Gabriel's Bride (7 page)

Gabriel Fisher shifted from one foot to the other. “I should apologize.”

“For what?”

He looked down at the envelope he held in his big hands, then extended it toward her. “I believe this belongs to you.”

So that was where it had gotten off to.

She took the letter from him and turned it over.
“Danki.”

Gabriel cleared his throat. “I know it was wrong of me—”

She shook her head. “It was an accident, surely.”

“
Jah
, an accident that I took it home.” He took a deep breath and expelled it noisily. “But not an accident a’tall that I read it.”

Rachel blinked at him once, then twice more before his words and their full meaning sunk in. “You read my letter?”

He swallowed hard and nodded. “I meant no harm.”

She gave him a stiff nod. Of course he didn’t. She folded her arms across her middle, a chill stealing over her. She shook off the tingling. There was nothing in the letter to be hidden, nothing to be ashamed of. She was going to live with her kin in Ohio. That was respectable enough. She would take care of the
kinder
. . . and live out her days in gray dresses and black stockings even in the summertime.

Still he stood there.

“Is there something else, Gabriel Fisher?”

He nodded. “It seems to me that we are two people who can help each other.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tell me, Rachel Yoder, do you want to go live in Ohio with your cousin?”

“I don’t see how my wants factor in as a part of this.” She swallowed down the lump in her throat. It wasn’t like she had much choice in the matter, now was it?

“That is no answer.” His green eyes seemed to cut right through her. Could he see her every thought, know her every wish and prayer?

“Nay,”
she finally said.

“
Nay
, it’s no answer or
nay
, you don’t want to move to Ohio?”

“I do not want to move.” She uttered the words so strained, so quietly that she almost didn’t know the voice to be hers. After all, she had never said those words out loud.

Secret revealed, she looked out over the pasture to her goats, frolicking in the warm spring sunshine. They would be the hardest to leave.

“Are you here about the goats?” she asked. That was the most logical reason, even as she held a hope . . .

“I’m here to offer you a job.”

Her gaze swung back to his stern expression as a tiny flicker of hope sparked to life inside her. He seemed serious enough. “A job?”

“As my housekeeper.”

The flyer she had held in her hands no more than two days ago, flashed through her mind.

Housekeeper.

What good would that do? “That is very kind of you to offer, but I have no place to live.” She was proud of herself for saying the words without a tear one in her voice.

“You will naturally stay with me and my family.”

Hope flickered again.
“Jah?”

“We have an empty room upstairs. It would make a fine place for a housekeeper to stay.”

It would indeed, but there were still so many other things at stake. Even if she stayed in Clover Ridge . . . “What about my goats?”

He turned partially around and surveyed the prancing kids. “I would welcome them on my farm. There is plenty enough room.”

She didn’t answer right away, couldn’t find her voice among the hope and doubts.

“Listen,” he started, propping his hands on his hips and nearly doubling his size. “I have a need. I have five boys at home that need clean clothes and hot meals. It seems to me that you have a need as well.”

That was true.

“I think that maybe God brought us together on the steps in front of the general store so that we can help each other.”

She dipped her chin, so wanting to accept his offer, but somehow afraid that it was too good to be true. “I keep my goats.”

“Jah.”

She stuck out her hand.

Gabriel Fisher simply looked at it for a heartbeat before taking it into his own.

His hand was warm and calloused, strong enough to crush the bones of her fingers into dust, yet gentle as he wrapped them around her hand and gave it a small shake. “Deal.”

Gabriel stood next to his brother, Gideon, and his soon-to-be brother-in-law, Zane Carson, as they waited in Beth Troyer’s front yard. He always enjoyed church service, though today’s was a bit different. It was their communion Sunday. Afterwards they held the foot washing, then everyone had filed out of the house as the ordained men gathered in the kitchen to await their nominations for deacon.

“I can’t say that I was surprised that Ezekiel is stepping down,” Gideon said with a sad shake of his head.

“He needs to,” Zane Carson added. “It’s getting harder and harder for him to get around.”

Zane would know. He had lived with the deacon for the past two years as he went through the classes and such that had enabled him to join their district.

No one was surprised that Ezekiel Esh was giving up his position as deacon for their district, although most were saddened by his decision. He had held the position for a long time. He deserved a break before his time on earth was through. His wisdom would be missed though. Esh was fair to a fault and much loved in Clover Ridge.

Gabriel nodded in agreement, his own thoughts buzzing with anticipation. Not for the new deacon, but for his new helper. He felt as if a huge weight had been taken off him. Rachel Yoder was going to be his housekeeper. Starting tomorrow. She was reporting in at seven o’clock, just in time to help with breakfast and get the boys off to school. His plan was working. For the first time since Mary Elizabeth left, he felt the tension in his shoulders lessen. Now if he could only get through today without Ezekiel Esh’s predictions coming true.

Gabriel glanced back at the house as the first of the congregation tramped back in.

“This is exciting,” Zane Carson said, rubbing his hands together.

Gideon laughed. “This from the man who moved here from Chicago. You really have become one of us,
jah
?”

Zane gazed around him. “I love it here.”

Gabriel nodded. It was beautiful this time of year. The trees were covered in buds. The grass had turned green. It was truly a blessing to be a part of such a beautiful place.

“So do you know who you’re going to nominate?” Gideon asked.

Zane shook his head. “Tell me again how this works.”

“We’ll each go back into the house and pass by the doorway to the kitchen. When it’s your turn, you tell one of the ministers who you think God would want in the position.”

“And then they share this information with the bishop?” Zane asked.

