Amish Romance Box Set: Finding Home

by Brenda Maxfield

  “Nee!” she heard Ruthie cry from the front room. “John, you stop tormenting your sister. Stop it at once!”

  Mellie hurried to the front room. All four of the children were crowding around their mother. Ruthie’s face was flushed, and her eyes were ablaze.

  “You young ones need to go outside! Now, go!”

  “Mamm, I don’t want to,” Tilly said. “Can you come with us?”

  Ruthie groaned. “Of course, I can’t come with you. Have you eyes, child?”

  Mellie bit her lower lip. Ruthie was always curt and harsh but not usually with her children. She had to be feeling mighty poorly to let them get under her skin.

  “Children,” Mellie said, “how about we go for a walk? We can head toward Edmund’s Pond and see if the water has frozen.”

  “Can we go slipping on it?” Walter asked.

  Mellie laughed. “The pond won’t be that frozen yet, but we can check the progress.”

  “Don’t you even think about falling into the pond,” Ruthie said.

  “May I take them?” Mellie asked her. “Just a quick walk there and back.”

  A look of raw relief flooded Ruthie’s face. “I suppose,” she said, obviously unwilling to admit how badly she wanted to be left alone. “If you bundle them up real good.”

  “Children, you heard your mamm. Now, scoot, and get on your boots and warmest coats. Don’t forget your mittens.”

  The children dashed off, and Mellie turned to go.

  “Thank you,” Ruthie said.

  Mellie looked back. “You’re welcome, Ruthie.”

  “I don’t know what’s come over me,” she continued. “Everything’s getting on my nerves today.”

  Mellie wanted to laugh. Things always got on Ruthie’s nerves, but she couldn’t be so rude. Ruthie was clearly blind to her own abrasiveness.

  “It’s all right,” Mellie assured her. “You’re entitled to some restlessness. I know you hate to be sitting about all day.”

  Ruthie leaned her head back in the chair. “I hate it. It’s true.”

  “Just a few weeks more,” Mellie said. “You’ll be up and around in no time.”

  Ruthie’s cheeks puffed out with air. Then she let it out in a moan. “Can’t happen soon enough for me.”

  “I’ll take good care of the kinner. You rest now. We’ll be back later.”

  Mellie gathered the children together on the front porch. The winter sun shone brightly on the cold ground. Mellie could almost hear the air crackle with anticipation. The naked trees in the front yard cast spidery shadows on the cold spiky grass.

  “It’s freezing,” Ellen complained.

  “Not for long,” Mellie said. “Let’s get moving and get your blood circulating.”

  They followed her down the steps and across the yard. Once on the street, Mellie organized them.

  “I want you all walking on the side close to me. If we hear a car coming, we’ll move to the very, very edge. All right?”

  “You think the pond is really frozen?” John asked.

  “I think it very well could be.” Mellie herded them down the road. “Let’s go find out.”

  The two youngest skipped down the road in front of them. The older two lagged behind, following Mellie. There seemed to be no one about. No buggies. No cars. Mellie took a deep breath of air, letting the fresh cold sink down into her lungs. She adjusted her own mittens, glad for their protection.

  They were about halfway to the pond when Mellie heard her name called. She turned around and saw Obadiah wave. She waved back.

  “Hey, that’s Obadiah,” Ellen said. “I wonder if he’s going to the pond, too.”

  Mellie seriously doubted it. Obadiah was now walking quickly toward them.

  “He’s coming!” John said.

  “Walter, Tilly, slow down a minute,” Mellie called to them. They stopped their skipping and turned back.

  “Hi, kids,” Obadiah greeted them, panting a bit. His breath came out in huge puffs of white.

  “Hi,” Ellen said.

  “Where are you going?” Mellie asked him.

  “The Millers, over by Edmund’s Pond.”

  “Hey, we’re going to the pond, too!” Tilly cried.

  “We’re gonna see if it’s froze,” Walter said.

  Obadiah squeezed Walter’s shoulder. “Don’t be going on the ice yet. It won’t be frozen nearly hard enough.”

  “We know that,” Tilly said. “Mellie done told us already.”

  Mellie laughed. “That I did.”

