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  Rosanna nodded.

  “Well, I’ve always heard the Amish were honest and trustworthy. Wonderful is just the kind of mother this baby needs.”

  “But you are the mudder.”

  “Did you read that paper? It says I give all parental rights to you. It’s all signed, official, and legal. The baby is yours.”

  Chapter Two

  Rosanna gasped. She looked into the precious, innocent face. Long eyelashes brushed the rounded cheeks. Little wisps of honey hair curled near the forehead. The pink lips almost smiled in sleep. My boppli. She tried the words on. Immediately a fierce protective instinct grabbed hold of her and wouldn’t turn loose. The image of a mother bear with her cub took over her brain. My boppli!

  Rosanna nearly leaped from her shoes at the touch of a hand on her arm. She had never even heard her mamm reenter the room. All her focus had been on the tiny being snuggled in her arms.

  “Dochder, are you all right?”

  “I-I don’t know.” All she could think of was the fact that she was a mudder. Something inside her wanted this boppli more than anything in the world. Yet a niggling little voice begging to be heard uttered, What about Henry? Henry Zook. The fellow she’d hoped would ask her to marry him. How would he feel about a ready-made family? How would he feel about raising an Englisch boppli as his own? He barely tolerated Englischers. Though he was always polite, Henry never wanted much dealing with folks who weren’t Amish. Well, if he cared about her at all, he’d have to care about her boppli, too. Her boppli?

  “Rosanna?” Sarah shook the arm not curved around the swaddled infant. “What is it?”

  “Here, Mamm. You’d better read this paper.”

  “Just a minute. First let’s see if this little one will wake to eat. I’ve got a bottle warmed.” Sarah held up the bottle as if to prove her point.

  “What is your boppli’s name?” She smiled at Jane, who had pulled the covers up to her chin and lay observing mother and daughter.

  “Ask her.” The young woman nodded at Rosanna.

  Sarah turned raised eyebrows toward her dochder, who shrugged her shoulders and jiggled the piece of paper in her free hand. “Hand the infant to her mamm, Rosanna, and we can talk while she eats.”

  “No!” Jane’s voice bounced off the stark walls.

  This time, Sarah jumped in surprise. “You don’t want to feed your boppli? Are you in pain?” Sarah started for the bed.

  “No to both questions. And you don’t have to come over here to feel my forehead. Ask her.” Jane nodded at Rosanna again.

  “Kumm, Dochder.” Sarah moved to take the infant, obviously intending to hand her to Jane.

  “Take the baby with you.” Jane turned on her side and pulled the covers over her head.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Sarah mumbled as she and Rosanna filed out of the room. She pulled the door closed behind them. “I’ve never seen a woman not eager to hold her newborn. I know this girl is young, but I’ve attended many young Amish girls’ births, and none have acted like this. Could it be postpartum depression?”

  “Mamm.” Rosanna nudged the older woman, breaking into her monologue. “You need to read this paper Jane handed me.”

  “What kind of paper could be more important than her own boppli? She didn’t want to feed her or even hold her. I really should make sure she isn’t feverish or hemorrhaging or . . .”

  “Mamm, read the paper.” Rosanna thrust the sheet of paper into her mamm’s hand.

  Sarah gave an exasperated sigh and shook the paper open. Rosanna studied her face as she swayed to and fro to rock the infant whose long-lashed eyes were still closed in innocent slumber. She watched the color fade from her mamm’s cheeks.

  “What is this?” Sarah’s voice rose a little on each word.

  “Shhh!” Rosanna dared to hush the obviously astonished woman. “I couldn’t believe it at first, either.”

  “How do you know this girl, Rosanna? I thought she was a stranger to you, too, when she showed up at our door asking for help.”

  “She was, Mamm. Truly, she was. Apparently she’d been watching me for, well, I don’t know how long, at the market or wherever. She said she felt like she could trust me. She asked people about me and got my name from someone she spoke with.”

  “Well, this is absolutely ridiculous! Women don’t just hand their kinner over to total strangers. This-this paper . . .”

  “Is a legal document. There’s a seal at the bottom. I don’t think adoption is too foreign in the Englisch world.”

