When he walked into the kitchen, he noticed that her hair was properly braided, and she’d apparently borrowed one of his mother’s kapps. Unfortunately, she wore the same dress as the day before. She gave him a pointed look, as if daring him to say something about it, but what could he say? It really wasn’t his business. He’d done his duty by warning her. The rest was out of his hands.
Everyone sat at the table, waiting on him, so he washed his hands quickly and joined them. After a silent prayer, he began to fill his plate. He heaped on portions of scrambled eggs, sizzling sausage, homemade biscuits and breakfast potatoes, which were chopped and fried with onions and bell pepper.
“Someone’s hungry this morning,” Ida said.
“Ya. Mucking out stalls can do that to a man.” He noticed that Rachel was eating, and she looked rested. “How are you feeling this morning, Rachel?”
“Better. Thank you, Caleb.” Her tone was rather formal, and the look she gave him could freeze birds to a tree branch.
He nodded and focused on his plate of food. When he was nearly finished, he began to discuss the day’s work with his father. They had a small enough farm—only seventy acres—but there was always work to do.
“Guess I’ll finish mending that fence this morning.”
“Ya, gut idea.”
His mother jumped up and fetched the coffeepot from the stove burner. She refilled everyone’s mugs, starting with Rachel’s. Usually his mother threw in her opinion on their work, but she’d been deep in conversation with Rachel the entire meal. They’d been thick as thieves talking about who knew what—girl stuff, he supposed.
“Have you thought any more about the alpacas?” Caleb asked.
His father added creamer to his coffee. “I’m a little hesitant, to tell you the truth. I know nothing about the animals.”
“They’re a good investment,” Caleb insisted. “Mr. Vann has decided he’s too old to manage such a big farm.”
Ida looked up in surprise. “It’s hardly bigger than ours, and Mr. Vann is only—”
“Nearly seventy.”
“Not so old, then.” His father shared a smile with his mom. Must have been an old-people’s joke, though his parents were only forty-eight.
“He has no children close enough to help on a daily basis,” Caleb explained. “He’s gifting the farm to his children and grandchildren, who will only use it for a weekend place. Obviously they can’t keep the alpacas.”
“I’m wondering if it’s the best time of year to get into a new business.”
“Better than planting season or harvesting, and he’s letting them go cheap. I’m telling you, if we don’t get them today, they’ll probably be gone.”
“Even a bargain costs money,” John said.
“Ya, I’m aware of that, but we have plenty put back.”
“What good are they, Caleb?” His mother held up a hand. “I’m not arguing with you. It’s only that I know nothing about them.”
“The yarn is quite popular,” Rachel said.
Everyone turned to stare at her. She blushed the color of a pretty rose and added, “I don’t know how I knew that.”
“Did you maybe have alpacas before? At your parents’ farm?”
“I don’t—I don’t think so, but I can remember the yarn. Spinners and knitters and even weavers use it.”
“Any chance you recall how much trouble they are to raise?” His father laughed at his own joke, and then he reached across the table and patted her hand. “I don’t expect you to answer that. I was only teasing because my son seems set on bringing strange animals onto our farm.”
“I thought you were a traditionalist,” Rachel said, then immediately pressed her fingers to her lips as if she wanted to pull back the words.
But if Caleb was worried he might have to answer that, might have to explain in front of his parents their conversation the night before, he was pleasantly mistaken.
Ida was up and clearing dishes, and she answered for him. “Oh, ya. In nearly every way that’s true. Caleb is quite traditional.”
“Unless it comes to animals,” his father said. “We’ve tried camels.”
“How was I to know they’d be so hard to milk?”
“And goats.”
“We learned a lot that time.”
“Ya, we learned if water can go through a fence, then so can a goat.”
“We’re a little off topic here.” Caleb tried to ignore the fact that Rachel was now grinning at him as if she’d discovered the most amusing thing that she might insult him with later. “Let’s just go look at the alpacas together. We could go this morning, and I’ll fix the fence this afternoon.”
“How about we do it the other way around?”
“Deal.”
He was up and out of his chair, already glancing at the clock. If he worked quickly, they could be there before noon—surely before anyone else came along and bought the alpacas out from under their noses.
“Caleb, would you mind making sure that the front porch and steps are free of ice?”
“The front porch?”
“We’re going to have visitors, and I don’t want anyone slipping.”
Visitors? On a Tuesday morning? “I was headed out to work on the fence line.”
“And then look at alpacas. I heard.”
He tugged on his ear. His mother was acting so strangely. Since when did she have weekday visitors? When had she ever asked him to clean off the front-porch steps?
“Shouldn’t take but a few minutes,” his father said. “Your mother wouldn’t ask if she didn’t need it.”
The rebuke was mild, but still he felt his cheeks flushing.
“Ya, of course. Anything else?”
“You could move your muddy boots off the front porch, as well as that sanding project you’ve never finished.”
“Did I miss something? Are we having Sunday service here on a Tuesday?” He meant it as a joke, but it came out as a whine.
Rachel jumped up to help his mother, not even attempting to hide her smile.
“Some ladies are stopping by.” His mother reached up and patted his shoulder. “I just don’t want them tripping over your things.”
He rolled his eyes but assured her that he’d take care of it right away.
When he stepped out onto the front porch, his dad clapped him on the back. “Give them a little space. Your mamm, she’s happy to have another girl around the place.”
“Ya, that makes sense, but—”
“She’s convinced that Gotte brought Rachel into our lives for a reason.”
“To give me more work?”
“And, of course, we all want to make the transition easier for Rachel. This is bound to be a difficult time.”
From the grin on Rachel’s face, he didn’t think it was as difficult as his father imagined, but instead of arguing with him, he found the stiff outdoor broom and