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swallow some water?”
    She nodded. “A little, but I’m more worried about meeting your mother than anything else. What if she doesn’t like me? What if she throws me off your property or disowns you because you brought me there?”
    Eli snickered. “I hardly think either of my folks would throw you off the property or disown me.” He motioned to the food. “Let’s put the leftovers away and head over to my place before you freeze to death.”
    “Okay. I—I think I do need to get warmed up a bit.”

CHAPTER 5
    As they traveled down the road in Eli’s buggy, Eli explained that his father’s farm was situated on sixty acres of dark, fertile land, and as they approached the fields he spoke of, he mentioned that they had been planted in alfalfa, corn, and wheat.
    “They remind me of a quilt—rich, lush, orderly, and serene,” Laura said, as she snuggled beneath the quilt Eli had wrapped around her before they’d left the lake.
    Eli smiled. “You sure do have a way with words, you know that?”
    She shrugged. “I’m just expressing the way I see things.”
    An expansive white house came into view, surrounded by a variety of trees and shrubs, while an abundance of autumn blooms dotted the flower beds. Laura spotted a windmill not far from the home, turning slowly in the breeze as it cast a shadow over the tall, white barn directly behind the house. There were no telephone or power lines on the property, she noted, but a waterwheel grated rhythmically in the creek nearby, offering a natural source of power. There was also a huge propane tank sitting beside the house. Laura assumed it was used for heat or to run some of the Amish family’s appliances.
    “This is it,” Eli said with a sweeping gesture. “This is where I live.”
    Laura’s gaze traveled around the neat-looking farm. Sheep and goats stood inside a fenced corral, and chickens ran about in a small enclosure. On the clothesline hung several pairs of men’s trousers, a few dark cotton dresses, and a row of towels pinned in orderly fashion.
    “Here you go; this should help.” Eli grabbed a towel from the line for Laura and led her around the house and up the steps of a wide back porch.
    When they entered the kitchen, Laura’s mouth fell open. She felt as if she’d entered a time warp and had stepped back in time. The sweet smell of cinnamon and apples permeated the room, drawing Laura’s attention to the wood-burning stove in one corner of the room. No curtains hung on the windows, only dark shades pulled halfway down. Except for a small, battery-operated clock and one simple calendar, the stark white walls were bare.
    A huge wooden table sat in the middle of the kitchen, with long benches on either side, and two straight-backed chairs, one at each end. A gas lantern hung overhead, with a smaller kerosene lamp sitting in the center of the table. Against one wall stood a tall, wooden cabinet, and a long counter flanked both sides of the sink. Strategically placed near a massive stone fireplace sat a sturdy-looking rocking chair.
    Eli motioned to the stove. “Why don’t you stand over there? The heat from the stove will help your clothes dry.”
    Like a statue, Laura stood as close to the stove as she dared. “Do all Amish live this way?”
    Eli moved across the room. “What way?”
    “So little furnishings. There aren’t any pictures on the walls and no window curtains. Everything looks so bare.” Laura rubbed her arms briskly with the towel and then did the same with her stringy, wet hair.
    “The Old Order Amish believe only what serves as necessary is needed in the home. Although I must admit that my folks live more simply than some in our community.”
    This home was like no other Laura had ever seen. Here was a group of people living in the modern world yet having so little to do with it.
    Eli looked a bit uncomfortable when a slightly plump Amish woman entered the room. Her brown hair, streaked with a bit of gray, was parted down the