The Wonder of Your Love (A Land of Canaan Novel) (4 page)

How could Martha even suggest that she open her heart to another man?
Even good Amish men lie and leave their wives
.

Two

E
LI SLIPPED ON HIS SHOES, SURPRISED AT HOW WELL
he’d slept in the extra bedroom upstairs. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d awakened anywhere besides his own bed. After he pulled his suspenders up on his shoulders, he lifted his arms high above his head and stretched. It was five thirty, still completely dark outside. Only the light from his lantern flickered nearby. But he could hear folks bustling about downstairs. It was a fine day for a wedding, and he was looking forward to all that life had to offer him in this new stage.

He walked casually down the stairs, fighting the urge to whistle. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he hugged several of his cousins who had arrived early to help. He spotted Katie Ann among the women scurrying around in the kitchen. She smiled, and he found himself holding her gaze for longer than he should have. She looked away and went back to buttering loaves of bread. Eli wondered if she knew that Elam was trying to play matchmaker.

Elam walked in then, followed by Jacob and Levi. They were carting chairs, and Eli figured that was his job for the moment. “More chairs in the barn?”

Elam nodded. “
Ya. Danki
, Eli.”

Eli recognized the tense lines running across Elam’s forehead. It wasn’t just a busy day for the father of the bride—in a way, he was losing his little girl, sending her off into adulthood, trusting that her husband would always take care of her. Eli had felt the rush of panic on the wedding day of each of his daughters.

After he retrieved four more chairs, he met up with Elam in the living room. “David seems like a
gut
man, from all I’ve heard.”

Elam unfolded one of the metal chairs and placed it in a row with the others. “
Ya
. David is a fine fellow.”

There was nothing he could say to alleviate his cousin’s anxiety. Eli glanced up to see Katie Ann walking into the living room, and he nodded at her, knowing he was flirting, yet unable to take his gaze from her. Her deep brown eyes drew him in, but she looked away as she leaned down into a playpen and scooped up a baby.

He eased his way slowly toward her. “What a fine-looking
boppli
.”

Katie Ann’s face lit with pride. Her eyes softened and her cheeks glowed as she looked down on the little one. Nothing like a baby to warm a woman’s heart—or a man’s, for that matter. Every time someone commented about one of his grandchildren, Eli’s heart swelled with pride. Even though it wasn’t the Amish way, Eli was pretty sure God allowed it for grandparents.

“
Danki
. This is Jonas.” She twisted so that Eli could see the child she was cradling in her arms. Eli leaned closer to the baby—and to her. His arm barely brushed against hers, causing her to step back a bit, but not before the sweet smell of lavender filled his nostrils. He wasn’t sure if the scent came from her or the baby, but he drew in a deep breath as he gazed upon the child.

“He looks to be about two months, no?” Eli forced himself to stand tall and give the woman some space.

“
Ya
. He is two months old this week.”

Eli remembered when his first grandchild was born. His daughter-in-law, Laura Jane, had gone into labor early. Scared them all to death, but little Leah fought her way into the world at four pounds, and today she was a healthy, beautiful four-year-old. “He has the same deep brown eyes as you,” he said after a moment.

Katie Ann’s cheeks took on a pink flush. “He’s everything to me.” She eased the baby up in her arms and kissed him on the forehead.

“Your first one?”

She lifted her head to face him. “
Mei only
one.”

Eli nodded. “I have six . . . and one on the way.”

Katie Ann narrowed her brows as she squinted, and Eli could almost feel the prick from her piercing eyes. “Did you say . . . one on the way?”

“
Ya
. Due next month.”

She bit her lip. “I see.”

Eli looped his thumbs beneath his suspenders, knowing he should be carting more chairs in. He chuckled. “I’m guessing I’ll have a dozen or so more when it’s all said and done.”

Her eyes grew round as she stared at him.
“Really?”

“Sure. Aren’t you hoping for lots more?” He stroked his beard as he wondered how many children she had.

She raised her chin and gave him an icy stare. “I’m quite sure this will be my only one.”

Eli scratched his forehead, unsure what to make of her comment. “
Ach
, you never know. We can’t control how many grandchildren we’ll end up with.”

Katie Ann gasped as she took a step back from him. “
Grand
children?”

Oops
. He’d made a big mistake. He took off his hat, pressed it against his chest, and cringed for a moment. “That’s not your grandchild, is it?”

She shifted the baby in her arms and stiffened. “No. Jonas is
mei boppli
.” Katie Ann’s cheeks were red as her eyes avoided his.

Eli felt like a heel. “I’m sorry. I guess I just figured that—”

“—a woman
my
age would be a grandmother and not a new
mudder
?”

“Nee, nee.”
Eli’s mind searched for a way to mend the situation. “Of course that’s not what I thought. I know lots of Amish women who’ve had
kinner
into their forties, but Elam told me that you were a widow, so I guess I just assumed the child must be a grandchild.”

She smiled politely, but the damage was done. Then Eli recalled the way the rest of the conversation had gone, and gave a laugh.

Katie Ann pulled the baby closer to her, cradling him with one arm as she cupped her free hand to her hip. “This is funny?”

