Winter of Wishes (24 page)

“
Jah
, Sister, come on in,” Rhoda called out. “Sorry we didn’t save ya any of our breakfast.
We can scrape ya up something if ya want.”

Rachel waved her off and came over to hug Miriam. “Merry Christmas to ya, Mamma,”
she said. “Might be my first Christmas as a Brenneman, but some things still have
to happen a certain way, ya know?”

Another little mystery. Miriam pondered this as Rachel slipped out of her coat and
bonnet, for she’d already made her peace with her married daughter spending the day
with her new family.

“So what do ya think of these bright colors Rhoda’s been sewin’ up for ya?” Rachel
asked, gesturing toward the partly completed dresses and capes. “Mary Schrock teased
us about you switchin’ over to the Mennonite side when Rhoda picked out that fabric
in her shop. But we thought ya could at least wear them for chorin’ if they didn’t
suit ya for—”

“Those will
not
be my chorin’ dresses, silly goose!” Miriam shot back. “And I thank ya for that wedding
dress, too. Mighty thoughtful of the both of ya, to see that your
mamm
’s got herself covered.”

“At least until Bennie-boy gets ahold of ya,” Rhoda teased.

“
Jah
, well, we know what comes of that sort of shenanigans, ain’t so?” Rachel chimed in.
Then she focused her shining blue eyes—Jesse’s dear eyes—on Miriam. “I wanted to tell
ya this before I broke it to the Brennemans, Mamma. I’m perty sure we’ve got a baby
on the way.”

A little yelp escaped Miriam as she stood up to throw her arms around Rachel. “Oh,
honey-bug, that’s just the
best
news! I’ve heard ya upchuckin’ a few times and I was wonderin’—”

“
Jah
, Rhoda guessed before I did. I was thinkin’ it might be a flu bug—”

“Puh! When have ya ever gotten the flu, Sister?” Rhoda shot back.

At the same moment Miriam opened an arm, Rhoda stepped into their huddle . . . the
wonderful, warm circle of love they’d shared many times since Jesse’s passing. This
blessed news was one more thing she wished she could have shared with him. But then,
he already knew, because he was watching over them from heaven.

And wasn’t that the perfect sentiment for this Christmas Day? Miriam sighed happily
as she held her daughters close. “Well, now. This’ll go down in my memory as the nicest
Christmas Day of all, girls. Everything I need to feel joyful and at peace is right
here in this room.”

Rhoda chuckled. “At least until the wedding next Thursday,
jah
?”

On Friday, Second Christmas, the Knepp kitchen bustled with the usual preparations
for a big holiday meal. Rhoda felt the undercurrent of nerves . . . saw the strain
in Annie Mae and Nellie’s eyes, and detected a tightness around the Hooley sisters’
mouths, as well. What with having the twins to care for, Jerusalem had asked Mamma
to roast the chickens and bring the stuffing and gravy for the traditional Christmas
meal, while she, Nazareth, and Hiram’s girls had cooked up an array of side dishes.
Rachel had baked bread and Rhoda had brought a box of her cookies.

“Well, if anybody goes away hungry today, it’s their own fault,” Mamma said cheerfully.
She lifted the lid from one of the big pots on the stove. “Oh, green beans with tomatoes!
I’ve always liked the red and green together, and it’s a nice change from the casserole
with the mushroom soup, ain’t so?”

While Jerusalem and Nazareth joined in with Mamma’s happy chatter, Rhoda and Rachel
clustered near the Knepp girls to slice the bread and arrange cookies on a platter.
“So how’s it goin’ with your
dat
?” Rhoda asked quietly.

Annie Mae glanced around to be sure none of the little ones were listening to them.
Timmy and Sara were playing with their new Lincoln Logs near the kitchen doorway,
while Josh and Joey played Chutes and Ladders in the front room where the men were
visiting. “We’re not sure,” she murmured. “Dat stayed at the hospital most of the
time the twins were there. He’s been tendin’ to a lot of business away from home ever
since.”

“Which has made it easier,” Nellie remarked quietly. “But he surely must be gettin’
his ducks in a row for whatever God told him to do about that new colony.”

“Rhoda and Rachel!” Jerusalem called from the other side of the kitchen. “Try this
goat cheese on a sliver of that fresh bread! Tell me what ya think of it.”

Rhoda glanced over to see the older Hooley sister holding up a lidded container she’d
taken from the fridge. “Now that’s something I’ve never tried. But if you made it,
Jerusalem, it’s got to be
gut
.”

“
Ach
, but the twins just gobble it down. It’s more fun for them to milk the goats when
they see somethin’ tasty comin’ out of their efforts.”

“They won’t be goin’ out to the barn for a while yet,” Nazareth remarked. “But it’s
mighty fine to have them home and doin’ so well, even with those casts on their arms
and legs. Worried us, while they were havin’ so many tests to see how their insides
were doin’.”

