"What?"
"Nothing." Time to turn the tables on her, deflect her attention from him. "What were you thinking about before the prayer?"
He watched color flood her face. She opened her mouth, then shut it.
"I don't know what you mean."
"Sure you do. I think I saw jealousy."
"Who do you think I'm jealous of?" When he said nothing, her eyes widened with shock. "You think I'm jealous of Jenny? Why, I love her like a sister. And she deserves every good thing she gets after all she's been through."
He rocked back on his heels. "Look who doesn't like personal questions."
"It's not a personal question. It's an accusation!" she shot back. Stomping over to the door, she opened it and then shot him a fulminating glance. "I'm not even going to justify such —such—"
"Baloney?"
She made a noise and went inside, letting the door slam behind her.
A moment later, Matthew came through the same door. His eyebrows went up in question.
"Problem?"
Chris hesitated. After all, the woman was Matthew's sister."Hannah . . . she asks a lot of questions."
Taking a seat in a chair on the porch, Matthew nodded."She's been like that since she was a child. She's very curious.And a little outspoken at times."
Rocking back on his heels, Chris grinned. Then he realized that Matthew's eyes had narrowed. "I don't mean to frustrate her by not answering them."
A laugh burst out of Matthew and he shook his head. "You're really a match for her, she—" he stopped.
Chris's grin faded.
The door opened again and this time Jenny walked out."Matthew, I—what did I just interrupt?"
"Nothing," Chris said, uneasy with where his thoughts traveled after Matthew's words. "Nothing at all. I think I'll go on back to my room, have an early night. Nice to see you again, Jenny. See you tomorrow, Matthew."
He beat a hasty retreat to his room.
But as he lay in his bed a little while later, covered with one of Hannah's quilts, he thought about what Matthew had started to say. A match for Hannah? No way. It was obvious that the two of them were opposites in every way. And they could never be a match. The Amish and the Englisch didn't marry.
He closed his eyes and was nearly asleep. And then a thought struck him and his eyes shot open.
Jenny and Matthew had married. Was that what Matthew had been about to say? Couldn't be, he decided. What man would want his sister tied to a man like him?
And where had any thought of marriage come from, anyway? Like a lot of men he knew, he'd rather face a firing squad than think about marriage.
Sleep was a long time coming.
Chris and Matthew walked to the barn after breakfast.
Matthew glanced up, studying the sky, sniffing at the air in the manner Chris had seen farmers do for years. "We'll have another good day harvesting tomorrow. Rain's holding off."
"My dad used to do that."
Reaching into his back pocket, Matthew pulled out a cell phone. "I checked the weather channel before I came out."
Chris chuckled. "Neat little gadgets, huh? Thought they weren't allowed."
"It's for business, not personal chatter."
"Ah, I see." Chris shoved his hands into his pockets and absorbed the quiet dusk settling down like an indigo cloak.
"You have any experience with gas engines?"
"I used to work on my car all the time."
"Maybe you can help me with the engine we were using on the conveyor belt yesterday."
"Be willing to try."
They walked to the barn and as Matthew started to pull the door open, Chris felt he had to say something.
"I'll make up that time I missed yesterday."
Matthew glanced at him. "I'm not docking you for that.When you were working you were doing twice the job I expected. I was beginning to worry that you were pushing yourself too hard." He hesitated for a moment.
"You got something to say, say it," Chris told him bluntly.
"I would. I will," Matthew amended. His eyes were direct on Chris. "Are you sure you didn't overdo and that's why you had the flashback?"
He shrugged. "I doubt it. It's more likely that . . ." he broke off.
"That you thought Hannah was in danger?"
"How'd you come to that conclusion?"
"I put two and two together." He smiled slightly. "And I talked to Hannah later. I know she can look out for herself, but I'll always be her big brother."
Buggies were pulling into the drive, filled with the men who would help that day. Chris wondered if anyone would say anything, but after an hour went by, he decided they'd been too far away yesterday to notice.
Working with horses instead of horsepower had felt strange at first but as the days passed, Chris became accustomed to a slower pace—more arduous, certainly, but with a lot of satisfaction as well. Chris liked partnering with another man to accomplish a task, but today he didn't mind working alone, tinkering with the engine. He thought it was interesting how the engine was prohibited in a tractor used for harvesting or in a car, but it could be used to help power a piece of machinery like a conveyor belt.