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a sad thing if it was true.
    Feeling more disgruntled than ever, he grimly began raking away the soiled hay in Jim’s stall. At first his muscles burned in protest. Now that it was twilight, the barn had turned colder. Each swipe felt heavy and awkward. But soon he was moving well, like he always did.
    He’d just spread fresh hay on the floor of the last stall when Caleb finally showed up. Unable to hide his irritation, Joshua glared. “ Bruder , where have you been? I’ve been doing all of this by myself. I coulda used your help, you know.”
    Caleb didn’t look the least bit apologetic. “I was over at the Allens.”
    Joshua was stunned. “Doing what?”
    “Retrieving Anson, that’s what.” Crossing his mittened arms across his chest, Caleb slouched against one of the stalls like he had nothing to do but stand and chat. “Anson wandered over there this afternoon and was taking his time coming back. Mamm got worried.”
    “I hadn’t realized Anson knew them.”
    “Anson knows everyone, you know that. He wandered over there to meet their youngest, Ty.”
    “And how did they get along?”
    “About how you’d expect. They’re nine and ten, after all.”
    Joshua didn’t know why he was surprised. The younger a person was, the less it seemed differences mattered.
    However, there was a time not so long ago when he could never imagine any Amish kinner spending a moment at an Englischer ’s house. But now that both the Amish and the English worked so much together in the Sugarcreek community, the lines between their worlds were not near so finely drawn. Though the Graber family was firmly planted in the Amish way of life, their father, Frank, had often said he was smart enough to realize that no good would come from ignoring everyone else. Especially since he owned one of the busiest stores in the town.
    Still not eager to abandon his annoyance for having to do most of the chores by himself, Joshua said, “And how are things at the Allens? Did you even get a chance to speak to them, or did you simply claim Anson and leave?”
    “They are good.” With a secret smile, he motioned behind him. “Lilly followed us back, by the way.”
    Joshua dropped the rake as Lilly stepped through theopen doorway and into view. Her wide, dark brown eyes and flushed cheeks signaled that she’d heard every complaining word that he’d uttered.
    “Hi,” she said with a tiny smile. “I’m sorry to ruin your evening.”
    “I…uh…you didn’t.”
    “Are you sure? You sound busy.”
    Oh, he could wring Caleb’s neck for embarrassing him like this! To Lilly, he gentled his voice. “Come in from the cold,” he said, then found himself blushing. It surely wasn’t much warmer in the barn than outside. And it smelled ripe of cow manure, too. “That is, if you don’t mind the animals.”
    “I don’t.” Holding a pan in between her two hands, she said, “I brought over a cake, warm from the oven. Since Caleb had to make sure Anson didn’t slip on any icy patches of snow or ice, I volunteered to carry it.”
    “That was mighty kind of you.” Joshua felt his blush deepen. Oh, he had no skills in social talk like this. Nor was he used to feeling so self-conscious. With Gretta, he’d always felt secure and in charge.
    This girl, on the other hand, did strange things to his pulse and his tongue. He felt completely tongue-tied at the moment.
    Well, at least he could get rid of his pesky brother. “Caleb, komm . Take the cake and bring it inside to Mamm.”
    For once, Caleb didn’t argue. Instead, he went to Lilly as Joshua asked, then took the warm pan to their house, pot holders and all.
    As he darted off, Lilly stepped into the barn’s shelter a bit more. Rubbing her arms briskly, she shivered. “It does feel better in here. The wind is awful today. Even my coat doesn’t seem to do much good.”
    Her white coat fit her closely and ended just short of her hips. He wondered if she’d been thinking of warmth when