His Love Endures Forever

Twenty-Three




DANIELLE CRIED IN LEVI’S ARMS, ALTHOUGH HE kept asking her repeatedly to stop, telling her it wasn’t good for her and her baby.

“Joshua is our baby,” Danielle pleaded, silently begging him to agree.

“Ya. He is. Please don’t cry.” He pulled her into his lap on the couch. “I’m so sorry for the way I acted. I just . . . well, I want him to be mine, and sometimes . . . like now, I’m reminded that there is someone else in the picture, someone who has a right to be in Joshua’s life . . . but I . . .” He laid a hand on her stomach. “I already love him.”

Danielle cupped his cheeks in her hands. “And he loves you. He’ll know your voice, and you’ll be his father.”

“Along with Matthew.” Levi grabbed one of her hands and kissed it. “And that’s okay. I’ll just have to get used to it. Matthew’s been gone, and I guess I’ve just put him out of my mind. I know that he needs to be a part of Joshua’s life. As it should be.”

“Oh, Levi, I love you so much.” She kissed him, running a hand through his hair as she thought about the past several months. “I can’t imagine loving you any more than I do right now.”

“I love you too.”

Danielle could hear the worry in his voice, whether he realized it or not, and she wanted to tell him something that she’d been thinking about, something that might brighten his day. But she knew it wasn’t the right time.

At Levi’s insistence, he helped her back to bed, then brought in two bowls of soup and some butter bread that Vera had brought over earlier. After they ate, Levi took the dishes to the kitchen, took a bath, and climbed into bed next to her. He laid his head against her belly and talked to Joshua. “My son, you are a gift from God. There can never be too much love for you.”

Danielle leaned back and closed her eyes, feeling Joshua moving around, responding to Levi’s voice. She knew that they were going to both have to adjust their thinking to make room for Matthew. But for this moment, she just wanted to lie quietly with her husband and listen to him talk to Joshua.


MARTHA WALKED UP the steps at Danielle and Levi’s house, glad to be free of her cast and toting a batch of chicken lasagna. She let herself in, put the casserole dish in the refrigerator, then made her way to the fireplace. As she heaved another log in the fire, orange sparks shimmied up, and she pulled off her gloves and warmed her hands. They’d had barely an inch of snow during the night, but the temperature wasn’t even going to reach twenty degrees today. Glancing at the firewood next to the hearth, she was glad to see that Levi had left a plentiful stack.

“I’m here!” She unbuttoned her coat and hung it on the rack by the door, then she glanced around. It looked just like any of the Amish homes in the area, and she couldn’t believe that Danielle hadn’t thrown a fit months ago and pushed Levi for electricity. But over and over, Danielle had behaved exactly the opposite of how Martha expected.

Instead of flat-ironing her long blond hair, she’d taken to pulling it into a loose side braid, and Levi charged her cell phone every other day or so when he was in town with his father on a job. Danielle’s car hadn’t been driven in months, since the doctor put her on bed rest, and when Martha had questioned her about the heat, Danielle had said that her favorite part of the day was cozying up with Levi by the fire at night. And they had propane heaters in the rest of the house.

Television. That was the one thing Martha knew she wouldn’t be able to do without, and she’d suspected it would have been a tough thing for Danielle to give up, but Danielle said she kept up with the news and her favorite shows on her cell phone. Martha shook her head, knowing that most of the Amish folks she knew had cell phones and probably did the same thing.

She moved toward Danielle’s closed bedroom door and gave a gentle knock. “You decent?”

Martha’s heart ached for her and Levi, and Martha wondered how Levi had taken the news of Matthew’s return. She loved her Amish friends, but they were sticklers about certain things and not others. You couldn’t have electricity in the house or you might face a shunning. But knock up an Englisch girl and you could still be baptized into the faith? Martha felt like they needed to reprioritize some things.

She pushed the door open, but Danielle wasn’t there. She edged out and down the hallway toward the bathroom. “Honey, you okay? You in there?” She tapped on the door, and it slowly opened.

