Over the remaining two days of their trip, the wagon train of Amish families, moving south from Canada, only saw each other.
Elnora whispered to Heloise as they approached their final stop. “Not a single wagon filled with English people has passed.”
Heloise, however, was much too charmed with Rebekah to be bothered with watching for English wagons. “Such a good-natured baby!” Her voice was awestruck. “At this age, Joseph did nothing but cry.”
Turning her attention back to the baby, Elnora cupped Rebekah’s silken head in her palm and stroked the blonde wisps above her tiny ears. “And she has so much hair!” Elnora’s voice was equally awestruck.
Heloise narrowed her wise, blue eyes. “That means she will be healthy.”
“We’re home!” Samuel announced. “Wilkommen to Daviess County, Indiana Territory!”
Elnora plopped Rebekah into a quilt-lined basket. Her eyes welled as Samuel helped her from the wagon. “Oh Samuel, it looks just like Germany!”
He beamed. “So you are happy then?”
“I am so happy! Danke! What a beautiful place to raise a family. And there is ample wood for your woodworking -” Shifting, Elnora gestured wide with one arm toward the thick woods that ringed the clearing. Oak trees that seemed to scratch the floor of heaven stood tall and majestic, their leaves waving in the tender breeze. Shorter, wider trees blooming in varying shades of snowy white and blush pinks punctuated the deep greens and browns of the oaks, giving the entire area a magical feel. Samuel’s large hand came to rest on her shoulder, disrupting her gracious spiel.
“Dear Wife, I will go in to Montgomery tomorrow to find an English family to take the child. It will be best for everyone if she is with her own kind.”
Elnora sucked in a hard breath and willed the sudden fringe of tears not to spill onto her cheeks. She held Samuel’s gaze. There she saw the same dull ache she felt beneath her ribs.
With a calming breath, the threat of tears subsided and Elnora’s face softened. She patted her husband’s hand. “If it is best for Rebekah, then you must do as you will,” she agreed. The tugging on the tender ends of her shattered heart, however, didn’t concur.