Jude smiled. “Feels gut to prove our naysayers wrong, ain’t so?” he teased. “If you’ve got a few minutes, I have an idea about how to use that chunk of money you received for your cattle. Seems a shame to get up and waken Betsy.”
Leah rose onto one elbow, a sleepy smile warming her face as she gazed at the baby he held. “With Mama cooking breakfast, I have nothing but time for you, Mr. Shetler. What’s your idea?”
Jude considered his words carefully, because the large amount of money he was discussing belonged to Leah. The last thing he wanted was to take control of her earnings, as a lot of Amish husbands tended to do—or to usurp her right to run her business the way she wanted to. Time and again she’d proven that her instincts for investing in livestock were as strong as her intuitive handling of the animals themselves.
“When you told me what Banks said about those high-dollar restaurants featuring local grass-fed beef on their menus—and that they’d bought most of the meat Abner had processed,” he began, “it made me think that raising your cattle on a larger scale might be a great alternative.”
Leah’s eyebrow rose as she considered what he’d said. “What do you mean by larger scale?”
Jude smiled. “Well, we’ve got that six and a half acres of pasture land down by the creek, where I was thinking of running some sheep, and Jeremiah has a nice tract of pasture he’d consider renting to you as well,” he replied. “So why not restock your herd and enlarge it? And why not have Abner do all the processing to sell the meat to restaurants, so you both earn some nice money?”
“Oh my,” she whispered. “I like the sound of that—but we’d have to reinforce the fences, not to mention reseeding those areas and buying enough Black Angus cows to—”
“And you have the money to cover all that now,” Jude pointed out, loving the way Leah’s mind worked. “I know of a couple breeders up north who’ve been raising their cattle on grass, too.”
“—and with Betsy back, and our baby coming, I’d have to consider a more efficient feeding system for them—and maybe you won’t want me spending so much time tending animals anymore,” she continued. Her voice was low and urgent, betraying her keen interest in this venture even as she anticipated the extra effort another baby would require of her.
Jude cleared his throat. “You’re right, of course, and I’m all in favor of streamlining your operation—which Stevie will jump into with both feet,” he added quickly. “He’s so excited about the way you want to put him in charge of your new animals, and I think that’s a fabulous idea that’ll work well with a little help on our part. And because you’re reinvesting that chunk of money in livestock, it’ll be a tax deduction. A really nice tax deduction.”
“Ah. I hadn’t thought about that.” Leah’s smile widened as she rested her head on his shoulder again. “But I don’t want you to think I’m shortchanging the new baby, or the housework, or the cooking, or—”
“That’s the least of my concerns.”
Leah raised herself up again to gaze into his eyes. “But you know we won’t have the twins helping us out with the housework one of these days, after they marry,” she insisted. “And what’ll the neighbors say? They already think I spend too much time doing men’s work—”
“I’ve never given a hoot about what the neighbors say, so why should I start now?” he countered with a chuckle. “If you want to give your cattle business a bigger, better shot, go for it. I’m saying this with utmost, unconditional confidence, sweet Leah . . . because I know things you don’t. Details that’ll be revealed in their own gut time.”
She swatted at him playfully. “Who do you think you are, keeping secrets from me?” she teased.
“I’m the man who loves you more than life itself,” he murmured as he pulled her close for a kiss. “I’m proud of the way you do business—and I’m in awe because you’ve won over my kids and brought our family together despite the ordeals you’ve endured.”
Leah’s eyes widened even as she appeared ready to cry. “I love you, too, Jude,” she whispered. “Where would I be if you hadn’t believed in me?”
“Probably still at your family’s farm with your mamm, doing just fine,” he replied matter-of-factly. “You’re one of the few women I know who could make a go of her life without depending upon a man—so I’m the lucky one. Do what you want about our herd expansion idea, but I suspect it’ll be really profitable on a larger scale. You might do so well you’ll give up your chickens and ducks one of these days.”
“Oh my. I’ve been raising ducks and chickens along with my milk goats since I was a girl,” she pointed out. “But . . . but maybe it’s time to consider some changes. Dat always believed in latching onto new opportunities and letting go of the jobs that weren’t worth his time anymore.”
Jude smiled as he inhaled deeply. The baby Leah carried was already shifting her mind-set—and the yeasty-sweet scent of Lenore’s cinnamon rolls was another sign that change was coming to the Shetler household. “No matter what you decide, it’ll all work out, sweet Leah. Shall we go downstairs and start our day?”
* * *
Leah felt a tingly heat in her cheeks when Jude kissed her good-bye and left on a mysterious mission after breakfast. He was humming under his breath and he had a spring in his step that she hadn’t seen since they’d married.
“There goes a happy man,” Mama remarked as they began clearing the table.
“There goes a man with a secret,” Leah countered. She wound up the swing for Betsy, delighted that they’d kept it—and that the little girl who filled their hearts with sunshine had resumed her place. “This
