The Wonder of Your Love (A Land of Canaan Novel) (18 page)

He sighed.
“Gut.”

“Because of your fall, you didn’t get to do any more sightseeing as you’d planned. I’m so sorry about that.”

“I have one day left. Tomorrow.” He reached out his arms.

“May I?”

Katie Ann handed Jonas to Eli, and Eli sat down on the couch. He laid Jonas faceup in his lap, and once again he talked to her son in baby talk. It was endearing, and she still couldn’t recall seeing another Amish man carry on that way about a baby.

“Are you up for another day of sightseeing tomorrow?”

Eli raised an eyebrow. “I was thinking about taking a trip to Alamosa, since it’s only about twenty minutes from here by car.

That would be easy on our boy here.” He gently ran the back of his hand along Jonas’s cheek, and Katie Ann felt a warm glow flow through her.

“I love Alamosa. I don’t get there as often as I’d like since it’s quite a haul by buggy, but I keep up with the Amish folks there by reading
The Budget
.” Katie Ann sat down next to Eli on the couch.

“Then it’s a date.”

“Gut.”
She smiled and pretended not to notice his choice of the word.

Eli lifted the heels of his feet up and down, bouncing Jonas slightly in his lap. She noticed he was without his shoes, and his left sock had a tiny hole near the toe.

Then Eli stood, smiled, and handed Jonas back to Katie Ann. “I’ll go to the barn and call Wayne, see if he can take us tomorrow. But either way, I’ll make arrangements. Eight o’clock all right?”

“Perfect.” Katie Ann bundled Jonas in his blanket and tucked his wool cap tight around his ears. “Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Eli walked her to the door. “Looking forward to it.”

She nodded as butterflies played in her stomach. She wished she were looking forward to it a little less.

T
HE NEXT MORNING
Eli watched the sun rise above the mountains as he crossed the snow-covered yard to get in the car with Wayne.

“Glad you were free today,” he said as he climbed into the front seat.

Wayne looked up through the windshield. “You’ve got a great day for travel. No snow predicted, and lots of sunshine . . . if not a bit chilly.” The elderly man smiled. “Are we picking up Katie Ann and the child again?”

“
Ya
. She doesn’t have an opportunity to go by car much, so . . .” Eli shrugged, wondering if Wayne could sense his excitement.

Wayne nodded, but he didn’t say anything.

A few minutes later Eli walked up the path to Katie Ann’s porch. By the time he climbed the stairs, she had opened the door and was ready and waiting, Jonas in a carrier at her side.

“Guder mariye.”
He picked up the carrier and put a gentle hand on her arm as he carried Jonas down the steps. “Careful.”

“
Guder mariye
to you too.”

Eli tried to calm his racing heart as he helped her and Jonas into the backseat. He’d been like a kid the night before, barely able to sleep. Just the thought of spending the day with her sent his adrenaline pumping. And the thought of leaving them tomorrow caused him a bit of grief. But he wasn’t going to think about that today. He was going to make sure she had another wonderful outing.

During the short drive to Alamosa, the three of them chatted, and Eli was surprised to learn that Katie Ann’s favorite flower was an orchid. Like Maureen’s. Katie Ann also shared a little about their move from Lancaster County to Colorado, and how difficult it was. In addition to the repairs that had to be done on the property and houses, she said she had missed Lancaster County for a long time, especially after her husband left to go back.

“Do you think you’ll ever move back there?” Eli twisted in his seat to face her.

“I don’t know. I have more friends and extended family there.” She shrugged. “Sometimes I’d like to go back, but I’ve made a home here in Canaan, and I’d miss Lillian, Samuel, Emily, David, and of course Vera and Elam and their family.”

She paused with a sigh. “And then there’s Martha. I don’t know if I could ever leave Martha. At least not anytime soon. She’s having surgery next week. She has a tumor in her stomach.” Katie Ann’s forehead creased as she bit her bottom lip.

“That sounds serious. I’ll pray that she makes a full recovery.”

“Danki.”

Wayne slowed the car as they stopped at a light. “This is it. Alamosa. What would you like to do first?”

Katie Ann’s face lit up as she spotted an Amish furniture store to their right, so Eli suggested they have a look.

“I’ve been in this store, and it’s very nice, run by Amish folks.”

Eli couldn’t take his eyes from her, and he really didn’t care what they did today. Just being in her presence made him content. More alarms rang in his head, but he was leaving tomorrow.

Today was a day to spend with Katie Ann. And Eli planned to enjoy every minute.

Ten

L
UCY SAT DOWN AT HER KITCHEN TABLE WITH ALL
of her bills in front of her. For the first time since Ivan’s death, she wasn’t afraid to sort through them, and she knew she would have enough money to pay them all. Thanks to Katie Ann.

She didn’t recognize the envelope on the top of the pile addressed to Ivan, and she instantly wondered if it might have something to do with the mystery house. She ripped into it, but it was only an advertisement for landscaping supplies. Tossing it aside, she laid her head down on the table and wept. She wondered if the crying would ever stop. It had been months since Ivan’s death, but she couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that he was never coming back. He was the only man she’d ever loved, and her life seemed pointless at the moment. She rubbed her belly, then cried even harder.

