She sat down on the bed, running her hand over the soft fabric and fine st.i.tching. A branch outside the window swayed in the wind. An owl hooted in the woods behind the house. Zane plopped down beside her. He put his arm around her and pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin. He smelled of wood stain and the crisp fall air.

This was their house. Their room. The future she'd longed for since she was eleven had finally arrived. Well, nearly. Another month and it would be here.

She turned her head up to him and their lips met. Waiting for each other hadn't been easy. Pa.s.sion filled her.

Zane pulled away. "This was a bad idea," he said, struggling to his feet. "I shouldn't have brought you up here, not like this."

Lila exhaled.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Don't be." She smiled a little and then scooted off the bed.

He headed to the door. "Want to see the Bobbli's room?"

She shook her head. "Not tonight. Let's come back tomorrow afternoon. We can bring your mom with us. . . ."

"I volunteer at the station tomorrow."

"Oh," Lila said. "I thought we'd get started delivering the invitations." They were on the landing now, walking past the Bobbli's room with its door closed, headed to the stairs.

"We can do that Wednesday." Zane started down the stairs.

"I'll go see Eve tomorrow, then." Lila had the day off from the Plain Buffet, and she'd been meaning to visit her aunt for the last week to see their foster child. Eve was taking a month-long leave of absence from her teaching job. "I'll take Billie," Lila added. The sooner she could get the horse into shape, the better. She knew driving a buggy was one of those things that worried Zane. Most Amish children grew up learning how to handle horses. She certainly had.

Zane reached the front door.

"Wait," Lila said.

He turned toward her.

"Hold me," she said.

He did but not in the same way he had in the bedroom. "One more month," she whispered.

"I need to get you home," he responded, pulling away and turning the doork.n.o.b.

When they arrived at her back steps, Zane quickly told Lila good-bye and then retreated back to the lane. Under the moonlight, she watched until he disappeared into the darkness. They would soon be together, in their little house, in their bed, with their someday Bobbli's room across the landing. One more month was all.

She took the steps slowly, hoping everyone would be asleep. She entered the house quietly, hung up her cape, and tiptoed into the kitchen as the smell of coffee greeted her. Someone must have made a pot after she left. The lamp burned on the table. Dat must have left it on for her, but there was a light coming from the living room too. He wouldn't have left that lamp burning. Perhaps he was getting ready for bed.

She heard a soft murmur. Then another. Dat's voice and someone else's. "How ill is he?" Dat asked.

"Quite. And it seems he has been for some time. He'd need a heart transplant to recover." It was Beth's voice.

Lila strained to listen.

"I can't wish ill on someone else," Dat said. "Not for my own gain."

"No," Beth said. "I pray for his recovery. And yet it doesn't seem likely that-"

"I could talk to Gideon about this," Dat said. "Perhaps he'd understand."

"Wait," Beth said. "Give it a few weeks."

"Gideon didn't say we couldn't ever see each other, just that we shouldn't spend as much time together," Dat said.

"Jah," Beth said. "But he's right. I'm surprised it took so long for people to start to gossip. I shouldn't be here tonight. . . ."

Lila's face grew warm, sure they were talking about Beth's ex-husband. She continued on to the hallway and the bathroom. She knew Dat and Beth cared about each other, but hearing them whispering in the dark made them seem so vulnerable.

She was certain they would marry if Beth's husband died. But would they feel horrible about it, under the circ.u.mstances? They might not wish him dead, but they would certainly benefit from his demise. Perhaps Lila would have a stepmother after all, and soon.

She would be out of the house by then and happily married, with a life and home of her own. Rose would soon too. But how wonderful it would be for Trudy to have Beth as her mother.

Lila paused at the bathroom door in the dark hallway, ashamed of herself. She shouldn't be hoping for a future contingent on the death of Beth's ex-husband either. None of them should. It would be best not to think about it until it happened. Hopefully that's what Dat and Beth would do too.

Ten minutes later as she crawled into her bed, Rose whispered from across the room, "How do you like your house?"

