Free A Hope Springs Christmas by Patricia Davids Page A

would receive His words and take them into their hearts.
    At the end of the second hymn, the ministers and Bishop Zook came in and hung their hats on pegs set in the wall. That was the signal that the preaching would now begin. Sarah tried to listen closely to what was being said, but she found her mind wandering to the subject of Levi and who might make him a good wife.
    Covertly, she studied the single women in the congregation. She quickly ruled many out as being too old or too young to suit him. It would be wonderful if Mary were older, for Levi would make her a strong and steady husband, but she was only sixteen. One by one, Sarah weighed the pros and cons of the remaining women. She ended up with the same women she had considered the day before. Sally, Leah and Fannie.
    Confident that one of them would be right for Levi, she focused her attention on the sermon once again.
    * * *
    Levi sat up straight and unobtrusively stretched his back. He was stiff after sitting for nearly three hours. The wooden benches were not made for comfort. At least he hadn’t fallen asleep the way Elam Sutter was doing. After Elam’s daughter had moved back to her mother’s side, the basket maker started nodding in front of Levi. When Elam began to tip sideways, Levi reached up and caught his arm before he tumbled off his seat.
    Elam jerked awake. “Danki,” he whispered as he gave Levi a sheepish grin.
    Levi ventured a guess. “Working late?”
    Elam shook his head. “Teething baby.”
    He leaned forward to look toward the women. Following his gaze, Levi saw Elam’s wife sitting across the aisle. Katie Sutter was sitting up straight with her baby sleeping sweetly in her arms. Her face lit with an expression of pure happiness when she caught her husband’s glance. Sarah sat beside her.
    What Levi wouldn’t give to see Sarah look at him with such light in her eyes.
    He quickly focused on his hymnal. Such daydreaming was foolishness.
    Elam sat back and rubbed his face. He whispered to Levi, “I’m a sorry husband if I can’t stay awake to thank God for all the wondrous gifts He has given me.”
    “I reckon God understands. Our Lord must have been a teething babe at one time, don’t you think?”
    Elam grinned and nodded. The minister who wasn’t preaching at the moment cast a disapproving glare in their direction. They both fell silent. Twenty minutes later, the bishop stopped speaking, and the song leader called out the number of the final hymn. Levi ventured a look in Sarah’s direction. She held her songbook open for Elam’s daughter Rachel seated beside her. She pointed out the words as she sang them.
    Sarah should have children of her own. She would make a good mother. He couldn’t imagine why God had chosen not to bless her and Jonas with a baby. It didn’t seem right.
    The song drew to a close at last. The twins were up and out the doors the second it ended. Teenage boys were expected to sit at the back. Levi always thought that was so their late arrivals and quick getaways didn’t disrupt others. He followed more slowly. His eyes were drawn to Sarah as she walked toward the farmhouse with the other women.
    How much of his life had been spent watching her from afar, wishing for something that could never happen? Years.
    Once she wed Jonas, Levi realized he would have to leave Hope Springs or grow bitter watching Jonas enjoy the happiness denied him. His dream of going to Colorado provided Levi with a goal. He embraced the idea. Only, he had waited too long.
    What if Sarah never remarried? How much more of his life was he prepared to give up because of his promise to a dead man?
    * * *
    Sarah joined the women in the kitchen as they prepared the noonday meal while the men rearranged the wooden benches and stacked them to create tables. The majority of the congregation would eat out in the barn, but the bishop and many of the elders would be served inside the house where it was warmer.
    Sarah positioned herself beside her