.

      After a few minutes of silence, Nick said, “I’ll talk to Jenny about the damage. Maybe there’s a way I can make the repairs myself.” Having worked with his uncle’s carpentry crew for a year when his uncle was ill, Nick was a better craftsman than Kevin.

      “But when?” Kevin questioned. “It’s not a one-day job. You know we won’t get any Saturdays off until after Grischtdaag.” He went on to explain that Jenny’s family was planning a Christmas Eve reunion in the cabin with her ailing grandfather, who was traveling all the way from Spokane, Washington, to celebrate the holiday with them.

      “I’ll have to work on it in the evenings then, won’t I?” Nick didn’t try to temper his irritation at his brother.

      Kevin snorted. “The store is open late on weeknights until Grischtdaag, too. There’s no way Mamm and Daed will let you get out of helping.”

      “Actually, there is. You’re going to insist you can cover for me at the store.”

      Kevin’s jaw dropped. “I already told them I want to go caroling this year. If I have to stay late at the store, I’ll miss the rehearsals during the week.”

      “Well, unless the money drops from the sky or you suddenly develop expert carpentry skills, you’ll have to tell them you changed your mind,” Nick advised, annoyed that Kevin still didn’t comprehend the sacrifice he was making for him. “Besides, you’re not interested in caroling. You just want to get out of working at night during the week.”

      Kevin didn’t deny it. “So what excuse are you going to give Mamm and Daed for going out on weeknights?” he asked.

      “Maybe I’ll say I’m joining the carolers.” Even as he suggested the idea, Nick knew it wasn’t plausible. For as many singings as he’d been to, he hardly ever sang. He couldn’t carry a tune and his parents knew it, but because singings were chaperoned, they didn’t discourage him from attending. “Or maybe I’ll tell them I’m courting someone.”

      “Who? You’ve already courted all the meed in Willow Creek,” Kevin countered.

      Courtships among the Amish were usually private matters and Nick definitely hadn’t told Kevin about his romantic relationships. “How would you know?”

      “Word gets around. Everyone says you’re a real heartbreaker,” Kevin replied flippantly. “You’d practically have to leave Lancaster County to find someone you haven’t already courted.”

      Nick was suddenly inspired. “Hey, maybe someone has a cousin visiting Willow Creek for the Thanksgiving holiday. Let’s stop at Frederick’s haus and check it out. Then we can go talk to Jenny about the repairs.”

      But when they entered Frederick’s home and Nick scanned the room, his hope flagged. The only out-of-towner present was Frederick’s cousin, Mark. The usual young women from Willow Creek and the Elmsville district were encircling him, batting their lashes and fiddling with their kapp strings. Katura and Mildred Peachy, Lucy Knepp’s stepsisters, appeared downright enraptured, and it occurred to Nick he hadn’t ever courted either of them. But asking to walk out with Katura or Mildred was a risk he couldn’t take. He’d heard how outspoken the sisters had been about wanting to get married at the slightest hint of interest from young men who weren’t even their suitors yet. That was exactly the kind of pressure Nick wanted to prevent.

      He nudged Kevin, muttering “Let’s get out of here,” but just then Frederick’s mother noticed them and insisted they take off their coats and have some hot chocolate. They couldn’t refuse since she was the hosting chaperone, so they gave her their coats and shuffled into the kitchen. After eating popcorn and downing their mugs of cocoa, Nick meandered to the back room to grab their jackets so they could head to Jenny’s house.

      He had to dig through a heap of coats and cloaks piled on the bed before he found theirs. He was about to exit the room when he caught a small movement out of the corner of his eye. It was Lucy Knepp sitting in a circle of faint lamplight, her head bowed. Was she praying? No, she was sewing.

      That was typical. Ever since they were in school Lucy had distanced herself from the other scholars. At recess she always stayed inside and cleaned the whiteboards. It was generally accepted she was the teacher’s pet, and the boys believed she spied on them from the window and tattled about their wrongdoings to the teacher. More than once Nick received a scolding for antics on the playground the teacher couldn’t have known about unless Lucy had told her.

      She probably had matured by now, but she was still one of the most boring women he’d ever met—either that, or she was a snob, because she made no attempt at even the most casual of conversations. But she was respected by virtually all the parents in Willow Creek, who admired her good manners and quiet thoughtfulness, as well as her dedication to serving the less fortunate Englischers in their community.

      Because Lucy didn’t look up from her fabric, Nick decided he’d pussyfoot it out of the room without greeting her, but suddenly an idea struck him. She could be his pretend girlfriend! The plan unfolded almost instantly in his mind’s eye: Kevin could “accidentally” let it slip in front of their parents Nick was courting Lucy. Once they heard that, they’d let him go out whenever he wanted, no questions asked.

      But how would he convince Lucy he wanted to be her suitor? They were as different as salt and pepper. She’d never believe he genuinely wanted to court her, and even if she did believe it, there was no way she’d accept his offer. The only time they’d really spoken to each other had been when Nick was courting her cousin Bridget. But after Bridget broke up with him three years ago, Lucy hardly looked in his direction. I’ll have to tell her the truth, Nick concluded. Or some version of the truth. He’d have to present his situation in a way that appealed to her sense of charity and compassion.

      “Eh-hem.” When Nick cleared his throat, Lucy glanced up and the lenses in her glasses reflected the weak lamplight. How could she see to sew? “Hi, Lucy.”

      “Hello, Nick,” she replied, and adjusted her glasses on her nose. She gestured to the coats he was tightly gripping. “Do you want me to turn the lamp up or did you find what you came in here to get?”

      “Jah,” he replied, stalling.

      “Jah you want me to turn the lamp up or jah you found what you needed?” she asked. Was she smirking or smiling at him?

      “I’ve got my coat, jah,” he said, glad the light was low so she couldn’t watch his face turn as red as his hair. Why was he so nervous? He’d proposed courtship over a dozen times before and he’d never felt like this. “I actually, er, came looking for you.”

      “For me?” She cocked her head.

      “Jah. There’s a favor I’d like to ask.”