He led me off the stage; my hand was still in his. We wandered away from the rest of the group.

"So, are you enjoying yourself so far, Ben?" I blushed as I said his name. There was an intimacy about using first names, and it meant that the person was close to you. Close in a way that other men could never be.

"I've never had such a good time in my life. Well, there was the time that we tied Gideon up and… well you wouldn't want to hear about that." He looked away and leaned against the fence.

"Sure I would. Tell me, please." I asked as I hopped up onto the fence and looked down at him.

"Well, Gideon…"

"Wait, which one is that?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Oh, guess I should point everybody out so that you won't get confused. Well, that there is Gideon, in the blue shirt." Ben turned around and leaned his back on the fence and pointed lazily.

"He's talking to Alice. He seems like a nice boy."

"He is and we all love him to death. He's the youngest and it's our job to make sure that he grows up tough and able to handle himself. He's the most like our mother." Ben got quiet suddenly.

"Were you close to your mother?" I asked softly, not wanting to hurt him.

"Yeah. The others can hardly remember her, but I do. She was so gentle, yet so strong. I was very close to her. Adam had always been more like father, and when mother died I knew that it would be hard to fill the void. Since she died we've never had a woman in the house since. Not until Milly came."

"You boys love Milly very much. I can tell that." I looked over and Milly who was slapping Adam's hand away from the food.

"She's great. We never really knew what we were missing until Milly came and reminded us." The tone in his voice was sad and thoughtful.

"So who are your other brothers?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Well, you've already met Caleb. Who's the gal he's with?"

"Oh that's Ruth. She's a dreamer, always reading books about princesses and knights in shining armour."

"Sounds like she'd fit Caleb to a T." Ben chuckled. "He's the dreamer of our family too."

"And is that Frank there with Sarah? The one in the red shirt?"

"That's right. He's the muscles, and he's also the one on whom the red hair fits the best. He's got a temper problem. Just don't ever call him by his full name." Ben chuckled.

"His full name?"

"Frankincense." Ben looked at me with laughter in his eyes.

"Frankincense? Why?" I couldn't help but laugh.

"Mother wanted us to have Bible names. She was a great one for the Bible. Frankincense was the only one she could think of that started with an F."

"Why F?"

"That was Dad's idea. A B C D E F G, so that he could keep all of us in order. Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, Ephraim, Frank and Gideon."

"So Daniel and Ephraim must be the purple and turquoise shirts, right?"

"That's right. They're twins, though you wouldn't know it to look at them. Dan is purple and Ephraim is that blue-green. Don't tell them I told you, though. They like to keep people guessing."

I gave a little laugh. "They'll never hear it from me."

"And who're they with?"

"Oh, that's Liza and Martha. Liza's an orphan who was adopted by Martha's parents. The two are practically inseparable. Hey, it looks like they're gonna start the raising."

I started to jump down off the fence, but found that instead I was floating. Ben had taken me by the waist and was lifting me down. "Thanks." I said breathlessly.

"No problem." He smiled again as I took his arm and we started to walk back towards the group. "So why are we raising this thing anyways?"

"Oh, well Henry Higgins just moved here a year ago with his wife and family. He's got two of the sweetest daughters you've ever seen. Anyways, last week a wolf got into their yard and spooked the chickens, who flew into the barn and spooked the cow, who kicked a ladder and caused the lantern to fall and set the barn on fire. Luckily they were able to get all their livestock out in time." We joined the group of brothers and Pete Perkins started to talk. He was the town mayor and prided himself on being at the centre of every function.

"Neighbours, neighbours can I have your attention? All you folk that've come from far and wide; Henry here wants me to thank you all for coming to help him raise his barn."

"Thanks folks." Henry rasped out.

"And he thanks the ladies for all the fancy vittles they brought." We all clapped, and I laughed at Gideon's little bow.

"Now since a barn has four sides, there's gonna be four teams. The team that gets their side up first wins the little heifer. Henry, show'em Annabelle."

I laughed along with the crowd when I saw the animal. I had been here long enough to be able to appreciate the gesture and the fineness of the animal.

"Now get your teams set up, neighbours, and we'll see who wins the little lady."

"Adam we could use her around the farm." Milly said, looking up at Adam pleadingly. He smiled at her a bit and then gave in.

"How about it boys?"

I looked up at Ben and saw him gravely nod. I grabbed his arm excitedly and turned with the rest.

"Mr. Perkins," Adam called up to the man. "You can put the seven of us brothers down for one team. Milly says she's taken a fancy to Annabelle." His deep voice was smooth and easy; the voice of a man with confidence.

"You hear, boys?" Mr. Perkins called out. "That was Adam Pontipee. Last time he came to town he bragged how he always got what he set out to get. And danged if he didn't; he's a hard one to beat I'm warning you."

"Don't worry," George Straither said with a smirk.

"We'll handle him." Joe Miller chimed in.

Mr. Perkins grinned at the team of young men. "That's the spirit."

"We've got a team all set up here, Pete." Mr. Jebsen, Ruth's father, called out.

"And here's your fourth, Pete." Another man called out.

"That's fine. You got your hammers and all?" At their loud shout he went on. "Then take your positions. The sooner you raise the barn, the sooner you get your vittles."

I turned to Ben and whispered "good luck" to him, and he smiled again. Then he was gone over to the wall and they started the competition.