Winter of Wishes Read Free Page B

I’ve come for,” he replied. “But, wow, this place
     smells just like Thanksgiving dinner! I missed out on all that wonderful food this
     year because my mom’s not up to the cooking anymore.”
    Rhoda stood up, her expression tight. “Mamma, we’ve been so busy here today—and I
     didn’t want to say anything in front of Naomi and Hannah, but—well, I saw a note on
     the Zook’s bulletin board, for a job takin’ care of this fella’s mamm and his two kids. So I called him about it. This—this is Andy Leitner, from over
     around New Haven.”
    “And I’m pleased to meet you, Mrs. Lantz,” Andy said.
    “Oh, call me Miriam or I sound old enough to be your mamm ,” she replied with a chuckle. “Except, thanks be to God, I’m healthy and happy and
     able to cook those turkeys you’re smellin’. Real sorry to hear your mother’s not doin’
     so well. Puts a damper on everything.”
    “Thank you,” he murmured, immediately sensing this woman’s compassion. “Mom had a
     stroke a while back, and while the therapy is helping, she still doesn’t have full
     use of her right hand and arm. She’s home when the kids get out of school, but . .
     .” How did he explain his situation without sounding like he was pleading for pity?
    “The good fairies aren’t showin’ up to cook and clean, so things are lookin’ untidy,”
     Miram finished quietly. “And what sort of work do ya do, Mr. Leitner?”
    Instinct prodded him to follow her earlier lead. Miriam’s face looked so pleasant
     and fresh it was hard to judge her age. She could easily be Rhoda’s older sister,
     considering how Amish women were often still having children when their firstborns
     got married. “Please, call me Andy,” he insisted, “or you’ll have me feeling old enough
     to be your father.”
    Their laughter rang around the dining room, a sound that lightened his heart. After
     an ICU shift that had drained him, it felt wonderful to be here where their happiness
     rejuvenated him. “I’m almost finished with my internship, due to graduate with my
     nursing degree at the end of this semester.”
    Their eyes widened, but he was used to Midwestern people who still considered nursing
     a female occupation. Yet he saw no derision on their smooth, sweet faces.
    “What a wonderful gift, to be a healer,” Miriam said with a reverent nod.
    “ Jah , there’s never enough doctors or nurses to go around, especially in farmin’ areas
     like Willow Ridge,” Rhoda remarked. “It’s lucky for your mamm that ya probably knew what was goin’ wrong when she was havin’ her stroke.”
    Andy vividly recalled how he’d found his mother unable to get out of bed, with her
     face already gone slack on one side so she couldn’t speak clearly. “Mom’s better now,
     but she has a long way to go and . . . well, with the kids in school and me working
     shifts, she gets depressed—”
    “And ya don’t feel right leavin’ her by herself, wonderin’ what might go wrong.” Miriam’s
     face took on a thoughtful glow. “I’ll let you two talk out the details of this job.
     Be sure and stop by the kitchen before ya leave, though.”
    And what did she mean by that? Andy noted the quickness of Miriam’s step and realized
     how long it had been since he’d spent time with a woman who knew her purpose and carried
     it out with humor and dignity. Why, even when he and Megan had first been married—
    Megan has no place in this conversation. But she’ll have to be explained sooner or
     later, won’t she?
    “Well, now.” Rhoda smiled shyly as she took her seat again. “That went better than
     I figured. Didn’t mean to catch ya betwixt the two of us kitty-cats—even though Mamma
     and I rarely show our claws.”
    Andy delighted at her turn of phrase. “That’s one of the reasons I believe you’re
     the right person to restore order in my home and to—to care for everyone.” He cleared
     his throat, deciding to lay his cards on the