Her Forgiving Amish Heart. Rebecca Kertz

but she wouldn’t give him any special attention. She would express her gratitude, of course. He was offering her his time, and she was thankful. A working relationship with him was nothing to be concerned about.

      Her heart skipped a beat as she recalled his smile, the way the sunlight had reflected on the tiny golden streaks in his dark hair. Leah closed her eyes in shock. She was attracted to Henry Yoder. As long as she kept her distance emotionally from him, she would be fine.

      “I’ll not lose my heart to him,” she whispered. And she found herself relaxing. She just had to remember that this was Henry Yoder, and she was interested only in opening a craft store.

      She’d unpinned the last garment from the clothesline and headed back to the house. She smiled when she spied her father as he came home from a day spent with Horseshoe Joe Zook, Meg’s father-in-law. Dat had been helping Joe with a home project. What, Leah had no idea.

      “Dat,” she greeted. “Henry was here. He installed the cabinet you ordered.”

      Her father looked surprised. “Already?”

      She bobbed her head.

      “How does it look?”

      “Gut. ’Tis perfect for the barn.”

      He appeared pleased. “Come to take a look with me?”

      Leah beamed. “Ja. Just let me put this inside,” she said as she held up the laundry basket.

      A few minutes later she followed her father into the stall. He went straight over to inspect the cabinet. She waited with rapid heartbeat for his reaction. Why, she didn’t know. Certainly it wasn’t because she worried that he wouldn’t be pleased with Henry’s work.

      “Dat?” she murmured as he opened and closed the cabinet doors several times while he inspected every inch of the unit.

      He closed the doors one last time, then turned to her—and smiled. “Wunderbor,” he pronounced. “When can you come with me to Nell’s to look at some puppies?”

      Leah grinned. “Tonight? After supper?” she suggested.

      “After supper,” her father agreed, then they headed toward to the house to see how long it would be before dinner.

      She was excited about having a pet. Her spirits rose. It wasn’t because her dat was pleased with Henry’s cabinetwork, she thought. Or was it?

      A mental image of Henry rose in her mind, making her uncomfortable. She wasn’t attracted to him. She didn’t like him. She sighed. His kindness stirred up feelings that she could control because they weren’t real. They can’t be real.

      Leah became to wonder if she should forget about accepting Henry’s offer to help. Surely, she could learn about storekeeping on her own. It would be much safer that way.