  “Let me talk to that girl. She simply has some strange postpartum thing going on, that’s all. I’ll clear up this whole confusion quick.”

  Before Sarah could move, Rosanna laid a hand on her arm. “I asked her all the questions I’m sure you’ll ask her. She said she was only nineteen, that she couldn’t care for a boppli, and that she was sick. She said the infant was, uh, is mine.”

  “Yours! You aren’t even married. You’re young yourself.”

  “I’m twenty-one, Mamm. Lots of girls my age are going on their second pregnancy.”

  “What about Henry?”

  Rosanna felt the heat rise from her toes to her scalp. Even if parents knew their dochder was interested in a fellow, they didn’t mention it. Dating and courtship weren’t generally discussed. “I-I don’t know.” Rosanna’s voice squeaked. She cleared her throat. “But if Jane truly doesn’t want this precious little one, I will gladly accept full responsibility for her.”

  “You can’t take on such a thing! You aren’t ready for—”

  “What first-time mudder is truly ready? They all have to learn, ain’t so?” Rosanna suddenly felt the need to defend her case. “I’m probably more ready than most. I’ve taken care of my younger bruders and schweschders, sure, but I’ve cared for newborns fresh from the womb. I’m comfortable with them.” She glanced down at the sweet infant in her arms and smiled.

  “You’ve already fallen in leib with this one, ain’t so?”

  Rosanna nodded. A tear slipped down her cheek. “If Jane doesn’t want this boppli, then I do.”

  Sarah wrapped an arm around her dochder’s shoulders. “You’ve always had a tender heart. I don’t have any doubt you would make a fine mudder. I just don’t want you to get attached to this wee one until we check this all out. I don’t want you to ruin your chances at a happy marriage. And I don’t want you to get hurt if this is all some kind of sham.”

  Rosanna nodded. “I know, Mamm. I truly think this paper is for real. Widows with kinner remarry all the time, and their new husbands willingly take on a ready-made family. I’m not worried about the whole marriage thing.” Much.

  “That’s different.”

  “Well, if any man cares about me, he’ll have to care about my boppli, too.”

  “Let’s not put the cart before the horse, Dochder. Let’s check this out more before you let your enthusiasm run away with you.”

  Thoughts spun through Rosanna’s mind as fast as the windmill spun on a blustery day. Would Mamm and Daed forbid her to keep the boppli? Surely they wouldn’t turn away a helpless little one. Would they say she belonged in the Englisch world? Jane wanted her raised in the Amish faith. The Lord Gott must have led Jane to their door. Wasn’t it His will Jane sought her out to raise the infant?

  If Jane was befuddled, as Mamm insisted, she stayed that way for the next day and a half that she dozed or pretended to doze in the Masts’ spare bedroom. Rosanna had taken over care of the infant, as Jane had requested, but tried repeatedly to get the girl to hold or even look at her precious newborn.

  “That girl has rested and recuperated and eaten every morsel of food we’ve taken her. I’d say she was ready to talk sensibly about her decision now.” Sarah stood in the upstairs hallway with hands balled into fists on her hips.

  “I’ve tried, Mamm, over and over again. I haven’t gotten anywhere.”

  Sarah squeezed Rosanna’s arm before marching into the bedroom. “Well, I�
�ll straighten this whole business out,” she muttered. “That girl is simply confused. That’s all.”

  Rosanna followed on Sarah’s heels. She didn’t want to miss a single word exchanged between Mamm and Jane. Her heart hammered. What if Jane had changed her mind after all? What if she said she’d made a mistake and wanted to raise the infant herself? Mamm would tear that paper to bits, and Rosanna would have to relinquish this precious little one she already thought of as hers.

  “Jane, let’s talk about this.” Sarah pushed the door open and then stopped so abruptly Rosanna nearly crashed into her. “Jane? Where is she?”

  Rosanna scooted around her mamm. The rumpled bed stood empty of its patient. “Where could she be?”

  “We would have seen her leave the room. We were right there in the hallway.”

  “The window.” Rosanna pointed to the almost fully opened window.

  “The girl just recently gave birth. She couldn’t have leaped from the window. We’re on the second floor.”

