The Only Way (The Amish Millers Get Married Book 4) Read online

  “I’m Rebecca Miller,” she said, again without thinking. Annoyed with herself, she added sternly, “Not that it’s any of your business. Who are you?”

  “Nash Grayson.” The man held out a hand.

  Rebecca looked at the hand for a moment before shaking it briefly. “I’ll find Mrs. Flickinger if you’d like to check in.”

  The man seemed amused by that comment too, but merely said, “She knows I’m here; I’ve already checked in.”

  Rebecca suddenly felt uneasy standing outside the B&B, talking to a strange man. “I have to go speak to her anyway,” she said, and hurried off. When Rebecca reached the kitchen, Mr. Flickinger was standing behind Mrs. Flickinger, patting her on the shoulder. Mrs. Flickinger had her head down on the large kitchen table. When Mr. Flickinger saw Rebecca, he nodded to her and left the room.

  Rebecca hurried over to Mrs. Flickinger and saw that her eyes were swollen. “Are you all right?”

  When there was no reply, just an anguished look accompanied by sniffing, Rebecca hurried to make a cup of tea, which she set in front of Mrs. Flickinger.

  “Thank you, dear,” Ida Flickinger managed to say, and then she added, “Please sit down.” Rebecca sat next to Ida, who put her hands over Rebecca’s. “There’s something I have to tell you, dear.”

  Rebecca nodded and waited patiently.

  “My son has just moved back home with us.”

  Rebecca momentarily wondered why a son’s return would make a mudder cry rather than be happy.

  “I’ll have to introduce him to you. Now, Rebecca, he’s not like you’d expect. Samuel and I are very upset about Eli. Oh, he doesn’t call himself Eli anymore…” Ida dabbed at her eyes and gulped. “He calls himself Nash Grayson now.”

  Rebecca gasped. “What?” she said. “But I just met him outside. Is he, err, is he your son?”

  Ida burst into tears and Rebecca was at a loss how to comfort her. She sat and waited until the sobs subsided. The Amish usually bore their grief silently: Nash must have really upset his mudder for her to make such an outward show of emotion.

  “He went on rumspringa,” Ida said, “and then he never came back; he got wilder and wilder. He got a job with Englischers, but then he lost all his money gambling on race horses, and he has tattoos.”

  Yes, Rebecca thought, I noticed that; they’re hard to miss, seeing that he’s covered with them. Rebecca wished she could think of something to say to comfort Mrs. Flickinger. She thought of saying He seems nice, but that sounded too lame, and besides, it wasn’t even true.

  Ida Flickinger dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief. “We left our community and came here, as we hadn’t heard from Eli for ages. I’m glad he’s all right, of course, but he’s changed so much.”

  “But he’s staying with you,” Rebecca said. “Surely that means he’s pleased to see you, and perhaps he will even join the community.”

  “Nee, nee, Eli must have other reasons for being here. By the way, my mudder knows about him being back, so you don’t need to keep it from her. Anyway, denki Rebecca, but I must get back to work. Would you take a cup of peppermint tea up to Grossmammi Deborah, and then prepare the Broken Star Quilt room for Eli?”

  “Jah, of course. I’ll do it right now.”

  The rooms were named after quilt patterns: the Spinning Star Quilt room, the Flower Basket Quilt room, the Log Cabin Quilt room, and the Medallion Quilt room, as well as the Broken Star Quilt room. Each bed had the appropriate quilt, or quilts in the case of multiple beds in the one room, in the room of the same name.

  First, Rebecca took up a cup of hot, peppermint tea to the room of Mrs. Flickinger’s mudder, who was known to Rebecca as Grossmammi Deborah. Grossmammi had been quite ill and was not doing any better, although the doktor had her on medication which ensured she was kept comfortable. He had warned the familye that she did not have long for this world. Today, Grossmammi was fast asleep. Rebecca whispered her name, and when she did not wake up, Rebecca panicked for a moment, until she saw her steady but shallow breathing. Rebecca tiptoed out of the room. She would see if she was awake later.

