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) (14 page)

James 2:14-17.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and filled," without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

Chapter 10
.

Esther, her parents, and her
schweschders,
Martha and Rebecca, arrived at the barn-raising at dawn, eager to help their neighbors, John and Lydia Glick, whose barn had been struck by lightning and had subsequently burned down.

Many buggies were already there and parked along the side of the dirt road, their horses already unhitched and grazing in the field. The community's bench wagon was already there too, and men were unloading the tables and benches for the meals which would be served later in the day. Today the men would complete the whole timber frame structure of the new barn. The foundation had already been laid and the concrete had set.

The early morning mist eddied its way down the surrounding hills. Esther loved this time of day; it always brought with it a promise of what the day could bring. She wondered what Jacob was doing, and then saw him; he was one of the
menner
already hammering away. A crane and operator had been hired, and Esther started up at it for a few moments.

Esther and her
schweschders
helped their
mudder
unload the food they had brought with them, pans of roasting chicken, loaves of freshly baked bread, and countless pies. They carried all the containers of food into the Glicks'
haus
, where the women would spend the morning cooking.

It was quieter in the
haus
; the only sound outside was the noisy hammering. Rebecca set to work making ham and cheese sandwiches, while Martha helped other women peel potatoes for the mashed potatoes and potato salad to be served later. Esther got to work making pastry. She had to make a considerable amount of pastry, as many varieties of pies were planned: rhubarb pie, sour cherry pie, black walnut pie, sour cream raisin pie, lemon custard pie, and coconut custard pie.

Esther was busily rubbing the butter into the flour with her fingertips, when Jessie Yoder appeared at her shoulder, and looked at the large bowl. Esther was somewhat unnerved, but simply said, "
Hullo
, Jessie."

Jessie took the bowl from her. "You're doing that all wrong, Esther," she said. "You're taking too long; you'll make the dough hot, and you're squashing all the air out. It won't be light."

Esther knew she was doing it correctly; she had done it many times before and her pastry always turned out well. However, she did not want to argue with Jessie, so simply fetched another bowl, more flour and butter, and found a vacant spot on the other side of the kitchen. Soon Esther was kneading the pastry, but Jessie came over again. "Don't knead it so hard, Esther. You're overworking it. It's going to be tough."

Esther rolled her eyes. "Here, Jessie, how about you make the pastry, and I'll go and peel potatoes."

"Well, there's no need to be rude, Esther," Jessie said in a raised voice. "I was only trying to help." Jessie then strutted away.

All the ladies turned to look, and Betsy Yoder, Jessie's mother, frowned at Esther disapprovingly. Esther wished she could sink through the floor; she was so embarrassed. She wished she could say,
It wasn't me; it was her
, but of course she couldn't.

Esther's morning did not improve. She was working near the hot oven, and the day was growing warmer. Jessie didn't speak to her again, but every time she glanced up, Jessie shot her an irritated look before looking away. Esther wished lunch would hurry, so she could go out into the fresh air to take food to the
menner
. Maybe she would have a chance to speak to Jacob; that would lift her spirits.

The morning passed quickly. With so much food to prepare, Esther barely had time to think. She helped the other ladies carry out vast amounts of food: roasted chickens, cold cuts, mashed potato, gravy, creamed celery, corn, applesauce, fruit salad, pickled relish, potato salad, coleslaw, tapioca pudding, and all manner of scrumptious pies and large tubs of ice cream and fruit salad.

Soon the munching sounds made by the
menner
were rivaled only by the munching sounds of the buggy horses in the field nearby.

Esther deposited platters of bread, butter, and jelly on the tables. She saw where Jacob was, and intended to go to his table next, but Jessie beat her to it. "Here you are, Jacob," she gushed, "I have a
schnitz und knepp
just for you. I know how much you like apples and dumplings. I made it just for you."

The
menner
at the table turned to look, and John Graber, who was sitting next to Jacob, gave Jacob a congratulatory pat on the back. Jacob hung his head and slid down on the bench a little. Esther stopped in her tracks; she had no wish to go over to Jacob now, not now that Jessie was there and making a scene.
How does she know what Jacob likes
? Esther thought, with a flash of irritation and perhaps a pinch of jealousy.
Well, I suppose Jessie's over at the Hostetlers' haus a lot. Besides, I full well know she didn't make that schnitz und knepp at all; it was one of the older ladies who made it
.

Jacob looked up and met her eye. His expression was pinched. Esther turned to another table, but too late realized that Amos was at that table.

"
Hiya
, Esther!
Wie gehts
?" His voice was loud and booming.

"
Hiya
, Amos. I'm
gut
, thank you. I have to go and get more bread." Esther scurried back to the
haus
, but not before she caught a glimpse of Jacob's troubled face.

When Esther arrived in the
haus
, the women were grouped around Hannah. "I'm all right now," she protested. "It was just that the smell of the meat suddenly made me feel badly nauseous for some reason; I don't know why. Perhaps I'm coming down with the flu."

All the older women's hands flew to their mouths in unison. Mrs. Miller stepped forward, beaming widely. Esther couldn't remember the last time that she had seen her
mudder
look so pleased.

Esther and Hannah exchanged looks, and Hannah raised her eyebrows. "What's going on?"

"Silly child," her
mudder
scolded. "Maybe there's a
boppli
on the way,
jah
?"

Hannah sat down on the first available chair, a look of shock on her face. Mrs. Miller smiled over at Noah's mother, Katie Hostetler, who was also highly excited.
Perhaps this boppli will bring reconciliation between our familyes
, Esther thought, while still trying to take in the fact she might be an
aenti
one day soon.