Danielle was standing in the bathroom, white as the snow outside, still in her floor-length white nightgown Vera had bought her awhile back, and she was holding her bulging belly, a strained look on her face. “Something is happening.”

Martha’s heart flipped in her chest. “Like what? What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.” Danielle flinched as she bent slightly. “Like cramping.”

“Good grief! Do you think you’re in labor?” Martha didn’t mean to shout it, but Danielle shot her a stricken look. Martha wasn’t sure, but cramping sounded like a trip to the hospital was in order, regardless. “Maybe it’s not labor. But let’s get you dressed and take a trip to town. Where’s your little red suitcase I told you to have packed?”

“In the bedroom.” Danielle didn’t move, but Martha scurried around the corner faster than she’d moved in a while.


SARAH HAD JUST bagged two loaves of bread for an Englisch customer when she looked up and saw Matthew walking in the door of Abbey’s Bakery. After giving him a ride the other night—and figuring out who he was—the last thing she wanted to do was to get involved with him. She almost felt sorry for Levi and Danielle that he’d come around. Almost.

“Wie bischt, Matthew? What can I get you?” She smoothed the wrinkles from her white apron and forced a smile.

“You look mighty pretty today, Sarah.” He smiled, and Sarah had to struggle not to let his flattery affect her as she felt her cheeks warm.

“Danki.” She took a quick glance around, glad the other ladies were in the back. “What brings you here to Canaan? I’m sure they have bakeries in Alamosa.”

Grinning, he tipped back the rim of his black felt hat. “The prettiest girls are here in Canaan.”

Sarah rolled her eyes as she fingered the string of her kapp. “Are you Amish or not? I’m confused.” She wondered if he was wearing the traditional clothing beneath his long black coat.

“I think part of me will always be Amish.” He smiled again.

“Are you planning to be baptized into the faith?” Sarah wasn’t sure why she was asking. He certainly wasn’t a courting possibility for her. “I mean . . . now that you’re going to be a father, raising a child who is being reared in the Englisch world.” She raised a brow.

Matthew’s smile faded, but only briefly, before he flashed another teasing grin. “Are you judging me, Sarah Troyer?”

“Hardly. Only God can do that.” She straightened a pile of receipts on the counter, avoiding his incredible green eyes. Maybe under different circumstances . . .

“So I heard what you did to try to break up Danielle and Levi.”

Sarah looked up, swallowing hard. “What are you talking about?”

“The kisses, then telling Danielle.”

Sarah held her breath as heat filled her cheeks. “You don’t even live here. How could you possibly know what you’re talking about?”

Matthew laughed. “Alamosa isn’t all that far, and we have mutual friends.” He scratched his chin. “Wow. You must have really wanted to break them up.”

Sarah wanted to run to the back before tears spilled, but she steeled herself. “Do you have a reason for being here? Other than to spread idle gossip?”

“Don’t get upset.” He leaned his elbows down on the counter and leaned closer to her. “I thought it was a great attempt. Brave for an Amish girl.”

Sarah had been dealing with what she’d done in her own way, but if the entire community knew, what must they think of her? “What do you want, Matthew?”

“I’m going to need two loaves of banana nut bread and some of those raisin puffs.” He pointed inside the glass cabinet that separated them. “Mei mamm’s oven is on the fritz, and it’ll please her to come home from her quilting party to some treats.”

Sarah reached inside the glass counter for the cookies. “I’ll be back with the bread.”

A few moments later, she had everything bagged up and totaled. “Twelve dollars and twenty-two cents.”

Matthew reached into the pocket of his coat and handed her a twenty-dollar bill.

Sarah made change and handed it to him. “Danki.”

“I bet everyone tells you how beautiful you are.”

As his dimples rounded, Sarah thought what a shame it was that such a handsome man was unavailable, at least to her anyway. “Are you flirting with me?”

“Is that what you think I’m doing?” He grinned as he accepted the bag of baked goods from her.

“I would hope not, under the circumstances.” She lifted her chin. “It would be inappropriate.” She shrugged. “It wouldn’t matter one way or the other, though. I wouldn’t go out with you even if things were different.”

