The Farmer Next Door (7 page)

Faith let herself through the gate behind the barn. Only Socks was grazing near the building. The rest of the herd had disappeared. Lifting her head, Socks ambled slowly in Faith’s direction. When she reached Faith, she stopped and rubbed her head against Faith’s side.

“What are you doing here all by yourself? Where is the
rest of the herd?” Faith peered into the trees but couldn’t see the animals. Giving Socks a quick pat, Faith headed deeper into the orchard.

She hadn’t gone far when she spotted the rest of the group. They were clustered around a single tree and all gazing upward. A ladder stood propped against the trunk. She could just make out Adrian’s legs halfway up the rungs.

She was startled when he called out, “How did it go?”

“I wish I knew.”

A large, dead branch came crashing to the ground, sending the alpacas dashing in circles before they clustered again beside the ladder. Adrian descended from the tree. “How soon will you know if your nephew can live with you?”

“For all the hurry, hurry, hurry in
Englisch
lives, their child placement process moves slowly. If all goes well, it may be two or three weeks.”

“Where is he until then?”

“In a foster home.”

“I’m sure they are taking good care of him.”

“I pray so.”

If the
Englisch
woman didn’t find Faith acceptable, what would happen to Kyle? Was there someone else waiting and longing to adopt a child the way she was? Perhaps they deserved him more than she did.

She looked at Adrian. “Am I doing the right thing trying to bring an
Englisch
child here?”

“Why would you ask that?”

She crossed her arms and hugged herself as if she were cold. “Because in all the years I was married, God never saw fit to give me a child of my own.”

Adrian heard the pain in Faith’s voice. He saw the disappointment and loss in her eyes. He wanted to take her pain away, but he didn’t know how. “Will you love this child?”

“I will.”

“Then you are doing the right thing.”

“If only I could be so sure. I must put my trust in God.” He said, “
And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
Psalm 9:10.”

“You are so very right. He has not forsaken me.”

Adrian wasn’t sure why that particular Bible verse popped into his head. God had turned away from him. He had been forsaken. Faith, too, had suffered a great loss, and yet she still drew comfort and hope from God’s word.

Why was her faith so strong when his was so weak?

O
n Sunday morning, Faith turned Copper off the highway and onto a farm lane two miles north of her home. At the edge of the road a homemade white sign with a black anvil painted on it said, “Horse Shoeing. Closed Wednesdays.”

The church service was being held at the farm of Eli Imhoff, the local blacksmith, and the generous neighbor who, along with his sons, had painted the outside of her house.

Overhead, low gray clouds scuttled northward. The overcast sky was a welcome relief from the oppressive heat of the past few days, but the clouds were hanging on to any rain they held. Hopefully, any showers would remain at bay until after she was back home again.

At the other end of the long lane, Faith saw a two-story white house with a smaller
dawdy haus
built at a right angle from the main home. Both the grandfather house and the main house had pretty porches with white railings and wide steps. Three large birdhouses sat atop poles around the yard ringed with flower beds. Someday, her home would look like this.

Across an expanse of grass now crowded with buggies and groups of churchgoers stood a big red barn. In the corral, a pair of caramel-colored draft horses shared round hay
bales with several dozen smaller horses. Copper whinnied a greeting. Several horses in the corral replied in kind.

A man came forward to take the reins from Faith. He tipped his black hat. “Good morning,
Frau.
I am Jonathan Dressler. I will take care of your horse.” Although he looked Amish, he spoke in flawless English without a hint of the Pennsylvania Dutch accent she was accustomed to hearing.

“
Danki,
Jonathan.” Faith stepped down from her vehicle and smoothed her skirt. Her stomach churned with nervous butterflies. More anxious than she cared to admit, she pulled a picnic hamper from beneath the front seat and stood rooted to the spot.

He pointed toward the farmhouse. “You may take your basket to the house. Karen Imhoff is in charge of the food today. It’s nice to meet another newcomer to the community. Thanks to you, I’m no longer the new kid on the block.”

“You are new here, too?”

“Yes. I guess I should say,
ja.
”

“You are
Englisch,
yet you dress plain.”

“God has called me to live this simple life. Every day I give thanks that He led me to this place.”

The smile on his handsome face was contagious. She asked, “Have you any advice to share with this newcomer?”

“The people of Hope Springs are wonderful, welcoming souls.”

As they were speaking, another horse and buggy came trotting into the yard. She recognized Adrian at the reins. With him were an older man and woman, two younger women in their early twenties, and a teenage boy.

Jonathan said, “I best get back to work, but I have to ask you one question. Did your alpaca really spit on the bishop’s wife?”

Her shoulders slumped. “Has everyone heard of this?”

Jonathan chuckled. “It is not kind of me to say, but your alpaca sounds like a wonderful judge of character.”

