The Teacher (Amish Country Brides) Page 8

  “And…your fraa is here too?” Jaden glanced around.

  “Ach, nee. I’m afraid not. She passed on last year.”

  A widower? Here alone to see Martha? “I’m sorry to hear that,” he managed to speak.

  Josiah had been right. He wasn’t the only one interested in Martha.

  “I was just getting out the corn you brought from your mamm.” Martha smiled at him. “I thought you might want some.”

  He did. But he hadn’t expected a threesome.

  “Would you like some tea? I made peppermint.” She gestured toward the table. “Feel free to have a seat.”

  “Sure. Denki.” He took a seat across from Titus. Ach, this was awkward. “So, how old are your kinner?” Jaden didn’t care for small talk, but he realized it was sometimes necessary. Like now.

  “Two, four, and six. Two boys and a girl.” He rubbed his beard, then glanced in Martha’s direction. “Not easy raising them on my own.”

  “I can imagine.” Jaden found himself feeling sorry for the guy, although he was an interloper. Or was he the interloper here?

  “Well.” Titus stood from the table. “I guess I should probably get going. I didn’t realize Martha would have company today. I’ll be sure to arrange things ahead of time next visit.”

  Next visit?

  He waited for Martha to say something, but she remained silent. Why wasn’t she telling this man how it was? How was it, anyhow? Jaden wasn’t even sure himself.

  She followed Titus to the door and thanked him for stopping by.

  Jaden released a sigh of relief as soon as he heard the man’s buggy leaving the driveway.

  Martha turned, her look apologetic. “I didn’t know he would be stopping by.”

  “Who is he?”

  “Do you remember my friend Amy? You met her at the wedding. Titus is her cousin.”

  “I see.” He eyed her carefully. “And he’s obviously interested in you.”

  “Jah. He needs a mamm for his kinner.” She admitted.

  “I want to marry you,” he blurted out.

  Her gaze zeroed in on him. “What?”

  “I mean…don’t marry him. Marry me.” He took her hand in his.

  “I wasn’t…” She shook her head. “Jaden. I don’t…do you really mean that?”

  “I don’t mean right now, but eventually. Please don’t marry him.”

  “Jaden, I never planned to marry Titus.”

  “You didn’t? You don’t?”

  “Nee. And if I ever did consider marrying anyone, it would be you. But…” Her hand slipped out of his.

  Worry furrowed his brow. “What?”

  “I need to know. Why did you run away after kissing me the other day?”

  Ach. He didn’t want to share everything with Martha. At least, not yet. Not while their relationship was so fragile. Perhaps a half-truth would suffice? “I didn’t want to ruin the friendship we had.”

  She frowned. “I don’t think that’s what it was. You can be honest with me, Jaden.” Her gaze pierced his. How was it that she could see right through him?

  “Jah, you’re right. There’s more to it. But I’m not ready to talk about it with you yet.”

  “Okay.” She placed her hand on his upper arm. “Let me know when you are. I want to be there for you.”

  He nodded. “Denki.” Ach, he loved this woman! “I did want to talk to you about something, though. Something important.”

  “Should we sit down?” She gestured toward the kitchen. “The corn can wait a few minutes, ain’t not?”

  “Jah.” He followed her into the main room, then sat on the rocking chair opposite her. “I actually have a couple of things I’d like to talk about. First, I would like to help out in your classroom this week. That is, if you’ll have me still.”

  “Of course. We would love to have you in the class.” Her smile nearly stole his breath away.

  “Gut.” He glanced up. “Do you know Sammy Eicher?”

  Her browed creased.

  “He’s Mike Eicher’s grossdawdi.”

  She nodded once. “I think I might have met him one time. He sounds familiar, but I’m not sure.”

  “Well, he’s a very wise man, to my thinking. He knows a lot about Der Herr and Gott’s Word. I guess you can say he’s been mentoring me. Anyhow, he shared some Bible verses with me that really spoke to my heart. Do you…do you know what the Gospel is?”