  There were already fresh sheets on the double bed in the Broken Star Quilt room, so Rebecca set herself to vacuuming the blue-gray carpet. This was the plainest room, and the room least used, of all the rooms at the B&B, and Rebecca figured that Ida had chosen it for this reason. Perhaps she wanted her son to remember his early home life, or perhaps it was simply that this room was the least likely to appeal to Englisch tourists. The only color in the room was provided by the deep blue and burgundy of the quilt itself. The blinds were white, matching the walls, and the curtains were a dull brown-beige.

  Rebecca unplugged the vacuum cleaner and dusted the plain oak dresser.

  “No television?”

  Rebecca spun around to see Nash Grayson, or Eli Flickinger as she now knew him to be, standing in the doorway. He placed his suitcases down and crossed the room to her. “No television?” he repeated. “And what about WiFi?”

  Rebecca’s mouth ran dry. She wished she could lecture this ungrateful, young man about upsetting his mudder, but instead she simply said, “Nee. What do you expect? This is an Amish haus.”

  “Nee,” Nash said, exaggerating the word, “it is not; it is an Amish business, and as you know, electricity is usually permitted in Amish businesses, so why no WiFi or television?’

  Rebecca shrugged. “You would have to ask your mudder. I assume guests here know it’s an Amish business so expect an Amish experience. Anyway, if you don’t like it, you can always leave.” Rebecca thought perhaps she should not speak in this manner to her employer’s son, but he rubbed her up the wrong way.

  “What, and miss out on the free food?”

  Rebecca shot a sharp look at Nash to see if he was joking, and he was smiling, although she had no idea how to read him. He winked at her and left the room. He’s a little dangerous, Rebecca thought, but the thought excited her. Like her two oldest schweschders, Hannah and Rebecca, Rebecca had no desire to go on rumspringa. Martha had, and look where it had gotten her, falsely arrested and in jail, which is where she had met Sarah Beachy, also on rumspringa. Noah Hostetler had been on rumspringa when he was driving the car that had hit their buggy. And look what rumspringa had done to Nash Grayson!

  Nee, I won’t be going on rumspringa, Rebecca thought, but at the same time she could not help but be drawn to Nash. He seemed exciting, and that to her was exhilarating, after what she considered was her dull and boring life. She did want a little excitement in her life, just not too much.

  *

  Nash watched Rebecca shut the door to his room, and turned to survey his surroundings. Boring, plain, and dull, just like his childhood. He bet his mother had given him the worst room at the B&B just to spite him. You would think a mother would want to support her own son, but no, this was how she treated him.

  Oh well, at least I’m getting free room and board, he consoled himself. It’s the least my parents can do for me. Besides, there was the potential for excitement in the person of Rebecca Miller.

  Nash thought Rebecca was the prettiest girl he had seen in long time, and he liked the natural look on girls. He had never gotten used to too much makeup, despite living as an Englischer for some time. Perhaps he could convince Rebecca to leave the community for him. That would have the added benefit of upsetting his parents; after all, they had refused to lend him the money to pay off his gambling debts. What sort of parents were they! Nash threw his largest suitcase down hard on the bed in disgust.

  Joshua 24:15.

  And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

  Chapter 4

  The four Hostetler bruders, Noah, Jacob, Moses, and Elijah, were sitting around the table in the Hostetler farm kitchen, enjoying a hearty lunch of meat, potato
es and gravy, salad and vegetables, followed by thick chunks of apple pie. They had finally finished a section of fencing that had taken much of their time the past few weeks, and all were in good spirits.

  Elijah was staring absently at the table, which he and his bruders had made for their mudder some years ago, with help from Mr. Miller. It was made from thick planks of boards that they salvaged from a local, old tobacco barn, and Mr. Miller had helped them attach breadboard ends using mortise and tenon joints. The bruders had been concerned about the nail holes and saw marks, but Mr. Miller had told them that the distressed and weathered look was prized by Englischers. At any rate, their mudder had liked it, and that was all that mattered.

  “What are you thinking about, Elijah?” Noah asked, and Elijah looked up into the laughing faces of his bruders.

