The Amish Quiltmaker’s Unattached Neighbor (The Amish Quiltmaker #6)

Chapter 9

B efore Ada walked in the back door, Beth stopped her. “Um, just so you know, I’ve been cooking and baking all morning, and I haven’t had a chance to clean the kitchen, but as soon as we eat lunch, I’m going to do the dishes and mop.”

Ada braced herself for the worst as she went into the house. Ach , she was very glad she had. Dirty pans and bowls and spoons occupied every available surface in the kitchen, including on top of the fridge. The sink was full of dirty dishes, and there was a patch of something sticky on the floor that had turned gray because someone had tromped all over it with their dirty shoes. An overturned glass of milk lay on the table while milk dripped onto the floor, where Pepper was licking it up noisily. There were splatters of something green on the fridge, and a pot of burned and crusty oatmeal sat on the stove.

Beth caught her bottom lip between her teeth and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry. I know how you like a clean kitchen.”

Ada sighed. “It’s a mess, Beth. Didn’t you clean breakfast before you started on lunch?”

“I had to milk the goats, and I could tell Pepper was feeling ignored. It was more important to play with him than do the dishes.”

“Pepper gets plenty of attention. You can’t just quit running the household to give our dog some love.”

Beth put her hands behind her back and lowered her eyes. “I know, but I think it’s more important to have a happy home than a clean one. I was going to get to it as soon as lunch was over. Aren’t you proud of me for making yummasetti?”

The kitchen did smell gute , like melted cheese and buttered toast. Ada didn’t know what to do. Part of her wanted to take a shower and make herself presentable because Enos was coming over. The other part of her wanted to clean the kitchen because Enos was coming over. She didn’t want him to think they lived in a pigsty. Then again, she might be able to make excuses about a dirty house, but if she came to dinner stinky, Enos might not ever want to get close to her again.

Did she want him to get close?

“Dat milked the goats this morning, and I fed Pepper. Last night I made Yankee bean soup, and Dat said it was as gute as Mamm used to make. I haven’t cleaned the toilets, but they look fine. No one needs to clean them as often as you do.”

Ada could not stand a dirty toilet. Then again, she couldn’t stand to sleep in a tent, but she could be resilient when it really mattered. Deciding she’d rather smell nice, Ada headed for the stairs. “I’m going upstairs to shower.”

Beth wilted like a daisy in the heat. “Okay. I’ll set the table.”

“Don’t use paper plates.”

Ada felt better once she’d rinsed the layer of dust off her face and arms. She put on her favorite royal blue dress, brushed her hair into a bun, and put on a crisp white kapp . She pulled the tiny mirror from her drawer and looked at herself. She wasn’t pretty, but she had smooth skin and a straight nose. Did Enos like straight, thin noses, or did he prefer girls with button noses and fuller cheeks?

Why did it matter what Enos liked? Ada had been sleeping in the tent too long. She was starting to think crazy thoughts. Besides that, it was unlikely Enos would show up today. No doubt his mamm would refuse to come out of the house and associate with her neighbors, and Enos would be stuck making Tabitha a sandwich that she would criticize up one side and down the other. Ada could almost hear Tabitha’s disdain. This sandwich would taste better in Pennsylvania. Don’t they know how to make an adequate loaf of bread in Colorado? A gute son would never make his mater live like this.

Ada found the kitchen a beehive of activity. Mary was washing dishes, Clay was down on his hands and knees wiping up the sticky floor, and Joanna was wiping counters and all other surfaces. The green splatters on the fridge had disappeared, and the table had been set. Beth was drying dishes for Mary and chattering away about goat cheese with raspberry dust and how Dat liked her Yankee bean soup as well as Mamm’s. Mary was nodding and smiling as if Beth were the most amazing girl in the whole world. Why didn’t anyone ever acknowledge all the work Ada did every single day? She kept the house spotless so her schwesteren didn’t have to swoop in and save her when guests came over. She made appeditlich goat cheese that brought in gute money, and she kept the farm running, making sure the seed was purchased and the tractor was scheduled.

