The Amish Teacher's Dilemma and Healing Their Amish Hearts by Patricia Davids (all ebook reader .txt) 📕

Maddie darted away from Eva and ran straight to her brothers. “Guess what?”

Willis held a plate of food in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. Harley and Otto were both eating chicken drumsticks.

“What?” Otto asked.

“The bishop’s wife, Dinah Lapp and Eva are going to help Willis find a wife. Someone who can cook and sew and look after us.”

Eva closed her eyes for a second. “That’s not exactly what was said.” When she opened them she met Willis’s thunderous expression.

“What exactly was said about finding me a wife?” Willis ground out each word as if he were chewing glass.

Chapter Eight

Willis glared at Eva. He had just endured the worst five hours of his life and now she was plotting to find him a wife. “I thought we had this conversation once.”

“Dinah and Constance mentioned matchmaking in passing. They only want to help.”

“And you didn’t set them straight?”

“Lower your voice, Willis. People are staring. It’s nothing to get upset about.”

“Come outside with me.” He started to walk away. He glanced back. She had her arms crossed over her chest and a stubborn expression on her face. He was almost too tired to argue with her, but he couldn’t let this pass.

He walked back and leaned close to her ear. “Please step outside with me, Eva. I would like to continue this discussion.”

“I’m not sure I want to.”

“You started it.”

“Very well.” She stomped out the door. He glanced around the room. Everyone was looking their way, but he didn’t care. He caught Harley’s gaze. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. All of you stay right here. Understood?”

The children nodded, their eyes wide at his harsh tone. He managed a reassuring half smile. “Finish your meal. We’ll go home soon.”

Outside he waited until his eyes adjusted to the dark. He spied Eva waiting for him on the swing set. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He walked over to her and sat in the swing beside her. Neither of them spoke for several minutes as he gathered his thoughts. He saw the searchers leaving in small groups, some in buggies and some in cars. Gratitude for the kindness of friends and strangers alike slipped across his mind, blowing away his anger.

He tried to read Eva’s face, but the moon had slipped behind a passing cloud and it was too dark for him to read her expression. “I think I have already mentioned that I’m not looking for a wife. I’m certainly not going to marry just to provide my siblings with a cook, a babysitter and a housekeeper.”

“I understand that. Constance and Dinah reached the conclusion that you needed a wife without a word from me. I wasn’t sure how to respond so I kept quiet. Maddie was intrigued and excited by the idea. You know how she is.”

He blew out a deep breath. “Ja, I know how she can be. So how do I stop Constance and Dinah from matchmaking on my behalf?”

“I have no idea. Meet some nice women but don’t marry any of them,” she snapped.

He chuckled at her prickly attitude. He leaned his head back and stared at the stars twinkling between the clouds drifting overhead. How had his life become so complicated so quickly? “I wish school started tomorrow instead of in two weeks. I’m never going to get caught up on my work at this rate.”

“I can offer a suggestion but only if you promise not to bite my head off.”

“I’m listening.”

“I will look after Maddie and the boys for you during the day.”

“I appreciate the offer but you have your own work to get done.” He backed up, lifted his feet off the ground and swung forward.

“You will be helping me out in a way. I can ease into teaching gradually. I’ll have three students instead of fifteen. I can give Otto some extra attention before school starts so he isn’t as far behind, as well.”

Willis braked to a stop. “What do you mean? How is Otto behind?”

She twisted sideways to look at him. “So much has happened today that I forgot to speak to you about Otto’s poor writing. I had Dinah and Mrs. Kenworthy, one of the Englisch schoolteachers, come to look at the sentences he had done on the blackboard.”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because I was troubled by what I saw but I wasn’t sure there was a problem. They agreed that his ability to write is not at a fifth grade level. Harley says their mother helped Otto with his reading a lot but he hasn’t mastered it. I was going to offer to tutor him.”

Willis surged to his feet and walked a few steps away. “So he doesn’t read well. So what? A lot of fellows have trouble reading. Once he’s out of school it won’t matter.”

“Willis, reading does matter!”

Her shock made him see how far apart they really were. She was a woman who clutched a book of poetry to her chest the way a mother might cuddle a babe and spoke of it in loving terms. To her, someone who couldn’t read was behind. Slower. A problem. She was too kind to call someone stupid but she thought it just the same. The whole time they had been searching for Maddie he thought of Eva as an equal, working as hard as he had to find his sister. He’d been comforted by her steadfast faith. He had forgotten just how unequal he would be in her eyes if she learned his secret.

He scuffed the dirt with his boot. “It’s important to you, maybe. You like books and poems and writing letters. I don’t have time for that stuff.”

“Surely you have time for reading the Bible to the children at night? Seeing you seek the wisdom and comfort of God’s Word teaches them to find it for themselves.”

“Teaching our faith is the duty of the bishop and his ministers. I appreciate all