An Amish Country Sweetheart
Autore
Rebecca Kertz
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Chapter One
She thought she saw him this morning. Again. The wagon had passed, and she caught sight of the back of his head with his straw hat tugged forward, giving her a glimpse of his light brown hair. His royal blue short-sleeved shirt stretched over his wide shoulders, and she saw the cross of his dark suspenders in the center of his back. She would have known that familiar form anywhere. Except it was impossible. Because Jacob, her betrothed, was dead. He’d died in a farming accident a month before they were to marry nearly a year ago.
Katie Mast stared down at the vegetable garden in her parents’ backyard. Weeds had sprung up after the last two days of rain, and it was her job to pull them. She knelt on the edge of the garden and coaxed out the first weed near a zucchini plant. Placing it in a bucket, she tilted her head up and allowed the warm summer breeze to caress her face. The sunshine felt good, but it didn’t stop her tears as she thought of the man she’d loved and lost. She’d kept herself together for months now and thought her grief was finally easing, but seeing someone who looked a lot like Jacob brought back the pain.
She continued to pull weeds, being careful not to tug on the roots of the vegetable plants, placing each plant in a bucket. Would she ever be able to fully get over her loss? Jacob had been the love of her life and now he was dead. She would never be married to him, never have a home with him. Never have his children.
She’d always wanted a husband and children, but it wasn’t meant to be. She was devastated by the loss of the only man she’d ever loved, her soulmate.
She frowned. Katie knew her parents worried about her. They constantly urged to go to a youth singing to find someone new, but she couldn’t do it. It didn’t seem right. How could she when the memory of the day she’d learned Jacob had been run over by farm equipment while harvesting a field still made her heart ache like it had happened only yesterday?
Why? Why did he have to die? What was Jacob doing that day working alone on his family’s farm field? No one in his family knew the reason. Jacob didn’t like farming. He’d wanted to be a farrier, and he’d been excited to work as an apprentice under Peter Troyer, the best farrier in New Berne. Jacob should never have been working in that field alone. None of the details of his death and the time leading up to it made any sense.
It was his time to go.
He’s in a better place now.
He’s with Gott.
How often had she heard members of her Amish community say those words to her? None of them had brought her comfort. Katie jerked on a weed a little too aggressively, nearly uprooting a tomato plant before she pulled it from the damp soil. Breathing deeply to calm herself, she offered up a silent prayer that the Lord would give her the strength to continue her life alone. For she would never marry. She could never marry a man she didn’t love, and the man she loved no longer existed on this earth.
A harsh sob burst from her throat. “Please, Lord, help me.”
“Katie! Katie!” Her mother’s call broke through the haze of grief that was starting to overwhelm her.
Katie took a moment to pull herself together, wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and turned to see her mam’s face briefly in the kitchen window. “Ja, Mam?” she called back.
“Would you please come inside? We have a guest.”
“Coming!” Katie frowned. A guest? Who? She stood, glanced down and saw that the bottom edge of her dress was dirty. Not the best way to greet a visitor, but there was nothing she could do about it.
After she washed her hands at the water pump in the backyard, Katie headed toward the house. As she hurried, she prayed that her mother hadn’t invited a man for her to meet. Mam had been hinting that she needed a husband, but Katie wasn’t interested in meeting anyone new. She’d told her mother that. If she couldn’t have Jacob, she wouldn’t marry. Ever.
Entering the kitchen, she found her mother seated at the table with a younger woman, who wore an Amish head covering on her dark brown hair that was different from those worn here in Lancaster County. The woman had a kind face, and Katie found herself relaxing as their visitor smiled at her.
“There you are,” Mam said. “Naomi, this is my dochter Katie. Katie, meet Naomi Hostetler. She is visiting from Michigan.”
“Hallo,” Katie greeted with a small smile as she moved farther into the room.
Her mother caught sight of Katie’s dress hem and frowned. “Katie.”
Her face heating with embarrassment, Katie brushed down the length of her skirt as if she somehow could remove the thin wet soil stain. “I was gardening, Mam.”
“A hard worker,” the other woman said with an approving twinkle in her warm brown eyes. “It’s nice to meet you, Katie.”
She nodded then felt a prickle of unease as the woman and Mam exchanged secretive glances. Her mother gestured to a chair. “Have a seat.”
Katie obeyed and sat down, feeling more than a little self-conscious.
“Would you like some tea?” Mam asked, starting to rise to wait on her. “The water is still hot.”
She gestured to keep her mother seated. “Ja, I’d like a cup, but I’ll get it. Would either of you like more?”
“Nay, we still have some,” Mam said.
