Free Amish Treasures of the Heart by Sophia Grace Page A

I’ll pick up some fresh apples as a treat for you, if you behave yourself.”
    Coal nudged Ellie and nibbled gently at her cheek with his velvety lips.
    She giggled. “Well, you’re just a little flirt, aren’t you, Coal?”
    She had been so preoccupied with her new horse that she hadn’t heard Jake walking toward her. “You have a way with animals,” he said, startling her.
    She looked up nervously, and saw Jake heading toward the barn. It was as if he had sensed she was thinking of him. She braced herself for the visit, trying not to think about their obvious attraction to each other. He closed the space between them, chuckling, which brought heat to her cheeks, and she was certain the redness showed.
    She darted her eyes between the horse and Jake. “You wouldn’t have said that if you’d shown up here a few minutes ago! He was being very stubborn, but we had us a little chat. Now we’re old friends.”
    She patted Coal’s nose, and this time he didn’t pull away.
    “Ain’t it so, Coal?”
    “I don’t know much about working on a farm, but it seems as though you could use some help.” He said.
    “As a matter of fact, I’m waiting on some farmhands that I hired. I’m hoping they’ll know how to harness the horse since they’re Englishers .”
    “Well I’d be more than willing to help in any way I can, maybe in exchange for a home cooked meal?” Jake asked, just hoping to be near her more often.
    His attraction to her made him nervous, but he just couldn’t help himself. He wanted to be around her all the time, regardless of how strange it must seem to others. But the Amish married their cousins; he’d read it when he’d looked it up online. So what would be so strange about dating or courting a woman whose mother just married his father? It wasn’t like they’d grown up together. They were both adults, and they couldn’t help who their parents had married.
    Unfortunately, no matter what he thought, he still had to take Ellie’s feelings into consideration, and she had not given him much reason to think she felt the same way he did. Oh, there was a little bit of flirting and the usual shyness, but nothing that made him sit up and take notice. Perhaps with time, she’d let her guard down so he would know how she really felt, and if there was any hope.
    “That’s a very nice gesture, Jake. I could definitely use some immediate help. Perhaps you could help me get Coal harnessed to the buggy so I can go into town for supplies. Maybe between the two of us, we can figure it out.”
    Jake smiled, pleased that she accepted his offer to help. He got straight to work on the harness. Ellie helped by instructing him what to do. She knew how to do most everything on a farm. She just didn’t have the muscles to do a lot of the chores. He was a good listener, she’d give him that much. She’d seen the hired hands harness the horse several times, but she had trouble controlling the eager gelding at the same time as strapping him down. Jake was doing as fine a job as they would have, but she enjoyed watching him more.
    He tightened the final strap and looked at her with his inviting hazel eyes. “What’s next?”
    “Do you know anything about mucking out stalls?”
    “Sounds like a dirty job,” he said with a chuckle. “But I’m willing to learn.”
    He followed her into the barn, and she handed him a pitchfork. Once she felt Jake got the hang of things, she excused herself to go into town. It was only a few miles, and she wouldn’t be gone more than an hour, but she didn’t want to leave at all. She would be content to watch Jake all day, but reality told her she had plenty of work to do. In a few hours, she would have a couple of hired hands, along with Jake, and they would need a meal, and she was not prepared.
    Jake followed her as far as the doorway of the barn, watching her climb into the buggy, and wishing very much that he could go with her. It delighted him that she trusted him to