Her Amish Christmas Gift

“Help me what?”

“Become a teacher. My father is deacon. I could speak with him.”

“Nay!” she gasped. “You mustn’t.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t want or deserve the job if I can’t earn it on my own.”

He shook his head as he watched her, as if he’d learned something new about her that stunned him.

“Charlie!”

She glanced back to see Ellie waving at her. “Time to head home. I’ve got to go,” she told Nate. “I—ah—danki again for helping me today.”

“You’re willkomm.”

“I’ll see you next Sunday,” she said.

Nate nodded without saying a word, and Charlie turned and hurried toward their buggy, where her family had gathered to leave.

Her heart hammered within her chest. Nate Peachy was a complex man, and she didn’t understand him. With one breath, he’d told her she’d be a good teacher, but then in the next, he’d proven that he didn’t believe it unless he stepped in to help. She sighed with sadness. If Nate felt this way, then there was every chance that no one would consider her seriously for the soon-to-be vacated teaching position. Maybe I’m being foolish to try.

When she was younger, her tendency to be impulsive frequently got her into trouble, but she was older and wiser now and she’d learned from her mistakes. She’d meant what she’d told Nate. If she couldn’t get the job on her own, then she didn’t want—or deserve—it.

Chapter Two

As his family left for Indiana, Nate watched the hired car that carried them until the vehicle disappeared from sight. He turned toward the house and saw his brother on the front porch, gazing after the car as if he, too, was affected by their departure.

Nate strode toward the house and climbed the porch steps. “Ready to make hay?”

“How about some breakfast first?” Jacob suggested.

“Didn’t you eat earlier?”

“Nay, busy helping our sisters with their luggage.”

He smiled with amusement. “You, too? I helped Mam, Dat and Harley with theirs.”

The brothers headed inside for coffee and freshly baked muffins.

“I spoke with John King. His dat is lending us his hay mower for as long as we need it,” Jacob said as he finished up his coffee a while later.

“It will make the job easier.” He eyed his brother with approval. “Do we need to go get it?”

“Nay. John said he’d bring it by first thing. He should be here anytime now.”

Amos King, John’s father, was also his stepmother’s dat. He was a good man with a kind heart.

Nate washed the breakfast dishes while Jacob put the remaining muffins back in the pantry. The sound of horse hooves drew them outside to discover John King’s arrival with the mower.

After John left with his brother Joshua, Nate hitched his father’s two black Belgian horses to his dat’s equipment for his brother to use. He would mow the front field with Amos’s mower while Jacob started work at the back of the property.

It was a busy workday. By late afternoon they’d mowed just over a third of the hayfields. He and Jacob put away the mowers. They ate leftovers for dinner, before heading to the barn to make sure all of the animals were settled in for the night.

There was a definite new chill in the air when Nate arose the next morning. He dressed, made coffee and waited for his brother to rouse and join him. The kitchen filled with the rich scent of the perked brew as Jacob entered, looking sleepy-eyed with tousled hair.

“’Tis colder today. We’d best grab our woolen hats and jackets before we head out.”

Jacob nodded as he turned from the stove with a mug of coffee. “Think we’ll finish today?”

“We’ll be pushing it. Didn’t get much more than a third done yesterday.”

His brother agreed. “We can do it.”

Nate smiled. “We can try.” The mowed hay would be left to dry in the fields before they baled it.

“Let’s move,” Jacob said as he set his mug in the sink.

* * *

Charlie drove down the road toward Whittier’s Store. It was a chilly November morning, but she didn’t mind. She wore her black bonnet and woolen cape with a heavy blanket across her lap. Her mother’s list was on the seat beside her with the apple pie Mam had baked for Leah and Henry. She would stop first at Yoder’s Country Crafts and Supplies, her sister Leah’s shop, to deliver the pie before continuing on to grocery-shop.

The sunshine was bright across the surrounding farmland. A farmer cut hay in the fields ahead and she watched him as she steered her horse closer. The man maneuvered his horse-drawn mower down the length of the hayfield before turning to mow the uncut section.

Charlie smiled. She knew how to use a mower. With five daughters and no sons, her father had been glad of her help, once she’d convinced him that she could handle the job. Dat had objected the first time, until her repeated requests made him finally relent enough to show her how. She’d been pleased by his smile of approval after she’d mowed in neat, even rows across their field. After that he’d allowed her to relieve him while he’d completed other chores.

