you alone.â
Her chest tightened. Sheâd convinced herself they were friends, but she couldnât deny a part of her wanted more. Yet to have more sheâd have to open herself up again, and she wasnât sure she could. âI . . . I donât know . . .â
He leaned toward her. His proximity caused her confusionâalong with something more. âAt least you didnât say nee right off the bat. Iâll take that as a gut sign.â
Chapter Seven
âSure thatâs straight?â
Zeke looked at Chester, then at the row of kitchen cabinets on the wall in front of him. âThe level says it is. I wouldnât eyeball something like that.â
âI know. I didnât mean it that way.â Chester sighed, then moved to sit on the blue ice chest in the middle of the room.
Zeke turned and looked at his weary cousin. âTough day at work?â
â Ya . That and worrying about getting the haus built.â He looked up. âDidnât realize getting married would be this stressful.â
âCast your cares upon the Lord, and He will sustain you.â Zeke grinned. âYouâre not casting enough, cousin.â
âIâm casting plenty, believe me. But lately those cares have been multiplying faster than I can get rid of them. I just want everything perfect for Priscilla.â
âI know you do.â Zeke leaned against the counter heâd installed earlier that day while Chester was at work. Heâd had to do the job twice, thanks to Naomi ruining his concentration. Again. Not that he minded. But he wasnât telling Chester any of that. He seemed worried enough as it was. âTell me something. Do you think Pricilla will love you any less if things arenât perfect?â
âOf course not. But I want her to be happy. Sheâs so excited about getting married. I donât want to disappoint her.â
Zeke nodded. âWell, maybe Iâm not the best person to give advice about marriage, but seems to me youâre gonna disappoint her somewhere down the road. Probably more than once. Sheâll disappoint you too. Itâs how you handle the disappointment that will make your marriage, not what happens on your wedding day.â
Chester stood. âSounds like something mei daed would say. So how did you get so wise in the ways of marriage? Being a lifetime bachelor and all.â His cousinâs tone was genuine, not mocking.
âSometimes you learn a lot from paying attention.â He remained silent about the state of his parentsâ marriage. Zeke was pretty sure his cousinâs family didnât have any idea that his parents barely spoke to each other. They always put up a good front for family and friends. Home . . . well, that was a different story. He picked up one of the cabinet doors and started screwing it on. âI donât plan on being a lifetime bachelor, by the way.â
âOh?â Chester grabbed another door and got to work. It was dark outside, but the gas lamp theyâd set up in the middle of the kitchen cast plenty of light. âYouâve got your eye on someone back home, ya ?â
âNot exactly.â He pushed the door back and forth, making sure the hinges worked and didnât squeak. Satisfied, he put on the opposite door.
âSomeone here, then?â
When Zeke didnât answer, Chester asked, âWho? You havenât been here that long. Thereâs only been one maedel I know that youâve metââ His cousin stopped working. âNaomi?â
Heat suffused Zekeâs face. He wasnât used to talking about such things with Chester. Or with anyone.
âItâs Naomi.â Chester grinned. âYou could do a lot worse.â
Zeke looked at him. âWhat do you mean by that?â
Chester held up his hands, gripping the Phillips screwdriver in one of them. â Nix . I just meant that