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Saturdays to people who are shut-ins. Ethan brings me into town.”
    “Let me take you to get checked over. Please.”
    “No, I am fine, really. I have fallen before.” He examined his skates. “I think they are undamaged.” He started to push away from Leah. She caught his elbow.
    “No you don’t. In the car.”
    “I am fine. I can manage.”
    “No way. Where’s Ethan?”
    “At the blacksmith’s.”
    “Tell me how to get there.”
    As she followed Simeon’s directions, Leah fought to calm herself. What if she’d run over Simeon?
That
would certainly ice it with Ethan and his family! She glanced at Ethan’s kid brother. “I didn’t know Amish could own skates,” she said above the drone of engine.
    “They are allowed,” Simeon said, poking curiously at the buttons on her dashboard. “Roller skates and ice skates have always been allowed. But these are the best because they are both.”
    “You know, maybe you should wear a helmet. Knee pads, elbow and wrist pads might not be a bad idea either,” Leah said. “It’s so much safer.”
    “Those things are showy. Not for plain people.”
    Leah was amazed by Simeon’s logic, but she didn’t argue with him.
    Leah drove to the outskirts of town, turned onto a paved country road and followed it until Simeon pointed to an old barn set back from the road. She turned into a rutted driveway that led to the barn. An unhitched black buggy stood in front. From inside, she heard the sound of metal hitting metal. She saw Ethan holding the rope halter of a large draft horse while a man hammered an iron horseshoe on an anvil. An open furnace glowed red.
    Ethan looked shocked as Leah and Simeon entered the barn. “What is wrong, Simeon?”
    “We ran into each other,” Leah said. “Literally.”
    The blacksmith nodded a greeting but didn’t stop his work. Leah saw that he was Amish by his beard—full on his chin but with no mustache.
    Briefly Simeon told Ethan what had happened. “Are you hurt?” Ethan asked his brother.
    “No. And I have other errands to run for Mr. Fowler.”
    Ethan looked anxious, glancing back to theblacksmith. “Um—I will be finished here shortly and can give you a ride back into town.”
    “I can give him a ride,” Leah said. “Come if you want. I’ll bring you back.”
    “I do not want to cause a burden for you.”
    “I offered, didn’t I?”
    Persuaded, Ethan helped his brother into the backseat and got into the front. Soon they were speeding down the road, radio blaring and wind whipping. Leah cut her eyes to Ethan, saw a look of pure exhilaration on his face and thought,
He likes cars.
    When they arrived at Simeon’s place of employment, Ethan held the seat forward as his brother climbed out of the car. “I will return for you at four o’clock in the buggy.”
    Simeon thanked Leah, then skated around the side of the building.
    “Simeon could have been badly hurt today when he fell,” Leah said, checking traffic in her rearview mirror. “When I asked him about safety gear, he said you Amish consider it fancy. Is that true?”
    “Some bishops do not allow their people to use in-line skates at all. We are fortunate that ours is more liberal.”
    “Do you skate?”
    “Yes. And you?”
    “Sure. Maybe we could skate together sometime.”
    “I would like that, Leah.”
    The way he said her name made goose bumps break out on her arms. What was it about him that affected her so? Why was she attracted to him when they had so little in common? On impulse, she asked, “Would you like to see where I live? My apartment isn’t far from here. What am I saying? Nothing in this town is far from here.”
    He laughed. “The town is small, but still too big for many Amish. Too many tourists. They are always following us, taking pictures. It is annoying.”
    She knew that the Amish didn’t like having their photographs taken. She wondered if Ethan still kept the one of her she’d given him in December. “I’m a tourist. Do I