  “The Gospel? Do you mean the Bible?”

  “Nee. I mean about Jesus Christ, and how He died for our sins and rose again.”

  “I know about it, jah.”

  “Well, I asked Jesus to save me. I’ve been born again. For real.”

  “That’s what happens when you’re baptized in the church, ain’t not?”

  “Nee.” He shook his head. “This is different.”

  “I don’t think I understand.”

  “I have a relationship with Gott now. He lives inside my heart.”

  Martha frowned. “I don’t know what you mean by that. How can Gott live inside a person?”

  “I’m not sure and certain how it all works, I just know that it does.”

  “How do you know? How can you know something like that?”

  “Because He tells me what to do and what not to do. Like, if I’m about to do something that goes against His Word, I get a little nudge inside. He tells me that I shouldn’t do it. And then if it’s something right to do, He nudges me to do it.”

  Martha laughed.

  “No, really. Like that guy, Titus.” Jaden pointed toward the door. “I wanted to tell him to go take a hike and stay away from my girl. Instead, something inside told me I needed to be civil and kind. It wasn’t easy.”

  She giggled.

  “But when I read the Bible, the words seem to jump out at me. I’m trying to commit the verses to memory, because that’s what we’re supposed to do. That’s one I already remembered. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.”

  “That sounds amazing.”

  “It is, for sure. Do you want to meet Sammy?”

  She shrugged. “Jah, sure. Or, you don’t mean right now?”

  “Nee. But someday.”

  “Okay.” Her hands fidgeted. Was she nervous? “Are you ready for corn?”

  “Sure. That sounds gut. But when we’re done, I’d like to see that quilt you’re working on.”

  Her cheeks darkened. “Uh, it’s not done yet.”

  “That’s okay. I didn’t think it was.”

  She nodded slowly. “Jah, okay then.”

  She brought the corn to the table.

  “Did you try some yet?”

  “Nee, I was waiting to have some with you.”

  “What time is your family coming back?” He glanced toward the window.

  “I imagine around four or five.”

  Jaden shot up from his seat and joined her near the stove. He stood behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. “Gut.” He murmured in her ear.

  She turned in his arms and stared up at him. “Why?”

  He took two steps backward, pulling her with him, and lifted an eyebrow. “I think you know why.”

  She swallowed, then her gaze flicked to his lips.

  It was all the invitation he needed. Instead of meeting her lips, his mouth went to her earlobe, then her neck.

  “Ach, Jaden.” Was she trembling?

  He finally brought his lips down to slowly, gently taste hers. She grasped his vest, drawing him closer. He deepened the kiss, delighting that she returned his kisses with equal fervor. Exhilaration seemed to zing through every fiber of his being. Every second with Martha was more wunderbaar than the one before. Ach, but he desired more. Much more. More than he should.

  Casting down imaginations and bringing every thought in obedience…

  Ach, why now? He complained.

  He grumbled and forced himself away, although all he wanted to do was hold Martha in his arms. To indulge in the
verboten. And if he’d read her actions correctly, he was quite certain she desired the same thing. Which isn’t gut, he reprimanded himself. He shouldn’t be causing Martha to sin.

  Sorry, Gott.

  “Let’s…” He waited for his pulse to slow. “Have some corn now?” He hadn’t meant for his voice to squeak.

  Martha laughed. “Jah, I think corn is a gut idea.”

  FIFTEEN

  Martha never dreamed she’d ever feel this way about a man. She was certain love was only for other people. But not her. Now that Jaden had stepped into her life, though, it seemed like loving Jaden—creating a life, a home with him—was all she could dream about.

  He was the most handsome, most wunderbaar man she’d ever met.

  “What was your life like back in Pennsylvania?”

  “I think you already know from what I wrote in my letters.”

  “Nee. I don’t mean that. I meant the time from when my family left Pennsylvania until we reconnected.”

  He shook his head. A frown etched on his face. “I don’t think you want to know.”

  “Of course, I do. I want to know everything about you.”

