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  Why did she tell Timothy she would go to the next singing? Why did she say she’d like to talk to him, too? Unsure if she could think of Tim as more than a freind, Malinda didn’t want to give him false hope. Maybe she could find a reason not to attend the singing. She had promised, though. “Ach, Malinda! How do you get yourself in such messes?” She spoke aloud as if expecting the darkness to answer her.

  How should she act next time she saw Timothy? She would always look at him differently now. Was that a gut thing or a bad thing? He had been very sweet at the cheese factory today, and playful, too. She liked both qualities. Despite the sight of Isaac and Rebecca in her periphery, she had enjoyed the moments with Timothy. Malinda sighed and flung the sheet off of her. Maybe she could settle down and sleep if she was cooler.

  Maybe not.

  Chapter Ten

  Despite her restless night, Malinda stumbled into the kitchen before Mamm the next morning. She peeled off slices of bacon from the plastic-wrapped slab she pulled from the gas-powered refrigerator and stretched them out in the cast-iron frying pan. They popped and sizzled while she whisked enough eggs to feed all her hungry family. She was laying crisp bacon strips on a paper towel–lined plate to drain by the time Saloma appeared.

  “Goodness, am I that late?” Saloma stole a glance at the apple-shaped, battery-operated clock on the far wall.

  “You’re not late, Mamm. I woke up early.”

  “Here, I’ll do the eggs.” Saloma took the large ceramic mixing bowl from Malinda’s hands.

  “I’ll pack the lunches, then.” Since the younger buwe were out of school for the summer, she only had Sam’s and Atlee’s lunches to pack. Stealthily she slid the small plastic container of macaroni and cheese into Sam’s lunch box and attached a note on which she had written “give to Tim” in bold, black letters. When she looked up, she caught her mamm looking askance at her with raised brows, but she didn’t say a word. Malinda hastily added fruit and cookies to the lunch boxes and fastened them while asking her mamm about the day’s plans. That was the only subject she could think of on the spur of the moment to divert attention from her secretive action. Knowing her mamm, though, Saloma’s curiosity would get the best of her before too long.

  * * *

  “Did Sam ask you to squirrel away some macaroni and cheese for his lunch today?”

  The question came as Saloma and Malinda systematically canned tomatoes in the hot kitchen. They had gotten an early start right after breakfast with the intention of finishing the job before the oppressive afternoon heat and humidity set in. They had scalded and peeled the baskets of tomatoes and now had them bubbling on the stove. Saloma ladled tomatoes and their liquid into quart-sized canning jars. She then passed the jars to Malinda, who ran the long handle of a wooden spoon inside the jars to dispel air bubbles before she screwed on lids and set the jars in the canner.

  Malinda nearly dropped the jar she was holding in midair on its way to the canner. She shouldn’t have been surprised at the question, but she started nonetheless. Actually, what was surprising was that her mamm had waited this long to ask her question. She must have been burning with curiosity all morning. Malinda steadied the jar and gently lowered it into the canner. “Nee, Sam didn’t ask for the mac and cheese—and he’d better not eat it, either!”

  “Then why on earth did you put it in his lunch box? You know he and Atlee eat like there’s no tomorrow.”

  Malinda suppressed a sigh. There would be no way to sidestep Mamm’s questions. She couldn’t be untruthful. She hadn’t planned to divulge the details of her encounter with Timothy. She was still trying to sort things out in her mind. “You know I ran into Timothy yesterday.”

  “So you said last night.”

  “Well, I happened to mention you needed cheese for your macaroni dish. Timothy said his mamm needed cheese for a sauce for broccoli. Tim said he’d rather have mac and cheese. I told him I’d save him some.”

  Saloma chuckled. “That bu always did like my macaroni and cheese. He could almost out-eat Sam.”

  “That would be pretty hard to do.”

  “Did you put a note on that container so Sam would know it was for Tim?”

  “I did. I wrote in big, bold letters. Sam had better not ignore that note!”

  “Did you and Tim discuss anything else?” A sly little smile played at the corners of Saloma’s lips.

