The Amish Millers Get Married BOXED SET Books 1-3 (Amish Romance Book Bundle: The Way Home, The Way Forward, The Narrow Way) (Boxed Set: Amish Millers Get Married) (10 page)

Matthew 6:6.
But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Chapter 2
.

The fluffy yellow ducklings followed their parents across the calm surface of the lake, with all the speed and determination of tired snails. Esther, Martha, and Rebecca sat on the bank, the water lapping pleasantly against their bare toes. It was good to shrug off the heavy woolen cloak worn in the cool winter months, Esther thought, as she threw a bread crumb toward her new friend, a duck with only the one leg. It felt nice to sit in the sunlight with two of her three
schweschders
.   

"But you did like him," Martha insisted. She and Rebecca had been teasing Esther about Jacob Hostetler for the past ten minutes, and Esther was trying her best to ignore their jokes.  

"You had a crush on him for ages and ages," Rebecca chimed in, much to Martha's delight. "Handsome Jacob and his crooked smile; Martha and I thought you'd marry him without a thought."

Esther shook her head. No matter what she replied to her cheeky little sisters, neither would believe her protestations. She threw another crumb of bread to her aquatic friend. Like Esther, Rebecca and Martha were not yet quite well enough to return to their full chores, although they had all but recovered from their injuries received when Noah ran into their buggy. Their mother had given Esther half a loaf of bread and told her three youngest daughters to go and feed the ducks, happy to see them on their feet again after the accident.

"You definitely did like him," said Martha.

"Look at the pretty green on that big duck," Esther murmured. "Don't you just love the purple shine on his feathers?" 

"Who do you have a crush on then?" Rebecca said, growing a little annoyed now. She was the most persistent of the Miller sisters, and the youngest, and she was still learning how to be patient with the feelings of others.

"Okay, I used to like Jacob," Esther conceded.

"We knew it!" Rebecca swapped a smile with Martha. "I knew we'd get it out of you in the end. Imagine if you married Jacob, then you and Hannah would be very happy."

Esther shook her head. "I don't like him any more. I was young and silly then, and we're only good friends. He's one of my best friends, now I come to think of it. But that's all, Rebecca."

Her little sisters exchanged glances once more. Rebecca opened her mouth to speak but Martha threw a piece of bread at her. The two of them collapsed into helpless giggles, but then Martha's face turned serious. "Esther, I'm sure Jacob really likes you. Don't encourage him."

Esther chuckled. "Oh, Jacob doesn't like me like
that
- we're just friends. Anyway," she continued, ignoring Martha's raised eyebrows, "why all the questions? You can have him if you want, Martha."

"Who me?" Martha was aghast. "I'm not going to date any Amish boy. I'm waiting 'til I go on
rumspringa
, then I might find myself a nice
Englisch
boy; who knows!"

Esther's mouth fell open. "Martha, you can't!"

Martha squared her jaw. "Why not? I want my own chocolate business and I'll need a computer for that. Anyway, just because you and Hannah didn't want to go on
rumspringa
, doesn't mean I don't. I want to see what the
Englisch
world's like. I want to put on make up and wear
Englisch
clothes, and drive a car, all of it. I want to play video games and watch television. I don't know why you're so against it."

Esther thought for a moment. There was a good reason the youth were allowed to go on
rumspringa
. Why, bishops and the whole communities approved of it, so who was she to make any comments? "No, you're right, Martha. Just because I didn't, doesn't mean you can't, of course. Just don't do anything reckless."

Martha simply giggled and threw more crumbs to the ducks, who were vying for every piece of bread. "Just as well you don't like Jacob Hostetler then," Martha said, "as you know how
Mamm
feels about the Hostetlers, ever since Noah ran the car into our buggy."

Esther stood up, somewhat stiffly, taking care not to hurt her back. "Nonsense, Martha. Hannah and Noah Hostetler are married now.
Mamm's
over all that these days." Even as she said the words, Esther knew they weren't quite true. She was sure her
mudder
still held some resentment toward the Hostetler
familye
. Just as well she did only see Jacob as a friend, as she was certain that her
mudder
would not permit another of her
dochders
to marry one of the Hostetlers.

Deuteronomy 29:29.
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Chapter 3
.

