Promise at Pebble Creek

by Lisa Jones Baker

  Ben’s voice softened. “Eternity’s what’s being a Christian is all about.

  “Marcus, I know you didn’t ask for my opinion, but here’s what I think about you and your relationship with your folks. You don’t need to keep them alive in your mind. Because they are alive, in heaven. And, my brother in Christ, I wonder if, instead of thinking of everything you did together on earth, maybe you should move on and focus on what you’ll say to them when you join them.”

  The unasked-for advice took Marcus by surprise.

  “Death isn’t the end, you know. Sometimes we get so worked up in our sadness, we forget about the cross.”

  Marcus swallowed an emotional knot. Because this conversation served another purpose. Of course, it benefited him because he missed his parents. But could this deep conversation help him decide what to do about moving forward with a life with Ben’s sister?

  Ben expelled a breath and lifted a confident chin as the horse picked up speed. “I forgot how exciting it was to be new to Christianity. Of course, that excitement never wears off. But there’s something about being new to believing in eternal life. Something so precious and so rare. Savor it, Marcus. Enjoy every moment of getting to know our Lord and Savior.”

  Marcus considered Ben’s statement. Especially the genuine way that his words had come out of his mouth. And Marcus had no doubt that his friend had meant every word he said.

  The admission caused Marcus to contemplate how different his life would be had he been born in his friend’s faith. And for a moment, he wasn’t sure if he wouldn’t have been better off. Here I am with a man who doesn’t have a higher education. And he’s telling me things that someone with a higher education degree might not even come up with. And it’s all because of his faith. And how he lives for Christ.

  “Ben, I appreciate you. I respect how you live. And words can’t even begin to say how much I love sharing your daily devotion time. And your astute perspective on life in general. Before I came here, I couldn’t imagine living without air conditioning. But you’re so right about eternity versus earth. Really, what do privileges matter? We don’t grow because of them.”

  “While we’re on the subject of religion, Saturday, our church is cooking out. At Rebecca and William Conrad’s place. We’ll have all morning to work on the barn. Want to come?”

  Marcus didn’t have to think about that one. “I’d love to. And thanks from the bottom of my heart for helping me to grow as a person today.” Marcus took in a deep breath and expelled it. “You’re an inspiration. You’ve given me a lot to think about. In fact, this conversation has changed me.”

  “When it comes down to it, my friend, it’s all about sacrificing to live the way you believe you should. Bible interpretation is different whatever church you go to. But one thing’s the same. Christ made the ultimate sacrifice for us on the cross. And the sacrifices we make for Him?” Ben shrugged. “They don’t amount to much.” His voice cracked with emotion. “Especially when you consider the pain and agony Jesus went through to save us from our sins while He bled and died.”

  * * *

  Saturday afternoon, in Rebecca Conrad’s kitchen, Hannah helped Mary pull the foil off the teriyaki steaks that were marinating in the dark sauce of Worcestershire, dried mustard, and ginger. The large blades of the battery fan tried to push enough air to compete with eighty-eight degrees. Hannah imagined how nice it would be to have air conditioning. Just for a day.

  Rebecca stepped through the side door while Mary handed Hannah a large bowl of uncooked meat. “Do you mind following me out with this?” Mary motioned to a large platter of sliced zucchini. “I’ve got my hands full.”

  Before Hannah could respond, one of the Conrad clan flew by her, nearly knocking her over. He stopped to apologize. Mary looked down at the six-year-old and edged her voice with seriousness. “Outside, and I’m not going to tell you again.”

  Before Mary could say another word, the boy flew out the door, and two other cousins followed him. Hannah retrieved the dish in question and made her way carefully to the side door, while she stepped around the many sets of shoes that lined both sides of the wall.

  Rebecca and William didn’t wear shoes in the house because of the beautiful wood floors. And today, most of the kids were barefoot, with their pant legs rolled up over their ankles.

  Outside, one of the children spotted the two and rushed to hold the screen open as they stepped down onto the sidewalk.

