The Amish Widow (Amish Romance Mystery) (Amish Secret Widows' Society Book 1) (2 page)

“I forgot to give this to the lady. My phone number, in case she changes her mind about selling.” He looked directly at Emma. “I’m offering top dollar and I’ll pay more than anyone else.”

Wil snatched the card from his hands. “Don’t ever jump out at buggy like that again. Do you hear me?”

The man nodded, but it did not stop him from repeating, “I’ll pay more than anyone else.” The man backed away, stepping in the way of another buggy before scampering off the road.

Emma put her hand over her mouth and stifled a giggle at the man’s antics.

“That man is a vulture.” Wil threw himself back heavily into the buggy seat and handed her the man’s card. “Here, not that you’ll ever need it.”

“Why not?” She took the card and ran her eyes over the gold script writing.

Wil drove the horse forward and shot a glance at Emma. “You’d never sell, would you?”

“I haven’t thought about it.” It was true; she hadn’t thought about it. The reason that she had not thought about it was that there was no reason to sell. Even without Levi’s weekly wage coming in, the monthly lease from Henry Pluver was enough for her to live on. She would not have to go out and work.
Gott
had blessed her in that way. She knew that both Silvie and Maureen had to find work when they lost their husbands.

“I don’t want you to ever leave Levi’s farm, but let me know if you ever want to sell and I’ll buy it from you.”

Emma smiled politely as she mumbled a ‘yes’. She didn’t even know if Wil would be able to raise enough money to buy the farm. Wil fancied himself as an entrepreneur with his hands in lots of businesses, which Levi had told her in confidence, never made any money. Wil owned the farm next to Emma, but just like Levi had, he leased it out to Henry Pluver to raise wheat crops, while Wil chased income from other sources.

Chapter 2.

Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished:

but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

Proverbs 13:11

It had been one week since the funeral and that’s all it took – one week for Emma to find out that she was not having a
boppli.
Emma wondered if her life would get better; if not, she’d rather go home to be with the Lord now, than carry on in this life. She was all alone in the big
haus
that Levi had built for them, alone with memories of him and thoughts of what their life might have been.

Still in bed, Emma pulled her robe over her shoulders and looked at the rain beating against the window. If Levi were alive she would be sipping hot
kaffe
right now instead of trying to keep warm alone. Levi had always brought her
kaffe
in bed every morning since she wasn’t an early morning person.

Levi was such a dear husband; he was one of a kind. She knew of no other Amish
mann
who looked after their
fraa
as well as Levi had. What other Amish
mann
would cook breakfast for their wives before they left for work? A smile crossed Emma’s face. Mostly, it was the women who got up early to look after their men-folk. Emma never told anyone how good Wil was to her, just in case she was thought of as a lazy and hopeless
fraa.
She was sure Levi liked doing things for her; it seemed to make him happy.

What reason did Emma have to get out of bed? She could think of a few. The chickens needed feeding and so did all the other animals; the horse and the cats. If it weren’t for the animals relying on her, she would surely stay in bed all day; as it was, she would stay in bed as long as she possibly could. Surely the animals wouldn’t mind getting fed a little later today, seeing that it was raining. She pulled the warmth of her robe tighter around her shoulders and sank back under the covers while she listened to the rain beating against the windowpane.

The next thing that Emma was aware of was a steady rhythmical beat. Once she realized it wasn’t her heart beating she knew that someone was pounding on her front door.

“Emma, Emma.”

She knew the voice belonged to Wil, but what was the urgency? She pulled the robe around her, made her way down the stairs and opened the door just slightly, so he would not see her in her state of undress. “Wil?”

“Emma, it’s Sunday.” Wil’s thick, dark hair was windswept and fell about his face.

Emma had to stop herself from reaching out a hand to straighten his hair. “Oh, is it the second Sunday already?” Emma hoped she didn’t look too much of a fright, since she’d just gotten straight out of bed.

“
Jah
, it is. Are you coming to the gathering together? I don’t see your buggy out front.”

“
Nee
, I mean, I want to. Am I late?”

“I’ll take you there, to save you hitching your buggy.” He glanced at her bathrobe that she was doing her best to hide behind the door. “How long will it take you to get ready?”

