Rebecca cracked a smile.

Levi nudged her foot under the table. "Hey, you get a free drink with the cheese fries. And you can have the lemonade without feeling guilt-ridden, because I technically don't have to pay for it," he said.

Some of the ice melted. "I would hate to see a perfectly good peach lemonade go to waste."

"And you'll feel terrible if the cheese fries don't get eaten. I'm paying for those."

Rebecca had a really cute smile when she showed it. "I know I shouldn't give in."

"Yet you feel powerless to resist." She was on to him, but he didn't care. He'd gotten his way.

In all his dating experiences, Levi had never seen a girl actually finish her meal. Tara ate like a bird, and the cheerleaders he'd dated in high school took a few bites of whatever they ordered and left the rest on their plates to be eaten by him once he tucked in his own food.

Rebecca was not one of those girls. She polished off her pizza, the peach and a mango lemonade, and more than half the cheese fries. She ate with impeccable manners but cleaned up an amazing amount of food. It was kind of cute, and he couldn't help smiling at her enjoyment. He should have brought his camera to capture her expression, even though he knew she wouldn't have appreciated it.

She caught him staring as she popped the last cheese fry into her mouth and lowered her eyes self-consciously.

"I told you you'd like them."

She blushed. "It has been awhile since I ate out."

"I thought Amish people loved to eat out. There are four or five buggies at that Denny's across from the sporting goods store all the time."

"My mamm doesn't feel good most days, and I am not about to take my little brothers anywhere in public by myself."

"That bad? How old are they?"

"Twelve and fourteen. Getting them to sit still is like trying to milk a bull-painful and impossible."

"Any other Millers at home?"

"I have a younger sister, Linda Sue. She is almost seventeen. I cannot get her to do chores, but at least she doesn't give me trouble like the boys do."

"So your brothers are rambunctious."

"I don't know what rambunctious means, but if it explains why Max has almost been kicked out of school twice, I guess they are. I had to promise the teacher that I would sit in class with him every morning for two weeks before she agreed to let him stay. Ach, it is irritating."

She hadn't said anything about her dad. Was he dead? Levi didn't ask. But he knew that there was no such thing as divorce in the Amish community. Levi envied the stability of the Amish family-the dad didn't wake up one day and decide to abandon his wife and rip out his son's heart because he "couldn't stand to live like this anymore."

"Hey, Levi."

Levi looked up. Megan Donelly and Cassie Can't-Remember-Her-Last-Name gave him the eye from across the room. Megan, in her characteristic short skirt, winked and smiled at him, while Cassie played with her hair and tried to look demure and available at the same time. He should have been happy to see them. They'd be sure to inform Tara that they'd seen him with a beautiful blond at the Cowtown Grill. But he wasn't as pleased as he thought he'd be.

He glanced at Rebecca then waved back casually, hoping she didn't make anything of if. He didn't want to hurt her feelings.

Rebecca eyed the girls with apparent indifference before folding her arms and staring out the window.

Levi guzzled the rest of his Coke then thumped his glass on the table. "Okay, kid. I've got more excitement planned for the evening. Have you ever seen a movie?"

"Lots of Amish kids go to movies before baptism."

"But have you ever seen a movie? In a theater?"

Rebecca played with her straw. "Nae. I've lived a very dull life."

"No money?"

"I work one day a week cleaning for an Englisch woman so I can pay for prescriptions and my cell phone. There is not much left over for anything else."

"You have a cell phone?"

"Mamm is not happy about it. She thinks it will pull me to the world. But I have not been baptized."

"So anything goes until you're baptized?"

"No. All good parents want to keep their children from doing destructive things. Rumschpringe or not, we try to live lives of duty to God and our families-though some experiment more than others. I do not think God smiles on immoral behavior simply because someone has not been baptized yet. The consequences are certainly worse after one has committed to God, but sin is sin whether before or after baptism."

Her earnest expression made him smile to himself. "So is that a yes or a no to seeing a movie?" he said.

"What movie?" Rebecca said.

"Well, if you're brave enough to ski, you should be brave enough for The Fleshies. Can you handle zombies?"

"What are zombies?"

"You'll find out. But I warn you, it's supposed to be terrifying," Levi said.

"I am not afraid of anything."

He didn't know why, but Levi had the sudden, almost irresistible urge to lean over and kiss her. She was so cute with her unfailingly proper manners and her ready-for-anything facade. A girl couldn't fake such endearing behavior. Up against Rebecca, Tara seemed kind of hardened.

He shook his head back and forth a couple of times to clear his thoughts and plopped some cash on the table. "Then let's get out of here."

Zombie movie. Best idea ever.

As the blood and guts exploded on the screen, Rebecca seized the armrests on either side of her and gripped them until her knuckles turned white. Levi inched his warm hand on top of her ice-cold one. She pulled away as if she had been burned.

Okay, she didn't want him to touch her during the movie, but she would definitely melt into his arms as soon as the danger was over. A scary movie did that to a girl.

She pressed her head against the back of her seat but never closed her eyes or looked away from the screen. She might be terrified, but she seemed determined to take the horror with both eyes wide-open.

Her lips, pursed in distress, were achingly tempting. Maybe he would give her a post-movie kiss. Just to make Tara jealous.

After the military blew the last zombie's head off and the credits rolled, Levi moved in to comfort Rebecca. Lowering his head, he locked his eyes on hers to prepare her for what was to come.

Instead of puckering up, she produced three whole sticks of gum from her pocket and stuffed them into her mouth. He waited for her to chew them into submission then closed in again, cupping her chin in his hand and turning her toward him. Her eyes, deep pools of emotion, pled with him to lay one on her. He tilted his head slightly.

"Don't kiss me," she said, loud enough for the guys three rows in front of them to hear.