  Rosanna beat Sarah to the window and stared outside. Jane could have easily climbed down by way of the old oak tree, just like her older bruders bragged of doing years ago. Since the tree had already shed its leaves, Jane’s climb would have been a little easier than that of the buwe, who generally only made this escape when the foliage hid them. Only Jane had to be exhausted and more than a little weak so soon after delivery, especially if she was as sick as she said. “I don’t see her. Could she have run off that fast?”

  “Certainly not. Not in her condition. She’s probably hiding somewhere.”

  “Hello!” a deep voice called up the stairs.

  “Ach! I forgot.” Sarah smacked her forehead. “Paul Hertzler was stopping by to pick up the quilt I finished up for his mamm. She ran into a problem with it, and I helped her out. Her arthritis has been acting up something fierce lately.” Sarah turned toward the door and spoke louder. “Be right there, Paul.”

  “If you’re busy, you can just tell me where the quilt is, and I’ll get it.” A thump sounded on the step.

  “I’ll go.” Rosanna whirled away from the window and started down the stairs, still cradling the infant. She heard Sarah descending behind her.

  “Hello, Rosanna.” Paul’s handsome face crinkled into a smile. “Hey, who’s this?” He nodded at the newborn who Rosanna now felt was a part of her.

  “It-it’s Mollie.” Where did that thought come from? She did like the name, though, and it seemed to fit this golden-haired little angel. It certainly beat calling her “Boppli.”

  “She’s a beauty.” Paul leaned close to look into the little face. He reached one large finger out to gently stroke the little cheek. Would Henry do such a thing? Not many young men would pay much attention to a boppli. “Who does she belong to?”

  Rosanna looked up and up. My, but Paul was tall. He must be at least six feet, so at least a good seven inches or so taller than her. Henry was barely her own height. Maybe only a whisper taller. Now, why on earth was she comparing the two? At last her eyes reached Paul’s. Hazel, they were. Not quite green and not quite brown, with flecks of gold. If eyes could smile, his did. “She’s m—”

  “How is your mudder doing?” Sarah interrupted before Rosanna could lay claim to the infant.

  “She’s had right many bad days here lately. I know it’s frustrating for her when her hands hurt too much to do her usual activities.” Paul gave a little chuckle. “You know how stubborn Mamm is, though. She hates to ask for help.”

  “We all need help now and then.” Sarah flew off in the direction of the living room but turned to throw a warning look over her shoulder at Rosanna.

  Rosanna ventured a look at Paul and caught his raised eyebrows. So Mamm’s cautionary expression hadn’t escaped him. She shrugged her shoulders and opened her mouth to finish answering his earlier question.

  “Here’s Mary’s quilt. Tell her I was happy to finish it for her. That’s what freinden are for, ain’t so? To help one another?”

  “That’s exactly what I keep telling her.” Paul grabbed the folded quilt Sarah thrust into his arms.

  “Say, Paul, you didn’t see an Englisch girl on your way in, did you?” Even if Mamm believed Jane was hiding and couldn’t get very far, Rosanna thought differently. She had seen how determined the girl was to give up her boppli. She was convinced the girl could have outrun their fastest horse if she put her mind to it.

  “As a matter of fact, I did. I saw a girl run down your driveway like she was being chased by a pack of wild dogs. I had almost made it to your driveway when a car came along. The girl flagged it down and hopped into the back seat when it stopped. I could see the driver’s surprised look even from my buggy.”

  “She’s gone, then,” Sarah muttered.

  “Was she someone you knew?”

  “Uh, sort of.” Rosanna gazed at the infant and smiled. I will love you, protect you, and care for you, little Mollie. Don’t you fret one single bit.

  Paul shook his head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone in such a hurry.”

  “I suppose she was.” Sarah spoke more to herself than to the young man in front of her.

  “Danki for the quilt, Sarah. Mamm will be ever so pleased.” Paul plopped his straw hat back on his head, covering much of his pale blond hair. “You know, there’s a change in the air, a nip, for sure and for certain. I think winter is upon us.”

  When Paul pulled open the door, a cold gust of air rushed in as if on cue to confirm his pronouncement. Rosanna snuggled the newborn closer.

  “Say, she looks very content in your arms, Rosanna.” Paul smiled. “Almost like she belongs there.”

