asked as he had before. The sooner he got his business completed, the sooner he could get out of Leanna’s barnyard.
“Ja.” The word seemed to spark a change in her because she lost her baffled expression and met his eyes.
For the length of a single heartbeat, it was as if he’d been thrown back in time to when he’d seen her blue-green eyes crinkling with a smile across a hay-strewn barn. Forget that! He couldn’t let his mind get caught up in what had been. It was too late to change it anyhow.
Again he had to force himself to focus on the stumbling conversation. How easily they’d once chatted! Today, he had to weigh each word before he spoke it. Otherwise, he might utter something stupid, like the truth he had promised never to reveal.
“I’m looking to buy enough for both bopplin,” he said. “Around three pints a day. Do your goats give enough so you can sell me that much?”
“Ja, but you’ll have to pick it up. I don’t have time to deliver milch to you.” She hesitated, then asked, “Where’s your farm?”
“Next door, but closer to the main road.” He didn’t miss how she flinched. “Michael and I purchased the farm and moved in a couple of days ago. I’d assumed I could find formula for the bopplin, but everything seems to upset their stomachs.”
Her gaze focused on Harley again. “They may be bothered by you using different water here. Are they eating solid food?”
“Some, but we’re relying on bottles for the most part. That’s why it’s important I get something they can keep down.”
“Goats’ milch is easy to digest.” Her voice sounded normal. He wished his did. “It has less sugar and trace amounts of the protein that causes troubles for those with sensitivities to cows’ milch. If you’re going to use it as a formula substitute, though, you’ll need to add in a few minerals and vitamins.”
“You know a lot about this.”
“My goats aren’t pets. When I decided to start a herd, I did a lot of reading to know what I was getting into. I’ve got several customers who purchase milch, though they’re adults, not bopplin.”
“Gabriel...Miller...is...that you?”
He looked over his shoulder to see who was speaking in a halting manner. Again he was astonished. He’d met Inez Wagler, the matriarch of the Wagler family and Leanna’s grossmammi, several times at haystack dinners and mud sales. The last time he’d seen her, two years ago, she’d been as spry as a grasshopper.
Inez Wagler, once a powerful oak, looked like an ancient tree stripped by a storm. She leaned on a cane as she crossed the yard toward them. Her gray hair was thin beneath her kapp, and wrinkles were gouged into her face. Yet, when she smiled, hints of her vibrant personality were visible.
“Gute mariye, Grossmammi Inez.” He caught sight of Leanna’s eyes narrowing before she turned to calm the goat vying for her attention. He shouldn’t have used the name she always used when she spoke of her grossmammi. That suggested he was a member of the family, which he most definitely wasn’t.
“It...is...you.” She paused in front of him and rested both hands on top of the wood cane. “Are you...our new...neighbors?”
Gabriel wondered why Inez spoke in gasps. He flicked a quick glance toward Leanna and caught her unaware. Dismay was displayed across her face. As he watched, she rearranged her face into the same crisp, false smile she’d offered him.
“Grossmammi,” Leanna said, “if you needed something, you could have gotten my attention from the porch.”
“A soul...likes fresh...air...once in...a while.” She smiled at Gabriel. “Ain’t so?”
He raised his left hand as he kept Harley secure in his right arm. “I may be a new member of this settlement, but I learned long ago never to get in the middle of a disagreement between two strong-willed women.”
Inez laughed and, to his amazement, Leanna did, too. He hadn’t meant it as a joke.
“Who...is this...with you?” the old woman asked.
“My son, Harley.” He offered her a smile, but suspected it looked as fake as it felt. “His twin, Heidi, is at home. It’s a boys’ trip out to buy some milch from Leanna’s goats.”
His son seemed fascinated by Inez, who spoke to him in a gentle, soothing voice. Chewing on his teething biscuit, he stared at her.
“He’s...never seen...anyone...as old...as me.” Inez’s chuckle turned into a gasp as she struggled for breath.
Gabriel reached out to her, but she waved him away, telling him she was fine.
He didn’t believe it, not when he saw the concern on her kins-kind’s face. Leanna’s hands were clenched into impotent fists at her sides as if she were battling with herself not to climb out of the goats’ pen and come to her grossmammi’s aid.
“Welcome...to...Harmony...Creek. We hope...you’ll...like it...here.” She looked at her granddaughter. “Ain’t so?”
Color rushed up Leanna’s face, and he realized how pale she’d been since she discovered him on the other side of the fence. When Leanna nodded and remained silent, her grossmammi headed to the house. Inez halted partway and asked Leanna to come in when she was done with him.
Gabriel halted himself from saying Leanna had been done with him a long time ago. Why bring up the past when she’d made it clear with her curt comments that she hadn’t forgiven him for marrying someone else?
Why should she? She hadn’t replied to the letter he’d sent her before he took his marriage vows, so he’d known she hadn’t been ready to grant him the forgiveness he’d asked for. She must believe he was heartless. He couldn’t change her opinion, because he couldn’t share the truth with anyone.
Once her grossmammi was out of earshot, Gabriel asked, “Why does she sound the way she does?”
“We’re not sure.” Leanna pushed aside the goat poking her with its head. “Her doktor thinks it may have something to do with one of her heart valves, so he’s sending her to a cardiologist.”
“I never imagined her so weak she’d need a cane.”
“Me, neither.” Leanna became all business, and he knew she didn’t want to say more about her grossmammi. She told him what she charged for a quart of milch and what containers he would need.
“I leave for work by ten most mornings,” she said, “so please be here before then. Until school is out, Grossmammi Inez is here by herself, and it’d be better if she wasn’t disturbed.”
Though questions about where Leanna worked demanded answers, he didn’t ask them. “I’ll make it a priority to be here before you head out. If I can’t be, we’ll work out something else. I appreciate you helping me, so I want to make this as easy as possible for you.”
“Danki.” She glanced at the black goat on the milking platform, and he knew she and the doe wanted him
