Renewing Hope (In Your World #2)

by Jennyfer Browne

  I walked carefully toward the barn, hoping to find him there. I was not alone. I knew he would not leave me alone. But for a fleeting instant, I worried that he had.

  "Nathan!"

  "Kate?" I heard, his voice in the barn before he stepped out, carrying a bucket and looking for me.

  When he saw my face the bucket dropped and he was running toward me.

  "Now?" he breathed, his hands reaching for me like I was suddenly breakable.

  I nodded just as the first real contraction hit.

  "Whoa," I gasped and clutched at him as the tightening in my lower stomach increased.

  "Inside, I need to get you inside," Nathan said and all but carried me toward the house.

  My feet felt like they glided over the hardwood floors as he helped me upstairs and to the bedroom. He looked around and pulled the sheets back as I slipped into the bed, the contraction gone and my body simply damp now.

  "I need to change, Nathan. Go get Fannie while I change," I instructed, strangely calm.

  He froze in front of me, looking from me to the door.

  "I do not want to leave you," he started, but I shook my head.

  "She said every six minutes, Nathan. We are still beyond that, but my water broke," I explained, still so calm. "You have time to go get her."

  "Are you sure?" he asked, edging toward the door.

  I nodded and moved to strip.

  I heard the door close downstairs and knew he was probably halfway up the hill already.

  I was down to my shift when the next contraction came, forcing me to lean heavily into the bed before it let up once more. I let out a relieved breath and tried to ignore the fact that the contractions were faster than six minutes apart.

  I softly counted as I continued to change, stepping into the bathroom to start the water in the bath. We'd need water, and towels. Another contraction, this one at four minutes as I pulled the towels down out of the linen closet. I clutched at the towels and tried to breathe through the clenching.

  How long had Nathan been gone now?

  Three contractions in almost fifteen minutes.

  And then another.

  This baby wanted out.

  "Kate?"

  "Nathan!"

  I heard the footsteps and then saw Fannie and Nathan, picking me up from the hallway amidst the towels that had fallen.

  "Katherine, what are you doing?" Fannie asked as she settled me into the bed. She propped me up with pillows against the headboard but I shook my head.

  "Three minutes," I panted, feeling the tightening starting once more. "Three minutes apart."

  She looked at me in surprise before turning to Nathan.

  "You said she had just had only one," she said.

  He nodded and looked at me with worry.

  "And her water," he added.

  I groaned and clutched at the blanket beside me as the next wave hit.

  "Nathan, go and wash well. This will be quick and I need you to be ready," Fannie said, her voice taking on the same authority I recognized from the night Hannah gave birth.

  He paused for only a moment before he hurried into the bathroom to clean up. He was back by my side again with a cool towel to put over my now sweating brow. I looked up to find him worrying his lip. I nodded and reached for his hand.

  "It's okay, Nathan," I panted, trying to smile, only to grimace with pain as another contraction squeezed at me.

  "Nathan, help me to move her to the front of the bed," Fannie instructed, Nathan holding me in place as Fannie shifted the pillows.

  "Why is it happening so fast?" I hissed, breathing heavily and shutting my eyes tight when I felt the pain shooting down the backs of my legs.

  Fannie let out a grunt and shoved the pillows hard against me to hold me semi-upright.

  "Would you rather have it last for days? It seems this baby wants into this world sooner than later," she said and grabbed a number of towels to place on the floor before me.

  "It took so long for Hannah," I said and whimpered at the weight that seemed to be bearing down on my lower body.

  "It is different for every woman, Katherine," Fannie said and looked up at me with proud eyes. "Soon, Katherine. It will be soon."

  The idea that this would be over quickly was squashed with the pain that shot through me once more. I cried out and grabbed at Nathan, who held my hand and whispered urgently into my ear. I didn't hear all that he said, only catching the important words like love, and his everything.

  Anything else was lost in my heavy breathing and the rushing of blood in my ears.

  We seemed to go like that forever, soft words followed by my cry and an unbearable pressure down low. Then a moment to relax, Fannie checking on my progress, and Nathan wiping away the sweat before we did it again.

  It was probably only an hour, maybe two, but it felt like all day. My only measure of time was the sun as it progressed over the floor of our room. It was disappearing from our window when Fannie looked up with excited eyes.

  "I can see hair, Katherine. You can push on the next contraction," she said, looking over to Nathan as she moved my feet a little further apart, showing Nathan how to hold my leg so that I had something to push against.

  The next contraction came, forcing me to cry out with the need to push. Nathan held me tight to him, his eyes jumping from my face to where Fannie looked in earnest. The pain vibrated through me, making me cry louder as I felt the pressure build in me. I clenched my eyes shut and pushed a little harder.

  "Good, Katherine," Fannie chanted. "Again, you are so close."

  "I cannot," I moaned, the pressure too much.

  I had a moment to breathe, my eyes opening up to search for Nathan's, looking at me with that intense look I remembered so many times before.

  When we first met.

  When we first kissed.