He laughed again as he unhitched Copper and led her to the corral.

Faith’s heart sank to a new low. She would have to attend services several times in this church district before the congregation would be asked to accept her. Neither the bishop nor his wife was likely to want a new member who’d made Mrs. Zook a laughingstock.

Faith looked toward the house and saw the women from Adrian’s buggy join a large group of women gathered on the porch. She recognized the bishop’s wife standing among them. All eyes were turned in her direction.

She wanted to run home and hide.

“If I were you, I’d go in with my head up and smile as if nothing were wrong.”

Faith glanced over her shoulder and saw Adrian unhooking his horse from the buggy. He wasn’t looking at her, but she knew he was talking to her. There was no one else around.

He patted his horse’s flank and spoke again, just as softly. “She will appear mean and petty if she snubs you when you are offering friendship, but if she senses fear, she won’t have any trouble ignoring you. The other women will follow her lead.”

“I should walk up to her and pretend my animal didn’t spit in her face, is that what you suggest?”

“You have already apologized for that, haven’t you?”

“More than once.”

“Then it’s over. Go, before they start to think you’re
naerfich.
”

She was nervous. But he was right, bless the man. His encouragement was exactly what she needed. Raising her chin, Faith limped forward and pasted a smile on her face.

As she approached the house, she nodded to Mrs. Zook.
“Good morning. The Lord has blessed us with a fine morning, has He not? I look forward to hearing your husband’s preaching for I hear God has graced him with a wonderful understanding of the Bible.”

Mrs. Zook’s smile wasn’t overly warm, but at least she didn’t cut Faith dead. She inclined her head slightly. “My husband speaks as God moves him. Joseph takes no credit for himself.”

“That is as it should be. Where shall I put this?” Faith patted her basket, glad her voice wasn’t shaking for her fingers were ice cold.

A second woman spoke up. “Inside. Karen Imhoff will show you where she wants things.”

Faith nodded her thanks, pulled open the front door and went inside with a huge sigh of relief. Behind her she heard the women’s lowered voices begin to buzz. She knew they were discussing her. Unfortunately, she couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Inside the kitchen, Faith was thrilled to see Nettie, Sarah and Katie at work arranging the food on the counters and long tables set up against the walls. Everything appeared ready for the meal the congregation would share after the service was finished.

A tall, slender woman came in from a back room with a box of glasses. She added them to the table where the plates were stacked. Her eyes lit with mischief when she spied Faith. She said, “Hello. I’m Karen Imhoff. You must be Faith Martin. I have been hearing so much about you.”

Faith gave a quick glance around the room and saw Sarah and Katie trying to hide their grins. She looked back at Karen. “
Ja,
I am the one with the spitting alpaca.”

Sarah and Katie dissolved into giggles. Nettie gave them both a stern look. The young women quickly pulled themselves together.

Karen said, “I hope you enjoy the service today. We are always glad to see new faces.”

The front door opened and Jonathan stuck his head in. He said, “Everyone is here now.”

Faith noticed the way his gaze rested on Karen. There was a softness in his eyes that bespoke great affection.

“
Danki,
Jonathan,” Karen replied. “We will be there shortly.” There was no mistaking the love that flowed between them.

What would it be like, Faith wondered, to love wholeheartedly and be loved in return?

Jonathan started to close the door but stopped as a little girl of about nine slipped beneath his arm and into the kitchen.

After he closed the door, Faith said, “Jonathan is a most unusual young man. I have never known an
Englisch
person to join our faith.”

Smiling fondly, Katie folded her hands atop her bulging tummy. “You should have Karen tell you the whole story of how Jonathan came to be with us. It is the most romantic tale.”

“I should tell it. I saw him first,” the little girl declared. She was the spitting image of Karen and clearly not shy.

Karen laid a hand on the child’s head. “You are forgetting your manners, Anna. This is Faith Martin. She is new to Hope Springs, and we must make her welcome. Faith, this is my sister, Anna.”

Faith smiled at her. “I’m pleased to meet you, and I’m dying to hear the story.”

Anna eagerly launched into her tale. “Just before Christmas, Karen was taking us to school. I looked out the buggy window and I saw a dead man in the ditch. Only, he wasn’t dead. He was only hurt, but bad. God made him forget who he was, so we called him John. He stayed with us until God
let him remember his name. And now he knows who he is and he wants to marry my sister.”

Anna grinned broadly, Karen blushed rosy red and the rest of the women grinned.

Karen cleared her throat. “That about sums it up.”

Nettie said, “It’s almost time for the service to start. Girls, take Faith down to the barn. I’ll be there shortly.”

“I’ll show you the way,” Anna said as she bounced toward the door.

