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immature.
    “Sure is a warm day we’re having. Whew! Even under the shade of this big old tree, it’s hot.”
    She nodded and looked upward.
    “What are you lookin’ at?”
    “Oh, I thought I heard a bluebird whistling.”
    Silas tipped his head way back. “Really? Where is it?”
    “I’m not sure. Maybe I’m just hearing things—hoping a bluebird might show itself.”
    Silas chuckled. “I thought I was the only one who liked to listen for the bird sounds.”
    “You’re not alone; that’s one of my favorite pastimes.”
    He glanced over at the people crowding around all the market tables. “Say, Rachel, I was wondering if we could talk.”
    “I thought we were talking.”
    He grinned and dropped his hat to his knees. “I guess we were, at that. What I really meant to say was, can we talk about your sister?”
    Rachel frowned. She might have known Silas hadn’t planned to talk about her. She shrugged, trying not to let her disappointment show. “What about Anna? She’s the sister you were referring to, right?”
    Silas lifted his gaze toward the sky. “Of course, I meant Anna. It couldn’t be Elizabeth I want to talk about. I’m no cradle robber, you know.”
    Rachel felt as though Silas had slapped her across the face. Even though he was speaking about her twelve-year-old sister, she still got his meaning. She knew Silas wouldn’t dream of looking at her because she was five years younger than he. Besides, what chance did she have against the beauty of her older sister?
    In a surprise gesture, Silas touched Rachel’s chin and turned her head so she was looking directly at him. Her chest fluttered with the sensation of his touch, and it was all she could do to keep from falling over. “Did you hear what I said, Rachel?”
    “I—I believe so, but what was it you wanted to say about Anna?”
    “You and your sister are pretty close, isn’t that right?”
    She gulped and tried to regain her composure. “I used to think so.”
    “Anna probably talks more to you than anyone else, correct?”
    Rachel shook her head. “I think she tells her friend Martha Rose more than she does me these days.”
    Several seconds went by before Silas spoke again. “I suppose I could talk to Martha Rose, but I don’t know her all that well. I’d feel more comfortable talking to you about Anna than I would to her best friend.”
    Rachel supposed she should feel flattered that Silas wanted to speak with her, yet the thought of him using her only to learn more about Anna irked her to no end.
    “Okay,” she said with a sigh. “What is it you want to know about my sister?”
    “Can you tell me how to make her pay me some mind? I’ve tried everything but stand on my head and wiggle my ears, yet she still treats me like yesterday’s dirty laundry. I tell you, Rachel, it’s got me plumb worn out trying to get sweet Anna to agree to courting.”
    Sweet Anna? Rachel thought ruefully. Silas, you might not think my sister’s so sweet if you knew that she has no plans to let you court her.
    Rachel felt sorry for poor Silas, sitting there all woebegone, pining for her sister’s attention. If she wasn’t so crazy about the fellow herself, she might pitch in and try to set things right between him and Anna. “I think only God can get my sister thinking straight again.” She looked away, studying a row of trees on the other side of the field.
    “You’re kind of pensive today,” Silas remarked. “Is it this oppressive heat, or are you just not wanting to help me with Anna?”
    Rachel turned to face him again. “I think a man who claims to care for a woman should speak on his own behalf. Even though my sister and I don’t talk much anymore, I know her fairly well, and I don’t think Anna would like it if she knew you were plotting like this.”
    Silas’s forehead wrinkled. “I’m not plotting. I’m just trying to figure out some way to make Anna commit to courting. I thought maybe you could help, but if you’re