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I’m rambling. I didn’t mean to call and ramble.”
    â€œWhy did you call?” He didn’t sound annoyed, only curious.
    â€œI had a couple more questions for you. For the story.” “Oh. Does that mean you accept my apology?”
    I wanted to find a way to skirt around answering that and came up blank. “Yes.”
    â€œThank you,” he said, his voice softening. “In that case, I can tell you that my mother called me this morning. Said she and my dad talked it over, and they’ve agreed to let you stay with them while you’re working on your story.”
    â€œReally?”
    â€œI assured them that you wouldn’t be bringing drugs or alcohol into their home. They’re prepared to keep your bike in their shed, and when you need to charge your laptop—I’m assuming you have a laptop—you can bring it here.”
    â€œI don’t know what to say.”
    â€œâ€˜Thank you’ should do it.”
    â€œHow much should I pay them? I mean, I’m not expecting free room and board.”
    â€œMy mom said something along the lines of thirty dollars a day.”
    â€œI’m sorry…thirty?”
    â€œYes. They’re very thrifty.”
    I shrugged, not that he could tell over the phone. “Could I pad that a little more?”
    â€œIf you want. I wouldn’t worry too much about it.”
    My mind reeled. I’d never thought this trip would be saving me money. “Thirty?”
    He chuckled. “Do you want me to tell them you’ll come?”
    â€œYes, before they change their mind!” I said, and then I caught myself. I never meant to be so relaxed around Levi. It just happened.
    â€œHow soon do you want to go down? I’ll drive. We can load your bike in the truck again.”
    Was I ready? A part of me balked at leaving civilization behind. I knew journalists who had survived the difficulties of the Afghan desert, but while I stayed within American borders I expected a certain standard of living.
    Electrical outlets. Wireless connections. That sort of thing.
    â€œDo they have indoor plumbing?”
    Levi laughed. “Some Amish families don’t, but my parents do.”
    â€œYou think I’m a wuss.”
    â€œI think you’re normal.”
    â€œI guess I should pack and check out…”
    â€œDo you want me to drive you down?”
    â€œProbably better that way.”
    â€œMeet me at the shop?”
    â€œOkay.”
    â€œWhat time should I expect you?”
    I checked my watch. “Half an hour? An hour? Something like that.”
    â€œLooking forward to it,” he said.
    And I believed him.

    My hands shook with nervous excitement as Levi drove me toward the farmhouse for the second time. I was going behind the closed doors of one of America’s most introverted societies.
    And I couldn’t stop worrying about the fact that Shane hadn’t called me back. The concern kept me quiet through most of the drive until Levi commented on it. “You seem distracted,” he said.
    Understatement.
    I tried to remember if I’d mentioned the presence of Shane to him or not, and then I berated myself for caring.
    It’s not as though I were
interested
in Levi. I was with Shane, right?
    â€œI tried to call my boyfriend last night,” I said, and found myself watching Levi’s reaction.
    His grip on the steering wheel shifted. “Unsuccessful?”
    I shrugged. “I don’t know. It sounded like he was out. At a bar or something…who knows. He said he’d call me back, but he didn’t.”
    â€œDoes he usually?”
    â€œUsually what?”
    â€œCall you back.”
    â€œI think so. It’s not something that’s been a problem before.”
    â€œHow long have you been together?”
    â€œSix months.”
    His grip shifted again. “Is he a social guy?”
    â€œNot really. We are more of a coffeehouse couple, I