At Home in Pleasant Valley

by Marta Perry

  Pete grinned. “I saw you, too. Didn’t want to start a fuss out in public, so I just thought I’d follow along at a safe distance. See, the guy at the gas station already told me where the Beilers lived, so I didn’t have to get too close.” His face darkened suddenly. “Enough of that. Give me the baby.”

  “Why? You don’t love her. You don’t even know her.”

  “She’s mine. I’m taking her.” He flexed his fists. “You think farm boy here is going to stop me?”

  “I will not fight you.” Samuel said the words slowly in English. “But I will not let you take Gracie.”

  Pete didn’t respond. Maybe his words hadn’t even penetrated. Instead, he charged toward Anna.

  Samuel stepped between them. He could not hit the man, but he could put his body between Anna and danger, and he would.

  Pete jerked back, anger flaring in his face. Then he swung.

  Samuel made no effort to deflect the blow. Planting his feet, he took it, hands at his sides, like being hit full in the stomach by a horse’s kick.

  “You think I’ll back off because you won’t fight? You’re wrong.” Pete swung again, this time catching Samuel on the jaw, snapping his head back.

  “Stop it!” Anguish colored Anna’s voice. “He won’t hit you because it is against our faith. Please, Pete. Give Gracie a chance to have a decent life. That’s what Jannie wanted for her.”

  “My kid,” Pete muttered, shaking his head. “Mine.” He feinted, trying to get around Samuel. Samuel stepped into his path again. How long? How long could he do this?

  Pete charged him, his fists connecting viciously. Samuel’s head spun, and he staggered back a step.

  Had to stay on his feet. Had to. If he didn’t, there’d be nothing protecting Anna and the baby. Couldn’t let go, couldn’t . . .

  His feet went out from under him. He struggled, trying to get up. Pete kicked him, sending him back down again.

  Red haze threatened to envelop him. He fought it, hearing Anna cry out. Blinking, he tried to focus, saw Pete grab Gracie and send Anna to the floor with a blow.

  Gracie gave a frightened scream. Samuel struggled to get his knees under him, push himself up. Pete was going. He was heading toward the door with Gracie . . .

  “Stop!” Elias’s voice sounded like a clap of thunder. “Stop now!”

  • • •

  Anna had never heard anything more welcome than her father’s voice. She rolled to her side, pushing herself up, trying to clear her head. Daadi was there. Daadi would make it right.

  In an instant, sense came rushing in. What could Daadi do? Pete would not let one old man stop him.

  “Daadi, don’t . . .”

  “You think you can stop me, old man? You want to fight?”

  “I will not fight you,” Daadi said evenly. “But I will not let you take my grandchild.”

  “We also.”

  Joseph was there, clinging to the door to stay upright until Myra slid her arm around him. Matthew pressed close to Daadi’s side, his young face filled with determination. The four of them filled the doorway. Her people.

  “You can’t stop me.”

  But for the first time, she heard doubt in Pete’s voice. She forced herself onto her knees.

  “Pete, stop and think. You don’t want to do this. You can’t take care of a baby. What kind of life will you give her? How can you travel and hang out with your friends when you have to watch a baby?”

  Pete shook his head, his face twisting. “Tell her to quit the screaming. I can’t think with all this screaming going on.”

  “She won’t stop just because I say so. She needs comforting. She needs her mother. Please, give her to me, Pete.”

  “No!” His face contorted. “I’ll take care of her. She’s my kid.”

  “How will you care for her?” Daadi’s voice was stern. “You have beaten an innocent man who would not raise a hand against you. You have hit a woman who loves the child. Is that how you will take care of her?”

  “I wouldn’t hurt the kid. Just make her stop crying.” Pete’s voice rose. He shook Gracie. Her crying lifted to a frightened shriek.

  A fresh jolt of terror went through Anna. “Is that what you told Jannie? That you wouldn’t hurt her?” Her heart was beating so hard that it drummed in her ears. Was he hearing any of this? “How long do you think it will be before you strike out at Gracie?”