Ada stood just inside the threshold watching her family get by without her. She’d never felt so underappreciated in her life. But Ada wasn’t one to wallow. She liked being the glue that held the family together, even if nobody realized it but her. She was only gloomy because she’d been sleeping in a tent for three nights and she hadn’t managed to kick Enos off her six acres. As soon as she settled the acreage problem, her family would realize how desperately they needed her and how badly they’d taken her for granted.

Menno came in the back door with Lily in his arms and Rosie skipping behind him. “Aendi Ada,” Rosie squealed. She ran to Ada and hugged her around the waist. “I wuv you!”

Lily stretched out her hands. “Ada. Hold me, hold me.”

Well, at least two people in the family appreciated Ada. She took Lily from Menno and planted a big fat kiss on the little girl’s cheek. “I missed you, Lily. Have you been a gute girl?”

Lily nodded eagerly. “I help Mama gatter eggs.”

“ Gute for you. I need lots of eggs to make cookies.”

“I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies yesterday,” Beth said, and it sounded like a bit of a boast. “They’re in Ada’s cookie jar.”

Ada set Lily on her feet, and both girls made a beeline for the cookies.

“Not until after dinner,” Menno said. Both girls slumped their shoulders and stared longingly at the cookie jar.

Joanna finished wiping what looked like flour off the front of one of the cupboards and turned around. “ Ach , Ada, you look a little tired.”

Ada huffed out a breath. “I hate camping.”

Mary cleared her throat and eyed Ada doubtfully. “You’re doing Dat a great service, fighting to keep those six acres.”

Ada drew her brows together. “You don’t act as if you believe it.”

The look Mary gave Joanna did not escape Ada. “Do you think maybe you’re going a bit too far? It’s only six acres, and you’d rather go to the dentist than sleep in a tent.”

Ada had conducted this same debate in her head so many times, she didn’t know what was what anymore. But she was in the mood to be contrary. “It’s the principle of the thing.”

Clay stood up, the filthy rag dangling from his hand. “If Enos is telling the truth . . .”

“He always tells the truth,” Ada snapped.

Clay’s eyes widened with surprise and curiosity. “Uh, okay. Enos says he’s the rightful owner, and even though the Yoders have farmed this land for a long time, it seems the only honest thing to do is to let him have it.”

“But there is the boundary by acquittal,” Beth said.

Ada wanted to kiss her. “ Jah . By acquiescence, the land is ours.”

Someone knocked on the door, and Lily and Rosie rushed to the front room to get it. Ada’s heart betrayed her. Probably the whole family could hear how excited she was to see Enos.

Instead, Cathy Larsen shuffled into the kitchen with both little girls holding on to her purse. “Wait a second,” she said. “Let me sit, and I’ll find you both a sucker.”

Lily and Rosie cheered loudly. Ada had to smile. Neither Joanna nor Menno had the heart to tell Cathy she’d ruin the girls’ supper.

Cathy sat down and fished around in her purse. Ada didn’t know how she found anything in there. It was the size of a bed pillow. “Thank you, Beth, for inviting me to lunch. Lon is watching Family Feud reruns and didn’t want to come. It’s better this way because getting him and his oxygen tank to the car is a half-hour ordeal.” Cathy glanced up. “Hello, Ada. I’m glad you could make it for lunch. Beth tells me you’re still camping on Enos’s property.”

“Still? It’s only been three days, and it’s my property.”

Cathy pulled two huge pink suckers from her bag and handed them to Lily and Rosie. “I hope you like cherry flavor, because I don’t know how long it will take me to find green apple or blue raspberry.”

“ Denki , Cathy,” both girls said together. They ripped the wrapping off their suckers, and Rosie popped the sucker into her mouth. Lily daintily licked hers with her pinkie finger up in the air like a proper young lady.

Cathy zipped up her purse and set it on the floor before Ada had time to warn her that the floor was filthy. “Now, I’ve come on the pretense of eating lunch, but I really want to hear all the gossip about Enos and Ada’s very bad decision to camp on his property.”

Ada was proud of herself. She didn’t even growl. “It’s my property by acquiescence.”

