The Amish Buggy Horse BOXED SET Books 1-3 (Amish Romance Book Bundle: Faith, Hope, Charity) (Boxed Set: The Amish Buggy Horse) (9 page)

Ephesians 2:8.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

Chapter 17
.

Nettie shook and shook. She carried the envelope into the living room and placed it on the little, round wooden table next to the big, blue sofa, and then sat down, staring at it.

This must be the will leaving everything to Jebediah Sprinkler. Was there any chance it was simply her
mudder's
copy of the previous will? There was a date next to the writing, but it had faded. Nettie peered at it until her eyes hurt, but could not make out the writing.

Nettie walked into her
mudder's
bedroom, and fetched the magnifying glass from beside her bed. Her
mudder
used to read the
Dordrecht Confession of Faith
, a booklet of statements of belief, including salvation by faith in Jesus Christ, baptism, and avoidance of violence, among others. It also included the
Martyr's Mirror
, the testimonies of Christian martyrs, most of whom were Anabaptists who were killed because of their belief in adult baptism, and the Bible in German, the Martin Luther version.

There was an oppressive atmosphere in her
mudder's
bedroom, and all the window-opening and spring cleaning since her
mudder
had died had not made much of an impression on it. Nettie hurried back out of the room.

She sat back down on the sofa and held the magnifying glass over the date. There was no doubt; the date was the very year that she had gotten engaged, against her will, to Jebediah.

There was only one conclusion to be had: the envelope that Nettie was staring at was in fact the will leaving everything to Jebediah Sprinkler.

* * *

The next morning, Nettie got up just before the sun. She did not have many chores to do, but she had barely had a wink of sleep. Nettie walked to the living room to see if the envelope was still there. Yes, there it was; she hadn't dreamed it as she hoped she had.

Nettie rubbed her eyes and set to brewing the
kaffi
. With a loud sigh, she sat down to sip her
kaffi
. A headache was forming at her temples and she tried to rub it away, to no avail. Nettie wasn't at all hungry, but forced herself to eat stewed crackers in warm milk. After that, she paced up and down the kitchen.

The sun was coming up, and Nettie peered out the window at it. It looked like a fine day.
Fine for that Jebediah Sprinkler
, Nettie thought with resentment. Then she saw her old horse, Harry, grazing with Blessing in the field.

A thought occurred to her as she looked at Blessing. He was technically homeless, as no one knew who owned him, yet hadn’t
Gott
provided for him? Then Nettie's mind was drawn to the Scripture, Matthew chapter six, verse twenty six: "
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
"

Nettie walked into the living room and took up the envelope in her hands. "This envelope holds my future," she said aloud. Then she thought of Blessing, and
Gott
providing for the birds. "
Nee
, it is
Gott
who holds my future," she said firmly to herself.

Three hours later, Nettie drove Blessing to the phone shanty and made an important call, and a further three hours after that, there was a knock on her door.

Nettie opened to the door to a stooped Mr. Koble standing on the porch. "Come in," she said to her lawyer.

"I must say, I was surprised when you told me there was another will," Mr. Koble said.

Nettie nodded. "I was surprised too. As it’s sealed, I wanted you to open it."

"You did the right thing," Mr. Koble assured her. "It may remove legal complications later."

Nettie showed Mr. Koble into the living room and he sank into the deep sofa. Nettie handed him the envelope, and he took out an old, gold-rimmed tortoiseshell case and from it removed his glasses. With them safely perched on his nose, he broke open the seal.

Nettie sat on the adjoining sofa, holding her breath, hoping that the will would not leave everything to Jebediah Sprinkler. She watched Mr. Koble carefully as he read it, looking for a change of expression. There was none, although his bushy, white, eyebrows did go up and down at intervals.

"Interesting," he finally said.

Nettie wanted to scream with impatience. "What does it say? Does it leave everything to Jebediah Sprinkler?"

"Indeed it does," said Mr. Koble.

"The
haus
, the land?"

