17

In the days after the fire, Ruby and Elizabeth moved back to Elizabeth’s cabin. Her sister was quiet. Maybe too quiet, and Ruby watched her closely. When Ruby asked if Elizabeth would rather join her in caring for the children, she shook her head.

“I need time to think, and to pray.” The corners of her mouth turned up, but her eyes were serious. “My life isn’t what I thought it was a few weeks ago, and I need to think what the Good Lord wants me to do now.”

Since Elizabeth seemed content, Ruby ran down the hill to help Mamm each morning. Besides the children, there were sick men to care for.

The soldiers had left the area the morning after the fire, while the sky was still a pale gray. Thaddeus Brown, the captain of the group, stayed behind. His son had been injured badly, even though Gideon had pulled him away from the fire. After two days, the boy passed away, having never regained consciousness. They buried him in the family cemetery on the hill south of the pasture.

Thaddeus still stayed on the farm, though. He set up his tent by the fence at the edge of the pasture and ate his meals with the family, but he had lost the threatening bravado he maintained before the fire.

“I don’t understand,” Thaddeus said to Daed at the noon meal on Saturday, nearly a week after the fire. “I am your enemy, and yet you’ve welcomed me into your home. I tried to kill you, and yet you still treat me like a friend. You even grieved with me over my son’s death.” The man stared at his plate while he regained his composure. “I don’t deserve to be treated so well. I should be in a prisoner-of-war camp or shot as a spy.”

“We have only acted as our Lord has commanded us,” Daed said. He was recovering from his wound but still carried his arm in a sling. “The world tells us to fight and worry, but Christ has taught us to accept what he has ordained, to respond with love, and to create friendship where there is animosity. You have lost much in this war and we grieve with you.”

“What will you do now?” Gideon asked.

His voice still held the hoarseness of breathing in the smoke and heat of the fire, but it was better than it had been a few days ago. Ruby had been worried about him, but now he was breathing easier too. He was healing from his injuries.

He swallowed some water, then continued. “Will you rejoin the war?”

Ruby rose to fetch the coffeepot. Thaddeus had changed since his son passed away, but would he go back to the fighting that had cost him so much?

“One thing I know is that I can’t go home.” Thaddeus stared at his plate. “I’ve deserted my commission, my farm is destroyed, and my family is gone.” He glanced around the table. “And as much as you’ve welcomed me, I can’t stay here in Yankee territory. You may be able to forgive, but I can’t. The North has destroyed everything I hold dear. Every part of my life has been taken from me, leaving me empty and worn out. I can’t just turn my back on that.” He leaned his elbows on the table, pressing his fists against each other. “The only thing I have left is hate. I have carried hatred for the Yankees in my heart for so many years that I can’t live any other way, and I don’t want to. So, I’ll be leaving soon. Maybe this afternoon, maybe tomorrow morning.”

“You won’t reconsider?” Daed asked. His face held the sorrow that Ruby felt.

Thaddeus shook his head. “There is no place for a man like me among civilized folks.”

“We’ll send some food with you, enough to carry you through for a while.”

The raider nodded his thanks, his face worn and his eyes shadowed.

After they had finished eating, the prayer time was longer than usual. Daed prayed for Thaddeus, asking for God’s protection over him as he left Weaver’s Creek. Silently, Ruby prayed that he would find peace wherever he was going.

Gideon took the children outside while Ruby and Mamm cleared up after the meal, and Daed went into the front room with Thaddeus.

“Do you think there is anything Daed can say that will make a difference in that man’s life?” Ruby asked as she and Mamm washed the dishes.

“If anyone can break through his hatred, Daed can. But only our Lord can change his heart and his mind.” Mamm sighed. “The world is very evil, and meeting a man like him reminds me of how that evil destroys lives. I don’t know what will become of him.”

Mamm went to rest once the kitchen was clean, and Ruby joined Gideon on the back porch. He sat on the step with Daniel, watching the children play under the tree. The playhouse had burned during the fire, but the children had adapted, using sticks laid in the grass for walls and leaves for dishes.

“You are feeling better today, I think,” Ruby said.

Daniel sat on his father’s lap, his head pillowed on Gideon’s chest.

“Every day I feel a bit stronger. I was just thinking about the barn and when we should plan to rebuild it.”

“We should do it soon.”

Daniel reached for Ruby and she set him on her lap. He yawned and rubbed his eyes.

“You’re right, and not only for the good of the farm. The community is unsettled. Folks are worried, and some are even frightened that more raiders could come. They no longer feel safe.”

“Is that what you ministers were discussing yesterday when Amos and Wilhelm stopped by?”