  “I wouldn’t.”

  But she thought there was hesitation in his tone, and her heart leaped with hope.

  “A father wants what is best for his children,” Daadi said. “No matter how much it hurts him, he does what is best for them.”

  He didn’t press. He just stood there, looking at Pete, his face grave. Waiting.

  Please, God. Please, God.

  Pete’s expression hardened, as if he’d made a decision. He strode toward the four who stood in the doorway, and her heart seemed to stop.

  He thrust Gracie into Daadi’s arms. Gracie buried her face in her grossdaadi’s shoulder, her shrieks fading away into sobs as he cradled her in his arms.

  Joseph and Myra moved back, clearing a path. Without a word, Pete walked away.

  A sob shook Anna. She managed to crawl the few feet to Samuel even as the others hurried toward them.

  “Samuel! Are you all right?” Stupid. Of course he wasn’t all right. He had let Pete beat him. For her and Gracie.

  His smile was the slightest twitch of his lips. “We are all right now.” Then his eyes glazed, and he slumped into her arms.

  • • •

  Anna bent over Gracie’s crib. She winced a little as the bar brushed her ribs. Once again, she had Pete to thank for a set of bruises, but this was the last time.

  Oddly enough, she had no doubts about that. God had delivered them today. He wouldn’t let them down in the days and years to come.

  She stroked Gracie’s hair, crooning to her. Gracie’s eyes drifted closed as sleep claimed her. Anna lingered, reluctant to leave the room. Though she didn’t doubt God’s care, it might take a while before she felt easy when Gracie was out of her sight.

  She kissed her fingertips and touched them lightly to Gracie’s forehead. “Sleep well, my sweet girl,” she whispered.

  She tiptoed from the room. Judging by the sounds coming from downstairs, most of the family was still here. They’d begun arriving within an hour of Pete’s departure, summoned by that mysterious Amish grapevine that seemed to work better than any telephone. Even Bishop Mose had heard and had come.

  Anna started down the stairs, listening to the hum of voices in the kitchen. The women were there, it seemed, while the men had taken over the front porch.

  Bishop Mose saying thanksgiving had, she thought, short-circuited all the wondering and questioning. The right reaction to such unprecedented events, his attitude seemed to say, was to praise God for His deliverance.

  She reached the bottom of the stairs and hesitated. She wanted, no, needed, to see Samuel. To assure herself that he was all right.

  He’d refused to let the paramedics take him to the hospital, insisting that his bruises would heal and nothing was broken. Maybe so, but the need to see for herself drove her to find him. A glance through the window told her he wasn’t on the porch with the other men.

  She went back to the kitchen, to be greeted by the smiling faces and loving voices of the women. Rosemary, who’d arrived with a message from Liz moments after Pete had left, had gone home finally, saying she’d call Liz back.

  Everyone else was here, waiting. Leah, sitting on the bench with little Rachel asleep in her lap and her stepdaughter leaning against her shoulder. Myra, her face filled with a peace Anna hadn’t seen there in what seemed a long time. Barbara, cutting slabs of apple walnut cake that Esther was passing around.

  Her people, Anna thought again, as she
’d thought when they’d put themselves between Gracie and danger. Not saints, just ordinary people who loved her. Her family.

  “Did she go to sleep all right, poor lamb?” Barbara asked. “She wasn’t still upset, was she?”

  “No, she is fine.” Anna hesitated, feeling as if she should say something to them, something of how she felt, of how dear they were to her.

  “Ser gut,” Leah said softly, her face communicating she knew exactly what Anna was thinking. “Everything is gut now.”

  Anna nodded, sure that if she did try to speak, she would burst into tears.

  “Samuel insisted on going out to check on the horses,” Myra said, her voice casual. “If you wanted to go out for a breath of air, you might tell him there’s cake and coffee ready anytime he wants.”

  Anna’s heart filled. “Ja. I will.” She went quickly out the back door.

  They would talk about her and Samuel once she’d gone, but that didn’t bother her as it once had. She understood now that it was all in love.

