Seasons of Tomorrow

by Cindy Woodsmall

  It’s none of my business.

  He sighed. He could barely understand his own actions and reactions to life. But how had she let herself marry someone who seemed like such a bad fit for her?

  Look away, Jacob.

  But he just stood there. Finally he broke his gaze from the home and strode toward his carriage.

  Was any romantic relationship worth it? If someone with Esther’s spunk and love for life had known that Ammon was going to treat her like that, would she have married him? Apparently few people ever really knew the person they were dating.

  Was he destined to be lonely forever?

  NINE

  Standing in her bedroom facing her Daed, Leah felt like a defiant toddler—all tantrums and no actual power. “Daed, I won’t go.” He’d been here twenty-four hours, and whether she tried to be respectful or was defiant, he wouldn’t accept her answer of no.

  He pointed at her. “I’m still your father.”

  “That doesn’t mean you own me.”

  “This attitude comes from Landon, doesn’t it? No Amish would support such rebellion. I forbid you—”

  “I’m nineteen! You can’t forbid me to do anything!”

  His face was so red he looked like an overwatered tomato ready to split. “Is that what you’ll do, Leah? Stand on man’s law that says you’re free of your father’s will at eighteen instead of standing on God’s?”

  “Maybe … because I’ve done nothing wrong, and I’m not leaving here!”

  “Leah King, think. The only way this district survived the legal troubles that Rhoda faced is because the Amish in Pennsylvania supported it. If you think Orchard Bend Amish is a self-governing district, free from the opinions and guidance of the Pennsylvania Amish, you’re as blind about that as you are about what your future will be like out in the world!”

  “I’m not going to the world. I attend church, and I’m in love with Landon.”

  Her father didn’t blink or twitch or breathe, and then Leah realized she’d confessed her Daed’s worst nightmare: she was involved with an Englisch man and his church. Daed probably could’ve coped more easily if she’d been drinking or was pregnant. At least in those situations he would have had solid footing to lead her to repent.

  “Where’s your suitcase?”

  “Daed, no!”

  He went to the closet, dragged it out, and tossed it onto the bed. “Pack, or I’ll do it for you.” He waited. When she didn’t move, he jerked dresses and aprons off hangers and threw them into the suitcase. “We’re leaving. You can tell Landon good-bye, and after that you’re not to see him again.”

  He opened a drawer. Leah hurried across the room and slammed the drawer shut, knocking a kerosene lantern from the dresser. It shattered on the wood floor, the liquid spattering against the wall and bedspread and running until it hit the area rug.

  Her father’s lips thinned. “Leave it and pack.”

  “I said no!” Leah jerked items out of her suitcase.

  Someone knocked on the door and opened it. Rhoda stood there, looking from Daed to Leah. “I … came to see if I could be any help.”

  “Ya.” Leah hung up a dress. “You can help. Tell him that he can’t make me go.”

  Rhoda looked sympathetic, but for which one of them? “Perhaps if we sat and talked this out.”

  That’s when it dawned on Leah where Rhoda stood. She had never agreed with Leah seeing Landon. She’d asked Landon to stay away from her until Samuel had reminded Rhoda that Leah was in her rumschpringe and that they had no right to make decisions for her.

  So where was Samuel now?

  “You’re on his side.” Leah slung the dress in her hand to the floor. “You made that clear when you tried to do the same thing he’s doing.” She’d had enough. “Excuse me. I have work to do.”

  Rhoda stepped aside, and Leah bolted downstairs and out the door. She bridled a horse and mounted it without a saddle. The need to ride outweighed having a specific destination. Metal pinged against metal, and she spurred the horse toward the sound. She knew where it came from—the compost pile where the now-repaired spreader stood. Within a minute Crist came into view.

  Was he the one who had told her Daed?

  She squeezed her heels against the horse’s belly, hurrying the animal. Crist had a shovel in one hand and a hammer in the other, banging on the hem where the blade connected with the handle.

  Leah brought the horse to a stop so quickly her torso thrust against the horse’s neck. She clutched its mane and straightened. “Was it you?”

