Rebecca Kertz - Her Amish Christmas Sweetheart

Agnes shrugged. “Katie invited us. She saw my mudder at the store.”

The Joshua Beilers lived in another church district. Occasionally, they came to church service in the Zooks’ community, but not often. Peter had met Agnes after a service last year and they’d become instant friends. Agnes was easy to talk with, and her obvious delight in the world was refreshing. She was the complete opposite of Meg, in looks as well as temperament.

Familiar voices in Katie Lapp’s kitchen told him that the Stoltzfus family had entered through the back door of the house.

“Is that Meg?” Agnes asked. “I heard about the accident. How is she?”

He shrugged, pretending indifference. “Fine.”

“Let’s go see.”

“Maybe we should let her get settled in first.”

Agnes met his gaze. “I heard she broke her leg.”

Peter inclined his head. “Ja. She’s on crutches.” He couldn’t forget how she’d looked lying in her hospital bed, bruised, pale and vulnerable.

His brother came into the room, and Peter stared. “Josiah, you came! I haven’t seen you in months.”

Josiah grinned. He had married Nancy King of the Amos Kings, who lived across the road from Samuel and Katie Lapp. The couple had moved after their marriage, and Peter rarely got to see the two of them. “We came in last night. We’re staying with my in-laws. I wanted to surprise Mam and Dat.”

“Have they seen you?”

His brother nodded. “Ja.” He grinned, as if delighted by their parents’ reaction. Josiah’s gaze went to Agnes, who stood silently beside him.

“Sorry,” Peter said to both of them. “Agnes, this is my older brother, Josiah. Josiah, meet Agnes Beiler.”

The two greeted each other warmly. As Agnes turned to have a word with her twin sister, Josiah shot a pointed glance toward her before raising his eyebrows at Peter.

“We’re friends,” Peter said, before he could ask.

Josiah nodded. “I saw Meg Stoltzfus.” He glanced toward the kitchen with concern. “She was in an accident.”

“Ja, Reuben Miller was taking her home from last week’s singing when a car hit his buggy and forced it from the road.”

“Anything serious?” his brother inquired. “I didn’t want to ask.”

“Worst of it is a broken leg.”

“You two getting along yet?”

“We’re...polite.” Peter had told his brother about Meg overhearing their conversation. His brother had understood and been sympathetic. “She’s with Reuben Miller now.”

“And you have Agnes?”

Peter shrugged. “If all goes well.”

“There you are,” a warm female voice said. His brother smiled as his wife, Nancy, approached. “Hallo, Peter.”

“Hallo, Nancy,” he replied with a grin.

“You knew I wouldn’t be far.” Josiah regarded his wife with affection. “Weather’s too chilly to be outside today.”

His brother was lucky to have found a woman to spend his life with, Peter thought.

Elijah, Jedidiah and Jacob Lapp entered the room. “How about a game of baseball?” Elijah suggested. “’Tis cold out, but we’ll be warm soon enough.”

Martha overheard her husband. “You’re going to play baseball outside?” Beside her, his sister Annie pushed Meg’s wheelchair.

“They’d better not play inside,” Annie retorted.

“Why not?” Jed said. “’Tis not raining.”

Elijah’s expression softened as he eyed his pregnant wife. “You’ll stay inside, ja?”

“Why?”

Elijah opened his mouth as if to say something, but quickly shut it again.

“Why should any of us stay inside? We’ll watch from the porch.” Martha addressed Meg. “What do you say? Are you feeling up to watching your cousins smack a baseball around?”

It was clear that Eli didn’t like his wife’s decision. Martha was far along with child, and he was clearly concerned about her. “Martha...”

“I’ll be fine, husband,” she assured him. “Meg?”

“’Tis not like I can stand and watch them,” she said with good humor.

Peter studied her with concern. Meg had only recently been released from the hospital. The doctor was treating her with antibiotics to help her lungs stay clear. Would the cold air be bad for her? Wouldn’t it be better if she remained inside?

His brother-in-law, Jacob, frowned as he studied his cousin. “Meg, I’ll get a blanket for you.” He glanced at the other women. “I think you all should have blankets.”

“Gut thinking.” Annie beamed at her husband. “And I’ll make us some hot tea.”

“Peter?” Jedidiah smiled. “You playing?”

Peter glanced at Agnes, who returned his gaze. “I’ll play for a while.”

“I can’t play long,” Noah Lapp, another brother, said as he entered the room. “Food’s almost ready.”

The men avoided the kitchen entrance and left via the front door of the farmhouse. As they stepped outside, Peter caught sight of the younger Lapp brothers, Isaac, Daniel and Joseph, on the front lawn. Joseph held a ball and bat. Joshua and John King, neighboring boys from across the road, grinned as they all gathered on the dormant grass.

“Who wants to be a team captain?” Peter asked.

There was a good-natured debate as it was decided that Jedidiah and Noah would be captains with the privilege of choosing their teammates. Jedidiah chose Jacob, Peter, Daniel and Joshua. Noah’s team was Elijah; Jacob’s fraternal twin, Isaac; Joseph and John.

Playing in the outfield first, Peter saw the women emerge from the house and make themselves comfortable on the Lapps’ covered front porch. Annie pushed Meg close to the rail, then took the chair next to her. Noah’s wife, Rachel, along with Martha and Agnes, joined them, each settling in a rocking chair. Meg remained in her wheelchair with a blanket across her lap.

Peter noted that Agnes sat on the opposite side of the porch from them. She smiled and waved, and he nodded before he returned his attention to the game in time to catch a fly ball hit by Isaac. Jedidiah and his teammates cheered, as did Agnes and Annie.

The game continued. Jedidiah’s team exchanged places with Peter, who went up to bat. As he waited for his turn at the plate, Peter glanced toward the porch and captured Meg’s gaze. She stared at him without once looking away. His heart beat wildly as he refocused his attention on the game.

“Peter!” Jedidiah called from first base, where he’d landed safely. “You’re up!”

He nodded, picked up the bat and slammed the ball across the yard, sending Jedidiah to second base and Jacob to third, before they both continued all the way home.

Katie Lapp stepped outside with her granddaughter Susanna on her hip and her grandson EJ standing next to her. “Food is ready!”

The game ended with a difference of opinion on which team had won, since the score was even, but Jedidiah’s team didn’t get to finish the inning. The men climbed the porch steps as the women turned to head inside. Martha and Elijah went in together. Agnes chatted with her sister Alice, who stood in the entryway and held the door open until Jedidiah grabbed hold of it. Everyone had entered the house except for Jacob, Annie, Meg and Peter.

“Peter,” Annie said. “Will you push Meg’s chair inside?”

“Ja.” He and Meg gazed at each other. Her eyes widened slightly and her skin flushed red as he turned her chair toward the door.

“You don’t have to help me,” she said. “I can stand.”

“Like you did when you arrived earlier?” he asked as he tipped up the front wheels of the chair and lifted it over the threshold. “Does it bother you to have me help you? You just got out of the hospital, Meg,” he said, his voice gruff. “You shouldn’t take chances.”