  Obadiah fell into step with them. It wasn’t long before Tilly and Walter were out in front again, laughing and pushing each other as they led the way. Mellie tried to think of things to say to avoid any awkward silences with Obadiah, but she needn’t have worried. Ellen and John kept a conversation going with no effort on her part.

  There was one more bend in the road before they got to the pond when Mellie heard a cart approaching from the rear.

  “Get over, children. Someone’s coming,” she called. She stepped onto the shoulder of the road and turned to see a medium-sized pony cart approach.

  Caleb.

  Mellie nearly gasped. What were the odds that he would be coming by at precisely that moment? And coming by to see her walking out with Obadiah. Caleb drew near and pulled back on the reins.

  “Hello, everyone,” he said, but his eyes were on Mellie.

  “Hi Caleb,” Ellen and Walter said at the same time.

  “We’re going to Edmund’s Pond,” Tilly announced. “To see if it’s froze.”

  “Ahh. You’re wanting to slip and slide, aren’t you?”

  “But the ice ain’t strong enough yet,” Walter said.

  “Nee. I don’t imagine it is. But soon. Maybe a couple more weeks.” Caleb shifted in his seat and smiled at the children.

  “Hello, Caleb,” Obadiah said. There was a strange look on his face, and Mellie couldn’t imagine what he was thinking.

  “Obadiah,” Caleb answered with a touch to the brim of his hat. “You kids want a ride? Want to jump into the back of the cart?”

  “Can we?” Ellen asked Mellie.

  Mellie’s gaze darted to Obadiah. She knew he wouldn’t be wanting to jump in the back of Caleb’s wagon. But yet, they hadn’t started the walk together, anyway.

  John had already hurtled himself into the cart and was sitting cross-legged with a pleased grin on his face.

  “Can I sit up there with you?” Tilly asked Caleb.

  “Sure can,” Caleb said. “Long as it’s all right with your aenti.”

  Tilly’s large brown eyes looked at Mellie. “Can I?”

  Mellie shook her head with a smile. “Oh, why not?”

  “Yeah!” Tilly cried, and John leaned over and pulled her in with him.

  Ellen and Walter both scrambled into the bed of the cart. Mellie looked at Obadiah. “Enjoy your day,” she said.

  He set his lips in a straight line and nodded.

  “See you,” she said.

  “Soon,” Obadiah replied. His voice was abrupt, and Mellie wondered if he was angry. Yet, he had no reason.

  She got into the back of Caleb’s wagon and sat next to the three children. Tilly had already squirmed her way to the bench and was sitting quite proudly next to Caleb. Mellie clasped her hands in her lap. It felt as if the temperature had dropped ten degrees since they’d started out.

  Caleb got the wagon underway, and they passed by Obadiah. Mellie smiled and was ready to wave at him as they passed, but his eyes were fixed straight in front of him. Mellie sighed. Well, what did she expect? Yet a part of her was disturbed. She didn’t like any sort of conflict, and she was uncomfortable knowing things were strained with Obadiah.

  “All right. Here we are,” Caleb said as he pulled the cart to a stop under a large oak tree. All the kids scrambled from the wagon and ran to the pond’s edge.

  “You be careful,” Mellie called, climbing down. “Don’t you slip into the water.”

  �
�It’s ice! Like you said!” Walter called.

  Tilly jumped up and down. “When can we slide across it?”

  “Not for a while,” Caleb responded. “Come mid-January, it should be fine.”

  Tilly took off to join the children. Mellie stood a few yards up from them, watching carefully. Ellen found something on the ground, and they all gathered around her, chatting.

  “Nice kids,” Caleb said, standing next to her.

  “Jah.”

  He was a good five or six inches from her, but she felt his presence as if he were rubbing against her shoulder. Her heart raced and if it wasn’t so cold, she knew she would have broken out in a sweat.

  “So, Obadiah was walking with you.” Caleb’s voice was nonchalant.

  Too nonchalant, Mellie thought with a start. He was deliberately acting as if it didn’t matter, but she sensed his need to know. She gulped in a mouthful of icy air. “We met him on the way,” she said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. She saw his shoulders relax at her words, but he kept his eyes on the children.

