Her Amish Christmas Gift

The brothers headed inside for coffee and freshly baked muffins.

“I spoke with John King. His dat is lending us his hay mower for as long as we need it,” Jacob said as he finished up his coffee a while later.

“It will make the job easier.” He eyed his brother with approval. “Do we need to go get it?”

“Nay. John said he’d bring it by first thing. He should be here anytime now.”

Amos King, John’s father, was also his stepmother’s dat. He was a good man with a kind heart.

Nate washed the breakfast dishes while Jacob put the remaining muffins back in the pantry. The sound of horse hooves drew them outside to discover John King’s arrival with the mower.

After John left with his brother Joshua, Nate hitched his father’s two black Belgian horses to his dat’s equipment for his brother to use. He would mow the front field with Amos’s mower while Jacob started work at the back of the property.

It was a busy workday. By late afternoon they’d mowed just over a third of the hayfields. He and Jacob put away the mowers. They ate leftovers for dinner, before heading to the barn to make sure all of the animals were settled in for the night.

There was a definite new chill in the air when Nate arose the next morning. He dressed, made coffee and waited for his brother to rouse and join him. The kitchen filled with the rich scent of the perked brew as Jacob entered, looking sleepy-eyed with tousled hair.

“’Tis colder today. We’d best grab our woolen hats and jackets before we head out.”

Jacob nodded as he turned from the stove with a mug of coffee. “Think we’ll finish today?”

“We’ll be pushing it. Didn’t get much more than a third done yesterday.”

His brother agreed. “We can do it.”

Nate smiled. “We can try.” The mowed hay would be left to dry in the fields before they baled it.

“Let’s move,” Jacob said as he set his mug in the sink.

* * *

Charlie drove down the road toward Whittier’s Store. It was a chilly November morning, but she didn’t mind. She wore her black bonnet and woolen cape with a heavy blanket across her lap. Her mother’s list was on the seat beside her with the apple pie Mam had baked for Leah and Henry. She would stop first at Yoder’s Country Crafts and Supplies, her sister Leah’s shop, to deliver the pie before continuing on to grocery-shop.

The sunshine was bright across the surrounding farmland. A farmer cut hay in the fields ahead and she watched him as she steered her horse closer. The man maneuvered his horse-drawn mower down the length of the hayfield before turning to mow the uncut section.

Charlie smiled. She knew how to use a mower. With five daughters and no sons, her father had been glad of her help, once she’d convinced him that she could handle the job. Dat had objected the first time, until her repeated requests made him finally relent enough to show her how. She’d been pleased by his smile of approval after she’d mowed in neat, even rows across their field. After that he’d allowed her to relieve him while he’d completed other chores.

It had been a while since she’d mowed hay. Watching the farmer work made her smile and long for another chance on the back of a mower.

She returned her attention to the road. She had gone only a short distance when she heard someone bellow sharply in alarm. Startled, she drew up on the reins to stop her horse. Her heart went cold when she saw that the mower had tipped and the farmer lay on the ground. A second man raced toward the fallen farmer, and with a gasp, she recognized Nate Peachy. She pulled her vehicle off the road and secured her horse before she sprinted across the field to help.

She briefly locked gazes with Nate before she turned her attention to the man on the ground—his brother Jacob. “Jake, are you hurt?” she rasped, out of breath.

“Charlie.” Jacob met her gaze and smiled. “I’m fine.” But when he tried to stand, he cried out with pain and fell back.

Nate’s brow creased with worry. “Stay still. You are not fine.”

Charlie hunkered beside the injured man and experienced the impact of Nate’s startling blue gaze. She glanced away. “What hurts?” she and Nate asked simultaneously.

“My foot.”

“Can you walk?” Nate asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“My buggy is right there,” Charlie said, gesturing. “Maybe we can lift him into it...” She bit her lip as Nate rose. He stared down at her thoughtfully until she stood. “I can bring it closer.” She returned her attention to the man’s brother. “Jake?”

“I can make it with help.”

Her gaze met Nate’s. “Where do you want me to park it?”

“Leave it,” he said sharply. “Your vehicle is fine where it is.” He narrowed his eyes. “Go back there and wait. I’ll bring Jacob.”

Unwilling to argue, Charlie stood by her buggy and waited. Jacob gave her a weak smile as the brothers approached. The young man was obviously in pain, and she worried about him. Nate bore the brunt of Jacob’s weight as he half carried him with an arm securely around his brother’s waist.

She wondered how to help, but knew instinctively that Nate would mutter something cutting if she tried. Charlie watched silently as he lifted his brother into the back of the buggy.

“We should get him to the clinic.”

Nate flashed her an irritated look. “I’ll take him after I see to the horses and equipment. Drive around to the front of the haus,” he ordered. “I’ll meet you there.”

His tone irritated her. She had to bite her tongue to keep from arguing with him. “I can take care of the horses and equipment for you.”

“Nay,” he snapped. “Absolutely not.”

Charlie reeled back, offended. “I know how to handle farm equipment, Nathaniel Peachy. I’ve mowed hay for my vadder.”

“I don’t want you touching ours, Charlotte Stoltzfus. If you want to help, then get my bruder back to the house. I’ll meet you there.”

“Fine,” she agreed as she abruptly turned away. She didn’t bother to look to see what Nate was doing as she climbed into the buggy and checked on Jacob. “How’re you doing, Jake?”

“Foot hurts, but I’ll live.”

She frowned. “What happened?”

“I got distracted.” He seemed embarrassed.

She flicked the leathers and the horse moved. “What distracted you?”

“I don’t know. One minute I was mowing and the next I felt a sudden jerk on the reins. It threw me off balance.”

“Do you see any blood?”

She heard Jacob take in a breath. “Nay.”

She shot him a glance over her shoulder before she returned her attention to the road. “Do you feel like you’re bleeding?”

“My foot feels odd. I could be, I guess, but I can’t tell for sure. I don’t think so.”