The Amish Mother. Rebecca Kertz

not for his niece Anne, who had witnessed it from the backseat.

      “Mam, are you all right?” the child cried worriedly.

      “Lizzie.” Zack’s first instinct was to ensure that she was all right. His sudden urge to protect and care for her was disturbing. He allowed his gaze to make a thorough examination of her. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

       Chapter Six

      “I’m fine.” Lizzie managed to smile at her daughter without meeting Zack’s gaze. She was embarrassed. The fall had jarred her ankle and hip, which continued to throb incessantly while she struggled to hide the pain. She didn’t want to admit to Zack that she’d hurt herself. She didn’t want anyone’s help, least of all Zack’s. Abraham had accepted that she could manage on her own. Why couldn’t his brother do the same?

      Trying not to let on that she was stiff and sore, Lizzie reached down to pick up the empty pie dish and turned toward the house. She lurched and would have fallen again if Zack hadn’t reached out to steady her.

      “You have hurt yourself!” he exclaimed, examining her with dark eyes full of concern.

      “Nay,” she assured him, but she could tell that he didn’t believe her. She was startled by his touch. His fingers on her arm made her feel things for him that she shouldn’t. She didn’t want to think of Zack as anything but her brother-in-law, but she couldn’t seem to help herself. “I should go,” she said, relieved when he released her. She quickly gathered her composure. “I need to fix supper,” she murmured as she turned and started toward the house. She stopped suddenly and faced him. “Will you and Esther join us?”

      After a quick glance toward his sister, who was entering the dawdi haus, Zack shook his head. “We appreciate the offer, but we’ll snack later at the cottage.” He offered her a crooked grin. “Seems like we’ve been eating all day.”

      Lizzie chuckled, relaxing, no longer embarrassed about her fall. “I know what you mean.” She had enjoyed a helping of most items on the food table. She shifted uncomfortably when Zack continued to stare at her. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

      She didn’t wait for his answer but continued on, looking back only once briefly to see that the children were following her toward the house. Her arm tingled where Zack’s fingers had been. Her face flamed as she regretted her clumsiness in front of Zack. So much for attempting to prove that she was capable!

      Once inside the house, Lizzie worked to prepare a light supper for the children, relieved that Zack and Esther had decided to eat at home. She had to process her attraction to Zack. She’d never felt this way about Abraham—theirs had been a marriage that had begun in necessity and ended in a calm and quiet love. Her feelings for Zack mortified and embarrassed her—why did she react so strongly to him whenever he was near?

      Lizzie froze in the act of slicing bread for sandwiches. Did he suspect that she found him handsome, that she felt drawn to him like a moth to a flame? Closing her eyes, she groaned. She hoped not. It was wrong to feel this way. She was his brother’s widow, and her husband had been dead less than three months.

      “Mam, can we have potato chips with supper?”

      Lizzie pushed thoughts of Zack aside and forced a smile for her four-year-old son. “Ja, Jonas, you may have potato chips,” she said. “But it’s important that you eat your vegetables and meat, too.”

      “But, Mam, I had lots of meat and vegetables today.”