Love's Abundant Harvest (3 page)

“We're both well,
danke
.”

“
Gut
to hear! It's nice seeing you out and about. Where are you headed?” Caleb seemed
to want the conversation to continue, which didn't make sense to Manny. This young
woman had shown very clearly she wasn't comfortable, yet he kept going on.

Manny tied Sweet Pea to the back of the wagon, listening to them.

“Going to the
haus
, but I can walk.”

“
Nee
, come on, I'll sit in the back.” Caleb made his way on to the flatbed before
she could say no. “Help her up, Manny.”

Manny shook himself into action, not thinking of his manners. “
Ach
, sure.” He went
around to his side of the wagon and offered her his hand. When she reached out with
her left hand and held his grasp, a shock of electricity sparked. She yanked her
hand away from his.

Caleb chuckled. “Whoa. If we had electricity around here, I'd say you two just shut
down a converter.”

Manny chuckled, and Lucy actually gave him a small smile, adjusting herself on the
seat.

“Are you comfortable?” Manny didn't know what ailed
her, but he wanted to make her
as comfortable as possible. He noticed she held the hand that touched his turned up on her lap. “Does your hand
hurt?”

She pulled the sleeves on the dress over her arms and tucked her free hand on the bench. “
Nee
, I'm
gut
.” The smile hadn't left her lips. “Where is your farm?”

He was both surprised and glad that she was talking to him. “Two farms back, with
the blue porch swing.”

“That's your
haus
?” She actually turned to him and smiled wider. “I like that color
of blue.” She finally dropped her hand far enough for Manny to see a patch of dark
skin from a lingering bruise.

Manny saw Caleb smile out of the corner of his eye. He knew more about Lucy than
Manny did, and Manny was determined to find out about this mysterious woman by his
side. “I wondered if anyone would complain, but even Minister Eben sat down on it
and had himself a leisurely swing.”

“That sounds nice.” She kept her eyes on the road, but she said it in a way that
he was sure she meant it. Her shoulders eased down against the back of the seat,
as if she would melt into the wooden slats on which she was seated.

“I think summer might come early this year.” Caleb filled the gap once again as he
looked to the sky as if it had told him the weather.

“It's this place here.” She pointed to a tall silo towering above the trees.

Manny drove down the long dirt path that led to Lucy's home. There were acres of
land spread in all directions. “This here's a lot of land to care for.”

Lucy let out a sigh. “
Jah
, it is.”

“Let me help you down.” Manny ran around to her side
and gave her a hand, then realized
when she teetered to one side that he'd need two. Looking at her petite size, he
was surprised helping her down was so awkward.

The sound of a door and then a squeaky screen door caused them to turn toward the
haus
. Sam stood tall, his eyes squinting, taking them all in. “Caleb, what's going
on here?” He yanked a chunk of hard bread in two and starting chewing a piece like
he was eating beef jerky. His eyes rested on Lucy as he waited for a reply.

Manny felt the need to stand up for her. “We were out after that coyote that's been
causing trouble.” He nodded toward Lucy, who was twisting the front of her dress,
revealing why her dress looked the way it did. “Ran into Lucy, so we brought her
home.”

Judging by the look on Sam's face, there wouldn't be any thanks for that, so Manny
tipped his hat to Lucy and nodded to Sam. He walked around to the other side of the
wagon and climbed in.

Caleb stayed in the back. “What a pitiful thing. She didn't look well.”

Manny was glad he wasn't the only one to see it and wondered what was going on. As
they waved and turned around to head down the path, Manny had half a mind to go back,
pick her up, and take her to his home, but from the way Sam stared after them, he
decided that wouldn't be a smart thing to do.

He glanced back at Caleb. “Is she sick?”

“Could be—with morning sickness.”

T
he scent of cinnamon lingered in the air as Lucy walked through her
mammi
's family
room and in to the kitchen. “Sticky buns?”

Three sets of eyes turned her way as she stepped into the large room with too many
chairs in disarray around an oak table. Steam sputtered up through a boiling pot,
warming Lucy's cheeks.

Frieda, her
mamm's
mother, nodded her head, fuzzy gray strands popping out of her
kapp
. She hiked up her black dress and walked over with a bowl of chopped walnuts.
“Just in time to spread the nuts.”

“Come over and give us a hug.” Nellie, the oldest of the three widows, wiggled her
white eyebrows as she strolled over with a smile stretched across her face. Her embrace
warmed the broken places in Lucy's heart. When they released their hug, the feeling
of security lingered.

Rosanna, or Rosy for short, seemed like a youngster compared to the other two women,
with rosy cheeks to match her name. She took Lucy's hand and guided her to the counter
where the dough to make homemade noodles was ready to cut. “You have to make them
with just the right thickness. Too thick, and they're doughy; too thin, and they
look like shriveled-up worms.” She lifted her nose.

“I'll need more flour.” Lucy jumped right in with the others and was soon in rhythm
with the hum and glow of
the room. Here she found peace, acceptance, and unconditional
love with these beautiful women. It wasn't physical beauty but a certain way of living
and thinking that kept their eyes lifted up to the Lord and their hands never idle.

“These are going to be great.” Nellie came closer with her hooked cane, which she
wagged toward the noodle dough.

“You all know how to talk me into something.” Lucy grinned, knowing they were glad
for her presence and appreciated her help just as much. Cooking was their life, always
keeping them busy, and the tourists appreciated their mouthwatering meals, pastries,
and preserves. This was what they did, along with a good bit of chatting. The exception
was Nellie, whose quilting took up a good part of her days.

