A Sister's Hope (8 page)

She rapped the back of his head lightly with her knuckles. “I’m not leaving the modern world. I just feel the need to be near my Amish family. They’ve gone through some rough times lately, and I can’t offer
my complete support if I’m living in Idaho.”

“I understand, Mom.” Ken remained silent for a time; then he glanced in the rearview mirror and said, “Are you thinking about becoming Amish again?”

Rosemary pursed her lips. She’d thought about it, but she’d been English too long and didn’t think she would feel comfortable wearing plain clothes and driving a horse and buggy again.

“Mom? Does your silence mean you’re considering joining the Amish faith?”

“Oh, I don’t think so. But I do plan to live a simpler life and keep my focus on God, family, and friends, not all the fancy, modern things the world has to offer.”

He shrugged. “You will come to visit us, I hope.”

“Of course, and I’d like you and Sharon to come visit me whenever you can, too.”

“We’ll make a trip to Ohio at least once a year,” he said.

Rosemary smiled. She was thankful for her son and glad he hadn’t turned out like his father.

Martha had just stepped out of the barn when she saw a minivan pulling into the yard. She didn’t recognize the driver, but when the back door of the van opened and Aunt Rosemary stepped out, she knew the driver must be Aunt Rosemary’s son.

Martha sprinted across the yard and raced up to the car. “Aunt Rosemary! It’s so good to see you!”

Aunt Rosemary held her arms out and gave Martha a hug. “It’s good to see you, too, sweet girl.”

“We hadn’t heard from you in a while and didn’t know for sure when you’d be coming.”

Aunt Rosemary smiled. “We wanted to surprise you, and I thought it would be nice if we could celebrate Thanksgiving together.”

“I’m glad you’re here, and I know Mom and Dad will be, too.” Martha gave Aunt Rosemary another hug. “Did you have a good trip?”

“Yes, and we saw lots of interesting sights along the way, which was one of the reasons I suggested we drive rather than fly.” Aunt Rosemary motioned to the young man with wavy blond hair, and the woman whose dark brown hair was pulled into a ponytail. “Martha, I’d like you to meet my son, Ken, and his wife, Sharon.” Smiling at the couple, she added, “This is my niece Martha. She’s Roman’s youngest daughter.”

Ken was the first to extend his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Martha.”

“Same here.” Martha shook Ken’s hand then turned to his wife. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”

Sharon smiled, although it appeared to be forced. Her gaze traveled slowly around the yard as though she was scrutinizing everything.

Aunt Rosemary gave Martha’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “How’s your kennel business doing?”

“Heidi had another batch of puppies a few weeks ago, and Polly just had a litter of seven pups.”

“I always wanted a dog when I was a boy, but my dad never let me.” Ken chuckled. “I’m making up for it now, though. Sharon and I own two dogs—a beautiful black Labrador retriever and a frisky cairn terrier.”

Martha glanced at the minivan. “Did you bring your dogs along?”

Ken shook his head. “We thought it would be an inconvenience, so we boarded them near our home.”

“I’d like to be able to board dogs someday,” Martha said wistfully, “but I’m not set up for that yet.”

“Are you still working for Irene Schrock, or are the dogs taking up all your time these days?” Aunt Rosemary asked.

“I work for Irene a few days a week. If I ever make enough money with the dogs, I’ll probably quit that job.” Martha pursed her lips. “Of course Irene would have to find someone to replace me. She’s so busy with the dinners she serves tourists these days that there’s too much work for her and Carolyn to do by themselves.”

“I’m sure she appreciates your help.” Aunt Rosemary motioned to
the house. “Is the rest of the family at home? We stopped by Roman’s shop on the way up the driveway and discovered it was closed.”

“It’s getting close to supper, so Dad’s probably up at the house by now. Mom and Ruth were in the kitchen when I went out to the barn a short time ago.” Martha grimaced. “I’ll probably get a lecture for taking so long with the dogs and shirking my kitchen duties.”

Aunt Rosemary looked at her watch. “I hadn’t realized it was almost time for supper. Since we’re two hours behind you in Boise, I guess my time’s still off.”

“No problem. I’m sure the folks will insist on you eating supper with us.”

“That would be an imposition. I think we should drive back to Berlin and eat at one of the restaurants there.” Sharon’s dark eyes darted from Martha, to Ken, and back to Martha again. The young woman was clearly uncomfortable.

“There’s no need for that,” Martha said with a shake of her head. “Mom always fixes way more than the four of us can eat. Besides, we can visit while we share our meal.”

“Judith is a wonderful cook,” Aunt Rosemary said. “I think you and Ken will enjoy eating one of her delicious meals—not to mention getting the opportunity to know my brother and his family.”

Ken reached for his wife’s hand. “Let’s go inside and meet everyone, shall we?”

Martha slipped her hand in the crook of Aunt Rosemary’s arm. “I’ll make the introductions first, and then I’ll run up to Grace and Cleon’s place and see if they’d like to join us for supper.”

“Would you pass me the basket of biscuits, please?” Luke’s stomach rumbled as the savory aroma of freshly made stew and biscuits wafted up to his nose. He’d worked hard and felt hungrier than usual.