Katie made herself tea before returning to the table and taking the seat across from their visitor. “Do you have family in the area?” she asked, wondering why a woman would come all the way from Michigan to visit New Berne.
“My schweschter Berta lives here,” Naomi said pleasantly. “I’m considering a move to the area permanently.” She smiled. “I’ll be staying a few months with Berta until I can decide.”
Katie nodded then took a sip of tea. The warmth of the brew felt good sliding down her throat. She wondered why her mother wanted her to come inside. “Do you need someone to show you around town?” Was that why Mam asked Katie in to meet the woman?
Naomi shook her head. “I came to talk with you.”
She frowned. “You did?”
“Ja, I have someone I’d like you to meet. A widower with three children.”
“Excuse me?”
“Naomi is a matchmaker, dochter,” her mother said.
Katie jumped up from her seat. “I don’t want to be matched!” she cried, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. “You know that.”
“Sit down, Katie.” Her mother’s voice was gentle, but firm. “There will be no forcing you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
Relieved, Katie sat back down, her intertwined fingers clenched tightly on the table. “I’m sorry, but I—”
Naomi placed her hand over Katie’s. “I understand what you’ve been through. It’s a terrible thing. I don’t blame you for not wanting to move on with your life. It’s hard without the man you love, ja?”
Katie nodded, her tears overflowing. She quickly wiped them away.
“But what are you going to do without a husband and family?” the woman asked softly. “You have to be practical. How will you provide for yourself in the coming years?”
Katie had already thought about this. “I can sew well. I plan to support myself as a seamstress.”
“Commendable,” Naomi said with compassion in her gaze. “Will you live with your parents forever?”
Katie blinked. “Nay. I’ll find a place of my own.”
“Will you be able to afford to live on your own with the money you make as a seamstress?”
“I think so. I’ll work for Englishers as well as anyone who needs my services in our community,” she said. But Katie wondered if she could do it. I have to. There was no other choice for her since she would be living the rest of her life as a spinster.
“May I make a suggestion?” Naomi asked as she absently stirred the tea in her cup with a spoon.
Eyeing her warily, Katie nodded and gripped her teacup.
“The widower? He is a man who has suffered a great loss. His three children are young, and he recently moved to the area to get help from his family. He finds it hard to work to support his children when he has no one to babysit them. His mother is watching his children. Unfortunately, Micah’s parents also have his younger siblings to care for at home. His father works long hours away from the farm, which leaves his mam to handle everything at home. They love and want to help their soohn, which is why he asked me to find him a wife.”
Katie listened and couldn’t help feeling sad for the man who had lost his wife and the mother of his children. “I’m sorry for his loss, but I don’t plan to wed. Ever.”
“Why?” Naomi asked. “There are different types of marriage within our communities and not all are love matches. There are unions of two people who are deeply in love, and there are marriages born of two people who become companions to help each other because circumstances make it better for them to be together rather than alone.” She watched Katie carefully as she sipped from her tea. “Will you at least meet him? If nothing else, if you are comfortable doing so, you can offer to watch his children while he works. Temporarily until he remarries.”
Katie’s gaze went to her mother, who appeared worried. About me, she realized. She’d caused her parents nothing but worry since learning of Jacob’s fatal accident. She wanted to ease her mother’s concern, and if she could help the man who needed a babysitter while simultaneously lessening her parents’ burden, she’d do it. She’d offer to watch this Micah’s children for him.
“If I meet with him and it suits us both that I babysit his kinner, will you continue to look for a wife for him? That’s what he wants, ja?”
“Ja,” Naomi said. “He needs one. I’m not sure if he has a choice of not marrying again.”
“Mam?” Katie wanted her mother’s advice.
“It’s up to you, Katie, but I think watching his little ones if nothing else will be gut for you. You always wanted a family of your own. Helping Micah will allow you to spend time with kinner who don’t have a mudder, especially since you don’t plan to have any of your own.”
Blinking rapidly against tears, she could only nod. “Sometimes Gott has other plans for us,” Katie said. “But I will meet him and watch his children if he is agreeable.”
“Gut.” Naomi finished her tea and stood. “Can you be ready to meet him tomorrow afternoon? Say at two? I’ll double-check with him and get back with you if there is a change.”
Feeling a sudden attack of nerves, Katie hesitated.
“It will be oll recht, Katie,” Naomi assured her. “He is a gut man. I know that you understand the pain of his loss. He’ll appreciate that you want to help in his time of need.”
Katie nodded. “I can be ready at two.”
“Gut. If you don’t hear from me again today, then expect me tomorrow. It’s best if I take you so that I can introduce you to each other,” the woman said.
