Love Inspired November 2013 #2 by Emma Miller, Virginia Carmichael, Renee Andrews Page B

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    Was Samuel right? Should he start thinking about finding a wife and a mother for Amelia?
    As he unhitched his horse from the hitching post, he thought about the fact that his first instinct concerning Rebecca Yoder was that she wouldn’t be an appropriate housekeeper and childcare provider. He should have listened to common sense.
    Originally, he’d thought she was the wrong woman because of her age. He had assumed that she didn’t have enough experience caring for children. At least not with a child like Amelia. He’d been right about her being the wrong one to have in his house, but maybe for the wrong reason.
    Rebecca was the wrong woman to be his housekeeper because she was too...pretty. Too lively. She was...too...too much.
    It had been a bad idea from the first day. What business did a respectable preacher have employing a single woman...one as pretty as Rebecca? If people weren’t talking yet, they would be soon. Samuel was married to one of Rebecca’s sisters. Had he been hinting that gossip was already circulating about Rebecca?
    Did she have to go?
    Of course, if he was going to go to the older women in the community and tell them he needed a different housekeeper, he’d need to give them a reason. Rebecca was an excellent housekeeper. He couldn’t deny that any more than he could deny that Amelia liked her, and the child’s behavior was improving under Rebecca’s tutelage. What would he say to the women of the community?
    That he was afraid that he could possibly be attracted to her? He couldn’t do that. It would be completely inappropriate. He wasn’t even sure it was true.
    Caleb climbed up into the buggy. The one thing he did know to be true was that something had to be done about Rebecca Yoder.

Chapter Seven
    â€œF irst breakfast, and then I’m sure Susanna will take you, Katy and Mae out to her library and let the three of you look at the children’s books.” Rebecca motioned for Amelia to take her place at the table between the other two girls.
    She scrambled up into the chair, and after a burst of small female greetings and chatter, the little girls closed their eyes for a few seconds of silent grace. Once the blessing had been asked, Rebecca handed each an apple-walnut muffin, a cup of milk and sections of tangerines. “Now, who wants oatmeal?” Rebecca asked. “Mam made it this morning before she went to school.”
    Caleb had driven over in the buggy to drop his daughter off at the Yoder house this morning, a Wednesday, more than two weeks after the misunderstanding with Rebecca. Rebecca knew that pride was a fault, but she couldn’t help being pleased with the little girl. Over the past weeks, she had come to adore Amelia. The child could be spirited, sometimes even naughty, but she had a loving heart, and she could be extremely helpful when she wanted to be. It was natural that a child raised without a mother could be difficult at times; all Amelia needed was a gentle but firm woman’s guidance.
    And...if Rebecca was absolutely honest with herself, she had to admit that she liked working for Caleb. Since he’d apologized for being cross with her the day Amelia pushed Mae off the step, he had been nothing but kind and pleasant. He had done as he’d said he would—he’d told other members of the community, including her mother, that he’d made a mistake in judgment and that he’d been hasty with Rebecca.
    She’d been a little embarrassed that the whole incident hadn’t been dropped. But at the same time, it pleased her that Caleb was true to his word, even if it meant taking public blame—something not all men were willing to do. Seeing what a good father he was and how seriously he took his church responsibilities made her admire Caleb’s character even more.
    Despite their awkward beginning—when he’d unnecessarily come to her rescue that evening in his barn