After Hadassah’s buggy rolled down the driveway, Arden went to bid Rachel goodbye, but she’d gone into the house, undoubtedly to tend to Ivan.
On his way home, he wondered, Why wouldn’t Colin accompany his wife to his bruder’s haus when she obviously has a difficult time with mobility? What could possibly be more important than seeing to Hadassah’s comfort and safety? Deep down, Arden suspected Colin was deliberately slighting Rachel—at his wife’s expense—as a demonstration of his anger. He could only imagine how much angrier Colin would be once Hadassah told him Rachel had turned her away and Arden had defended Rachel’s decision.
Their behavior is unfair. I’m the one who should go to the bishop about them, Arden thought. I’d be perfectly justified. But he wouldn’t do that, because while the Bible said God required His people to “do justly,” it also instructed them to love mercy. Besides, Arden was confident he’d done nothing wrong, so he wasn’t overly concerned about what Colin or Hadassah might say if they actually did report him to the bishop. Still, Arden decided, for Ivan’s sake, he ought to tread carefully. For Rachel’s sake, too. There was already enough tension between the Blank family members; he didn’t want to add to it by appearing to side with Rachel. Hadassah and Colin could make her time in Serenity Ridge very unpleasant, and Arden didn’t want her being squeezed out before Ivan was better. The very fact that Hadassah had brought sick children to visit their uncle showed just how much Ivan needed someone like Rachel there, advocating for his health. The less time I spend with her outside the workshop, the better it will be for everyone, Arden concluded.
When he arrived home, Arden was dismayed to find Ike and Eva Renno, whose buggy he’d passed on the road as he set out to deliver the whoopie pies, were seated in the double wooden glider on the porch. Although Arden liked Ike and Eva was a nice enough person, she was as chatty as Arden was reserved, and his head throbbed whenever he spent more than fifteen minutes in her presence.
“Mamm went inside to nap. She said she couldn’t think of a better way for any mamm to celebrate Mother’s Day,” Grace informed him when he hopped up the steps. Because Mother’s Day fell on the Sabbath, the Amish in Serenity Ridge didn’t make a fuss over it, although Arden and Grace had gifted their mother with a subscription to her favorite publication, The Connection, which was published out of Indiana and included articles written by Amish people throughout the country. “I made iced tea. Kumme join our discussion.”
“I’ve, uh, already had tea,” Arden hedged.
“Oh, were you out visiting someone special?” Eva questioned.
Arden could have kicked himself for letting that slip. “On second thought, I’m kind of hot. I would like a glass, please.”
“Were you visiting someone special?” Eva repeated.
“I, uh, stopped by Ivan’s haus.”
“Ivan’s haus? I heard his Englisch schweschder is staying there.”
I guess the cat’s out of the bag now. Holding out his hand to take the glass from his sister, Arden replied noncommittally, “Jah, that’s correct.”
“Sit down,” Grace insisted and waited for Arden to take a seat before giving him the iced tea. “How was Ivan?”
“He was asleep again, so I didn’t get to speak to him. Rachel said he had a restless night—he was coughing a lot.”
“Oh, the poor dear. I have a tried-and-true honey-cider cough remedy I could bring him, don’t I, Ike? Remember when I gave it to you last October when you were sick with bronchitis?” Eva didn’t wait for her husband to reply before resuming her earlier train of thought. “Maybe I shouldn’t bother bringing it to Ivan, though. Hadassah said the Englisch schweschder has taken control of his health—in addition to his haus and his business, but I don’t have to tell you that, do I, Arden?—so I don’t know if my gesture would be wilkom.”
Arden felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, and he reminded himself it was better to say nothing; that way, his comments couldn’t be misinterpreted.
Grace, however, piped up, “I’m sure Rachel would appreciate an act of kindness from someone in our community. She might be pleased to receive visitors, too, provided they don’t overstay their wilkom.”
There was no mistaking the implication in Grace’s remark, but it seemed lost on Eva. “To be frank, I don’t know if I want to visit Ivan while the schweschder is there. Hadassah said she’s been flaunting her Englisch ways in front of her familye. Showing up at Hadassah’s haus uninvited in her car, or wearing inappropriate hairstyles and clothing in front of her dochdere, that kind of thing. I don’t want her pushing her lifestyle on me like that.”