  When he came to get me in California.

  When I saw him in the burning barn.

  When he said he would be mine forever.

  When we first made love.

  "Nathan," I breathed, the tears welling up at seeing his soul laid bare in those brilliant green eyes.

  "Push, Kate," he whispered and kissed my lips like a promise.

  The pain shot through me again, breaking off our kiss with my cry and I pushed, holding onto my husband as he called my name again and again. When I thought the pressure could not get any worse, it peaked and I growled to push past that pain, feeling another sudden burst of pressure as Fannie cried out.

  "The head is out! Good, Katherine! Just a little more!"

  "Come on, Kate. Just a little more," Nathan echoed in an urgent whisper, looking down as Fannie reached for more towels.

  "Push Katherine!"

  "Push Kate!"

  I felt Nathan's support, heard his voice, and pushed, crying out as I did. A sudden release and Nathan’s quiet whimper forced my eyes to open to see there, in Fannie's arms, everything we had worked for these last several months. Small and surprisingly long, a shock of dark hair mashed down and wet.

  And then as Fannie cleared the airways, a soft cry that went straight to my heart.

  Our child.

  "It is a boy," Fannie said brokenly, sobbing as she held the small baby in her arms.

  The room was filled with noises, laughter mixed with tears. Crying that never sounded mournful.

  "Little Jason," I whispered and clutched at Nathan's hand while Fannie cleaned our son up a bit.

  I felt her slipping him up to settle on my chest, Nathan looking over both of us with adoration once more, his brilliant green irises and a smile that made his eyes crinkle up with joy. Our son wiggled against me and we both looked down to see our son’s eyes flutter and struggle to look up at us.

  "Our son," he whispered softly against my ear and kissed me so tenderly I thought perhaps I had dreamt it.

  My idea of reality was slipping as I sat there with the tiny little man in my arms, and the man of my dreams at my side. The soft cry of my son c
alled to me and I touched him lightly with my fingers, his skin soft and pink and warm. He wiggled in my arms and I laughed, the feeling of him there in the flesh such a wonder.

  "Our son," I repeated, smiling over him.

  "And so the Fisher house fills up once more," Fannie whispered, tears in her eyes as she took in her children before her.

  And so with little Jason, our family began to grow.

  EPILOGUE

  "They should have been back by now," Hannah huffed, ignoring the heavy sigh coming from Fannie.

  "Will you step away from the door and help to finish this order of pies, Hannah!" Fannie called.

  I snorted and shook my head.

  Even after living on her own with Mark for over a year, she still had not perfected pie making. We were safer with her by the door.

  Emma let out a long frustrated growl and slapped her dishrag on the counter.

  "Hannah, do you see Katherine or me worrying? They will get back before the snow falls any heavier!" she cajoled in a strained whisper, only to shake her head when we heard the cry from the other room.

  "I will go," Fannie said and wiped her hands. "Hannah, come. We can look after the babes while Emma and Katherine put in the last of the pies."

  Hannah made one last effort to look out the kitchen door and then followed her mother to the adjacent room where one of the babies had woken up from his nap. I knew it was a he because it sounded suspiciously like Simon. But soon we heard little Mary chime in and Emma let out another sigh.

  "If she had just stayed asleep for another ten minutes," she grumbled and moved to the refrigerator for the bottles for Hannah. With two boys who seemed to consume more than their father did, it was harder for Hannah to keep up with them.

  "They will all be awake in moments; that is the way," I replied and shoved the last of the pies into the oven.

  Fannie came out with Mary and Jason in her arms, Hannah with the twins on her hips as they wiggled and squirmed against her. Emma and I both went to Fannie and relieved her of her burden with a smile so that she could help Hannah with her boys.

  Mary quieted almost immediately as soon as she was at Emma's breast, and Jason gurgled a smile up at me as I settled into a seat to feed him.

  It was quiet in the room as the babies fed, Fannie burping one twin while Hannah fed the other. Smiles played on our faces as we watched our children enjoy even the simplest of things that we could provide. It was a good life. A quiet one. A few gurgling burps, a soft whimper from one twin who was not yet ready to give up on his feeding against Hannah's breast, and perhaps a contented chirp from a full and sleepy baby.

  We were settling the babies back into the other room when we heard the men entering through the kitchen. They had learned by now to enter the house quietly, after Mark had once startled the babies from their first good nap of the day with his loud and boisterous laugh. I was the first to step into the kitchen, catching sight of Nathan by the sink as he cleaned up. He glanced my way and smiled brightly, so at ease with showing his affection towards me now. His eyes conveyed the unspoken words of affection he always shared with me when alone.

  Jonah started talking as soon as the others were in the room.

  "Our Bishop is all settled into his home," he started, laying a kiss on Fannie's forehead. "He sends his apologies for not joining us, but promises to come around in a few days after he returns from seeing Bishop Ropp in Friendship.”

