and her family, especially the baby, and keep watch over Gertrude. Please keep the crew safe and productive in Ohio.
Praying about his employees, Sawyer exhaled loudly. Upon returning to the farm that afternoon, he had discovered a soggy express-mail letter in the box from his foreman reporting that one of his crew members severed his finger the day Sawyer left for Pennsylvania. Due to being short staffed already, we are falling even further behind on orders, the note said. It was another urgent reminder to Sawyer that he needed to hasten his work with his cousins so he could return home as soon as possible. At least being able to work longer days without interruptions would help with that.
He was relieved that Hannah, in particular, possibly would be watching the children. He owed her a debt of gratitude for rescuing him from Doris’s clutches. He had known women like Doris in Ohio, who seemed to use the children’s welfare as an excuse to call on him and Gertrude. At least, that was what Gertrude had claimed on a few occasions.
“I thought you wanted me to marry again,” he teased one afternoon after Gertrude was irked by a female visitor who stopped by with a heaping tray of oatmeal whoopee pie cookies and an entire “sawdust pie.” (When the woman found out Sawyer wasn’t present, she took the sweets home without allowing the children or Gertrude to sample so much as a bite.)
“I do want you to marry again,” Gertrude insisted. “But I want you to marry someone genuine, like Eliza.”
There will never be anyone as genuine as Eliza, he thought.
Take Hannah, for instance. Whereas Eliza was soft-spoken and reserved, Hannah seemed a bit cheeky, which made it difficult to discern how sincere she was. Sawyer supposed Hannah was used to teasing men for sport; someone as becoming as she was no doubt found favor with the opposite gender, especially because she appeared competent and helpful, as well. Yet, surprisingly, she was unmarried—Sawyer ruefully imagined her suitors probably were tardy arriving to court her, so she turned them away.
Lightning reflected off the white sheets on Sawyer’s bed and thunder shook the walls. He stretched his neck, listening for Sarah’s cries, but there were none. He figured she was too exhausted to stir.
Sawyer’s thoughts drifted to the dark tendrils framing Hannah’s face that afternoon. They had probably come loose when she was playing ball with her students. He supposed someone who earned the affection of his daughter and the admiration of his sons in one day deserved his high regard, too. It wasn’t her fault she was so pretty; he recognized he shouldn’t judge her for that.
He remembered how Hannah suddenly hurried him out the door that afternoon. Despite her authority in the classroom and her outspoken joshing, there was something unmistakably vulnerable in her eyes. But he had no doubt she’d take excellent care of Simon, Samuel and Sarah—especially once he restricted the amount of treats she served them—for the short time they were visiting Pennsylvania.
As the sky released its torrents, Sawyer’s contented sigh turned into a yawn and he rolled onto his side. He slumbered through the night, waking only once when he had a dream of bread smothered in strawberry jam that was so real, he almost thought he could taste its sweetness on his lips.
* * *
The next morning, Hannah rose early to prepare a hearty breakfast for her grandfather, and she set aside an ample lunch, too. If Sawyer Plank was tardy again after school, she didn’t want her grandfather to accuse her of neglecting his appetite. She ate only a small portion herself in order to stretch their food budget, but she took the bread crusts with her. At lunch, she’d spread them with the preserves Abigail had given her, an indulgent treat these days.
She scuttled the mile and a half to the school yard from her home. Built on the corner of the Zook farm, the tiny house and plot of land were all her grandfather had ever been able to afford. But Jeremiah Zook had always granted Hannah and Eve access to the rolling meadow, thriving stream and dense copse of trees on the south side of the property. The setting provided the young sisters a serene and spacious haven from their grandfather’s unrelenting demands.
As an adult, Hannah still chose to zigzag across the acreage on her way to and from school instead of taking the main roads. She always felt she could breathe deeper and think more clearly after strolling the grassy and wooded paths she knew by heart.
The weather was still unseasonably warm, and her upper lip beaded with perspiration as she picked her way across the final damp field. From a distance, she could see a single buggy in the lane by the school, which was strange since Doris was usually the last to arrive and the first to leave. As she drew nearer, she spotted three familiar blond heads, bobbing in and out from behind the trees during a game of tag. Sawyer was perched on the steps.
“Guder mariye,” she greeted him, before adding, “Your horse’s legs must have healed. You’re early.”
A peculiar look passed across Sawyer’s face, and Hannah immediately regretted her comment. She had meant it to be playful, not vexing. There was something so solemn about his demeanor she couldn’t help but try to elicit a little levity.
“If we’re too early, I will wait with the kinner until you’re ready for them to come inside,” he replied seriously.
“Neh, you mustn’t do that,” she said by way of apology, but then recognized it seemed as if she were dismissing him from the yard. She quickly explained, “You are free to leave the kinner or to stay with them as long as you wish. You’re free to stay with them outside, that is—not in the classroom. Unless you also need help with your spelling or mathematics.”
There she went again! Insulting him when she only meant to break the ice. This time, however, a smile played at the corner of his lips.
“My spelling and mathematics are strong,” he said. “It’s only my time-telling that suffers.”
“Your time-telling is already improving,” Hannah said generously. “I notice you’re working on your daughter’s grooming skills, as well. I don’t mean to intrude on your efforts, but if Sarah’s hair should need additional straightening, would you allow me to complete the task?”
“Allow you? I would wilkom you,” he insisted. “It’s no intrusion. Especially if you are to become the kinner’s nanny.”
His enthusiasm delighted Hannah, who tipped her head upward to meet his eyes. “I’m glad you mentioned that,” she trilled. “Because my groossdaadi has agreed that I may watch the kinner after school, beginning Monday.”
“That’s wunderbaar!” Sawyer boomed, and again Hannah was warmed by his unbridled earnestness.
Just then, Simon skidded to a stop in between them and thrust his fist up toward his father.
“Look! Have you ever seen such a big toad?”
“It is huge,” Hannah acknowledged, studying the boy’s catch. “It’s the same color as the dirt. You must have keen eyesight to be able to spot him.”
The little boy modestly replied, “I didn’t know he was there at first, but then I saw something hopping and that’s when I grabbed him.”
Samuel and Sarah circled Simon to get another look.
“Not too tight, Simon. You’re squeezing him,” Sawyer cautioned. “You must be careful not to harm it.”
As he spoke, Hannah felt his warm breath on the nape of her neck as she bent over the amphibian. She hadn’t realized Sawyer was standing in such close proximity, and she was overcome with a peculiar sensation of dizziness.
She stepped backward and announced, “You ought to release him now, Simon. Be sure to wipe your hands, please.”
With that, she darted up the steps and into the classroom. “Mach’s gut,” she said, bidding Sawyer goodbye over her shoulder.
* * *
As the horse made its way back to the farm, Sawyer rubbed his forehead. Hannah had ended the conversation so abruptly he didn’t have a chance to speak to her about not giving the