14 months later...
Nick arrived home from work and strode through the empty house. He reached the back door, and his heart lifted. His beautiful wife sat under the shade of the oak tree in their backyard of a newly renovated home in Apple Creek. It was probably one of the last few warm days before the weather would turn cold and snowy.
Nick still couldn’t believe they had been married almost a year now.
Major life decisions took on new meaning when time was no longer a luxury.
Mary Ruth sat on the blanket with Sarah. His mother-in-law sat in a lawn chair looking lovingly at her granddaughter in her daughter’s arms.
Nick’s heart nearly burst with joy.
Things could have gone far differently if God hadn’t been watching out for Sarah when Ruben had decided she was the root of his problems.
Turns out, Miss Ellinor, the pastor’s wife, had confided in Ruben’s mother about Sarah’s need to get away from an abusive boyfriend. Her intentions had been innocent enough; Miss Ellinor was looking for a rental for Sarah. However, Ruben had eavesdropped. And when Mary Ruth had broken up with him, he used the information to try to scare Sarah. To make her think her ex had found her. Ruben had hoped to get Sarah away from Mary Ruth, whom he felt was unduly influenced by the evil Englischer.
Ruben confessed to everything, from throwing the rock through the church window to luring Sarah to the empty house and pushing her off the ladder. He never revealed whom he paid to make the phone call, but the young girl probably didn’t realize what Ruben’s true intentions were.
Thankfully, Ruben wasn’t internet savvy, or he may have tracked down Jimmy himself and sent him after Sarah earlier. Nick prayed Ruben would change during his three-year stint in prison.
Nick needed to shove those memories aside, but he found they made him profoundly grateful.
He pushed open the back door and strolled across the lawn. “Hello. Did my little princess nap for you today?” He studied his wife’s face. She was tired, but she always assured him it was tired in the very best possible way.
Sarah shook her head and planted a kiss on her daughter’s forehead. “I had help, though, so I was able to take a little nap.” She handed their daughter over to Maggie and adjusted the blanket around the baby.
Sarah came to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He cherished the easy nature of their relationship. Sarah took pleasure in the little things. She had been through so much and seemed to share in his feelings of gratitude. He kissed her forehead, impressed with how well the scar from the broken glass had healed.
A lot of scars had healed over the past year.
The baby let out a little cry and Sarah spun around, ready to take their daughter into her arms.
Maggie held up one hand. “I’ve got this under control. Did you forget who raised you?” Maggie smiled, her thin hair a soft halo around her head. She had defied all the doctors’ expectations for life expectancy. Through both the Gardner women, Nick had learned to take each day as it came. Sarah’s family was different from his, who were always looking for the next achievement. The next goal. The next honor.
Nick loved the family that he was born into, but he loved the contentedness and satisfaction he felt with his new family: Sarah and little Emma May.
* * *
Sarah reluctantly pulled out of Nick’s embrace. Every time he came home from work—every time he entered a room—a flush of warm emotions wrapped around her heart.
Her life had been a nightmare when she first moved to Apple Creek; now it was more than she could have ever hoped. She glanced over her shoulder at her mother and Mary Ruth cooing over her fussing baby—Nick’s and her baby.
“I better start dinner.” Sarah moved toward the house.
“Oh, no, let me do it.” Mary Ruth stood and swatted at the back of her long dress. Sarah waved her off.
“I enjoy cooking, especially if Emma May is content with her auntie Mary Ruth and Grammy.”
Mary Ruth beamed. “I’m really going to miss you all.”
A thin line creased Nick’s brow. “Miss us?”
Mary Ruth shook her bonneted head. “I’ve decided to spend some time in Florida.”
“Florida?” Nick asked, obviously only able to get one or two words out at a time.
Sarah placed her hand on her husband’s forearm. “Mary Ruth is going to spend some time with her grandmother in an Amish community in Florida.”
“It’ll be a nice change of pace.” Mary Ruth ran her hand down Emma May’s soft head. “But I’ll visit.” She lifted a shoulder. “The community is in affiliation with Apple Creek. I’ll be free to come back if I wish. I have to figure out what I want to do.”
Marriage was a well-respected institution among the Amish, and it had become apparent that Mary Ruth felt alone among all her married or soon-to-be married friends.
“I’ve made some money selling my quilts to buy a bus ticket. I leave next week.”
“Well,” Nick said, “we’ll miss you, too.”
“Absolutely. Well...dinner isn’t going to make itself.” Sarah went into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
Nick came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and nuzzled her neck. “You smell nice.”
Sarah turned around in his embrace and hugged him back. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”
Nick whispered in her ear, “You’ve deserved only good things all along. I’m just glad I was here when you finally realized it.”
* * * * *