The Amish Twins Next Door by Vannetta Chapman

Author:Vannetta Chapman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-01-25T19:26:10+00:00

* * *

July passed in a rush of days spent tending goats, pigs, crops and two energetic boys.

Nick thought it might be the best summer of his life, other than his tendency to wrestle over his relationship with Deborah—or rather, his lack of a relationship. The plan he’d had to introduce her to one of the men at the kayaking trip hadn’t panned out. He had no doubt one or two might be interested. He’d even met up with two of the guys once to go fishing, but he’d lost his nerve at the last second. He didn’t want to give them the number for the phone shack closest to Deborah. He didn’t want them to even think that she was available.

He wasn’t the right man for Deborah, but who was?

Nick tried to put it out of his mind, which was impossible to do. Especially since they continued to go out on a “date” once a week. It didn’t help that he’d invariably hold her hand or touch her shoulder or sit closer than was strictly necessary. It was as if his mind understood the absurdity of it. He wasn’t ready to court anyone, and he knew it. But his heart? That was proving a bit harder to convince.

Instead of attempting to deal with the situation, he worked longer hours, checked out more library books to read up on farming and goats and pigs, even planted an extra field that he hadn’t planned on cultivating until the following year—anything to keep busy and help him fall asleep at night.

The one bright spot of the summer was Deborah’s twins.

The boys continued to create nearly as much work as they completed, but somehow it bothered Nick less. There was a lot to do to help the pigs settle in—a pigpen to build and fencing to put up. They’d done that the first week. Giving the animal book to Joseph might not have been a good idea.

“They need a mud wallow, Nick. I read about it again last night. I can show you the page, if you’d like.”

“Yes! I am all about making mud.” Jacob dropped the brush he’d been using to care for the goats. One look from Nick, and he picked it back up. “I’ll just go put this on the shelf in the barn.”

“Gut idea.”

By the time he was back, Joseph had convinced Nick that a mud wallow was indeed a good and necessary thing for pigs. According to the book, it would help the pigs keep their body temperature down and also served to promote good skin condition. Nick wasn’t one to argue with the written word, so they set about creating a mud bath positioned across the end of the pig enclosure.

This required that he dig down two feet and line the bottom with bricks. Fortunately, there was a big stack of old bricks behind the barn. Jacob and Joseph loaded them in the wheelbarrow, pushed it to the pigpen and then helped him to place them along the bottom of the enclosure.

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