An alarm bell clanged in her head, and her breath caught in her throat. We shouldn’t, she thought, and yet . . . she wanted to go. It sounded like fun, and she recalled Barbara mentioning the festival last Friday at the noon meal. Even so, she felt all twisted up, like a pretzel, confused about how she felt toward Gabe. He had been married before, for one thing, and he had a daughter, as well. They’re a package deal.

Besides, she thought, falling for someone like that, on top of our very different backgrounds, doesn’t make sense at all.

“Just so ya know, this would be my treat,” Gabe said with a chuckle.

His demeanor was so self-effacing that Anna was actually tempted, but, attracted to him as she was, she was terrified where this might lead. “I’ll have to think about it,” she said at last.

“We could go Dutch, if that’d make ya feel better,” he said, sounding just as inviting as before.

“As friends.” She pondered this rush of emotion.

“Sure,” he added. “Friends.”

“Well, all right, then,” she agreed, wondering how she would share this turn of events with Sadie, who’d seemed a bit nervous the last time she’d talked with her about Gabe and Emmie.

And so did Mamm, thought Anna.

For most of the afternoon, Anna worked with Sadie redding up the house, since Sadie planned to be at market tomorrow with Lillian again. Anna also made time to write to Wanita and to Mamm, this time not hinting that she would be seeing both Mart and Gabe this weekend. No need to concern them, she decided.

She freshened up and changed clothes for her supper with Mart, then received a text from him that said he was on his way. She sat on the back porch waiting for him, waving to Marcus and Eddy, who ran past the yard with Brownie yipping at their heels. The boys headed toward the woods and their wonderful tree house, and she wondered, just then, how it would look tomorrow when a passenger van pulled into the driveway and there was Gabe Allgyer coming to the door to get her.

I didn’t think this through. . . .

Not long after, Mart arrived. Getting out of his car, he looked so wonderful in his gray dress slacks and tan sports jacket that she felt befuddled as he came up the walkway. Kind though Gabe was, she wished now that she hadn’t complicated things by accepting his invitation for tomorrow.

Chapter 42

Anna was having such a nice time with Mart at Yoder’s Restaurant and Buffet in New Holland, she found it easy to focus on their supper conversation. Mart shared that his parents had invited the whole family over, including extended family, for Thanksgiving this year.

“A houseful, jah?” she said, curious where they’d put everyone.