why he seemed familiar, her features grew cooler.
She kissed her aunt’s cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, okay?”
“Maybe.” Lizzy winked at her.
Beth’s lips pursed. “Don’t send Daed or my sisters to come get me after supper. I’m not going to the bonfire. Is that clear?”
Lizzy shrugged. “This kind of gathering where I invite Amish from all over happens only once a year, Beth.”
“Good night, Lizzy.”
He watched her as she headed for the road. “We would have eventually met on our own, you know.”
“How?”
“I didn’t know her name, but I ran into her at Pete’s. He now orders things from her for his store. We would have met properly soon enough. By then she’d be past such grief, and we wouldn’t have all the difficulties you’ve put in our path.”
“You don’t understand.
I
don’t understand. Something changed her, and …” Lizzy shook her head. “I shouldn’t have said that much.But it wouldn’t have worked—not since Henry. She’s become a brick wall. She’s unyielding when it comes to those who might be interested in her. Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Interested.”
“I wouldn’t know. Would you expect me to be?”
“You seem a bit intrigued.”
“She’s beautiful. But a lot of women are.” Even as he answered Lizzy, he knew he felt a definite awareness of Beth—had since the day he saw her at Pete’s. And now to realize she was the one his work called to, the one writing him letters. His sense of awe grew.
Confused, he watched as Beth continued to make her way toward the road. She walked backward as a group of girls spoke with her. Each time she broke free of one conversation, someone else called and ran closer to talk to her. He couldn’t help but chuckle. Just as she made it to the road, the man she’d spoken to at the grill, the one she referred to as her Daed, called to her.
Beth turned. As they talked, her eyes moved to Jonah and settled there. After several long moments she looked at the man in front of her, responded to something he’d said, hugged him, and then crossed the road. But she didn’t go inside the store. She walked down a path, opening the letter as she went.
The beauty of the image—huge beech trees holding a golden canopy above her while she read his letter—only added to his confusion. His last letter wasn’t warm or filled with stories, and he regretted that. He’d been trying to be fair to Beth while getting free ofthe mess Lizzy had pulled him into, but now he wished he’d been less distant.
Lizzy cleared her throat. “I’m so sorry for what I’ve done, Jonah. I only thought of Beth, and even then I aimed for the insights you had to offer that might help her. I didn’t really think about all the possible emotional ties.”
“I know, Lizzy. Stop apologizing.”
“She didn’t catch your name, did she?”
“Appears not.”
“When I met you, I was willing to do anything to help her. And now I fear I’ve done the opposite.”
“And for good reason.”
L izzy opened her stove and pulled out a pan of rolls. In spite of her many guests, she’d never felt so alone. She’d held on to her optimism that when Beth learned the truth, it might work out smoothly somehow, but now that she’d witnessed her niece’s reaction to Jonah, she knew it had been a false hope. Beth had shown no measure of openness toward him, and Jonah might find it easier to break through a solid oak door with his bare hands than to remain—or was it to become?—friends.
Lizzy could blame no one but herself, but she wanted a bit of comfort, which meant finding Omar. It was ridiculous to feel this way. She’d been a single adult, running her own life, for nearly twenty years. Whether her decisions were wise or stupid, she’d borne the weight of them without the arms of a man to shore her up. So why was this ache to be with him so strong that she couldn’t ignore it?
Tears threatened, and she grabbed her thickest sweater and
She kissed her aunt’s cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon, okay?”
“Maybe.” Lizzy winked at her.
Beth’s lips pursed. “Don’t send Daed or my sisters to come get me after supper. I’m not going to the bonfire. Is that clear?”
Lizzy shrugged. “This kind of gathering where I invite Amish from all over happens only once a year, Beth.”
“Good night, Lizzy.”
He watched her as she headed for the road. “We would have eventually met on our own, you know.”
“How?”
“I didn’t know her name, but I ran into her at Pete’s. He now orders things from her for his store. We would have met properly soon enough. By then she’d be past such grief, and we wouldn’t have all the difficulties you’ve put in our path.”
“You don’t understand.
I
don’t understand. Something changed her, and …” Lizzy shook her head. “I shouldn’t have said that much.But it wouldn’t have worked—not since Henry. She’s become a brick wall. She’s unyielding when it comes to those who might be interested in her. Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Interested.”
“I wouldn’t know. Would you expect me to be?”
“You seem a bit intrigued.”
“She’s beautiful. But a lot of women are.” Even as he answered Lizzy, he knew he felt a definite awareness of Beth—had since the day he saw her at Pete’s. And now to realize she was the one his work called to, the one writing him letters. His sense of awe grew.
Confused, he watched as Beth continued to make her way toward the road. She walked backward as a group of girls spoke with her. Each time she broke free of one conversation, someone else called and ran closer to talk to her. He couldn’t help but chuckle. Just as she made it to the road, the man she’d spoken to at the grill, the one she referred to as her Daed, called to her.
Beth turned. As they talked, her eyes moved to Jonah and settled there. After several long moments she looked at the man in front of her, responded to something he’d said, hugged him, and then crossed the road. But she didn’t go inside the store. She walked down a path, opening the letter as she went.
The beauty of the image—huge beech trees holding a golden canopy above her while she read his letter—only added to his confusion. His last letter wasn’t warm or filled with stories, and he regretted that. He’d been trying to be fair to Beth while getting free ofthe mess Lizzy had pulled him into, but now he wished he’d been less distant.
Lizzy cleared her throat. “I’m so sorry for what I’ve done, Jonah. I only thought of Beth, and even then I aimed for the insights you had to offer that might help her. I didn’t really think about all the possible emotional ties.”
“I know, Lizzy. Stop apologizing.”
“She didn’t catch your name, did she?”
“Appears not.”
“When I met you, I was willing to do anything to help her. And now I fear I’ve done the opposite.”
“And for good reason.”
L izzy opened her stove and pulled out a pan of rolls. In spite of her many guests, she’d never felt so alone. She’d held on to her optimism that when Beth learned the truth, it might work out smoothly somehow, but now that she’d witnessed her niece’s reaction to Jonah, she knew it had been a false hope. Beth had shown no measure of openness toward him, and Jonah might find it easier to break through a solid oak door with his bare hands than to remain—or was it to become?—friends.
Lizzy could blame no one but herself, but she wanted a bit of comfort, which meant finding Omar. It was ridiculous to feel this way. She’d been a single adult, running her own life, for nearly twenty years. Whether her decisions were wise or stupid, she’d borne the weight of them without the arms of a man to shore her up. So why was this ache to be with him so strong that she couldn’t ignore it?
Tears threatened, and she grabbed her thickest sweater and
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