The Patch of Heaven Collection

by Kelly Long

Yet it was der Herr, his conscience reminded him, who had truly arranged things. He said a silent prayer of thanks, and then they were engulfed in the goodwill of those present.

  Violet watched as Grant and Sarah Williams went to congratulate Grace and Seth, accompanied by Sarah’s brother, the enigmatic Luke King.

  Grace and Violet were distant cousins of the King family, and Sarah Williams was formerly a King, so although they barely knew each other, there was a very distant family connection.

  Violet had gone to some trouble to have introductions properly made between her and her King relatives, including Luke. Then she went about the room, ferreting out every last piece of information that she could about Sarah and her family. Her husband, Grant, had been an Englisch veterinarian who moved to the community two years prior. Grant had fallen in love with Sarah and converted to be Amish.

  And Luke? Twenty-three. Sworn bachelor. Farmer. Married to his work.

  Violet smiled to herself. He doesn’t stand a chance.

  Tobias Beiler yanked at his stiff shirt collar and drove the distance to Fibber’s Motel, outside of Lockport. The place was not to his liking, with its lime-green paint and flashing neon sign, but it was somewhere no Amish would ever come looking for him.

  He entered his room and crushed a cockroach with a heavy boot, then made for the bed. There he picked up his Bible and began to read from Genesis. He liked the story of when Abram, later Abraham, gave the first choice over the best of the land to his nephew and Lot took it.

  Tobias smiled. This no doubt hasty marriage of Grace’s was but a temporary setback until Gott gave him the choice of things most pleasant in life.

  He picked up his heavy, leather-bound journal and a pen and flipped through the unlined pages to mark the date. My dear departed brother, he wrote, I toast you with wedding water. Grace is married, literally at the eleventh hour, but I am not yet vanquished. I will have her, and all that is rightfully mine . . .

  CHAPTER 12

  Grace caught Abel against her hip and watched with cautious pleasure as Seth bent to whisper in her son’s ear. It must have been a good secret, because a rare smile crossed the boy’s face. Seth straightened up and reached to hold her hand.

  She was unused to such casual tenderness and touch. Over the years she had grown accustomed to Silas’s bruising grip, and she wondered what it would be like to truly relax into the calloused strength of Seth’s hand.

  Her husband’s hand.

  She smiled as Lilly and Jacob approached. They did indeed look like a couple expecting their first child as they touched shoulders and smiled. Grace wondered if she would ever look at her new husband with that much love.

  “Grace, you look so beautiful, as always,” Lilly said gaily.

  Although Grace nodded her thanks, a knot of anxiety twisted inside her at the words. She should have been pleased with the compliment. But she had learned from Silas that beauty was a curse, not a gift.

  “And, Abel, a happy birthday to you!” Lilly went on. “Jacob and I have a special present for you later.”

  Grace prodded her son gently, and he murmured his thanks.

  Seth’s mother came to lead them to the head seats at the kitchen table. There was no formal eck or bridal table, as there would have been for a first-time bride, but leaves had been added to accommodate the guests; and Grace appreciated all the effort Seth’s mother had gone to. The table was laden with ham, mashed potatoes, green beans, steaming gravy, cooked celery, and two huge frosted cakes, one with the fluffy white boiled icing Abel loved so much. She was grateful to her new family for acknowledging her son’s birthday.

  They all bowed for a moment of silent thanks, and Grace prayed that she might be a good wife to the younger man next to her. It occurred to her that she had no idea how old he was. She’d have to ask.

  She almost jumped when she felt him lean in next to her ear. “Prayer’s over, sweetheart. Can you pass the potatoes?”

  Grace looked up with a flush of embarrassment. All eyes were on her, and Seth’s hand gently enfolded hers. She broke free of his grasp to lift the heavy bowl of potatoes, and then the moment passed and the guests began to laugh and talk and eat.

  Grace glanced over at Abel, seated securely between Jacob and Samuel Wyse, and saw with relief that he was heartily eating the food piled in front of him.

  “I think he’s having a gut time,” Seth said.

  Grace turned to look at him, not prepared for the intensity in his blue eyes. She nodded briefly in agreement and toyed with her food.

