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annoy you?”
    “Oh, Leah, I am sorry. Not you. You are not annoying.”
    He sounded so stricken that she had to laugh. “I accept your apology.”
    “Yes,” he said suddenly. “Yes, I would like to see where you live, very much.”
    She drove the couple of miles to her apartment,unlocked the door and flung it open. “Tada. Home.”
    He entered slowly, carrying the two bags of groceries she’d all but forgotten about. Many of her things were still in boxes, but the sofa was uncluttered. “Would you like something to drink?”
    He nodded, setting the bags on the countertop that divided the living room from the tiny kitchen. She rummaged to find the soft drinks she’d bought. He asked, “May I look around?”
    “Bathroom’s that way, the bedroom beyond it. Excuse the mess.” She put ice into paper cups while he explored. With a start, she remembered that her lingerie was lying all over the floor. And when Ethan returned to the kitchen area, the redness of his face told her he’d seen every filmy, lacy piece of it. She decided not to mention her unmentionables. “So, what do you think?”
    “I think you are very fortunate to have such a place for your own.”
    “Even though it has electricity?”
    “And running water too.”
    She smiled and handed him a cup. “I don’t know how you Amish live without such stuff. I don’t think I could.”
    “Charity tells me you will come to our barn dance tomorrow night.” He changed the subject.
    “Do you mind?”
    “I would like it very much.”
    The intensity of his gaze again raised goose-flesh along her arms. “Charity says we’ll ride over in your buggy.”
    “It is best not to take your car.”
    “Because I’m an outsider? That won’t change whether or not I drive, you know.”
    “You will meet many tomorrow night who dress as you do, talk as you do, go to English schools and have many English ways. Do not concern yourself with your differences.”
    “But these different ones, are they still Amish?”
    “Some are from less strict districts of Amish, but yes. The important thing is getting together, having a good time.”
    “Will your friend Martha be there?” She hated to ask, but she had to know.
    “Yes,” he said simply.
    “I don’t want people staring at me all night. They won’t, will they?”
    “If they do, it is only because you are so pretty.”
    “I’m just me,” she said. “And to be serious, I’m not sure where I fit in in this world of yours.”
    “I do not know either. Yet you are here.”
    Leah stared into the cola-colored depths of her cup. Since her stay in the hospital, she had become fascinated by the Amish lifestyle. Not that she ever wanted to live without electricity and running water. But there was something appealing about the simplicity of it. “I’m looking into my future and can’t see where I’m going. I graduate next year, and I don’t know if I want to go on to college. My grades are so-so, but I could probably get in if I work hard next year. But that’s the problem. I don’t know what I want.” She turned toward him on the sofa. “You’re lucky in some ways. You know what you want. You know what’s in store for you.”
    He studied her intently before saying, “You are wrong, Leah. I do not know what I want.”
    She blurted out, “But you’re Amish. You told me you like being Amish.”
    “That does not mean that I don’t want to try out English things.”
    Her heart began to hammer. “What things?”
    “Things that make me hungry for what is not Amish.”
    Leah’s chest felt tight. “What does your family think about your trying these things?”
    “I have kept them a secret,” he confessed reluctantly.
    “But why? Charity told me that parents expect their kids to experiment.”
    His cheeks flushed. “I did not want to bring shame upon my father.”
    “When we met in December, you hadn’t tried anything English. I remember the video games and the candy bars.” She wanted to add
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