Free A Simple Vow by Charlotte Hubbard Page A

holding the other baby, making the feeding process look effortless as she and Edith gently moved the swing forward and back.
    “Hi, Loretta,” Asa said. “I’m feeling a lot better, too. Denki for your concern.”
    “Oh, lots of folks are concerned,” she replied quickly. “The story about you and Will and these babies was all the talk at the wedding dinner yesterday—until Nazareth came to fetch Andy because she’d found you unconscious on the roadside. Then your story had everyone chattering.”
    Asa glanced at Edith, and any sort of reply flew out of his head. Her eyes sparkled, big and brown, as she gazed at him. Soon she set aside the empty bottle, draped a small towel over her shoulder, and stood up to walk as though she’d cared for dozens of babies.
    “See how calm and content we are today?” she murmured as she approached him, swaying and patting the baby’s back. “Much better than when we first met, jah? Louisa, say hi to Asa.”
    “Louisa?”
    “ Jah , and her brother is Leroy,” Loretta said as she, too, stood up and began to burp the baby she held. “I can’t for the life of me imagine how anyone could drop these babies off like so much dirty laundry—but we’re glad Will dropped them with us .”
    “Sounds like a complicated situation all around,” Andy remarked as he walked behind Edith to study the baby on her shoulder. “I thought I should take a look at them to be sure they don’t need medical attention—what with their mother passing on and all.”
    “Such a sad story, that she died of cancer,” Edith murmured. “I’ve prayed that God will guide us all to the right answers and the truth— for the truth will set us free ,” she added softly.
    Asa blinked. What had Edith meant by quoting that particular Bible verse and in such a wistful way? Did she suspect Gingerich had toyed with the facts to convince her and her sisters to care for these kids?
    Or does she wonder if you’re the one who’s not being totally honest?
    Before Asa thought about what he was doing, he opened his arms, and after a moment—and the rise of her eyebrows—Edith carefully placed the tiny girl in the crook of his arm. His reaction to the baby’s warm, solid weight took him completely by surprise. Asa swallowed hard and couldn’t stop gazing into Louisa’s little face. When the baby began to squawk, Edith put her towel on Asa’s shoulder.
    “Hold her upright, like—”
    It seemed the natural thing to do, and Asa was rewarded with a belch that made everyone on the porch chuckle. Andy had taken Leroy to look him over, his hips swaying in a rhythm that seemed to come naturally.
    “Did I hear correctly that these kids are right at six months?” Andy asked.
    “ Jah, born October tenth, Will said,” Edith replied as she tweaked Leroy’s nose.
    “They’re both smaller than I’d like,” the nurse remarked as he peered into the boy’s ears, “but I believe they’ll catch up. I’m glad you’ve switched them to goat milk. Formula’s outrageously expensive, and some newborns don’t tolerate it well.”
    “Nazareth’s timing was perfect, too,” Edith remarked as she watched Asa and Louisa. “I can return the unopened can of powder to the market—and we won’t have Dat asking us how much all this is costing him.”
    “Where is your dat? ” Andy asked, glancing through the screen door. “Hi, Rosalyn!”
    “ Gut morning, Andy!” she replied as she appeared with a plate of cookies. “Isn’t this a fine scene, with the babies fed and happy, and everyone paying attention to them? The goat milk is a blessing—and our supply’s right next door. Life is gut . God is gut .”
    Was it his imagination, or had Edith and her sisters ignored Andy’s question? Asa had a feeling their father didn’t approve of the circumstances surrounding these babies, and he probably didn’t relish the crying and the diapers and the change in his family’s schedule, either.
    Edith helped herself to a warm