"It's wonderful," Lila said.

"Jah," Rose said. "I stopped by late last week. Zane did a good job."

"Why are you still awake?"

Rose turned on a flashlight and held up a book. "I was looking at recipes."

"Share the best ones with me."

"I will." Rose turned off the light. "Did you see Trevor?"

"No," Lila said. "Why do you ask?"

"I just wondered how he was doing. . . . He seemed so lost."

"He'll be all right," Lila said, rolling onto her back. "Guder Nacht."

Within a few minutes Rose's breathing slowed, followed by a little snore. Then she flopped over to her other side, obviously sound asleep. Rose had changed since she started courting Reuben. She'd become less lippy and selfish, and she'd taken on more of the household ch.o.r.es, including the cooking and baking.

There was still a part of Rose that craved attention though. Lila hoped she'd stay focused on Reuben-and not shift her interest to an ex-soldier struggling to cope with day-to-day life.

No, that wouldn't happen. Maybe it would have two years ago, but Rose had truly changed. She wouldn't be distracted by Trevor, no matter how good-looking he was.

The next afternoon Lila stood in the doorway of the baby's room in Eve and Charlie's house, watching as Eve lifted a little boy with red hair out of the crib. Light from the window bounced off the lemon-colored walls of the room. The curtains were a sheer yellow and the crib a contrasting white. A small chest of drawers and a changing table were pushed against the far wall.

For a moment Lila regretted not peeking into the Bobbli's room in her house. Had Zane painted the walls? Surely he hadn't furnished the room. Just the thought of the little house and the way she felt the night before made her face grow warm.

Eve turned toward her. "Here he is," she cooed. "Just up from his nap."

Lila knew the baby's name was Jackson, and that he was five months old. He looked smaller though. He wrinkled up his face and started to cry.

Eve put him to her shoulder and patted his back. "There, there," she said. She was a natural. Lila couldn't help but remember how well Eve had cared for Trudy when she was a baby-how well she'd cared for all of them.

Eve kept talking as she changed his diaper and then carried him out to the kitchen. As Eve grabbed the bottle that she'd prepared a few minutes before, Lila said, "He's really cute."

Eve nodded in agreement as she positioned the bottle in the baby's mouth. He latched on and relaxed against Eve's arm.

"How long do you think you'll have him?"

"It could be a while. In fact there's the possibility his mother might relinquish him."

"And then what?"

"We'd like to adopt him if no family members come forward to do so."

"Oh," Lila said, thinking that sounded risky.

After the baby drained the bottle and Eve burped him, she asked Lila if she wanted to hold him. "Of course," she said, taking him and then settling down on the sofa. The little one looked up at her and smiled, just a little.

"Oh, look at that." Lila stroked the side of his face, and he smiled again, his blue eyes lighting up. She glanced up at her aunt. "He's so alert." He was small, true, but he seemed healthy.

Eve nodded. "His reflexes are good, and he's on schedule as far as all of his developmental steps. If he falls behind, we'll get the support he'll need."

The women talked more about the baby and then about Charlie. Finally Eve asked about Zane.

"He's volunteering at the station this afternoon and evening," Lila said.

"Oh, great. Charlie didn't mention that."

Zane considered Charlie one of his best friends even though there was a fifteen-year age difference between them. After Zane was discharged from the Army and came home to Lancaster, he began volunteering at the station during the same time he took instruction to join the church.

He now carried a beeper for emergencies, and he'd been known to arrive at the station on a scooter he bought at a yard sale-which he claimed was faster than hitching up his horse to his buggy. Lila teased him that was because he was so slow at hitching a horse. That made him laugh. But she guessed the truth was he was afraid Billie might take off and never get him to the station at all.

Eve asked, "How's the house coming along?"

Lila's face grew warm again at the thought of it. "It's mostly done-Zane did such a good job." She smiled. "Although I'm guessing Charlie helped him."

Eve smiled back. "I think quite a few people helped."

