Free Elijah And The Widow (Lancaster County Weddings 4) by Rebecca Kertz Page A

Elijah Lapp.” Jacob approached from the yard, and she offered him the last cake to take home to Annie.
    His brown eyes lit up. “She’d like that.”
    She retrieved the other one and gave it to Jacob.
    The workers and their families left, and Martha was alone in the house as light darkened into night. As she prepared for bed, she thought of the day and how grateful she felt for the help and the friendship of her church community. She thought of all the work done by her family, friends and neighbors. Katie Lapp and Missy Stoltzfus had cleaned up her kitchen and left it spotless.
    Next year I’ll pay someone to work. Her mind found an image of Eli Lapp. He was strong, healthy and a good farmer. Perhaps she could hire Eli and his brothers to plant for her next season. She’d have to give it some thought. She frowned as she had trouble banishing from her thoughts Eli Lapp with his warm, teasing demeanor.

Chapter Seven
    “D o you have everything?” Samuel placed his tool belt into the back of the wagon.
    “ Ja, Dat. We have the tools we need and the two-by-fours you picked up on Friday.” Eli studied the sky. “The day looks to be a gut one, so we should get a fair amount of work done today on Martha’s farmhouse.”
    Isaac left the house and joined them. “Jedidiah coming?” he asked as he placed his tool belt next to Dat ’s.
    Dat nodded. “ Ja , he said he’d come for a while this morning. We’ll work on the windows after he gets there.”
    Eli climbed onto the front wagon seat, while his father climbed in on the passenger side. Isaac jumped into the back.
    The air was clean and fresh, filled with the scents of Mam ’sroses, as Eli steered their mare down the dirt lane toward the main road. Janey was in good form as she pulled their vehicle onto the King farm. Jedidiah was waiting for them in Martha’s barnyard as Eli parked their buggy next to Jed’s. He got out of the vehicle. “ Hallo , Jed.”
    “Took ya long enough, Eli,” Jedidiah teased.
    “You could have come with us,” Isaac suggested as he climbed out of the back.
    Jed shook his head. “I can work this morning. Have other work to do this afternoon.” He smiled as his father left the vehicle to join them. “ Gut to see you, Dat .”
    Their father was pleased. “Ready to get started?”
    “ Ja. Sarah fed me an early breakfast.”
    Eli reached into the back of the wagon for the tools he’d need. “What did you have?” All of his sisters-in-law, like his mother, were wonderful cooks.
    “Cinnamon rolls.” Jedidiah’s gaze grew soft. “But she made me eat eggs first. Said the sweet rolls alone wouldn’t keep me going until lunch.”
    “I would have liked a cinnamon roll.” Isaac grabbed the tool belt Jacob had given him and strapped it on.
    His father raised his eyebrows. “Your mam made you a fine breakfast.”
    Isaac shrugged. “I still would have liked a cinnamon bun.”
    Jedidiah laughed. “I’ll ask Sarah to wrap one up for you.”
    “How are Sarah and Gideon?” Eli opened the back of the wagon and slid out several two-by-fours, which he stacked near the barn. Sarah and Annie had given birth within three months of each other. Annie and Jacob had welcomed EJ, his namesake, after Sarah and Jedidiah had been overjoyed with the new arrival of their son, Gideon.
    Jedidiah smiled. “They are doing well...wonderful.”
    Eli had never seen Jedidiah this happy before he married Sarah Mast from Kent County, Delaware. They’d met at Spence’s Bazaar and Auction in Dover. Jed had accompanied their uncle Arlin to sell Arlin’s wooden craft items and their mother’s herb, vegetable and flower plants at the flea market there. Sarah had been selling baked goods. It’d been a chance meeting between the two young people when Sarah’s young brothers had chased a puppy into a busy parking lot and Jed had rescued the boys from being hit by a car. It seemed as if God had devised a plan for Jed and Sarah when they’d encountered each