the STRUGGLE (24 page)

She wrinkled her nose. “If the inside looks even half as bad as the outside does, then I’m not moving here.”

“Well, let’s go inside and take a look. I see the agent’s car over there, so he’s probably in the house waiting for us.”

Hannah sighed. “Okay, but where are you going to tie the horse? I don’t see a hitching rail, which probably means this house belongs to an Englisher.”

“That may be, but if we buy the place, we can put up a hitching post, and of course we’ll have to remove the electrical connections.” He directed Dusty over to a tree. “I’ll tie my horse here, and he should be fine for the short time we’ll be inside the house.”

When they stepped onto the porch a few minutes later, Timothy cringed and took hold of Hannah’s hand. There were several loose boards—the kind that looked like if you stepped on them the wrong way, they’d fly up and hit you on the back of the head. The porch railing was broken in a couple of places, too.

“I know this porch looks really bad right now, but imagine if the boards and railing were replaced and it was freshly painted,” Timothy said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. “And look, the front of the house faces east. Think of all the beautiful sunrises we can watch from here on warm summer mornings.”

“I guess that’s one way of looking at it,” Hannah said in a guarded tone.

Timothy was about to knock on the door when it swung open. Tom Donnelson greeted them with a smile. “It’s good to see you both again. Come on in; I’m anxious to show you around.”

As they entered the living room, where faded blue curtains hung at the window, Tom explained that the elderly man who’d owned the house had recently passed away, and his children, who lived in another state, had just put the place on the market. He then took them upstairs, through all five bedrooms, each needing a coat of fresh paint, and pointed out that there was an attic above the second story that would give them plenty of storage. The wide woodwork around the floor base, as well as the frames around the doors, were impressive, but they were badly scratched and needed to be sanded and restained.

When they got to the kitchen, Hannah’s mouth dropped open. Timothy was sure she was going to flee from the house in horror. Not only did it need to be painted, but the sink was rusty from where the faucet had been leaking, the linoleum was torn in several places, the counter had multiple dings, and some of the hinges on the cabinet doors were broken. An old electric stove and refrigerator sat side-by-side and would need to be replaced. Most of the rooms had been wallpapered with several layers that had been put on over the years. So before any painting could be done, the walls would have to be stripped clean.

“I think this old house has some potential,” Tom said. “It just needs a bit of a face-lift.”

“A bit of a face-lift?” Hannah exclaimed with raised brows. “If you want my opinion, I’d say it needs to be condemned.” She turned to Timothy and frowned. “Don’t you agree?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “I know it’s hard to see, but if you could just look past the way the house looks right now and imagine how it could look with some remodeling—”

“But that would take a lot of time, and probably a lot of money, too,” she argued.

“I’ll bet with the help of Samuel and Titus we could have this place fixed up and ready to move into by spring.”

“The beginning of spring or the end of spring?” she questioned.

He turned his hands palms up. “I don’t know. Guess we’d have to wait and see how it all goes.”

Hannah’s dubious expression made Timothy think she was going to refuse to even consider buying the house, but to his surprise, she turned to him and said, “If you really think you can make this place livable, then let’s put an offer on it.”

“Are you sure?”

She nodded.

“All right then.” Timothy looked at Tom. “Can we do that right now?”

Tom gave a nod. “There’s no time like the present. Let’s head over to Samuel’s house, and we can discuss a fair offer, and then you can sign the papers.”

That afternoon after Timothy and Hannah got back to Samuel’s house and shared the news that they hoped to buy the house they’d looked at, Samuel decided to head over to the B&B and tell Esther. This was not only good news for Timothy and Hannah, but for him and Esther, as well, because it meant they could be married soon.

“Can we go with you, Daadi?” Leon asked as Samuel took his horse out of the barn. “We haven’t gone over to play with Cody in a long time.”

“And since Esther didn’t come over here today, she’s probably busy bakin’ cookies,” Marla added as she joined her younger brother. She licked her lips. “Sure would like some of those.”

“I suppose you can go along, but Jared and Penny will probably want to go, too, and if they both go, then Mindy will want to be included, and I’m not sure Hannah will go for that.”

“Can we at least ask?” Leon looked up at Samuel with pleading eyes. “If Aunt Hannah says Mindy can’t go, then just the four of us will go with ya, okay?”

“Jah, and then Mindy will cry. You know she will.” Marla frowned. “She’s a whiny baby, and besides that she’s spoiled.”

Samuel reached under the brim of his hat and scratched his head. “You think so?”

“Sure do,” Marla said with a nod.

“Hmm…Seems to me that Hannah’s always telling Mindy no about something or other,” Samuel said. “So I wouldn’t call that spoiled.”

“Mindy may not get everything she wants, but she’s a big mama’s baby, and Aunt Hannah’s always fussin’ over her,” Leon interjected.

For fear that whatever he said might get repeated, Samuel didn’t agree with the children, but he didn’t disagree either. Truth was, he got tired of watching the way Hannah doted on Mindy, but if Timothy didn’t say anything to his wife about it, then it wasn’t Samuel’s place to comment. He’d watched Esther with his children many times and was glad she didn’t smother them with too much attention. He knew she loved them very much and felt sure that she’d make a good wife and mother.

“I’ll tell you what,” Samuel said, looking at Leon. “You run into the house and tell Aunt Hannah that you, Marla, Penny, and Jared are going over to see Esther with me, and if she doesn’t mind, Mindy is welcome to come along.”

“Okay. I’ll be back soon!” Leon raced across the yard and into the house.

