Chapter One

      “This is what you spent our money on?”

      “It’s wunderbar, ja? What a beauty.” Paul Bowman grinned as he wiped a spot of dirt off the white trailer bearing his name in large black letters on the side. It might look like a big white box with windows but it was his future. It sat parked inside their uncle’s barn out of the weather.

      His brother, Mark, shook his head. “Beauty was not my first thought.”

      Paul stepped back to take in the full effect. “Paul Bowman Auction Services. Has a nice sound, don’t you think? A friend did all the custom work. He found this used concession stand trailer, stripped it to a shell, then installed the sliding glass windows on each side, rewired it for battery power as well as electricity, installed the speakers on the roof and customized the inside to fit my needs. It did smell like fried funnel cakes for a while but the new paint job took care of that.”

      Mark sighed heavily. “This is not what I was expecting.”

      Paul walked around pointing to the features he had insisted on having. “It is mounted on a flatbed trailer with two axles and radial tires for highway travel. The front hitch is convertible. It can be pulled by horses or by a truck if the auction is more than twenty miles away.”

      “What were you thinking?”

      Paul didn’t understand the disapproval in his older brother’s voice. “I told you I needed a better sound system. People have to be able to hear the auctioneer.”

      Mark gestured toward the trailer. “I thought you wanted a new speaker. This thing looks like a cross between a moving van and the drive-up window at the Farley State Bank. It’s huge. And white. Our buggies must be black.”

      “The bishop won’t object to the color. It’s not like it’s sunflower yellow and it isn’t truly a buggy. It’s my place of business. It has everything I need.”

      “Everything except an auction to take it to.”

      “The work will start rolling in. You’ll see.” He pulled open the back door. “You have got to hear this sound system. These speakers are awesome. It all runs on battery power, or I can plug it in if there is electricity at the place where the auction is being held. The bishop allows the use of electricity in some businesses so he shouldn’t object to this.”

      “You will have to okay it with him. It isn’t plain.”

      “I’ll see him soon. I’m not worried.”

      “And if he says nee, can you get your money back?”

      “He won’t.” Paul stepped up into what was essentially an office on wheels.

      The trailer was outfitted with two desk spaces, two chairs and a dozen storage bins of assorted sizes secured to the walls. Sliding windows on both sides opened to let him deal directly with customers and call the auction without leaving the comfort of his chair. A third window at the front with an open slot beneath it served as a windshield so he could drive a team of horses from inside.

      The feeling of elation that it all belonged to him widened Paul’s smile. Mark didn’t understand how much this meant. No one in the family did. They thought being an auctioneer was his hobby and nothing more. Maybe that was his fault.

      He was the joker in the family. He was good at pretending he didn’t take anything too seriously. He was a fellow who liked a good joke even if the joke was on him. He enjoyed light flirtations but avoided serious relationships at all costs. Auctioneering was his one true love.

      This trailer was the culmination of three years’ work to fulfill his dream of becoming a full-time auctioneer.

      Detaching the microphone from the clips that held it in place while the vehicle was in motion, he flipped a switch and began his auctioneer’s chant. “I have two hundred, um two, two, who’ll give me three hundred, um three, three, I see three. Now who’ll give me a little more, four, four, do I hear four?”

      He slid open the window and propped his elbows on the desktop as he looked down at Mark. “What do you think?”

      “It’s mighty fancy for a fellow who has only been a licensed auctioneer for a couple