LITMIR.BIZ

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had all kinds of advice from the two nannies who both quit within a week, from the principal of an expensive private school that wouldn’t take her after the first day, and from her step-grandfather, who said to throw water in her face, it worked for him.”

      “Did you?”

      He glanced at Leah and saw her regarding him intently. She hadn’t scurried away and left him to deal with the situation alone. His respect for her jumped considerably. Joy continued to kick and scream.

      “No. I almost threw water in his face, but I left before I did something I knew I would regret.”

      “Very wise. Very Amish. Where’s your truck?”

      “On the other side of the store.” He tipped his head in the general direction. He was ex-Amish, not Amish.

      Leah bent down and lifted Joy. His daughter wasn’t a lightweight, but Leah had no trouble carrying her. She held the screaming child close and started walking. “We’re going to the truck now, Joy. It will be warmer there. As soon as you calm down, we will talk about what’s upsetting you.”

      Caleb followed, happy for once to have someone else take charge. When they reached the truck, he stepped ahead to open the passenger-side door. To his surprise, Leah didn’t deposit Joy inside. Instead, she climbed in and held Joy on her lap.

      He walked around to the driver’s side and rescued his scattered groceries from the sidewalk where he’d dropped them when he discovered Joy was missing. Opening his door, he set them behind the driver’s seat on the king cab’s rear bench seat. He climbed in behind the wheel, at a lost as to what to do next.

      He wanted to take Joy from Leah, but he was afraid it would make things worse. He started the engine. After a few minutes, warm air filled the cab. He noticed the soothing way Leah rocked Joy and consoled her. Joy’s sobs were growing less dire.

      He gripped the steering wheel. His parental shortcomings were laid bare once more. Joy would take comfort from a stranger before she took it from him. At least Leah seemed to know how to handle his daughter. He glanced her way. “Thanks for your help. Again.”

      “I do it for the child,” she said primly.

      He got the message. “Not for the father who strayed from the Amish fold.”

      She looked directly at him. “Nee, not for you.”

      * * *

      Leah continued to hold and rock Joy until the child calmed down. Spent by her outburst, she rested in Leah’s arms with only occasional hiccupping sobs to break the awkward silence. Leah brushed Joy’s fine, soft hair away from her face and glanced at Caleb. Did he know how blessed he was to have this child?

      She was forever comforting, caring for and teaching children who belonged to others. Her profession was a labor of love, a sacred duty, but it wasn’t like having children of her own. The unfairness of it cut deep. She longed to hold her own babe. She didn’t understand why God had chosen this path for her. She could only travel it as best she could and trust in His mercy.

      After a few minutes, Joy sat up. She looked at her father. “Can I have an elephant now?”

      Caleb reached behind the seat and brought out a red-and-yellow box made to look like a circus wagon, with colorful animals printed on the sides. He handed it to her. There were several similar boxes on the floor of the truck.

      He must have noticed Leah’s gaze. “Sometimes they keep her from having a meltdown like the one you just witnessed. I stopped to stock up before heading out to the farm. She was sound asleep when I went in the store. I couldn’t have been gone more than five minutes.”

      Leah didn’t want to feel sorry for him, but she couldn’t help it. It was easy to see that he didn’t know how to handle his newly acquired daughter. What was the story behind his cryptic comment about only being a father for six weeks? Had he adopted a special-needs child? Curiosity, often her downfall, prompted her to remain in the truck and learn more about Caleb and Joy.

      Joy opened the box and picked out two elephant-shaped cookies. She looked at Leah. “Do you want one?”

      Leah held out a hand. “May I have a lion?”

      “Okay, sure.” Joy extracted two of them, laid the pair in Leah’s palm and gave her an endearing grin.

      Children with Down syndrome were normally happy, gregarious individuals. Leah loved that about them. “What shall we give your daddy?”

      “A bear,” Joy said quickly.

      Leah glanced at him from the corner of her eye. His daughter’s remark caused a reluctant grin to tug at one side of his mouth. “Is that your way of telling me I’m as grumpy as an old bear?”

      Leah leaned over to see Joy’s face. “Is your daddy grumpy?”

      “Sometimes.” Cookie crumbs sprayed from her lips. She handed him three bears.

      “I get grumpy sometimes, too,” Leah admitted. “So do you. What made you so upset a little while ago?”

      The child bowed her head. “I don’t know.”

      “I think you do. Your daddy can’t fix things for you if he doesn’t know what’s wrong.”

      “He wants me to go away.”

      “That’s not true,” Caleb said quickly.

      “I wanna go home and be with Nana. I want Mama to come get me and take me home. She’ll never find me here.” She laid her head on Leah’s shoulder and closed her eyes.

      Leah glanced to Caleb for an explanation. He shook his head slightly. Whatever the story was, he didn’t want to recount it in front of the child. Another awkward minute of silence passed.

      Joy sat up and cupped Leah’s face with her hands. “I’m sorry I was bad.”

      Leah’s heart turned over. What a sweet child. “You are forgiven. You will like your grossmammi when you meet her, and she will love you.”

      Joy tipped her head to the side. “What’s that?”

      “Grossmammi? It’s the Amish word for grandmother.”

      “Oh. What’s an Amish?”

      Leah chuckled. “I am Amish. We are a Plain People who believe in remaining separate from worldly things and living a simple life so that we may live close to God and each other.”

      “You’re not plain. You’re pretty.”

      “So are you.” Leah gave her a quick hug. “But I need to be going. It’s getting late. I have a long walk home.”

      “Don’t go!” Joy threw her arms around Leah’s neck and held on tight.

      “Joy, stop that. She has to go.” Caleb tried to pull her arms loose.

      “No,” she sobbed, and held on tighter.

      “Stop. You’re hurting me. Let go and we will talk about it,” Leah said firmly.

      Joy slowly released her grip. “I’m not bad.”

      Leah waited for Caleb to say something, but he seemed at a loss for words. She took Joy’s hands and met her gaze. “No one said you are bad. However, your behavior just now was not very nice.”

      “I want you to be my friend. I don’t want you to go away.”

      “I am your friend, but I have to go home. You have to go meet your grandparents.”

      Caleb spoke at last. “Let me give you a lift home. It’s the least I can do after all your help.”

      Leah could see Joy was on the verge of another breakdown. She hated giving in. It wouldn’t teach Joy self-control if she got her way with her tantrums. Still, Leah didn’t want to be the cause of another episode. She hadn’t forgiven Caleb for the way he had treated her sister, but ignoring

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