A Daughter's Dream Read online

  Dedication

  To Laura Klynstra, Abby, and Steve. Thank

  you for bringing my book to life!

  The author is grateful for being allowed to reprint the Granola Bars

  recipe from Country Blessings Cookbook by Clara Coblentz.

  The Shrock’s Homestead

  9943 Copperhead Rd. N.W.

  Sugarcreek, OH 44681

  Epigraph

  Be of good courage and do it.

  EZRA 10:4

  If we fill our houses with regrets of yesterday and worries of tomorrow, we have no today for which to be thankful.

  AMISH PROVERB, from COUNTRY BLESSINGS COOKBOOK

  Map

  CONTENTS

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Map

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  P.S. Insights, Interviews & More . . . * About the author

  About the book

  Read on

  Also by Shelley Shepard Gray

  Credits

  Copyright

  About the Publisher

  Chapter 1

  Thursday, August 13

  Keeping twenty-five schoolchildren reasonably happy and on task for a solid hour was harder than it looked.

  As Rebecca Kinsinger stood at the front of the classroom and eyed the group of students staring right back at her, she realized she had seriously misjudged her ability to manage small children.

  In the last hour, the twenty-five students, ranging in ages from five to fourteen, had decidedly taken the upper hand. They’d talked to one another. They’d ignored her wishes. They didn’t seem all that interested in the work their usual teacher had assigned them to do. Even the four children whom she knew well were acting up. Evan, Samuel, Maisie, and Gretel Kurtz acted as if they had forgotten that their elder sister, Darla, was married to Rebecca’s brother Lukas.

  It seemed that different rules applied at school than when they visited her home.

  As she watched a pair of girls pass notes to each other, Rebecca didn’t even bother to intervene. She was coming to the conclusion that the only thing the students did seem rather excited about was the approach of the end of the school day.

  In fifteen minutes’ time, to be exact.

  She was starting to get excited about the end of the day, too.

  As the low murmur of voices grew louder by tiny degrees with each passing minute, Rebecca decided that she didn’t blame Rachel Mast, the students’ teacher, for taking her time returning. Rachel had needed Rebecca’s help watching her class because she had a doctor’s appointment, but being alone with this bunch for eight hours at a time would make anyone yearn for a break.

  As two sweet-looking girls sitting in the middle of the first row started giggling to each other, Rebecca knew that it was time to regain control. Otherwise, Rachel would never let her help out in her classroom again, and Rebecca really wanted to learn how to be a good teacher.

  She clapped her hands lightly. “Kinner, please. All of you have assignments to complete. It is time to get busy and work.”

  After a pause, about half of them quieted and settled into their assignments. Two of the oldest boys, however, merely stared at her.

  When it became apparent that neither of them was in any hurry to mind her, she wove her way through the row of desks until she stood directly in front of them. “I was talking to you boys as well.”

  The sandy-haired boy smirked. “Oh. I wasna sure, ’cause no one’s called me a child for well on two years.”

  “You might not be a small child but you are certainly not a grown-up.” She placed her hands on her hips and fastened her eyes on him. “Now get busy.”

  The boy picked up his pencil, but his friend, whom Rebecca knew to be Peter Schlabach, folded his arms across his chest. “I’ll do it later,” Peter said. Then he lifted his chin, practically daring her to argue with his pronouncement.

  Ack, but this was terrible! Why were the men at her family’s lumber mill always polite and amiable to her but these . . . these kinner were not? Unable to stop herself, she glanced at Evan and Samuel. They looked as if they were trying hard to act like they didn’t know her.

  Attempting to look far more sure of herself than she felt, Rebecca said, “Peter, you’d best get to work. I know Mrs. Mast expects you to do it now.”

  “I’ll talk to her when she gets back.” With a shrug, he added, “I’m almost done with school, anyway. I’m fourteen. I’m already working part time at the mill, you know.”

  Oh, she knew. Rebecca figured everyone in Charm knew of Peter Schlabach. He’d been a handful when he was five, and the last nine years hadn’t changed him much—unless he was at the mill. There, he became a completely different person. He was respectful and hardworking. Polite and modest.

  Her older brother Lukas loved him. Lukas’s best friend, Simon, did, too. They were constantly teasing Peter or giving him some special errand to do because he was such a hard worker.

  But here at school?

  She had yet to see any of those qualities.

  Perhaps it was time to try a little less patience and a little more steel. Stiffening her spine, she said, “Peter, you might be all of fourteen but you are still a student in this class. That means you need to be respectful and follow directions.”

  But instead of being cowed, Peter got to his feet. Even at fourteen, the boy was several inches taller than she was. “Jah, but you ain’t my teacher, Miss Kinsinger. Only my boss’s sister.”

  At a loss for words, Rebecca blinked. His harsh tone took her aback. Just as she was debating whether to remind him that she would not hesitate to share this other side of his personality with her brother, the door opened.

  “That’s enough, Peter,” Rachel said sternly as she walked down the center aisle of the one-room schoolhouse. “Sit down and apologize to Miss Kinsinger.”

