The Amish Midwife (The Amish Bachelors 2; Lancaster Courtships 3) by Patricia Davids

Author:Patricia Davids
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Spirituality, Christian, Bachelor, Bonding, Uncle, Abandoned Niece, Forever Love, Marriage Offer, Faith, Country, Love Inspired, Inspirational, Second Chance, Baby Care, Amish & Mennonite, Contemporary, Family Life, Midwife, Painful Past, Religious, Abandoned Baby
Publisher: Love Inspired
Published: 2015-11-03T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

The road remained free of traffic for the next mile as Anne and Joseph traveled on. It should have been a pleasant morning drive through the rolling hills of Lancaster County. Autumn colors splashed the tree-covered hillsides with scarlet, golds and flaming oranges. The harvest was finished. The land and the people who worked it were ready to rest. Shocks of corn lined up like brown tepees across the fields, waiting to be used when snow covered the ground. The orchards were bare. The pasture grasses were turning brown, though the cattle and horses still foraged there.

The air had a nip to it and held the scent of wood smoke rising from the Amish farms they passed. The sun shone brightly, promising a warm afternoon. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

Joseph glanced at Anne several times, but she refused to look at him. “I will go see the bishop first thing tomorrow morning and explain that this was an unusual occurrence. I was simply doing my Christian duty by offering you assistance.”

“I should’ve had you stop at the Beachy Craft Shop. I should have asked one of the women there to take me out to the Yoder farm. I wasn’t thinking. I know what’s proper.”

“There’s no harm done. Tongues may wag about us for a day or so, but when we give them nothing else to talk about, this will be forgotten.”

Anne sat up straighter. “You’re right. We aren’t doing anything wrong. I have nothing to be ashamed of this time.”

This time? What did that mean? Had she done something to be ashamed of in the past? Sadness stole over her features as a faraway look entered her eyes.

“Is something wrong, Anne?” He wanted to help, to comfort her, but he didn’t know how.

She shook her head and the distant look disappeared. “Nothing’s wrong. About a mile farther on, you’ll cross a bridge. The Yoder home is on the south side of the road.”

They soon caught up to a wagon loaded with hay traveling in the same direction. When he could safely do so on the hilly highway, Joseph passed it, urging Duncan to a burst of speed. The moment the black horse came neck and neck with the draft horses, he broke trot and tried to gallop ahead of them.

Anne clutched Leah’s basket with white knuckles until Joseph was able to regain control. Her eyes were wide with fright. “I see what you mean about your horse being hard to handle.”

“He came from a racing farm. He does well most of the time, but now you see why I didn’t want you to drive him alone.”

“I do, and I’m grateful you insisted on coming.”

They rode in silence for a while longer. Suddenly he asked, “Do you like being a midwife?”

“I don’t like it. I love it. I love mothers and their incredible strength. I love babies and their amazing resiliency. It’s a humbling part of life and I’m blessed to play a role in it.”

“Did you have to have a lot of training?”

“I am what is known as a direct-entry midwife.

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