She hadn’t mentioned her meeting with Ethan or her return visit to his farm to her family. She preferred to forget about her foolish behavior and put it behind her, but she constantly found herself wondering how Ethan was doing. Not that it was any of her business. Still, even knowing that didn’t keep thoughts of him at bay. He needed help with those children. She hoped he wasn’t too proud to ask for it.
Faith came in from the kitchen. “Are you finished already?”
“That is the last of it.” Clara stopped the wheel and handed a spindle full of white alpaca yarn to Faith.
Faith took it and added it to an overflowing basket. “I’m glad to be done, but I am truly going to miss your company, Clara. I never would have finished in time without you. These orders can go out tomorrow.”
Faith’s husband, Adrian, came in holding their three-month-old daughter, Ruby. “Micah Gingerich is here. He says that you have chores you want him to do?”
“Indeed I have.” Faith sprang to her feet and marched out of the room.
Adrian laughed. “Never mess with that woman’s child or her alpacas.”
Clara held out her arms. “May I hold Ruby for a while? I will miss the time I’ve spent with you and with Faith, but it is this little one that I shall miss the most of all.”
He handed the sleeping baby to her. “I had better go see what jobs Faith is assigning to Micah. It’s always best when the grown-ups present a unified front.”
Clara held the baby close as Adrian left the room. She would miss being here more than she cared to admit. She loved babies. The Lord had found a beautiful way to begin people. Children were a constant reminder of God’s love and grace in the world.
Clara’s one great sadness was that she would never hold a babe of her own. The idea of marriage was utterly repugnant after her treatment at the hands of her would-be fiancé. No, she would remain single. She took a seat in the rocker and cuddled the baby until Faith returned.
Smiling, Faith crossed the room. “I’ll take her now.”
“Are you sure I can’t take her home with me?”
Faith propped her hands on her hips. “I could let you, but you’ll bring her back about three o’clock in the morning.”
“My sisters and I have raised a dozen bottle lambs on our grandfather’s farm this spring. I think we could manage this little lamb, too.”
Faith lifted the babe from her arms. “I’m sure you could. You will have babes of your own someday. Is there any young man in our community who has caught your fancy?” Faith asked with a quick peek in Clara’s direction and a knowing smile.
“Nee, marriage isn’t for me.” Clara looked down and didn’t elaborate. Oddly, Ethan’s face popped into her head. He needed a wife to look after his children.
Why should she think of him now?
Faith took a seat in the chair beside her. “I know some of your story, Clara. I know you escaped marriage to a brutal man by running away on your wedding day.”
Clara looked up, startled. “How did you find out?”
“Your sister Lizzie told me about it.”
“It was by the grace of God and by my sister Lizzie’s determination to save me that I was spared a life of hopelessness and pain.” Clara laid a hand to her cheek as she remembered the painful slap of Rufus’s heavy hand striking her.
Faith nodded. “Lizzie was very brave to travel all the way from Indiana to Hope Springs on her own. She was determined to find a place for you and your sisters to live. We are all thankful that she convinced your grandfather to take you in.”
“No one is more thankful than I am. Lizzie is the brave one. I could never have done what she did. If Rufus Kuhns had been determined to marry her instead of me, I wouldn’t have been able to save her.”
“You don’t know that,” Faith said gently.
“Ja, I do.”
“Is it true that Lizzie is going to marry your grandfather’s hired man in the fall?”
Relieved to speak of something else, Clara smiled. “Ja.”
“Carl King seems like a good man.”
Clara bit the corner of her lip. “I think he is.”
“You think, but you aren’t sure?”
Was she that transparent? Over the past few months, as the women had worked side by side in the bright and cheerful room, Clara had shared some of her life and had learned some of Faith’s story, as well. Faith’s first husband had been an abusive man. She had been a widow when she moved to Hope Springs.
Clara looked up and gazed intently into Faith’s eyes. “How did you know that Adrian wouldn’t turn out to be cruel, too? Weren’t you afraid?”
Faith smiled gently. “Of course I was. I felt as you do. I thought I would never be able to trust another man, but Adrian changed all that the first time he touched my face. There was so much gentleness in that touch. I knew he would never hurt me. I understand your fear, but there are good men, kind men, men who spend a lifetime loving their wives and being helpmates. You will find one.”
The very idea of submitting to a husband turned her insides cold. “My head tells me what you say is right, but I don’t feel that way. And this conversation has no point because there is no one interested in courting me. I should be getting home. I told Lizzie that I would help her finish canning corn this afternoon.”
“I understand. I’ll pray for you, Clara. I will pray that God has someone special in mind for you.”
Clara gathered her things together. “Pray that I get hired as the new schoolteacher. That’s what I truly want to do. I want to teach and take care of dozens of children. I can’t imagine a more perfect job.”
“Okay, I’ll do that, too. I’ll see you again at the Sunday’s service.”
The two women kissed each other’s cheeks, and Clara left the room. Outside, she saw Micah carrying a large armload of alfalfa hay toward the alpacas’ enclosure. She crossed the yard toward him. “Good day, Micah. I’m glad to see you have come to do chores as you promised.”
