the STRUGGLE (26 page)

“So who will take her place helping you here at the bed-and-breakfast?”

Bonnie shrugged. “I don’t know. If things get too busy, I’ll probably have to place a help-wanted ad in the local newspaper.”

“I could help. I’m getting tired of sitting around so much, so it would give me something meaningful to do.”

Bonnie’s eyes widened. “But your leg’s still in the cast, and once you get it off, you’ll need physical therapy. I sure can’t expect you to climb the stairs and service the guest rooms.”

“I could do some of the cooking. I’m pretty good at that, even if I do say so myself.”

Bonnie folded her arms and leaned against the bookcase behind her. “That’s right. Since you used to work as a chef, I’ll bet you could create some pretty tasty dishes for my B&B guests.”

Trisha nodded. “I could make them as fancy or simple as you like. I’d even be happy to work for my room and board.”

Bonnie shook her head. “If you’re going to work for me, then I insist on paying you a fair wage, as well as giving you room and board. I was doing that for Esther, you know.”

Trisha smiled as a sense of excitement welled in her chest. Maybe God had sent her here on Christmas Eve for a reason. She might even end up staying in Kentucky permanently. Of course if she did, she’d no doubt be seeing Bonnie’s dad again.

Would I mind that?
she asked herself.
Maybe not
.

C
HAPTER
31

B
y the middle of February, Timothy and his brothers had done a lot of work on the house. If things went well, they hoped to have it fixed up enough so that Timothy, Hannah, and Mindy could move in by the middle of March, even if some things still needed to be done. Hannah thought she could live with that—as long as it didn’t take too much time to finish the house after the move. She was so anxious to have her own place.

On this Saturday, Timothy and Titus were working at the house while Samuel went to Hopkinsville to run some errands. Hannah, tired of being cooped up in Samuel’s house with five active children, decided to bundle the kids up and go over to her house to see how things were progressing. She’d also made the men some sandwiches because they’d left early this morning before she’d had a chance to fix them anything for lunch.

“You’re the oldest, so I want you to keep an eye on the other children and wait here in the house while I get the horse and buggy ready,” Hannah told Marla.

Marla looked up at her with a dimpled grin. “Okay, Aunt Hannah. I’ll watch ’em real good.”

Hannah patted Marla’s shoulder. Of all Samuel’s children, Marla was the easiest to deal with. She was usually quite agreeable and seemed eager to please. She was also the calmest child, which Hannah appreciated, because Samuel’s other three could think of more things to get into than a batch of curious kittens. She did notice, though, that Marla had a funny habit. Every so often, the child put her hand inside the opposite sleeve of her dress, as if hiding it or maybe trying to warm it up. No one else mentioned this or seemed to take notice, and Hannah didn’t spend much time wondering about it herself.
After all, I used to chew my fingernails when I was a girl
. Fortunately, she gave up the habit before she reached her teen years, so she figured Marla would probably do the same.

“I shouldn’t be too long, but give me a holler if you need anything,” Hannah said before going out the back door.

Since the buggy was already parked in the yard, all she had to do was get her horse. When Hannah entered Lilly’s stall, the horse flicked her ears and swished her tail.

“Would you like to go for a ride, girl?” Hannah patted the horse’s flanks. “You need the exercise, or you’ll get fat and end up in lazy land.” She smiled to herself, remembering how Mom had often used that term to describe someone who didn’t want to work.

Lilly whinnied in response and nuzzled Hannah’s hand. She was glad they had been able to bring both of their horses when they’d moved. Having them here was a like a touch from home. Hannah glanced at the other side of the barn where all their furniture had been stacked under some canvas tarps. Once they could bring their belongings to the new house, she hoped it would help her feel closer to the home she used to know and love in Pennsylvania. Starting over was difficult, but it would be a bit easier when they could use their own things again. While Samuel’s house was comfortable enough, nothing in it belonged to Hannah, and she still felt out of place—like a stranger at times.

Hannah was about to put the harness on Lilly when a little gray mouse darted out of the hay and zipped across her foot. Startled, she screamed and jumped back. There were a few critters she really didn’t like, and mice were near the top of her list.

Hearing Hannah’s scream must have frightened Lilly, for she reared up and then bolted out of the stall. Hannah chased after the horse, and realized too late that she’d left the barn door open.

“Come back here, Lilly!” Hannah shouted as she raced into the yard after the horse.

Around and around the yard they went, until Hannah was panting for breath. She knew she had to get Lilly back in the barn or she’d never get her harnessed and ready to go. And if the crazy horse kept running like that, she might end up out on the road, where she’d be in jeopardy of getting hit by a car.

“Whoa! Whoa, now!” Hannah waved her hands frantically, but it did no good. Lilly was in a frenzy and wouldn’t pay any attention to her at all.

Hannah heard someone shout, and when she turned her head, she was surprised to see Leon running out of the house, waving his arms and hollering at Lilly. While the boy might be young, he must have known exactly what he was doing, because it wasn’t long before he had Hannah’s horse under control and running straight for the barn.

Hannah hurried in behind them and quickly shut the door. “Whew! Lilly gave me quite a workout! Danki for coming to my rescue, Leon.”

The boy looked up at her and grinned. “I’ve helped Daadi chase after his horse before, so I knew just what to do. And if our pony ever gets outa the barn, bet I can get him back in, too.” Leon’s face sobered. “Marla said I wasn’t supposed to go outside, but when I saw your horse runnin’ all over the place, I had to come out and help. Sure hope that’s okay.”

She smiled and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad you did. Would you like to help me put the harness on Lilly?”

“Jah, sure.”

A short time later, Hannah’s horse was hitched and ready to go. Now all she needed to do was load the children into the buggy, and they could be on their way.