After a few minutes she forced herself to sit up and focus on the bills, reminding herself that things could be much worse. If it hadn’t been for Katie Ann’s generosity, Lucy wasn’t sure what she would have done. She still couldn’t get over the fact that Ivan’s wife had given her money—a substantial amount of money that would enable her to stay afloat until she found the house that she hoped existed. She was sure there had to be a house somewhere. Nothing pleased Ivan more than to surprise her, and that was the only explanation for why his money was gone from their account and there was a picture of a house and two keys in his cedar box.

She’d driven the countryside looking for the white house with black shutters, surrounded by a white picket fence, but she hadn’t found anything.

After taking a deep breath, she pulled the mortgage bill from the envelope. A mortgage she couldn’t afford on her own. She’d barely signed the check when someone knocked at the door, and she hurriedly swiped at her puffy eyes. It had been almost a week since she’d even put any makeup on.

She looked through the peephole to see a uniformed man, a cop. The last time a police officer showed up at her door, it was to tell her that Ivan was dead.

She eased the door open, no longer concerned about her puffy eyes or the tears now streaming down her cheeks. “Yes?” She sniffled, pushing back a strand of hair.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

She put her hand across her stomach. “I don’t know. I guess it depends on what you’re doing here.”

“Lucy Turner?”

“That’s me.”

“I’m sorry, but this is a court summons.” He pushed an envelope toward her before he slowly turned and walked away.

She closed the door, sat back down at the table, and stared at the unopened envelope, wondering which credit card was suing her. Katie Ann’s gift hadn’t come in time, and she wondered how she was ever going to make it. She’d called a realtor the day before, and even though the woman said she thought she could sell the house quickly, Lucy knew she didn’t have enough equity to afford anything else—barely a small apartment to raise her child in.

She lowered her head and did something she rarely did.

She prayed. But no sooner had she asked God to help her than a sharp pain seared across her abdomen, and within minutes she felt her water break. Gasping, she rushed to the phone to call her boss at the café, her only real friend. As she dialed the number, another sharp pain almost brought her to her knees.

She knew it was way too early to be in labor. She didn’t know if God really existed, but if He did, this must be His punishment for her living with another woman’s husband.

KATIE ANN WAS
thrilled to meet some of the Amish women in Alamosa, and as she browsed through the shop owned by an Amish widow, she felt a sense of hope. Maybe someday she could own a shop like this in Canaan, even if on a much smaller scale. She could make all kinds of handmade items— pot holders, lap quilts, soaps, dolls, and even jams and jellies.

Maybe her nephew David would put a few pieces of his furniture in her store. He’d recently acquired a furniture store in town, and he was a fine craftsman.

Katie Ann loved being a mother, but she couldn’t help but fantasize about providing goods for the few tourists who found their way to Canaan, and perhaps even for the local
Englisch
folks.

“How long have you lived in Alamosa?” Katie Ann picked up a business card holder with an Amish buggy etched on the front. Before the woman could answer, she asked, “Who made this? It’s lovely.”

“
Danki
.
Mei sohn
did.”

Katie Ann put the card holder back on the shelf, wondering how old the woman’s son was. By the time Jonas was old enough to help Katie Ann with a shop, she figured she might be too old to take on such a project. The woman excused herself to tend to another customer, and Katie Ann scanned the shop until she found Eli, who was carrying Jonas, and Wayne.

Her eyes stayed glued on Eli as she watched him tenderly shift Jonas from one shoulder to the other. But the longer she stared at him, the more she saw Ivan, and as the image of Eli returned, she reminded herself that no matter how wonderful Eli might seem, trust would not come easy for her.

And as hard as it was to trust Eli, she was having an equally hard time trusting God’s plan for her life. She prayed the same amount of time that she always had, but she knew her communion with God was not the same. To hear Him, to know Him, and to understand the wonder of His love—one must trust Him completely.

“See anything you can’t live without?” Wayne asked as he and Eli walked up to her. She cleared her thoughts and shook her head.

“No. But they have some finely crafted goods here.” She smiled, focusing again on Eli with her precious Jonas. “Want me to take him?”

“Only if you want to. I think he’s happy looking at the manlier items in the back of the store, like the workbench.” He winked at Katie Ann before he looked back at the baby. “Aren’t you, Jonas?”

Katie Ann couldn’t help but smile at the tender tone of voice Eli used with her son. “Are you fellows ready?”

“
Ya
. Jonas is hungry.” Eli grinned, and Katie Ann laughed.

“
Jonas
is hungry? Did he tell you this?” She glanced at the clock on the wall and knew it would be time to nurse him soon. And her stomach was growling more than normal for this time of morning.

Eli held his head close to Jonas. “
Ya
, I’ll tell your mommy that you’d like some pancakes or maybe an early lunch. I think the
Englisch
call it brunch.”

“Give me
mei boppli
before you confuse him with all your silliness.” She gently eased Jonas from Eli’s arms.