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

into the drive. An elderly Amish man who walked with a cane got out of the truck and helped a little girl out. She came running over to see her mother. “We have four cows now and Daadi is going to show me how to milk them.”

Becca put her arm around the child. “This is my daughter, Annabeth. These nice women have come to help me clean the house and this is our new bishop. And this little girl will be in the first grade with you when school starts. Her name is Maddie.”

The two girls sized each other up. Annabeth spoke first. “Do you want to come see our new cows?”

Maddie nodded and the two girls started toward the barn. “Stay away from the truck and the trailer until they have the cattle unloaded,” Becca called after them.

“We will,” they replied in unison.

Becca pressed a hand to her chest. “That went better than I was hoping. She hasn’t had anyone her own age to play with for ages.”

Willis raised both eyebrows. “I’m happy to have someone for Maddie to play with, too. She has an imaginary friend if Annabeth should mention meeting someone called Bubble.”

Willis and the bishop went out to speak to Mr. Beachy.

“Tell us a little about yourself,” Constance said as she handed Becca a plate with a sandwich, some grapes and wedges of cheese.

“There isn’t a lot to tell. I’m from Pinecrest, Florida.”

“What?” Dinah looked ready to fall over. “You moved from the beautiful beaches of Florida to the northernmost county in Maine? Are you out of your mind?”

Everyone laughed. “Pay her no attention,” Constance said. “Dinah has been trying to get her husband to take her there for years.”

“I lived in Pinecrest for a short time,” Gemma said. “I worked at the Amish Pie Shop. Do you know it?”

“I do. Perhaps we saw each other there. My husband loved their rhubarb pie.”

The sadness in her eyes told Eva it had been a love match. Eva wondered how the young husband lost his life but she didn’t ask. The Amish rarely spoke of the dead or of their grief. The passing of a loved one was the will of God and not to be questioned.

Becca and Gemma began talking about people and places they both had known in Florida. The beginnings of a new friendship seemed to be flourishing between the two. Eva had been involved in frolics before, but today she felt she truly belonged in the community of New Covenant. She glanced out the kitchen window. The bishop stood beside Mr. Beachy while Willis was on his knees looking under a rusty machine. He lay down on his back and wriggled beneath it. She grinned at the sight. A wife would have trouble keeping his clothes clean. The kids should have added being a good laundress to their list.

“What are you smiling about?” Bethany asked.

Caught off guard, Eva stumbled over her reply. “Am I smiling? I reckon I’m just happy to be useful today.”

Bethany tipped her head to the side. “That was more of a daydreamy smile.”

Eva felt a blush heat her cheeks. She wanted to deny it but she couldn’t.

“Do I detect a hint of romance in the air?” Dinah asked. All the women looked at Eva, waiting for her answer.

“Nee, you are mistaken.” Willis’s affection for her was that of a friend. If hers was something more she was the one who had to deal with that.

Dinah walked over and looked out the window. “It’s Willis Gingrich, I’m guessing.”

“Ah, that makes sense.” Bethany nodded. “A helpful neighbor, adorable children, a strong, hardworking blacksmith. What’s not to like?”

“Has the date been set?” Constance asked and everyone giggled.

Eva shook her head. “Nee, nothing like that. We get along well. We are friends. I look after the children for him sometimes. Don’t make it out to be something that it’s not.”

Dinah let out a long sigh. “This means we’ll be looking for another teacher soon.”

“I fully intend to keep teaching for as long as the good Lord wills.”

Annabeth and Maddie came in together. Annabeth tugged on her mother’s sleeve. “Maddie told me a secret. Can I tell you?”

“I’m sure it involves her imaginary friend Bubble,” Eva said with a smile.

Annabeth shook her head. “Maddie is getting a new mother and it’s her teacher.”

Everyone turned to stare at Eva. She wanted to sink into the ground. “Maddie is mistaken.”

No one looked convinced.

It wasn’t until Willis and Maddie came over with their plates that Eva had a chance to speak to the child. “Maddie, I’m very disappointed in you.”

“What now?” Willis asked, eyeing his sister.

Eva kept her gaze on Maddie, too embarrassed to meet Willis’s eyes. “You can’t make up things that aren’t true. Why would you tell Annabeth such a story?”

Maddie shrugged her small shoulders. “I don’t know.”

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Willis asked.

“That is not an explanation, Maddie. She told Annabeth that I was going to be her new mother. Annabeth told everyone else in the room.” Eva could barely get the words out because as upset as she was with the child she was even more upset that it could never be true.

“What?” Willis looked around. “No wonder everyone is staring at us.”

Maddie looked down at her feet. “I said it because you’re so nice. You like me. And you remind me of my mamm. I started wishing it was true and then I started thinking it was true. I’m sorry.”

It was hard to be angry with someone who looked so dejected. “I know you’re sorry for what you did but this storytelling has to stop. You can’t make something come true by wishing for it, or by making up stories about it.”

Maddie started crying and it almost broke Eva’s heart. Willis lifted her onto his lap. “We talked about this, Maddie. I thought you understood that it was wrong to make up stories.”

“Bubble said...”

Eva shook her finger. “None of this can be blamed on Bubble. I just vehemently denied that