  Crist straightened from his bent position, hammer in hand. “What?”

  She intertwined her fingers with the horse’s mane, steadying herself as the horse shifted from one foot to the other. “Someone got word to my Daed about Landon and me. Was it you?”

  He stared into her eyes, saying nothing.

  She slid from the horse. “Answer me, Crist!”

  “So now you want to talk about this.” He shoved the handle of the hammer into his tool belt. “That’s real nice of you, Leah. I’ve asked you out five times since moving here. I thought maybe you were getting over somebody back in Pennsylvania.”

  “Do you know what you’ve done?”

  He grabbed the shovel and began moving mulch from the pile onto the spreader. “You knew how I felt about you, and you should’ve told me you were seeing somebody.” He jammed the blade of the shovel into the ground and held on to it. “But no. It wasn’t me. I’ve said nothing to no one.”

  Then who did? Her anger eased. “Oh, uh, I appreciate it. Sorry.”

  “Don’t think I wasn’t tempted. Only God knows why I kept my mouth shut because I wanted to call your Daed and tell him.” He waved his arm in her direction. “You and an Englisch guy.”

  As she saw the situation through his eyes, she couldn’t believe how blind she’d been. She of all people knew what it was like to care for someone Amish but for that person to have eyes for someone with store-bought clothes, a vehicle, and a higher education. It was like a slap in the face, a rejection that said being Amish wasn’t good enough. “I’m sorry.”

  He removed his gloves and moved in close enough to pat the horse. “I get it.” He stroked the animal. “I don’t like it, but Landon’s a nice guy. I blame Rhoda for bringing him along and Samuel for allowing it.”

  “Landon was in Rhoda’s life long before any of the Kings were. After the tornado destroyed our orchard in Pennsylvania, he’s the one who opened our eyes to the amount of affordable farming land in Maine. Without his help I doubt we could’ve made the transition successfully.”

  “Maybe we’d all be better off.” He removed his hat, taking away the shadow that hid his brilliant blue eyes. “When my folks were considering this move to Maine and joining this district, they asked if I’d move with them. They needed me to get their farm going, but there were plenty of single girls where we lived, and I wasn’t sure I liked the idea of leaving there. During our visit here I met you.” He stared at the ground. “I agreed to move here because of you, Leah.”

  Her heart pounded. How could he, someone who barely knew her, consider her that desirable? “I wish I could’ve been more up-front about seeing Landon.”

  He put his hat back on. “Me too.”

  “Any idea who would’ve told my Daed?”

  “Does it even matter?”

  “It does to me.”

  “Three families have moved here since summer, each with single guys who’d like your attention. Iva’s too. Any of them, or one of their parents, could have called. I don’t know. A better question is, what are you going to do, Leah? Rip out every heart on this farm and the hearts of your family in Pennsylvania so you can marry a man who isn’t suited to you?”

  Now that she realized how honorable Crist had been, she wouldn’t do as she wanted and yell or even sound annoyed at him, not ever again. “How can you say that when you don’t know Landon?”

  “Because I know what it means to be raised Amish, and
you do too. The Englisch don’t get it. They can’t. But you know the depth of differences between how you and he think, and because of it, you’ll never be truly happy with him.”

  His soft-spoken words cut deeper than all the hurtful demands Daed had made. Without another word she grabbed the horse’s mane and tried to pull herself onto the animal’s back. But she didn’t have mounting steps to help her.

  Crist interlaced his fingers and cupped them for her to use as a stirrup.

  She could hardly breathe for all the emotions pounding her, but she stepped into his hands. With a gentle movement upward, Crist boosted her onto the horse.

  “Crist—”

  “Don’t apologize again.” He shook his head, backing away from the horse. “Just do one thing for me—think about what I’ve said.”

  Despite his staunch opinions grating on her nerves, she kept her resolve not to raise her voice to him again. “Ya, okay.”

