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announcement, Emma’s mouth dropped open and she found herself rendered speechless.
    It was Gideon who laughed this time, only not at Anna’s announcement. “Well played, Anna. Anyone who can steal the words from our dear Emma has my admiration. Lord knows that I’ve been trying to do it for years.” He winked at Hannah. “And not often able to succeed, might I admit.”
    “I gardened in Ohio and found it most relaxing,” Hannah declared.
    Surprised, Emma turned her eyes to look upon her friend. “Did you, then? Why, you are a gardener but not a quilter! I think today is a day of surprises for me . . . from my cousin Anna and my new friend Hannah!”
    Everyone laughed at Emma’s innocent remark and she too joined them, always being agreeable to laughing at herself when the situation warranted it.
    The clock on the wall began to chime. Emma turned to look at it and gasped when she saw the time. “Oh, help!” She began to gather the items on the table, stacking the papers in a neat pile and placing them on top of the folded piles of cloth. “We best get going,” she said to Hannah. “ Daed will need his dinner!” Everyone knew that Henry Weaver was a creature of habit as well as one of worry. If Emma was late to return, her daed would not only worry about his dochder ,he would also be forced to wait for his noon meal. The combination of both would create havoc for all to experience for several days, for he’d be certain to inform everyone of the matter and the reason for it.
    Still, the blame did not rest entirely on Henry’s shoulders. Emma was only too willing to ensure that her daed wanted for nothing. While her compassion for others was well known in the g’may , being one of the traits that made her the go-to person during a time of need, her coddling of her aging father was another matter entirely. Some of the g’may members thought it was wunderbaar gut that a dochder took such doting care of her daed , while others disapproved of the fact that she could have no private life of her own while tending to his. Despite having taken the kneeling vow several years prior, the bottom line was that Emma Weaver had refused to court any young man in the g’may and gave no indication that she’d ever settle down, not if it meant leaving her daed on his own.
    Gideon stood on the porch, watching as the two young women hurried to the waiting buggy, eager to return to the Weaver home in order to start cutting the pieces for their quilt top. He smiled at their enthusiasm but there was something else, something wistful and distant in his gaze.
    When the buggy pulled away, he turned to Anna. “I’m not quite certain about this friendship between the two girls,” he mumbled.
    “Is that so? I do wonder that!” Anna sounded genuinely surprised at his statement.
    Gideon shrugged. “Hannah seems quite innocent and different from our Emma. Certainly not as mature. I fear Emma is placing a replacement kapp upon her new friend’s head in order to fill a void from your departure.”
    Anna glanced toward the road as if she could still see the two women. But the porch was empty and the road long deserted by the buggy. “Hannah might be a breath of fresh air for Emma,” she countered. “After all, Emma has a lot she can teach her. She is wise beyond her years.”
    At that, Gideon smiled. “Wise indeed. She learned from the best, I reckon.” The look in his eyes indicated that he was referring specifically to Anna’s influence on Emma.
    “No better than any other woman in the g’may .” While her words spoke of modesty, the flush on her cheeks, however, said otherwise.
    “Well, at least they are spending their time doing something for the good of others.” There was an approving tone in his voice, at last.

Chapter Three
    T HE QUILT TOP was rolled in the large wooden frame next to the living room windows. Emma preferred that location for the afternoon sun, the natural light warm and welcoming for the hours she