The Wonder of Your Love (A Land of Canaan Novel) (30 page)

And she wondered when she would see him again.

E
LI SPENT THE
days following his return from Canaan staying busy around his house. He’d made repairs to the fence in the far pasture, put a fresh coat of paint on the woodshed, cleaned the barn, and repaired the passenger door on his buggy.

Busy. He had to stay occupied to keep his mind off Katie Ann. He’d come mighty close to telling her how much he loved her more than once, especially when they parted ways this last time. But Katie Ann had much on her mind, and he knew it would be difficult for her to travel back to Lancaster County to settle her husband’s affairs. So many times he’d wondered what kind of man would leave a woman like Katie Ann. He would spend the rest of his life loving her, given the chance. But he knew his children and grandchildren wouldn’t hear of him leaving, and she had created a new life for herself in Canaan. He wondered if she would consider moving to Ohio.

Even though these thoughts filled Eli’s mind, the plans he’d made for years kept bumping around in his head.

He carried a bucket of feed across the snow toward the barn. It was a dreary day, filled with gray clouds and the threat of more snow. He thought about Canaan and how the sun was always shining there, even after a hard snow, lighting the white peaks as if by rays from heaven. And something about the way the Sangre de Cristo and San Juan Mountains hugged the San Luis Valley in a protective embrace made him see why folks would want to live there. The Amish community in Canaan was small, but Katie Ann had told him that the population had more than doubled in the past year, with more and more folks migrating to the area for cheaper land and more room to spread out.

Eli was walking back to the house when he heard hooves padding up the driveway. He turned to see three buggies pulling in, the first of which he recognized as his oldest daughter’s. Hannah’s horse, Midnight, was a fine animal and easily recognizable with his tall steady gait and coat so black it looked almost midnight blue. Eli pushed back his black jacket and looped his thumbs beneath his suspenders.

Ida Mae was in the buggy with Hannah, and Karen and Frieda were in the next one. Bringing up the rear was his baby girl, Maureen. Whenever all his girls convened like this, something was afoot.

“Wie bischt,”
he said, greeting them as they made their way across the yard to the front porch, each one toting a casserole dish or bag. It wasn’t unusual for his daughters to keep him supplied with casseroles and freshly baked goods, but they didn’t make a habit of all arriving at the same time. “Dare I ask what brings all my lovely
dochders
here today?”

Hannah glanced at Ida Mae and shrugged as they brushed past him and toward the porch steps. “Just wanted to visit our
daed
.”

Sure you did
.

He walked alongside his other daughters toward the house. Was Jake ever invited to these sessions, he wondered, or did his son just have enough
gut
sense to decline?

“I brought you a chicken and rice casserole,” Maureen said as she placed a dish on Eli’s kitchen table.

Flashbacks of eating the same casserole with Katie Ann on her couch played in his mind.

“And I made you some fresh granola,
Daed
.” Karen put a Tupperware container next to the casserole.

His other three daughters all unloaded more food— chicken noodle soup that Frieda said could be frozen, two loaves of bread from Ida Mae, and a chocolate shoofly pie from Hannah.

“
Danki, danki
. I won’t go hungry, no?” He smiled at all his girls, knowing something was coming.

Hannah must have been awarded the job of speaker.

“
Daed
,
Aenti
Vera called, and . . .”

Eli shook his head. He loved his cousin’s wife, but that woman could stir things up more than any female he’d ever known, except maybe for his own daughters. “And what did
Aenti
Vera have to share?” He eased into a kitchen chair, sighing as he waited.

Hannah sat down across from him. “
Daed
, she said you’ve become very close with Katie Ann.” She glanced around the room at her sisters. “And we were just wondering if you are going to end up moving to Canaan.”

Eli was smiling on the inside, even though he tried to stifle his joy in front of his girls. They
did
need him. He should have known they would be afraid that he would leave them to move to Colorado.

“No worries,
mei dochders
. I’m not going anywhere.” Although the moment he said it, his heart sank. Confusing. He glanced at each of his girls. Also confusing. Each one of them was frowning. “What is wrong with all of you?”

Frieda and Karen sat down too, and Karen spoke up. “We were just hoping you’d found true love.” She batted her eyes a few times, and Eli wasn’t sure what to say. “We want you to be happy,
Daed
. We thought maybe Katie Ann was the one.”

“You want me to move?” Eli recalled how he’d raised each and every one of them. Now they didn’t need him anymore?

“Of course we don’t
want
you to move, but we don’t want you staying, either . . . because of us.” Karen reached over and touched his hand. “We all have husbands to take care of us now.”

The statement hurt, but he forced a smile.

Maureen, the newest bride and still filled with romance, spoke next. “Do you love her,
Daed
?”

It was a conversation no Amish man should be having with his grown daughters, but he answered truthfully. “I love her very much.”

“Yay!” Maureen jumped up and down, and all his girls laughed and clapped.

“We’re so happy for you,
Daed
,” Ida Mae said. “We didn’t think you would really travel the world like you planned.”

“I did,” Eli mumbled, even though traveling didn’t hold the allure it once did.

“Do you think Katie Ann and her son would consider moving here to Middlefield?” Maureen brought her hands to her chest.

Katie Ann had been through so much, and she seemed settled and happy in her new world. Eli envisioned a life with Katie Ann, surrounded by the mountains, sunshine most days, and—the baby. He would be Jonas’s father if Katie Ann would have him. With his children’s blessings all around him, he couldn’t help but get excited about the possibility of being with Katie Ann and Jonas in Colorado. “I think we would be best to live in Canaan.”