The second Esther laid eyes on the handsome Amos Troyer sitting on her porch, she knew that her
mudder
was up to her old matchmaking tricks again. Of course, Esther had known Amos since childhood, but the Troyer and Miller
familyes
had never been overly close. Esther supposed that her
mudder
was alarmed by the fact that her oldest
dochder
had already married a Hostetler boy, and there were three more eligible Hostetler boys remaining.

"Amos is here for dinner," Mrs. Miller announced.

Esther simply raised her eyebrows and nodded. "
Hiya
, Amos."

"
Hullo
, Esther."

While her
mudder
chatted to Amos, Esther took the opportunity to study Amos more closely. He was tall, with broad shoulders and blonde, almost wavy hair. His blue eyes contrasted attractively with his tanned face.
He's good looking, that's for sure
, Esther thought,
but I don't get that feeling that someone should get, despite what the ministers say
. The ministers were always saying that feelings were less important than the qualities of humility, hard work, and piety in a prospective marriage partner.

Mrs. Miller waved a quart saucepan at Esther. "Esther, give your back a rest. You too, Rebecca. Martha can help me in the kitchen." Mrs. Miller and Martha left for the kitchen, leaving Esther relieved that her
mudder
hadn't summoned Rebecca too, leaving Esther alone with Amos. That was the sort of thing she'd normally do.

Was it Esther's imagination, or did Amos look longingly in Martha's direction after she left?
Perhaps Mamm should put her matchmaking efforts toward Amos and Martha
, Esther thought.

Martha returned carrying a tray with three lemonades and set each glass of lemonade on the porch table. After everyone had thanked her, she said somewhat dramatically, "You're welcome. Sit and relax, as you two had back injuries; I
only
had a broken arm and
two
broken legs." Martha disappeared through the door in a fit of indignation.

Esther caught her breath at Martha's rudeness, but Amos laughed out loud. "Your
schweschder
has spirit."

"
Jah
." Esther didn't know what else to say. Amos gave her a beaming smile and she smiled back politely.
Perhaps I was wrong about him liking Martha
, she thought.
He does seem to be smiling at me a bit too widely. What will I do? I don't want Amos to court me
.

The conversation flowed awkwardly, despite both Esther and Rebecca making an effort to include Amos in the conversation. Amos, Esther noted, seemed a little nervous. He kept rubbing the back of his neck and scratching at his chin.

Finally Martha poked her head around the door to tell everyone to come inside for dinner. Esther inhaled deeply as she smelled the delicious odor of the Six Layer Dinner, one of her favorites, wafting through the door. She and her sisters had peeled the potatoes and sliced the onions earlier, in preparation. There was nothing nicer than a meaty aroma mixed with onions, tomatoes and green peppers. Esther's mouth watered at the thought.

Just then, her
daed
came over from his woodworking workshop, and he and Amos exchanged greetings. Esther saw Noah's buggy leave and the big, black horse was going along at a good speed, his hooves making a rhythmic clip-clop.
Noah must be in a hurry to get home to Hannah
, she thought, amused. Noah and Hannah lived not far away, in a little
haus
that adjoined the Millers' property. Normally, they would spend their first few months as a married couple in the Millers'
haus
, but Hannah's broken leg had not healed as well as the
doktor
had liked and he had ordered Hannah to spend six weeks of complete rest prior to her marriage and insisted she that she must not walk up stairs for the best part of a year, possibly longer. The Hostetlers had then purchased a little
haus
for Noah and Hannah. The
haus
had been built by
Englischers
and was conveniently adjoining the Millers' property. It was ideal, as it was all on one level and had no stairs, apart from two on the porch, and given the fact that Noah worked in Mr. Miller's woodworking business, he only had a short distance to drive the buggy to work each day.

The Miller
familye
and Amos sat down at the table, put their hands in their laps, and bowed their heads for the silent prayer. Mr. Miller was the first to speak to Amos. "So, how's the construction business going?"

Amos smiled. "
Gut
,
denki
."

"So, what sort of construction do you do, Amos?" As soon as she spoke, Esther silently chastised herself. She didn't want to appear too interested in Amos. After all, she didn't want to give him the wrong idea.

Amos's fork halted half way to his mouth. "Gazebos, mainly. The
Englischers
love them. It's hard to keep up with demand."

"
Wunderbaar
," Mrs. Miller exclaimed. "It is
gut
that your business is going so strongly, and you being such a young man. You will be a
gut
provider to your
fraa
one day."

