Miriam's Story: Part 2 Romance in Amish Country (2 page)

“Are you afraid of heights?” Ezra asked, sounding surprised that a grown man would be afraid of anything.

“No. Heights and horses do not bother me,” he answered. The man looked at Ezra as if her were about to share a deep, dark secret. “For me, it is water.”

“Water?”

“Since I was a small boy, I have never liked being in water. All my brothers and friends would swim in the big pond we have back home, but I could never bring myself to go in. You see, Ezra, everyone is afraid of something. It is how we face our fears that matters.”

Ezra looked at the stranger and then turned to play with the puppies, clearly thinking through what the man had shared with him.

Standing and brushing the dust from his black pants, the stranger looked down at Ezra. “And anyway, there is plenty of work to be done on the ground,” he teased, reaching out to tweak the brim of Ezra’s hat.

Ezra looked up and smiled.

Miriam sighed. She had not realized Ezra had become fearful of heights, though she supposed she should have noticed he no longer climbed trees. She had not known how much her son needed to cry for his father, nor how hard he had worked to protect her from his grief. She had never dreamed he had been holding so much back from even Seth, who was his closest uncle. Eavesdropping had given Miriam plenty to think about and had made her heart heavy, but she certainly realized that this stranger – this man on her porch – had been just what Ezra needed. Though Miriam didn’t know who this man was, she blessed God for sending him to her son.

She stepped through the screen door. “Ezra, it is time for dinner.”

“Mama!” Ezra shouted, jumping up in excitement. “This is Uncle Seth’s friend. He has come for the barn-raising tomorrow.”

The man in question stood and removed his hat as soon as he realized she was there. He was tall and slender, though she imagined he must be very strong, since he worked with horses for a living. His hair was thick, wavy, and dark, his arms muscular and browned by the sun where his sleeves had been rolled up. Seth had told her his new business partner, Daniel Lantz, would be coming today, though they had not expected him until much later.

“I am very early,” he said, as though reading her mind. “I had planned to take the late morning bus, but an acquaintance of mine was delivering a horse to Strasburg and offered me a ride.”

“Seth will be pleased,” Miriam answered. “I know he is excited to show you the site of the new stable. Your name is Daniel, yes?”

Lantz nodded and smiled then, and the smile reached his very blue eyes. The fine lines around his eyes suggested he was at least a decade older than Seth’s twenty-two, though he still moved as easily as a younger man. His wore the beard of a married man, and Miriam wondered what his wife felt about moving across the state to another Amish community to begin a new life.

“Seth is no more excited than I,” Lantz said, laying a gentle hand on Ezra’s bouncing shoulder. “I have spent my entire life on my family’s horse farm, and as much as I have gained from the experience, I am more than ready to step out on my own with a willing partner or two.”

“It sounds as though this venture will be a good thing for everyone, but I think the start of it can wait until after dinner,” Miriam said. “You will join us, of course?”

Lantz grinned. “Gladly.”

Miriam looked at her son, pleased to see him smiling. “Go wash up, Ezra. And wash well, for I know you have puppy all over you.”

“All right.” Ezra scrambled up the steps and headed for the kitchen.

Daniel looked down at the dog hair that covered his black pants. “I am afraid that I am as covered with puppy as your son.”

“There is plenty of hot water and soap in the kitchen,” Miriam offered with a smile.

While Ezra and Lantz washed up at the sink, Miriam added more ham, bread, and zucchini bread to the meal on the table then poured Lantz a glass of her father-in-law’s favorite cider before quickly setting a third place.

When they were seated and had silently prayed over the food, Ezra began an enthusiastic conversation about his Uncle Seth’s plans for the new horse farm. Miriam thought Lantz would be put off by her son’s acute interest, but Daniel actually seemed to be enjoying himself as he fielded Ezra’s many questions. He certainly seemed to be well-versed in everything horse, and while she herself knew very little about such a venture, listening to him discussing their plans with Ezra made her feel much better about Seth taking this stranger on as partner.