“We would miss you so much,
Daed
,” Karen said. “But you’ve given to each and every one of us, over and over again. We will support any decision you make.”

“
Danki
, girls.” Eli narrowed his brows. “And what does your
bruder
think about this?”

“Jake agrees with us,” Hannah said.

Eli rubbed his chin and wondered how hard it would be to be away from his children—and his grandchildren. Could he really do that?

But could he really live without Katie Ann?

M
ARTHA KNOCKED ON
Arnold’s front door.

“Why don’t you use the key I gave you?” Arnold lifted one eyebrow as he stepped back so Martha could enter.

“Easier to knock.” Truth was, it felt odd to walk into Arnold’s home unannounced. Rumors were flying that Arnold was going to propose. He’d been caught browsing among the rings at a jewelry store in Monte Vista. Vera told Martha she’d seen him when she was on her way to the post office, and from that point, everyone in the Amish community seemed to know. And that was okay. Martha didn’t mind being the center of attention. But she wondered how Danielle fit into this scenario. Poor girl didn’t have any parents, and her ex-boyfriend was certainly a thug. She couldn’t turn her out on the street. While she couldn’t say she was bonding with the girl, she did feel protective of her.

“How is it going with Danielle?” Arnold sat down on the couch while Martha sat down in Arnold’s recliner. She loved the way he always insisted she sit in his favorite chair.

“Funny you should mention that.” Martha squared her jaw and leaned her head forward a bit. “Do you know I think that girl could sleep fourteen hours a day if I didn’t get her up? And, Arnold, you know I like my junk food, but she survives on it. She ate all my Fritos before I even had a one. And sodas . . . she’ll drink them back-to-back all day long.” Martha took a breath. “And she’s a slob. Throws her clothes everywhere, leaves plates and food in her room, and her clothing . . .” Martha rolled her eyes. “And did I mention that she’s lazy?”

Arnold chuckled. “Sounds exactly like most of the teenagers I’ve known.”

“None of my Amish family has teenagers that act like that.”

Arnold nodded. Martha knew that Arnold and his son had fallen on bad terms until shortly before Greg died. Arnold said he would be forever thankful that they mended their ways.

“Were you a part of Greg’s life when he was a teenager?”

“Yes. I was. They are difficult years.”

He shook his head, which made Martha wonder if he’d take on Danielle in the marriage proposal too. She wasn’t about to ask.

“Where is Danielle at now—home?”

Martha sighed as she rolled her eyes. “Yes, I suppose her home is my home. And that’s where she’s at. I’m hoping she’ll look for a job. Not that money is an issue. But I need her out of the house sometimes. She interrupts my schedule.” She crossed her legs. “I have my certain shows that I like to watch on TV. I like to eat supper at exactly seven o’clock. And I don’t like anyone else running bathwater at the same time I am. I lose water pressure.”

“How long are you planning to let her stay?”

Ah. There was the question. Maybe Arnold was waiting to propose until he found out exactly how long she’d be housing the teenager.

Martha shrugged. “I have no idea.”

D
ANIELLE KICKED HER
feet up on Martha’s ottoman while she stretched out in Martha’s comfy chair. She was sure the woman would have a heart attack if she saw her sitting so smug in the worn-out recliner. After rubbing some jasmine vanilla lotion on her hands, she clicked the television on. For such a big house, this was the only TV, and Martha always controlled the remote. She flipped through the channels, but after a few minutes she hit the Off button. There wasn’t anything good on this time of the afternoon, and besides . . . she couldn’t concentrate.

It was only a matter of time before Martha found out she was lying, and then she’d throw her out for sure. And there was no way she was going back to her old life. She reached up and touched the scar on her cheek. The doctor said it would fade over time, but Danielle wasn’t sure she’d ever really heal.

She replayed the scene in her mind, wondering what she’d done to provoke it. Closing her eyes, she could almost feel the blows to her face, particularly the curled fist with the chunky gold ring that caught her upper cheek and eye. She’d known when she smelled the whiskey and saw the staggering, she should have run. As she’d done more than once before.

She glanced around Martha’s house. The woman annoyed her to no end with her rules about housecleaning and eating at a certain time, and she had zero sense of fashion—evidenced not only by her own bizarre clothing, but also by her house décor. Danielle looked at the picture of the owls hanging above an outdated red and gold couch and shook her head.

But Danielle liked being here better than any other place on Earth. It was the only place she’d ever felt safe. So even if she wanted to yank that ridiculous butterfly clip from Martha’s scraggly hair sometimes . . . or just for once have the remote control, eat in her bed upstairs, or not be restricted about when she could bathe—some things were worth forgoing. And one thing Danielle knew for sure. Martha would never hit her. She could just tell.

The woman was crabby and a nuisance, but Danielle hoped she wouldn’t send her away.

She jumped when someone knocked at the door, then panic set in. She figured she would spend the rest of her days here worrying that she’d been found. It was bound to happen sooner or later, but when she peeked around the curtain in the living room, she saw a buggy and a horse, so she knew it was one of those Amish people coming to visit Martha. They were as strange as Martha, dressed in their funky clothes and living in houses with no electricity. She’d never seen an Amish person until some of them visited Martha in the hospital. She’d also gone with Martha to Katie Ann’s house a couple of times. Danielle couldn’t believe they lived like that.

“Martha’s not here,” she said when she opened the front door. Then she studied the figure before her. If ever there was a hot Amish guy, he was standing in front of her in his black pants, black coat, and one of those funky black hats.