  He seemed to study her. “Even the ugly parts?”

  “If it’s part of your story, part of who you are, then yes.”

  “Jah, okay. If you really want to know.” He blew out a breath. “After what happened with Josiah, when we thought he died, and several families left, then my life kind of went downhill.”

  “Ach, I’m sorry.”

  “It wasn’t your fault.”

  “What happened?”

  “I just…” He stared off into the distance. “I met some people, I don’t know if you could call them friends, but I thought so at the time. They were older than me and Englisch, so I thought they were cool. Anyway, they got me into things I wish I’d never known about. Then I eventually decided to distance myself from them, because I didn’t like who I’d become, and sunk into a depression of sorts. Not many people knew about it. My folks may have had a vague idea, but it was mostly my own private pain.”

  Her hand covered his.

  “I was seriously considering leaving the Amish life behind. I felt stuck, like my life wasn’t going anywhere. You know what I mean?”

  “Jah, I think so.” She squeezed his hand. “What made you change your mind?”

  “Josiah. Or maybe Bailey, I don’t know. But for sure, it was Gott working.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, about that time when I was really thinking of leaving, a letter came for Josiah from Bailey. You know, he was Englisch at the time. But when I gave the letter to him, I told him that I’d been thinking of jumping the fence. He’d said something to me. He said that I should consider if that was what I really wanted to do. Because if I did leave, my life would never be the same again. And I asked if that was a gut thing or a bad thing. He told me it was both. And I began wondering if it was really worth it. Leaving my parents and family behind…

  “For the most part, I’d already overcome my depression, but I was bored with life. So I decided to stick it out to see what might lie up ahead. I threw myself into work so I didn’t have much time to think about my restlessness. I figured there must be something waiting for me in the future.”

  She pressed her lips together. “Did you ever have an aldi?”

  “Nee, not really. I drove a couple of girls home, but I never felt a real interest in them. Not until I reconnected with you.” He smiled, then kissed the top of her nose.

  “And now…you’re happy?”

  “Ach, Martha. I never dreamed I could be this content. And, jah, part of it is being with you. But finding Gott has made everything that’s happened in my life worth it. I know that life won’t ever be perfect, and I’m not expecting it to be. But, I know that whatever happens, I have Der Herr to help me through it now. And that makes all the difference in the world.”

  She snuggled close to him, loving the feeling of his arms around her. “I’m glad.”

  “Me too.” He leaned down and met her lips. “Will you show me your quilt now?”

  “Yeah, sure.” She stood from the couch and reached for his hand to pull him up. Instead, he pulled her back down onto his lap and kissed her ever so sweetly. Ach, she would give this man the world if he asked and it was in the power of her hands to do so.

  “I couldn’t resist.” He grinned, a hint of mischief sparkling in his eyes. “Kumm, let’s go see your quilt.”

  Martha led the way to the dawdi haus where she and Mamm had set up their quilting frames. When her bruder Paul moved out, they’d moved them in. The main room was the perfect place, really, since they didn’t need to be moved and they weren’t in the way. The lone bedroom remained furnished, but unused.

  “This one is mine.” She touched her quilt and attempted a demure smile. She found it difficult to remain humble when it was turning out so wunderbaar.

  “Ach, you’re making it in my favorite pattern?” His eyes widened.

  She ducked her head. “Jah.”

  “And my favorite colors?”

  She nodded.

  He studied her, shaking his head. “It’s wunderbaar.”

  “Do you think so?”

  “Ach, jah, it’s perfect.”

  “Gut. Because I was making it for you.”

  “For me? Really? This is for me?”

  “I wanted to do something for you.” She shrugged. “I’d hoped to have it finished before you saw it.”

  “Ach, Martha. This is amazing.” He fingered one of the blue and teal stars. “You’re…well, I don’t really have words for you right now. I mean, to describe how spectacular you are. I can’t believe you’re making this for me.”

  “I hope you like it.”