  “Uh, we talked a little more. We both needed to get the cheese home before it turned into sauce all by itself.” Malinda couldn’t bring herself to tell Saloma that Timothy thought she was perfect, that he wanted her to think of him as more than Sam’s freind, that he wanted her to attend the next singing so they could talk. She and her mamm had always been close, but some things needed to be savored for a while before they could be shared. Warmth crept up from her neck to her cheeks, and she raised an arm to swipe at her face. “It’s sure hot in here!” Judging from Saloma’s expression, Malinda was fairly certain she hadn’t fooled her mamm one bit. She prayed Mamm wouldn’t question her further.

  “Timothy is a gut bu. I guess I should say he’s a gut young man. He’s much more thoughtful than Isaac Hostetler. Isaac is fine, I suppose, but not nearly as mature, though I’m sure I know Tim much better than Isaac. It’s hard to believe Tim and Sam are grown up and ready to head their own families. Tim has always been the nicest of Sam’s freinden.” Saloma’s eyes slid over to rest on Malinda’s face. All the while, she continued to ladle tomatoes into the hot, sterile jars without sloshing any liquid over the sides. Malinda thought her mamm could can tomatoes or perform practically any household chore in a dead sleep.

  Certain her face was blushing as red as the tomatoes in the jar she was lowering into the canner, Malinda pretended the task at hand required her utmost attention and avoided looking up. If Mamm looked into her eyes, she’d be bound to see Malinda was withholding some tidbit of information and would probably dig until she dragged it out. Malinda’s brain scrambled to find a way to steer the conversation away from the topic of Timothy Brenneman. “We sure got a lot of tomatoes this year, ain’t so?”

  “Jah, and we’ll probably have two or three more pickings. I’ve got enough left in this pot to make some stew. Do you think it’s too hot for stew?”

  “I think Daed and the buwe will eat anything you put on the table, hot or cold.”

  Saloma laughed. “I’m sure you’re right about that.”

  Malinda held in her sigh of relief. Maybe she had escaped further scrutiny for now.

  * * *

  The day passed in a flurry of activity with canning, cleaning up, cooking, and more cleaning up. Malinda managed to sidestep any references to Timothy until her mamm reined in her curiosity and stopped asking questions. Until after supper, that is.

  Out of the blue, a horse and buggy kicked up dust as they advanced up the dirt driveway. Malinda had perched on the wooden front porch swing, which she had set gently swaying to create a small breeze. Her bag of knitting supplies lay beside her. She watched her bruders trying to play volleyball in the front yard. Aden, Ray, and Sam faced Roman and Atlee. Malinda smiled as Aden missed the ball time and time again. He tried so hard. Thank goodness Sam and Ray didn’t scold him.

  “Hey, it’s Timothy!” Sam shouted as the buggy rolled to a stop. “Hurry up, Tim. We need some help here.”

  “Tim’s on our side,” Roman called. “It’s already three against two.”

  “But . . .” Sam’s eyes darted to Aden. “Okay.”

  Obviously Sam wanted to spare Aden’s feelings. Malinda’s heart swelled at her oldest bruder’s kindness to her youngest bruder. Sam would be a great daed one day. She wondered if he and Emma Swarey were headed for marriage. At twenty-three, Sam was definitely old enough to start his own family.

  Malinda’s eyes followed Timothy as he jogged over to join the game. She saw his gaze sweep the house before his blue eyes connected with hers. Malinda couldn’t be sure, but she thought Tim gave her a quick wink. Her heart flopped
like a rockfish on the bottom of the old fishing boat. Her cheeks warmed, so she hastily shifted her eyes to the game. To make her embarrassment complete, Atlee had caught Timothy’s action and smirked in her direction.

  Malinda snatched up the as-yet-untouched ball of dark blue yarn and yanked out the knitting needles poked inside of it. Drat! Why did Atlee have to witness that unspoken communication between her and Timothy? She knew she should have stayed inside tonight, but she had wanted a breath of fresh air after being cooped up in the stifling kitchen all day. She’d never be able to count on Atlee to keep his mouth shut, so she should expect teasing or, at the very least, questions later.

  “Hey, Malinda, are you sure you don’t want to play?” Atlee yelled. “You can even pick whichever side you want to be on. Hmm, I wonder which side that might be?”

