The Amish Meddler (PAPERBACK)

CHAPTER 1.
It was only two weeks into the new year when Florence Baker Braithwaite called a meeting. Everyone who was still living at the Baker/Bruner family home was required to be there.
Florence looked over the small crowd sitting in front of her in the living room. She stood, waiting until they stopped talking. She was certain if she stood in front of them rather than sitting among them, they’d take what she said more seriously.
“We’re ready when you are.” Levi gave Florence an encouraging smile once the talk died down.
Everyone was silent as all eyes fastened upon her. 
“Thank you. I know it’s winter and everyone thinks they’re on vacation, but the orchard never takes a break. It’s still alive, and it needs our attention.”
Cherish groaned on the inside. She thought they would have free time before Florence started nagging at them about work. 
“Why don’t you give us each jobs, and then it’s each one’s responsibility to do them?” Wilma said.
“Yes, that would work if we had a factory and the same things took place day in and day out, but they don’t. Our duties will change weekly, even daily sometimes, and seasonally. I’ve been giving everything a lot of thought.” Florence turned to Caroline. “How long do you expect to be here?”
“Oh. I didn’t know I’d have to say anything.” Caroline looked embarrassed and her gaze shifted to Cherish. “Does everyone want me to go home?”
“No,” Mamm said. “You know you’re welcome to stay until your mom and dad get your new home completed.”
“Jah,” Levi said, “We don’t want you to have no roof over your head.”
“No, we won’t have it,” Wilma agreed.
Levi smiled at Wilma and then kept talking to Caroline. “It can’t be easy with your parents staying with their friends for as long as they have. They must miss you.”
“They do.” Caroline put her hand on her heart. “You’ve all been so nice and that makes me feel better about losing the house—the house that I grew up in.”
Cherish knew the truth. The house hadn’t burned down, but she bit her tongue. “Why do you ask how long she’s staying here for, Florence?” Cherish asked.
“I didn’t mean to start everyone talking. Can we all keep on track? It’s just that I hoped you were staying, Caroline, because I’m thinking about the tour idea you had.”
Caroline’s face lit up. “You want to do the tours after all?”
“I want to look into it. It could be a good idea, but only if it makes the orchard more profitable. The last thing we all need is more work that doesn’t bring in revenue. And also, it has to fit in with everything else we’re doing.”
“I’m so pleased. If the tours work, I can move here permanently. Not here in the house, I will move somewhere close by. I’ll rent something, maybe an apartment.”
“You’ll be paid, of course, just as everyone else will be, but only if we’re profitable. We’ll talk later about this, Caroline,” Florence said.
“Great. I’ll put together a proposal and you can see what you think.”
Florence smiled. “Perfect.”
Cherish hung her head and kept quiet. Didn’t Florence know what a terrible liar Caroline was? She was so untrustworthy. What if she stole from them? She wouldn’t put anything past her.
Favor sat up straight. “Caroline has a lot of ideas.” 
“I’d love to hear them and any ideas anyone else has too. As you all know, we’ve always given tours to the school children, but we never charged, and I want that to stay the same.”
“Jah,” Wilma said, smiling at Caroline. “It’s important to this family to do what we can for the community—the broader community we live in.” 
“That’s right,” Florence agreed. “The children love to learn where the apples come from and how they’re processed, and I don’t want the parents paying for that.”
Cherish saw Caroline nodding, but she didn’t seem so enthusiastic after hearing that news. She probably wanted to charge the children’s parents.
“I guess there will be families who will pay—tourists and such,” Bliss said. 
“Yes. This is true,” Caroline blurted out. 
“I’d love to hear any other ideas that you haven’t told us about,” Wilma said to Caroline.
“They’re hazy at the moment, but I will formulate them better.”
“Don’t forget to tell me. I’d like to hear everyone’s ideas too.” Wilma looked around at everyone. “Who has ideas?”
“Mamm, Florence just said to talk about it later,” Hope told her.
Wilma raised her hands in the air. “I’m sorry. I was only showing an interest. I didn’t know we all had to sit here in silence to be lectured at.”
Florence ignored Wilma’s comment. “We need to set some goals and I want us all involved since we’re all owners.”
“Levi and I aren’t owners,” said Wilma. “And neither are Bliss and Caroline.”
“Jah, but they’re getting paid,” Hope said. 
“Well, people are missing.” Wilma looked around. “Joy isn’t here, and neither are Mercy and Honor. They’re owners, and yet they get paid for not working. It’s an odd situation.”
Cherish knew her mother was deliberately annoying Florence, so she watched with interest to see how Florence would handle her. 
Florence didn’t appear to be too bothered when she patiently explained to Wilma, “Joy has just had a baby, so we can excuse her, and Mercy and Honor get their share because they’re part owners and that’s the way things are. Whoever is here, must do the work. If one of the girls sitting in this room moves away to get married, then we’ll reassess things. For now, everyone sitting here will have to work and work hard.”
“Are you including Caroline?” Cherish asked.
“Caroline is a hard worker. She won’t mind being involved,” Levi said. 
