The Wonder of Your Love - By Beth Wiseman Page 0,5
sure that’s it.” She rolled her eyes.
Martha clomped across the wooden floor, grabbed her red purse from the couch, and slipped on her black slippers by the door. “I’m heading to my house. I need a nap.”
Katie Ann followed and wondered if she’d have time for a little shut-eye before Jonas woke up. “Martha, why do you wear your slippers when there is snow on the ground?”
Martha raised her foot and flashed the sole of her shoe upward, giving it a pat. “These aren’t regular slippers, dear. I ordered these on the Internet, and they weren’t cheap. They’re water resistant and easy on my corns.” She put her foot down before she lost her balance. Her brows shifted upward. “Another thing I couldn’t give up to join your people. My Internet!” She pulled Katie Ann into a hug. “You get some rest. Gonna be a long day tomorrow.” Then she winked.
Katie Ann stepped onto the porch as Martha eased her way down the porch steps. “Martha?”
Martha looked over her shoulder. “What?”
Katie Ann wagged a finger in her direction, recalling the time Martha tried to fix her up with an Amish fellow at the hardware store barely a month after Ivan died. “No funny business tomorrow. No matchmaking. Do you hear me?”
Martha flashed a broad toothy smile. “Of course, dear.”
Katie Ann closed the door and went to check on her precious baby. She tiptoed into his room, lightly touched his head, and spoke to him in a whisper. “You are all that I need, my little miracle.”
She and Ivan had tried to have a baby for most of their twenty years of marriage. It was bittersweet the way it all turned out, and again she wished Ivan could have held his child. He died three months before Jonas arrived, and never even knew Katie Ann was pregnant. She wondered if she’d done right by Ivan not to tell him, but at the time she hadn’t wanted him returning to her out of obligation, and she wasn’t sure he even deserved to know.
It was quiet in the house. She considered taking a nap, but sure as she laid her head down, her baby boy would wake up. Instead, she let her mind drift to a place she often went during quiet times. As visions of her early years with Ivan danced in her head, she tried to stay focused on those happy memories, but as usual, it wasn’t long before images of Ivan and Lucy bombarded her thoughts. She shook her head and anger wrapped around her heart in the familiar way.
In the beginning she’d blamed herself for not being a better wife. Later she’d faulted Lucy for seducing her husband away from her. Most recently she’d decided that Ivan was a weak, dishonest coward—and he was the one responsible for ruining her life.
How could Martha even suggest that she open her heart to another man? Even good Amish men lie and leave their wives.
Two
ELI SLIPPED ON HIS SHOES, SURPRISED AT HOW WELL he’d slept in the extra bedroom upstairs. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d awakened anywhere besides his own bed. After he pulled his suspenders up on his shoulders, he lifted his arms high above his head and stretched. It was five thirty, still completely dark outside. Only the light from his lantern flickered nearby. But he could hear folks bustling about downstairs. It was a fine day for a wedding, and he was looking forward to all that life had to offer him in this new stage.
He walked casually down the stairs, fighting the urge to whistle. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he hugged several of his cousins who had arrived early to help. He spotted Katie Ann among the women scurrying around in the kitchen. She smiled, and he found himself holding her gaze for longer than he should have. She looked away and went back to buttering loaves of bread. Eli wondered if she knew that Elam was trying to play matchmaker.
Elam walked in then, followed by Jacob and Levi. They were carting chairs, and Eli figured that was his job for the moment. “More chairs in the barn?”
Elam nodded. “Ya. Danki, Eli.”
Eli recognized the tense lines running across Elam’s forehead. It wasn’t just a busy day for the father of the bride—in a way, he was losing his little girl, sending her off into adulthood, trusting that her husband would always take care of her. Eli had felt the rush of panic