The Amish Widow (Amish Romance Mystery) (Amish Secret Widows' Society Book 1) Read online

  The Amish Widow (Amish Romance Mystery)

  (Amish Secret Widows’ Society Book 1)

  Samantha Price

  Copyright 2014 Samantha Price

  All Rights Reserved

  License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only,

  then you should return to the place of purchase and purchase your own copy.

  Thank you for respecting the author's work.

  *****************

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The personal names have been invented by the author, and any likeness to the name of any person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Chapter 1.

  To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

  Ecclesiastes 3:1

  “Why did you leave me?” Emma Kurtzler stared at the body of her late husband. Of course, she did not expect him to answer her, but she felt as if she deserved some kind of answer. Why did he have to die when everything in her life was just the way she had always dreamed it would be?

  The rumbling of muffled conversations from the crowd in the next room made Emma aware that her time with Levi was drawing to a close. As was custom in Emma’s Amish community, the body laid in the familye haus before being taken to the cemetery.

  Emma smoothed Levi’s hair back with two fingers and touched his hands that were placed across his chest. “Oh, Levi, you don’t even look like you anymore.” It was true, the body that lay before her was Levi, but there was a different feeling about him, as if he were someone else. In a way, she wanted to keep him there, right in the haus with her forever, but she couldn’t – that would be weird.

  The noises from the other room distracted her once more. Levi would soon have to go to the cemetery, his body’s final resting place. She touched her stomach lightly knowing there was a chance that there might be a little boppli inside. If there were, then she would have a piece of Levi with her forever; she would have someone to love and would never be alone.

  “Emma, are you ready for everyone to come in now?”

  Emma looked up to see the solidly built, dark haired Wil, who had been Levi’s best friend and constant companion. Levi and Wil were complete opposites, which was most likely the very thing that drew them together. Levi was stable and dependable, whereas Wil was flighty, full of fancy notions and always had grand ideas on ways to invent new gadgets. Sometimes Emma found Wil funny and at other times she found him tiresome, but today she did not know what she would have done without him.

  “Just one more minute, Wil. Just one more minute.”

  Wil bowed his head and left the room. Emma heard him say something to the crowd in the living room and a hush fell over the room.

  “I have to go now. I guess Gott wanted you home, for some reason.” A tear trickled down her cheek and dropped onto the fabric of Levi’s black suit. She had made sure that he was dressed in the same black suit that he had worn on their wedding day.

  With the back of her hand, she wiped the damp from her cheek. “I guess I won’t be far behind you. We all have to go sometime, don’t we.” At that moment, Emma wished that she had been the one to die. If Gott wanted one of them home, couldn’t it have been her? Why did He have to take Levi?

  Emma put her fingers to her lips and then placed them on Levi’s forehead before she turned and opened the door for the waiting relatives and friends. Some folk smiled at Emma as they filed past to see Levi and others offered their condolences. After a few minutes in the crowded room, her head began to swim.

  “You okay, Emma?”

  Emma knew it was Wil’s voice beside her. “I need some air.”

  He ushered her through the crowd out into the fresh, open air. Once she was outside she felt much better. She took a little walk along the row of buggies and drew in a deep breath. As she breathed out she caught her reflection in a window of one of the buggies. At first she hardly recognized herself; she seemed much smaller and thinner and her cheeks looked sunken in, most likely from too much crying. She studied her reflection straight on and straightened her white, starched prayer kapp. Emma reminded herself to put on her black over-bonnet before she headed to the cemetery.

  Emma swung around to talk to Wil who was still standing close. “Denke Wil, for helping me these last few days. I really don’t know what I would’ve done without you, with my parents not being able to make it here and everything.”

  “Emma, you don’t have to thank me. Levi and I were like bruders, so I guess that makes you like my schweschder.” He laughed as he tried to make light of the situation. When Emma remained silent, with no hint of a smile on her face, he added, “I’d do anything for you, Emma remember that. If you need anything please ask me, whatever it is.”

  “Okay denke.”

  “I mean it, Emma. Look at me.”

  Emma looked into his deep brown eyes and for the first time noticed that they were beautiful. Not that she would ever, or could ever, be interested in another mann. She certainly would not be interested in the very flighty and unstable Wil. She continued to look at him, but he did not speak. “Jah, Wil?”

  “I want you to know you can rely on me for anything. House repairs, buggy repairs, anything at all you need – I’ll be there.”

  Emma dragged her eyes away from him. “Denke. I will remember that.” It warmed her heart that she was within a close-knit community of caring people and did not have to be alone.

  Wil looked over her shoulder. “Don’t look now, but Elsa-May and Ettie are headed this way.”

  Elsa-May and Ettie were two elderly widows, both sisters. Up until a few days ago, Emma had nothing in common with the funny old ladies. Now, Emma could understand the heartache they must have gone through when they lost their husbands. The bonds of loss united them.

  “Here you are, dear. How are you feeling?” Ettie was the more gentle, soft-spoken of the two, whereas her schweschder, Elsa-May, was loud, and to the point.