“My onkel promised I would come. I didn’t.”
His sullen expression worried her. “Your onkel was right in this. Your punishment could have been much worse.”
“Worse than the whipping I took? I doubt it. A lot you care. You’re the one who got me in trouble.”
“You got into trouble all by yourself, Micah. You have no reason to blame me. I seriously doubt that your onkel Ethan gave you a whipping.”
“He did. The minute you left he...he paddled me so hard I couldn’t sit down for hours.”
Clara folded her arms over her chest. “You are a very poor liar, Micah Gingerich.”
“I am not!”
She arched her eyebrow. “You’re not a poor liar? Then I reckon that makes you a good liar.”
He scowled at her. “I’ve got to go feed those stupid animals.” He trudged away without looking at her again.
She shook her head and muttered under her breath, “Poor Ethan. You really have your hands full with this one.”
How would he manage? It was painfully clear the boy was determined to tread the wrong path. Such defiance in one so young did not bode well for the family.
As she watched Micah enter the corral, she saw him spread out the hay, then slowly reach his hand toward one of the babies in the group who had come close to investigate. The hopeful expression on Micah’s face told her he liked the alpacas even if he wouldn’t admit it.
The baby stretched his nose toward Micah. The tentative exchange was cut short when Myrtle alerted the rest of the herd with a shrill whistling sound. The baby and all the others scampered away from Micah to the opposite side of the corral. He kicked the hay at his feet and stomped off.
Clara left the Lapp farm and walked toward her grandfather’s home. As she followed the winding country road, she couldn’t stop t
hinking about Micah’s attitude and Ethan’s inability to connect with the boy. Was there some way she could help?
She didn’t see how. Her job with Faith was finished for this summer. She wouldn’t be back to see how Micah faired with his week of chores unless she simply came for a visit.
Since the Gingeriches were members of a different church congregation, Micah wouldn’t attend the school where she hoped to teach. If she got the job, and if he were one of her students, she would have some contact and influence over him, but she couldn’t see a way to spend time with the troubled boy as things stood now.
She was crossing the small bridge that spanned Cherry Creek just beyond Ethan’s lane when she heard a familiar giggle. She stopped and peered over the railing. Lily and Amos were knee-deep in the muddy water below her. She quickly looked around for Ethan, but he was nowhere in sight.
She leaned her arms on the railing. “What are you doing?”
Lily looked up at her and grinned. She held a huge frog in her hands. The front of her dress was covered in mud and slime “See what I caught?”
“I see. That’s a beautiful frog.”
Amos was creeping toward the bank with his hands outstretched. “I’m going to get me one, too.”
He launched himself toward the shore. The bullfrog that was his target leaped over his head and disappeared into the muddy depths of the creek.
Clara tried not to laugh. “Where is your onkel?”
“He’s got a sick cow,” Lily said. “He told us to go play.”
“Do you think that he meant to go play in the creek? You are both very muddy.”
Amos looked from the front of his clothes to his sister’s sopping dress. “He didn’t say not to play in the creek.”
“I’m certain this is not what he had in mind. Come out of there.”
“Can I keep my frog?” Lily asked hopefully.
“I think he will be happier if you leave him in his own home.”
Amos waded to her side. “Let him go. We can catch him another time.”
“Okay.” She didn’t look happy about it, but she put him back in the water and giggled as he quickly swam away.
The children climbed up to the road beside Clara. Lily reached for her hand. Clara flinched slightly but grasped the child’s muddy fingers. Lily grinned at her. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Clara Barkman.”
“Have you come to play with us again?” She gave a beaming smile that melted Clara’s heart. What an adorable child she was.
“I’m just going to walk you home.”
“We didn’t tell about our hiding place,” Amos assured her.
“That’s good. Of course, if your onkel asks about it, you must tell him the truth.” She didn’t want the children to lie to cover up her foolishness. If Ethan found out, she would face the consequences.
Right now, she had two very muddy, wet children to deliver to his door. She wasn’t looking forward to their meeting.
Chapter Three
“Come on, Olga. You can do it. Just push a couple more times.”
Ethan had spent the better part of three hours helping his cow deliver her first calf. The calf had been turned wrong. It had been a monumental struggle to get it into the correct position. For a few tense hours, he thought he might lose them both. As it was, Olga was tiring after laboring all night. He pulled on the calf’s front legs to help ease it out into the world. He wasn’t sure it would survive, but he wanted to save both of them.
“Mr. Gingerich, may I have a word with you?”
He jerked his head around to see Clara Barkman standing outside the stall. Now what? Was Micah in trouble again? “I’m a little busy at the moment.” He pulled harder on the front legs of the calf when he felt the cow straining.
“Your two littlest children were playing down at the creek.”
“So?”
“They were in the creek.”
He scowled at her. “Are they okay?”
“They are fine. Muddy from head to toe, but fine.”
The calf came free, and he lowered it to the straw. “Come on, little one. Breathe.”
It was a small heifer. She struggled weakly. He quickly cleared the nostrils with his gloves. Her tongue was purple. It didn’t look good for her.
“I’ll take care of the children,” Clara said.
