Courting The Amish Nanny. Carrie Lighte

lunch Levi pushed aside his plate, unfolded a small map and laid it flat it on the table. “The printer delivered these this morning, so I brought you one,” he told Sadie, who pinched her lips together. Was she irritated or amused? “I had them made for the customers so they’d know how to navigate back to the exit once they’ve chosen their trees, but I thought you could use one, as well. Not that you’ll get lost, but I wanted us to have a common reference point. This way, if I tell you what part of the farm I’m working on and later you need to find me, you can just look at this. All the sections and rows are labeled.”

      “That was a gut idea. Denki.” Sadie smiled, relaxing at his explanation and coming around to his side of the table. As she leaned to examine the map, her sleeve brushed against his. She traced a marking with her slender finger. “What does this symbol indicate?”

      “That’s the pond.” Acutely aware he hadn’t been in such close proximity to a woman in ages, Levi was suddenly nervous. He didn’t want to intrude on Sadie’s personal space, so he sat as motionless as David had been when he demonstrated how to play Freeze Tag.

      “Is this thing in the middle of the pond a duck?”

      Levi chuckled. “That’s a caution flag, so the customers know to keep their kinner from wandering off to the other side of the barn. The printer duplicated my original sketch. I guess I should have asked David or Elizabeth to help with the drawing.”

      Sadie giggled and stood straight again. Collecting the dirty plates from the table, she asked, “Now that I have the map, does that mean you’re not giving me a personal tour?”

      Is she relieved...or disappointed? Levi couldn’t tell from the levity of her tone. Before he could say it was her choice, David spoke up.

      “Aw, Daed, you promised we could show Sadie our farm and help you point out hazards she might not have in Pennsylvania.”

      “David!” Elizabeth admonished. “You were supposed to be secret about that so Sadie doesn’t think Daed is too bossy.”

      Levi cringed, but Sadie calmly replied, “That’s okay, Elizabeth, I won’t think your daed is being too bossy. I’ll think he just wants us to be safe.”

      “We can’t be safe if we don’t help point out the hazards,” David reasoned.

      Levi caught Sadie’s eye and shrugged. “It’s up to you.”

      “Then jah, let’s take a tour of the hazards,” Sadie replied with a wink that caused Levi to grin from ear to ear. “You three go put on your coats while I finish rinsing the dishes.”

      When Levi and the children had donned their outerwear and Sadie still didn’t come to the mudroom, Levi brought her jacket to her in the kitchen. Holding it up so she could slip her arms into it, he asked, “Are you going to be cold? This coat seems kind of thin.”

      “I’ll be fine. Tomboys are tough,” she said as Elizabeth came into the room.

      “Daed, you tied my scarf too tight. My neck is choking,” she complained, so Sadie loosened it for her before they finally set out on their trek.

      Sadie was so inquisitive about the farm and so appreciative of the beauty of the landscape it seemed time stood still as the foursome made their way around the property. Since Levi’s break was already half-over, they didn’t get to cover the entire farm, but he showed Sadie a sizable section of the acreage—including the “hazardous” pond, “treacherous” rocks and the “precarious” run-down shack on his neighbor’s property—before she began to shiver. I knew that coat wasn’t warm enough for her. It’s too bad I donated my mamm’s clothing or I could have given Sadie her wool coat.

      “Does anyone want a mug of hot chocolate?” she asked when they returned. The children said yes, so she directed them into the living room to warm up by the woodstove while she heated the milk. “Would you like some, too, Levi?”

      He’d already taken twice as long as he usually took for a lunch break, but the afternoon had been so pleasant he wanted to draw it out. “Jah, please. While you’re making it, I’ll bring in more wood. I can hear your teeth chattering from here. I’ll get the fire roaring and then we can drink our cocoa in the living room.”

      When he returned, there were two mugs and two plates holding thin slices of shoofly pie on the kitchen table. Sadie raised a finger to her lips and pointed to the living room with her other hand. “The twins couldn’t hold out until nap time. I’ll stoke the fire later. I don’t want to wake them—I brought the leftover pie from church and there’s really enough for two people. I was going to give it to the kinner, but...”

      “Their loss is our gain,” Levi jested. When he pulled his chair away from the table, it loudly scraped against the floor. He and Sadie simultaneously stopped moving and cocked their ears toward the living room, but they didn’t hear the children stirring, so they took their seats.

      With his fork suspended above the plate, Levi whispered, “I feel like we’re doing something we shouldn’t be doing.”

      “Jah, this reminds me of when my brieder and I used to sneak cookies from the cookie jar when my mother’s back was turned.”

      “I hope the kinner don’t catch us—we’ll get sent to our rooms without any dinner.”

      “I could be the lookout while you eat your piece and then we can trade places,” Sadie joked and her muted laugh tickled her throat, which made her face go red and her eyes water.

      “You okay?” Levi asked nervously. “Are you choking? Do you need water?”

      “I’m fine,” she croaked, waving her hand. It took another moment for her to catch her breath, and when she did, she said, “Oh, neh. Look, my sleeve is all wet. I must have spilled hot chocolate. I hope my manners are better at Grace’s hochzich.”

      “Ah, the hochzich