“
Jah
, the
gut
Lord was watchin’ out for them when they went flyin’ out of that sleigh,” Mamma agreed.

Rhoda took the spoonful of cheese Jerusalem offered her, and she spread some of it
on a slice of bread, breaking it in half to share with her sister. They took their
first bite together, and Rachel’s eyes lit up just as hers did.

“Mmm! Creamier than cream cheese,” Rachel said with her mouth full.

“This would taste
gut
on a lot of things,” Rhoda said. “Maybe stuffed in celery, instead of peanut butter.”

“Oh, back home in Lancaster, we made macaroni and cheese and pizza and all manner
of things with our goats’ cheese,” Jerusalem replied with a chuckle. “Even used it
as the cheese layer in lasagne casseroles—”

“And it makes real different grilled cheese sandwiches, too,” Nazareth remarked. “What
with some baby goats on the way, we’ll have more milk than we can use up once the
new ones are weaned. Then they’ll start producin’, too.”

Rachel polished off her sample, considering this. “Why not sell it, then? Nobody else
around here has goats, so your cheese would be a real popular thing—maybe with those
grains the boys’ll be sellin’ at the mill.”

“That’s what I said, too.” Glancing toward the front room, Annie Mae lowered her voice.
“And who knows? If Luke and Ira take up my offer to bake for them, that and sellin’
goat cheese may be how I get by after . . . Dat spells out his new plan.”

The three older women were taking the baked hens from the oven, all sizzling and golden
brown. “Time to be gettin’ everything on the table, looks like,” Rhoda said in a louder
voice. “I’ll put this cookie plate over by the cherry cobbler and that cranberry upside-down
cake. I can see what I’m havin’ for my first dessert!”

“
Jah
, I made that,” Nellie said as they carried food to the table. “With the cornmeal
texture, it’s somethin’ different from your usual pie or cake. Looks perty for Christmas,
too.”

After the steaming platters and bowls of food covered the center of the table, plus
a card table beside Jerusalem’s place, everyone sat down. Joey and Josh perched on
pillows in their seats, while Timmy and Sara grinned from wooden high chairs that
had been carved by a family member generations ago. What with the Hooleys, the Knepps,
and the Lantzes, seventeen people lined the sides of the long kitchen table, and for
that Rhoda was thankful as they bowed in silent prayer.
Whatever’s cookin’ beneath the surface today, Lord Jesus, I’m askin’ Ya to guide our
thoughts and our words if things get touchy.

Everyone passed the roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and hot vegetables. A big glass
bowl of fresh cranberry sauce gleamed like a ruby, and Nazareth had made a green gelatin
salad with fruit and marshmallows for the kids. Soon Rhoda’s plate didn’t have any
space to spare. Oh, but Mamma’s chicken with stuffing smelled heavenly, while Nazareth’s
creamed corn enticed her, too. Luke and Ira had small mountains of mashed potatoes
on their plates. With their other food piled so deep, she wondered why everything
didn’t ooze off onto the tablecloth.

“So how’s it feel to be home from the hospital, eatin’ home-cooked food?” Ben asked
the twins.

Joey held up a chicken leg with a grin that looked lopsided on his bandaged face.
“It’s
gut
,” he declared. “And Monday we go back to play games with a special nurse!”

“
Jah
, it’s
thare
-pee,” Josh confirmed as he scooped potatoes with his spoon.

“Physical therapy,” Jerusalem clarified. “That’s to make sure your arms and legs heal
right, so all your parts’ll be movin’ the way they’re supposed to.”

And isn’t that interesting, after the way Hiram called us on the carpet for sendin’
his boys off in the ambulance?
Rhoda tucked a forkful of green beans into her mouth as she stole a quick glance
at him. He had remained uncommonly quiet during the meal. The other adults’ faces
showed surprise and curiosity as they wondered about Hiram’s change of heart—not to
mention how much the twins’ treatment was costing him.

From the head of the table—for he refused to eat at a separate one in his own home—Hiram
noted the reactions around him. He laid down his fork with a purposeful sigh. “After
I considered how Joey almost died on the side of the road,” he said somberly, “I realized
that the medical attention they received was the will of God—a gift from our Lord,
come down at Christmas. So today we’re feasting rather than mourning a lost child.
My sons will be strong and healthy come time to begin our monumental task of organizing
the new colony God has decreed as my mission.”

There it was, conversational bait tossed out for someone to snap up. Hiram was testing
to see who would go with him, like sheep faithfully following their shepherd.

Annie Mae and Nellie reached for the bowls in front of them to pass them again, but
Hiram held up his hand to halt them.

“I see today’s dinner, which was Jerusalem’s idea,” he said as he grasped the
maidel
’s wrist, “as a providential gathering of some key citizens of Willow Ridge. Every
one of you has important skills to offer a new colony. I value your commitment to
Plain principles, so I’m offering you choice tracts of land at half their market value.”

