“Okay.” Ellie nodded in agreement but felt strange about it, realizing Evan was likely going against Dat’s wishes even after that stern talk last month. Concern snaked through her as she made her way up toward the dirt lane leading to the back of the bank barn.

Inside the newly swept haymow, die Youngie talked and mingled about. Leah spotted Ellie as she entered and hurried over to sit with her on one of the wood benches beside the long tables. “I’ve been wanting to tell ya somethin’,” Leah said in a hushed tone, her dark eyes serious.

Ellie was hungry for some good news, but the way Leah’s mouth turned downward, she wasn’t sure she should expect any. “You okay?”

Leah leaned closer. “My beau an’ I won’t be seein’ each other anymore.”

“Ach, no.” Ellie was shocked.

“Josh and I broke up Thursday morning.” Leah looked down at her folded hands.

So that was why she seemed so glum at the barbecue? “I’m sorry to hear it,” she said, feeling so sad for Leah. She’d been sweet on Josh since the fifth-grade spelling bee.

“And there’s somethin’ else.” Leah paused and glanced away, like what she had to say next was harder than what she’d just revealed. “Ach, I hope ya won’t be too upset, Ellie.”

What could be worse?

“I’ve decided to accept a live-in job with a young English mother who really needs the help. Her husband left her after returning from the war, maimed and very troubled.” Leah paused and chewed the inside of her lip. “The thing is, though, it’s in Chambersburg.”

Ellie couldn’t make her lips move to speak. Leah had never showed any interest in moving away, let alone so far. And to live with an Englischer!

Leah gave her a faint smile. “I know it seems like a sudden decision, but the timing seems right to me. And I’ve already met the woman—Carolyn Madison, a cousin of Cheryl Herr’s. Carolyn’s parents live in Tennessee, so she’s alone with the children. With her husband gone, it’s more than she can handle. She needs to go back to her nursing job.”

Ellie was still too flabbergasted to speak.

“When I heard about it from Cheryl recently at the fabric store, I had a strong feeling I was s’posed to contact Carolyn.” Leah’s brown eyes glinted in the corners. “Have ya ever felt like that?”

Nee. And the only thing Ellie could think about at the moment was Leah’s going away. It felt like a bee sting to her heart.

“It’s the saddest thing, really,” Leah continued. “She has three small children—a four-year-old boy and three-year-old twin girls.”

Ellie’s stomach knotted. “You’ll be so far away,” she said in protest as words came to her at last.