felt a measure of peace at his plans for the day, until he remembered that Ellie Stoltzfus had said she’d be back. His good humor and sense of well-being abruptly left him.
He sighed as he recalled the first time he saw her years ago...sweet, lovely, with golden blond hair and bright blue eyes. He’d been attracted to her.
He forced the memory away. He had to stick to his plan and find a wife who would accept that they would be companions but nothing more. The last thing he needed was for Ellie to interfere with his life. He had enough to worry about without the attraction he still felt complicating things.
Ellie had no idea why she felt as if she shouldn’t tell her family about Reuben. Yet she decided not to tell anyone about her experience at the house or that Reuben had moved into their church district. They’d find out soon enough when Bishop John introduced him to the community, or in the event that someone such as their neighboring busybody, Alta Hershberger, learned about the new family in Happiness and nattered about them.
She told him she’d be back today. And she’d made the decision to return tomorrow and the day after that until he no longer needed her. But once she’d arrived home last evening, she’d worried about the cleaning jobs she already had scheduled. Ellie couldn’t abandon her housecleaning business yet, even if she wanted to help someone in need. She’d worked too hard to get it going, and she wasn’t about to let any of her clients down now that they’d come to rely on her. Thankfully, the Broderick family, her job for this morning, had changed the day and time that they wanted her to clean. Which left Ellie free to head to the Reuben Miller residence first thing to continue the work she’d started yesterday afternoon.
The early summer day heralded warm temperatures and sunny skies. Ellie enjoyed the trip to Reuben’s as she viewed the green lawns that looked lusher after an overnight rain. She was happy with her life and pleased with how well her cleaning business was doing. She figured she would clean houses until she had children after marrying.
She wasn’t in any hurry to wed. Her sisters Nell, Leah and Meg were happy with their husbands, and her youngest sister, Charlie, would be marrying Nate Peachy, the man she loved, come autumn after harvest time in November. Once Charlie moved out of the house, Ellie knew that she would be the only one there to help Mam and Dat with chores. Her parents were getting older, and she noticed that they were starting to show their age. She caught her father walking with a stiff gait as if in pain, especially before it rained. Her mother often needed help lifting baking pans out of the oven, and she seemed to have slowed down some. Though she was away from the house with her work each day, Ellie always made it a point to help them in any way she could when she was home.
The house would be too large for her parents if she wed and left the nest like her sisters. If her mother and father were settled in a smaller home, Ellie would feel better about moving on. But as things stood, with five daughters and no sons to take over the property, there would be no one to help her mam and dat if she left. And there was no dawdi haus on the property, since neither Mam nor Dat had parents who lived in the area. Her dat’s eldre were deceased, and her mam’s non-Amish parents lived in Ohio. For now, she’d keep a close eye on them. If they needed her, she could adjust her cleaning schedule to spend more time at home.
Ellie saw Reuben immediately as she steered her horse onto the short driveway next to his house. He knelt on the roof, working on removing shingles. He wore his black-banded straw hat to protect his face and neck from the sun and a short-sleeved light green shirt with black suspenders and navy tri-blend work pants. As she climbed down from her vehicle and tied up her horse, she heard the thud, squeak, thud, squeak of his hammer claw as he pried nails out of old roof shingles before he ripped them up and tossed them to the ground.
She stood a moment, her hand shadowing her eyes against the sun so she could see him better. She couldn’t help but notice the way his forearms flexed as he worked. Reuben moved to another area to tear off a section of the roof, then suddenly stopped as if he’d sensed her presence. He stared down at her, his expression unreadable. He rose to his feet as if planning to come down, and she feared that the wood might not be sturdy enough to hold his full weight. Sorry to have disturbed him, she turned away without a word, hoping that he wouldn’t follow. She didn’t want to get into a discussion with him when he was that high off the ground, and she didn’t want him to send her away before she could finish cleaning his house.
Heart thudding, she retrieved her cleaning tools and approached the side door of the house. To her surprise, the door opened, and Sarah waited with a smile and warmth in her expression. There was no sign of Ethan.
“You came back!”
“I said I would.”
Sarah nodded. “I know you clean houses for a living and that you have other work that needs to get done. I don’t expect you to ignore it to help us.”
“Not to worry. The family I was going to clean for this morning rescheduled. Even if I have to work, Sarah, I’ll clean for you. I may have to come later in the day, but I will come,” Ellie said softly. “I always keep my word, and I want to help.”
Sarah blinked back tears. “Danki,” she whispered. She followed as Ellie set her supply tote on the bench behind their dining table. “I can’t believe how good the great room looks after you scrubbed the walls,” the girl said. “Reuben wants to paint every room in the house, but there is so much else to do, he had to decide what needed to be done most urgently.”
“Like the roof.” Ellie sorted through her supplies. “That makes sense. You never know when it will rain. Water damage is hard to fix.” She pulled out a foaming spray, a roll of paper towels and window cleaner. “Your bruder knows what he is doing.”
“I know.” The girl sighed. “I wish I could do more for him. He hasn’t been the same since Susanna died.”
“I’m sorry. It must be hard for him having a son so young.”
“’Tis. But at least I can be there for Ethan.”
“Ja, but what about your plans?”
“I’m fine. Once Reuben finds someone to care for Ethan, or if he chooses to marry again, then I’ll join my eldre in Ohio.”
Ellie studied her with warmth and compassion. “You haven’t been out of school long.”
“I finished eighth grade last session.”
She smiled. “You’re a gut sister, Sarah.”
The girl shrugged. “He’s family. You do what you can for family and friends.”
“Wise as well as compassionate,” Ellie murmured with a smile. “I’m going to tackle the bathroom.” There was no sign of Ethan. She looked around, wondering if someone had taken the baby to help out. “Where’s your nephew?”
“Sleeping.” Sarah grinned. “Hard to believe given the noise Reuben is making, but he’s asleep in the other room. Last night Reuben made him a large cradle for the great room. I was able to feed him, then rock him to sleep.”
“Then you’d better enjoy the moment. I’d say peace and quiet, but clearly you don’t have that,” Ellie said drily as she glanced toward the ceiling.
The teenager laughed. “That I don’t.”
When she entered the bathroom, she was surprised to see that it was amazingly clean.
Ellie sought out Sarah. “Who cleaned in here?”
“Reuben,” the girl said. “My bruder likes a clean haus, which is why this—” she gestured all around her “—upsets and embarrasses him.”
“I can help. He has enough to do.” She was actually shocked