Chapter 9
W hile Jalon and Malachi were out in the barn doing chores, Phoebe started washing dishes and Karen cut the delicious-looking cake she’d brought. “He’s a cute little bu ,” Karen said, running a serrated knife through the bundt cake.
“He’s a handful.” She was stating the obvious, but there was no reason to deny it. After Malachi’s defiance at the table, Phoebe thought it was a wonder Jalon still wanted Malachi to help him.
“Aren’t all kinner handfuls at that age?”
“Some more than others.” Phoebe thought about her siblings.
They were well-behaved for the most part.
Her father commanded respect, but not in an authoritarian way, and her mother had a gentle, firm method of discipline.
When she was younger and had so much responsibility for her siblings, life was frustrating.
Still, her brothers didn’t give her as hard a time as Malachi had lately.
“They are in mei familye . I remember watching Ira when he was a few years older than Malachi. He decided to play hide-and-seek.” Karen carried two small plates with slices of cake to the table.
“I looked everywhere for him, and I thought I lost him. I was crying when mei parents came home from visiting friends. Turns out he was asleep under their bed. He kept moving around so I couldn’t find him, and then he got bored and conked out. ”
“Sounds like something Malachi would do.” Phoebe paused, water pouring from the tap into the right side of the sink.
Karen had explained that Jalon asked her to stay for a week, until Leanna came back.
Phoebe almost told her she wouldn’t have to stay that long, then thought better of it.
She had no intention of being here for a week, but she would let both Karen and Jalon know that later.
“I’m surprised Jalon didn’t mention Malachi before,” Karen said.
Phoebe rinsed off the casserole dish. “I didn’t tell Jalon about him,” she said, tired of lying.
“Oh.” After a long pause she added, “I’m sure Jalon understands why.” Karen placed two more plates on the table.
Phoebe could only hope he would when she told him her reason.
But her aunt’s words weighed heavily on her mind.
Why would any decent Amish man want to marry me?
Jalon had proved he was far more than decent.
He was special. And he deserved more than a woman who not only couldn’t tell him the truth but also had a shameful past. She leaned against the sink and closed her eyes.
“You’re exhausted.”
Opening her eyes, Phoebe saw Karen looking at her. Shaking her head, she went back to washing the dishes. “I’m fine.”
“I’ll finish here. Why don’t you geh upstairs for a little while? You could take a hot shower if you’d like. I’ll watch Malachi when he and Jalon get back.”
“I couldn’t let you do that.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re not. I’m offering. Besides, I don’t lose little ones anymore.” She took the dishcloth from her. “ Geh on. You need to relax a little bit.”
She finally gave in, thanked Karen, and went upstairs. She peeked into the first room at the top of the stairs and saw her suitcase sitting on the floor. When she walked inside, she realized she was in Jalon’s room. She looked in the closet. He’d already removed his clothes.
Overwhelmed, she sat down on the edge of his bed.
In the past several hours she had felt more cared for and accepted than she had in months at her aunt’s house.
Not just from Jalon, but Karen too. But Jalon .
.. she could hardly fathom what he’d done for her and Malachi.
And what had she given him in return? Deception. Obligation, at least for tonight.
She hung her head. Karen was right. She was exhausted. But as soon as possible, she would set everything right with Jalon ... and pray that she wouldn’t ruin things with him forever.
Malachi turned out to be a good helper in the barn.
He was also a chatterbox, something Jalon wasn’t used to.
The child talked about his grandfather’s farm, his cousins, digging for pirate treasure, Blue, yo-yo’s, pizza, and how much he hated taking a bath.
The rapid-fire switch of topics gave Jalon auditory whiplash. It also amused him.
After he shut the latch on the pigs’ pen, he turned to Malachi, who was picking up a stray piece of hay from the barn floor. “They’re all tucked in for the night,” Jalon told him. “Ready to geh inside and have dessert?”
“Dessert?” Malachi dropped the hay. It floated to the floor. “What’s for dessert?”
“Karen made a cake—”
“Cake!” He tried to dart out of the barn, but Jalon stopped him. “Not yet. We need to have a little talk first.”
Malachi grimaced. “I don’t like talks.”
“It doesn’t matter if you like them or not.
” He hunkered down in front of the boy so they were face-to-face.
“We’re going to have one.” He drew in a breath, unsure if this was a good idea.