Arden could no longer censor himself. “I’ve been w-working with Rachel at the shop, and she never w-wears or does anything in-in-inappropriate. Jah, she’s Englisch, but she’s also very m-modest.”
Eva raised an eyebrow. “You find her becoming, don’t you?”
How could she twist my words like that? No matter how he replied, Arden figured he’d incriminate himself, so he refused to say another word. Grace, on the other hand, let loose.
“Jah, Rachel is very fetching, and she’s very schmaert, too. More importantly, she’s extremely helpful,” she said. “She helped Mamm when she was experiencing new lupus symptoms, and she told us about as many alternative forms of treatment as Englisch ones. So if that’s your concern about sharing your remedy, you have nothing to worry about. She demonstrates every bit as much respect toward the Amish as the Amish demonstrate toward her.”
Although Arden wholeheartedly agreed with Grace’s characterization of Rachel, he was concerned if her comments got back to Hadassah, they’d make things worse. Fortunately, once again his sister’s words seemed to go right over Eva’s head; she’d turned her attention to swatting at a bee.
“Ike! It’s going to sting me,” she whined, flapping her hands about her ears. Her husband jumped to his feet and fanned his hat through the air.
Arden took advantage of their alarm to change the subject. “Guess what I saw yesterday? A moose!”
Eva immediately stopped flailing to inform everyone moose had been spotted in the deacon’s yard, on the Christmas tree farm and at the lake, as well. Arden asked enough questions to keep her talking on the subject for half an hour until another bee chased her from her chair and her husband suggested they’d better be on their way.
As she lay in bed on Sunday evening, Rachel reflected on Hadassah’s earlier remarks. She vacillated between feeling utterly incensed and being racked with guilt. On one hand, her sister-in-law had been completely out of line to speak to her as she did. Couldn’t Hadassah see Rachel’s refusal to allow her to visit Ivan wasn’t personal? She was only looking out for her brother’s best interests.
Yet, having witnessed how labored Hadassah’s breathing was and having watched her struggling to walk even a short distance, Rachel was worried about her sister-in-law’s health, too. It wasn’t good for her to get so upset. As necessary as it was to keep Hadassah from seeing Ivan, Rachel regretted having caused her distress, especially when she belatedly realized today was Mother’s Day. Knowing Colin, Rachel doubted he’d given Hadassah a card or even verbally acknowledged her devotion to their children, so she was probably in need of encouragement.
Even so, why should I be the one lying here feeling sorry for upsetting her? I doubt she feels guilty for hurting my feelings by announcing my own bruder warned her about me. Actually, Hadassah had said Colin had warned her about them—meaning both Rachel and Arden. Rachel didn’t know exactly what that meant, but she had an inkling. And if Colin and Hadassah really did go to the bishop with their grievances, who would the bishop be more likely to believe—an Englischer who abandoned her community or an Amish couple who’d lived in Serenity Ridge since they were kinner? Rachel didn’t want to find out. Nor did she want to put Arden in the position of having to defend himself.
My main objective is to help Ivan with his business and his recovery. I’m only here temporarily, she reminded herself. Long after she returned to Boston, the others would still be working and living in Serenity Ridge. It was important to Rachel that their long-term relationships with each other didn’t suffer because of her short-term presence among them now. For that reason, she decided she’d try to do whatever she could to prevent and ease any discord between them. I should distance myself from Arden whenever possible, too, so no one else can accuse him of “cozying up to an Englischer.”
Yet the idea of giving up her budding friendship with Arden made her so resentful Rachel rolled out of bed and knelt beside it in prayer. Dear Gott, I want You to use me to reflect Your love, but I don’t feel very loving at the moment. Please change my heart and give me strength. Upon hearing Ivan’s coughing downstairs, she added, And please give Ivan strength, too.
But the next morning, Rachel’s brother seemed even weaker than he’d been on Sunday, and despite his objections, she refused to go to the shop to work. Instead, she decided she’d gather whatever paperwork she needed and bring it back to the house, where she’d also field customer calls while keeping an eye on Ivan. When she scurried to the workshop to tell Arden her plan, he barely glanced up from the tiny structure he was building.
“What’s that, a dollhouse to go inside Mrs. McGregor’s playhouse?” she joshed.
“It’s a doghouse,” he replied flatly and then resumed hammering.