  “Like it? I’ll cherish it. Ach, the hours you’ve been pouring into this thing.” He enclosed her in his embrace, as though he never wanted to let her go. “I don’t deserve you.”

  “I feel the same way about you.”

  “Nee. I really don’t deserve you.”

  SIXTEEN

  Commotion in the main house drew their attention.

  Jaden glanced toward the door as soon as he pulled his needle through the quilt, a secret smile playing on his lips.

  “Ach, my family must be back.” Martha‘s voice quivered.

  He stood and rounded the corner of the quilt frame, then laid his hand over hers, attempting reassurance. “It’s okay, schatzi,” he whispered.

  She swallowed and nodded. “We should probably go back into the haus. Besides, we maybe shouldn’t have been working in here on the Lord’s day, ain’t not?”

  “It wasn’t all work. We were having fun, ain’t not?” His brow rose a smidgen.

  Her gaze collided with his, and they shared a grin.

  He cleared his throat. “Besides, my mamm never considered quilting on the Lord’s day to be work, but if your folks are against it then we can quit.”

  “We should probably join them, I think.” She stood from her quilt-side perch.

  “Jah, okay. Where should I put my needle and thread? Should I just leave it there? Do you want me to snip it off?”

  “Nee, you can just leave it there.”

  “Maybe we can work on it again after school tomorrow,” he said, clearing his throat.

  “Would you want to?” She stood and walked to the dawdi haus door that connected the two dwellings.

  He followed her through the door into the main house. “Work on the quilt? Sure.”

  “Ach, I didn’t know Jaden was here.” Her mamm’s eyes lit up.

  “Jah.” Nervousness accompanied Martha’s response. “I was…uh…showing him my quilt.”

  Emily exchanged a suspicious look with her older sister, Susan. Nee, surely they couldn’t perceive what they’d been up to. Could they? He swallowed.

  Mamm nodded. “Bailey and Timothy are joining us for supper.”

  “Well, I warmed up plenty of corn. So we can have sandwiches
with it,” Martha suggested.

  “I haven’t seen either of them since I arrived.” Jaden smiled.

  “I know Bailey will be happy to see you,” Emily said. “Did she know you were coming to visit Indiana?”

  “Visit?” He shot a questioning glance at Martha.

  “Ach, I haven’t told them.” Martha admitted.

  “Told us what?” Emily thrust a hand onto her hip.

  “Jaden’s moving to his bruder’s Amish district. He’s going to be the school teacher there next year.” Martha smiled.

  Emily snorted. “You’re pulling one over on us.”

  Martha’s hands lifted. “I’m not. For real. Ask him yourself.”

  Jaden chuckled. “Every word your schweschder said is true.”

  Emily’s jaw dropped. She looked back and forth between the two of them. “So…does this mean…?” A knowing smile lit her countenance.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Martha winked at Jaden, then she turned to her folks. “Jaden and I are stepping out for a walk.”

  “Take your time. Your schweschdern can help put supper on the table. Just be back when Bailey and Timothy arrive.”

  “Okay.” Martha waited by the door while Jaden fetched his hat.

  As soon as they stepped out the door, Jaden laughed with Martha. “I guess we’re giving them something to talk about, ain’t not?”

  “For sure. Goodness, nobody in this family minds their own business. Except Dat, maybe.”

  “I like your dat. He seems very easygoing.”

  “Jah. He’s a lot like you. Or you’re a lot like him, I should say.”

  He lifted his head, allowing the breeze to caress his face. “Where are we going?”

  “I thought we’d walk down by the pond.”

  “That sounds gut. Any fish in there?”

  “I think maybe a few, but Dat and the buwe would go down to the stream to fish.”

  “Does it freeze over in the winter?”

  “Most years, jah. But it never lasts long enough.” There had been a wistfulness to her words.

  “Do you ice skate?”

  “Jah, we play hockey. It’s a lot of fun.”

  He glanced toward the house once they were out of sight, then he reached for her hand. “I’m excited about school tomorrow. What time do you need me to be there?”