“Is that right?” Wilma leaned forward and looked at Caroline, who was sitting on the other end of the couch.
“It is right, in part. And thank you, Mr. Bruner, but I will be working on ideas and I can’t work and think about the tours and work on a proposal for Florence while I’m in the orchard all day.”
“Yes, you can,” Levi said. “I disagree with you there. I have faith in you that you can do both. I know you want to do your bit while you’re here. You’ll have plenty of free time for all those other things in the evenings once the chores are done.”
Cherish could barely keep the smile from her face when she saw Caroline nodding in agreement with Levi. Caroline’s lips pressed together, revealing how unhappy she was. Then Caroline looked up and caught Cherish’s eye, so Cherish looked away. 
Florence continued, “Winter gives us a time to reassess and reflect on what’s happened in the past and where we want to be in the future.”
Cherish couldn’t help yawning as Florence spoke. She had a story-teller voice, and whenever anyone told stories, it made her sleepy.
“Would anyone like tea or coffee?” Wilma asked when Florence stopped to draw a breath.
“Not now,” Florence snapped. 
Cherish jumped out of her daze. Wilma was finally getting on Florence’s nerves. It was bound to happen.
“I was also going to offer food, Florence. Cookies?” Wilma looked around at everyone. “Is anyone hungry?”
“Wilma, please let me finish what I’m here to say before you run off and hide in the kitchen. This is important. It involves you and Levi, too. It’s for the whole family. I’m sure people can wait half an hour for food since it’s only midmorning, and I’m sure everyone’s had breakfast.”
Wilma raised her hands in the air. “I’m sorry for trying. That’s all a mudder can do.”
“Please be sorry in silence.”
Cherish was shocked at the harshness in Florence’s voice. 
Florence moved to stand in front of the fire. “As I said, winter gives us time to plan for the year ahead. So many people rely on this orchard to be successful and produce a good crop and, God willing, it will happen for us this year. That’s why I want us all to work as a team.”
“Or like a family,” Cherish said.
Florence smiled at her. “That’s right. It’s important that we all pull together and make a huge effort, and sadly, I haven’t seen that happen in the past. If it doesn’t happen this year, we might end up losing the orchard.”
Wilma gasped. “Really?”
“Yes. The last two years have taken a toll. We can get it back. It’s savable, but we can’t afford another bad year. Levi, we’ll need to access the money in the account.”
“Why?” Wilma moved to the edge of her seat.
“As the manager, I need to—”
“Jah, I’ll have the bank change things over. Why don’t we go there today, and we’ll sort that out?” Levi asked.
“I’d like that. There’ll be one less thing to do later. I’ll have Carter drive us.”
Levi gave a nod. 
“You’re going to be in charge of all the money?” Wilma asked Florence.
“Yes. I am the manager. There are things we need.”
Wilma pursed her lips. “Who’s going to watch your spending?” 
“No one. I’ll spend money on the orchard as I see fit. I’ve done that for years, Wilma, and you never had a problem with it.”
Wilma shrugged. “That was before you left us. Things are different now. Anyway, what’s the rush to get to the bank today?”
“There is no rush,” Levi said, “We’re just getting things moving along.”
Florence nodded. “And we do need to spend a little money this week. For starters, we need more wire and more wood to make trellises.”
From his chair, Levi reached over and patted Wilma’s knee. “It is only right. She’s the manager.”
“I’m just concerned. What if we don’t have enough to live on?”
“We’ve been over this before, Wilma. If you don’t trust me, trust your husband. Levi’s already opened an account for the two of you. I’m not touching the money in that.”
Wilma pouted again and looked at Levi. “I just don’t know how it all works. I’m not told anything these days.”
“What jobs are there to do in the wintertime?” Caroline asked, suddenly appearing interested.
Florence smiled, seemingly pleased someone was showing an interest. “I’ll go through it. What we do now will affect the yield, the fruit size, and the fruit quality, which will increase profits if everything’s done properly. For an example, I’m thinking of replacing the older trees on the western side. That’s something that can be done this time of year, and then we can prepare the ground and have it ready to plant new trees when the weather’s warmer. I don’t want to have goals that we can’t reach, and I don’t want things to be—”
“They were the first trees your vadder planted.”
Florence smiled patiently at her stepmother. “I know, Wilma, but we’ll need to replace them.”
“Won’t that set us back? It takes years for a young tree to fruit. How do you expect us to have a good crop when you’re destroying the trees?”
“It’ll work out better in the end. I’ve just planted a whole new orchard on my property. It’s a three to five-year plan, but we must keep the trees here healthy, and that includes replacing the old ones if need be. And we must have a plan to increase our profits. Firstly, we must make everything we have now turn a good profit.”
“Are you saying your vadder wasn’t a good manager?” Mamm asked.
“Mamm!” Hope gasped. 
“That’s not what she’s saying, Mamm,” Favor explained. 
“He was a good manager,” Florence said. “The best. I was getting around to talking about the produce, particularly the canned goods. That’s something you can all work on in the evenings or when the weather is too unpleasant to work in the orchard.”
