She really hated a know-it-all. "Dat was very irritated because Clay realized there was no purple paint law after he'd painted half the farm purple." Ada turned her face away to hide a smile. She and Mary had laughed about the purple paint for days. But she wasn't about to show Sneaky Man anything but a stern face. "Why did you send my dat those letters?"
He studied her face. "If you promise not to cry, I'll tell you what I've been writing letters about."
"I won't promise anything, especially if you want to talk water rights. Around here, nobody can have an unemotional conversation about water rights, man or woman."
"I can understand that. This place is dry as a bone."
Again his gaze traveled to the far side of the fence. "I just bought your neighbor's farm."
That was nice. It had been vacant for almost five years. "So far, I don't feel like crying."
His expression hardened like stone. "I've got all the legal paperwork, the plat map, and the deed. I own six acres of your farm, and I'm going to take what's rightfully mine."
CHAPTER TWO
Ada stormed into the house, tore off her bonnet, and slammed the door behind her. "Dat," she yelled. She slid off her coat, untied her shoes, and pulled the left sweatpants leg up and her stocking down. "Dat! Where are you?"
An inch-long gash on her shin was already starting to turn purple, and dried blood caked the front of her leg, but she didn't have time to clean it or get herself a Band-Aid. As quickly as she could, she hobbled across the kitchen and down the hall to Dat's bedroom. "Dat!"
He wasn't in his room. Maybe he'd gone to buy feed for the goats or get his hair cut. He might be visiting Mary, who lived in the house immediately south of their farm.
"Ada, for goodness' sake, you scared me half out of my wits." Ada's little schwester Beth stood in the doorway clutching her cell phone and frowning at Ada as if Ada had just broken every dish in the house. "You came in the house screaming like there was a fire or something."
Ada wasn't in the mood to give Beth the time of day, let alone an explanation. "Where's Dat?"
"Avery Smith needed help with his sheep."
"Do you know when he'll be back?"
"No idea." Beth must have seen the utter distress on Ada's face. Her eyes filled with concern. "What's the matter?"
Ada waved her hand in the air and swatted Beth's question away. "Nothing. Nothing. I just need to talk to Dat."
Beth's expression sagged. "Oh, okay. Well, if you don't need me, I'm going to ride my bike over to Sadie's. Her beauty magazine came yesterday."
On a normal day, Ada would have given Beth a stern lecture about using a cell phone and reading worldly, inappropriate magazines, but today Ada just wanted Beth out of her hair so she could solve the latest crisis without having to coddle her little schwester. "Okay. Be careful on the road."
Beth's eyes widened in surprise. For sure and certain she'd been expecting a lecture. "Okay. Denki. I'll be home for dinner. Are you still making barbecue chicken pizza?"
Nae, she wasn't going to make barbecue chicken pizza. Ada's life had been completely upended, and Beth would be lucky to get toast and a bowl of canned apricots. "Probably," she said, because she really wanted Beth to go, and she didn't want to explain herself.
Beth's spirits seem to sink even lower, though Ada couldn't fathom what she'd done. "Okay then. I won't be long."
Dat's nightstand was piled four inches high with unopened mail. How long had these letters been sitting here? Whenever Ada got the mail from the mailbox, she pulled out the envelopes that looked like bills and gave Dat everything else. That way they stayed current with their debts, and Dad didn't have to worry about the budget.
Ada picked up the pile of envelopes and thumbed through them. Junk mail, junk mail, what looked like a wedding invitation. Oh, sis yuscht, a bill. Junk. The town newsletter. From the stack she pulled out five envelopes, all from Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, all written in the same slanted, elegant hand. Sneaky Man had fine penmanship, but that was truly the only gute thing about him. He wanted to steal their land, and Ada wasn’t about to let him get away with it.
