Leah sighed, hugging him around the waist. “I’m sorry about the sadness and doubt that situation with Frieda caused you. I—I would be ecstatic to find out I’m carrying your child, Jude, and I want everything to go right,” she said earnestly.
* * *
An hour and a half later, Jude felt ten feet tall. Dr. Baumgardner had declared Leah about three and a half months along in a pregnancy that appeared normal and healthy, and they’d set an appointment to see him again in a month. Jude couldn’t stop grinning, couldn’t stop hugging Leah close and kissing her as they drove toward Beulah Mae Nissley’s café on the outer edge of Cedar Creek.
“After the ordeals with the twins and your cattle this news turns our lives around and points them in a whole new direction,” he declared happily. “We’ll keep our secret a while longer, but I won’t be surprised if people guess it when they see my smile and the glow on your face, Leah.”
She blushed prettily. “If they guess, so be it. High time we had gut news to share with our friends and family.”
Chapter 25
During the church service on Sunday, Leah found herself gazing raptly at all the toddlers and babies who sat with their mamms. Although she usually paid close attention to Bishop Jeremiah’s sermon, her mind was full of fantasies as he spoke at length about the story of the ten lepers Jesus healed and how only one had returned to thank Him.
“We should never forget that our Lord hears our every prayer and knows the strength of our faith,” Jeremiah said eloquently. “If we believe in His ability to heal even the most unfortunate and distasteful of conditions in our lives, we can anticipate great joy after heartache we thought might tear apart our very souls. God gives us things to be thankful for every single day.”
Leah glanced across the room to the side where the men sat, catching Jude’s nod. More than once this past week, he had given quiet thanks for the way Alice and Adeline had learned their lesson about running with those English fellows. When he caught Leah’s eye, however, his boyish grin made her heart quiver. The sweet secret they kept had brightened both of their lives, and they had agreed not to tell Stevie or the twins—or even their mothers—that Leah was carrying a baby due in September. Such a special announcement deserved the right moment.
A muffled squawk made Leah glance at a wee one in the row ahead of her. The littlest Plank girl rested against her mamm’s neck and shoulder, watching the women on Leah’s pew bench with alert brown eyes as she stuck her tiny fingers in her bow-shaped mouth. Leah wondered how she’d gone through so many years of her life not being particularly aware of babies’ facial features, yet now she noticed every dimple and wispy curl.
Will my baby be a boy or a girl? Will he have Jude’s dark curls, or will she take on my lighter skin tone and hair color? Shall I name her Lenore or Margaret, or give her a name all her own? Will our little boy be healthy and survive to a full-term birth?
Leah sighed when she wondered how Betsy was faring with her young, confused mother. The pain of that separation had grown easier to bear when she’d learned that Jude’s child would soon bless their lives, yet Leah realized that she would never forget the sweet, warm weight of holding Betsy to feed her. Sometimes she dreamed vividly about the tiny girl, clearly hearing her voice and watching her dear little face light up when she caught sight of Jude or clutched her bottle of goat’s milk and snuggled in Leah’s arms to consume it.
“As we come to our time of prayer,” Jeremiah said in a resonant voice, “let us each thank God for the special blessings He’s granted us this week. Perhaps members of our families displayed great growth and understanding as they returned to the path of salvation, or maybe we got a medical report that was better than we anticipated. Could be that we realized a financial loss has actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise because God infused the situation with His grace.”
Leah’s eyes widened. Jeremiah knew about Alice’s and Adeline’s adjustment of attitude, and Jude had told him about donating some of the beef to a couple of needy Cedar Creek families . . . but had Bishop Vernon also shared his assumptions about her pregnancy? Or was Jeremiah speaking about another member’s medical report? As the bishop finished preaching, Leah could only wonder how much Jude’s brother knew and how much he’d surmised through his spot-on intuition.
“I would like to offer my personal thanks to our God because my nieces, Adeline and Alice, have asked to begin their instruction so they can join the church,” Jeremiah continued, his face alight. “It’s always a special blessing when our young people profess their faith and pledge their lifelong support of our Amish ways and beliefs.”
Leah turned quickly—as many other women did—to flash an encouraging smile at the twins, who sat a few pews behind her. Alice and Adeline hadn’t said a word to her or Jude about their decision, so Leah thrummed with excitement and relief. The girls’ intention to join the church was the ultimate sign that they were indeed finished with the English men who’d caused the family such heartache. They were done with rumspringa and ready to become responsible, faithful adults.
As members of the congregation positioned themselves for a long silent prayer, Leah went to her knees smiling. I love Your surprises, Lord, because