  “Thinking about Rebecca again?” Moses teased.

  Jacob chimed in. “You know, soon your three bruders will be married to Rebecca’s three schweschders. It’s only natural that you and Rebecca are next to be married.”

  “Haa, haa, haa, that’s the first time I’ve heard that joke before,” Elijah said with mock seriousness.

  Noah stopped spooning food into his mouth for a moment and lay down his fork. “Seriously, Elijah, all jokes aside, when are you going to ask Rebecca to marry you?”

  Elijah let out a long breath. “I don’t know how she feels about me.”

  “She loves you,” all three bruders said in unison.

  Elijah held up his hand. “I don’t know that. We’re the best of friends, and have been for as long as I can remember, but what if she only sees me as a friend? I’m worried that she’s just going to fall into marrying me, from the pressure of everyone’s expectations.”

  “Why don’t you just ask her to marry you and see what she says?” Jacob asked.

  Elijah’s stomach churned. He could not bear the thought of Rebecca turning him down. On the other hand, what if she accepted just because it was the thing to do? “My concern is,” Elijah said aloud, “that Rebecca would marry me, but not out of any deep love for me, but just because we’re gut friends and everyone expects it of us.”

  Noah cut himself a large piece of apple pie before he asked, “Would that be so bad?”

  “Of course it would be bad,” Elijah said, a little frustrated.

  Noah waved his hand at him. “You didn’t let me finish. Love could come later, after marriage. You two are well suited.”

  Elijah groaned. “The three of you were all in love before you were married.” The three bruders nodded. “So why should it be different for me?” he asked.

  Moses and Jacob just shrugged. “The thing is,” Noah said, “that you should ask yourself how long you are prepared to wait.”

  Elijah had to admit that Noah had a valid point. “I don’t really know,” he said. “I keep hoping I’ll have some sign from Rebecca about how she feels about me, but she never gives me any clues.”

  “You do want kinner, don’t you?” Noah asked.

  Elijah was surprised at the question. “Jah, of course I do.”

  “Well, you’d better propose to Rebecca some time within the next few decades,” Noah said, and the three bruders laughed.

  Elijah shook his head. He was a little irritated that everyone made remarks about him marrying Rebecca, and his bruders were no help at all.

  At that moment, his mudder, Katie Hostetler, walked into the kitchen. At least Mamm takes me seriously and doesn’t tease me, Elijah thought.

  “What are you doing home at this time, Mamm?” Noah asked.

  “I left a quilt I’ve been working on here and a customer wants to see it,” she explained. “What are you boys all talking about?”

  The four menner exchanged glances, and their mudder looked from one to the other. “Is it a secret?”

  Elijah sighed. “Nee, Mamm. My bruders have been encouraging me to ask Rebecca to marry me.”

  “I’m pleased to hear it,” Katie Hostetler said, much to Elijah’s surprise, and Noah, Jacob, and Moses all chuckled. “I didn’t want to be an interfering mudder, which is why I haven’t said anything before,” she continued, “but Elijah, how long are you going to wait? What if Rebecca is asked on a date by another mann?”

  “She doesn’t like any of the menner in the community, Mamm,” Elijah said.

  “Well, perhaps that is true, but there is a new mann now. The Flickingers’ son has just returned to the community and he’s on rumspringa. Some girls find adventurous, young menner on rumspringa attractive. How long are you going to wait to ask Rebecca to marry you, Elijah?”

  Elijah simply groaned and put his head in his hands, while his three bruders all chuckled.

  Mark 10:6-9.

  But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’

  ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,

  and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.

  What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

  Chapter 5

  On this particular Monday, the Miller haus was a hive of activity; not one person, even a child, was standing still or not fully engaged in a chore. As an Amish wedding was one of the rare occasions when the husbands helped their fraas in the kitchen, there was standing room only, as was usual the day before such an occasion. It was busy, but there was order. Food was everywhere: all manner of puddings, cracker pudding, caramel pudding, vanilla cornstarch pudding, date pudding, bread pudding, rice pudding, banana pudding; every type of whoopie pie imaginable, and mountains of potatoes were being peeled for the mashed potatoes, all to be served the following day. Two women were chopping tomatoes and cucumbers, while another two women were shredding lettuce.