  “I’m fine right here, Atlee. Don’t mind me. You go right ahead and enjoy your game.”

  “I’m sure some of us would enjoy it much more if you played.”

  Malinda just knew her face would glow in the dark if the sun had already set.

  “Let’s play!” Sam served the ball before Atlee had a chance to focus and return the ball that dropped at his feet.

  “Yeah!” Aden jumped up and down.

  “Aw, Atlee, you missed it!” Roman wailed.

  “Well, you could have run over here to spike it,” Atlee retorted.

  “It came right in front of you. I would have had to knock you down.”

  “That’s okay,” Tim said soothingly. “We’ll score next time.”

  Fingers of dusk squeezed the sky by the time the volleyball players collapsed on the ground, breathing hard. Malinda glanced at the scarf she’d been knitting by rote. It was a gut thing she knew her pattern well and was an accomplished knitter, since her attention had been focused on the game instead of on her stitching.

  “Hey, who wants to help me catch lightning bugs?” Aden was the first to hop to his feet.

  Five groans rose in unison from the ground.

  “Maybe next time, Aden,” Sam said.

  “Tomorrow?”

  “We’ll see.”

  “How about you, Malinda? Will you help me?” Aden hollered toward the porch.

  “I think I’m going to head inside, Aden. Remember, I helped you the other night. Maybe it’s Atlee’s turn next.”

  Atlee groaned. He answered before Aden even asked. “Maybe tomorrow.” He raised his voice a bit louder. “Danki, Malinda. I owe you.”

  Aden stomped across the yard and up the front steps, mumbling under his breath.

  “Aren’t you tired?” Malinda asked. “You played a gut, hard game.”

  “I’m not very gut at volleyball.” Aden’s shoulders slumped.

  “You’re getting better all the time. You know you’re playing with guys who are a lot bigger than you. They can reach higher and hit the ball harder. If you played with people your size, you’d probably be one of the best players.”

  Aden instantly brightened. “Do you think so?”

  “For sure and for certain.” Malinda didn’t want her little bruder to become prideful, but she did want him to have confidence in himself. Surely it wouldn’t hurt to give him a little boost. She didn’t think her compliment would go to his head.

  Aden smiled. “Gut nacht, Malinda.”

  Malinda squeezed his hand as he walked past. “Sleep well.” She stole a glance toward the yard before gathering up her knitting. Timothy now stood talking to Sam, his body angled so he halfway faced the house. It would be pretty difficult for Malinda to sneak inside unnoticed. She’d never shied away from Timothy before, but now she felt so mixed-up. How should she behave around him?

  Malinda gave her head a little shake. This was ridiculous. He was the same Timothy as always. She was the same Malinda as always. She snatched up her yarn and needles and pushed herself to her feet. She should follow Aden and get inside before the mosquitoes decided to feast on her.

  “Hey, Malinda, wait!”

  Malinda shifted around to see Tim loping across the yard toward her. Sam stared after him, mouth agape. That familiar flush swept up Malinda’s neck and face.

  “Close your mouth, Sam.” Atlee’s voice was overly loud. “You’ll suck in all those lightning bugs Aden wanted to catch.” Atlee punched his older bruder’s upper arm.

  Malinda blocked out her bruders’ antics and focused on the young man climbing the porch steps to tower over her. She looked up and up into his mesmerizing eyes. Funny, all these years she’d never paid much attention to Tim’s eyes that were the exact color of a cloudless summer sky. Her heart did that crazy little flip-flop that almost made her catch her breath.

  “Hi.” Tim practically whispered.

  “Hi.” Malinda wondered if he had charged across the yard and risked teasing simply to say hi to her. For some strange reason, though, her own tongue seemed incapable of forming any more words. She could only stare expectantly at Tim and wait for him to speak.

  Timothy cleared his throat. “I, uh, didn’t want to leave without saying hello to you.”

  “Th-that’s nice.”

  “Ach! I don’t know why I’m so nervous. I’ve known you forever.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you feel the same way?”

  “Jah. It’s kind of silly, ain’t so?”

  “Jah.” Tim blew out a breath and visibly relaxed. “I’m glad you were outside. You could have joined us. I think Sam could have used some help.”