Gideon nodded. “They have driven to every home in the area, talking with folks and assuring them that we will recover from this.”

Ruby held Daniel close. “I never thought we would be fighting the war here in Weaver’s Creek.”

“You heard Thaddeus, and he isn’t the only one who feels that way. The country is divided with wounds on both sides that may never heal. And hatred has no borders. It spills into every community like a plague. We were foolish to think we were immune to its effects.”

“What will happen now?”

Gideon smiled. “We’ll have a barn raising. There isn’t anything we can do that would heal our church better than working together. Amos is going to announce it tomorrow at next week’s Sunday meeting, and we’ll plan on having it next Saturday.”

“A barn raising! That will be so much fun.” She leaned against Gideon’s shoulder as he put his arm around her. “I can’t remember the last time we had a frolic.”

“I thought I might ask Amos to make another announcement.” Gideon cleared his throat.

“What would that be?”

“I’ve had a lot of time to think and pray during the last week as I’ve been recovering from the fire.” He pulled her closer. “I want to keep my promise to Lovinia.”

Ruby tried to keep from smiling. “I should probably keep my promise too.”

“I knew Lovinia wouldn’t want me to marry someone I didn’t get along with. Someone I didn’t love. But she knew you would be the one for me and for the children.”

Daniel’s eyes were closed, and Ruby shifted him so that he was lying in her arms.

Gideon brushed the baby’s hair off his forehead. “My love for you has grown every day. You are not only beautiful, loving, and wise, but you know me. You understand the grief I still wrestle with and you understand what I have lost. I never thought I would find another woman who I would want to share my life with—every part of my life—but then you came along.”

Ruby pulled away from him to gaze into his face. “You don’t want someone better? Someone more like my mother?”

He smiled. “You are more like your mother than you think, Ruby Weaver. And I couldn’t find a better wife than you if I spent the rest of my life searching. Will you marry me?”

Daniel stretched, screwed his face up as if he was going to cry, then opened his eyes. He grinned, then reached up with one hand and touched Ruby’s cheek.

“Mamma, Mamma.”

Ruby’s eyes filled. “It looks like Daniel has made my decision for me.” She looked at Gideon. “How could I refuse him when he asks so sweetly?” She took the baby’s hand and kissed it. “I will marry you, Gideon.”

“As soon as possible?” His eyebrows peaked as he asked the question, waiting for her answer.

She covered her mouth, trying not to laugh with the joy that coursed through her. “As soon as possible.”

With the threat of the raiders gone, the Weaver’s Creek community settled back into a peaceful routine. Gideon moved back to his house with the children, and he and Ruby began their practice of having coffee together each morning. And every morning, he felt that their wedding couldn’t come soon enough.

The fall harvest was just beginning, and Gideon felt his strength returning as he worked with Samuel and his sons in the fields. The oats were ripe and ready to be shocked, but first, Abraham needed a new barn.

Amos had made the announcement about the barn raising at Sunday’s meeting, the day Thaddeus left, and the next Saturday the entire community met at the Weavers’ to share in the work. Abraham had contacted Mr. Stevenson, the owner of the nearby sawmill, and traded standing trees from the west end of his land in exchange for lumber. The loads of sawn boards were delivered on Friday.

Saturday morning dawned clear and warm, holding the promise of a hot day ahead. After Gideon did his chores, he carried the pail of milk into the kitchen. Ruby had arrived while he was in the barn and had started a pot of coffee. The tantalizing fragrance drew him in. He looked forward to these quiet moments with her each morning.

“When will you go down to your mamm’s?”

Ruby had already poured the coffee and was sitting at the table, waiting for him. Ham sizzled in a pan on the stove.

“Right after breakfast.” She smiled at him, ignoring her coffee. “We did the baking and prepared as much as we could yesterday, but we still need to get the chickens ready to roast.”

“Other women will bring food too?” Gideon sipped his hot coffee.

“For sure. There will be plenty to feed you hungry men.” She sat back in her chair, smiling at him.

“What is it?”

“I was just thinking that in less than two weeks, we’ll be doing the same thing, but for a completely different reason.”

Gideon settled back in his own chair. Sunlight coming through the kitchen window shone in her hair, and her face was animated with excitement. Her joy in life was contagious.

“Not such a different reason,” he said. “Today we’re building a barn, set on a solid foundation. On our wedding day, we’ll be starting to build our lives together.”

“You don’t think our marriage will be like a barn, do you?”

He laughed. “Not exactly like a barn, but we’ll use loving care in our marriage just as we will with the barn today. And both will be built on an existing foundation. The barn on the packed earth and stone walls that Samuel and I have been repairing this week, and our marriage on the solid foundation of our faith.”