  “You don’t want to be told that you’re beautiful, do you?” he asked under cover of the general talk. Grace felt a lump begin to grow in her throat.

  “How . . . how do you know?” she whispered.

  “Because when Lilly said it, you sort of tensed up. But I’d like to say it.”

  “Well, don’t,” she said. She felt a catch of dismay and looked at him, expecting a rebuke. But he continued to smile at her, poised and patient.

  “Grace Wyse, I think you’ll find that you can say just about anything and you won’t rile me. And I’ll try not to rile you, my . . . fraa.”

  He didn’t say the word beautiful, but its implication hung in the air, laden with promise, a promise requested by the bishop that Grace knew she would have to struggle to keep.

  So is it a waste of time to ask if you have any questions about the wedding night?”

  Jacob spoke in the summer twilight air and Seth shot him a sour look. “Nice, Jacob. Thanks, but nee. Besides, you and Lilly—I mean, well, I know there were some problems.”

  Jacob smiled. “It was worth the wait. But my wedding night? Well, let’s just say that after a few days I started sleeping on the floor.”

  Seth shrugged. “Maybe that’s where I should start.”

  “Two people can sleep in a bed, Seth, and just sleep. Maybe you should put a bundling board between you.”

  They both laughed at the reference to the old custom of putting a board between an engaged couple and letting them share a bed. Then Jacob grew serious.

  “Seth, that man, Grace’s former brother-in-law—there’s something not right there. I don’t think he’s going to let go as easily as he did today. I want you to be careful.”

  Seth nodded. “I’ve thought of it. I’ll watch.”

  “Then watch well. I don’t want to be an only child.”

  Seth frowned. “You don’t think he’s as bad as all that, do you?”

  Jacob thought for a moment, then drew a deep breath. “There have been times, when I’ve gone to buy a maimed or beaten horse from a cruel buyer—there’s a look in that person’s eyes. It’s almost as if they have to tell themselves that there’ll be another horse to abuse and they can let this one go. But there’s only one you, one Grace, one Abel. I think Tobias Beiler is capable of anything.”

  Seth nodded. “I see Lilly coming. I’d better head back in.”

  Jacob caught him by the sleeve, then gave him a rough hug. “Keep your chin up, bruder.”

  “Right.”

  “Hey, I almost forgot—your wedding present, and Abel’s birthday present.” Jacob turned him in the direction of one of the smaller barns as Lilly joined them.

  “Should I get Grace?” Seth asked.

  “I think you should be the one to give this to Grace and Abel,” Lilly replied, running ahead a bit to slide the barn door open.

  Seth expected a colt. He knew some of the mares from their horse-breeding farm were about ready to foal, but Lilly led them instead to a small pen as Jacob lit a kerosene lamp.

  Lilly stooped down, then lifted a small, soft puppy up into her arms. A golden retriever, by the looks of her fur and the shape of her head. “Isn’t she wunderbaar?”

  Seth smiled with real pleasure.

  “I read an article that said dogs can sometimes help children like Abel to feel more calm and comfortable,” Lilly said, handing him the puppy.

  “That’s great. Danki, both of you. It’s a perfect
present to start wedded life.”

  Seth cuddled the small body against him and thought with pleasure of giving it to his new family.

  Family. The word echoed in his mind. He could hardly believe that he was married to the woman he’d longed for over the past months. Tomorrow he would ask Grace about adopting Abel so the boy could share his name, if he wanted.

  The puppy stretched to lick his chin and Jacob laughed. “Looks like another girl is smitten by your charm, bruder.”

  “Jah,” Lilly added. “A charm you’re going to have to apply only to your wife now.”

  “That will be no problem,” Seth said. “No problem at all.”

  CHAPTER 13

  Grace had tried to help with the redding-up but was hastily shooed away by a flurry of ladies. So she hobbled into the living room and propped up on the couch. Abel soon joined her and she lightly stroked his dark hair until he fell asleep by her side.

  Tired. So tired. She closed her eyes and drifted, and her mind carried her back to the early morning of this long, long day.

