Love Blooms in Winter (37 page)

Emma shrank against the gigantic hutch to give the men room to settle the trunk containing all her belongings. An oiled canvas tarp had been secured over the top to repel any rain they might meet. Inside, atop her dresses, aprons, bonnets, and
kapps
, was a bundle more precious to her than anything else in the wagon. A quilt, expertly and lovingly stitched, nestled within a heavy canvas pouch. Mama had made it with her own hands for Emma’s hope chest. The last stitch was bitten off just hours before she closed her eyes and stepped into the arms of her Lord.

Oh, Mama, if you were here you could convince Papa to let me stay home. I know you could. And now, without you, what will happen to me?

Yet, even in the midst of the dreary thought, a spark of hope flickered in the darkness in Emma’s heart. The future yawned before her like an endless Kansas prairie. Wasn’t there beauty to be found in the tall, blowing grasses of the open plain? Weren’t there cool streams and shady trees to offer respite from the heat of the day? Maybe Troyer would turn out to be an oasis.

“Emma!”

Maummi
’s sharp tone cut through her musing. She jerked upright. Her grandmother appeared to have recovered from her heart episode. From the vantage point of her chair, she oversaw every movement with a critical eye.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“Mind what I said about that loading, girl. The food carton goes on last. We won’t have time to go searching for provisions when we stop at night on the trail.”

An approving murmur rose from the women at the wisdom of an organized wagon.

“Yes, ma’am.” Emma exchanged a quick grin with Katie and directed the man carrying the carton of canned goods and trail provisions to set his burden aside for now.

A little while later, when all had been loaded and secured under an oiled canvas, the men stood around to admire their handiwork. Samuel even crawled beneath the wagon to check the support struts, and he pronounced everything to be “in apple-pie order.”

Emma felt a pluck on her arm. She turned to find Katie at her elbow.

“This is a gift for you.” Her friend pushed a small package into her hands. “It’s only a soft cloth and some fancy colored threads. I was fixing to stitch you a design, but you’re so much better at fine stitchery than I am that I figured you could make something prettier by yourself.” She ducked her head. “Think kindly of me when you do.”

Warmed by her friend’s gesture, Emma pulled her into an embrace. “I will. And I expect a letter from you soon.” She let Katie see her glance slide over to Samuel and back with a grin. “Especially when you have something exciting to report.”

A becoming blush colored the girl’s cheeks. “I will,” she promised.

Emma was still going down the line, awarding each woman a farewell hug, when Bishop Miller stepped up to the front of the wagon and motioned for attention.

“Time now to bid Jonas Switzer Godspeed and fair weather for his travels.” A kind smile curved his lips when he looked to
Maummi
and then to Emma. “And our prayers go with our sisters Marta and Emma as they make a new home in Troyer.”

He bowed his head and closed his eyes, a sign for everyone in the Apple Grove district to follow suit. Emma obeyed, fixing her thoughts on the blue skies overhead and the Almighty’s throne beyond. Silence descended, interrupted only by the snorts of oxen and a happy bird in the tall, leafy tree that gave shade over the porch.

What will I find in Troyer? A new home, as the bishop says? A fine Amish husband, as Papa wishes? I pray it be so. And I pray he will be the second son of his father, so he will come home with me to Apple Grove and take over Papa’s farm when the time comes
.

A female sniffled behind her. Not Katie, but Rebecca. A twist inside Emma’s ribcage nearly sent tears to her eyes. Oh, how she would miss her sister when Rebecca left Troyer to return home with Papa. She vowed to make the most of their time together on the trail between here and there.

Bishop Miller ended the prayer with a blessing in High German, his hand on the head of the closest oxen. When the last word fell on the quiet crowd,
Maummi
’s voice sliced through the cool morning air. “Now that we’re seen off proper, someone heft me up. We’ll be gone before the sun moves another inch across the sky.”

Though she’d proved earlier that she could make the leap herself at need,
Maummi
allowed Papa and the bishop to lift her into the wagon. She took her seat in her rocking chair, which was wedged between the covered hutch and one high side of the wagon bed. With a protective pat on the hutch, she settled her sewing basket at her feet and pulled a piece of mending into her lap. No idle hands for
Maummi
. By the time they made Troyer, she’d have all the mending done, and the darning too, and a good start on a new quilt.

Emma spared one more embrace for Katie, steadfastly ignored Amos’ mournful stare, and allowed the bishop to help her up onto the bench seat. She scooted over to the far end to make room for Papa, and then Rebecca was lifted up to sit on the other side of him. A snug fit, but they would be okay for the six-day journey to Troyer. Emma settled her black dress and smoothed her apron.

“Now, Jonas, mind you what I said.”
Maummi
’s voice from behind their heads sounded a bit shrill in the quiet morning. “You cut a wide path around Hays City. I’ll not have my granddaughters witness to the
ufrooish
of those wild
Englischers.
”

On the other side of Papa, Rebecca heaved a loud sigh. Emma hid her grin. No doubt Rebecca would love to witness the rowdy riots of wild cowboy
Englischers
in the infamous railroad town of Hays.

Papa mumbled something under his breath that sounded like “
This will be the longest journey of my life,
” but aloud he said, “
Ja, Mader
.”

With a flick of the rope, he urged the oxen forward. The wagon creaked and pitched as it rolled on its gigantic wheels. Emma grabbed the side of the bench with one hand and lifted her other hand in a final farewell as her home fell away behind her.

He touched her heart as no other man ever had… Would she be willing to wait for him?

Summer, 1865—In the months just after the end of the Civil War, old ways of life are changing in the South. At a plantation in North Carolina, three young women are determined to leave everything behind for an unknown future without an evil uncle or cousin.

But Beth Jornigan, her sister, Joanie, and their friend Trella encounter trouble from the very start. A fire racing through dry cotton fields almost ends their journey before it has a chance to begin. Fortunately, soldiers on their way home rescue them just in time. Only these brave young men don’t want the trouble that lovely, defenseless women will surely bring. They are more than ready to do nothing but put the war behind them, eat fresh-baked pie, and drink sweet tea surrounded again by their families.

And yet both the men and women discover that God sometimes has other plans than the ones we hold dear, and embracing those plans just may be an adventure and a chance for all of their dreams to come true.

The intersecting lives and tales of these engaging characters and those they meet along the way create an uplifting story of tested faith, growing seeds of love, and the challenge and gift of believing in God’s promise of a future and a hope.

What are you going to do, McAllister? Put your life on hold forever and let a woman like Ragan slip through your fingers so you can pursue scum like Bledso?

Johnny knew Bledso wasn’t worth a hair on Ragan’s head. Why couldn’t he let it go and just get on with his life?

Convicted of a bank robbery he didn’t commit, drifter Johnny McAllister is sentenced to do time in a rehabilitation program in the home of Judge Proctor McMann, a gentle, wise soul who believes in second chances.

Johnny’s aim is to be a model prisoner. He hopes to be released early to return to his life’s mission: to find and kill Dirk Bledso, the man who wiped out his family 16 years before. Johnny has planned for everything…except his encounter with Ragan Ramsey, the judge’s beautiful and kind housekeeper, and his involvement with the generous folks of Barren Flats.

Can this would-be outlaw let go of his hate and anger and embrace something better—something he can’t yet see?