Hannah held up a hand. "
Nee
,
nee
, it's too early to tell, really."

"Don't worry, we won't tell the
menner
yet," Mrs. Miller said. "Hannah, you should go home and rest."

"I'm not an invalid," Hannah protested, "and it's probably only the flu."

That brought muffled laughter from all the older women present.

Noah's
mudder
, Katie, stepped forward. "Your
mudder's
right, Hannah. Since the smell of the food is making you sick, you should go home and rest. I'll drive you."

Mrs. Hostetler nodded. "
Denki
."

Esther started at her
mudder
. Had she actually thanked Mrs. Hostetler, and with genuine thanks too? Maybe
Gott
was already working through this
boppli
, although, as Esther reminded herself, no one was as yet certain that there was a
boppli
on the way.

With Hannah gone, Esther set herself to carrying out the pies that she had spent all morning making. She looked around but couldn't see Jessie, so headed straight for Jacob's table. Yet again, Jessie popped up as if from nowhere, and placed a pie directly in front of Jacob. "I know sour cherry pie is your favorite pie, Jacob, and I made it especially for you."

Esther felt as if she had a bad case of déjà vu, with Jessie's repeat performance. Jacob was slumping down in his seat, just like he did earlier.

"How was your
schnitz und knepp
, Jacob?" Jessie leaned right over Jacob.

"Go on," one of the men encouraged him, "tell her it was
appeditlich.
" The
menner
all smiled. It was obvious to Esther than the
menner
at the table thought that Jacob and Jessie were courting, and this made her mad, so mad in fact, that she had to set her jaw and clench her teeth to stop saying anything. Esther would have liked to have said,
I made that sour cherry pie, not Jessie
, and,
He's mine; stay away from him!

It was only as she lay in bed that night, listening to the late rain beating rhythmically on the tin roof of the workshop, that she wondered why she was, in fact, so dreadfully upset about people thinking that Jessie and Jacob were courting.

Daniel 2:28.
But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these.

Chapter 11
.

Esther was sitting at the Hostetlers' kitchen table. For the first time since she had asked Jacob to fall in with her plan and pretend that they were dating, she felt bad. Throwing her own
mudder
off the track was one thing, but she had no wish to deceive the Hostetlers.

The Hostetlers appeared delighted that she was dating Jacob, a fact which made Esther feel even worse. Mrs. Hostetler had refused her offer of help with the dinner, so she sat talking to Mr. Hostetler, Jacob, and Jacob's two younger
bruders
, Moses and Elijah. They put her at her ease at once, and she enjoyed spending time with the happy
familye
.

Of course, it was easier as her sister, Hannah, was married to Noah, the oldest Hostetler boy, and Hannah worked part time for Mrs. Hostetler in her quilt store. After Mrs. Hostetler returned with beef soup with dumplings, she chatted for a while about Hannah and the quilt store, but the conversation was soon cut short by the clip clop of hooves approaching the
haus
.

Mr. Hostetler turned to his wife, "Are you expecting anyone, Katie?"

"
Nee
." Mrs. Hostetler shrugged.

Mr. Hostetler went outside, and soon returned with Jessie Yoder, who bounced into the room looking quite smug. "
Hullo
, Mrs. Hostetler. My
mudder
sent me over with this for you."

"
Denki
, how kind of her." Mrs. Hostetler took the basket and looked inside. "Oh, lovely, walnut gingerbread. Please thank your
mudder
for me. Won't you have dinner with us?"

Esther's stomach churned. People visited each other at dinner time without notice all the time, but this could not be a coincidence. Jessie Yoder had her sights firmly set on Jacob, and she was not going to make it easy for Esther. Esther suspected that Mrs. Hostetler was aware of Jessie's ploy, but it was the done thing in their community to invite people for dinner.

Jessie sat on the spare chair next to Jacob, opposite Esther. She sat a little too close to Jacob for Esther's liking, and even Jacob gradually moved his chair a little further away from her.

Just look at her
, Esther thought.
Could she be any more obvious? Doesn't she realize that Jacob likes me, not her?
Then Esther caught herself.
What am I thinking? I'm playing my part too well; I almost thought I was dating Jacob for real
. The thought that she was jealous for a moment unsettled her.
I do have an over active imagination, like Mamm said
, she thought.

Jessie looked at Esther from under her eyelashes. "How is Amos?"

"Amos?" Esther wanted to snap, "How should I know?" but caught herself in time. Instead she said, "I don't know. I'm sure he's fine."

Jessie simply narrowed her eyes and continued to glare at Esther. The
familye
ate in silence, which Esther figured was due to Jessie's unsettling presence. It was well known throughout the community that Jessie had a crush on Jacob and it looked as if she was going to put up a fight for him.

* * *

Jacob was not happy that Jessie Yoder had dropped in out of the blue. He didn't wish to be harsh with her, but he had never given her any hint that he returned her affections, yet she had been pursuing him for ages. He also didn't appreciate the snide remarks she frequently made about Esther. What's more, only the other day, Jessie had reported to him that Amos had been to the Millers again for dinner, and that Mrs. Miller had told her
gut
friend Betsy, Jessie's mother, that Esther would marry Amos if she had anything to do with it.

That had unsettled Jacob. While he knew that Mrs. Miller could not force Esther to marry anyone, she could certainly apply plenty of pressure, and he had seen for himself just what a forceful person Mrs. Miller was. He was glad that Esther had not taken after her in temperament.