The youngest of nine children, Lantz had learned a great deal about horses from his uncles and brothers, but even at age thirty-two, his elders did not seem to want to trust him as a full partner in the family business. Seth’s enquiries at the Belleville stock auction building two months ago had sparked Daniel’s interest. Daniel had been looking for some way to separate himself from the family business without either cutting himself off completely or giving up horses. Over many glasses of iced tea, a dream was born between the two men, with Seth providing Strasburg area contacts and his future father-in-law’s land and Lantz bringing both expertise and the well-known Lantz name to the new horse farm. The men agreed to a partnership and had high hopes for their new business.

Ezra’s enthusiasm was contagious, and Miriam found herself drawn into the conversation, relaxing more than she had allowed herself in weeks and discovering that she was enjoying thinking about something other than her family’s great loss.

“I should find Seth,” Lantz finally said after a time, pushing his empty plate aside. “Thank you for the meal. It has been an unexpected pleasure, but I would like to see how far they have come in preparation for tomorrow’s big event—if you can point me in the right direction?”

“I could show you the way,” Ezra offered, looking at Miriam expectantly. “Please, Mama?”

Miriam hesitated. “Uncle Seth and the other men will be very busy this afternoon, Ezra. Perhaps you should wait for the barn-raising tomorrow when more children will be there.”

“I will not get in the way. I promise!”

Miriam glanced over at Lantz, and he smiled.

“I will look after him,
Frau
Fisher,” he said. “And I would enjoy his company.”

“I can show him the short cut across the fields, Mama,” Ezra added hopefully.

“So you have often been there before?” Lantz asked.

“Oh, yes. Many times.”

“The Miller farm is my family’s home,” Miriam said. “Seth’s Naomi is my sister.”

Lantz grinned. “I had not realized that.” He turned to Ezra. “So, your uncle is marrying your aunt? Does that mean Seth will be your ‘twice uncle’ and Naomi your ‘twice aunt?’”

When Ezra only looked puzzled, Lantz laughed. “Do not worry, Ezra. I was only teasing, being silly.

“In all seriousness, though,” he said, turning back to Miriam, “I would enjoy your son’s company, and I will see that he stays out of trouble.”

“Please, Mama?” Ezra said.

Miriam shook her head in defeat, barely able to mask her smile. “All right.”

“Yes!” Ezra stood up from the table, so excited for his adventure that he could no longer sit still.

“But before you leave, you must see that Daisy’s puppies are safely in their pen under the porch. I cannot go chasing after them.”

“I will! Can I be excused?”

“
May
I…”

“
May
I be excused? Please?”

“Yes, you may. Go.”

“And fetch your new straw hat!” she added as he jumped up and ran from the room.

Lantz chuckled. “Does he always have that much energy?”

When Miriam looked up to meet his eyes, hers were filled with tears.

“He has barely spoken since his father’s death,” she whispered.

“Surely you are joking.”

Miriam shook her head and took a deep breath. “Your coming today has been a miracle of sorts. I have been so afraid for him.” Miriam looked at Daniel, remembering how skillfully he had handled the talk with Ezra about his fears. “You must be a wonderful father.”

Miriam could not read Lantz’s frozen expression, but he finally shook his head.

“I do not have any children.”

“I am sorry,” Miriam said, embarrassed. “I only assumed that since you are married…”

Lantz shook his head. “My wife died in an accident almost two years ago, but in the ten years we were married, we could never have children.”

“I am so sorry,” Miriam said, wishing she had not brought it up.

Lantz managed a small smile. “You did not know. And I truly am grateful for the opportunity to borrow your son for the afternoon, since my many nieces and nephews are far away. The enthusiasm of children is a refreshing reminder to look for the joy in what the Lord has given us.”

Miriam smiled warmly. “You are welcome to Ezra. You are certainly as good for him as he seems to be for you. Your nieces and nephews must love you.”

