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Rhoda. You earned
     every bit of this money today, what with helping Mom shower and style her hair, and
     getting the kids to eat and clean up their rooms, and—well, I stand in awe. Truly
     I do.”
    Rhoda’s cheeks prickled and she looked away. “You’re too kind, sayin’ such things.”
    “I meant every word.” He placed the money on the countertop . . . maybe so he wouldn’t
     touch her again?
    Does Andy feel little jolts through his system, too, when ya touch him? Or are ya
     bein’ silly, gettin’ a crush on this fella because he’s so different from the Amish
     boys you’ve known all your life? If she was to continue working for Andy Leitner, she would have to keep closer watch
     on her feelings—and her imagination. “I’ll call my ride now, if I may use your phone,
     please.”
    “Whatever’s in my home is yours to use, Rhoda. Shall we set your hours at two o’clock
     until around seven, when I’ll be home from my shift at the hospital?”
    “ Jah , that’ll work just fine.”
    His smile warmed her like a cup of cocoa. “Thanks again. You have no idea how you’ve
     brightened my life.”
    And wasn’t that a worthwhile accomplishment? All the way home, Rhoda replayed his
     words in her mind while Sheila drove her down the snow-packed blacktop.
    It was wonderful- gut , a fine day in so many ways, Lord , she prayed between their bits of conversation. Rhoda gazed out the van’s window
     as the Lantz place came into view, across the road from the new house Ben was having
     built for Mamma. And I thank Ya for work that has made me so happy.

Chapter Six
    “This is such a cool apartment, Mamma!” Rebecca gazed at the pastels . . . soothing
     blue and green bedrooms and a sunny yellow in the kitchen. “These walls that roll
     on tracks to form different rooms are awesome! And to think Micah got his inspiration
     from watching a little movie clip on my iPad last summer.”
    “ Jah , that was quite a time, honey-bug,” her mother replied as she put on the teakettle.
     “We found you . And then we weren’t quite sure what to do about it, when Micah caught trouble from
     the bishop for visitin’ with ya.”
    “I’m glad that part’s behind us,” Rhoda joined in as she studied the contents of the
     refrigerator. “Rachel and I are real happy about how ya turned out to be our sister.”
    Closing her eyes, Rebecca reveled in the sincerity of these two accented, musical
     voices. While she had felt close to the mother who had raised her, it had been wonderful
     to discover her real roots. “I was quite a shock to your systems, showing up in my
     black clothes, with a tattoo and spiked hair,” she recalled with a chuckle. “Just
     lucky you saw beneath my surface, when I felt so betrayed by my folks . . . thought
     I had nowhere to turn, after Mom died and couldn’t explain to me about that little
     pink dress I’d found.”
    “Oh, it was the hand of God at work, daughter,” Miriam said with a firm nod. “His
     hand saved ya from drownin’ when ya washed away in the river’s current as a wee little
     toddler. And His hand led ya to find that dress—”
    “And then to find us . And to like us, too!” Rhoda continued. “From what Mamma tells me, ya stepped right
     in, takin’ orders during this morning’s breakfast rush like ya were an old hand at
     it.”
    Rhoda flashed her a wide smile, so much like the one Rebecca saw in her mirror these
     days. She’d hidden her emotions behind the black hair dye and the pale Goth makeup
     that she, as Tiffany Oliveri, had believed was so dramatic, so flattering—until this
     Plain family had accepted her with their unconditional love. The name Rebecca felt more comfortable now, too—more in tune with who she was becoming, now that she’d
     gotten away from her former friends.
    “Truth be told,” she said, imitating their Pennsylvania Dutch version of English,
     “I waited tables while I was in college. So taking orders and clearing tables