He leaned down on the counter, putting him close enough to make Sarah take a step backward. “Oh, I think you would.” He winked before he turned to leave, but spun around as he neared the exit, tipping his hat. “Have a wonderful day, Sarah Troyer.”

Sarah gritted her teeth as she watched him walk toward the door. Why was she allowing this man to have this kind of effect on her?

He was almost to the door when Sarah heard a ringing. Matthew stopped as he reached in the pocket of his coat and brought the cell phone to his ear.

“Now? She’s having the baby now?”

He didn’t turn around as he kept the phone to his ear and walked out the door.

Sarah just shook her head. What a waste. Danielle had snagged two of the hottest guys around, messed up both their lives, and left them both unsuitable for courtship.

A terrible shame.




LEVI’S STOMACH ACHED as Arnold drove him to the hospital in Monte Vista. Everyone else was already there. His father hadn’t told anyone that they had to go back to a job from earlier in the week to make some adjustments to the solar panels, so by the time Arnold had found Levi and his father, Martha had been gone with Danielle for almost two hours. And his mother, Emily, Lillian, Samuel, David, Katie Ann, and Eli were already at the hospital. Mamm had told Levi that Emily called Matthew on his cell phone. Danielle had reluctantly given her the number.

Levi resented that Emily had tracked Matthew down, even though Levi knew in his heart that it was the right thing to do. But Levi wanted to be the one at the hospital with Danielle. He wondered if Matthew had gone into her room to see her. Twice, Levi had tried to call Danielle’s cell phone using Arnold’s phone, and both times, there was no answer.

“At least it’s not snowing,” Arnold said as he puttered down the highway. Levi had only driven a few times, but he was sure he could get them to the hospital faster than Arnold. His stomach churned as he worried over Danielle and the baby.

After what seemed like forever, Arnold pulled into the parking lot. “Just go. I’ll park the car and find you shortly.”

Levi jumped out of the car, ran to the large double doors, and paused briefly as they opened automatically. He already knew that Danielle was on the third floor in room 302. As he exited the elevator, he saw most of his family gathered in a small waiting room. Martha was the only one he didn’t see. Matthew wasn’t out there either, and he instantly wondered if he was in the room with Danielle.

“Is everything okay?” He walked straight to his mother. “Is Danielle okay? The baby?”

His mother grabbed his shoulders. “The baby is going to come early, sohn. He is going to be tiny. Danielle is in labor. Martha is in there with her.” Mamm nodded to her right. “Down that hall; room 302 is on the left.”

Levi turned to go but then looked back at his mother.

“Only Martha is in there,” she said, reading the question in his eyes.

Levi ran in that direction, and when he reached the door, he caught his breath, then eased it open. Danielle’s face was strained, but when she saw him, she held out a hand.

“Ladybug, I’m here.” He leaned over the rail of her bed. “Are you in pain?” What a dumb question. He could tell by her expression that she was. “What can I do?” He glanced at Martha, who was standing on the other side of the bed.

“She’s hurting pretty good. And the baby is coming fast.”

“He’s going to be very small, Levi.” Danielle squeezed her eyes shut as she groaned for a moment. Levi waited, his heart thumping. “Maybe only four or five pounds.”

“What does that mean? Will he be okay?” Levi directed the question at Martha.

“God is in this room,” Martha said firmly. “And everything is going to be just fine. It’s just going to take our Joshua a little time to grow after he gets here. The doctor said he might have to stay in the hospital a few weeks.”

Levi tried not to flinch as Danielle squeezed his hand so tight he thought she might break it. Then a nurse walked in, a young woman with blond hair tucked into a bun on her head. She was wearing blue pants and a blue shirt with a pink and yellow flower pattern.

“Let’s see how far along you are.” The nurse eased Danielle’s knees up and pushed back the white blanket. Levi felt the color rushing from his face.

“Here ya go, big guy.” Martha cupped his elbow and turned him toward the door. “Why don’t we stand outside?”

Levi’s knees felt weak beneath him, but he eased away. “No, I’m staying.”

