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Her heart was still going a hundred miles an hour at the idea of her baby falling from a tree. She had been the one to look after Jacob most of his young life. Their mother had taken ill after his birth, and Sarah, who had no baby of her own, had gladly seen to Jacobs care. She had never grown out of thinking of him more as a son than a brother.
    Matt took no offense at the boy's lack of manners. He scooted a little nearer Jacob. “Nope. These are my lucky running shorts. Want to know why they're lucky?”
    The blond head bobbed.
    “Because I used to wear them all the time back in college when I ran in races.”
    “What is this college? Is it a town?”
    The question knocked Matt speechless for an instant, until it occurred to him that the Amish probably didn't go in for higher education. “It's the kind of school a guy has to go to if he wants to become a doctor,” he explained.
    “And did you win the races?” Jacob asked, typically unconcerned with the idea of school.Races, however, were of great interest. He stared up at Matt, waiting for his response, unconsciously relaxing his hold on his injured arm.
    “Sometimes,” Matt said, slowly reaching out. “Let's have a look at this. So you like to climb trees, do you? I used to be the champion tree climber on my block when I was a kid. The second best tree climber was a girl. Can you believe that?”
    “No.” Jacob pulled back a litde as Mart's fingers closed around his wrist, but he slowly relaxed and straightened out the arm. “I don't know any girls can climb trees except for Sarah.”
    “Is that a fact?” Matt shot Sarah a surprised grin and chuckled at the blush that crept across her cheeks. “I'd like to see that.”
    “Jonah Voder is the best tree climber I know,” Jacob went on, warming to the topic, forgetting all about Matt examining his arm. “He's ten and he can climb like a squirrel. I can climb pretty good, but sometimes my reach is not far enough. I'm only eight and I'm not so big as Jonah Yoder is.”
    Sarah leaned in to get a look at the scrape, her expression worried. “Is it broken?”
    “Heck no, it's just a scrape,” Matt said, rolling his eyes at Jacob. “Girls.”
    “Girls,” Jacob parroted derisively. He gavehis sister a superior look. “Heck no, Sarah. It's not broke.”
    “It's a doozy of a scrape, though,” Matt said. “Really gross.”
    “What is this gross?” the boy asked.
    “Gross is like
really
yucky looking,” Matt explained, making a face that indicated it was something a boy could appreciate in a way no one else could. It was a look that breached the culture barrier. Gross was a concept relished by all boys everywhere, even if they didn't use the same word for it.
    Jacob eyed his wound with new delight. “Gross,” he said, obviously liking the way the new word sat on his tongue. He looked up at Matt and they both grinned.
    “Radically gross!”
    Jacob giggled. “Rad-ic-cally gross!”
    “Well have to clean it up and put some goop on it,” Matt said, sobering.
    The boy looked up at him, suddenly not so brave. “Will it hurt so very much?”
    “Nothing a champion tree climber like you can't handle. At least you won't need stitches, like I did,” Matt said, showing off the line on his chin.
    Jacobs eyes widened in a horrified awe. “Did you get that falling out of a tree?”
    “No. I had a little accident at work.”
    Sarah helped her brother up, clucking at him and muttering in German as she dustedthe leaves off him and herself. She scooped up his wide-brimmed felt hat and clamped it on his head. Matt struggled to his feet and leaned heavily against his cane for a moment as the world swayed around him.
    “Maybe we can get Sarah to whip us up some breakfast while you and I get that arm taken care of.”
    Sarah glanced up, her stomach clenching at the sight of Matt, pale and wobbly. “Run along into the kitchen, Jacob. Sit at the table and wait for us, and no playing with the toaster.” As the boy