A Promise to Heal by Marta Perry

Author:Marta Perry
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-11-23T18:44:16+00:00

Chapter Two

Anke hopped out of bed bright and early on Wednesday morning. She couldn’t wait to get over to the daadi haus and begin cleaning it up. But first, she helped Velda make breakfast and serve it to the four children, all of whom were fussy eaters—except for Charity, the baby. At eight months old, she seemed to consume more than any of her three siblings. The twins, Millie and Micah, were barely four and they did almost everything together. Asher was almost six and next year he’d go to school, since that was when Amish children enrolled in first grade in New Hope. But for now, he was still home during the day. He was such a sweet boy that Anke couldn’t help but hope he and Will would become friends, since Asher’s behavior was more mature than the twins’ was.

“Tell me about Victor’s bruder,” Velda said as she wiped oatmeal from Charity’s chin and forehead. “You told us you’d found someone to repair the daadi haus but then you dashed off to your room last night before I could ask any questions.”

“That’s because I’m working on a special apron order for a customer for Valentine’s Day,” Anke replied. It was also because she didn’t want her sister-in-law to object to her hiring Josiah. Velda really shouldn’t have had anything to say about the matter, since Anke was paying for his labor with her own money, but that wouldn’t have stopped her from offering an opinion. Even though Velda had ultimately agreed it would be permissible for Will to stay with Anke in the daadi haus, Anke knew Velda’s feathers were still ruffled about it.

She had undoubtedly complained about it to Keith’s sister-in-law Ruth, who’d stopped by the house on Tuesday morning to drop off her daughter’s hand-me-down clothes for Charity. Otherwise, how had Keith found out so quickly about Anke’s intention to watch Will? She suspected if they’d still been courting, he would have gladly helped mend the daadi haus roof, but since she’d broken up with him, he’d said he didn’t have time.

Oh, well. I don’t need to figure out if he had an ulterior motive for turning down the project, she thought. I’m just grateful that the Lord provided for my needs through Josiah’s help.

Velda snapped her fingers in front of Anke’s nose. “Are you awake? I asked you where Josiah lived before he moved here.”

“Illinois, I think.” Anke signaled Millie to close her mouth while she chewed her toast.

“Does he have a beard or mustache?”

Anke rolled her eyes. Amish men traditionally only grew beards after they were married; in Maine, they were also allowed to wear mustaches if they chose, although they weren’t required to. So what Velda was really asking was whether he was single or not. Presumably, she didn’t want the children to understand her question. “Neh. No beard.” Before her sister-in-law could question her further, Anke added, “We didn’t have a lot of time for chitchat. Mostly, I just described what I needed him to repair on the daadi haus.

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