Beyond Hope's Valley: A Big Sky Novel (39 page)

There's an Amish proverb I've been thinking about. You know it, too, no doubt. The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor the man perfected without trials. It's an easy one to quote when the warm spring breeze is upon you and the air smells of fields and trees, but the truth is I'd rather have the friction gone for now. The trials aren't from outside. If anything I should be happy that the dream I've held for so long is finally coming true. Tomorrow is a big day.

Instead, the trials are within. In a perfect world I'd be able to share this letter with you. No, let me say that differently. In a perfect world I'd be able to share what's really going on with my words—by looking into your face and speaking my heart.

I picture you at this moment, sleeping under a handmade quilt and dreaming of me. I hope that's the case. Tomorrow I'll put on a smile and no one will be the wiser, but tonight I'll still think about you—think about the truth of what I hold inside that more than anything I wish I could confess.

Written by the man who dreams of your smile.

He looked up at her and smiled. "I wrote this just days after you left Montana."

"All this time?" Her breath released with her words.

"Yes, Marianna." He kissed the tip of her nose. "I've been loving you all this time."

"I can't wait until you read the other letters you wrote to me. I'm eager to hear the song too. I want to be the first to hear it when you're done. I also want to know what I've missed in your life. I have a feeling you have a few stories to tell."

"That I do." He winked. "So what you're saying is that you're not going anywhere?"

She shook her head and then glanced at the pond, drawing strength from it. Knowing this—knowing Ben—was God's gift to her.

She looked back to him, focusing on his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm choosing you, Ben. I'm choosing you." She touched her kapp.

"Are you sure?" He took a step back and focused on where her hand rested.

Marianna nodded and lifted the kapp off her hair. A few wayward strands curled against her cheeks, and she smiled.

Ben brushed those strands back from her face and tears filled his eyes.

She touched her fingers to his hand, pressing it against her cheek. "
Ja
, Ben. I am sure. This is the love I've been hoping for. Praying for. You are God's gift to me. One I will cherish always."

She released a pin from her hair, allowing it to fall over her shoulders, and knew she, like her hair, was finally unbound. Free to live as God called. Free to be neither Amish nor Englisch, but only His daughter.

Free to marry the man He had chosen for her.

And as Ben opened his arms to her, she lifted her heart in praise—and stepped forward into a future blessed by her Creator. As his embrace closed around her, she nestled her cheek against his strong chest, listened to the solid beat of his heart.

"Yes, Ben. Oh yes. I am sure."

Layered Dinner

Martha Artyomenko

1 pound ground beef, cooked

1/2 pound bacon, cooked and diced (save grease)

carrots, sliced

cabbage, sliced

potatoes, sliced

canned green beans (if you want)

salt

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

Layer beef, bacon, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, and green beans in a roaster pan. Salt each layer lightly. Add flour to the bacon grease and stir until smooth. Add milk slowly, bring to a boil and cook 1 minute or until thick and smooth. Salt and pepper to taste; pour over top of casserole. Bake at 350 degrees for about one hour or an hour-and-a-half, until potatoes are tender.

NOTES:

You can basically use any vegetable you want. I have done it without the bacon, but I like the flavor the bacon gives. You can also do it with cream of mushroom soup if you would like to instead of the bacon/white sauce.

Cherry Crumb Pie

Martha Artyomenko

Pie crust:

2 2/3 cups flour

1 cup shortening

8 tablespoons water

pinch salt

2 jars home-canned cherry pie filling or 2 cans cherry pie filling

1 teaspoon almond flavoring, divided

Topping:

2 cups flour

2 cups brown sugar

1 cup butter

In large bowl place flour and salt. Cut in shortening until very fine crumbs, using a fork, until your shortening is completely absorbed and you do not see white flour anymore. Add water carefully. Do not overhandle. Add a little less or little more, depending on your altitude and weather conditions. Form two balls and roll out on a floured board to fit a pie pan. Finish the edges in the fashion desired and set aside.

In the bowl you made the pie crust in, put the ingredients for the topping. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until crumbs form. Fill pie shells with cherry pie filling. Add 1/2 teaspoon almond flavoring to each pie. Top with crumbs.

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes or until crust is lightly browned and bubbly. Pie shell should shake loose from the tin, if you are not sure if it is done.

Leah's Grapenuts

Martha Artyomenko

This is a very typical Amish, homemade cereal you would eat in the mornings. Especially if you owned a cow.

3 pounds brown sugar

2-1/2 quarts sour milk (fresh raw milk that has gone sour is best, but store milk that is on the edge works fine)

3/4 pounds melted margarine or oil

8 pounds whole wheat flour

1-1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring

2 tablespoons baking soda

2 tablespoons vanilla

Dissolve baking soda in milk before adding to dry ingredients. Add butter and flavorings. This will be a thick batter. If too thick or too thin, add less flour or more milk. Spread in three greased cookie trays (if you want it thicker, use two cookie trays). For think cake—bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until cake tastes done. For three trays—back for 30 minutes and then text if it comes out clean, if not, bake until knife comes out clean. Break into chunks and you can either rub on a screen to get small chunks or process for a few seconds in a food processor. You do not want them very small as it will be like eating bread crumbs! Spread on cookie trays again and toast in slow oven (175 degrees) until browned lightly and very dry.

Granola

Martha Artyomenko

1/2 cup oil

1/2 pound margarine

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

7-1/2 cups oats

1/2 cup sesame seeds

3 cups grape nuts (I use homemade or any cereal is good. I have used a mixture of all sorts.)

1 cup wheat germ

1 pound coconut

(If I am out of anything I just add more oats or grape nuts.)

Melt together oil, margarine, molasses, vanilla, brown sugar, honey, and salt. In a large bowl, mix oats, sesame seeds, grape nuts, wheat germ, and coconut. Pour liquid over top and stir well. Bake for 8 hours at 200 degrees, stirring every couple hours, until browned and crunchy. When you pull it out, if you like large chunks, do not stir until completely cooled. This will give you the large crunchy chunks. If desired, stir in dried fruit after baking, but before cooling.

Dear Reader,

From the first scene on
Beside Still Waters
I've been eagerly anticipating the last scene of
Beyond Hope's Valley
. A love story is just that—a
love
story. Marianna has gone through many ups and downs on her journey, but from the beginning I knew the happily-ever-after I wanted for her at the end. I'm talking about her chosen man, of course, but I'm also speaking of her growing romance with her Creator. Marianna's heart is different at the end of this book than it was when she first arrived in Montana. She's different.