  “Where were you going?” she asked.

  “Returning home from the Feed & Supply.”

  Her brow crinkled. Edmund’s Pond was not on the way to the Glick farm from the Feed & Supply, but she didn’t comment.

  “You opening your shop this afternoon?”

  “Jah. At one o’clock. Why? Are you needing something?”

  He turned his gaze to her, and his clear blue eyes were so direct that she wanted to step back. She couldn’t read what he was thinking. His eyes held hers for a long moment, and then he finally answered her. “Nee. Not needing anything. Just wondering is all.”

  “Okay.” She put on her best smile, but it faded quickly when he didn’t smile back. She frowned. “What’s wrong?”

  He grimaced. “Wrong?” He shook himself and rubbed his hand over his chin. “Nothing. Nothing at all.” He looked away then, and she saw his jaw tense.

  She couldn’t figure him out. Sometimes, she thought he actually liked her. Other times, she hadn’t the foggiest idea how he felt. She let out her breath in a sigh.

  “Children! Let’s get going now. We don’t want your mama to worry, do we?”

  Ellen scooped up whatever they had been studying and brought it close. “Look, Mellie,” she said. “It’s the wing of a butterfly.”

  Mellie looked down at it. “Why, so it is. What’s a butterfly wing doing on the ground in the middle of winter?”

  “It’s a miracle,” Tilly piped up. “Put there special for us to find.”

  “That’s dumb,” Walter said with a snort. “It weren’t put there for us.”

  “I guess how it got there doesn’t matter,” Mellie interrupted. “All that matters is you found it and appreciate its beauty.”

  “It’s pretty,” Tilly said. “Can I hold it, Ellen?”

  “Nee. It’s about ready to fall apart as it is.”

  “Perhaps, it will last until we get home, and you can show your mother. What do you say?” Mellie asked them.

  “Gut idea,” John said. “Let’s go.”

  “Hold on. Don’t we have something to say to Caleb?” Mellie asked.

  “Thank you for the ride,” John said, and the other children joined in with their thanks.

  Mellie held out her arms and acted somewhat like a sheep dog, directing them back the same way they’d come. She gazed back over her shoulder. “Thank you, Caleb.”

  He stood straight and tall. “You’re welcome, Mellie.”

  She turned back to the road and closed her eyes for the briefest of seconds. She even liked the way her name slipped from his tongue.

  Chapter Five

  Hollybrook often had thunder and lightning storms in the late spring and summer. They didn’t, however, have them often in the winter. So when a resounding boom of thunder awakened both her and her sister in the middle of a Saturday night, Mellie was shocked. So much so, that both she and Faith ran to the window to peer outside.

  “How strange,” Faith said, pulling the curtains aside.

  “I remember one other time there was a winter thunder storm, but I was really young at the time.”

  “You think it’s waking up the kinner?”

  “I don’t know. But we’ll probably hear Ruthie’s shrill voice soon.”

  Faith covered her mouth with her hand to suppress her laughter. “You’re right wicked, Mellie Fisher.”

  Mellie recanted. “So I am. I take it back.”

  Faith leaned close and whispered. “But it’s true, and we both know it.”

  They skittered back to their beds. Mellie scrunched down under the covers and listened to the storm. There was something cozy about being inside, tucked warmly in bed, when the weather outside was a fright. She’d always loved lying in bed and listening to rain pelt the roof.

  “It shouldn’t last long,” she said into the darkness.

  “Nee, it shouldn’t.”

  And just that quickly, the thunder stopped, although the heavy rain continued. Mellie felt sure it was sleet. She heard Faith rustle with her covers.

  “Mellie, are you staying back today?”

  “You mean, miss the preaching service?”

  “Jah. It’s your turn.”

  “I know. It’s fine. I’ll stay and watch over Mamm. She hates it when one of us misses preaching, but it can’t be helped.”

  “Nee, it can’t be helped. Mellie, is Mamm going to die?”

  Mellie sat up. “What?”

  “Her arthritis just keeps getting worse.”

  “But … die? I don’t think so.” Mellie gazed at the dark lump in her sister’s bed. “I don’t know that much about it.”