“Could you give me a hand with this drop cloth?” Timothy called to Titus, who was on the other side of the living room, removing some old baseboard that needed to be replaced.

“Sure thing.” Titus stopped what he was doing and picked up one of the drop cloths. “Do you want to cover the whole floor or just this section for now?”

“If you’re about ready to paint your side of the room, we may as well cover the entire floor,” Timothy said.

“I will be as soon as I put the new baseboard up.”

“Okay then, let’s just cover the floor on my side for now. Sure am glad we both know how to paint,” Timothy said as they spread out the drop cloth.

“Jah, but you’ve done more painting than I ever have, so your side of the room will probably look better than mine. Think I’m better at carpentry than painting.”

“You are good with wood,” Timothy agreed, “but your painting skills are just fine. I think you sell yourself short sometimes.”

Titus shrugged. “That’s what Suzanne says, too.”

“Speaking of Suzanne, how’s she feeling these days?”

“She’s still havin’ some morning sickness, but at least it doesn’t last all day like it did at first.” Titus’s forehead wrinkled. “Since we’ve only been married a few months, we weren’t expecting a boppli this soon. But then God knows what we need and when we need it, so we’ve come to think of it as a blessing.”

Timothy thought about his brother’s remark. He’d always felt that God knew what he needed and when he needed it, but he wasn’t so sure Hannah shared that belief. Sometimes her faith in God seemed weak, and she usually had little to say about the sermons they heard at church. He felt that this move to Kentucky had been God’s will, but he didn’t think Hannah had come to accept it just yet. They still quarreled a lot, and Hannah often nagged him about little things. But since they’d bought this house, her outlook seemed a bit more positive. He hoped after they moved in and she arranged things to her liking she’d feel more like Kentucky was her home.

The brothers worked quietly for a while, until Timothy heard a horse and buggy pull in. Thinking it was probably Samuel coming to help, he didn’t bother to look out the window.

A few minutes later, the front door opened, and Hannah stepped into the room carrying a wicker basket. Marla, Leon, Penny, Jared, and Mindy traipsed in behind her.

That’s just great
, Timothy thought.
The last thing we need is the kinner here getting in the way
. He was about to ask Hannah what they were doing when Mindy rushed over to Titus, who was crouched down with his back to them, and threw her little arms around his neck. “Daadi!”

With a look of surprise, Titus whirled around, nearly knocking the child off her feet. Mindy took one look at Titus’s face and started howling. She’d obviously mistaken him for her daddy, but after seeing his beard, which was much shorter than Timothy’s because he hadn’t been married as long, she’d realized her mistake.

Hannah placed the basket on the floor, hurried across the room, and swooped Mindy into her arms. “It’s all right, little one. That’s your uncle Titus. Don’t cry. Look, daadi’s right over there.” She pointed to Timothy.

Hannah set Mindy down, and the child, still crying, darted across the room toward Timothy. In the process, she hit the bucket of paint with her foot and knocked it over. Some of the white paint spilled out, but at least the drop cloth was there to protect the floor. When Mindy saw what she’d done, she started to howl even louder—like a wounded heifer.

Timothy, grabbing for the paint can and more than a bit annoyed, glared at Hannah and said, “What are you doing here, and why’d you bring the kinner? This is not a place for them to be when we’re tryin’ to get some work done!”

Hannah pointed to the basket she’d set on the floor. “You left so early this morning that I didn’t get a chance to make your lunch, so I decided to bring it over to you.” She motioned to the children, who stood wide-eyed and huddled together near the door. “I could hardly leave them at home by themselves, now, could I?”

“Of course not, but—”

“And I wanted to see how you’re doing and ask if there’s anything I can do to help,” she quickly added.

“Jah, there is,” Timothy shouted. “You can just leave the lunch basket and head back home with the kinner while I clean up the paint that got spilled!”

Hannah’s chin quivered, and even from across the room he could see her tears. “Fine then,” she said, bending to pick up Mindy. “I guess that’s what I get for trying to be nice!” She ushered the kids quickly out the door, slamming it behind her.

“Hey, Timothy, you need to calm down. You caught the paint before too much damage was done, so did you have to yell at Hannah like that?” Titus asked, moving over to the basket. “I’m hungerich, and I’m glad she brought us some lunch.”

“It was a nice gesture,” Timothy agreed, “but she should have left the kinner in the buggy while she brought the lunch basket in here. She ought to know better than to turn five little ones loose in a room that’s being painted.” He shrugged his shoulders. “But what can I say? Sometimes my fraa just doesn’t think.”

“No one is perfect, Timothy. Maybe you’re just too hard on Hannah. It might help if you appreciated the good things she does, rather than scolding her for all the things she does that irritate you.”

A feeling of remorse came over Timothy. He didn’t know why he’d been short on patience lately. Maybe it was because he wanted so badly to get this house presentable enough so they could move in. Even so, that was no excuse for him losing his temper—especially in front of the children.

“You’re right, and I appreciate the reminder. I should have handled it better,” Timothy said, watching out the window as the buggy headed down the road. “Guess it’s too late now, but as soon as I get home, I’ll apologize to Hannah and try to make things right.” He dropped his gaze to the floor. “Guess I’d better say I’m sorry to the kinner, too—especially my sweet little girl, who probably thinks her daadi’s angry with her.”

C
HAPTER
32

T
risha had just taken a loaf of banana bread from the oven when the telephone rang. Knowing Bonnie was outside emptying the garbage, Trisha picked up the receiver. “Hello. Bonnie’s Bed-and-Breakfast.”

“Bonnie, is that you?”

“No, this is Trisha.” Then, recognizing the voice on the other end, she said, “How are you, Kenny?”