“Will you be doing that, too?” asked Wilma.
“No.” Florence didn’t explain.
After the two women stared at one another in uncomfortable silence, Wilma jumped to her feet. “I’m going to put on the kettle.”
“No!” Florence snapped and then pointed at her stepmother. “You will sit down and listen to what I have to say. You’ll stay there until I finish.”
Wilma gasped. Cherish was shocked and then looked at Levi to see what he’d do.
“Do as she says, Wilma,” Levi told his wife, calmly. “Florence is the manager. She’s the boss of us all when it comes to the orchard.”
“I’ve never been spoken to like that in my life,” Wilma said, as she sat back down. 
Florence sighed. “All you girls need lessons in pruning. We can start tomorrow. I’m not saying we will be doing any actual pruning, but I want to show you exactly how to do it.”
“That’s just cutting off the branches that are sticking out, isn’t it?” Caroline asked. “It doesn’t sound hard.”
“It’s different for each tree. Sometimes we’ll need to stop a tree that’s growing too much because all its energy will be going into the growth of the branches rather than the fruit. The tree might be growing too tall, or maybe we want the tree to grow faster.”
“Okay. It’s more than I thought,” said Caroline. “I’m interested.”
Cherish studied Caroline’s face. Why was she lying again? Two minutes before, she wasn’t the slightest bit interested. All she was interested in was texting Eddie, her newfound beekeeper boyfriend, and playing with her long hair. 
“You see, I don’t normally like to prune in winter because the trees have so little energy that they can’t properly repair the wounds, but sometimes it’s good if you need the tree to grow quicker. Pruning in the spring is preferable because the tree won’t grow as much, and all the energy will go into the fruit. There might be a tree which would benefit from summer pruning, too, so there’s a lot to consider.”
“I knew that,” Cherish said.
“I didn’t know it was so involved,” said Caroline. “How will we know if that tree hasn’t had good fruit?”
Cherish couldn’t help being shocked by Caroline. She was doing an excellent job of fooling everyone. What was the point of involving Caroline? It seemed everyone, including Florence, expected her to be there longer—even wanted her to stay longer. Caroline had told Levi and Mamm that she could leave as soon as the roof of her house went on, but since she’d told that lie about her house burning down, there’d been time enough to build three new homes from scratch. 
“That’s why you each need to show more involvement. When Dat and I were working the orchard, we knew each tree.”
“You explained that so well, Florence,” Bliss said. 
“Thanks.” Florence looked at Hope. “You knew all that, didn’t you?” 
“Of course, but I’m not so sure everyone else knew it.”
“You might take over from Florence one day, Hope, if you do what she tells you. And maybe you too, Cherish.” Levi smiled at Cherish.
Hope laughed, and Cherish said, “Denke, Levi. I’ll have a lot to learn. Florence knows so much.”
Mamm said, “Ach, Levi. Cherish says nearly every second day she’s going to leave us as soon as she’s eighteen. She’s going to live at Dagmar’s farm, don’t you know it? She won’t give two thoughts about the orchard, or us when she’s gone. We’ll be out of sight and out of mind.”
“My farm,” Cherish corrected her. 
“That’s a long time away,” Levi said. “The girl can change her mind. She might decide to stay here and keep the young man running the farm.”
Wilma stuck her nose in the air. “It’s unlikely.”
“I hope you do stay,” Favor told Cherish.
Cherish smiled and appreciated her sister, saying that, but she was also a little saddened. Favor had so often said she’d move to the farm with her when the time came, but since Caroline’s appearance, she hadn’t mentioned it. 
Bliss stood up, and everyone stared at her. “I’m not an owner of the orchard, but I’d still like to work here since everyone else will be. But, Dat, can I still work at the café? Cherish still works there one day a week. It seems unfair if she does, and I don’t.”
Florence said, “Perhaps you can have that conversation with your father after I finish what I’m saying?”
“I’m sorry.” Bliss sat down. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”
Levi cleared his throat. “The last word with Cherish ends with her mudder, but the last word in what you do ends with me. I have said no more than once.”
“We’d love you to do as much work as you can, Bliss,” Florence told her. “You’ll be a paid worker.”
“Unlike the owners, my girls, who will work for free.” Wilma looked down at her starched white apron and smoothed it over her knees.
“We’ve been over this a hundred times now. That’s kind of how it is, Wilma, but they will get paid little bits and then one big payment after harvest.”
“Not too big,” said Levi. 
Florence looked at Levi. “Perhaps you and I can sit down together and work some of those things out?”
Cherish noticed Levi seemed happy about that. It was kind of Florence to include him as much as she was. Things were finally working out between the family members.
“I’d be happy to do that. You name the time,” Levi said. 
“We could do that this afternoon if you’d like. Christina is looking after Iris until four.”
“Stay for the midday meal, Florence,” Wilma said. “You’ll both be busy, going to the bank and then planning whatever you’ll be planning.”
“Thanks, Wilma, but I’ll go home and see how Carter’s getting along with his meetings and then I’ll come back. Now, back to why I’ve gathered you here. We all have to work together in the orchard and in the kitchen to produce the goods for the shop.”
