For in this hope we were saved Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
But if we hope for what we do not see,
we wait for it with patience.
Romans 8: 24-25
Aaron was furious that his aunt would send a woman in Courtney’s condition to be his nanny. He’d write to Aunt Bessie as soon as he got home and express his disappointment in her choice. The last thing he needed was someone else to look after and be responsible for. Bessie was supposed to send him someone to look after his children—cook and clean— that’s all he wanted. Well, that and tend the animals. Surely there would be many women she could have chosen over a woman who was to deliver a child in eight weeks.
Even if Courtney could handle the work as she claimed, an attractive woman like she wouldn’t stay for too long before she found a husband. Aaron had wanted an older woman who would be focused on his children and household. He glanced over his shoulder at Courtney as she followed him to his buggy. He couldn’t be rude to her no matter how upset he was. It wasn’t her fault that his aunt had made a dreadful error in judgment.
“The buggy’s this way,” he grunted as he looked back at her.
“I can see it,” she said trying to catch up to him.
Realizing he wasn’t being polite, he stopped and waited for her to draw closer. “I’m sorry, the last thing I want is to be rude. I’m in shock—that’s all. You’re not what I expected.” Or anything like what I’d asked for.
“I can understand that. I’m just here to do a good job for you. That’s all I want to do.”
“My aunt didn’t tell me of your condition.”
“She might not have known.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Hard to miss, though, don’t you think?”
She remained silent. No one else had guessed—her large dresses and aprons had done a good job of keeping her increasing size hidden. As they had reached the buggy, she stopped still and stared at him, but her lips didn’t move.
Turning his head from her, he placed her bag in the back of the buggy. “Need a hand up?”
“Nee, I’m able to do it myself.” And seeming to drive another point home to him, she added, “I’m able to do everything myself.”
He sharply nodded his head. “Gut!”
She climbed into the buggy the same moment as he did.
“Do you live far from here?” she asked.
“Not far, only fifteen minutes away.”
“It looks like a pretty place.”
“It can be tough out here.” As he slapped the reins against the horse for him to move forward, he glanced over to see her smiling. “I don’t know if my aunt told you or not, but you’ll be in a separate cabin, of course.”
“Jah, she told me that, and she told me as much as she could about you and your kinner. She said she hasn’t been out here herself, but she read to me from some of your letters where you described it.”
What else was in those letters? He’d often used his aunt as a sounding board and a confidant. Surely she wouldn’t have revealed his personal words of heartache to a stranger.
“And where are you from? My aunt said you haven’t been in Lancaster County for very long.”
“I moved away from Ohio after my husband died. There was nothing left there for me. I have no family of my own. My husband’s familye is still living in Ohio.”
“Surely his familye became your familye once you married.” He glanced over to see her frown. There was more to her story than she was letting on—he sensed some secret hurt. What else would motivate an attractive woman like her to come to an isolated place to look after someone else’s children?
“It’s complicated.”
“Things often are,” he said as he turned his attention back to the dirt-packed road the horse was clip-clopping down.
“Tell me about your kinner. Your aunt told me a little about them. I’m so looking forward to meeting them.”
He smiled. “The oldest is Jared and he’s eight. Ben is six, and Amy has just turned four. I’ve not seen any children with more energy than my three. I’m afraid they’ve tired out my poor schweschder-in-law, Heather. She’s been looking after them, as well as her three boys.”
“And are your schweschder-in-law’s kinner around the same ages?”
“They are.”
“That would be a handful for her.”
Aaron couldn’t help but chuckle. “Jared is a prankster and is always ready for a laugh and a joke. Poor old Ben is often the one who has the jokes played on him, but he’s so placid he doesn’t mind. Then there’s Amy, and with no young girls around, I have a hard time getting her to see that she must wear a dress. I’ve got no idea what I’m going to do when the time comes when she must wear a prayer kapp.” He shook his head.
Courtney giggled. “Sounds like I came just in time.”
He studied her. “I hope so. I did want someone who’d see this as something of a long-term situation and not just something to idly pass the time.”
“I’m well aware of that. Your aunt told me your situation exactly. We had many long discussions about you and your familye.”
“You did?”
She nodded.
He shook his head. “How do you expect to fulfill your duties once your boppli arrives?”
“Women have been working hard, birthing babies, and continuing to work for thousands of years. I’m strong, and more than capable of doing anything I have to do.”
“You are confident that you can look after your boppli and look after my three kinner?”
“I can. I know I can.”
“Don’t forget, you haven’t met them yet. Have you looked after children before?”
“Jah! I come from a community where there were loads of them, and I grew up with a household full of them. I’m an only child myself, but I was taken in by a familye when I was three and raised with many children. When I got older, I started to look after many of the younger ones. If Bessie had any doubts about me, she wouldn’t have recommended me, and she told me you said you would be happy with her choice.”
She had him there. He did write those exact words in one of his letters to his aunt. Courtney seemed keen and had a ready answer to his questions so maybe she might work out.
She wriggled uncomfortably. “If I don’t do a gut job for you, you can send me back.”
“We shall see. Our first stop will be my bruder’s haus to collect my kinner. My schweschder-in-law has been looking after them today. In the mornings, I’ve been taking them there, and collecting them at night.”
“I can see that wouldn’t be an ideal situation.”
She turned to face him. “What’s your schweschder-in-law’s name?”
“Heather and my bruder is James. And here we are right now.”