demands on her, no children to watch, no dishes to clean. It was just her and this wild town that she never wanted to leave. She spent the night at her window watching the street below. Near midnight, a pair of actual Indians wearing their
strange clothes came to the town and Emma had to resist the urge to yell down at them.

  She finally fell asleep in the darkest part of the night and she was still halfasleep when the nuns woke her for the wedding. Through sleepy eyes she dressed in a simple white dress and veil, and then suddenly she was following the nuns through the hallway and to the chapel.

  She was about to start an entirely new life, free of her family and her siblings. She could be anything she wanted. She was going to live in this exciting city and meet new people and see new things every single day. Her heart was thundering in her chest. Her hands were shaking a little. This was it.

  The chapel doors swung open and she saw Dr. Barlow standing at the end of the aisle. Tall and thin with dark eyes and clean-shaven jaw, he looked quiet and serious. His clothes were fine and he stood with a regal bearing, his back straight, his hands at his side. She stood up a little straighter, wishing the nuns had allowed her to put on some rouge or do her hair a little more nicely.

  She walked down the aisle, aware that all eyes were on her, but she kept hers fixed on Dr. Barlow. He was appraising her, his eyes running up and down her body, bringing a flush to her cheeks. He smiled at that, the tiniest of smiles, one that disappeared immediately, but she had seen it. He liked her, or at least he liked how she looked in her wedding dress.

  She remembered nothing of the ceremony. The priest said the normal things, but she was too focused on the tall man in front of her. Her brothers and sisters had made fun of her for weeks before she left. They told her she was going to marry some fat, gross, hairy man, but Dr. Barlow was none of those things. He was handsome, his shirt was perfectly starched and he smelled wonderful.

  The gold ring slipped easily onto her finger. She fumbled a little when it came time to put his on. Her hands would not stop shaking, but she managed and he gave her a kind smile to show her he did not mind. She smiled back at him and felt her heart swell.