“Fine. Hand me that blanket.” He pointed to the corner of the stall. She slipped in and handed him the coarse bundle of fabric. “Danki.”
He wrapped the calf in it and began to dry her, rubbing vigorously to stimulate her breathing. She began to respond with deeper breaths and finally a weak bawl. The next time he looked up, Clara was gone.
He worked to get the calf breathing well then standing, and finally he guided her to her mother’s udder for her first meal. When she latched on and began to nurse, he let out a sigh of relief. It looked as if she was going to be okay.
He watched them for a while to make sure mother and daughter were bonding and doing well, then he left the stall and walked up to the house. He didn’t see Clara or the kids, but the sound of shrieks led him to the backyard.
Both his nephew and niece were sitting in a large blue plastic tub of soapy water and splashing each other. Clara was wringing out one of Lily’s dresses at a second tub. She shook it open and carried it to the clothesline, where a row of dresses, shirts and pants already waved in the hot summer breeze.
Lily saw him first. “I caught a frog, Onkel Ethan. It was a big one. Amos didn’t catch any. Clara made me let it go.”
There was still a trace of mud on her head. He squatted beside the tub and picked up the sponge that floated between them. He gently rinsed her hair. Clara stood beside the clothesline with her gaze fastened to her feet and her hands clasped in front of her. He said, “That sounds like an exciting adventure. Are you supposed to go to the creek alone?”
“Amos was with me.”
“I see. Amos, was it wise to take your sister to the creek without telling me?”
“I guess not,” Amos admitted slowly.
“The creek is very deep in places. Can Lily swim?”
Amos looked at his sister. “Can you?”
She shook her head. “No, but the frogs swim really fast. I’m going to swim like a frog someday. You can teach me, Onkel Ethan.”
Ethan smiled at her enthusiasm. Lily did everything with gusto. “I would if I could, but I don’t know how to swim. I’ll find someone to teach you pretty quick, but until I do, no more wading in the creek. It’s dangerous.”
Lily frowned at him. “Not even if Clara is with us?”
He looked at the shy beauty standing beside the fresh laundry. “I think God was looking out for you today by sending Clara along when He did. I’m grateful to Him and to her.”
“She’s lots of fun. She plays with us,” Lily said with a big grin for her new friend.
He stood and faced Clara. “She’s a very nice lady. I see she has washed all your clothes, too. We’d better thank her properly.”
Amos tipped his head to the side. “How do we do that?”
“Why don’t we ask her if we can give her a ride home so she doesn’t have to walk all the way in this heat?”
Amos rose to his feet. A stream of soap suds slid down his belly. “Miss Barkman, may we offer you a ride home?”
Ethan watched Clara struggle not to laugh. His nephew’s gallant offer was a bit comical considering his lack of attire. Ethan picked up a nearby towel, wrapped it around the boy and lifted him from the tub.
Lily stood, and Clara wrapped her in a towel before lifting her out of the water, too. As they faced each other with the children in their arms, Ethan wished he could see Clara’s eyes, but she wouldn’t look at him. He waited for her to speak.
>
Finally, she nodded. “A ride would be nice. I live with my grandfather, Joseph Shetler. Do you know him?”
“The one they call Woolly Joe, the sheep farmer? I’ve been by the place. It’s a long walk from here. I thought you lived with the Lapp family.”
“I worked for Faith Lapp. I’m a spinner, but my job there is finished for the year. I hope you don’t mind that I bathed the children out here. I didn’t want them trudging through the house in the state they were in.”
“It looks like a good idea to me. Come on, kids. Let’s get dressed and take Clara home.”
“The children have only nightclothes to wear. I’ve washed all the rest. Nothing else was clean.”
“I’ve been meaning to do their laundry,” he admitted. Along with a dozen other chores he couldn’t find time to get done.
She glanced at him, and he caught a glimpse of her stunning blue eyes before she dropped her gaze again. Her cheeks grew pale. “I didn’t mean that as a criticism.”
“I didn’t take it as such. The children and I appreciate your neighborly gesture. Danki.”
“You are wilkumm,” she replied in a small voice.
“Micah should be home soon. We’ll have lunch when he gets here. The clothes should be dry by then, don’t you think?”
She nodded without speaking. He hefted Amos to get a better hold on the boy and carried him toward the house. “Olga has had a new heifer. You children will have to help me name her.”
“Let’s call her Clara,” Lily said. He heard Clara’s bitten-off laughter quickly turn into a cough. It proved she had a sense of humor.
She said, “That’s very sweet, Lily, but it might get confusing. What if you said you wanted to go picking strawberries with Clara and your onkel gave the calf a basket?”
Lily said, “That’s silly.”
“Let’s choose a different name.” Ethan held open the back door so that Clara could go inside. She hesitated, but then rushed past him. She was as skittish as a wild colt. Why was she afraid of him?
* * *
What on earth had possessed her to accept a ride home with Ethan? Clara had agreed because she didn’t want to hurt Amos’s feelings, but she hadn’t thought about spending the next hour with Ethan watching her every move. He made her feel like jumping out of her skin.
The Amish Nanny Page 3
