by Regina Scott
The owner, it seemed, had seen to her every comfort. A table draped in white sat on the wide front porch, flanked by a pair of fanciful wrought-iron chairs that reminded her of the ones at the Pastry Emporium. The table gleamed with white bone china and silver. Good taste and money as well. Who was this paragon?
The door of the house opened, and Beth put on her best smile to meet the fellow. Instead, Maddie Haggerty, swathed in a frilly white apron, came out to set a plate of lemon drops and a pot of tea on the table.
“And a very fine afternoon to you, Miss Wallin,” she said, twinkle evident in her eyes. “Your host will be with you shortly.”
“Since when do you play French maid?” Beth teased, climbing to the porch.
Maddie winked at her. “Since you’re involved, me darling girl. Have a seat, and try to be kind.”
Kind? When had she been unkind? Did her mysterious client have some visible flaw? Was he lame, perhaps? Disfigured in some terrible accident? Or merely so shy he could not express himself well?
“Who is it, Maddie?” she whispered, attempting to peer inside the house.
Maddie put a finger to her lips. “Never will you be hearing it from me.” She disappeared into the house again before Beth could beg, leaving her no choice but to sit on one of the elegant chairs.
The breeze caught her hair, pulling a strand loose. She tucked it back. It couldn’t be Scout—he already had a perfectly fine house just down the hill. It wouldn’t be Clay—he was happily married to Allegra. Most of the men with any money were married already. Most of the unmarried men in town hadn’t purchased or built houses yet.
A noise caught her attention, the sound of a horse approaching. Was this her host? She raised her head, craned her neck to catch sight of him.
Arno trotted around the corner of the house, black sides gleaming, and her breath left her. Hart sat tall in the saddle, one hand on the reins, the other brandishing a sword. His black duster had been replaced with a white shirt from a previous age, the front and cuffs trimmed in lace. He reined in in front of her, then clicked to the gelding. Arno extended one leg and bent over it, as if offering her a bow.
Beth clasped her hands together to keep them from trembling as the horse rose, and Hart swung down from the saddle. Her legs pushed her to her feet and up against the railing.
He went down on one knee and planted the sword before him like a cross. “Lady Beth, I have ridden far in my life. But never have I beheld a fairer flower.”
Beth swallowed. “Hart, this is all very nice, but...”
He held up a hand. “Let me finish. I’ve been practicing for two weeks. This stuff isn’t easy to say, you know.”
Two weeks? Oh, the dear man. She clamped her mouth shut.
He raised his head as if determined to get through his speech. “I’ll never be a poet with gilded words to please you or a king with a castle and knights to place at your command. But I promise to tell you every day how much I admire you and to treat you like a queen. I will love, honor and cherish you all the days of my life. Will you marry me?”
Beth’s heart blocked her throat. She couldn’t speak, couldn’t breathe. She launched herself off the porch and into his arms.
He rose to catch her and held her close. Murmuring her name, he pressed a kiss against her hair. Then he leaned back to eye her. “I take it that was a yes?”
“Yes,” Beth told him, happiness flowing into every part of her. “Yes, yes, yes. I so appreciate you going to all this trouble, but I find it’s better if you just show someone how you feel.”
He chuckled. “I wish you’d told me that sooner. It would have been a whole lot easier.” He bent his head and kissed her, and it was a long while before either spoke again.
When he finally released her, it was to take her hand and lead her back onto the porch.
“So, you convinced Maddie to cater,” Beth surmised, feeling flushed even on the cool spring day.
“And Michael to make me that sword,” he confessed. “Ursula Wyckoff loaned me the shirt. It belonged to her grandfather.” He plucked at the frills, and Beth laughed at the look on his face.
“And who let you borrow the house?” she asked, clinging to his hand, a little afraid it all might evaporate if she let go.
He smiled. “No one. A person I admire advised me my wife might like it, so I purchased it.”
Beth gasped. “Oh, Hart, truly?”
“Truly,” he promised. Then he sobered. “It’s a good house, Beth, just as you said. But it will only be a home if you share it with me.”
“What a lovely proposal, Mr. McCormick,” Beth said, tears welling. “Have I told you how very much I admire you?”
“Yes, and to my sorrow I sent you away. Never again. I love you, Beth, and I want to spend the rest of my life showing you how much.”
“I love you too, Hart. So much.” Once more she had to hold him. She had a feeling that would happen a lot. Like the characters in her father’s books, like each of her brothers and their wives, like Allegra and Clay and Maddie and Michael, she had every hope that she and Hart would live happily ever after.
And they did.
* * * * *
Don’t miss these other
FRONTIER BACHELORS stories
from Regina Scott:
THE BRIDE SHIP
WOULD-BE WILDERNESS WIFE
FRONTIER ENGAGEMENT
INSTANT FRONTIER FAMILY
A CONVENIENT CHRISTMAS WEDDING
MAIL-ORDER MARRIAGE PROMISE
HIS FRONTIER CHRISTMAS FAMILY
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Keep reading for an excerpt from THE AMISH NANNY’S SWEETHEART by Jan Drexler.
