Rebecca's Promise
Page 25
“I can see it on your face,” Leona said, the smile still playing on her own face. “I would say you have found your answer—and it is good.”
“Yes, I think I have,” Rebecca admitted.
When the door of the garage shut, Rebecca allowed her thoughts to go where she didn’t dare with Leona in the kitchen, for fear her face would turn red. She allowed the memory of John’s eyes to come back, the longing she had seen in them. She remembered the gentle trickling of the running water under the bridge that Sunday, the wind blowing in the bare branches above them, the slight winter sunshine reaching them, the feelings she had felt when he asked whether she would always be his.
I said yes, she told herself, almost saying it out loud again because it brought her such pleasure. She was thrilled to discover that this pleasure was back, that she had found the answer to God’s will for her. Atlee had been a wonderful boy, she told herself, but we were young then, and our love was a young love—a first love—but now I am an adult with an adult love to fill my heart.
She bowed her head right then and there, tears of joy forming in her eyes, and thanked God for the gift of John’s love. Her experience with Atlee had been what it was, and she would never call it wrong, but it was now part of her past. John was her future.
Thankfulness for Emma and her wisdom also filled her heart. Also for her mother and Leona, for all the help they were willing and able to give her. She was surrounded with so many wise counselors, who wouldn’t let her down as she and John started their new life together. God was more than good to them.
She looked down at the liquid mix in front of her, finding it to be the temperature she wanted. Dumping the contents into a larger bowl, she gradually stirred in the flour till the consistency was just right.
This was the art—her mother had told her many times—to find the right texture of the dough. This art couldn’t be taught from books. It had to be experienced, to be felt with one’s fingertips, to be watched and observed until the knowledge came full and certain. Only then could one make excellent bread. Bread that came out of the pan fluffy and light, that sliced well under the knife, that fully delighted those who ate it.
She gently stirred in the flour and then divided the dough into the right sizes for the pans. After shaping each loaf, she left them to rise on the kitchen table. No noise came from the bedroom where Jonathon was sleeping, even when Leona came in from hanging her load of diapers on the line.
“Whee!” Leona exclaimed. “That did me good. Jonathon’s not awake yet?”
“Nope,” Rebecca said, placing the last of the bread dough in a pan, glad to see that Leona’s mood had improved.
They took turns baking and doing the laundry—as one went to the washing machine, the other went to the kitchen. They kept this up until lunch. Leona was in the kitchen when the time came to make the sandwiches. As Rebecca came in from the garage, Leona hollered out the door for Leroy and James, bringing the two boys on the run.
“We were getting real hungry,” they said, panting.
“Your mom has sandwiches ready,” Rebecca said. “Sit down at the table.”
They were more than willing and seemed to finish their sandwiches before Leona and Rebecca could barely get started.
“Children,” Leona warned, “haste with food goes away with maturity.”
“I must be maturing then,” Rebecca said, knowing it was true, but not sure if she quite liked the adult feeling it gave her.
Leona only nodded, distracted by the bawling of baby Jonathon in the bedroom. “There you go,” she said dryly, getting up and leaving her half-finished sandwich. “That brings maturity too.”
After their final bite, Rebecca said, “It’s time for your naps.” They both looked like they were ready to bolt outdoors again. Rebecca’s words elicited groans, but they obediently complied, shuffling toward their bedrooms.
With them gone and Leona with baby Jonathon, Rebecca went through her list of things to do. She came to the conclusion that there would be little time left in the day to accomplish it all. Leona would certainly see to it that she had plenty of time to pack, but from the looks of things, there wouldn’t be time to prepare a large supper. She wished she could have because it was her last night here.
Soon I’ll be home, she mused. Thinking of John again, glad that things were right between them, that her promise to marry him had been the right thing to do, that Atlee was an appropriate thing of the past.
She was looking forward to tomorrow, the ride home in the van, and above all glad that she was glad.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Rebecca turned to see Leona.
“You’ll be gone tomorrow,” Leona stated simply. “Home to John, right?” A smile played on her face.
Caught up in the emotion, Rebecca said, “To tell John I love him.” Blushing deeply at the sound of her own words, she wished she hadn’t said them in Leona’s hearing.
“It is good,” Leona replied, not seeming to mind. Her face now solemn, she declared, “Da Hah has no doubt willed it.”
About Jerry Eicher…
As a boy, Jerry Eicher spent eight years in Honduras where his grandfather helped found an Amish community out-reach. As an adult, Jerry has taught in Amish and Mennonite schools in Ohio and Illinois, has been involved in church renewal, and has conducted in-depth Bible study workshops. Jerry lives with his wife, Tina, and their four children in Virginia.
* * *
To learn more about books by Jerry Eicher
or to read sample chapters, log on to our website:
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
* * *
* * *
If you enjoyed Rebecca’s Promise, you’ll
enjoy the sequel, Rebecca’s Return.
* * *
Rebecca Keim returns to Wheat Ridge full of resolve to make her relationship with John Miller work. But in her absence, John has become suspicious of the woman he loves. Before their conflict can be resolved, John is badly injured.
Will his serious and possibly permanent injuries change Rebecca’s mind about their future together? And will Rachel Byler’s plans to finally get the wealth she deserves succeed?
Available at your favorite bookseller now.
* * *
Other fine fiction from
Harvest House Publishers
* * *
RACHEL’S SECRET
Bestselling author BJ Hoff promises to delight her many faithful readers with her compelling new series, The Riverhaven years. With the first book, Rachel’s Secret, Hoff introduces a new community of unforgettable characters and adds the elements readers have come to expect from her novels: a tender love story, the faith journeys of people we’ve grown to know and love, and enough suspense to keep the pages turning quickly.
When the wounded Irish American riverboat captain, Jeremiah Gant, bursts into the rural Amish setting of Riverhaven, he brings chaos and conflict to the community—especially for young widow Rachel Brenneman. The unwelcome “outsider” needs a safe place to recuperate before continuing his secret role as an Underground Railroad conductor. Neither he nor Rachel is prepared for the forbidden love that threatens to endanger a man’s mission, a woman’s heart, and a way of life for an entire people.
SHADOWS OF LANCASTER COUNTY
Following up on her extremely popular Gothic thriller, Whispers of the Bayou, Mindy Starns Clark offers another suspenseful stand-alone mystery full of Amish simplicity, dark shadows, and the light of God’s amazing grace.
Anna thought she left the tragedies of the past behind when she moved from Pennsylvania to California, but when her brother vanishes from the genetics lab where he works, Anna has no choice but to head back home. Using skills well-honed in Silicon Valley, she follows the high-tech trail her brother left behind, a trail that leads from the simple world of Amish farming to the cutting edge of DNA research and gene mapping.
Anna knows she must depend on he
r instincts, her faith in God, and the help of the Amish community to find her brother. She also must finally face her own shadows—and pray that she’s stronger than the grief that threatens to overwhelm them all.