Free Miriam's Story: Part 2 Romance in Amish Country by Melanie Schmidt Page B

could never bring myself to go in. You see, Ezra, everyone is afraid of something. It is how we face our fears that matters.”
    Ezra looked at the stranger and then turned to play with the puppies, clearly thinking through what the man had shared with him.
    Standing and brushing the dust from his black pants, the stranger looked down at Ezra. “And anyway, there is plenty of work to be done on the ground,” he teased, reaching out to tweak the brim of Ezra’s hat.
    Ezra looked up and smiled.
    Miriam sighed. She had not realized Ezra had become fearful of heights, though she supposed she should have noticed he no longer climbed trees. She had not known how much her son needed to cry for his father, nor how hard he had worked to protect her from his grief. She had never dreamed he had been holding so much back from even Seth, who was his closest uncle. Eavesdropping had given Miriam plenty to think about and had made her heart heavy, but she certainly realized that this stranger – this man on her porch – had been just what Ezra needed. Though Miriam didn’t know who this man was, she blessed God for sending him to her son.
    She stepped through the screen door. “Ezra, it is time for dinner.”
    “Mama!” Ezra shouted, jumping up in excitement. “This is Uncle Seth’s friend. He has come for the barn-raising tomorrow.”
    The man in question stood and removed his hat as soon as he realized she was there. He was tall and slender, though she imagined he must be very strong, since he worked with horses for a living. His hair was thick, wavy, and dark, his arms muscular and browned by the sun where his sleeves had been rolled up. Seth had told her his new business partner, Daniel Lantz, would be coming today, though they had not expected him until much later.
    “I am very early,” he said, as though reading her mind. “I had planned to take the late morning bus, but an acquaintance of mine was delivering a horse to Strasburg and offered me a ride.”
    “Seth will be pleased,” Miriam answered. “I know he is excited to show you the site of the new stable. Your name is Daniel, yes?”
    Lantz nodded and smiled then, and the smile reached his very blue eyes. The fine lines around his eyes suggested he was at least a decade older than Seth’s twenty-two, though he still moved as easily as a younger man. His wore the beard of a married man, and Miriam wondered what his wife felt about moving across the state to another Amish community to begin a new life.
    “Seth is no more excited than I,” Lantz said, laying a gentle hand on Ezra’s bouncing shoulder. “I have spent my entire life on my family’s horse farm, and as much as I have gained from the experience, I am more than ready to step out on my own with a willing partner or two.”
    “It sounds as though this venture will be a good thing for everyone, but I think the start of it can wait until after dinner,” Miriam said. “You will join us, of course?”
    Lantz grinned. “Gladly.”
    Miriam looked at her son, pleased to see him smiling. “Go wash up, Ezra. And wash well, for I know you have puppy all over you.”
    “All right.” Ezra scrambled up the steps and headed for the kitchen.
    Daniel looked down at the dog hair that covered his black pants. “I am afraid that I am as covered with puppy as your son.”
    “There is plenty of hot water and soap in the kitchen,” Miriam offered with a smile.
    While Ezra and Lantz washed up at the sink, Miriam added more ham, bread, and zucchini bread to the meal on the table then poured Lantz a glass of her father-in-law’s favorite cider before quickly setting a third place.
    When they were seated and had silently prayed over the food, Ezra began an enthusiastic conversation about his Uncle Seth’s plans for the new horse farm. Miriam thought Lantz would be put off by her son’s acute interest, but Daniel actually seemed to be enjoying himself as he fielded Ezra’s many questions. He certainly seemed to be