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Dear Reader,
Thank you for choosing Beth and Hart’s story. I hope you enjoyed watching the youngest, and most determined, Wallin meet her match. If you missed any of the other stories in the Frontier Bachelors series, look for The Bride Ship (Allegra and Clay), Would-Be Wilderness Wife (Catherine and Drew), Frontier Engagement (James and Rina), Instant Frontier Family (Maddie and Michael), A Convenient Christmas Wedding (Simon and Nora), Mail-Order Marriage Promise (John and Dottie) and His Frontier Christmas Family (Levi and Callie). It has been my pleasure to bring their stories to you.
You can find more information on my books and sign up for a free email alert when the next book is out at my website at www.reginascott.com.
Blessings!
Regina Scott
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The Amish Nanny’s Sweetheart
by Jan Drexler
Chapter One
LaGrange County, Indiana
February 1938
“You’re sure you want to do this?”
Judith Lapp grinned at her brother-in-law, Matthew Beachey, as she climbed into the buggy. “I’ve been looking forward to going to a Youth Singing for years. Why would I refuse this chance now?”
Matthew’s grin echoed hers as he turned the buggy onto the road leading to the Stoltzfus family’s farm. “That’s just what your sister would say.”
As the horse trotted down the snowy road, the cold February air pressed close inside the buggy. Judith pulled her shawl more tightly around herself and tucked the heavy lap robe under her legs. A shiver made her teeth chatter, but she didn’t care. All those years growing up on the farm near Shipshewana, she had never gone to a Singing. Of course, she hadn’t been old enough to go until the last few years. Even so, she and Esther would never have gone if their older brother, Samuel, had had his way. Living at the edge of the Amish community, just like she had when their father had been alive, Judith had never felt welcome among the young people her own age.
But then, last fall, their lives had changed. Samuel had met Mary. The couple had wed in September, and Esther had moved next door to live with Mary’s sister and their aunt. Judith had joined them until she moved to Matthew and Annie’s home last week to help care for their growing family. Not only was she delighted to become reacquainted with Annie after their years of separation, her oldest brother, Bram, lived in the same community, and she was learning to know him again, also.
A tingling started in Judith’s toes and she tapped them on the buggy floor to warm them. Matthew’s shoulders were hunched, and he had pulled his chin into the collar of his coat like a turtle.
Dear Matthew. It had been his idea for her to live with him and Annie after the twins were born. Such wiggly, red, crying babies! Judith’s job was to fix meals and care for Eli, her eighteen-month-old nephew. She shivered again, but whether it was from the cold or happiness, she couldn’t tell. She had to pinch herself every morning to convince herself that her new life wasn’t just a dream.
Matthew turned the horse into the Stoltzfus farm lane and Judith leaned forward as they approached the large white farmhouse. A dozen or more buggies were lined up along the edge of the lane in front of the barn, the buggy shafts resting on the ground. Lights from the house shone onto the snow, and through the windows Judith could see a crowd of young people milling around inside the Stoltzfuses’ big front room.
Her grin grew wider. These girls would be her new friends. And, perhaps, some evening a young man would ask to drive her home from the Singing. A fine, upstanding Amish man who was looking for a bride to share his life with. Finally, the night she had longed for was here.
The barn door opened and closed in a beam of light as one of the young men led their horse into the warm shelter. Ahead of them, silhouetted against the lantern light from the barn, someone walked up the lane toward the house with his hat perched on the back of his head the way an Englischer would wear it.
“Is that Guy Hoover?” She nudged Matthew’s elbow. “I know I’ve seen him before.”
“It looks like it might be. He lives with the Masts on the farm across the road from us.”
“That’s right. He brought some milk over on Friday.” His smile had been enough to make her like him right away. “I don’t remember seeing him at meeting this morning, though.”
“He was there, but the Masts left before dinner. David said one of their cows wasn’t doing well this morning, and he wanted to get back to her.”
Judith smiled at the young man as the buggy passed him. He might have returned her greeting, but she couldn’t tell with his face wrapped to the eyes in a wool scarf.
“I’ll be back to pick you up at ten thirty,” Matthew said as he pulled his horse to a stop at the end of the walk leading to the house.
“What if some fellow asks to take me home?” Judith couldn’t resist teasing Matthew.
“Tell him he’ll have to wait. It’s my privilege tonight.” He helped her take the robe off her lap as she slid the buggy door open. “Have fun.”
“I will,” she said, but her attention was on the icy walk leading to the kitchen door.
Guy reached the back step the same time she did.
“It’s sure cold tonight, isn’t it?” His words were muffled by his scarf.
“Ja. Very cold.” She shivered, anxious to get into the warm house.
