LITMIR.BIZ

      Levi was expecting a younger woman, maybe seventeen or eighteen at most. Until this morning, he and Sadie hadn’t actually spoken. They’d only left a couple of sparsely detailed messages on the machines at each other’s phone shanties. All Levi knew was Sadie was the stepdaughter of a distant relative, that she’d helped care for her four younger siblings and that she was willing to come to Maine right away. He’d never thought to ask how old she was. Not that it mattered; it was just that he was surprised someone her age wasn’t married and didn’t have a family of her own.

      Maybe she’s widowed, too, he mused but quickly dismissed the idea. There was nothing about her expression suggesting the shadow of grief. Quite the opposite: her eyes were as blue as a cloudless sky and her complexion was just as sunny. If anything, she seemed a bit self-conscious; perhaps because she’d just woken and her hair was loose and mussed from sleep. Even so, her lips were pert with a breezy smile. Vaguely recalling when Leora used to appear as luminous as that, Levi sighed.

      “Kumme,” he called to the children and headed to the stable, where the pair of them stayed outside and sat on the stone wall. He required them to keep a safe distance whenever he was hitching or unhitching the horse and buggy. Once finished, he signaled them to approach and they climbed into the back seat so there’d be room for Sadie—who joined them just then—to sit up front with Levi.

      “Look at all the pine trees!” she exclaimed as they traversed the long straight road that cut across town. “I could only see their outlines last night. They seem even bigger in the daylight.”

      “Don’t you have pine trees where you come from?” Elizabeth asked.

      “Not nearly as many as you have here. I’ve never been out of Lancaster County, so it’s fun to see new sights.”

      “Later in the week I can take you to the Englisch supermarket,” Levi offered. “The library and post office, too. Since we’re still a young settlement, we don’t have as many Amish businesses as you probably have in Little Springs.”

      “Do the Englischers gawk at you when you’re in town?”

      “Neh, not at this time of year. Most of them are year-round residents and they’re used to us by now. They’ve been wunderbaar about accepting us into the community but also respecting our differences. Summer is a different story, though, because that’s when tourists kumme to vacation on Serenity Ridge Lake. To them we’re a novelty. Or part of the scenery—I’ve been photographed too many times to count.”

      Sadie clicked her tongue sympathetically. Then she pointed to a house. “There’s another one!”

      “Another what?”

      “A green roof. They’re everywhere.”

      “Jah, they’re made of metal,” Levi said, amused by her observation. He’d been here long enough that he didn’t notice the differences between Maine and his home state anymore. “Metal roofing is very popular here because it’s durable and energy efficient. Plus, it keeps ice dams from forming, which is important during our harsh winters. One of our district members, Colin Blank, owns a metal roofing company and he can hardly keep up with the demand.”

      Sadie nodded, clearly taking it all in. She was quiet until they turned onto the dirt road and Levi announced their destination was at the top of the hill. “What a strange-looking haus,” she remarked. “Who lives here?”

      “No one.” Levi chuckled. Her bewilderment was winsome. “It’s a church building.”

      “You worship in a building instead of a home?” Sadie asked so incredulously it sounded as if she was accusing them of something scandalous.

      “Jah. The settlement in Unity does, too. It’s a rarity, but it makes sense for us since we’re so spread out and this is the most central location.”

      “Wow. Is there anything else I should know about Amish life in Maine?”

      “Hmm... Well, on Thanksgiving we eat smoked moose instead of turkey,” Levi teased.

      Sadie’s eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

      Levi felt guilty about the alarmed look on her face. “Neh. I was only kidding. We have turkey and all the usual fixings.”

      “Have you ever encountered a moose?”

      “Neh. Fortunately. If they feel threatened, they can be very dangerous creatures.”

      “You should always give them lots of space,” Elizabeth advised from the back seat.

      “And never get in between a mamm moose and its calf,” David warned. “Because the mamm might charge.”

      “I’ll remember that,” Sadie said. “Although I’m a pretty fast runner, so if it charged it would probably moose me.”

      David and Elizabeth cracked up, but Levi had to bite his tongue to keep from telling Sadie it wasn’t a joking matter. He hoped she wasn’t going to be glib about the rules he had for the children’s safety or reckless about their care, the way the other nannies had been. Overbearing, one of them had called him in response to his reminders. But what did she know about the responsibilities involved in raising children? She was practically a child herself.

      At least Sadie’s older than the other meed were, he thought. But older didn’t necessarily mean wiser. Suddenly, he was struck by a worrisome thought: Why had someone Sadie’s age traveled all this way to take a job usually reserved for teenage girls? She’d been so highly recommended by his uncle that Levi hadn’t thought to ask why she was willing to come to Maine—during Christmas season, no less! Levi was only distantly related to Cevilla, so it wasn’t as if Sadie was fulfilling a familial obligation. Maybe she couldn’t find employment in Pennsylvania—or worse, she’d had a job but was fired.

      The other possibilities that occupied Levi’s mind throughout the church service were equally unsettling. As the congregation rose to sing the closing hymn, Levi decided the only way to know if Sadie was a good nanny would be to keep an even closer watch on her than he had on the others. And somehow, he was going to have to accomplish that feat without offending her with his scrutiny.

      Dear Lord, give me wisdom and tact, he silently prayed. And if I’ve made a mistake by hiring Sadie, please show me before any harm befalls my precious kinner.