He walked to Danielle’s side and gripped her hand, keeping his eyes on hers. “I’m here. And I’m not leaving you.”

“It won’t be long,” the smiling nurse said as she put the sheet back down and stood up. “The doctor is down the hall delivering another baby, Danielle, but he’ll be in to see you soon. Call me if you need something in the meantime.” She turned to Levi. “And I’m assuming you are the father?”

Levi didn’t move, but Danielle quickly spoke up. “Yes. He is the father.” She smiled at him, right before she flinched again.

The nurse patted him on the arm. “Okay, Dad. Hang in there. And she can have some of those ice chips if she wants them. I’ll be back shortly to check on you.”

After the nurse left, Martha said, “I’m going to leave you two alone. I’ll go fill the others in and let them know that it won’t be long.”


VERA PACED THE small waiting room as they all waited for the newest, tiny little life to come into their world. She was glad Levi had arrived in time to be with Danielle, but Vera knew something no one else knew. The baby’s biological father was downstairs in the lobby, along with his mother. Vera had seen Anna Marie when her group walked in, and she could only assume that the young man with her was Matthew. They were sitting off by themselves in a far corner, deep in conversation. Vera had thought about approaching them, but she wasn’t sure what to say. She’d been nervous for the past hour, assuming Anna Marie and Matthew would eventually make their way to the small waiting room on the third floor where the rest of them were.

She went and sat down by Emily, patted her on the leg, then spoke to the entire group. “I’m glad you’re all here to support Levi and Danielle.”

“We’re all glad to be here, Mamm.” Emily smiled, glancing around the room. “We’re very happy for them.”

Vera thought about her role in all of this; how she’d grown to love Danielle, anticipated the baby coming, and almost come to terms with the fact that Levi was not living a life according to the Ordnung. The saving grace was that Danielle had accepted the Lord and she and Levi were good Christians. But was Vera’s heart safe?

Downstairs was the baby’s real grandmother.

“Where are the kinner?” She turned to face Lillian. Vera had left Betsy at Beth Ann’s, and her daughter-in-law had said that they would all come by later today.

“Ida Mae has them.”

They were all quiet for a while, and Vera couldn’t seem to sit still. “Does everyone know you’re leaving?” she asked Emily.

“Ya.” Emily looked around the room as some of the family nodded. Their family was the only one in the small waiting room. “We’re going to try to leave next week.”

“I hate that you’ll miss Thanksgiving,” Lillian said, frowning for a moment, then her face brightened. “But you’ll love Samuel’s family. His sister Rebecca is great. You’ll like staying there.”

“I’m excited to meet everyone, but sad about the circumstances.” Emily looked up at her husband. “I’m hoping David can help to change the bishop’s mind about his Onkel Noah.”

Vera leaned back against the chair and put a hand on Emily’s knee. “Sure you don’t want to wait until after Thanksgiving? Do you know when you’ll be back?”

“We’re not sure.” Emily smiled. “Way before the baby is due, Mamm.”

“Ach, I should hope so. That’s months away.” Vera lifted her eyebrows. “Maybe you’ll be back before Christmas?”

Emily looked at David, then back at her mother. “I think we will probably stay through Christmas, Mamm. But we’ll see.”

That seemed like a long time to Vera, and the way Emily kept looking at David . . . it made Vera nervous. Emily had told her several times how David had never wanted to leave Lancaster County, and Vera couldn’t help but worry if David was considering a move back. That seemed a stretch since his mother, father, and young sisters lived in Canaan, but the worry had found its way into Vera’s heart just the same.

Martha stood up from where she was sitting next to Eli. “I’m going to go check on Danielle.”

Vera wanted to go too, but again . . . she found her role in all of this unclear. She’d been the one to tend to Danielle all this time, felt the baby move, and even gone with Danielle to her last doctor’s appointment, along with Martha. Both women had gotten to hear the baby’s heartbeat. There was a bond that Vera hadn’t expected, yet with Anna Marie downstairs, that threatened Vera’s place. She wished they weren’t here and Vera could go on pretending that this new life would be exclusive to her family.