  “Denki,” Mary and Hannah spoke in unison.

  Hannah followed Mary past the neatly covered tables and to the grills. As soon as they reached the gas grills, Ben and Marcus joined them to fork the meat onto the metal.

  While they stepped toward the house, laughter came from a group several feet away. On the other side, kids were playing a game of Red Rover. When they were nearly to the house, Hannah pointed to the rose Mary had been nursing.

  “Looks like it’s gonna make it.” Hannah stopped to bend and observe the brown plant, which was turning green. “Whatever did you do to this bush?”

  Mary laughed and darted her friend a wink. “I told you, it’s the heavenly potion I used. I call it heavenly because after I add it to the plant, I say a prayer that God will heal it.”

  “So calling it a heavenly potion is definitely appropriate.” Hannah laughed as she pulled open the screen door. Mary held on to it as it closed to prevent it from slamming.

  Mary handed Hannah another tray of meat. “Do you mind making another trip?”

  “Of course not. I’m here to help.”

  “This time, we’ll leave the foil on,” Mary added as Hannah took the covered plate from her. As Mary opened the screen with one hand, Hannah moved down the steps. She stopped to wait for Mary, who stepped up beside her.

  Mary lowered the tone of her voice to a confidential whisper. Although the yard was scattered with church members, Hannah didn’t think anyone would hear anyway because of all the talking and laughing.

  “I see why you like him so much.”

  When Hannah looked at her to go on, Mary nodded in the direction of Marcus, where he and Ben seemed to be engaged in conversation. “He and your brother, Ben, seem really close.”

  “Jah. It doesn’t hurt that they work together, and of course, Marcus rents his house, and . . .” She hesitated a moment. During the pause, she and Mary locked gazes. “To be honest, Marcus fits right in with our family.”

  When Mary swatted away a fly, Hannah added in a more skeptical tone, “Just watching them talk . . .” She offered a small shrug of her shoulders. “You’d never dream how very different his life is from mine.”

  When they got closer to the grills, Mary glanced at Hannah. “The other day, I saw Marcus and Ben together. They were in his buggy.”

  “Jah?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “I guess that shouldn’t surprise me. They’ve become pretty gut friends. In fact, Marcus even eats with them.”

  “I think it’s a gut thing.”

  Hannah looked at her to continue.

  “I mean, when you think about it, Hannah, Marcus is a believer. Just like us.”

  “I know. But we live such simple lives compared to his.”

  Mary drew her brows together as she studied Hannah. “I agree. I mean, driving a car is a far stretch from a horse and buggy. But Hannah . . . I know how you feel. And as conservative as I am, I certainly wouldn’t stop praying for a relationship with Marcus. With Gott, anything’s possible. And in the back of my mind, I vividly recall something Maemm told me. Something that Old Sam used to say.”

  “What?”

  Mary threw some seasonings over the vegetables and pulled the foil closed around it. “Every miracle Jesus does starts with a problem. And Heaven’s delights will far outweigh life’s difficulties.”

  Hannah took in those potent statements and regarded her friend with interest. “Those are wise instructions, Mary.”

  As Mary closed the lid, Hannah did the same to her grill. “We
could’ve learned a lot from Old Sam. But continue to pray, Hannah.” After a slight pause, she added, “And Hannah?”

  Hannah looked at her to continue.

  “Have faith.”

  * * *

  Monday, inside Amish Edibles, Marcus browsed the shelves of jelly while Hannah talked in the back room with a group of tourists from Indiana. She appeared to be telling them how she put her quilt together, and he could hear them asking questions.

  While he checked out the new inventory, the pleasant aroma of cinnamon filled the small shop. Every once in a while, the clomp-clomping of a horse on the nearby blacktop could be heard. And although a ceiling fan and a battery fan tried to keep the place cool, the midmorning sun was just too hot for them to stand a chance at cooling the place.

