LITMIR.BIZ

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juice from the bottom of her dish and Judith put it in the dishwater she had saved.

      “I don’t suppose we have any cookies?”

      Judith cringed as she got them from the top of the icebox. “I should have remembered to get them out earlier so Matthew could have some.” Eli climbed on her lap to eat his, leaning against her and watching his mother.

      “He can have his when he comes in before the afternoon chores,” Annie said, brushing a crumb off her skirt. “And now that it’s just us, tell me about the boys.”

      “Boys?”

      “I’m sure you met more boys than Guy Hoover. Which did you like best?”

      Judith thought about Luke’s blazing blue eyes, squirming a little as she remembered how small she had felt as he had loomed over her. “What do you think about Luke Kaufman?”

      Annie leaned her chin in her hand. “He’s very popular with both the fellows and the girls, but I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”

      “Why not?”

      “I’ve seen young men like that put too much store in what others think of them. Pride can be a real danger.”

      Judith nodded, taking the remains of Eli’s cookie out of his hands before he dropped it. He was sound asleep.

      Humility was a sign of a true Amish person, but falling into the sin of pride was too easy.

      “What about Guy?” Annie said, munching on the last half of her son’s cookie. “He seems like a nice young man.”

      “He asked if I would teach him Deitsch. Do you know why he doesn’t know the language already?”

      “He didn’t grow up Amish. He’s been working for the Masts since before I married Matthew and moved here. It wasn’t until last year that he moved onto the farm, though.”

      “Why? Did he live with his parents before?”

      Annie shook her head. “He’s from the Orphan’s Home. He doesn’t have any parents, except for the father who took him to the home when he was a little boy.”

      “He’s part of the community, though, isn’t he?” Judith pushed away the memory of Hannah’s face when she claimed that Guy would never be more than an outsider.

      “Verna hopes he will choose to be baptized and join the church. If they had been able to adopt him, it would have been much easier for him, and them, too. They have no children of their own, but they love Guy and treat him as a son.”

      “Does he want to join church?”

      “I don’t know. It isn’t something that happens often, you know, an outsider joining the church. That’s why it would have been easier if David and Verna had been able to adopt him when he first started spending his summers with them as a young boy.”

      “Why didn’t they adopt him then?”

      Annie stifled a yawn. “I think Verna said his father never signed the papers to release him. But if you teach him Deitsch, it will make it easier for him to fit in. When do you think you’ll start the lessons?”

      “I was thinking about some evening this week.”

      “That sounds fine. After supper, the twins go down for the night, and so do I. Once Eli is in bed, your time is your own.” Annie pushed back from the table. “I’m going to lie down. Are you sure about taking care of all three children this afternoon?”

      Judith tipped her chin toward the sleeping Eli in her lap. “Of course I am. I’ll wake you if I have any problems.”

      Annie made her way to her room as Judith carried Eli upstairs to his bedroom across the hall from her own. She laid him on the bed and removed his shoes before she covered him with a warm quilt. She looked out the window as Eli shifted in his sleep, settling into what she hoped would be a long nap. This window faced the road and the Mast farm on the other side.

      She wasn’t lonely, but Annie was busy with the babies, and Judith missed the hours she and Esther, her other sister, had spent talking when she was still at home. She needed a friend, and Guy promised to be a good one. At least, she thought he would be from the little time they had spent together.

      Guy was right. He needed to learn Deitsch and she could teach him. She had a picture book she had brought to read to Eli, and she could use that to teach him a few words. A warm feeling spread when she thought of the hours they would need to spend together as he learned her language. Their friendship would deepen, and perhaps turn to... Judith felt her cheeks heat in the chilly room.

      She frowned, keeping her thoughts stern. There would be no romance during her lessons with Guy. He wanted to learn, that was all. She shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Besides, he wasn’t Amish. It didn’t matter how attractive or friendly he was, she could never let him get any ideas about wooing her.

      Unless he was planning to join the church.

      Judith gave her upper arms a brisk rub to chase the chill away, then checked to make sure Eli was covered and warm in his bed. As soon as she found a moment, she would walk over to the Mast farm and see when Guy wanted to start his lessons.

      * * *

      Guy had just finished the afternoon milking and was carrying the warm pails to the dairy in the corner of the barn when Judith opened the door.

      “Verna told me you were here, but she thought you’d still be milking.”

      “I just finished, even though the ladies aren’t done eating yet.” Guy pointed an elbow toward the two cows still munching on their supper of timothy hay. “It’s a surprise to see you here.”

      “I came over to ask you something.”

      Judith followed him into the dairy and watched in silence as he set the milk on the bench, then shrugged off his barn coat and hung it from the hook on the wall. He watched Judith from under the shock of hair that always fell over his eyebrows as he started assembling the cream separator. He tried to catch her eye, but she seemed distracted. She stepped forward to help him sort the dozens of rings and filters, chewing on her bottom lip.

      “Well?” Guy set the filters in their place and attached the big onion-shaped hopper on the top of the cream separator.

      “Are you serious about learning Deitsch?” She handed him the clean steel buckets that would hold the separated milk and cream. Guy started the slow, heavy crank, getting the separator up to speed before he poured the milk into it.

      “Of course I am.” He lifted the first pail and poured steaming milk into the hopper. “At least, I am if you’re going to teach me.”

      Judith leaned on the table, watching until the twin streams of milk and cream came out of the spouts and into the waiting buckets.

      “I’ll be happy to do it, if you really want to learn. You’ll need to speak and read Deitsch well if you’re going to join the church.”

      Guy poured the second pail of milk into the top of the separator, then continued cranking at the slow, steady speed the machine required. The look in Hannah Kaufman’s eyes as she laughed at him last fall still stung. The only reasons to learn Penn Dutch were so he wouldn’t be laughed at and so he could fit in better with the crowd. He hadn’t thought about joining church. Becoming one of them.

      “I don’t need to join the church to fit in around here, do I? The other guys my age haven’t joined.”

      “Some of them have.”

      Glancing at her face, her pink cheeks told him that he had been too blunt. She was disappointed in him.

      “It just isn’t for me.” He tried to make his voice sound casual. The pink had spread to the end of her nose.

      “You don’t have to join church,” she said, clearing her throat. “But being able to understand what folks are saying will make

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