when Tom offered to carry his steaming plate from the buffet.
“Happy Friday morning to ya,” Miriam called out as she bustled from the kitchen with a basket that held three brown, rounded loaves of bread. “We’re featurin’ the five-grain bread mix from your mill today, Luke—and Naomi’s stirrin’ up more sausage gravy, scrambled eggs, and onions so ya can make haystacks with the hash browns, too.”
Luke snatched three slices of the bread, which were so dense with grains and dried fruit that he nearly crammed a slice into his mouth on the spot. As he mounded hash browns on his plate, Seth Brenneman joined them at the steam table for his second plateful. He seemed particularly cheerful as he greeted the three of them.
“ Gut thing I got here before you Hooleys loaded up,” he teased.
“Unless I miss my guess, you’ll be tankin’ up at your own breakfast table before long,” Ira replied. “You and Mary looked mighty tight at the wedding yesterday.”
Seth couldn’t hide his grin. “We’ll do the finishin’ work on her house this week, so she and the kids’ll be movin’ into it by next weekend. Yesterday I asked her if I could join them as the man of the family, and Mary said yes!”
“That’s gut news even if it comes as no surprise,” Ben replied, clapping Seth on the back. “I figured it was a go when she came to town with Sol and Lucy last Christmas, when ya helped deliver baby Emmanuel. Givin’ yourselves plenty of time to get acquainted was the best idea for all of ya.”
As his brothers chatted with Seth, Luke filled his plate and returned to the table. He recalled how Seth had rescued Mary Kauffman mere hours before she gave birth at the local clinic—and how the idea of getting romantically involved with a widow who had three little kids had repelled him. It was nearly the same situation Adam Wagler had married into yesterday, agreeing to raise Annie Mae’s four little siblings and take in her teenage sister, Nellie. Adam was asking for trouble, too, because Hiram Knepp wouldn’t leave well enough alone. What was it with these bachelors who’d sacrificed their happy lives to raise other men’s kids?
Well, now that you’re thirty, what sort of women are left to hook up with? They’ve all been married, and they all carry baggage—
“Here you go, Luke.” Rebecca set their three mugs of coffee on the table along with Ira’s milk. “I’ll be back in a few to be sure everything’s the way you like it.”
“ Denki , Rebecca,” Luke murmured. He’d had his share of fantasies about their waitress—Miriam’s daughter had been raised by adoptive English parents after they’d rescued her during a flood years ago. She was a looker, she was single, and she made no bones about keeping her computer business rather than joining the Old Order. It was a combination he found very attractive.
And yet, as Ben and Ira took their seats at the table and began to eat, Luke’s thoughts wandered toward his new redheaded neighbor. Nora Landwehr was divorced, Hiram had said, but he hadn’t revealed why a woman who could afford such a prime property would choose to move to Willow—
Luke’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. Nora was standing in the kitchen doorway!
She wore a brown cape dress with a matching apron and a white kapp . Her pale face and tight expression quelled Luke’s urge to blurt out a greeting, but he watched her pass between the tables with great interest. Why was she dressed Plain? And why would she be heading toward the corner where Bishop Tom and Gabe Glick were sitting? Ira was digging into his breakfast, but Ben sat taller, watching Nora as though he sensed something intense was about to happen.
The chatter around them masked what Nora was saying. Bishop Tom’s eyes widened in recognition as Gabe Glick threw down his fork and struggled to his feet. His scowl could’ve soured cream—and Nora stepped back when he flashed it at her. She said something else to
“Happy Friday morning to ya,” Miriam called out as she bustled from the kitchen with a basket that held three brown, rounded loaves of bread. “We’re featurin’ the five-grain bread mix from your mill today, Luke—and Naomi’s stirrin’ up more sausage gravy, scrambled eggs, and onions so ya can make haystacks with the hash browns, too.”
Luke snatched three slices of the bread, which were so dense with grains and dried fruit that he nearly crammed a slice into his mouth on the spot. As he mounded hash browns on his plate, Seth Brenneman joined them at the steam table for his second plateful. He seemed particularly cheerful as he greeted the three of them.
“ Gut thing I got here before you Hooleys loaded up,” he teased.
“Unless I miss my guess, you’ll be tankin’ up at your own breakfast table before long,” Ira replied. “You and Mary looked mighty tight at the wedding yesterday.”
Seth couldn’t hide his grin. “We’ll do the finishin’ work on her house this week, so she and the kids’ll be movin’ into it by next weekend. Yesterday I asked her if I could join them as the man of the family, and Mary said yes!”
“That’s gut news even if it comes as no surprise,” Ben replied, clapping Seth on the back. “I figured it was a go when she came to town with Sol and Lucy last Christmas, when ya helped deliver baby Emmanuel. Givin’ yourselves plenty of time to get acquainted was the best idea for all of ya.”
As his brothers chatted with Seth, Luke filled his plate and returned to the table. He recalled how Seth had rescued Mary Kauffman mere hours before she gave birth at the local clinic—and how the idea of getting romantically involved with a widow who had three little kids had repelled him. It was nearly the same situation Adam Wagler had married into yesterday, agreeing to raise Annie Mae’s four little siblings and take in her teenage sister, Nellie. Adam was asking for trouble, too, because Hiram Knepp wouldn’t leave well enough alone. What was it with these bachelors who’d sacrificed their happy lives to raise other men’s kids?
Well, now that you’re thirty, what sort of women are left to hook up with? They’ve all been married, and they all carry baggage—
“Here you go, Luke.” Rebecca set their three mugs of coffee on the table along with Ira’s milk. “I’ll be back in a few to be sure everything’s the way you like it.”
“ Denki , Rebecca,” Luke murmured. He’d had his share of fantasies about their waitress—Miriam’s daughter had been raised by adoptive English parents after they’d rescued her during a flood years ago. She was a looker, she was single, and she made no bones about keeping her computer business rather than joining the Old Order. It was a combination he found very attractive.
And yet, as Ben and Ira took their seats at the table and began to eat, Luke’s thoughts wandered toward his new redheaded neighbor. Nora Landwehr was divorced, Hiram had said, but he hadn’t revealed why a woman who could afford such a prime property would choose to move to Willow—
Luke’s fork stopped halfway to his mouth. Nora was standing in the kitchen doorway!
She wore a brown cape dress with a matching apron and a white kapp . Her pale face and tight expression quelled Luke’s urge to blurt out a greeting, but he watched her pass between the tables with great interest. Why was she dressed Plain? And why would she be heading toward the corner where Bishop Tom and Gabe Glick were sitting? Ira was digging into his breakfast, but Ben sat taller, watching Nora as though he sensed something intense was about to happen.
The chatter around them masked what Nora was saying. Bishop Tom’s eyes widened in recognition as Gabe Glick threw down his fork and struggled to his feet. His scowl could’ve soured cream—and Nora stepped back when he flashed it at her. She said something else to
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