* * *
Nate studied Charlie and felt his stomach tighten. Charlie Stoltzfus had shown time and again to be a good ballplayer. Her focus couldn’t be questioned. Every Sunday, whenever there was a game, the young men within their Amish community fought good-naturedly over which team would get Charlie.
He scowled. Good ballplayer or not, Charlie was too wild, too impulsive.
A lot like Emma.
A shaft of pain hit him hard, making his chest hurt with the memory of the girl he’d loved and lost. Emma had been wild and reckless, always searching for excitement. In the end, her wild behavior had led to her death.
Charlie Stoltzfus needed someone young but stable to keep her in check. Someone who could keep her safe and alive. Someone like... Nate glanced about the yard, searching for a prospective suitor for her, but he didn’t find anyone suitable.
“Nate, aren’t you going to eat?” his younger sister asked. Ruth Ann sat across the table from him.
He nodded as he flashed her a smile. “What are you having?”
“Roast beef and sides. And there are sandwiches if I’m still hungry.”
“You love sandwiches.” He recalled making them for her when she was much younger after his mother had died. He experienced a moment’s sadness for a young life cut short too soon until he thought of his stepmother. Mam was as different from Charlie Stoltzfus as night and day. She had made his father—his whole family—happy. She was pregnant again, due sometime in early January.
At his age, Nate never thought he’d have a baby brother or sister. In fact, he’d hoped that he’d be married with children of his own by now. But he hadn’t found the right woman yet. Someone kind and loving who wanted the same things from life as he did. There was farm property down the road from his parents he’d been hankering after. Once he acquired the land, he’d be ready to find someone to marry. Someone older and mature. Someone unlike Charlie Stoltzfus.
Nate started to eat. He stilled with fork in hand as he glanced toward the table where Henry sat with his wife, Leah, and Charlie. Her sister Nell and her husband, James, were seated across from them.
“Aren’t you hungry?” Ruth asked.
Desperate to ignore Charlie Stoltzfus, he nodded at his sister then ate the food off his fork. Unfortunately, he and Charlie faced each other, and he found himself unable to keep his eyes off her. She had beautiful features with a pert little nose and pretty pink lips. Her red-gold hair glistened brightly under the sun. Her eyes were a deep shade of vivid green. Her spring-green dress only heightened her coloring, highlighting her beauty.
He looked away. She was trouble, and he had to stop thinking about her.
“Charlie played a gut game today,” his brother Jacob commented.
“She’s got a lot of energy, that girl,” his sister Mary Elizabeth said.
“She didn’t help you with the food,” Nate murmured and immediately regretted his comment.
Mam raised her eyebrows. “We had more than enough help. Take a look. Do you see a lack of women here? Charlie enjoys the game, but she would have come if we’d asked.” Her speculative look made Nate squirm.
“I’ve never seen anyone hit the ball like she does,” he said softly, sincerely, brushing the awkward moment aside. “She brought everyone on base home then slid into home plate, giving the team the win.”
“Ja, I wish I could play like that,” Ruth Ann said.
He blinked, but he didn’t say a word. He waited for his father to comment, but the man only chuckled.
“You’re much better off spending your time gardening,” Dat said.
Nate breathed a sigh of relief. “Ja, gardening is a fine way to spend your time. Did you pick the last of the vegetables?”
“Plan to do it tomorrow,” his sister said. “If there are any left. I haven’t checked recently.”
Ruth loved to garden so bringing up the subject was brilliant. He had to give his father credit. The man knew how to deal with his children in a way that was natural and loving without being overbearing.
Nate hoped that someday he could be the kind of father his dat was. And a leader like him. Some folks within his community thought that one day Nate would be asked to serve as deacon, preacher, or even bishop.
Nate closed his eyes. He hoped not. Being asked to serve as deacon would mean that his father had passed, for the position was lifelong. He didn’t want to think of the day Dat was no longer with them. And he couldn’t see himself as preacher or bishop. He could never live up to the title. Nate didn’t feel good enough to be a church elder.
But he enjoyed farming. His father’s farm wouldn’t be his to inherit. The farm would go to his youngest brother, not the oldest son, as was the Amish way. Not that Nate minded. He would work for what he wanted. He had nearly enough money to bid on that other farm.
Charlie stood, immediately catching his attention.
He watched as she returned to the food table with her sisters Leah and Nell. They were chatting. Charlie laughed at something Nell said, and the change in her features was so startling that Nate was unable to look away. She was even more beautiful when she was happy. She’d always been a pretty little thing, but the way laughter changed her face stole his breath.
She was oblivious to his regard as she filled her dessert plate. He heard Leah chuckle and watched Charlie as she talked animatedly while gesturing with one hand, her movements nearly unseating the chocolate cake on her plate. The women kept up a steady conversation as they headed back to their table. Charlie giggled at something Leah said, but her good humor died quickly when she encountered his glance. Nell spoke and Charlie looked away, her smile restored. Awareness surged inside him. He recalled how he’d felt when he saw the blood on her leg. Anxiety. Anger. The strongest urge to protect her. He scowled. I can’t do this again.
His chest tightened but he managed to eat his lunch before heading to the dessert table with Ruth Ann. He didn’t know why, but he was ready for the day to end.
“Soohns, we’ll be leaving for Indiana first thing in the morning,” his father said as Nate returned to the table. “I’d hoped the two of you would stay home and take care of things here.”
Nate nodded. He’d known about his father’s plans to take the family to see his grandparents. “We’ll take care of the animals and make hay.”
Jacob smiled. “Won’t take us long.”
“We’ll take turns cooking,” he warned his brother.
His brother shrugged. “I can survive on sandwiches.”
He laughed. “I think you’ll get sick of sandwiches, but we’ll see.”
After he finished eating, Nate rose to throw away his paper plate. He turned and caught a glimpse of Charlie standing at her cousin’s paddock, watching the horses at play. Her glorious red hair was like a beacon that called to him. Why couldn’t he stop thinking about her?
He headed in her direction.
* * *
Charlie gazed at the horses and felt a rush of pleasure. What she wouldn’t give to race like the wind on the back of a horse! She smiled. The chestnut mare pranced and chased her companions into a playful gallop. She’d give anything to feel the freedom of riding through the fields with the warmth of the sun against her skin and her hair unpinned without a head covering. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the cool breeze tempered by the afternoon sunshine.
This week she wouldn’t be babysitting for the youngest Peachy children. The family was going out