Why was he so naerfich? Maybe it was his father’s attitude about the upcoming dinner. Abram Fisher was a hard man. He’d not been the same since his sister Megan had left. Even though it was customary to allow Amish teenagers to “run around” and experience the Englisch world before settling down and joining the church, it was difficult when someone left the fold for the sins and pleasures outside their community. For the elder Fisher, it was as if somehow he had failed. Gideon took a deep breath to settle the uneasiness in his middle. Or maybe it was waiting for Annie that had him as skittish as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. It had been a long time since he’d had to wait on a woman. He propped his feet on the porch railing and tried to create a nonchalant pose. The screen door banged against the house. Gideon’s boot heels hit the boards with a thud. Mary Elizabeth appeared, her checks flushed and a wide smile on her lips.
