“He must be ferhoodled,” Eliza whispered, refolding the note and forcing it back into the small crevice. She backed away from the stone wall and leaned against the wide trunk of the tall tree, her heart still beating fast as the moon slid behind a cloud.

The boundary between us is stronger than any stone wall, she thought as she turned off her flashlight. Encompassed in darkness, she breathed deeply and tried to calm down, letting her eyes become accustomed to the dark.

She turned to head back to Great-aunt Joanna’s. Eb had taken a risk by declaring that he enjoyed spending time with her. But why had he even suspected she might think to look in the wall for a note that she had no idea he’d write?

Glad again for her flashlight, Eliza switched it on to cross the dark road. Maybe Eb thinks that if notes worked to get his mother to join the Amish and marry his father, they’ll work with me.

Eliza tittered at the notion, then pressed her hand over her mouth as she made her way up toward the big back porch. “That’ll never happen,” she whispered as she took a seat in her aunt’s rocking chair, the black Labrador, Grady, wagging his tail nearby, having come out of his resting place.

Eliza leaned back and stared at the night sky, more conflicted as the moments passed. She remembered the words Eb had written and wondered what had prompted her to look for a note in the very wall where Eb’s father had first hidden notes decades before.

She stiffened, upset with herself now for even venturing out to look. And continuing to ponder this, it occurred to her that, if she was so dead set against Eb’s note and his apparent fondness for her, then why was she suddenly blinking back tears?

Chapter 28

Anna wasn’t surprised to discover that Wanita’s attic was as neat as the rooms in the rest of the house. Going over to the long wooden chest in the far corner, she hoped her sister didn’t mind her coming up here. I need to see for myself about Mammi’s prayer journals, she thought, lifting the lid back from the chest, yearning to find them. “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they still existed?” she murmured, leaning the open lid against the slanted attic beams.

One at a time, she removed Mammi’s old linens, embroidered doilies, and blankets no longer needed to bring cheer and warmth to a home. Anna even unfolded some of the larger blankets and quilts, making extra work for herself, but she was determined not to miss finding something that might confirm the existence of the Strasburg stone wall that seemingly fascinated her dear Mammi.