The Wedding Quilt Bride

“Yep, finally listened to my answering machine. I’ve been that busy this spring—you wouldn’t believe. You looking to move in here?” He was looking around as he spoke. Big and burly, with hands like a couple of hams, Barry had a heart as soft as butter, Daniel knew. He’d be horrified to think he’d frightened Rebecca.

Frightened. But why?

He pushed the question aside. He’d have to consider that later. “It’s going to be a quilt shop for our neighbor, Rebecca Mast.” A quick glance told him that Rebecca looked as if nothing ever disturbed her. “Rebecca, this is Barry Carter. He’s the man to take out the electrics for you.”

Recognizing the meaning of her warning glance, he added quickly, “It’ll take him some time to fit you in, but this way he can check out what needs done.”

“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Mast.” Barry touched the bill of his ball cap in greeting. “I ought to be able to get to it by the end of the month, if there’s no hurry.”

“No, none at all.” Rebecca sounded perfectly calm and in control. “I’m sure Daniel can show you what needs done better than I can.”

Daniel nodded. “Come through to the kitchen. That’s the main thing.”

He led the way, with Barry following, and started explaining what needed to be done. Barry had converted Englisch houses to Amish ones before, so it didn’t take all that much explaining on his part.

Which was good, because his thoughts were in a crazy jumble. Rebecca’s reaction, Lige’s timid behavior... He could think of one obvious reason for that, and he found his hands curling into fists at the thought.

Horrified, he forced them to relax. James Mast was dead now, and whatever his faults, he’d face a more competent judge of his life than Daniel King.

A passage came into his mind and clung there. It looked to him as if the wrong men did, as well as the good, live on after them.

* * *

Rebecca dunked her mop into the pail of sudsy water. Cleaning the cellar floor in preparation for worship tomorrow was just the sort of hard work she needed to keep her mind off what had happened.

She’d given herself away to Daniel. She’d never intended it, but the man bursting in had taken her completely by surprise. Pretending Daniel hadn’t noticed was useless. He’d shielded her, stepping between her and the man and engaging him in conversation to give her time to recover.

Keeping the truth about her marriage private was becoming increasingly difficult. And Daniel seemed to know her too well.

Impulsively, she turned to Leah, working alongside her, with a question.

“Do you think we can know everything about another person if we’ve been close enough?”

Leah seemed to take the query seriously, as if they’d been talking about that very thing. “I guess it depends on exactly the kind of thing you’re talking about. I mean, I’d say I know how Sam will react in every situation, but sometimes he proves me wrong.”

She smiled, halting the rhythmic movement of the mop. “I remember one time he had an offer from a different dairy to buy our milk at a much better price. We’d been a bit short after putting in the new milk tank, and I thought he’d jump at the offer.”

“He didn’t?” Milk tanks and dairies didn’t seem the point, but since she’d asked the question, she’d best show an interest in the answer.

“He turned them down flat. When I asked him why, he said he’d heard talk the man was trying to undercut the other dairy and had even spread rumors about the quality of their milk. Well, when I heard that, I understood. See, I might not have known that he’d turn it down, but I do know that Sam would never be associated with anyone who wasn’t straight about their business. So I guess I did know him, after all.”

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