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better he’d guess she was laughing at him. Thumping the mug down, he pushed back from the table and stood up. What he needed was to be done here and hurry back to work. He felt disoriented because he was sitting around sipping tea during the middle of the day.
    Walking to the door, he picked up his leather medical kit— once a shiny black but now faded and weathered from years of use. He brought it to the table and set it next to his mug.
    Last night had not gone well when he’d tried to give her instructions on how to change Jacob’s bandages. He knew Annie was a bright girl—correction—woman. But she seemed to have trouble paying attention. She’d barely listened to him at all, though he’d gone through the complete procedure twice.
    He wasn’t confident this would go any better, but he owed it to Jacob to try.
    Perhaps today she would be willing to listen.
    “Annie.” He cleared his throat, did his best to sound teacher-like and patient, though he knew he was neither. “Last night I told you I was worried about your father’s breathing and about the infection in his leg. Do you remember?”
    She actually leaned back against the kitchen counter and studied her own mug of hot tea.
    “Of course I remember.”
    “Did you take his pulse each hour?”
    “ Ya .” Now she hid behind her mug, and Samuel was certain she was trying not to laugh at him. What could she possibly find funny about this situation?
    Samuel said a silent prayer as his frustration with her grew, then pushed on with his questions. “Did you change his bandages last night and again this morning?”
    “I did, and I wrote the notes on the pad as you showed me.” The smile spreading across her pretty face caused her eyes to twinkle and a smattering of freckles to pop up across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.
    “This is very serious, Annie.” His voice was nearly a growl now. He reached into the bag and pulled out his extra stethoscope and blood pressure cuff.
    “I’d like to show you how to take your dat’s blood pressure. I realize this is a lot for you to learn at once, but it’s important we know how he’s reacting to the medicine. I have this one extra stethoscope and cuff, and I’m willing to leave it with you—if you’ll pay attention and treat it carefully.”
    He looked at her and waited for her reply, but of course what she said next was nothing he would have ever guessed.

     
    “Samuel, I don’t need your things.” Annie stepped toward the table, motioned for him to put the items back into the bag. She felt her smile slip as the teasing mood she’d been enjoying passed.
    Samuel looked at her sharply, as if he must have heard her wrong.
    She had hoped he would be less condescending this morning, but if anything he was more so. For some reason, instead of making her angry, it had hit her funny bone.
    It might have been the way he had glowered at David earlier. Suddenly she realized Samuel Yoder didn’t have issues conversing with her—he had issues speaking with anyone five or more years younger. Oddly enough, he seemed perfectly at ease when talking with her parents. The realization had helped to ease her tension.
    Perhaps Samuel had spent too much time at home after his own personal tragedy.
    Perhaps he’d become old before his time. After all, the man hadn’t yet reached thirty.
    So she’d teased him a little—her dat had always said she could tease paint off a barn.
    Then Samuel had pulled out his extra stethoscope, with that somber expression on his face and a rumble in his voice—as if he were pulling gold from a safe.
    The stethoscope had changed her mood instantly.
    Annie knew the importance of supplies among their community. Samuel had to scramble to purchase all he had—there was no fund to reimburse him. Neither did he request payment for the medical assistance he offered. He was, by trade, a farmer. The few supplies he had were paid for with donations, and the time he missed from work—well,