large, oval wooden basket. She was followed by Elam. He paused long enough to hang his coat and hat by the door, then he approached the bed. “I heard it’s a fine, healthy girl. Congratulations, Katie Lantz.”
“Thank you.” She proudly pulled back the corner of the receiving blanket, a gift from Amber, to show Elam her little girl.
He moved closer and leaned down, but kept his hands tucked in the front pockets of his pants. “Ach, she’s wundascheen!”
“Thank you. I think she’s beautiful, too.” Katie planted a kiss on her daughter’s head.
Nettie set the basket on the table, folded her arms over her ample chest and grinned. “Jah, she looks like her Mama with all that black hair.”
Reaching out hesitantly, Elam touched the baby’s tiny fist. “Have you given her a name?”
“Rachel Ann. It was my mother’s name.”
Nodding his satisfaction, he straightened and shoved his hand back in his pocket. “It’s a goot name. A plain name.”
Katie blinked back sudden tears as she gazed at her daughter. Even though they would have to live with Malachi for a while, Rachel would not be raised Amish as Katie’s mother had been. Why did that make her feel sad?
Amber rose from her place at the foot of the bed. “I see you’ve got a solution for where this little one is going to sleep, Nettie.”
“My daughter, Mary, is expecting in a few months. She has my old cradle, but a folded quilt will make this a comfortable bed for Rachel. What do you think, Katie?”
“I think it will do fine.” All of the sudden, Katie was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open.
“I will make a bassinet for her,” Elam offered quickly. “It won’t take any time at all.”
Overwhelmed, Katie said, “You’ve been so kind already, Mr. Sutter. How can I ever thank you?”
“Someday, you will do a kindness for someone in need. That will be my thanks,” he replied, soft and low so that only she could hear him.
Katie studied his face in the lamplight. It was the first time she had really looked at him. He was probably twenty-five years old. Most Amish men his age were married with one or two children already. She wondered why he was still single. He was certainly handsome enough to please any young woman. His hair, sable-brown and thick, held a touch of unruly curl where it brushed the back of his collar.
His face, unlike his hair, was all chiseled angles and planes, from his broad forehead to his high cheekbones. That, coupled with a straight, no-nonsense nose, gave him a look of harshness. Until she noticed his eyes. Soft sky-blue eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled as he was smiling now at the sight of Rachel’s pink bow mouth opened in a wide yawn.
“Looks like someone is ready to try out her new bed.” He stepped back as Amber came to take Rachel from Katie.
“I know her mother could use some rest,” Amber stated with a stern glance in Katie’s direction.
Katie nodded in agreement, but she didn’t want to sleep. “If I close my eyes for a few minutes, that’s all I need.”
“You’re going to need much more than that,” Nettie declared, placing the quilt-lined basket on a kitchen chair beside Katie’s bed.
Amber laid the baby on the table and unwrapped her enough to listen to her heart and lungs with a stethoscope. Katie couldn’t close her eyes until she knew all was well. After finishing her examination, Amber rewrapped the baby tightly and laid her in the basket. “Everything looks good, but I’ll be back to check on her tomorrow, and you, too, Mommy. I’ll also draw a little blood from her heel tomorrow. The state requires certain tests on all newborns. You’ll get the results in a few weeks. I can tell you’re tired, Katie. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
Katie scooted down under the covers and rolled to her side so that she could see her daughter. “Will she be warm enough?”
“She’ll be fine. We’ll keep the stove going all night,” Nettie promised.
“She’s so sweet. I can’t believe how much I love her already.” Sleep pulled Katie’s eyelids lower. She fought it, afraid if she slept she would wake and find it all had been a dream.
The murmur of voices reached her. She heard her name mentioned and struggled to understand what was being said.
“I’m worried about Katie.” It was Amber talking.
“Why?” came Elam’s deep voice.
Opening her eyes, Katie saw that everyone had gone into the living room. She strained to hear them.
Amber said, “It’s clear she hasn’t been eating well for some time. Plus, her blood loss was heavier than I like to see. Physically, she’s very run-down.”
“Do you think she should go to the hospital?” Elam asked. Katie heard the worry behind his words.
He was concerned about her. She smiled at the thought. It had been a long time since anyone had worried about her. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer.
Concerned for his unexpected guest’s health, Elam glanced from the kitchen door to the nurse standing beside his mother.
Amber shook her head. “I don’t think she needs to go to the hospital, but I do think she should take it easy for a few days. She needs good hearty food, lots of rest and plenty of fluids. I understand she was on her way to her brother’s home?”
“Jah,” Nettie said. “When she realized he wasn’t here, she said she was going to the bus station.”
Amber scowled and crossed her arms. “She shouldn’t travel for a while. Not for at least a week, maybe two. If having her here is an inconvenience, I can try to make other arrangements in town until her family can send someone for her.”
Elam could see his mother struggling to hold back her opinion. He was the man of the house. It would have to be his decision.
At least that was the way it was supposed to work, but he had learned a valuable lesson about women from his father. His dat used to say, “Women get their way by one means or another, son. Make a woman mad only if you’re willing to eat burnt bread until she decides otherwise. The man who tells you he’s in charge in his own house will lie about other things, too.”
His father had been wise about so many things and yet so foolish in the end.
Elam’s mother might want Katie to remain with them, but Elam was hesitant about the idea. The last thing he needed was to stir up trouble in his new church district. Katie wasn’t a member of his family. She had turned her back on her Amish upbringing. Her presence might even prompt unwanted gossip. His family had endured enough of that.
“I certainly wouldn’t mind having another woman in the house.” It seemed his mother couldn’t be silent for long.
This wasn’t a discussion he wanted to have in front of an outsider. He said, “Nothing can be done tonight. We’ll talk it over with Katie in the morning.”