“
Nee
, I don’t think I can go; I haven’t fed the animals yet.” Emma shut her eyes tightly. Why was it so hard to carry on with simple daily chores? Well, it was morning and she was never
gut
at mornings; maybe she’d be better later in the day.

“You get ready and I’ll feed them,” Wil kindly offered.

Emma looked up into his face, groggy from still being half asleep.

“Well? Go on,” Wil told her before he turned and strode toward the barn leaving her staring after him.

She closed the door and raced up the stairs to get dressed. Maybe the meeting would take her mind off things and make her feel better.
Jah
, getting out of the
haus
and talking to people would be just what she needs.

* * *

The first person who approached her as she got out of the buggy was Maureen. After they exchanged greetings, Maureen said, “Emma, it might be too soon for you, but Silvie and I get together with Ettie and Elsa-May and we have - sort of have, a little group.” Maureen’s voice lowered. “A widows’ group. We don’t talk about morbid things; it’s not like that. We just get together as a group of friends because we’re all widowed. Do you think you’d like that?”

“I’d really love to come,
denke
.” Emma wondered why this was the first time she heard of Maureen meeting with the other widows. Emma thought she knew everything about Maureen – apparently she was wrong.

“Wednesday night at Elsa-May and Ettie’s
haus
then. That’s the next time we’re meeting.”

“Okay, I’ll be there.”

Wil had already gone ahead toward the crowd, which Emma was thankful for. No doubt he would have something to say about her meeting with the group of widows. Now, he’d never have to know.
It’s none of his concern anyway,
Emma thought. Wil had become overprotective of her in the last week, calling in on her every day and trying to fix things around the
haus
, things that didn’t even need fixing. He was like an overprotective older
bruder.

As usual at the meetings Emma sat next to Maureen. The men and women never sat together during the meetings; it was always men on one side and women on the other. Emma knew now, how Maureen felt when she lost her husband. She thought she knew how Maureen felt at the time, but now she really knew what it meant to lose one’s husband. Emma knew that it was like having part of one’s heart ripped from them, leaving them bare and exposed. Emma glanced sideways at Maureen and marveled at the fact that she was always smiling.

Maureen caught her eye and gave her a special smile. “You okay?”

Emma managed a smile and a nod. The right thing to do was to carry on with life and manage the best that she could; there was no other choice but to do so.

As if reading the look on Emma’s face, Maureen said, “It takes time.”

“
Jah
, that’s what everyone keeps telling me.” Emma would have to wait and see if everyone was right. In a way, she didn’t want to feel better. Maybe if she felt better it would mean that Levi being gone did not affect her, and it did affect her.

Emma found comfort in the bishop’s words as he gave the talk.
Gott’s
words always comforted her. Levi and she would read the Bible together every night after dinner, even if it were just one or two verses. Since Levi had gone, she had not picked up the Bible once.

That night was the first time she arrived back home from the gathering together without Levi. As if sensing her dread of entering an empty home, Wil said, “Are you going to be all right? Do you want me to stay for a while?”

“
Nee
, of course not. I’ll be fine.” Emma pursed her lips together as she realized that had become her stock standard answer for everything – ‘I’ll be fine.’ Maybe if she said it enough times she
would
be fine and she might even come to believe it. Emma wanted Wil to stay, she wanted someone to stay with her, but she would have to face being alone and the sooner she got used to it the better off she’d be. She even had Wil stay with her through the young peoples’ singing rather than go home earlier.

“All right. You know where I am, if you need me.”

Emma nodded and got out of the buggy. Wil waited ‘til she opened the front door before he turned the buggy around and drove away.

It was dark inside the empty home. Emma promptly turned on the overhead gaslight, the one that gave out the most light.

It had been a nice day and hearing the young people singing had brightened her mood, as had Maureen’s invitation. Emma had grown too used to just having Levi’s companionship and had distanced herself somewhat from the women of the community. Now, she knew that had to change that. If she was going to adapt to her new life she needed to be more outgoing and friendly. She should have more friends, she told herself rather than just Maureen. Maybe she might find some new friends amongst the widows.