  She had put the finishing touches on the quilt just before nine a.m. Seth came by to drive her to the post office to get it out in time.

  The postmistress, Edith, had obviously heard through the grapevine of their wedding and teased Grace lightly as she paid for her parcel. “Probably won’t have to keep your quilting business going now, will you, honey? This boy’s as rich as can be.”

  “Ach, I don’t know. I—”

  “Now, Edith,” Seth said, “Grace can quilt all she likes or doesn’t like. It’ll be up to her. And don’t go spouting off about money when I know what a little nest egg you’ve got going.”

  Edith straightened her kapp and winked at them. “Might go to Vegas someday.”

  “With the bishop?” Seth asked, and they all laughed.

  Then Edith produced a letter for Grace. “It’s from Middle Hollow, Ohio. Used to live there, right?”

  “Jah.” Grace took the letter with trepidation, fearing it might be some legal paper from Tobias Beiler.

  “What is it?” Seth had asked urgently, bending over her shoulder with concern.

  “It’s all right. It’s from a friend.” She cut a glance at Edith. “I’ll read it later.”

  With Seth close behind, Grace made her exit, leaving Edith disappointed and crestfallen.

  Grace rubbed her eyes and slid the unopened letter out of her apron pocket. It was from Alice Miller, her only real friend in Middle Hollow. Alice was Englisch, and Silas had hired her to help cook and clean when Grace was pregnant and sick in the early months of carrying Abel.

  Alice had become a lifeline for Grace—the only person who saw through the religious façade Silas wore, the only one who so much as suspected the abuse. The only one who knew where Grace was going when she fled Middle Hollow after her husband’s death.

  Repeatedly Alice had urged Grace to leave Silas, and repeatedly Grace had refused. What Alice didn’t know—couldn’t know—was how far Silas was willing to go to keep her under his control. Grace had to protect Abel. She could not take the chance of losing him or being separated from him.

  Grace scanned the letter and her heart sank. Alice’s husband, Bud, had passed away. Alice asked if there was any way she might come and visit for a spell. She needed to get away, she said. Just for a while.

  Grace knew how much Alice and Bud loved each other. How she must be grieving.

  But what would Seth say to their having company so soon after they had married—especially since Violet was with them? Still, Alice would be no trouble . . .

  She’d talk to Seth about it. Soon.

  Right after she closed her eyes for just a few minutes . . .

  She thought she might be dreaming but didn’t seem to care enough to wake, she felt so fuzzily warm and pleasant. She cuddled closer to Abel, then jerked awake to find herself pressed against Seth’s chest with her hand on his. She moved to draw away, and he let her go easily.

  “You must be exhausted,” he said. “But I think you might have enough energy to enjoy at least one wedding gift.” He pointed to the floor, where Abel was lolling about with a reddish-gold puppy.

  “Mamm, look! Her name’s Pretty. I named her. Is that okay?”

  Grace eased upward on the couch. The guests were all gone. She must have been asleep for quite some time.

  “Of course.” She smiled. She glanced at Seth. “Seems a dog might be good for him. My husband—that is, my former husband—”

  “Wouldn’t allow it,” Seth finished. “Yes, so you’ve told me.”

  He leaned his broad back against the cushions, moving a bit closer. She forced herself to sit still, to resist the desire to flee from such intimate touch. She didn’t know how to handle his gentleness and prayed that it was no ploy. Yet she trusted him with Abel and the horses; surely she could learn to trust him herself.

  “It seems that there was much your husband wouldn’t allow.” It was more statement than question. She murmured an affirmation under cover of Abel’s laughter. A rare sound, and a delightful one.

  “Well, this husband is different.”

  He smiled at her, and for a moment she felt herself cast back into that girlhood fantasy—the handsome Amisch boy with golden hair and perfectly chiseled features.

  But things were not always what they seemed.

  Least of all a person’s heart.

  Sohn, your mamm and I are going to move out to the daudi haus tonight. We’ve got the bedroom here all fixed so you and Grace can have it. I wanted to let you know.”

  Seth raised his eyebrows at his father across the back of Star Bright. “What?”