  TEN

  Samuel sat in the dark at the kitchen table, staring into the blazing hearth as he waited on his Daed to join him. Anger continued to fester, and Samuel fought to control it. How dare his Daed speak to or about Rhoda as he had! And Leah didn’t deserve the wrath or the badgering either.

  But Samuel had kept control of his temper and tongue while giving himself more than twenty-four hours to think about what to do. No more pondering. It was time to take a stand.

  Unfortunately, he would have to do so on a Sunday morning and a church day. He had no choice. The mood in this home was oppressive, even abusive, but his Daed would see it as holding people accountable. At least the church meeting wasn’t being held here.

  Underneath all his anger, Samuel grieved. He’d miserably failed to keep the Old Ways from moving into this home like a poisonous gas. It was doing exactly what he knew it could—choking the breath out of them. How could a faith as genuine and temperate as the Amish ways be used against them like this?

  Witchcraft. Daed only called it that because Rhoda’s intuition was stronger than he was accustomed to. If intuition was wrong, then let everyone refuse every ounce of it. If it wasn’t wrong, then no one should judge someone else for having more or less.

  The stairs creaked, and he knew it’d be his Daed. After a night of almost no sleep, Samuel had tapped on his Daed’s door about twenty minutes ago and told him they needed to talk.

  Daed pushed the swinging door open, carrying a lantern and looking none too pleased. Samuel rose, poured a cup of coffee, and set it on the table for his Daed. His Daed put the lantern down and picked up the mug before he went to the fireplace and stood with his back to it. The temperature had dropped to twenty-five degrees last night, but it would be nearly sixty this afternoon. Daed sipped his coffee. “What’s so important you needed to wake me?”

  Phoebe had told Samuel that while he and Steven were working in the orchard yesterday, Samuel’s Daed was relentless in hounding Leah, trying to make her go home and giving her ultimatums. Phoebe said he’d also wasted no opportunity to mumble scripture under his breath whenever Rhoda was nearby. Rhoda had said nothing about his Daed’s behavior, and Samuel knew she longed to be a peacemaker as much as possible. But harmony wasn’t possible with some people.

  “I have some things that need to be said before anyone else is up.”

  “That’s fine.” His Daed took another sip of coffee. “I have things to say to you too.”

  “Not today you don’t.”

  “You are to honor your father!”

  “I try, Daed. Surely you know that. And I will continue trying to do that, but since you’ve decided to quote scripture, what about the one that tells you not to provoke your children to wrath?”

  “I will not be spoken to—”

  Samuel smacked the palm of his hand on the table. “You will, and you’ll listen.” His insides quaked with fury, but so far he’d managed to speak softly. “Despite your financial support of this venture, this isn’t your home or property. It’s in my name, and if I wish you to leave and you refuse, that’s trespassing. Are we clear?” Samuel couldn’t imagine escorting his Daed from here or calling the police, but he’d do one or the other if necessary. Boundaries had to be drawn. “As to the money you and the others have invested, I believe all of it can be paid back after this year’s harvest.”

  “This isn’t you talking. She’s bewitched you.”

  Samuel sighed. “That’s a ridiculous, ignorant statement. When the Word talks about people being involved in divination, they are actively practicing it, seeking knowledge and control, and when they have it, they try to use it to gain what they want, which is most often money or power over someone. Rhoda does none of that, and her only spiritual connection is prayer to God.”

  “You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

  “I am.”

  “You say that without any shame. She was seeing your brother!”

  Samuel took a deep breath, praying for wisdom and peace—and, as always, for Jacob. “I’m keenly aware of their past relationship.”

  “That’s wrong of her and of you. Why can’t you see that?”

  “Whatever is there to see is between Jacob, Rhoda, and me. But I didn’t wake you so you could grill and chastise me. I have a couple of ultimatums of my own to share.”

  “You what?”

  Samuel leaned forward and looked his Daed in the eye. “You’ll say nothing else to Leah today. It’s the Sabbath, and you will let her and everyone else under this roof rest. You will make plans first thing in the morning to leave here. Not only are you to be gone by dark tomorrow, but you are never to return uninvited.”

  “Which will be never, right?”

