Silence stretched between them. Should she say something to him about what sheâd been thinking?
Normally, if a girl and a boy wanted to court there was talk back and forth, between their friends at first, then the girl and boy. But she and Roland werenât teens anymore. They didnât really need intermediaries, did they? She looked around. No one was within hearing distance. If she was going to say something, she had to do it now, before she lost her nerve.
âRoland?â
âYa?â
âI want to talk to you aboutââ
Johanna took a deep breath and clasped her hands so that Roland wouldnât see how they were shaking. âRoland?â she began.
In his gray eyes, color swirled and deepened. âYes, Johanna?â
She took another breath and looked right at him. âWill you marry me?â
EMMA MILLER
lives quietly in her old farmhouse in rural Delaware amid fertile fields and lush woodlands. Fortunate enough to be born into a family of strong faith, she grew up on a dairy farm, surrounded by loving parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Emma was educated in local schools, and once taught in an Amish schoolhouse much like the one at Seven Poplars. When sheâs not caring for her large family, reading and writing are her favorite pastimes.
Chapter One
Kent County, Delaware
June
Johanna kissed her sisterâs newborn and inhaled the infantâs sweet baby scent before gently placing her into the antique walnut cradle. It was midafternoon, and Johanna, Anna, Rebecca and Grossmama were gathered on the screened-in back porch of the Mast farmhouse, enjoying cold lemonade and hulling a bounty of end-of-the-season strawberries to make jam.
Johanna stood over the cradle, gazing down at the babyâs long thick lashes, her chubby, pink cheeks and the riot of red-gold curls peeping out from under her antique, white-lace bonnet. Tiny Rose sighed in her sleep, opened one perfect hand, pursed her perfectly formed lips and melted Johannaâs heart. Tears blurred her vision. Sheâs so precious.
It wasnât that she coveted Anna and Samuelâs gift from God. She didnât. But it seemed so long since her own children had been newborns. Jonah, at five, was now old enough to be a real help in the garden and barnyard. And, as he reminded her at least three times a day, heâd be starting school in the fall. Even her chatterbox, Katy, now three, had outgrown her baby smocks and become independent overnight. She was always eager to sweep the kitchen floor with her miniature broom, gather eggs and pick strawberries in the wake of the bigger children.
I want another baby, Johanna admitted to herself. My arms ache for another child, but having one means marrying again. And after her unhappy marriage to Wilmer Detweiler, and the tragedy of his suicide, she wasnât certain she had the strength to face that yet.
She knew that the children she had, especially Jonah, needed a father. She and Jonah had always been close, but there were so many things that only a man could teach himâhow to plow and trim a horseâs hooves, when to cut hay, how to mend a broken windmill. And while Wilmer had been kind to Katy, heâd shown only stern disapproval and constant criticism of Jonah. For all his energy and warm heart, Jonah desperately needed a loving fatherâs guidance. Without it, Johanna feared that Jonah would never fully understand how to grow into a man. And she wasnât the only one who had come to that conclusion. It had been two years since Wilmerâs death, and members of the community and her family had been hinting that it was time she remarry. Johanna prayed every night that she would know when the time was right and that God would bring a good man into her life.
âSheâs adorable, Anna.â Beautiful, she thought, but she didnât say the word out loud. Physical beauty wasnât something the Old Order Amish were supposed to dwell on. Better a child or an adult have grace and a pure spirit within than a pleasing face.
âAnd such an easy baby,â Grossmama said. âLike my Jonas. A gut baby.â She capped a large crimson strawberry and popped it in her mouth. Closing her eyes, she chewed contentedly, savoring the sweet flavor.