He pulled the scarf down, revealing a pleasant face and ready smile. “Do you remember me? Friday I saw you when I brought milk to the Beacheys.” He spoke in a mixture of Englisch and Deitsch words, turning his sentence into a jumble.
“For sure, I remember.” She remembered how his brown eyes had widened and then crinkled into a grin when she answered the door.
“In a hurry, you were...” He stumbled on the Deitsch words and switched to Englisch. “You were in a hurry on Friday.”
Judith changed to Englisch, too, as she reached the door. “You didn’t stay long, either.”
Guy opened the wooden storm door and followed her into the washing porch. “You surprised me. I didn’t know anyone but Annie would be there.”
“And then Eli was crying...”
“Those babies were, too.”
Judith unwound her scarf from her neck. “They always cry, but I don’t mind. There is nothing sweeter than a new baby, and the twins make things twice as much fun.” She glanced through the glass window of the kitchen door. The room beyond was crowded, and even though she longed for its warmth, she wished she had an excuse to stay here and continue visiting with Guy. She wondered why he didn’t seem comfortable speaking Deitsch, but how could she ask that question?
Suppressing a shiver, Judith settled for a smile. “It was nice seeing you again.”
Guy unwrapped his own scarf with one hand as he held the door open for her, then she was swept into the crowded kitchen.
Two girls stood between the door and the big kitchen stove, talking with each other, but turned to greet her.
“I’m so glad you came,” one of them said. “We met at church this morning. I’m Waneta Zook.”
“Ja, Waneta, I remember. It’s so good to see you again.”
“This is my friend Hannah Kaufman.”
“I saw you at meeting,” Hannah said. Her smile was friendly and welcoming. “You came with Matthew Beachey, didn’t you?”
“He’s my sister’s husband. I came to live with them last week.” Judith started to say how thankful she was that Matthew and Annie had opened their home to her, but Hannah’s face lit up.
“You’ve come to help Annie with the twins? What fun!”
Judith smiled as she untied her bonnet. “They are so sweet, but all they do is eat, cry and sleep. Annie keeps busy with them while I watch Eli and take care of the house.”
Waneta led the way to a back bedroom where Judith laid her shawl on top of a pile of other shawls and coats on the bed and set her bonnet on a table. She felt to make sure the hairpins were still holding her Kapp secure and ran her hand down her skirt to smooth out any wrinkles, then she followed Waneta and Hannah into the big main room. She found a spot against the wall with the other girls and watched the group of boys lounging along the opposite side.
Hannah leaned close to speak into her ear. “After the singing, I’ll have to introduce you to my brother. He’s that handsome one over there.”
Judith looked in the direction Hannah indicated. The young man was tall, and as good-looking as Hannah said. He glanced in her direction as he talked with some other boys who gathered around him, but Guy caught her attention as he stood off to the side, staring at her. He wore the same plain clothes that the other boys wore, but somehow, he looked out of place.
Before she could ask Hannah if she knew Guy, one of the older boys announced that it was time for the Singing to begin. As the girls took their places on one side of the long t
able in the middle of the room, the boys scrambled to sit across from the girl of their choice. Judith watched to see who would sit across from Waneta. The spot remained empty until a tall young man came in late.
“That’s Reuben Stoltzfus, Waneta’s beau,” Hannah said, whispering into Judith’s ear. She giggled as a young man sat across from her.
“Who is that?” Judith whispered back.
“Reuben’s brother, Ben.”
Hannah looked everywhere except in Ben’s direction. Judith didn’t dare look to see who had taken the seat across from her. She had never had much to do with boys, since she and her sister Esther hadn’t attended the Singings in their home district of Shipshewana. She didn’t know if she should say hello, or if she should acknowledge his presence at all. She watched Hannah, who finally looked across the table at Ben, blushing as she gave him a smile.
Judith dared to look at her partner. She drew a breath of relief when she saw it was Guy. His dark brown eyes crinkled as he grinned at her. She could only give him a brief smile before she looked down at her lap. The boys chose to sit across from a girl they were interested in, according to what Annie had told her about the Singings. But was Guy interested, or had he sat there because no one else did?
She took a songbook from the stack that was passed along the table and dared to meet his gaze again just as a voice called out the first song number. She fumbled with her book until she found the right page, knowing he was watching her all the time. The group started singing and she struggled to join in the unfamiliar tune. She glanced up again and was relieved to see that he was concentrating on the songbook.
Holding her book in front of her face, Judith squeezed her mouth shut tight to keep from giggling. She was at a Singing, and a boy was sitting across from her. So, this was what it was like to be grown up. She dared to peek at Guy again, but he was still concentrating on the book in front of him. She suppressed a little quiver that went from her middle all through her, then turned her eyes back to the words of the song. It was a hymn, but not one from the hymnal they used on Sunday mornings, the Ausbund.
