Still Waters by Patricia Johns

Author:Patricia Johns
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Amish & Mennonite;LCGFT: Romance fiction | Christian fiction | Novels;FIC053000;FIC042100;FIC042040
ISBN: 9781493451241
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2025-10-03T00:00:00+00:00

19

The storm rattled the house like a tin pot, and Danny stood by the window, watching the rain pour down the glass. He’d changed his clothes already, and his wet pants and shirt were hanging downstairs on a drying rack.

Anne and Mamm sat at the kitchen table, sorting through some fabric remnants together for a lap quilt project Anne wanted to start. Daet sat across from them, his financial ledger in front of him and a pile of receipts in one hand. He liked to keep everything in order for tax time.

Tobias stood at the stove, making some coffee soup for the family to enjoy while the storm raged outside. Coffee soup was hot milk with a small amount of instant coffee added to it and a large amount of sugar. Simple enough, but it was tasty with some bread to dip in it, and Danny and his siblings would take turns making it when Mamm said they were allowed. Today was Tobias’s turn.

But Danny’s mind wasn’t on the business’s finances or even on the coffee soup that was starting to smell good. He was thinking about those videos his brother had posted—his thoughtful refuting of Amish customs and beliefs. Even Beth seemed to have her doubts about the Amish ways, thinking they should be able to get more education. Danny didn’t want more schooling himself. What he wanted was to open his shop, and he was getting antsy. But more schooling? That didn’t interest him beyond the general classes Amish men took so they could learn the bookkeeping for their own businesses or other skills they might need to acquire.

How far did Beth’s doubts go? He’d assumed that she’d get baptized and join the church once she worked out her personal issues with her family, but he wasn’t so sure now. Her doubts weren’t bringing her around to certainty the way his had. Her questions kept spiraling outward. And it wasn’t just her questions that left him feeling unsettled . . . it was her support of his brother’s ideas.

This wasn’t a choice between him and Zach, and he knew that. But maybe he’d wanted her to side with him a little more fervently anyway. Zach was causing untold heartache for their family, and he was publicly humiliating both their family and their community. And maybe Danny wanted her to believe in their way of life a little more strongly, too, because he was getting tired of being the strong one all the time. Beth had always been special to him, but seeing her this visit back to Shepherd’s Hill was different. He knew the risks, but he couldn’t seem to pull his heart back.

Out the window, the lights from a large vehicle turned down the drive. In the dusky, rainy light, Danny couldn’t see much, but as the truck got closer, he thought he recognized it. It was the same one driven by the Englischer man who’d been taking pictures earlier.

“Daet, come look at this truck. Do you recognize it?” Danny said.

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