Promise at Pebble Creek

by Lisa Jones Baker

  Hannah got in on the conversation. “Maemm, you remember that broken metal horse and buggy?”

  After Mrs. Lapp offered a quick nod, Hannah went on. “Marcus took it home and welded it back together. Now it’s on display in front of the cash register. It’s as gut as new.”

  “That’s wonderful.” Mrs. Lapp directed her appreciative voice to Marcus.

  He swallowed a bite and added, “It was an easy fix. Every now and then, my welding skills come in handy.” He winked at Hannah, who was loading her plate with a second helping of chicken and dumplings.

  Marcus took in the gentleness of the conversation between the family members, noting that there was not an unkind word. The boys were quiet and polite. And afterward, they dutifully took their empty plates to the kitchen sink. Automatically, Marcus carried his own, with Hannah behind him.

  He lowered his voice so only Hannah could hear. “How ’bout we surprise Ruth and do the dishes?”

  Hannah beamed. “What a nice idea, Marcus.” She looked up at him and smiled, causing his heart to skip a beat. He couldn’t look away from the light-green flecks on her irises. This evening, he had taken ample opportunity to better study her because she had sat opposite him.

  The dinner had provided him a chance to see how the beautiful woman who had unconditionally befriended him blended in with her family. Hannah seemed to do it all: run a shop, cook, quilt, and . . . He couldn’t stop a grin of amusement from pulling up the corners of his lips. And read adventure stories. Of course, she’d never told him so, but more than once, he’d glimpsed The Adventures of Sydney and Carson sticking out of the shelf next to the cash register. Not only that, but he’d glimpsed her looking inside the cover when he’d been checking out her edibles.

  He turned his attention to the sink. Automatically, Hannah stepped in front of him and began filling a tub of water, which she positioned in the left sink. Marcus reasoned that it was most likely a rinse container.

  “I know we don’t have to, but we want to.”

  When Ruth joined them, she nudged Marcus’s shoulder. “Please. Allow me. I didn’t invite you over to work, you know.”

  Marcus didn’t budge. “You did all the cooking. I just wouldn’t feel right having you do the dishes, too.” He smiled a little. “Please allow us. We’re willing and able,” he added with a wink.

  He darted a glance at Hannah. “Besides, I have an ulterior motive.”

  “Jah?”

  “This will give me a chance to learn a little more about your community.” After a slight pause, he added gently, “That is, if you wouldn’t mind filling me in.”

  She nodded. “All right.”

  As Ruth stepped away, two familiar voices chimed in behind him. “But you said we could play after dinner.”

  Another little voice piped in, “Jah, I thought you were going to race us.”

  An idea came to Marcus and he bent so he was at eye level with Isaiah, David, Samuel, and Mervin. He looked from one to another as he spoke in a low, firm voice. “Tell you what, guys, I have an idea.”

  In silence, four sets of eager, curious eyes looked at him to go on.

  “If all of us pitch in with the clean-up, I imagine we can have the job done lickety-split.”

  “Lickety-split?” Samuel’s voice repeated. Laughter followed.

  Marcus nodded. “That means in no time at all. And if my sunset estimate is close to what I guess it to be, there should be enough time left for me to outrun you guys on your bikes.”

  The four jumped up and down in excitement. “We get to race him!”

  Marcus found it hard to hide his amusement at the four. He winked at Hannah. Was I ever this young?

  Several heartbeats later, he still hadn’t received a commitment from his young audience, so he lifted a challenging brow as he looked down at them. “Deal?”

  Four heads bopped up and down before there was a unanimous, “Deal.”

  Marcus quickly acknowledged that working with his new friends would definitely require strategy and instruction. He looked at the obvious source of those two. “Hannah, would you mind assigning these young men jobs?”

  He didn’t miss her expression, a combination of amusement and satisfaction. She turned to all four and spoke in a faux serious tone. “Samuel, here; please take this cloth and wipe the crumbs off the table.” After handing him the wet material, she quickly added, “And make sure the crumbs end up in the cloth and not on the floor.”