“
Ya
. It is.” He took a deep breath. “I must have sounded
ab im kopp
when I said I’d probably have a dozen or so more. Of course I meant grandchildren, not children, and . . .” Eli shrugged, hoping for a smile, but she brought the baby to her shoulder and frowned.

“I have to go now.”

She hurried across the living room before Eli could get her to see the humor in the situation, and a moment later she headed up the stairs and drifted out of sight.

He put his hands on his hips and sighed. He had embarrassed her. He’d just assumed her children were grown, like his, and that maybe she’d be interested in getting to know him better as they both started the second half of their lives. But she was starting the second half of her life with a baby.
No way
.

Eli had raised all the
kinner
he was going to. There was no point in getting to know this woman, however attractive she might be.

Too bad
.

Katie Ann had intrigued him for sure.

K
ATIE
A
NN
F
INISHED
changing Jonas’s diaper on Vera’s bed atop a small blanket she’d brought with her. She picked up her baby and kissed him on the cheek. “Is that better?”

She packed her supplies back into the diaper bag, depositing the wet cloth diaper in a plastic bag. Martha thought she was crazy for not using disposable diapers, but she didn’t mind washing the cottony linens for Jonas. They were softer on his behind and caused less chafing.

She walked to the mirror in Vera’s room and almost gasped. Her eyes were puffy, with dark circles underneath. No wonder the man had thought she was a grandma. She leaned closer to the mirror and took a better look.

She’d gotten even less sleep the night before than usual. Jonas had cried on and off, and although she’d tried everything to make him happy, nothing had worked. She was thankful that he seemed content so far this morning.

So much for Martha thinking that perhaps a romance would develop—not that she would have considered such a thing. Even if she weren’t recently widowed and hadn’t lost all trust in men, Eli was a chatty fellow, not at all her type. And was it really necessary for him to get such a chuckle out of their misunderstanding?

She let out a huff before nuzzling her nose to Jonas’s neck. “We don’t need anyone else, do we?”

A
N HOUR INTO
the wedding ceremony, most of the congregation was focused on Katie Ann and her little one, who was wailing at the top of his lungs. Even from across the room, Eli could see her bottom lip trembling as she tried to comfort the child, rocking him back and forth. She’d already left the room twice, and both times when she returned, little Jonas was quiet for about a minute before he started up again. An older
Englisch
woman sitting next to her—dressed rather brightly in a pink and white dress—had tried to comfort the child as well, but ultimately handed him back to his mother, shaking her head.

Katie Ann had circles under her puffy eyes, and he sympathized with her. He remembered when Maureen was that age. She’d cried constantly. At first Eli had assumed it was because the poor child didn’t have her mother and that he was failing miserably, but it turned out to be something entirely different. And there had been an easy fix.

He watched Katie Ann maneuver her way past a row of women, then slip out the back and into the mudroom. Eli tapped his foot as he tried to focus on what the bishop was saying. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It would be at least another hour before Emily and David actually said their wedding vows. And that poor child was still wailing. He shifted his weight, knowing that what he was about to do was irregular for an Amish man. Children were women’s work.

Unless your spouse died and left you six of them to raise.

“Excuse me,” he whispered to his nephew Jacob as he stood up and eased by him. He hoped everyone would think he was heading to the bathroom. His black dress shoes clicked against the wooden floor in the Detweilers’ living room, and he was glad when he rounded the corner and the bishop’s voice faded. His heart sank, though, when he saw Katie Ann sitting on a chair in the far corner of the mudroom crying right along with her child. She looked up at him with teary desperation as he walked toward her, but quickly swiped at her eyes.

“What are you doing back here?” she asked in a loud whisper.

“I thought I might be able to help.”

She cut her eyes at him. “I assure you, I’ve tried everything.”

Eli sighed, unsure what to say. Katie Ann started to cry again.

“I don’t know what to do.” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “He just won’t stop crying.” She shook her head as she continued to rock Jonas. “He did this most of the night too, and I’m so”—she closed her eyes for a moment, then looked down at the screaming child—“tired.”

Eli squatted down beside her. “May I?” He reached his hands out toward the baby, but Katie Ann stiffened and sat taller.

“No. I’m sure you won’t be able to help.” She sniffled as she shook her head.

Eli couldn’t help but notice how pretty she was, even with her eyes swollen from little sleep and tiny lines that feathered from the corner of each eye.

He kept his arms out as he spoke, easing into a chair beside her. “I’ve raised six children on my own for the past seventeen years. I’ve learned a thing or two.” He raised his brows, and Katie Ann reluctantly handed over the unhappy little fellow.

“There, there,” Eli whispered, lowering the little one onto his lap, faceup . . . and still screaming. He slipped one hand under the baby’s neck, and with his other hand, he took two fingers and traced them from below Jonas’s breastbone all the way down his tummy, applying a small amount of pressure. When he could feel the top of the child’s diaper beneath his blue onesie, he moved his hand in a circular motion back and forth across the child’s abdomen. In less than a minute, Jonas had stopped crying.