  Before Emma had a chance to open her mouth, Elsa-May said, “Oh, Ettie, how do you think she’d be feeling?”

  Ettie wrung her hands. “Oh dear, I’m sorry, Emma. I’m always saying the wrong thing.”

  Emma smiled at Ettie and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Nee. That’s fine. I do appreciate your kindness.” Emma guessed the two of them to be in their seventies or even closer to their eighties.

  There were two younger widows in the community, Silvie and Maureen, who were much younger widows. Maureen was Emma’s closest friend. Maureen was the kind of person that people like instantly from the moment they see her. She was a large woman with a most generous smile; one couldn’t help but smile back at her. Her face was round and glowed with an inner radiance and she had a delightful small gap in between her two front teeth. Maureen had been a widow for some time, but her husband had been unwell for many years so his death was not unexpected.

  Like Maureen and Silvie, Emma was childless, unless Gott showed kindness – she would not be sure for another couple of weeks.

  Emma could not even count all the buggies that made up the procession to the cemetery.

&nb
sp; Emma stood at the graveside and looked around her. Everyone was dressed in black. Never in her wildest dreams did she ever think she would have been widowed so young. She and Levi had barely started their lives together.

  The bishop walked forward and cleared his throat. Emma had respectfully asked him to be brief in what he said at the graveside. She did not think she could take a long drawn out sermon and the bishop was extremely fond of long drawn out sermons. The bishop had agreed to keep it short.

  He preached the usual funeral jargon that Emma had heard so many times before. We all return to the dust of the ground – not very cheerful. Neither was life being likened to a vapor that is here one minute and gone the next. Emma closed her eyes and replaced the bishop’s words with Levi’s smiling face, happy to be home with the Lord at last; that made Emma feel better. She mentally blocked her ears to the thing about the dust of the fields and the vapor.

  It was after Levi had been placed in the ground and everyone was returning to their buggies that Wil whispered to Emma, “Who is that Englisher standing over there? Do you know him?”

  She followed Wil’s gaze. Emma had not even noticed the Englischer. She stared at the stranger and he stared back at her, then promptly walked toward her. “I don’t know him at all. He’s walking this way.”

  “Looks like you’ll soon find out,” Wil said.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Kurtzler.”

  Emma nodded hello to the stout older man with thinning gray hair. By the look of his suit and the shine on his fine leather shoes, Emma presumed him to be quite wealthy.

  “It’s likely not a good time, but I’m here to make you an offer for your land,” the stranger said.

  Wil put his strong arm between the two of them and turned Emma away from the man. “She’ll not talk of business today, or of anything like that. Good day to you.” Wil steered her away.

  Emma looked over her shoulder at the man to see that he was still looking at her with desperation all over his face. Emma had just solely inherited Levi’s prime parcel of farming land. Levi and she had leased out their land to Henry Pluver, an Amish man who also leased other Amish farms, including Wil’s.

  Once they were a distance away. Wil released his arm from Emma’s back. “I wonder why he wants the land,” Emma said as she looked around for the Pluver familye. Surely they would be at the funeral. She caught sight of the three of them standing together, Mr. and Mrs. Pluver and their only son, Bob. The Pluver familye kept to themselves. Mrs. Pluver seemed a most unhappy woman and their only son, Bob, never spoke to anyone. Bob worked with his father and as far as Emma knew he had no friends.

  Wil shook his head. “Vultures, nothing but vultures. I’m sorry, Emma. I should have gone over and asked him what he was doing here, or who he was.”

  “You weren’t to know. It’s not unusual to have Englishers at one of our funerals. Levi’s boss and the men Levi worked with are all here; for all you knew he could’ve been one of them.” Levi had worked for one of the new high-rise building construction companies. Emma had been told that Levi had refused the mandatory safety harness and a sudden downpour of rain caused him to slip on his footings. Emma was shocked when she learned that he had refused the safety harness, as Levi was such a stickler for rules.

  Wil whispered to Emma, “Is that Levi’s boss, walking over now?”

  Emma turned to face Mr. Weeks.

  “I’m so sorry, Emma. If there’s anything at all I can do?”

  Emma shook her head just before Wil butted in. “The community looks after its own.”

  Emma frowned at Wil, which caused him to look at the ground and take a slight step back. Emma knew Wil was only being protective, but Mr. Weeks was being nice and Emma considered Wil rude.

  “Do you mind if I visit you at some point in the future?” Mr. Weeks’ eyes flickered nervously toward Wil. “To make sure you’re okay?”

  Normally Emma would have laughed and said she would be fine, but with Wil so rude just moments before, she felt she had to be extra polite to make up for his rudeness. “That would be lovely; I’ll look forward to it.”

  Mr. Weeks was an older man and Emma guessed that he would have been dashingly handsome in his day. He had good bone structure and his dark hair was graying slightly at the temples. Mr. Weeks reached into the breast pocket of his black suit and pulled out a business card. “Here’s my number, if you should have need of anything before then.”

