Lily and Amos were knee-deep in the muddy water below her. She quickly looked around for Ethan, but he was nowhere in sight.
She leaned her arms on the railing. “What are you doing?”
Lily looked up at her and grinned. She held a huge frog in her hands. The front of her dress was covered in mud and slime “See what I caught?”
“I see. That’s a beautiful frog.”
Amos was creeping toward the bank with his hands outstretched. “I’m going to get me one, too.”
He launched himself toward the shore. The bullfrog that was his target leaped over his head and disappeared into the muddy depths of the creek.
Clara tried not to laugh. “Where is your onkel?”
“He’s got a sick cow,” Lily said. “He told us to go play.”
“Do you think that he meant to go play in the creek? You are both very muddy.”
Amos looked from the front of his clothes to his sister’s sopping dress. “He didn’t say not to play in the creek.”
“I’m certain this is not what he had in mind. Come out of there.”
“Can I keep my frog?” Lily asked hopefully.
“I think he will be happier if you leave him in his own home.”
Amos waded to her side. “Let him go. We can catch him another time.”
“Okay.” She didn’t look happy about it, but she put him back in the water and giggled as he quickly swam away.
The children climbed up to the road beside Clara. Lily reached for her hand. Clara flinched slightly but grasped the child’s muddy fingers. Lily grinned at her. “What’s your name?”
“I’m Clara Barkman.”
“Have you come to play with us again?” She gave a beaming smile that melted Clara’s heart. What an adorable child she was.
“I’m just going to walk you home.”
“We didn’t tell about our hiding place,” Amos assured her.
“That’s good. Of course, if your onkel asks about it, you must tell him the truth.” She didn’t want the children to lie to cover up her foolishness. If Ethan found out, she would face the consequences.
Right now, she had two very muddy, wet children to deliver to his door. She wasn’t looking forward to their meeting.
“Come on, Olga. You can do it. Just push a couple more times.”
Ethan had spent the better part of three hours helping his cow deliver her first calf. The calf had been turned wrong. It had been a monumental struggle to get it into the correct position. For a few tense hours, he thought he might lose them both. As it was, Olga was tiring after laboring all night. He pulled on the calf’s front legs to help ease it out into the world. He wasn’t sure it would survive, but he wanted to save both of them.
“Mr. Gingerich, may I have a word with you?”
He jerked his head around to see Clara Barkman standing outside the stall. Now what? Was Micah in trouble again? “I’m a little busy at the moment.” He pulled harder on the front legs of the calf when he felt the cow straining.
“Your two littlest children were playing down at the creek.”
“So?”
“They were in the creek.”
He scowled at her. “Are they okay?”
“They are fine. Muddy from head to toe, but fine.”
The calf came free, and he lowered it to the straw. “Come on, little one. Breathe.”
It was a small heifer. She struggled weakly. He quickly cleared the nostrils with his gloves. Her tongue was purple. It didn’t look good for her.
“I’ll take care of the children,” Clara said.
“Fine. Hand me that blanket.” He pointed to the corner of the stall. She slipped in and handed him the coarse bundle of fabric. “Danki.”
He wrapped the calf in it and began to dry her, rubbing vigorously to stimulate her breathing. She began to respond with deeper breaths and finally a weak bawl. The next time he looked up, Clara was gone.
He worked to get the calf breathing well then standing, and finally he guided her to her mother’s udder for her first meal. When she latched on and began to nurse, he let out a sigh of relief. It looked as if she was going to be okay.
He watched them for a while to make sure mother and daughter were bonding and doing well, then he left the stall and walked up to the house. He didn’t see Clara or the kids, but the sound of shrieks led him to the backyard.
Both his nephew and niece were sitting in a large blue plastic tub of soapy water and splashing each other. Clara was wringing out one of Lily’s dresses at a second tub. She shook it open and carried it to the clothesline, where a row of dresses, shirts and pants already waved in the hot summer breeze.
Lily saw him first. “I caught a frog, Onkel Ethan. It was a big one. Amos didn’t catch any. Clara made me let it go.”
There was still a trace of mud on her head. He squatted beside the tub and picked up the sponge that floated between them. He gently rinsed her hair. Clara stood beside the clothesline with her gaze fastened to her feet and her hands clasped in front of her. He said, “That sounds like an exciting adventure. Are you supposed to go to the creek alone?”
“Amos was with me.”
“I see. Amos, was it wise to take your sister to the creek without telling me?”
“I guess not,” Amos admitted slowly.
“The creek is very deep in places. Can Lily swim?”
Amos looked at his sister. “Can you?”
She shook her head. “No, but the frogs swim really fast. I’m going to swim like a frog someday. You can teach me, Onkel Ethan.”
Ethan smiled at her enthusiasm. Lily did everything with gusto. “I would if I could, but I don’t know how to swim. I’ll find someone to teach you pretty quick, but until I do, no more wading in the creek. It’s dangerous.”
Lily frowned at him. “Not even if Clara is with us?”
He looked at the shy beauty standing beside the fresh laundry. “I think God was looking out for you today by sending Clara along when He did. I’m grateful to Him and to her.”
“She’s lots of fun. She plays with us,” Lily said with a big grin for her new friend.
He stood and faced Clara. “She’s a very nice lady. I see she has washed all your clothes, too. We’d better thank her properly.”
Amos tipped his head to the side. “How do we do that?”
“Why don’t we ask her if we can give her a ride home so she doesn’t have to walk all the way in this heat?”
Amos rose to his feet. A stream of soap suds slid down his belly. “Miss Barkman, may we offer you a ride home?”
Ethan watched Clara struggle not to laugh. His nephew’s gallant offer was a bit comical considering his lack of attire. Ethan picked up a nearby towel, wrapped it around the boy and lifted him from the tub.
Lily stood, and Clara wrapped her in a towel before lifting her out of the water, too. As they faced each other with the children in their arms, Ethan wished he could see Clara’s eyes, but she wouldn’t look at him. He waited for her to speak.
Finally, she nodded. “A ride would be nice. I live