  With one quick, but careful motion, he grabbed the towel and disappeared.

  Next, she tapped the toe of her shoe to a quick beat while she switched her attention to the second in line. “Mervin, I know you’re a hard worker, but my question is, are you gut at taking garbage out?”

  He offered a quick nod and started pulling the black plastic liner out of its holder.

  She stepped over to him and showed him how to tie the bag at the top. “You think you can do that with the other two bags?” She waved a hand.

  He gave a quick nod before she turned to the two boys who stood in front of her with eager expressions on their faces.

  Hannah put her finger to her lips and called them by name. “David and Isaiah?”

  Marcus nearly burst out in laughter at the wide eyes and overeager expressions of the remaining two.

  “I’m leaving the most difficult job for you.” She opened a couple of drawers. Removing two dry, folded towels, she unfolded them and handed one to each.

  She told each child to stand to her left, and Marcus noted that somehow, she’d already managed to fill the left sink with water. She focused on Marcus next. “Okay, we can get this done, like you called it, lickety-split, if you scrub the pans down while the boys and I do the silverware.”

  For a moment, Marcus wondered if he’d exaggerated when he’d said they could get the work done “lickety-split.” He took in the numerous pots and pans, plates and silverware, and acknowledged that this dinner wasn’t just his parents and two brothers. There had been two tables of people. And a card table, too.

  But the idea had been his, so he pretended confidence in what he’d so naively started. He offered a quick nod. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Then, as everyone moved in the directions of their tasks, he remembered something and lifted a palm in the air. “Whoa . . .”

  The cleanup team stopped and looked at him in surprise. “What?”

  “I forgot something. Because we’re doing this as a team, shouldn’t we put all our hands together and say, ‘Let’s go?’”

  Marcus wasn’t sure if these youngsters had participated in sports; still, they appeared excited about the concept of being part of a team, and without wasting a moment, they followed his lead and extended their arms so that their hands touched in the middle. “Okay . . . on the count of three, let’s say, ‘Let’s go!’”

  After a slight pause while all the hands went together, Marcus said, “One, two, three . . . Let’s go!”

  The pep talk prompted a storm of excitement while everyone got busy. Marcus was amazed with the way the young boys seemed accustomed to pitching in. Of course, he’d already learned that most of the Amish rose before the sun came up and completed an impressive list of chores.

  Hannah’s voice broke the silence. “So, you want to hear a bit about this community?”

  As she handed him a scrub pad, he started with the hot bread pan and nodded. “If you don’t mind sharing what’s going on.”

  Hannah gave a smile, then began. “I guess I should start by telling you about some of our friends and the businesses they run. You probably have heard by now that we Amish are pretty handy with wood. As you’re aware, nine of my ten brothers run Lapp Furniture.”

  “Right.”

  Light scrubbing sounds filled the air as she went on. “It’s funny; you’d think there wouldn’t be enough work for everyone, but amazingly, there is.”

  She smiled at Marcus while silverware clinked on the opposite side of the sink. “People from all over the
state order custom-made furniture, and even with the other businesses in town, there’s, fortunately, not a shortage of work.”

  “How did they learn that particular skill?”

  “From an early age, Daed and my uncles taught them.”

  Marcus looked over at her. “They must have been good teachers.”

  “Then, of course, Ben works for Cabot with you. And fortunately, with the abundance of field pipes, welders are usually in high demand around here.”

  After handing more silverware to the young boys, Marcus rinsed his bread pan and laid it on the dry towels Hannah had set out on the countertop next to him. He proceeded with a large baking pot.

  As they worked, he was so close to Hannah, he could smell the peach fragrance of her hair. Being next to her offered him an odd sense of security. He wasn’t sure why; he reasoned that it was because she represented everything he considered safe and good.

  “It may come as a surprise, but Arthur really has a lot of interesting history.”

  Marcus suddenly became aware that Ruth and Hannah’s mother were only a few steps behind them. From the dining room table in the neighboring room, Ruth’s voice floated through the kitchen. “Tell him about Old Sam.”