Cathy looked at Ada. “Whose ever property it is, camping was still a bad decision. You look like you’ve been in a fight with an egg beater.”

Ada put a hand to her kapp . She didn’t look that bad, did she? She’d taken a shower and combed her hair and applied a little lip balm because nobody liked chapped lips. “It’s the principle of the thing, and everybody knows I have principles.”

Cathy nodded her agreement. “I can appreciate that. I am a woman of principle too. That’s why they love me on the town council. Unfortunately, principles will not solve Enos’s problems. He is struggling to make payments, and he doesn’t know if he can afford to hire a tractor to plant his alfalfa. I suppose I should be happy for your sake, Ada, but I sure hate to think his mother will get her way.”

Mary looked as if she felt very sorry for the whole world. “His mother is such an unhappy person. I wish we could help her.”

“I wish we could send her on the next bus out of town,” Cathy said.

Ada’s heart hurt. Tabitha had said Enos was in debt up to his eyeballs, yet he had paid Arthur Tripp for nothing, and he’d rented horses to plow that field the hard way. His stubborn determination was his worst quality. And his best. One thing was for sure and certain. Enos needed help. “Clay, how busy are you with baseball season?”

With permission from the bishop, Clay coached the community college baseball team. “I don’t have much going on in the mornings.”

Ada pulled a notebook and pen from the drawer and sat down at the table, nudging aside the plate and silverware so she had a space to write. “Clay, I need you and Menno to organize the available men in the gmay to help Enos plant his alfalfa. If he can’t afford the tractor, surely we can find some available teams. Freeman Sensenig has a no-till planter that would cost a lot less to rent than Arthur Tripp’s tractor.” She wrote some notes on the paper. “Menno, I know Freeman will help, and Amos Burkholder has a team of two he’s willing to rent out. If he’s feeling charitable, he might let you use them for free, just so Enos can get his field planted.” Ada glanced up to make sure Menno was listening. Everyone in the room, including the two little girls, were looking at Ada as if she had a bird’s nest on the top of her head. “What?” she said.

Clay leaned against the counter. “We kinda thought you wanted to run him off.”

“I want to run him off my six acres, not his own farm.”

“But.” Mary fell silent and looked to Joanna, like she always did when she couldn’t find the words.

Joanna frowned in confusion. “We’ve purposefully not been helping Enos out of loyalty to you. Do you . . . now you’re saying you want us to help him?”

“Of course I do. Enos can’t plant his fields without help. We’re his closest neighbors. It’s our Christian duty.” Why were they all looking at her that way? She might have thought she had spinach or a raspberry seed stuck in her teeth, except she hadn’t eaten spinach or berries this morning, and she’d brushed her teeth not ten minutes ago. “What’s wrong? Doesn’t this make perfect sense to you all?”

Cathy raised her glasses to her eyes and leaned forward. “Nobody ever listens to me, but I’m not too polite to say I told you so.” She gave Ada the stink eye. “I told you so.”

Ada loved Cathy, she truly did, but sometimes Cathy sorely tried her patience. “Told me what?”

Mary looked positively stricken. “I never would have guessed.”

Cathy grunted. “I told her to be careful. I told her to make new quilt blocks, but would she listen to me? No.”

The quilt blocks? Cathy was still concerned about Ada’s choice of quilt block? It was absolutely ridiculous.

Cathy wagged her finger at Clay and Menno. “Let this be a lesson to you. You would all be better off if you just did as I said.”

Clay tossed his dirty rag in the sink. “I learned that by hard experience.”

Did Ada even want to try to make Cathy see reason? “The Bachelor’s Puzzle quilt block has nothing to do with this. I just want to help Enos with his farm. Can’t one neighbor help another without everybody getting hysterical about it?”

Cathy narrowed her eyes. “I’m not hysterical. I am as calm as a summer’s morning. What about you, Joanna? Are you hysterical?”

Joanna’s gaze flicked in Ada’s direction. “Kind of.”

Mary wrung her hands. She never wanted to offend anybody. “I’m not sure what to think.”