  Peter complied immediately. “I am sorry, Miss Kinsinger.”

  It was hard to come to terms with the transformation that had come about before her eyes. Peter’s cocky bravado went into hiding. All at once, he looked exactly like he did at the mill: a strong boy who’d grown up doing chores and had a lifetime of hard work awaiting him.

  “No harm done,” she said weakly.

  “Hmmph,” Rachel said. Standing in front of her students, she placed her hands on her hips. The room went silent. “Scholars, I am most displeased by what I am seeing. I expect you all to behave much better when Miss Kinsinger is here.”

  All the students looked shamefaced.

  Rebecca was so amazed by their reactions, she moved to stand against the wall and simply watched as Rachel competently walked up and down the rows, reviewing homework assignments. Every so often, she would touch a child’s shoulder or point to the paper he or she was working on. She never raised her voice. She was gentle and kind, yet firm.

  She was a marvel.

  As she spoke, the children wrote notes in their assignment booklets, gathered papers and textbooks, and generally acted like every word she said was the
most important thing each had ever heard.

  When she returned to the front of the classroom, Rachel smiled brightly. “Kinner, it’s time to go home. Gather your lunch pails and backpacks, stack your chairs, and line up.”

  Again, each task was done immediately and with care. Five minutes later, Rebecca watched Rachel walk to the door, open it wide, and dismiss the class. She smiled at each one, gave hugs to a couple of the little girls, and spoke softly to Peter.

  When the last of the students were gone, Rachel turned to Rebecca and smiled. “Danke for helping me today, Rebecca. You were a lifesaver.”

  The praise was as embarrassing as it was unwarranted. “I don’t think that was the case at all, Rachel. I tried my best, but chaos reigned. I don’t know what happened—I was sure I could manage things easily for an hour.”

  She chuckled. “Don’t fret. You did fine. It’s simply in children’s natures to stretch their boundaries. They like to push a bit, just to see when someone will push right back.”

  “Well, they certainly pushed.” They also won. Again, Rebecca wondered how it was possible for her to work so well with hundreds of grown men at the lumber mill but be putty in twenty-five children’s hands. “I see I have a lot to learn about managing a classroom.”

  Rachel waved off her concerns. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Any job takes time to learn. I’m sure I would be a nervous wreck managing things like you do at the mill. Whenever I’ve come to visit Marcus, I’ve seen you at your desk, surrounded by demanding men and ringing telephones.” She shivered dramatically. “Give me children to manage any day.”

  “That’s nothing. All it took was practice.” Hearing her own words, Rebecca grinned. “I guess I just need some more practice with the children.”

  “You do, especially if you are serious about wanting to take on this job one day.”

  “I am serious. But I don’t want your job,” she assured her quickly. “Simply a teaching job at one of the Amish schools in the area.”

  “If that is what you want to do, I’m sure you will succeed just fine,” Rachel said. “I’ve never seen you back down or give up in all the years I’ve known ya.”

  That was a nice compliment. Rebecca hoped Rachel was right in this case. She’d had a dream of being a teacher for years, but had never been able to give it much attention because of the demands of the mill.

  However, after last year’s terrible accident at the lumberyard, which had killed five men, including her father, Rebecca had decided the time had come to stop putting dreams off and start putting them into practice. It was simply too bad that her first opportunity to be in charge of the classroom had gone so badly.

  Not wanting to dwell on herself anymore, she looked at Rachel closely. “Did everything go all right with your appointment?”

  “Jah.” A small, secret smile appeared on Rachel’s face before vanishing.

  Just as Rebecca was about to ask what that smile had been about, a man appeared at the door, his hand resting on the shoulder of a shy-looking thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl. “Excuse me. Is one of you the teacher?”

  While Rebecca found herself staring rather dumbly at the man who was entirely too handsome to be any teenager’s parent, Rachel lifted one of her hands. “I am,” she said in a sweet voice. “I’m Rachel Mast.”

  “Hi,” the newcomer said with a tentative smile. He was a bit older than Rebecca, and was wearing a long-sleeved light green shirt and heavy boots peeking out from beneath his dark trousers. Rebecca also noticed his mesmerizing green eyes.

  After squeezing the girl’s shoulder once, he dropped his hand. “My name is Jacob Yoder and this here is Lilly,” he said a bit awkwardly. “I need to enroll her in school.”

  Rachel smiled at the girl.

  As did Rebecca. Looking at the teenager, Rebecca noticed that she, too, had green eyes. But instead of dark brown hair like Jacob, she had dark auburn. She also seemed to be blessed with skin that tanned instead of freckled. She was a pretty girl who was going to be beautiful one day.

  “Hiya, Lilly,” Rachel said in her sweet way. “Like I said, I’m Rachel Mast, the teacher here at Charm School.”

  “Hi,” Lilly said. She met Rachel’s eyes briefly before looking down at her tennis-shoe-clad feet.

  “Did you just move here?” Rebecca asked. Though she didn’t know every Amish family in Charm, she recognized most.

  “I just arrived here from Florida,” the man said.