  Marcus was just beginning to digest everything that had happened in such a short time. Falling in love with Hannah. Getting to know the Lapp family. The robbery at Lapp Furniture and Hannah’s presence there. Learning she was safe. Marcus’s love for the Amish faith. And last but not least, Marcus trying to convince himself to join Hannah’s faith without giving up the emotional connection to his dad.

  He let out a low whistle while admitting there was an awful lot on his plate. And the funny thing was that to most, moving and starting a new job would be as much as some could handle.

  As he bent to smell a fragrant candle, he took in the vanilla scent and contemplated Ben’s take that everything we give up for Christ here on earth is a small sacrifice compared to bleeding to death on a cross.

  Marcus swallowed an emotional knot that blocked his throat. As he glanced at his car, he knew he had to get going. But all that Jesus had done for him tugged at his heartstrings as he approached the cash register to pay for his oversize container of raspberry jelly.

  If I counted every sacrifice I’ve made during my twenty-five years on this earth, the total wouldn’t even touch the huge sacrifice Jesus made for me. If I gave up every single day for the rest of my life, I still couldn’t even come close. Ben advises to not look back to be connected to my dad. And he’s right; a car surely won’t play a role in getting me to heaven. Still, driving in my new car with my dad is certainly a happy memory. Look forward. Look to the cross. Imagine seeing my parents when I pass on to heaven. That’s by far a stronger connection to my dad than any vehicle could ever be.

  A woman’s high-pitched laughter startled Marcus from his reverie. He directed his attention to the sound, but not one set of eyes looked his way. Apparently, the group of women had an interest in quilting.

  Tapping the toe of his boot against the floor, he checked his watch and frowned. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time left on his break. Still, he didn’t want to interrupt the conversation. And he needed jelly.

  At the cash register, he decided what to do. Reaching into his back pocket, he retrieved his wallet and proceeded to pull out a ten-dollar bill. He didn’t care about the change. As he placed it next to the register, the ceiling fan began to lift the bill and spin it like the wind creating a dust devil.

  As Marcus took in the area underneath the fan, he noticed that several papers had been strewn about, and the blades continued to stir them. He quickly made the decision to put some sort of weight on top of his money to prevent it from being blown away.

  His eye caught a stapler. As he reached for it, the fan stirred more loose papers from around the register area, and he bent to pick them up.

  He stopped as he glimpsed his name written in neat handwriting. Automatically, he read the sentence in which his name was mentioned. He pressed his lips together in a straight line.

  Is this a story? About us? What he’d already read indicated that the answer to both questions was yes. The last thing he wanted to be was nosy, but his curiosity wouldn’t stop him from reading more. He gave a quick glance up to make sure nobody was watching.

  He could tell that Hannah and the tourists were still in the back room because their voices carried to where he was. This is wrong. I shouldn’t read Hannah’s story. I’m doing it without her permission. He gave in to his conscience and stopped.

  But as he evened the loose pages and placed them neatly underneath his money, he was fully aware that despite it not being his intention, he’d most likely read more than Hannah would have wanted him to. In the few seconds he’d glimpsed her neat writing, he’d read that they loved each other.

  And the last thing he’d read was that the Marcus on the lined pages had asked Hannah to be his life’s partner. A grin that was a strong combination of amusement and curiosity tugged up the corners of his lips.

  As soon as he was assured that the neat little pile with his money on top for the raspberry jelly he was taking wouldn’t blow away, he stepped to the entrance, opened the door, made his way outside as the bell above the door rang, and slipped into the driver’s seat of his Chevy.

  He started the engine, and as he looked both ways before pulling out of the drive, gravel crunched under his tires. But his thoughts couldn’t leave Hannah’s handwritten story alone. As he stepped on the accelerator and set the cruise control, he acknowledged what he’d just seen accidentally. She’s dreamed up a story about us in a real, live adventure. And at the end, I asked her to marry me.

