The Taming of a Wild Flower: Book Three (Amish Fiction/Romance, Christian Romance) Read online

  The TAMING of a WILD FLOWER

  Book Three

  REVISED EDITION

  Written by

  Samantha Jillian Bayarr

  Copyright © 2001 by Samantha Jillian Bayarr

  REVISED EDITION © 2012 by Samantha Jillian Bayarr

  Cover illustration © John Sloane

  Cover illustration (Pumpkin Patch) is © John Sloane, and is used with permission of the artist. For more information about the artist, or to order full color prints, visit the artist's website at www.johnsloaneart.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form either written, photocopying, or electronically without the express permission of the author or publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and are therefore used fictitiously. Any similarity or resemblance to actual persons; living or dead, places or events is purely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or publisher.

  All brand names or product names mentioned in this book are trademarks, registered trademarks, or trade names, and are the sole ownership of their respective holders. Livingston Hall Publishers is not associated with any products or brands named in this book.

  All scripture references in this book used from New International Version of the Bible

  Also by Samantha Jillian Bayarr

  LWF Amish Series

  Little Wild Flower Book I

  Little Wild Flower Book II

  The Taming of a Wild Flower

  Little Wild Flower in Bloom

  Little Wild Flower’s Journey

  Christian Romance

  Milk Maid in Heaven

  The Anniversary

  Christian Historical Romance

  A Sheriff’s Legacy: Book One

  Preacher Outlaw: Book Two

  Cattle Rustler in Petticoats: Book Three

  Jacob’s Daughter Amish Collection

  Jacob’s Daughter

  Amish Winter Wonderland

  Under the Mulberry Tree

  Amish Winter of Promises

  Amish Summer of Courage

  An Amish Harvest

  An Amish Christmas Wish

  Companion Series

  An Amish Courtship

  The Quilter’s Son

  An Amish Widower

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  ONE—A Bird in Hand

  TWO—A Time of Testing

  THREE—Faith Moves Mountains

  FOUR—Blessed Union

  FIVE—Two By Two

  SIX—Sad Farewell

  SEVEN—Amazing Grace

  MILK MAID IN HEAVEN

  Sneak Peek

  ONE—No Time for Regrets

  ONE

  A BIRD IN HAND

  It was still early—too early for worrying over having second thoughts regarding my bold invitation to Bradley. Sunday was still several days away, but that didn’t stop the nerves from forming in the pit of my stomach. Although I was stunned by Bradley’s proposal of dinner, I had decided to just be neighborly and go through with it. If there was one thing Elijah had taught me well, it was how to be neighborly. Since the Beilers had invited Bradley to church, it seemed reasonable that he should come for dinner afterward. Besides, I knew my children would enjoy hearing some of the old stories Bradley and I could tell about our summers together when we were children.

  With a final tip of his wide-brimmed, black hat, Bradley steered his horse toward the lane that led to the main road, and I knew at that point I was locked into having him as a dinner guest. His eager acceptance of the dinner invitation had left me feeling a bit uneasy, but I’d forced a smile, unwilling to let him see how nervous I really was. When he’d smiled a warm smile back at me, it had made me feel somewhat like a young girl again.

  I shook off my uneasy thoughts, remembering that we had left our breakfast partially uneaten due to all the unexpected excitement of Simon’s and Eva’s chicken pox. Some of the children had eaten, but I knew Eva, Simon and I hadn’t. My stomach growled, but I was more interested in going to Nadine’s house than eating. I was too nervous, so I showered quickly while waiting for Eva to eat. When she was finished, I grabbed her and went down the lane to see Nadine. I couldn’t wait to tell her the news about Bradley.

  When I reached the Lapp farm, Nadine was bidding goodbye to her daughters, Autumn and Asher, while she busied her hands with weeding the full flower bed that bordered her front porch. I skipped up to her, emotions bubbling, when I burst forth the news.

  “Nadine, guess what?” I didn’t wait for her to answer, but continued talking excitedly. “Bradley Davis is our new town doctor!”

  “Bradley Davis,” she repeated slowly with confusion showing on her face.

  I twirled my hands in front of me in an upward motion, leading her to figure out what I was talking about.

  “You mean the same Bradley that used to visit in the summer with his grandma who lived down the alley from our old house?” she asked with enthusiasm.

  “The very same one! Can you believe it?” I asked.

  I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face, and my cheeks were beginning to ache from it.

  “How did that happen?” she asked with raised eyebrows.

  “When Doc Beiler retired, he put the word out that there was an opening and Bradley got wind of it, so he took it.”

  “That is so amazing that he ended up in the same town as you after all these years,” she said.

  The reality of the whole thing suddenly hit me and I felt the need to sit down, so I sat beside my sister in the grass.