  Marcus stopped a grin of amusement that tried to lift the corners of his lips. He was fully aware of the two extra sets of ears who obviously intently listened to what was being said.

  Hannah gave a regretful shake of her head as a splash of water landed on her hand. “Oh Marcus, I wish you could have met Old Sam.”

  Marcus caught the emotional expression on her face from his peripheral vision. “That name seems to come up often. Why is he such an important figure around here?”

  “Was.” Hannah’s voice hitched. Hannah spoke in a soft voice. “Old Sam was a farmer who lived only a few miles away. But there’s so much to say about him, I guess I should start with the hope chests he made.”

  “Did he work for your family furniture company?”

  She shook her head as she scrubbed some silverware, rinsed it, and passed it on to the two eager boys to her left.

  “No. Old Sam Beachy is somewhat of a legend. To start with, he was known for the hope chests he made. I mean, he wasn’t famous for the actual chests, you see, but for the lids.”

  “No kidding?”

  “Jah. He had a Gott-given, artistic ability to carve designs into the wood. Designs that looked real.” A second later, she added, “Someday, I want to show you the hope chest he made for me. He personalized each lid. On mine, he etched the Ten Commandments.”

  “He’s the man who owned Pebble Creek, right?”

  “That’s him.” She paused for a moment to motion the two boys toward the silverware drawer. “He lived in an old house around here with many acres. And I’m sure you’ve noticed the hill?”

  He nodded.

  “As you’re probably aware, Illinois is predominantly flat. And Pebble Creek . . .” A laugh of awe escaped her throat. “It’s as if Gott pulled a hill from somewhere else in the United States and put it right here in this town.”

  Marcus smiled. “I did notice it seemed out of place. But beautiful.”

  “Uh-huh. And there’s a creek that beautifully winds its way through the property. Actually, the whole place was coined Pebble Creek by Annie and Levi Miller when they were young.”

  “I’ve heard those names, too.”

  “Oh, those two are something else! They go to our church, of course, and have quite an interesting story.”

  Marcus glanced at the remainder of the pots and pans and grinned down at her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “They used to throw pebbles into the creek to see who could make the larger splash. That’s when they were kids. I wasn’t here then, but I’ve heard from many people that the two had an unbreakable bond. They shared dreams. Levi protected her. But anyway, something bad happened.”

  Marcus tried to imagine what it could have been. “Let me guess. One of them moved?”

  Hannah gave a slight lift of her shoulders before answering. “You could say that.”

  “What happened?”

  “Levi’s father was shunned by our church, and his father took them away to another town in Illinois. Sadly, Levi didn’t have a chance to tell Annie he was leaving. I mean, because of the shunning, the Millers left and completely deserted the Amish faith. They became Englisch.”

  Marcus was so intrigued, he quickly motioned Hannah to go on with her story.

  “Annie was devastated. I guess Levi was, too. They’d been separated for life, or so it had seemed. And, of course, starting with the move, Levi completely changed his life. They didn’t even live around other Amish. Then, about ten years later, Levi came back to town for his cousin’s wedding. He came alone; I guess his daed was pretty bitter about the shunning, and—”

  “This shunning . . . so the community really asked Levi’s family to leave Arthur?” Marcus asked.

  Hannah stopped for a moment to glance at him. “Let me clarify something. They didn’t ask him to leave; they shunned him.”

  “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “It’s not. And it doesn’t happen often, but no one made him leave. In fact, others have been shunned, but chose to stay here. But apparently, leaving was something Levi’s father felt he had to do.”

  “Let me guess now. Levi came back for the wedding and he ran into Annie.”

  “Jah. They had a long heart-to-heart. At first, Levi had only planned to stay for a few days, but something happened . . . that’s a story for another time. He and Annie knew that their hearts belonged to each other, but she couldn’t become Englisch, and Levi told her he could never be Amish again after what had happened.”

  Marcus lifted a brow. “That’s understandable. I don’t see a happy ending coming here.”

