Love’s Journey Home (35 page)

“I’ll tell Mary Beth you liked it.” He opened the picnic basket and brought out cold
chicken, bread, and a slab of cheese. “It’s not much, but Abigail and Mary Beth had
their hands full cooking for company.”

“Company?”

Isaac grinned. “Helen and her children came for supper.”

“Indeed. Wunderbaar.” Finally, Helen might have a chance to find new happiness. “I
mean, if you’re happy about it.”

“Who wouldn’t be?” Isaac shrugged, his expression light. “My daed needs companionship
as much as the next person. Someone to talk to about his kids, to help him raise them.”

“Is that all you see marriage as?” She arranged the food on his plate and handed it
to him. “Two people taking care of their children?”

“Nee.” He let the plate hover in the air between them for a few seconds, his dark
brown eyes piercing her. “Do you?”

“I’ve been married before.” She said the words gently, knowing he didn’t need the
reminder, but she did have some experience in this arena. “It’s a balancing act. Time
for your children, time for the house, time for the man you love.”

“Same for the man, I suppose.”

“It is. Both take their responsibilities to heart. One of those responsibilities is
seeing to it that you spend time with your husband. Give him your attention.”

He took a bite of his sandwich and chewed, his face thoughtful. She did the same,
wondering where this conversation would take them. He continued to eat without speaking
until she wondered if she’d said too much. She laid her plate on the blanket, her
appetite gone.

“Don’t you like it? Mary Beth’s bread is good. Not as good as yours, but good.”

“It’s good.” She picked up the plate to show her approval, but she couldn’t have swallowed
another bite. “I’ve eaten Mary Beth’s cooking before, remember?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Does it bother you that I’ve been married before?” The words tumbled out on top of
each other. Relief at getting them out made her legs feel weak. “None of this is new
to me.”

“If it did, do you think I’d be here?”

“It’s one thing to have something in your mind. It’s another to start to see it take
form in front of you, to begin to see how it would be to live it.”

“True. I like what I’m seeing in front of me.” He set his plate next to hers, then
he leaned forward and traced her check with one finger. “I like it very much.”

The rush of heat that roared through Annie made her jerk back. “That’s not what I
meant. I don’t fish for compliments. I’m not a vain girl who needs admirers.”

“I’m sorry.” His smile fled. “I didn’t mean to take liberties. I thought…”

“It’s fine. I’m just a little jumpy.” Forcing herself to breathe, she picked up her
sandwich, then laid it back down. He seemed so sincere. He meant what he said. He
shouldn’t have to apologize for saying something nice about her. “Thank you.”

“Thank you?”

“For the compliment.”

“Do you like what you see?” He leaned in close again, his voice low, husky, his expression
eager yet uncertain. “Annie, do you think you could like me?”

Annie breathed. “I do. I do like you.”

He leaned closer. His warm breath grazed her cheek. His lips touched hers. Only for
a second. Then they brushed against her cheek and he drew away.

“Oh, my.” She dropped her plate, and the sandwich and the chips slid from it and landed
on the blanket. “Oh, sorry.” She scrambled to her knees and began tossing them back
on the plate.

Isaac grabbed her arm. “Stop. Stop. It’s okay. I didn’t mean to fluster you.”

“Yes, you did.” She couldn’t help it. She glared up at him. “You did, Isaac. You know
you did.”

“Is that a bad thing?” He chuckled and pushed back a lock of her hair that had escaped
her kapp with a touch so gentle she barely felt it. “Come on, Annie, was it so bad?”

“Don’t laugh at my expense.”

“I’m not. I’m laughing because the thought of doing that every day for the rest of
my life makes me very happy.” His grin reinforced the words, as did the way his hand
gripped hers. “Do you think you could be kissed by me every day for the rest of your
life? Would you get tired of it?”

“Isaac!”

“I’m sorry. Am I going too fast again?”

“Most definitely, and I think you know it.”

“I can’t help it. That’s how you make me feel.”

Annie forced herself to breathe. She settled back on the blanket. “Don’t do that again.”

“I won’t.”

“You promise?” She didn’t want him kissing her again. Did she? “Tell me you promise.”

“I promise I won’t until you give me leave.”

“Good.” That was what she wanted, exactly what she wanted. “That’s what I want.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“What?” He was infuriating. “What are you talking about?”

“You want me to kiss you again. Now.”

He looked down at her with that smile. She liked his smile. He had nice lips and nice
teeth.
Stop it
. “Have a cookie.” She thrust the cookie at him with a shaking hand. He opened his
mouth and let her stick it between his teeth. “There. Now be quiet and enjoy the scenery.”

He took the cookie and began to chew as he leaned back on one arm, his legs crossed
in front of him. He looked perfectly at ease. Annie, on the other hand, knew she did
not. She dropped her hands into her lap and willed them to stop shaking.
Breathe. In and out
.

Isaac knew too much. He saw too much. And he was right too often for her liking. She
did want him to kiss her again. The idea scared her more than anything she could imagine.
She couldn’t do this again. She couldn’t love a man who might on any given day be
taken from her. She didn’t want to love him.

It scared her too much. The thought that it might be too late scared her even more.

H
elen settled onto the bench next to Annie and Emma. The smaller children had been
left in the charge of the older children. Only adults could attend this community
meeting. Nothing in Emma’s expression told Helen anything. If Thomas had shared his
impressions of Missouri or his recommendations with her, it didn’t show in his fraa’s
face. She looked calm, peaceful, and content. Helen tried for the same, but expectations
that hung in the air made it hard. She squirmed on the hard bench, trying to get comfortable.