“I noticed that you didn’t get after that wood I asked you to chop this morning,” Mom said as she handed him the biscuits.

“I was running late and didn’t have time to do it before I left for work.”

Mom’s eyebrows pressed together. “Is that the truth, or are you giving me another one of your excuses for not getting things done around here?”

Luke shook his head. “It’s not an excuse.”

“From what I hear, you work hard enough for John Peterson, but around here you tend to slough off,” Mom said.

Luke grunted. “Are you saying I’m lazy?”

She slathered a biscuit with butter. “You’re not exactly lazy, but you sure don’t do what I ask these days. It seems you’ve always got something else on your mind other than what you’re supposed to be doing. You’ve been kind of moody lately, too. Don’t you agree, Elam?”

Luke glanced across the table to gauge his dad’s reaction, but Pop just sat there, dipping a biscuit up and down in his bowl of stew as though he hadn’t heard a word that had been said.

Mom leaned closer to Luke and looked him right in the eye. “I think you need to quit fooling around and make a decision about getting baptized and joining the church.”

Luke grunted and reached for another biscuit. “I will when I’m ready. In the meantime, I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

Mom squinted at him. “A lot on your mind?”

“Jah.”

“What kind of things could be on your mind that would keep you from joining the church?”

“Just things, that’s all.”

“Maybe he’s got some woman on his mind,” Pop spoke up.

“A woman?” Mom nudged Pop with her elbow. “If he had a woman on his mind, he’d be more than ready to join the church.” She gave a little gasp as she covered her mouth with her hand. “Ach, Luke! Please don’t tell me you’ve found an English girlfriend and she’s the reason you haven’t joined the church.”

Luke’s mouth dropped open. “ ’Course not. I don’t have any girlfriend, much less one who’s English.” He hoped his mother didn’t press him on this, or he might end up admitting that he had more than a passing interest in Martha Hostettler.

“Whether you’ve got your eye on any particular woman or not, I think it’s past time for you to get baptized and join the church.”

Luke opened his mouth to argue the point, but Pop interceded with a raised hand. “And I think it’s time we drop this subject, don’t you, Betty?”

Mom gave Pop a quick nod, but Luke could see by the look on her face that she was none too happy about it. Fact was, if Pop hadn’t put a halt to the conversation, Mom probably would have pestered Luke all the way through supper.

Luke reached for his glass of milk.
If the folks knew I had a truck hidden in the woods and had been hanging around with some rowdy English fellows, I’d probably be in for another lecture.

“Are we still going to Henry and Luann’s house for Thanksgiving?” Luke asked, deciding it was time for a change of subject.

Mom nodded. “Your big brother’s looking forward to having us, as well as your four other brothers and their families, over that day.”

“Henry’s not that much older than me,” Luke said with a frown. “How come you referred to him as my ‘big brother’?”

“It’s just a figure of speech,” Pop said before Mom could reply. “Why do you have to be so nitpicky all the time?”

“I wasn’t. I was just making a point.”

Mom laid a gentle hand on Luke’s arm. “Let’s not have any more fussing tonight, okay?”

Luke nodded. Tempers had flared and harsh words had been spoken at their supper table more in the last few months than in all of Luke’s twenty-two years. If only Mom and Pop would quit pestering him about joining the church. If they’d just let him live his life the way he thought best.

“Have you asked your boss about joining us for our Thanksgiving meal?” Mom asked.

Luke nodded. “I mentioned it to John this morning, but he said he’d made other plans. He’ll be out of town until Saturday, so his shop won’t be open again until then.”

Pop’s eyebrows arched upward. “He’s single, with no family in the area. What other plans could he have made?”

“I don’t know and didn’t ask.”

Pop grunted. “No wonder you don’t have an
aldi
. You never think of anyone but yourself.”

Luke gritted his teeth. Was Pop trying to start another argument by bringing up the fact that he didn’t have a girlfriend? “I didn’t press John for details because I didn’t think it was any of my business.”

“Even if John doesn’t have other plans for Thanksgiving, he might not feel comfortable with the idea of having dinner with people he doesn’t know,” Mom said.

Pop reached for his glass of water. “He knows Luke.”

“That’s true, but he doesn’t know us that well.”

Luke pushed his chair away from the table and stood. He’d had enough supper conversation.

“Where are you going?” Mom motioned to Luke’s half-eaten bowl of stew. “You haven’t finished your meal.”

“I’m full right up to here.” Luke touched his chin. “And I’ve got somewhere I need to go.”

Pop’s forehead creased. “And where might that be?”

“I’m going outside to take care of that wood Mom’s been after me to chop,” Luke said as he grabbed his stocking cap off the wall peg near the back door.

“That can wait until tomorrow,” Mom called.

Luke rushed out the door. Even though he was in no hurry to chop wood, it would be better than sitting at the table being nagged at throughout the whole meal.

As the Hostettlers sat around the kitchen table with Aunt Rosemary, her son, and his wife, Ruth couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable Sharon appeared to be. Was she shy, or did she feel out of place sharing a table with a group of people she didn’t know?