Outside, the solidly overcast sky gave way to intermittent sunshine. The women followed Anna to the far side of the barn where a sloping earthen ramp led to the barn’s loft. The huge doors had been propped open to catch the cool morning breeze.

Inside, rows of wooden benches in the large hayloft were filled with worshipers, men on one side of a center aisle, women on the other, all waiting for the church service to begin. Faith took a place beside Sarah, Karen and Katie. Anna wiggled her way in between Faith and Karen.

Glancing across the aisle to where the men sat, Faith caught Adrian’s eye. He didn’t smile, but he gave a slight nod to acknowledge her. He’d overheard her conversation with Mrs. Zook, and Faith had the feeling he approved. A moment later, Anna asked Faith a question, forcing her to look away from Adrian.

As everyone waited for the
Vorsinger
to begin leading the first hymn, Faith closed her eyes. This was a solemn time, a time to prepare her heart and soul to rejoice and give thanks to the living God. She listened intently, willing her soul to open to God’s presence, preparing to hear His word.

She heard the rustle of fabric on wooden benches as people shifted on the hard seats. In the trees outside, birds sang cheerfully, as if praising the Lord with their own special voices. In the barn below, Faith heard the movement of
horses and cattle in their stalls. The smell of alfalfa hay and barn dust filled the air. She drew a deep breath. Contentment filled her bones. This was where she wanted to be. This was where she had always belonged.

She remembered how nervous she’d been the morning she took her vows. At nineteen, she had been the youngest of the group preparing for baptism. In that final hour before the service, she had searched her heart, wondering if she was making the right decision. It was no easy thing to live Amish.

She knew she had made the right choice.

The song leader, a young man with a red beard, started the first hymn. More than a hundred voices took up the solemn, slow-paced cadence. There was no music, only the stirring sounds of many voices praising God. Two ministers, a deacon and the bishop took their places on benches facing the congregation.

When the first song ended, the congregation sat in silence waiting for the preaching to begin. For Faith, it was a joyful moment. This was her first service in her new district and it felt as if she had come home at last.

Adrian did his best to listen to the sermon being preached, but his eyes were drawn constantly to where Faith sat. At the moment, her eyes were closed. There was such a look of peace on her face that he envied her.

He had not known peace or comfort during services since his son was killed. As hard as he tried to find consolation in the words being spoken, all he felt was anger.

Anger at God for robbing him of those most precious to him.

If he had his way, he would have stopped coming to church, but to do so would only bring more heartache to his family. If he avoided services, he would soon find himself under the
ban, shunned by those who loved him in the hopes that he would mend his ways.

His brothers and sisters, his mother and father, none of them understood the anger that filled his heart, so he kept it hidden. He went through the motions of his faith without any substance. His life, which had once been filled with daily prayers, was now filled with hollow silence. God knew Adrian Lapp had not forgiven Him.

Adrian glanced at Faith. Was she even better at pretending faith than he was, or had she discovered the secret of letting go of her anger and hurt?

Beside him Benjamin fidgeted. His brother was eager to see the preaching end so he could visit with the Stultz sisters. The pretty twins were nearly the same age as Adrian’s little brother. They were always willing to share their sweet smiles and laughter with him. Benjamin would soon be of courting age.

Adrian no longer believed in asking God for favors, but he hoped Benjamin would be spared the kind of pain he had endured, if and when Ben chose a wife.

Three hours later, when the service came to an end, Benjamin practically leaped from his seat and rushed to join his friends outside. Adrian stayed behind to help convert the benches into tables for eating by stacking them together. As he worked, he visited with his friends and neighbors. He listened to his father catching up on who had a sick horse, how everyone’s corn was doing and what they planned to sell or buy on market day.

As the groups moved out of the barn toward the house, Adrian kept an eye out for Faith. He wanted to see if she was fitting in with the women of the district. He’d seen how scared she was when she first arrived.

He’d offered his advice without thinking twice. It was strange how easily he read her face and demeanor. Stranger
still was how often he found himself thinking about her. She was an unusual woman.

Since there wasn’t enough room to feed everyone inside the house, the ordained and the eldest church members ate first at the tables set up for them inside. The rest of the congregation took turns getting their food and carrying it out to the barn.

When it was Adrian’s turn, he saw Faith had joined Nettie, her daughters and several other women and was working alongside them in the kitchen.

He relaxed when he saw her at ease, visiting with Sarah and Katie Sutter, holding Katie’s baby on one hip as easily as any seasoned mother. It was good to see her happy and smiling.

He caught Nettie Sutter’s eye. She smiled and nodded once. She was a good woman. She would do everything in her power to see that the women of the community welcomed Faith.

Adrian glanced away and caught Sarah studying him. She looked from him to Faith and then back again. Her grin widened. She beckoned him over. He immediately took his plate and went outside.