It had been a while since she’d mowed hay. Watching the farmer work made her smile and long for another chance on the back of a mower.

She returned her attention to the road. She had gone only a short distance when she heard someone bellow sharply in alarm. Startled, she drew up on the reins to stop her horse. Her heart went cold when she saw that the mower had tipped and the farmer lay on the ground. A second man raced toward the fallen farmer, and with a gasp, she recognized Nate Peachy. She pulled her vehicle off the road and secured her horse before she sprinted across the field to help.

She briefly locked gazes with Nate before she turned her attention to the man on the ground—his brother Jacob. “Jake, are you hurt?” she rasped, out of breath.

“Charlie.” Jacob met her gaze and smiled. “I’m fine.” But when he tried to stand, he cried out with pain and fell back.

Nate’s brow creased with worry. “Stay still. You are not fine.”

Charlie hunkered beside the injured man and experienced the impact of Nate’s startling blue gaze. She glanced away. “What hurts?” she and Nate asked simultaneously.

“My foot.”

“Can you walk?” Nate asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so.”

“My buggy is right there,” Charlie said, gesturing. “Maybe we can lift him into it...” She bit her lip as Nate rose. He stared down at her thoughtfully until she stood. “I can bring it closer.” She returned her attention to the man’s brother. “Jake?”

“I can make it with help.”

Her gaze met Nate’s. “Where do you want me to park it?”

“Leave it,” he said sharply. “Your vehicle is fine where it is.” He narrowed his eyes. “Go back there and wait. I’ll bring Jacob.”

Unwilling to argue, Charlie stood by her buggy and waited. Jacob gave her a weak smile as the brothers approached. The young man was obviously in pain, and she worried about him. Nate bore the brunt of Jacob’s weight as he half carried him with an arm securely around his brother’s waist.

She wondered how to help, but knew instinctively that Nate would mutter something cutting if she tried. Charlie watched silently as he lifted his brother into the back of the buggy.

“We should get him to the clinic.”

Nate flashed her an irritated look. “I’ll take him after I see to the horses and equipment. Drive around to the front of the haus,” he ordered. “I’ll meet you there.”

His tone irritated her. She had to bite her tongue to keep from arguing with him. “I can take care of the horses and equipment for you.”

“Nay,” he snapped. “Absolutely not.”

Charlie reeled back, offended. “I know how to handle farm equipment, Nathaniel Peachy. I’ve mowed hay for my vadder.”

“I don’t want you touching ours, Charlotte Stoltzfus. If you want to help, then get my bruder back to the house. I’ll meet you there.”

“Fine,” she agreed as she abruptly turned away. She didn’t bother to look to see what Nate was doing as she climbed into the buggy and checked on Jacob. “How’re you doing, Jake?”

“Foot hurts, but I’ll live.”

She frowned. “What happened?”

“I got distracted.” He seemed embarrassed.

She flicked the leathers and the horse moved. “What distracted you?”

“I don’t know. One minute I was mowing and the next I felt a sudden jerk on the reins. It threw me off balance.”

“Do you see any blood?”

She heard Jacob take in a breath. “Nay.”

She shot him a glance over her shoulder before she returned her attention to the road. “Do you feel like you’re bleeding?”

“My foot feels odd. I could be, I guess, but I can’t tell for sure. I don’t think so.”

Charlie sighed with relief. “Gut. That’s gut.” She could only hope that he wasn’t. She knew what could happen if farm equipment tipped over. Injuries could be as mild as simple bumps and bruises to severe loss of limb or life.

It took ten minutes or more for her to drive to the Abram Peachy house. She pulled her vehicle onto the dirt drive and parked close to the barn just as Nate exited the building. At his approach, Charlie experienced a constriction in her chest.

“Hold on a minute, and I’ll move him into our buggy,” he told her as he drew near.

“Use mine. There’s no need to move him.” She hesitated. “You might aggravate his injury.”

He sighed. “You’re probably right.”

It was clear that the last thing Nate wanted was for her to accompany them. “I’ll wait for you here,” she said quietly.

Something dark briefly crossed across his features. “The house is unlocked. You can warm up inside. Make yourself tea or something.” He paused. “You know where everything is kept.” And that bothered him, she realized.

Nate stepped back and waited for her to climb down. She watched as he got onto the seat she’d vacated before switching her attention to Jacob in the back. “You still oll recht in there, Jake?”