Gabriel nodded. “Only men receiving at least two nominations will be included in the lot.”

“Maybe even three,” Gideon added.

Zane nodded.

Gabriel knew Old Zeke would put in for him to take his place, but that didn’t mean much. At least one more person had to recommend Gabriel. Maybe more if some received three or more. Half the people there were his kin in one way or another. They knew the struggles he faced, the hardships he was overcoming daily. Besides, he was a widower. Most of the men chosen were married. Surely that fact alone would work against him.

“Maybe I should nominate you, Gabe.” Zane gave a quick nod in his direction.

Gabriel immediately shook his head. “
Nay
. Not me. I’m not the man for this.” All his life he’d been taught that to serve God, a man needed humility, but that had nothing to do with his response. He wasn’t the man needed for this position. He simply wasn’t.

“Why not,
bruder
?” Gideon asked. “You are as upstanding and worthy as the next man.”

“As are you.”

Gideon was a testament to the healing power of faith. He had lost hope after his wife and son were killed in a tragic accident. But he’d found his faith again with the love of a fancy woman from Dallas. They were expecting their first child soon. Although Gabriel thought Gideon would make a fine church leader, he still needed some time with his wife and his new growing family.

Gideon shrugged. “I suppose.”

Gabriel shook his head. “This is not for me.”

Gideon elbowed Zane Carson in a friendly sort of way. “That’s what they all say.”

There were several good men in the district and still others who would benefit from the lessons God would teach if’n they be ordained. Men like Samuel Beachy. The bishop’s son had spent many a year with the
Englisch
, after he’d broken Gabriel’s sister’s heart, before coming home and repenting his ways.

Katie Rose had been all set to live out her life alone as the district’s school teacher. That was until a certain fancy
Englisch
reporter came along. What a surprise everyone had when he stayed, and despite the fact that Samuel Beachy returned in humility to Clover Ridge, Katie Rose still pined to marry the
Englisch
man. They would wed soon, his sister all dressed in blue while her fancy reporter-turned-Amish stood by her side.

Gabriel inched along as the members ahead of him in line made their way through the house. Samuel Beachy. Yes, he was the logical choice, and Gabriel was certain that others in the district would feel the same.

They took a step closer. Now they were almost at the doorway. Just a few minutes more, and they would be whispering a name to the ministers. Beth Troyer stood at the door, her keen eyes studying him. Gabriel wondered just how much of the conversation she had overheard.

He lowered his voice so only Zane and Gideon could hear his words. “Seriously, this is not for me.”

“And I seriously disagree,” Gideon shot back. Then his brother smiled at the lady standing next to them and touched the brim of his hat. “Beth,” he said.

She dipped her head in return. Her mouth was pressed together in a thoughtful line. Surely she wasn’t contemplating on anything they had said. “To the left and past the kitchen,” she told them. “Daniel and John are waiting on you.”

Gabriel took his turn, whispering his nomination to the minister and then making his way back into the yard. Samuel Beachy would be deacon and serve alongside his father the bishop, and Rachel Yoder would be Gabriel’s housekeeper. She would keep her beloved goats, and he would remain true to Rebecca, his one forever love. Gideon had his Annie, and Katie Rose had Zane Carson.

Gabriel smiled to himself. It seemed Old Zeke was right—God saw a need and He fulfilled it. Funny how interpretation varied from one man to the next. Regardless, Gabriel was satisfied with the way it all turned out.

He didn’t know a lot about Rachel Yoder, but he didn’t have to. She was a
gut
Amish woman, kin to Katherine Yoder. Course’n she was a bit of an odd duck, Katherine was. But it was no matter. It wasn’t like he was marrying Rachel Yoder.

The bishop waved them all back into the house. As custom, the women filed into one side of the room and the men the other. After everyone was settled back in front of the benches, the church elders minus Ezekiel made their way to the front of the room. A table awaited them and the books they carried. In solemn reverence they set the books down and took up a stance in front of the congregation.

“We’ve heard your choices for our new deacon,” Bishop Beachy started, his blue eyes scanning the room. He stepped to the side, and Gabriel could see three copies of the Amish hymnal. Each one had a rubber band wrapped around it. A small piece of paper with a single verse written on it had been hidden inside only one of the copies, the other two had none. Each man nominated would step forward and pick a hymnal. The man who picked the copy with the slip of paper would be ordained as the next deacon of their district.

Poor soul.
Gabriel said a quick prayer for the men about to step up. Being a church leader was an honor bestowed by God, but it was also a burden to the man and his family. There was no pay, no compensation for the time a man had to give to his duties. Truly, it was a blessing as well as a curse.

“Samuel Beachy, will you please step forward?” the bishop asked, a note of pride in his voice. Gabriel was sure the bishop would be saying a prayer for humility that very night. “David Troyer.” A young man in the front stood. He was newly married, his beard barely enough to cover his face. From across the room his equally young wife gasped. In surprise or dismay, Gabriel was not sure. “And Gabriel Fisher, will you come to the front, please?”

Gabriel’s heart gave a hard pound. He wasn’t supposed to be in this lot. His nomination was just an old man’s fancy. This wasn’t really what God intended for him.

Gabriel took a deep breath and stepped out into the narrow divide between the benches. He walked on stiff legs to the front of the room, flanked by the church members—women on the left, men on the right, all eyes on him.

He couldn’t help but notice the frown on the faces of both Samuel Beachy and young David Troyer. He sat down on the bench, right next to them, the ringing in his head loud enough to block out the words of John Zook, one of the ministers, as he asked them to pray.