Clay’s grin was wider than the Colorado river. “I’m hysterical if Mary is.”

“I think it’s wunderbarr ,” Beth said. “Ada can fall in love with whoever she wants.”

Ada came out of her chair. “Fall in love! Who said anything about falling in love? I just . . . I want to help a neighbor.”

Menno pointed to her mouth. “Are you wearing lip gloss?”

Ada gave Menno a look that could have curdled goat’s milk. “My lips were dry, and it’s ChapStick.”

Menno wiped the smile off his face. “It looks pretty. Everybody wants soft lips.”

“This is what I’m talking about.” Cathy fingered the chunky string of beads that held her glasses. “I’ve watched enough Hallmark movies to know girls always end up falling in love with their worst enemy. You have no one to blame but yourself for that horrible mother-in-law.”

Ada tried to remain calm, though it was one of the hardest things she’d ever done. If she lost her temper, everybody would think she was using her anger to try to hide her true feelings, which she wasn’t. She went so far as to tilt her head and smile, as if they were all discussing the weather or the price of goat cheese. “Cathy, you have nothing to worry about. I have no feelings for Enos Hoover, except maybe annoyance and frustration. I occasionally feel pity for him, but certainly not affection, admiration, or love.”

“Right,” Beth said, trying to be agreeable, “because he’s trying to steal our land.”

“I like Enos,” Menno said. “Ada should be able to marry him if she wants to.”

Ada lost any semblance of control and slapped the table. “Haven’t you heard anything I’ve said?”

Joanna put her arm around Ada and smiled. “We hear you, but your eyes tell a different story.”

Ada shut her mouth so fast, her teeth knocked together. What could her schwesteren see in her eyes besides utter exhaustion? And why was her heart galloping like a horse?

Another knock at the door. Ada couldn’t catch her breath. Joanna said Ada had something in her eye and suddenly she was paralyzed?

Joanna tightened her arm around Ada. “Here he is. Everybody act natural.”

Until twenty seconds ago, Ada would have had no trouble acting natural. Now she didn’t even know what natural meant. She put on two oven mitts and pulled Beth’s yummasetti from the oven, which gave her a chance to turn her back on everyone and collect herself. Enos Hoover was her adversary, not her friend. Tabitha would not be her mother-in-law. Enos did not like her, and she did not like him. In fact, Enos was the last man on Earth she would ever marry. He was stubborn, serious, and too accommodating to his mater . He didn’t know the first thing about roasting a gute marshmallow and had no respect for the boundary-by-acquiescence law.

By the time she turned around, she was feeling more herself and less like a giddy schoolgirl. Enos and Tabitha came into the kitchen, Enos with freshly washed hair and Tabitha leaning on her cane and scowling as if she had indigestion. Ada squared her shoulders. She would never stand for Tabitha as a mater -in-law. Thank Derr Herr she wasn’t the least bit interested in Enos.

Enos hesitantly introduced Tabitha to everyone. Obviously he was uneasy that Tabitha might say something to embarrass herself. Or him. Or everybody else. He needn’t have worried. Everyone in the room knew Tabitha by reputation, so they weren’t likely to be surprised by her behavior. Then again, Tabitha’s behavior had been outrageous enough to shock even Ada. There was no telling what would happen.

Joanna and Mary introduced their husbands, and Joanna introduced Rosie and Lily. “Those aren’t your real children,” Tabitha said. “They look nothing like you.”

Irritation flashed in Joanna’s eyes, but her face was the picture of serenity. “They’re every bit as much mine as if I’d given birth to them.”

Menno was very protective where his dochters and fraa were concerned. “She’s a wonderful mother, and she showers our children with love, as a true mother should. I’ve seen real mothers who don’t give their children enough love to fill a teaspoon.” Except for Tabitha, they all knew who he was talking about.

Enos was smart enough to change the subject. He’d probably had a great deal of practice with it. “Where’s your dat ?”

Ada opened her mouth but couldn’t seem to force out the words. Beth wasn’t tongue-tied in the least. “He’s shearing sheep in Estrella this week. He has his own sheep shearing crew, and they travel all over in the spring.”