Rachel squinted at him, wondering if he’d simply gotten up on the wrong side of the bed or if something else had gone awry. Was it possible Colin and Hadassah had already filled the bishop’s ear with their tales about him and her? “Is everything all right?”
“Jah, just busy,” he mumbled and drove another nail into a joist. Rachel waited for him to stop hammering.
“Then you won’t like what I have to tell you. I have to work up at the haus today because I don’t want to leave Ivan alone. I’m afraid of what might happen if he gets out of bed by himself. His legs are still a bit rickety. One gut spring breeze and he’d collapse like a haus of cards.” Rachel tittered nervously.
“There’s no need for you to be here today anyway, so that’s fine.”
Keeping my distance from him isn’t going to be such a loss after all, Rachel thought as she collected what she needed from the desk and returned to the house.
But by the end of the day, she almost would have preferred Arden’s grouchy company to no company at all, since Ivan slept most of the day. Although she was aware his recovery would be slow, Rachel fretted over her brother’s condition, second-guessing whether he’d been released from the hospital too soon. On Tuesday morning, however, he awoke looking bright-eyed and declaring how hungry he was. She settled him into a chair at the kitchen table and poured them each a cup of coffee.
“I’ll make oier and pannekuche,” she offered, retrieving eggs from the fridge and a mixing bowl from the cupboard.
Ivan said something that sounded like, “Don brfr,” and she twirled around to catch him with a mouthful of the whoopie pie he must have taken from the container on the table. He swallowed before repeating, “Don’t bother. I’ll just have one of these.” When he smiled at her, his teeth were comically blackened from the dark cake, and she laughed so hard she dropped into a chair opposite him.
“What’s so funny?” he asked, so she took a whoopie pie for herself, bit into it and then grinned back at him. They both cracked up until she begged him to stop because she was afraid he’d lose his breath and wind up back in the hospital.
“Nonsense,” he said. “I haven’t felt this gut in weeks.”
Circling the table, Rachel wrapped her arms around his scrawny shoulders and kissed the top of his head. “Neither have I.”
“You ought to go back to the workshop,” he told her when she released him.
“Neh. Maybe tomorrow, if you keep improving.”
“Arden probably needs your help today more than I do.”
Rachel hesitated. Arden had likely finished the doghouse by now, and it would need to be painted. “Let’s compromise. At lunchtime, I’ll send Arden here to visit you during his break, and I’ll go get a few things done in the shop.”
When she trekked to the workshop shortly before one o’clock, Rachel spotted Arden in the driveway talking to an Englischer she assumed was a customer, so she went inside and set the folders she’d been carrying on the desk. The business phone buzzed, and as she reached for it, she accidentally knocked a file to the floor, scattering invoices everywhere.
“Hi, Rach. It’s me, Meg. I know this is your business phone, but—”
Her heart leaped to her throat. “Did I get into the MSN program?”
“No,” Meg said. “I mean, that’s not why I’m calling. I checked your email, but there wasn’t any notice yet. I’m sorry to get your hopes up. It was just that your message was so cryptic the other day I wanted to be sure you’re okay.”
“Oh.” Rachel sighed. “Yeah, I, well... Friday was a long day, but everything is fine now. Ivan’s home now.”
“Hey, that’s great! That means you’ll be home soon, too. Unless you decide to stay.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, I am not staying here,” Rachel contended. And I might be returning sooner rather than later if Hadassah has her way.
“Uh-oh. Does that mean Mr. Morose hasn’t gotten any nicer to you since you’ve been in Serenity Ridge?”
“What? Do you mean Toby?” Distracted by picking up the invoices, Rachel didn’t have the foggiest notion why her roommate would have thought she’d been in touch with Toby.
“No, not Dr. Deceiver. I was referring to Amish Arden. You know, Mr. Morose. The kind of thoughtless, insensitive man you’re supposedly trying to avoid.”
“Oh, him. Well, like I’ve said, he isn’t always that dull. I definitely wouldn’t put him in the same category as Toby,” Rachel said. She knew Meg’s nicknames were her impish way of sticking up for Rachel, but she was relieved she hadn’t shared her ambivalence about Arden with her roommate. It wasn’t something she wanted to make light of. “So, anything new happening with you?”
“Aside from the landlord finally fixing the washing machine? Nope, not a thing.”