  “Welcome to Charm, then,” Rachel said easily. “This is my friend Rebecca Kinsinger. She volunteers here from time to time.”

  Feeling a bit tongue-tied, Rebecca lifted a hand. “Hiya.”

  Jacob glanced her way, then stilled. “Hi. It’s, ah, it’s nice to meet you,” Jacob said.

  Rebecca belatedly realized she was probably smiling so broadly that the dimple in her right cheek was showing.

  When he didn’t add anything else, either about himself or Lilly, Rachel cleared her throat. “Rebecca’s family owns the lumber mill. Do you work there?”

  “Nee. I’m a farmer.”

  Still looking at her feet, Lilly smiled for the first time.

  When Jacob noticed her expression, he laughed. “Lilly’s smiling because I’m currently not much of a farmer. I keep making mistakes right and left. We just moved in with my parents, Lilly’s grandparents. I’m afraid farming is as unfamiliar to me as building houses in the Florida heat would be for most of the men around here.”

  “Someone recently told me to have patience with my wishes and dreams,” Rebecca ventured, unable to keep from smiling at him. “Maybe that would work for you in this case, too?”

  “I hope so.” He smiled back at her. “My daed is counting on my help.”

  “I bet you both will get the hang of things here in Ohio in no time,” Rachel said. “Things are different from Florida, for sure, but the people are just as nice. Everyone helps each other, just like always.”

  “Only he needs to get the hang of things here,” Lilly said, slowly coming out of her shell. “I’ve been living in Ohio. I was just over in Berlin.”

  Just as Rebecca was going to ask why they’d been living in two different places, Rachel said smoothly, “How about the two of you come sit down? I have some paperwork you’ll need to fill out before tomorrow’s class.”

  “What kind of paperwork?” Lilly asked. “Is it a test?”

  “Nothing of the sort,” Rachel said. “I simply need some basic information. We’ll worry about schoolwork and figuring out where you’ll fit in best tomorrow.”

  Jacob nodded. “That sounds like a plan. Now, what time should Lilly get here? Seven thirty? Eight?”

  Feeling like she was in the way, Rebecca gathered her things. “I’ll be seeing you, Rachel. You know where to find me if you need my help.”

  “It was good to meet you, Rebecca,” Jacob said.

  She felt her cheeks heat. Seeking to cover it, she smiled more brightly. “Danke. It was gut to meet the both of you.”

  “See you soon, Becky,” Rachel said before turning her full attention toward the man and the teenager.

  It seemed to be another indication of Rachel’s expertise in the classroom. In less than an hour, Rachel had returned from a doctor’s appointment, taken back control of her class, counseled Rebecca, and was now greeting a new student and her father. She was able to manage multiple tasks easily and accept transitions with hardly a blink of the eye.

  Rebecca, on the other hand, was juggling a dozen questions about the students, asking herself how she could have done things better, and wondering why Lilly hadn’t been living with her father until recently.

  Rebecca stewed on all that had transpired that morning as she walked down the short sidewalk toward Main Street. It was time to go back to Kinsinger Lumber, where she usually worked at the reception desk eight hours of the day. Today it would only be for a few hours, but it was sure to be busy. She’d be lucky to have a minute to grab a cup of coffee.

  Bu
t she was so rattled by her day, and her reaction to Jacob Yoder, she decided that she needed that cup of coffee as soon as possible. Maybe even a slice of pie, too. Anything to delay her return to work. So, she turned left on Main instead of right. In no time at all, she was standing in front of Josephine’s Café.

  When she saw Darla waving at her from one of the brightly painted tables next to the window, Rebecca grinned and entered quickly. Darla had recently married her brother Lukas. Before then, she’d been a close friend of the family for as long as Rebecca could remember.

  “Darla, seeing you through the window was a nice surprise.”

  “It’s nice to see you, too,” Darla answered with a happy smile. “Lukas had a light load of meetings today, so he decided to leave early. I told him I’d wait for him here.” Pointing to her half-filled plate resting on a red gingham placemat, she said, “Josephine made fresh apple-spice cake with cream-cheese frosting.”

  “Oh, that’s one of my favorites.” Looking around, Rebecca debated whether she had time to get a slice or not. “So, how was work today?”

  “Pretty gut. Since I now only work at the post office three days a week, I enjoy my time there. Where have you been? You’re usually at work this time of day.”

  “Rachel Mast had an appointment, so I was volunteering over at the school today.”

  “And? How did it go?” Darla knew how much Rebecca wanted to be a teacher.

  “Not well. At all. Actually, I pretty much embarrassed myself in front of Rachel. I simply don’t know if I’m cut out for teaching.”

  “Kaffi, Rebecca?” Josephine, the proprietor, asked.

  “Jah. Please,” she added, deciding work could wait awhile longer.

  “And cake?”

  She couldn’t resist. “Jah. You’d best bring me a slice, too.”

  After Josephine moved away, Darla studied Rebecca more closely. “Now, why do you think you’re not cut out for teaching?”

  “If I told you all the reasons, you’d be here until morning.”

  Darla laughed. “Becky, listen to you,” she said, using the nickname most everyone used. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”