Enos pulled out the chair next to Cathy and motioned for his mamm to sit. Cathy froze like a Popsicle and crinkled her nose as if Tabitha had a bad smell. Tabitha acted as if she didn’t even notice Cathy sitting next to her.

Everyone sat, Enos on Tabitha’s right, Lily and Rosie next to Enos. Ada made a point to sit on the opposite side of the table from Enos because her family was watching too closely and she didn’t want them to think she would ever consider marrying such a headstrong, stubborn man. Clay said, “ Handt nunna ,” which was the signal for silent prayer. Clay’s accent was terrible, but everyone understood what he meant, even Cathy, who had eaten enough meals with the Amish to know what to do. They all put their hands in their laps and bowed their heads and listened for Clay to clink his fork against his plate or make some sort of noise to let them know the prayer was over. Clay liked very short prayers, and Ada had barely got the words “ Denki for the food” out of her mouth before Clay picked up his fork.

Tabitha glared at Clay as if he’d committed some serious sin, probably of saying too short a prayer. Then she picked up her paper napkin and examined it. Was she looking for flaws, or did she disapprove of the pink and yellow flowers printed on the paper? “Enos tells me your appliances are powered by solar,” she said, with not a syllable about the napkins. “I’m shocked your bishop allows that. How does he expect to lead his flock to heaven when he’s so permissive?”

It had been silly to think Tabitha might not come to lunch. Why would she ever pass up an opportunity to air her grievances in front of everybody?

Beth, of all people, seemed the least intimidated by Tabitha. She shrugged and gave Tabitha a smile she didn’t deserve. “We don’t get so uptight as all that. We are called to be separate from the world, and solar power is just as separate as liquid propane or wood-burning stoves. You could even say we’re more righteous than the Pennsylvania Amish because we use the source Gotte gifts us freely every day. The time we save gives us more time to read the Bible.”

Ada turned away to hide a smile. Beth was more apt to read a romance novel than the Bible, but she’d come up with a very clever response. It wasn’t fair or honest to compare their righteousness to the Amish in Pennsylvania, but Beth had put Tabitha in her place.

Or maybe she hadn’t. Tabitha scowled at the paper napkin in her hand. “Our lives are supposed to be hard, and we shouldn’t ever chase ease and leisure. The devil uses idle hands. I’ve told Enos he’ll hook us up to solar over my dead body.”

“So, Enos,” Clay said, passing the bowl of grapes to Mary, “Ada says you’re planting potatoes on the six acres we’re all arguing about.”

Menno poured his dochters some water. “I wouldn’t say we’re all arguing about it. Just Enos and Ada.”

Enos turned to Ada with a concerned look on his face. “Ada was kind enough to help me plow this morning.”

Tabitha grabbed a roll from the basket and eyed it suspiciously. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing. If you want Enos off the land, you shouldn’t help him plant it.”

Cathy pointed to the corn on her plate. “Is this dairy free?”

Joanna smiled mischievously. “We really can’t figure out what Ada is up to. First she sets up that tent, and then she helps Enos plow. It’s almost as if she can’t make up her mind.”

Enos poured his mater a glass of water. “I admire Ada’s strict integrity. She’s determined to camp on the principle of the thing, but can’t any of you talk her into sleeping in the house? I’m worried about her health and her safety. She barely sleeps at night, and I’ve heard several coyotes prowling.”

Ada grunted her disapproval. “What about your health? You work too hard, and you sleep in that tiny little tent. The coyotes will see you as easier prey.” Ada was once again acutely aware that her schwesteren and bruderen -in-law were studying her closely, as if she was a mystery to all of them.

“Curse those quilt blocks,” Cathy muttered.

Tabitha laid the unsuitable napkin in her lap. “If Enos gets sick and dies, at least I’d get to go back to Pennsylvania.”

Menno knew when a conversation was getting out of hand. “I’m planting potatoes too. Freeman Sensenig has been a huge help. I’m going to try a few sugar beets, but as far as I know there’s only one processing plant in Colorado, so it might not be profitable.”

“Will you plant alfalfa on the rest of your land, Enos?” Clay asked.

