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you.”
    â€œOh?”
    â€œUh-huh. A couple of people thought you might be having some money problems.”
    Now she was sure she was blushing with him. “People are talking about me?” They knew she was struggling? That was horrifying!
    â€œI, personally, haven’t heard too much. But Micah has. And, well, you know . . . people like to share news.”
    She took pity on him and said what they were both thinking. “Everyone knows that my mother remarried and moved on.”
    â€œRandall did court you for two years, Elizabeth. Micah and I weren’t gossiping about you. It’s just that, well, we got to know you real well. Micah said he remembered that sometimes you were anxious about paying your taxes and such.”
    The awkward reminder hit her hard. She supposed it did make sense that everyone in the Beiler family would be aware of her financial situation. She’d certainly shared a lot of her worries with Randall . . . back when she thought they were mere months away from marriage.
    As the silence between them grew, Levi grabbed his hat and slapped it on his head. “I’m sorry if I said something I shouldn’t of.”
    â€œNo, it’s okay. I mean, you were only speaking your mind.”
    â€œUm, Elizabeth, please say you’ll think about cooking and cleaning for us. We really need your help.”
    Determined to lessen the awkwardness, she pointed to the pie plate. “And maybe bake you a pie or two?”
    â€œI’d love more pie.” Levi grinned. “And maybe something besides potatoes, too. If I never eat another baked potato it will be too soon.” Just as he entered the hallway, he turned. “So what do you say?”
    There were a lot of things she could say. Things she should say. The top of the list was that she was going to need time to think things through.
    But there was something about the yearning in Levi’s eyes that melted her heart. After all, she knew what it was like to be helpless to make things different.
    Before she knew it, she nodded. “I’ll come by tomorrow and cook supper. But we don’t need to talk about how much to pay me yet. I’ll come over tomorrow, as a friend and neighbor.”
    Levi frowned. “Micah was pretty sure we needed to pay ya . . .”
    â€œI’ll talk to him about that when I see him. How about that?”
    Pure relief entered his expression. “That sounds real gut . Danke , Elizabeth.”
    And with that, he tore out of the house, taking with him almost half a pie in his stomach.
    And leaving her wondering what in the world she’d just agreed to and, more important, why. Had she just agreed to cook supper because she felt sorry for Kaylene and was amused by Levi?
    Or did it have more to do with the fact that she was going to get an opportunity to be around Randall again? And that she was slowly beginning to realize that she might have misjudged him?
    The moment that thought popped into her head, she firmly pushed it aside. The last thing in the world she needed was to start having doubts about her feelings for Randall. She needed him out of her system, not back in her heart.
    â€œI only agreed to this because Levi Beiler is such a charmer,” she said out loud.
    Maybe if she kept saying it, she might even believe it, too.

chapter three
    Judith Knox almost felt like a “real” mother. Almost.
    As she sat at the long, scarred table in her parents’ home, little James propped on her lap, she knew that she’d surely never felt happier.
    Fostering a sweet baby like James had been one of the best experiences of her life. The only negative thing—as far as she could tell—was that there was always a sense that James could be taken from her at any time. And while Ben constantly reminded her of the definition of “fostering,” saying that the social worker had only entrusted James to be in their care for a short