  The more he considered Hannah’s handwriting and what he assumed was her own fiction with real-life characters, the two of them, the more his grin widened. And the more curious he became about the story’s ending. He’d read that the Marcus on the pages had proposed marriage. But what was Hannah’s response?

  Chapter Fifteen

  Could he make a lifetime commitment to the Amish faith? Early Saturday morning, Marcus automatically made his way toward Pebble Creek. The barn raising was postponed due to more rain in the forecast for later that day.

  With one deep breath, he stretched his arms to the light blue sky and smiled in relief. Last night, as he’d prayed, a new optimism had taken hold of him. He strongly believed that his prayers were beginning to take root. And his life was starting to make sense. It’s all good.

  A familiar voice prompted him to turn to his right, where Hannah stepped up beside him. As they glanced pensively at each other, the clouds above them moved.

  In silence, they walked side by side alongside Pebble Creek. The water passing over the round stones made a comforting sound. Together, they stood next to the creek and watched the swiftness of the water push over the stones.

  “Sometimes it’s good to have a cloudy day, yeah?”

  Hannah nodded. “Maybe Gott’s giving the sun a rest.”

  After absorbing her take on the weather, Marcus offered a nod of agreement.

  As they turned their attention to the gurgling creek, Marcus couldn’t help but think about how God had led him to this place out in the middle of nowhere. To this town that was so modest. So simple. To this beautiful Amish community where he felt more at ease than he’d ever felt anywhere else.

  But today, he had a confession to make to Hannah.

  She looked at him. “Sorry I missed you at the shop yesterday.”

  Before he could get a word in, she went on, “I found your ten-dollar bill. I owe you change.”

  “No worries. I didn’t want to interrupt the conversation you were having with that group of women. But Hannah, there’s something I’ve got to tell you.” He pressed his palms together and locked gazes with her. “It’s a confession. And I hope you’ll forgive me.”

  She looked up at him and arched a curious brow.

  “When I was leaving the money on the counter . . . the ceiling fan . . .”

  She smiled a little. “You found my story.”

  To his surprise, calmness edged her voice. Maybe she wasn’t upset about it.

  He nodded, and his eyes didn’t leave hers while he hoped she wouldn’t be angry at what he was about to admit.

  “Yeah, I did. I mean, right away I guessed it was a story when I saw my name and yours. But I was in the wrong . . . I read some of it.”

  W
hile she kept her lips pressed together in a straight line, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking. So he went on. “The right thing to do would have been to look away. But my curiosity . . .”

  He finally shrugged and let out a sigh. “I’m sorry.”

  After a slight pause, she looked up at him and lifted a curious brow. “So what did you think?”

  Her question prompted his jaw to drop in surprise. Obviously, she wasn’t upset with him, or at least she didn’t appear to be.

  “I don’t know. I only read a few sentences. But I take it that your story is about us? And that it’s an adventure?”

  Without saying a word, Hannah turned and began taking small strides up the hill. For several thoughtful moments, Marcus stood with his hands on his hips, taking in her graceful stride and the chestnut strands that had come loose from her white kapp.

  Right now, I can’t read her. What is she thinking? Follow your heart. Life’s all about making sacrifices that are on a much smaller scale than the sacrifice Jesus made for us.

  Then he looked up the hill to the spot where Old Sam had hidden his sixtieth wedding anniversary gift. And to Marcus’s surprise, some things that had been so confusing to him began to make sense as he tried to see the whole picture and where he fit in.

  Every time he sat behind the wheel, he thought of his dad. He swallowed a lump that blocked his throat. He contemplated the Amish mode of transportation and decided that he liked riding in a horse-drawn buggy, too. But all the time?

  Hannah’s soft, enthusiastic voice pulled him from his poignant reverie. She smiled at him and motioned. “Come on.” He stepped up to walk alongside her. “It’s an amazing day, jah?”

  They brushed against each other as they went to the right to go around a bump in the ground. As their arms touched, he yearned to take her fingers in his. But he abstained.

  “Hannah, you’re not upset with me?”

  She turned. “No. Not at all.”