  I smiled to myself and turned to the pies in the oven, removing them to cool on the counter. I wondered if perhaps young Bishop Yoder was visiting a pretty dark-haired girl in Friendship as well. He had been very secretive regarding his time there, and spent more and more time in conferences with Bishop Ropp than his father had ever done.

  And it did not go unnoticed when the Snyders came to deliver cheese and butter to us, that their youngest daughter accompanied them, and our dear Bishop always called on us at the same time.

  Nathan brushed past me, his hand lingering along my back in a silent promise of continuing when we returned home. With Jason sleeping through the night finally, we had quality time alone once more, if only late at night. At least until I began to swell with the newest addition growing inside of me. I matched his mischievous smile and glanced around to see if anyone might have caught us.

  Emma was smiling up at John as he leaned down to tuck away a long lock of her dark hair that had escaped out of the bun on her head.

  Fannie and Jonah seemed to be having their own moment together as he leaned in to kiss her again.

  And Mark was brushing one of his giant hands over Hannah's stomach tenderly.

  Hannah was smiling with her eyes closed at her husband's touch.

  It seemed we would know about another child soon enough, if I had to guess.

  I looked around the room at my family, so much larger than I had ever dreamed it would be.

  And happy. So much happiness.

  Of course we had our down days.

  We had our sorrow.

  Ezekiel had passed on just before the new year, dying peacefully in his sleep with his youngest child, Sarah Jensen, by his side. It had been a great loss to our community, and the first funeral I had been to with my people. Sarah for once did not supervise the reception afterwards, the community coming to her side in her time of grief. I had held her for some time with Fannie as she cried beside her father.

  Ezekiel had touched so many people.

  It was up to us to take care of his own, and to remember him in our hearts.

  This life had shown me how to live, and how to love. How to grieve, and how to have faith that we would thrive.

  That was our way.

  That was the Amish way.

  It was simple here, perhaps.

  Those outside might not understand it.

  But it was where I belonged.

  I looked back at Nathan, his eyes full of love and faith in me.

  The same look he had given me so many times before.

  So much like the beginning.

  When I stepped out of that world of violence and sorrow, and into his.

  Because this is where I always belonged.

  In our world.

  ~~~~~

  BOOK THREE IN THE IN YOUR WORLD SERIES:

  FINDING LOVE

  Coming Late Summer 2014

  Judith Snyder never thought she would ever find a man she could love enough to marry.

  Of course, that was before she met Bishop Yoder.

  Bishop Benjamin Yoder from West Grove was kind, handsome, and from a good Amish family. From the start, she found him easy to adore. A girl could do right by marrying a Bishop.

  But Benjamin Yoder held himself apart from others, and while he smiled and seemed to enjoy her company when they bumped into one another every chance she could muster, he avoided making any offer to marry her.

  A dark past made her father dubious to the pairing, what with the Bishop’s liberal views of agreeing to allow an English into their community. Bishop Yoder avoided conversation about his life before becoming Bishop. He was a messenger of God now, his past to be forgiven and forgotten. His contemplative being and soft spoken words told Judith he was a good man, perhaps just in need of a woman that saw the love inside of his soul. He just had to learn to love again.

  Judith Snyder must set out to woo the Bishop.

  And offer him a chance at finding love.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  This story would not be possible without the love and support of my friends and family, and my incredible readers who have stood by me through every word.

  To my loving and amazing husband, for believing in me and being patient while I diligently researched, and to my sweet boy, who always knows how to make my heart melt with his sweet romantic suggestions.

  To Leah, who nudged me to take that first step.

  To Jess, for reminding me of what was important and providing sanctuary.

  To my girls on Twitter and Facebook and the forums — thank yo
u for providing so many hours of love and support, laughter, and inappropriate inspiration to keep me going.

  To Claudia, Teddi, Traci, Terri, Staci, Sarah, Kris, and Mandy for the moment of conception on this sweet boy: suspenders and big black hat, shy smile and all.

  To Amy, Mary, Jen and Jayme for holding my hand through the editing process and lending me your most trusted opinions.

  To my amazing models, Brian and Jessica — you two are stunning together!

  I love you all, and I have been so blessed to have you all on this journey.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jennyfer Browne has always been a sucker for a good love story- a complex recipe with a dash of dashing, a pinch of heroism, and a hefty dose of outside forces that test young lovers. Seasoned with tears and laughter, followed by a sprinkle of happy sighs fill out the perfect recipe.

  Jennyfer also enjoys pie.

  Ms. Browne lives in California with her wonderful husband and adoring son, where she enjoys the beach and sailing off on further adventures. A member of the Romance Writers of America and blessed with an overactive imagination, she writes sweet and savory romances with a twist of tart that always come to a happy ending.

  You can visit Jennyfer Browne on her Facebook page at

  https://www.facebook.com/jennyferbrowneauthor

  and online at

  http://jennyferbrowne.wordpress.com

  Books by Jennyfer Browne:

  In Your World Series:

  Healing Faith (Book One)

  Renewing Hope (Book Two)

  Finding Love (Book Three)- out Summer 2014