A Hidden Secret: A Kate Burkholder Short Story by Linda Castillo

Author:Linda Castillo [Castillo, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781250082008
Amazon: B00X3HIURC
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Published: 2015-06-02T05:00:00+00:00

Read on for an excerpt from

Linda Castillo’s new novel,

After the Storm,

available July 2015

CHAPTER 1

Present day

I was eight years old when I learned there were consequences for associating with the English. Consequences that were invariably negative and imposed by well-meaning Amish parents bent on upholding the rules set forth by our Anabaptist forefathers nearly three hundred years ago. In my case, this particular life lesson transpired at the horse auction near Millersburg and involved a twelve-year-old English boy and the Appaloosa gelding he was trying to sell. Add me to the mix, and it was a dangerous concoction that ended with me taking a fall and my father’s realization that I saw the concept of rules in a completely different light—and I possessed an inherent inability to follow them.

I never forgot the lesson I learned that day or how much it hurt my eight-year-old heart, which, even at that tender age, was already raging against the unfairness of the Ordnung and all of those who would judge me for my transgressions. But the lessons of my formative years didn’t keep me from breaking the same rules time and time again, defying even the most fundamental of Amish tenets. By the time I entered my teens, just about everyone had realized I couldn’t conform and, worse, that I didn’t fit in, both of which are required of a member of the Amish community.

Now, at the age of thirty-three, I can’t quite reconcile myself to the fact that I’m still trying to please those who will never approve and failing as miserably as I did when I was an inept and insecure fifteen-year-old girl.

“Stop worrying.”

I’m sitting in the passenger seat of John Tomasetti’s Tahoe, not sure if I’m impressed by his perceptivity or annoyed because my state of mind is so apparent. We’ve been living together at his farm for seven months now, and while we’ve had some tumultuous moments, I have to admit it’s been the happiest and most satisfying time of my life.

Tomasetti, a former detective with the Cleveland Division of Police, is an agent with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Like me, he has a troubled past and more than his share of secrets, some I suspect I’m not yet privy to. But we have an unspoken agreement that we won’t let our pasts dictate our happiness or how we live our lives. Honestly, he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, and I like to think the sentiment runs both ways.

“What makes you think I’m worried?” I tell him, putting forth a little attitude.

“You’re fidgeting.”

“I’m fidgeting because I’m nervous,” I say. “There’s a difference.”

He glances at me, scowling, but his eyes are appreciative as he runs them over me. “You look nice.”

I hide my smile by looking out the window. “If you’re trying to make me feel better, it’s working.”

Good humor plays at the corner of his mouth. “It’s not like you to change clothes four times.”

“Hard to dress for an Amish dinner.”

“Especially when you used to be Amish, apparently.

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