  “That is a strange coincidence. You don’t suppose he knew I was here?”

  “Are you sick, Jane?” she asked. “You look a little pale all of a sudden.”

  “I’m fine, but Bradley is coming to dinner after church on Sunday. He practically invited himself! Is that improper?”

  “Well, I don’t know. Is he married?” she asked.

  “Nah. Said he hadn’t had the time or the guts. He still wears the leg braces that he had to start using when he got polio, so he was insecure about getting a wife.”

  “Gosh, that’s sad. But anyway, yer both adults so it ain’t improper. Besides, he used to be your best friend,” she said in a comforting tone, as she placed her hand on my arm.

  “I guess you’re right. There ain’t anything wrong with having a friend over for dinner, even if he is a single, handsome man.” I agreed with her.

  “So he’s still good looking, jah?”

  “Yes, Nadine! He is very good looking. Maybe better looking than I remember him being when we were kids,” I admitted with a giggle.

  We both sat in silence for a few minutes, leaving my last words lingering in the air. After a while of watching my sister working intently in her flower garden, I felt guilty that I had left a mess in my kitchen for Abigail to deal with. I knew I should get home to take over so she would go to school. Being late Monday morning, I was getting a good head start on being behind in my laundry chores as well. Meanwhile, I could see my sister had already begun the chore and had a full clothesline of freshly washed linens.

  “I need to go home and get my wash on the line before the sun gets too high in the sky, or I’ll never get it all dry before dark,” I said as I stood to my feet.

  “Wait a minute. Tell me how you managed to run into the new doc?” Nadine asked.

  “Oh no! I forg
ot!” I said as I lifted Eva’s dress to reveal the chicken pox that hid behind the pink lotion that Bradley had provided for the itch.

  “She’s got the chicken pox, Jane! Now my kids are gonna get them too.”

  She sounded a little frustrated.

  “I am so sorry, Nadine,” I tried apologizing.

  “No sense worrying about it now,” she offered with a crooked smile. “They were bound to get them sooner or later.”

  Eva and I walked down the lane and stopped at the mailboxes before turning toward home. I sifted through the week’s worth of mail that the children had neglected to collect. At the bottom of the pile was a letter to Elijah from the auction house in Shipshewana. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to open it or not, so I put it on the bottom of the pile and looked through the rest of the pile again. The walk home felt like it lasted a small eternity due the sudden weight of Elijah’s letter that rested on my mind. My desire to open the letter was greater than my yen for ignoring it, due to my increasing curiosity with each step that I took toward home. As I entered through the screen door from the back porch, I tossed the letter on the counter with the rest of the mail. I wanted to read it and wrap up any lingering business Elijah may have had with the auction. But after a second thought, however, I knew I had laundry to get done. After much debate, I decided to read it after preparing the noon meal. The kitchen was already mostly clean, but Abigail usually left the pans for me to wash, and this time was no different.

  I looked out the kitchen window to see where Simon might be, and spotted Abigail hanging wash on the line instead of going to school. I pushed aside my thoughts about the letter for the time being and rushed out to help my daughter with what was supposed to be my work. I felt a little guilty that she had begun the chore on her own, yet grateful at the same time that she would do what was needed without being told.

  Before I got halfway to her, Abigail shouted to me that she hadn’t taken the time to put the next load in the washing machine since she was late for school, so I blew her a kiss and turned to take care of it, while she trotted off to school. When I walked back through the kitchen, the letter was still where I left it, leaving me with feelings of eagerness to make the time move quickly toward the noon hour. I forced myself to leave the letter in its place, willing my mind to forget it for the time being. Rather than surrendering to my curiosity, I went into the laundry room to do my weekly chore. My mind wasn’t on my work, but I trudged through it anyway. The morning seemingly passed by as slowly as it possibly could, filling me with a bit of aggravation, but I tried to pray though it. Patience was never one of my virtues, and I desperately needed an extra dose to get me through this morning.

  After the dishes had been done and three loads of wash had been hung and two put away, I put the last load in the washer and went into the kitchen to prepare the noon meal. I eyed the letter repeatedly while I cooked, but I was determined to wait until I had the time to sit down to read it. I was limited for time in getting the noon meal before Abigail and Jakob would be home from school to join Simon and Eva.

  One by one, the children trailed into the house, stopping at the sink to wash their hands. Once everyone was seated, Simon said the blessing over the food. With Eli at the public school, he ate in the cafeteria and wasn’t able to make the trip home at noon. Although we missed having him home mid-day, he was always with us at dinnertime, making us a more complete family. After cutting Eva’s food and serving the other children, I got up and went to the counter to retrieve the letter.

