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gonna get all peevish on me, then forget I even brought up the subject.”
    Now I’ve gone and done it. Silas will never come to care for me if I keep making him mad. Rachel placed her trembling hand on Silas’s bare arm, and the sudden contact with his skin made her hand feel like it was on fire. “I—I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if I had a little talk with Anna,” she mumbled.
    A huge grin spread across Silas’s summer-tanned face. “You mean it, Rachel? You’ll really go to bat for me?”
    She nodded slowly, feeling like she was one of her father’s old sows being led away to slaughter. First she’d promised Dad to help Anna and Silas get together, and now she’d agreed to speak to Anna on Silas’s behalf. It made no sense, since she didn’t really want them to be together. But a promise was a promise, and she would do her best to keep it.

CHAPTER 4
    That Sunday, church was to be held at Eli and Laura Yoders’ place. They only lived a few farms from the Beachys, so the buggy ride didn’t take long at all.
    Many Amish carriages were already lined up near the side of the Yoders’ house, but Dad managed to find an empty spot near Eli’s folks’ home. Joseph helped Mom into her wheelchair, while Dad unhitched the horse and put him in the corral; then everyone climbed out of the buggy and scattered in search of friends and relatives to visit before church got started.
    Rachel noticed Silas standing on one end of the Yoders’ front porch, and she berated herself for loving him so much. She was almost certain he would never love her in return. She wasn’t sure he even liked her. She either needed to put him out of her mind or figure out some way to make him take notice of her.
    Silas seemed to be focused on Anna, who was talking with Martha Rose Zook and Laura Yoder at the other end of the porch. Guess I’d better speak to Anna soon, before Silas comes asking if I did. Rachel joined her sister and the other two women, but she made sure she was standing close enough to Anna so she could whisper in her ear. “Look, there’s Silas. He seems to be watching you.”
    “So?”
    “Don’t you think he’s good-looking?”
    Anna nudged Rachel in the ribs. “Since you seem so interested, why not go over and talk to him?”
    Rachel shook her head. “It’s you he’s interested in, not me.”
    “I think we’d better hurry and get inside. Church is about to begin,” Anna said, conveniently changing the subject.
    Rachel followed her sister into the Yoders’ living room, where several rows of backless, wooden benches had been set up. She would have to speak to Anna about Silas later on, even though she knew it would pain her to do it.
    The men and boys took their seats on one side of the room, while the women and girls gathered on the other. Rachel sat between her two sisters, and Mom parked her wheelchair alongside a bench where some of the other women sat.
    All whispering ceased as one of the deacons passed out the hymnals. In their usual chantlike voices, the congregation recited several traditional German hymns. Next, one of the ministers delivered the opening sermon. This was followed by a time of silent prayer, where everyone knelt. Then Deacon Shemly read some scripture, and Bishop Wagler gave the main sermon.
    During the longer message, Rachel glanced over at Anna, who sat twiddling her thumbs as she stared out the window.
    What’s that sister of mine thinking about? Rachel had a terrible feeling that Anna’s interest in worldly things might lead to trouble. What if Anna were to up and leave the faith?
    Rachel clenched her teeth. No, that can’t happen. It would break Mom and Dad’s hearts, not to mention upsetting the whole family. Why, we’d have to shun our own flesh and blood! She shuddered just thinking about the seriousness of it. Right then, she vowed to pray more, asking the Lord to change her sister’s mind about things. She would even make herself be happy about Anna and Silas courting if