“How are you feeling, Luce?” Frieda asked without taking her eyes off the knife she
was using to chop more walnuts.

“Oh, yes, the baby.” Nellie's memory wasn't what it used to be, and Lucy, like the
rest of them, gave her pardon for forgetting even the most important events.

Lucy looked into Frieda's soft, wrinkled face and smiled. “He's just fine. Kicking
up a storm, though.” She knew what was next and relished the coming conversation.
She felt sure that no one cared more about this babe than these three ladies. Not
even her own husband.

“You stand firm that it's a boy, yet you told us when you first found out you were
pregnant that you wanted a girl.” Frieda stopped chopping long enough to glance at
Lucy.

Lucy shrugged. “As long as the baby is in good health, I don't care which.” But she
did care very deeply, as she knew Sam wanted a boy. Pleasing him was most important,
and Sam wanted a son to help with the farm and
carry on his legacy. There were times
Lucy wished she weren't pregnant . . . at least not now . . . not with Sam.

Rosy set a glass of milk on the counter where Lucy was cutting the dough. “I'd like
to be auntie to a cute little girl with a button nose just like yours, Lucy.” She
tapped Lucy's nose and smiled.

“And if she had Lucy's pretty red hair . . . ” Nellie looked at the strands of auburn
curls that had escaped her
kapp
. “You just don't see that color very often.”

Frieda waved a hand. “What's that matter when it'll be stuffed up in her
kapp
?” Then
she grinned. “But what a cute little
kapp
that would be.”

The three of them stopped and glanced at Frieda, as it wasn't common for her to make
such a sweet remark. She was just as much in love with this little one as the rest
of them, and they'd just caught her sharing her thoughts. Lucy didn't expect them
to have the same opinion about much of anything. Their individuality was what Lucy
appreciated the most, and it filled every spot of her bleeding heart.

Mammi
stopped chopping and put her hands on her hips. “Have you heard from your
mamm
?”

Lucy cringed. “
Jah
, a long letter giving me orders about her trip down here.”

Lucy bit her tongue. She'd thought Frieda had tried to bring up the subject lightly,
but there was nothing about their relationship that was light. Still, she selfishly
appreciated Frieda's response because it was the same as hers when she got her
mamm
's
letter. “Did she say in your letter how long she was staying?”

“
Nee
.” Lucy glanced with uncertainty at Frieda.

“Well, because you're with child, I'll take her in. You
don't need the added stress;
you've already got that with Sam.”

The room went silent. Although Sam's verbal abuse was known to her
mammi
, Lucy knew
it was against Scripture to talk against your husband, and she tried to follow His
Word.

“It's all right. It might be easier if she's with me.” Lucy wasn't sure if that was
true, but she couldn't expect the two of them to last more than a few days before
her
mamm
would be on her doorstep if she came here.

Rosy, the peacemaker, surveyed their facial expressions and stepped in. “
Nee
, we'll
take turns.”

Nellie stuck out her bottom lip in thought. “
Jah
, we'll share the load.” Then she
chuckled. “I didn't mean it that way.”

Frieda grinned. “Sugarcoating things doesn't help matters. We'll all take care of
what we need to do and pray that everyone's on their best behavior.” All eyes were
on her again. She sighed. “
Jah
, I was saying that more to myself than any of you.
Now you can hold me to it.”

A knock at the door made them stop their work momentarily. The
click-clack
of Frieda's
shoes faded as she walked out of the kitchen. Although this was her
haus
, Rosy and
Nellie had made the large
haus
their home as well. Lucy sometimes wished she lived
with them; the mood and atmosphere were relaxing and soothed her mind.

Frieda came back in with someone walking up behind her. “Ladies, we have a visitor.”
They stopped working and greeted their guest as he came into the kitchen, but Lucy
didn't respond.

When she did turn around, Manny caught her eye. She looked downward on her work,
unable to hide her cheek
with a dough-covered hand. He nodded to her and then Rosy,
who walked over to him and guided him to the table.

Seeing him again so soon caught Lucy off guard. She compared him to Sam, as Manny
was everything Sam wasn't. Gentle and kind, he was soft-spoken but even from a distance
she knew he was willing to stand up against injustice or mistreatment of others.
She knew how he had treated his wife; she had seen it when his wife was ill and Lucy
had brought meals to them. Lucy decided to stop comparing. She despaired of ever
having that kind of love, but she was grateful to have a
haus
over her head and dear
friends to keep her spirits up. It was selfish to ask for more.

“Lucy, take a load off, and I'll bring you both a cup of coffee.” Nellie's commanding
tone made Manny grin.

Lucy could feel his gaze as she looked up, waiting for the question that people had
asked over and over again when she moved here. Her community down south knew; they
were there and had loved her through it.

Manny pulled out her chair and helped her into the seat. “If there's one thing I've
learned from my visits here, it's that you all don't take no for an answer.”

Lucy wiped her hands on a cotton towel and smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress
before glancing at him from across the table.

“It's good to see you again, Lucy.” His eye hitched for less than a second.

“
Ach
, it's good you were out and about. Luce doesn't get off the farm much.” Rosy
smiled, but Frieda and Nellie were quick to give her stern frowns.

Lucy knew she should be more social but wasn't comfortable talking to most anyone,
let alone Manny, and didn't appreciate any comments about it. Nor did she want
them
listening in. Feeling paralyzed, she hoped someone would step in and talk.