Free A Simple Charity by Rosalind Lauer

allowed to stay and help. She had watched in wonder as Mammi tended the women with soothing words and warm cloths on their foreheads. She witnessed pain, but few complaints. And when a baby finallyslid into the doctor’s hands, Fanny was hooked. This was a miracle she longed to be a part of, again and again.
    Now, as she swept the crumbs and dirt into a dustpan, Fanny wished once again that there was a birth center close by, here in Lancaster County.
    At a lull in Lizzy’s labor, Fanny had spun her tale about the birth centers back in Ohio. Lizzy had said it sounded wonderful good, and Joe had wished they had a place like that here in Lancaster, so the docs would know right where to go when they were called. It was a very good point that Joe made. If they had a place like Martha’s here, a birthing center … would Anna take to it? The midwife was in her sixties, slowing down a bit. She might like a place closer to home, even walking distance from her house.
    With Tommy on her hip, Fanny headed out to talk with Caleb and Zed about a new possibility for the carriage house.

7
    T he adrenaline rush of delivering Lizzy and Joe King’s baby was still thrumming in Meg’s veins as she stowed her equipment in the back of her car. Add to that the bubbly joy of attraction to a tall, handsome man, and she had half a mind to dance up the inn steps, Ginger Rogers–style. It was nice to meet someone like Jack, even if it was just a short interlude. Sometimes small moments sparkled like stars. Little gems you could put into your pocket to save for the sad times when you needed them.
    She went into the kitchen looking for her sister, but found Shandell scrubbing down the countertops.
    “Meg!” The young woman flung her arms in the air with a gaping look of shock. “Oh, my gosh! Zoey told me you had to leave the breakfast service to go off and help Fanny deliver a baby. I couldn’t believe it. How’d it go?” Shandell could never be faulted for lack of enthusiasm.
    “There were a few complications, but it all worked out fine.”Meg poured herself some hot water from one of the urns they kept in the cubby beside the kitchen. “Lizzy and Joe King have a sweet baby boy.”
    “Lizzy and Joe King? I think they’re Rachel’s cousins. I’ll bet Rachel’s family is thrilled. The Amish love babies. And you delivered him? Or did you help the doctor? How did that work?”
    “The doctor couldn’t make it in time. So, yeah.” Dunking a tea bag in her cup, Meg cracked a smile and chuckled. “I did it.” After all the angst, all the fear that it would never happen again, she’d delivered a healthy baby. The personal victory was sweet.
    “I didn’t know you were a midwife.” Shandell tossed away the bunch of paper towels and came around the counter. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
    “I was on a break.” Meg faced the young woman, wondering how her sister had managed to find such an earnest, clearheaded employee. That was the luck of Zoey; she had that blithe, unblinking enthusiasm that seemed to attract others of the same ilk.
    “So, wait. That’s why you were here, working as the cook. Kind of like a working vacation?”
    “I was trying for the vacation part, but as you can see, my sister doesn’t believe in idle time. And where is Zoey?”
    “She made a run into Paradise.”
    Meg took a sip of her tea, thinking of how Zoey had saved her from that dark room … saved her from herself. And today, pushing her into that buggy with a worried expectant father, Zoey had forced her to face her fears.
    My sister should have gotten a degree in psychology
.
    “So, the kitchen is done for the day,” Shandell reported. “Zoey asked me to check out our store of eggs and cheese and stuff, and we’re good to go for tomorrow. I transferred those Amish recipes to cards and put them in this drawer.” Shandell opened a drawer to show Meg, and that’s when the realization swiftly hit Meg.
    She wouldn’t be here for breakfast