“Your boy was the best assistant I could’ve asked for,” Jeremiah remarked with a smile for Stevie. Then he lowered his voice. “And—as far as we know—the twins stayed put. Didn’t see any sign of those English boys, either, so I see no need for Alice and Adeline to confess on Sunday. Maybe they’ve changed their ways.”
“They didn’t give us a moment of trouble,” Lenore added with a nod. “I’m not sure what’s come over them, but I hope it lasts.”
Jude nodded, gratified that God had apparently answered some of his most earnest prayers. In the front room, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Adeline and Alice had found a wind-up swing for Betsy. During the moments before the twins realized that he and Leah had returned, their faces were alight with sincere affection for the tiny girl in the swing as she moved forward and back. When Betsy caught sight of Leah and let out a happy squawk, the twins looked up.
“You’re back!” Alice said. “Have a gut time at the inn?”
“Look what we found at the thrift store for Betsy!” Adeline put in. “She could sit in this swing for hours—as long as we keep it wound up and moving.”
Jude’s pulse thrummed as he watched Leah gently lift Betsy from the swing to hold her. It seemed that a minor miracle had occurred since he’d left home on Monday, and he dared to believe that the relationships within their family might have a chance to heal.
“You girls are a sight for sore eyes—all of you,” he added with a special smile for Betsy. Recalling what Mary and Martha had suggested, he added, “I’m really happy to hear that your time with Jeremiah and your mammis went so smoothly. I appreciate your cooperation with them while we were gone.”
“You should see the cool patchwork jackets Mammi Lenore sewed for us,” Adeline said happily.
“Jah! I’ll go put one on so you can see how they look,” Alice said as she scurried toward the stairway.
Whatever You did for the girls in our absence, Lord, I’m a grateful man, Jude prayed. Help me preserve this peace and be the father these girls and Stevie deserve.
Chapter 19
Two weeks later, Leah felt torn about telling her mother good-bye. On the one hand, Alice and Adeline seemed to have returned to being the cheerful, conscientious Amish girls she and Jude wanted them to be—but on the other hand, Leah had truly enjoyed her mother’s company.
“I’ve had a wonderful-gut time here with your family, Leah,” Mama said as she packed the last of her cape dresses into her old suitcase. “But it’s almost the middle of April, and things need doing around home.”
Leah heard a touch of homesickness in her mother’s words. “I really wish you’d stay, Mama,” she said softly. “Not just because you’ll always be a better cook than I am, but because we all really love having you here—and because I worry about you getting lonely all by yourself on the farm.”
Mama gently placed her hand alongside Leah’s cheek, gazing into her eyes. “I’ll be fine, sweetheart, and far too busy to be lonely. Now that you’re an old hand at handling Betsy—and especially now that the twins have come around to being responsible young women—I want the five of you to become a family without me hanging around.”
Leah blinked rapidly. She hadn’t anticipated feeling so emotional at this moment because she’d always known Mama would return home, yet her eyes grew hot with unshed tears. “You’ve given us all such a gift, Mama,” she whispered. “Your time and assistance with Betsy and Stevie and the girls—your wisdom—has meant more to us than you’ll ever know.”
Mama must have been feeling sentimental, too, because she looked away—pretending to search the guest room for something she might’ve forgotten to pack. “It’s what mothers do, Leah. My coming here was nothing compared to the way you’ve opened your heart to Betsy—and to Alice, Adeline, and Stevie, as well,” she insisted softly. “Jude’s a lucky man to have you running his household. I recall giving you a talking-to the night before your wedding, trying to convince you that marrying into this family would never work out. But it has.”
Leah hugged her mother hard, knowing it had been difficult for her to admit she’d been wrong about the marriage. “I still don’t understand what you and Margaret and Jeremiah did to turn the twins’ behavior around,” she said. “It was such a help to have you sewing their new dresses—and those patchwork jackets are amazing—”
“They were a great way to use up some solid-color quilting scraps,” Mama pointed out with a chuckle. She eased away to study Leah’s face. “I honestly don’t know what changed the girls’ ways. Maybe it was Jeremiah telling them they’d be on their knees, confessing in front of the congregation if they didn’t straighten up and fly right.”
Mama stepped away to look out the window. “Or maybe when Adeline and Alice told that outrageous tale about Betsy being your secret baby—and then realized how the Slabaugh sisters and our other guests would spread the word about their lies—they scared themselves . . . realized that everyone in town would think a lot more harshly of them than they would you.”
“Or maybe,” Leah put in hopefully, “those English boys have written them off.” Even as she said this, Leah suspected Dexter and Phil were still eager to get the cell phone back—unless they’d reported it stolen, so they wouldn’t have to pay the monthly charges for it. She hadn’t wanted to ask Adeline and Alice about what had inspired their change of heart, fearing she might jinx their three-week run of model behavior.
“Maybe we won’t find out until years down the road, when one of the twins mentions it in passing after she’s been married to a nice Amish man for a while,” Mama suggested. “And maybe we’ll never know. Life is filled