“For goodness sake, Helen, stop fussing and sit still.” So Emma did feel the tension.
Helen heard it in her tone and saw it in her expression. “It will be a long evening.”

“What does Thomas say?” Helen leaned closer. “Is he recommending we all go?”

Emma shook her head, but before she could say anything Micah Kelp and the deacons
filed down the aisle between the two sets of benches neatly arranged in Micah’s barn.
He cleared his throat. The soft murmur of conversations died away. “Thomas.”

Thomas stood and went forward. When he turned to face the members of his district,
exhaustion and tension lined his face. He bowed his head for a few seconds, eyes closed,
then raised it. His expression eased. “Tobias, Luke, Thaddeus, Silas, and I spent
ten days in Missouri and Arkansas. We passed some of those days with our brethren
in Seymour and Jamesport as well as some of the smaller communities. We had a good
visit. I’ve been asked to report what we found.”

He went on to say the districts had been friendly and welcoming. Seymour and Jamesport
were the biggest and most well-established of the districts. The communities in Seymour
appeared more conservative, less touched by tourism. “Jamesport is like Bliss Creek,”
he explained. “They have a lot of tourist trade.”

“What about the farming?” Paul Yonkers asked, his face anxious. He shouldn’t have
interrupted, but Helen understood the desire to do so. “What about the land?”

“The communities have been blessed. The weather has been kind to them. The farms do
well.” Thomas’s gaze didn’t waver. “Land is available and reasonably priced.”

“So what you’re saying is it would be a good move for us.” Levi Grable rubbed his
neck with a huge hand. “Do you recommend we go?”

Thomas’s gaze strayed to Emma and then to Helen. She held her breath.
Don’t be silly
. She let it out.

“Tobias, Thaddeus, Luke, Silas, and I agree we should consider starting a district
in one of the smaller towns. Not Jamesport, for sure. Or even Seymour. They’re too
big for us. Some place smaller where we can get our own fresh start.” Thomas spread
his hands, his fingers long, tanned, and callused. “But the decision belongs to all
of us. For me, I would not have us abandon Bliss Creek. It has been a good place to
raise our families and a good place to worship. Not always easy, but then we don’t
require that it be easy, only godly.”

“Well said.” Micah Kelp returned to the front of the room. Thomas took his seat. “I’ve
spoken with these men at length. We agree another trip must be made, this one to look
for tracts of land suitable for our purposes. Farms such as Thomas’s will have to
be sold. I doubt this will be difficult given the discovery of the oil. That will
give us the seed money for the new district.”

“Then we’ll move to Missouri,” Thaddeus said. “All of us?”

“Nee. I have also met with Mayor Haag and the Englisch City Council members at their
request. They wanted us to know their banks are willing to give loans to any members
of our communities in need.” Micah removed his glasses and polished them on his sleeve.
“I told them that would not be necessary. Mayor Haag also said they could help with
the purchase of Thomas’s farm and finding another property for him.”

“That is kind of them.” Thomas said, his voice gruff, but his expression placid. Helen
longed for that kind of serenity. Thomas never wavered. “What did you tell them?”

“To be honest, I suspect their offer stems more from the benefit they receive from
our presence than from a desire to help us. But no matter. I told them we will consider
their offer and we will.” Micah’s gaze floated over the room. “Their offer only serves
to highlight our problem. We do not want to rely on the Englischers in order to stay
here. Mayor Haag has plans. Plans for bus tours and advertising in Englisch magazines.
More Englischers will come to gawk at us. Those with farms that are failing must move
quickly to get this fresh start. I am meeting with those families separately. We will
have the names at our next meeting.”

“What about those of us who are just getting started here?” Isaac stood, his hat in
his hand. Helen couldn’t keep from looking beyond him to Gabriel. Would they go too?
They’d only just arrived, but Gabriel seemed set on fleeing from her and her children.
Her throat ached with the effort to swallow back her emotion. She focused on Isaac,
who gripped his hat so hard his knuckles turned white. “We don’t know yet how our
business will do, and we don’t have crops in the ground yet.”

“You might do well to think of moving before you sink a lot of effort into land that
may not produce and a store that may not do well.” Micah shrugged. “It might be wiser
to move now, but it’s your daed’s choice.”

Helen saw the look on Gabriel’s face. He’d wanted to run since the day they met. He
needed no excuse. His gaze caught hers. He didn’t look away, but his face revealed
nothing. Whatever he’d decided to do, it didn’t involve her.

Annie settled into the rocking chair on the porch. After the stuffy air of Micah’s
barn and the long ride home in the stifling humidity of early August, it surprised
her to find a slight breeze wafting across her face. She leaned into it. The sun had
begun to sink behind the horizon. Noah slept. Everyone slept. Except her. The excited
buzzing of the crowd after the meeting still filled her ears. The somber, yet expectant
looks on the faces of her neighbors danced in her mind’s eye. Their community would
soon fracture and no one seemed worried.

“You’re up late.” Luke shoved open the screen door and trudged barefoot onto the porch.
“You’ll be sorry in the morning when it’s time to make the bread.”

“I know.” She sighed and rocked, letting the familiar motion calm her swirling emotions.
“I’ll go in soon.”