Again Enos gazed at Ada. His brown eyes had little specks of gold on the edges. What was going on in the deep waters of his mind? “If I can manage it.”

Menno nodded at Clay. “Don’t worry. It will work out.”

Ada’s heart swelled to overflowing. Clay and Menno would take care of Enos and his farm. She hadn’t liked either of them when they’d first come to Byler, but now she adored them as if they were her own flesh and blood.

Beth took the foil off the pan, grabbed a large spoon, and dished out yummasetti. Ada cringed. The yummasetti looked as if Beth had dropped it, scooped it off the floor, and dumped it back into the pan. It was a jumbled mess of peas, noodles, and ground beef. Beth obviously didn’t know enough to be embarrassed. She cheerfully dished Tabitha a scoop and gave an even bigger helping to Enos. Tabitha examined the runny mess on her plate with the same critical eye she’d used on Beth’s napkins. “I’m not eating this.”

Beth’s smile faded as if she didn’t have the energy to keep it going any longer. “Don’t you like yummasetti?”

Tabitha wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I like yummasetti, but this slop is not yummasetti.”

Mary let out an audible gasp. Half the people at the table lowered their eyes in embarrassment. The other half stared at Tabitha in unabashed horror.

Beth cleared her throat and blinked rapidly. “It is my first time, but I think you’ll like it.”

Tabitha shook her head. “I don’t think so.”

Enos’s face turned a dark shade of red. “I apologize, Beth. Mamm has a sensitive stomach.”

Tabitha gave Enos a glare that would have peeled the paint off a barn. “Don’t apologize for me. I don’t have a sensitive stomach, and I haven’t done anything but speak the truth. Honesty never needs an apology.”

Ada finally found her voice. “Beth, this yummasetti is absolutely appeditlich .” She hoped Beth wouldn’t notice she hadn’t taken a bite yet.

Clay had already eaten half the yummasetti on his plate. “You’re really missing out, Tabitha. I love it, especially the cheese. Good job, Beth.”

Growing more and more red, Enos picked up his fork and took a huge bite of Beth’s yummasetti. “This is wonderful delicious,” he said, his voice a combination of forced enthusiasm and deep mortification.

Ada would have to eat everything on her plate if she didn’t want to see Beth disintegrate into a puddle of tears. She reluctantly scooped a small bite into her mouth and swallowed it. She widened her eyes. It was surprisingly gute , just the right amount of salt and not too much onion. She took a bigger bite, and the flavors did a dance on her tongue.

Enos must have taken heart from everyone else’s comments. “It’s really gute , Beth. Mamm just hasn’t adjusted to the altitude yet.”

Cathy propped her elbows on the table. “How long do you think it will take you to adjust, Tabitha? Twenty years?”

Did Tabitha hear the sarcasm in Cathy’s voice? “I’ll never adjust. I’ve got to get back to Pennsylvania before I die of altitude sickness.”

Cathy wasn’t long-suffering or polite, and at times like this, Ada was very grateful. “High altitude is no excuse for bad manners, and someone as old as you should know better. Did your mother raise you in a barn?”

Tabitha acted as if Cathy had tried to pluck out one of her nose hairs. “I’m not as old as you, and it’s not bad manners to tell the truth. I’ve lived a gute life. I deserve to spend my later years surrounded by people who love me, not strangers who’ve strayed from the Ordnung and the righteous way.”

Cathy had never been one to let an argument die. “I don’t know much about the Ordnung or the degrees of righteousness, but the Yoders seem like perfectly fine people to me, even though Menno takes some getting used to.”

“What do you mean by that?” Menno interjected.

Cathy didn’t even take a breath. “You are a hypocrite, Tabitha Hoover.”

Tabitha clutched her heart as if Cathy had poked her in the chest. Jesus condemned only two groups of people in the New Testament: lawyers and hypocrites. It was the highest of insults. “I am not.”

“You Amish are supposed to be forgiving and loving and submissive, but you strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.”

“I do not swallow camels.”

