The Promised Amish Bride. Marta Perry

me.”

      He stared at her, appalled for what seemed forever until he saw the laughter in her eyes. “Sally Stoltzfus, you’ve turned into a threat to my sanity. What are you trying to do, scare me to death?”

      She gave a gurgle of laughter. “You looked a little bored with the picnic. I thought I’d wake you up.”

      “Not bored,” he said quickly. “Just...trying to find my way. So you don’t expect me to marry you. Anything else I can do that’s not so permanent?”

      “As a matter of fact, there is. I want you to help me train Star.”

      So that was it. He frowned, trying to think of a way to refuse that wouldn’t hurt her feelings.

      “You saw what Star is like,” she went on without waiting for an answer. “I’ve got to get him trained, and soon. And everyone knows that you’re the best there is with horses.”

      “I don’t think everyone believes any such thing,” he retorted. “They don’t know me well enough anymore.”

      She waved that away. “You’ve been working with horses while you were gone. And Zeb always says you were born with the gift.”

      “Onkel Zeb might be a little bit prejudiced,” he said, trying to organize his thoughts. There was no real reason he couldn’t help her out, except that it seemed like a commitment, and he didn’t intend to tie himself anywhere, not now.

      “You can’t deny that Star needs help, can you?” Her laughing gaze invited him to share her memory of the previous day.

      “He needs help all right, but I don’t quite see the point. Can’t you use the family buggy when you need it?” He suspected that if he didn’t come up with a good reason, he’d find himself working with that flighty gelding.

      Her face grew serious suddenly. “As long as I do that, I’m depending on someone else. I want to make my own decisions about when and where I’m going. I’d like to be a bit independent, at least in that. I thought you were the one person who might understand.”

      That hit him right where he lived. He did understand—that was the trouble. He understood too well, and it made him vulnerable where Sally was concerned. He fumbled for words. “I’d like to help. But I don’t know how long I’ll be here and—”

      “That doesn’t matter.” Seeing her face change was like watching the sun come out. “I’ll take whatever time you can spare. Denke, Aaron. I’m wonderful glad.”

      He started to say that his words hadn’t been a yes, but before he could, Sally had grabbed his hand and every thought flew right out of his head.

      It was just like her catching hold of Onkel Zeb’s arm, he tried to tell himself. But it didn’t work. When she touched him, something seemed to light between them like a spark arcing from one terminal to another. He felt it right down to his toes, and he knew in that instant that he was in trouble.