Love Inspired June 2015 - Box Set 1 of 2: The Cowboy's Homecoming\The Amish Widow's Secret\Safe in the Fireman's Arms (37 page)

“Are you in pain?” Ulla placed her hand on Sarah's stomach, allowing a professional smile to crease her lips up at the ends.

“
Ya
, I was.” Sarah watched as the older woman began to press her wrinkled hands into her softening stomach.

Ulla looked up, her expression changed, her forehead creased. “Molly.”

The young woman stood, abandoning the chair she'd sat in.
“Ya?”

Ulla's fingers continued to probe, her features pinched. “The baby has twisted. We must turn it before it reaches the birth canal. Put your hands here and push gently when I tell you.”

“Ya.”
Molly followed her mother's instructions, pushing, and then waiting as Sarah's stomach hardened with a contraction.

“Breathe slow and easy. This will hurt but we must do what we can to make this baby come head first,” Ulla told Sarah.

Sarah nodded, terrified but understanding.

The woman's blue-eyed gaze held Sarah's as they pushed and then waited for her contractions to pass.

Excruciating pain tore at Sarah's insides. She stifled a scream. Tremors hit her. She bit on the blanket, her teeth chattering. She wanted Joseph in that moment and then Mose's face filled her mind.

“There.” Ulla straightened, waiting at the foot of the bed with Molly by her side.

Pains came at regular intervals, stealing Sara's breath, and then increased until there was only pain. The urge to push overwhelmed her. “I need to push.” Sarah waited for Ulla's nod.

“Another moment, Sarah. I have to check the cord's placement first.” Ulla finally grunted, “
Ya
. Now.”

With all her might Sarah pushed, her face heating, sweat pouring off her.

“Again,” Ulla instructed.

A wave of hot misery hit her and she pushed again. She felt movement and looked down. Ulla lifted her silent baby in the air and swung it by its blue feet. Sarah's heart pounded in her throat.
What is she doing?
A lusty cry filled the room and the baby began to squirm, his arms and legs flailing in the air, his skin turning a bright, healthy pink.

“A healthy-looking son with ten fingers and toes, thanks to his brave
mamm
.” The smile was back but wider. Ulla laid the baby on Sarah's stomach. She cut the cord and accepted the baby blanket held out by Molly. Seconds later she handed off the swaddled baby.

Her gaze on the child's face, Molly lay him on his mother's chest and smiled at Sarah as she stepped back. “He is so beautiful.”

Sarah looked at her wailing son, his blond curls, and began to weep.

* * *

Mose tiptoed into the dim room, trying hard not to make a sound. Sarah lay in the bed, probably asleep after her ordeal, a tiny bundle in the crook of her arm.

“Mose?” Sarah turned his way, a smile gentle on her lips.

He walked to the bed and sat on the edge.
“Ya.”
Sarah looked tired but good to his eyes. Her bright hair fanned out against the pillow, lose from its braid and damp at the crown.

She put out her hand and he took it, eager to touch her. The baby stirred, making a mewing sound and she was alert, checking him with her glance.

“Beatrice tells me she's named him Levi. Any chance she's telling the truth?”

“We girls heard from
Gott
. He will be Levi Nolt Fischer.”

“And Levi's mother? How is she?” Mose squeezed her hand, longing to take her in his arms and kiss her cheek but afraid to move her.

“Levi's mother is fine.” The bags under his eyes told her what kind of night he'd had.

“It was a fast birth.” Mose had been through two lengthy births with Greta and was amazed how quickly Levi had been born.

“
Ya
. Levi wasted no time. He's small but healthy. Ulla said his tiny size helped speed things up.” Sarah kept her voice low.

“Did she treat you well, she and Molly?” He moved closer, touching the baby's wispy blond hair.

Sarah nodded. “She and Molly were
wunderbaar
, Mose. They showed me every courtesy and were kind and professional. Not a word from the past. It was as if none of the ugliness happened.”

“
Gut
, I guess
Daed
threatening her with being unchurched worked, plus, she's really not a bad person. Just missing her daughter. I owe her a debt of gratitude for getting you and the
bobbel
through this.”

“It can't have been easy for her.” Sarah looked over at Levi and one side of the baby's lip lifted, almost into a smile. “You see, he likes her, so we must try harder for his sake.”

“She wouldn't let me come in.” Mose looked like Beatrice when she sulked, his mouth twisted in a grimace. “I wanted to be with you, but she kept me out.”

“She's old-fashioned. In her day men drank coffee and slapped each other's backs while we women did all the hard work.”

“
Ya
, well. I don't like to be ordered about in my own home. If I want to see you, then I should be allowed. You are my
frau
.”

“We'll talk to her about that before the next
bobbel
comes, okay?” Sarah's smile spoke words she was afraid to say aloud. “If you want a child with me?” Sarah held her breath, her heart pounded in her chest. Their arrangement had been a simple one. No required affection, no love expected. Perhaps he didn't feel the way she did now. Maybe he didn't return her love?

Mose grinned down at Sarah and then his new son, love shining bright in his eyes as he gently pressed his lips to hers. “I've always thought six
kinder
would be enough to take care of me in my old age. What do you think,
frau
?”

Sarah looked into her husband's eyes and saw love there in the sparkle of his gaze and more.

So much more.

“
Ya
, I think six is a perfect number.”

Epilogue

S
arah's fingers entwined with Mose's free hand. A smiling Mercy giggled, her feet dangling out of the canvas carrier looped around her
daed's
shoulders. Her blond curls bounced with each step he took down to the sun-bleached beach, the late-summer sun hanging low in the sky. Beatrice's tiny hand was engulfed in her father's other hand, her complaints of wet sand squishing between her toes ignored.