  “That probably depends on you. See, I understand that I’ve wounded my relationship with Jacob, and since it couldn’t be avoided, I was willing to work to pay for the damage. But you seem clueless as to how much destruction you’ve caused.”

  His Daed looked too stunned to respond, and Samuel needed to finish what he had to say before his Daed got his feet under him again—or, more accurately, his words under him again. “If you want to contact the new bishop who’s coming to Orchard Bend and tell him that Rhoda is practicing witchcraft, that lie will be on your conscience. But if you ever speak to or about her like that again in her presence or mine, I’ll take you before your bishop on grounds of lying, gossiping, and slander, and I will be able to prove my accusations quickly.”

  His Daed’s countenance changed, as if his self-righteous anger had drained from him. Anger and disgust were still evident in his eyes and in the set of his jaw, but the haughtiness had deflated. Samuel breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe now his Daed would come back to himself. Wasn’t the offended outrage his Daed had heaped on everyone the result of self-righteous people discussing at length other people’s wrongs? If so, who was his Daed meeting with to get to this point?

  His Daed cleared his throat before he narrowed his eyes. “I will stick by my ultimatum to Leah and Landon. I won’t stand for my daughter marrying an outsider while I do nothing.”

  “Because it’s morally wrong, or because of how it will make you look to the church?”

  His Daed started to speak, and Samuel held up his hand, halting his retort. “Just consider the question. That’s all.” Everyone on the farm had deep concerns about Leah leaving the Amish, including Leah, he imagined. But they’d worked to make sure their feelings were based in love and true concern, not fear, pride, and an effort to save face. Samuel drew a deep breath. “We’ll discuss the Leah-and-Landon situation tomorrow.”

  There were areas Samuel could influence, like Daed’s behavior while here. But the situation with Landon and Leah was quite sticky, and since Rhoda and he had hired Landon, they would be held accountable for keeping him on once they realized the two were falling in love. “Daed, I want to be reasonable and to work out the issues as peaceably as possible for all our sakes. Perhaps the new bishop will be offended as you said, and he might heap painful edicts on us, but no one has a right to sp
eak or act as you did when you got here.”

  “I was only trying to warn you about what’s coming! You’re too young and too inexperienced to understand the trouble that will come to us because of Rhoda. Leah’s a teen, and we can manage people’s outcry by separating her and Landon, but Rhoda is serious trouble. I’ve told you that from the start.”

  “And you’ve been wrong from the start. Even after all I’ve explained about divination, you’re still set against her?”

  “I know what I know, and her gift isn’t of God.”

  “What makes you so quick to judge? When Mary went to visit Elisabeth, her voice caused Elisabeth to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and Elisabeth spoke of things that defied what she could possibly know. That tells us gifts of knowing are possible. Because of God’s doing, the same Spirit that rested on Elisabeth’s child also lives in us.”

  “What you’re talking about is dangerous.”

  “It can be. You’re right about that. But to deny His ability to reach inside us and give us knowledge beyond our understanding is to deny God’s right to be God.”

  His Daed pursed his lips. “You have an answer for everything, don’t you?”

  “What would you have me do? Simply accept every judgment you speak without giving it another thought?”

  His Daed walked out.

  Concern for what was ahead for Rhoda, Leah, and Landon wrapped itself around Samuel’s throat. If the new bishop was anything like his Daed, Samuel had quite a battle ahead of him. But he wouldn’t cave, and he wouldn’t walk away from living Amish. It was a faith and a way of life he believed in.

  Evening services at Unity Hill would begin in thirty minutes, but Landon had no plans to pick up Leah. He wouldn’t attend either. His goal was to stay as close to the farm as he could without causing any trouble for Leah, and he had the volume on his phone on high. If she called him, he’d do whatever she wanted.

  He had hated leaving her there on Friday. What had her weekend been like? Landon couldn’t stand imagining it. Her dad’s anger kept playing over and over again in his mind. Whatever had caused him to accuse Rhoda of witchcraft, Benjamin was beyond reason by the time he learned how his oldest daughter felt about an English man.