Jacob’s face was whiter than it had been earlier, but he nodded.

“Don’t worry. The doctor will fix you right up.” She gave him a reassuring smile. “I’ll see you when you get back.”

“I don’t know how long this will take,” Nate said. “We could be gone awhile. Are you sure you don’t want me to move him so you can have your buggy and leave?”

“Nay. There is no place I have to be.” She stepped back and waited for them to leave.

Nate suddenly glanced down. “You’ve an apple pie in here.” He speared her with his gaze as he lifted it for her to see.

She shrugged then approached to get it. “I was going to take it to Leah, but she doesn’t know. I’ll bring it in and you both can have a piece when you get back.”

Nate handed her the pie through the open window along with her shopping list. “Pie smells gut.” He gave her a twisted smile. “Did you make it?”

She stiffened. “Nay, Mam did.” She knew instantly what he thought—that the pie wouldn’t be edible if she’d made it. His look of disappointment surprised. “You should get going. Jacob doesn’t look well at all.”

Charlie watched until the vehicle was out of sight before she returned to the house with the apple pie. She debated whether or not to make tea, as Nate had suggested. But then she thought of the fields yet to be mowed and the forecast for rain for the next few days and she headed toward the barn instead. Without thought, she readied the smaller of the two mowers. It wouldn’t take her long to finish the work that Jacob had started.

As she climbed onto the seat and urged the horses forward, she thought of Nate. He’d be upset with her for doing what he’d considered a man’s job. She drew in and released a sharp breath. The benefit of a job well-done was worth risking Nate’s anger. Once he realized how efficient she was in cutting hay, he’d be glad to see that she’d mowed a substantial amount of ground.

The task went smoothly. Charlie enjoyed herself as she worked to finish the back section of Abram Peachy’s farm. Time flew by and she realized that she’d been out longer than she’d expected. She stabled the horses and left the mower right where she’d found it.

There was no sign of her buggy in the yard as she headed back to the house. Her relief was short-lived as she became concerned about Jacob. The brothers had been gone a long while. Was Jacob that badly hurt?

Charlie put on the teakettle then set the table with the pie in the center. She made a fresh pot of coffee with the hope that the brothers would return soon enough to enjoy a hot cup. When she was done, she stepped outside. As the buggy pulled into the yard and parked near the house, she descended the porch steps.

“How is he?” she asked as Nate climbed out of the vehicle.

“He broke his foot,” Nate told her. “There’s a nice-size slice in it, too, which the doc stitched up.” He reached in to lift Jacob into his arms. “He’s been advised to stay off the foot for a while.” His brother looked groggy as Nate carried him toward the house.

Charlie raced ahead to open the door. She made a sound of concern at Jacob’s pallor.

“The doctor gave him a shot of pain medication,” Nate explained as he carried Jacob inside.

“Do you need help?”

“I can manage.” He shifted Jacob within his arms and brought him into the kitchen.

When she saw Nate looking for a place to set Jacob down, she rushed to pull out a chair. “Unless you want to take him into the great room.”

“I’d like to sit here a bit,” Jacob murmured sleepily. “Do I smell coffee? And what about that pie you promised us?”

She fretted as she studied him. “Jake, you don’t look good. Wouldn’t you rather lie down?”

“Nay. I will soon, though.” Jacob frowned up at his older brother, who stepped back after setting him down. “I’ll be of no help to you for a while, I’m afraid.”

“I’ll manage,” Nate assured him.

Charlie felt her throat tighten as she went to the stove. “Nate, do you want coffee, too?” she asked easily, pretending that she wasn’t upset by the morning’s events.

“Ja, please.” Nate took the chair next to his brother, as if he wanted to keep a close eye on him.

She could feel Nate’s gaze as she poured two cups of hot coffee then set one before each man. “Apple pie, or do you want a sandwich first?”

Nate’s study of her made her self-conscious. “Pie will do.”

Her lips curved slightly as she nodded. Charlie cut two large slices of apple pie.

“Aren’t you having any? Or do you have to leave?” Nate asked as she pushed a plate in his direction.

“I should go,” she said, stung by the question. “But I won’t until after I have some pie.” He looked amused when she gave him a false smile.

It was quiet as they ate. Glad when Nate didn’t make a smart remark, Charlie glanced from her plate to Jacob, who slumped in his chair. She was about to express her worry to Nate then caught him studying his brother with a frown.