"Everything," Mr. Koble said. "There are no cats as beneficiaries in this will."

Nettie bit her lip.

"Just one thing," Mr. Koble said, with a twinkle in his eye. "Do you have any intention of marrying this Jebediah Sprinkler?"

"
Nee
!" Nettie all but shouted. "Absolutely not, Mr. Koble, I can assure you of that." She wondered why Mr. Koble had asked such a question.

Mr. Koble smiled. "Nettie, there is a condition on this will. Jebediah Sprinkler only has claim to your mother's entire property should you marry him within one year of her death."

Nettie could scarcely believe her ears. "Could you please repeat that, Mr. Koble?" After Mr. Koble repeated it, Nettie asked, "So Jebediah Sprinkler doesn't get anything?"

"Nothing at all, unless you marry him."

"There's no chance of that," Nettie said, "Although I did see him at the plant nursery recently and he asked me to marry him."

The lawyer's eyebrows shot up. "Did he indeed!"

"So what happens now, Mr. Koble; do I inform Jebediah that I've found the will?"

Mr. Koble shook his head. "I suspect that Mr. Sprinkler has his own copy of the will, which is why he asked you to marry him. Leave it to me; do you know his address?"

Nettie shook her head. "I only know he's staying at the B&B that's down by the stream."

"I shall send that young man a stern legal letter," Mr. Koble said. "I doubt that he will ever contact you again, but should he do so, please call me at once and I will see to him."

Nettie beamed. "Thank you, Mr. Koble, thank you so much."

Romans 10:8-11.
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

Chapter 18
.

Nettie walked outside and watched Mr. Koble drive away in his expensive looking car. She remembered the last time that Mr. Koble had been here, that Blessing had appeared soon after Mr. Koble had left.

And now were her eyes deceiving her, or was this Blessing trotting down the road toward her?

I hope this isn’t all a dream
, Nettie thought, and then shook her head to clear it. She looked again, and sure enough, it was Blessing coming, only he was being driven by Daniel Glick.

"I just don't understand it," she said by way of greeting when Daniel approached. "I only drove Blessing to the phone shanty just a few hours ago. I didn’t know he'd escaped again."

"
Hullo
to you too," Daniel said. "What a fine greeting that is." His manner was teasing, but Nettie still blushed.

"I'm sorry," she said. "
Hiya
, Daniel."

"
Hiya
, Nettie." Daniel laughed.

"I'm so sorry that Blessing escaped again."

"My fault entirely," Daniel said. "I never did come to fix the gates. I suppose you’re wondering why I'm driving him."

"Yes, now that you mention it," Nettie said.
I hope Daniel isn’t going to take Blessing back
, she thought.
He's my only means of independence
.

"I was going to come and see you today, and when Blessing turned up this morning, I thought I should drive him here and invite you for a buggy ride."

Nettie gasped and her hand flew to her mouth, then she chided herself for being so obvious. She stared at Daniel with her mouth open.
Buggy rides mean courting
, thought Nettie, her heart all at once going ninety to the dozen. Nettie did not know what to say, until she saw disappointment register on Daniel's face, so she thought she should hurry to reassure him.

"I'd love to," she said, in all too animated a fashion, and then remembered that her
mudder
always said, "
Menner
will never respect you if they know that you like them," and, "You must never let a
mann
know you like him."

Daniel's face lit up and Nettie's heart skipped a beat. "Is now a
gut
time for you?"

Nettie hesitated, only for a second, as she thought of her
mudder's
advice and words, but then decided to put it all behind her. She would not look to the sadness of the past, but would press onwards to the future that
Gott
had for her. "Yes, it's a
gut
time," she said.

Nettie climbed into the buggy, next to Daniel, and Blessing trotted happily down the roads that wound their way between farms, with their pretty, white barns and old, white, stone buildings that stood in contrast to the lush green of the fields. The gentle breeze blew in her face, and she stole a look at Daniel.

Daniel caught her eye and smiled. "I passed a car on my way to your
haus
."