He’d been thinking about having this discussion with Malachi while they were doing the chores, but he wanted to make sure he had his undivided attention. “You need to mind yer mamm .”
“I do mind her—”
“Not all the time.” At Malachi’s pout Jalon wondered if he should have kept his mouth shut. But he’d had a good reason to start this conversation, and he was going to finish it. “You also have to stop arguing with her.”
Malachi’s pout turned into a look of confusion.
Jalon regrouped, giving Malachi a stern look. “Bottom line—mind yer mamm . If she tells you to eat yer supper, you eat yer supper. When it’s bath time, you don’t fuss.”
“Why?”
“Because yer mamm loves you and she deserves respect.”
“What’s respect?”
Yeah, he was terrible at this. Time to wrap it up. “Just mind yer mamm , okay?”
Malachi hesitated, then nodded. “I will.”
Good enough. Grinning, he stood. “Now, let’s get that cake.”
By the time he reached the kitchen Malachi was already at the table. “Cake!” Malachi exclaimed, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Jalon was pretty eager to dive into the cake himself. Karen gave Malachi a pointed look. “Wash yer hands first,” she said.
Malachi nodded and went to the sink. When he struggled to reach it, Jalon picked him up. After Malachi finished washing his hands, Jalon set him down. As soon as his feet touched the floor, Malachi bolted toward the table. Did the kid ever slow down?
“Where’s Mamm ?” Malachi asked, plopping into the chair, then getting up on his knees.
“Upstairs. She was tired.”
“ Mamm ’s always tired. Can I eat this cake now?”
“ Ya , you may,” Karen said.
Jalon scrubbed his hands, frowning at Malachi’s words.
He’d seen the lines of strain and fatigue at the corners of Phoebe’s eyes and he could only imagine how tiring it was chasing after Malachi all the time, to say nothing of living with her aunt’s abuse.
But he had a feeling those weren’t the only reasons for her weariness.
He sat down at the table and picked up his fork.
“After you’re finished,” Karen said to Malachi, “would you like me to tell you a story before you geh to bed?”
“I like stories.” Malachi took a big bite of the cake and smiled, crumbs tumbling out of his mouth.
While Malachi and Karen ate their cake, Jalon poked at his, unable to get Phoebe off his mind.
“Something wrong with the cake?” Karen asked.
Jalon shook his head. “It’s fine.” He pushed away from the table. “I’ll be right back.”
He went upstairs, pausing when he neared his room.
He’d put Phoebe’s suitcase inside, hoping she didn’t mind that he’d decided where she and Malachi would sleep.
Karen planned to sleep in Leanna’s room, where she and Ivy had stayed many times while growing up.
Over the years he’d heard the girls giggling, and he never hesitated to yell at them to shut up so he could get some sleep.
He moved to his doorway, stopping just outside in the hall.
The door was partly open. Tilting his head, he listened.
Silence. Before he could stop himself, he peeked in.
Phoebe was curled up on his bed, still wearing her dress and white kapp , asleep on top of the covers.
The tension that had been on her face all day had disappeared and, as it had been since he first laid eyes on her that morning, he couldn’t stop staring when she wasn’t looking.
Her long, dark eyelashes rested on her cheeks, and a strand of nearly black hair had somehow escaped the kapp and lay against her ear.
Her palms were pressed together underneath her head, and her lips were slightly parted.
Pulling himself away, he leaned against the hallway wall and blew out a breath.
He’d been so sure of his feelings when he wrote that last letter, completely positive that he was in love and that she was the one for him.
That should have changed when he found out about Malachi.
In some ways it did. He didn’t trust her.
He couldn’t, not yet anyway. He also didn’t know how she felt about him.
But these feelings ... they were still in his heart.
He had no idea what to do with them anymore.
When he went downstairs, he found Karen and Malachi on the couch.
Blue was beside them, and Karen was telling the story about David and Goliath.
Malachi listened with rapt attention. Not wanting to interrupt, Jalon quietly went into the kitchen.
His piece of cake was still on the table.
He grabbed it, then took his hat and coat from the pegs on the wall in the mudroom, slipped on his boots, and left for the dawdi haus .
When he walked inside the small house, he frowned. His father worked on the structure off and on for the last three years he was there. From the looks of it, mostly off.