“I am so envious,” Rachel joked. “Nothing that exciting has happened here, although we did see a moose last evening...”
After a few minutes of chitchat, Meg promised to let Rachel know as soon as she got an email from the university and then hung up. As Rachel stood to stack the mess of papers she’d gathered on the desk, she noticed Arden in the doorway.
“Hi, Arden. I’ve kumme to switch places with you. How about if I stay here and paint the doghouse while you take your lunch break at the haus, where you can keep an eye on Ivan? He’s been guarding the whoopie pies, but if you arm wrestle him for one, I’m sure you’d win,” she jested.
“Neh. I got waylaid by another project, so I haven’t completed the doghouse yet. I’m not taking a lunch break. So there’s no sense in you hanging around here this afternoon.”
His reply was so curt and his tone so dismissive that Rachel stalked off thinking, As if I’d want to be around you anyway, Mr. Morose!
Arden sawed through a two-by-six, letting the end segment clatter to the floor before stopping to take a swig of cold water. It quenched his thirst but not his fuming. He’d been mad ever since he overheard Rachel talking on the phone. It wasn’t as if he’d intended to listen in on her conversation, but now that he’d overheard it, her words echoed ruthlessly in his mind.
“He isn’t always that dumb,” she’d said. Or had she used the word dull? It hardly mattered; they meant the same thing—she’d been calling someone stupid. Maybe it was self-centered of Arden to suspect he was the one she’d been referring to, but who else could she have meant? Her brothers were the only other men she’d crossed paths with in Serenity Ridge, and she regarded Ivan too highly to speak about him that way. As for Colin, he was cantankerous, maybe even cruel, but Arden doubted Rachel considered him dumb—not even compared to Toby, who apparently was so intelligent he was in a class all by himself. That left Arden.
He felt humiliated. He felt infuriated. And, ironically, he felt extraordinarily stupid—not because of his speaking and reading difficulties, but because he’d sincerely believed Rachel respected him. Come to find out she was looking down her nose at him, maybe even at the entire Amish community. I guess Colin and Hadassah were right about her after all. Her phone conversation had made it clear not only how she felt about Arden but about being in Serenity Ridge, where apparently nothing exciting happened. Sorry we don’t live up to your standards for entertainment, he imagined saying to her. If you’re so bored, why don’t you hire a visiting nurse to take care of Ivan so you can go back to the Englisch lifestyle you claimed you were never drawn to in the first place?
Arden’s foul mood followed him throughout the afternoon, but at least he channeled his orneriness into constructing the small, simple garden shed that was due the following morning. It was a quick project that required no painting, but without Rachel on-site to remind him of the deadline, he’d forgotten about it. Unfortunately, that meant he’d have to stay late to complete the doghouse that was due on Thursday, which would have to be painted tomorrow. He was so engrossed in his work he didn’t notice anyone had entered the workshop until Grace appeared at his side.
“What’s wrong—”
“Don’t worry, Mamm’s fine. She insisted I bring supper to Rachel and Ivan. And to you, too. She thought we’d enjoy sharing a meal together.”
I’m sure she did. “That’s a nice gesture, but I’m too busy to stop for supper.”
“But you’ve got to eat.”
“Eating can wait. My deadline can’t.”
“You don’t have to stay long, but surely you can spare the time to gobble down a plate of yumsetta,” Grace argued. “C’mon, Arden. If you don’t join us, it will look like...you know.”
“Like you’re here specifically to see Ivan because you like him?” Although he had never mentioned it before, Arden had his suspicions about how his sister felt about Ivan. The color rising in her cheeks now indicated he’d been right.
“Neh, it will look like you’re being rude. Which you are, in more ways than one!” Grace retorted. Arden hadn’t meant to insult her; he’d just wanted her to back off about eating supper at the house.
“Ivan knows how much work I have to do. He’ll understand why I can’t stop.”
“Jah, but what about Rachel? Have you considered how she might feel if you don’t join us for a meal? She might think it’s because she’s Englisch.”
“Rachel is Englisch, and I have no obligation to socialize with her. My only obligation is to work with her.”
“Eh-hem.” From the doorway, Rachel cleared her throat. “I, um, was coming to ask whether you prefer water or millich with your meal.”
“Millich, please,” Grace answered. “Arden can’t eat with us tonight—he’s got to keep working.”
