The Harvest of Grace by Cindy Woodsmall

reasons she didn’t understand, and she wouldn’t add to their sadness by insisting Michael keep Aaron out of the barn. Either she’d convince Aaron herself, or she’d have to accept that he did what he wanted.
    Michael laid down his pairs. “I talked to Clay Severs last week. I think we can get a good price for our hay if it is an early cut. If we wait, he’s likely to buy it elsewhere.”
    She spread her cards on the table facedown. “I’m ready to start cutting hay tomorrow right after we do the morning milking.”

    “I wanted to talk to you about that.” Michael chose one of her cards and added it to his hand. “While Aaron’s here, he needs to work. I’ll still help with the milking, but it’ll make your day easier if he and I do the hay. After all, you have an inspection to get ready for.”
    Her pulse quickened. She liked the idea of not having to bale hay but wasn’t thrilled about Aaron being the one to help. She could see two possible scenarios. Since he’d left the farm in ill shape, he might unintentionally damage her and Michael’s efforts. Or maybe he’d returned to prove that he could be a valuable worker after all. Then he might take over everything important to her … just as Elam had.

S even
    Lena sat under a huge shade tree in her brother’s yard, enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon despite the fact that her arm inside the cast itched like crazy in the heat. Her Daed and all her siblings, their spouses, and their children were here at Allen’s. Adults and children sipped lemonade, ate cookies, and played badminton, horseshoes, and games of tag.
    Wishing Grey were here, she kept glancing at the bridge that connected his property to her brother’s. She held her two-and-a-half-month-old niece, who was fidgeting and fussy, and her Daed sat in a lawn chair next to her. She and her Daed had always been close but even more so after her mother had passed away.
    Lena cuddled and jiggled baby Elizabeth. “Your mama will come feed you soon.” After a bit of cooing to her, Lena drew a toothless smile from the baby. The warmth of holding a little one brought her such joy and hope that she wondered how it would be possible to love a child of her own even more.
    She peered through a gap in the lilac bushes, looking for Grey.
    Daed leaned closer. “You can’t miss him already. You were together just last night.”
    “Ya. But we were interrupted, and I want to really see him. And to be together without the concern of hurting the Blanks.”

    She and Grey had enjoyed two hours together at the shop, cleaning it and then playing cards with Cara and Ephraim. But then Ephraim’s Daed walked in with Michael and Dora, wanting to show them a cabinetry project. Their pained expressions when they saw their former son-in-law laughing and at ease were too much to bear.
    She didn’t like sneaking around to catch a few minutes with Grey. She loved him enough to put all of herself into his hands—her soul, her body, her future. And she believed God’s goodness had brought them together. But to court openly right now would wound Michael and Dora, and she couldn’t do that.
    “You’re the one who convinced Grey to keep your relationship a secret from the community,” her Daed said.
    After Grey had saved her life a few weeks ago, then refused to leave her side at the hospital, some folks became suspicious about their relationship, including the church leaders. It felt wrong to hide their romance, as they’d been friends since childhood and hadn’t begun falling in love until several months after his wife had died. But Grey and Lena had chosen to protect Michael and Dora’s feelings by giving them a year to grieve the loss of their only daughter before Grey and Lena started courting.
    Very few people knew about their plan to start courting in the fall: Grey’s coworker and friend, Ephraim Mast, and his fiancée, Cara; Lena’s brother Allen, who was Grey’s closest friend and her closest sibling, along