Ada studied Sneaky Man out of the corner of her eye while she brushed her hands down her skirt and adjusted her tool belt. He had a muscular build, and he was taller than average height, but not impractically tall like Mary's husband, Clay. Sneaky Man was definitely Amish, wearing a typical straw hat, black coat, and thick suspenders. He didn't have a beard, which meant he was unmarried, but Ada judged him to be in his thirties. A bachelor? He had an honest face with a strong jaw, cool brown eyes, and a tiny scar at the corner of his mouth. He was certainly handsome, but handsome men didn't impress Ada all that much. What she really liked was a man who didn't try to rescue her when she didn't want to be rescued and didn't think he was right all the time. "So," she said, "why were you spying on me?"
"I wasn't spying."
"Yes, you were. You startled me, and that's why I slipped."
"You can't blame me for that. You shouldn't have been up there in the first place. Your husband should be braving the cold and climbing ladders, not you. Where is he? I can't respect a man who leaves such dangerous work for his fraa."
Well, hadn't Sneaky Man made a whole bucketful of assumptions! Ada nearly choked on her reply. She had been feeling a little picked on. Mary and Joanna had husbands who would gladly climb roofs and haymows or ford raging rivers if their wives asked them to. Ada had no one.
And that was the way she liked it.
Besides, it was none of Sneaky Man's business. "Who are you to judge my husband? You don't even know him."
"I know he hasn't replied to the five letters I've sent him in the last four weeks. Is he lazy or dumm or too much of a coward to confront me?"
Ada clenched her teeth. Sneaky Man was brutally honest, but there was no call to speak like that about Ada's fictional husband. She jabbed her finger in Sneaky Man's direction. "Let me tell you something about my husband." She cleared her throat. There really was no reason to defend a fake person, no matter how rude Sneaky Man was or how badly she wanted to put him in his place. She blew a puff of air from between her lips. "He doesn't exist."
Sneaky Man's horrified expression was worth five bruised shins. "He's...he's dead? I apologize. That was very wrong of me. I'm sure you're doing the best you can...I shouldn't have...Can't the gmayna help you?"
Ada couldn't help the laughter that burst from her mouth like the contents of an exploding soda can. The sheepish look on his face was very satisfying, especially since he'd been so rude. "Don't hurt yourself, for goodness' sake. The truth is, I've never been married. You were just going on and on. I had to stop you."
"You could have said something sooner."
Her lips twitch upward. "That wouldn't have been any fun."
"What's so fun about making me think you had a husband?"
"I never made you think that. You just assumed. It was fun to watch you dig a deeper and deeper hole."
He didn't seem amused, and he certainly didn't seem to like Ada's mirth at his expense. "So who have I been sending letters to?" He pointed toward the house. "His name is Mervin Yoder."
"My fater." Ada caught her bottom lip between her teeth. "He's always been a little slow opening his mail. Why have you been sending him letters?"
His eyebrows inched together. "It's a matter between men."
Ada nearly choked on her own spit. "Oh, sis yuscht! You're one of those men."
"One of what men?"
"One of those men who thinks a woman, especially an unmarried woman, doesn't have a brain in her head."
A small muscle in his cheek bounced up and down. "Oh, sis yuscht! You're one of those women."
She glared at him with all the ice and fire she could muster. "Oh, really?"
"You hate men and blame all of your problems on us."
