Planted with Hope (30 page)

The words came too easily, and part of Jonas told himself to stop. His mind raced ahead, and he knew where he wanted this conversation to go. And from the look in Hope's eyes she didn't want him to stop either. She soaked up his words like parched ground soaked up water, and he knew if he continued there would be no going back, but at this moment Jonas couldn't have kept the words in if he tried.

“This might be happening too fast, Hope, but I've learned not to waste a day. Life is too precious. You never know what a day will hold.

“After losing Sarah I never dreamed I'd want to open my heart to another again, but to tell you the truth, after meeting you that's not my biggest worry. My biggest worry isn't risking the chance of a broken heart. Instead it's trying to imagine a future without you in it. I never imagined a more fitting person to welcome into Emma's life.”

Hope's eyebrows lifted as if she was taking everything in. And then her smile faded. “Into Emma's life?” she questioned.

“
Ja
, you can imagine how hard it has been for me. It's not myself that I think of first, but her. I've been praying for the perfect mother for my daughter—”

Hope's brows furrowed and Jonas paused. What was wrong? Had he jumped to conclusions? Even though Hope cared about Emma, maybe she wasn't ready to be a mother yet.

“Jonas, I wanted to hear those words. It's
gut
to know that it's
not just my heart that is being drawn this direction. But when it comes to a relationship I want to be more than just someone's—”

“Hope!” Lovina's voice interrupted their conversation, and her sister strode around the corner. “There is a car waiting outside for you. Janet sent it. From what the driver said she's not doing well. She fell while helping her daughter. She broke her hip and she'll be going into surgery in the morning.”

“Oh, no! I'm so sorry to hear that. Is there a reason the driver is here?”

“You can talk to him, but from what he said, Janet sent for you because she wants to show you her mother's garden before she goes into surgery. She wants to tell you more of the story—something that is not in the Victory Journal.”

“
Ja
, of course.” Hope turned to Jonas, but he noted tears in her eyes. Tears for her friend.

Compassion swelled in his chest, mixing with both care and confusion. Even though he'd confessed his heart, something was bothering Hope. Something only time and patience would reveal. “Do you want me to go with you, Hope?”

Hope nodded. She reached out her hand and he took it. “I'm not sure what to expect, but I want you to meet her. Janet—my friend—and her mother's journal did so much to change my heart about the children. Maybe hearing her yourself will help you understand.”

 

Ranger Cookies

1 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups flour

½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

2 cups oatmeal

2 cups crisp rice cereal

1 cup coconut flakes

1 cup nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the shortening, brown sugar, and sugar. Add the beaten eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and add that to the sugar and eggs mixture. Stir in oatmeal, rice cereal, coconut flakes, and nuts. Drop heaping spoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake 7 to 9 minutes. Makes 4 dozen large cookies.
^*

^*
Sherry Gore,
Simply Delicious Amish Cooking
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2013), 157.

Chapter Twenty-Three

A happy memory never wears out.

A
MISH
P
ROVERB

H
ope looked out the window, nearly touching it with her nose as she looked to see where the driver was taking them. They drove toward the ocean, and the busy streets with gas stations and small strip malls transformed into a neighborhood of older homes. They were set back from the road by large lawns. Tree-lined paths also dotted the property. She'd never been in such a nice neighborhood, and she certainly couldn't imagine living in one. Then, after driving a few more minutes, they came into a public area with a large garden, a picnic area, and a playground.

The driver turned in to the park, and Hope's brow furrowed. “I thought we were going to Janet's house,” she said under her breath. Just beyond the park was a large white house with a sweeping porch. The circle driveway was made of paving stones, and tall pine trees graced both sides of the entrance.

“Could this be Janet's house, next to the park?” Hope asked Jonas.

“Yes, miss, this is her home,” the driver said, overhearing. “And that park used to be part of Ms. Spencer-Rushing's property until it was gifted to the city as a community park.”

“Her property, a community park?” Hope turned back around in her seat at the realization of what the one small victory garden had become.

The car parked, and the driver opened the door for Hope. Jonas got out the other side and she joined him. Down the path Hope saw a wheelchair and she immediately recognized the older woman inside.

