“My family kicked me out because I refused to join the Mennonite church,” Natalie replied in a dull voice. Regret and envy shadowed her face as she saw the way Betsy was quieting down as Leah swayed from side to side with her. “I’ve run out of money, so I sold those bottles and baby things to—you’ve got to take Betsy back. Please,” she begged.
Leah’s pulse ran a wild race with her thoughts. “Of course we will, Natalie,” she whispered quickly.
Natalie swiped at her tear-streaked face. “I tried really hard to be a good mom but—I just couldn’t seem to—”
“You sold your baby’s clothes?” Adeline demanded in disbelief.
“How’d you think you’d feed Betsy if you sold her bottles, too?” Alice chimed in angrily.
With a sob, Natalie turned and bolted out the door. Leah wanted to laugh and sing and shout for joy now that she was once again cradling Betsy in her arms, but other matters needed tending to. “Stevie, go after her,” she urged him. “Tell her I want to help her—hurry before she drives off!”
Grinning at Betsy, the boy shot out the door in pursuit of Natalie, with Mama following behind him. Leah allowed herself the luxury of cuddling Betsy, kissing her curls, and for a few minutes the rest of the world ceased to exist. She was aware that the little girl needed a bath and clean clothes, but first she needed nourishment.
With Betsy balanced against her hip, Leah turned to the girls. “Go find the pot we used for warming her bottles—and anything else that didn’t fit into the boxes I sent with Natalie,” she said. “I suspect Betsy’s so hungry, we don’t even want to think about when her last meal might’ve been.”
Alice and Adeline shared a disgusted look before heading toward the basement stairs, muttering about Natalie.
Leah looked out the screen door, relieved that her mother and Stevie had convinced the skittish young woman to return to the house. “Oh, Betsy,” she whispered against the little girl’s cheek. “Betsy, we have to say everything just right, honey, before we get our hopes up. Have you really come back to us for gut and forever?”
She opened the door to admit Natalie, who came inside with a red face and a sorrowful expression. “I—I don’t mean to be any trouble,” she mumbled.
“We just need to be sure we’re on the same page,” Leah said, gesturing toward the table. “Let’s get you and Betsy something to eat, and we’ll talk this through. Have a seat, dear. Mama, if you’ll slice some bread and get the cold cuts and cheese from the fridge, I’ll start warming this goat’s milk.”
“Goat’s milk,” Natalie echoed with a sad shake of her head. “Where on earth was I supposed to get that? I’ve been feeding Betsy formula, but it’s so expensive and—and it really upsets her system, too.”
Leah sighed. She’d seen goat’s milk in cartons at the grocery store, but she suspected Natalie had reached the point where she was so desperate and dejected she couldn’t see things that were right in front of her. Thank God she realized she and Betsy needed help and came here to get it.
The twins came up from the basement bearing the tall stockpot they’d used for warming bottles, and Leah gave thanks that two glass baby bottles were still in it. While Mama made Natalie’s sandwich, Leah quickly ran water into the pot and set it on the stove burner. The twins washed the bottles and then filled them with goat’s milk.
While Leah waited for the milk to warm on the stove, she sat down at the table beside Natalie. Betsy was resting against her shoulder, hiccuping now instead of crying, so it was easier to have a normal conversation. “When you say you want us to take Betsy back,” she began hesitantly, “do you mean you want us to have her as our own child again? Or will you be popping in for her whenever the whim strikes you? You tore our family apart—left a gaping hole in our hearts—when you took Betsy away from us last month.”
Her questions sounded harsh, but Leah wanted to clarify the details—and she wanted Natalie to realize that her actions had serious consequences.
“It’s not gut for any of us—especially for this wee girl—when you disrupt our lives and her routine,” Mama pointed out firmly. “Jah, she’s your child, but—”
“But I know now that I can’t raise her,” Natalie interrupted miserably. “As you’re all my witnesses, I want you to have her—to raise her without any more interference from me—because I can’t begin to guess where I’ll go or how I’ll be getting by.”
Even as Leah’s heart thrummed with joy, she felt sorry for the young woman who slumped awkwardly at the kitchen table. Nodding her approval, Mama set a sandwich in front of Natalie.
“All right then, you have our word that we’ll raise this child as our own,” Leah said, relishing the words she’d longed to say for weeks. “Jude and I will adopt her—”
“Jah, it should be legal and clear-cut,” Mama put in firmly.
“—and we’ll expect you to abide by your side of the agreement,” Leah finished. She shook her head. “I can’t imagine how horrible it must feel to be cast out by your family. I’m sorry you’re going through such a rough time, Natalie.”
Natalie was devouring her sandwich hungrily, obviously trying to hold herself together emotionally. As Mama prepared another ham and cheese sandwich for their distraught guest, Leah accepted the bottle of goat’s milk Alice handed her. When she’d tested its temperature on her inner wrist, she placed the bottle in front of Betsy. The little girl grabbed it and began sucking down milk as though she couldn’t drink it fast enough.
When Betsy had
