Young—she couldn’t have been over twenty.
Pretty—not that he was interested. He was here to recruit families to move to Texas, not court a woman.
Focused—she still hadn’t looked up.
Levi cleared his throat. “Pretty place you have here.”
“Ya, it is.” She finally glanced up. “Danki.”
“Reminds me a little of Texas, the way the hills stretch out to the west...”
He could still see it in his mind. He wished he had pictures to show her, but of course being Plain they didn’t usually fool around with cameras, even the ones on cell phones. He had a few Texas magazines that he’d brought with him. He’d have to remember to bring one over the next afternoon when he came to help Alton.
“You were awfully intent on what you were doing there.” He nodded toward her journal.
“Oh. I have a catering business...for Plain weddings. I keep all my notes and calendar in here.”
“That’s interesting. I’ve never met an Amish businesswoman before.”
“Really? You’ve never purchased something from a local bakery?”
“Oh, ya. Sure.”
“Or bought fresh jam?”
“Peach and strawberry.” He moved to the rocking chair beside her, placed the knitting basket that was in it on the porch floor and sat.
“All run by women entrepreneurs I would imagine... Plain women entrepreneurs. You can find them in nearly every bakery and fruit stand—not to mention quilt shops and yarn shops. They are also house cleaners and most of our teachers. Schoolhouses aren’t a business, but you get my point.”
“I do. Obviously, this is a subject you’ve given a lot of thought.”
“I have.”
She raised her chin like she had in the kitchen. It almost made him laugh. She was a spunky one.
“I’ve offended you, and I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention.”
She considered him a minute and then closed her journal. “It’s possible I’m a little sensitive about the topic, being an entrepreneur myself.”
“So tell me about your business.”
“Not much to tell. I cater weddings.”
“I thought...”
“That the family of the bride cooks the food? Ya. A lot of people think that. But when you consider that most of our weddings have over 400 guests...well, the mothers of the bride and groom have an increasingly difficult time cooking for a gathering of that size.”
“Maybe they could invite less people.”
“And put me out of business? No thank you.” Her tone was serious, but she smiled at his joke. “How did you land in Goshen? We’re a good ways from Lancaster, Pennsylvania.”
Levi didn’t respond immediately because the actual answer was complicated. He certainly didn’t want to go into his family situation with this young woman he’d known less than twenty minutes. And how could he explain how he’d vowed never to return to this area when he was still just a boy? Goshen did not hold good memories for him, but here he was. He decided to go with the simplest, though less complete answer. “My family knows Simon King. He lived with us in Texas, and he’s interested in possibly returning.”
“Mamm mentioned you were staying with Simon. We call him Old Simon because there are two others in the congregation—Tall Simon and Young Simon. Young Simon is older than Tall Simon but younger than Old Simon.” She laughed and then added, “You know how Plain communities are.”
“I do, and he’s not that old.”
“I’m just surprised he’d be interested in moving at his age.”
“I suppose that since his wife died, he’s a bit lonely. We stayed in contact over the years. When I mentioned that I was raising up a group to start a new community, he was interested.”
“How many families do you need?”
“A dozen is the usual number, with at least one church leader.”
“And that would be Old Simon?”
“It would.”
“How many families do you have so far?”
“There’s myself, Simon and possibly your dat.”
Annie covered her mouth with her hands. It took Levi a minute to realize she was laughing. It irritated him, though he couldn’t have said why.
“What’s so funny?”
“I’m sorry.” She pulled her lips into a straight line, and stared down at her lap, smoothing out her apron with her fingertips. Obviously, she was making a huge effort to rein in her amusement.
“No, tell me.”
“It’s only that Dat...”
“Yes?”
“I hope he hasn’t raised your hopes. Mamm says he likes to dream, that it’s entertainment for him like some people might read a book. It’s harmless enough. We’ve all learned not to take him too seriously in that regard.”
Levi stood and pushed his cowboy hat more firmly on his head, but Annie was now on a roll.
“Once he was going to move us to Canada...there are Amish communities there, you know.”
“I’m aware.”
“Another time, it was a pig farm he was going to purchase, in Missouri, and then there was his idea to raise camels. He checked out a lot of books from the library for that one.”
“I would think you’d show more respect for your dat. It seems that you don’t take what’s important to him very seriously.”
“You’re an expert on my dat now?”
“I can tell when a man has a dream.”
“Like you?”
“Ya, like me.”
Annie stood as well and moved a step closer. She gazed up into his face. She looked at him in the same way his mother often had, and it only served to increase his irritation even more. There were always some who were closed-minded, who couldn’t see the possibilities of a fresh start in a new place.
“I don’t mean to be rude, Levi. However, if you’re counting on my family moving to Texas, you should know that’s not going to happen.”
Instead of contradicting