Standing in his side yard, Micah Bontrager gazed with satisfaction at the house he was renovating. Soon to be his new home for him and his children. Although he had a lot of work left inside, he was pleased with how much he’d accomplished today in the kitchen. Fortunately, the man who’d sold him the property had replaced the roof and siding before he’d put the house on the market. The farmhouse had come with eighty acres of rich farmland. Fixing the interior of the residence was necessary first, as it was too late in the season for planting anything new. However, there were ten acres of hay already planted by the previous owner, ensuring Micah would be harvesting hay before the end of September. By late October he’d be picking fruit from the five fall apple trees on his property not far from the house.
Micah climbed into his market wagon and headed home to his parents’ farm. It was a sunny day in August, and the warm breeze filtering in through the open side windows of his buggy felt good on his face. He thought about how much his life had changed in the past year. After his beloved wife Anna’s passing, he’d found it difficult to work and care for his three children at their home in Michigan. Members of his community there had helped him with childcare, but he’d felt it wasn’t right for him to keep accepting their aid. With Anna gone and none of her family—or his—in the area, there had been no reason for him to stay in Centreville. And he’d thought his parents deserved the opportunity to spend time with their grandchildren, with the distance between Michigan and Pennsylvania making it difficult for him to see his family. He missed his father, mother and siblings, and he knew they would pitch in when he needed them until he could make other arrangements for his children’s care. So, he’d sold his property in Centreville, Michigan, and moved his young family to New Berne in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where his parents had moved two years previously.
Micah was grateful for his family’s love and support. His heart hurt from his loss of Anna, and although he didn’t want to marry again, he realized he had to for his children’s sake. Jacob, Rebecca and Eliza needed a mother. He couldn’t be both mother and father to them while working to support them. He needed someone to take care of his children and make his house a home while he provided for them. So, he’d asked a matchmaker, Naomi Hostetler back in Michigan, to help him find a wife. She’d been the one who had introduced him to Anna, and it hadn’t taken long for the love between them to grow into something special. To his surprise, when he’d moved away, Naomi had followed. Naomi had told him that she had a sister in New Berne she’d been wanting to visit and she could continue her search for his wife there. The thought of another woman in his life, another wife, upset him, but the choice had been stolen from him the moment Anna had died from double pneumonia, a complication after contracting the flu. He’d no idea that Anna had suffered from asthma as a child—or that asthma never went away as an adult, although she’d seemed fine when they’d met and after they’d married. He needed a spouse but he didn’t want love. He’d loved and lost Anna, and he didn’t want to suffer another loss.
Another few weeks of work and the house would be livable, he thought as he drove down the road toward his parents’ farm. Today he’d replaced the kitchen floor and installed wall cabinets. Tomorrow he’d install the base cabinets and the countertop. Fortunately, he’d made enough from the sale of his farm in Centreville to finance the trip and the farm property here in New Berne with enough money left over for renovations and other expenses. Micah had known the trip from Centreville to New Berne would take nearly ten hours by car. He couldn’t drive a buggy that great distance, and the cost of having his moved was too much considering the age of the vehicle. So, before he’d left, he had sold his family buggy and had purchased a used one in excellent condition within a day of arriving in New Berne. The carriage was a lot like the one he’d had in Michigan, but the color was gray instead of black. It was a formerly owned buggy in great shape and still a long while from having to be rebuilt for continued use. It was in much better condition than his old one. And it was big enough for a growing family. It was possible that after he remarried, his new wife would want more children. Micah closed his eyes as he reminded himself that taking a second spouse was necessary because he needed a mother for his children. Although it wouldn’t be a love match, he wouldn’t deny her if she wanted to give birth.
Micah pulled onto his father’s property and parked near the barn. He sat a minute, willing to admit that he felt bad for bringing his family to his parents’ door. While his mother was happy to have her grandchildren close, he knew it was still a burden for him to be here. He thought of his middle brother. Anna had been sick at the time of his death and he’d been unable to leave and attend his brother’s funeral. Anna’s death occurred within a week of his sibling’s. Afterward, Micah should have gone home to check on his family, but the deep pain of his loss and his struggles to manage without his wife had made traveling impossible.
After inhaling then releasing a deep breath, Micah climbed down from the wagon he’d borrowed from his father, pulled by one of the horses he’d had trailered in from Michigan. A buggy entered the yard as he started toward the house. He paused as the vehicle pulled up next to him and stopped. He immediately recognized Naomi Hostetler in the driver’s seat. His stomach felt as if suddenly filled with lead. He’d hired the matchmaker because he’d had to. At least his parents had thought it a good idea at the time they’d met her. They’d managed to convince him after he’d moved to New Berne to allow Naomi to continue to find a match for him.
