Minding Molly by Leslie Gould

Author:Leslie Gould
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FIC042000, FIC042040, FIC053000, Amish—Fiction, Lancaster County (Pa.)—Fiction
ISBN: 9781441263605
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2014-01-16T05:00:00+00:00

Once we were headed back down the trail, Leon handed Storm’s lead to me. I balked. “Give it a try,” he said.

Reluctantly, I cooperated. Then Leon took my other hand. The feel of his calluses against my skin comforted me. We followed the trail as it wound down through the trees. He liked that I was a take-charge person. He appreciated it. We complemented each other that way. I was good with people—he was good with horses, a true leader in his own way.

“Where did you get your hat?” I asked, looking up at the brim.

“The old cowboy I worked for back home.” He grinned at me again. “I only wear it for special occasions—and I only let very special people wear it.”

I couldn’t help but smile.

“He was one of my best friends ever. He was a crusty old geezer, but his mama had been a pioneer woman who loved the Lord. He cussed when riled, but he could recite Bible verses just as well. And he sent half his money to an Indian mission in North Dakota. And if anyone in the community had a need, he’d see to it—anonymously, of course. By the time he died—”

I gasped. “He died.”

“Jah.” Leon swallowed hard. “In March.”

Just before Dat.

“Anyway, he had cancer. I stayed with him until the end. It was okay because he was so ready to see the Lord. That’s all he talked about. I learned a lot about faith and love from him—not how to talk about it but how to live it.”

“I’m sorry,” I said.

Leon smiled, sadly. “He—Hank—paid my sister’s hospital bills. There were some who didn’t think the treatment she got was . . . right. He did.”

“Wow.”

Leon squeezed my hand. “Tell me about your Dat. Hannah said he was a good man.”

“Jah.” I swallowed hard, fighting the tears. “He was.” Leon squeezed my hand again, and I could feel a current of understanding pass through me. “He would have liked you.”

Leon’s voice was tender. “More than your Mamm?”

“She’ll like you, soon enough. I promise. Once my plan works.”

He leaned toward me. “What exactly is your plan?”

My face warmed. I hesitated for a moment but then said, “When Dat died, my brother—half brother . . .”

Leon nodded. Hannah had probably told him about Ivan too.

“Anyway, he said it was God’s will. Everyone who came to help in the days before his funeral said that too.”

“Jah, that’s what my parents said when Hank passed.”

“I know, ultimately, it was,” I said.

Leon’s head bobbed.

“I just wasn’t ready. . . .”

“Of course not.” Leon let go of my hand, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and drawing me close.

“I have a lot of regrets when it comes to my Dat,” I said. “I wish I would have stuck around home more. I wish I would have told him I loved him more. I wish I would have called 9-1-1 sooner.” I shuddered. “I did the best I could—but it wasn’t good enough.”

Leon drew me even closer. “None of us is perfect.

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