“Perhaps for all the wrong reasons,” he said with a laugh, relaxing once more. “My sisters and sisters-in-law all claim I spoil them dreadfully, so I try to control myself.”

“Well, Ezra needs some spoiling these days, so I am grateful to you,
Herr
Lantz.”

Lantz hesitated just a moment. “Since I am in the process of becoming Seth’s friend and partner, I hope you will consider calling me ‘Daniel.’”

Miriam hesitated in return then smiled shyly. “Since the plan is for you so stay here with us until work on the farm is completed, it would make things much simpler if you would call me Miriam, too.”

Their eyes met for a long moment, and Miriam felt something shift inside her. She’d spent so many hours grieving for Jacob that she’d scarcely thought about anything but the loss she and her children had to face. The arrival of this stranger on her porch had somehow loosened the grip of grief on her household and let her see that life would go on. Inevitably, just as the life of a child grew inside her, life and business would go on, even in the face of grief.

Miriam was frankly surprised at her fascination with Daniel, surprised that she could find herself enjoying the company – even for a single meal – of a man other than her husband.
He is not Jacob!
she reminded herself.
No, he is not, but there is something about him that helps me to forget for a brief moment that I am alone.

Ezra returned to the kitchen, breaking the spell, the quiet connection that Miriam and Daniel shared.

“Are you ready,
Herr
Lantz?” he asked, oblivious to the charged silence between the two adults.

Daniel smiled. “I am ready.

He stood with Miriam and reached for his hat.

“Good afternoon to you, Miriam,” he said warmly. “And thank you for the meal.”

“You are most welcome, Daniel,” she returned. “We will expect you and Seth at supper.”

“We will be here. I promise.”

As Daniel and Ezra left by the side door, Miriam followed, watching them through the screen door as they descended the porch steps, and Ezra reached up to take Daniel’s hand. She signed deeply. No, Daniel was not Jacob, but he was so good for her son. Perhaps it was not too soon to hope that he might be good for all of them.

Miriam wondered how her daughters, Ruthie and Rebecca, would react to Daniel when he joined them for dinner in the evening. She sighed as she laid her hand on her flat belly and realized that nothing was likely to be simple. Her husband gone for only a few weeks, and a new baby on the way. How could she even begin to wonder if God’s plan for her included this kind stranger who showed up and offered comfort to Ezra. How would a man like Daniel react to her carrying another man’s child? If his behavior toward her son was any indication, Miriam suspected that he might just take the news in stride, but had she really seen in his eyes what she thought she had? Miriam could not be certain, nor could she even be certain of her own feelings. Miriam had to admit to herself that she was attracted to Daniel, though it seemed like a shocking and inappropriate admission. She felt a muddled confusion of attraction, guilt, and hope, and she would need a little time to sort through her complicated feelings. With Jacob only four weeks gone, she was a long way from being ready to give herself to another man.

Still, the baby she was carrying deserved a father—as did her other three children—and she could not afford to allow her own grief and insecurities to get in the way of providing for her children’s future. Sighing once more Miriam turned back to the kitchen. Tonight could be an important beginning for their future, whatever it might be, and there was also a great deal to prepare for tomorrow’s barn-raising. The men who would come to help would work hard, and they would need plenty of good food to sustain them. Miriam resolved to turn her problems over to the Lord and watch for His guidance.

Thankful her morning sickness had passed, Miriam began to pull ingredients from the shelves in preparation for the dishes she would make for tomorrow, thankful,in passing that her father-in-law, like Miriam’s own father, believed that a refrigerator was a useful and thrifty addition to a household. Miriam was glad that she could begin her preparations in the afternoon, rather than in the morning, for she expected that she was certain to feel queasy again for several mornings to come. Miriam rolled up her sleeves and got to work, losing herself in the familiar work of preparing food for a crowd.

Chapter Three