Esther sank down low in her chair.
I can't believe Mamm said that; how embarrassing
, she thought. She noticed that Amos appeared to be a little embarrassed too.

Martha appeared oblivious to the slight tension that had descended over the table. "So, these gazebos, Amos. You make them out of wood?"

"Wood, but sometimes even vinyl," he said. "We use pressure treated wood that isn't affected by fungus or even termites. We don't use arsenic; it's all environmentally friendly."

As Amos went on at some length about the virtues of laminated posts versus other types of posts which crack, and the problem of damp wood which is fixed by kiln drying, Esther found her mind drifting away. Her
mudder
was determined to find her a
mann
. Hannah was now married and Esther was the next
dochder
in line. Esther remembered the lengths her
mudder
had gone to, to try to set up Hannah with the unsuitable David Yoder.
And now Mamm's starting on me
, Esther thought with dismay.

"Esther!"

Esther looked up and saw all eyes on her. "Sorry,
Mamm
, what did you say?"

"I told Amos that you were the one who mainly prepared the dinner."

Esther went to protest, but her
mudder's
withering stare abruptly put a stop to that. "
Jah
, Esther's a
wunderbaar
cook," Mrs. Miller continued. "Esther made the dessert, Cottage Pudding with butterscotch sauce; wait 'til you taste it. She'll make some
mann
a good
fraa
."

Esther could have died with embarrassment right on the spot.
Oh well, I have to look on the bright side
, she thought, as her cheeks flushed red and her ears burned.
Wait 'til I tell Jacob; he'll have a good laugh over all this
.

Sadly, Mrs. Miller was still talking. "
Jah
, and Esther picked the celery herself. We still have plenty of celery growing, and there's still time to use it." Mrs. Miller winked at Amos before she signaled to Rebecca and Martha to help her clear the plates.

It's going from bad to worse
, Esther thought.
Could Mamm be any more obvious?
Esther knew that some communities had mason jars of cut celery on tables at the weddings. While her community didn't follow this practice, the fact that it was a well known tradition in other communities was enough to make her absolutely mortified that her
mudder
was alluding to the subject of marriage to Amos.

Esther stole a glance at Amos and saw that he was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
I hope he doesn't think I'm attracted to him
, she thought with growing alarm.
What am I going to do?

The dinner went downhill from there. Esther looked to her
daed
for help, but it appeared that he had given up trying to fight his
fraa's
matchmaking ways. Even Martha and Rebecca clearly were appalled at their
mudder's
efforts, shooting Esther sympathetic looks.

After Amos finally left, none too soon for Esther, Mrs. Miller gave the girls mending to do, and then went out on the porch to talk to her husband. As it was a warm night, all the windows were open, and Esther figured that her parents had forgotten that one fact, as their voices carried freely into where Esther, Martha, and Rebecca sat.

"You were no help tonight, Abraham," their
mudder
scolded.

Their
daed
simply laughed. "Rachel, you will not make a match of Amos and Esther; you're wasting your time. Besides, isn't it time you forgave the Hostetlers? Hannah is already married to Noah."

The three girls looked at each other while their
mudder
snorted. "
Nee
, I tell you. I will not have another of my
dochders
marry one of the Hostetler
familye
.
Nee
. Esther and Amos
will
be married, Abraham; you mark my words."

As Abraham let out a well-worn and lengthy sigh of resignation, Martha whispered to Esther, "
Mamm
thinks you're going to marry Jacob. See, we all thought you were."

* * *

"What are you going to do?" Martha later asked her
schweschder
, when the three girls were playing scrabble and their parents were out of earshot, reading the Bible in the kitchen.

Esther threw her hands in the air. "What can I do? There's nothing I can do.
Mamm
won't stop; she'll keep inviting Amos for dinner and trying to push me with him. Remember how she was with Hannah and David Yoder! The only thing that'll stop her is if Amos starts dating someone else."

"There's one other thing that will stop her, Esther." Martha placed a letter tile at the bottom of a row. "
Mamm
will stop matchmaking if you start dating someone."

"Don't be silly, Martha," Rebecca piped up. "Esther doesn't like anyone."

Nevertheless, Martha's words planted a small seed of an idea in Esther's mind, and as she lay in bed that night thinking over her problem, that small seed grew.