  Their voices faded as she walked out into the cool evening. She stepped off the porch and paused. Would Samuel have gone over to his barn?

  But there he was, leaning on the fence, watching the young colt grazing in the ring. Like a bird heading for its nest, she went to him.

  He shifted toward her as she walked across the grass and joined him at the fence. His face was so battered that she grew in a shaken breath at the sight, but his eyes were peaceful.

  “How are you?” She touched his hand where it lay on the rail, and he clasped hers instantly.

  “I am well.” He smiled. “Contented, I think, is the right word. Do you know what I realized today, when I was lying on the barn floor?”

  “That you should never have gotten involved in my troubles?”

  “No. Never that.” Gentle humor edged the words. “I realized how foolish I’d been, with all my worries about whether I would make the same mistakes my father did.” He turned to face her, clasping her hand in both of his. “I knew then that I was ready to die for you and Gracie. If I would die for you, how can I doubt that I would live for you, always?”

  He’d stolen her breath away. “Are you so sure of me?” she said when she could finally speak. “I have a bad history of running away when things are difficult.”

  “I’m not worried.” His eyes were tranquil. “You will not run anymore. I love you, Anna, but I won’t rush you. Take as much time as you want to answer.”

  She realized the answer didn’t require any time at all. It was already there, in her heart. She’d come home in desperation, but it was God leading her to the place where she needed to be. The only place where she could be the person she really was in her heart.

  She smiled, looking at him. “November is not so far off,” she said. “If Bishop Mose thinks I’m ready to be baptized into the church, we can be married then. I have a feeling I would like to follow tradition in that.”

  “Anna Beiler, following tradition,” Samuel said. “Think of that. Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.” She lifted her face for his kiss. “The prodigal is home to stay.”

  EPILOGUE

  Anna took the black prayer kapp from her head and set it carefully on top of the bureau. She picked up the white one that sat waiting and placed it on her head.

  The act seemed almost as solemn as the vows she and Samuel had taken moments earlier before Bishop Mose and the gathered community. She and Samuel were husband and wife. In a moment she’d meet him to go back downstairs to take part in the wedding meal—their first appearance together as a married couple.

  “Anna, do you need any help?” Leah paused in the bedroom doorway, smiling at her. “You are a bride, little sister. I am so happy to see this day.”

  “Denke.” Anna blinked back the tears that sprang to her eyes. “I wish Mammi—”

  Leah came quickly to hug her. “I know she would be very happy. She always liked Samuel so much.”

  “She did, didn’t she?” Even when Samuel had been just Joseph’s friend, Mammi seemed to have a soft spot in her heart for him. Now he was her daughter’s husband. Leah was right; Mammi would be pleased.

  “The food is ready to start serving.” Myra came in, her eyes growing moist as she looked at Anna. “But first I had to come and see my sister.”

  “Twice your sister,” Anna said, her heart filling with love.

  Myra was rounder now, though it didn’t show so much when she wore the cape, as she did today in honor of the occasion. She and Joseph had moved past the difficult adjustment they’d had to make into a state of serenity about the baby. The shadows were gone from Myra’s eyes, and she seemed to look ahead with joy.

  “Your friend from the city didn’t know what to think of the wedding.” Myra’s eyes twinkled. “She asked if you were forbidden to wear a bridal gown because of the baby. I told her this is your bridal gown, but I don’t think she understood.”

  Anna smoothed her hand down the skirt of the deep blue dress she wore, made by her own hands with a little help from Myra. And the white apron, which would be kept to be put on over her dress when she was buried. She wouldn’t tell Liz that—it would be too much culture shock.

  “No, Liz wouldn’t understand, but I think she is happy for me.” Liz had gotten over her initial surprise at learning Anna was Amish. She’d probably been a little hurt, too, that Anna had kept that from her, but she seemed to understand. And she had traveled all the way from Chicago to sit on a backless bench in a barn for three hours to see her friend married.

  “Rosemary has taken her in hand,” Leah said. “She’ll explain it all.”