  “I probably would have hindered more than helped.”

  “I doubt that. I’ve watched you play volleyball at gatherings.”

  “You have?”

  “I-I’ve watched you a lot, actually.”

  “You have?”

  “I don’t mean that in a bad way. I-I’ve just been, uh, interested in you, uh, for a long time.”

  “You have?” Malinda wanted to smack herself. She certainly wasn’t presenting herself as a person with any intelligence when all she could utter were the same two words.

  “Well, Tim, I’m glad you came over to see me.” Sam stomped up the steps, followed by Atlee, Roman, and Ray. He chuckled and slapped Tim on the back. The others guffawed as if Sam had told the funniest joke in the world.

  “Gut nacht.” Malinda scowled at her bruders as they trooped past her. She rolled her eyes, drawing a laugh from Timothy.

  When the screen door had slammed shut, Tim spoke again. “I guess I’d better get home. It was great to see you again, Malinda.”

  “You too.” It wasn’t like they hadn’t just seen each other a few days ago, but it was sweet of him to say.

  “You are still planning to attend the singing, ain’t so?”

  “I’m planning on it.” The next singing was more than a week away. Timothy sure seemed to be anxious that she show up.

  “Gut. Well, I guess I’ll see you soon. Danki for sending me the macaroni and cheese. I’m glad you remembered.”

  “Of course I remembered. I’m glad Sam didn’t eat it.”

  “Danki again.” Tim backed away without taking his eyes off Malinda, until he nearly stumbled down the steps.

  Malinda gasped and reached out a hand. “Careful.”

  Tim grabbed the rail to keep from falling. “Gut nacht, Malinda.”

  “Gut nacht.” Malinda heard the shuffling sound of running feet as soon as she entered the house. Sometimes bruders could be such a nuisance!

  Chapter Eleven

  Late summer in Southern Maryland brought oppressive heat and humidity. Even after the sun slid from the sky, the heat persisted. Darkness gave little relief, and any cooling breezes were few and far between. Trips to the grocery store became events to look forward to. If Malinda took her time rolling the cart up and down each aisle, she could enjoy the wunderbaar cool air for as long as possible. Sometimes, though, prolonged exposure to air-conditioning made the heat nearly unbearable when she did emerge from the store.

  Now was the time for frantic canning of the la
st pickings of green beans, tomatoes, and other vegetables. Peaches had ripened as well and would need to be canned to be enjoyed as a sweet treat on winter days. Jellies and jams needed to be put up, too. For Malinda and most Amish females, many hours would be spent working in hot kitchens. Malinda reminded herself that the work would slow down soon. Apples wouldn’t be ready for a few weeks yet, and fall vegetables were not as abundant.

  The canning didn’t change the host of other chores. Laundry, cleaning, cooking, and weeding all still had to be sandwiched in with the canning and preserving. Malinda worked beside Saloma from sunup until sundown. Grateful her stamina had returned, she never complained about the hard work and never took the breaks her worried mamm often encouraged her to take.

  Sundays provided a respite from all their labor. The previous Sunday had been an off Sunday, and the Stauffers had stayed home to rest from the busy week. That meant church services would be held this Sunday. Since everyone had been so busy, this would be the first chance most people had to visit lately. The young people’s singing would also take place in the evening.

  Thankfully, the heat wave had abated a bit, so the early-morning drive to church was more pleasant than it had been lately. Malinda didn’t feel like her dress had adhered to the seat, and sweat didn’t trickle down her back for the first time in quite a while. A parade of dark gray buggies that stirred up little clouds of dust rolled up the long driveway to the Swareys’, where church services would be held in one of the big barns. Since they were a little early, they might even have a few minutes to mingle before filing into the barn that had been transformed into a meeting place.

  Malinda smoothed her good blue dress after hopping out of the buggy. At least it wasn’t stuck to her legs today. She walked with her mamm to join clumps of women and girls waiting to enter the barn. Saloma hurried over to talk with some of the women, leaving Malinda alone for a moment. Before she could propel herself over to where Phoebe Yoder stood talking to Mary Stoltzfus, someone approached from out of her field of vision and lightly tapped her arm.