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“I’m happy to tell you that your mother’s cousin Waneta is coming
for a visit.”
Gabe
Fisher looked up from the glowing metal wheel rim he was heating in the forge
as something in his father’s voice caught his attention. Ezekiel Fisher, or
Zeke as everyone called him, wasn’t overly fond of Waneta, so why was he trying
so hard to sound cheerful?
Gabe
glanced around the workshop. None of his three brothers seemed to have noticed
anything unusual.
Seth
continued setting up the lathe to drill out a wheel hub. “That will be nice for
Mamm. She has been missing her friends back home. I know she and Waneta
are close.”
Seth
was Gabe’s younger brother by fifteen minutes. They might look identical, but
Seth was the most tenderhearted of the brothers. He was twenty minutes older
than no-nonsense Asher, the last Fisher triplet, who was readying wooden spokes
to be inserted into the finished wheel hub. Asher bore only a passing
resemblance to his two older brothers. Where Gabe and Seth were both blond with
blue eyes, Asher was dark-haired with their mother’s brown eyes. All three men
shared the same tall, muscular frame as their father.
“Is
she bringing her new husband to meet the rest of us?” Moses asked, greasing the
axle of the buggy they were repairing. At twenty he was the baby brother by
four years and the one that looked the most like their mother, with his soft
brown curls and engaging grin. He was the only one who hadn’t yet joined their
Amish church. He was still enjoying his rumspringa, the “running around”
years most Amish youths were allowed before making their decision to be
baptized.
“This
isn’t the best time for a visit,” Asher said, expressing exactly what Gabe had
been thinking.
“Apparently
your mother and Waneta have been planning this for ages, but she only told me
last night. She wanted it to be a surprise for you boys.”
Asher’s
brow furrowed. “Why?”
“You
know Waneta. She likes to surprise folks. They should be here later today.”
Gabe
continued turning the rim in the fire. Both his parents had gone to the
wedding, but he and his brothers had been busy keeping the new business
running. A business that didn’t look like it would support the entire family
through another winter. If things didn’t improve by the end of the summer, the
family would have some hard choices to make.
“They?
Her new husband is coming with her, then?” Seth said.
Gabe
glanced at his father and saw him draw a deep breath. “He isn’t, but his
children are.”
Seth
finally seemed to notice their father’s unease and stopped working. “How many
children?”
“Five.”
“The
house will be lively with that many kinder underfoot,” Moses said. “How
old are they?”
“The
youngest is ten. The others are closer to your ages,” Daed said, keeping
his eyes averted.
Seth,
Asher and Gabe exchanged knowing looks. They shared a close connection that
didn’t always require words.
Asher’s
lips thinned as he pinned his gaze on his father. “Would they happen to be maydels
close to our age?”
Their
father didn’t answer.
“Daed?” the triplets said together. Moses stopped what he was doing
and gave them a puzzled look.
Their
father cleared his throat. “I believe your mother said they are between twenty
and twenty-five. Modest, dutiful daughters, as Waneta described them.”
“Courting
age,” Moses said with a grin.
“Marriageable
age.” Seth shook his head. “I don’t have any interest in courting until we are
sure our business will survive.”
Gabe
crossed his arms over his chest. “Has Mamm taken to importing possible
brides for us now?”
There
was a lack of unmarried Amish women in their new community in northern Maine,
but that didn’t bother Gabe. Like Seth, his focus was on improving the family’s
buggy-making and wheel-repair business while expanding the harness-making and
leather goods shop he ran next door.
“Tell
Mamm we can find our own wives,” Asher said.
“When
we are ready,” Seth added.
Daed scowled at all the brothers. “That kind of talk is exactly why
your mother was worried about sharing this news. She wants you boys to be
polite to Waneta’s new stepdaughters and nothing more. Show them a nice time
while they are here. No one is talking about marriage.”
USA Today best-selling author Patricia Davids was born and raised in Kansas. After forty years as an NICU nurse, Pat switched careers to become an inspirational writer. She enjoys spending time with her daughter and grandchildren, traveling and playing with her dogs, who think fetch should be a twenty-four hour a day game. When not on the road or throwing a ball, Pat is happily dreaming up new stories.
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