Rebecca peeked from behind her uncle. “My mother bakes the best pies in the county. Everyone says so.”

“Good thing we found you. We want the very best.” Richard smiled. “Which do you recommend?”

The girl beamed. “All of them.”

Tessa’s belly warmed. For a guy so comfortable in the grown-up world, Richard sure had a way with kids.

“Do you think you could show me a few? Maybe a shoofly?” he asked.

Rebecca nodded. “This one is lemon sponge…” She led Richard down the table, naming each flavor as she went.

Releasing her breath, Tessa looked back to Jonas. His gaze was steady on her, his expression absolutely inscrutable. A lump, like a glob of sticky hot dog bun, lodged on her vocal cords. Wishing she hadn’t tossed that soda, she coughed and cleared her throat. Why was this encounter so awkward? She was attracted to Jonas, but she was dating Richard.

Boom. She said it. To herself anyway. “Oh, I have something for you.”

He crossed his arms. “Have you thought about your gazebo?”

Nodding, she swung off her backpack and extracted the sketch. Two weeks in her bag hadn’t done it any favors. She smoothed the wrinkles against her legs and held it out. The paper fluttered between them, and she cursed her quivering fingers. “I’m not much of an artist. It’s just an idea.” She swatted at nothing. “Probably completely impractical.”

He ran a hand over the back of his neck and studied the drawing for a long moment.

The hot dog and soda churned in her stomach. She pressed a palm to her midsection. Finally, he looked up, and his eyes were twin pools of liquid sapphire.

“It’s beautiful.”

Her heart leapt with such force she feared it might fly out of her mouth. “Really? Thank you.”

“I’ll need to come see the building site. Take some measurements. You have a particular tree in mind?”

His tone was all business. She nodded.

He shifted his gaze.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spied Richard approaching, shoofly pie in hand. “How soon can you come?”

“Tomorrow if you’d like.”

“Great.” Her mind raced. How would he get to her house? Would he drive his buggy? Where would he park the horse? “How will you…I mean…how should we make the arrangements?”

“Come by the farm around noon. I’ll ride back with you.”

Right. She could just give him a ride like a regular human being. “Perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Rebecca scooted behind him to the cashbox and laid in Richard’s bills.

Jonas stroked his niece’s hair. “Tomorrow.”

Richard’s questioning gaze burned into her cheek like a laser. She eyed the whoopie pies. Maybe she should grab one while she had the chance. Maybe she should grab a dozen.