LITMIR.BIZ

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said, “I don’t have a boyfriend, but I would certainly wave if one of my scholars were to pass by my home.”

      He wiped the grin off his face. “All right, one of your students has distracted you and now your hem is on fire.”

      She raised her arms in mock horror and shouted, “This is terrible! Help!”

      “What should she do?” Timothy cupped one hand to his ear and leaned toward the children.

      “Stop, drop and roll,” the group yelled.

      Lillian covered her face with both hands, dropped to the ground and rolled back and forth. She lifted her hand from her face and squinted at Timothy. “Did I do that right?”

      He looked at the children. “Scholars, did Teacher Lillian do it correctly?”

      “Ja!” they shouted in unison.

      He held out his hand to help her up, his eyes sparkling. “Exactly right, Teacher.”

      She took his offered hand. His firm grip sent an unexpected rush of pleasure spiraling through her. As soon as she was on her feet, she pulled her hand from his and brushed at her dusty dress. “Next time you can do the stop, drop and roll while I ask the questions.”

      He grinned. “But you did it so well. You were far more graceful than I could ever be.”

      Turning to the children, she said, “Let’s all thank Timothy for taking the time to teach us about fire safety.”

      “Thank you, Timothy,” they said in unison.

      Hannah added, “Danki, Onkel Timothy.” Hannah was the stepdaughter of Timothy’s brother, Joshua. Lillian tried hard not to have favorites, but she couldn’t help it where Hannah was concerned.

      “We only speak English at school, Hannah,” Lillian reminded her.

      Hannah ducked her head. “Sorry, Teacher. I forgot. Thank you, Uncle Timothy.”

      Lillian softened her tone. “It’s all right. Sometimes I forget, too. Now, let’s review some of the points Timothy made. Susan, can you tell us how often to change the batteries in our smoke detectors?”

      “Twice a year, and the detectors should be replaced if they are more than seven years old,” the eighth-grade girl said quickly, proving she had been listening. Susan Yoder was one of Lillian’s best students. The girl hoped to become a teacher someday.

      Lillian gestured to Timothy’s niece in the front row. “Hannah, what are some ways to prevent fires?”

      Hannah wasn’t a bit shy. She shot to her feet. “Don’t ever play with matches. I don’t, but Carl does.”

      Seated beside Hannah, the young boy leaned away from her and scowled. “Not anymore.”

      “I’m glad to hear that,” Timothy said, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips.

      Lillian raised her hand. “How many of you have practiced a fire escape plan with your family at home?” Nearly all the students raised their hands. Abe didn’t and neither did his little brother Carl.

      “All right, I want you to go inside, take out a piece of paper and draw a diagram of your home. I want you to show at least two ways to escape from the house in the event of a fire and mark where your meeting place is outside. Siblings may work together on the project.”

      The children rose and filed toward the school. Lillian stopped Susan. The girl served as Lillian’s much-needed teacher’s aide. “Will you help Hannah with this project? She doesn’t have older siblings.”

      “Sure.” Susan smiled and followed the others.

      Abe shoved past Hannah, almost knocking her down when they reached the steps at the same time.

      “Sorry,” he said quickly, but he didn’t sound remorseful in the least. He caught Gabriel’s eye and whispered something to him. They both laughed as they went in.

      Timothy moved to stand beside Lillian. “I noticed the son of our school board president is a bit of a troublemaker.”

      “Abe is, but I don’t treat him differently because of his father.”

      Silas Mast, the school board president, had brushed aside her concerns about Abe’s behavior when she tried to speak to him about it. His lack of support was making it more difficult to handle the boy.

      Lillian watched until the last student entered the building; then she whirled to face Timothy with her hands on her hips. “What possessed you to suggest in front of my students that I have a boyfriend?”

      He looked taken aback. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I was making a point that you were distracted.”

      “You should have chosen better.”

      “Are you upset with me?”

      She crossed her arms over her chest. “Ja, Timothy Bowman, I’m upset with you.”

      He relaxed. “Nee, you aren’t. I can tell by the look in your eyes.”

      “How do my eyes look when I’m upset?” she demanded.

      “Frosty.”

      Did he really know her so well? “And how do they look now?”

      “Like you’re trying to be serious, but you’re smiling inside.”

      He was right, but she wasn’t about to admit it.

      He leaned one hip against the table. “How did I do for my first time giving a program?”

      “Very well. You clearly have a knack for teaching.”

      “Danki. I tried to think about what I would say to my own children.”

      “Do you have a mother in mind for them?” she asked with false sweetness, knowing he was a single fellow. She had heard a bit of gossip about him and wondered if it was true. Courting relationships were often closely guarded secrets in the Amish community.

      He shook a finger at her. “Lillian Keim, you’re prying.”

      She spread her hands wide. “You brought up the subject of children.”

      “I want a wife and children someday. I pray I will have sons to work beside me in our business as I have worked beside my father. I hope I may teach all my children to be good and faithful members of our church.” His voice had grown soft. Lillian realized he was sharing something important with her.

      “I hope God answers your prayers.” A family of her own was something she would never have.

      He tipped his head to the side as he regarded her. “What about you? How many children do you want?”

      She gave a laugh but knew it sounded forced. “I have forty-one children to care for. That’s more than enough. There will be forty-four next month because we have a new family transferring to our school. I hope the school board approves the hiring of a second teacher when they meet next Friday. I’m not sure I can manage that many.”

      “Still, you must want children of your own someday.”

      That wasn’t possible. Only her parents knew about the surgery that had saved her life but left her barren. She’d never told anyone else. She didn’t want pity. God had chosen this path for her. It wasn’t an easy one, but she would do her best to live as He willed.

      She drew a steadying breath and raised her chin. “Every morning I wake up and think about these children waiting for me and I can’t wait to get here. I thank God every day and night for leading me to this work. I love it. Are you shocked that I want a career instead of a family?”

      “Nee, I’m not. Luke mentioned as much to me.”

      “You and your brother were talking about me?”

      “It was last Christmas. Luke thought the reason I was helping with the school

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