"Like who?" Lila asked. Zane had been secretive, hardly talking with her at all about the project.

"Well, Charlie. And your Dat."

Lila nodded. She'd suspected that.

"And Daniel, and even Reuben."

"Reuben?" Lila wrinkled her nose.

Eve laughed. "Jah, he seems to be over you."

A smile spread across her face. "No doubt. He'll be much happier with Rose."

Jackson blew a bubble and then smiled again.

"What time is it?" Lila asked.

Eve pulled her phone from the pocket of her sweater. "Two forty-five."

"Uh oh, I need to get going." She stood. "Time to pick up Trudy."

"I thought Rose was handling that." Eve stood too and put out her arms for the baby.

"No, she's working as a mother's helper today-she should be home when I get back with Trudy." Her sister had never gotten a steady job like Lila had, but she helped out mothers in the area a couple of times a week at least.

A few minutes later, Lila was sweet-talking Billie and feeding him an apple. Once he'd finished it, she drove the buggy toward the highway. Billie's blinders flapped in the warm breeze, and his stride was steady. He hadn't startled at anything all day. Lila was confident that he would be a good buggy horse, and that even Zane would be able to handle him soon.

She hoped her wedding day would be as bright and warm as the weather had been all week, but there was no way to know. The only thing she could be certain of was that the house would be crowded. Dat had said he'd finish the bas.e.m.e.nt, but he hadn't done a thing, and it would soon be too late.

Her mind went back to Eve as she half listened to the clippity-clop of Billie's hooves on the pavement. Lila hoped, if it was the Lord's will, that Eve and Charlie would be able to adopt the little boy. And hopefully there would be more children in their future too. They'd waited a long time to be parents.

Lila had never wondered whether she'd be able to have children. Most Amish women could, but every once in a while she'd hear of someone who couldn't. No one expected such a thing before they married.

But what if a woman knew before? What if Eve had known, would Charlie still have married her? She imagined so. She thought of how badly Zane wanted to be a father and wondered how he would react.

She glanced in the rearview mirror as a semi approached and pulled the horse as far to the right as she could. A second later the truck blew past her. Billie kept trotting along, seemingly oblivious to the leaves, dirt, and debris swirling around him. A few minutes later she turned off the highway, slowed for the covered bridge, and then bounced over the wooden slats through the dark tunnel, peering through the railings on the side into the creek. She was only a mile from the school.

The buggy bounced back into the sunlight, and the creek turned, bubbling alongside the road now. An Amish farmer cut his hay, probably his last crop of the year. In the next field a group of young men heaped dry hay into a wagon. One of the horses nickered, causing Billie to turn his head some, but he didn't break his stride. Across the road a cow mooed, and a farm dog ran along the fence line, barking at the buggy.

Or maybe at another vehicle. Lila sensed something behind her. She glanced toward her rearview mirror. But before she could register the image, something rammed into the back of the buggy. She flew forward, the reins slipping from her grasp, and hurtled through the windshield. She sailed over the top of Billie as the buggy flew apart behind her. The very last thing she remembered was flying toward the creek.

3.

The alarm sounded in the station as Zane and the firefighters ate a late lunch, having returned to the station after responding to a car accident on Village Road. Thankfully it had been minor, with only one transfer to the hospital. No one had been badly hurt.

Zane pushed back his chair, rushing with the rest of the firefighters through the kitchen door to the bay, hoping this next event would be minor too. Charlie led the way, listening to his radio as he ran.

"It's a buggy accident," he called out. "An SUV is involved."

Zane cringed. Those were the worst, and he couldn't help but fear it might be someone he knew. The paramedics and firefighters filed out, quickly put on their gear, and headed toward the trucks. Charlie climbed into the driver's seat of the ambulance while Zane climbed into the pa.s.senger seat of the fire truck and buckled up as the driver, Bob, started the engine. A moment later they lurched forward and out of the open garage door, swinging left onto the street and then through the outskirts of Strasburg, following the ambulance.