A Mother's Secret Read Free Page A

lost herself in her niece’s story, enjoying the details of the strapping Amish boy. Carolyn prayed Rosemary’s life would remain as uncomplicated as it was now and that her sweet niece wouldn’t make the same mistakes she had when she was sixteen.

    Carolyn stood at the sink in her brother’s house and scrubbed a pot while her mother dried the dishes and Sarah Ann swept the floor.
    “Benjamin got a job today,” her father said as he sat at the table with Amos.
    “He did?” Amos asked. “I thought he was going to keep working for me.”
    Carolyn turned toward them. “It wasn’t planned. It just happened.”
    “How?” Amos looked intrigued.
    Her father explained the story about the rock, and Carolyn continued to scrub the pot with such force that she thought itmight break in half. She wanted to tell both her father and her brother that Benjamin was innocent, but she knew it was no use. They would never believe him.
    “I see,” Amos said.
    Carolyn turned and found her brother rubbing his graying beard. At forty-five, he was a younger, thinner version of their father.
    “It’s a gut plan,” Amos said. “He needs to work for Joshua Glick as punishment and to repay his debt for the horse’s wound. That bu needs to learn some respect since he’s always getting into trouble here. Maybe Joshua Glick can get through to him since I can’t seem to get his attention.”
    Carolyn held on to the washrag in her hand and looked at her mother, who gave her a warning glance. Her mother could never stand for Carolyn to argue with Amos, so Carolyn vowed to try to not upset her mother. She was thankful the boys and Rosemary had gone outside after supper to finish chores and that Benjamin wasn’t nearby to hear his uncle’s unkind words.
    “I think it will be gut for him too,” Dat said.
    “I bet he’ll enjoy working on the horse farm.” Sarah Ann smiled while sweeping near the entrance to the mudroom. “ Mei daadi had several horses, and mei schweschder and I loved helping to care for them.”
    Amos tapped the table in emphasis. “It’s gut , hard work, and that’s what the bu needs.”
    “Work can be fun too, Amos.” Sarah Ann continued to smile, and Carolyn wondered how her hard-nosed brother had won the hand of such a sweet wife.
    The men discussed the weather while the women finished cleaning up.
    Carolyn rinsed the last dish and handed it to her mother. She then wiped the counter and dried her hands on a dish towel as water gurgled and bubbles disappeared down the drain. “ Danki for supper, Sarah Ann.”
    “ Gern gschehne .” Sarah Ann stowed the broom in the closet by the door.
    “We’ll see you tomorrow,” Carolyn’s mother said as she put on her cloak.
    Sarah Ann hugged Carolyn and then her mother-in-law. “Have a gut night.”
    Carolyn hugged her cloak to her body and then followed her parents out to the porch and into the crisp night air. She marveled as they immediately began to hold hands and walk side by side toward their small house, located behind Amos’s large farmhouse. Although her parents had been married for nearly fifty years, they still held hands and gazed at each other from across the room like teenage sweethearts. Carolyn longed to find a true love like her parents had always shared; however, she didn’t believe she was worthy of finding a love like that because of the transgressions she committed when she was a teenager.
    “Carolyn.” Amos’s voice sounded from behind her. “I need to talk to you.”
    She stayed on the porch, where her brother sidled up to her. “What do you want?” She hoped he wasn’t looking for another chance to put down Benjamin. She couldn’t take any more insults.
    “I have someone I want you to meet. His name is Saul Beiler, and he doesn’t live far from here.”
    Carolyn’s shoulders tensed. “Why do you want me to meet him?”
    “He’s a widower and he has a dochder . He wants to meet you and see if you’ll make a good fraa . He needs