“We will,” Hope said. “You just tell us what to do.”
“We’ll have a quick meeting every Monday morning, and I’ll give everyone their work for the week, but that will be subject to last-minute changes. If anyone lets me down, they’ll be letting down the whole family.”
Cherish said, “This is like a staff meeting. Rocky has these talks too. I miss out on most of them now that I only have one shift a week.”
Florence continued, “Everyone will have to work hard, so they don’t leave the burden on the others. We have to make a profit. We’re in this together as a family, right?”
“Jah,” Wilma and Levi chorused.
“Jah,” Hope said. 
“Right,” Favor agreed.
“I’m glad to be a part of it, kind of,” Bliss said, wistfully.
“I’ll do everything I can,” said Caroline. 
Everyone looked at Cherish, who hadn’t said a thing. 
She looked around at them all. Just because they’d said something out aloud didn’t mean she should too, did it? Couldn’t she agree silently? “What?” Cherish asked.
“You haven’t agreed yet,” Levi told her.
Cherish knew they were judging her, making assumptions about her work ethic, or lack of one. “I know you all think I’m lazy, but I’m not. It’s all in your heads.” She tapped on the side of her prayer kapp. 
“No one thinks that,” Bliss told her. “It’s only that everyone has said yes except you.”
Cherish hated being the center of attention if it was for a negative reason. “I didn’t know I had to say something. Florence didn’t ask a question.” No one was smiling. Everyone was looking at her as though she was the odd one out. She felt like crying. No, she wouldn’t cry like a baby. They’d think even less of her. “I don’t have to say something. I said it in my head. I’m tired of everyone’s attitude.”
“Why are you getting so upset?” Levi asked.
“Because I will work hard, and it annoys me that people think I won’t.”
“We’ll wait and see,” Wilma said. “The proof is in the doing.”
Cherish threw her hands in the air and said to Levi, “See?”
“So, you agree, Cherish?” Florence asked.
“Yes, I’ll work hard.” Cherish snapped her words, and it was slightly annoying that Florence had been gone for two years and then stepped back in telling everyone what to do as though she’d never left. Even Levi allowed Florence to boss everyone about, including Mamm. Levi was supposed to be the head of the household. Cherish stared at him. Maybe he wasn’t taking charge because he feared he’d have another heart attack.
“Good then. I’m glad we all agree. I’ll be back at eight in the morning for everyone to start work. I want everyone to be ready and waiting for me at the barn at eight sharp. Can everyone manage that?”
Everyone agreed.
“Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll go over what we need for canning. Levi, I’ll see you later today after lunch.”
He nodded. “I’ll be ready.”
“Good.”
Cherish was growing restless. “Is that all? Are we dismissed?” 
“Yes, everyone can go, and thanks for listening.”
Cherish stood before anyone had a chance to move. “Florence, I won’t be here tomorrow because I’ll be at the café, but I will work hard when I’m here, okay? Does anyone have anything bad to say about that?” She fixed her hands on her hips and looked around.
“No! It’s what we’d expect from you, Cherish,” Mamm said. “Now, can I put the teakettle on, Florence?” Wilma moved to her feet.
“Yes, you can.”
Wilma walked into the kitchen with Bliss following to help her. Bliss took every opportunity to be close to Wilma. It seemed she liked Wilma’s company. Cherish was sure it was because she missed her own mother. 
Before Cherish moved away, Caroline rushed to Florence, who was halfway out the front door. “Thank you for giving me a chance to plan these tours. I’m so excited about it.”
“I’m open to new ideas, and yours sounds like it has potential. It could be a good money-maker for the orchard.”
“I know, and if you take it on board, I’m sure the B Right Honey Company will too.”
“That would be good,” Florence said. “I can’t wait to see what you come up with.” 
“I don’t see that people will pay to come here.” Cherish walked closer to Florence and Caroline. “The children can come here free, so why would they come back with their parents and pay for it?”
Caroline flipped her long hair over her shoulder. “You have to see the bigger picture, Cherish. There’s a whole world out there that you don’t even know. You don’t know the half of it because you’ve barely ever left home to go further than into town.”
Cherish pouted at the way Caroline talked down to her. She couldn’t say too much because she didn’t want to appear argumentative in front of Levi, as he sat in his armchair.
The day Caroline leaves this house will be the happiest day of my life. When Caroline had first arrived, Cherish thought she’d like her but, from the moment she opened her mouth, there was something disagreeable about her. Cherish had begun to loathe her. When she got to learn more about her, she knew why. She was a manipulator and Favor, and everyone else, had fallen for her lies and her falsities. 
Florence walked out the door, leaving Caroline to close it. Caroline then stood in front of the door, staring at Cherish. “Well?” Caroline asked.
Cherish would’ve said something rude but, again, didn’t want Levi to overhear. She’d been getting along with him lately and didn’t want that to change. “Nothing.” Cherish would hold her words inside and use them another day. She turned on her heel and headed to the kitchen.

