The Amish Teacher's Dilemma and Healing Their Amish Hearts by Patricia Davids (all ebook reader .txt) 📕

Maddie looked up at Eva. “Is that true?”

Eva nodded. “That is true. I read it in a book once. Bears won’t come near a fire.”

It took them a while to restore Maddie’s good humor, but she was happily talking about starting school in a new dress by the time they reached the nearby town of Fort Craig. The foundry was located on the north end beside the river.

Eva and the children waited in the wagon while Willis purchased his iron bars. He spent the next twenty minutes loading them with Harley and Otto’s help.

Willis climbed up to the wagon seat when they were done. The boys sat on the sideboards of the back. Willis looked at Eva. “Are you hungry? There’s a nice restaurant in town if you’d like to try it? It’s buffet style.”

“I’m always happy to sample someone else’s cooking.”

They drove the wagon to an empty lot and left the horses there while they walked to the restaurant. It was busy inside, but the waitress was able to seat them at a small table in the back corner. The room was cozy with red-and-white-checked tablecloths and lace curtains on the windows.

Most of the patrons were Englisch families enjoying an afternoon out. Some of them gawked at Eva and Willis in their plain clothing.

Willis followed Eva as she filled her plate and helped Maddie make her choices. After Eva sat down, Willis and the boys returned with two heaping plates of food each.

Eva looked at them in amazement. “Can you really eat all that?”

“This will be a good start,” Harley declared.

Otto licked his lips. “Did you see the dessert bar? I’m hankering for a big piece of that lemon cake.”

“The owner of this place is going to lose money on us,” Eva said.

Willis gestured toward Eva’s plate. “You and Maddie eat like birds. We balance each other.”

Eva treasured the warmth spilling through her veins as he smiled at her. They did balance each other in many ways. She dropped her gaze to her hands folded on the table. She had to be careful or she would find herself in trouble. Sitting with his family didn’t make her a part of his family. She already liked Willis and the children way too much. He wasn’t interested in finding a wife, and she had a job to do. That was what she needed to focus on.

Willis bowed his head and began silently reciting the Gebet Nach Dem Essen, the Prayer Before Meals.

O Lord God, heavenly Father, bless us and these Thy gifts, which we accept from Thy tender goodness. Give us food and drink also for our souls unto life eternal, that we may share at Thy heavenly table, through Jesus Christ. Amen.

He followed it with the Lord’s Prayer, also prayed silently, knowing he had much to be thankful for.

He raised his head to signal the end of the prayer for Eva and the kids. The boys began eating like they would never see food again.

Eva pressed a hand to her lips to stifle a smile.

Willis cleared his throat. “You’ll founder if you don’t slow down.”

Otto shot him a questioning look. “I thought only horses could founder from eating too much grain?”

Willis rolled his eyes. “Don’t put it to the test. Slow down and enjoy your food.”

“It smells like our house used to before Mamm died,” Harley said. Otto and Maddie nodded.

The aroma of warm bread and pot roast filled the air. Willis thought back to the food his stepmother used to make. Roast beef, roast pork, fried chicken and potatoes, schnitzel with sauerkraut, all served piping hot from her stove, with fresh bread smeared with butter and bowls of vegetables from her garden. He never gave a thought to how much work she had done in making those meals until he had tried to feed his siblings three times a day. A few evenings he had caught the same delicious aromas drifting from Eva’s place. Her house smelled like a home should. The children were going to enjoy eating at her place.

The thought brought him back to why she was here with him. “I can’t pay you much for watching the children. You’ll have to wait until after the potato harvest for any kind of payment, I’m afraid.”

She waved aside his suggestion. “I refuse to take money. I have already told you having the children will benefit me.”

“All right. When shall I bring them over?”

“First thing in the morning?”

“Agreed.”

The rest of the meal passed pleasantly. When they finished, they crossed the street to the fabric store where Eva picked out a soft green cotton for Maddie’s new dress and a yard of white material to make her new kapps. Willis didn’t mind the expense. Seeing Eva’s enjoyment while shopping with his sister and Maddie’s bright smile was worth the cost.

Back at the wagon he climbed aboard and stowed the packages before reaching down to help Eva up. A sizzle of awareness spread through him as his hand engulfed her slender fingers. The desire to pull her closer shocked him. Her gaze flashed to his. Her green eyes widened. Was she feeling the same sensation? Her fingers were so delicate. Her skin was soft and smooth, not calloused like his. It was a pointed reminder of just how different they were.

It was something he shouldn’t forget. Her world was filled with books, poetry and beautiful words to describe the world and the people in it. His world was hot glowing charcoal, heat, smoke and the deafening ring of a hammer striking iron. There was nothing soft or gentle about it.

She stepped up quickly and sat down, pulling her hand away from him. There was something about Eva that left him constantly off balance. He rubbed his palm on his pant leg, determined to erase the feelings from his mind, too. The sooner he got back to his smoldering pit, the sooner he could forget about the quiet magnetism that seemed to draw