LITMIR.BIZ

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is she?” Ellie asked.

      “She’s the girl Leah found sleeping in the barn last year.” Charlie studied her with compassion. “Are you all right?”

      The girl bobbed her head. She started toward the stall door until her gaze fell on Daniel and she halted. Understanding, Daniel stepped back to give her enough space to comfortably leave the stable. “Leah talked about me?” she said, looking upset as she inched toward the door.

      Charlie nodded. “She told me not long after she married. She was worried you’d come back and find her gone. She wanted us to know so we could bring you to her if you ever returned. But then you never came back. I told my sister Ellie just in case. She and Reuben live here now.” She looked thoughtful. “Leah left a bag for you in the barn for over a week, but you never came for it.”

      The English girl blushed. “I’m sorry. Something happened and I couldn’t come back.” She shifted her gaze briefly toward Daniel. “Besides, I’d already taken too much.”

      Daniel stiffened. Had she stolen from his cousin?

      As if sensing his thoughts, Charlie laughed. “She didn’t steal anything, Daniel. Leah gave what she wanted her to have.” She smiled at her. “Come and be willkomm.”

      His cousins headed toward the door, and he followed. The English girl hesitated as if afraid, until he smiled at her gently and motioned her to join them.

      He observed Jess in the bright sunshine and saw a young woman who was vulnerable...and beautiful. Startled by his thoughts, he looked away. When he glanced back, he saw that she avoided his gaze. “Will you let me take you to Leah?” he asked softly.

      She didn’t say anything but eyed him nervously as he locked gazes with her.

      “’Tis fine to go with him, Jess. Daniel is a gut man.” Charlie eyed her cousin with amusement.

      Daniel pretended to glare at his cousin then heard Jess’s sharp intake of breath, as if she didn’t understand that he’d been kidding with Charlie.

      “Would you like some breakfast?” Ellie asked. “I have plenty of muffins and fresh bread. And I can make you eggs and bacon.”

      “We can get breakfast on the way,” Daniel said impulsively, much to his own surprise. He wanted to be the one to feed her. He felt a surge of protectiveness toward Jess unlike he’d ever felt before, and he had no idea why.

      “Thanks, but I’m not hungry,” Jess said, but he didn’t believe her. “I’m fine.”

      Softening his expression, Daniel captured the girl’s gaze. “Are you ready to go?”

      “Yes.”

      “We’re pleased to meet you, Jess,” Ellie said. She slid a glance toward her husband, who watched curiously. “I’m sorry. I didn’t introduce my husband to you. Jess, this is Reuben. Reuben, Jessica, a friend of Leah’s.”

      “Nice to meet you,” Reuben said. He handed Daniel the two harnesses he’d given him.

      Jess smiled. “Same here.”

      “Reuben,” Daniel said, “Thanks for the harnesses.”

      Reuben nodded agreeably. “I’ll see you when you get back,” he said quietly. “If you don’t have time today, don’t worry about it.”

      Daniel watched as Ellie shifted closer to her husband. He could feel the love between the couple and felt a longing for a relationship like theirs. Charlie had the same loving relationship with her husband, Nate Peachy. As did his married brothers, Noah, Jedidiah, Elijah, Jacob and Isaac, with their wives. Soon, he thought, after he’d opened his harness shop.

      He set the harnesses in the back of the buggy, then turned to Jess, who now stood quietly beside him. When she would have climbed in, he stopped her. “Nay, over here.”

      She approached him slowly, cautiously, toward the other side of the buggy where he waited. He glanced at Charlie and saw her compassion for the girl in her eyes. He turned back and held out his hand. “Let me help you,” he said.

      She hesitated but then let him take her hand. Her fingers felt small within his grip. He reached to place his other hand under her elbow, then heard her gasp and felt her stiffen as he lifted her easily onto the front passenger seat. He climbed in through the other side, grabbed the leathers, waved at the others, then drove out of the yard.

      The girl remained silent as he pulled onto the road toward Yoder’s Country Crafts and General Store.

      “Are you all right?” he asked softly. She shot him a wary glance, then inclined her head. “We can stop somewhere and eat.”

      “No.” Jess glanced away. “I’m fine,” she said, but he sensed that she wasn’t.

      Daniel wondered again why she’d come. Was she in some kind of trouble? He had so many questions, but he wasn’t going to pry. Yet.

      Less than fifteen minutes later he flipped on his right turn signal and steered the horse into the parking lot next to the store. He felt Jess tense beside him. “Leah and her husband, Henry, own the store. They live in the house on the hill behind it.”

      She exhaled on a sigh. “I hope she remembers me,” she murmured, looking nervous.

      Her vulnerability made his heart melt. “She will.”

      He saw her swallow hard. She seemed to pull into herself, and he felt the strangest urge to offer comfort. He steered his horse up to the hitching post. “Stay put,” he said.

      Daniel climbed out of his vehicle, tied up his horse, then went to her side and extended a hand to help her. She looked at his fingers, then at him, then placed her small hand trustingly within his grasp. He was gentle as he set her onto the ground before releasing her.

      “Are you ready to see Leah?”

      Her lips curved slightly. “Yes.”

      “Come,” he said, leading her into the store’s interior, which appeared dark after the bright morning sunlight.

      Henry and Leah stood behind the counter, going over papers. They both looked up as the bells over the door rang and he approached with Jess. Leah smiled at him before her gaze settled on the girl next to him. She stared a moment as they came closer, and Daniel felt the tension in Jess beside him. Suddenly, his cousin’s eyes widened, and she grinned. “Jess!”

      The girl beamed at his cousin. Witnessing the pure delight and warmth in her expression took his breath away. In that moment, he realized that she must be older than he’d first thought. A young woman. Something shifted inside him.

      “You came back,” Leah said.

      Daniel saw Jess nod. “I hope it’s okay,” she said.

      “Ja, of course. I told you to come see me whenever you...” Her voice trailed off and a look of concern settled on Leah’s features.

      It seemed to Daniel as if they were silently communicating.

      “Come with me,” Leah said. She turned to her husband, who eyed Jess warily. “Henry, we’ll be up at the haus.”

      Henry nodded. Leah gestured for Jess to round the counter and follow her. As she obeyed, Daniel saw Jess take in Leah’s pregnancy and freeze. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come. You’re about to have a baby.”

      Leah arched an eyebrow. “And that means I can’t talk with you?”

      Jess blushed. “Of course not.”

      “I’ll wait for you here,” Daniel told the girl.

      She opened her mouth as if she would object. She promptly shut it without a word and nodded.

      When both women had left, Henry turned to him. “Who is she?”

      “Someone apparently Leah knows.”

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