"What?"
"Interesting view," Phoebe remarked as she moved back to the basket of vegetables and began choosing several squash.She took them to the sink, washed them, and then returned to the table with a wooden cutting board and began slicing them.
Hannah looked out the window. She saw the same thing she had for the past few minutes: Chris stood with the other men as they discussed their next task.
"Just men working," she said dismissively. "I think I'll take them some refreshments."
"Sure you don't want me to do that?" Phoebe asked.
She started to respond and then realized that Phoebe wore a puckish smile. "I can do it," she assured her.
Then she stopped. Phoebe had gone white and grasped at the edge of the table.
"Phoebe?"
The older woman blinked and stared at her. "What?"
"Are you all right?" Hannah rushed to her side and set the tray of refreshments down.
"I'm fine, fine." She straightened. "Just got tired there for a minute. I think I'll sit down and chop these."
"You did too much today, didn't you? I knew it would be too much for you to help Sadie."
"I'm not letting my body tell me what to do," Phoebe said firmly. "My spirit tells my body what to do, not the other way around. Why, if it had its way, my body would just stay in bed some days. I'm not taking it easy. That's not my way. It's not our way."
Hannah kissed her cheek. "Sit down before you fall down."
Phoebe gave her a sharp glance. "Don't you be treating me like I'm old."
"I wouldn't dream of it. You can do twice what I can in a day. I'm just saying that you should sit down. I'll be sitting down in a few minutes myself."
Tilting her head to the side to consider that, Phoebe nodded."Then you go take that to the men and I'll fix us some coffee and we'll sit."
"Sounds good." Hannah picked up the tray.
"Since you need it."
Laughing and shaking her head, Hannah walked out of the room.
He got that prickle at the back of his neck again.
Chris stopped working for a moment and spun on his heel to look around. Daniel and Isaac paused, too, and stared at him. He looked past them and saw a buggy parked down by the road. A man sat in it, his face hidden from view within its depths.
A hand touched Chris's shoulder and he jerked and saw that Matthew was standing beside him.
"What?"
"Are you okay?"
Chris cast a glance at the buggy. "Yeah. Sure. Why?"
Matthew looked in the same direction, then back at Chris."Something bothering you?"
"Who is that? Why are they watching us?"
"It's just Josiah," Matthew said, squinting into the sun to see better. "He's probably just curious."
"Curious about what?"
"About what we're doing. He doesn't have much to do these days since he can't farm anymore." He bent his head and looked closely at Chris. "Do you need to take a break?"
"No. I'm fine." He turned back to the task he'd been doing, then remembered his manners. "But thanks."
A few minutes later, when he looked again, the buggy still sat there. Frowning, Chris forced his attention on his work. It's just some old, busy-body guy, he told himself. Let it go.
Working with the other men felt a little like being with his Army buddies. No need to do a lot of talking, especially with these men. At first he wasn't sure if it was because he was the outsider or because they'd all worked together for so long. In any case, they found a rhythm, he and these men, and when one needed something, it took just a look or a word or two and another man appeared to lead the wagon they were loading with hay or soybeans or with one of the vegetable fields that had been planted.
Later, he wondered if he lost it because he'd felt uncomfortable or had been thinking about his military buddies.
Hannah came out of the house with a tray and started toward them, but the buggy caught her attention. She turned and walked toward it and began talking with its occupant. It didn't look like a friendly conversation because she seemed to stiffen, stand up taller, and she shook her head.
Then, when she turned, a man's hand shot out and grasped her arm, stopping her from walking away.
A buzzing began in Chris's ears. He dropped the hay bale in his hands and walked swiftly toward them.
"Let her go!" he called and then he began running. He hadn't been able to stop it last time, but maybe this time he'd get a second chance to make it right. "I said let her go!"
He saw Hannah glance up and look surprised. "Chris? What's the matter?"
All he could see was her being restrained by the man, being pulled into the vehicle. She fought with the man, crying out and hitting him. Her clothes ripped as he relentlessly dragged her toward him, tossing her inside. Chris reached her and pulled her away, shoving her behind him so forcefully that she staggered and fell.