Levi lay nestled against Sarah, the chubby boy's shoulder sling protecting him from the setting sun and gentle, late-day breezes. “I've never seen the sky so blue,” Sarah said, grinning over at Mose.

“I see beautiful sky blue every time I look into your eyes,
mein frau
,” Mose murmured. She knew he didn't approve of public displays of affection, but today he seemed unable to resist and kissed her gently on the cheek.

“Hey, did you kiss my
daed
?” Beatrice squinted one eye as she regarded first her father and then Sarah suspiciously.

“
Nee, liebling
. He kissed me. What do you think of that?”

“I think it's funny, that's what I think. I need a kiss, too.” Beatrice puckered up and noisily kissed her
daed
on his arm. “Yuck! Your hair tickles.” She scrubbed at her mouth with the back of her hand and started to spit until she caught Sarah's warning glance.

“His beard tickles, too.” Sarah turned to Mose and smiled.

Amusement sparkled in Beatrice's eyes as she smiled at her new
mamm
. “If you don't like him kissing you, tell him to stop. That's what I'd do if Danny Lapp tried to kiss me.”

Mose woke from his quiet bliss, his tone the typical Amish father's bark. “You're too young to worry about boys, Beatrice Fischer. If that Lapp boy comes near you I better hear about it. You hear?”

“Yes. But, you kissed
Mamm
,” Beatrice whined. Joy rushed through Sarah.
She finally called me mamm.

Sarah gave Mose her best “I love you” smile and grinned as his eyes sparkled back at her. “Yes, I kissed your
mamm's
cheek, but we're married and it's allowed.” He squeezed Sarah's hand. “When you get married, you can kiss your husband, too, but not a minute before.”

“Okay.” Beatrice began to skip, obviously less impressed with the subject of their conversation than Mose. Her feet kicked up sand. She yanked at her father's grasp, pulling him toward the incoming wave. “Can I go walk in the water? Please!”

Mose turned toward Sarah. He waited for her sign of approval. Sarah nodded and Mose released Beatrice to the churning surf with a firm warning. “Stay close to us. No rushing into the deep water like the last time.”

Sarah spread out the full-size quilt she'd carried across her arm and sat down, her gaze on Beatrice. “Did you hear her call me
mamm
, Mose? I thought my heart would burst.”

“She asked my permission last night while you were busy with Levi's bath. I told her she could make up her own mind, and I guess she did. I'm happy for you, Sarah. I know it means a lot.” He pulled her close for a quick hug and then pulled Mercy's carrier off his back and placed the squirming child down beside him. Sarah kissed her on her blond head and handed the restless little one a bucket of sea shells to play with.

Mose's hands were gentle as he pushed a strand of hair blowing in Sarah's eyes.
“Danke,”
she said as she laid Levi in the shade created by Mose's broad back and changed the
bobbel's
wet diaper while watching Beatrice's silly antics in the inch-deep water.

“I thought it would never happen.” Sarah laughed with surprise as Beatrice chased a flock of squawking seagulls up a small bank of sand. “She's come a long way since Levi's birth. I think seeing our love grow has given her a measure of peace, something she'd lost.”

Quiet for a moment, Mose laughed, his gaze on Sarah as she frantically dug sand out of Mercy's mouth. She groaned. “You can't turn your back on Mercy for a second. This little
liebling
will eat anything, just like her sister.”

Beatrice ran over and rushed round them, her little legs not still for a moment, her singsong voice raised to the heavens, declaring, “I love
Mamm
and
Daed
, Mercy, Levi, my
grandmammi
Ulla,
Poppy
Otto,
Grandmammi
Theda,
Aenti
Molly and the sand and trees. Did I forget anyone,
Mamm
?”

Sarah leaned against Mose, his arm around her shoulder. “No. I think you remembered everyone.”
We're a real family at last
, she thought. Contentment put a smile on her face as she elbowed Mose and added, “Except...maybe Danny Lapp.”

An elderly
Englisch
couple strolled past, both casually dressed, the wrinkled old man's arm linked with his gray-haired beauty in cutoff jeans and a summer blouse. “Beautiful family you have there,” he said.

Mose nodded his thanks, pulling his straw hat off as a smile spread across his face. “
Gott
has richly blessed me with
mein frau
and
kinder
.”

“I don't know what I'd do without mine,” the old man said and waved as they continued down the shoreline.

Beatrice stopped her running long enough to ask, “Who was that?”

Sarah answered, “No one we know,
bobbel
. Just a passing couple who knows true joy when they see it.”

* * * * *

Keep reading for an excerpt from HEALING THE LAWMAN'S HEART by Ruth Logan Herne.

Dear Reader,

I became a writer because it was on my bucket list of things to do. Little did I know God would take this notion and turn it into His work, for His purpose. He opened and closed doors and set the path, making the way clear.

I began writing
The Amish Widow's Secret
as a testament to my aunt Omie, a strong and beautiful woman who'd loved and lost her husband, Bill, unexpectedly to cancer. In the prime of his life, he had everything to live for. I watched my aunt live through years of loneliness and pain, never to marry again, but to become the strong woman I knew and loved. As a child I wanted to grow into a resourceful and loving woman just like her.

Sensing God had a family planned for my heroine, Sarah, I introduced Mose and his tiny girls, Beatrice and Mercy, a hero and loving family for Sarah to cherish. Visit the tiny Amish town of Pinecraft, Florida, and enjoy the lives of Sarah and Mose as they discover their new love ordained by God.

I hope you enjoyed Sarah and Mose's story of redemption and renewal as much as I enjoyed writing it. I'd love to hear from you. You can find me at
cherylwilliford.com
or at
[email protected]
.

May God richly bless you and bring you peace,

Cheryl Williford

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