A Gift of Grace (6 page)

“You might like it here.” Lindsay glared at her. “Just give it a chance. That’s all I ask.”

Her sister shook her head. “When did you suddenly become my big sister?”

“I was just thinking the same thing a little while ago.” Lindsay gave her sister a quick hug. “Try not to be so negative, and go easy on Aunt Rebecca. We’re her first and only kids.”

Her sister sighed. “Fine. But I
will
go back to school somehow. Rebecca isn’t going to hold me back.
Ever
.”

Lindsay nodded. She didn’t expect any more than that from her stubborn older sister.

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S
aturday night, Rebecca yanked a chocolate oatmeal cake from the oven to serve for dessert after their roasted chicken meal. Voices speaking Pennsylvania Dutch swirled around her. She placed the cake on the counter to cool and spun to face the other female members of the Kauffman family fluttering around her kitchen.

Her mother-in-law sidled up next to her and examined the cake. “Oh, Rebecca, you’ve outdone yourself.” Elizabeth inhaled deeply. “That smells heavenly.”

“
Danki
.” Rebecca lifted her glass of iced tea and took a long gulp. “I guess the men are converging at the barn,
ya
?”

“Don’t they always?” Kathryn, the oldest of Daniel’s three sisters, asked while cutting a piece of chocolate cake. “They have their secret male talk away from our curious ears.”

“I’m sure all they talk about are their horses and the weather,” Beth Anne said, while placing a plate full of crullers on the counter.

“Beth Anne, why are you leaving the crullers over there?” Elizabeth asked her namesake. “Bring them here, so we can enjoy them with the rest of our lovely desserts.” She gestured toward the goodies lining the table.

“I thought we’d give them to the men,” Beth Anne said with a grin. “They didn’t come out quite right. The men can enjoy the dry crullers while we keep the moist cakes to ourselves.”

The women burst into cackles. Seven of Rebecca’s young nieces and nephews chased each other through the kitchen, grabbing handfuls of butterscotch cookies on their way out.

Elizabeth patted Rebecca’s back. “If that isn’t the highest compliment of your cooking, Rebecca, I don’t know what is.”

“
Ya
, it is.” Rebecca smiled. She adored all of her nieces and nephews, but she always felt a pang of regret for not being able to give Daniel a child of his own.

Footsteps pounded down the hallway and Sarah Troyer, Daniel’s youngest sister, burst into the kitchen. “
Mamm! Mamm!
” Sarah leaned on the counter, taking deep breaths.

“Sarah Rose!” Her mother rushed over and looped her arm around her youngest child’s shoulders. “Are you okay?”

“
Ya
.” The blonde beamed, her blue eyes sparking in the light of the kerosene lamps. “I’m wonderful
gut
!”

Rebecca wiped her hands on a rag. “
Wie geht’s?
”

Sarah’s eyes filled with tears. “Peter and I are going to have a baby!”

“Sarah Rose!” Elizabeth clapped her hands and then pulled her daughter into her arms. “Oh, Sarah Rose. You’re going to be a
mutter
.”

“
Ya!
” Sarah squeezed her eyes closed and bit her lip. “Can you believe it? The Lord has blessed Peter and me.”

“Oh, daughter.” Elizabeth framed Sarah’s face in her hands. “My heart is bursting with joy for you!”

Rebecca swallowed, fighting tears of joy mixed with a stab of envy. Although she was happy for Sarah and Peter, the news meant that Rebecca and Daniel would be the only married Kauffman offspring without children. Perhaps not children of her own—but they now had Jessica and Lindsay. Their home would finally be blessed with children.

“Sarah Rose is going to have a baby!” Elizabeth swiped the tears splattering her pink cheeks. “My baby’s going to be a
mutter
.”

“Oh, sister!” Kathryn exclaimed.

“You’re gonna be a
mamm
!” Beth Anne added.

While the sisters exchanged hugs, Rebecca forced a smile, wishing her twinge of jealousy would dissipate. She’d long ago accepted the doctors’ assessment that she couldn’t conceive. Yet, sometimes the knowledge nipped at her.

