his mood dampened, and the coffee tasted bitter in his mouth.
“You will have pie?” Sarah asked as she and Rebecca cleared the table once Levi had eaten.
Joachim nodded. “Only a small slice. There is much yet to be done. The fences need repair. The barn, as well. Tomorrow I will go to Victor’s house. Today, I will work here.”
“I’m sure your father will appreciate your help.”
If only that would be so, yet Joachim suspected his datt would be hard-pressed to appreciate anything his son did.
Sarah accepted a small piece of pie from Rebecca and carried it to table.
“Denki,” Joachim said as he took the plate from her.
She glanced at Levi. “I’m sure you would like pie.”
“Yah, but a much larger slice than Joachim,” the younger man said with a grin. He glanced at Joachim. “I must work for my father this afternoon, and tomorrow is the barn raising. Did Rebecca tell you?”
Joachim shook his head.
“The Byler barn burned,” Levi continued. “Samuel had wood delivered, and he has asked us to arrive in the morning. We could use your help, Joachim.”
“Of course. Samuel is a gut man. If he needs help, I will be there.”
As Joachim and Levi ate the pie, Rebecca wrapped cheesecloth around a second pie and tied the edges together. “I baked extra for your mamm. Tell her thank-you for the onions she sent yesterday. They were sweet and will keep in the root cellar.”
Levi smiled. “She will like to hear that her gift was well received.”
“Yah, of course, it was.”
“She always asks about you, Rebecca. You should come to visit.”
“Perhaps when Mamm and Datt return.”
“They will not be gone much longer?” Joachim posed.
“Only a few more days,” Rebecca responded. “But, Levi, I will see your mamm tomorrow at the barn raising. She will be there, yah?”
“Probably not. Her arthritis is bad, especially when it rains.”
Levi bid Joachim and Sarah farewell and accepted the pie from Rebecca. She walked outside with him, and the couple stood talking on the porch.
Joachim glanced at Sarah. She rinsed dishes in a bucket of water at the sink. “You will be all right here in the house with Rebecca if I am working in the barn?” he asked.
“Of course, I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”
“I was not worried.”
“Then you were concerned.”
“Perhaps,” he said with a shrug. “I know you were frightened when Victor drove onto the property earlier.”
“You should tell him to stay off your land.”
“Yah, this I could do. But that is not how a good neighbor acts.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Is it necessary to be a good neighbor to a man who is so hateful?”
“If I want him to think I have nothing against him.” Before he could explain what he meant, the back door opened and Rebecca returned to the kitchen.
“I am interrupting something?” she asked.
“No,” Sarah insisted. “But I am tired and would like to rest.”
Joachim peered through the window at the darkening sky. “Black clouds roll overhead. The storm may turn the day to night. Perhaps you will need a candle in your room.”
Sarah’s face tightened. She shook her head. “There’s still plenty of daylight. Besides, I don’t like candles.”
Joachim didn’t understand her comment, nor did he understand the fear that returned to her face and the way she clasped her hands together. Something about candles had set her off, but what? And why?
“Perhaps the oil lamp would be better,” Rebecca offered.
“I’ll be fine,” Sarah insisted. “The room has a window. I will awake before nightfall, if I can even sleep.”
Sarah grabbed her skirts and hurried upstairs. Her footfalls echoed in the house and made Joachim’s heart ache.
He had to let her go, but he wondered what the Englischer was hiding. Sarah feared Victor, but there was something else she feared.
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