“You’re not working her too hard?” Elias asked.
“The work is as hard as it is,” Ezekiel replied. “It’s outdoor work. If she wants the job, she has to do it. If she doesn’t want the job, we’ll do it ourselves. That’s how this works.”
“Ezekiel!” Delia said. “You’re speaking with Violet’s daet. I’d expect more manners than that.”
“No, it’s okay,” Elias said. “He’s just saying it like it is, and I appreciate that, especially where it concerns my daughter.” He glanced over at Violet. “Are you up for it?”
“I said before I could do it,” Violet said testily.
“I won’t let her get hurt,” Ezekiel said. “I know what needs to be done, but like I said, she doesn’t need to be the one to do it. If she’s in over her head, I’ll send her home. Simple as that.”
Delia threw up her hands. It was like this boy had been raised in a barn!
“You aren’t allowed to do that!” Violet spoke up. “Is he?”
“I am, and I would,” Ezekiel retorted. “What is this to you, anyway? It’s just a job. You can just as easily babysit, or help my mamm here in the house.”
“Ezekiel, she wants to work outdoors,” Delia cut in. “Give her a chance, would you?”
She met her son’s gaze. The truth was, if Ezekiel sent the girl home, she’d back him up. Her son was nearly grown, and he knew the work, and they didn’t have time to have mistakes out there. Not at this time of year.
“Yah, I said I would, Mamm,” Ezekiel said. “But Elias here seems worried about her doing the job.”
“Are you worried?” Violet asked, turning to face her father.
“A little,” he said. “But if Ezekiel will make sure you’re not overworked, then I’ll trust that. For today.”
“Daet—” Violet started, and then she shook her head. “Fine. Let me prove it to you again today. I’m not overworked.”
“Okay,” he said. “Fair enough.”
“It’s okay, Violet,” Delia said. “Daets can be a little overprotective. That’s all. You were a great help yesterday. And Elias, I’m not going to let her get overtired, either. Trust me—I have a good sense of these things. I’ll keep an eye on her.”
Elias did relax a little then, but Ezekiel didn’t.
“Maybe you want to come see the work your daughter is doing. I could show you, myself,” Ezekiel suggested, and he glanced over at Delia. He was trying to get Elias outside so he could talk to him alone, and she knew it.
“I think you should show him, Ezekiel—after a coffee,” Delia said firmly. “We are old friends, and we need to catch up. Then you can show him the jobs Violet will be doing.”
Ezekiel pressed his lips together. He wouldn’t openly defy her, especially not in front of Elias. Her eldest son glanced at his brothers, who were now finished their chores and were watching the scene with interest.
“All right,” Ezekiel said. “Let’s get to work, guys...and Violet.”
Violet shot Ezekiel a brilliant smile. “Let’s.”
Sometimes Delia forgot what handsome boys she had, and Ezekiel was considered quite good-looking by the girls around here. The boys headed out of the house, but not without each of them giving Elias a pointed look on his way past.
“I’ll put together some snacks for you if you want to come grab something later on,” Delia called after them.
The boys went into the mudroom, and there was the sound of boots stomping as they put them on, and the bass of the older boys’ voices mingled with Moses’s higher voice. Violet stood back and watched them in silence, and when the screen door banged, and there was room in the mudroom, she went in to get her own boots back on.
“Don’t forget the work apron, Violet!” Delia called after her.
“I’ve got it!” Violet called back, and the screen door banged again.
The sound of boots on the steps echoed back into the house, and then all was still. Delia felt some heat in her cheeks as she faced Elias for the first time alone since they had discussed their pretend courtship. He was a rather handsome man—tall, muscular, lean—and his beard was a glossy, dark brown. She knew their arrangement was pretend, but it did seem to change things between them, and she suddenly found herself uncertain of what to say.
So she turned around and headed for the stove to start the promised coffee.
“Did you tell your boys you’ll be seeing more of me?” Elias asked.
“Yah, I did,” she said. “And when you go see Violet’s work, Ezekiel and the older ones will posture a bit. Be warned.”
She glanced back over her shoulder as she filled the coffee percolator. She headed out to the summer cooking porch and put it onto the stove. She stoked up the fire, and came back inside with perspiration beading her forehead.
“I know this is all for show,” Elias said, “but I am going to enjoy this—some good cooking and conversation with someone who understands.”
She felt her shoulders relax and she smiled. “You do know the kinner will try and outsmart us.”
“Of course,” he replied. “I would expect nothing less.”
Delia’s eyes crinkled up when she laughed, and Elias was suddenly struck by just how pretty she was. Her hair had a whisper of gray woven through her dark tresses, pulled back into a voluminous bun at the back of her head. Her hair would be very long, and he remembered what it was like when his wife used to wash her hair and let it hang loose down her back to let it dry. Delia’s hair would be down to her knees, almost. He shouldn’t be thinking such things. Unless he was her husband, her hair was not his business. He dropped his gaze. This wasn’t going to work if he actually fell for her, would it? What he needed right now was a friend, not a serious complication.
“The boys reacted the way I thought they would,” Delia said. “There was a lot of argument about you using me to get the farm, and how I didn’t need a man around here because they’d pick up the extra slack.”
He smiled at that. “They think that a husband is only about the outdoor work? Nothing more?”
“They seem to.”
