“WHAT’S THIS? DO I HEAR A LITTLE SONGBIRD?”

At the sound of a man’s voice, Sadie jumped up, causing her foot to slip so it slid partially into the water. The only thing that stopped her from falling headfirst into the stream was her quick reflexes. Putting out her hand, she grabbed onto an overhanging branch and steadied herself, trying to regain her balance.

“Are you all right?”

Sadie turned around and found herself face-to-face with a young man. “Oh!” She almost stepped backward again, but this time, he reached out to stop her, gently grabbing her by the elbow.

“Careful now there! You’ll be a wet songbird in a second if you’re not more careful.”

One look at the man and she knew that he, too, was Amish. His plain dress and the straw hat he wore made that obvious. His thick brown hair, curly at the edges, poked out from beneath the hat’s brim and his big hazel eyes stared down on her.

“You frightened me,” she gasped as she removed her arm from his grasp.

“My apologies,” he said as he moved away from her, allowing her to relax a bit. “I didn’t mean to startle you.” When he smiled, his teeth were white and his face was pleasantly kind. “You can imagine my surprise to stumble upon such a sight. I’ve walked this way many times on my way back from my cousins’ haus to Echo Creek and this is the first time I’ve ever seen another soul out here.” He tilted his head. “And such a pretty one at that, not to mention your beautiful voice.”