  Rosanna jerked her gaze up to Paul’s face. A little thrill shot through her heart. “Do you think so?”

  “Jah.” Paul smiled again. This one caused little crinkles to fan out around his eyes.

  Rosanna smiled back. She would almost have danced a little jig, if that had been permitted. Could Paul’s words have been a message from the Lord Gott?

  Chapter Three

  “Such a nice bu,” Sarah mumbled as she closed the heavy wooden door behind Paul. She turned to look squarely into Rosanna’s face and crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t you go getting any crazy ideas just because someone said the boppli looks like she belongs in your arms.” Her stern expression softened when she shifted her gaze to take in the swaddled infant.

  Rosanna hadn’t needed to hear those words from Paul Hertzler, but his opinion bolstered her own resolve. She didn’t know how it looked, but she knew how it felt. And it felt right to claim this little one as her own. She had seen Mamm’s tender expression, fleeting though it was. Now Sarah’s demeanor returned to seriousness. Rosanna rocked the baby a teensy bit faster, keeping pace with her rapid heartbeat. What would Mamm’s next words be?

  “This is not a stray puppy you can simply keep as your own. This is a little human being, Rosanna.”

  “I know that perfectly well, Mamm. I also know Jane wanted me to have this little human being. She wrote it on that legal paper. She chose me to take her boppli.”

  Sarah clucked her tongue. “We have to check about that.”

  “Don’t you think maybe it’s the Lord Gott’s will, Mamm? That girl showed up out of the blue. She found out about me and picked me to be her little one’s mudder. I actually feel honored and blessed.”

  “How honored and blessed are you going to feel at two in the morning, every morning, when she wakes up screaming and wants to nurse?”

  “I remember when Katie, James, and Sadie were little. I know they wake up often to eat.”

  “And I nursed them all.”

  “It’s true I can’t nurse Mollie, but I can feed her a bottle of formula like I’ve been doing.”

  “Do you know how expensive that stuff is to buy in the grocery store?”

  “Well, I’ve picked up a can or two for you to have on hand, so I know it’s not cheap, but the Lord will provide. I have faith.”

  Sa
rah grunted.

  “Mamm, you wouldn’t turn away a helpless newborn, would you?”

  Sarah sighed loud and long. “Of course not, Dochder. I just don’t want you getting too attached to the notion that you are this little one’s mudder. I don’t want to see you hurt if things don’t turn out as you’ve built up in your head.”

  Too late. Rosanna already felt attached to and totally in love with the precious infant she cradled in her arms.

  “You do understand we have to check out that paper. We have to make sure we aren’t doing anything we can get in trouble for.”

  Rosanna nodded. Her nose burned and her eyes watered at the very thought of giving up the boppli. How had she become attached so quickly? She’d assisted in dozens of births. She’d oohed and aahed over each newborn but had never felt the infant belonged to her. This little one was completely different. “H-how are you going to check things out? We don’t know any lawyers.” Whatever would she do if the paper was a fake and the authorities took her boppli away?

  “I’ll visit Amy Rogers after we clean up.”

  “How can she help?” Amy was the Englisch neighbor who often drove the Amish to destinations too far to travel by horse and buggy.

  “I’m sure she or her husband will know a lawyer. They seem to know everyone. If they can’t help us, they will know who can.”

  * * *

  “Do you have to clomp through like an elephant?” Rosanna had finally coaxed Mollie to accept an ounce of formula and sat rocking her to sleep near the woodstove in the living room.

  “Yikes! I didn’t know we still had a guest.” Tobias tried to lower his voice.

  “We don’t,” Rosanna whispered.

  “Are you rocking a baby doll?”

  Rosanna heard a muffled snort behind her big bruder.

  “Very funny, smarty-pants. Ach, Henry! I didn’t know you were here.” Tobias was so tall and broad-shouldered Rosanna hadn’t seen the smaller man behind him. She attempted to straighten up in the chair but didn’t want to disturb the boppli, who had finally closed her eyes.

  “Why do you have her downstairs? What is her name anyway?” Tobias tiptoed closer. Living with a mudder who helped women give birth made her bruders more comfortable around expectant women and newborns.