"I do not know."

"A boy spends a whole day working on your farm, putting up with your little brothers...he likes you. Does he want to marry you?"

Thinking about the answer to that question made Rebecca feel unexpectedly despondent. Marriage was impossible. She was Amish; he, Englisch But the thought that they would be forced to part sometime down the road made her ill. He had become her confidant, the only person to whom she felt comfortable telling her secrets. Could she give him up like a pair of shoes she had outgrown?

"He does not want to marry me," she finally stuttered.

Mamm smiled as if she knew the real answer. "Tell him he will be in trouble on Wednesday if he does not do me the kindness of introducing himself."

"Fater will not approve. You do not have to raise my hopes."

"It is time I put a little more effort into my daughter's happiness," Mamm said. She hugged Rebecca, though Rebecca knew the movement cost her much pain. "You leave it to me. Your fater will see reason, Lord willing. Just because you have never seen my fierce side doesn't mean I do not have one."

Chapter Fifteen.

Levi unloaded the last glass from the dishwasher as Beth blew through the door of their apartment, and his heart jumped out of his chest.

Beth stared at the clean cupboard and the empty dishwasher. "Is somebody coming over?"

"No," Levi said, trying to keep the excitement from his voice, "I was just cleaning up."

She gave him a suspicious look. "Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?"

"Hey, just because I never do the dishes doesn't mean I don't know how."

"No complaints from me. I'm all for you taking over dish duty." Beth laid her purse on the table and thumbed through the mail. "What you doing tonight? You going out with the new girl?"

Levi wiped the faucet with a dry towel. "No, she can't go out most nights. Mostly just Fridays."

"What, she only has one night out on work release?"

Levi threw the towel at his sister. It missed by a mile. Unflinching, she stood her ground.

"I have to work tonight," Levi said.

"Work?" Beth said. "You've already been to work today."

"I got a second job."

She looked at him like he was crazy. "A second job?"

"The bicycle place right next to Truckload Sports needed someone to fix bikes."

Beth raised an eyebrow. "Am I missing something here? You got a second job?"

"I can come in anytime I want, so I can work it around my other job. And they pay really well."

"But why would you get a second job?"

"When is tuition due at Northwestern?"

Beth sighed. "Oh, Levi, we've talked about this. I'm never going to come up with enough money."

Levi reached into his jeans pocket and produced an envelope. "I am sorry to say, I committed a federal crime and opened your letter."

She snatched it from his hands and pulled out the paper inside. Her eyes grew as round as buggy wheels as she read. "My grant! They approved my grant." With both arms, she seized Levi by the neck and squeezed tightly. "It's been so many months since I applied, I thought I'd been rejected." Her eyes scanned to the bottom of the page and the wind disappeared from her sails. "It's not enough," she mumbled. "Even with loans, I've still got to come up with five thousand dollars plus figure out a way to pay for housing. It's still not enough." She plopped herself into a kitchen chair.

Levi put a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay," Beth said. "I've already resigned myself to the fact that I'll be going to the community college."

Levi thought he might burst with excitement. He stuck his hand into his pocket, pulled out a wad of cash, and threw five twenties on the table. "This is for you," he said.

Beth looked at the money as though it might sprout feet and run away. "What for?"

"They pay me by the bike for bike repairs. I think I can muster an extra two hundred dollars a week for the rest of the summer. If you save all the tips you make at MacAffees, I think we can eke out enough for tuition."

Levi looked at the money, which seemed a measly amount compared to what Beth needed. She'd have more if he sold his car and walked to work, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. No car meant no Rebecca. Apple Lake was too far to walk, seven miles, and there weren't enough hours in the day to take the bus. On top of the money he needed to date Rebecca and feed her family once a week, two hundred dollars at a time for Beth was truly all he could manage.

Beth didn't touch the money. "Levi, you already help with the rent and insurance. You want this family to bleed you dry?"