For Enos’s sake, Ada should have stopped the conversation right there, but they were all mesmerized by the spectacle that was playing out before them. Enos’s lips were pressed together in a hard line, and he looked as if he were suffocating. Mary’s eyes were so wide, Ada would probably have been able to see the back of her head if she looked closely enough. Clay was the only person who didn’t look distressed. He was so good-natured, he looked at every problem as a blessing from Gotte.

Cathy jabbed her fork in Tabitha’s direction. “You’re indignant about their solar panels, yet I’ve never heard you say a kind word to your son. I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t condemn solar panels, but He sure had a lot to say about love.”

Tabitha grabbed her cane and rose to her feet. “Enos, take me home. I will not sit by while my own son refuses to defend me against this abuse.”

Enos stood, his expression as hard as a stone. Ada had seen beneath the surface of that stone, and she wanted to weep for him. But what could she do? Tabitha was still his mater , and he truly wanted to be a gute son.

Tabitha grabbed the roll from her plate and hobbled into the living room. She turned and lifted her roll as if she was going to toss it to Cathy. “I am the sweetest, most loving mother in the world, but I will always correct my sons if they need chastisement. Enos has failed again and again to honor his mater , and he will hear it from me, several times a day if need be.”

Enos cupped his hand around Tabitha’s elbow and led her away. Ada had a gute view of the front door from her seat at the kitchen table. Tabitha yanked her arm away from him, waited until he opened the door for her, then walked outside like a high-stepping horse at the county fair. Enos glanced back at Ada, his face expressionless, his eyes filled with unimaginable pain. Then he was gone.

Everyone in the room seemed to let out a collective breath.

“That went well,” Clay said, with just a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Ada felt sick to her stomach. “You’ll still help him plant his alfalfa, won’t you?”

Menno looked at Ada as if she’d said something ridiculous. “For sure and certain we will. We can’t punish the son for the sins of the mater .”

Clay slathered a whole tablespoon of butter on his roll. “I’m real glad Cathy said all the things none of us had the courage to say.”

Cathy didn’t look pleased by the compliment. Then again, Cathy never looked pleased about anything. “I shouldn’t have said anything. I embarrassed Enos, and he has enough troubles for three lifetimes. But I couldn’t let her say those things about Beth’s casserole. Even though the yummasetti isn’t dairy free, it is very good, and Tabitha had no right to insult it. As a guest in your home, it’s just bad manners. She goaded me beyond endurance, but I’m sorry it upset Enos.”

Mary sighed. “I don’t know if you could upset Enos any more than his mother already does. She’s very unkind.”

Joanna wrapped her fingers around Beth’s wrist. “I’m sorry she hurt your feelings.”

Beth slumped her shoulders. “She did hurt my feelings, but you were all so nice about it. I know it doesn’t look very gute . I couldn’t get the layers right.”

“It is delicious,” Joanna said.

It hadn’t looked very appetizing, but Ada was unselfish enough to admit she’d been wrong. “Beth, it isn’t just good. It is even better than my yummasetti.”

Beth’s face lit up like a lantern. “Really?”

Ada took a bite just to prove she was sincere. “Really. I like that you didn’t skimp on the butter.”

Beth blushed. “I accidentally put in a whole cube instead of half.”

“ Ach , vell , it’s how we should make the recipe from now on.”

Cathy picked up a pea from her plate with her fingers. “I like Enos a lot.”

Joanna and Mary froze like statues. “That’s nice,” Joanna said.

“I’m going to change my strategy.”

That didn’t sound gute . Cathy had a strategy? “What do you mean?” Ada asked.

“It’s too late to make new quilt blocks, so we’ll just have to make do with the groom we have.”

Ada’s heart tried to claw its way up her throat. “There is no groom, Cathy.”

“If you say so.” Cathy pinned Ada with an annoyed gaze. “You wouldn’t listen to me before. Why would I think you’ll listen to me now? I’m going to leave you out of it.”

“Out of what?”

“My new strategy.”

Joanna giggled. “What is your new strategy, Cathy?”

“I’m going to find a way to get Ada’s future mother-in-law back to Pennsylvania and out of our hair.”