“Time to rest, bruder,” Nate said gently. “Let’s get you into the other room where you’ll be more comfortable.”

While they were absent, Charlie quickly cleaned up the kitchen. She covered the remainder of the pie with plastic wrap and left it on the counter for them to finish later. She washed the dishes but left the coffeepot on the stove in case Nate wanted another cup.

She felt his presence as Nate reentered the room and sensed him watching while she put away the last dish.

“He settled in?” she asked, turning to face him.

“Ja, he’s already asleep.”

“I’m going to head out. I need to pick up a few things at the store for my mudder.”

He eyed her with consternation. “We’ve kept you a long time.”

“’Tis fine. Mam doesn’t expect me home yet. She’ll think that I decided to spend the day with Leah.”

“You had an unusual day today,” he said.

She chuckled. “That’s for sure.”

He sobered. “It wasn’t fair to ask you to stay.”

“I didn’t mind.”

He seemed relieved. He followed her as she headed toward the door. “Charlie? May I ask you one more favor?”

She halted and faced him. “Ja, of course.” He seemed to have difficulty choosing his words.

“What do you need, Nate?” By the look on his face, she figured out what he wanted to ask. “Shall I come to stay with Jacob tomorrow while you cut hay?”

Nate released a sharp breath. “You wouldn’t mind?”

She paused near the threshold. “Not at all.”

Warmth entered his blue eyes. “Are you sure?”

Feigning annoyance, she tapped her foot and crossed her arms. “I’m absolutely sure, Nate.”

“Danki.” His expression became serious. “But I need you to promise that you won’t tell anyone what happened,” he said. “You know that our neighbors like to natter.” His lips firmed. “Especially Alta Hershberger. If she or anyone finds out, word could get back to my eldre, and Dat will insist on cutting short their trip.” He paused. “He’s been waiting a long time to visit my grandparents. I don’t want to ruin his plans.”

“I understand,” she murmured. “If anyone asks why I’m here, I’ll tell them I’m cleaning house for you while you work in the fields.”

“Doesn’t your sister Ellie clean houses?”

“Ja, but I’ve spent enough time in your house helping your mam that it makes sense that I be the one to do it.”

His expression was unreadable. “Appreciate it.”

“I’d do the same for any neighbor,” she assured him.

He accompanied her outside. “Drive safely, Charlie,” he said sternly.

Annoyed, she nodded before she climbed into her buggy and drove away. She didn’t mind coming back the next day. Nate would be busy and she wouldn’t have to see or talk with him for long. She would be there for Jacob, the easygoing, much younger and friendlier Peachy brother.

Still, as she drove toward Whittier’s Store to buy the items on her mother’s list, she couldn’t help but think about Nate and wonder why she felt so drawn to the man. At times he treated her like a child, and she hated it. But then there were those other occasions when he studied her differently, as if he saw her as a woman, an attractive woman he found fascinating.

Charlie sighed as she stored the bought groceries onto the seat next to her. She was imagining things. Nate didn’t find her attractive or pretty or anything good.

She would get through tomorrow then concentrate on getting hired on as the new teacher for their Happiness School. Better to focus on that than on her disturbing fascination with Nathaniel Peachy.

Chapter Three

Charlie stared at the cups and dishes that she’d left on the table after fixing Jacob and Nate breakfast then worked to clean up. Nate had left for the fields. She had given Jacob his pain medicine and he was in the great room, resting on the sofa.

Dishes cleaned and put away, she turned her attention to the time. Would Nate come in for lunch? He didn’t say.

Nate had seemed relieved to see her that morning, but he’d said little except in appreciation of the food she’d prepared for him and Jacob.

With breakfast done, she found herself at loose ends. Now what? What should she do now?

Charlie grinned. She’d clean the house from top to bottom. The brothers’ mam would be surprised to see a clean house when only her sons were in residence.

She’d hung up the wet tea towel she’d used to dry dishes when suddenly the back door slammed open. She gasped and spun to see a furious man. “Nate? What’s wrong?”

“Charlie Stoltzfus,” he snapped, “did you take out the mower yesterday while Jacob and I were at the doctor?”

Charlie flushed guiltily and glanced away. “I wanted to help.”

“And I told you to stay away from the equipment!” he burst out.

“I know how to mow hay!”

