Miriam's Heart. Emma Miller

to move into his house? What would happen to Dat’s farm? To the Yoder girls, including herself? And what about Irwin? His closest relatives were Norman and Lydia Beachy; he’d lived with them when he first came to Seven Poplars, but that hadn’t worked out well. That was why Irwin now lived with Miriam’s family. If Mam and Samuel were to marry, would Samuel want to send Irwin back to the Beachy farm?

      Mam and Miriam and her sisters had made out fine in the two years since Dat’s death. It hadn’t been easy, but they managed. There were a lot of ways a stepfather could disrupt the Yoder household, and thinking about it made Miriam uneasy. Ruth leaving to marry Eli was enough change for one year. Wasn’t it?

      “Whoa,” Anna said. “That section of the floor is already done.”

      Miriam looked up. As usual, she’d been so deep in her thoughts that she’d forgotten to pay attention to what she was doing. “Oops.”

      Anna laughed. “Go on. You’ve been inside too long. Find something outside to do.”

      “You certain you don’t mind?” Miriam asked.

      “Scrub the back porch, if you want,” Louise suggested. “It doesn’t look as though Samuel has thought of that in a while.” She pointed to the screen door. “There’s another bucket by the pump.”

      “Go. Go,” Anna urged. “Any more women in here and we’ll be tripping over each other.”

      Miriam went out, found a broom and proceeded to sweep the sand off the porch. She hadn’t been at it more than two minutes when Charley shouted to her from the barnyard. “Morning, Miriam.”

      “Morning, Charley.”

      He was raking the barnyard clean of horse droppings, and she assumed that he’d come with the other men to make the farmyard and barn ready for Sunday’s gathering. If there was work to be done, you could always count on Charley to be there.

      He’d leaned his rake against the barn and started toward the porch, when Miriam heard the sound of a truck engine. As she watched, John pulled up in his truck, with Hartman Veterinary Services printed on the side.

      “Who’s that?” Anna asked as she pushed open the screen door.

      “John.” Miriam’s heart beat faster and she felt a little thrill of excitement. What was he doing here?

      Anna snickered. “He was at our house before eight this morning. Is he going to follow you everywhere?”

      John blew the horn and waved.

      Miriam felt her cheeks grow hot, but she waved back.

      “Who is it?” Louise stepped out on the porch behind Anna. “Oh, the vet. Samuel told me that he’d asked him to come. One of his best milkers has a swollen bag. He didn’t want it to get worse.” She glanced at Anna. “You say he was at your house this morning?”

      “He’s sweet on Miriam,” Anna explained.

      Miriam could hear her sister’s smile, even if she couldn’t see it. “He is not,” Miriam protested, sweeping harder. “He came to check on one of our horses. She’s developing a hoof infection. John’s watching it.”

      Anna giggled. “More like he’s watching you.”

      “The English vet?” Louise frowned. “Not good.” She waggled a finger. “You shouldn’t encourage him.”

      “I’m not encouraging him,” Miriam said. “We’re friends, nothing more.”

      “He’s not English,” Anna supplied. “He’s Mennonite.”

      “Ach.” Louise shook her head. “Worse, even. You know what they say about those Mennonite boys. Wild, they are.”

      “Miriam,” Mam called from inside the house. “Can you give me a hand with this?”

      As she turned to make her escape into the kitchen, Miriam saw Charley walk toward John’s truck and lean in the open window. She would have given her best pair of muck boots to hear what those two were saying to each other.

      Miriam’s eyelids grew heavy. When they drifted shut, Anna poked her hard in the ribs. Miriam gasped, straightened and sat upright. Then she glanced around to see if anyone else had caught her dozing off. Luckily, no one seemed to be watching her.