"
Jah
, that was my lawyer. Oh Daniel, I forgot to tell you; I found the will."

Daniel sucked in a breath. "The will leaving everything to Jebediah Sprinkler?"

Nettie laughed. "
Jah
, but that's just it; it doesn't."

"It doesn't?" Daniel echoed.

"
Nee
," Nettie said. "Not exactly. He gets everything only if I marry him within twelve months of
Mamm
going to be with
Gott
."

Daniel slowed Blessing to a walk and looked over at Nettie. "And you don't intend to marry Jebediah Sprinkler?"

Nettie thought he was still teasing, but said, "
Nee
, of course not." She shuddered involuntarily.

"
Gut
," Daniel said, still looking at her. "I would be very upset if you married another
mann
."

Nettie's face burned and her ears grew hot. She smiled shyly and then looked away. Her stomach was churning.
Did he say what I think he just said?
she asked herself, and then, as if knowing her shyness, Daniel reached out and took her hand.

Nettie smiled as his strong hand wrapped around hers. She loved the feeling, even if it did make her feel slightly sick to the stomach and have the same effect as the time she had touched the neighbor's electric fence.

"Jebediah Sprinkler told me that the two of you were betrothed," Daniel said. "Well, he didn’t actually mention your name," he added, "but the implication was quite clear."

Nettie wasn't surprised; she wouldn’t put anything past the unscrupulous Jebediah Sprinkler. "He did? When?"

"Yesterday, after the church meeting."

"And you didn’t believe him?"

"
Nee
." Daniel squeezed Nettie's hand. "Do you believe that
Gott
has the right
mann
for every woman and the right woman for every
mann
?"

"Why, yes, I do believe that," Nettie said, comfortable with the fact that such was the belief of all Amish.

"Nettie, the second I laid eyes on you, I knew you were the woman that
Gott
had for me."

Nettie blushed again. She could not believe that such great happiness was hers. Yet there was something niggling away at her. "Daniel, I must tell you that when I was sixteen, my
mudder
arranged me for to be betrothed to Jebediah Sprinkler."

Daniel looked shocked, but merely asked, "What happened?"

"I refused of course, and that was the end of it, although my
mudder
was very angry at the time. Well, I think she was always angry; she never forgave me for it, and she always used to mention him to me."

Daniel turned to smile at her again. "You did very well to stand up to your
mudder
."

Nettie sent up a silent prayer of thanks to
Gott
for Daniel being so understanding. Yet there was one more thing she had to tell him. "Daniel, I must tell you that I'm not a
gut
person. When Jebediah told me about the will, I thought I would destroy it."

Daniel simply chuckled.

"Seriously, Daniel, I really did consider burning it."

Daniel did not appear to be concerned. "When did you change your mind?"

"Yesterday, at the church meeting, although up until then, I really did think about destroying it." Nettie looked at Daniel to see how he was taking the news.

"Nettie, it doesn't matter that you thought that you might; the point is, that you didn't; that's all that counts. Everyone has struggles; we all have fallen short of the glory of
Gott
. Yet, after your struggle, did you find greater faith?"

"Why yes, I did," Nettie said, thinking how wise Daniel was and glad that he did not think less of her for her struggle.

Daniel drew Blessing to a stop by the stream, and helped Nettie down from the buggy. "It's so beautiful here," he said, gesturing around him. "The fullness of
Gott's
creation."

Nettie had to agree, as they walked alongside the stream under a canopy of tulip poplars which were in bloom, giving off a subtle yet sweet fragrance.

Daniel turned to her. "Nettie, I can't tell you how happy I am that we're courting now."

Nettie's face flushed with happiness at his words.

"And one day," Daniel continued, "when we know each other better, I will ask you a very important question, and I'm hoping you will say
yes
."

Of course I will
, Nettie thought, elated, but she simply smiled up at him.

The two of them walked, hand in hand, down along the stream, beginning the first day of the rest of their lives together.

The End