He approached, grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, but despite his intimidating height and expression, he didn’t hurt her and she wasn’t afraid. “You saw what happened to Jacob yesterday,” he said. His eyes were like blue ice. “What if you’d been hurt while we were gone? Who would have been here to help you?” He released her and stepped back. He turned away. Tension tightened the muscles of his back, and he clenched his fists at his sides. He spun to face her. “People die in farm accidents, Charlie!”

Guilt made her flush. She felt a painful lump in her throat. “You’re right,” she said. “I’m sorry.”

Nate held her gaze. He looked big and handsome—and extremely upset.

“I’m sorry I used the mower without your permission.” She drew a sharp breath then released it. “I wanted to help. ’Tis supposed to rain soon and I knew you’d be missing a day’s work with Jacob’s accident yesterday. I thought if I finished what he’d started there would be less for you to worry about.” She fought back tears. Charlie shifted uncomfortably when he just stared at her. “Say something,” she said.

“You want to be schuulteacher,” he said harshly. “You have to think before you act, Charlie. Your behavior frequently gets you into trouble. How can you teach our community children if you jump into situations without giving a thought to the consequences?”

She felt the blood leave her face. “You don’t think I’d be a gut teacher.”

He sighed and approached her. “You need to be more careful. To grow up.” He placed his hands gently on her arms then soothed them down their length to take her hands. “I think you could be a fine teacher. You have a way with children. They listen to you and will gladly follow your lead.” He released her abruptly, his expression hardening. “But you won’t be teacher unless you can lead them by gut example. You have to stop jumping rashly into situations that can potentially be dangerous.”

“I know how to mow,” she insisted, stung. “And you refer to things I did as a child.”

He shifted away and crossed the room. “Maybe you do know how to mow. It doesn’t matter,” he said sharply. “I told you to stay away from the mowers and you didn’t. Gut intentions don’t make it right.” He leaned against the wall near the door. “And you acted like a child. A spoiled, disobedient child.”

“You’re not my vadder!” she yelled.

“Thank the Lord for that.”

Blinking sleepily, Jacob appeared in the doorway, clutching the door frame as he wobbled on one foot. “What’s going on?”

Nate studied his brother. “What are you doing up? If you fall, you’ll do further damage to yourself.”

“I thought I heard arguing.” The younger man glanced from her to his brother and back.

Charlie blushed. “We were just...”

“Having a serious discussion,” Nate said. His lips firmed. “She mowed hay yesterday while we were gone.”

Jacob glanced at her with surprise. “You did?”

Charlie hesitated then inclined her head. “I know how to mow. I’ve done it for my dat.”

Nate’s brother grinned. “How much did you get done?”

“I finished the back acreage where you left off and a little more.”

“Don’t,” Nate warned Jacob. “Don’t encourage her. You know what can happen when an accident occurs with the mower. She could have been hurt or worse.”

His expression sobering, Jacob gazed at her. “He’s right.”

She lifted her chin defiantly. “Maybe.”

Nate stared at his brother. “Jake, you need to lie down before you fall.”

To Charlie’s surprise, Jacob agreed. She moved to help him into the other room, but Nate reached him first. As if he didn’t trust her to help Jacob. Hurt, she stayed in the kitchen while the brothers disappeared into the other room. While she waited for Nate to return, she felt the strongest urge to flee. But she didn’t. She might have made a huge mistake with the mower, but she was just trying to help. Charlie still thought he’d overacted, and she wouldn’t run as if she’d done something wrong.

But she didn’t want him to think her unreliable and immature. She wanted the teaching job and needed to show him that she was a dependable, no-nonsense young woman who would make the best teacher ever hired for their Happiness School. A wrong word from Nate or anyone else within the community would end her chances to teach. As much as it upset her to change, she understood she needed to be on her best behavior. Even if it killed her to change into someone other than herself.

* * *

After making sure Jacob was comfortable on the sofa, Nate returned to the kitchen. He paused in the doorway, his gaze immediately homing in on Charlie. She stared out the window over the sink. There was a defeated slump to her shoulders, and he could feel her dejection like pain in his belly. But as much as it hurt him to see her this way, he knew he was right to be hard on her.

He stepped into the room. “Charlie.”

She spun as if taken by surprise. A look of vulnerability settled on her pretty features. He scowled. He didn’t want to notice how lovely she was or to recall her misguided intentions to help. If she didn’t rein in her tendency to jump into potentially dangerous situations, she could get seriously injured. Or die.