  Emma took his card and watched Mr. Weeks walk away. There was something nice and old worldly about the man.

  “It appears I have my work cut out for me.”

  Emma had forgotten that Wil was standing behind her. She turned and looked into his face. “What?”

  “Watching out for you. You haven’t even left the graveside and you have vultures after your farm and elderly men out to capture your heart.”

  By the way his jaw clenched, Emma knew that Wil was being serious for once. “Wil, you don’t have to watch out for me. I’m a grown woman. Besides, I don’t think that Mr. Weeks is that old and he’s rather charming.” Emma always loved to tease Wil whenever she could.

  “Emma, Levi’s only been gone five minutes, how could you even look at another man?”

  Her lighthearted moment was gone, replaced with anger at Wil’s response. Surely he should have known she was joking. She wanted to yell at him or tell him to mind his business. Of course, she was not entertaining the slightest notion of another mann in her life, but she was far too tired to explain herself; besides, why should she? “Wil, I love you like a bruder, but today – I just can’t deal your nonsense.” Emma looked at Wil’s waiting buggy then glanced back at Levi’s grave. “Just take me home.”

  Just as Wil pulled the buggy away from the cemetery, the man who had just asked to buy her land leaped toward the horse and held the reins just up from the horse’s mouth. The horse had no choice but to come to a complete halt.

  “Get away from there, man. What the devil are you doing?” Wil leaped out from the buggy and towered over him. The man meekly offered up his calling card to Wil.

  “I forgot to give this to the lady. My phone number, in case she changes her mind about selling.” He looked directly at Emma. “I’m offering top dollar and I’ll pay more than anyone else.”

  Wil snatched the card from his hands. “Don’t ever jump out at buggy like that again. Do you hear me?”

  The man nodded, but it did not stop him from repeating, “I’ll pay more than anyone else.” The man backed away, stepping in the way of another buggy before scampering off the road.

  Emma put her hand over her mouth and stifled a giggle at the man’s antics.

  “That man is a vulture.” Wil threw himself back heavily into the buggy seat and handed her the man’s card. “Here, not that you’ll ever need it.”

  “Why not?” She took the card and ran her eyes over the gold script writing.

  Wil drove the horse forward and shot a glance at Emma. “You’d never sell, would you?”

  “I haven’t thought about it.” It was true; she hadn’t thought about it. The reason that she had not thought about it was that there was no reason to sell. Even without Levi’s weekly wage coming in, the monthly lease from Henry Pluver was enough for her to live on. She would not have to go out and work. Gott had blessed her in that way. She knew that both Silvie and Maureen had to find work when they lost their husbands.

  “I don’t want you to ever leave Levi’s farm, but let me know if you ever want to sell and I’ll buy it from you.”

  Emma smiled politely as she mumbled a ‘yes’. She didn’t even know if Wil would be able to raise enough money to buy the farm. Wil fancied himself as an entrepreneur with his hands in lots of businesses, which Levi had told her in confidence, never made any money. Wil owned the farm next to Emma, but just like Levi had, he leased it out to Henry Pluver to raise wheat crops, while Wil chased income from other sources.

  Chapter 2.

  Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminish
ed:

  but he that gathereth by labour shall increase.

  Proverbs 13:11

  It had been one week since the funeral and that’s all it took – one week for Emma to find out that she was not having a boppli. Emma wondered if her life would get better; if not, she’d rather go home to be with the Lord now, than carry on in this life. She was all alone in the big haus that Levi had built for them, alone with memories of him and thoughts of what their life might have been.

  Still in bed, Emma pulled her robe over her shoulders and looked at the rain beating against the window. If Levi were alive she would be sipping hot kaffe right now instead of trying to keep warm alone. Levi had always brought her kaffe in bed every morning since she wasn’t an early morning person.

  Levi was such a dear husband; he was one of a kind. She knew of no other Amish mann who looked after their fraa as well as Levi had. What other Amish mann would cook breakfast for their wives before they left for work? A smile crossed Emma’s face. Mostly, it was the women who got up early to look after their men-folk. Emma never told anyone how good Wil was to her, just in case she was thought of as a lazy and hopeless fraa. She was sure Levi liked doing things for her; it seemed to make him happy.

  What reason did Emma have to get out of bed? She could think of a few. The chickens needed feeding and so did all the other animals; the horse and the cats. If it weren’t for the animals relying on her, she would surely stay in bed all day; as it was, she would stay in bed as long as she possibly could. Surely the animals wouldn’t mind getting fed a little later today, seeing that it was raining. She pulled the warmth of her robe tighter around her shoulders and sank back under the covers while she listened to the rain beating against the windowpane.

  The next thing that Emma was aware of was a steady rhythmical beat. Once she realized it wasn’t her heart beating she knew that someone was pounding on her front door.

  “Emma, Emma.”

  She knew the voice belonged to Wil, but what was the urgency? She pulled the robe around her, made her way down the stairs and opened the door just slightly, so he would not see her in her state of undress. “Wil?”