Emma pulled her prayer
kapp
off and sat down on the couch. She unpinned her braid and unraveled it so her hair would warm up her bare neck. Without Levi to look after, she would have to find something else to occupy her days.

She needed something to do otherwise she would surely go mad. Emma’s thoughts turned to Wil. He’d been
gut
to her and she wondered why someone so thoughtful and caring as he, had never married. Emma ran her mind back in time to try and recall if he had courted anyone – ever. She could not remember him with a girl, which she considered odd. He was handsome and had his own farm, why wouldn’t he have a
fraa
by now? At one time, Levi had mentioned that Wil was waiting ‘til he was financially secure – whatever that meant.
Well, maybe that’s it, he’s waiting for some reason that only he knows himself.
Emma smiled.
That would be typical of Wil. Sometimes he’s in his own little world.

Emma put the kettle on the stove. She would have a hot cup of chamomile tea to help her sleep. Maureen had told her that she did not have a full night’s sleep for two months after her husband died. Would she be better off away from this farm and this
haus
with all the memories? But the
haus
would still be there and to have someone else living in the
haus
that she once shared with Levi may be worse than staying in it. Anyway, Maureen advised her not to make any major decisions for some time.

She spooned the chopped chamomile flower heads into the muslin pouch, and then poured the hot water over. As she let the tea steep, she thought of the bishop’s words that day. He spoke on being grateful for everything and giving thanks. Maybe in a few weeks’ time she could think of things to be grateful for, but as for now, it was a little difficult to be grateful. Maureen had told her that time helps to heal your heart. Why couldn’t she go to sleep and wake up a year later? Maybe in a year she would be able to find some happy thoughts.

It was hard not to think of Levi when everything reminded her of him. The very table and chairs where she sat had been made by Levi’s
daed.
The china teacup she drank out of was part of a tea set given to her by Levi once she agreed to be his
fraa.

At some point she would have to do something with Levi’s clothes. She would keep his black Bible, but that is all she would keep of his. She took the muslin package out of the hot water and sipped the tea while thinking peaceful thoughts to encourage a
gut
sleep; that’s what Maureen had advised her to do. Half a cup of tea was all that she could manage. As she walked over to the sink to rinse out the teacup, she noticed the two cards that were handed to her on the day of the funeral. She placed the cup in the sink, picked up the cards and sat down.

The first card was Mr. Weeks’ and it reminded Emma that he said he would visit. The other card was from the ‘vulture’ and she hoped that she would never see him again. It was rude of him to ask her to sell her farm at the funeral. She looked at the vulture’s name, ‘Wiley McAllister.’ He had to be the same man who had already spoken to Levi about selling the land some time ago. Levi gave him a flat ‘no,’ but that did not stop the man from asking him again, another two times that Emma knew of.

Levi had told her that the farming land was growing scarce, but he never wanted to sell; she would make sure that she held on to the land for him, if that’s what his wishes were. Besides, she reminded herself, it gave her an income. She stretched up her hands over her head and yawned.
Hmm, perhaps I might be able to sleep tonight,
she thought. With that, she rose from the table, popped the two cards into the top drawer of the kitchen cabinet and headed up the stairs to her bedroom.

****

The very next day Emma decided it best to pack Levi’s things and drive them to Bessy’s
haus.
Bessy took the communities unwanted items and distributed them to the various charities about the place.

Emma had five large cardboard boxes that she had collected from the produce store.
That ought to fit all his clothing in,
she thought. Tears had to be fought back as she folded his clothing into the boxes.
They might help someone else though.
She knew she would not feel better with his clothing gone from the bedroom, but it had to be done so she may as well do it now rather than later; she’d only be putting the heartache off to another day.

As she folded clothes she heard a car outside. Emma looked out from her bedroom window and saw Mr. Weeks getting out of his car. She threw the black suit jacket that she had in her hands on to the bed and hurried down to the front door.

“Good morning, Mr. Weeks.”

Mr. Weeks stepped onto the porch. “Good morning. I hope you don’t mind me paying you a visit.”

“Not at all. Please do come in.” Emma stepped aside to let Mr. Weeks into the
haus.
“Would you like a cup of tea or
kaffe
?”