Harlequin Love Inspired March 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 by Patrice Lewis (best large ereader .txt) 📕

it had ultimately led. But Jane wasn’t Eliza. He didn’t have responsibility for her, not as he’d had with Eliza.

The fact that he had messed up when raising his sister was something he tried not to dwell on.

But it wasn’t always easy.

* * *

Before she left for the hot dog roast, Jane packed a diaper bag with everything she could possibly need for the infant. She made dinner for Levy. She folded diapers and stacked them near the baby’s crib. With Mercy tucked in the sling, she swept the house and porch.

When she was ready to leave for the event, she carried the baby and the diaper bag out to the barn where Levy was milking the cows. “I’m leaving now. I’ll be back no later than 8:30. Your dinner is in the oven, warming. Don’t worry about the dishes. I’ll do them in the morning.”

He barely looked up from his task. “Fine. Have fun.”

She shrugged and set out for the function. Whatever Levy’s issue with her attending youngie events, he couldn’t fault her for neglecting her job.

The hot dog roast was held at the farm of Sarah’s parents. Sarah was the first to spot her when she arrived. “You came! Oh, let me see the baby. Isn’t she darling!”

Mercy was passed from person to person and cooed over. “She’s so cute.”

“What a joy!”

“She’s such a quiet baby!”

Mercy didn’t cry during any of these exchanges. When she finally found her way back into Jane’s arms, Jane settled the baby in the sling and joined Sarah and Rhoda around a pit fire, where everyone held hot dogs on forked sticks over the fire.

“Is Levy glad you took the baby with you tonight?” asked Sarah.

“I guess. He’s not pleased I’m here at all.”

Her new friend looked surprised. “Why not?”

“I don’t know. He acts like a bear with a sore paw whenever I mention coming to any singings. He seems to think I’m acting like his sister did before she disappeared.”

“Levy’s so serious,” observed Rhoda. “And you’re just the opposite. How do you two get along?”

“By not seeing each other much during the day. He’s outside working, I’m taking care of Mercy in the house. End of story.”

Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Any sparks between the two of you?”

“Lots. But not the kind you mean. There are times he drives me crazy, other times he’s amazing to watch in action, like when he’s at the farmer’s market. Then it’s like he’s a different man.”

“In a good way or a bad way?”

“Just a different way. He becomes far more animated, jokes and banters a lot with the customers and sells like crazy.”

“He’s interesting, all right.” Sarah bit into a cookie. “I don’t know him very well, but I’ve never heard anything bad about him. No one blames him for what happened with his sister. We all know he did the best he could with her.”

“Maybe that’s why he gets bothered when you attend youngie events,” remarked Rhoda. “He’s used to acting like a father.”

“Well, he’s not my father,” Jane said as she laid Mercy on a soft blanket on the ground.

“Nein, but he’s used to being a father to his sister. That’s probably why he does it.” Rhoda looked down at Mercy. “I wonder if Eliza will ever come back for her baby?”

“Did you know her?”

“Eliza? Of course. Everyone knew her. She was quite the social butterfly.”

“That’s the term Levy used with me,” said Jane. “What was she like? Besides being a social butterfly, as you called her?”

“She was always laughing, always smiling, but she didn’t much like working hard. Except sewing. She was very gut at sewing. Levy works all the time, so he used to get frustrated at her laziness. She kept up the garden pretty well, but I remember seeing the inside of their house once, and it was dusty and she had dirty clothes in her room. She didn’t like cooking either.” Sarah rubbed her chin. “I mean, neither do I, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do it. She was very stubborn about not doing things she didn’t like. But with just the two of them, her and Levy, there’s a lot to do even on a small farm. Maybe that’s what drove her away, thinking she would have it easier if she lived among the Englisch.”

“I wonder if she’ll ever return to Grand Creek,” Jane murmured.

“I think part of him thinks she won’t,” said Sarah. “That’s why he’s so determined to keep the baby. Maybe he feels he shouldn’t fail the second time around.”

“Yet I’m doing all the work with her.” Jane tickled Mercy under the chin.

“I admire that you’re nannying her,” commented Sarah.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I think it would be hard to be a nanny, especially to a boppli this adorable. What if you fall in love with her? You’re not her mamm. It’s just a job. When the time comes, you’ll move on, and what will happen to Mercy then?”

Shaken, Jane looked at the happy infant cooing on the blanket. “You’re right. And it would be very easy to fall in love with her. But what choice do I have? What choice does Levy have? He can’t take care of her by himself, not if he wants to be able to work.”

“Ja, it’s a problem all right.” Sarah dangled a leaf over the baby’s face, though Mercy couldn’t quite focus on it. “It would be hard, in some ways, if Eliza ever did come back. It wouldn’t be so hard now since Mercy is too young to know any different, but what would happen if Eliza came back when Mercy was older?”

Sarah spoke nothing but the truth—and where did that leave her, Jane? She hadn’t planned on staying with her aunt and uncle forever. She missed her own family.

But leaving Mercy would mean depriving the baby of the only mother figure she’d known. With unease, Jane wondered if it wouldn’t be better to leave sooner rather than later, before Mercy would know the difference. If