help someone in need. If she told him that, however, she knew he’d glare and order her to leave. Now that she understood the situation, leaving was the last thing she wanted to do.
She returned to the gathering room to dust the furniture. After a brief visit to the kitchen sink to fill up her bucket, she worked to scrub the walls. As the grime fell away, leaving the room brighter, Ellie smiled. It always felt good when she could see the fruits of her labor, and the new look of the room was a vast improvement.
“Ellie.” Reuben’s quiet voice startled her. She gasped and spun to face him. She looked behind him, but there was no sign of Sarah.
“Is something wrong?” she asked. Ellie saw that he’d noted the bright cleanliness of the room. “Do you need something?”
His lips firmed. “I don’t think you should come back tomorrow.”
She lifted her chin. “Then don’t think, because I will return, Reuben. You have a baby to consider. He should have a clean place to crawl.” She narrowed her gaze as she took his measure. “Is it because it’s me? You’re angry because I’m Meg’s sister?”
He looked shocked. “Nay! The fact that you and Meg are related has nothing to do with this.”
She went soft. “This isn’t paid work for me. I’m here as a favor to Bishop John.”
“I can pay,” he said sharply.
“Reuben—” She started to object, but he’d left the room.
Ellie closed her eyes as she sighed. The man needed help, but clearly accepting it didn’t sit well with him. She thought of young, tired Sarah and felt rising sympathy for the teen. She firmed her resolve. She’d be back whether or not Reuben Miller liked it. She’d do all she could to help Sarah and the baby. Short of his throwing her bodily out, she’d return tomorrow and the next day for as long as she could help in any way.
A glance at her wristwatch confirmed that it was late afternoon. She’d started the work at one, after having finished housecleaning for the Smith family, English clients. Tomorrow she’d come after she worked at the Broderick house. She made a mental list of what this house—Reuben—needed as she searched through every room on the first floor. She gathered her cleaning tools, then left after calling out to Sarah that she was leaving.
Ellie was conscious of Reuben’s stare on her through the kitchen window as she climbed into her buggy and left.
* * *
Reuben held his sleeping son close as he watched Ellie Stoltzfus leave. He’d never expected her to come here, and it bothered him that she had. The house was a disaster, and he was ashamed with how little he’d been able to get done.
He’d known the house and land needed work. His uncle had purchased the property from a poverty-stricken English family who’d needed the money desperately. It had always been Uncle Zeke’s intention to clear the land and fix up the house for him and Aunt Mary to live out their remaining years, but then Aunt Mary had passed on, and he’d gone into his own decline. When Zeke died, the house went to his only remaining relative, his brother, who was Reuben’s father, who gave it to Reuben after his wife Susanna’s death.
When he’d first married Susanna, he’d made plans to build a house for them on a section of his father’s farm. They had lived with his parents for the first months while Reuben had saved nearly every dollar he’d earned from his construction job. They’d been excited when he learned Susanna was pregnant. They decided to remain in his parents’ house during Susanna’s pregnancy and wait until after the baby was born to start construction on their home. But then everything in his life had changed after his wife died within minutes of delivering Ethan. He’d gained himself a son but had lost his life partner, and he’d been devastated. He’d barely been able to think. It had hurt too much to feel, to breathe, yet he was responsible for the tiny newborn he and Susanna had made together.
Susanna’s medical bills and funeral had taken all of his savings, and he was left with no choice but to stay with his parents until he could finish paying off his late wife’s hospital bill while trying to save whatever money he could to have a place of his own. During those awful first grief-filled months, his mother and sister had stepped in to care for Ethan while he took every opportunity to bury his grief with work. Then Mam and Dat had decided to move to Ohio to be closer to Mam’s parents. Dat had suggested that he and Ethan move with them, but Reuben hadn’t been able to bear the thought of another change in his life. When his father gave him Uncle Zeke’s property, it had been like an answer to Reuben’s prayers. After his parents had sold their property, Reuben had moved into Uncle Zeke’s place. It was a disaster, but he could fix it up and make it a home. His sister Sarah had offered to stay and help with Ethan until Reuben could make other arrangements for his son’s care while he was at work.
Life was tough. He worked hard to feed and clothe Ethan, and although he’d finally paid the balance owed to the hospital, there never seemed to be enough money or time to fix up the house and clear the garbage from the yard. He briefly closed his eyes. So much to worry about.
Reuben knew the best solution would be for him to marry again, something he didn’t want to do. Still, he had to think of his son first, so he would find a wife, if only for Ethan to have a mother. He would need to find a woman who would watch and protect his son and be content to simply be a quiet, calming companion for him. He wouldn’t promise love, although he would honor her. He didn’t want to marry for love. Love hurt too much.
He would be practical in his choice of bride. He’d already lost a wife. While Susanna and he had started their relationship as friends, deep affection and love for each other had come with time. When she died, a part of him had died with her. He never again wanted to feel that depth of pain.
“Reuben, are you hungry?” Sarah entered the room with a smile. “I can make us eggs, toast and sausage.”
“That sounds gut, Sarah.” He smiled his thanks while he noted something different about her. She looked rested, pretty. She’d redone her hair, and the dress she wore looked freshly laundered. It was only at that moment that he realized how hard it must be for her to care for his young son. His sister was only fifteen, and she received no help or relief from Ethan’s care, except for when Ethan was napping. It wasn’t fair for Sarah to be saddled with a child. He would have to start looking for a wife, and soon.
Reuben shifted his son in his arms and softened as he studied Ethan’s perfect, smooth baby facial features. His son lay content against him. It had taken him a while to bond with Ethan. His grief had been too stark, at first, that it had been painful to look at his son, who reminded him of Susanna. But his parents’ decision to move had spurred him to change and take full responsibility and care of his child. He’d held his baby frequently, staying up with him at nights when he cried. He’d bathed, fed, and changed his diaper. His time spent with Ethan had created a deep parental bond. He’d discovered a love for his son that was overpowering and joyful. Every time he saw the way his baby lay trustingly within his arms, his love overflowed, overtaking his grief and cementing an even stronger link. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for his child—and that included taking another wife so Ethan could have a mother.
After supper, he left Ethan in Sarah’s care and built a cradle large enough for a toddler to use on the first floor for when he and Ethan were downstairs together. Tomorrow, he would work to replace old and damaged shingles on the roof of his house. The job shouldn’t take long. The area of roof was small, but the house had two floors, with the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs and a second smaller bath downstairs. Plenty of room for three or four, even possibly five people. Although there will be only three of us living here. He had no intention of having more children. He’d learned the hard way that the health risk to a woman was too great.
The next morning, he got up and checked on Ethan, who continued to sleep. He began to assemble what he’d need to fix the roof. He briefly considered bringing Ethan outside while he worked, but was afraid that his son would get hurt as he stripped off shingles and tossed them to the ground. Ethan would have to remain inside with Sarah. Today,