  It was the custom of their people that parents would often move out of the main house to a smaller adjacent residence, but Seth hadn’t thought that far. He tried to imagine him and Grace and Abel rambling around in that huge three-story farmhouse.

  “I talked to Jacob,” his father went on. “He’s bent on building up the farm that he and Lilly are in with her mamm.”

  Seth sighed inwardly. Jacob was content living with Lilly and her mother. Lilly’s mamm had battled depression for quite some time but was growing better every day. Still, the fact remained that his bruder had every right to this home. And even though Lilly’s family’s sprawling white farmhouse was large enough, it was no comparison to the Wyse home.

  “Daed, I can’t let you. I feel like I’m uprooting you and Mamm. Grace and I can manage with the daudi haus and then move when . . . well, if—”

  His father laughed. “When more grandkinner come along, eh? Well, that probably won’t be long. We’re getting a head start, that’s all. It’s the way of things, Seth. You know that.”

  Seth nodded. His daed was right. It was the way of things.

  He only wondered exactly how he was going to navigate Grace to the master bedroom without appearing overly eager.

  CHAPTER 14

  Tobias Beiler left the run-down motel room and retrieved his horse and buggy from the old garage out back, then drove to the end of town and stopped at a restaurant called Pinky’s. There Amish buggies were tied to a hitching post among Englisch cars. It was just the kind of place where he might find the information he needed.

  He went inside, pulling his hat low in case any of the wedding guests were present.

  He needn’t have worried. Nobody in the place looked even vaguely familiar. He slid into a back booth, facing away from the door. A tall, thin Englischer approached him with a menu. “You new around here?” the man asked.

  Tobias nodded and handed back the menu. “Burger. Rare.”

  “How about a shake? We make ’em nice and thick.”

  Tobias swallowed. Milk products upset his stomach, but being agreeable seemed more important. “Sure. Chocolate.”

  “Got it. Anything else?”

  “I might be looking for work, if you know anybody who’s hiring,” Tobias said.

  The Englischer scratched his chin. “Try Deacon Zook, just east of town,�
�� he said. “His hired man just moved on, so he might be wanting somebody.”

  “Thanks for the tip,” Tobias said. “For an Englischer, you know a lot about what goes on around here.”

  The man grinned. “See that sign on the window? Pinky’s?”

  Tobias nodded.

  “Well, I’m Pinky. I’ve been here for years. You need something, just ask.”

  But I want to sleep with you.” Abel’s voice rose a fraction, and Grace hastened to soothe him before anyone could hear. She’d gotten into the habit of letting him crawl into her bed late at night or early in the morning, a luxury she could never have afforded with Silas. And now, Abel was understandably upset at the prospect of sleeping in his own room in a strange house.

  Not that she wasn’t a bit concerned about similar things herself. She knew Seth was a gentleman, but—

  “Mamm!”

  “What’s the trouble here?” Seth stood in the doorway of the kitchen, smiling. He’d changed into a blue work shirt to do chores, and his face was pleasantly flushed.

  “It’s nothing,” Grace hurried to assure him.

  “Jah, it be,” Abel bawled out.

  “Abel, please be quiet. Think of Seth’s parents,” Grace said tightly.

  Seth waved a hand. “Nee, don’t worry. My parents have tucked themselves up in the daudi haus, starting tonight.”

  “Well there,” Abel cried. “Then there’s lots of room. Please, Mamm?”

  Grace met Seth’s eyes in apology. “He’s afraid of a new house and wants to stay with me, but I’ve told him—”

  “He can come in with us.” Seth shrugged. “It’s a big bed.”

  Abel suddenly raced across the room and began to beat at Seth with small fists. “No, no, no! You’ll not make Mamm sleep with you and make her cry in the night like Fater used to! I won’t let you. I won’t let you!”

  Pretty’s shrill barks added to the chaos. “Whoa, whoa there, buddy. I don’t want to make your mamm cry, not a drop.” Grace could see that Seth was gently holding the boy off, but he was visibly confused. He looked over Abel’s head to Grace.

  “Abel, sei so gut. I’ve told you Seth is not like—” She broke off.