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other was maybe half a mile farther. “Do you have friends near here?”
     
    Shanna lifted one shoulder. “Jah, I did. They all married men in different districts. Probably have two or three boppli by now. Our lives have gone different ways.”
     
    “Jah. That happens.” Matthew picked at a string on his sleeve. “My friend Jacob came down here first. His daed signed him up for the man swap but didn’t tell Jacob; he thought he was just coming to his cousin’s farm to help out for a while. Jacob ended up falling in love with Becky Troyer, and they’re getting married in December. He needs to build a haus.”
     
    “Speaking of which, did you make up your mind about that farm?”
     
    Matthew shook his head. “Nein. Been meaning to go out there and look around again.”
     
    “I work tomorrow morning. Maybe when I get off, I could drive you down to look at the farm, and you could help me take the kittens into Springfield.”
     
    “I…uh, I….” Matthew stepped back. “I’m thinking not.”
     
    Shanna had the grace to blush. “Seriously, my driving isn’t normally that bad. I promise to be more careful. Bumping that buggy was the first accident I’ve had since I learned to drive. Cars get dinged a lot when you live in the city and have to park on the street. Trust me.”
     
    Trust me.
     
    He’d heard it said that if someone needed to tell you to trust her, then you usually couldn’t trust her. A skunk could be identified by its stripes.
     
    “I’d still rather not.” Maybe if she hired a driver. But saying that would be hurtful.
     
    Shanna brushed past him. “Suit yourself. I just won’t go fishing with you this weekend.”
     
    Matthew shook his head. Not that she could see him, with her back turned. It was just as well. If she came along, the fish wouldn’t get much attention. Of course, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
     
    Shanna walked two or three steps, then glanced over her shoulder. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
     
    What? Did she expect him to give in? Matthew shook his head. “It won’t hurt the fishes’ feelings if you aren’t there.”
     
    Shanna huffed.
     
    Matthew grinned and followed her inside. He was surprised to see the unfinished checker game put away and a Monopoly game laid out in its place, with paper money distributed into four piles. He’d thought they’d finish the other game. He’d told Joseph he’d be right back.
     
    Shanna gasped. “You have Monopoly?”
     
    Joseph’s eyes twinkled. “It’s Daed’s favorite game. We got one for Christmas last year. I’m the champ.”
     
    Levi started organizing his money, making neat piles according to denomination. “You’ll be the champ when pigs turn down slop,” he muttered good-humoredly.
     
    ***
     
    Shanna plopped down in a chair and shuffled through the colorful stack of fake money. Whoever had doled it out had started with the one-dollar bills, so that they were at the bottom of the pile, and the $500 bills were on top. She re-sorted them in reverse order, though she wasn’t sure they intended for her to play. She hoped they did, especially since the game had appeared after she’d mentioned it.
     
    Matthew eyed the board warily, as if he expected some of the pieces to rise up and bite him. “This is the game where you buy properties and eventually add hotels? I think I’ve played once before.”
     
    “Properties, bah. Farms. They are farms. And the hotels will be upgraded to full-fledged Amish bed-and-breakfasts.” Daed winked. “Have to make this materialistic game more palatable, ain’t so?”
     
    Shanna lowered her head and grinned. This was a side of Daed she’d rarely seen. She wasn’t quite sure what to think.
     
    Matthew shrugged and sat down on the edge of the seat next to Shanna. “Then, maybe we should find some horse-and-buggy-shaped playing pieces, ain’t so?”
     
    Joseph lifted the bag of pieces out of the box. “Hmm. We have a battleship, a hat, a cannon, a