Miriam's Secret
Authors: Jerry S. Eicher
HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
Cover by Garborg Design Works, Savage, Minnesota
Cover photos © Chris Garborg; SOMATUSCANI / Bigstock
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
MIRIAM'S SECRET
Copyright © 2015 Jerry S. Eicher
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Eicher, Jerry S.
Miriam's secret / Jerry S. Eicher.
pages ; cm. â (Land of promise ; book 1)
ISBN 978-0-7369-5879-0 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-0-7369-5880-6 (eBook)
1. AmishâFiction. I. Title.
PS3605.I34M568 2015
813'.6âdc23
2014021857
All rights reserved.
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Contents
W
ith almost no effort, Miriam Yoder drove her buggy along the familiar road leading to Amos Bland's farm. Her horse, Mindy, needed little direction. For the past three years this journey had been part of their routine every weekday morning since Miriam had turned seventeen and answered an ad placed in the
Holmes County Budget
: “Elderly man in need of daily assistance. Excellent pay,” the ad had said. And, indeed, the pay had been excellent. The
Englisha
man was a successful farmer. His well-kept farm was one of the most admired in Possum Valley. Later in life he prospered as an investor, wisely using his profits to purchase land that he was able to sell to a local developer for new tract houses.
When Miriam had showed the ad to her
mamm,
there was some reluctance to allow Miriam to even consider such a job proposal. The “excellent pay” was what had persuaded
Mamm
to let her look into it. Still, she'd hesitated when they talked about
what the job might entail. Was it true that this man was old? And how old was “old”?
Mamm
said they wouldn't consider allowing her to take the job if he didn't pass inspection. And just to make certain,
Mamm
had gone along for the job interview. It was only after they'd spoken at length with Mr. Bland and his sister, Rose, that
Mamm
had grudgingly glanced at her daughter with a look that Miriam recognized as permission to accept the job if it was offered and she wished.
Rose explained that she had her own business to take care of during the week, but she'd be able to care for her brother on weekends. At night Mr. Bland would be on his own. If she wanted the job, Miriam would only need to work during daylight hours. Rose said the last person had quit three weeks ago, and they hadn't found anyone suitable until now. Rose glanced at Amos before turning to Miriam. Would she like the job?
“I'll take it!” Miriam said. She was ready to say so before the desperate reasons given by Rose.
Her answer brought pleased looks to Mr. Bland and Rose's faces.
“Wonderful!” Rose exclaimed. “When can you start?”
Miriam smiled. “I can start work whenever you want me to.”
“Tomorrow then?” Rose asked.
Miriam agreed. After wrapping up the details and saying goodbye, the two Amish women drove home in their buggy. On the way,
Mamm
said there would never be an overnight stay no matter how helpless Mr. Bland might become in the years ahead. “Not under any circumstances!” she'd emphasized. “I don't care how much we need the money or if Mr. Bland's health declines. I know he appears perfectly harmless, but some things simply aren't decent.”
As it turned out, the issue never came up. Mr. Bland remained well enough to tend to himself in the evenings. For most of the day when Miriam was there, he sat in his recliner and looked out
the large, front window, occasionally lapsing into naps. Sometimes his mind wandered or his memory faltered, and he would forget Miriam was there. Other times while Miriam was doing household chores or fixing his lunch, she could hear him speaking to his late wife, Thelma.
As the months flew by, Mr. Bland expressed his gratitude to Miriam. He gave her occasional raises by amounts that made her blush. When she objected, Mr. Bland said, “You're doing a good job, Miriam. And I can't take it with me.” He would then smile and return to gazing out the window.
Mamm
raised her eyebrows at times when Miriam brought the checks that reflected the raises home on Friday nights. “What are you doing for the man, Miriam?” she'd tease.
“
Mamm
!” Miriam would exclaim. “I just take care of him.”
And
Mamm
would say nothing more because the truth was that their family was among the poorest in Possum Valley and needed the money. There was no shame in that either.
Mamm
and
Daett
made no attempt to hide the fact.
Daett
was lame from a farming accident when he was a child, and he walked with a pronounced limp. It didn't stop him from working his farm, but he needed help. The two oldest boys, Lee and Mark, worked hard too. Even so, there were evenings when
Daett
's face was etched with weariness from the extra efforts he had to expend.
Despite the hardship, there was much the family could be thankful for. For one thing,
Mamm
and
Daett
loved each other. That was what matteredânot how much money was in their bank account. Still, the extra money Miriam earned was a help, especially because the Yoder family was continuing to grow. There were ten children now, and another one was on the way. Their ages stretched from Miriam's twenty years to the current youngest, Tony, who was three. When the baby arrived, there would be eleven mouths to feed.
Holmes County was one of the busiest Amish-related tourist centers in America. People came from everywhere to watch the Amish and buy their goods.
Daett
could make extra money if he'd cater to them, but he didn't believe the Amish should benefit monetarily from their faith. So he worked harder on the farm and paid the price for his convictions.
Daett
had high ideals, and
Mamm
supported him fully. So far the Lord had supplied the needs of the Yoder family, and there was no reason why He wouldn't continue to provide for them. They would make it with His help.
For one thing, Miriam's sister Shirley was seventeen now and had been out of school for three years. She too would take on a job soon, though she probably wouldn't find one as good as Miriam's.