his stress level.”
“Oh, rest assured, I won’t go tattle to him. But you’re making a big mistake. You can’t change the way the Amish live by dictating to them. If I’m not doing home deliveries, someone else less qualified will.”
Spinning on her heels, she marched out of the office, slamming the door behind her.
Clenching his jaw, Phillip sat back. He had hoped Miss Bradley would be reasonable about this. It seemed he was mistaken. Too bad. He wasn’t about to back down on this issue. No matter what the lovely nurse-midwife wanted.
Chapter Three
“If that man thinks I’m gonna lay down and take this, he has another think coming!”
Three days after her first unhappy meeting with Phillip, Amber was still fuming. They had been working together getting the clinic back up and running full-time, but things remained tense. He refused to alter his stance on home births.
Amber sat at a back booth in the Shoofly Pie Café with her friend, Katie Lantz, across from her. Katie was dressed in the traditional Plain style with a solid green dress, white apron and a white organdy prayer kapp covering her dark hair. Amber knew outsiders would never suspect Katie had once lived in the English world. The room was empty except for the two women.
“What can you do about it?” Katie’s lilting voice carried a rich Pennsylvania Dutch accent. She took a sip of hot tea from a heavy white mug.
“I’m thinking.” Amber drummed her fingers on the red Formica tabletop.
“You’ll lose your license if you deliver babies, ja?”
“Ja. Unless I find another doctor who’ll support me.”
Katie brightened. “Why not ask Dr. Drake over in Haydenville?”
“Because Doctor Drake, great doctor that she is, is a DO, a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. The state requires my backup to be a Family Practice physician or OB/GYN. Most clinics and MDs won’t partner with a midwife who does home births. They don’t want to pay the huge malpractice insurance fees that go along with it. Dr. Harold is one of the few physicians who’ll take the risk.”
“Because the Amish do not sue.”
“Right.”
“This is not so easy a problem to solve.” Katie tapped her lower lip with one finger.
Propping an elbow on the table, Amber settled her chin on her hand. “I wish I could talk to Harold about it.”
“Why can’t you? It is his office. He should have some say in how it is being run.”
“The last thing he needs is to hear his beloved long-lost grandson and I are at loggerheads. In that respect, Phillip is right. Harold doesn’t need more stress. When he’s better and comes home, things will get back to normal. In the meantime, I’ll keep looking for a doctor who’ll partner with me. Until then, I’ll have to bear with Dr. Phillip while I work on changing his mind.”
“I have met your doctor. He had lunch here yesterday. He’s a handsome man.”
Amber rolled her eyes. “Is he handsome? I hadn’t noticed.”
“For an Englisher, he’s not bad. Those dark eyes are hot.”
“They’re blue, and a good Amish woman should not say a man is ‘hot.’”
Katie giggled. “I am Amish, I am not dead. If you know what color his eyes are, you’ve been looking, too.”
“Okay, I noticed he is a nice-looking man, but handsome is as handsome does. What he’s doing isn’t handsome.”
“You’re right. Elam’s sister, Mary, will be so upset if she must go to the hospital to have this baby. She didn’t have a good experience there with her first child.”
Elam Sutter was a special someone in Katie’s life. He and his mother, Nettie, took her in when she had returned from the English world destitute and pregnant. That act of kindness had blossomed into love for the pair. His sister, Mary Yutzi, had only recently become a patient of Amber’s.
“Elam’s mother convinced Mary you would do a better job. For less money, too.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Amber’s mouth. “I’m glad Nettie Sutter thinks I do good work. Thank her for the recommendation.”
It had taken years but Amber was finally finding acceptance among the majority of the Amish in the area. People like Nettie Sutter were the key. Older and respected, their word counted for a lot with the younger women in the community.
Amber took a sip of her tea, letting the warmth of the gourmet blend soothe away some of her irritation. “Two of my expectant mothers have appointments today. I’ll let them know what’s going on when they come to the office. As for the rest of my clients, I can visit their homes on Sunday to explain things and prepare them.”
“It is our church Sunday. Everyone will be at Levi Troyer’s farm. It will save you some miles if you come there after the service.”
“Thank you. If you’re sure it’s all right, I’ll drop in. Of course, I might not need to. In this tight-knit community, the word may have spread already.”
“Ja, you could be right.”
“How is Elam, by the way?” Amber smiled in spite of her unhappiness as a blush bloomed in Katie’s cheeks.
A soft smile curved her lips. “He is well.”
“And the wedding? When will it be?”
Katie’s eyes grew round. “What?”
Amber started laughing. “The whole countryside is talking about how much celery Elam planted this year. It won’t come as a surprise to anyone when you have the banns read.”
Creamed celery was a traditional food served at every Amish wedding. Leafy stalks of it were also used to decorate the tables. When a family’s garden contained a big crop of celery, everyone knew there would be a wedding in the fall.
Blushing sweetly, Katie dropped her gaze. “We don’t speak of such things before the time comes.”
Amish marriage banns were read only a few weeks before the wedding. Until then, the engagement was kept a secret, sort of. Speculating about who would be getting hitched during the months of November and December was a popular pastime.
Amber said, “I’m sorry to tease.”
Katie glanced around, then leaned close. “Not all of the celery is for Elam and me.”
“Really?” Amber was intrigued. Elam lived with his widowed mother. All his sisters and older brothers were already married.
Sitting back, Katie smiled. “I will say no more.”
“Now you’ve got me curious. Is someone courting Nettie?”
“Perhaps,
