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arms to take care of her.”
    It was Beth’s turn to blush. The scheming had begun.
    Tyler regarded Beth as if he were trying to comprehend her past and future by looking hard enough. She cocked her eyebrows and pursed her lips to scold him for staring.
    He quickly looked away. “These are done, Sarah.”
    Mamm picked up one of Tyler’s bottles and examined it. “Good enough.” Mamm never sugar-coated her praise. “Beth, take Tyler to the cellar, and each of you bring up an armful of bottles. With all these berries, we’ll use them, sure as you’re born.”
    Tyler dried his hands and followed Beth down the stairs.
    “We wouldn’t need extra bottles if you hadn’t helped us gather so many berries yesterday,” Beth said as they reached the bottom of the stairs. “Thanks to you, Mammi and Dawdi will sell a lot of jam this year.”
    Tyler shook his head. “I mostly watched out for Toby and for bears.”
    Beth smiled. Halfway into their walk into the woods yesterday, Tyler had picked up a stick and started banging it against the trees to scare away any critters lurking in the shadows. “I’ve never seen anyone quite so vigilant about bears and snakes.”
    “Snakes have been known to eat small children.”
    The laughter bubbled from her lips. “Not typically in Wisconsin.”
    “You can’t be too careful.”
    “I’m glad Aden never showed up so you could come with us.”
    “Unless he’s in the hospital with two broken legs, I plan on giving him a stern lecture about the importance of keeping his appointments.”
    Beth led Tyler to the shelf where the extra half pints sat. “If he weren’t my cousin, I might not believe that Aden actually exists. He hasn’t shown himself once since I’ve been to Huckleberry Hill.”
    Tyler grinned. “Don’t take it personally. Right now, he thinks he and Lily are the only two people in the whole world.”
    Beth checked her laughter. Such thoughts must be at least a little painful to Tyler, even if he smiled about them.
    “If we put these jars in a bucket, we won’t have to make so many trips,” she said.
    They looked around and found three dust-covered buckets stacked together underneath one of the shelves. Beth picked up the stack and blew some of the dust off the top bucket. “I haven’t had a chance to redd up down here. The dust is thick.”
    “You take gute care of your grandparents.”
    “They take gute care of me and Toby.”
    “I’m glad they do.” That worried frown came back, accompanied by a deep furrow right between his brows as if someone had taken a plow to his forehead. “Do you like living here?”
    “There isn’t a better place on Earth. Mammi and Dawdi moved here when I was seven years old. I have fond memories of berry picking and maple syrup time. When I was growing up, we spent many summer days playing volleyball or helping Mammi and Dawdi in the vegetable patch.”
    “How long do you think you will stay?”
    She would stay forever if she and Toby weren’t such a burden on Mammi and Dawdi. “I need to earn some money first, but I’d like to find a small house in Bonduel.”
    He pressed his lips together. “It’s hard for a single mother to make it on her own. Most think it best to remarry.”
    Beth couldn’t look at him. She concentrated on prying the buckets apart. They were stuck tight.
    His frown looked as if it had been stapled to his face. He held out his hand. She gave him the stack of buckets, and he pulled the top one away from the others as easy as you please. “I’m sorry. I should stay out of your troubles.”
    “Don’t apologize. I want to be strong enough to support myself and Toby.”
    “I could help you, if you need money. The dairy makes enough for me to put a little away each month.”
    Beth laughed as if she’d been holding it in a long time. His offer didn’t offend her. In a strange way, it brought her comfort. “Mammi said you have a kind heart. She wasn’t exaggerating.”
    He relaxed his dire