  Anna nodded. Rosemary had proved to be a staunch friend to the Amish. She’d begun volunteering at the medical clinic, filling her days with work that was valuable to the whole community.

  “I have gut friends and family. I owe you all so much . . .” She couldn’t find the words.

  “Ach, enough,” Leah said. “There’s no talk of owing among family.”

  “Besides, your groom is here, waiting to take you downstairs.” Myra gave her a little shove toward the bedroom door.

  There in the hallway, Samuel stood waiting, holding Gracie in his arms. He’d been solemn for the ceremony, but now his lips curved with pleasure at the sight of her.

  She went to him quickly. “I thought Elizabeth was watching the little ones.”

  “Ach, how could our Gracie not sit with us at the eck table for our wedding?” Samuel cuddled her close. “She is our daughter, so she must share the joy of this day.”

  “Until she starts to fuss at being still for so long,” Anna said, but her heart was touched by his gesture.

  No, not a gesture. Samuel really did feel that way. He had been willing to lay down his life for Gracie. No one could love more than that.

  She reached toward him, and Samuel drew her immediately into the loving circle of his arm for a warm, strong hug.

  “So,” he said, dropping a kiss lightly on her lips, “are you ready to go downstairs and greet our friends as husband and wife, Anna Fisher?”

  “I am.” She said the words like a vow. She linked her arm with Samuel’s, and they started down the stairs toward the waiting crowd.

  Below, she saw the happy faces of those who waited for them—the dear, familiar faces of all who loved and supported them. Her family, her church, her friends. They would stand by this new family through all the years ahead, God willing, and she would be forever grateful that God had brought her home.

  RECIPES

  Chicken Potpie

  For noodles: Mix together 1 tablespoon butter, ½ teaspoon salt, and 2 cups flour. Add 2 beaten eggs and 2 tablespoons milk. Mix together until a firm dough forms, then turn onto a floured board and roll out in a thin layer. Let stand for 30 minutes. Cut into 2-inch squares.

  2 potatoes

 
2 onions, sliced thin

  3 cups cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

  2 cups hot chicken stock

  salt

  pepper

  parsley, chopped

  Slice potatoes ¼-inch thick. Line the bottom of a heavy kettle with potato slices. Add a layer of noodles, then a layer of onions, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parsley. Add a layer of chicken. Repeat all layers, including potatoes, using up all the ingredients. Pour boiling chicken stock over all. Cover tightly and simmer on the stove top for 20 to 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.

  Funnel Cakes

  3 eggs

  2 cups milk

  ¾ cup sugar

  3–4 cups flour

  ½ teaspoon salt

  2 teaspoons baking powder

  vegetable oil

  confectioners’ sugar

  Beat eggs in a small mixing bowl, then add milk and sugar. In a separate large bowl, sift together half the flour with the salt and baking powder. Add the milk and egg mixture. Beat batter until it is smooth. Add only as much more flour as is needed to make a batter just thin enough to run through a funnel. To a large, heavy skillet add vegetable oil until it is two inches deep. Heat oil until hot. Drop dough through the funnel into hot oil, twisting the funnel as the batter falls to make swirled shapes, each one seven to eight inches round. Cook until the bottom is light brown, then turn and cook the other side until it is also light brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper or linen towels. While still warm but not hot, dust with confectioners’ sugar.

  End-of-the-Garden Relish

  12 large green peppers

  12 sweet red peppers

  12 large onions

  1 small head cauliflower

  1 stalk celery

  3 cups sugar

  3 tablespoons salt

  2 tablespoons mustard seed

  1 quart apple cider vinegar

  Substitute cucumbers or other types of peppers as desired. Core and remove seeds from peppers. Remove ends and outside layers from onions and the ends from the celery. Remove stem and any leaves from cauliflower. Chop the vegetables to a fine dice and combine them in a large stockpot. Add the sugar, salt, mustard seed, and apple cider vinegar (white vinegar can also be used). Cook over high heat for about 15 minutes. While still boiling, ladle into hot, sterilized canning jars and cap.