Ruby sat up and took his hand in hers. “And remembering those who have given us an example to live by.”

He looked into her eyes. “You aren’t sorry you agreed to marry me, are you? It isn’t too late to back out.”

She squeezed his hand. “Oh, I think it is much too late to change my mind.” She grinned at him as she went to the stove to turn the ham in the frying pan. “After all, we’ve already told the children. We can’t turn back now, and I certainly don’t want to.”

She came back to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, and he pulled her down to sit on his lap.

Gideon wrapped his arms around her. “Sometimes I think even the short time we need to wait is too long.”

He held her close until they both smelled the ham burning.

Breakfast was a quick meal of ham, eggs, and biscuits, then Ruby filled her little cart with the food and other things she was taking. Gideon carried Daniel down the road to the Weavers’ farm while the other children walked ahead of them, pulling the cart. A few wagons had arrived already, and Elizabeth caught up with them just as they crossed the stone bridge.

“Bishop Amos said I can do it,” she said, taking Daniel from Gideon.

“I thought he would,” Gideon said. He and Wilhelm had put no barriers between Elizabeth and joining the church, but Wilhelm hadn’t been sure about Amos’s thoughts. The older man had been elected bishop, and he took his now official role seriously. Elizabeth had planned to meet with him on Friday evening.

“I’m glad he did. He said you or Wilhelm can give me instruction for baptism, and then I can join at the fall council meeting in November.”

While Ruby and Elizabeth took the children to the house, Gideon walked over to the building site.

“It’s a fine morning, isn’t it?” Abraham said, shaking his hand.

Samuel and Bram were putting sawhorses together while Peter Lehman walked among the stacks of lumber, jotting notes on a paper in his hand.

“Is Peter the foreman?”

Abraham nodded. “He has a knack for knowing which boards should be used and in which places. He spent last Tuesday at the sawmill, ordering the right length and widths of the lumber, and then he was here before dawn this morning, checking them off his list.”

Gideon walked over to the big ridgepoles, lying on the ground next to the smaller poles that would form the frame of the barn. Beyond them were stacks of boards, all sorted by lengths and widths. They would be building a large barn today, a duplicate of the one that had burned nearly two weeks ago.

The rest of the families arrived, and the work started. Gideon strapped his leather tool belt around his waist and joined the team that was framing one of the end walls. Abraham, still recovering from his gunshot wound and loss of blood, pitched in where he could, but left most of the heavy work to the other men.

Halfway through the morning, Gideon straightened from his work and looked around. After all that this community had been through, he was glad to see Amos and Abraham working together to build a window frame, and Levi working next to Samuel. Wilmer Keck worked alongside Caleb Lehman. The young man from Wayne County had told Gideon of his intention to buy a farm in the Weaver’s Creek area. His goal was to marry Millie Beiler, and Gideon wished him well.

By the side of the house, the children played together. Roseanna seemed to be in charge of the game of Blind Man’s Bluff, but William was helping her with the younger boys. Shrieks of happy laughter drifted on the summer air in between the constant pop of hammers on wood.

Mercy and grace. The Good Lord had extended both to the community in abundance. And with them, peace.

By noon, the walls were all up. Peter laid the ridgepoles himself, fastening the heavy oak beams to the rafters with mortise joints and wooden pins. Supports ran the width of the barn at the roofline, and the frame was done.

The women had been cooking in the Weavers’ big kitchen all morning, and now the tables in the yard were laden with roast chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, sliced tomatoes, and loaves of fresh-baked bread. Another table was filled with pies.

Gideon sat with Levi and Samuel in the shade of the trees that sheltered the house from the summer sun on the south side.

Samuel nudged Gideon’s foot with his toe. “Are you ready for the next event in the church?”

Levi leaned toward him. “Your wedding day will be here soon.” He grinned at Samuel. “You’re sure you want to do this?”

Gideon looked across the grassy space to the tables filled with food. Ruby was in line with Elizabeth and Lydia, filling plates for the children and herself. Sophia tagged along behind her, holding on to her skirt with one hand, while Roseanna kept Ezra busy away from the table. Daniel was content in Elizabeth’s arms. As he watched, Ruby bent down to say something to Sophia, putting her free arm around his daughter’s shoulders.

He could see Sophia’s face, pink from the summer sun and heat of the day, her fine blonde hair plastered to her damp forehead where it had escaped her kapp. She smiled up at Ruby, her eyes shining with happiness and love, and Ruby gave her a quick kiss before turning back to the table. His heart filled.

“Don’t worry, Levi.” His voice caught, and he cleared his throat. “I have no second thoughts. I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my days here in Weaver’s Creek with Ruby by my side.”