THE AMISH BONNET SISTERS

Book 1 Amish Mercy

Book 2 Amish Honor

Book 3 A Simple Kiss

Book 4 Amish Joy

Book 5 Amish Family Secrets

Book 6 The Englisher

Book 7 Missing Florence

Book 8 Their Amish Stepfather

Book 9 A Baby For Florence

Book 10 Amish Bliss

Book 11 Amish Apple Harvest

Book 12 Amish Mayhem

Book 13 The Cost of Lies

Book 14 Amish Winter of Hope

Book 15 A Baby For Joy

Book 16 The Amish Meddler

Book 17 The Unsuitable Amish Bride

Book 18 Her Amish Farm

Book 19 The Unsuitable Amish Wedding

Book 20 Her Amish Secret

Book 21 Amish Harvest Mayhem

Book 22 Amish Family Quilt

Book 23 Hope's Amish Wedding

Book 24 A Heart of Hope

Book 25 A Season for Change

Book 26 Amish Farm Mayhem

Book 27 The Stolen Amish Wedding

Book 28 A Season for Second Chances

Book 29 A Change of Heart

Book 30 The Last Wedding

Book 31 Starting Over

Book 32 Love and Cherish

Book 33 Amish Neighbors

Book 34 Her Amish Quilt

Book 35 A Home of Their Own

Book 36 A Chance for Love

Book 37 Her Amish Wish

Book 38 Amish Harvest Time

Book 39 Whispers of Change

Book 40 Her Hopeful Heart

Book 41 Return to Love's Promise

Book 42 Amish Circle of Blessings