LITMIR.BIZ

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her pregnancy. He doesn’t mind doing women’s work.”

      “An unusual man,” she murmured beneath her breath. Ellie saw that Sarah looked much better today, with bright eyes, clean clothes and hair rolled and pulled back neatly into the style of Amish women. Reuben, she realized with an odd pang in the center of her chest, cared about his sister’s well-being and probably made time for chores so Sarah wouldn’t be overworked.

      She swallowed hard. She didn’t want to think well of him. Her sister Meg had mooned over him for a long time after she met him at a youth singing one summer a few years back. Reuben had belonged to another church district and hadn’t come back to visit until nearly two years later. Then he’d finally shown an interest in her sister. He’d offered to take Meg home from the singing and she’d agreed. It had been a rainy night as Reuben steered his buggy along a back road as he drove her home. A speeding car had rounded a bend, forcing his buggy off the road, down an incline and into a creek. Reuben and Meg had ended up in the hospital; Meg’s injuries were a concussion and a severely fractured leg. Reuben had suffered a worse concussion that had affected his memory of the crash.

      Reuben’s attention toward Meg before and after the crash had been caring and courteous. But Meg had realized early on that she’d fixated on him because she’d been trying to forget her feelings for Peter Zook. She’d continued to see Reuben, feeling as if she owed him after he’d saved her life, but then she realized that she couldn’t allow Reuben to court her when she was in love with Peter. After Peter and Meg discovered they were meant for each other, her sister had realized that it was Peter, not Reuben, who had rescued Meg from the creek. Despite his foggy memory of that night, Reuben had known he couldn’t swim and probably hadn’t saved her. But when everyone had told him he had, he’d believed it because he’d wanted it to be true.

      Once Meg ended her relationship with him, Reuben had no choice but to let her go.

      Reuben as he’d looked years ago and the way he appeared now suggested he had suffered in the intervening years. Ellie didn’t want to think about Reuben or his suffering. She forced him from her mind as she went upstairs to find the other bathroom as clean as the one on the first floor. She entered a bedroom where she began to dust furniture. Once finished, she picked up a broom, dust cloth and lemon polish, then left the room. And found herself blocked by Reuben.

      She gasped. His imposing nearness stole her breath. She eyed him warily as he stood before her with perspiration staining his shirt and beading on his forehead. He smelled like man and hard work, and the scent wasn’t unpleasant. “Reuben! You frightened me.”

      He didn’t smile. Instead he narrowed his gaze and stared at her. “I thought I told you that I didn’t need you.” His lips firmed. “The haus is already clean.”

      “You cleaned the bathrooms.”

      He nodded. “And the rest of the haus.”

      “I’ll just go over the bedrooms again lightly so you won’t have to worry about them for a few days.”

      “Elizabeth,” he began, and she jerked at the use of her proper name.

      “Reuben, please,” she pleaded, wondering why she was trying so hard. “Just let me do the work. It won’t take up much time and then I’ll be out of your hair and gone.” She bit her lip. “And ’tis Ellie.”

      She was shocked to see a small smile settle upon his masculine lips. “You are surprised I know your given name.”

      After a brief hesitation, she inclined her head. “My name could have been Ellen or Eleanor.”

      The good humor reached his eyes, startling blue in intensity, as he studied her. “But it’s not. It’s Elizabeth.”

      “How did you know that?” Then it hit her. For whatever reason, Meg must have mentioned it to him.

      He shrugged. “Why does it matter?”

      She stiffened. “It doesn’t.”

      Reuben masked his expression as he took in the supplies she held. “How long will you be here?”

      “No more than an hour.”

      He assented with a jerk of his head. “Fine. When you’re done for the day, consider yourself absolved of doing anything more. You can tell Bishop John that you did your duty.”

      But what about tomorrow or next week? The man, like his sister, was stretched to the limit. Ellie had the strongest urge to convince him that it would be best if she cleaned his house on a regular basis. There was too much for him to do to worry about the inside of the house. He had his construction job—Meg had told her about it—and his work fixing up the house and a messy yard to clear. He might think she’d agreed because of her silence, but she would come back whether or not he liked it.

      Reuben spun on his heels and left. Less than five minutes later, she heard him on the roof again. This time the sound was of him nailing down new shingles; the noise continued for the rest of the time she was there. When she went downstairs before leaving, it was to find Ethan awake and on Sarah’s hip. The eight-month-old saw her and gave her a sloppy grin. When he extended a chubby hand toward her, Ellie took it and kissed the back of his fingers.

      “All done,” Ellie said to Sarah as she gathered up her supplies.

      “Will you be back?”

      Ellie glanced toward the back door. “I’ll try. Your bruder doesn’t want me here, but I think ’tis best if I return, don’t you?”

      Sarah bobbed her head. “Ja, please. I’ll handle Reuben.” She gazed at her surroundings. “Can you come back next week?”

      “Ja, I’ll have to check my work schedule, but I can always come after one of my other jobs.” Ellie smiled at the girl as Sarah accompanied her to the door.

      “Ellie?”

      She met the girl’s gaze. “Ja?”

      “Can you teach me how to make a few recipes? I never cooked much while I was growing up. I have older sisters who did most of the cooking. I’d like to make Reuben something more than breakfast or sandwiches for supper. I’m sure he is especially tired of eggs, toast and sausage, although he never complains.”

      Warming to Sarah, Ellie grinned. “I’ll find some simple recipes to start.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “And I’ll bring the ingredients so Reuben will be surprised.”

      The teenager beamed at her. “Danki, Ellie.”

      “You are more than willkomm. I’ll see you next week unless you’re visiting on Sunday. ’Tis Visiting Day.”

      Sarah shook her head sadly. “Not this week. Reuben isn’t ready to go visiting.”

      “I understand.” And Ellie did. The man was going through a lot with having to raise Ethan on his own after losing his wife. She felt overwhelmed by compassion for him. He’d had a tough time, and he still had a long road to travel before he’d feel as if God had blessed him with a good and happy life.

      “Any particular dishes Reuben likes?”

      “Chicken corn chowder and strawberry pie.”

      “I’ll see what I can do,” Ellie promised before leaving.

      * * *

      Reuben had finished the roof. It was almost noon when he climbed down the ladder and headed in to wash up. He rounded the house and saw Ellie. She was loading her cleaning implements into the back of her buggy. She stepped back and untied her apron strings, then folded the garment neatly and placed it on the seat with her supplies. She turned to walk around to the other side of the vehicle and saw him. He saw her stiffen and raise her chin.

      Reuben experienced a tightening in his chest. She was beautiful, and it wasn’t the first time he’d noticed her. In fact, he’d thought her pretty as a young teenager. The shade of her light blond hair and her bright

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