“I understand.” Rachel looked squarely at him. Arden couldn’t read her expression, but after she and Grace left, he wondered, Did she hear what I said about not being obligated to socialize with her? Then he shrugged it off, reasoning, Now she knows what it’s like to overhear someone express how they really feel about you.
But the truth was, Arden didn’t really feel about Rachel the way his comment might have made it sound, even if she thought he was dumb. Which he had to admit was kind of presumptuous—maybe even egotistical—of him to believe, since he couldn’t be certain she’d been talking about him on the phone. The more time that passed, the hungrier he became, and the more he wished he had joined the others for supper. Maybe if I hurry I can finish this up and get to the haus before Grace leaves. If I’m fortunate, I can at least get a piece of dessert.
By the time he’d completed his work on the doghouse, it was after seven, so he didn’t bother to put his tools away before locking up for the night. As he crossed the driveway, he spotted Ivan and Grace rocking on the porch swing, and he wondered if they’d already had dessert or if Rachel would serve it to them there. But from this vantage point, he could see the backyard, too, and he noticed Rachel was taking in the laundry—an indication her hosting duties had ended.
The clothesline was a bit too high; she had to stand on tiptoes to grasp it and then tug it down while she unclipped the pins. As Arden quickened his pace so he could give her a hand, he spied something looming near the back perimeter of the property. At first he thought it was a shadow or the dusk was playing tricks on his eyes, but then the creature slogged several steps in Rachel’s direction. The moose! Arden’s heart battered his ribs. Although the animal’s eyesight likely wasn’t good enough for it to see Rachel behind the linens, its hearing and sense of smell were excellent, and it seemed to home in on her. By contrast, Rachel was completely oblivious to the danger lurking on the other side of the sheet hanging in front of her.
Aware a loud noise could frighten the moose, Arden crept closer and said, “Rachel, absatz,” just loud enough for her to hear. She swiveled her head sideways to look at him, an annoyed expression on her face as she continued unpinning the sheet. “Do. Not. Move,” he commanded gruffly, terrified she’d flounce off rather than speak to him. “There’s a moose coming toward you.”
His tone must have convinced her he was gravely serious, because Rachel froze with her arms stretched above her head, her spine straight. She locked her gaze on him, and her face went whiter than the sheet she’d was unfastening. “Arden, help me,” she whimpered. Then, “Please help me, Lord. Please, Gott, make it go away.”
Arden tried to reassure her from where he’d sought protection beside a maple tree some ten yards away. The tree wasn’t especially wide, but he knew it was vital to keep something sturdy in between him and the moose at all times. “It stopped walking, but it’s looking your way. You must do exactly what I tell you to do. If I say run, you need to sprint over here to me, behind this tree as fast as you can.”
“Now?”
“Neh!” Arden exclaimed, and the moose lowered its head and flattened its ears, both signs of aggression. “Don’t run unless I tell you to.”
“Please, Arden, please,” she pleaded, as if he held any authority over the large bull. “It’s getting closer. I can hear it making a clicking sound.”
“Rachel, listen to me. I want you to back away very, very slowly.” She immediately let go of the clothesline and sheet and inched away as the moose flattened its ears—not a good sign. Arden’s back and leg muscles were so tense they burned. Little by little Rachel was putting distance between herself and the moose, but she was still out in the open. She couldn’t outrun the animal if it charged; she’d never make it around the house or even to the maple tree.
Arden considered his options. If he waved and yelled, there was a chance the moose might scram, but it seemed more likely he’d incite the beast to charge. So he did the only thing he could count on to be effective: Please, Gott, get that animal out of here, he prayed.
“Arden, what are you looking for over there?” Grace questioned loudly as she came traipsing around the house toward the backyard.
“Shh.” Arden gestured for Grace to stop just as the dangling sheet billowed in the breeze. At that the moose thundered forward. “Run!” Arden shouted, but instead Rachel collapsed right where she stood. Arden started to race toward her when he noticed the moose had come to an abrupt standstill a few yards in front of the clothesline, so he halted, too. The bull’s first charge was a bluff. Would it leave or would it charge a second time for real?
“Don’t move,” he growled at Grace, who’d also stopped dead in her tracks. He waited as the moose stared at the sheet. Was that what it was after all along? One, maybe two agonizing minutes passed before the animal slowly raised its head again and galumphed from the yard.