  Before opening it, I looked around at the curious faces before me. We had always talked at the table and here I was about to read the mail, and I knew they didn’t understand. I smiled a nervous smile and tossed the letter back in its place on the counter, beginning a conversation with the children that I knew I would miss once they left to return to school after the meal. Not wanting to be selfish, I spent the rest of the day finishing my chores, keeping Simon busy, and playing with Eva in her very cranky state.

  After putting another coat of pink lotion on Simon and Eva, I tucked in the children and said prayers with them. I then retired to my room with the mysterious letter clenched tightly in my hand. Saying an additional prayer in my head and taking a deep breath, I opened the letter slowly.

  Dear Mr. Zook,

  When we were cleaning out our storeroom facility, we came across the Hoosier Cabinet that you had purchased more than a year ago. As I went through our files, I discovered that you paid storage fees up to October of last year. Our files indicate that you had arranged for delivery on October 4th, and I would like to extend my sincere apologies for not doing so. Due to an error on our part in neglecting to deliver this item to you, we would like to deliver it without charging you additional storage fees. Please contact our office at (219) 875-7000 to arrange a date of delivery.

  Sincerely,

  James Yoder

  “There must be some mistake,” I said out loud.

  Elijah knew I wanted a Hoosier Cabinet, but I couldn’t figure out why he had purchased it instead of making one himself. I looked down at the letter, looking for clues as to why it was never picked up or taken care of by Elijah. As I reread the letter, I couldn’t believe I had missed the evidence the first time through. Elijah had obviously purchased it for my birthday as the letter indicated, and had paid storage up to that point. Unfortunately, he had passed away before he had the chance to take care of it. My heart caught in my throat as I realized he had planned to surprise me with the cabinet. I had wanted one for some time, but had put it out of my mind due to the changes that had taken place in my life. I wasn’t certain what I intended to do about the letter, or if I would even contact Mr. Yoder. I had mixed feelings about having the cabinet delivered without Elijah there to share it with me. After all, it was his surprise, and he would never get the opportunity to share it with me.

  I laid the letter on the night-stand and put my head on Elijah’s pillow. Normally I had felt sad when I did this, but tonight, my thoughts surprisingly turned to Bradley. I suddenly felt a slight excitement over the upcoming dinner with Bradley and wondered if I had finally healed from all the effects of Elijah’s death.

  ****

  In the morning, I felt stressed from tossing through a sleepless night. Even though I had spent most of the night thinking about my dilemma, I still did not feel that I had satisfied a conclusion. I rolled over in my bed, alert to the crowing of the roosters in the yard. Lifting my head from the pillow, I suddenly heard the hens squawking. One look at the clock on the nightstand, and I knew that Elizabeth had to be out there feeding them. I glanced at the letter that lay beside the clock, wondering if I should take the time to pick it up again. I instinctively reached for it, pulling it close to my heart, as though by some miracle it could soak into my heart and filter to my brain. The temptation to read the letter through was greater than my desire to pull my tired bones from my bed, so I opened it. I closed it again when I became teary-eyed. Right then I decided to pick up the gift that Elijah had been unable to bless me with.

  I felt a sudden burst of energy as I reached for my robe, intending to get breakfast before Eli would leave for school. It had seemed a small eternity since we had all been together at the morning meal, and I determined to make my old habit a new one. There would no longer be a reason to neglect my routine that I had adopted over the years. I breathed a quick prayer asking that God would bless me with the strength to make it through another day, then, I skipped down the stairs to greet my children with a hearty meal to send them off into the world. I smiled and thanked the Lord that today was the day of the month that the women of the community went into town to purchase goods from Forks General Store. I knew that Papa would not mind making a detour to the flea market after all the purchases had been made. I had a strong sense of excitement about where I would place the large piece of furniture. In fact, I knew just the spot.

  ****

  On Sunday, I found myself trying on several dresses before I decided t
o wear the pale yellow with the cream-colored bow. It was my favorite, but I didn’t want to appear too dressed-up.

  Eli entered the room complaining that his last clean shirt had a tear in the arm, and I knew I didn’t have time to mend it before we needed to leave for church. As he stood next to me, I realized that he was taller than me, and I hadn’t even noticed that he had grown recently. He was now the same height as Elijah and had nearly the same, strong build as his father. I poked my head into my closet, pulled out one of my husband’s shirts and held it up to my son. I hadn’t been able to remove them from the closet and store them because I hadn’t thought I was ready to part with them until this moment. I lifted the other Sunday shirts from the closet and handed them to Eli.

  “These will fit you. Yer papa would be proud if he could see you wearing his things. He’d be so surprised at how tall you’ve gotten.”

  He was a little hesitant in taking the shirts until I told him that his father would be unhappy if he knew that his things were sitting around collecting dust instead of being put to good use. He agreed with me and walked slowly away from me, then, returned to give me a quick hug before leaving the room.