Rhoda’s mouthful of food went down before she was ready and she had to gulp water
to keep from choking. This was getting interesting! And Hiram knew just when to pause
. . . how to make folks squirm in the silence they weren’t filling with their responses.

“Micah, we’ll certainly need your carpentry skills early on, for building the first
homes, businesses, and the schoolhouse,” their host continued. “I’ve run the first
in a series of ads in
The Budget
, inviting folks from all over to join us here in Missouri, where good farmland is
still affordable. The sooner a core group of settlers is established, the more desirable
our new colony will appear.”

Micah’s beard, now long enough to frame his face in blond waves, rippled as he wiped
his mouth. He glanced across the table at Rachel. “I see your point, Hiram, but my
brothers and I are supportin’ our
dat
and
mamm
. Couldn’t even consider movin’—”

“And Ben, every settlement needs a farrier. A restaurant is a must, as well, for those
who will be laying pipe for the water system and other infrastructure for our business
district.” Hiram gazed directly at Mamma. “We’ve had our differences, it’s true. But
that’s how God refines us in His fire to make us stronger for the challenges ahead.”

Ben was shaking his head, opening his mouth to respond, when Annie Mae tossed down
her napkin. “I’m not goin’ with ya.” She stood up and left the table.

“Me neither,” Nellie chimed in as she followed her sister through the front room.

A stunned silence rang in the kitchen as Hiram glared after his two errant daughters.
Wide-eyed, the four younger children stopped eating to watch their father’s reaction.
Rhoda’s pulse raced, knowing that her friends had just invited all manner of chastisement.

“Come back here. Face up to the consequences of your disobedience,” Hiram called after
them. “You know I’ll deal with you more harshly later if you don’t.”

Footsteps clattered up the oak stairs at the far end of the house. Rhoda suspected
the Knepp sisters would be packing up their belongings. How could they possibly stay
here, after defying their father in front of folks who weren’t family?

Jerusalem removed her hand from under Hiram’s. “I’ll not be joinin’ ya, either. May
God strike me down if I’m defyin’ His will, but this scheme of yours sounds like something
hatched in the Devil’s own den. I want no part of it.”

“My feelings exactly,” Nazareth declared. “I’m stayin’ here in Willow Ridge with my
nephews.”

“
Jah
, even if I weren’t finishin’ a new house for Miriam,” Ben chimed in, “I wouldn’t
have the least inclination to start fresh again, someplace else.”

“Glad you said so, Ben,” Mamma remarked pertly, “because for sure and for certain
I’m not leavin’ my bakery—or my new home—if ya take up with Hiram.”

Rhoda stifled a chuckle as Rachel covered her grin with her hand. Oh, but the look
on Hiram’s face could’ve curdled milk.

“Don’t bother askin’ us to leave, either, what with our mill just openin’,” Luke Hooley
said. “My family’s stickin’ together in Willow Ridge, and their decision feels right
to me.”

Ira crossed his arms at his chest, nodding.

Hiram’s eyebrows rose slowly as he focused on each one of them in turn. “It saddens
me that I’ve offered you a golden opportunity, a ticket to the promised land, and
you won’t look beyond your immediate plans—your
convenience
—to answer the Lord’s call,” he said in a low voice. “You’re like the servant in the
parable of the talents, who buried his master’s money in the ground and had nothing
to show for it on the day of reckoning.”

Another silence filled the kitchen, but this time it felt different. Rhoda noted a
resolute set to the Hooley brothers’ faces, and as Mamma scooted her chair back, she
and Rachel stood up, too.

“Jerusalem, Nazareth,” her mother said quietly, “it was mighty nice of ya to include
us in your plans today, but I’d be imposin’ on Hiram if I stayed any longer.”

“
Jah
, it’s not like any of us has much appetite left.” Jerusalem rose, as well, while
Nazareth knocked the spoon against the green-bean bowl as though she was ready to
clear the table.

“I’m not finished eating,” Hiram said. “Sit down. All of you.”

“I agree with Aunt Jerusalem,” Ben replied. “Had ya confessed and been voted back
into
gut
standing with the membership, Hiram, this new colony might feel more like an opportunity
than another one of your escapades.”

“That’s not a wise thing to say, considering you and Miriam are to be married on Thursday,”
Hiram pointed out.

Ben smiled, the picture of confidence. “Jeremiah Shetler’s comin’ to do the honors,”
he replied. “What with your position as our bishop lookin’ hazy, I wanted to be sure
Miriam and I would be legal when we tied the knot. Stickler for followin’ the rules
that ya are, I think ya see my point, ain’t so?”

Hiram gripped the edge of the table, his dark eyes flashing. “You’ll be sorry you
said that, Hooley,” he stated as Ben went for their coats.

“Ben’s as honest as the day is long.” Jerusalem shoved her chair under the table with
a loud
whack
. “You go right ahead and finish your dinner, Hiram. And then ya can clean it up,
too. I’ve had enough.”