The Amish Nanny's Sweetheart

“Why didn’t they adopt him then?”

Annie stifled a yawn. “I think Verna said his father never signed the papers to release him. But if you teach him Deitsch, it will make it easier for him to fit in. When do you think you’ll start the lessons?”

“I was thinking about some evening this week.”

“That sounds fine. After supper, the twins go down for the night, and so do I. Once Eli is in bed, your time is your own.” Annie pushed back from the table. “I’m going to lie down. Are you sure about taking care of all three children this afternoon?”

Judith tipped her chin toward the sleeping Eli in her lap. “Of course I am. I’ll wake you if I have any problems.”

Annie made her way to her room as Judith carried Eli upstairs to his bedroom across the hall from her own. She laid him on the bed and removed his shoes before she covered him with a warm quilt. She looked out the window as Eli shifted in his sleep, settling into what she hoped would be a long nap. This window faced the road and the Mast farm on the other side.

She wasn’t lonely, but Annie was busy with the babies, and Judith missed the hours she and Esther, her other sister, had spent talking when she was still at home. She needed a friend, and Guy promised to be a good one. At least, she thought he would be from the little time they had spent together.

Guy was right. He needed to learn Deitsch and she could teach him. She had a picture book she had brought to read to Eli, and she could use that to teach him a few words. A warm feeling spread when she thought of the hours they would need to spend together as he learned her language. Their friendship would deepen, and perhaps turn to... Judith felt her cheeks heat in the chilly room.

She frowned, keeping her thoughts stern. There would be no romance during her lessons with Guy. He wanted to learn, that was all. She shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Besides, he wasn’t Amish. It didn’t matter how attractive or friendly he was, she could never let him get any ideas about wooing her.

Unless he was planning to join the church.

Judith gave her upper arms a brisk rub to chase the chill away, then checked to make sure Eli was covered and warm in his bed. As soon as she found a moment, she would walk over to the Mast farm and see when Guy wanted to start his lessons.

* * *

Guy had just finished the afternoon milking and was carrying the warm pails to the dairy in the corner of the barn when Judith opened the door.

“Verna told me you were here, but she thought you’d still be milking.”

“I just finished, even though the ladies aren’t done eating yet.” Guy pointed an elbow toward the two cows still munching on their supper of timothy hay. “It’s a surprise to see you here.”

“I came over to ask you something.”

Judith followed him into the dairy and watched in silence as he set the milk on the bench, then shrugged off his barn coat and hung it from the hook on the wall. He watched Judith from under the shock of hair that always fell over his eyebrows as he started assembling the cream separator. He tried to catch her eye, but she seemed distracted. She stepped forward to help him sort the dozens of rings and filters, chewing on her bottom lip.

“Well?” Guy set the filters in their place and attached the big onion-shaped hopper on the top of the cream separator.

“Are you serious about learning Deitsch?” She handed him the clean steel buckets that would hold the separated milk and cream. Guy started the slow, heavy crank, getting the separator up to speed before he poured the milk into it.

“Of course I am.” He lifted the first pail and poured steaming milk into the hopper. “At least, I am if you’re going to teach me.”

Judith leaned on the table, watching until the twin streams of milk and cream came out of the spouts and into the waiting buckets.

“I’ll be happy to do it, if you really want to learn. You’ll need to speak and read Deitsch well if you’re going to join the church.”

Guy poured the second pail of milk into the top of the separator, then continued cranking at the slow, steady speed the machine required. The look in Hannah Kaufman’s eyes as she laughed at him last fall still stung. The only reasons to learn Penn Dutch were so he wouldn’t be laughed at and so he could fit in better with the crowd. He hadn’t thought about joining church. Becoming one of them.

“I don’t need to join the church to fit in around here, do I? The other guys my age haven’t joined.”

“Some of them have.”

Glancing at her face, her pink cheeks told him that he had been too blunt. She was disappointed in him.

“It just isn’t for me.” He tried to make his voice sound casual. The pink had spread to the end of her nose.

“You don’t have to join church,” she said, clearing her throat. “But being able to understand what folks are saying will make living in the community easier. Like when you go to the Singings or to the church meetings.”

He cranked the separator in silence. She wasn’t laughing at him. It seemed like she really wanted to help him. The bonus was that getting Judith to teach him Pennsylvania Dutch meant they would spend time together. Time he could spend learning to know her, getting close to her. Becoming a friend.

“When would we do this?”

Her face brightened. “I thought we could get together after supper, unless you still have chores to do then.”

“Naw, David gives me the evenings off.” He let the separator slow as the last of the milk emptied out of the hopper. “Were you thinking of starting tonight?”

“We can begin tonight, but it’s going to take more than one evening. It will take weeks for you to pick up the basics.”

That brought a grin he couldn’t hide. Weeks spent in Judith’s company? He set the pails of skim milk and cream aside and put the empty milk buckets under the separator’s spouts. He dumped a bucket of hot water into the hopper and let it pour through all those disks and filters, rinsing out any milk that lingered.

“Okay, I’m game.”

“Wonderful-gut!” She started for the door. “I have a children’s book we can use to begin with. Come over after supper, when Eli is in bed for the night. Around seven o’clock.”

Judith smiled then, her joy catching him by surprise. She truly wanted to do this, which meant only one thing. She liked him. He felt his own smile spreading across his face.

“I’ll be over after supper, then.” He grinned. “It’s a date.”

As Judith let the door close behind her, Guy went back to his work, but the grin slid off his face. He was looking forward to spending time with Judith, but what was he expecting to get out of learning that Penn Dutch stuff? It was one thing to live with the Masts and work for them. It was something completely different to become one of them.

He pushed away the warm feeling that started whenever he thought of belonging here. Truly belonging here. That would never happen. He had learned long ago not to get his hopes up. The Masts, as much as they seemed to like him, had never really made him part of their family. It seemed if you weren’t born Amish, you’d always be an outsider.

Besides, when Pa came for him...

Guy shook his head, chasing the stale hope away.

Once the room was clean and tidy, ready for the morning’s milking, Guy picked up the small pail of cream, leaving the skim milk to feed to the hogs the next day.

If David and Verna had adopted him when he was younger, it would be different. He would have learned the language, grown up with the other boys like Luke Kaufman and been a true part of the community. But that hadn’t happened, and it wouldn’t. Judith was wrong. He would never be Amish.

Chapter Three (#ud297e2b1-6ba6-5648-955b-242c13ae8f8c)

That evening, Guy showed up at the back door right at seven o’clock. He was grinning when Judith opened it, but the smile disappeared when he saw Eli hanging onto her skirt.

“Am I too early?”

She shook her head. “You’re right on time. I’ve just had one of those days.” She picked up her nephew and led the way into the kitchen. “Eli didn’t sleep well last night, and then had a short nap this afternoon. Annie says he is getting some new teeth.”

Guy took a seat at the table where she had set a plate of cookies and a glass of milk for each of them.

“I didn’t know you were going to feed me,” he said, glancing at the book she had also laid on the table.