covered, she’d probably trip over her own feet, fall to the ground, and get licked to death by the dog.
“What . . . what do you mean?”
Aden stood up and walked to where she sat. He squatted down, facing her. The sneaky dog crawled forward and laid his head in her lap. An attack from both sides. Lily didn’t move a muscle.
“You’re a nice enough girl, but you don’t like my dog, and I already told Mammi that’s the end of it.”
Lily couldn’t make heads or tails of what he said. Jah, he was an odd young man.
“Look,” he said. “I’m not out to corrupt you or drag you down with my sinful ways. I’m not in Wisconsin recruiting for the devil’s team. I’m here to help Mammi and Dawdi and hopefully find a place where people won’t judge me harshly.” He massaged the side of his face. “Mammi is determined to put us together, and I’d rather not spend the entire summer in silence because you’re afraid of me. Can we call a truce and be friends?”
“I’m not afraid of you,” Lily said, wishing for a subtle way to lose the scarf.
“Jah, you are.”
“My dat . . .”
“What about your dat?”
“He told me to stay away from you.”
Aden snorted his displeasure.
“I don’t want to be rude, but I must obey my father’s wishes.”
Aden shook his head. “Did he forbid you to talk to me?”
“Yes. Nae. Not exactly.”
A ghost of a grin played at his lips. Lily hadn’t expected that. “But he said you have to cover your mouth when I’m around?”
Lily whipped off the scarf and hurled it to the ground. “Nae.”
Aden drummed his fingers on his jaw as if deep in thought. “So how far do you need to stay from me to be obedient to your fater?” He scooted two feet away from her. “This far?”
She didn’t know how to answer.
He scooted back farther. “This far?”
Lily lowered her eyes to look at the dog in her lap. She scratched his head, if only to have something to do with her hands. “Maybe that would be okay.”
“So, as long as I keep a distance of four or five feet, your fater will be satisfied?”
Lily felt herself blushing again. Why did she feel so transparent? “I don’t know.”
“I wouldn’t ask you to go against your dat. You must be comfortable with the distance. How far back do you want me to stay?”
Lily laced her fingers through the curly fur on the dog’s head. “You are right. It is a little silly.”
“Not silly at all. I don’t want to go against your fater.”
The dog licked the back of her hand, and she sighed in surrender. “Four . . . four feet is enough.”
“Gute, because I think that is the diameter of Mammi’s table. At least we can eat dinner together.”
He flashed that nice smile, and Lily’s heart beat an uneven rhythm in her chest. For such an odd young man, he was certainly charming, even if he was making fun of her.
Aden pointed to his dog, who had rolled onto his back as if wanting Lily to rub his tummy. “And what about Pilot? Should I make him stay away too?”
“He wouldn’t listen. He is the most disobedient dog I’ve ever seen.”
Aden scooted back to his original spot and picked up his shears. “I’ve been in jail three times.”
“What?”
“Only three. Not seventeen times, like I heard yesterday.”
Or dozens, as Estee had told her. The plainly boastful glint in his eye put Lily on the defensive. “Three is a lot.”
“Three times more than you’ve been in jail, I bet.”
Lily scratched the dog’s stomach vigorously as her agitation grew. “I would never think of getting arrested. It’s irresponsible.”
Aden didn’t seem offended by her subtle reprimand. “Do you want to know why I went to jail? The truth is probably less dramatic than your imagination.”
“It’s none of my business. I should not let your past keep me from doing my Christian duty.”
His lips twitched upward. “Sounds like something an Amish fater would say.”
This young man was infuriatingly perceptive.