She shook her head and reached for an apple slice from the plastic bag she’d packed at Flauds’. “Would you care for some?”

“Thanks.” He took one, then held out his bag of celery sticks. “Take as many as you like.”

Amused, she reached for one, thinking that she and Mart hadn’t known each other very long, and here they were already trading food. “Denki,” she let slip, and his eyes twinkled at her.

“The ins-and-outs of where to go and what to highlight will become second nature to you over time. Clients really appreciate the chance to see Amish country up close like this—particularly how the Old Order Amish live and farm.” He took another sip of his tea. “Back-country roads typically offer the best chances to do that—where else can people see eight-mule teams in the fields plowing and cultivating, baling hay, or harvesting field corn, for example?”

Anna stopped eating to jot down these suggestions in her notebook before finishing her turkey and cheese sandwich and the rest of the apple slices.

That afternoon, they stopped to peruse the Gordonville Book Store on Old Leacock Road, which sold books for children, Amish novels, and religious books, along with Amish cookbooks, German Bibles, and homeschool curricula, games, and toys. The inspirational greeting cards caught Anna’s attention, as did the scrapbook supplies.

At the Li’l Country Store and Miniature Horse Farm in Ronks, Anna loved seeing the foals in the barn. Children were also outdoors petting and feeding the full-grown miniature horses pellets from a dispenser. Visitors could take rides in carts pulled by the miniature horses, as well as see goats and alpacas. And in the Li’l Country Store gift shop, there were a variety of toy trains. “My favorite part,” Mart confessed.

On the drive back to the Mennonite Information Center, Mart asked if Anna had chosen a church to attend. “Since you’re new in town.”

“I have,” she said, and told him where.

“Well, if you’d like to come to my Mennonite church, you’re always welcome.” Anna thanked him and wrote down the name and address, thinking that it might be useful information for clients.

They made arrangements to finish the remainder of the route Mart had planned, but this time with actual paying customers. “Trying to squeeze in everything we need to cover is too ambitious for one day,” he said as he pulled the car into the lot of the information center and took the key from the ignition. “The places you’ll see tomorrow are of particular interest to this family—when I get enough advance notice, I try to customize tours to what clients want to see.”

After Anna went inside to meet with Evelyn to fill out the necessary employment paperwork, she drove back to the Flauds’, glad Mart had not been able to fit their tour into a single day.

Chapter 9