Mended Hearts: An Amish Reunion Story by Kelly Irvin

Author:Kelly Irvin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsChristianPublishing
Published: 2019-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

Time had never seemed shorter than it did now. Steeling himself against the feeling he was losing a race against the clock, Phillip jumped from his buggy in front of the dawdy haus and stomped up the steps to the porch. Laura and Hannah, the latter holding a sleeping Evie on her lap, sat on the porch swing.

Both women had guilty looks on their faces as if he’d caught them pilfering doughnuts from a bakery. He halted, not sure how to proceed. Laura should be inside, asleep or getting ready for bed. Along with Evie. It was far past their bedtimes. Instead, Laura smiled and waved as if they’d just run into each other after Sunday service. He cleared his throat.

“I was just headed inside.” Laura stood. “Now that the sun has gone down, it’s cooling off. Spring nights are still a bit chilly for this old body. Let me put Evie down for you.”

“I’ll do it.” Hannah started to rise. “You’ve had a long day.”

“It’s no problem.” Laura scooped up the sleeping baby with the ease of many years of practice. “You deserve a few minutes of free time.”

“No need to go inside on my account.” Please go inside. “I just stopped to say howdy. Is Zechariah still up? The purple martin count is starting to rise.”

“He was already snoring when I came outside earlier.” Laura pulled the screen door open and looked back. “Don’t stay up too late, Hannah. You’re tired and dawn comes early.”

“Gut natch.” Phillip lingered by the steps. When she closed the door, he edged closer to the swing. “If you’re too tired I can go.”

“I’m not that kind of tired.” Her expression more wary than usual, Hannah chewed on her lower lip. Finally, she patted the empty space next to her. “You might as well sit down.”

“That doesn’t really sound like an invitation.” He studied her face. Her fair skin was almost translucent in the dusk. Her nose was red as if she’d been crying. He’d never seen her cry. Not even the day of her confession. “Let me take you for a ride. It’ll soothe what ails you.”

“I don’t think so. Not tonight. It’s been a very long day.”

He took her hand and tugged. “Come. I promise not to talk about what happened this morning.”

As she freed her hand her frown disappeared, replaced by that smile that always crashed through the defenses he tried to maintain. The defenses needed to keep his poor heart from shattering when she said no. Which she surely would. She’d made that clear in the way she leaned away from his intended caresses. The way she sat two feet from him on the buggy seat when they went for a ride, her hands clasped in her lap, knuckles white. She never seemed to relax.

He kept postponing the inevitable by not asking the question, but sooner or later—sooner now that Thaddeus had decided to return—he would have to ask.

They walked to the buggy where he helped her climb in.

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