“Just say it. What’s the problem?”
“She’s too young for you, that’s what!” Susannah brushed the mare so vigorously that it turned its large muzzle toward her. “Sorry, Smokey.”
“Smokey?”
“That’s her name. If you’d bothered to find out, you would know that.”
“You seem awfully cranky all of a sudden.”
“I’m not cranky!” She jumped off the crate, cleaned the horse brush with a metal tool and slammed it onto the tool shelf. Next she picked up the currying comb, which looked somewhat dangerous the way she was brandishing it in his direction. “Pick a girl your age, Micah.”
“Wow. Okay. Well, I hadn’t thought of it that way, but I guess I see your point. How about Betty Gleich?”
Susannah closed her eyes as if praying for patience and shook her head so hard he feared her kapp would pop off.
“What’s wrong with Betty? I know for a fact she’s over twenty-one.”
“She’s twenty-two, and she just went through a rather rough breakup.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Did you not say only twenty minutes ago that you only had—and I quote—one hundred and seventy days left in this awful place?”
“Sounds like something I might have said.”
“Obviously you hate it here.”
“You don’t understand. If you’d been to Maine, then you’d appreciate how much more beautiful it is than your much-loved Indiana. If you could experience the hunting, the fishing, the wildness of the place. It’s just—”
“You’d be in your precious Maine right this minute if you hadn’t been banished.”
“Ouch.”
“Again—your word, not mine.”
“Fine.” He named off four other perfectly eligible girls, all of whom Susannah disapproved of him dating for the most ridiculous reasons and sometimes for no reason she’d share at all.
His mounting frustration was threatening to get the better of him. He tried to mentally order himself to calm down, but the way Susannah was frowning at him was not helping matters. “What is your problem?”
“My problem?”
“You know, I don’t need your permission to date someone, but now I’m curious. What’s your beef?”
“Beef?”
“Apparently I’m not gut enough for any of the gals in your district.”
“It’s not a question of whether you’re gut enough for them.”
“Then what?”
“You’re leaving, that’s what. You’re leaving, and they’ll get attached to you, and then it will hurt them when you go.”
“I’m not proposing to them, Susannah. I’m asking them out on a buggy ride.”
“One thing leads to the other.”
Micah threw up his hands and walked out of the farrier shop. The sky was dark and brooding, a perfect reflection of his mood. Well, Susannah Beiler was not the boss of him. He could ask out whomever he liked.
He stomped back in to tell her that and caught her with her cheek pressed against the mare, a look of utter desolation in her eyes. Now he felt like a heel, and he didn’t even know what he’d done.
“Hey...it’s not that bad.”
She stood up straighter, gave the mare one last pat and returned the crate to its place along the wall.
“You can’t expect a guy to hang around for six months and not go on a single date. Surely you can see that.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because it’s not natural.”
“There’s nothing wrong with being alone, Micah.”
“Maybe not for you, but I haven’t decided I want to be single the rest of my life—apparently you have.”
“This discussion isn’t about me.”
Now her chin rose as if she needed to defend herself—oh, the many faces of Susannah Beiler. If she ever came down from her high horse, she might be an interesting person to get to know.
“Look, I’m sorry.” He yanked off his hat and stared at it—a straw Amish hat. Why couldn’t he wear his ball cap? Glancing up, he realized Susannah was waiting. He forced himself to refocus on the problem at hand. “I didn’t mean to offend you, but you’re so...”
“What?”
“Serious. You’re so serious, and life is just waiting for us to enjoy it.” In three long strides, he was at her side. Grasping her by the shoulders, he marched her toward the open barn door. “See that? The clouds and the rain and the turbulence?”
“I see it.”
“But behind all of that are more things that we can’t begin to imagine—sunshine and new experiences and memories waiting to be made. Life is out there, Susannah. We’re supposed to be living it.”
“And you can’t do that without dragging some poor girl along with you?”
“Why should I?”
Susannah rubbed at her forehead as if she’d quite suddenly been slapped with the worst headache imaginable. Finally, she pulled in a deep breath and turned to stare up into his face.
“Then take me.”
“Huh?”
“If you must take someone on these jaunts around our little town, take me.”
“But...you don’t even like me.”
“That’s beside the point.”
“No, I think that is the point.”
“You’re not looking for love, Micah. We both know that. You’re looking for a buddy to pal around with, and there are plenty of men your age in our district.”
“All paired up. I’ve already tried that route.”
“Then take me, like I said.”
“You’re going to pal around with me? Miss Susannah Beiler, who does everything by the book? That should be a load of fun.”
“I do not do everything by the book.”
“You cleaned the horse brush before putting it on the shelf. Who does that?”
“You’re changing the subject. Is it a deal or not?”
“A deal?”
“I go with you to enjoy life, and you leave the girls in my district alone.”
“Wow. There’s a proposal that is hard to turn down.”
“So it’s a deal.”
She held out her hand, which reminded him of meeting her out on the lane, offering his hand and her refusing it. He couldn’t help laughing as he clasped her small hand in his large one.
“Fine. It’s a deal, but you’re going to regret it.”
“I have no doubt that is true.” And then she turned and strode toward the house.
“I thought you needed to be here when Mr. Hochstettler came by,” he called out to her.
Rather than bothering to answer, she simply gave him a backward wave.
So, he was going to date the bishop’s