She mentally berated herself for her negativity.
Stop, Rebecca! The baby is a wonderful blessing to our family
.

Her mother-in-law squeezed Rebecca’s hand as if reading her thoughts. “The Lord has plans for you and Daniel,” she whispered. “You’ll see. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Remember the Scripture Romans 12:12—‘Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.’ ”

“
Ya
.” Rebecca smiled. She loved when Elizabeth recited that verse. “I know.”

While Sarah and her sisters continued to hug and cry joyful tears, Rebecca silently prayed Sarah would have a happy, healthy pregnancy.

Rebecca scanned the kitchen for her nieces. Lindsay had stopped in earlier to see what Rebecca was baking, but she’d disappeared soon after. She wondered if Jessica had ever left the confines of her room.

Rebecca stepped over to her mother-in-law and touched her hand. “I’m going to go check on the girls.”

Elizabeth patted her hand. “Don’t be too long.”

“I promise I won’t.” Rebecca motioned toward the living room. “I just want to be sure they’re okay. We have such a large family, and it’s a huge adjustment getting to know them all.”

Stepping into the living room, Rebecca spotted Lindsay on the floor surrounded by several of Rebecca’s young nieces and nephews. A smile formed on Rebecca’s lips. She, too, had loved playing with the little children in the community when she was a teenager. When she was growing up, the best part of friendly visits was spending time with the children.

Rebecca couldn’t help but think that she and Lindsay were very much alike. Perhaps her younger niece would adjust to this life. She couldn’t help but wonder if Grace also had seen this potential in Lindsay. Maybe that was part of the reason why Grace had wanted her girls to live with Rebecca and not Trisha.

Lindsay’s gaze met Rebecca’s, and the girl smiled, causing Rebecca’s heart to swell with hope. Oh how she loved getting to know her nieces and having them with her.

If only she could get through to Jessica. She needed to find a way to get that girl to open up and give Rebecca a chance.

The front door creaked open, wrenching Rebecca from her thoughts. Daniel’s older brother Robert and his family filed in.

“
Wie geht’s?
” Rebecca greeted Robert and hugged his wife, Sadie.

“
Gut
.
Danki
.” Sadie smiled. “Do I smell
Blitzkuchen
?”

“
Ya
.” Rebecca laughed. “Please go help yourself. It should be cool enough to cut.”

While Robert, Sadie, and their seven children headed into the kitchen, Rebecca gazed at fifteen-year-old Katie near the back of the line, and an idea flashed in her mind. Since Katie had always been such a sweet, thoughtful girl, maybe she would be able to get through to Jessica. Katie could be the friend Jessica craved.

“Katie!” she called.

“
Ya?
” Katie possessed the same Kauffman blue eyes and blonde hair as Daniel and the rest of his siblings.

“Would you like to meet your new cousin?” Rebecca asked. “She’s your age.”

“
Ya
.” Katie’s eyes lit up.

Rebecca led her up the stairs and down the hall to Jessica’s room, where they found her laying on her bed with her ear buds stuck in her ears and her feet bouncing in time to music only she could hear. Her eyes were closed and she hummed to herself.

Katie gave Rebecca a sideways glance, her eyes filled with surprise. “She’s English?”

“
Ya
.” Rebecca nodded. “Her mother was my sister. She left our community many years ago and married an English man.”

“Oh.” Katie turned back to Jessica, her eyebrows knitted with suspicion.

Despite Katie’s apprehension, Rebecca held on to a glimmer of hope that the girls could somehow become friends. Taking a deep breath, Rebecca touched Jessica’s foot, and the girl jumped.

Popping up to a sitting position, Jessica yanked out the ear buds and stared at Rebecca, her brown eyes wide with surprise. “Oh, hi. I didn’t hear you come in.” She smoothed her hair and glanced at Katie.

“Hi.” Katie gave a tentative wave.

