by Leslie Gould
“Did Abra tell you about it?” Eve asked.
He shook his head. “I didn’t know until I read the note. Once I did, I thought you’d stay. You caught me off guard when you said you planned to move away. I didn’t know you had the note until then. I thought I’d lost it that night of the storm.”
Eve nodded.
Tim’s voice was a near whisper. “The children miss you.”
“I miss them.” She wondered if Tim missed her too, but then she realized he did. He wouldn’t have come if he didn’t. The knowing of it made her heart ache.
“I heard you’re moving back,” he said.
Eve nodded.
“Gut.” He clutched his hat again with both hands. “I hope, maybe, that you’ll pay us all a visit.”
Relief flooded through Eve. It might be the most her brother would ever say to her, but it was enough. “Are you staying for the meal?” she asked. She’d organized the women in the church to make a traditional Amish wedding dinner.
Tim turned toward Shani. Both she and Joel, along with Charlie, stood only a few feet away.
Shani nodded. “Let’s stay.”
Joel started toward the fellowship hall. Shani motioned for Tim to go ahead, and then she followed with the baby. Charlie stepped forward and took Eve’s hand. She sank against his shoulder, tears stinging her eyes. He kissed the top of her head and pulled her close.
It would never be perfect with Tim—but he would let her see the children. That was all that mattered.
37
Joel held the baby while Shani ate a piece of peach pie. She was stuffed after the roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, creamed celery, and yeast rolls, but she wasn’t going to waste the most amazing pie she’d ever tasted. After she took the last bite, Joel said, “Let’s go home.”
She smiled and then searched the hall for Tim. He stood along the far wall, arms folded, talking with Samuel’s father. Karina and her mother-in-law, who held onto Samantha’s finger as she practiced her standing, sat at a table nearby.
Charlie and Eve stood near the head table, talking with Leona.
Shani put her fork down.
“I’ll tell Tim we’re ready,” Joel said. “He can ride with me.”
“Thank you,” Shani said, reaching for the baby. “Maybe he’ll actually talk with another man.”
It took a while for Joel to pull Tim away. He seemed to be enjoying himself. He didn’t hug Eve, but he did pat her on the shoulder, and then he shook Charlie’s hand.
Gratitude swept over Shani. And there was more to be thankful for. Eve had passed her GED and her driver’s tests. Charlie would start the new job in Lancaster in early July.
No doubt there would be more bumps in the road. In the meantime, she was thankful that the Lehman children were keeping Zane grounded and away from the drama of the Englisch world. He much preferred playing with them to video games and school dances.
Joel motioned toward the door, and Shani followed, stopping to hug Charlie and Eve on the way. “See you soon,” Eve said, holding her and Adam tight.
Tim walked with Joel to his pickup, and a couple of minutes later they pulled around by her van while she buckled Adam into his car seat.
Then she followed her husband toward home. By the time they reached Lancaster County, the baby began to cry. By the time she turned onto Juneberry Lane, he was screaming.
“We’ll be home soon,” she cooed. “But first we need to stop at the neighbors.” As she followed Joel down the Lehmans’ driveway, the children started to run toward the pickup, followed by Monika, who had Trudy on her hip. Shani took Adam out of his car seat and positioned him on her shoulder. He immediately stopped crying.
“How was it?” Monika asked Tim.
“Different,” he answered.
Monika searched Shani’s face, and Shani smiled back at her, mouthing, “Everything’s fine.” Then she said out loud, “I can give you a ride home.”
“Denki, but Jenny’s spending the night with Lila—we arranged that with Tim beforehand—and I already have a ride.” The woman’s eyes sparkled.
“Really?” Shani shifted Adam to her hip so he could see the others.
Monika grinned. “Gideon. He’s taking me out to dinner.”
Shani couldn’t help but smile back. She hugged Monika, and the older woman began to laugh. “Stop,” she said. “I don’t want to make a big deal out of this. Not yet, anyway.” She pulled away and said, “You and Joel go on home. You’ve had a long day.”