  Hannah smiled up at him. “Gott works miracles, and I won’t take the time now to explain how it all happened, but what counts is that the two ended up marrying. Oh . . . Old Sam even played a role in them getting back together.”

  “He did, huh?” As she nodded, he added, “I guess that shouldn’t surprise me.”

  “You’ll probably meet Annie and Levi. He builds houses, just as his daed did, and Annie Miller, well, she’s kinda famous for making the best sponge cakes around.”

  “Are we almost done?”

  Samuel’s small, whiny voice pulled them from their conversation. Hannah glanced at the few pots and pans remaining to be washed and released the children from their cleaning duties.

  As Marcus heard Ruth telling the boys they could go outside if they stayed on the dirt trail, Hannah continued talking. As the door slammed shut, Marcus couldn’t help but grin as he glimpsed the four getting back on their bikes and making their way up the long dirt drive that ended at the house he was renting.

  Hannah glanced up at Marcus and arched a brow. “Unless you want to stay here all night, let’s just do one more story. And then you can keep your promise to the boys.” The expression on her face warmed, and again, to Marcus’s dismay, his heart fluttered.

  “Rebecca and William Conrad run Conrad Cabinets. They’re an amazing couple, Marcus. They, too, have an interesting story about how they stayed together.”

  “I’ve heard of them.” He grinned when he looked down at her.

  Hannah emptied the container of water and wiped down the sink with a clean dish towel while she talked. At the same time, Marcus dried the last baking casserole.

  “Growing up, William Conrad and Rebecca Sommer were always close.” She paused to shove a loose strand of hair under her kapp. “He carried her schoolbooks for her and things like that. He was protective of her, the same way Levi looked out for Annie when they were young. Anyway, when they got older, they planned to marry.”

  Marcus gave an understanding nod while he wiped down his part of the sink. He followed by doing the same with the countertop next to him.

  “But something kind of unusual happened. Actually, it was way out of th
e ordinary.”

  He looked at her and arched a brow while he continued running the clean dishcloth over the granite countertop. “To make a long story short, William’s maemm passed on to heaven when William was young. But . . .”

  She stopped to rinse off her rag. “You would think that his daed would have raised him. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”

  Marcus frowned. He’d had such a close relationship with his own father, he couldn’t imagine a dad leaving his own flesh and blood. He lifted his chin a notch and firmed his voice. “I hope he had a good reason not to raise his own son.”

  “Well, not in my view. Ya see, he fell in love with someone outside of the faith and eventually married her. Of course, Daniel . . . that’s William’s daed . . . he left William here in town to be raised by his aunt.”

  Marcus stopped and wrung his rag over the sink while he contemplated the severity of what Hannah was saying. He didn’t know William or Daniel, but he did know that time between parents and their children was precious and not to be taken for granted. As he recalled his own mom and dad, he bit his lip and realized that Hannah was waiting for him to say something.

  “I can’t imagine, Hannah.”

  Behind them, Hannah’s mother expressed disapproval. “Me neither, Marcus, but people do bad things sometimes. Especially when romantic love’s involved. There were plenty of single Amish women; I can’t imagine why he had to go outside of the church.”

  Marcus considered the comment. What had been said was reinforcement that he could never court and marry Hannah. At the same time, he tried to stop the amused curve of his mouth. By now, he knew that Hannah’s mother and her sister-in-law were very interested in others’ lives.

  Hannah cleared her throat. “The story gets even more interesting. You see, Daniel had a heart attack and needed help running his cabinet business in Indiana.”

  “Let me guess what comes next . . .”

  “Okay.”

  “He went to help his father and decided he wanted to move closer to him.”

  “Yes, and he fell in love with how his daed lived; you know, the television, air conditioning, and things that we Amish do without. Oh, by the way, I left out the part where Rebecca went with him, which in itself caused a lot of stir. Anyway, to make a longer story short, Rebecca thought she was going to lose William, but in the end, they married, and fortunately, William stayed Amish.”