The night before, I’d left without saying goodbye to Jake, nor had he come over to fill me in. For all I knew, he’d spent the night in jail and was awaiting trial for arson. I’d vouched for him, but who would believe me? And I wasn’t up in the hayloft when the fire started. I couldn’t see Ralph for more than a moment, or the flames igniting.
“Evie, wait.” As I walked toward the café, Stephen sauntered up behind me with Heath and Missy on leash. Their bodies wriggled with excitement. “Beatrice asked me to walk these two and then lock them in the house.”
“Maybe there’s no need to lock the back door anymore if Ralph is gone.”
“His death would be a blessing in some ways.” He gave himself a mock slap in the face. “No, what am I saying? At AA I’ve seen far worse cases turn their lives around.”
I peeked toward the burned-out barn and heard the whirring of machinery and voices.
“Want to go over and have a look?” Stephen asked.
“I don’t know. I might be running late.” Times like this, I wished I could wear a wristwatch. “I need to get to work.”
He glanced down at his watch. “No, there’s plenty of time. I bet you have an extra twenty minutes. Beatrice just told me she’s making the soup today as well as an extra vat to take over to the workers later. And Sadie will be in soon.”
“Okay.” I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. As we neared the barn, the stench increased. Both Amish and Englisch men waited for the arson inspector’s signal to begin filling the trucks with rubble and debris. The ground was muddy, the trucks’ humongous wheels sinking into it. Ach, what a mess.
I saw Jake waiting along with the other men, but he either didn’t notice us or was ignoring me because I was with Stephen.
“Do you suppose Ralph could have escaped?” I asked Stephen. “The fire ignited so quickly. I can’t imagine how he could have gotten out.”
“Especially if he was smashed.”
We passed a weary-looking fireman. “Pardon me,” Stephen said to him. “Any human remains found in the debris?”
The man shook his head. “Not that I’ve heard. The investigation is still going on.”
Stephen glanced down at me. “Are you sure Ralph was drunk?”
I buttoned my sweater and stuffed my icy fingers in my apron pockets. “He was cursing up a storm and griped that he’d tipped over his bottle of whiskey. That’s one reason Jake hurried up to the loft so quickly. He said whiskey is flammable, almost as bad as lighter fluid.”
“I don’t know about that, but it sounds like Ralph was on a binge.” He turned to watch Jake, who took notice of us but didn’t say hello. “You still love him, don’t you, Evie?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know anything anymore.”
“I’d never do anything to hurt you, but I get why you’re steering clear of me,” Stephen said. “I’m not Amish.”
“Would you consider joining the church?” I asked, already surmising the answer.
He paused for a moment. “At this stage in my life I doubt it. Not that I don’t respect the Amish greatly and embrace their biblical faith. But I couldn’t follow the Ordnung, especially when it comes to driving.”
“I figured you’d say that.” Yet I felt a ripple of disappointment.
“I don’t see you rushing to join. What’s keeping you? Waiting on Jake?” His hand moved to brush a stray hair off my cheek. “Evie, you can do better than Jake Miller. I heard the police took him down to the station last night for questioning. If a death occurred in that fire, the law will insist on an inquest.”
“But I told the fire chief what happened.”
“Some women will say just about anything to protect a man they care about. They probably took your statement with a grain of salt if they know of your long history with Jake.”
We paused as Heath sniffed a clump of grass.
Stephen turned to me and said, “In the meantime, a man like me is falling in love with you.”
My head whipped around to catch his countenance. Years ago I’d heard a romantic song in an Englisch restaurant Jake took me to several times. The music was playing in the background, and that particular song—“The Look of Love”—stuck with me. Now it circled in my brain.
Stephen wore an expression of love right now—the way his gaze took me in and his mouth softened.
Our eyes locked until I forced myself to look away. “What happened to your former girlfriend?”
“Joni couldn’t take my drinking. She gave me an ultimatum, but I kept on boozing it up until she dumped me. Which I deserved. Her courageous act may have saved my life.”
“Would you two get back together?”
“No, she and I are history. She moved on to another man months later and married him. They’re expecting a child.”
“Do you miss her?”
“At first I held one giant pity party, but not anymore. Certainly not since I met you.”
Our eyes locked again. Warmth and tenderness filled my heart. I didn’t know what to say. I trusted Stephen. I’d never seen him flirt or heard him distort the truth. He was courageous and kind. A righteous man. But not Amish.
Heath broke the silence with a woof as a buggy conveying half a dozen men and a yappy mixed-breed pulled to a stop. The men hopped out and the buggy took off—with the little mutt, thank goodness.
Over by the Schmuckers’ home, Amish women were setting up card tables and bringing out paper and Styrofoam cups, carafes of coffee and juice, and donuts and other baked goods, preparing to serve the firemen and all the other volunteers the forenoon snack around nine.
“These women probably either stayed up half the night cooking or stopped by a bakery on the way here,” I said, glad to change the subject.
“I admire how the Amish community sticks together and takes care of
