by Emma Miller
Verity raised her chin and nodded.
He was sure she had taken care of many children, but this one was his and another woman’s child. There’d been a time that fact would have hurt her beyond measure. From the glare she was giving him now, Leviticus could see he was no longer important to her.
“Ya, I’ll see to the boppli, if that’s all right with her daed.”
Leviticus lifted his shoulders in a half shrug. “I had thought...”
Albert tugged at his beard, watching him as he shifted Naomi to his shoulder and soothed her.
“A woman knows what’s best for bopplis. I’m surprised Naomi’s mamm’s not here, seeing to her needs. Will she come later?”
Leviticus straightened out his daughter’s pink collar. “Nee. Julie’s not coming. She’s a judge advocate of some importance. Her job keeps her busy in Washington. We’re not married, Daed. When Naomi was born, Julie made it clear she wanted nothing further to do with me or our dochder.”
His daed’s eyebrows shot up. The room became silent, as if time stood still. Albert sat soundlessly digesting Leviticus’s disturbing words. “This woman, Julie. She is Englisch, ya?” He scratched at his beard, his deep-set eyes surveying Leviticus closely.
“She is.”
“That explains the lack of a wedding.” Albert took a sip of coffee. “Nee Plain woman would walk away from her kind and leave a mann to care for it. Gut thing you came home. Naomi will be well loved here on the grove.” Albert twisted in his chair, his bony hand motioning Verity over. “Komm, lunch can wait. The boppli needs a woman’s touch.”
Leviticus’s gaze locked with Verity’s as she lifted the kind from his arms. She nodded, their silent conversation missed by Albert. She would take good care of his child. Naomi whimpered and pushed away as she was taken out of her father’s arms. Without a backward glance, Verity made her way through the kitchen door, into the great room.
Albert followed his housekeeper with his eyes. “She’s had a hard few years, Leviticus. I think a husband is what she needs. Someone to carry the load of parenting with her. You’ve been away a long time. People change. Just go easy if you have a mind to court her again.”
Leviticus dropped his head. What his father said was true. He and Verity had been over for a long time. And in the condition he was in, she was off-limits to him. He’d make sure of that. She deserved someone whole. Not a man who fought night terrors and jumped every time he heard a loud noise.
He couldn’t help but think about the way Verity used to look at him, like he was something special. Today that look had been replaced with indifference, but who could blame her? She had forgiven him for breaking her heart, but not forgotten. He was sure of that. True, it was her nature to forgive. But she wore her heart on her sleeve and always had.
Yet, it was evident by her disapproving expression that she had no feelings left for him. He was just someone to be tolerated now. He was Albert’s son, but not her lost love.
Copyright © 2019 by Cheryl Williford
ISBN-13: 9781488042744
The Amish Spinster’s Courtship
Copyright © 2019 by Emma Miller
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