Samuel bent and gave Marla a hug. “You can get in the buggy if you want to.”

“Okay, Daadi.” Without waiting for Samuel’s assistance, Marla climbed into the buggy and took a seat in the back.

He smiled. His oldest daughter was such a sweet little girl. In many ways she reminded him of Elsie. How glad he was that Marla and Leon had both been old enough when their mother died so they would have some memories of her as they grew up. Penny might remember some, too, but little Jared would only know whatever he was told about his mother. At least the children had Esther, and in fact, Jared and Penny often called her “Mama.” Samuel had no problem with that.

Hearing the sound of laughter, Samuel glanced toward the house. Leon, Penny, and Jared, wearing straw hats, jackets, and scarves, pranced like three little ponies across the lawn. When they reached the buggy, they grabbed hold of Samuel’s legs and squeezed.

“We can head out now, Daadi,” Leon said. “Hannah said Mindy can’t go.”

“I figured as much,” Samuel mumbled before lifting Penny and Jared into the buggy.
It’s a shame Mindy couldn’t join us
, he fumed.
Hannah is way too protective of that child
.

Leon climbed in last and took a seat up front on the passenger’s side. “Hold the reins steady now while I untie my horse from the hitching rail,” Samuel told the boy.

When Samuel took his seat on the driver’s side, Leon handed him the reins and smiled. “Sure can’t wait to play with Cody!”

Paradise, Pennsylvania

As Sally meandered up their driveway after getting the mail, she decided to stop at the phone shack and see if there were any new messages. She’d just stepped inside when she heard the phone ring, so she quickly grabbed the receiver. “Hello.”

“Hi, Mom. This is a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t expecting anyone to pick up the phone.”

“Hannah, it’s so good to hear your voice! How are you? How are Mindy and Timothy doing?”

“We’re all fine. Mindy’s taking a nap, and Timothy’s in the house with our real estate agent, going over the paperwork we need to sign.”

“Paperwork?”

“Jah. We found a house today, and we’re going to put an offer on it.”

“Wow, that was quick.”

“Jah, quick as dew.”

“I guess that means you’ll be staying in Kentucky?” Sally couldn’t keep the disappointment she felt out of her voice.

“That’s what Timothy wants, so I suppose we are.”

Sally had expected Hannah to say she didn’t want to stay in Kentucky, like she had so many other times when they’d talked. Maybe she’d resigned herself to the idea, knowing it was the only way to keep her husband happy.

“So tell me about the house. Is it close to where Timothy’s brothers live?” Sally asked.

“It’s just a few miles down the road from Samuel’s place and not far from Titus’s home either.”

“Is it nice and big?”

“It’s big, but…well, not so nice. In fact, it needs a whole lot of work.”

Sally grimaced. “If it needs a lot of work, then why are you buying the place?”

“Because it’s reasonably priced, and Timothy thinks he can have it fixed up enough so we can move in sometime this spring. With him and his brothers doing most of the work, it will save us a lot of money, too.”

“I see.”

“You and Dad will have to visit us after we get moved in. There are five bedrooms, so there’s plenty of room for us to have company.”

“Jah, we’ll have to do that.”

“How’s Dad’s back? Is he doing a lot better now?”

“He’s working a few days a week at the store again but still has to be careful not to overdo. He had quite a siege with his back this time.”

“I’m glad he’s doing better.” Hannah paused. “It’s been good talking to you, Mom, but I’d better hang up now. I need to check on Mindy and see if the paperwork is ready to sign.”

“Okay. Take care, Hannah, and please keep in touch.”

“I will. Bye, Mom.”

When Sally hung up the phone, a sick feeling came over her. Now that Timothy and Hannah were buying a house, she was almost certain they would never move back to Pennsylvania. If only there was something she could do to bring her daughter back home where she belonged. But what would it be?

With the mail in her hand and a heavy heart weighing her down, Sally trudged wearily toward the house. When she stepped inside, she found Johnny sitting in the recliner with a fat gray cat in his lap.

“You know I don’t like that critter in the house,” Sally snapped. “She gets hair everywhere!”

“I’m not letting her run all over the place, Sally. As you can see, I’m holding Fluffy in my lap.”

Sally ground her teeth together, not even bothering to mention that there was cat hair clinging to her husband’s pants, and tossed the mail onto the coffee table in front of the sofa. “I just spoke with Hannah on the phone, and guess what?”

“I have no idea.” Johnny stroked the cat behind its ears and stared up at Sally with a smug expression. It only fueled her anger, watching more cat hair fly each time Johnny petted the feline.

“Hannah and Timothy are buying a house.”

“That’s good to hear. Samuel’s been nice in letting them stay with him, but they really do need a place of their own.”

Sally stepped directly in front of Johnny, her hands on her hips. “Don’t you realize what this means?”

“Jah. It means they’ll have a place of their own where we can stay when we go to visit.”

She clenched her teeth so hard her jaw started to ache. “It means they aren’t moving back to Pennsylvania. They wouldn’t be buying a house unless they planned to put down roots and stay in Kentucky.”

“I think you’re right about that, and it’s probably for the best.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means Timothy moving his family to Kentucky was the best thing he could have done for his marriage.” Johnny stared at Sally over the top of his glasses, as if daring her to argue with him. “We’ve been through all this before, but I’m going to remind you once more that the Good Book says when a couple gets married, they are to leave their parents.” Johnny let go of the cat and spread his arms wide. “And they are to cleave to each other. Leave and cleave!” He brought his hands together quickly and made a tight fist. “And that’s the end of that, no matter what you may think.”