“Micah,” the woman greeted through the open window. “Just the man I’d wanted to see.”
“Ja?” He moved closer to the vehicle, his stomach churning.
“I’ve got news for you.”
Everything in him wanted to pull back from remarrying. “Naomi...”
“Now, Micah, you need a wife. You know it’s best for the little ones.”
He swallowed hard and nodded, as visions of his sick wife filled his mind, compounded with the guilt of being forced to move on. “Will you come inside?”
The matchmaker grinned. “Ja, I’ll be right in.”
Micah headed toward the house. He entered the kitchen, took off his hat and hung it on a wall hook. His mother was at the stove, putting the kettle on.
“Soohn, did you have a gut day?” she asked, turning to face him with a smile.
“Ja, I got the floor done in the kitchen.”
Mam looked pleased. “The heart of a home. Good choice to finish that room first, Micah.”
Micah shifted uncomfortably. “Naomi Hostetler is here.”
“Is she now?” She smirked.
He nodded. “Ja, said that she has news for me.”
His mother approached him, placed a gentle hand on his arm. “I know it isn’t easy.”
“Nay, it’s not.” He saw a batch of cookies cooling on the kitchen counter. “Where are my little ones?”
“Your eldest, Jacob, is upstairs playing with Emma.” Mam untied her quilted apron and removed it from around her waist. “Your two bubbel are napping. Your schweschter is wunderbor at keeping children entertained. They are gut kinner, soohn.”
“It was their mudder’s influence.”
His mam shook her head. “Nay, she has been gone ten months now. You’ve had a hand in how well-behaved they are.”
Micah glanced away, unwilling to take credit for his children’s good behavior.
“I should get washed up before Naomi settles in to talk with us.” He went toward the bathroom at the back of the house and washed his hands and then his face. After drying himself, he reentered the kitchen and found the matchmaker seated at the kitchen table with his mother, drinking tea.
“Micah,” Naomi greeted with a smile. “Join us.”
He approached, his heart beating wildly. How could he marry another after losing the love of his life? Micah took the seat at the end of the table between the two women. There was a cup of coffee instead of tea waiting for him, fixed just the way he liked it. He cracked a smile for the woman who’d raised him. “You have some news?” he said to Naomi.
“Ja.” The matchmaker nodded. “There is a young woman who has agreed to meet you.”
Micah raised an eyebrow. Naomi knew, though, that he wanted a wife not a love match. “How old is she?”
“Twenty-one.” A flicker of concern crossed Naomi’s face. “She lost the man she loved a month before they were to be married.”
“So young,” he murmured, sympathetic. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I have to tell you, Micah, that she doesn’t want to marry. Ever. Her parents worry about her, and they wish nothing more than to see her with a husband and children, but she has had a difficult time. She has agreed to meet you so that she can help you with your kinner. I don’t know if anything will come of your meeting except that you may have a potential temporary babysitter.”
“She doesn’t ever want to marry?” He frowned. “Why do I need her help?”
“Because your parents have enough on their plate, and Katie will handle your three well. She loves kinner.”
He wasn’t sure what to say. She’d suffered a loss like he had. He hated the thought that a twenty-one-year-old had endured such awful pain. “It would be nice to have someone help me with them,” he admitted. “Mam and Dat have enough to do.”
Naomi nodded. “Exactly.” She sighed. “It’s a shame. Katie is meant to be a wife and mudder even if she doesn’t believe it. It’s possible she will change her mind, but I doubt it.”
“Katie,” he murmured thoughtfully.
“Katie Mast.”
His gaze went to his mother. “Do you know this young woman?”
Mam’s expression was grave as she nodded. “What happened to her was tragic. She is a lovely young woman who deserves to be happy.” To his surprise, he saw tears fill his mother’s eyes.
“I would like to meet her,” he said. A grieving single woman should not be forced to wed, he thought. Still, if it suited her, he could use her aid. Maybe they could help each other. “When?”
Naomi sat up straighter in her seat. “I thought I’d bring her by your haus tomorrow. I hear you’ve been working hard to make it a home for you and your kinner.”
“What time?” he asked after a nod.
“About two?” The matchmaker watched him closely, making him suddenly aware of her intense scrutiny. “I’ll continue to look for a wife for you, Micah. In the meantime, you’ll find Katie a big help with your children.”
Micah nodded. “I’ll be ready to meet her tomorrow at the haus at two.” At least, he hoped he’d be ready. He wasn’t eager to have any new woman in his life, even one who would be watching his children temporarily.
