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Henry and Ezra deep in conversation near a stack of feed bags.
    What should she do now? Wait? Interrupt them? Before she could make up her mind, Bishop Henry called out, “Well, if it isn’tRosemary Beiler. What are you up to today, shopping in a feed mill? Did you get lost?”
    Rosemary tried to smile. “ Daett wanted a bag of fertilizer, and Mamm had me coming to town anyway.” Rosemary waved the receipt in the air.
    Ezra appeared friendly enough, but he didn’t say anything. Bishop Henry glanced between the two of them and cleared his throat. “Maybe I’d best be getting myself on home, then. And thanks for your counsel, Ezra.”
    The bishop touched his hat and left. Rosemary tried to breathe. Ezra had given the bishop counsel? Likely this was about the financial scandal that affected the two Troyer families.
    Rosemary put on her best smile. “Ezra, could you carry a bag of fertilizer to the buggy for me?”
    â€œSure,” he said, but he seemed distracted. Ezra reached for the receipt and glanced at it. “How’s your daett doing?” he asked.
    â€œOkay, I guess.”
    â€œThank the Lord your daett wasn’t involved in what the Troyers got themselves into.” Ezra stepped around the corner to hand the receipt to one of the Englisha men and finished his thought when he came back. “Their poor families are left at the mercy of the church now.”
    â€œI suppose so,” Rosemary agreed. “Lydia and Sandra are my friends, although we haven’t spoken about this too much. Those things can hurt a lot.”
    â€œThat they do,” Ezra allowed. “I thought both men would have had more sense than to fall for something like that.”
    â€œYour daett is a goot businessman,” Rosemary said. She wasn’t used to being this close to Ezra alone, and if her heart didn’t quiet its race soon, she’d surely pass out on the spot.
    Ezra gave Rosemary a kind look. “Your family may not have much, but at least they didn’t do something foolish. I’ve tried tospeak a few words of comfort to Lydia and Sandra, but they’re quite brokenhearted right now, which is understandable. I don’t hold any of this against them.”
    â€œ Yah , it is sad,” Rosemary said. “This is a very hard time for them, and especially for Sandra with her daett ’s death.”
    â€œCome.” Ezra motioned with his hand. “They should have the bag ready by now.”
    Rosemary followed him, stealing a brief glimpse of his handsome face when Ezra looked the other way.
    â€œThere’s our bag of fertilizer,” Ezra announced as they approached the back dock. He hoisted the bag on his shoulder and set off across the parking lot without a backward glance.
    Rosemary hurried to keep up with Ezra’s long steps, and called after him, “You can put the bag in the back.”
    Ezra braced himself on the side of the open buggy with one hand, then easily lowered the bag with the other. Rosemary forced herself to move closer.
    â€œThank you.” She smiled up at Ezra. “That was nice of you.”
    Ezra chuckled. “Glad to help, Rosemary. You have a goot day now.”
    She wanted to call after him, and say something…but what? It was all so useless. And she was wrong to act like this anyway.
    Rosemary watched Ezra’s back for a few moments before she untied Buster and climbed in the buggy. As Rosemary drove out of the parking lot, Ezra waved from the dock and Rosemary waved back. At least Ezra noticed her enough to wave good-bye.
    That was a small comfort.

Chapter Six

    L ydia wasn’t sure what to do. Sandra had told her at a youth gathering last night that both of her sisters had been with two Englisha boys at a rock concert in Canton the weekend before.
    On Friday evening, when she found Emma and Rhoda alone in the kitchen washing dishes, she decided she needed to confront them.
    As she