Dat would say I’m playing with fire. Tears threatened again.

The wind was gusting, blowing her skirt as she made the turn in the road, not far from her aunt’s house. Just then, she heard a horse’s clip-clop slow up, and when she looked, there was Eb, bringing his spring wagon to a halt. He waved to her, and her heart sank.

“I was just now thinking of ya, Eliza. Haven’t seen ya for a while,” he said, looking over her head at the road. “Say, are those bread crumbs, trailin’ along behind ya?”

She turned and gasped to see small fragments of her note scattered everywhere. They must have fallen out because of the wind! Hurrying, she went to pick them up, one by one, and pushed them deeper into her pocket this time.

“Eliza?” Eb was frowning. Then a knowing look swept across his handsome, ruddy face. “Wait a minute . . . did ya go to the stone wall?”

She wanted to deny it outright and not give him the satisfaction of fessing up to finding his note. Yet at the very same time, she wanted him to ask her to ride with him. It was the strangest feeling.

What’s wrong with me?

“Guess the cat’s got your tongue,” he said, chuckling.

She pressed her lips together, needing to calm down so she didn’t say something she didn’t mean. Or maybe she did. Either way, she would put herself in even worse straits. “I found your note last Sunday night, but I put it back where it was,” she admitted.

An endearing smile appeared on his face, but he quickly got control of it. “So did you write one back to me?”

She nodded, her head bowed so he wouldn’t see how tenderhearted she felt toward him just now.

“I’m glad you read my note, Eliza.” His voice was gentle, with none of the old bluster.

She couldn’t speak, her heart was racing so.

“What if we talk this evening at the stone wall—you know the spot. Eight o’clock sharp.”

A surge of energy ran through her. “All right,” she said, loud enough for him to hear.

“So long for now, Eliza.” He signaled the horse to pull away from the shoulder and back onto the road.

She refused to second-guess her decision to see him tonight. She held her head high as she made her way down the road toward Great-aunt Joanna’s old farmhouse, glad she’d gone over to the stone wall and run into Eb on her way back. Ever so glad, yet also ever so frightened that she’d dared to say yes.

Chapter 35

There were a few stragglers at Peaceful Meadows after the second session of Saturday morning riders, primarily volunteers and a few parents. Anna walked from the horse stable over to the carriage shed, just as Gabe had suggested earlier.