A Home in the West (The Amish of Apple Grove) by Lori Copeland & Virginia Smith

Author:Lori Copeland & Virginia Smith [Copeland, Lori & Smith, Virginia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780736959179
Published: 2013-06-30T21:00:00+00:00

“Are you warm enough?” Jonas kept his head facing forward, pleased that his voice betrayed none of the nervousness that caused his insides to tremble.

“Plenty warm.” From the corner of his eye he watched her run a hand over the quilt that covered her lap. “’Tis a beauteous work. Your mader’s?”

“Ja.”

“I like quilting. I find my mind is peaceful when my fingers are busy.” Still stroking the fabric, she fell silent.

The moon illuminated the packed-dirt road they followed with a steady white light, a million stars lending their glow to overcome the blackness of the sky. The air held a touch of chill left over from the winter just past, turning their breath into puffs of cloud that dissipated almost instantly.

Jonas cast about in his mind for something to say. Long had he hoped for time alone with Caroline, but now that he was here with her, his tongue felt awkward.

The silence threatened to become uncomfortable. He burst out with the first thing his mind grasped on. “I begin the classes next week.”

He had made the decision over the winter to complete the training that would prepare him for baptism into the Amish church. The classes would be held on church Sundays over the next four and a half months. By fall he would be ready to make the commitment to a peaceful and Plain life as dictated by the teachings of Christ and the Ordnung.

Caroline shifted on the bench to turn a smile on him. “I begin the classes next week as well. Come fall, we will be baptized together, Jonas.”

A pleasant thought, and especially because it seemed to please her. Jonas sat a little taller.

“What will you do after?” she asked. “Will you continue to help Mr. Byler on his farm?”

“Neh,” Jonas said quickly, unwilling to have her think he had no ambition to be more than a farmhand. He smiled to soften the hastiness of his reply. “I have plans for a farm of my own. I’m gut with the land and with livestock as well.” He snapped his mouth shut. Did his words sound boastful?

“I know you are, Jonas.”

She spoke in a soft, almost admiring tone that set his pulse to racing. He risked a sideways glance at her. The look she fixed on him held a hint of the warmth he’d hoped for. Her gaze stirred courage in him, and he made a decision. Before he could change his mind, he pulled on the reins and brought the buggy to a halt. Surprise showed on her face, but she didn’t object.

Jonas turned so that he could face her fully. “May I tell you of my plans, Caroline?”

“I would like to hear them,” came her soft reply.

“One day I will leave Ohio.” When her eyebrows arched in surprise, he hurried to continue. “Last fall an Englisch man on his way home to Boston stayed with us overnight. He told us of a law that will someday be made where farms in the West will be free for the claiming.

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