Shani motioned to Zane and then asked, “Do you want a ride?”
“No, I’ll run home.” But he didn’t. He continued his conversation with Simon.
Tim turned to Joel and shook his hand. “Denki,” he said. “For everything. You and Shani have been good neighbors to my family—to all of us.”
Rose slipped to Shani’s side and hugged her. Shani hugged her back. And then Lila. Daniel stepped closer and she hugged him too. Then Simon. Finally she kissed Trudy, still in Monika’s arms, on top of her head, silently vowing to care for each of the Lehman children as much as Tim would let her. Joel and Tim didn’t say anything but their eyes were both shining.
Tim’s voice had a roughness to it—but not a sharpness—as he said, “I’m not saying everything’s going to be smooth from now on.”
“Of course not,” Joel replied. “How could it?” They both laughed.
Zane took off running toward the field, and Simon and Daniel followed. Lila, Jenny, and Rose stayed behind.
Tim yelled, “Be back in fifteen minutes to do the chores!”
“Come down for supper when you’re done,” Shani said, a little surprised by her spontaneous invitation. She had hamburger patties in the freezer. They’d barbecue. “The girls can come down now with Trudy—they can help me.”
Tim didn’t answer for a long moment, and Shani’s face began to grow warm. Maybe she was out of line to invite them. But then Tim said to Lila, “Go get Trudy’s car seat. You girls go with Shani. The boys and I’ll be down as soon as we’re done.”
“Denki,” Joel said.
As she fastened Adam back into his car seat and Lila secured Trudy, Shani thought of Eve, after they’d first met, quoting the verse: “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Shani would strive to love Tim and the Lehman children, Monika and Gideon, and Eve and Charlie as herself. To want the best for them. To support them. To pray for them.
And Joel too. Especially Joel. And her own boys.
As she drove the van down Juneberry Lane, the green canopy of the maple trees swaying overhead, gratitude flooded through Shani. Her grandfather’s farm had proven to be a place of healing for her family.
It wasn’t a perfect place—but it was the right place. They’d found a home where they could learn to love. A place where hope and joy and peace could grow, thanks to their Amish neighbors.
Acknowledgments
My thanks to Laurie Snyder for reading an early draft of this story and to Melanie Dobson for leading me through a later draft. Both of you helped me immensely. My ongoing thanks to my Bethany House editors, Karen Schurrer and Dave Long, for all of your invaluable editorial advice and support.
My gratitude to Marietta Couch, who answers my questions about the Amish, reads for me, and is a kindred spirit and sweet friend.
I’m thankful to Jim and Marilyn Weisenburg for sharing their broken hearts and God’s work in their lives through this last decade as they mourn their son, Staff Sgt. David J. Weisenburg, who was killed in Iraq. Your honesty has touched me deeply.
I’m also grateful to Deserae Schultz for sharing her experiences as a military spouse.
I am thankful, as always, for my four children and what I’ve seen through their eyes. All have bravely experienced what it’s like to have a father mobilized and deployed.
Last but certainly not least, I’m grateful to my husband, Colonel Peter C. Gould, for answering my endless questions about Army life and medical issues. I’m also thankful for your many years of serv
ice, loyalty, leadership, and endless support.
Leslie Gould is the coauthor, with Mindy Starns Clark, of the #1 CBA bestseller The Amish Midwife, a 2012 Christy Award winner; CBA bestseller Courting Cate, first in the COURTSHIPS OF LANCASTER COUNTY series; and Beyond the Blue, winner of the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice for Best Inspirational Novel, 2006. She holds an MFA in creative writing and lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and four children.
Learn more about Leslie at www.lesliegould.com.
Books by Leslie Gould
THE COURTSHIPS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
Courting Cate
Adoring Addie
Minding Molly
Becoming Bea
NEIGHBORS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
Amish Promises
Resources: bethanyhouse.com/AnOpenBook
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