“What time do you normally finish working outside?”
“Dinnertime, though I often do an hour or two of accounting afterward.”
“Maybe I should put it this way—what time do you feel up to taking over Mercy’s care?”
He rubbed his chin, a look of frustration darkening his blue eyes. “To be honest, I don’t feel up to it at all, but I know that’s not a realistic attitude. I can’t keep you here around the clock.”
“I wasn’t joking about offering baby lessons, if you really want them.”
“I don’t have a choice at this point, especially since I plan to keep her.”
“But for the time being, how about I stay until after dinner? I don’t mind cooking.”
“Danke. Since you didn’t sign up for cooking meals, I can pay you a bit extra.”
“Can you afford it?” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “That was rude. I’m sorry. Your finances are none of my business.”
He laughed. “Don’t worry, I’ll manage.”
“Then ja, danke. And in addition to cooking, I can do housekeeping—laundry and dishes and tidying up.”
“I think we’ll get along together well. I’m grateful, Jane.”
“Forget the gratitude and just show me where you keep your washing machine. I’ll do a load of laundry this afternoon.”
The swing-handled nonelectric washing machine was stored in a shed off the back porch. After Levy went back to work, Jane fed Mercy, changed her diaper then strapped the baby back in her bouncy seat on the porch. Jane sang as she washed a load of diapers, more for Mercy’s sake than her own. Then she washed some of Levy’s clothes and hung them to dry on the clothesline.
“Come on, liebling, let’s go look at your uncle’s garden and see what we can find to make dinner.” She lifted the baby over her shoulder, picked up a large basket and walked out to the gated space filled with vegetables.
However messy Levy’s house had been, his garden was a thing of beauty, tidy and weeded. Jane spied the prolific zucchini and decided to make zucchini casserole for dinner. She filled her basket with four of the green squashes, then dug up a couple of onions and some garlic. Back in the house, she had the casserole assembled within a few minutes and popped it into the oven to bake.
Mercy started to fuss, so Jane eased the baby onto her shoulder and sat down in the rocking chair, humming lullabies and rocking the child. The afternoon was warm and Jane was tired. Her humming grew slower and softer.
Next thing she knew, she blinked her eyes open to see Levy standing nearby.
“Oh.” She felt her face grow warm. “I must have fallen asleep.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“The casserole…!” The infant gave a small start at Jane’s small cry of alarm but didn’t wake up.
“It’s out of the oven and on the warming rack.”
She settled back into the chair and shook her head. “I can’t imagine why I did that, falling asleep on the job, I’m so sorry…”
“Jane, I can see how much work you’ve done this afternoon. Don’t apologize.” He grinned. “It was actually rather a sweet sight, coming in to find you both asleep.”
Her face flushed warmer. “Ja, well, I’ll just go put Mercy in her crib.”
She stood up and kept the infant cradled on her shoulder, but the moment she stepped foot in the kitchen, she stopped in her tracks. “What on earth…”
“I’m not a total klutz in the kitchen.” Levy chuckled.
The table was neatly set for two, and the casserole was covered and on the stove’s warming rack.
“You didn’t have to do this…” she began.
“Why not? Stop feeling guilty, Jane. It didn’t take me long.”
She nodded and disappeared into the bedroom to lay Mercy in her crib. She took a few deep breaths before leaving the room. Falling asleep her first day on the job—how embarrassing.
When she reemerged, Levy dished up the food and filled the plates. Jane bowed her head for grace, then reached for her fork. “Your garden is beautiful. After seeing the state of your house, I didn’t expect it to be so nice.”
“Ja, I’m more of an outdoorsman than an indoor one. I can weed all day, but I don’t see anything that needs doing inside.”
“Which is why everything was so thick with dust.” Jane swallowed a bite. “But it will be easier to keep up now that I cleaned everything.”
“Oh, did you clean everything?”
She chuckled. “Typical man who doesn’t see dust bunnies until they’re big enough to bite. Don’t worry, I took care of them.”
“And you did laundry too. And made lunch and dinner. And took care of Mercy.”
“And you worked in the fields all day. We both have our jobs, then.”
“Still, you seem like a very organized person.”
Jane’s smile faded. “I’ve been told I’m a very useful person.”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
“Nein… Nein, I guess not.” Unless it came from the man she loved. She shoved the thought of Isaac behind her. “So I guess I’ll accept being useful.”
“Being useful has its advantages.”
“And it’s what I’m good at. I try not to be bitter about it.” She hadn’t meant to be so open with Levy.
He raised his eyebrows. “Bitter? Why would you be bitter about something like that?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Does this reference have to do with your mysterious past that we talked about yesterday on the way home from the train station?”
“Maybe.” She rose, trying not to feel flustered. “Are you finished? I’ll wash up before I head home.”
“You’re changing the subject, but that’s okay. I’ll take advantage of the baby sleeping and start my accounting work.”
As Jane washed and rinsed bowls and cutlery, she found herself grateful for Levy’s restraint. He clearly wanted to know about her past, but didn’t probe. Levy was the last person she wanted to learn about her background.
With just two people to feed, dishes took only a few minutes. Jane peeked in at the baby and found her still
