“Ironically, Paul sent his son back to Amish Country for the summer because he was getting in trouble in school,” Delia said. “It seems that Paul still turns to Amish ways when things get hard out there with the Englishers.”
“Yah, it seems so,” Elias agreed. “Sending his son to his parents is the right thing for him to do, too. It’s safe here—people have values and morals. That boy will see a different way to live. Maybe he’ll become Amish.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Delia replied. “He was talking about having no TV or internet. That can be hard for them.”
“Hmm.” Wouldn’t it be nice if the boy did come to the Amish faith, though? The horse’s hooves clopped merrily along the pavement, and Elias pushed his hat back on his head to let some breeze reach his forehead.
“Liam reminds me of my boys,” Delia said. “Maybe it’s just the age. He’s sixteen. They think they’re so grown-up, and they try to sound so adult, but really they are just very large kinner at that age.”
Elias shot her a wry smile. “You see the boy in him.”
“I’m a mamm. I can’t help it.”
“I like that about you,” he said.
“That I’m a mother?” she asked, looking mildly surprised.
“Yah.” He shrugged. “I know that seems simple, but I really do. There were some women in my community in Indiana who were interested in pursuing more with me, but they didn’t have kinner of their own, and...and I think they saw Violet as a problem to solve instead of a girl to love.”
“Ah.” Delia nodded. “Yah, those are considerations I have with courting, too. My daet died when I was a teenager, and my mamm remarried.”
“I didn’t realize that,” Elias said. “Your mamm and daet—I suppose your stepdaet—seemed like they’d been together forever. I never even questioned it.”
She was silent.
“Was it a good experience at home?” he asked cautiously.
“Not really.” She winced. “We kept up good appearances, but I always knew that my stepfather had married my mother because he loved her, and he’d gotten us as part of the package. But I always felt like we were a disappointment to him. He left the raising of us to our mother. He didn’t interfere. Ever. I suppose he didn’t care enough to.”
“So you’re very cautious,” he surmised.
“I am,” she agreed. “I can’t marry a man who wouldn’t be able to love my boys with all his heart, right along with me. And that is a lot to ask. That’s why I reassured the boys that I’d never marry anyone they didn’t approve of. And that might have been putting too much power into young hands.”
“But I understand where it’s coming from now,” Elias said.
“As for Liam,” Delia said, “I agree that time with his grandparents will be good for him. He can help them out, learn about hard work and feeling good about pitching in. And I’m sure they’ll be able to talk to him about a few things. Maybe he’ll hear it differently from them.”
She was a mamm of boys. He was a daet of a girl. It was different somehow. She saw a large boy in Liam. He saw a young man—one who could be a bad influence for his daughter at this stage. All the same, Liam was only visiting, and Elias would be bringing Violet back to Indiana soon enough. Young Liam was a problem for other parents.
The ride back to Swarey Flower Farm felt short with Delia next to him. The sun was sinking low on the horizon, and the shadows stretched out long and lazy. But soon enough they’d reach home, and they’d have to face their kinner. He had no idea how Violet was going to react when he got back!
Elias looked over at Delia and smiled. “You’re doing a good job, Delia.”
And she was. Better than he was. Her kinner weren’t questioning their faith. If Wanda had lived, she would have been able to get through to Violet—he was sure of it. Wanda and Violet had shared a special mother-daughter bond, and without Wanda, things just weren’t the same. But Violet’s mamm wasn’t so easy to replace in her heart. Delia was right that it wasn’t easy to find someone who could love his daughter the way he did. Was it too much to ask of a new wife? But his heart seemed to tell him that he had to ask it! Because Violet deserved to live in a home with a stepmother who loved her, and his choices would determine if she was chased out of her own home or loved as dearly as she deserved to be loved.
When they pulled into the drive, Elias spotted three of Delia’s boys sitting on the front porch. They had a plate of meat and an open bag of buns. A post-dinner snack. He remembered what it felt like to be constantly hungry because he was growing. Violet sat with them—the only one on the porch swing.
Thomas sat leaning against a tree, a sandwich on the ground on a plate beside him as he slowly chewed and swallowed. He had a pair of suspenders he was working on with a needle and thread.
“Now the parenting begins,” Delia murmured, and they shared a conspiratorial laugh. She was pretty when she laughed like that, and he liked the way her brown eyes glittered. “Remember me in your prayers tonight, Elias. I might need it.”
“Same here,” he said. And he knew she wasn’t joking when she asked for prayer. Neither was he. He reined in the horse and tied off the reins. Violet stayed on the swing, eyeing him skeptically.
Delia hopped down without help from him, and she cast him a smile as she headed over to the porch.
“Broken suspenders?” Elias asked, stopping where Thomas sat.
“Yep.” The boy chewed on his lip as he tried to push the needle into the leather.
“You’ve got to make the holes in the leather first,” Elias said. “Either that, or get one of those foot pump machines to sew it for you.”
“I don’t have one of those,” Thomas said. “And I have to fix these.”
“I have an extra pair that I could give you,” Elias said.
“I don’t need handouts,” Thomas muttered.
Right. He wouldn’t take a gift from him.
“Who’s talking about handouts?” Elias said. “My buggy is really dirty, and I’ve got other stuff I have to do. If you wash and polish it tonight, the suspenders are yours. Fair pay for work well-done. It’s up to you.”
Thomas brightened but looked toward his mother warily.
“Will you tell my mother?” Thomas asked.
“That you’re working for fair pay?” Elias asked. “She’s paying my daughter, isn’t she? I don’t see a difference.”
Thomas considered that for a moment, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
