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There comes a time in every man’s life when he must put aside his needs for the good of his family. In this case, you will benefit too. Stop acting like an old mule and hear what I’m telling you.”
    Gabriel guided Ezekiel up the steps to his front door, opening the screen with one hand while still grasping the old man’s elbow in the other.
    The deacon stepped into his house. Then he turned, his blue eyes as sharp as the blade on a hunting knife, and pointed a gnarled finger at Gabriel. “The Lord sees a need, and He provides for it. It is a sin to waste opportunities as surely as it is to defy God Himself.”

    The deacon’s words kept repeating in his head over and over for the rest of the day and all of the following one. His house was slowly falling to disarray. Dirt piled up on the floor. Dishes stacked in the sink. He himself had been plowing all day.
    After scrounging through the refrigerator for all the leftovers he could find, he managed to present the boys with a meal. Although it was odd in content, it was filling, and they wouldn’t go to bed hungry. He couldn’t say the same about the next day.
    Gabriel sent the children to bed and eased his tired body into the rocking chair. He would read for a while, then get some rest himself. The dishes and such could wait. Plowing and planting were more important today.
    He took his Bible from the knitting basket next to his chair and pulled on his wire-rimmed reading glasses. Yet the Lord’s verses could not hold his attention this night. It was the deacon’s words that kept coming back to him.
    Maybe Esh was right. Maybe Gabriel did need a woman to help care for his brood, cook and clean, and otherwise handle the womanly chores. He had made it all these years without a wife. At first he’d had his sister, Katie Rose, and then Mary Elizabeth had grown and taken over more and more of the work load. Except for the cooking.
    The thought brought a sad smile to his face. His Mary Elizabeth had never mastered the art of cooking. Her mother had been one of the finest in the county, but the skill had not been passed on.
    Jah , he needed womanly help at his farm, but that didn’t mean he had to take a wife. There was more than one way to skin a cat.
    Decision made, he climbed the stairs to his room, the weight of the day a little easier knowing there was help in sight.

    “ Guder mariye , Rachel Yoder.”
    At the Deutsch greeting, Rachel smiled at the postmaster behind the big wooden counter. For her it was always so special when the Englisch members of Clover Ridge welcomed the Plain folk so openly. She had read about the troubles others had in different communities all over the country. Why, there was even a group of Swartzentruber Amish who were being forced from their land in Pennsylvania. The group of nine families would have to move to another state where they would be allowed to carry on with their ultra-conservative ways. ’Course, she wasn’t sure that not allowing caution triangles on the back of their buggies was safe, and it did make a home look better to everyone if the owners were allowed to plant grass and pretty flowers, but it wasn’t hers to judge. She was just thankful that she lived in a community where such luxuries were approved.
    Not for much longer, the dark voice in her head reminded her.
    She pushed the thought aside. She knew that the community where her cousin lived was more conservative than the districts in Clover Ridge, but that didn’t mean they went as far as the Swartzentruber. They were still in Holmes County, jah ?
    She smiled and handed Kevin the postman the card her delivery man had left in her box yesterday.
    “Registered mail, huh? Must be real important. Give me a minute to find it.” He slapped the palm of one hand on the counter, then winked. “Be right back.”
    “Danki.” She gave him a quick nod of her head and watched as he disappeared into the back rooms of the building.
    She had to look at this move as an