Levi almost choked on his astonishment. "What?"

"Don't kiss me."

"Why not?"

"Thirty-four people are dead and you expect a kiss?"

"It's just a movie."

"I have never been kissed before, and if you kiss me now, I will forever associate kissing with creepy men with skin peeling off their faces. How could you do that to my future husband?"

Levi pulled back. "It's not real. Can't you just forget-?"

"Nae, I cannot just forget."

"But I want to kiss you. That's what people do on dates."

Rebecca held up her hand in case Levi tried to break through her defenses. "No kissing."

Surprised at the depth of his disappointment, Levi backed off.

Zombie movie. Worst idea ever.

Chapter Four.

Rebecca tucked the six twenty-dollar bills into her apron pocket and took her black bonnet from the hook by the front door.

"I will see you next week, Mrs. Johnson," she said, deftly fastening the bonnet ties into a bow under her chin.

Mrs. Johnson, who was perched in her lounge chair in front of the television set, nodded inattentively. "Put some ointment on that elbow. And put the garbage out on the street, will ya?"

Rebecca cleaned house for Mrs. Johnson one day a week, twelve hours a day, every day the same. She scrubbed bathrooms, vacuumed floors, washed windows, and wiped walls, then made two casseroles for Mrs. Johnson to freeze for meals during the week. The work was hard, but Mrs. Johnson paid well. A hundred and twenty dollars a week funded Rebecca's cell phone and two prescriptions for Mamm. She stashed the few surplus dollars every month for emergencies, like anticipated amusement park trips and future ski rentals.

Although she earned good money, Rebecca dreaded Tuesdays. Even after work, her labor didn't end. Once she got home she would clean up her siblings' messes, do a batch of laundry, mop, and milk. And look after Mamm. She was usually up past ten o'clock.

Every week, Rebecca caught a ride home with Marvin Yutzy, who passed by Mrs. Johnson's in his buggy at precisely six o'clock in the evening. Marvin was already baptized and eagerly looking for a wife.

And Rebecca eagerly hoped that Marvin did not consider her a possible future companion.

The man would put his poor wife to sleep every night with his monotone voice and long recitations of the latest weather patterns. Rebecca thought of him as the human sleeping pill-a very uncharitable notion indeed. How could she ever hope to join the community of Christ with such wicked thoughts filling her head?

Unfailingly prompt, Marvin guided his horse in front of Mrs. Johnson's mailbox just as Rebecca put the garbage bin at the street. With more energy than he ever exhibited in his conversation, he nimbly leaped from the buggy, ran around to the other side, and helped Rebecca into her seat. She thanked him sincerely. If it weren't for Marvin, Rebecca would have to walk the four miles home every Tuesday.

"Gute day at work today?" Marvin asked as he prodded his horse into a slow trot.

"Jah. Mrs. Johnson's back was acting up, but she can still walk around fine."

"She is a nice lady."

"Jah, very nice. Gute day for you?"

"Me and Davie today was disagreeing over which breed of Jerseys or Holsteins is best. The Jerseys are smaller and easier to handle, but Holsteins give more milk. I think the Jerseys are a better breed for the cream. The milk is richer, and with Samuel making more cheese than anything else, he needs the higher fat content."

Rebecca smiled and nodded politely. She had heard Marvin debate with himself about Jerseys and Holsteins no less than six times. She wondered what he would say if she asked for his opinion about skiing versus skateboarding. Or zombies versus aliens. Not that she would ever seek out that disturbing zombie experience again. She could proudly say she'd seen a zombie movie and check that off her list of things to do before she died-but there was no need to distress herself like that ever again. As Levi would say, "Been there, done that."

"...and ice cream. Do you think Samuel would try that?" Marvin turned to look at Rebecca. He seemed intensely curious about what she had to say. She couldn't bear to hurt his feelings and admit that she hadn't been listening.

"I-I do not know," she stammered. "Samuel has a gute head for business." Rebecca held her breath, hoping this answer would suffice.

Marvin nodded. "I agree. He will make the right decision. Ice cream is more expensive to transport."

As the buggy rounded the corner, her house came into view and Rebecca caught sight of her brothers wrestling in the front yard. Had they finished the milking? Her heart sank. More likely, they hadn't even started.

"Will you come to the gathering tomorrow night, Rebecca?" Marvin said. "My parents are hosting."

Rebecca pried her glare from her brothers. "Nae, Fater won't be home until Friday and the chores are piling up."

Marvin actually reached over and placed his hand on hers. "You are nineteen years old, Rebecca. How will you find a husband if you don't go to the gatherings?"

A husband? The question pricked her temper, and she answered more adamantly than she meant to. "I already have three siblings and my mother to look after. Why would I want another mouth to feed?"

Marvin furrowed his brow. "Is that all a husband is to you? Another mouth to feed?"

Jah, Rebecca wanted to snap. What would I be but a maid and servant to one more person in the house? A person who would claim some sort of authority over my life.

That was how her fater treated her. He used their home as a boardinghouse, sleeping over on weekends before leaving town for another job as far away as possible from his ailing wife and burdensome children.

Rebecca swallowed the resentment that Marvin didn't deserve and shook her head. "Of course not," she said. "I didn't mean it to sound that way. I have plenty of work to do here. How could I abandon my family for a husband when they need me so much right now?"

Marvin stared at her for an uncomfortably long time. "You have a gute heart, Rebecca, to take such care with your family."

"Denki, Marvin. I complain too much."

"I have never heard you utter a word of complaint."

In my heart I grumble constantly, thought Rebecca. Gute thing Marvin or anyone else cannot see my rebellious spirit.

Dottie Mae saw what others did not, but she never rebuked Rebecca for her complaining. There would never be another bosom friend like Dottie Mae, ever, in the entire world.