  One person was making plates of haystacks to hand out to the hungry masses who were helping: piles of rice and crushed crackers, on a base of lettuce, and topped with cooked hamburger and chopped vegetables, with cheese on top. There was no time to stop to eat; people ate while they worked, and at all different times.

  Martha hurried out once more to the mobile kitchen that the Millers had rented for the wedding. Renting a mobile kitchen was a necessity for weddings in the community, for while the people were used to hosting large numbers every second Sunday for church meetings, more than double or even triple that number would attend a wedding, as weddings invariably attracted large numbers of relatives from out of town.

  One end of the large, commercial kitchen held both a walk-in refrigerator and a walk-in freezer. The rest of the trailer was lined with stainless steel preparation areas on one side, and on the other, a commercial oven, and all manner of deep fryers, shallow fryers, grills, griddles, and sinks on the other side. The sinks even had their own purposes: hand washing, pot washing, and vegetable washing.

  The mobile kitchen came with two 750 watt generators for use if necessary, but as Mr. Miller had permission from the bishop to use electricity in his barn, which was his place of business for furniture making, the trailer simply connected to that power supply. It did, however, have over two hundred pounds of propane for the commercial oven. The mobile kitchen contained cutlery, crockery, pans, and everything needed for wedding preparation.

  Mrs. Flickinger was sitting in the kitchen at the large, oak table with Rebecca making pastry. There was so much need for pastry: apple pies, sugar cream pies, butterscotch pies, pumpkin pies, shoestring apple pies, as well as pastry for fry pies containing apples, cherries, blueberries, and peaches.

  The bishop’s wife, Fannie Graber, who was known far and wide for her unusual food combinations, was making chocolate flake pastry for her potato and tuna pies.

  Martha was making layered desserts with pineapple and peaches alternating with green and red Jell-O.

  Mrs. Flickinger nodded to Martha. “You and Moses must come and see our haus.”

  “I’d love to, denki. I haven’t seen inside it since I was little. Rebecca tells me you’ve done
wonders with it, converting it to a B&B.”

  Mrs. Flickinger beamed. “We were blessed to find such a haus when we moved here. The early Mennonite architecture suits a B&B and the guests are fascinated by the built-in German Bible closets and the deep window sills. The whole dining and kitchen area has the early corner cupboards with the bubble glass and the keystone hinges.”

  Rebecca looked up from her pastry. “Jah, it’s wunderbaar.”

  Martha smiled and said, “Sounds it!” and then placed the layered desserts on a tray somewhat precariously. “I’ll take these out to the refrigerator.”

  Sarah rushed over to Rebecca carrying a pot of melted chocolate. “Rebecca, hurry; bring the graham crackers.”

  Rebecca looked at Sarah. “Why the hurry?”

  Sarah’s face was anxious. “Martha won’t approve of us making these cookies with plain, old, coating chocolate. We have to get them all done before she gets back.”

  Rebecca chuckled. “I know Martha has her chocolate business and is very particular about the chocolates she makes, but I’m sure that she won’t mind us serving up these cookies.” Rebecca took one look at Sarah’s worried face and decided to humor her. After all, Martha and Sarah had become close friends. “Okay, I’ll help you.”

  Sarah hurried over to Rebecca with peanut butter and a large quantity of melted chocolate. The girls soon had made many cookies by sandwiching peanut butter between two graham crackers, and then dipping it in melted chocolate. By the time Martha returned, there were numerous cookies drying and hardening on wax paper. “Why are you looking at me?” she asked as she walked back through the door.

  “No reason.” Rebecca walked over to Martha.

  Martha simply shrugged. “Elijah’s just arrived if you want to speak to him.”

  Sarah spoke before Rebecca could respond to Martha. “I just have to finish up here.”

  Rebecca stared at Sarah. Why would Martha be speaking to Sarah about Elijah? she wondered. Her uneasiness grew as Sarah soon hurried outside, presumably to speak to Elijah.