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

reminding her to carry hope within her heart. Another month and school would be out for the summer. But that thought caused a brief surge of panic to rise in Becca’s throat. The last day of school was on May first. One more month and she would have to leave or find work elsewhere. But where would she go? She’d been sending job inquiries to numerous Amish communities across the nation and received not one positive response. Her common sense told her to doubt the future but then she reminded herself to have faith.

The door creaked open and Sam peered out at her with his big, dark eyes. When he saw her, he thrust open the door and threw himself at her in a tight hug.

“Ach, hallo, Sam! I missed you at school today. Are you ill?” she asked, determined to be positive and act like he’d never run away. It must be a bit embarrassing to him and his father and it would serve no purpose in bringing it up again. After all, it really wasn’t her business.

He released her and stood in the living room, looking down at his stockinged feet as he shook his head. Except for shoes, he was fully dressed but his hair was rumpled and he had holes in his woolen socks where his little toes poked through. No doubt Jesse didn’t have time to mend the socks for him. And once again, she was reminded with glaring clarity that this little boy badly needed a mother.

“Then why didn’t you komm to school today?” she asked in a light tone.

He just shrugged and stepped back so she had room to come inside.

Becca set her bag on the floor, noticing a new sofa and coffee table perched in front of the wide window. They were drab brown and plain but appeared comfortable enough.

“These are nice,” she said.

Sam didn’t respond but she really didn’t expect him to.

A Bible and some of Sam’s books sat on top of the table. Gas lights had been installed in each corner of the room. The added illumination brightened the room and even seemed more cheerful inside. Gradually, Jesse was creating a pleasant home to live in. He was trying to pick up the pieces of his life.

So was she. But it wasn’t easy. For any of them. And that’s when she realized Jesse wasn’t the only one who had trust issues. So did she. Vernon’s betrayal had made her feel unacceptable, like she didn’t belong anywhere. As if she wasn’t worthy of love.

Her hands trembled slightly as she reached inside her bag and pulled out the assignments Sam had missed that day. She would catch him up on that first, then proceed to his reading and coax him to answer her questions out loud. If he got it all done this afternoon, she would mark him down as attending school today and his attendance wouldn’t be marred by any absences. She wanted that for him so she could give him a special certificate at the end of the year, to help build his self-confidence.

“Let’s start with our English, shall we?” she suggested.

She set a McGuffey reader on the coffee table and scooted over on the new sofa to give Sam room to join her. She was pleased when he read several sentences out loud to her, though he still spoke in a soft whisper she could barely hear. But it was great progress when she considered where they’d started a couple of months earlier.

They had just finished their phonics and were starting on penmanship when she heard the back door open and close.

“What are you doing here?”

She looked up. Jesse stood in the kitchen doorway. His hair was slightly damp around his face and neck and she thought he must have washed up in the barn. The dust on his broadfall pants and shirt attested that he’d worked hard that day. He lifted a hand to brace against the doorjamb, looking genuinely surprised to see her here. Did he think she was so shallow that she’d stay away simply because they’d disagreed on the best way to handle Sam’s running away? If so, Jesse didn’t know her very well.

“I came to tutor Sam, of course,” she said, feeling a bit offended by his question.

He glanced at the books, his eyes crinkled in confusion. “I... I didn’t think you’d komm back after the argument we had.”

He certainly was blunt, she’d give him that. He never seemed to hold anything back.

She snorted. “Of course I would. Sam needs help. I would never punish him because you’re being so bull-headed.”

She turned her attention back to Sam, thinking she shouldn’t have said that. But maybe it was something Jesse needed to hear. Handing Sam a pencil, she kept her head bowed and focused on the child’s work. He wrote several words on his big, ruled paper and she took every opportunity to praise him.

“Very gut. Your letters are so legible. You’re getting better at writing every day,” she said.

Sam showed a shy smile and wrote some more words. When she looked up again, Jesse was gone. She could hear him inside the kitchen, rattling pots around. No doubt he was scrounging up something for his and Sam’s supper.

She thought of going to help. She knew Jesse wasn’t much of a cook. But no. He was Sam’s father. He needed to serve his son. It was his job to provide for the boy. And besides, he needed to learn that he couldn’t treat people rudely. Not if he expected to have any friends. It was better to leave him alone and let him come to these realizations on his own. But a part of her dearly wished she could be his friend too.

“Ach, it looks like you’ve got everything under control here. Whatever you’re cooking smells gut.”

Jesse turned and found Becca standing in the kitchen doorway. She had already put on her heavy shawl, gloves and scarf...ready to leave. She sniffed the air and