"I can save almost thirty dollars a week if I never buy another margarita again," he said.

She gave him a half smile. "It's a good reason to go sober."

"Please take the money, sis. It'll be like the whole family going to school with you. You have to uphold the family honor, you know."

"The pressure is killing me."

"You'll survive."

With eyes shining, she finally picked up the cash. Clasping it in both hands, she said, "Thank you." She grinned through her tears. "You're the best brother I ever had."

"I'm the only brother you ever had."

"Lucky for you, there's no competition." Beth opened her purse and put the money into her wallet. "When I'm a rich doctor, I'll pay you back every penny."

"No need. Free medical care is all I ask."

She reached over and took his hand. "I wish I could have done the same for you four years ago."

"Nah, the money is much better spent on you." Levi felt that stab of pain again, anger mixed with regret. His dad's abandonment had led Levi down a horrible path he wished he could wipe from his memory. "I never deserved it like you do, Beth."

"Quit with the self-loathing, Levi. You're better than that."

"I wish I were."

Beth picked up her grant letter and put it back into the envelope. "It's this new girl you're dating. You're different since you met her."

"She makes me want to be a better person."

"Well, if she's inspired you to stop drinking, more power to her."

Levi knitted his brows together. "I really like her."

"Don't sound so miserable."

He didn't want to see her reaction, so he went back to the sink, picked up the towel, and wiped the faucet again. "She's Amish."

A shocked silence.

"Does Mom know?" Beth murmured.

"No."

Another long silence.

"She won't like it," Beth said.

Levi simply nodded.

"Does the girl know about all your stuff with the Amish? The accident?" Beth said.

Levi dropped the towel onto the counter. The accident. Would it ever cross his mind without sending a shard of glass shooting through his heart? "She knows we used to be Amish and that Mom has been shunned for almost fifteen years. She doesn't know the worst."

"Are you going to tell her?"

"No. She'd hate me."

Beth frowned. "Of course she won't hate you. Forgiveness is what the Amish do best."

"I'm not taking any chances."

"What if she finds out? Wouldn't it be better coming from you?" Beth said.

"She's not going to find out," Levi said, clenching his teeth. "She's never going to find out."

Chapter Sixteen.

Rebecca couldn't help herself. She sat on the floor in the hallway outside her parents' bedroom with her ear plastered against the door. Whether eavesdropping was wicked or not, she simply had to hear this conversation. Mamm seemed so confident that she could win Fater's approval, but Rebecca couldn't feel so secure.

If Fater suddenly decided to open the door, she would be in big trouble-not to mention be left with a splitting headache.

Fater had arrived home on Friday night just before midnight, when everyone but Rebecca was already asleep. She had slipped through the door mere minutes earlier from playing laser tag. Levi had gotten a flat tire and fixed it with lightning speed to get Rebecca home on time.

This morning after breakfast, Fater went back to the bedroom as he always did to get a weekly update from Mamm. When he left the table, Rebecca sneaked down the hall after him. She tuned her ear to the sound of her parents' voices.

"...can save money on chicken feed," Mamm said.

"Danny wastes it," Fater said. "He pours too much at a time."

"He does his best."

"Tell Becky to feed the chickens. She is not as careless as Daniel."

No reply.

"I see the lawn is done. Did Max fix the mower? He probably made it worse," Fater said.

"Nae, someone else fixed it."

Rebecca's heart thumped in her chest so loudly she was sure Fater would hear it.

"A young man came to help us on Wednesday," Mamm said.

Fater lowered his voice. "What young man? I told the ministers we do not need help. Becky knows not to accept charity. I have made that very clear many times."

"There is nothing to be upset about, Amos. This boy is not from our district. The bishop did not send him."

"That does not matter. Becky knows-"

"I would not ask Rebecca to turn this one away."

"I will tell her," Fater insisted.

"He came to see her, Amos."

A pause.

"A suitor?" Fater asked.

"Jah."