Second Chances (35 page)

Authors: Sarah Price

W
ITH THE BASKET
of food tucked over her arm, Anna headed out the side door of the
house and walked, barefoot, across the dry, dusty yard toward the large cluster of
outbuildings on the other side of the stable. Two horses peered out from the opened
Dutch stall doors, one chewing some hay while watching her walk past.

In the small patch of grass between the stable and the driveway leading to the buildings,
a small flock of brown chickens scratched and pecked at the dirt. Their big yellow
feet kicked up the soil, looking for bugs or worms to eat. As Anna walked through
them, a large rooster, his red comb dangling to one side of his head, came charging
at her. She had anticipated the move and swung the basket in his direction to scare
him away.

The noise of saws cutting wood and hammers smashing nails came from the open doors
of the larger of the two buildings. Even though it was the last week of March, an
early spring had blessed them with cool breezes and warm sunshine, while other sections
of the northeast still battled a cold front from Canada. Anna suspected her sister
Mary still wore a black shawl to ward off a
chill while her father and Elizabeth
were enjoying the Florida sunshine.

“Hullo there!”

She smiled shyly at the young man who greeted her.

He sat atop the roof of a shed just outside the building, nailing shingles to the
naked wood. He pushed his hat back and pointed toward the basket which he undoubtedly
knew was filled with her good home-cooked food.

“That's for me,
ja
?” the man teased.

“
Nee
, Luke, not today.” She smiled back at him. “You know I bring food for all of
you on Fridays!”

Laughing, Luke pointed toward the doorway. “He's in there, Anna. In the back.”

She nodded and hurried through the opening, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness
as she scanned the building, hoping to spot her husband.

Only four months had passed since she had moved to Indiana. If she had feared that
she'd miss Ohio, she soon realized that she barely gave thought to Sugarcreek or
those that she had left behind. Oh, she prayed for them, each and every one of them,
each night when she asked God to bless her family. But to say that she missed Ohio
and tending to her sister? Not at all.

From the first week she arrived in Indiana with Freman, she felt that she had finally
arrived home. A few years ago he had purchased a small white house with a lot of
potential. When he lived there alone, he had only furnished it with the bare essentials.
Now that Anna had arrived, she had transformed it from a cold bachelor house into
a warm and inviting home.

The people in Freman's
g
'
may
welcomed her with open arms. Within days of her arrival,
a steady stream
of women arrived, their arms laden with boxes of canned goods to
donate to her pantry. Since they had married in Sugarcreek without the benefit of
Freman's community in attendance, the gifts of food were their way of helping her
prepare for the winter until she could start her own garden in the spring.

From that moment onward, Anna knew the true meaning of feeling blessed.

He spotted her before she saw him. She could feel the intensity of him staring at
her and turned, not expecting to see him leaning against the office door, a clipboard
in his hand and the hint of a smile on his face.

“You scared me!” But she smiled anyway.

“How so, Anna? You were looking for me,
ja
? Now that you've found me, why should
you be startled?”

She laughed at his gentle teasing, loving the little word games that he played with
her. “I think you enjoy surprising me!”

He set down the clipboard on the file cabinet outside of his office and strode toward
her, his eyes quickly scanning the building to see if anyone was nearby. Most of
the men were out back, sitting at a picnic table and eating the food that their wives
had packed for them, while a few men still worked out front on the shingling. With
the building being empty of inquisitive eyes, Freman stretched out his hand for her
to take and pulled her toward him, his tall frame overshadowing her small, petite
one.

“I enjoy many things about you,” he said, his voice soft and his eyes staring into
hers. “But nothing more than this . . . just having you here, with me, in my arms.”

She felt the color rise to her cheeks.

He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss upon her forehead. “And a basket of your
wunderbarr
good food helps too.”

Still holding her hand, he gestured toward the door that led outside and toward the
area where the men sat at the picnic table. He didn't have to speak for she could
read his mind. With his full and open affection upon her, she did not need to hear
words from his mouth to understand his language of love.

Overhead a hawk soared high in the sky, its wings spread open as it floated so elegantly
through the higher altitudes. Its proximity to heaven seemed to be nature's way of
praising God. Each gentle swoop was a silent reminder that glory remained to the
One who created such magnificence. . . from the gentle ability of the hawk to glide
through the air to the powerful capacity of the human to love over the years. It
was a lesson not lost on Anna as she walked alongside her husband. Never again would
she succumb to the persuasive forces of others. Instead she would rely on and rest
in the good and gracious providence of her heavenly Father. For she knew God had
the power to ensure His plan was followed, regardless, and no matter what man might
say or do, His will would always prevail.

Glossary