Wow! She really did lay it out in the open, no mincing words. And yet, hearing his own thoughts spoken out loud made his fears seem a little less threatening.
He ducked his head, a hard lump forming in his throat. He hated to show any weakness to this woman and fought to regain control. When he felt her hand on his arm, he looked into her eyes. She stood so close, her face creased with compassion.
“I know losing part of your familye must have been so difficult for you, Jesse. But for Sam’s sake and also your own, you have to go on living. From what I’ve heard at church, you were gut at fighting fires. Who better to teach the scholars about fire safety? The people of our Gmay could really benefit from your skill too. I hope you’ll think about it. You can let me know your decision tomorrow morning, when you bring Sam to school.”
She turned and walked toward the back door, the heels of her practical black shoes tap-tapping against the wooden floor. He didn’t turn to watch her leave but he heard the door close behind her.
Teach fire safety at school?
He couldn’t do it. And yet, Becca’s gentle encouragement made him feel like he could do anything. But surely not that. Then again, it had been over a year since the house fire. He used to love fighting fires. Used to love helping people save their homes and businesses. Until he’d lost his wife and daughters, he’d felt like he was doing something good for his community. That he was helping his Amish people save their houses and barns too. Maybe it was time to put aside his grief and take it up again. Maybe...
But what if he did something wrong? What if he panicked and made a mistake? He couldn’t stand the thought of losing someone else on his watch. Especially someone he cared deeply about.
Becca thought he could do it. She seemed to really believe in him. She was counting on him. And it felt so good to be needed again. So good to have someone in his life that he could talk to about Sam and all that he had lost. Maybe he should think about it a little more.
Chapter Eleven
Becca arrived at school early the following morning. With no snow to shovel, she was able to get the classroom warmed up and set out her lesson plans before the scholars arrived. Then, she went outside to welcome each child. And when Jesse pulled into the schoolyard, she helped Sam hop out of the buggy and leaned in to greet the boy’s father.
“Guder mariye, Jesse!” she called, purposefully trying to be pleasant.
“Hallo,” he said, not returning her smile.
Sam hugged Becca, then ran off to meet Andy Yoder, who had just walked into the schoolyard with his brothers and sisters. Although Andy did most of the talking, Becca had seen Sam speaking a few words to the other boy on rare occasion. Andy was the same age as Sam and the two had become good friends. Just another subtle reminder that Sam was doing better and much happier at school.
Turning back to Jesse, she showed a smile of encouragement. “Have you thought more about teaching a fire safety class to the kinder?”
He gripped the leather lead lines and frowned, seeming a bit pensive. Maybe she shouldn’t push him so hard. But the alternative was that she would have to teach the class and she thought it would be more effective coming from a firefighter.
“Ja, I will do it,” he said.
“Wundervoll!” she exclaimed. “Will next Monday, first thing in the morning, work for you? Then you can leave right afterward and we won’t take up too much of your day.”
He nodded. “That will work but I’ll need at least two hours to teach a proper safety class.”
She blinked. “So much time?”
He nodded. “Ja, to do it correctly.”
Hmm. Being Amish, she took fire for granted. After all, her people used it in their everyday life to heat their homes and cook their food. But she wanted to do this right. Maybe the schoolchildren had learned bad habits in building fires. Learning some safety techniques might make a difference for one of them at some time in their life. It might make a difference for her as well.
“Allrecht. You can have all the time you need,” she said.
“I’ll plan on two hours. But just one other thing. Don’t start a fire in the stove that morning and I’ll show the kinder the proper way to clean up a cold fire and how to prepare it for burning.”
“Ja, I’ll remember. And danke!”
She closed the door and stepped back. He tugged on the brim of his straw hat and gave her a slight smile before he slapped the leads against the horse’s rump. And for some odd reason, his smile meant everything to her.
The buggy pulled away and she watched him go. A sense of exhilaration filled her as she entered the school and taught lessons to the scholars. She felt inordinately happy today and didn’t understand why. Maybe it was because the sun was shining, the tulips were peeking out from the chilled soil and Sam had a friend and was doing better in school. Caleb Yoder had taken the younger boy under his wing and was reading to him several times each day. Jesse had agreed to teach the fire safety class and had even smiled at her that morning. Not even the impending monthly school board meeting later that afternoon could diminish her spirits. The meeting was held on the first Tuesday of every month. Becca had already reminded the scholars and they were prepared for the visit.
The day passed quickly and she felt organized when Bishop Yoder, Mervin Schwartz and Darrin Albrecht came inside, a little bit early. They each removed their black felt hats as they entered the school. Their wives were with them, Mervin’s wife holding their two-year-old daughter in
