It wasn't long after Grace had left for the store that a buggy pulled into the drive. Danny and Honor emerged from the barn where they had finished the milking and were starting on cleaning the stalls.
"Gabe!" Honor shouted as the young Amish man climbed down from the buggy and tethered his horse to the post in front of the barn.
"Hiya, Honor, Danny!" he smiled as he ruffled Danny's hair before removing his own hat and running a hand through his sandy brown hair. "Sure is hot out here this morning!"
I stood observing from the kitchen window for a few moments before turning to find Verity looking at me pointedly.
"What?" I said trying to maintain a neutral expression.
"Now don't go starting trouble, Mr. Wallace," she warned as she carefully hung the towel she'd been using over the edge of the sink.
"Who said anything about trouble?" I asked feigning an innocence I didn't actually feel. "I'm just going to go help Danny and Honor with the chores in the barn."
Verity simply shook her head and sighed. I walked to the back door, trying as best I could to hide my limp.
"Hello, English," Gabe said with a wary smile.
"Morning, Amish," I called as I limped into the barn and grabbed a pitchfork. Danny gave me a confused look as I walked to the stall he'd just cleaned, and then signed something I couldn't understand.
"He just finished cleaning that one, English," Gabe helpfully interpreted. The fact that he could understand Danny and I couldn't got under my skin.
"I was just checking to see which one was next," I said stepping out of the stall and moving to the next one. "This isn't my first time at the rodeo, you know."
"I see," Gabe said with an amused smile that annoyed me even more. "Well, you might want to check the stall at the far end. I don't think that one's been cleaned yet."
"Gabe..." Honor warned as she looked back and forth between us and then signed something to Danny before rolling her eyes and walking out of the barn. Eyes wide, Danny looked at both of us, nodded, and then followed Honor out of the barn.
"What's that about?" I asked.
"They're going to leave us to figure this out on our own," Gabe said as he removed his hat and hung it on a peg outside of one of the stables. "The way I see it, you're sweet on Grace, but what you don't understand is that she's one of us."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said. "I thought Grace was pretty clear when she told you no, and in my world, we understand that when a lady says no, she means no."
"Do you have any idea how our world works, English?" Gabe said as he crossed his arms over his chest and casually leaned against the stall door. He was broad shouldered and muscled, but I had a good four inches on him and a pitchfork in my hand. He shook his head, "I didn't think so."
"Grace seems pretty clear about what she wants and doesn't want, despite my lack of knowledge about your community," I said eyeing him warily.
"We are bound by our love of God, our family, and our community," he said. "We believe that our good works pave the way for the afterlife, and that our families and community offer the best opportunities to exhibit that love and devotion."
"I'm not sure what that has to do with me," I said as I shifted the pitchfork from one hand to the other before leaning my back against the stall.
"You're not one of us, English," he said with a smile. "You don't belong here, but Grace does."
"Okay? Again, not sure what that has to do with me," I said feeling confused.
"You think you're the first English outsider to express an interest in Grace?" he asked. Now I understood what he was getting, and I grinned at him.
"You're pissing on Grace's leg," I chuckled as I stood up and walked toward him. "I get it. You think that if you scare me off, you'll have a shot at making her see how much you care about her. Well, I've got news for you, my Amish friend. She's not interested. She's told you flat out that she's not interested, and yet you persist. That doesn't really register as an act of love and devotion. Where I come from, that's called stalking and it's punishable by law."
"You have no idea what you're talking about, English," Gabe said narrowing his eyes as I pulled himself up to his full height and stood face-to-face with me.
"The lady said no, Amish boy," I said as I gripped the handle of the pitchfork and hoped that my tone and height would be enough to get him to back off. I wasn't sure that, in my condition, I'd be able to withstand a barnyard fight. In fact, I knew I wouldn't be able to, so the best I could do would be to play alpha dog and see if he would back down. "I would suggest that you back off and leave her alone."
"Or else what?" Gabe growled as he sized me up.
"Or else you and I are going to have a problem that won't be solved by talking it out," I said as I pulled myself up to my full height trying to hide the fact that my chest and head were still incredibly tender and painful.
"Oh my God, will you two knock it off?" Honor said as she and Danny came through the barn door carrying two bales of hay stacked on top of a third. "You're like two old hens!"