Grace and Arden both sprinted toward Rachel. He reached her first, and she was already rousing, or trying to. He rolled her from her side onto her back and directed Grace to elevate Rachel’s feet twelve inches above her heart. Then he bent to put his ear by her mouth so he could hear her raspy voice.
“Did the moose knock me down?”
“Neh. He didn’t have to. You fell down on your own.”
“Where did everyone go?” Ivan asked, stumbling toward them in the twilight.
“Wait right there!” Grace ordered. “We don’t need a second Blank passing out tonight.” She gently set Rachel’s feet down and ran to Ivan’s side, saying, “I’ll take him inside.”
When Rachel lifted her head and propped herself up on her elbows, Arden warned, “You shouldn’t get up too quickly. You might get dizzy.”
“Who’s the nurse here, you or me?” she asked, sitting all the way up.
“I might not be as schmaert as you are, but I’m definitely stronger,” Arden replied. He slid an arm beneath her knees and wrapped his other one around her torso. In one swift motion, he stood upright and pulled her closer to his trembling heart.
Arden’s gesture was so unexpected and his embrace so gentle Rachel felt as if she might faint a second time. As he carried her toward the house, she exhaled, allowing herself to go limp against his chest. She was so accustomed to being a nurse—to caring for others—she didn’t realize how soothing it was to have someone coddle her, and she closed her eyes to bask in the feeling.
“You okay?” Arden’s breath warmed Rachel’s face.
“Jah.” She peered up at him. “Denki for rescuing me. If you hadn’t warned me the moose was there or talked me through the situation, who knows what might have happened.”
“I hardly rescued you. That was Gott’s doing.”
“True, but Gott allowed you to be in the right place at the right time, so He could use you for my gut.”
They reached the house, and Arden climbed the porch stairs and opened the screen door one-handed, not setting her down until they’d reached the living room, where Grace was coaxing Ivan to take another sip of water.
“Rachel!” Ivan exclaimed. “Grace told me what happened. Praise the Lord you’re all right.”
“Praise the Lord you’re all right, too,” Rachel echoed. Arden still had his arm looped around her waist, and he assisted her to the sofa so she could sit next to her brother. Once seated, she patted Ivan’s hand. “You hardly have enough strength to walk from the bedroom to the living room, much less hike through the yard. What would you have done if the moose had charged you?”
“That would depend.”
“On what?”
“On how much money I had,” Ivan deadpanned.
“Voll schpass.” Everyone laughed until Rachel clapped her hand over her mouth, realizing she needed to pick up a prescription. The pharmacy at the superstore was open until ten, and the druggist had said they’d have the medication ready, since Ivan needed to take it that night before bed.
“I don’t think you should drive,” Arden protested. “Not so soon after fainting.”
“I’ll be fi—”
“Neh, she definitely shouldn’t drive.” Grace agreed with her brother for once. “You ought to take her in the buggy, Arden. I’ll stay with Ivan.”
“Neh. It will take too long. Your mamm will be worried.”
“Our mamm will be asleep,” Grace countered. “She told me she was going to bed early and we shouldn’t hurry home if we’re having schpass, especially Arden. She’s always pestering him to be more social.”
Rachel got the feeling Grace was the one who was in no hurry to return home; clearly she desired to spend more time talking with Ivan alone on the porch. While Rachel empathized, she could tell by Arden’s lack of response how hesitant he was to bring her to the pharmacy. All of a sudden, she remembered his words from earlier that day: “Rachel is Englisch and I have no obligation to socialize with her.” In her hysteria over the moose, she’d forgotten about that and how hurt and disappointed she’d felt. Granted, it was a small offense compared to the enormity of saving her life, so she couldn’t hold a grudge. Neither could she impose on Arden to spend more time with her than he wanted to—especially since she’d already committed to distancing herself from him.
“Neh, that’s okay. I’ll be fine driving,” Rachel said. Then to show she held no expectation of him, she added, “Arden’s not obligated to take me.”
“I know I’m not obligated,” Arden said, his tone as assertive as when he’d instructed Rachel not to move as the moose was eyeing her. “But I’d like to take you, if you’ll let me.”
Concerned he may have felt put on the spot, Rachel questioned, “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
Arden didn’t reply—he was already on his way outside to hitch up his horse and buggy.