Her breath shuddered out. “Jacob oll recht?”

“Ja. He’s asleep.”

Her mouth softened into a slight smile. “The pain medication.”

He nodded, unable to take his gaze off her. He’d been more than a little alarmed when he’d realized that she’d used the mower. If something had happened to her...

A memory came to him sharp and painful of another young girl who’d been reckless and wild like Charlie. He’d loved Emma with all of the love in a young boy’s heart, but it hadn’t been enough. Despite his repeated warnings, Emma had continued to take risks in her quest for excitement. She’d claimed that she loved him, but in the end, he wasn’t enough to keep her happy. He’d warned her to avoid the young Englishers in town, but she hadn’t listened.

Instead, she’d called him a spoilsport for ruining her fun. Then one night she’d slipped out of the house during her rumspringa to spend time with her new English friends. The teenage driver had crashed his car, the accident seriously wounding his passengers, three English girls, and killing Emma immediately.

Nate hadn’t known of Emma’s plans that night. Later in his grief, he’d realized that Emma would have hated being married to an Amish farmer. Never content to be a wife and a mother, she would have always craved—and gone looking for—excitement.

Charlie shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and he looked away. Charlie needed a husband, he thought. A man to ground her. Someone closer to her age with enough sense to help her reach her potential as a responsible wife and mother.

“Charlie—”

“I only wanted to help, Nathaniel,” she said.

He stifled a smile at the use of his formal given name. She tended to use it whenever she was upset with him. “I know.”

“But I didn’t, did I? I made you worry and I didn’t mean to.”

He sighed. “Next time you need to listen when I tell you something.”

“I guess that will depend on what you say,” she said cheekily.

“Charlie,” he warned.

“I’m not a child, and I can only be me.”

“I need to get back to work,” he said abruptly. He had to maintain his distance. He mustn’t think of her as anything other than a child.

“Will you be back for lunch?”

He hesitated. “I’m not sure. If I am, most likely I’ll be late. If the two of you get hungry, eat.” He grabbed his hat from the table where he’d tossed it earlier. “I need to stay out and cut as much hay as possible before it rains.”

An odd sound made him spin around. Charlie looked as if she was going to say something but she didn’t.

Nate studied her face and had to stifle amusement at the aggrieved look in her green eyes. “Stay in the haus, Charlie. Jacob needs you.”

She sniffed as if he’d found fault with her. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

He didn’t release her gaze. “Gut.” Jamming his hat on his head, he opened the back door and took one last look to find her reaching for the broom. “Charlie.”

She spun as if startled. “Ja?”

“Behave.”

She glared at him. “Go mow your hay, vadder,” she mocked.

Nate chuckled under his breath as he left, pulling the door shut behind him. He was overly conscious that Charlie was in his home, doing her best to help out in a bad situation. He didn’t know what he would have done if she hadn’t been there yesterday.

He gauged the sky, noting the gathering dark clouds in the far distance. The last thing he needed was for it to rain before he was done.

He couldn’t dawdle. Time was passing too quickly, and he’d already spent too much of it at the house when he should have been in the fields. But after realizing what Charlie had done, he hadn’t been able to stay away.

Nate scowled. Lately, Charlie was taking up way too many of his thoughts. She wanted to be a teacher. Maybe that was just what she needed—a job to keep her busy and that would make her take responsibility more seriously. His mam frequently sang Charlie’s praises for the way she handled his younger siblings. Mam obviously felt Charlie responsible enough to watch her children while she did other things.

He had a ton of work to do, Nate reminded himself. He forced Charlie from his mind to focus on the task at hand.

Four hours later he was pleased to realize that he’d cut more acreage than expected. He hated to admit it, but Charlie’s work in the back fields the previous morning had helped him. As he stabled his Belgian team, he felt the first of the rain. He closed the barn door then headed to the house, his thoughts immediately returning to Charlie and the lunch she’d promised him.

Nate was overwhelmed with a sudden chill as the rain began to fall in earnest, soaking him. As he reached the house, the door opened and Charlie stood, studying him with a worried look. “’Tis raining,” she said, eyeing him carefully, noting his soaked clothes.

Nate nodded. “I know.” Water dripped from his straw hat onto the porch decking. He tugged off his hat, and his hair underneath was sopping. The hat had done nothing to keep out the rain. She held out her hand for the hat then stepped back so he could enter the house. He followed her with his gaze. “You were worried.”