Snowbound with the Amish Bachelor by Patricia Johns

Author:Patricia Johns
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-07-15T15:28:02+00:00

Chapter Eight

Taylor squirmed in Hannes’s arms, and Ben watched as his father rose to his feet.

“Son, would you mind being on baby duty for a bit?” Hannes asked.

“Sure, Daet.” Ben came over and accepted the baby from his father’s arms. She squirmed again while Ben got her settled up on his shoulder, and she nestled closer to his neck. Hannes accepted a mug of coffee from Iris and sank into a kitchen chair.

“Grace thinks that Taylor’s mother might be Amish,” Ben said, sitting down next to his father. He patted Taylor’s back gently, and the baby’s tiny fingers gripped his shirt. He smoothed a hand over her downy head—so fragile, so much in need of love.

“Yah?” Hannes frowned. “But the mother arrived in a car. The baby’s name...the note... None of that seemed Amish.”

“I know,” Ben agreed. “But when the baby wouldn’t sleep last night, Grace and I tried everything to calm her, and the only thing that did was an Amish lullaby.”

Hannes frowned. “Maybe it’s just an effective tune.”

“It felt like more than that,” Ben said, shaking his head. “It’s hard to explain.”

“An Amish girl who went English, maybe?” Hannes guessed.

“That’s what I’m thinking,” Ben replied. “Are there any girls who jumped the fence in the last year or more that we know?”

Hannes shook his head slowly. “There are a couple...but none who had babies that I know of. Unless it was kept secret. And why wouldn’t she bring the baby to her own family?”

“Or it could be a girl from a neighboring community,” Ben said. “I’d guess that the father of this baby is an Englisher, giving her a name like Taylor.”

Hannes nodded, and they both regarded the infant for a moment. Who did this baby belong to?

“I didn’t realize she was an Amish baby,” Hannes said quietly. “I might have felt a greater obligation to take care of the little thing for longer, give the mamm or her family a chance to come back for her.”

“Daet, Iris is getting married,” Ben said. “She’s got a wedding to prepare for, and once she’s married, she’ll be starting a family of her own. While I suppose she could take care of the baby, it would be a lot to ask of a new bride. And I’m leaving for Shipshewana. How are you expecting to care for a baby?”

Hannes sighed. “I’m not. Maybe I could have handed her over to the bishop and his wife.”

“You didn’t suspect she was Amish,” Ben said. “And in that letter, the mother didn’t even give a hint of it. You did the right thing with the information you had. You can’t save the whole world, Daet.”

“Advice you should take to heart, yourself, son,” Daet said with a meaningful nod.

Yah, it was advice that his father had given him a few years ago with Charity. Ben had acted like a big shot and taken her to the city. Those consequences were long-reaching. With Grace, he found himself wondering if he could offer her some sort of healing here.

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