The Wonder of Your Love - By Beth Wiseman Page 0,92

something special for her. The newlyweds lived on property that Samuel and Lillian had given to their son, and the spacious house was high on a hill with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east and the San Juan Mountains to the west.

Katie Ann tethered her horse amid the other buggies and cars. They’d invited over a hundred people. She took Jonas from his car seat and gazed across the field dotted with the occasional burst of color from the earliest of the wildflowers, an orange glow lingering behind the mountains. Not far into the field, white chairs were lined up on either side of a white runner that led up to an archway that David had built for the occasion. Martha had asked David to walk her down the aisle, and Bishop Esh had agreed to Martha’s request.

Katie Ann moved toward the house, and the smell of roascht filled her nostrils. That was another tradition Martha wanted for her special day. The chicken and stuffing were always served at Amish weddings. People were scurrying about, and Katie Ann spoke to those she passed as she made her way into the kitchen.

It was nearing eight o’clock when everyone gathered outside for the wedding. Emily took Jonas, and Katie Ann stayed behind, as did David. Martha didn’t want Arnold to see her before the wedding, so she’d been hiding upstairs in Emily and David’s bedroom. Katie Ann walked upstairs to get her.

“It’s time, Martha.” Katie Ann walked toward her, surprised to see Martha’s hands trembling. Katie Ann picked up the bouquet of flowers on the bed and handed them to her friend. “Here you go.”

Martha took the flowers, bit her bottom lip, and blinked a few times. “Katie Ann . . .” She let out a deep breath. “I don’t know why the good Lord saw fit to bless me with Arnold this late in life, but I feel like the luckiest woman in the world. Do you think I deserve all this?”

Katie Ann swallowed hard, thinking Martha had never looked more beautiful, or more vulnerable. She touched her on the arm. “You deserve all this and more, Martha. And you look beautiful.”

Martha reached up and touched the butterfly clip. “Danielle said this doesn’t match, but I don’t go anywhere without it.

What do you think?”

“I think it’s lovely.”

Martha held the flowers with one hand and reached for Katie Ann’s hand with the other. “The wonder of the Lord’s love is an amazing thing, isn’t it?”

“Ya. It is.” Katie Ann blinked back tears.

Martha cleared her lungs of the breath she’d been holding.

“Well then . . . let’s get this show on the road.”

Once they were downstairs, Katie Ann gave Martha a final hug and told David to watch for their cue from their spot on the front porch. Then she went and found her place on the front row. As was customary for Amish weddings, the men were on one side, the women on the other, even though here folks were facing forward instead of toward each other. It was the strangest setup for a wedding that Katie Ann had ever seen. She smiled, knowing she wouldn’t have expected anything less from Martha.

Katie Ann’s own marriage to Ivan flashed in her mind and, refusing to let anything put a damper on this day, she was able to recall her wedding day with fondness. She’d been so in love. It was a shame that over the years so many bad memories had stamped out many of the good ones.

Then she thought of Eli. They’d continued to talk every night until the past two. Katie Ann had called from the barn phone, but there hadn’t been an answer either night. When they talked in the evenings, the conversations ranged from lighthearted to intense, especially when things like Hannah’s cancer came up. But they steered clear of any talk about their relationship. Eli ended each call with, “Sleep with the angels,” and Katie Ann said the same to him.

Someone Katie Ann didn’t know, a woman about her age, was in charge of the music, and Katie Ann watched her get up from her place on the back row and walk a few steps to a CD player. She pushed a button, and as Martha had instructed a hundred times, Katie Ann rose and went to stand beside Bishop Esh, then motioned for David to walk Martha across the field to the white runner.

Bishop Esh had agreed to recite some prayers at the wedding, but