“Jessica, this is my niece, Katie Kauffman. Her father is Daniel’s older brother, Robert.” Rebecca gestured between the girls. “And Katie, this is my niece Jessica Bedford. I thought you girls might like to chat, since you’re the same age.”

“Oh. Cool.” Jessica crossed her legs and patted the thighs of her jeans. She gestured toward the end of bed. “Have a seat, Katie.”

“Okay,” Katie said, her voice soft and unsure. She glanced around the room, scanning the sea of photos. She pointed to a portrait of Jessica’s parents on their wedding day. “Who’s that?”

“My mom and dad on their wedding day.” Jessica rose, dropping her iPod on the bed.

Rebecca smiled. The girls were at least talking.
Wunderbar!
She slowly backed out of the room, leaving the girls to get to know each other. While heading down the hall, she said a prayer that Katie would break down the wall Jessica had built around her heart the day her parents died.

Jessica watched Katie stand by the dresser and examine her parents’ wedding portrait. Clad in the same Plain garb as Rebecca, Katie was the opposite of Jessica, who wore her favorite low-rider jeans and two form-fitting T-shirts, one over the other. How on earth did Rebecca expect these two opposites to get along? What could they possibly find to talk about besides the weather?

“You look just like your
mamm
,” Katie said.

Jessica fingered her mother’s wedding ring hanging from the chain around her neck. “Thanks,” she whispered.

“It’s true.” Katie met her gaze and smiled. “Your
mamm
is Rebecca’s sister?”

“Yeah.” Jessica sank onto the edge of the bed. “Her older sister.”

Katie turned back to the photograph. “I see it. They have the same eyes and the same smile. Very beautiful.”

Thoughts of her mother flooded Jessica, causing a lump to swell in her throat. She cleared her throat, hoping to suppress threatening tears.

“I heard your parents died in an accident,” Katie said. “I’m so very sorry. I can’t imagine the sadness you and your sister have endured by losing both of your parents.”

The girl’s voice was soft and full of compassion, wrenching something deep in Jessica’s soul. Knowing she would dissolve in tears, she didn’t want to discuss her parents and relive the memories of the night they died. Therefore, she needed to find a way to change the subject quickly.

“So, you’re fifteen?” Jessica asked, her voice wavering with the remnants of the guilt brought on by the memories.

“
Ya
.” Katie fingered the ties of her prayer
Kapp
.

Jessica leaned back against the headboard. “Rebecca said kids here don’t go to school beyond age fourteen. What do you do all day?” She patted the edge of the bed, and Katie lowered herself onto it.

“Oh, I stay busy.” Katie nodded with emphasis. “My
dat
runs our dairy farm, and there’s plenty to do. I help my
mamm
tend to my five younger siblings, and I also help make quilts, which we sell at the market.”

“Five younger siblings?” Jessica shook her head in disbelief. “Wow. I thought one younger sister was a lot.”

“I’m the second oldest to my brother Samuel. Most families have between six and ten children.”

“Ten?” Jessica gasped. “That’s incredible.”

Katie shrugged. “It’s our way I guess. And what did you do before you came here? You went to school?”

“Yeah. I was a sophomore in high school.” Jessica sighed. “I wanted to graduate with my class in two years and then go to college.” She frowned. “But now I can’t. I’m going to work in Daniel’s furniture store as the bookkeeper.”

“That’s not so bad.” Katie frowned in response. “It’s better than being stuck at home doing laundry and taking care of kids. I love my family, of course, but sometimes I wish I could do some work outside the house.”

Jessica nodded. She hadn’t thought about it that way. It could be worse.

She studied Katie’s pretty face. Her skin was flawless. Jessica would bet Katie would be photogenic. She’d love to fish out her makeup bag from the remaining unpacked boxes and experiment with colors to bring our Katie’s gorgeous blue eyes.

Jessica pointed toward Katie. “You’d look fantastic with a little eyeliner and lipstick.”

Katie blushed. “Oh, we’re not allowed to wear makeup. Vanity is a sin.”

“It’s a shame. You have a fabulous complexion.”

“
Danki
.” Katie’s gaze found the iPod. “What’s that?”