LITMIR.BIZ

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a worried glance.

      After several deep breaths, Katie straightened and wiped her cheeks. “I have to go.”

      “You haven’t thawed out yet. At least stay for a cup of tea. The kettle is still on. Elam, bring me a cup, too.” Nettie caught his eye and made shooing motions toward the kitchen with one hand.

      He retreated, but he could still hear them talking as he fixed the requested drinks. His mother’s tone was calm and reassuring as she said, “Why not stay and rest a bit longer? It’s not good for your baby to have his mother turning into an icicle.”

      “I need to go. I have to find Malachi.” Katie’s voice wavered with uncertainty.

      “Is he the father?” Nettie asked gently.

      Elam didn’t want to think ill of any man, but why else would a pregnant woman show up demanding to see Malachi months after he had moved away?

      “No. He’s my brother.”

      Elam stopped pouring the hot water and glanced toward the living room. He had heard the story of Malachi’s willful sister from the man’s own lips. So this was the woman that had left the Amish after bringing shame to her family. At least she had done so before her baptism.

      Elam placed the tea bags in the mugs. Malachi had his sympathy. Elam knew what it was like to face such heartbreak—the talk, the pitying looks, the whispers behind a man’s back.

      He pushed aside those memories as he carried the cups into the other room. “I didn’t see your car outside.”

      She looked up at him and once again the sadness in her luminous eyes caught him like a physical blow. Her lower lip quivered. “I came on the bus.”

      Elam felt his mother’s eyes on him but he kept his gaze averted, focusing instead on handing over the hot drinks without spilling any.

      Nettie took a cup from Elam and pressed it into Katie’s hands. “Have a sip. This will warm you right up. You can’t walk all the way to Hope Springs tonight. Elam will take you in the buggy when you’re ready.”

      Katie shook her head. “I can’t ask you to do that.”

      “It’s no trouble.” He tried hard to mean it. He’d already finished a long day of work and he was ready for his bed. He would have to be up again before dawn to milk the cows and feed the livestock.

      Returning to the kitchen, he began donning his coat and his black felt hat. It was a mean night for a ride into town, but what else could he do? He certainly couldn’t let her walk, in her condition.

      Suddenly, he heard Katie cry out. Rushing back into the room, he saw her doubled over, the mug lying broken on the floor in a puddle at her feet.

      Chapter Two

      Through a haze of pain, Katie heard Elam ask, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

      She felt strong arms supporting her. She leaned into his strength but she couldn’t answer because she was gritting her teeth to keep from screaming.

      “I believe her baby’s coming,” Nettie replied calmly.

      Panic swallowed Katie whole.

      This can’t be happening. Not here. Not with strangers. This isn’t right. Nothing is right. Please, God, I know I’ve disappointed You, but help me now.

      A horrible sensation settled in the pit of her stomach. Was this her punishment for leaving the faith? She knew there would be a price to pay someday, but she didn’t want her baby to suffer because of her actions.

      She looked from Elam’s wide, startled eyes above her to his mother’s serene face. “My baby can’t come now. I’m not due for three weeks.”

      Nettie’s smile was reassuring. “Babies have a way of choosing their own time.”

      Katie bit her lower lip to stop its trembling. She’d never been so scared in all her life.

      “Don’t worry. I know just what to do. I’ve had eight of my own.” Nettie’s unruffled demeanor eased some of Katie’s panic. Seeing no other choice, Katie allowed Nettie to take charge of the situation.

      Why wasn’t Matt here when she needed him? It should have been Matt beside her, not these people.

      Because he’d grown tired of her, that’s why. He had been ashamed of her backward ways. Her pregnancy had been the last straw. He accused her of getting pregnant to force him into marriage, which wasn’t true. After their last fight three months ago, he walked out and never came back, leaving her with rent and bills she couldn’t pay.

      Nettie turned to her son. “Elam, move one of the extra beds into the kitchen so Katie has a warm place to rest while you fetch the midwife.”

      “Jah.” A blush of embarrassment stained his cheeks dark red. His lack of a beard proclaimed his single status. Childbirth was the territory of women, clearly a territory he didn’t want to explore. He hurried away.

      Nettie coaxed Katie to sit and showed her how to breathe through her next contraction. When Elam had wrestled a narrow bed into the kitchen and piled several quilts on one end, Nettie helped Katie onto it. Lying down with a sigh of relief, Katie closed her eyes. She was so tired. “I can’t do this.”

      “Yes, you can. The Lord will give you the strength you need,” Nettie said gently.

      No, He won’t. God doesn’t care what happens to a sinner like me.

      “Is the midwife okay, or will you be wanting to go to a hospital?” Elam’s voice interrupted her fatalistic thoughts.

      She turned her face toward the wall. “I can’t afford a hospital.”

      “The midwife will do fine, Elam. I’ve heard good things about Nurse Bradley from the women hereabouts. Go over to the Zimmerman farm and ask to use their phone. They’ll know her number. What are you waiting for? Get a move on.”

      “I was wondering if there was anyone else I should call. Perhaps the baby’s father? He should know his child is being born.”

      “Matt doesn’t care about this baby. He left us,” Katie managed to say through gritted teeth. The growing contraction required all her concentration. The slamming of the outside door signaled that Elam had gone.

      When her pain eased, Katie turned back to watch Nettie bustling about, making preparations for her baby’s arrival. The kitchen looked so different than it had during the years Katie had lived here. She could see all of the changes Elam and his mother had made. She concentrated on each detail as she tried to relax and gather strength for her next contraction.

      Overhead, a new gas lamp above the kitchen table cast a warm glow throughout the room. As it had in her day, a rectangular table occupied the center of the room. The chairs around it were straight-backed and sturdy. The dark, small cabinets that once flanked the wide window above the sink had been replaced with new larger ones that spread across the length of the wall. Their natural golden oak color was much more appealing.

      Setting Katie’s suitcase on a chair, Nettie opened it and drew out a pink cotton nightgown. “Let’s get you into something more comfortable.”

      Embarrassment sent the blood rushing to Katie’s face, but Nettie didn’t seem to notice. The look of kindness on her face and her soothing prattle in thick German quickly put Katie at ease. Elam’s mother seemed perfectly willing to accept a stranger into her home and care for her.

      Dressed in a dark blue dress covered by a black apron, Nettie had a sparkle in her eyes behind the wire-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. Her plump cheeks were creased with smile lines. No one in Katie’s family had ever been cheerful.

      Nettie’s gray hair was parted in the middle and coiled into a bun beneath her white kapp the way all Amish women wore their hair. Katie fingered her own short locks.

      Cutting her hair had been her

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