Janet waved them forward. “Come, you two. Please, I have so much to show you.”

Hope hurried forward and accepted Janet's extended hand.

“Are you feeling well?” Hope asked, even though she could see Janet wasn't. Her face was pale and dark circles hung under her eyes. She still wore a beautiful, colorful outfit, but her hair was done hastily, brushed back from her face and held back by a few bobby pins.

“It's my hip,” Janet complained. “I was trying to carry a lunch tray to my daughter and I fell going upstairs.” Janet sighed. “Who in their right mind falls going
up
?”

“I'm so sorry to hear that.” Hope noticed Janet's eyes moving to Jonas, and she turned to introduce him. “And this, Janet, is Jonas. He's a friend and—”

A brightness filled Janet's eyes. “And the handsome, unmarried schoolteacher.” She winked. “There isn't much that happens in Pinecraft that I don't hear about. Elizabeth does a wonderful job filling me in.”

“I'm glad to meet you, ma'am,” Jonas said. “Hope told me a bit about you on the drive here. You have a beautiful home.”

She clasped her hands together and smiled. “Jonas, would you push me? I'd like to go to the garden, which is truly more beautiful than my home.”

He began to push her down the sidewalk toward the garden, and Hope followed. The path wove around, lined by small flower
beds. “All of this used to be grass, can you imagine? So boring.” She waved her hand toward a small plot of strawberry plants. “As a child I used to run and play with my friends down the long green slope, but it wasn't much use for anything other than that. Our lawn used to look like any other lawn in the neighborhood, but I like it so much better now. Don't you?”

When they approached the garden area Hope noticed people squatting or standing among the rows and working. There were people of all ages, from young toddlers to older men. They were from all ethnicities too.

“Our first garden was just a fraction of this size, but over the years it has grown. I enjoy meeting all the folk who come to garden here, although these days it's hard to remember everyone's name.”

As they watched, a truck pulled up and parked. Two men moved to the back, opened the tailgate, and started to shovel out mulch.

Next to her Jonas shifted his weight from foot to foot. Hope looked at him. “Would it be all right if I went to help?”

“Of course I don't mind.” Janet waved him forward. “It'll give Hope and I more time to chat.”

Jonas hurried forward, rolling up his sleeves as he walked. Within no time he had his own shovel and was helping spread the mulch that the other two men were unloading.

“He looks like a special young man there,” Janet said.

“He is special, although he's not going to be in Pinecraft too much longer. Jonas is only here to teach school for the semester. He'll be heading back to Kentucky in April, but I have to say that I wouldn't have the garden without him.”

“And what about you, Hope?” Janet looked up at her, blocking the sun with her hand.

Hope moved Janet to a shady spot and then sat down on a park bench facing her.

“I'm glad the garden is up and going, but I can't imagine myself in Pinecraft—not long term. I miss the seasons up north. I miss the farms and sprawled-out Amish communities. I miss gardening and the cows and… ” Hope smiled. “Well, you understand.”

Janet nodded. “Hope, sometimes God calls us to a specific place, but other times He simply asks us to cast the vision. My mother is no longer with us, but her garden is. God has brought amazing people with knowledge and skill to help with this garden. Maybe the seeds you've planted with your garden will be harvested by someone else, and that's fine too.”

“I have a feeling that's the way it's going to be. It's bittersweet,
ja
?” Hope plucked a small leaf from a strawberry plant and turned it over in her hand. “Even as I plant the seeds and line up the rows I have a feeling someone else will be eating the produce.” She shrugged and ran her hands over her skirt. “My cousin Eleanor is interested in having me come and help with her children, her garden. I should know in a few months.”

“Even if you do leave, look what you started—just like this garden here.” Janet placed a hand to her cheek. “Oh my, my mother would have loved to see how this turned out.” She sighed.

“And just think, if it wasn't for the war none of this would have happened. Who knows what would have happened to your mother… ” Hope wanted to ask about Henry, but she was almost afraid to. Either things didn't work out with them and she'd be disappointed, or things had worked out and she'd ruin the rest of the journal. She never was one who read the last chapter of a book first.