Free Love's Abundant Harvest by Beth Shriver Page B

he didn’t speak.
    “Lucy seemed upset.” Manny shifted his boots.
    Still no response.
    To his surprise, Manny was prepared for whatever Sam said or did. It might have been
less than he thought, but after looking into Lucy’s face, he was pretty sure what
had transpired between them was not right; she wasn’t herself. “Do you want me to
check on her?”
    Sam turned his head away from the spreader and slowly stood without taking his eyes
off Manny. “Why are you still here?”
    “To deliver your mail.” Manny wished he had the two envelopes.
    Sam glared at him. “Don’t bother yourself with the mail.”
    Manny scoffed. The few times he’d brought the mail to them, there was nothing for
Sam, but he knew how important it was for Lucy to get correspondence.
    “It’s no problem.” He felt like he’d blown it. That was his excuse to check in on
her, and after what had just happened, he felt the obligation even more. His mind
raced to find what to say. But when he looked up at Sam, he knew nothing he said
would change his mind. “I know you don’t like to bother with it, and I think Abner’s
on the mend, so I’ll see if he’s able to.”
    Sam’s lips pinched together as he stared him down. “We’ll manage.” He took a single
step that put them nose to nose. “ Gut day, Manny.”
    His words weren’t rude, but his tone was.
    Manny felt useless at this point. Worst of all, he’d put Lucy in the middle. He’d
overstepped his bounds, and when he thought about it, he was probably making it harder
for her. Had he heard what he thought he had or was he thinking the worst? This was
the overprotective side of him that he had no right to indulge.
    He was out of line; the Amish kept family issues within the family. The bishop would
consider this a private matter, yet Manny thought it was hard for him not to do anything
when there was some sort of verbal abuse going on. He was involved just because of
what he heard and saw, whether that was wrong or right.
    Manny walked away from the barn deep in thought, wondering where his place was in
all this, if he had any at all, and noticed Lucy sitting on the porch swing reading
a letter.
    “One of those from your sister?” He understood why Abner was so nosy now and was
glad that he was. It was nice to know she had family who loved and cared about her.
    Lucy jumped a little and nodded. Her freckles looked brighter today, but then, her
face was also paler. He wondered whether it was because she didn’t feel well or because
of Sam.
    He took slow steps to the gate and stopped. “Is everybody good back home?”
    Her eyes rose over the top of the paper she held, and she nodded.
    “Are your sisters coming down anytime soon?”
    “ Nee , my mamm came yesterday, but she went to fetch some more coffee.”
    He relished hearing her voice at an even level. “That’s nice. You enjoying spending
time with her?” That seemed like a stupid question, but he was so glad she was talking
to him that he didn’t care, and she didn’t seem to mind.
    She put the letter down and turned her head toward the barn. “Sort of.”
    Manny couldn’t hide his surprise. He waited for her to continue.
    “She’s . . . hard to please.” She immediately put a hand to her lips, as if to lock
them shut. “I didn’t mean it in a bad way.”
    Manny smiled, tickled she was worried about what he thought when all he cared about
was having a conversation with her. “Family can be like that at times.”
    She gave a short laugh. “Or all the time.”
    He listened to her laugh in his mind again and smiled with her. “I know what you
mean.”
    “She’ll be a big help, though.” Her eyes lost their sparkle, and Manny looked over
his shoulder to see Sam with a bucket of milk in hand to separate.
    “I’m sure she will be. I look forward to meeting her.” He knew he should leave; she
was obviously nervous with him there and Sam wishing he was gone. But when Sam moved
out of sight to finish his chore,