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choice words for him in the not-too-distant future. But if Jacob thought Samuel would tolerate being criticized, he was wrong.
    And he would tell his brother in no uncertain terms.
    It’d be the first real argument between them since they were teens. Jacob probably believed Samuel deserved a hard talking-to for what he’d done and said. But he had tried to avoid arguing with Rhoda. In the end she did what she was best at. Getting under his skin.
    Rhoda had gifts he admired and some he didn’t understand, but what threatened to bring him to his knees was when she unknowingly toyed with his emotions. As God was his witness, he’d not known a woman could have such power over a man. That alone irked him beyond what he could tolerate. But despite his irritation with her, he never had a moment when he didn’t admire a dozen things about her. Even when she was dead wrong, he still noticed every nuance of her beauty and strength, both inward and outward. The perfect curve of her lips …
    Stop!
    He led the horse to its stall and dumped feed into the trough.
    If Jacob knew how Samuel felt about Rhoda … But his feelings hadn’t caused the current battle between them.
    “Samuel!” His Daed strode into the barn. “What on earth is going on?” He pulled a note out of his pocket. “Rhoda’s father called. Karl wanted to make sure you knew that Rhoda has to be at a meeting tonight in Morgansville. If she doesn’t show, not only will they refuse her the right to leave as a member in good standing, but they’ll refuse to let her brother and his family go. Her brother said that Rhoda might choose to leave even if they don’t sanction it, but he won’t.”
    Samuel considered it a low blow to use Steven’s right to move against his sister, but he would get Rhoda there. Somehow. “Not a problem.” This was one aspect of Amish life that grated on Samuel’s nerves—the unnecessary drama ifa respected member took offense at someone. But from what he’d read in newspapers, that same type of thing played out all across America, whether in church or business or government. “She’ll be there.”
    “I told him as much, but he wants to hear it from you. What’s she done now?”
    “Nothing, Daed. She’s done nothing.”
    “Don’t give me that. She’s bad luck, and you don’t want to admit it. Here you are at the eleventh hour, and this happens? It’s a sign you should cancel the whole thing.”
    Samuel cleared his throat. “Could you lay off the superstitions and stop blaming Rhoda? This is my doing, and it goes back to when someone destroyed her garden.”
    “Your doing?”
    Samuel nodded. “When her garden was vandalized, she chose to honor the nonresistant ways of the Amish, so she refused to call the police. I thought she was wrong, but I wasn’t going to insist she involve the police. Then she told me she didn’t even want to inform the church leaders about it. The next day I circumvented her by sending them a letter. I’m not letting an out-of-line Amish brother get off scot-free for his vandalism. He’s hiding behind a cloak of looking upright while terrorizing women. I won’t stand for it!”
    “But why did they wait until tonight to have the meeting?”
    “I’d like an answer to that too. They’ve had plenty of time. If we hadn’t been so miserably busy around here since I sent the letter, I would’ve checked into it before now.”
    “I’ve been around enough to know there’s some reason they’ve waited this long. Maybe they want to stop her from going to Maine. Or maybe …” His Daed glanced behind him. “Is she in good standing with her bishop?”
    “She’s not keen on him asking her questions. That’s about all I know. Why?”
    “Maybe her bishop wants credit among his flock for addressing this issue, but he’s doing so in a way that leaves her without enough time to prove who did it.”
    His Daed could do more speculating and jumping to conclusions than anybody Samuel knew.