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could have happened if you hadn’t been there. Could you imagine the guilt if he’d lost her too?”
    Lovina placed a piece of pie in front of each of them. Only Dat held up his hand, indicating that he didn’t want one.
    Hope picked up the fork and poked at the crust. “Oh, I know who Jonas is, but who was this woman you’re talking about?”
    Mem picked up her fork and put it down again. She reached over and took Hope’s hand, squeezing, as if she had horrible news she needed to share. “It is Jonas’s wife. Or rather it was Jonas’s wife. Sarah Sutter passed away two years ago, but it was three years before that when she had her stroke.”
    â€œStroke?” Hope’s mouth dropped open, and her mind tried to wrap around what she was hearing. The room was quiet except for the scraping of forks on plates.
    â€œ Ja , they have no idea why,” Lovina said. “She seemed so healthy before. It’s just one of those things… I suppose we just have to learn to trust God in matters like this.”
    Hope placed her fork back on the plate, unsure of what to say. She’d been so judgmental with her thoughts earlier, wondering where the girl’s mother was and why she wasn’t being tended to.
    â€œSo—so Emma’s father… ”
    â€œHe’s a widower.” The words shot out of Mem’s mouth. “And that little girl. She hasn’t had a mother for the last two years. No wonder she was wandering the park today. Where would any of us be without our mothers keeping us on the straight and narrow?”
    â€œShe’s actually been without a mother longer than that.” Grace’s chin dropped to her chest as if the story overwhelmed her. “Sarah was paralyzed on one side and unable to speak for three years. Jonas hired in help for both his wife and his daughter, but can you imagine the weight that must have put on a man whilealso tending his farm and being part of the community? No wonder he left Kentucky. I’m sure he needed a break.”
    Lovina cocked an eyebrow. “Are you calling teaching school a break? How would you like to be in the room with fifteen children? I’d rather be behind a pie display with a hundred hungry customers.” She shook her head. “Everything about this breaks my heart.”
    Her mother and sisters’ voices continued, and the words spun around the room. Hope resisted the urge to close her eyes and cover her ears to block out their voices. It had been like this since she was a small girl. All these conversations. All these opinions. It wasn’t as if they were saying anything bad or wrong, it was just that they didn’t stop talking. She wished they could slow their words and just give her time to think. She put her elbows to the table and pressed her fingertips into her temples, blocking out their words.
    Jonas Sutter is a bachelor.
    Little Emma doesn’t have a mother.
    Sadness crept over her like ivy vines, wrapping around her heart.
    Then came curiosity.
    He was looking at me today. With interest.
    Why hadn’t Jonas already remarried?
    Growing up she’d seen how things typically worked. It was common for Amish men and women to marry quickly after losing a spouse, often before a year had passed. Amish couples had big families, and a second marriage often became a necessity. Women needed providers for themselves and their children. Men needed help with their home, and especially raising their little ones. Perhaps with just one daughter—instead of a houseful of children—Jonas’s need hadn’t been so urgent. Or maybe love for his first wife made the idea of marriage a second time difficult.
    Or maybe he’s trying to find another person he could love that way again.
    A memory filtered through her mind from earlier today. Jonas Sutter had thought ahead to her need, and he’d gotten a blanket for her to cover herself with. Then he’d