The Wonder of Your Love - By Beth Wiseman Page 0,29
state only had a few months of frost-free weather. Wayne told Eli that he farmed a few acres just for his family.
“It’s not so bad once you get used to the climate,” the older man said.
Eli stroked his beard. “Lots of solar panels here, ya?”
Katie Ann nodded but quietly listened as Wayne answered.
“Yep. Since we have over three hundred days of sunshine on average per year, the solar panels make sense.” He turned slightly to face Katie Ann and smiled. “And they are permissible for you folks.”
Katie Ann had considered purchasing some of the solar panels for heating, but hadn’t as of yet.
Wayne pulled into the diner. “I’ve got to go to the post office while we’re near town, if that’s all right with you. And I need to stop at the pharmacy to pick up something for the wife.” He put the car in park. “So, okay if I’m back in about an hour? Maybe the snow will have eased up by then.” He leaned his face closer to the windshield and looked up.
“That sounds fine.” Eli opened his door, and before Katie Ann could climb out of the car, he already had Jonas’s car seat out and was hurrying toward the diner entrance with the umbrella protectively shielding Jonas from the snow. Katie Ann hurried behind them.
Eli pushed the door open, got Jonas safely inside the warmth of the diner, and held the door for Katie Ann. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I should have waited for you.”
Katie Ann smiled. “No. I’m glad you didn’t. You made sure my Jonas was warm and protected.”
Eli’s face reddened a bit as he pulled his eyes away from her. “Habit, I guess. Tending to the kinner.”
A young waitress asked them to follow her to an empty booth toward the back of the diner. Eli got Jonas situated on one side of the booth, waited for Katie Ann to sit beside her son, and took a seat across from them.
After they scanned the menu, Eli ordered pancakes, and Katie Ann opted for coffee and a banana nut muffin. Then they slipped into a conversation with surprising ease, and Eli’s infectious smile set the tone as he talked about his children and grandchildren.
“Did I tell you that Ida Mae has twin boys?” Eli raised a brow. “Luke and Ben are almost a year old.” He chuckled as he reached for his coffee. “Cutest little fellows in the world, but they’re a handful, like most kinner that age. Luke is already walking, but Ben hasn’t quite gotten there yet.”
Katie Ann was mesmerized as she listened to him go on about his other grandchildren. It was so unusual for an Amish man to carry on this way, and she found it endearing. She felt so at ease with him, she even shared some of her fears about motherhood. Eli was polite and affirming, assuring her that she was a great mother.
“It’s just wonderful the way you’ve raised your kinner.” She paused, unintentionally locking eyes with him. “And very . . . touching, the way you talk about your grandchildren.”
Eli kept his eyes fused with Katie Ann’s. “The Lord saw fit to take Sarah, but He sure did bless me in other ways.” He looked down for a moment and shook his head. “Believe me, there were many days when I didn’t think I would make it. Days when I needed to work the fields, but two or three of the kinner would be sick and I couldn’t leave them. Or there was the time when Jake toyed with the idea of leaving the community, and . . .” Eli took a deep breath. “I don’t know what I would have done.” Then he grinned. “Do you know what Frieda did when she was seven years old?” His hazel eyes grew round as his voice rose an octave.
Katie Ann smiled. “I’d love to hear.”
“She cut her hair!”
Katie Ann brought a hand to her mouth in an unsuccessful attempt to stifle a laugh. If she hadn’t felt the laughter all the way to the warm pit of her stomach, she might not have recognized it. It had been so long. “What did you do?”
Eli grunted. “What could I do? The damage was done.” He chuckled. “She had a bob for a long time until her beautiful blond hair finally grew past her shoulders.”
“Did she say why she did it?” Katie Ann leaned back a bit as the waitress arrived with their food.