Rebecca Kertz - Noah's Sweetheart

“Doesn’t Jedidiah need help moving the furniture?”

“We finished in the house, Mam.”

“Then go check with your vadder. I’m sure he has something for his wild son to do.” But Katie’s tone had become soft, affectionate. It was clear that she loved him.

“I only wanted a piece of pie.”

“Pie for Sunday,” little Rose Ann said firmly.

Noah flashed the little girl a bright smile. “Right you are, then, Rosie.” He lowered his voice. “We just wanted one little piece, didn’t we?”

Rose Ann grinned and nodded. “Just one piece.”

“I guess I had better find something to do before the pie begs me to grab a bite of it.” And Noah left, taking some of the fresh air that had come in with him.

“Charlotte, he will be a handful, that one,” Sarah said.

Charlotte nodded, but her eyes held warmth and something like affection...or more. “Noah Lapp is a man all to his own.”

Rachel, listening to the exchange, felt a little knot form in her stomach. She had to avoid him. He was Charlotte’s special friend—not hers. Something she couldn’t—mustn’t—forget.

She’d been amazed by Noah’s ability to make a small child feel special. She had seen him come in and pour himself a glass of water from a pitcher. The last thing he’d seemed to want was a piece of chocolate-cream pie, but he had heard the exchange between little Rose Ann and her mother.

He was a special man. No, I mustn’t think about him! She felt a twinge of guilt. There were reasons for her to forget Noah Lapp, and it was more than just his being her cousin Charlotte’s friend. They might not be courting yet, but no doubt they would be soon. And wasn’t that reason enough itself? The two were more than comfortable with each other. Just the way she and Abraham had been when they’d begun courting. She fought back mixed emotions. There were other reasons not to become involved with a man again—reasons she wasn’t ready to ponder too deeply.

The women began to disperse to different areas of the house, where they would work to give the rooms a thorough cleaning. Katie accepted their help with silent gratitude. Rachel approached to introduce herself, and Katie placed her arm around Rachel’s shoulder as she led her into the large front room.

“I have heard much about you, Rachel,” Noah’s mother said pleasantly. “You like the new school?”

Rachel beamed. “Ja. Samuel and your sons have done a gut job.”

“You will have a lot of children in class.” Katie walked through the room, checking that all was in order.

“Will I have some of your sons?”

“Ja. You will have Daniel and Joseph, my two youngest sons.”

“I look forward to having them in school.”

A baby cried from above, but was instantly silent. Katie’s expression was soft. “That is Hannah, my baby daughter. She has been napping. Someone must have picked her up.” She seemed unconcerned about who had seen to her daughter. Unlike the Englishers, the Amish cared for their neighbors and their community and were always willing to lend a hand.

Katie straightened a framed embroidered wall-hanging. On it, the Lapp family tree was depicted. Rachel saw Katie and Samuel and all their children: Jedidiah, Noah, Jacob, Elijah, Isaac, Daniel, Joseph, and little Hannah. It was a lovely piece of stitchery.

Noah’s mother studied the family tree for a moment before turning slowly to capture Rachel’s gaze. “Mae and I are close, almost as close as sisters.”

Rachel waited, sensing the woman had something to say.

“Rachel, I hope you can begin a new life in Happiness.” She glanced back at the frame on the wall. “It is sometimes difficult to start over,” she said. “Are you doing well?” Her brown eyes found and steadily held Rachel’s attention.

“Ja. Everyone has been welcoming.”

Katie smiled. “Gut. That is how it should be.” She seemed to hesitate a moment. “You are feeling well?”

Rachel frowned, uncertain of what Katie meant. “I am fine.”

“Your accident. I read about it in The Budget.”

She must have looked upset, because Katie patted her arm. “No one knows but you, me and your aunt Mae. It is my relationship with Mae that made me understand what happened.”

How much did she know? Rachel wondered fearfully.

“You spent weeks in the hospital.”

Rachel nodded. “I was walking out with Abraham Beiler. We were in his courting buggy with my brother Moses as chaperone. It was winter and the road was icy. We were managing fine until a car came speeding around the bend and forced us off the road. I was on the right side and I fell into an ice-water-filled ditch. The buggy fell on top of me. Abraham and Moses were injured only slightly. I was hurt the worst.”

Katie’s eyes softened with sympathy. “It must have been terrible.”

“Ja. It was a dark time, but I had the Lord to guide me until the darkness lifted.” If it hadn’t been for her faith in God, she would never have survived her injuries and the time that followed.

“And Abraham?” Katie waited as if she already knew but wanted to hear Rachel’s version.

“He decided that I was not the girl for him. He began courting Emma Mast, my best friend, before I even got out of the hospital. They were married in September.” Only six months after he’d asked to court her...and not Emma. They hadn’t even waited until the time most couples married in their Ohio Amish community.

“It must have been awful for you,” Katie said. “But I can see that you are well and doing fine. You are a schoolteacher and in our village of Happiness! I think you will like it here, Rachel. The Lord works in ways we can’t always understand, but I have a feeling that you were meant to come here...that Happiness was God’s plan for you all along.”

Rachel could only nod. “Katie—”

“I will tell no one of what happened to you in Millersburg, Rachel. Your secret is safe with me.” She gestured toward the door to the kitchen. “Let’s have a cup of tea. If we don’t stand watch, there may be no pies and cakes for Sunday. My sons are big eaters.”

Relieved at the change of subject, Rachel gladly accompanied Katie Lapp into the kitchen, where two neighbor women were rearranging Sunday’s desserts.

“Shall we put this in the refrigerator?” Agnes Troyer asked of Rachel’s chocolate-cream pie.

“Ja, it will keep better,” Katie said.

“I’ll take it,” Rachel offered, eager for a few moments alone after her heart-to-heart talk with her aunt’s friend Katie. She picked up the pie and went into the other room, where a gas refrigerator and separate gas freezer were located. She opened the refrigerator door, her hands shaking slightly as she rearranged a few items to make room for the pie. When the pie had its own place, she shut the refrigerator door and leaned against it. Her heart was beating rapidly. There was a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t like to remember the accident that had changed her life and taken away her sweetheart.

Thank You, Lord. I praise You, Lord, for all Your goodness and grace. Thank You for not allowing anyone to realize just how much the accident changed me. Thank You for being there whenever I need You.

She stood for a moment, fighting tears, reining in her emotions. Upon hearing laughter from within the kitchen, Rachel straightened. She wiped her eyes, pulled herself together and went back to rejoin the others to ask what she could do to help.

Chapter Four

Noah stood on the front porch of the Lapp family farmhouse, watching as neighbors and friends drove their horses into the yard and parked in line with the other gray family buggies. All of the male Samuel Lapps—from their father Samuel to his youngest son, Joseph—were dressed in their black Sunday best. They stood, offering greetings and handshakes as the Amish men from other households joined them on the porch, while the women bustled into the house to join Katie in the kitchen.