  “The Englisch have computers, and I heard that they can look up anything and have answers in a minute or less.”

  Mellie lay back down. “I’ve heard the same.”

  “I also heard that some districts allow men who have businesses, like furniture making, to have computers.”

  “Really?”

  “Jah. I heard it. I wonder if our bishop would ever agree.”

  Mellie laughed softly. “Nee, I don’t imagine he would.”

  “But if he did, maybe you could get one. You have a business.”

  Mellie laughed again. “Can you imagine what Ruthie would say if I got a computer? She doesn’t even like that I have the shop.”

  Faith yawned. “She’ll come around. Should we go back to sleep?”

  “Storm is over, so I guess we should.” Mellie looked at her battery clock. She had to get up in two hours to start her baking. Then she almost chuckled. It was Sunday. She wouldn’t be doing any baking at all that day.

  The family squished into the buggy and the pony cart and headed to the Troyers for preaching service that morning. Ruthie insisted on going.

  “My leg’s broke, but my behind isn’t. I can sit on a bench for three hours!” she’d insisted. Dan knew better than to argue, and he and Gabe got her into the buggy.

  Daadi joined them, squeezing Mellie’s hand as she saw them off. “I can stay, if you want to go,” he told her. “I’m perfectly capable of watching over my own daughter.”

  “Nee, Daadi. You go. I’m happy to stay with Mamm.”

  He gave her a sad smile and climbed into the buggy behind Ruthie. He waved to her as they left the drive.

  Mellie turned back and walked into the empty house. It felt cavernous and hollow without the constant chatter and noise of all its inhabitants. Almost gloomy, Mellie thought. She shook it off, amused at such a reaction. She went to the kitchen and brewed a pot of tea. When it was ready, she set the pot and two cups on a tray. She didn’t bother putting on her cape since it was a quick walk to the daadi haus out back.

  “Mamm?” she called as she approached the door. “I’m here to visit.”

  She set the tray on the small porch table and opened the door. Picking the tray back up, she pushed her way into the front room. She closed the door behind her with a kick.


  “Mamm?”

  “I’m in here, Mellie,” called her mother.

  Mellie remembered the days when she was little, and her mother’s voice was strong and melodic, a far cry from the weak, strained voice she now heard.

  Mellie went into her mother’s bedroom and set the tea tray on the bedside table.

  “So, they’re gone?” Mamm asked.

  “They’re gone.” Mellie began to pour the tea. “I thought we might like to have tea together. I so rarely have extra time for it.”

  The minute the words were out of her mouth, she regretted them. They only brought out the fact once again, that her mother wasn’t able to help with chores, putting a burden on the rest of the family.

  “I have some sugar for you,” she said rapidly, hoping to cover her mistake.

  With more than one suppressed moan, Mamm wriggled into a better sitting position in bed. “Thank you for the tea. No sugar, though.”

  “But you always have sugar.”

  “I don’t need it.”

  Mellie frowned. Of course, she didn’t need it. But why wouldn’t she want it? Mellie handed her the tea. Mamm’s hand shook as she held the cup. Mellie took her own cup and sat on the edge of the bed.

  “How are you doing today? I mean, really.”

  Mamm pursed her lips and looked away. “Fine.”

  “You can tell me, you know.”

  “I said fine,” Mamm repeated with more force.

  Mellie sighed. “Gut. That’s real gut. Glad to hear it.” She took a sip of the tea, which was still quite hot. She inhaled the steam as it floated toward her face.

  “Tomorrow, I want to be at the table for dinner.”

  Mellie looked at her mother. “That’s a right nice idea. Faith and I will come for you.”

  Mamm nodded her head. Mellie could hardly stand to watch her mother work so hard to get the cup of tea to her lips. But she managed and took a fairly loud slurp.

  Mellie chatted with her about the sweet shop and who had come in recently. She purposefully didn’t elaborate on her new temporary hours. Her mother wouldn’t be pleased about that. She’d always heartily supported Mellie’s baking endeavors.

  “The kinner? And Ruthie? How are they doing?”

  “They’re fine, Mamm. I’ll have the kinner come out and visit you once they’re back this afternoon.”